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More Randomnalia--All Over the Place!

  • Despite being car-free for a little less than ten years now, my slight-obsession with tiny cars continues.  Submitted as Evidence: Another picture of vintage Mini; this one in the Haight with a parking meter for perspective on size.

    Mini_in_the_haight_june_2008_0001_2

  • **Uh, hello, anybody there Reverend Jesse Jackson???**  Could you possibly be more of an ignoramus?  Really?!  I think not! 

Where the hell was your brain when you said (supposedly off-Mic) that Obama should be castrated

Why in the world would a black man suggest that another black man be castrated in light of the fact that black men were often castrated before they were lynched?

Ugh, and so much more that I dare not say here...Let me just say, that the Rev. Jesse Jackson made a fool of himself.

  • In a related vein, I am nearly finished reading Toni Morrison's Beloved and am thinking that perhaps the Rev. Jesse Jackson might do well to (re?)read this novel as it provides a graphic, haunting, and all-together disturbing refresher course on the horrors of slavery.
  • I am tired, oh-so-tired, sleepy-sleepy.  Teaching  English Literature and Language Arts to 33--yes, 33!--6th-8th graders can sometimes feel like taming lions after being dipped in vat of gazelle blood.

    On the other hand, today's sleepiness is a "rewarding tiredness" earned from getting those same kids to be really excited and engaged with what we're learning.

  • I had lunch last weekend with a friend and her husband at Zazil Coastal Mexican Cuisine in the Nordstrom's shopping center and was pretty disappointed.  The food is so-so, but not worth the price, and the ambiance of the restaurant is more suited to a fast-food environment.  The three of us spent $158 dollars on lunch and dessert (luckily, we had $100 in gift certificates to spend there!).  I'm of the opinion that one should never feel as if they are eating in an upscale-cafeteria-like-environment when you're paying $50+ to eat lunch.  Give me a break!  Puh-lease!

My INTEREST color is BLUE:  People with blue Interests like job responsibilities and occupations that involve creative, humanistic, thoughtful, and quiet types of activities. Blue Interests include abstracting, theorizing, designing, writing, reflecting, and originating, which often lead to work in editing, teaching, composing, inventing, mediating, clergy, and writing.

My USUAL STYLE is YELLOW:  People with yellow styles perform their job responsibilities in a manner that is orderly and planned to meet a known schedule. They prefer to work where things get done with a minimum of interpretation and unexpected change. People with a yellow style tend to be orderly, cautious, structured, loyal, systematic, solitary, methodical, and organized, and usually thrive in a research-oriented, predictable, established, controlled, measurable, orderly environment.

So shocking!  Not! 

Some of the suggested careers are: philosopher (got that covered with my Bachelors degree) and teacher (been there, doing that), professor (perhaps someday?).  The quiz also suggested I look into working as a Media Planner, Web Editor, Book Publishing Professional--all of which I would find interesting.  I am definietely intrigued by the Media Planner career as I L-O-V-E to critically tear apart advertisements and their often inappropriate placement.  However, I do not see myself becoming an optometrist, a Rabbi or Imam, or an antiques dealer. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

I Fibbed!

So I fibbed...I said I don't like to quilt and yet here is some sort of evidence that perhaps proves otherwise:
Baby_quilt_2008_0001
A baby blanket for a newborn baby girl.  And, YES, I DID go the route of gender-stereotyping by making it pink*, but only because I was using recycled material and these patterns/colors happened to be plentiful and matchy-matchy-ish.  (*You must check out The Pink and Blue Project at the International Museum of Women site.*)

Clearly the blanket isn't perfect...it's not a true square and I think it is a bit short of the desired dimensions of 36X36 inches.  But I figure the parents will be happy to have a handmade gift that is pretty much practical.

Finally, here's a pic with the backside:
Baby_quiltwith_back_june_2008_0001

Alexandre Orion & Reverse Graffiti

Ossarioreversegraffiti_4
(Image via alexandreorion.com/ossario)

Reverse Graffiti is the art of scraping, scrubbing, and pressure-hosing away dirt to create art.

Alexandre Orion of São Paulo, Brazil, scraped the skulls above in a traffic tunnel as a commentary upon the pollution humans were creating.  Of course, the city tried to clean away his artwork, but in trying to do so, they found the only solution was to clean the entire tunnel!

Money, money, money...it's a rich man's world.

Smart Little Article on Getting the Salary You Deserve!
(All props go to ABBA for the title!)

Saturday Slrog Roundup; Slacker Edition: June 8-28

I've taken a week off from running after royally fracking up my knee doing free-standing squats and today was my first day back in my running shoes.  And it was awesome!  My pace was spot-on, the hills felt like friends rather than mortal foes, and I felt like I could run forever.  Wondermous!

  • June 10-17--various days of the SCHoW (see above)
  • June 18, Wednesday--3 miles running.

The MP3 that I "lost" has been finally found so I'm on the road again (By gods, I love Willie Nelson, how embarrassing!  Oh, and if you do happen to like Willie, this is a beautiful, but sad, song--"I Never Cared for You".).  I don't feel like I lost a lot of endurance or strength, s0 yay for me!

  • June 23, Monday--3 miles running. 

Listening to: Led Zeppelin

  • June 26, Thursday--Gym/Weight workout (abs, chest, legs)

S.O.S. Quilt

Finally.  Finished.  Just some peeks at the quilt--a better picture with more sunshine will likely come Sunday evening after I spend Sunday in the Park with George (not really, but with the book club.  Gosh, I'm a nerd.)  I am not so happy with this quilt, thus the name "S.O.S. Quilt."  I see it as a ship at distress and even the morning weather agrees...
Sos_quilt_june_2008_0001
P.S. I've come to the conclusion that I don't really like to quilt.  I am now going to work on my version of this dress/top, for which I've had the damn pattern since August.  Mine will  be shorter, much shorter.

I'm an Undercover Agent

Undercover_agent_june_2008_0001

Totoro Tote

The final product--machine sewn and hand-embroidered--Totoro "drawing" (embroidery), super-close-up:
Totoro_toteafterfront_june_2008_000
Sewn on to this super, handy-dandy Trader Joe's grocery tote:
Totoro_totebefore_june_2008_0001
And for the backside, some pretty fabric to cover the logo:
Totoro_toteafterback_june_2008_0001
I have to admit, after watching My Neighbor Totoro three times this week (once for each grade I teach, as a treat for the students during the last week of school), I am totally sick of the movie.

Cold Play's "Violet Hill"--Dancing Politicians Version

Alternative Reali-Tee (Shirt)

I've been having a bit of fun sewing lately--it's a nice break from reality (i.e. job searching, grading papers, thesis procrastination).  I took a Threadless T-Shirt that John got as a gift (which is way too big for either of us) and chopped it up, sewed new side seams,  and added ribboned ruching at the shoulders...Ta-Daa!  Much cuter, don't you think?
  I_am_not_a_monster_teebefore_june_5 I_am_not_a_monsteraftercropped1_j_5