Saturday, June 29, 2002

UT!
So, thought I found a solution for building my online store - bizhosting. Was mid-sign-up when I read the terms of service, which included in the prohibited content "Content that includes or contains links to nudity, pornography, foul language, or material that is obscene, lewd, lascivious, excessively violent, or otherwise objectionable." My first reaction was to call them up and say "are you fuckin' kidding me?!" Lord knows I have a sailor's mouth, and although I don't intend to link to hardcore porn or violent site, I'm an adult who might want to link to Nerve.com or a good sex toy company. Looked for contact info - Utah. Hell, no chance.

übercüte
I was quickly distracted from my work with a rash of really adorable things. They will make your teeth hurt they are so sweet. Enjoy~

pictoplasma

ot-to: The critter corporation

nDROID's thumb puppets

KATAOKA, Mamiko and SAKANO, Jun - Cork Dolls

hippie coco planet

cheap chicks

posted on 6/29/2002 10:57:52 PM

I pledge allegiance...
So DC politicians are up in arms about declaring the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. They say the founding fathers are rolling over in their graves. The founding fathers have nothing to do with it, the words "under god" were added in 1954. To learn just how ignorant and self-righteous politicians are being, read Slate.com's history of the pledge.

Personally, this issue has brought up a long buried memory. While, my parents both believe in god, I was raised without religion. I only went to church a handful of times, always after Saturday night slumber parties. I had brief stint at a youth church group, where I was praised for my ability to memorize bible verses. But my heart wasn't in it, and my membership was brief. Churches have always creeped me out, and felt very foreign to me. I don't begrudge anyone else their religion.

I am an atheist.

It's a fact I don't thrown around a lot only because when people hear that they jump to all sorts of conclusions. They think because I'm godless, I must be evil. Just because I don't believe in god, doesn't exclude morality and ethics. Anyhow...

The pledge hoo-ha got me to remembering that I just didn't say "under god" when reciting the pledge as a young pup. I would just pause when we got to that part and feel the heaviness of my pause. And I remember thinking a lot about it very young. I knew I didn't believe in god, even though I don't have any memory of ever talking to anyone about it. Apparently, I was an godless creature at just a half a dozen years old.

And I've turned out just fine.

posted on 6/29/2002 10:41:48 AM

Friday, June 28, 2002

Bloody Mary
So last week, I went to see the garbled narrative of the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Promising cast - left unsatisfied. Didn't read the book, don't want to. But it did stir a desire to drink Bloody Marys. Since I'm a teetotaler, I thought I'd figure out how to make the perfect Virgin Mary. I dig tomato juice ok, but thought that if I made it tasty and spicy I may have a summer love affair with the beverage.

I stayed in a fancy-schmancy hotel for a few days this week, and although I was tres curious, I couldn't bring myself to pay the $2.50 for .50 serving of minibar bloody mary mix. The gummi bears and toblerone bar taunted, but I resisted.

So, this morning, I decided to try my hand at it. I already had the big can of tomato juice in the cupboard. Went online and got a feel for the ingredients. Hemmed and hawed. Then, as I watch Martha Stewart Living during this research, the last segment started. It was her legal counsel, Greg Blatt, teaching us to make his perfect Bloody Marys! I studiously took notes.

Went to the grocery, got the goods. Part Blatt's recipe, part online recipes; I begun making mine. And it is really friggin' tasty.

Brandy's Non-Alcoholic Bloody Marys
(I totally guesstimated the quantities to make it more recipe like)

46 oz. Tomato Juice (1 big can)
juice of two lemons
1 T. Pepper
1 T. celery salt
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. Minced garlic.

Shake/stir it all together, then add to taste
1 1/2 t. Tabasco sauce (that's about how much I added)

That's a rough approximation of what I did, which is so tasty. There's enough Worcestershire sauce and lemon to make it less tomato-y, undertones of garlic and just enough Tabasco and pepper to warm your mouth and make you smack your lips in that "it's tasty" way.

Midnight Blue
Getting tired of my white-blonde/roots combo (growing out the blonde well before my sis's 2003 wedding), I just dyed my hair dark blue. It's easier for me to dye my hair in better economic conditions than lean times. My hair color doesn't effect my professionalism and work, but I'd hate to give someone an excuse not to hire me. Given that nearly all of my work is offsite at home, it would be a poor excuse. Of course, one could always buffer others with the "she's an artist" or "she's Gen X" if it really was a problem for them. Tonight, I got the call from the midnight blue Punky Color I had lurking in the medicine cabinet.

My roots were significant and it felt like a good time to go darker. Bleach hair takes this kind of dye beautifully, so it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

The only thing is that I now have a blue tint on my face and hands, making me look a little corpse-like.

Posted on 6/28/2002 07:54:00 PM

Wednesday, June 26, 2002

I was so pleased to return to an Inbox of emails from friends and family, and no voicemail messages. Ahh...

Supercool webstat
In an effort to avoid work tonight, I looked at my site stats. My favorite two stats to look up the search strings that got people to my site and the countries my visitors are from. From the latter, there was a country, I had never ever heard of - Niue. It's the name that represents about 2,100 people on 100 square miles (half the size of Chicago) in the South Pacific ocean. Here's my favorite webpage I found about it.

Makes my brain hurt in a good way.

Posted on 6/26/2002 10:03:15 PM

Thursday, June 20, 2002

And then I cried like a baby. Their story is amazing. I'm sure it'll all be interesting. But I'll be watching for them.
Posted on 6/20/2002 08:57:39 PM

Internetless
DSL has been sporadic since midday yesterday (Wednesday) - sorry for any delays and confusion it's causing folks trying to get a hold of me. Trying to remedy it pronto!
posted on 6/20/2002 01:25:29 PM

Wednesday, June 19, 2002

Monday, June 17, 2002

Uh-oh.

My brain likes to figure out contingency plans. So, I was thinking I could go to the library those two 5 hour chunks. Then again, traveling two hours for 5 hour chunks doesn't make a lot of sense, and with my mega-windowed apartment, it's not like I'll be lacking light. Gotta charge the laptop. Etc. etc.

Figure I can clean my desperately undone apartment during that time. But wait - no stereo, no tv! Realizing what a electrogirl I really am. I know I'll be just fine. It'll just feel weird.

Posted on 6/17/2002 02:39:13 PM

Saturday, June 15, 2002

Spider-B-Gone
I've got perpetual spiders in my apartment. I kind of like them. Over the last few months, there haven't been many in the apartment itself. But there's been one perpetually outside the left north window. It's about an inch long, with the abdomen the size of a baby grape. Bigger than most 'round these parts.
A few days ago, I was working here at the computer when a sparrow flew up to the window and was hoovering. Like it was trying to see what I was doing. I quickly realize it was lined up to right behind a spider. One more moment - the spider was birdfood.
Strangely, the spider was replaced the next day. Which makes me wonder exactly where it came from since I never see more than one spider on the web at a time. And I have always thought of spiders as total loners.

Posted on 6/15/2002 03:58:31 AM

Friday, June 14, 2002

Slicker than shit, as they say.

Posted on 6/14/2002 04:22:44 PM

Thursday, June 13, 2002

That made my day.

Posted on 6/13/2002 01:28:19 PM

Wednesday, June 05, 2002

Say you've got people in a room and they are discussing strategy. From your experience, you've recognized patterns and know the right things to ask to keep them progressing. Great. Good. Fine. You give them the environment and support to get good work done. Fantastic. But don't act like you've invented thought. Good god. Yes, differentiate yourself. Yes, create processes and events that create change and make a difference. What is important is your values and approach, not a pat little system of toys and names for things, or time and legal fees spent on registering every® little® thing®.

posted on 6/5/2002 11:48:51 AM

Monday, June 03, 2002

Naming Pink Wiggly Things
http://www.census.gov/ftp/pub/genealogy/names/

I was alarmed how snotty/waspy a lot sounded. Lower down there are so rather
lovely names. But so many of the names sound like girls who a required to
become Lincoln Park Trixies.

Kaitlynn, Katelynn, Bailee, Ashleigh, Kayleigh, Bryanna, Rylee, Kylee,
Mckenna, Hayley, Jordyn. Payton, Avery, Skylar, Caitlyn, Madelyn, Paige,
Kaylee, Katelyn, Haley, Hailey, Kaitlyn, Taylor, Jordyn

The stock price for th letter Y is skyrocketing!
But then again, in our time, everyone was named Jennifer.

Posted on 6/3/2002 03:03:28 PM

Where the Hell is Grinnell?
I was in Grinnell, Iowa for my reunion this weekend. It was good. Hot and sunny - not my fave weather, but it made for good chatting/ambling/eating at Dairy Barn mode. Campus was emptied of students and turned over to all ages of alumni. Grinnell is pretty much two square blocks with a North Campus and South Campus. Despite the small size, Grinnell College is still two basic factions - North campus jocks and science majors, South campus freaks and humanities majors. And after your first year, that's by choice. For reunion, the younger alums are on North Campus, the older South. So me and my South Campus ilk are thrown off be staying in dorms who's names we have no reason to remember, being on the turf of the "other." And the rooms seem tiny. Well, they are tiny. My studio apartment nest feels palatial.

Grinnellians are prone to long nights of conversation in dorm halls and marathon chatfests in the dining halls. So, two days of "wedding conversation" is a bit wierd. That's the quick "so, whacha doin? so, whacha been upto? Whereya livin?" But I diligently handed out my business cards (I was one of three people with biz cards) figuring folks can always reconnect through the site. Hope so.

I feel terribly uneducated because the vast majority of folks are in Masters and PhD programs. So, I had pangs of inadequacy. Pangs stifled remembering I don't have any true subject/desire/reason to go back to school.

Highlights:
[ ] Photographing/documenting my beloved Burling Library. Walking towards it I figured out a reason I love it - it's so symmetrical! I'm obsessed with symmetry and this building is the poster child for symmetry.
[ ] Seeing my friend Jim Thaxton dancing at Harris again. Granted, I see him weekly here in Chicago, but haven't seen the dance stylings in some time.
[ ] Going to Rube's Steakhouse with fantastic folks. Rare, rare 16 oz. filet mignon and laughter.
Posted on 6/3/2002 02:55:38 PM