new discovery

I’ve just recently discovered the work of James Michael Starr, a collage/assemblage artist, and I’m very much a fan. And now he has a website. Somewhat like Cornell, but perhaps a bit darker.

I am closer to getting my own work up on at least a blog, having unearthed my camera supplies, finally. I have also taken a vow at 43 things to take more pictures, for the first time in years, not including snaps of the Kiddo. Looking forward to sharing.

bits and pieces…

I’m feeling somewhat bad…well, not exactly bad…let’s say guilty, a little, about my previous rant regarding the newspaper. I’ve basically outgrown tantrums, for the most part. But I still dislike the Tribune. I think they’re cheap. I sympathise with the changes going on in the industry, particularly with newspapers, but just hacking away bluntly at a product without reader input is not the way to do business. The good news is that most of my favorite columnists will still be available. They’ll just be in other parts of the main paper, like the Life section. Hey, maybe the “food critic” I love to hate, Michael Gannon, will flounce in a huff. I can dream, anyway.

I’m still not satisfied though. Part of the appeal of the Northeast was finding perspectives and slices of life in one place, alongside each other, melding and complimenting each other. Now they’re scattered around like adopted stepchildren. It won’t be the same. Should I even care? Why does this bother me so much, I ask myself? Probably because with the exception of the library and a few local programs like the Nature Center and the local organic farm/art center, I haven’t felt as much community in Connecticut as I’ve felt other places I’ve lived. Everywhere I go,  even on vacation, I have to check out the local paper. And for seven years, this section of the paper has been my connection to the community I live in.

***

I’d mentioned in a meme that I have frequent strange dreams. This one reoccuring dream has me miffed. Every time it visits me, I wonder at the existential possibilities, if there are any.

In this dream, which I’ve had five or six times in the last year, I am foraging around in my favorite store…a thrift shop. I’ve never really been to this particular thrift shop, in fact, it doesn’t really exist except in my dreams, but I recognize it instantly. It’s on a street in Northampton, where I used to live. It’s huge. I find lots of vintage clothes and various treasures. Never any books though. Odd. There is one section that I try to get to every single time, but I wake up before I get there.

What does this mean? Is this fictional thrift shop some idea of heaven, only I haven’t gotten there yet? Or is it life, and this room represents something important that I haven’t gotten to yet? Or….does it mean merely that I spend too much time slumming around in thrift shops and need an intervention?

Dunno.

things I’ve noticed about the kiddo lately…

on a random Wednesday:

1. She seems to be a natural boss, er, “leader”. And has taken to telling little boys what to do on the playground. And… they let to her!
2. Thus, any concerns I’d had regarding her inheriting the shy gene have vanished.
3. She now considers marshmallow fluff to be a separate food group and a legitimate breakfast.
4. She could have knocked me over with a feather the other day when she exclaimed “Ohhhh, Mommy, you look so nice”. For the first time.
5. She’s already started raiding my closets and seems to have a preference for nice silk blouses.
6. Still has no particular interest in playing with dolls, though she’ll pick up my old Mrs. Beasley doll once in awhile and twirl her around.
7. Never, not even two months later, lets me forget that she’d wanted the yellow Crocs, not the green ones I’d selected as the wiser fashion choice. Dirty yellow Crocs. Ick.
8. Is obsessed with cupcakes lately. Homemade, of course.
9. Thinks parmesan cheese is called “farmer John cheese”.
10. She no longer qualifies as a “baby”…though it’s still my pet name for her.

seven things

I’ve recently become fascinated with memes and have noticed that this blog has become a bit cluttered with them. Sooooo….I’m restricting them to Mondays. Monday memes….corny, yes. Easy to remember, yes. So here’s my take on seven:

Seven things I dislike or scare me:
1. Violence
2. Ignorance, especially environmental, political, or racial
3. Suprresion
4. Peas
5. Men who really dislike women. Not talking about gay men here.
6. Big stores
7. I really don’t like to drive. .

Seven things I like:
1. Emm’s laughter
2. Pretty things
3. Making food, hats, pictures, collage….you get the idea
4. riding down a hill on my bike
5. Reading good fiction and poetry
6. Learning
7. Playing

Seven important possessions:
1. My daughter
2. My family
3. My friends
4. My mind
5. My bed
6. My eyes
7. My hands

Seven random facts about me:
1. I am the oldest child of six children
2. My thumbs are double jointed, which creeps people out when they notice that. I certainly have never broadcasted this little fact before now. I always thought everyone’s thumbs could do this.
3. I have the strangest, strangest dreams. Sometimes I’m not happy with this, but most of the time it’s fascinating in some Jungian way.
4. My eyes are a light blue.
5. I’m an ex tomboy. But I love pretty girly things too.
6. I fancy myself as something of a baseball expert. And I’m two stages away from calling the World Series teams correctly.
7. I’ve recently fallen in love with….birdwatching.

Seven things I plan to do before I die:
1. Learn to play the piano
2. Go to Japan
3. Go to France
4. To make better sense of it all, if it’s at all possible.
5. Learn to ride a motorcycle.
6. Ride a century on my bike. And I definitely can do this.
7. Have a freaking solo art show of my own :>

Seven things I have done:
1. Had a lovely daughter
2. And ate my words when she was born. Happily.
3. Lived in Europe.
4. Finally learned to crochet last year, after many failed attempts.
5. Acted in a play
6. Caught the chicken pox twice. It’s possible, really.
7. Made my own bread.

Seven things I’ll never do:(or do again)
1. never say never
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Seven celebrity crushes
1. Johnny Depp
2. Gael Garcia Bernas
3. George Clooney
4. Sean Penn
5. Bill Clinton
6. Bono
7. Peter Fonda in Easy Rider

literary meming

A book that changed my life:
The Tao Te Ching, without a doubt. It inspired me. Calmed me down. Taught me compassion, mindfulness, patience. So many other things. I let go of alot of fears after reading this book, and it brought me closer to terms with issues like death, loss, separation, etc. And opened a door into a fascination with other Eastern religions.

A book I’ve read more than once:
I’ve read A Prayer For Owen Meany many times. I love Owen.

A book I would take with me if I were stuck on a desert island:
Midnight’s Children. It never bores me.

A book that made me laugh:
The Water Method Man, by John Irving. All of his earlier works make me laugh, but this one probably the most.

A book that I wish had been written:
The God of Small Things.

A book that I wish had never been written:
Books need to be written. Even the ones I get mad at and throw against the wall when I finish them.

A book I’ve been meaning to read:
The Tin Drum has been sitting on my shelf for a year and made the move with me. I really should read it. And I want to actually finish The Idiot, all the names confuse me though.

I’m currently reading:
Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk. I could spend some time with Chuck and have fun. Such a twisted boy. Sick, sick, sick.

i hate the tribune

and I wish they’d leave my newpaper alone! I just read that one of my favorite Sunday pleasures, The Northeast, is shutting down in two weeks. Ever since the Trib bought the Hartford Courant, that paper has gone downhill. There are few things that make me rant more than seeing a favorite columnist cut, or some lame redesign with thinner content in my newspaper. Cutting down the paper is NOT going to motivate me to BUY the paper. Leave my freaking newspaper alone!

I hope the Trib’s Cubbies’s don’t win a World Series until the year 3999. Grrrr.

i love St. Bill….

Quote of the Day “They rediscover bin Laden every two years right before the election. If you had a business strategy that worked all the time that was premised on scaring the living daylights out of people, you just keep doing it.” – Bill Clinton, in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s Political Capital with Al Hunt, about the Republican strategy for the midterm elections.

Finally free of the assholes in Congress, Bill can say whatever he wants.

Fox interview on Sunday

I love him. I love him. I love him. He’s even great out of office. Bush can only dream of such a legacy.

snarfing happily…

on harvest mix. Never touched the stuff before Emm came along, now she’s got me hooked. It is one among her favorite candies. I like the pumpkins the best. And the candy corn must be the traditional white/orange/yellow kind, not the Indian corn. I have to nibble it section by section, with usually the white end first. They really don’t taste that different, by color, but I can’t bring myself to just chonk it down whole. Nibbling extends the pleasure, makes it a almost a ritual.

I feel sorry for cultures that don’t have Halloween. I love it almost more than Christmas. But then, we don’t have anything like Carnival, either. That’s what I think we need….a weeklong festival of Halloween/Carnival like activity, full of mad creativity and play. Seriously. There’s just not enough creativity and imagination infused into our culture. Learning would be so much easier and accessible if it were more creative. What scares people so about creativity? Failure? Perhaps.

C. and I almost made the mistake of depriving Emm of a vital part of childhood fantasy life in the name of honesty. We both felt foolish conjuring up stories of Santa Claus, only to eventually get caught in a lie. But fuck it, this year, Santa Claus is coming.

Let her run with it.

adorables…

Verness, by artist Shana Barry

Do you still like toys and puppets? I do.

Both of these artists craft beautiful characters rich in color and expression.

First, check out The Fofers, Shana Barry’s creations featuring Keema, Artzo, Otamo, and other fofers and dofers. They live on an enchanted island, north of north Eff. Spend some time there. Be sure to explore foferspace and get to know each fofer’s profile. Watch the movies at the movie house in Quicktime. Precious.

Then, click over to Elizabeth Doherty’s Gourmet Amigurumi, which features some of the best work in the hottest crochet trend I’ve ever seen. Mini owls, pussycats, snails, and more.

Both of these sites offer the works for purchase.

New York, New York

I love NY….

I just don’t want to live there….

On Labor Day, my dear mother traveled to NYC, escorted by my sisters T. and Pentyne, for the first time in her life. Ever the history buff, Mom chose to spend the day visiting Ground Zero and the Lady Liberty. She came away in good shape, and with a thirst to visit again. Which got me to thinking of my own experiences in the city. Soooo…this Wednesday’s randoms are about all things NY.

1. The first time I’d visited NY, I was convinced by my art teacher that the potential for something awful happening to me…say, being kidnapped and drafted into the white slave trade, or mugged of my entire possessions, including my clothes…was high. So fearful was I of this potential for disaster, that somewhere between boarding the bus and arrival at Grand Central Station, my face broke out into hideous hives that stayed with me the entire weekend.

2. And then, the first night… a bird; a pigeon, mostly likely, shat on my favorite sweater. Someone had the nerve to tell me that this was good luck. Uh. huh.

3. And at Chinatown, my pal Bonita ate a whole fish eye, raw, on a dare. It charmed only the waiters.

4. I did realize one burning heart’s desire, which was to attend art school in NY. I went to the School of Visual Arts, on a photography scholarship. And hated it. It was not like something out of Fame, like I’d imagined.

5. But I met my dear friend Felix Ginsberg there. This little place, The Chat N Chew, which is around Union Square, was something of a hangout for us. We went there because of their colorful ads, expecting some sort of charming greasy spoon, chock full of stories and characters. It wasn’t. We liked it anyway. The waiters actually do sit down and chat.It’s all yummy comfort food. Best mac-n-cheese I’ve ever had.

6. Julia Roberts lived catty corner to my building in Gramercy Park. The girls on the first floor had a watch going on for her in the first few months. As Felix and I stepped out to go grocery shopping one night, she was greeted by a gaggle of them screaming “Joooooooooooliaaaaaaaaa! Jooooooooooooooooooooooolia!” as she was walking her very large dog. She looked harrassed, annoyed, tired, and very thin in her baggy clothes.

7. At least when I lived there, the rains were more like mini monsoons. Felix had a pair of brown corderoys that, when we went out and she wore them, it would pour every. single. time.

8. I have…never been to the Statue of Liberty.

9. I worked at a place called The Door off of the Avenue of the Americas and Broome Street. It was a wonderful place for kids to take classes in art, English, dance, and music….as well as get legal and medical aid, and a hot meal. Of all of my students, I connected most with these kids.

10. I lived in NY for only a year, after having decided that the things I liked were things I could visit. In another life, perhaps it would be interesting to have a native city experience.