Cities Beneath the Sea

Moving Day

2011-07-25T19:13:00.001-06:00

I've finally moved to my own domain.

All new posts will appear at heathering.com

I just needed a clean slate and more control over the funtionality of the site.

Some squirrels are better than others

2011-06-23T07:30:00.000-06:00

This week is all about the little things.

♥ New beads from the gem and mineral show

♥ The Raveonettes - Raven in the Grave

♥ Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

♥ Chili Rellenos at the Blue Bonnet

♥ Stargate Universe (The ONLY decent Stargate series)

♥ Finding my lost camera

♥ The squirrel ransom I received in the mail (I know who you are, and I highly suggest ensuring the safety of said squirrel... You DON'T want to mess with squirrel karma...)

I'm just trying to get through until August without obsessing too much about school. It's difficult for me to hurry up and then wait. I don't want to lose the momentum that I've built up, and unfortunately, there's nothing else to do on that front at this moment.

What I should be doing is enjoying the summer for what it is. I'll be busier than I'm used to soon enough, and this would be an excellent time to just sit back and appreciate the sun and the trees and the flowers.

Warm Hearted Thursday

2011-06-09T21:26:00.009-06:00

Things that made me happy this week

My Mom is in town, and if I could kidnap her and keep her all year long, I would. Yesterday, I took the whole day off, and we went to breakfast, to the zoo, and to dinner. Some of the highlights were pancakes, sea lions, and lorikeets. And there was the majestic hornbill that flew to a perch above my head...so close that my heart may have skipped a beat. And miniature antelope, and laughter, and margaritas, and more laughter, and Mexican food, and heartfelt conversation. I haven't had that wonderful of a day in a long, long time.

Little things that brought me joy

Sunshine and barbecue ♥ registering for classes ♥ fresh tomato and basil pizza ♥ the scent of lilacs ♥ reassuring words from friends

Things I love Thursday: Let's get Ducky

2011-06-02T22:04:00.000-06:00

Things that made me happy this week

Turning the yellow car into a rubber duck - My husband's MR2 is bright yellow, and what do you do with a blindingly yellow car? You paint it up like a rubber ducky, and you drive around catching smiles, of course!

Getting my assessment out of the way - I scored perfectly in writing and reading. but as expected, I didn't do very well in math. I'm okay with that. I'm just glad the assessment has been completed. It was an unchecked item on a list, and it was causing me stress. There are many other unchecked items, but small victories are worth celebrating.

Little things that brought me joy

Lush Karma Kream and Ocean Salt ♥ Making silly rubber ducky earrings to match the silly car ♥ Bringing home a fuscia plant ♥ Seeing Amanda Louise Spayd's work in motion ♥ Christoph bought me the graphic effects and typographic treatments idea index. I love this series of books. Inspiration abounds.

Feliz Jueves

2011-05-26T07:30:00.001-06:00

Things that made me happy this week

Registering to go back to school - The idea of going back to school has been in the back of my mind for quite a while, but life always seems to get in the way. I've finally decided that it just can't wait any longer. I'm 34 years old, and I've always had a belief that success, for me, is tied to my level of education.

I've been to school twice before, and while I've done exceedingly well in most of my classes, I've never completed my studies...mainly because I tend to choose my path based on romantic notions, and then I get scared when I hear others talking about impracticality, lack of jobs, etc.

This time, I'm approaching school with a level of maturity that I didn't have before, and while I may not have the energy that I had the first time around, I do have the desire. I don't yet know exactly what I'm going to study, but I have some time to work on my core classes before I have to declare a major. I'm exploring the idea of a major in social work with a minor in Spanish language. There are so many different directions that I could take with that focus of study, and they all contribute to society in an altruistic way. That's important to me.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

Little things that brought me joy

Trying out geocaching. ♥ A high school graduation party for a lovely girl who is soon beginning an amazing adventure in the heart of New York City ♥ Finishing my summer inspired collage ♥ Seeing my good friends share their product on television (I'm proud of you both!) ♥ CDC zombie apocalypse preparedness advice. Good job to those who realize that entertainment CAN be used to present information effectively. ♥ Masterpiece Mystery's Sherlock. I usually dislike modern adaptations, but this one worked very well. ♥ Riding in the car with the T-tops off ♥ Doting on my super dogs ♥ My cilantro seedlings are out of control!

Glad Torsdag

2011-05-19T07:30:00.001-06:00

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins ♥ Taking the Myers-Briggs test (INFJ) ♥ Fever Ray ♥ Our Cilantro seedlings are growing like mad ♥ Nag Champa ♥ Receiving artwork handmade by Annie ♥ Delica Seed Beads ♥ Collaging with color

And that's all I've got this week. I've been too busy doing work things to pay attention to the world outside the office. Ebb and flow, ebb and flow, ebb and flow...

Things I love Thursday

2011-05-11T17:23:00.000-06:00

Things that made me happy this week

Mother's Day

We took Christoph's Mom to the Denver Botanic Gardens and to lunch. There are a large number of flowers in bloom, and the colors and scents are breathtaking. I'd like to go back on a less busy day and just laze around in the Japanese Garden, which is one of my favorites. It's aesthetically appealing and peaceful, and I like to watch the koi.

After the gardens, we went to lunch at Racine's, and I had the Ahi Salad Niçoise which was delicious once I picked out the anchovies... The conversation was good, and everyone had a good time.

Seedlings

Our seedlings are starting to sprout. I'm most excited about the cilantro, because if we grow it successfully, it means lots of homemade salsa. ♥

Little things that brought me joy

Wandering through the park with my camera ♥ Galore by Michael Crummey ♥Watching quirky movies with Christoph ♥ Fresh strawberries ♥ Spring rain

Web Candy

2011-05-07T10:37:00.020-06:00

The Day Zero: 101 Things in 1001 Days Project seems like a good timeline for accomplishing some serious and fun goals. I'm still working on my list.

The yellow house on benefit street is for sale. Anyone want to be my benefactor?

I love Ricardo Fumenal's illustrations.

Carisa Swenson at Goblin Fruit Studio creates whimsical beasties from paperclay.

Amanda Louise Spayd will be selling a limited number of these lovely ladies.

Sofia Ajram is doing some magical things with light.

I like the impermanence of the sand dancer's artwork.

Things I love Thursday

2011-05-05T08:00:00.002-06:00

A few of the blogs that I read participate in "Things I love Thursday," and I like the concept of taking the time to appreciate the good things in life.

So without further adieu, here's my TiLT list for the week. (We'll see if I can actually manage to make this a weekly event. I'm not promising anything, as I'm fantastic at neglecting this space...)

Things that made me happy this week

Coffee with old friends - There's nothing like reconnecting with kindred spirits that you haven't seen in ages. I went to Common Grounds with two friends (J & J) that I've known since Junior High School but haven't seen in more than ten and fifteen years, respectively. They're now engaged, and it feels good to know that they're doing well. It was a comfortable reunion without any of the awkwardness that sometimes happens when large periods of time have passed between meetings. I still feel the same, easy connection that I always have with these two individuals, and I hope we'll meet again in the near future.

Urban Apartment Gardening - Christoph and I are trying our hand at growing some herbs and vegetables in our apartment. We don't have a balcony, so we're limited in the types of plants that we can grow, but it feels good to make the effort. We planted two varieties of strawberries, chocolate mint, lettuce basil, chives, and swiss chard. We're also trying to seed English thyme, dotted mint, and cilantro. I expect that some of these plants will flourish, but I'm worried that the basil and the strawberries may not do as well. From what I understand, most basil needs full sunlight, and we have an east facing exposure which limits the amount of light that we get. It could be worse, but it could be much better. We do have some grow lights, but it's just not the same as unadulterated sunlight.

Little things that brought me joy

Starting a 101 in a 1001 list ♥ new Chuck Taylors ♥ dogs, dogs, dogs ♥ A refrigerator full of in season fruits and vegetables ♥ receiving the book Inside of a Dog as a gift ♥ Guided by Voices ♥ shopping for new dishes with Christoph ♥ reading about animal assisted therapy ♥ working on a spring inspired digital collage ♥ The "rosehips winestained lips" playlist on my ipod (which I think I've actually had on rotation for nearly a year)

Weird Finnish sketch comedy.

Amusing Swedish boys practicing their death vocals.

Comment Wonkiness

2011-05-04T21:48:00.003-06:00

For some reason, my comment notices haven't been coming into my e-mail properly, so I've missed quite a few comments that I didn't know were there. Sorry about that!

Mindfulness

2011-03-31T20:21:00.003-06:00

My goal this week has been to meditate each morning for ten minutes. It seems like such a short amount of time. I thought, "no problem."

Yeah, right...

I'm amazed at how often my mind wanders, usually to negative things in the past or scenarios in the future that sometimes don't even belong to me. I re-live conversations, complete my work ten times over, and stress about situations that haven't even happened. It's no small wonder that my "now" feels chaotic. In my mind, it really is!

My desire is to become a more mindful person who lives in and enjoys the moment while it's happening. Someone who realizes that now is always the time to make life better, because yesterday is gone, and tomorrow doesn't exist until you're actually there.

It's easy to identify, but being an anxiety ridden stress fiend makes the journey a bit more difficult. I'll continue my ten minutes of meditation each morning and take it one day at a time, I guess.

Buying a House - Reason #2

2011-01-25T18:54:00.004-07:00

Someone set the apartment building on fire today!

No kidding. The lovely people living in the apartment across from the laundry room decided that it was a good idea to cook a bunch of food and leave it unattended.

Christoph went downstairs to put in a load of laundry, and the smoke detector was going off and smoke was pouring from beneath the neighbor's door. No one was home, so Christoph called the management, and the fire department came with four trucks and successfully put out the fire. Thank you fire department!

Now the building wreaks of smoke, and we're all a little bit freaked out, but at least everyone is unharmed.

Even so...this is another reason to move into my own home. I just don't trust my neighbors.

Buying a House - Reason #1 / Apt Laundry Sucks

2011-01-23T11:58:00.007-07:00

My goal for 2011 is to buy a small house that I can call my own. I've been working towards this goal for quite some time, but now I have a solid timeline for achieving my goal...loan application in March, contract in April/May, closing by the time that my lease is up at the end of June.

This is a scary step for me, and I need to remind myself often of the reasons that I want to take this big-girl step even though it will add significant responsibility to my life.

Reason #1 - My least favorite domestic chore is laundry. The amount of anxiety that it causes is ridiculous considering that it's a fairly passive activity. Thing is...the laundry room is on the lower level of the apartment building, and, to get there, I have to make my way past an area that's often filled with doggie landmines left by the disabled man in 1B. He's a lonely man, and he has a pug to keep him company. Unfortunately, pugs are notoriously difficult to train, and he doesn't have the mobility or stamina to take on the proper care and feeding of any breed of dog, let alone a hyperactive pug puppy. I'm not a big meanie. I understand his need for companionship, and when I find the messes, I quietly clean them up and go on about my business, but this is not the environment where I want to live.

Once, I get to the laundry room, the chances of actually getting a load into the washing machine are slim. Sometimes, I have to wait all day before I can get access to the washing machine, and if the person ahead of me is like many people in the building, I'll have to wait ages for them to remove their laundry from the dryer when the cycle is complete. I'm not above taking their stuff out and putting it on top of the Dryer when they leave it there for hours, but I hate using that tactic, because laundry is kind of a personal thing. I don't want strangers touching my intimate wear, and I sure as hell don't want to touch someone else's skid-stained underoos. Eww... (and no, I'm not kidding. I've seen it before.)

Add the fact that the laundry room is always filthy and filled with spiders, and I think I've made a pretty clear case for not wanting to do my laundry each week.

What I do want is:

My own washer/dryer with energy star ratings.
To be able to get up in the morning and do laundry in my underwear or naked!
To do laundry on MY timeline, day or night
To recycle my gray water instead of dumping it down the drain

I don't think that's too much to ask, and so I'm going to make it happen come hell or high water.

Made from Scratch by Jenna Woginrich

2011-01-02T12:00:00.002-07:00

My goodreads review of my first read of 2011.

This is a delightful memoir about the path to urban homesteading and greater sustainability. Jenna Woginrich is both charming and amusing as she tells about her beginning and continued efforts as a hobby farmer.

This is not a how-to book (although it's generously packed full of information and resources) as much as it's an inspirational piece explaining all of the things that can go wrong (and right!) when you're learning how to reconnect with your pioneer roots.

The chapters are broken down by subject matter, and Jenna covers the keeping of chickens, gardening, beekeeping, country cooking, antiquing, making clothing, working house dogs, angora rabbits for shearing, and Appalachian music.

Highly recommended as a beginning piece for people who are interested in pursuing a more sustainable lifestyle.

Books Read in 2010

2011-01-01T13:10:00.003-07:00

My annual list of books read throughout the year. Sadly, I didn't have as much time to read this year, but I did consume some truly wonderful books.

The Martha Rules: 10 Essentials for Achieving Success as You Start, Grow, or Manage a Business - Martha Stewart (This was an odd choice for me, but it was interesting. Martha Stewart is clever and highly driven. Lots of good business advice here.)
Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
Tethered - Amy MacKinnon
The Year of the Flood - Margaret Atwood (Margaret Atwood could write the phone book, and I'd read it.)
Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Eye opening book written by an amazing woman. Everyone should read this book.)
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals - Michael Pollan (Another great book. Well written and informative)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Rough, but worthwhile)
The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine - Somaly Mam (Somaly Mam is another amazing woman. Thank you to Celeste for introducing me to her story)
The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books - Francesca Lia Block (I want to BE Weetzie)
Money Shot - Christa Faust

Goodbye 2010

2010-12-31T18:52:00.005-07:00

2010 or the year she fell from dizzying heights and lived to tell the tale.

Honestly, I have no desire to recap 2010, because it would sound like a bad country song. Lost my dad. Lost my dog... It was a suckfest of year, and I'm glad to see it go.

2011 will be much different. I'm looking forward to setting and achieving ambitious goals and getting reconnected with my own creativity. Maybe I'll even blog more often...

Tonight, I'm hanging out at home with my Christoph, Nietzsche, and newest family member, Aiko. Just the way I like it. :)

I hope everyone has a beautiful end of year and even better new year. Stay safe!

To cry or not to cry?

2010-08-14T10:18:00.007-06:00

Dad's been in the hospital for a week, and my house and my heart are a mess. I've been going from morning until night with little time to just stop and breathe. This morning, I decided to sleep in and move more slowly before heading out to take care of business. I just need some time in my house with my dogs and my husband. Get up, make a cup of coffee, catch up on RSS feeds, and just relax.

Alas, the first thing I did after making my coffee was spill the whole thing across the kitchen floor. No! No! No! and Doesn't that just figure? were my first thoughts, but really, what good does it do to cry over spilled coffee? So, instead, I marveled at how interesting it looks pooling on the cheap linoleum...and then I mopped it up and started over.

It wants to be incorporated into a sepia stained collage.

This kind of mind shifting exercise is the only way that I can get through these dark situations without crumbling into little pieces. There's beauty in every moment, I just have to be open to it.

Breakfast Magic

2010-08-12T07:58:00.006-06:00

Today, I'm fulfilled by small pleasures

like the galaxy in my morning coffee.

Evelyn Evelyn

2010-04-10T19:12:00.004-06:00

I've been listening to the Evelyn Evelyn album since its release, and with each play, I love it more.

I'm aware of the controversy surrounding the album, and I just don't care. This project is heartfelt, and I'm getting something quite different from its meaning than the naysayers who feel that Amanda Palmer is promoting stereotypes about disabled people that keep them marginalized.

I disagree.

The key to Amanda Palmer's brilliance is less about her theatrics (even though they're lovely) and more about the way that she captures the many facets of human emotion within her songs. She's an artist who isn't mono-dimensional, and in one album, she's captured loneliness, anger, joy, compassion, love, abuse, irony... It's not always "feel good," but art doesn't have to be. It tells a story, outrageous or mundane. It paints a picture. It stirs something within. It makes you remember that you're alive and that you have emotions, both dark and light.

There are a large number of stories that show disabled people overcoming obstacles, and they're generally received positively. In my not so humble opinion, the negative reaction to this album has more to do with style than anything else. It doesn't have the subtle, room with a view in a house by a pond feeling. You can whisper, but you should never scream.

Symptom Recital by Dorothy Parker

2010-02-15T10:00:00.001-07:00

I do not like my state of mind;
I'm bitter, querulous, unkind.
I hate my legs, I hate my hands,
I do not yearn for lovelier lands.
I dread the dawn's recurrent light;
I hate to go to bed at night.
I snoot at simple, earnest folk.
I cannot take the simplest joke.
I find no peace in paint or type.
My world is but a lot of tripe.
I'm disillusioned, empty-breasted.
For what I think, I'd be arrested.
I am not sick. I am not well.
My quondam dreams are shot to hell.
My soul is crushed, my spirit sore:
I do not like me any more.
I cavil, quarrel, grumble, grouse.
I ponder on the narrow house.
I shudder at the thought of men.
I'm due to fall in love again.

Ah Cama-Sotz - Decline Of The Roman Empire

2010-01-21T22:18:00.001-07:00

Loving this song at the moment.

Light is Calling

2009-10-04T20:52:00.005-06:00

Bill Morrison is an avante garde film director from New York. In 2004, he teamed up with composer, Michael Gordon, to create a short film called Light is Calling. It was composed by using the same techniques that were used in his earlier film Decasia to show the impermanent nature of film. He borrowed archival footage from facilities such as the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, and he spliced them together, using computer technology to enhance the composition and decay. None of the original archived film was further damaged or destroyed to create the film.

It's captivating and extraordinarily beautiful. I highly recommend viewing it in High Quality to catch more of the detail.

Beautiful Elk

2009-08-01T19:03:00.001-06:00

I went on a ride today, and I came across these lovely elk. They were hiding in a grove of trees, and some gentlemen were kind enough to point them out. I'm still using my crappy cell phone camera, but you get the idea.

Green winds and red trees

2009-08-01T12:20:00.002-06:00

August 1st and nearly a month since my last post. It doesn't feel like it's been that long, but I live and love among the temporally challenged.

The lazy recap: C's Birthday, C and my anniversary (5 years married, 12 years as a couple), The wedding of two dear friends, a dead and now resuscitated car, the painting of doors and shelves, a bit of cooking, a lot of Dr. Who, Closet Land (great film), Read: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard.

But...on to the true purpose of my post:

Literary Diversions on the web that make me very happy, indeed:

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairlyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

The Red Tree by Caitlín R. Kiernan

Of bloody apples and poisoned orchards

The Sea Angler - Faith and the Muse

2009-07-05T22:36:00.009-06:00

The Sea Angler
Musical Composition Faith and the Muse
Words written by Goethe

There was a gentle angler who was angling in the sea
With heart as cold as only heart untaught of love can be
When suddenly the water rushed and swelled and up there sprang
A humid maid of beauty's mold and thus to him she sang

"Why dost thou strive so artfully to lure my brood away
And leave them to die beneath the sun's all scorching ray?
Couldst thou but tell how happy are the fish that swim below?
Thou wouldst with me taste of joy which earth can never know."

The water rushed the water swelled and touched his naked feet
And fancy whispered to his heart it was a love pledge sweet
She sang another siren lay more 'witching than before
Half-pulled half-plunging down he sank and ne'er was heard of more.

On cycling and blogging

2009-07-05T10:14:00.002-06:00

Only one ride this week, and it was only notable because 4.5 miles in, the wind and torrential rain came pouring down. We were stopped at a restaurant having dessert, so we waited it out, and then when we left, C and I had his & hers bike crashes. Isn't that sweet?

I wish I could blame some outside factor for my wreck, but the truth is that I tried to stop and my foot got stuck in the peddle basket. I went down while nearly standing still, so there was little damage. A bruised knee and a short-lived dose of embarassment.

C's wreck wasn't so friendly. The path was covered in water, and he took a sharp turn onto a wooden bridge at twenty miles per hour. His tire slid on the water, and he went down hard. The fork on his bike was trashed, and he's pretty banged up, but really, it could have been much worse. Bruises and road rash aren't the end of the world. He is having separation anxiety from his bike, though.

The rest of my week was filled with hospital visits and caretaking. I thought I was done with this for a while, but a new set of problems has arisen with another member of my family. I'm not emotionally ready to go into any detail, although my therapist has encouraged me to blog about my experiences. I'm just not sure how I feel about it. Up to this point, my blog hasn't had a significant amount of personal information in it. It was more of a place to share things of interest. I also feel that it's important to protect the privacy of other people who are involved. I've been trying to think of a way to share my experiences that 1.) doesn't violate outside trusts, 2.) helps me to process 3.) adds something of value to the blogosphere. I'm not interested in spreading negativity, but if my experiences could help someone else going through the same things, that wouldn't be a bad thing.

I haven't decided whether or not to share additional information, but I did want to share my blogging dilemma. The blogs that I read most often and am most inspired by do tend to share a lot of personal information, and I often wonder if those bloggers experience the same sort of dilemmas that I'm experiencing...or are they just that much more open?

Cormorants, slithering snakes, and two suns

2009-06-24T17:09:00.007-06:00

The weather isn't very nice today, but I went for a ride anyway. I stopped to watch some beautiful birds which I think were probably cormorants. I wasn't close enough to see a lot of detail, and I still haven't figured out how to pack my camera which has a decent zoom lens. This photo only shows three little black dots on the far side of the creek. Theyre beautiful black water birds, and when I took the photo, they were tarting it up, as birds do.

I also came across another snake. I don't know what kind it is. Patternwise, it looks like a common kingsnake, but I don't think they're really supposed to be hanging around in the Denver area....but really, what do I know about snake turf? Nothing. If someone else has a clue, please do share.

On today's ride, I was listening to Bat for Lashes. I bought the album Two Suns, and I'm completely smitten. At times, it reminds me of Kate Bush, Bjork, and/or Tori Amos, but I don't want to give the impression that I like Bat for Lashes because it sounds like someone else. The music is unique, and it stands on its own.

If she knew what she wanted...

2009-06-21T20:48:00.005-06:00

I've gone on a few more rides since the last time I posted, and I'm starting to notice the gradual building of muscle in my legs. This is pleasing to me, as I've always been rather waifish, and I relish the idea of having some muscle. I don't need to be completely ripped, but it would be nice to feel a bit less fragile than I always have.

Photo from today's ride. Prairie dogs and blue sky.

Watching... Alternating between Dr. Who and Robin Hood. We also have the Czech film Daisies sitting here, but we haven't watched it yet. I'm thinking it will be this week sometime.

Reading... Finished Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, but I need a break before I tackle the rest of the series. It was feeling a bit sluggish at the end. I just started A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, because it's one of Ich Mag Sie Nicht's favorite novels. She has great taste in literature.

Listening... This week, I've mostly listened to music during my rides. A lot of VNV Nation, Apoptygma Berzerk, and Concrete Blonde.

Wanting... fun in the sun, short-term goals

Trying... to focus on something. Anything, really.

Beauty is never far away.

2009-06-10T19:06:00.009-06:00

On Saturday I rode 29 miles. It wasn't planned, as the furthest I'd ridden prior was approximately eight miles. It was just such a beautiful day that I kept on going until I found myself at Confluence Park. C and I stopped at the Starbucks there. I drank a caramel frappaccino, and we shared a croissant. I talked to the pigeons, soaked up the sun, and then turned around and headed back home on my bicycle.

On my way back, I saw a family of foxes: one adult and three adolescents. Unfortunately, I only managed to capture three of them in the picture, and it's not a very good picture. I need to figure out a way to pack my camera. The cell phone just doesn't do it for me.

On the way home, I was so tired that I wasn't sure I was going to make it, but I did, and it felt like quite an accomplishment. Not bad for a girl who is often described as a china doll.

One thing I did realize though... I listen to very mellow, melancholy music more often than I realized. I grabbed my ipod, and I put it on shuffle. Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins, Kristin Hersh, Faun Fables... It's all great, but you just can't ride to it. A lesson learned.

Today, I rode approximately nine miles. It seems so small compared to Saturday's ride, but I think I need to do a lot more in the way of shorter rides to build up my endurance. It rained most of the way, and during the heaviest downpour, C and I stood under an underpass and watched the clouds, geese, river, etc. When we left, I took a photograph of a beautiful double rainbow. It's still a cell phone picture, but the beauty of it is intact.

Lesson learned, today's ride was accompanied by VNV Nation.

Sweet Clover

2009-05-31T15:28:00.003-06:00

My family is in town, and we went to the local flea market yesterday. I brought home this lovely antique bottle of Rawleigh's Sweet Clover. There's no date on the label, and I haven't been able to locate any additional information online. I think it's quite pretty, though.

Meandering

2009-05-28T08:03:00.002-06:00

Watching... "Black Books" (a British television series about the misanthropic proprietor of a bookshop)

Reading... "Red Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson. I'm nearly finished with this and trying to decide if I want to move on to the next book in the series or read something else in between.

Listening... Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton have been on heavy rotation.

Drinking... I've been drinking a lot of water, but a coffee would be brilliant at the moment.

Wanting... a few more hours of sleep, new music to enjoy, a coffee...

Trying... to be productive with my time, but it isn't working very well. At this moment, I'm sort of meandering through life without much direction or meaning. A certain amount of focus and a couple of concrete goals would be lovely.

Life is full of glamour

2009-05-20T16:28:00.010-06:00

I have two male pugs. One of those pugs is an alpha male called Nietzsche. We walk through the park three times a day, and he strategically rations his urine so that he can mark as many things as possible while he's outside...a little drip here, a little drip there.

Today was veterinarian day, and my job was to collect a urine sample. They gave me a shallow plastic tray to collect it in, a syringe to remove it from the tray, and a vial to fill. It seemed like a simple enough task, but things are rarely what they seem.

I've followed the little fuzzy monster on two separate walks through the park with onlookers aplenty, and my vial is still only 1/3rd of the way full. He peed on plants, trees, shrubs, signs, my hands... and only 1/3rd of the frelling vial.

This is not a glamorous life that I lead, but I love my snorty, little dog.

Just an update

2009-05-09T17:57:00.004-06:00

I've not felt that I've had a lot to say recently. I'm just out living life to the best of my ability, and trying (not always successfully) to avoid life drama.

I did buy an old vintage bicycle. I've never really enjoyed cycling, but my husband bought a bicycle, and he loves it. These things are always more fun with two, so I finally agreed to give it a shot. So far it hasn't been bad, but I definitely need to develop some of the muscles that it takes to ride a bike. My longest ride, to date, has been eight miles, and I was exhausted when it was done...yet strangely satisfied.

Here's a picture of the bike. She's a vintage Motobecane, and she doesn't yet have a name (though I'm considering Miette as a tribute to The City of Lost Children. A French bicycle needs a French name, yes?)

We Are Sinking (German Coast Guard) (Berlitz Ad)

2009-03-13T20:35:00.001-06:00

This cracked me up...

The Bunyip Song

2009-02-24T20:27:00.001-07:00

Beloved song from my childhood. If I had any musical talent, I would cover this in a heartbeat.

RSPCA - Simon's Sister's Dog 'Fed Up'

2009-02-03T20:03:00.001-07:00

So true...

Water for Elephants

2009-01-13T21:26:00.005-07:00

I recently finished Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, a quick and interesting read about a train circus in 1930s America. I'm captivated by the little glimpses into depression-era circus life: The heirarchy of the roustabouts and performers, the presence of liquor amidst prohibition, the disturbing treatment of the menagerie, the cooch tent, the practice of redlighting, etc... Sara Gruen covered many bases, and she developed a good portion of the plot around actual incidents that happened across several historical American circuses. There are also period photographs peppered throughout the book, which adds to its nostalgic charm.

In addition to drawing me in from a historical perspective, Water for Elephants had a tendency to tug on my heartstrings. It touched on aging, mortality, familial relationships, cruelty, and loneliness in ways that managed to knock me on my ass repeatedly. It's not always comfortable, but I appreciate it when a book can provoke that kind of an emotional response.

2008 Reads

2009-01-05T21:41:00.012-07:00

This is a list of books I read in 2008, which I've been tracking on goodreads.

my '2008-reads' shelf:

The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving - Best use of a taxidermied dog as a plot device.
Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee, J.M.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier - Gothic noir. Yum.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
The Secret History by Donna Tartt - Possibly my favorite read this year.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Coastliners: A Novel by Joanne Harris
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - Inspiring
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - Reread. I adore this novel.
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham - Totally absorbing. I love postapocalyptic fiction.
Trilby by George Du Maurier
Sundiver by David Brin
The Postman by David Brin
Spook Country by William Gibson
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke - Excellent read, but I was somewhat disappointed with the ending.
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Lucy Maud
The Godfather by Mario Puzo - I haven't seen the movie, and the book was mediocre.
The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente - Awesome. A series of tales connected Scheherazade style.
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, Margaret - Absorbing read. Atwood is a great writer.
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami - Terribly depressing, but beautiful.
My Antonia by Willa Cather
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot - Hilarious and charming.

Palimpsest Trailer

2009-01-05T19:46:00.001-07:00

I like the work of Catherynne M. Valente, and she's created a trailer for her upcoming book Palimpsest, which is due out in February. This is the first trailer that I've seen for a book, and it's a great idea!

Beautiful Trilobites

2008-12-28T22:34:00.005-07:00

I don't bake, and my cooking is merely tolerable, but I'm tempted to make these trilobite cookies. Aren't they clever?

Build A Squid

2008-12-15T22:17:00.003-07:00

I've been playing with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa's Build A Squid program. This is Sweetpea. Just look into those beautiful eyes.

He's always watching...

2008-12-14T11:23:00.002-07:00

Because Santa is creepy, I give you the Santa scene from The City of Lost Children, a beautiful and brilliant film that I adore.

Teddy Bears in Space

2008-12-11T21:26:00.001-07:00

Brilliant!

The City in the Sea

2008-12-10T21:44:00.003-07:00

Look at what IchMagSieNicht posted for me because she rocks. It's Edgar Allen Poe, and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

There are, in fact, many warm and fuzzy things (don't mind the talons) posted on IchMagSieNicht's blog, A Clockwork Door Hinge. Peek inside, but don't let the monsters out.

Habanera

2008-12-04T21:58:00.001-07:00

Because it made me smile today.

Holiday Gift Giving

2008-11-30T11:54:00.010-07:00

Black Friday

There are over three hundred million people in this country, and you all want to go shopping on the same day?

Hmm...what happens when you place a dense population of humans within a confined space? Well...in the rest of the world's animal populations, increased population density within a limited space inevitably leads to aggression (which is probably why people beat the crap out of each other in order to obtain the latest and greatest toys, stampede and kill employees to get to the toys first, and sometimes even shoot each other in toy stores.)

What's really sad about this scenario is that most animals will fight over limited resources that are necessary for survival, but humans are fighting for toys. That's just pure stupidity.

Buy Nothing Day

As a response to the absurdity of Black Friday, we also have Buy Nothing Day when humans protest rampant consumerism by abstaining from making any purchases for one day.

What good does it do if a person is going to make a large number of purchases the next day?

It would be much more effective if people would pay attention to their consumption habits every day of the year. It doesn't have to be looked at from an all or nothing perspective. People buy things, and that's not necessarily negative if the objects are actually wanted and used. The unfortunate thing about the Christmas holiday is that people feel obligated to buy gifts for others, and they often purchase items that are appreciated for one day (because it's "the thought that counts") but shortly thereafter, the items find their way to the rubbish bin and then the landfill. Usually this happens because we often don't know each other as well as we think we do.

My suggestion is to really stop and think about what you're purchasing, whether it be for yourself or someone else. If you're not sure whether it will be well used, maybe you should put it down until you know for sure. If the problem stems from not knowing someone well enough to buy them a gift that they'll use, I would ask myself why you feel obligated to buy them a gift in the first place? Once you decide if it's someone that you really care enough about to buy a gift for, perhaps its time to sit down and get to know them better rather than buying them a non-meaningful gift as a token. Isn't connection with people what the holidays are supposed to be about?

Lastly, if you're the recipient of an unwanted gift, please don't throw it away or stuff it in a closet to be thrown away at a later date. Recycle it. Freecycle it. Make art out of it. Sell it and use the money to buy something you really want... Whatever. Just don't let it become another part of our throw away culture.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T10:28:00.004-07:00

As American children, we learn about the Thanksgiving holiday through historical tales that have been disinfected and repackaged without the violence and immorality that actually occurred. There are a number of reasons why I don't support this type of historical revisionism, but I don't want to go into that here. What I want to say is that I do support the idea of taking the time to remember things to be thankful for. It's an exercise that people of all cultures and nationalities can benefit from at any time of the year.

Things that I'm thankful for at this moment.

1. This morning's news shows that the siege in Mumbai is over. I'm deeply thankful for this, and my sympathy goes out to the victims. Targeting civilians with violence is always wrong.

2. I'm thankful for the relationships that I've developed with my family, friends, and animals. They're certainly not perfect relationships, but they're always worth the time and effort that it takes to sustain them.

3. I'm thankful that I have employment during a time when many people are struggling against downsizing and a receding economy. Being able to work is a privilege.

4. I'm thankful that the people in my life are relatively healthy. I've had my fill of illness within my circle, and I'm looking forward to a few years without having to face the inevitability of mortality. I need the healing time.

5. I'm thankful for the historical figures who have been passionate and observant enough to make discoveries that effect my life every day. This includes every individual throughout history that has contributed to the development of indoor plumbing and modern sanitation practices. It includes the scientists who discovered antibiotics and other advances in medicine, and it especially includes those figures who were willing to make these discoveries at the cost of their own lives. Many scientists have struggled against superstition throughout the ages, and I thank them for it.

6. In many ways artists and scientists are alike because they view the world with a sense of wonder. I'm thankful for that sense of wonder, and I'm also thankful that there are creative people using a variety of mediums (music, drama, literature...) to paint pictures of the world from their own perspectives. This is what gets me through every day of my life.

Add-Art Notes

2008-11-26T08:20:00.001-07:00

I've been using the Add-Art plug-in for Firefox, because I love the idea of replacing advertising with virtual art exhibits. I have noticed a few usability problems within the past two months, though.

1. The most recent show featured animated artwork that was really annoying in conjunction with browsing. It distracted from the main content of the pages I was viewing, and I often found that I had to turn the plug-in off in order to focus. I have no problem with animated artwork, but it just doesn't work for me in this format in the same way that animated ads don't work for me.

2. Prior to the animation, there was a series of election related photographs. There was nothing wrong with the photographs. Actually, they were quite good. The problem I ran into is that a lot of pages write articles and place advertisements next to them. Replacing the advertisement with a news oriented photograph that wasn't related to the article caused some temporary confusion. It didn't take long to realize what was going on, but the problem occurred several times.

So. I'm still all for replacing ads with art, but these are exhibits that didn't work for me on a practical basis.

Madeline von Foerster

2008-11-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

Madeline von Foerster

Hey There Chthulhu

2008-11-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

Eben Brooks, Thank you for amusing me so.

Sam Weber

2008-11-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

Sam Weber Illustration

Storytelling Platforms

2008-11-16T15:35:00.008-07:00

I just watched a very interesting video about Storytelling Platforms. The speaker is Jonathan Harris at the 2008 Pop!Tech Conference. (All of the other videos from the conference are worth watching as well, including the ones from past years)

Storytelling Platforms by Jonathan Harris

Also, one of the platforms that Jonathan mentions is We Feel Fine. It's fascinating.

Judith McMillan

2008-11-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

I love the x-ray photography of Judith McMillan. It has a certain ethereal quality to it.

The X-Ray Art of Judith McMillan

Jeff Klapperich

2008-11-08T11:26:00.008-07:00

Last night, C and I went to an art opening for an acquaintance, Jeff Klapperich, and it was lovely.

I don't know even know how to properly explain what Jeff does because his process is so detailed. Many people, at first glance, believe that his work is done digitally, but it's not. This is purely a photographic process using multiple exposures that reach into numbers that cause most professional photographers to drop their jaws a bit (or at least, the photographers that were at the opening last night). There is also no human exposure in the image. The illusion is created using a sort of layered stenciling process and a camera modification that only jeff could explain...and probably not to a photographic layman like myself. The backgrounds are pieces of art in their own right that are meticulously assembled from various objects to work with the stencils and convey the idea in the final piece.

In person, at a large scale, these pieces are just beautiful. I don't know if the full effect can be seen online in a smaller format, but I want to share them anyway. Here are a few of my personal favorites.

Sleep

The Prognosticator

The Strategist

Tiffany Bozic

2008-11-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

Tiffany Bozic's Website

Ampersand - Amanda Palmer

2008-10-30T20:41:00.000-06:00

Constant fixture in my head this week...

Science is our future

2008-10-29T12:25:00.004-06:00

Lawrence M. Krauss published an opinion piece with the Los Angeles Times that addresses something that's been bothering me about the McCain/Palin ticket.

McCain's science earmark error

I find it interesting that there's so much focus on the "new energy economy," and yet both of these candidates have consistently made statements that belittle the importance of scientific research and education.

I want to know how McCain and Palin expect this new energy technology to come about, because I'm pretty sure that it's not going to create itself. Call me crazy, but I'm thinking that we're going to need scientists to research and innovate in order to create a "new energy economy."

I'd also like to know if McCain and Palin support scientific research only when it advances their own personal agenda, because that's another kind of ugliness all together.

The Great Pumpkin

2008-10-28T21:34:00.022-06:00

I watched It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, as I try to do every year...mainly because Snoopy is just too cool as a World War I flying ace, and I have a certain fondness for Charles M. Schulz. His work is sweet and nostalgic. It reminds me of the better parts of childhood.

My own personal Halloween wishlist for that mythical orange squash-man (because I'm not into candy and the trick-or-treaters can keep their tooth-rot):

1. Brown & Persimmon Stripes from Sock Dreams. I'm a junkie for striped socks. I can admit it.

2. Jurassic Amber Soap by Amandalouise. How cool is that? Textured like amber, and it even comes with an insect.

3. Harvest Moon Perfume by Amandalouise. This just sounds lovely and not overly feminine or masculine which is right up my alley.

4. An evening with Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, which may be the very best autumn/halloween story I can think of. I always return to it.

5. A pumpkin spice latte, not necessarily from Starbucks, but Starbucks will do. I probably lose some liberal points for that.

Andy Paiko Glass

2008-10-27T16:46:00.008-06:00

This is only a small sampling of Andy Paiko's beautiful work. I'm especially taken by the bell jars and the object jars, but even more phenomenal are the functioning spinning wheel, seismograph, balances, etc.

Spine Jar

Absinthe Fountain

Balances

Spinning Wheel

The Secret History

2008-10-19T13:26:00.009-06:00

The synopsis on the back of the book, because I have a difficult time reducing the plot of a novel into a slender paragraph without spoilers:

When Richard Papen arrives at Hampden College in New England, he is quickly seduced by the rhythms of campus life—and in particular by an elite group of five students, Greek scholars, worldly, self-assured, and, at first glance, highly unapproachable. Yet as Richard is accepted and drawn into their inner circle, he learns a terrifying secret that binds them to one another: a secret about an incident in the woods in the dead of night when an ancient rite was brought to life.

I read this book with manic fervor...not because it was filled with excitement at every turn or because I needed to know what was going to happen in the end. From the beginning, I had a fairly good idea about where things were headed (by the author's design), but the characters were so mysterious and morally ambiguous that I wanted to spend time with them as the events unfolded in their lives. I enjoyed every action and reaction, and I couldn't turn away from the dissection of human nature & societal structure. The allusions to Greek history, mythology, and literature made it all the more fascinating, and yet it wasn't presented with intellectual snobbery as it easily could have been. The story was well-written, beautiful, grotesque, haunting, moody... One of my more memorable reads of this year.

The Messenger

2008-10-15T08:52:00.005-06:00

Last night, C and I walked the dogs beneath the nearly full moon, and we were followed the entire time by a little red fox. It was beautiful, and I’ve not been in contact with such a bold and curious vulpine since my time living in the mountains.

The Fox in the Snow (1860)

Gustave Courbet

Kissed by an Autumn Morning

2008-10-13T07:49:00.003-06:00

It's beautiful outside. The foliage is lush but has already been touched by autumn. Everything is vivid green and yellow with the ocassional touch of orange. The ground is coated in frost and glistening dew drops, and the air is thick with fog...and yet the sun is shining brightly and piercing through in soft and luminous rays. It's magical in a way that only nature can be.

Pamela Wyn Shannon - Netherworld

2008-10-09T13:08:00.001-06:00

Autumnal music for the romantic, pastoral soul.

Google Goggles

2008-10-08T08:11:00.002-06:00

I wish that someone would come up with something like this for telephones. Perhaps a breathalyzer on the handset that would disallow people from calling my number after having had a few drinks. It would make life much easier.

Seriously.

Don't drink and drive

Don't drink and e-mail

Don't drink and make phone calls

Don't drink and post on internet forums

And those are only a few of the things that one shouldn't do while intoxicated. The list is virtually endless.

Halloween is the new Christmas

2008-09-28T19:46:00.004-06:00

I adore Halloween, and even though it's not quite October, I'm already getting excited. Music sets the mood, and Grimly Fiendish is always a part of my Halloween soundtrack.

And, of course, Karen Black...

Barber-Surgeons

2008-09-26T00:13:00.011-06:00

I wasn't aware of the significance of the red and white striped barber's pole until this evening when I was browsing the web for artifical leeches (which I'm mildy obsessed with.)

Apparently, in the middle ages, bloodletting was peformed by Barber-Surgeons.

The patient would grasp a pole so that the veins of the arm would stand out prominently. After the procedure, the barber-surgeons would hang the bandages from the top of the pole to dry, and the wind would wrap the bandages around the pole creating a striped pattern. The ball on top represents the leech basin.

**Krimson.Skye reminded me of Sweeney Todd, and Barber-Surgeons just became a little bit more sexy in my mind's eye... Of course, bloodletting is somewhat sexy to begin with, but I couldn't begin to tell you why.

Faun Fables

2008-08-13T20:49:00.000-06:00

The Dream Coil

2008-08-06T23:43:00.003-06:00

I honestly don't know what happened to July. I glanced at my pen and paper journal to see if there's anything worth writing about, but it mostly covers work, family drama, and a short bout of illness for both me and the dog...mundane things that don't merit much discussion.

I did put together a couple of digital collages which I posted on a separate blog, The Dream Coil. This will likely become a repository for any additional collage work that I decide to post. I don't know why it needs a separate space, but it does. Welcome to the way that I organize my head...

2008-07-02T23:04:00.001-06:00

I can't recall if I posted this here before. I don't think I have, but it's one of my favorite short films. It never fails to move me.

Stina Nordenstam - Dynamite

2008-06-27T18:58:00.001-06:00

In the Pale

2008-06-26T12:19:00.003-06:00

To be sure an European woman would blush to her fingers ends at the very idea of appearing publicly stark naked; but education and prejudice are everything, since it is an axiom, that where there is no feeling of self-reproach, there can assuredly be no shame.
Captain J. G. Stedman

Like the women referred to in this quote, I'm rather uncomfortable in my own skin. I'm not sure that it's always been the case, but the changes that come with age have certainly affected the view that I have of my own body. I think that's why I like the idea of the nude self-portrait theme. The discomfort involved in posting even a small part of one's self is also a path to self-acceptance.

There have been some brilliant and brave images posted this month.

Admittedly, I'm still not feeling that brave, but I did make a second attempt at participating this month.

In a haze of half wakefulness

2008-06-25T12:23:00.003-06:00

Another longer period between entries, because life moves like the pattern of the tides…ebb and flow.

C and I have been seeing a lot of changes lately. Some of them are more difficult to embrace than others, but all of them are ultimately positive…I think. My schedule has shifted slightly, and I’m getting up earlier in the morning than I have in the past. It’s going to take some time to adjust, because I tend to stay up late, and I’m not sure that I’m ready to give up those quiet, evening hours. (The mornings are quiet, too, but it’s a different sort of space.)

One project that C and I have been working on is an Etsy shop to display some of his smaller sculptures. We’re still working on getting things right, especially in regard to the photography, but we’re learning as we go. If you’re inclined, take a look, and if you have any constructive feedback, I’m all ears.

Wishes and Folklore

2008-06-08T16:49:00.003-06:00

According to folklore, you can wish...

When blowing out your birthday candles
When Tossing a Coin into a fountain or a well
When Breaking a wishbone, and being on the receiving end of the larger half.
When you lose an eyelash, and blow it from the tip of your fingers.
When the clock strikes 11:11
When you see a falling star
Upon the first star you see at night
On a necklace clasp that has turned the wrong direction
When blowing the seeds from a dandelion in one breath
When you see a white horse
When you catch a feather
When a lady bug lands upon you
When you hold your breath in a tunnel

Am I missing any?

I'm not sure where most of these originated from, but they're the ones that I remember from my childhood. I'm not a superstitious person, but I still find some joy in wishing upon certain things...or planting the seeds of a dream.

The Innocence Mission - Bright As Yellow

2008-06-05T13:26:00.001-06:00

This song has been playing in my head all week long. It makes me feel happy, so I'm sharing.

In the nude

2008-06-04T21:05:00.004-06:00

The Self Portrait Challenge for June is "Nude," so I took my camera to the bathtub and took the opportunity to relax... Maybe next week, I'll show you my rubber ducky...hee hee.

One Apartment and Six Drummers

2008-05-28T22:25:00.001-06:00

A Perfect Day for Brooding

2008-05-26T13:03:00.006-06:00

Rain rain go away,
Come again another day.
Little Johnny wants to play;
Rain, rain, go to Spain,
Never show your face again!

Interestingly enough, this children's poem dates back to the reign of Elizabeth I during the time when the Spanish Armada was defeated partially by unfavorable weather conditions.

I have no Armada to defeat, but I'd like to warm myself in the sun which is nowhere to be found.

Add-Art

2008-05-24T19:44:00.003-06:00

I recently stumbled across a link to a very cool plug-in for Firefox that blocks ads, and also adds art in place of them.

Add-Art

It's fantastic!

I have spread my dreams under your feet

2008-05-22T11:42:00.003-06:00

I didn’t have any coffee this morning, and my head is full of fuzz. I’m not sure if it’s caused by a lack of caffeine, an allergy flair up, or something entirely different. Unfortunately, it’s making me feel like the clock is moving back a half a minute for every minute that it moves forward.

Until September of last year, I had never been a big coffee drinker, but I haven’t smoked a cigarette since 09/04 (Go me!), and in its stead, I’ve taken up a small coffee habit. It’s an acceptable trade, and I especially enjoy trips to the local bookstore and its in house coffee shop. I’ve been trying to get out more often.

Books I’ve read this year that I haven’t had the energy to write about:
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Coastliners by Joanne Harris
Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
My Antonia by Willa Cather
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce
The Postman by David Brin
Spook Country by William Gibson
Sundiver by David Brin
Trilby by George du Maurier
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Other things that have been occupying space in my head:
The Red Barn Murder of Maria Marten
The Neolithic Ruins of Orkney
Relocation: where to and how to make it happen
He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by William Butler Yeats

Farewell March

2008-04-02T08:17:00.001-06:00

March was a month of backwards stepping and frustration, but some of the issues, fortunately, have been worked out, and I’m hoping that April will be punctuated by forward motion.

The good things were:

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke – This novel moved slowly at some points, but overall, it was a clever and enjoyable romp through the re-establishment of magic in England. The ending wasn’t as strong as I had hoped it would be, but the characters were memorable and well developed, and I do look forward to a second volume. Mostly, I’m interested in the fate of John Childermass, the character that’s most compelling to me due to his somewhat ambiguous nature.

One Cello X 16: Natoma by Zoe Keating – This album has been on heavy rotation. It’s become the soundtrack for steampunk imaginings, and I’ve been using it as inspiration for my foray into the unnatural aging of objects. (I’ve been playing mostly with tea-dying and patina solution)

The Subtle Emergence of Spring – We’re still having periodic snow showers in Denver, but there’s a blanket of green forming on the ground, and the critters have come out to play. My allergies are acting up, and I’m constantly living in a benadryl haze, but at least there are signs of life.

Today I saw a falling star

2008-03-19T09:01:00.000-06:00

Good night Arthur C. Clarke. May your eternal dreams be filled with stars and may your legacy be preserved to inspire wonder in future generations.

The Circus March

2008-03-17T20:17:00.004-06:00

I fell asleep and woke from dreams to the sound of Christoph cooking dinner and humming the circus song...and I wondered exactly who wrote that creepy song in the first place.

Wikipedia is my friend.

The song is called Entrance of the Gladiators, and it was written by a Czech composer as a military march.

Imagine falling backwards in time to a vision of Czech soldiers marching to battle with that song as their soundtrack. And people wonder why circuses are sinister...

Six Word Memoir

2008-03-12T10:28:00.003-06:00

I was tagged by Princess Haiku to write a six word memoir, and so I have...

Into the labyrinth
Always quietly dreaming...

I'm not going to tag anyone specifically, but if you want to participate, the rules are here:

1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post.
4. Tag more blogs with links.
5. Enjoy

Zoe Keating

2008-03-04T21:42:00.001-07:00

Zoe Keating is my current musical obsession, and I just wanted to share.

There's actually a better version of this particular video available via itunes under the Pop!Tech podcast, and you can link to it directly from www.zoekeating.com

Monday Ramblings

2008-01-14T23:40:00.001-07:00

The sun was out for most of the day, and it made me long for springtime...rather unfortunate considering that it's only January, but it gives me even more reason to look forward to a small vacation that I have planned from the 23rd to the 27th. I'll be flying out to California to visit my dear friend, Jen, and her lovely daughter, Ish. I have no idea what's on the agenda, but I'm sure that we'll come up with some sort of mischief.

My resolutions are all in line at the moment. I've been to the psychologist twice, and I'm pleased with the way things are going. I've been making small goals and meeting them despite outside pressures, which is the direction I need to be moving towards. I've done yoga three times a week, and I had an appointment with an endocrinologist last Wednesday. No verdict on that visit, and I think I won't really have any answers for at least another 30 days while they do all of their mad experiments on my blood.

This evening, Christoph and I watched Batman Returns, and I think it may be the first Batman film that I actually enjoyed. It was grittier than the other films, and I'm looking forward to the next installment. I also like the idea of Maggie Gyllenhaal playing Rachel Dawes as I'm not much of a Katie Holmes fan. I also found it rather interesting that Liam Neeson played the role of the big, bad meanie while Michael Caine was Alfred. I will always and forever think of Michael Caine as the dark and twisted puritan...

Celebrating a Life

2008-01-08T21:54:00.001-07:00

I stumbled across an interesting website called Self Portrait Challenge, and I want to play, but my first image deals with grief instead of joy.

The monthly theme for January is Celebration, and I haven't been feeling the spirit of the holidays. In this season, the colors were less vibrant and the confections were less sweet. They were darkened by the loss of my grandmother and my step-mother and a little piece of myself.

My step-mother had two Maltese puppies at home. When she was in the hospital, I brought her this bear because it was the closest thing I could find in the gift shop to a soft, white puppy. She was agitated, and more than anything else, she wanted to go home. She held onto this bear until she died, and I can't look at it without shedding tears. It will always remind me of her, and I treasure it for that reason. The memory of lost love ones is a celebration of their lives.

Cephalopods vs. Mankind

2008-01-04T23:47:00.001-07:00

Interesting factoid of the day:

According to The Little Book of the Sea, the biomass of all individual specimens of cephalopods added together, now exceeds that of humanity as a whole.

In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming...but not for long...Cultists take note.

2007, The Year Without A Summer

2007-12-31T19:47:00.001-07:00

For me, the defining moments of this year involve mental and physical illness, sorrow, and death chased by death. It's been one of the darker times in my life (though there have been others), and I can't say that I'm walking into 2008 unscathed and without any scars to bear. I am, however, choosing to view myself as a tarnished piece of silver that may be more interesting than something shiny and untouched by life...at least, that's what I'm hoping for.

My resolutions for 2008 are as follows:

To regain control of my mental and physical health. I've already scheduled appointments with both my doctor and a psychologist to help send me on the right path, and I've been keeping a pen and paper journal that allows me to exorcise some of the uglier demons that are camping out in my head.

To practice yoga or some other kind of exercise at least three times a week. This goes along with my first resolution, but it needed to be a bit more specific. I was doing this during the beginning part of the year, and it helped significantly.

To learn to take time for myself and to draw personal boundaries so that others won't leave me completely drained of vitality. No has done this purposefully, but there have been a lot of needy and broken people in my life, and to a certain degree, I'm needing to step back from the role of caregiver.

I'm not sure how I'm going to accomplish some of these goals, but I know that 2008 is a year for healing and creating.

Sweeney Todd

2007-12-30T21:47:00.001-07:00

Thank you, Tim Burton, for making such a splendid film. I'm completely smitten, and I'm craving meat pies. *grin*

Captain Mandible Says Hello

2007-12-27T16:04:00.001-07:00

For cathartic reasons, I deleted my livejournal after keeping it for more than three years. It contained all of the darkness that I no longer wish to hold onto, and Cities Beneath the Sea is now my central location within the wires. This doesn't really change anything. I just wanted to mention it.

Currently Reading:

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

Recently Watched:

The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Stranger Than Fiction
Sherrybaby
This is England
The Road to Wellville
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Enjoying:

Night time dog walking and snow frolicking.
Good Earth Tea Original Blend
The newest Gravenhurst Album - The Western Lands

Kusudama

2007-12-10T16:46:00.001-07:00

Kusudama (Medicine Ball) is a Japanese artform involving the folding of paper to create conical objects (usually flowers) which are then stitched together to form a sphere. They originated during the Heaian period (794 - 1192) and were once filled with herbs to ward off evil spirits and disease. A detailed history of Kusudama can be found at David Lister's website, The History of Origami.

They're beautiful, and I've decided that I want to make one. I found the instructions at The peace of paper, and I've been working on the individual units. This is my progress...

Kristin Hersh - Your Ghost

2007-12-10T09:41:00.001-07:00

The work of Kristen Hersh has always resonated with me, and this song has recently been a fixture in my playlist.

Where I've Been...

2007-11-27T13:24:00.001-07:00

Princess Haiku posted a nice note asking me to come back soon, and I just want to check in and let everyone know that I'm still here, and I do intend to post more in the future. I'm just not certain when. (Thank you, Princess H)

The past year, for me, has been filled with illness and punctuated by death. I've lost two of the most influentual women in my life, my grandmother (July 5th) and my step-mother (November 7th) and I'm having a very difficult time dealing with both of these losses. Everything is still fresh and somewhat surreal. I have no doubt that things will get better, but they're currently very different, and there's an everpresent void that's hard to contend with.

Tearwave - Lotus Flower

2007-11-12T18:51:00.001-07:00

The Little Girl Giant

2007-10-25T20:06:00.002-06:00

This is beautiful...

Foutaises

2007-06-26T21:41:00.001-06:00

The Fountain

2007-06-21T21:05:00.001-06:00

On Tuesday, I saw Darren Aronofsky’s film, The Fountain, and I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. I’ve seen (and greatly appreciated) both Pi and Requiem for a Dream, and at the very least, I assumed that it would be challenging (and it was). I was also aware that The Fountain received enough bad reviews to place the film on the rotten scale at Rotten Tomatoes. Let this be a lesson to ignore collective criticism, because in this case, they don’t have their fingers on my pulse.

Film Synopsis at Wikipedia...because I don't think I need to rehash what's already been written (although my interpetation is slightly different than the synopsis. Perhaps, I'm just being lazy.)

Anyhow...

I hung on every word of this film, because it forced me to look in the mirror and face some very personal issues about illness and dying that I haven’t been prepared to deal with…and while it didn’t necessarily ease my current anxieties, the confrontation was gentle enough to keep me from immediately sticking my head in the sand like an Ostrich. Bonus points for that.

The visuals are beautiful, and The Fountain engages in the kind of myth-making that nests nicely within my thought patterns. It’s not dogmatic, and it doesn’t feel like proselytizing. Instead, it makes use of storytelling to ask and maybe answer questions while creating a certain sense of awe. I’m not sure if that makes sense to anyone else, but in my world, stories and personal myth-making allow the days to pass with a bit more color and meaning…fairytales for the soul and all that.

Sonya Taaffe

2007-06-14T19:12:00.000-06:00

At the request of a friend, I've put together a list of Sonya Taaffe works that have been published online. Since I've mentioned Sonya several times within this blog, I'm posting it here as well.

A Maid on the Shore
Crossing the Line
Niobe Aftermath
Moving Nameless
Theagenes Remembers
Over the River
Expiration
The Reliquiae
Muse
On the Blind Side
Follow Me Home
Heliotrope
The Windfalls
Green and Dying

The Wicker Man Remake

2007-06-13T00:32:00.000-06:00

I just wasted precisely 102 minutes of my life watching the 2006 remake of The Wicker Man. It was painfully bad, and yet I watched it in its entirety hoping that some small shred of the original may have survived within this steaming pile of Hollywood blasphemy...but it didn't.

Probably, I should have let the film stand on its own, but comparisons are inevitable, especially since I'm extremely fond of the original film. If you haven't seen either version and you don't want spoilers, don't read any further...

Where to begin?

One of the most compelling things about the original 1976 version of the film is the soundtrack, but the director scrapped the beautiful Scottish folk music in favor of an Angelo Badalamenti score (and an American setting). That doesn't seem like a completely awful choice given some of the previous work that Badalamenti has produced, but it was completely flavorless. Give me drums, fiddles, panpipes, and penny whistles, please. Overly produced orchestral music just doesn't provide the ambiance of an isolated pagan society, particularly during festival time.

In the original film, the Sergeant was a solidly Christian man who arrived on an island where the locals practiced the “old religion.” The society was more accepting of sex and nudity, and they openly took part in traditional fertility rituals, most notably the dancing of the maypole and the leaping of lovers over the midsummer fires. It produced a certain amount of confusion and discomfort in the Sergeant, but it was subtle enough to allow the tension to build gradually...and it gave the film a deeper meaning that dealt with differences in viewpoints without actually manipulating the viewer into believing that one side was good and the other bad.
The 2006 version of the film glossed over the fertility rituals almost completely, and instead of showing a society that was sexually free among both genders, it displayed an extremist matriarchal society that abused its men (which was pretty damned offensive for both genders since it was so badly skewed). Additionally, Nicholas Cage's character didn't carry the same religious strength of conviction that the Sergeant had in the original film. Instead, the conflict relied on the aforementioned gender divide which effectively destroyed the depth that was originally there. As far as creating new meaning...Remember kids...women are evil and men are stupid & cowardly.

There was also some added (yet supremely lame) violence, and I can only deduce that it was meant to add to the “horror” of the film. What it really achieved was making the ending less effective. The Wicker Man isn't supposed to be a slashery horror film. When is Hollywood going to learn that sometimes subtlety is the key?

There were some decent actors involved in the project (namely Ellen Burstyn and Molly Parker, whom I will continue to adore), but the script was so bad that their presence couldn't even salvage certain parts of the film, and really...Ellen Burstyn is no Christopher Lee. In that regard, I wouldn't have been pleased even if the film had been well done. Lee was the perfect choice for Lord Summerisle, and it would be next to impossible to fill his shoes.

And one more thing before I wrap this up (because I could probably complain for several more days, and I really need to move on to more interesting things)...

If you're about to be stuffed into a giant Wicker Man and set on fire, don't you think that you could come up with something better to say than: You bitches! You bitches!? I'm not sure why that worked my nerves so badly, but it did.

So there you go. I hate the new version of The Wicker Man, and I remain a solid devotee of the original. Anyone up for a nice dance around the midsummer fire?

Second Life

2007-06-10T23:04:00.001-06:00

I mentioned earlier that I was playing in IMVU, a virtual chat client that allows a person to design their own 3D avatar. The idea was amusing to me, but I'll admit that I didn't like the idea of being restricted to one room...so I've graduated to Second Life.

Second Life is a virtual world that, like IMVU, allows a person to have a 3D avatar, but what makes it so much more intriguing is the ability to wander through user created spaces...sometimes complete cities. Thus far, I've spent most of my time exploring some of the brilliant atmospheres that people have created, but I'm also considering the roleplaying possibilities.

A couple of places that I've enjoyed:

Babbage town – A gorgeous steampunk city that has very little traffic at the moment. That's unfortunate, because it would be a supremely fun place for roleplaying.

The Dune Project – A SIM set up specifically for roleplaying Frank Herbert's novel. It has a learning curve, so I've only wandered through as a tourist, but I'm seriously considering a more serious commitment to the game. I just haven't decided which faction I want to play. (I'm a total Dune geek)

The Wastelands – A post-apocalyptic salvage SIM. I haven't fully explored this one yet, but the atmosphere is dark and dirty...just as it should be.

Etopia Eco-Village – This place is just plain pretty to look at. It's based on sustainable living and eco-friendly building design, and it was obviously a labor of love by whomever put it together. I spent a great deal of time just playing all of the drums that are available for drumming circles.

On the downside, there's a lot of advertising, especially in the main hubs, but it's pretty easy to escape those one you learn where to go. Also, there seems to be a lot of “Gorean” roleplay, which I'm assuming is based on the Gor novels given the references to female slaves. I've tried to avoid those areas like the plague.

Anyhow...if anyone happens to play on Second Life, feel free to find me there. My character's name is Cyan Taurog, and I'm always up for good company. Exploring can be lonely trade.

Cities Beneath the Sea

Moving Day

Some squirrels are better than others

Warm Hearted Thursday

Things I love Thursday: Let's get Ducky

Feliz Jueves

Glad Torsdag

Things I love Thursday

Web Candy

Things I love Thursday

Comment Wonkiness

Mindfulness

Buying a House - Reason #2

Buying a House - Reason #1 / Apt Laundry Sucks

Made from Scratch by Jenna Woginrich

Books Read in 2010

Goodbye 2010

To cry or not to cry?

Breakfast Magic

Evelyn Evelyn

Symptom Recital by Dorothy Parker

Ah Cama-Sotz - Decline Of The Roman Empire

Light is Calling

Beautiful Elk

Green winds and red trees

The Sea Angler - Faith and the Muse

On cycling and blogging

Cormorants, slithering snakes, and two suns

If she knew what she wanted...

Beauty is never far away.

Sweet Clover

Meandering

Life is full of glamour

Just an update

We Are Sinking (German Coast Guard) (Berlitz Ad)

The Bunyip Song

RSPCA - Simon's Sister's Dog 'Fed Up'

Water for Elephants

2008 Reads

Palimpsest Trailer

Beautiful Trilobites

Build A Squid

He's always watching...

Teddy Bears in Space

The City in the Sea

Habanera

Holiday Gift Giving

Thanksgiving

Add-Art Notes

Madeline von Foerster

Hey There Chthulhu

Sam Weber

Storytelling Platforms

Judith McMillan

Jeff Klapperich

Tiffany Bozic

Ampersand - Amanda Palmer

Science is our future

The Great Pumpkin

Andy Paiko Glass

The Secret History

The Messenger

Kissed by an Autumn Morning

Pamela Wyn Shannon - Netherworld

Google Goggles

Halloween is the new Christmas

Barber-Surgeons

Faun Fables

The Dream Coil

MORE

Stina Nordenstam - Dynamite

In the Pale

In a haze of half wakefulness

Wishes and Folklore

The Innocence Mission - Bright As Yellow

In the nude

One Apartment and Six Drummers

A Perfect Day for Brooding

Add-Art

I have spread my dreams under your feet