Calling all Sports Racers!

Last year, Luke the Runner set up a Secret Santa exchange on the ORG and it was so much fun!

Let's do it again, but this time let's exchange handmade items. So many of you are creative in so many different ways. It'll also be a great way for us to reconnect as a group.

I set up an exchange for us - The Duckie Handmade Christmas - on elfster.com

Here are the details:
We're all creative in some way*.

Art, music, words, food... Share your creativity with other duckies this year.

Register and create your profile. In the wish list section, enter any items that you would like that are handmade or that you could use in your creative endeavors (yarn, exotic ingredients, craft books, fancy paper, etc). You can even include links to the items online.

*If you feel you are indeed, not creative, but would still like to participate: instead of making something for your partner yourself, purchase something hand-crafted by someone else (6-year old factory workers don't count). Or you can give your partner something that will aid in his or her creative endeavor (this is where the wish lists come in). For example, if you're paired with someone who likes to crochet, you could send him or her a bag of nice yarn. Or if you're paired with a writer, you can send him or her a writing journal or a reference book. Or if you're paired with a painter, you can purchase a gift certificate for an art supply catalog... You will see his or her wish list to help guide you in your gift selections.

Sign up by December 5th. After December 5th, will receive the information on your partner. Send your gift by December 17th (so your duckie partner gets it by Christmas).

Note: your personal information will remain hidden to everyone but your partner. If you don't want your partner to have your home address, you can use "Hold for Pickup" and indicate that you want your package sent to your nearest post office instead.

Open to international participants.

Let's start making stuff!

Play Super Obama World. It looks cute but I suck so bad I can't get past the lipstick wearing pigs.

Here's a really great article with some of the creators of MST3K. I miss that show...

Here's something Joel and Jim Hodgson did as a test in their post-MST3K days:


It's quite funny. I wish they'd been able to do more.

And here's a helpful educational film (not that you need it):


Oh, and the movie is out on DVD now, and there's also a 20th anniversary edition boxed set. They would make lovely gifts, no?

I couldn't resist.

Lots more here.

"you've got red on you", originally uploaded by cakeyvoice.

Not surprisingly, Simon Pegg has some strong opinions about zombies:

"Still, I had to acknowledge Dead Set's impressive credentials. The concept was clever in its simplicity: a full-scale zombie outbreak coincides with a Big Brother eviction night, leaving the Big Brother house as the last refuge for the survivors. Scripted by Charlie Brooker, a writer whose scalpel-sharp incisiveness I have long been a fan of, and featuring talented actors such as Jaime Winstone and the outstanding Kevin Eldon, the show heralded the arrival of genuine homegrown horror, scratching at the fringes of network television. My expectations were high, and I sat down to watch a show that proved smart, inventive and enjoyable, but for one key detail: ZOMBIES DON'T RUN!"

This is a cool project:



"17 years worth of taking 2 photos a day as my head rotates in sync with the Earth around the Sun. This is a non-dejittered, lo-res, highly compressed, preliminary version of a lifetime project."

from http://www.danhanna.com/ (lots of other fun stuff there, too.)

Thanks to Larry for the link to this site about Babies with Beards. The poor beardlings!

Hope wins!

Luckily something like this didn't happen (well, maybe in Ohio...):



Edward Winkleman has a really great post about the election and acceptance speech. This is my favorite part, though:

For anyone out there still unfamiliar with the term, I should explain what a "community organizer" is I suppose. It's a bit tough, actually, as the term is used more as a description of a belief system than any concrete sets of tasks or responsibilities, but I guess a community organizer is kind of like a small town mayor, except that a community organizer can actually change the world.

Things I won't have to do:

• Say I'm Canadian when I travel.
• Scrape off my bumper sticker in shame this time.
• Cringe every time our president speaks.

Thanks I can do:

• Be optimistic.
• Be hopeful.
• Be confident.

Yes we can!

I know you probably voted early and you're sick of hearing everybody tell you to vote, but this is so darn cute, it'll make you want to vote twice:



This might make you want to vote, too:



Thanks to Ursula for these!

click to see a bigger image

I love my bank. Credit union, actually.

Not only do they have free popcorn on Fridays, but they give a lot of money and support to the community.

So when we stopped in last Friday to make a deposit and score some free popcorn, it happened to be Halloween. So we also scored some free candy.

But the best part was that a few of the employees were doing "Thriller" shows throughout the day, and we just happened to get there right before the 5:00 show. They only did a short snippet (maybe a minute), but it was pretty great.

Oh, and here's a little silliness for the day:


Did you know there were cat ladders? Lots of them.

Today's squirrel fun:

If you haven't voted already, don't forget to vote tomorrow!

Who knew?



This doesn't look like it would end well:



Here's a very expensive cat toy:



Baby squirrel!

Here's something all Americans can agree on.

And here are 2 of my favorite things:

Yesterday Brent told me (after commenting on the sheer volume of emails I send with links to stupid stuff on the interwebs) that I "seem to have a very active digital life."

He didn't mean it this way, but I interpreted it to mean that I need to get a real life. And it's true.

I'm not sure how to do this. Perhaps I could leave my house on occasion? Interact with humans in the real world, or "meatspace," as all the cool kids call it? Join a gang?

But I will promise to cut down on the stupid emails. I'm going to try to post all the stuff I find here. And probably occasionally on Twitter. So while this won't really cut into my digital life all that much, it will lighten the load in your inbox. And it will force me to keep this blog more up to date.

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

See more funny videos and Funny Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Stolen from Colleen...

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now (even if we don't speak often or ever) please post a comment with a completely made up, fictional memory of you and me.

It can be anything you want - good or bad - but it has to be fake.

When you're finished, post this little paragraph in your blog and see what your friends come up with.

FYI:
My mom took me and Colleen to the Shaun Cassidy concert in Kansas City. We ditched her while she was waiting for nachos at the concession stand and we pretended we were groupies so we could sneak backstage. His public image was always so wholesome... But I'm still haunted by the things I saw back there. And the things we did. I always wanted to ask her - where did she learn to do that? I guess having older sisters was an advantage in that arena...

Get down and get with it, indeed:

Me and Jeff*, all dressed up for the prom, 1984

I've also been reading a book called Cringe: Teenage Diaries, Journals, Notes, Letters, Poems, and Abandoned Rock Operas. It's hilarious.

Here's an explanation of the project from the author, Sarah Brown's website:

The first inklings of Cringe came about back in 2001, when Sarah Brown found her old diaries at her parents’ house, and decided it would be a good idea to send the most painful excerpts to her friends in a weekly email. Two years later, she moved to Brooklyn and told roommate Liz Schroeter about this endeavor, prompting Liz to dig out some old teenage zines of her own. The first Cringe Reading Night was held April 6, 2005, at Freddy’s Bar and Backroom in Brooklyn.

And the readings are still going on there, and in other cities, too.

The book includes things from other people, and I think the best parts are the commentary or explanations about the entries. Of course everybody's embarrassed by them, but a running theme seems to be, "I haven't changed at all."

This, of course, inspired me to get out my own diary and read through it. I've always been a sporadic journal keeper. This one is no exception. I started it December 25, 1981 and the last entry is January 26, 1985. And it's just over half filled. Sometimes there are months between entries.

I wrote mostly about who we saw at the mall, what albums I bought, and which concerts I went to. There was some friend drama - I felt left out a lot. Lots of people were "babes" back then. And lots of stuff was really "bitchin'" and "ex." And apparently I spent way more time and energy than I remembered obsessing over a certain someone.

I ended most entries with something like, "Well, it's really late. I need to get to bed."

Then there's typical teenage angst:
"I wish I knew who or what I was. I mean, I'm not doing anything, I'm just kind of here, doing nothin'."

And in the "I haven't changed" category, here's something from December 31, 1982 (I'd just turned 16):
"I wish I could act naturally at school, but I just can't. Everybody probably thinks I'm stuck-up or something. Oh well, that'll be my New Year's Resolution. To act more myself at school & to make some more friends. That seems fair. Well I better jam!"

It cracks me up how I would write about how sad, hopeless, and depressed I was and then say, "Oh well. Then last week we went to see The Beast Within. Gross movie."

But this is my favorite line of all (from January 7, 1982 - I was 15):
"School sucks, but it's been going pretty good because my hair is looking slightly better."

At least I had my priorities straight.

Anyway, it's really late. Gotta jam!

*not the one I obsessed over. Although he did rock that maroon tuxedo, no?.

I'm reading When You Are Engulfed In Flames by the brilliant David Sedaris.

It's all greatness, especially "Monster Mash," where he talks about his obsession with death. This is my favorite part:

"As a young man, I saved up my dishwashing money and bought a seventy-five-dollar copy of Medicolegal Investigations of Death, a sort of bible for forensic pathologists. It shows what you might look like if you bit an extension cord while standing in a shallow pool of water, if you were crushed by a tractor, struck by lightning, strangled with a spiral or nonspiral telephone cord, hit with a claw hammer, burned, shot, drowned, stabbed, or feasted upon by wild or domestic animals. The captions read like really great poem titles, my favorite being "Extensive Mildew on the Face of a Recluse." I stared at that picture for hours on end, hoping it might inspire me, but I know nothing about poetry, and the best I came up with was pretty lame:

Behold the recluse looking pensive!
Mildew, though, is quite extensive
On his head, both aft and fore.
He maybe shoulda got out more."

And here he is on Letterman reading an essay about the stadium pal (which is also in the book):

I'm not sure why this makes me sad:



Sometimes I get excited when people remake movies but sometimes it makes me mad or sad.

This time I was mad - how could someone remake such a great movie? And seriously, Keanu Reeves*?

I was expressing my disgust and Sam was wondering what all the fuss was about, so I showed him the new trailer and then found the old trailer:



My intention was to show how awesome the original was, but I realized quickly that the old black and white, low-tech one looks really cheesy and old fashioned compared to the new one.

I did really want this geekily obscure t-shirt:
But not any more, knowing that soon everybody will get it.

So maybe that's why I get snobby about things like that - it bothers me that something that a small group of us understand and appreciate (the "It-Getters," as Stephen Colbert would say) suddenly becomes part of the mainstream. Like when your favorite indie band "sells out" by getting a record deal.

So I'm going to focus on the fact that people like me will force their kids to watch the original (superior) The Day the Earth Stood Still and know that while most of those kids will roll their eyes, a few will "get it," too.

*The only movie I like him in is Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. To me, he'll always be Bill. Or was it Ted?

Well, it's been a busy summer so far.

Sam starts school next week but we're going to go to Austin for a short visit tomorrow. Hopefully it won't be too hot there. We got a weird but welcome reprieve from the heat with a few days of mild temperatures. It's heating back up, though, unfortunately.

Thought I'd post a few recent finds for your interwebbing pleasure:

Cake Wrecks:
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

It's Lovely! I'll Take It!
http://lovelylisting.blogspot.com/

D-Listed Decor:
http://d-listeddecor.blogspot.com/

Must See Like New!
http://www.mustseelikenew.com/

First Books:
http://www2.firstbook.org/whatbook/your_favorites.php

Everything Should Taste Like Bacon:
http://baconsalt.com/

Fan videos are usually pretty lame, but this one makes me smile:

I know it's been a long time since the last post...

Went out of town, got back, now battling the heat.

Oh, and I've been watching Dr. Horrible:

So I bought these shoes at Target yesterday. I was looking for cheap, comfortable casual shoes that would be good for walking this summer. These were on clearance and I thought they looked kinda cute.

When I put them on I immediately thought of Racer X.

Then I thought, "I'm a grown woman. I can't wear shoes that look like Racer X."

But I bought them anyway. They were only $11.48...

When Sam got home from school, I put the shoes on and asked him what they reminded him of. He said, "Racer X."

So I'm going to cut the white things off.

Confession: I've always had a crush on Racer X.

This is Betty. Isn't she just lovely?

John helped me pick her out. And my economic stimulus check allowed me to buy her.

I love her.

a page from my bicycle book

OK, it turns out that I can't keep up with the Daily Show and the Colbert Report online. I'm way behind.

I blame it on Scrabulous.

Make yourself a muxtape.

I did:
enchiladaplate.muxtape.com

Well, I survived 5th grade camp! Barely. I was chaperoning 9 boys all by myself. Yes, 9.

I figure my job was to just keep everybody alive. And not kill anybody.

Mission accomplished.

But I wish I had a dollar for every time I yelled, "Walk!"

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thinking about voting.

I'm excited to actually be able to vote in a primary. I know I could have always voted in the primaries, but it never really mattered before. By the time the Texas primary rolled around, the nominees had been chosen.

I still hesitate to vote, though. Even though I've always voted Democratic, the thought of having a party label stamped on my voter registration card bugs me. I like to know that I have the option to change my mind at the last second and vote for anyone I want to.

I don't know if that's the way it even works, but that's the way I've always imagined it.

I'm leaning towards Obama. Sam wants me to vote for Hillary. When I ask him why, he says it's because she'll be the first "girl president." I love that.

Either way.

So I got a call today from MoveOn urging me to vote for Obama. They let me know when to vote and asked if I knew that I could vote twice. Apparently you can vote in the primary and then go back in the evening and vote in the caucus. Weird.

So I guess the saying is true: Vote early. Vote often.

I killed my television.

Well, not really. I downgraded my cable to local channels. I've been thinking about doing this for a while, but when I really thought about how freaking expensive it is, I just really can't justify it. I really only watch the local news in the morning, and then The Daily Show and the Colbert Report at night. And then occasionally a few minutes of Dave, Craig, or Conan... And then random stuff.

Except for The Office, I don't watch any prime time TV. I do like Project Runway but haven't been watching it regularly since they took a break for the holidays.

So it seemed ridiculous to pay $80 a month for about 20 hours of cable. I really wish you could pick the channels that you want to receive.

Having a DVR and access to so many TV shows on DVD and even online, I had decided that watching TV was kind of annoying, anyway. I would purposely start watching after it started so I could fast forward through the commercials. And even having to do that was annoying.

But I'm actually excited that I won't have all that distraction. Now I won't feel bad about wasting an hour of my life watching Celebrity Rehab or The World's Most Smartest Model or anything with a Brady...

Sam's another story. I didn't really let him watch all that much TV, but he's very upset. I know he'll get over it. And he can watch at my mom's and at his dad's, so it's not like he'll be completely deprived... And we do have a gazillion DVDs...

So I'm going to be watching my precious Daily Show and Colbert Report online.

I'm also going to cancel my home phone. I've also been thinking about doing that for a while. It seems silly to pay for 2 phones that nobody calls me on!*

*No pity calls, please.

This one's for Jack.

I had lunch the other day with Amy and Stephanie and got birthday presents! Stephanie gave me a bag of thrift store goodness but it all paled in comparison to a postcard featuring the above image of "The Squirrel's Dinner Party." Stephanie actually saw it this summer at the Elizabethan House Museum in Great Yarmouth, England, her hometown.

This, of course, brings up several obvious questions.

First of all - What. The. Hell?

Did someone say, "I've got 15 dead squirrels. I think I'll get some dollhouse furniture and pose them as if they're eating dinner!"

Anyway, it's my new favorite thing.

I promised movie reviews. So I'm not really good at writing reviews but I'll try.

The Savages - Loved it. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney (who are great) play siblings who are dealing with their aging father. He was never around and they're suddenly forced to care for someone who didn't really care for them. It was real and sad and funny but not overly emotional or manipulative.

The Kite Runner - Beautiful. I really loved the book. It was beautifully written and very descriptive. They did a great job translating the book to film. It was very moving and beautifully done. They did leave out one part of the book, but it happened to be a part that I thought was a little manipulative, so it was a good thing. Beautiful opening title sequence, too (can't find it online anywhere...).

Juno - I loved it. It's quirky, funny, cute, and touching. The actors were really good and I loved all the witty banter and teen slang. Also had a great hand-drawn opening title sequence. The music was great and I can't wait to get the soundtrack.

I would recommend all of them!

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Now playing: Buffalo Tom - Postcard
via FoxyTunes

Mourning the ORG

During the year that Ze Frank was doing "The Show," his daily online video program, he created an online social network called the ORG. It was a place for his fans (with various nicknames like Sports Racers, Duckies, The Flock, or members of the League of Awesomeness) to congregate, celebrate their love for Ze, contemplate why he never blinked, show off their creative work, and collaborate with each other.

I had been contemplating writing a post for my art blog about online social networks for artists and I was going to mention the ORG. I don't see the point for most of the networks - I join them (myartspace.com, 723.com, artscuttlebutt.com, indiepublic.com, etc), post some images of my artwork, look around at other members for a while, log off, and forget about it until someone posts a comment or friend request.

But the ORG was different. It wasn't an art social network per se, but a lot of the members were very creative in some way - artists, musicians, poets, writers, photographers, filmmakers, designers, illustrators, etc. And others were scientists, engineers, students, and self-described geeks and nerds. The thing that brought everyone together was a desire to connect with other like-minded people and create something new.

ORG members could post photos, videos, writing, and links to their blogs. Members were encouraged to leave short, positive comments. You could also send messages to members via the ORG's message system. Oh, and I don't think I mentioned what I liked most about it - it looked really good. The complete opposite of MySpace, which is so full of ugly (on many levels) that I can't even begin to describe my loathing...

And it all seemed to develop and grow organically. It started very basic but as people commented on the features and functionality, new things were suggested, added and tweaked all the time. It was fun to watch it grow.

One of the collaborative aspects of the ORG were the projects. Any member could create a project and invite other members to join in. Some were based on things Ze mentioned in his show and others just came out of nowhere and got a life of their own. Often someone would post a photo or video, other people would connect with it, play off of it, post something else, and something new and wonderful would be born.

I have to admit that I wasn't as active an ORG member as some. I don't know how to do video (and quite frankly don't want to see myself on video!). I mostly posted some photos, perused the photos that people posted and commented on them. I would "quack" at people (I guess it was the ORG's version of a nudge, wink, or friend request). I would read some of the blogs and occasionally watch a video. There was one young guy from New York that posted some beautiful poetry... Oh, and I really enjoyed the Secret Santa project this Christmas...

OK, so why am I in mourning? Because when I tried to log in to the ORG on New Year's Day, I saw this:
... and it never went away. And I was sad.

It had became a real community. I felt like I had some friends there. I was a fan of many members and looked forward to their contributions - dangeramy, oldgrimy, viscousplatypus (still the best username ever), astropixie, imagine, blissee, awed job, snooge, ohkatherine (incredible photographer)... So many! A bunch of the ORG members are planning a get-together in Chicago this March, QuackerCon 2008...

Luckily I had some ORG member emails and some ORG contacts on Twitter and Flickr, so we were able to stay in contact while we figured out what happened (in fact, I've been enjoying our Twittering these last few days...)

Some of the more industrious (and smart) ORG members are scrambling to create a new place to meet. Right now it's called PostORG. ORG members are coming together and offering their talents to help create something new.

There was discussion on the forum about trying to get the code for the ORG to bring it back up and have someone else maintain it. But I love the idea of us creating something new. And of course by "us" I mean all those smart people who know how to do that sort of thing...

So if you were a member of the ORG and want to reconnect with it, go to PostORG or send an email to explodedorg@gmail.com.

Or if you want to be part of something new and awesome, watch The Show first, and if you like what you see, then hop on board.

And if you do join, look me up. I'm enchiladaplate, of course.

I missed you!

Colleen and one of the boys - from our visit back at Thanksgiving. I finally processed those photos!

A couple of images from the Bloch Building - the recent addition to the Nelson Atikins Museum in Kansas City. Colleen and I went there back at Thanksgiving, too. Her job was to keep me from licking those walls.

Oh! That reminds me. There was an episode of Firefly - now I have to look up which one - Objects in Space - where this kind of off-balance bounty hunter sneaks onto the ship to steal the crazy girl that the government did experiments on. Anyhoo - he talks about how he appreciates the design of things. He walks out into their cargo bay and admires the way it looks. Then he licks a post!

We had a good Christmas. Went to New Mexico the day after Christmas and did some snowy stuff. Maybe I'll post those pictures before St. Patrick's Day!

Sounds like this might be movie weekend. I'm going to see The Savages with Jenna tomorrow, maybe something with Trish tomorrow night, and then maybe the Kite Runner with book group people on Sunday. Woo hoo!

Movie reviews soon...
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Now playing: Lyle Lovett & His Large Band - South Texas Girl
via FoxyTunes

The battle for Christmas rages on...

Some Shrinky Dink pins that I made for Tracey...

I'm heavily into Christmas production mode. Making lots of stuff.

I'm making books and the usual but I'm also doing some new things - jewelry, sewing, and embroidery. I know. Like I needed more hobbies!

I'm having an arts and crafts day at my studio tomorrow to socialize and help everybody get all their unfinished craft projects done.

Little wooly caterpillar at the TWU pond a couple of weeks ago... I don't think I've ever seen one of these around here before.

Yeah, long time, no blog. I won't make any excuses.

I went to Kansas over Thanksgiving to visit Larry and family and to see Colleen and family. I went back and forth over whether I should go or not. I could have gotten a lot done with Sam at his dad's, but in the end I decided to go. It was good to get away and see everybody again. Although I've been there so many times this year, I think they're all sick of me by now.

Colleen indulged my art geekiness and we went to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. I wanted to see the new addition. It's super cool (I'll post pictures one of these days). Colleen's job was to keep me from licking the walls. My job was to keep her from flicking paint off of this one super smooshy oil painting. I told her that the oil paint could possibly still be wet in the thick spots and she wanted to find out...

We also went over to the Kemper. I really like that museum. Colleen found a blinky sculpture that she wanted to lick. Or steal. I forget.

Then we had some yummy Italian food, some yummy dessert, and we hung out at her house for a while with all the boys.

I went with my mom and stepdad in the Suburban Assault Vehicle. Interesting, I always remember them calling it "Suburban..." in the movie... Weird how that happens. According to the internets, a Chevy Suburban is a Mormon Assault Vehicle!

I've been doing a little painting, making some more collage boxes, and now I'm into holiday production mode. I'm going to be making gifts again this year. Sorry, everybody.

While I was making those boxes, I listened to a bunch of my backlog podcasts - specifically This American Life. In one episode, Meet the Pros, David Rakoff talks about how he loves to make stuff and he wonders if he could love it as much if it were his job. He makes things for his friends but that it must be like having a fitness-loving friend come over and do 25 push-ups in your living room and then say, "Happy Birthday!"

I'm afraid that might be true. So, again. Sorry.

I do love it, though. I was making some stuff today and I forgot to eat lunch.

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Now playing: Wilco - Hate It Here
via FoxyTunes

What a busy week I'm having. I drove to Sherman on Monday evening to do an encaustic painting demo for the Sherman Art League. It went well. I think everyone enjoyed it and they all seemed enthusiastic.

Yesterday evening I went to the Boys and Girls Club to talk to them about volunteering by teaching some art classes for the kids. I was a judge for their art competition last year and I really liked the woman who ran the place. She said that they were desperate for someone qualified to teach art, so I kind of put it in the back of my mind and finally contacted her when school started.

I think it's going to be fun. I met one little boy yesterday that I immediately fell in love with (but not in a creepy way). I think he's in 6th grade and he was telling me about his art classes at school. He looked just like Mike Sebasto, who I had a crush on in 6th grade.

I just got back from delivering some paintings to the amp gallery in Fort Worth. The opening is this Saturday. I'm excited that I'll get to see my friend Jennifer. My friend Kate is also in the show but she went and got herself a real live boyfriend and will be visiting his family instead.

Tomorrow I'm going to go to Dallas to work on the collaborative piece with Allison and Brett. We're doing an altar for a Day of the Dead show. I have no idea what we're doing. I'm just going to take a bunch of stuff and hopefully it won't be ugly. It'll be fun to work with them.

Holy moly, and then Friday I'm going to go to BFE/Cedar Hill to talk to some people there about possibly doing a workshop. On the way back I'm going to try to hook up with Julie for lunch.

I scheduled a workshop for Saturday but I don't have anyone signed up, so I guess I won't be doing that. Then I guess we'll be going to Fort Worth for the reception. Sunday I rest.

I'm also doing volunteer stuff for the PTA, my part time stuff for VAST (which I've been neglecting lately and need to work on tonight), and working on proposals for teaching and for getting more shows. Oh, yeah, and I started a new series of paintings.

I finally sat down and read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik, which apparently recently won a National Book Award. It was so good! Trish had recommended it. It's sort of a graphic novel but not really. I loved it. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is gripping and very sweet.

I also recently bought I Am America (and So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert. It's quite hilarious.


My favorite part so far - this part about mothers, in the chapter on The Family:

Females need to nurture constantly, so they hate any time alone where they are left to think, shower, or sleep. For a Mom to be happy, every moment away from her children must be filled with the soul-wrenching thought, "am I a bad mother?"

The answer to that question is a resounding "Yes." Scientists have proven, one assumes, that every flaw in a child can be traced back to a mistake made by the mother. As adults we're all imperfect, so that means all mothers are incompetent. But some mothers are worse than others. Take women who work. I don't care if it's CEO of a major corporation or three hours a week as a teacher's aide, if you work outside the home, you might as well bring coconut arsenic squares to the school bake sale.

A mother needs to be in the home even when the kids aren't A messy house sends a coded message to children: "I'm not loveable. Otherwise Mom would dust."

A good mother cooks, cleans, drives, organizes charity events so her children earn community service points for college, and expects nothing in return except love and breakfast in bed one day a year.

So, a word to all you Femin-Idi-Amins: Stop "liberating" moms by trying to make them join the workforce. They're already doing the job that God put them here to do: Everything.

He includes little notes on the side that work sort of like the bullets in his "The Word" segments. Funny footnotes, too. And stickers!

I haven't watched last night's show yet but apparently he announced that he's running for President. That's going to be awesome. I can't wait to see what kind of shenanigans he pulls.

You're right, Trish - "shenanigans" brings the funny!

That reminds me - Trish and I saw Across the Universe the other day. I thought it was good - not great. Parts of it were great. But it was about 30 minutes too long and as Trish pointed out, it seemed like they were just trying to fit in as many songs as they could. I do have an aversion to musicals, so that could have been the problem. The music was good, though...

I couldn't help comparing it to the Sgt. Pepper's movie from the 70's and how it's sort of a time capsule of the big stars of the day (Peter Frampton, The Bee Gees, Steve Martin, etc.). And I wonder if this one will seem like that in 30 years. That movie was definitely just a cheesy excuse to show as many big stars as they could singing as many Beatles songs as they could...

Check these out:
Unfortunately Placed Ads (I love the kitten/Jesus hug)

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Now playing: Lori McKenna - Confetti
via FoxyTunes

OK, based on John's comments:

"I think the gangsta name needs to be re-thunk a little. "Dreamsicle Snickerdoodle" doesn't sound very gangsta to me. I guess "Frisky F-150" doesn't sound very much like a rock and roll name, either."

And a quote from Trish's email:
"2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Coffee
Heath Bar Crunch Oreo
this was doomed from the start. Ice cream and cookies do not a gangsta
make."

I think we need to brainstorm on a better method for obtaining our gangsta name. Ideas?

Here's a funny generator:
http://gangstaname.com/

This is what it dubbed my ass, depending on how I typed in my name:
Broken Tang Chasa
Fly-ass Cop Killa
Dances with Canadian (that one doesn't make much sense, but I like it)

Oh, and I have to admit that I picked colors and animals that would sound good.

John also asks about the Magenta Mojito's superpowers.

I'm not sure of the specific powers of the Magenta Mojito, but it would be strong, refreshing, and minty fresh.

I found this meme amusing:

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car): Callie PT Cruiser

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Emily's Campfire Marshmallow Tollhouse

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name): D-Woo

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal): Chartreuse Dolphin

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born): Ruth Houston

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first): Woo De

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2ND favorite color, favorite drink): The Magenta Mojito

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers): Cecil Cayrus

9. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names): Kay Eugene

10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5Th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): McCone Malibu

11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower). Spring Tulip

12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”): Banana Tanky

13. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Chai Willow

14. YOUR ROCK STAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour” and the year): The Wax Tornado Tour 2007

Now, you...

I took this driving through Lewisville, I think back in June. A scary storm was rolling in and I happened to have my camera. The clouds were scary but really pretty at the same time.

I'm very tired of summer. We keep being taunted by cool weather every now and then but it gets back up into the 90s. At least it's cooling off at night, which is very nice.

I got an email today from my Provincetown gallery - they sold another one of my paintings (the third this summer) and have people interested in 2 more! Woo hoo! Let's hope they close the deal before the summer season ends.

Trish and I are going to see a documentary tonight about Donkey Kong. Really.

I'm mostly excited to see her new shorter hair and hear all about her midlife crisis. Aren't men supposed to have those?

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Now playing: Caitlin Cary And Thad Cockrell - Warm And Tender Love
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At the lake on labor day...

Tonight I went with my friend Karen to Fort Worth for fall gallery night. We ate at Gloria's and went to a couple of galleries and complained about our kids.

Sam and I have been doing indoor rock climbing and enjoying it. We went yesterday after school and he climbed the wall about 18 times. I'm not exaggerating. He's getting pretty fast, too. I call him SpiderSam. I have to go by myself when there's someone there to spot me. Either way I get to wear the attractive wedgie-inducing harness!

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Now playing: Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disko
via FoxyTunes

Shadow.

This is one of the kittens that have adopted us. Shadow and Pouncy are still around but Cotton Candy doesn't seem to have made it. Mama kitty has disappeared and I'm afraid she's off having more kittens.

I definitely need to call those cat wranglers...

Let's see. What else is going on. Well, tomorrow's our last day of summer. Not weather-wise (unfortunately) but school-wise. Sam heads off to 5th grade on Tuesday. He gets to meet his teacher tomorrow night. He's very excited.

Trish and I went to see a great movie the other night called Once. I realized about halfway through that it was a musical. But I liked it anyway. :-)

I have Showtime for free for a month so I've been recording some movies and watching a few. Last night I watched SherryBaby. It was good. I still have a girl crush on Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Trish recommended a really great book called The Great Good Thing. I loved it. I read the sequel, Into the Labyrinth but it wasn't quite as good.


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Now playing: Lori McKenna - Swallows Me Whole (Live)
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I was going to submit this to stuffonmycat.com but never got around to it... "Stuff" courtesy of Sam...

Catching up - I wrote on my other blog about being overwhelmed by having so much to do. This blog has been a victim of that, too.

So here are a few things I've done recently that I haven't blogged about:
Trish came over the other day for lunch and we made Shrinky Dinks. She assured me that a couple of single 40-year old women making Shrinky Dinks on a random Thursday afternoon was NOT weird or pathetic. We invited Sam to do some, too, but he was busy playing his Gameboy.

On Saturday Jenna and I went to IKEA and then ate at Blue Mesa (yum) and went to Trayc's (latest) solo show opening. The place was cool - in Deep Ellum next door to a tattoo studio. The location was an improvement from the last gallery show she was in - which had no AC - what were they thinking? And I was also excited to see that the most awesome (and dangerous) paper store, Paper Arts is next door. They move every couple of years and I can't keep up with where they are... So now I know.

After the reception we stopped at Kathleen's Art Cafe for some crazy delicious desserts. We were mildly disappointed that they don't really seem to have any art anymore, except for the stuff that we recognized from IKEA!

Sam is at my mom's tonight. I'm going to help hang a show tomorrow so he's going to hang out with her and maybe see Underdog.

I bought some storage and organization stuff at IKEA, so I spent the last couple of days cleaning my office. I'm trying to be more brutal about getting rid of stuff. I'm way too much of a packrat.

Last weekend I watched Factory Girl, about Edie Sedgwick and her friendship with Andy Warhol. It was good but sad. And it made me hate Andy Warhol.

Sam and I saw the Simpsons movie. It was funny but I think most of the funny parts were in the (numerous) previews. I still laughed a lot, though.

I'm done with all the chick-lit Shopaholic books and now I'm reading a kind of art-chick-lit book - Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him. The main character is a "gallerina" - a receptionist for a Chelsea gallery who has an inside view of the New York art world. It's really good.

All the rain seems to have stopped and now it's heating up to normal Texas August temps, which make me say repeatedly, "Why do I live here?"

I was wanting to go to the beach but after Shark Week last week, I might be happy with the boring old lake for a while.

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Now playing: Coconut Records - Summer Day
via FoxyTunes

Some pictures from the Bad Art Party. It was fun to watch the kids do their own thing and just make whatever they wanted. I think they had fun. Weird how all the girls made jewelry and clothing. Oh, and frog houses...

Sam and I went to the Harry Potter party at the local Barnes & Noble. I'm still amazed to think that all those people were there (and stores like it all over the world) for a BOOK. Is that not stunning in this day and age?

Some interesting people there. Some people (as in adults without kids who dress up as wizards...) are just WAY too into Harry Potter. I did see at least one great t-shirt, though. It said: "Spoiler Alert: Hermione's a Dude!"

Sam's not letting me touch his copy, though, for some reason. I've read all of the other ones to him (mostly - he would read some parts on his own, too). So I'm going to have to wait a long time to be able to read it. So don't tell me anything!

Yeah, wish me luck with that...

Tonight I watched Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus. It was weird, of course. But interesting. I think they were trying to imagine how she found her inspiration and why she was so attracted to what most of society thinks is freakish. She seemed to find beauty in it.

I'm helping out with the member's show for VAST (the local artist's group) this week.

I'm going to start on the last of the Shopaholic books. Total chick lit fluff but I'm completely hooked.

I also need to get some more boards to paint on. I've got an idea for a new series and want to get started on it.

bored in the car...

We had fun on our trip to Georgia. I decided to drive straight through on the way out. Mapquest said the drive was 12 hours but it took 14. We didn't really stop that much, either, so I'm not sure why it took so long. We left on the 4th, so there wasn't much traffic to deal with.

civil war cannon and the old miss - the mighty mississip in the background

We stopped in Vicksburg - Sam was oddly excited about seeing the Mississippi river. I had to suppress the urge to be Clark Griswald. I wonder how many dorky people like me do that (or want to) when they cross that river...

My mom and stepdad drove out, too and we saw them once on the road before they stopped briefly to gamble in Shreveport.

We stayed with my aunt and uncle while we were there. Somehow I didn't get any photos of them. Just my cousin's youngest daughter:

She was really funny. This picture cracked me up. She looks like a spoiled little princess here but she was hilarious.

My aunt and I were trying to figure out what we should call each other - how exactly are we related. So thanks to wikipedia, I learned that Madison is my first cousin, once removed. Your first cousin's kids are your first cousins, once removed. Their kid's kids are your first cousins, twice removed.

Oddly enough, my aunt is married to her cousin, so this creates all kinds of interesting problems when trying to figure out how we're all related. Don't worry they didn't have any kids together - it's the second marriage for both of them...

Second cousins are more distant. They have the same great-grandparents but different grandparents. It's very confusing and I'm not really sure I understand it. And who knows if wikipedia's right about it, anyway...

So anyway - I installed my show at the Douglasville Cultural Arts Council. Their art center is an old house, so the show has a different feel to it. I think it seems more intimate to see it in that kind of setting.

installation view, The Tornado Show - Seeking Shelter, Douglasville, Georgia

While I was installing they went to Stone Mountain. I might have been there when I was little, but I don't remember. Sam and Madison had lots of fun there and wore the grown-ups out.

On Saturday we went to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. It was so crowded. We had gotten tickets online the night before so we were expecting an easy time of it but we had to wait in a line for security, then a line for tickets, then a line to give someone our tickets and then another line to get the tickets for the movie that we had also gotten advanced tickets for... And then there were long lines at every exhibit. They need to make their viewing windows bigger or something... But they had some cool stuff - whale sharks, jellyfish, beluga whales, otters, seals, stingrays...

beluga whales

whale shark

jellyfish

Those are all my favorites...

The opening reception was on Sunday. It happened to coincide with their ice cream social (the whole cone thing worked out nicely) and the entertainment was a barbershop quarter. I'm not sure how that happened...

The reception was very well-attended. Another cousin came by and my uncle's daughter (who I think is actually my second cousin...) was there, too.

We left on Monday morning and headed to Philadelphia, Mississippi. My mom and stepdad and my aunt and uncle were staying at a casino there that night, so we stayed with them to save on a hotel. Sam thought it was the coolest place he'd ever been in his life. He desperately wanted to play a slot machine. I have zero urge to gamble, so to me it was just tacky, smoky, and sad. But I shouldn't complain since it was free...

The drive home was still long - 10 hours. We didn't hit any rain until we got to Carrollton where it rained buckets.

We've had a family of cats take up residence in our back yard. Maybe because I've been feeding them. :-) There's a mama, 3 babies, and the dad - weird for the dad to be hanging around, I know. Sam has named them Mama (mama - tortoise-shell/black), Grayson (dad - gray and buff mixed), and Pouncy (just like mama), Cotton Candy (orange tabby), and Shadow (darker version of mama).

I saw them this morning but they weren't here the rest of the day. Mama and the babies are cute and I wish they would let us pet them. I'd also like to get them fixed... Grayson might have been pretty at one time but now he has that tom-cat look to him. He looks like a bruiser...

Anyway, part of me wants them to move on and part of me wants them to stay. The kittens are so cute.

So we're going to be around for a while, I think. The show in Douglasville closes on the 17th. Hopefully my aunt and uncle can meet us with the stuff halfway...

This weekend I'm going to teach a workshop - actually one each day. Saturday night my friend Trayc has some work in a show and I think Trish is going to go with me to that.