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Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space: http://www.morusnyc.org/
Walking tours of the lower east side with the history of squatting and community gardens at a time when landlords were burning down buildings to collect the insurance.
train song
Every year, my office hooks current business and economics students up with alumni who work in those fields in New York City. Usually, a couple of folks I work with go down to keep an eye on things. This year, I got to be one of them. It was a quick trip -- down Thursday afternoon and back up Sa...
What McGregor needs is a more attractive alternative to the back of your skull: http://www.chewy.com/cat/kh-pet-products-thermo-kitty-mat/dp/46451
Of course I may steal it from him and stick it in my bed the next time I visit during the winter. Or maybe I should just pack my electric blanket. Or would airport security have a problem with that?
up with figs, let the sleeping cat lie
Once upon a time, Lisa and Adrienne worked for the same alternative newsweekly. Now, both spend their respective days mining their creative souls and leading hermit-like lives. And so an idea was hatched. Every week, one would send the other a sketch - either in illustration or word form - and t...
Review of Cinderella in The Stranger: http://www.thestranger.com/film/features/2015/03/11/21853218/meet-the-new-cinderella-same-as-the-old-cinderella
I think Ijeoma Oluo is my new favorite Stranger writer.
many things make a post
* In honour of the day. * Eat a burger. * But don't read this while eating a burger. Or anything. * Lots of thoughts about Cinderella. * I might love this lady. * Snerk. * I'm kinda bummed I missed this conference at my alma mater. * The take-away? Get some sleep. * We all drew butts!
I worked on a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Seth Rudetsky my first semester at Oberlin. I've been so far out of the Broadway loop that I didn't know he'd made it big until I was in NYC a few years ago and happened to see him on TV.
many things make a post
* People are ... strange? * Heh. * The show must go on. * SCOTLAND! * I might resemble this. * 19 boxes. * DATA! * Ugh. People. * Biscuit monster.
I'm glad you chose the canellini Tic-Tac buttons. And I'm sure it *feels* more snug than it looks, but I can see how you might not have much leeway to move your arms. If it hasn't found a home by August, throw it in a suitcase and I'll give it a whirl.
actual knitting content
And, lo, I finished Blumchen, which I have been knitting on intermittently for, oh, two years. But before the finished product shots, a few thoughts. Thought the first: Anne Hanson's patterns are amazingly well-written and packaged. Would that she could organize the world. Thought the second:...
Before I saw the inscription, I thought the portrait was of Harry Caray. Illinois, you have your assignment.
once more, with feeling
Every year, we head up to the Farmer's Museum for Sugaring Off.* Every year, we go with the Pie Goddess, Grill Master and their two kids,** because it is what we do. As is traditional, Jack's Wax was consumed. I took the same two pictures I take every year. New this year, however, we...
"The Diva is of the opinion that no one should sing, especially her brother, because he “ruins it.” The Boy believes he should be allowed to sing because a) it annoys the crap out of his sister and b) he likes to sing."
Did you crib this paragraph from a Vulcan mind meld with one of their grandparents? Because that was me and Scott *exactly*. If that trend continues, you may have a moment or two of three-part harmony ahead if the right song comes on (I distinctly remember the song "Lollipop"), but mostly just more bickering.
shameless self-promotion, number 373 in a series
My intention was to show off some knitting today because I spent the weekend at the Knitter's Review Retreat and my knitting batteries* are nicely recharged. But my intentions were again foiled by the reality of kids and jobs, both of which I'd like to keep, and, so, attention must be paid. Unti...
I have a friend in Vancouver who might be up for the Sea Wheeze. Regardless of whether she runs, we could book the guest suite in her condo complex to crash at for cheap. Too bad the Sea Wheeze isn't the same weekend as @#*&%! Seafair. I could use an excuse to be out of town when the Blue Angels go screaming past my house repeatedly.
many things make a post
* Maybe I'm in a running lull -- I'm still running but feel sorta stuck -- because I'm not training for anything cool. This looks cool. Who's with me? * I'm totally a skeptic but I do find acupuncture to be a near miracle. And there's evidence to support it. * On vasectomies. * I might need to r...
Nifty! But the 1998 file is playing songs from 1996.
10 Seconds from Every Top-100 Song Ever + A Free Cut-up Software!
1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2...
All this has happened before, and all this will happen again. The kids' great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents are buried in a cemetery next to what is now a UU church. It was Universalist back in the day, and I don't know whether they were members, but that could be a fun family history project.
on faith
I've been trying to find the best way to introduce a new development in my life, one that I never saw coming. I'm still at a loss. So here are a few pictures, while I warm up: This is Stonehenge, as constructed by Maddy. And, yes, I did hum the Spinal Tap song when I first saw it. Also Stone...
I bet Amazon's matching algorithm was *really* proud of itself.
Evite didn't do so well with me. After I sent out the invitations to my upcoming vegetarian anniversary, the ad that came up was for pork :(
shameless self-promotion, 353 in a series + surrealness
Shameless promo: I have two stories in this month's Upstate Life. For the first, I got to interview one of the Beekman Boys (squee!); for the second, I ran so far away, both night and day. In surreal news, Amazon recommended my own book to me this morning. What does that mean? Adrienne...
I wonder if the uncommon-handedness is a girl thing in our family. I'm what they call "cross dominant." I write with my right hand, but am perfectly happy mousing with either. But don't ask me to shoot pool or a bow and arrow as a rightie, because my left eye is dominant.
many things make a post
Thanks for the kind words on both Trout and Boy. I'll keep you posed. * Where to eat in Union, Connecticut. Food for brain and body. * I have one left-handed kid and one right-handed kid. This article, while interesting, does nothing to help explain why. * Tempting 1 and 2. * I missed this Inte...
Alas, poor Trout. We're running a kitty hospice here too. Junior's cancer may have metastasized and it's looking like he only has a few weeks left. May they both wave their fluffy tails jauntily while they can.
this is not the post I was going to write
The post I was going to write was simply about Trout, our aging kitty, about whom we got some unhappy news. The upshot of the news is that time waits for no cat, no matter how loved and no matter how lovely. Right now, he's fine-ish, just an abscessed tooth that can be taken care of with antib...
Kicking imaginary butt in slow motion (tai chi).
shameless self-promotion, 344 in a series + a recommendation and a picture
The shameless self-promo: A review of Scott Phillips' Rut from Locus. Most of the columns I write for Locus the magazine aren't online - so I thought I'd link to one that is. Also, I find the concept of this book's publication fascinating. The recommendation: Go get yourself a copy of Jo Walton...
Did the soup have croutons and grated cheese? Halfway to Russian, I tell you. OK, you probably figured out the crouton part, but did you know they were bread croutons? I'm not sure what other kind of crouton there is, but I suppose there's no harm in being specific.
Only four cloves of garlic in a garlic soup recipe? Is that recipe for just one serving?
will not have to worry about vampires tonight
Where I am, two hours from now, it will be 2011. I hope yours is all you might hope for. We just finished a fierce Apples to Apples game with all of the kids, which we started shortly after we got back from a Czech pub where we had really good beer and I had old Czech garlic soup (Staročeská čes...
My Moosewood has a scorched spine, from some roommate of yore.
What was the occasion of the unthrilled flag-holding? We were just reminiscing last night about my high school sit-down strike over the daily pledge of allegiance.
shameless self-promotion, 339 in a series + a photo
Being a column for Edible Finger Lakes: Oh, Moosewood. I just can't quit you. Also, a picture of the Boy that cracks me up each time I see it: You can simply feel the joy.
A propos of Brazilians, wisdom from a porn star: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/i-love-television/Content?oid=4683778&hp
Amen sister, amen.
many things make a post
* I love this cover art. * Food souvenirs. I always bring back as many Coffee Crisp bars as I can fit in my luggage. You? * The Writing Parent. Having kids has completely changed the way I writer, too, and for the better. * Do you know any men who've gotten a Brazilian wax? * Ganesh (or Buddha o...
I happen to know Jeny (yes, she spells it with one 'n') of the surprisingly stretchy bind-off, and I'd been meaning to send you that link for ages now. See, if you procrastinate anything long enough, someone else will do it ;)
a knitting question
For the last few days, my friend Quinn* has been visiting. We have done nothing in particular and have had a lovely time doing it. We also spent a fair amount of time either knitting or talking about knitting. As one does. (Quinn at the weekly Oneonta Knitters Wednesday Ice Cream Social and ...
My best friend from high school and/or her husband (I forget the details) once got stuck in traffic at that duck crossing because there isn't an actual signal for the ducks, not that they would know how to use it. So the ducks were milling about in the middle of the intersection, and there must have been youngsters among them, or I imagine they would have just flown away, so my friend/s actually got out of their car and herded the ducks to safety, much to the relief of many frustrated motorists.
picture dump
Last weekend, we went to the husband's homeland and visited its many shrines. (And here let me mention that the child minding services - the special room where parents can drop their kids off for an hour - saved the Boy's life, because by this point in the trip we were ready to sell him to a...
I still have my Christmas Opus, and the great big one that I put a beret-ish hat that my grandma crocheted on. It looks like he's wearing a shower cap.
Oh, Opus
Bloom County is my most favorite comic strip ever. EVAR! IDW has been slowly reprinting ten years worth of strips on archival paper with footnotes from Berkeley Breathed. Well worth the cost, imo. But I am a huge fan who would probably buy anything Breathed created. I just finished the second ...
The report from Seattle: Borders didn't have their act together as of yesterday. They were waiting for five copies to make their way from some warehouse to the Knitting shelf, which, contrary to its claims, is *not* sorted by author's last name.
Barnes and Noble didn't have it on the new releases table, but did have several copies on the shelf. So I used the gift card they gave me when I returned the Spanish-English dictionary I bought that was missing the pages with English words starting with the letters C through F or so. Too bad I didn't discover that until after I arrived in Mexico.
and now the pictures can be shown
There has been much rejoicing around the house for the day has arrived! Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously is officially on the shelves! Hooray! In case you wondered what the finished sweater looks like, here it is: And of me in said sweater: You will note that you don't see th...
My favorite from the above link:
"Make a squirrel excluder of 4" diameter plastic pipe, 18" long, mounted over the opening, pointing down at a 45-degree angle."
Wheeeeee!
Which reminds me of this manic bit of squirrel-related internet miscellany (NSFW): http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/weeee
only the dim one
Squirrel update: nerak left a comment on the previous post about the squirrel that was trapped was merely the fall guy for the squirrel population at large. I poo-pooed her idea. Not publically, mind, but quietly in my own head. Given that we woke up to find all three traps licked free of their...
Heeeeee! There's never a lone gunman where varmints are concerned. You'll have to call in Oliver Stone to irritate the squirrels into finding a new locale.
only the dim one
Squirrel update: nerak left a comment on the previous post about the squirrel that was trapped was merely the fall guy for the squirrel population at large. I poo-pooed her idea. Not publically, mind, but quietly in my own head. Given that we woke up to find all three traps licked free of their...
I once found such a cake supply store through divine intervention. Seattle was having the freak storm which was to drop a 50-foot Douglas fir on the corner of a friend's house and leave vast swaths of the region without electricity for days, and the local creek had commandeered the road I would normally take home. So on my detour I noticed the Home Cake Decorating Supply Co and decided to wander in. Now I have multicolored dinosaur sprinkles, and little itty bitty candy cane sprinkles that even taste like candy canes. Willy Wonka, eat yer heart out!
many things make a post
* Jello really is a most wondrous substance. * I have been on some flights with some really great flight attendants. This one takes the cookie, however. And those cookies are like my favorite cookies ever. * I keep meaning to mention this but haven't remembered until now: Infinite Summer. * Cel...
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