The Devil You Know

GPOY:


spacefem put up a good post about how to speak to an audience that can, I think, also apply to the written word.

An angel of the dueSouth fandom uploaded a crap ton of screen caps that I'll be making good use of in my various fanart pieces.

Today's Tumblr collection is Tuesday, October 27: Gas Masks. That wraps up the Vaguely Creepy October collections.

( Cut for large xkcd comic )

I used to be blonde ponytail girl. I'm glad to say I'm dark short haired girl, now. GROWTH.

Tom Hiddleston tweeted the first clip from I Saw the Light. Oh my god you guys this movie's gonna kill me. He sounds so much like him.



mckitterick doesn't like country music (to the point that he claims Johnny Cash isn't a country singer because he likes Johnny Cash but doesn't like country music, therefore Johnny Cash isn't a country singer to which I think most of us will call bullshit but it's okay whatever moving on) and sometimes that makes me a little sad because I really like country music. I even like some modern pop country. All genres of music have a lot of crap, but man, that swing and twang? SO GOOD. sigh

I'm glad I can count on redheadfae going to see this with me. If msmitti can make it to town for a visit when it's playing, that'd be wonderful. hint hint It opens the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, ladies.

I look at a lot of refashioned/recycled clothes designs. A lot of them. And 99% of the time, I firmly believe there is nothing you can do with old ties that doesn't look like a bunch of old ties thrown together. Horrible. But check these out. A jacket (what makes this succeed IMO is the interrupted lines--it's not just horizontal lines that screams I AM MADE OF TIES), an ottoman, and (my least favorite, but still kind of pretty) a rug.

How to access a million stunning, copyright-free antique illustrations released by the British Library

I have a working phone now. Thanks, mckitterick! You're amazing. Now I need to spend a weekend learning how to use it. In the meantime, it's super pretty.

This morning was a tired morning, but it's nearly 11:30 now and I'm functional. I haven't had the stamina to stand at my desk yet, but I've taken two ten-minute walks. Okay!

I'm going to help miischelle vend at this event in October. I'll cannibalize Pit Girl for a generic Hunter costume. I'm tempted to make a statement costume of A Dead Woman On Supernatural, but I assume everyone attending is, you know, still a fan of the show, so I'll reign back my personal feelings about its Issues.

Today's Tumblr is Tuesday, July 7: Gowns.

I know, I know, I know I link to Breaking Muscle all the time but oh my god you guys, I want to do this 90 day program so hard.

Either I misplaced my box of fandom calling cards or I gave them all away. In any case, I wanted to get more for Con*Strict. I ordered them late Friday evening and they're already done this morning. Local folks, I can't recommend Minuteman Press enough. I didn't even have to call them. You can do all your ordering online! So great, and $40 for 250 cards (full color with bleed).

I finished my badge for Con*Strict last night! It was coming together pretty well, so I decided to go ahead and make it double-sided so that when it flips over (as lanyard badges inevitably do), it'll still show the relevant information. One side is Mad Max themed and the other is Sherlock. I'll try to remember to bring it to work to scan tomorrow so I can post a picture of it.

Found on the Toast Link Roundup, here's a great Kids These Days article.

"Screen Addiction is a generational complaint, and generational complaints, taken individually, are rarely what they claim to be. They are fresh expressions of horrible and timeless anxieties. They are a tried and true form of advanced-age self-care. They apply to all children except your kids, who are mere victims of their degraded peers. They apply to the Snapchats and the sexting, but not to those Facetime conversations with your grandniece, who is too young to text and Twitter, or to turn away, and who is therefore perfect.

The grandparent who is persuaded that screens are not destroying human interaction, but are instead new tools for enabling fresh and flawed and modes of human interaction, is left facing a grimmer reality. Your grandchildren don’t look up from their phones because the experiences and friendships they enjoy there seem more interesting than what’s in front of them (you). Those experiences, from the outside, seem insultingly lame: text notifications, Emoji, selfies of other bratty little kids you’ve never met. But they’re urgent and real. What’s different is that they’re also right here, always, even when you thought you had an attentional claim."

And my favorite is the closing bit:

" A new technology can be enriching and exciting for one group of people and create alienation for another; you don’t have to think the world is doomed to recognize that the present can be a little cruel."

I don't understand why it's so difficult for parents to remove the technology when the presence of the technology is inappropriate to the situation. I understood when it was time to put down the book or the crayons or whatever. How is a tablet or phone different? That's not a rhetorical question. I honestly want to know. Is there a difference? How? Why?

I commented on The Toast that grandparents need to make themselves relevant and interesting. That's just courteous. I'm lucky. My dad's parents were fascinating people and I happily listened to their stories about throwing rocks at the National Guard when they came in to guard the scabs during a union strike. Or about how theirs was the first lunch counter in their city to seat Black people. Helping grandma in the kitchen and her telling stories about the people who bought her pies as she taught me how to make a good pie crust. I mean, I guess I didn't have the option of internet friends back then, but even today, if I had the choice to visit with them about their amazing adventures or scroll through my Tumblr dash, I probably wouldn't choose Tumblr. Old people need to get over the notion that they're deserving of time and attention just because they're old.

Tonight is my appointment with Dr. Jonah in KC. Tomorrow night is prep for Indy (making kale chips so we have a travel vegetable to go with the jerky so we don't have to stop somewhere for lunch), and also slicing up the jerky for Con*Strict (so it has four days to marinade before I put it in the dehydrator when I'm back from Indy). I'd like to make a couple more tops to take to Con*Strict. My first attempt at re-fashioning some thrift-store tees into a mini-dress was successful. I'd like to pack those instead of tops and skirts because I am all about minimal packing. Also because I need to leave enough room for my iPod speakers and yoga mat in my suitcase.

All these links I'm posting for posterity/my own reference when I can finally push my body again. Not sure whether they're motivating or depressing. Anyway. Working into middle/side splits.

I tried one of my fancy new serger stitches this weekend and it didn't work, but I did learn some things. I'm much more confident about a successful re-thread of the machine happening within three attempts, and cover stitch takes a really long time to rip out and leaves holes in your fabric. But hey! Practice.

You might consider checking out the Alameda county fair pig race that Mallory Ortberg posted on the Toast today.

I'm not sure if I lost my box of Clever Manka calling/business cards or if I actually gave away 100 of those things. In any case, I need to order more if I want them for Con*Strict which dear god is so much sooner than I'm ready for. This weekend is mckitterick's birthday weekend (also the first full weekend he's home since May 23rd), next weekend I'm in Indy visiting my parents, and then...Con*Strict. Not a lot of time to get stuff done for it.

I would like to make myself some travel clothes. The dress I put together this weekend came out super cute (despite the failed cover stitch) and I'd like to have two of those to take, along with some re-fashioned leggings, but...there's also the fact I learned this weekend that this con is small enough I get to make my own badge for it. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT. Oh hell yes.

More opportunities to practice art! What a fun thing and rare to make my own con badge. Definitely something Mad Max themed. Pretty sure I'm gonna use this image as the base. ALSO I found someone who says she'd like to receive the altered portrait of Furiosa when I finish it. Knowing I have an owner lined up for a piece of art is so helpful for me. Obviously the portrait isn't even gonna get started before I return from Las Vegas. And the badge obviously has the priority before new clothes. If only I didn't have this pesky day job.

Seriously, though, looking at the calendar of my current vacation days for July, I'm only in the office thirteen days for the month. That will get my accrued vacation time below 200 hours for the first time in five years.

Thanks so much to hdsqrl whose comment yesterday inspired me to do one more search for workable cupids and suddenly I was inspired by an image I'd already found and I found an old selfie pic to fit it (thank god for two different 365-day selfie projects). I cut out the focus pieces (god, cutting out RayK's hair is always such a hassle), then picked out, cut out, and glued down the texture base materials last night. Tonight is paint, paint texturing, and possibly more gluing-shit-down. Wednesday I probably won't get to work on it, so finishing touches need to be done Thursday night so I can take it downtown Friday afternoon to get scanned for uploading on Saturday.



I'm trying hard not to think about the fact that this weekend was the solstice so now the days are getting shorter and it's just all downhill from here.

Today's Tumblr is Tuesday, June 23: Snails.

Mostly for my own reference, but in case anyone else is interested, here are some combo suggestions for infused water. I've recently discovered adding fancy-ass balsamic vinegar (the good stuff, and just a smidge) to seltzer water, too. Delicious.

A friend is coming over for dinner tonight. I'm making this. Ready to eat it right now, along with some of that flavored seltzer. Summer eating, yo.

In a comment on The Toast, I wrote: "I have to wear a high-compression bra when lifting or I tend to bonk my boobs coming up on a snatch. And that might be the greatest sentence I have ever typed in my life."

I'm feeling good and it's such a nice change. Because I was pretty low all around for the first half of June, I didn't do a lot of the things I hoped while mckitterick was busy with the writing workshops. I feel like I'm ready to get back to more consistency with yoga, now. I'm also going to start incorporating more isometric movements because Coach Andrew tells me this sort of thing can also keep one's metabolism charged for longer. Energy allowing, I'm going to start working on some art projects--including a Furiosa altered portrait.

Speaking of, I might be taking Coach Andrew to Fury Road this weekend if he can get away from responsibilities at his gym for a few hours. Also speaking of, this article is flat amazing. It does bring up the "this isn't feminist" argument a bit, which...whatever, we can agree to disagree on that opinion. But the main point of it is incredibly valuable.

I never doubted being a girl, but I thought I was missing the mark, because I thought there was a mark to miss. But there are so, so many more ways of being a woman than I realized, so many more ways than I saw reflected in the stories that spoke to me. As it turned out, one of them was mine, and I was doing it exactly right.

Here's hoping anyway, right?

Two besties came over last night. We ate, chat, and polished off a couple bottles that had gotten lost in the wine collection and were, miraculously, still good. I was pleased and relieved since one of them was a $40 bottle of Pineau des Charentes. We planned to watch a movie but, as often happens when we get together, spent five hours talking instead. The were gone by 10:45 and I was in bed and asleep by 11:15. Ahhhh.

New Year's resolutions were never my thing, although I think they're great when people use them as a tool to improve their lives. If you're making resolutions this year, I wish you all the best! And also, I'm nosy, so feel free to share them in the comments.

I suppose I can consider my Intentional Movement program a new resolution that I got a head-start on it last week.

Recently I've been incorporating a new style aesthetic into my wardrobe. It's a sort of post-apocalyptic look, but wearable. A little more thrift store punk and less Burning Man. In my head I think of it as "delicately grim." I made a Pinterest account to track ideas for it if you're curious. Because of that, I've been pondering another 365 photo project: taking a photo of my outfit every day. I'm worried I'll be exhausted of that by March, though. Maybe I can aim for three outfit photos a week or something? It would certainly motivate me to be more imaginative and daring with my combos. I'm always inspired by splix's fashion choices and combinations. It looks fun, but I don't have that varied of a wardrobe. Well, I can at least try it for a couple months and if I'm not enjoying it, nobody is going to force me to continue. One side benefit would be that the only appropriate mirror for such self-portraits is the one in my sewing room and taking a photo in there every day would certainly cause me to keep it a bit tidier.

In other news, the due South Sekrit Santa creators were revealed yesterday, so I can post a link to the piece I did for it this year: A Second Chance. I'm really pleased with this one. It used up the last of my maps of Chicago, though, and my last atlas entry for Canada. So if I'm going to continue doing these, I gotta go buy some more paper Chicago and Canada maps, which ugh. Not that they're expensive, but it seems ridiculous to buy new ephemera for my collages instead of finding them at the library book sale or thrift stores. I guess if anyone has old maps of either that they'd like to send me? The older the better, actually. Not like I have to worry about updated roads and such.

A list of all the works for the challenge are here.

Anyway. Happy New Year! I certainly wish a happy year on all of you still here and reading. I know at least a few people keep up with me here who don't even have LJ accounts so can't comment (hi, E-Dub!) and it's nice to know that I'm not shouting into a void. LJ is getting smaller and less active all the time. I know it's going to stop being a viable community eventually, but I'm sure I'll be one of the last hold-outs and I appreciate all of you who are also sticking around to the very end. Big, sexy kisses to you all.

Courtesy redheadfae, have a cheat sheet for Costco pricing policies. The bit about "don't buy this b/c it's full price" is not so helpful to me, because most of the stuff I (and the folks I know who shop there) buy are things like tuna, toilet paper, and dishwashing detergent. That shit's never going to go on sale, and that shit's why I have a Costco membership, so....But it's super helpful, regardless!

I can't talk about it much because we're supposed to keep things mostly under wraps until creators are revealed, but my due South Sekrit Santa project is going so well.

Restocked the Etsy store yesterday and already have a sale! Yay! If you want some bloomers now that the weather is miserably cold, stop on by to see what's up. Four pairs in the new size D (XL) are there! Use code WINTER20 for 20% off.

Yesterday I made a thing.



The entire living area and kitchen of our house is ceramic tile, so it can get pretty echo-y and chilly. mckitterick bought a whole bunch of sample rugs (miniature versions of full room rugs) when the local Sears closed. He scattered them around the downstairs--areas where we sat or travel areas. I hated them. I thought they make the area look cluttered. I was constantly tripping on them, so they frequently got scuffed a few inches which meant they were always crooked and/or had a bit of the anti-skid mat peeking through. We gathered them up and stacked them in the sewing room for dance parties and I decided after Friday's party I was just not putting them back again. Instead, I was going to make one giant rug for the south side of the living area where we have a sectional couch and (usually) the dining table (our house has kind of a weird layout). Sunday morning I woke up ridiculously early (extra ridiculously early because of the time change) and decided I was just gonna do this thing.

So I lay them all out, matching sizes as best as I could so there wouldn't be gaps, then flipped them all over and then, using a giant tapestry needle and some heavy buttonhole twist thread, spent the next four hours crouched on the floor whip-stitching rugs together. Even though I used thimbles to push the needle through, my fingers are tender from having to grip the needle tight to pull it through the rug edgings.

It looks fantastic, though, and I'm thrilled with it. Now we just gotta buy some anti-fatigue mats for the kitchen so I'm not standing for hours on the ceramic tile when I do weekend food prep.