Erica took the bait in my last post and asked, "By the way, what ARE the best things you've learned?" Here are the additional top ten that come to mind, in no particular order (and I'll try to keep them quick). Looking over the list, most of it boils down to trusting myself, I think.
1. Well, yes, do follow synchronicity. When strange coincidences start to come into your life, particularly around certain topics, try to follow them and see where they lead. When you get interested in something new and the very next day you meet someone who can teach you more about it, take them up on that. And so on. Mostly, really amazing stuff seems to happen when I do this.
2. Journaling really helps. When the synchronicity and the creativity aren't flowing, especially, or when I'm feeling out of sorts. I learned this practice from the wonderful book The Artist's Way, and it is my absolute top self-help and/or mystical recommendation to pretty much anyone. The method suggested is to write stream-of-consciousness style about absolutely anything for twenty minutes every day. I am consistently blown away by how much less blocked I feel when I stick to this habit.
3. People in positions of authority aren't necessarily right. I've found there is a huge difference between knowing this in theory and knowing it in practice. It applies to doctors, academics, and politicians, among others. It also applies to other hyper-confident individuals with aggressive styles of communication, including particularly those who use "conventional wisdom" to back up their claims.
4. You can make art if you want to. I've really come to believe that intrinsic talent is overrated. Sure, it exists, but I'll take desire and practice over that stuff any day. If you really follow your own instincts creatively, you're not guaranteed any recognition, but you're fairly certain to impress yourself eventually.
5. Nobody will make sure you get what you deserve, but you still deserve to be happy. For me, struggling with sexism has been a real challenge in my life. I'm still a passionate feminist, and I think raising consciousness about various types of privilege is incredibly important. But, we can't wait until all that is fixed to be happy. And to be happy, we have to do the things we want to, regardless of how hard they are or how they are likely to be received. Nobody else can do this for us.
6. Freedom is an action, not a reaction. I've spent more time than I would like rebelling (subconsciously) against things I don't feel I should have to do. For example, I don't have to be employed, clean my house, or have a spiritual life just because society thinks I should. I'm glad that I really really know and believe that at this point. But I'm also glad that I've realized I can do these things for myself, and can appreciate the results of my effort.
7. Everybody just wants to be happy. This is an important principle of Mahayana Buddhism, and one I've spent a lot of time thinking about. Parenting has also really impressed me with the truth of this saying. No one sets out to be a bad or disliked person, some people just never learn how to deal with their problems constructively, or for whatever reason can't bring themselves to do so. This doesn't mean I let people "get away with" anything they want to do, but it does mean that I judge others a lot less than I used to. And when that attitude comes naturally to me, I tend to feel happier.
8. There are other ways to parent. Personally, I'm incredibly glad that I know about unschooling and unconditional parenting.
9. Just because it works for me, doesn't mean it works for everyone. I tried to keep these concepts pretty general, because more specific things are hardly universal. Just because I suddenly become obsessed with yoga, for example, doesn't mean that other people should do the same. Except for journaling, of course. Everybody should do that.
Showing posts with label world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world. Show all posts
Monday, September 13, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The Best Thing I Learned in my Twenties
There have been times during the past decade when I could look back over the past week, or even month, and wonder what constructive thing I had done (if any). I'm not particularly proud of this, and I realize it's an incredible privilege to have had - but there it is. Intermittently I did some fun things, some stupid things, and a few amazing things. Looking back, I realize that I also did a lot of learning.
I learned some great things, definitely - like when you notice synchronicity in your life you should jump on it, and when you're taking the bus in Nepal you should triple-check to make sure you're on the right one lest you find yourself carrying your luggage several miles down a mountain you never should have been up in the first place. But since no one is actually sitting around asking me what the best things I've learned are, I won't bore you further with a comprehensive list. There is one thing, though, that I really wish someone would have told me earlier, and that is this:
YOU DON'T HAVE TO FIGURE IT ALL OUT
You don't have to figure out the meaning of life, or why the world is the way it is. You can ponder these things if you like, but you'll never really, truly figure it out (at least not by over-thinking it). In particular, not figuring it all out certainly shouldn't stop you from doing what you want to do, or what you feel you should do. To put that another way, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO FIGURE OUT EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE.
You probably don't have to worry too much about choosing a career. Sure, some jobs take lots of forethought and preparation, but if you might really become a pro ballet dancer or a neurosurgeon, you probably already have some inkling that you might be on that path.
Misspent youth notwithstanding, it's not that I'm opposed to hard work or dedication - far from it. I've just come to think it's more important to consider what you want right now. For example, if you want to go to college or grad school, if you think that would be interesting and fulfilling and you're willing to take on the financial obligations, then sure, go for it! Or if you have another goal, like working to buy a house or save up for something you're excited about, then great. Otherwise, why not get up and ask yourself WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO TODAY? On any given day you could apply for an interesting job, make some art, research an interesting topic, check out a place you've never been before, or hang out with a friend. For the most part, you can do this stuff even if you're already or employed, or in school...
Over time, these choices add up. People learn new things and encounter new directions. Our past experience is rarely as irrelevant as we might imagine, since some of the fundamental skills we acquire - to learn, to grow, to use our intuition, to work hard, to be happy - are pretty much always relevant. Just do something incredible, okay? Like, today.
ETA: I did end up adding this post on a similar topic: Other Best Things I Have Learned!
I learned some great things, definitely - like when you notice synchronicity in your life you should jump on it, and when you're taking the bus in Nepal you should triple-check to make sure you're on the right one lest you find yourself carrying your luggage several miles down a mountain you never should have been up in the first place. But since no one is actually sitting around asking me what the best things I've learned are, I won't bore you further with a comprehensive list. There is one thing, though, that I really wish someone would have told me earlier, and that is this:
YOU DON'T HAVE TO FIGURE IT ALL OUT
You don't have to figure out the meaning of life, or why the world is the way it is. You can ponder these things if you like, but you'll never really, truly figure it out (at least not by over-thinking it). In particular, not figuring it all out certainly shouldn't stop you from doing what you want to do, or what you feel you should do. To put that another way, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO FIGURE OUT EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE.
You probably don't have to worry too much about choosing a career. Sure, some jobs take lots of forethought and preparation, but if you might really become a pro ballet dancer or a neurosurgeon, you probably already have some inkling that you might be on that path.
Misspent youth notwithstanding, it's not that I'm opposed to hard work or dedication - far from it. I've just come to think it's more important to consider what you want right now. For example, if you want to go to college or grad school, if you think that would be interesting and fulfilling and you're willing to take on the financial obligations, then sure, go for it! Or if you have another goal, like working to buy a house or save up for something you're excited about, then great. Otherwise, why not get up and ask yourself WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO TODAY? On any given day you could apply for an interesting job, make some art, research an interesting topic, check out a place you've never been before, or hang out with a friend. For the most part, you can do this stuff even if you're already or employed, or in school...
Over time, these choices add up. People learn new things and encounter new directions. Our past experience is rarely as irrelevant as we might imagine, since some of the fundamental skills we acquire - to learn, to grow, to use our intuition, to work hard, to be happy - are pretty much always relevant. Just do something incredible, okay? Like, today.
ETA: I did end up adding this post on a similar topic: Other Best Things I Have Learned!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Happiness Is
Someone who'd read some of my online content recently looked me up and emailed to ask about my secrets of happiness. That was pretty cool, and besides being a great compliment, it really made me think. Having thus thunk, I figured I'd make a real post out of the stuff I came up with:1. Happiness is my goal. According to Mahayana Buddhism, being happy is everybody's goal all the time, but some people seem to do a pretty good job of ignoring it. I like to do things that make me happy (even if they seem unconventional, silly, or hard), like traveling the world, making art, learning to do new things, and so on. I think it's great to be altruistic and help others, but only if it makes you happy. If I can't think of anything I really want to do, I try to do different stuff anyway, and eventually I come across something else I really enjoy.
2. I make a point of liking myself. This hasn't always come to me easily, but I think it's important. My best tip is to make an internal truce - you're stuck with yourself, so you might as well stop any negative internal dialogue as well as you can. For me, that was enough to really help over time.
3. I believe in authentic relationships. I really love my partner and kids. I wouldn't necessarily recommend these things to others who aren't deeply motivated in the same direction, but I do have a few important principles that really work for me in this area.
James and I are both deeply committed to our partnership. We also try to support each other unconditionally. We even have a rule that we automatically have to tell each other anything we feel uncomfortable sharing. It's nice to feel like someone really has your back no matter what. Of course, I did really luck out in the partner department, but I also went out of my way to make sure I could be a good partner, to meet interesting people, and to make sure we were really compatible in the early stages of our relationship.
As far as the kids go, I'm a firm believer in unconditional parenting and unschooling. For me, these principles have been amazing in developing a positive relationship with my kids. (Well, with my son, mostly. So far attachment parenting is pretty much doing it for my two-month-old daughter.)
In the friends department, I know I could stand to develop some more skills, but I do know that I like to have friends who are honest, adventurous, and not too easily phased. One habit that works wonders for me in almost any relationship is nonviolent communication (this is by far the most useful thing that I ever learned in school, and another way that I really lucked out).
4. I try to have healthy habits. Not always, of course, because I like to experiment and have fun, too. But I generally find that any ongoing moodiness, anxiety, or existential angst that occurs from time to time can be lessened dramatically with healthy eating, exercise, sufficient sleep and relaxation and a generous amount of time outdoors. I'm all for philosophical inquiry, but only if it's actually fun.
5. I have a lot of faith in the universe. Not that I won't get hit by a bus tomorrow, but that in general even when bad things happen they have a silver lining, and when certain opportunities disappear, others tend to open up. I do find that a spiritual practice helps to develop this type of faith over time. Personally I really enjoy Christopher Penczak's Temple of Witchcraft series of books on this topic, but, well, that's six dense books about traditional witchcraft, and I realize that's not everyone's cup of nightshade tea. For beginners who'd like to try out something down-to-earth, digestible, and non-dogmatic, I'd highly recommend the book The Four Agreements, or maybe Hardcore Zen if that sounds more up your alley.
Those five general principles do wonders for me in the happiness department. Of course, I'm also happy because my life is pretty awesome. What are your secrets to happiness?
Friday, September 25, 2009
US Out of Pittsburgh
I wasn't planning on going to any G20 protests. It's not that I approve of the G20, but protests generally end up being mostly symbolic regardless of the intention, and often I'm not even convinced that the symbol is an effective one. Actually, I read some kind of surprising comments on the subject in the Huffington Post today:Much as I hate to admit it, that's pretty much how I've been feeling too, and the sentiment that I've been getting from many of my friends. Actually, it reminds me of something I was told in the context of Navajo sweat lodge ceremony once: that praying for things like world peace is too vague to make much of a difference, and it's better to pray for, say, someone you know who's struggling somehow. (It would be nice if Obama would maybe follow his own advice a bit more, but that's sort of a different subject.) As an idea, it makes a lot of sense to me. Sometimes it doesn't seem like enough, but it's pretty much all I can do at the moment.President Obama, in an interview with the Toledo Blade, cautions would-be protesters of the upcoming G20 Summit that while such protests are "are a sign of a healthy democracy," they're not likely to have much of a net impact:"I was always a big believer in - when I was doing organizing before I went to law school - that focusing on concrete, local, immediate issues that have an impact on people's lives is what really makes a difference and that having protests about abstractions [such] as global capitalism or something, generally, is not really going to make much of a difference."
Anyway, I wasn't planning on going to anything until I found out about the anarcha-feminist hula hooping event shown in the photo above. That meme collision was too much for me to resist, and besides it was billed as a safe, non-confrontational demonstration, which is pretty much all I can get into these days, being all unarrestable 'n'at... Unfortunately it was only about ten hoopers (almost all from out of town) who actually did seem pretty confrontational, but they get lots of points for effort and creativity from me.
Overall I feel kind of jaded about the whole process, but I was happy that I got out at least once to support people who are making an effort (and in many cases, taking significant personal risks) to stand up for the things that they (and I) believe in. And I got a chance to hoop a little, which is kind of hard in our apartment.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Endless Amusement on the Internet
A couple of days after I went on my internet diet, I discovered The Daily Grail (Science, Magic, Myth and History). Boy, was that bad timing. Almost every day they post a truly amazing number of links to bizarre and fascinating stories. For example, today you can read about yeti, UFOs, the hubble telescope, wind turbines, the worst places in the world and much more. The links are always pretty high quality, and the range of subjects is awesome. Well, if you're me anyway. Actually, it was kind of like someone was reading the internet for me.
I've also been really into podcasts, especially since I can listen to them when I'm hanging out alone at home with River. Did you know that you can download any episode ever of This American Life? Free Culinary School is pretty interesting, too, if you want to brush up your cooking skills. I'd love to find some more interesting podcasts if anybody has any suggestions.
I've also been really into podcasts, especially since I can listen to them when I'm hanging out alone at home with River. Did you know that you can download any episode ever of This American Life? Free Culinary School is pretty interesting, too, if you want to brush up your cooking skills. I'd love to find some more interesting podcasts if anybody has any suggestions.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The Things We Don't Have to Do These Days
I've been totally exhausted recently, and while I like to think that I'm doing well by taking care of River and managing to do a modicum of chores, errands, and writing work, it has also occurred to me how incredibly lucky I am to be living right now in a culture/situation where I can get by doing this little for a while. I know there are plenty of people even now and around here who have to work double shifts and things like that just to get by, but what really blows my mind is thinking about people who have lived with a much lower level of technology, in subsistence situations.
Today I did a little research on what homesteading women did every day in the late 1800s, and it was pretty mind-blowing. First of all, a woman my age might be pregnant, caring for a toddler, and would probably also have at least a couple of older children. She would get up around dawn to build up a fire, get water from a stream or well, and make breakfast, then milk the cows, gather eggs, feed the animals, and work in the vegetable garden. After that, she and any daughters who were old enough to help would do chores specific to the day. One traditional way of arranging these chores was "wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday, mend on Wednesday, churn on Thursday, clean on Friday, bake on Saturday, rest on Sunday." (Although, if it were me, I'd save time on Tuesday, because who the hell cares about ironing? Especially if you're just going to be working on a farm). Some days (maybe Tuesdays, but it would probably end up getting put off until Sunday) she would also have to squeeze in extra seasonal projects like making sausage, preserves, candles, soap, and tanning leather. Most of these projects were just for subsistence, but she really needed to come up with extras of something occasionally, to trade for things like sugar and salt (tasty, but also important for preserving food), crockery, fabric, and metal tools. Which, of course, she'd also have to spend lots of time traveling to town for occasionally. Then she would make dinner, teach the kids reading and math, and maybe do some sewing, spinning, or other handwork before bed.
I'll admit, I'm the kind of person who tends to fantasize about living in the woods and making my own jam, but especially when I'm pregnant, I'm pretty happy that I don't have to, say, boil all my laundry with water I carry from a creek, then beat it clean and wring it out by hand.
(Of course, it's also incredibly inefficient to live by yourself when you have this much work to do. I'm sure it all goes a lot faster in cultures or places where several households pool their chores somehow.)
Today I did a little research on what homesteading women did every day in the late 1800s, and it was pretty mind-blowing. First of all, a woman my age might be pregnant, caring for a toddler, and would probably also have at least a couple of older children. She would get up around dawn to build up a fire, get water from a stream or well, and make breakfast, then milk the cows, gather eggs, feed the animals, and work in the vegetable garden. After that, she and any daughters who were old enough to help would do chores specific to the day. One traditional way of arranging these chores was "wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday, mend on Wednesday, churn on Thursday, clean on Friday, bake on Saturday, rest on Sunday." (Although, if it were me, I'd save time on Tuesday, because who the hell cares about ironing? Especially if you're just going to be working on a farm). Some days (maybe Tuesdays, but it would probably end up getting put off until Sunday) she would also have to squeeze in extra seasonal projects like making sausage, preserves, candles, soap, and tanning leather. Most of these projects were just for subsistence, but she really needed to come up with extras of something occasionally, to trade for things like sugar and salt (tasty, but also important for preserving food), crockery, fabric, and metal tools. Which, of course, she'd also have to spend lots of time traveling to town for occasionally. Then she would make dinner, teach the kids reading and math, and maybe do some sewing, spinning, or other handwork before bed.
I'll admit, I'm the kind of person who tends to fantasize about living in the woods and making my own jam, but especially when I'm pregnant, I'm pretty happy that I don't have to, say, boil all my laundry with water I carry from a creek, then beat it clean and wring it out by hand.
(Of course, it's also incredibly inefficient to live by yourself when you have this much work to do. I'm sure it all goes a lot faster in cultures or places where several households pool their chores somehow.)
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Mama-Centric
A few months ago, when I was still writing a lot, I stumbled onto some interesting marketing exercises on the web. (Really, since I've been writing professionally, I've learned that content writing and online marketing are far more closely intertwined than I ever realized in my previous life, and at this point I know an amount about marketing that might shock some of my more delicate readers.)
Anyway, there's this major concept in online marketing in particular that it's very important for your "brand" to have a personality. If possible, this personality should appear to be warm, interesting, competent, hip, and extremely approachable, but most importantly it should strike people as "real". Of course, the easiest way around this challenge for most people is to use their own personality, brush it up a little for the internet spotlight, and use it to popularize and put a face on whatever they are selling (or, in some cases, "selling".)
More specifically, this personality-based brand forms the core of your business plan, and eventually gets surrounded by diverse products or services. So, if you're into ecology, you start a blog and develop a web presence about how much you love nature, complete with endearing personal quirks, multi-media and lots of interactive elements, and then once you get lots of fans you can write an e-book, sell advertising on your blog, host nature walks in your area, or whatever. You want to simplify your core message, then diversify your product line.
Which all sounds horribly cynical, but might or might not be depending on how you approach it. Yes, sure, if your goal is just to fool people into giving you as much money as possible, it's not that great. Interestingly, though, it's such a high-level meta-process that it overlaps with real life in several interesting ways. For example, you don't have to pretend that you're perfect. On the contrary, readers tend to identify best with people who seem open and honest about their personal peccadilloes. Also interestingly, the writer of the blog I was reading suggested that anyone could benefit from considering and refining their "brand" image, regardless of whether they were trying to sell anything, as a way to consider how they might be perceived by others.
It's got its strengths and weaknesses as a self-help technique, but a few months ago James and I decided to try it, with interesting results. We spent most of a day in the park, sketching on big paper and talking about how our different life goals fit together and where they connected. On this particular day, James decided that his goals connected through the concept of "art," and I felt that mine came together around the idea of "magic".
Which of course are big, loaded words, especially "magic". I'll admit to a fair bit of dabbling in the occult, an interest that seems to wax and wane mysteriously over time, and that's definitely related to my interest. But really, centrally, what I meant is much simpler than that. I didn't get around to writing a concise mission statement, but if I had there would have been something in there about reminding people that there are almost always more options than we see, that experts don't have all the answers, that positive or negative expectations often amount to self-fulfilling prophecies, and that there are so many possible sources of wonder in the world that no one person could ever exhaust them all. Magic.
So that made a lot of sense a few months ago, and I was going with that for a while. It was an interesting way to think about life, and it got me out of a slightly dreary rut. But then one day it struck me -- what about parenting? It's not that I ever forget about being a mom, but sometimes I forget, somehow, how fundamentally the experience has transformed my life. On a day to day basis, mama-centric considerations certainly take up a great deal of my time. And then, there are the bigger things. Very little in my life has been as fundamentally perspective changing, joyful, and yes, magical, as my experience of parenting so far. In fact, the only things that really compare at all have been falling in love and to some extent, other experiences of relationship.
It hurts parts of my brain to realize that parenting has, just possibly, become so central to my personal identity. Especially in recent months, while James has been working more and I've been working less, I've had to rethink a lot. I'm certainly not complaining. James seems to be enjoying his current success as a DJ and even the things he is learning in his construction work (which will come in handy if we get around to building a house some day) while I've struggled more and more with the realities of writing a lot of stuff that basically amounts to ad copy, while simultaneously wishing that people would stop consuming so much. On the other hand, I've been having a great time with River (so far two isn't terrible at all), and as James pointed out it will certainly be hard for me to work for a while after the baby is born, since if it takes after River at all I'll be spending most of my time nursing. So, I'm mostly a SAHM again.
I guess I'm lucky in that I don't feel this is an anti-feminist position to be in, and so far I haven't gotten much criticism for it (I've certainly heard about plenty of women who do). I feel that raising children is a great use of one's time, energy and talents, and that it is certainly hard work. I also feel that it's incredibly rewarding and fun, and for the most part, way more interesting than going to most types of work I can imagine. I actually know a lot of feminist moms who are in similar situations and agree with me, and while I'm glad that we didn't wait to have River until we could afford to work less, I'm glad that we can afford to now.
What surprises me a little, though, is that I don't know many families with stay at home dads. I wonder, do men just tend to like their careers more than women do? Or do they still feel more pressure to support their families? If educated women can feel lucky to stay home with their kids, why don't more men want to do it? If both parents want to stay home, why is it almost always the woman who ends up doing so? This is a real conundrum for me. If our baby is a girl, I certainly want her to grow up realizing that she has many possible adult roles other than becoming a SAHM. But on the other hand, I certainly don't want River to learn that if he wants to be a father some day, it will have to mean leaving his kids for someone else to care for while he works long hours to support them.
Of course, in our case, our employment situation is as fluid as ever. I'm still really interested in becoming an illustrator or possibly going into holistic health care eventually, but both of those projects would require a lot of initial investment in time and money that we just don't have right now. And James is doing the work that he does in part because it pays well and allows us all to spend plenty of time together too.
(I guess that was a little disjointed and inconclusive, but these things have been bumping around in my head recently.)
Anyway, there's this major concept in online marketing in particular that it's very important for your "brand" to have a personality. If possible, this personality should appear to be warm, interesting, competent, hip, and extremely approachable, but most importantly it should strike people as "real". Of course, the easiest way around this challenge for most people is to use their own personality, brush it up a little for the internet spotlight, and use it to popularize and put a face on whatever they are selling (or, in some cases, "selling".)
More specifically, this personality-based brand forms the core of your business plan, and eventually gets surrounded by diverse products or services. So, if you're into ecology, you start a blog and develop a web presence about how much you love nature, complete with endearing personal quirks, multi-media and lots of interactive elements, and then once you get lots of fans you can write an e-book, sell advertising on your blog, host nature walks in your area, or whatever. You want to simplify your core message, then diversify your product line.
Which all sounds horribly cynical, but might or might not be depending on how you approach it. Yes, sure, if your goal is just to fool people into giving you as much money as possible, it's not that great. Interestingly, though, it's such a high-level meta-process that it overlaps with real life in several interesting ways. For example, you don't have to pretend that you're perfect. On the contrary, readers tend to identify best with people who seem open and honest about their personal peccadilloes. Also interestingly, the writer of the blog I was reading suggested that anyone could benefit from considering and refining their "brand" image, regardless of whether they were trying to sell anything, as a way to consider how they might be perceived by others.
It's got its strengths and weaknesses as a self-help technique, but a few months ago James and I decided to try it, with interesting results. We spent most of a day in the park, sketching on big paper and talking about how our different life goals fit together and where they connected. On this particular day, James decided that his goals connected through the concept of "art," and I felt that mine came together around the idea of "magic".
Which of course are big, loaded words, especially "magic". I'll admit to a fair bit of dabbling in the occult, an interest that seems to wax and wane mysteriously over time, and that's definitely related to my interest. But really, centrally, what I meant is much simpler than that. I didn't get around to writing a concise mission statement, but if I had there would have been something in there about reminding people that there are almost always more options than we see, that experts don't have all the answers, that positive or negative expectations often amount to self-fulfilling prophecies, and that there are so many possible sources of wonder in the world that no one person could ever exhaust them all. Magic.
So that made a lot of sense a few months ago, and I was going with that for a while. It was an interesting way to think about life, and it got me out of a slightly dreary rut. But then one day it struck me -- what about parenting? It's not that I ever forget about being a mom, but sometimes I forget, somehow, how fundamentally the experience has transformed my life. On a day to day basis, mama-centric considerations certainly take up a great deal of my time. And then, there are the bigger things. Very little in my life has been as fundamentally perspective changing, joyful, and yes, magical, as my experience of parenting so far. In fact, the only things that really compare at all have been falling in love and to some extent, other experiences of relationship.
It hurts parts of my brain to realize that parenting has, just possibly, become so central to my personal identity. Especially in recent months, while James has been working more and I've been working less, I've had to rethink a lot. I'm certainly not complaining. James seems to be enjoying his current success as a DJ and even the things he is learning in his construction work (which will come in handy if we get around to building a house some day) while I've struggled more and more with the realities of writing a lot of stuff that basically amounts to ad copy, while simultaneously wishing that people would stop consuming so much. On the other hand, I've been having a great time with River (so far two isn't terrible at all), and as James pointed out it will certainly be hard for me to work for a while after the baby is born, since if it takes after River at all I'll be spending most of my time nursing. So, I'm mostly a SAHM again.
I guess I'm lucky in that I don't feel this is an anti-feminist position to be in, and so far I haven't gotten much criticism for it (I've certainly heard about plenty of women who do). I feel that raising children is a great use of one's time, energy and talents, and that it is certainly hard work. I also feel that it's incredibly rewarding and fun, and for the most part, way more interesting than going to most types of work I can imagine. I actually know a lot of feminist moms who are in similar situations and agree with me, and while I'm glad that we didn't wait to have River until we could afford to work less, I'm glad that we can afford to now.
What surprises me a little, though, is that I don't know many families with stay at home dads. I wonder, do men just tend to like their careers more than women do? Or do they still feel more pressure to support their families? If educated women can feel lucky to stay home with their kids, why don't more men want to do it? If both parents want to stay home, why is it almost always the woman who ends up doing so? This is a real conundrum for me. If our baby is a girl, I certainly want her to grow up realizing that she has many possible adult roles other than becoming a SAHM. But on the other hand, I certainly don't want River to learn that if he wants to be a father some day, it will have to mean leaving his kids for someone else to care for while he works long hours to support them.
Of course, in our case, our employment situation is as fluid as ever. I'm still really interested in becoming an illustrator or possibly going into holistic health care eventually, but both of those projects would require a lot of initial investment in time and money that we just don't have right now. And James is doing the work that he does in part because it pays well and allows us all to spend plenty of time together too.
(I guess that was a little disjointed and inconclusive, but these things have been bumping around in my head recently.)
Monday, July 27, 2009
Hello
Hi again, to anybody who still checks up on me here!
It seems like the summer is flying by. River turned two in July (with relatively little fanfare, a moderate amount of ice cream, and lots of gleeful jumping around). James has continued to have a lot of work success, with his new contracting business and his DJing, and I've mostly still been hanging out with River and trying to stay alive. I've definitely been exhausted and kind of sick a lot, which I'm hoping will improve over the next couple of weeks. I really intend to appreciate the relative ease of the second trimester more than I did the first time around.
Following a huge wave of synchronicity and inspiration this spring, the summer has felt a little stagnant to me, like it's hard to get excited about much. I'm chalking this up partly to exhaustion, and partly just to some sort of mysterious natural rhythms. This has happened to me enough times that I'm now pretty certain that one day the clouds will just part and inspiration will strike again, and in the meantime I'm not worrying about it too much and am just trying to appreciate where I am right now.
Speaking of where I am, there have been some interesting developments on the relocation front. Basically, we're becoming increasingly certain that we'd like to stay in the general Pittsburgh area, but in a more natural setting. We're looking into an area called Millvale at the moment, which is relatively close to our current location, relatively cheap and safe, and completely surrounded by forest. In the longer term, we've learned of a property of about 300 acres, an hour outside the city for a really reasonable price, which some friends are already looking into purchasing as a group. This is a legally and logistically complicated option, but one we might be very excited about in a few years.
In the meantime, we've got lots of stuff on the horizon. James and I are both participating in the Visionary Arts Festival in early August, for which I feel horrendously unprepared. I've been looking back slightly to how energized and excited I felt about throwing together an art show when River was a few months old, and wondering wasn't I more tired and more busy then than I am now? Of course I was, but right now I just mostly feel uninspired. Oh well. I've got a couple of huge geometrical drawings in the works, and I'm planning to finish them both this week. The show will go however it goes, and at least I'll be there with my work, such as it is. Then, we'll be traveling and visiting family for a few weeks.
In September, the G20 conference will be taking place in Pittsburgh, which is a huge quagmire that probably deserves its own post. After that, who knows? I've got about four free months to fill with interesting activities, so hopefully I can schedule my next epiphany to strike around then.
other potential future blog posts in the works (possibly soon):
river's tooth fiasco (don't worry, it's under control)
unschooling/free school
more on inspiration and art
blog changes
birth stuff
food posts
photos
It seems like the summer is flying by. River turned two in July (with relatively little fanfare, a moderate amount of ice cream, and lots of gleeful jumping around). James has continued to have a lot of work success, with his new contracting business and his DJing, and I've mostly still been hanging out with River and trying to stay alive. I've definitely been exhausted and kind of sick a lot, which I'm hoping will improve over the next couple of weeks. I really intend to appreciate the relative ease of the second trimester more than I did the first time around.
Following a huge wave of synchronicity and inspiration this spring, the summer has felt a little stagnant to me, like it's hard to get excited about much. I'm chalking this up partly to exhaustion, and partly just to some sort of mysterious natural rhythms. This has happened to me enough times that I'm now pretty certain that one day the clouds will just part and inspiration will strike again, and in the meantime I'm not worrying about it too much and am just trying to appreciate where I am right now.
Speaking of where I am, there have been some interesting developments on the relocation front. Basically, we're becoming increasingly certain that we'd like to stay in the general Pittsburgh area, but in a more natural setting. We're looking into an area called Millvale at the moment, which is relatively close to our current location, relatively cheap and safe, and completely surrounded by forest. In the longer term, we've learned of a property of about 300 acres, an hour outside the city for a really reasonable price, which some friends are already looking into purchasing as a group. This is a legally and logistically complicated option, but one we might be very excited about in a few years.
In the meantime, we've got lots of stuff on the horizon. James and I are both participating in the Visionary Arts Festival in early August, for which I feel horrendously unprepared. I've been looking back slightly to how energized and excited I felt about throwing together an art show when River was a few months old, and wondering wasn't I more tired and more busy then than I am now? Of course I was, but right now I just mostly feel uninspired. Oh well. I've got a couple of huge geometrical drawings in the works, and I'm planning to finish them both this week. The show will go however it goes, and at least I'll be there with my work, such as it is. Then, we'll be traveling and visiting family for a few weeks.
In September, the G20 conference will be taking place in Pittsburgh, which is a huge quagmire that probably deserves its own post. After that, who knows? I've got about four free months to fill with interesting activities, so hopefully I can schedule my next epiphany to strike around then.
other potential future blog posts in the works (possibly soon):
river's tooth fiasco (don't worry, it's under control)
unschooling/free school
more on inspiration and art
blog changes
birth stuff
food posts
photos
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
30
Thirty- it's a little hard to believe. Mostly, I feel pretty good. I think I'm happier than I was when I was twenty, more confident, and I've definitely accomplished more. I feel lot more like myself.On the other hand, I feel a little like I should have done more by this age. I've done some really cool things, like traveling around the world, becoming a professional freelancer, and of course getting the best husband and baby in the universe. I feel like I've wasted a lot of time, though, and not always because I was having too much fun. Really, having a baby has been a big kick in the pants in the right direction on that score. I have a much better idea of what working hard is like, now, and I doubt if I will ever waste time in quite the same way again. Plus, as James pointed out, how much better it is to be having this feeling at thirty than at, say, fifty.
And, inevitably, I feel a little bit old. I mostly think I'm handling this well and keeping it in perspective, but I do notice that I sometimes have a harder time than I used to finding photos that I like, and things of that nature. I mentioned this to James, too, and he said, "well, we all fall apart and die eventually..." He is such an optimist. But I guess he is still crazy about me, so really I have nothing to complain about in that department.
In terms of the of actual day, my birthday was great. I woke up to breakfast birthday cake, visited a few of my favorite nature spots, had a great date with James (sushi dinner) and finally got a tattoo! I'd been meaning to decide by the time I was thirty if I was ever going to get one, and I waffled up to the last minute, but finally decided to take the plunge. I've been thinking about it for over ten years, so it can hardly be blamed on a moment of youthful indiscretion. Right now I'm still a little in shock, but I think I love it, and some day if I decide I hate and regret it, I think I'm going to be okay with that, too.
Really, if I turn fifty some day and getting this tattoo is my only major regret, I think that'll mean I've done a pretty good job.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Country Roads, Take Me Home
The other day I was reading something interesting about Asheville, NC, and so I looked into it a little bit more, and the more I learned, the more I wanted to move there. Where to start? Let's see...
It's got a population of about 100,000, less than a third of Pittsburgh's, but still plenty to have some interesting culture. It's in growing climate zone five, two zones warmer than Pittsburgh (about the same as the Willamette Valley in Oregon, another appealing place). It's more or less surrounded by national forrests.
They have the only tribal belly dance troup that can possibly compete with Zafira for my affections, namely Baraka Mundi. They also have a tribal belly dance convention, Triboriginal, that has won awards.
They have a significant unschooling population. The local mailing list has 125 members, which has to say something.
They have burners. Transformus, the Southeastern US burning man regional is right outside the city.
They have anarchists. They have an infoshop and a local currency. They have a state university, a black college, an arts district, a nineteenth century palace, two decent sized communes, two rivers and a rollerderby team. Sounds pretty civilized...
Maybe best of all, they have $100,000 homes that border directly on wilderness areas, within biking distance of downtown. I was gonna link more links, but I'm pretty much out of time.
Needless to say, I'm a little bit smitten.
It's got a population of about 100,000, less than a third of Pittsburgh's, but still plenty to have some interesting culture. It's in growing climate zone five, two zones warmer than Pittsburgh (about the same as the Willamette Valley in Oregon, another appealing place). It's more or less surrounded by national forrests.
They have the only tribal belly dance troup that can possibly compete with Zafira for my affections, namely Baraka Mundi. They also have a tribal belly dance convention, Triboriginal, that has won awards.
They have a significant unschooling population. The local mailing list has 125 members, which has to say something.
They have burners. Transformus, the Southeastern US burning man regional is right outside the city.
They have anarchists. They have an infoshop and a local currency. They have a state university, a black college, an arts district, a nineteenth century palace, two decent sized communes, two rivers and a rollerderby team. Sounds pretty civilized...
Maybe best of all, they have $100,000 homes that border directly on wilderness areas, within biking distance of downtown. I was gonna link more links, but I'm pretty much out of time.
Needless to say, I'm a little bit smitten.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
bearitocracy
there's a pretty good conversation over at tait's blog about anarchists and their allergy to religion/spirituality. to me, the usual argument against seems pretty silly. it goes something like this: anarchists don't like hierarchies, so they don't like religion/spirituality. that makes some sense in terms of hierarchical religious organizations, especially if they are hard to avoid. but the whole no gods, no masters thing seems a little bizarre to me. i guess maybe it's a sophisticated way of summing up the idea that since the state of god is kind of unconfirmable, you may as well decide whether to believe in it or not based on whether you feel like it. but for most values of the words "god" and "believe", the idea of not believing in god because you don't want someone to be the boss of you seems kind of funny. not believing in god because you don't believe in god, well, that's another story.
Monday, June 16, 2008
hey obama lovers
looks like there is now an even cheaper way to get hope: purblu water. out of the $1.30 bottle price, .10 does go to charity. however, since most bottled water is just repackaged out of the tap, that means the other $1.20 must go directly to buy hope. voting is pretty easy, but buying bottled water might be even easier.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
bush is over if you want it
most people probably aren't aware, because of extremely light coverage in the mainstream media, that congressman kucinich filed for impeachment of bush last night. his 35 articles of impeachment (illegal things that bush did) are as follows:
#1: Creating a secret propaganda campaign to manufacture a false case for war against Iraq
#2 Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression
#3 Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War
#4 Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States
#5 Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression
#6 Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of HJRes114
#7: Invading Iraq without a declaration of war.
#8: Invading Iraq in violation of the U.N. charter and international law.
#9: Failing to provide troops with body armor and vehicle armor.
#10: Falsifying accounts of US troops deaths and injuries for political purposes
#11: Establishment of permanent military bases in Iraq
#12: Initiating a war against Iraq for control of that nation’s natural resources.
#13: Secret task force for directing national energy policy
#14: Misprision of a felony, misuse and exposure of classified information and cover up (Plame outing)
#15: Providing immunity from prosecution for criminal conduct for contractors in Iraq
#16: Reckless misspending and wasted US tax dollar with Iraq contractors
#17: Illegal detention – detaining indefinitely, and without charge, American citizens and foreign captives (suspension of habeus)
#18: Torture – secretly authorizing and encouraging use of torture, as matter of official policy
#19 Rendition
#20 Imprisoning Children Bush is guilty of impeachable offence arcticle 20, imprisoning children. Has personal and acting through agents has held at least 2,500 children in violation of Geneva convention and the rights of children in armed conflict signed by the US in 2002.
#21 Misleading Congress about threats from Iran
#22. HAS ESTABLISHED A BODY OF SECRET LAWS THROUGH THE OFFICE OF LEGAL COUNSEL. THE YOO MEMORANDUM WAS DECLASSIFIED YEARS AFTER IT SERVED AS LAW UNDER THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH.
#23 Violated Posse Comitatus Act ESTABLISHED PROGRAMS FOR THE USE OF THE MILITARY IN LAW ENFORCEMENT. MUST BE AUTHORIZED BY THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CONGRESS SO THAT THE MILTARY CANNOT BECOME A NATIONAL POLICE FORCE.
#24 Spying on citizens violating 4th Amendment
#25 Directing telecoms to collect databases on US citizens.
#26 Announcing intent to violate laws w/signing statements, and then violating those laws.
#27 Failing to comply with congressional subpoenas, and instructing others to do so.
#28 tampering with free and fair election. Corruption with the administration of justice, False allegations of voter fraud in selected districts, immediately preceding elections. Undermining process.
#29: Conspiracy to violate voting rights act of 1965, Ohio Sec of State 2004-06
#30: Misleading congress and american people in an attemtp to destroy medicare.
#31 Katrina and the failures of gross negligence of the administration.
#32: Misleading congress and the American people. Systematically undermining global climate change. Article 2, Section 3: Personally and through subordinates including the VP, for not protecting property of people vis a vis global climate change thru deception. Failure to ratify Kyoto. Editing reports - 294 edits by a lobbyist to add data which called into question the facts by muddying them. Or diminishing scientific findings.
#33: Repeatedly ignored and failed to respond to high level intelligence warnings of planned terrorist attacks in U.S. prior to 9/11.
Clark warned the president in daily briefings of the threat. Clark was unable to conviene a cabinet level position. Tenet met with the president 40 times to warn of threat. Still no meetings of top officials.
#34: Obstruction into the investigation of 9/11
#35: endangering the health of 9/11 first responders
this is, of course, unlikely to go too far, but i'm still excited to see it after all the talk of impeachment that has been bandied about pretty much since bush started bushing.Friday, May 9, 2008
100 awesome things
in honor of my 100th post, here are 100 awesome things in semi-random order. some of these things i have mentioned before, some are new; none are perfect, but all inspire within me at least a little bit of wonder. enjoy!
1. free schools are run by children.
2. cosmic trigger is a fun, mind-bending book by robert anton wilson.
3. critical mass promotes biketivism.
4. pandora plays free music like the music you like.
5. spirits play beautiful music through forward kwenda.
6. worms eat your garbage (indoor composting).
7. sweat lodges and baths are a worldwide tradition.
8. hempcrete is easy, hard and sustainable.
9. the salivation army sounds totally insane, in a mostly good way.
10. canoe sailers recreate ancient nautical voyages.
11. audrey kawasaki paints women on wood.
12. miracle fruit makes bitter things taste sweet
13. precious metal clay lets you sculpt silver jewelry.
14. send your paper cranes to hiroshima peace park.
15. find something for dinner at tastespotting.
16. love it or hate it, you can't escape burning man.
17. there are lots of ways to wear your baby (i like the tibetan).
18. localvores eat local.
19. rooibos tea is so good (and healthy).
20. poppy tea is surprisingly legal.
21. this is the best basic pen ever.
22. laugh at the daily show and colbert report online.
23. my mother wears combat boots is a decent book about parenting.
24. fermented foods are also healthy and delicious.
25. tom brown teaches survival and healing in the apache tradition.
26. nausicaa is my favorite miyazaki/studio ghibli movie.
27. derrick jensen's language older than words is depressing but beautiful.
28. quetzalcoatl gets my nomination for god of the moment.
29. painting on masonite revolutionized my art (and it's eco-friendly).
30. crows feature in many spiritual traditions, and they're smart too.
31. travel the world with lonely planet.
32. american apparel is fun and sweatshop free (though creepy).
33. may day is one thing anarchists and pagans can agree about.
34. 2012. is the world going to end?
35. natural dyes can be amazingly colorful.
36. peace silk is made without killing the worm (vegan? freegan!).
37. labradorite is an amazing stone. you should look at some in person.
38. vurt is one of my favorite novels. psyberpunk?
39. jacques derrida will make your brain explode (in a good way).
40. hot air balloons -- so steampunk it hurts.
41. lol wasteland is pretty funny if you like lolcats and/or t.s. eliot.
42. ancient rune poems contain the original interpretations of the runes.
43. molecular gastronomy is weird, awesome food.
44. these people are having a zero impact environmental year.
45. nata de coco in the strangest canned dessert ever.
46. visit alex grey at the chapel of sacred mirrors in new york.
47. then eat at my favorite (gourmet, vegan, korean) restaurant, hangawi.
48. or, the musee d'orsay in paris has a stunning art nouveau collection.
49. and the sanctuary, in thailand, is a great place to relax on the beach.
50. sock dreams has more types of socks than you can imagine.
51. zafira and baraka mundi are two fantastic tribal belly dance troupes.
52. wildcrafters forage for wild food plants. learn your herbs first.
53. you can build a harpsichord, or a theremin. (theremin? theremin!)
54. earthships are beautiful, permacultural homes.
55. bicycle powered chocolate. what's next? bicycle powered soap and gyms.
56. interested in fasting? the master cleanse is pretty simple (mmm, lemonade).
57. drums, drums, drums, drums, drums!
58. mushrooms just might save the world.
59. this guy kind of defies description.
60. these smart people have good ideas about making stuff better.
61. birthing from within seems to get a lot of things right.
62. the sivananda companion to yoga is serious but approachable.
63. don't tell me you haven't heard about the planet earth series.
64. waldorf toys are simple and beautiful.
65. these vegan brownies don't suck. no, really.
66. folkwear makes a dizzying array of historical and multicultural patterns.
67. gouache rocks my world.
68. if you're in pittsburgh on a tuesday, you can silkscreen anything for $5!
69. orchids are so beautiful and diverse.
70. the miss rockaway armada intends to raft down the mississippi, awesomely.
71. the rosetta stone makes learning foreign languages really easy and fun.
72. the ruckus society trains activists to do direct action.
73. accupuncture is amazingly successful at treating addiction.
74. spoonfed makes magical resin pendants.
75. i thought the wonderful movie the prestige was somewhat overlooked.
76. food not bombs will feed anyone.
77. hashisheen: the original anarchist agitators?
78. i can't help it, i really like gogol bordello's gypsy punk.
79. this american life is a fun, quirky talk show.
80. dan savage answers bizarre sex questions in his podcast.
81. ana voog's tree octopus may be the coolest hat ever.
82. tom waits invites you to make it rain.
83. nobody knows how banksy does it.
84. make magazine tells you how to do stuff.
85. someone built a hobbit house.
86. 'skineart is sometimes inspiring.
87. the infoshop anarchist faq is decent.
88. howtoons. what a cool idea!
89. i love low tech solutions.
90. i wish (super cheap) megabus would come to pittsburgh.
91. 'tis the season for plant graffiti. try seedballs and moss art.
92. rumi: everyone's favorite sufi.
93. according to some, the lakota nation recently declared independence.
94. kiva borrows from the rich and lends to the poor, interest free.
95. xocolatl, food of the gods.
96. i am a paperbackswap addict.
97. twin oaks is a 30 year old, self-sustaining 100 person commune.
98. you have nearly reached the end of the internet.
99. but james has to make it into this list somewhere.
100. and, umm, river. yep. let's look at that chocolate face again.
1. free schools are run by children.
2. cosmic trigger is a fun, mind-bending book by robert anton wilson.
3. critical mass promotes biketivism.
4. pandora plays free music like the music you like.
5. spirits play beautiful music through forward kwenda.
6. worms eat your garbage (indoor composting).
7. sweat lodges and baths are a worldwide tradition.
8. hempcrete is easy, hard and sustainable.
9. the salivation army sounds totally insane, in a mostly good way.
10. canoe sailers recreate ancient nautical voyages.
11. audrey kawasaki paints women on wood.
12. miracle fruit makes bitter things taste sweet
13. precious metal clay lets you sculpt silver jewelry.
14. send your paper cranes to hiroshima peace park.
15. find something for dinner at tastespotting.
16. love it or hate it, you can't escape burning man.
17. there are lots of ways to wear your baby (i like the tibetan).
18. localvores eat local.
19. rooibos tea is so good (and healthy).
20. poppy tea is surprisingly legal.
21. this is the best basic pen ever.
22. laugh at the daily show and colbert report online.
23. my mother wears combat boots is a decent book about parenting.
24. fermented foods are also healthy and delicious.
25. tom brown teaches survival and healing in the apache tradition.
26. nausicaa is my favorite miyazaki/studio ghibli movie.
27. derrick jensen's language older than words is depressing but beautiful.
28. quetzalcoatl gets my nomination for god of the moment.
29. painting on masonite revolutionized my art (and it's eco-friendly).
30. crows feature in many spiritual traditions, and they're smart too.
31. travel the world with lonely planet.
32. american apparel is fun and sweatshop free (though creepy).
33. may day is one thing anarchists and pagans can agree about.
34. 2012. is the world going to end?
35. natural dyes can be amazingly colorful.
36. peace silk is made without killing the worm (vegan? freegan!).
37. labradorite is an amazing stone. you should look at some in person.
38. vurt is one of my favorite novels. psyberpunk?
39. jacques derrida will make your brain explode (in a good way).
40. hot air balloons -- so steampunk it hurts.
41. lol wasteland is pretty funny if you like lolcats and/or t.s. eliot.
42. ancient rune poems contain the original interpretations of the runes.
43. molecular gastronomy is weird, awesome food.
44. these people are having a zero impact environmental year.
45. nata de coco in the strangest canned dessert ever.
46. visit alex grey at the chapel of sacred mirrors in new york.
47. then eat at my favorite (gourmet, vegan, korean) restaurant, hangawi.
48. or, the musee d'orsay in paris has a stunning art nouveau collection.
49. and the sanctuary, in thailand, is a great place to relax on the beach.
50. sock dreams has more types of socks than you can imagine.
51. zafira and baraka mundi are two fantastic tribal belly dance troupes.
52. wildcrafters forage for wild food plants. learn your herbs first.
53. you can build a harpsichord, or a theremin. (theremin? theremin!)
54. earthships are beautiful, permacultural homes.
55. bicycle powered chocolate. what's next? bicycle powered soap and gyms.
56. interested in fasting? the master cleanse is pretty simple (mmm, lemonade).
57. drums, drums, drums, drums, drums!
58. mushrooms just might save the world.
59. this guy kind of defies description.
60. these smart people have good ideas about making stuff better.
61. birthing from within seems to get a lot of things right.
62. the sivananda companion to yoga is serious but approachable.
63. don't tell me you haven't heard about the planet earth series.
64. waldorf toys are simple and beautiful.
65. these vegan brownies don't suck. no, really.
66. folkwear makes a dizzying array of historical and multicultural patterns.
67. gouache rocks my world.
68. if you're in pittsburgh on a tuesday, you can silkscreen anything for $5!
69. orchids are so beautiful and diverse.
70. the miss rockaway armada intends to raft down the mississippi, awesomely.
71. the rosetta stone makes learning foreign languages really easy and fun.
72. the ruckus society trains activists to do direct action.
73. accupuncture is amazingly successful at treating addiction.
74. spoonfed makes magical resin pendants.
75. i thought the wonderful movie the prestige was somewhat overlooked.
76. food not bombs will feed anyone.
77. hashisheen: the original anarchist agitators?
78. i can't help it, i really like gogol bordello's gypsy punk.
79. this american life is a fun, quirky talk show.
80. dan savage answers bizarre sex questions in his podcast.
81. ana voog's tree octopus may be the coolest hat ever.
82. tom waits invites you to make it rain.
83. nobody knows how banksy does it.
84. make magazine tells you how to do stuff.
85. someone built a hobbit house.
86. 'skineart is sometimes inspiring.
87. the infoshop anarchist faq is decent.
88. howtoons. what a cool idea!
89. i love low tech solutions.
90. i wish (super cheap) megabus would come to pittsburgh.
91. 'tis the season for plant graffiti. try seedballs and moss art.
92. rumi: everyone's favorite sufi.
93. according to some, the lakota nation recently declared independence.
94. kiva borrows from the rich and lends to the poor, interest free.
95. xocolatl, food of the gods.
96. i am a paperbackswap addict.
97. twin oaks is a 30 year old, self-sustaining 100 person commune.
98. you have nearly reached the end of the internet.
99. but james has to make it into this list somewhere.
100. and, umm, river. yep. let's look at that chocolate face again.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
i wonder if any of us will ever see any settlement for being illegally arrested during the imf protests in 2002.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
sometimes i feel like a lousy feminist. i have so much else on my mind these days, and plus i am sick of having the same stupid arguments again and again about why i don't like being treated like an imcompetent weirdo just because i am female. plus i am feeling pretty good about myself, so most days of the week you could probably tell me that you need a man to help you move some heavy stuff and i would hardly even bother to make you regret it.BUT
it still makes me furious when i see these stereotypes being enforced on kids. the other day i was at the store and i heard a woman telling her tiny little boy that he couldn't have the thing that he wanted because it had "girl colors". and ok, maybe i could even see warning a kid about something like that, in case they care. but this kid seemed plenty sure of what he wanted, and his mother (?) just kept insisting it was for girls. finally she made him "pick" something with spider man. it's for reasons like this that i dread the day river is interested in toy stores, or even helps shop for his clothes and has to navigate between the boy and girl sections. oh, and the girl colors in question? orange and green. this reminds me of the day that a woman told me she thought river was a girl because he was wearing brown instead of blue (if he'd had his pink jacket on, her brain probably would have exploded). i guess that means that girl colors now = pink, purple, yellow, orange, green and brown and boy colors = blue and maybe red. i have to say, those are some pretty awesome options.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
links again?
i'm afraid so. hopefully i will be blogging to you at this time tomorrow from our new apartment (we're kind of moved in, but still awaiting internet access).
in the mean time, this sign language dictionary is pretty cool...tons of words, and you can actually see a movie of someone doing the sign.
wow, i hope get settled in soon, because i have used up almost all of my favorite bookmarks :)
in the mean time, this sign language dictionary is pretty cool...tons of words, and you can actually see a movie of someone doing the sign.
wow, i hope get settled in soon, because i have used up almost all of my favorite bookmarks :)
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