New Aprons...

Here are a few of the new aprons I just updated in the shop...

The Winner of Debate II? "That One"

This artlcle leading up to the debate had the McCain campaign all set to usher in its message for the last 30 days of the campaign: "We may not be good for your bank account, your mortgage, your health care, or your job security -- but none of that will matter if you are dead.

John McCain: If You Want to Live."


This is fear-mongering at its best right here. Even Bush couldnt take it this far.

Then, during the debate, John McCain refered to Barack Obama as "that one".

Now they are calling Obama "traitor" and "terrorist" at McCain/Palin rallies. Lewis compared his campaign rhetoric to segregationist George Wallace.

Then at another rally, the mic was being passed around and landed in the hand of an elderly woman who said: "I don't trust Obama, I have read about him. He's an Arab."
McCain quickly grabbed the mic and said:"No, ma'am, He's a decent, family man, [a] citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign is all about."

Its true that Obama isnt of arab descent, but the way McCain puts it sounds so racist... As if an "arab" can not be a decent person, or that a person can not be both an "arab" and a citizen? WTF?

The racism in this campaign is so unbelievable. It really makes me SICK!
Who are these people yelling "kill him"? Do they actually think they are correct?

the adventures of prince achmed

Circa 1926. by the German animator Lotte Reiniger. It is the oldest surviving animated feature film. He used a silhouette animation technique which involved manipulated cardboard cutouts and thin sheets of lead under a camera.

Stunning. Via Smile

Must see...

Last nights episode of The Daily Show is a must see.

A Million Doors for Peace

This is what I was doing last weekend. Along with tens of thousands of Americans all over the country.

Going door to door right in my neighborhood asking the 40 people on my list to sign the petition calling congress to end the war in Iraq and bring troops home with a year. We are not simply collection signatures.

Over the past 5-6 years we have marched, we have lobbied Congress, written letters, and said this war must end.

The goal here was to find NEW people who we havent met yet, and havent made up their minds yet. Our lists are compiled of newly registered and infrequently voting neighbors. Not just the same people who already agree with us to end the war. The idea is to deliver this petition to congress with a whole list of new supporters of ending the war in Iraq.

Here's the petition.

Also see the Responsible Plan to end the war in Iraq.

I did meet a few of my neighbors, one right in my building, that are very supportive of ending the war. That made my day.

Tina Fey As Sarah Palin On SNL

We were waiting for THIS! Me and my boyfriend were chatting about how great it would be if Tina Fey would come on SNL as Palin right after the RNC. A week later I hear she is AND Obama was slated to appear but had to cancel due to hurricane Ike.

Dead on!

I was waiting for Hilary to belt Sarah across the face with the piece of podium she tore off.

Last night the WORD on Colbert Report was hilarious! How dare you question your potential leaders!
I wont be laughing if these crooks actually win.

Seriously:
Tina Fey glasses, talks like she's chewing her face, charges victems for their own rape kits.


Suggested daily reading for the next 50 days.

Reality Bites

You don't understand, every day, all day, it's all that I think about, OK?

Every time I sneeze, it's like I'm four sneezes away from the hospice.

And it's like it's not even happening to me, it's like I'm watching it on some crappy show like Melrose Place or some shit right, and I'm the new character, I'm the HIV AIDS character and I live in the building and I teach everybody that

'It's OK to be near me, it's OK to talk to me.'

And then I die.

And there's everybody at my funeral wearing halter tops or chokers or some shit like that.

Vickie stop, OK? Just stop. You're freaking out. And you know what? You're gonna have to deal with the results, whatever they are, we're gonna have to deal with them just like we've dealt with everything else.

This isn't like everything else.


I know that, alright? But it's gonna be OK, you know? I know it's gonna be OK…

Melrose Place is a really good show.

Natalie Portman on SNL

This is my absolute favorite SNL episode. Its not new but they re-play it all the time on Comedy Central and I HAVE to watch the whole episode when it comes on.

I love the Jamba Juice sketch, its funny as hell. And ofcourse the Natalie Portman Rap...


"When I was in Harvard

I smoked weed every day

I cheated every test

and snorted all the yay"

But for me the best part of that episode is The Art Dealers.

Nunni brings Jeff home to meet her parents. Jeff is worried that her parents won’t like him, but Nunni assures him that they like all her boyfriends.
Nunni’s mother, Nuni, and her father, Noony, emerge into the living room after eating raw bacon and point to a pile of hair for Jeff to sit on, the guerilla chair. The parents butcher the boyfriends name: Gerf, Guarf, Jerfa. And after some small talk, Tato comes out with some treats for everyone: melted ice cream blown into their mouths from a tube in flavors such as beets and capers, and banana and clam.

Check out this new interview with Sole

Times a changing [2008-08-01]

Sole is one of the most outspoken and political/social aware of the anticon collective & his most recent release with The Skyrider band has seen him using more conventional song structure with an array of real instrumentation along with non rap and harmony based vocals, which all makes for an highly original and creative listening experience, that’s certainly one of the top ten records by the Anticon collective/ label thus far. Sole kindly agreed to give me an interview via email.

m[m]Last time I interviewed you in 2005 you were still in Spain- are you still there or have you now returned to the sates?

Sole While I was gone the states had turned into a third world country. the decline of America was happening while I was gone, but after new Orleans its been on display to the world and is accelerating with each new crisis. now people are being forced to choose between milk & gas. The economy is as fucked up in America as they make it sound on TV, and normal people's lives are getting harder and harder.

m[m]What are you working on at present or what are your near future plans?
Sole I am working on an audio book with a guy called Doug valentine comparing the counterinsurgency efforts(operation phoenix) of Vietnam with Iraq, its really fun and fascinating, but that’s as far as my non musical meanderings go right now. It’s a 5 disc series where i’m editing together all these old recordings from the CIA station chiefs and stuff. Its really fascinating cuz I didn’t know shit about Vietnam when I started the project. my wife and I are narrating it. It’s called "CIA SPEAKS." This was probably the best thing to come out of POLY.SCI.187; those guys heard that record and wanted me to produce an audio book.

More...

Ahhh! I cant wait!
Im really excited about the audio book.

Americana

An oasis has sprang from the dirt lot across the street from the Glendale Galleria. It appears that this is the formula for malls now days. Think the Paseo, the Grove, and Victoria Gardens. They are all basically exactly the same. And also most of these new open air malls are built right next to the old passe indoor malls. Excessive? Maybe.

This is the newest in the series. The Americana, Glendale.


I waited a while cuz I heard it was insane opening weekend. I personally don't really like big crowds, especially at a mall, even if its outside.

Bright colors galore in XXI. This one is really junior driven. I still like the Pasadena flagship store best. Although this has the best H&M I have been in. This one makes the others around town look cheap and tacky. At least that has been my perception thus far, but I actually bought some clothes in this one.
The beautiful Free People store. I could sit in here for hours. Lotus lamps and glittery floral canvas.
Cozy getaway/ dressing room.
A better look at the kite motif walls.
Gorgeous seaweed like willow tree hanging from the ceiling in Anthropology.

A lovely tiered curtain, pretty blues, aquas, and sages.
Crystal door nobs. Always eye candy.
The egg-ey window display. I really liked the way the plaids and ginghams lining the paper mache eggs.
This is the only outside shot I took. I think this is the only interesting thing outside. Everything else, from the little iron gates and lamp posts and foliage all looks the same as the other outdoor malls I mentioned above. Upon walking in I got a strong disneyland sense about it. Like everything is fake and perfectly placed. That I don't like. Its a false sense of security. But the atmosphere is elegant and fresh. The pond is the center (just like the Grove) has a huge golden man and water fountain shows, think Bellagio Las Vegas, set to Italian classical and opera.

Its too homogenized for my taste, but I will definitely have to visit the Free People store once again.

Cork Board Project

I have been wanting to do this project for so long.
I have this huge wood panel with tagging, graffiti, and paintings all over it. Found Art. I think it was used for a party originally and it had a few posters attached which have now been removed leaving 2 big blank spots. Those spots puzzled me for a while, trying to figure out the best thing to go there, that I would not mind looking at constantly. I was going to do a cork board and hang it on the wall somewhere but then decided it would be better attached to my wood panel.
I found a cheap plain cork board at Michael's for around 10 bucks. I tore the whole thing apart and started painting the frame with Black spray paint and choosing fabric for the board. That part was tough. I had too many options, florals and geos, brights, dots. Nothing was working and I finally settled on a neutral dot.
I put it back together and drilled it on to my wool panel (I also used a little hot glue for good measure).
Then I dreamt up a scrolly design and started sketching ideas.

Once I was satisfied that it would work and look cool, I started sketching onto the wood. I had to make my design fit in between the existing stuff and the frame.
Then I just got out the black acrylic and went at it. It didn't take long to get the paint up, the idea and the sketching took longer.
I think it looks fresh! And I enjoy looking at it and changing the stuff on the board. Oh, I got cute little colorful push pins from Target and pinned them on in little flower shapes.

Persepolis

Bake for Obama!

The Obama "Hungry for Change" bake sale was on Sunday June 22. MoveOn.org helped organize thousands of Obama supporters for bake sales across the country. The one I attended was at Echo Park, a block from my apartment. I made mini cherry cheesecakes with Obama tags. They turned out really yummy. I only had about a dozen and a half of the foil cupcake cups and a bunch of regular paper ones. I used up all of the foil cups and then put the last little bit of the cheesecake mix in a few of the paper cups and those didnt work out so well. The paper cups kinda collapsed, so I got to eat those few and they were delicious. Hey, you must try the goods your selling, right?

thoughts on turning 30!

All I know is that jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is the way to go.

After the jump we drove another hour to Kern River. It’s the shit yall! I used to camp here as a kid.
It used to be a big hippie hang out spot in the 70’s, they would ride their Harleys up the mountain and around the natural hot springs and natural water slides. My dad still rides his Chopper up there now and then.
But the best spot is Limestone. It is the uppermost camp ground on the Kern and all of the camping spots have river access.






This spot is especially special because at the north end of the camp ground there is a trail to a beach.
It is at a spot where the river bends so there is a big calm pool right at the bend with rapids above and below.
It is really one of the only safe swimming spots on the river, but it’s not even that safe to swim there when
the river is high, which it was. There is a huge rock formation that was painted with eyes to look like an alligator, it’s the alligator rock! My mom says the paint has been there since she can remember, way before I was born, she started going camping up there when she was a teenager.
I have been there at times when there has been a rope across that you could hold on to and swim or raft over to the other side.
We wanted to do that but we could see the strong undercurrent from the shore and decided to just put our feet in and splash around.

I did a few camping crafts that I can post later.

My sister is a little baker these days and she made me the cutest garden cupcakes in a special shape for the occasion.