Consumption Day

Days of giving, much pleasure. Today was unto me.

This gritty, drizzly Boxing Day was one of input. I had a BLT club with my former poetry student Eve Louise Tulbert, played a hand of Royalty with tea, then went out to Media Play, which is closing. I've shopped there maybe once ever, but I wasn't above scoring on their 30-50% off sale.

I got many things I've wanted for a long time. Some were silly (Corinna, Corinna, The Best of Mike Myers), some were covted (The Tick TV series, Angels in America) some just self indulgent because I have them on tape (FM Destiny Rules, Seal 2, Joan Osborne's Relish) but I managed to pass up Arthur and Rush (the movie). Ok, stop laughing now.

Tonight was wine and Christmas cookies with jennimi, and then an hour in the tub finishing James Young's Nico: The End. This is dark, well-written, and sometimes very funny account by the piano player on the Teutonic chanteuse.

Lines inspired:

sake for the dry god
slamming guitar case, door
fan leaves blossom tears

former colleague
enshrouded in smoke
from her bitter vocal

pink girl
pulped on sidewalk
17 year old star

with many eyes open
we enter your city
and head for the heart.

Happy Solstice

May you find light always.

This Evening, Only Words

...can capture the sight of moonlight on snow, walking up the dark path...

...can record what fine form boy and guitar were in....

... can tell of the guy, bundled and bearded, alone in midnight's wind chill & empty street with shopping cart half-full of bottles, who stopped for a moment outside the window of the bar to listen--

"It's getting better all the time--"

who moved on....

Perspectives

(culled from Newsweek, December 19, 2005, p.29)

win thought out.

lying during price

booty shown special

forgive fat.

doing big iceberg

I read papers

happy school

God women disorderly

got clean

cleaner than clean.

Credit the reader.

Low Spark of Cheese Fondue

"It was the 70's, man; nobody cooked. Fondue, man!" - kteela

Jenimi and I went to the Shadow Lounge tonight for martinis and fondue. Wow.

I recommend an item not on that menu: The mushroom-steak skewers with a deeply flavored cheese fondue. This fondue, by the way, is not the gloppy stuff ou may be thinking of, but a delicious creamy sauce which is true comfort food while being elegant. We also enjoyed* the rum martini Rangotini, with mango rum, raspberry rum and a variety of fruit juices.

This place would be fun for a happy hour, a first (romantic) date, or a birthday party.

* this is a lovely euphemism, but I can't, at the moment, think of a better word.

Aside: does anyone else find the blogger Word Verification character strongs vaguely sexy? Thought not.

Lifehack Your Books: Dogear, Writing In Books, and Apologizing to Librarians

"I personally believe that there is no greater respect that can be shown a book than by using it."

It's Only Been An Hour, But I Think I'm in Love

I found and downloaded Media Monkey to organize my music files. Can you believe I've been using Winamp/folder organization by hand for all this time?

I am in geeky ecstasy tonight, correcting and organizing.

***

It is icy here today, and I bought some beautiful red tulips at Chuck's Ex-cel.

***

Pet Peeve of a thousand years: The sound of carbonated drink being poured and foaming, and just about any other sound in a Pepsi ad.

Memories....(snitched from cydniey)

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, (even if we don't speak often) please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad - BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE.

When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you.

The Dream

For many years, I've had a dream. That dream of making properly printed t-shirts ith my anarchist librarian motif.

The original t-shirt utilized fabric paint to write the word "Librarian" with a big fat anarchy A in place of the first 'a'. On the back, a closed fist (think Black Power) with letters spelling out READ on the knuckles.

I want now to make these t-shirts and to sell them through Cafe Press.

With this email, I am soliticing proposals and designs for both front and back. I am interested in designs which use the ideas above or ones of your own creation. With your design (should you choose to submit!), please submit your proposal for costs and your cut, be it monetary, product or barter. I think I would prefer to acquire the design outright, since I have no idea what profit, if any, I'd ever make on these.

Resolution, file type and other image specificiations here:
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/help/images.aspx

I am especially interesting in selling black t-shurts with this design, which require somewhat different design thinking: http://www.cafepress.com/cp/learn/blackshirts .


Deadline: January 15, 2006
Please contact me with questions, and feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested.

I liked this:

• "I think all we need is three people to talk with from time to time. One of them a realist, one an idealist, and the other a romanticist."--from Allura
• Ten Tricks to Teach Your Body: 2. Experience supersonic hearing!

  If you're stuck chatting up a mumbler at a cocktail party, lean in with your right ear. It's better than your left at following the rapid rhythms of speech, according to researchers at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. If, on the other hand, you're trying to identify that song playing softly in the elevator, turn your left ear toward the sound. The left ear is better at picking up music tones.

• Fans still gather to celebrate John Lennon's life at Strawberry Fields.
  
• British courts outlaw use of evidence gained in torture.
• 

Someone Save My Butter Rum....

I've been a little worried about Lifesavers since back when they wanted to get rid of Pineapple.

I noticed recently that I couldn't find Lifesavers anywhere. I checked 7 stores, both drugstores and grocery stores, and found exactly two rolls of Wint-O-Greens. You can still sometimes get the regular fruit flavor, but often as not, it is in oversized gummy form.

I have been loyal to Wint-O-Green since elemtary school bus days, when I often got nauseated on the ride home. My loving Gram provided me with multiple rolls of these (Peppermint, too) and it's been a habit of mine since then to have some around.


Another sweet memory is of my father bringing home Butter Rum Lifesavers for me. (I think I also associated them with his favorite drink, Rum and Pepsi!)


So, being a librarian, I resorted to researching to find out where the Lifesavers had gone. I came across the news that Wrigley bought the band in June of 2005. While they list LS as a product, the page which "feaures" them gives a "The page cannot be found error."

I felt my heart sink at this. Doesn't yours? They seem to be going the way of old-time-candy. Sigh.

Trivia: Find out why Lifesavers are so named.

There sure are some lovely things in the world.

Kythryne's gorgeous wirework jewlery and earrings. She titles her works. It's amazing they don't cost thousands of dollars. One day they will, I'll bet.

Socks.

Open Studios this weekend here in Buffalo.

Kate Bush's Aerial.

A dear friend's face close by.