Another pic from my Flathead Lake trip ....
A Drivel Runs Through It
Friday, March 30, 2007
I just changed this blog's comment settings in Blogger, turning word verification off and comment moderation on. You'll no longer have to deal with the gobbledygook of word verification images, but instead will wait for your comments to show up once I approve them. I hope this will make it a little easier for people to comment.
As always, my comment policy, as it were, is to allow all comments except spam, potentially libelous attacks, or extreme profanity or hate speech. Not that I've ever had much of a problem -- but just so you know. I otherwise welcome spirited debate and discussion.
Anonymous posting also is fine, although in my book, anonymous posters have less credibility than those who aren't afraid to own their words. In any case, I hope you'll at least sign your comments with a consistent name, nickname or pseudonym.
Thanks!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Martha Stewart introduced a new newsletter today. Named, of course, The Martha Stewart Newsletter.
According to the promotional email I received, "There are some things Martha has never shared -- until now.
"Each monthly issue reveals stunning insights and invaluable information you've always wanted to have from Martha's point of view," including a look at her health and beauty routines, calendar and favorite songs ("and what they mean to her").
I just subscribed. Honestly, I crack myself up.
Even as I think this takes personal branding to a whole new (perhaps slightly ridiculous) level, I am full of admiration for Ms. Martha. The woman is a powerhouse. I mean, I'm not exactly the conformist type, but she's got me eating out of her hand. I own 15 of her books and now subscribe to four of her publications. I watch her daily TV show every chance I get, and getting tickets to a taping was like making a pilgrimage.
I prize Martha's advice on homekeeping, decor and cooking. (Maybe someday I'll have the time and patience for crafts.) She's taught me how to fold fitted sheets and T-shirts, wrassle a duvet cover, arrange flowers and cook perfect hard-boiled eggs. Whenever I have a household dilemma, I ask myself: WWMD?
She's powered through adversity -- including that little prison sentence thing -- with grace and wit. I like her politics. I like that she has something like three dogs and eight cats. I like that she showcases the talents of others -- celebrities, chefs, ordinary women and, of course, her very gifted staff. I like that, at age 65, she looks (naturally) fantastic and shows no signs of slowing down.
So, even though the premise of a newsletter that "takes you further behind the scenes of Martha's life than ever before" is a little goofy (like, couldn't she just become a blogger like everyone else?), sign me up. As role models go, I could do worse.
Is there a fan club I can go become president of or something?
Here's my response to a Salon Broadsheet article, "Mannequins for the masses," about Spain's efforts to defy the "size zero" mentality of the fashion industry.
Does size zero really exist?
Here's what I don't understand: Why does size zero even exist?
I mean, why would any woman even WANT to be a zero? Zero equals nothing. Look zero up in the dictionary: "a state of total absence or neutrality." This is sick, people.
Clothing sizes have changed over the years -- what is now a 14 used to be an 18 -- so size zero is an arbitrary designation.
Or is it?
Monday, March 26, 2007
5 Things That Scare Me- Rejection
- Failure
- Heights
- Dying alone
- People or pets I love dying suddenly
5 Things That Used To Scare Me But Don't Anymore
- Flying
- Earthquakes
- Public speaking
- Lung cancer
- Baring my arms and legs in public
5 Things That Don't Scare Me As Much As They Probably Should
- Spiders
- Hantavirus
- Heart disease
- Skin cancer
- Car accidents
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Ohmigod, you mean the reason I don't have a boyfriend might not be because I'm fat, but because I'm a BITCH?!?
Nawww ...
:-)
I'm back from a short trip up to Flathead Lake, where I rented a little cabin at UM's biological station to work on my thesis. It was very beautiful and peaceful.
I also went up to Bigfork for an afternoon and had a lovely tea at a little place called Chris' Tea Cottage. Absolutely darling, and delicious!
On the way home, I stopped at the Catholic mission in St. Ignatius, which has a very interesting history. The Flathead Indians actually asked the "black robes" to establish a mission there. More info here and here.
I'll respond to comments tomorrow. Did I mention how beautiful and peaceful the lake was?
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
I think I got this from Wulfgar awhile ago.
The Wolves Inside You
An elder Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me ... it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith."
"This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too," he added.
The Grandchildren thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee simply replied ... "The one you feed."
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
"Body Blueprints" from Dustpan Alley via Big Fat Blog:
[A] size eighteen in the nineteen thirties was considered average and medium (bust 36, hip 39) and today that's a size fourteen. A plus size. But no woman back then would have been ashamed to be a size eighteen. When magazines published patterns they always made it a size eighteen.
So if a body measuring 36-30-39 is a size fourteen today, why on earth would any woman consider herself over weight at that size?
When I was a size 14 -- about 20 years ago -- I was convinced I was huge and disgusting. Oh, how I wish I could go back and slap some sense into that girl!
Maybe I spoke too soon. I'm tired today. Got my taxes done (well, H&R Block did), tires changed and went to class, that's about it. Had insomnia last night, which is always maddening -- especially considering I had been falling asleep in my art textbook earlier.
~
Still really enjoying the Art Appreciation class. I am terrible at the projects that require talent -- my stuff is SO bad -- but it's good to get an idea of the process artists go through. It's funny, I used to envy the art students that walked around campus with their giant sketch pads. Now I feel sorry for them. Those things are a pain to carry.
~
In the I Don't Get Men category:
Why do some guys feel the need to back into every parking space? Are they planning to make a quick getaway?
~
Oh, before I forget. I have five H&R Block coupons for new customer referrals -- if you use one, you get $15 and I get $15. So if you are someone I know and you want one, just ask.
~
It's going to snow.
How do I know this? I got my studded snow tires switched out for all-seasons today.
~
My (undoubtedly arrogant and irrational) opinions:
Diesel trucks are loud and smelly. Parents who allow their children to shriek repeatedly in public dining areas should be fined. People who drive more than five mph below the speed limit in ordinary conditions should have their driver's licenses revoked.
~
I have email from early January that I haven't answered yet. Please don't take it personally. I keep thinking, "Today. Today I will answer email." But then I don't.
~
If I had an extra $500 I would SO buy the Homemedics massage lounger for sale at Costco. While waiting for my tires to be switched I had a NICE time demo-ing it!
~
If I could justify spending $70 on something completely frivolous right now, I would buy the two blue, wild-rose patterned Hall's Kitchenware bowls I saw at the Montana Antique Mall yesterday. I can so perfectly visualize them in my dream kitchen. However, first I need the house containing the dream kitchen.
Must. Not. Spend. Money. On. Things. I. Don't. Need.
I did, however, buy a darling, primitive wood bench, which IS something I need.
~
Something I've been pondering lately:
Why am I doing this? Blogging? Why? What is the point, exactly? Why am I revealing my innermost thoughts (well, some of them) to the entire world? Why am I having conversations with the ether? Why?
If you have any ideas, I'd appreciate hearing them.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Went for a long hike today. It was a magical afternoon. Everything seemed just a little brighter and more beautiful. I didn't want to stop, wanted to keep going and going. It was sunny and breezy and the perfect temperature.
In the ongoing effort to figure out why I'm so tired all the time, a week ago I stopped taking a drug called Verapamil. I've been on it for five or six years for my tachycardia (irregular heartbeat). It's a calcium channel blocker. After discovering "unusual fatigue" listed under rare side effects, I talked to my doctor.
It's too soon to say for sure, but I'm tentatively excited. Maybe it's just the placebo effect of wishful thinking, or sunshine, or thoughts of spring, or thoughts of love, or thoughts of graduating. But this is the first weekend in as many as I can remember that I haven't wanted to sleep all day.
Etiquette tips via AskMen.com via Lifehacker.
This one is a personal pet peeve of mine; I find it revolting:
Do not spit
A lot of men do this almost subconsciously. Spitting is very crude and not too pretty to look at. Do not spit in public unless you want to look like you were raised in a sewer.
However, another of my pet peeves is missing from the list:
Push in your chair
When you stand up and leave a table, push in your chair so that others can get by.
That one applies to the ladies, too.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
I have nothing interesting to say at the moment. Nothing civil, anyway.
So go look at these:
- Missoula graffiti artist Echo's site
- Urban Dictionary definition(s) of "Montana"
(Warning: May contain offensive content!) - Tacky Living
- The Urban Decay photo pool on Flickr
- PostSecret
Saturday, March 10, 2007
- This vase. I've had it for 20 years and still adore it.
- My 1992 International Women's Day poster by Elly Simmons. (I love, love, love her art.)
- My Homemedics massaging cushion. Ninety-nine bucks at Costco and worth every single penny.
- Domino and Blueprint magazines.
- The photo-sharing community Flickr. It just becomes more and more robust.
Something I've recently figured out:
Just because they're selling it doesn't mean I have to buy it.
This is applicable to so many areas of life!
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
I've been craving dark-chocolate honeycomb. I can't seem to find it anywhere in Missoula -- only milk chocolate, and that just won't do -- so tonight I typed "honeycomb candy missoula" into Google.
Guess which site was first and second in the search results?
Yup, this one. Apparently I've mentioned honeycomb once or twice before.
I ended up ordering from the Sweet Palace in Philipsburg. Please, please, let it get here by Friday!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
- Aaron Neville singing "White Christmas" when my alarm went off at 7:45 a.m. (Gah, forgot to pick an iPod playlist.)
- a trapped, brown-speckled starling flapping frantically against a plastic-covered window. (Don't worry, I freed it.)
- studded snow tires on dry asphalt and mud pinging off the underbody.
- two ringing cellphones, the clicking of a video iPod and one student whispering, "Why do people have to talk? It's so stupid," in class. (She was referring to another student who was asking the teacher questions. ... Umm, 'cause they actually want to learn something?)
- Music and giggling in a video I shot at our CASE conference in Boise and uploaded to YouTube. (If you haven't yet seen the "Evolution of Dance," you must watch it. Even if you have seen it, you should watch it again. See my next post.)
Sunday, March 04, 2007
- Dark orange yolks from healthy, farm-raised chickens.
- Making French toast in a cast-iron pan on a Sunday morning.
- Potted flowers that just keep on blooming.
- When cats do that stretching thing all the way to their toes.
- Looking at the bright side of mud -- it means spring is coming!
Saturday, March 03, 2007
"In an age where it's so popular to have an open mind, it's good to remember the mind should not be SO open that the brain falls out." ~ Conrad Askland
I found this great quote while searching blogs about the movie, "What The Bleep Do We Know," which I watched last night. I wanted to see what others thought about it, because it left me feeling about equal parts inspired and skeptical. I had similar feelings about the movie, "The Secret," which I saw a few weeks ago.Both movies basically recap a lot of the New Age stuff I've heard over the years, particularly the idea that we create our own reality. I guess I believe this is true to some degree, although perhaps not to the extent that these movies suggest. I think our lives are created by both choice and circumstance, and in varying degrees. Sometimes we choose; sometimes life chooses for us.
There is also the quantum physics aspect, including the idea that on some molecular level we are all connected. That may be true, but it doesn't mean I have to like you.
My favorite part of "What The Bleep" was the wedding scene illustrating brain chemistry -- it was hilarious, fascinating and probably pretty scientifically accurate. At the same time, though, I was disturbed and annoyed by the portrayals of the two fat people in this scene: a belching, farting fat man who gorges himself at a buffet table, and a leering, tacky fat woman who makes kissy faces at teenage boys.
The "experts" interviewed during the movie included a blonde woman who strangely skidded between two different accents. I kept wondering, "Is she from eastern Europe ... or the southern Midwest? And ... has she had a facelift?" At the end I learned she was JZ Knight AKA Ramtha, a "channel" I remember laughing off back in the '80s.
"The Secret" seemed to me like a series of reasonably intelligent documentary-style interviews sandwiched between a lot of over-dramatized, over-mystified fictional footage. The title is a misnomer, as the "law of attraction" has been thoroughly public, if not quite mainstream, for at least a century.
I'm left with mixed feelings, my usual shades of gray rather than black or white. I'm not willing to blindly embrace any philosophy that tells me I must relinquish all doubt in order to succeed. At the same time, I'm increasingly convinced that my thoughts do influence (but not control) my reality, and thus more motivated to spend time on techniques like visualization, affirmation and gratitude.
Mind open, brain intact.
Friday, March 02, 2007
New West is running one of my photos as its featured image today, with links to the Yahoo! News multimedia slideshow about Chinese New Year in Butte, my Flickr photos and this site.
I'd like to return the favor by pointing you to New West photo editor Chris Lombardi's photos on Flickr. He's an incredibly talented photographer with many stunning pictures taken in Montana and elsewhere.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
"A town this size only needs two tunnel car washes, and we have seven." [Mark Dickhausen, owner of Dazzlers Car Wash in Missoula.]
In fact, the national average, he said, is two automatic, tunnel-style car washes for every 150,000 people. Spokane has fewer car washes than Missoula.
The above is from a Missoulian article: Clean car, clean canine: Business offers unique combination.
If Missoula has so many carwashes, why aren't they more competitive? You go to places like California and Florida, and not only are there carwashes at every gas station, they're CHEAP. Like a dollar. Or free with a fill-up. Here, you pay $5 or $10 or more, and that's just for a drive-through or do-it-yourself bay.
I'd happily pay a bit more, though, if I could get a wash, dry, vacuum and a quick interior wipe done for me while I waited. There was a place in Berkeley years ago that did this for $12. Of course, it was 1990, and they had cheap immigrant labor.
Anyplace in Missoula offer this kind of service? Short of paying $150 for all-day detailing?
