Inspirational Ironing ;-)

Thanks Sewing Divas

I kind of like the bathrobe...

LOL!

From Laurie's blog

34.5 miles per gallon
From Laurie's Blog. Thanks!

Created by The Car Connection

Due out Oct. 3rd

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.

I saw it last night. It was a bit dumb and dorky in the beginning but it soon got us laughing. It was actually quite a funny movie and I recommend it. The main character reminded me of someone, not sure that's a good thing, depends how they turn out I suppose. Anyway good film, go see it or Netflix it.

"I voted for Coolidge..."

That is what my dad always said when we asked him who he had voted for president. Of course my dad was not alive to vote for Coolidge, but that never stopped him.

Right now I am pretty unhappy with the candidates of both major parties, so I too have decided to go back in time and do a little sing along with Graham Nash.
For you younguns ;-) the song refers to the Chicago Democratic national Convention in 1968, but you know it doesn't matter, could be Denver, could be St. Paul.
We had tear gas and riots in St. Paul during the RNC this month, it was nothing compared to Chicago but it is still hard to gets one's mind around it.




Chicago
Graham Nash

So your brother's bound and gagged
And they chained him to a chair,
Won't you please come to Chicago
Just to sing.
In a land that's known as freedom,
How can such a thing be fair?
Won't you please come to Chicago
For the help that we can bring.

We can change the World.
Rearrange the World.
It's dying
to get better.

Politicians sit yourselves down,
There's nothing for you here.
Won't you please come to Chicago
For a ride.
Don't ask Jack to help you
Cause he'll turn the other ear.
Won't you please come to Chicago
Or else join the other side.

We can change / yes we can change the World.
Rearrange / rearrange the World.
It's dying / do you believe in justice?
It's dying / and if you believe in freedom.
It's dying / Let a man live his own life.
It's dying / Rules and regulations who needs them?
Open up the door.

Somehow people must be free,
I hope the day comes soon.
Won't you please come to Chicago,
To show you face.
From the bottom of the ocean
To the mountains of the Moon.
Won't you please come to Chicago
No one else can take your place.

We can change / yes we can change the World.
Rearrange / rearrange the World.
It's dying / If you believe in justice.
It's dying / and if you believe in freedom.
It's dying / Let a man live his own life.
It's dying / Rules and regulations, who needs them?
Open up the door.

I want one of these

Zpen.

That is all...

It was a hip and happening day here in the Twin Cities...

Things I missed:

1) Picnic in my local park with Ron Paul! Jesse Ventura was supposedly there too. There were about 50 people there plus free food too!
If I wasn't so tired from the state fair I would have caught it on my walk, they were less than a minutes walk from my place, oh well. My brother dropped by and took some pictures. They were handing out tickets to Ron Paul's thing tomorrow but my brother didn't get one for me.

2) The peace march on the RNC convention which started out peacefully, a small group of 10,000. However, after the initial march, a riot broke out. So far no one I know was arrested.

3) The last day at the state fair and the final fire works.


Things I did:

1) Had a power outage thanks again to the 22 month old who lives below me who has this thing about flipping switches in the laundry room. Practiced restraint when encountering child, her siblings and mom.

2) Went to barbecue south of the city, over shooting the exit by 10 miles ;-) because I was listening to Al Stewart's new CD. While there watched Gustave related coverage a very large satellite TV.

3) Saw a bit of the Misses McCain and Bush give little speeches, and was amazed to see that their faces above their upper lip had limited mobility when they spoke. I remember someone trying to teach me to smile for photos once where you just smiled from the upper lip down so you don't scrunch up your eyes, and wondered if that is what they were doing.

4) Was shown a pair of Z-coil shoes someone bought at the state fair which looked straight out of Toontown. They offered to let me try them on, but I declined. Supposedly they are really comfortable, but they look dangerous to me. I would probably get them caught on something. Here is the video. They even sell them in Texas and LA!

5) Saw lots of police on all the bridges on the way back, would have taken pictures but they seemed a bit stressed. They had big wagons with lots of room.

6) Spent time making my computer happy again from being turned off suddenly while in the midst of a few programs and downloads. Reset my tv, appliances...

I will post about the fair in a few days.

Hmm roast chicken...

with cranberry sauce!

I almost feel well. It must be feed a fever...

I wonder how long it will last ;-)

Small rant on eco bags...

I am getting overwhelmed with eco bags. Everywhere I go someone gives me one. I hate those weird ones that are a cross between paper and cloth, they do not hold up. They are not water proof, they are ugly and feel gross.

I am also not thrilled with the dirty looks I get from people carrying those bags when I get a paper bag from my local market. I live in fairly liberal neighborhood. Usually I walk to the store but today I am ill. Not the usual, I ate something I am allergic to or food poisoning ill. Today I am running a fever that seems to come in waves and is wiping me out. I am also not sleeping still, again, whatever...

I am not hungry, actually I don't care much about anything. My thoughts processes are a bit off. I even unintentionally insulted Al Stewart, my favorite singer songwriter, last night who graciously thanked me afterwards for my "charity." I also perhaps gave a back handed compliment to Steve Forbert, though he really was cute in this video, really, but I could have said it better. Al didn't deserve it. I am told Steve is a very nice guy and he liked the old youtube I found:-)

Anyway, so I drive to the store. drive! wasted gas! I even took the long back route because the state fair traffic has the usual route all backed up. Our state economy is tanking but the fair is more crowded than it has been in years, go figure... Usually, I have my two Ikea bags in the car, the big blue one and the small one that holds 2 gallons of water. They are cute, easy to fold, strong, lightweight, durable, water proof and you can throw them over your shoulder or hold onto the shorter straps. The Apple store back pack bags are almost as cool. However, I forget to unload them from the library and office depot the other day and put them back in the car. In fact, they are currently sitting over there fully loaded, looking cute which I type this.

At the store, I pick up chicken, cranberries, eggs, bananas and an individual Lindt hazelnut chocolate truffle-just your standard I-feel-horrible-fare when you don't have the energy or cash to get or make anything elaborate. I get to the counter to pay, trying hard not to cough or breathe on anyone. When the clerk asks if want a bag and what kind, I say "paper" and the man behind me holding up his his eco blue bag, that shows hard wear, gives me a dirty look! Of course those bags always look pre-destressed anyway, and as I said they don't wear well in comparsion to canvas and decent stitching.

I definitely reuse brown paper bags. They go to the co-op if they are in good condition. I also use them to sort, or put paper recycling in until they rip. Then I use the remaining paper for patterns or book covers. I used to wrap packages in them like my grandmother, but the post office doesn't like that anymore.

Long before the eco bag craze and really cool Ikea blue bags, I was using canvas bags from trade shows, I always have. I am into bags, I store much of my textile collection in these cool bags from sewing trade shows.

Its not that I am against bringing your own bag! I just don't think it gives people the right to look down on others just because they have an eco bag. I wish places would stop pushing them on me, they are everywhere. Next week, when I am well enough to go to the fair, I am going to count how many of those bags I am offered, I am betting at least 5. Maybe I will refashion the ones I have into something else, though I am not sure what they would be good for? Eco bag purse anyone?

From Ma'am to Miss in under 4 hours

A few weeks ago, I was over at our local art museum because I am working on a blouse and I just had to see a Chinese robe there for some reason. I knew I needed to be there later in the day but I was driving by anyway so I stopped in.

I was wearing sandals, cropped jeans which displayed my henna lotus tattoo around my left ankle quite nicely, a blue sleeveless shirt, my blue sun jacket and my hair up in a twist. After seeing the robe, and visiting my favorite pieces, I wandered over to see where the event was to be set up. A couple cute catering guys came over and explained what was going to be there and as I was leaving they said "see you later, Ma'am." I noticed it mainly because around here its unusually to be called anything, esp. by 20 somethings working in the museum.

So I went home, took a shower, washed my hair, the usual stuff. Put on a blue floral Liberty lawn skirt , a light moss colored silk sweater, my favorite necklace, a lighter pair of sandals and went back to the museum in a few hours. Went to the annual meeting, said "hi" to everyone, and ran into the caterer guys again. This time they called me "miss" and didn't seem to remember speaking to me earlier. I looked around me, I wasn't the youngest person in the room, but many of the people there could have been my parents or grand parents, but that didn't seem to account for it. I wasn't wearing make up in either occasion, nor I wasn't wearing form fitting clothes.

I saw a lot of these two guys because they kept bring me plates of stuff I liked and could eat. I had so much shrimp, polenta, buffalo cheese bacon wrapped figs and I don't know what else, I didn't want dinner or anything until breakfast. They also had this non alcoholic pear cider, which was actually de-alcoholized. Ikea has it, and I really like it. Its so much better than the usual stuff at parties. I was pretty thrilled food and drink wise because for years, decades even, I have been requesting that they have non-alcoholic drinks that are not just club soda or fizzy water and food that is dairy free and gluten free! I wrote the museum a nice note after wards, of course :-)

I started really thinking about the clothes I was wearing and started experimenting. After a couple weeks, I concluded it was the jeans. Most of the women around here who wear jeans like that are my age or older, or at least look older. Younger women around who wear cropped jeans pants wear skin tight pairs. I don't particularly like cropped pants in general but they were what I could find when I needed something, cost about $7 on sale and met the needs that I had at the time. They are great for working in the garden and food coop.

This has begun a general experiment with clothes period. I like experimenting, and I also practice things a lot. The route I walk everyday through my neighborhood is great for experimenting since you run into a a wide variety of people. The past couple weeks I have been testing reactions to t-shirt colors. Now when I walk you can't see more than 12 x 18 inches of the t-shirt since I wear a sun jacket open on top which is blue, kind of like this one only longer parka length and no gathered bottom. I tried the following colored t-shirts, all of which are in my colors and look nice on me, salmon, moss green, various blues, red and a nice brown. Nothing else in the outfit was different. Oh I also wear a hat outside , pretty much always, this hat which I attach various scarves to sometimes, this time I wore it unadorned.

I made no approach to people other than to briefly look at them the same way I always do. I found that if I wore the blue t-shirts, medium to lighter blue, people would say hi to me, other colors they might nod or smile but not the same reaction. Also if I knew them and I was wearing the blue shirts, they would stop and chat, otherwise they didn't. I remember reading years ago that variations on sky blue and light lemon yellow were friendly colors, but I never tested it out before.

I am going to put on the Ma'am pants and go volunteer at the coop now, it will make me appear more stern to the kids, and stop the younger guys hitting on me, except of course the "I like older women" ones, what is it with those guys anyway?


Ha! Cotton Incorporated "The touch the feel of cotton, the fabric of our lives" basically says they are for the mature market!

On a Stick...

Its MN state fair time and once again there is new food to be had!
The fair is referred to as the great Minnesota Get Together, but really its all about food.

My sewing guild/textile/artist friends will ask what I saw at the 4-H, creative activity center and senior center then we will discuss various entries of people we know. However most people, when you say you were at the fair, will ask "what did you eat?"

There are 261 places to buy food at the fair. Most people get mini donuts, a pronto pup, fried cheese curds and Martha's chocolate chip cookies as well as other assorted fast and diner food. I always get the same food: pink cotton candy, strawberry crepes, key lime pie on a stick, $1 mini shrimp cup, pickle on a stick and sometimes apples with caramel sauce or a lemon aid. If my parents are with me I also have corn on the cob. I always taste nitro ice cream and chocolate soy milk. Even if I go to the fair for several days I only get one of each of the above, except I occasionally get 2 cotton candies. I only get it freshly spun and from one particular vendor.
I doubt I will vary from that, but if I do, I will let you know. I have a coupon book this year so its possible, but not probable ;-)

People here like food "on a stick." One of the newest is Big Fat Bacon 1/3 lb slice of bacon fried and caramelized with maple syrup, served on a stick with dipping sauces.

The following is available for purchase this year at the fair "on a stick":

Popcorn, caramel corn, cheese corn, cotton candy, snow cones, gourmet roasted nuts, hand dipped caramel apples on-a-stick with gourmet toppings to include nuts, candies, marshmallows

Batter dipped, deep fried candy bars on-a-stick (Snickers, Milky Way, Three Musketeers, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups)

Shrimp (breaded, grilled, cocktail) on-a-stick

Chocolate covered cheesecake on-a-stick (vanilla, key lime)

Cajun seasoned alligator sausage on-a-stick

Deep fried Spudsters on-a-stick

Batter dipped deep fried fruit in a variety of the following combinations served on-a-stick: grapes, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, strawberry, pineapple, apple, banana, kiwi, peaches, cherries, pears

Oriental lemon chicken on-a-stick

Scones on-a-stick (caramel, chocolate, marshmallow)

Blackened Cajun steak-on-a-stick

Big Fat Bacon 1/3 lb slice of bacon fried and caramelized with maple syrup, served on a stick with dipping sauces

Lamb (burgers, gyros, wraps, leg of lamb (marinated on-a-stick)

Fresh dipped (6", 12", 1/3 lb 12" Dogzilla) corn dog on-a-stick

Grilled shrimp on-a-stick with butter garlic seasonings

Frozen key lime pie dipped in chocolate on-a-stick

Cotton candy on-a-stick, in a bag

Grilled pork chops on-a-stick

Nut rolls made on site (peanut, pecan, cashew) may be dipped in chocolate and served on-a-stick

Fudge puppies (a Belgium waffle on-a-stick dipped in swiss chocolate) topped with choices of (whipped topping, crunch coating, strawberries)

Steak on-a-stick

Caramel apples on-a-stick

Foot long pizza on-a-stick

Grilled pork chop on-a-stick

Jerk pork chop on-a-stick

Whole dill pickle on-a-stick

Ice cream on-a-stick

On-a-stick cookies and biscotti

Walleye on a Stick

Scotch Eggs on-a-stick (hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, rolled in bread crumbs and deep fried)

Scotch Meatball on-a-stick

Butterscotch cake (cream filled and dipped in butterscotch) on-a-stick

Cheesecake on-a-stick (regular or fresh) (dipped in chocolate, cherry or butterscotch coatings)

Frozen bananas on-a-stick dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts,

Strawberries on-a-stick dipped in chocolate

Puff Daddy on-a-stick

Thai One On sausage on-a-stick,

Pork chops on-a-stick

Chicken breast on-a-stick

Fried Swiss cheese on-a-stick

Fried jalapeno pepper cheese on-a-stick

Watermelon, frozen grapes on-a-stick

Pineapple, oranges, cherries on-a-stick,

Spaghetti and meatballs on-a-stick

Deep fried smores on-a-stick (marshmallow, chocolate, graham cracker batter)

Tater tot hot dish on-a-stick with cream of mushroom dipping sauce

Pronto Pup on-a-stick (6" flour battered, deep fried hot dog)

Pappa Pup on-a-stick (10" flour battered, deep fried hot dog)

Hot dog wrap (hot dog in a wrap deep fried) on-a-stick,

Bull Bites (blackened tenderloin tips with horseradish sauce), chicken bites, macaroni and cheese on-a-stick

Special Tator tots (hash browns formed with cheddar cheese, bacon, green onion, sour cream) deep fried on-a-stick

Chocolate covered cheesecake on-a-stick

Salmon on-a-stick

Porcupine meatballs on-a-stick (wild rice and ground pork),

Rueben on-a-stick

Green battered corn dogs with green ketchup

Corned beef and cabbage dipped in batter on-a-stick,

Cotton candy on-a-stick, in a bag

Taffy pop on-a-stick

Costco!

Today, bright and early I joined my friend Lisa and her mom for a shopping trip at Costco. It was really fun! I am sure for many of you, a big box store is nothing, but for me its still awe inspiring and amazing. Every time I go I see things I haven't seen before.

As a shopper, Costco has very good prices on a few things that are hard for me to find but not consistently. Sometimes their prices as high or higher than the sales at the local upscale super market. As a marketer, I enjoy how they change item locations and reroute traffic flow. As a walker, its like a big indoor walking adventure complete with obstacle course. During my trip today I walked 1.55 miles!

Since the price of food around here has been jumping quicker and higher than the price of gasoline, and I have been talking with some friends about food budgeting, I decided to put my list in a cute little moleskin notebook someone gave me. I have had it a while and never used it because I prefer these. I carry 1-2 of the them with me most times, one is for experiences and things I want to record for some reason and the other for clothing, textile and/or design related things.

Anyway, on one side of the pages I had my list and recorded the prices next to it as I put them in the cart, on the opposite page I wrote down things I might like later such as a new rechargeable sonicare tooth brush for $99.00 with 2 bases, 3 heads and a quad timer and a big rival crockpot for $35.00. I was disappointed that they didn't have kiwi's, Muir Glen tomatoes, frozen french cut green beans and Ocean Spray cranberry sauce, however today, the tastes today balanced it out!

Usually unless they are sampling fruit with no sauce, plain meat/fish or dark chocolate, everything seems to have wheat, dairy or sweet bell peppers in it. Amazingly, I was able to try THREE things: gluten free breaded chicken pieces, blue corn chips with hummus and goat cheddar. They all tasted very good too, and I almost bought the goat cheddar but I didn't as it wasn't on my list. I spent about $33 on chicken broth, lemon juice, orange juice, wipes and frozen organic broccoli.

Usually a gallon of lemon juice would go a very long way but recently I have had a series of unexpected visitors (ie. friends, their kids, my brothers...) My solution is has evolved to taking them out to the balcony and serve them lemon aid to which they can add fresh cinnamon basil. My balcony is 6 x 12 and fits 4 adults, 2 kids quite comfortably. In the past week or so, it has happened so much I have started keeping sugar syrup in the frig for just such occasions. I made a batch of stew a few days ago, so I have been offering that too. Now I could offer steamed broccoli with a choice of dressings I made the other day, LOL!

Yesterday I attended Macy's Free 2 Days of Music that kicks off the start of Sommerfest at Orchestra Hall. It used to be 24 hrs of music, but this year the schedule stopped at 1am, and started up again at 9am. I went down there at about 3pm, listened to some music and wandered around. I spent about an hour walking around downtown and stopping in stores from a world I no longer live in, and wondered if I wanted to live there again. That would be another posted I guess.

I went back to watch the junior e-pianio competition awards. It's a very interesting competition.
"participants will have the opportunity to perform on Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand pianos. What is unique about these instruments is that they are equipped with state-of-the-art Disklavier Pro recording technology. This system, which was pioneered by Yamaha, is the fusion of the acoustic piano and computer electronics and allows all solo rounds of the competition to be downloaded via MIDI to be enjoyed anywhere in the world. "

The above is true but really doesn't explain it that well. The piano's are kind of like recording player pianos, that record key and peddle pressure, what ever the player does to the paino. Then the judges can play it back on a piano where they are. This explains it better.

During the awards ceremony the contestants sat on the stage and watched as a visual showed them playing a piece in the competition and a piano on stage played it out! These kids were amazingly good players, perhaps better than some of the adult ones I have heard in the past.

The judging was a bit strange, there was 1 fifth place winner, 2 third place ones and 2 first place ones. The first place ones then played a concerto each with the Minnesota Orchestra.

We were planning to listen to some more bands after the Orchestra performance but when we got outside again we found that a storm had come through, knocked down a bunch of tents, damaged the 3 outdoor stages, and it was very wet. They were supposed to be back up for this morning but everything outside last night got cancelled after the storm.

This is a picture by TOMruen on weather underground:

Caption:

View from third Ave bridge in Minneapolis just before the storm front hit. A pretty sky - darkest straight above, and rain in the west was a soft glow with the promise of the returning sun when it passed. (And the end of our 73F dewpoint I hope!)

One of my favorite bits from "Elephant Parts"

written by a Texan no less.

Manatees!

Florida Governor Charlie Crist recently signed SB 1286, which will help fund the manatee rescue and rehabilitation program, University of Florida Marine Mammal Veterinary program, and retention of 66 law enforcement positions for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

This means:

• FWC biologists and oceanaria staff will continue to rescue injured or sick manatees.
  
  
• Manatees will receive treatment and critical care at rehabilitation centers throughout Florida.
  
  
• Government agencies, the University of Florida, and the oceanaria will work to gather and examine findings from injured and sick manatees to help prevent future threats to the manatee population and better protect Florida's aquatic environment.
  
  
• Safety for manatees and boaters alike will be increased.

If any of you would like to join me and other Manatee Activists in thanking the legislators and Governor Crist please click here.

"God willing and the Creek don't rise"*

Of course, its been almost 200 yrs since General Andrew Jackson completely crushed the last uprising so I don't think that is likely.

Around here we have had a lot of rain and the river is rising. I took some pictures of the Mississippi down near the St Anthony Falls last night. Please note perfect sky in pictures.

Back in 1993, I drove from St. Paul, MN through Iowa on my way to Springfield, IL and St. Louis, MO. There was so much water on either sides of the road I could have been pulling a water skier most of the way. The first day I had to take a several hundred mile detour and ended up across the state making an unplanned over night stay with a relative. The next day there was lots of water but I was able to take I-80 straight through. I didn't see anymore flooding until I got to St. Louis where everything around the arch was seriously underwater. I drove back via Chicago and WI.

I couldn't make that trip this week though, not only is Iowa seriously flooded, parts of Wisconsin are too. In the Dells, Lake Delton is just gone! 30 counties in Wisconsin are being declared a state of emergency. I think Iowa has about 90. Its bad all over the midwest, Minnesota is the least hit so far. We have just been getting tornadoes.


Here is some hail damage I saw last week outside the library:
The hail has been very localized, some streets get it and others don't. Every weekend for a while now we have had bad storms, a couple weeks ago I saw a wall cloud start to rotate, someone posted this picture of it on weather underground. I was too busy heading for the basement to take a picture.

Last night, after being down at the river where the sky was looking just fine, on the way home a few blocks from my house it started to rain out of nowhere. The wind started picking up as I was getting dropped off, and suddenly this chair comes flying by as I just make it inside. Lightening starts up, so I turn on the tv. There were warnings about 30 miles west of us, but nothing for us, then the sirens go off, all the sirens!

Where I live I can heard about 4 different sirens, so you can usually tell which way the storm is going based on which you hear. The tv still had nothing, then finally they interrupt programming with a severe thunderstorm warning with high winds. I suspect the wind gusts set the sirens off. I haven't seen any damage so far. My power flickered but stayed on, about 10 miles west of here 56,000 houses lost power. I bet they have trees down there too.

*quote is by Benjamin Hawkins

Smokey and "U"

A friend's new "whatever" sent this and I thought it was so funny, I am posting it.

Ring of Fire

So tonight I saw my first tribute band I think, Boss Grant and the Johnny Cash Revue at a biker bar called Whiskey Junction. My friend's husband got us tickets, it was suppose to start at 9:30, it was more like 10:30.
We were invited to sit down in a reserved area by a nice group from the Cold Spring Brewery.
The president of the company, a big Johnny Cash fan, brought a coach load of folks down from wherever Cold Spring, Mn is to hear the band. He also sang with the band on the Ring of Fire. I did a voice message of it and sent it off to the usual suspects, I don't know how to put audio here though. There were a few very bouncy people dancing, but most people stood or sat and listened. There were men in cowboy boots and women with big hair. The warm up band was all 70's stuff.

It was great fun! I tasted my drink for the year, a hard lemonade mainly because I liked the t-shirts that brewery people were wearing, black with something about liking it cold and hard on them. It tasted like lemons and alcohol. yuck! Last year I tasted Vodka ;-) I guess I get to be belligerent for a while now ;-)
Other than people like Beatlemania, I was unaware of tribute bands until Jack told me about them a few years ago. I think I should hear a few more.

On Memorial Day, I was at another biker bar, Bunker's which was much more crowded, wild, with real stylin' men. It was a very mixed crowd, the Whiskey Junction crowd was all white, middle aged, mainly guys. Bunker's had everything, everyone and packed to the gills! We listened to a set of Dr Mambo's Combo the music there really got you moving, click the link and you can hear them a bit. During the set we saw they did some Prince followed by some Morris Day and the Time stuff which was really nice, including Morris Day/Jerome stylized dancing. More my style of music but really loud and really, really crowded. We went over because one of my girlfriends got stood up again, and I was curious. She danced with a human octopus, and we got to meet "Big Sexy Michael" for whom I did some web work a few months back. We left after one set, as it was long after midnight.

This has nothing to do with anything, just of my two favorite drummers ;-)

On that beat, I am heading to bed, night all!

Public Health release for the day, LOL!

"Health officials warn of disease risk from handling baby chicks and ducklings
Seven Salmonella cases identified from March through May

State health officials have identified seven cases of salmonellosis in recent months that are associated with handling chicks or ducklings, prompting them to remind Minnesotans to wash hands thoroughly after handling baby poultry. Read the entire news release.

For more information, contact:

Doug Schultz
MDH Communications
651-201-4993

Dr. Joni Scheftel
State Public Health Veterinarian
651-201-5107"

#####

They also makes some recommendations such as don't let poultry live inside your home. So all you people out there incubating chicks in your kitchen....

How I see things for free...

I am on some lists, the ones I know of are "the arts committee", a couple ad agencies' opinion maker screening , the landmark theaters film club, and supposedly the Black Film Arts board. Some I know how I got, most I don't. I also get tickets from other groups who got invites, like the MISfits who run CONvergence. I signed up for the landmark theater list and the director of the Black film arts board told me at a function that she was putting me on their list. I also signed up recently with Film Metro in hopes of getting Sex in the City or Indiana Jones tickets but none have been near here, mainly available on the coast and a few in Chicago.
From these lists I get invites to movies, theater, premiers, art openings and concerts. Some include food that I usually can't eat. The Sundance/Grey Goose premier party had great food though! The drinks were supposedly quite good as well.

This is how the movie thing goes. Sometimes I get pretty postcards that are invites with lots of warning. Most of the time I get 1-3 emails from different sources that ask me if I want to go, want to enter a "drawing" to go, or plead with me to go. Each source offers me two tickets and various restrictions-no cell phones, camera pda and/or children.
The real cool ones are dog and pony shows complete with a Q&A with the director and sometimes an actor or two. I think the director of Evening was quite interesting as was Wim Wenders, and I like his clothes too! Most of the time I get a day or two notice that I might be going.

For example, last night I got an invite from two sources for a movie on males using steroids, so possible 4 tickets for weds at some Landmark theater around Mpls. Since I was dealing with an ill sibling who was being impossible not to mention my lack of interest in the angst of adolescents and steroids, I didn't reply . If I had wanted to go, I would have responded to one invite, or two if one was a lottery/drawing. Its really bad form to not show up if its a direct invite, esp if you have rsvp-ed, so once I respond unless something like the bridge falling down happens, I go. So I may or may not have gotten tickets, you usually find out the night before.

Movies are usually on Tue, Weds or Thurs and often at the Lagoon Theater in Uptown at 7pm. Since they often give out more tickets than there are seats, it pays to swing by the theater early. Also to be on the look out for bling. At "the wackling" they gave out fairly nice t-shirts. These screenings are organized (or not) by either an ad agency or some group connected with the film. I saw "death at a funeral" twice the first time it ran smoothly, the second time it was an insane mess, they forgot the list, then they found it but couldn't read it, finally it was a free for all. Normally, these are fairly civilized events, but anything can happen.

Some places I won't go if the screening turns out to be there because of the security. I can't handle being without my cell phone, or being padded down. This usually happens at French films, but sheesh.... Do they really think that a coordinated effort of film goers such as myself will copy a movie from their cell phones. I could maybe get 7 mins and not very good quality. I would think that most bootleggers are doing directly off a film print from the studio or something.

Anyway if any un-usual suspects want to go with me to these things, just let me know. often I just get one extra ticket. Its a quick answer, hurry and wait deal, similar to triage at the ER sometimes, but thats another story.

Spring

Its that strange time of year here in Minnesota. The week between winter and summer when you can sleep with your windows open without freezing or overheating. A time to reacquaint yourself with seasonal allergies and the sounds of your neighborhood at night. Since I am trying a new light/sleep experiment I have been sleeping with a fan in the window which lets some light in. I also have a room Vornado which I use in the summer to move the ac around. Both fans have thermostats so I am used to hearing them changing speeds while I sleep.

This morning I awoke to what I thought were sounds of WWII aircraft, but I dismissed it and took a shower. Was putting my sunscreen on and heard more sounds of low flying old aircraft. Normally this weekend I expect to hear steam engines as they move them north for the summer excursions not low flying old planes. I looked out from my balcony and I swear I saw a B25 go by.

I was still mulling this over and making breakfast when a friend called to asked if I wanted to meet up as they would be in my neighborhood on the way back from the MN Sesquicentennial Weekend flyover of 26 vintage airplanes at the state capital! I might wander down there tomorrow evening to catch the music and fireworks. Of course, we have fireworks almost all summer long here, but that is another blog post...

Before the Rains

Tonight I went to an advance screening of "Before the Rains. "
I had 4 free tickets but none of the usual suspects was free to go, so I went alone. I am kind of glad I did. It is a very beautiful powerful and emotional movie, I sat still for almost of it, there was one scene where I closed my eyes for a bit, but the sound still made an indelible image on my mind.

Its an Ivory Merchant production so I knew it would be incredibly beautiful and well told. There is just nothing like one of their films. Unfortunately, Ismail Merchant died a few years ago while working on the film White Countess and I was worried that was the end, but the company is still involved in making films which is great!

The movie is sent in the amazingly lush Kerala, India during 1937, 10 yrs before the British left. Its about the interactions between an English tea farmer and the local villagers at the beginning of the Indian movement that lead to the partition and India gaining independence from the British.
For me, the movie was about people being caught between beliefs, cultures and change and not understanding the difference one white lie can make.

It opens today in New York and LA.



For you Texans it is a Houston WorldFest Winner!
3 Awards!
Best Picture
Best Cinematography- Santosh Sivan
Best Music- Mark Kilian

Cats and Engineers

If you haven't seen this one, its funny:


Thanks Josh Brown

Virtual Me!

Yesterday I was reading Second Cherry and she had pictures of "her" from My Virtual Modelwhich has gotten infinitely better than it was the last time I tried it. I was able to get the model to look like my body. It helps a lot seeing how different proportions and colors look. So I played with it a bit and found a dress I kind of like, though maybe not in this color. I didn't put on shoes or accessorize it, but you can do that too!

You can even turn virtual me around. You can add your face to the model but I haven't tried that yet. Also you can see what you would look like at a different weight which I think is quite a nice thing in itself. They have a young and a mature version and even male ones.
I thought this would be great for cross dressers but unfortunately a male body can not try on female clothes. One of my friends tried that last night, and another seemed disappointed not to see him in a dress, oh well.

All the young dudes...

I just got back from a preview of the new movie "Wackness" dues to hit theaters in July thanks to Sony Pictures Classics and Landmark Theatres. They also gave us a tasteful brown tshirt.

This is what the preview invite said about it:
"It's the summer of 1994, and the streets of New York are pulsing with hip-hop and
wafting with the sweet aroma of marijuana--but change is in the air. The newly inaugurated mayor, Rudy Giuliani, is beginning to implement his anti-fun initiatives against "crimes" like noisy portable radios, graffiti and public drunkenness. Set against this backdrop, Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) spends his last summer before college selling dope throughout New York City, trading it with his shrink (Ben Kingsley) for therapy, while crushing on his step-daughter (Olivia Thirlby). Famke Janssen, Mary Kate Olsen, and Method Man round out the cast in this edgy, bittersweet, and funny coming of age story. Rated R."

It also said "Absolutely no kids admitted to this screening! Enjoy!"

It was an interesting movie and the above doesn't go near to describing the movie. I mean what can you say about a movie that has fly girls dancing in the subway in the beginning and ends with Bowie's "All the Young Dudes."
I say see it, its got lots of music, lots of stuff happening, great performances, and Mary Kate Olsen is amazing. There were some great scenes. Its not the 1994 I remember but then I was older, living in Minnesota working with refugees at a place where we were trained how to respond to bomb threats, but that's another post... About the no kids, I think I agree, and no impressionable young adults either.
During the credits, I was singing along of course, and when the music died off, I was surprised to hear others singing too ;-)

All the young dudes
Carry the news
Boogaloo dudes
Carry the news....

"A case of driving while weird"

Soap, Drugs, & Rock and Roll



For those of you, who are not new age or aging hippies, Dr. Bonner's is a basic all purpose counter culture castile soap found in health food stories and occasional super markets. I first ran into it at Antioch where some people used it for literally everything, just as Dr. Bonner intended.

The original Dr. Bonner was more than a little unusual. He had a strange life, and was institutionalized a few times. Having foreseen the Holocaust, he pleaded with his parents to leave Germany but his words fell on deaf ears. The last contact was in the form of a postcard saying, "You were right. —Your loving father." That would be very hard on anyone.
The labels on the soap were/are chocked full of uses, quotes as well as religious ramblings.

Its a great soap. The company is small, family run and makes the soap by hand. As far as I know they still do no advertising. In a somewhat amusing interview with his son, its clear that some people take his "Moral ABC of All-One-God-Faith" quite seriously.

Dr. Bonner's goal in life was world peace and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

Not for a certain silly someone

because he hates musicals, like he hates museums... often it seems that if I love it, or even like it a little, he hates it, but anyway...

This almost what what we used to call guerrilla theater.



borrowed from From a Cluttered Desk.
Thanks Tammy

Digital TV!!!

Today, I got my two $40 TV converter box coupons. One of my brothers got his as well.
After we researched a bit on the phone and on line. I decided to be the guinea pig and buy the cheapest, coupon accepted, converter available locally. There were supposed 2 at Walmart for $49.95, a Magnavox one and an RCA. When we got there only the RCA DTA800 was in available. So for $13 something after coupon, so I got it.

Some background:
I live in a stucco building, and the tv reception is what one might imagine from living in a chicken wire cage. I have a power rabbit ears that are huge and worked somewhat okay, until they fell off one too many times and now only 1 channel comes in with any consistency, the others are definitely full of ghosts. I had considered buying cable of local channels for $8 plus tax per month, and who knows how much installation, but as I really mainly watch PBS and a few other shows occasionally.

So I get home, open the box, can't get the remote to control my tv or vcr, but it controls my dvd player without my doing anything. So I decide to skip the universal remote thing, and just use the on screen programming to capture the channels. I had no idea how many channels here are digital but I knew PBS had at least 5 that were HD. Amazingly, every channel but one is digital, there are 19 channels (3 are dups) and 7 PBS channels!!!

The reception is great! I can see every seam in Sex in the City! ;-)

Draw backs:
The sound is not consistent from channel to channel, my tv's sound AI doesn't not seem to work so well with it. Occasionally a picture may break down into pixels for a moment or so.

Overall I am thrilled!!!

I don't like death

I really don't.

It feels so strange to lose people who are full of life and love when so many people just let it pass them by.

September-Bernadette
November-my mom's cousin
March-Anna's Barry
Tonight-Mary's Randy

Early this winter a friend told us his wife had terminal lung cancer, and was expected to maybe last through spring. It was shocking and sad, it still is very sad but there is a kind of acceptance and she is planning/preparing for life without her. As far as I know she is still alive, though no one answers the phone this past week.

A friend's mom died last week too. Sad, but not unexpected.

At 12:03 am I saw this

PSA on network TV directed at kids and their parents about the pandemic flu. It was followed by a PSA for kids about Arbor Day!

Several times when I have asked public health representatives why they aren't doing more to inform the general public about the pandemic, I have been told that they are concerned that people will panic.

I guess they think going through the kids will keep the adults calm?

I saw this PSA first late one night on public television, this is the first time I have seen it on network. Now how many children and parents of young children are up this late on a Sunday night/ Monday morning?

This PSA is referred to as "Questions" there is another one I have yet to see called "Know"

What Muppet are you?

What Muppet are you?

You are Kermit the Frog.You are reliable, responsible and caring. And you have a habit of waving your arms about maniacally.FAVORITE EXPRESSIONS:"Hi ho!" "Yaaay!" and "Sheesh!" FAVORITE MOVIE:"How Green Was My Mother" LAST BOOK READ:"Surfin' the Webfoot: A Frog's Guide to the Internet" HOBBIES:Sitting in the swamp playing banjo. QUOTE:"Hmm, my banjo is wet."
Take this quiz!








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Maybe my luck is changing!

A couple of days ago I went to fill the car with gas for the first time since the beginning of March. The price was $3.12 but the fuel light was going on when I drove up hill so I figured it was time to bite the bullet and buy gas.

Now in the past whenever I have gotten gas the price falls by at least a few cents the next day, but this time it went from $3.12 to $3.29 the next day! Is that cool or what?

Marathon!

I decided to start training for a walking marathon, although I may only go to 1/2 marathon stage, it will depend on what happens employment wise.

Prevention magazine has a calendar for it here.
I set it up as my Firefox home page so everyday I will see what I am supposed to do that day.
It seems best to start on a Monday.

I am starting slow like a beginner even though I walk quite a bit. For my cross training I am doing my Pilates reformer and belly dance. I think I will only take one day for rest and the other one for cross training.

If anyone wants to join me, let me know and I can set something up. Just knowing other people are doing it too would be nice, even if its not public.

Cool Things!

In no particular order

1) IngenuiTEA
"The most convenient teapot you will find anywhere - we guarantee it. When tea is ready, simply place it atop your cup. This will cause a valve at the bottom to release: crystal-clear tea flows down, while the mesh filter retains all the leaves with one of the best infusers on the market. Super easy to clean and dishwasher safe. And it's microwaveable - perfect for the office or the road. You will wonder how you got along without one."


2) Ikea Omsgorg shoe horn
Its a 24 inch long snake shoe horn. I use it daily. Mine is white with red markings and cost 99 cents! I am getting one for my parents and some friends.

3) Glad SimplyCooking Microwave Steaming Bags
You can cook very interesting egg dishes in it, frozen and fresh veggies and fish! I rinse them and reuse when using them for veggies. I am taking a bag of these traveling.

4) Reynolds Handi-Vac and Freezer bags
Its a lot of fun! I use it so much the batteries are running down. After I vaccuum packaged 5 pounds of over-ripe Kiwis, it cleaned up really nicely.

5) Yaktrax
"Yaktrax are the newest and most user friendly ice traction device for your shoes on the market today. The unique and patented design will give you the same solid, predictable grip you are accustomed to feeling on dry surfaces."

6) Bananas ;)

for hangovers

Use a banana to fix a cd or dvd?

So tomorrow Lisa and I will be trying

"Meld yoga, meditation, and movement technique as you learn to connect to your goddess through belly dance. This six week course is an amazing way to connect with the indwelling feminine spirit in a friendly and fun atmosphere.

Women of all shapes and sizes should feel beautiful and sensual, and healthy and happy above all else."



Tomorrow is Introduction to Oriental Dance, with Inari

Inari (稲荷, Inari^? also Oinari) is the Japanese kami of fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry, and worldly success.

It should be interesting.

Historic Al Stewart

I was lamenting to a Toronto friend that I couldn't be there and see Al this week so they sent me this clip:


This has got to be at least 30 yrs old. Al still sounds this good. I have the t-shirt Al is wearing only in red ;)
If that is Peter White playing the keyboards, not the piano, he looks SO young, almost too young!
Can anyone identify the other people playing?

Barry and the glass alternative

So much of what I knew of Barry through our conversations over the years was neatly summed by Anna on a ASML post:

barry had a third alternative to the glass being either half empty or
half full:

"is anybody drinking this?"

Goodbye Bear

My friend Anna's partner, Barry, died from a stroke this past week at age 44. A friend of theirs put this slide tape thing together:

So I kept saying I got a rash when I went to the dentist

but no one believed me for quite a while...

but after a few months of fun that included but not limited to:
dehydration
hives
ER
shock
bacteria
toxins
spores
more antibiotics
no belly dancing :-(
pro-biotics
bananas
and zinc
it turned out I was correct. The rash was connected to my dental visits as were all the rest. It took a while for it all to get connected, and I kept thinking ok this is it, like the hives, its over but it wasn't.

What I learned:

• Clindamycin is not a good dental pre-med, and is notorious for this particular bacteria.
• There is a high relapse rate.
  
• Too many dental appointments close together are not wise esp. if you take pre-meds.
• Bananas are your friend. Fresh, powdered, or dehydrated are best. Chips don't work as well.
• ER's in the middle of the day are not as good as going on a holiday, weekend or wee hours.
• Sometimes its worth leaving an ER even if your hives are continuing to spread down your nerve pathways.
• Bathroom mirrors make nice dry erase boards.
• Zofran is amazing and wonderful (and I still have some!)
• Benadryl keeps the hives from swelling as much.
• I no longer need pre-meds.

A couple weeks ago, I won a major Susan vs bacteria battle and felt reasonably well enough to attend the parties at a sci fi fantasy convention. I had a blast! I was there until about 1:30am the first night and left reluctantly at 4:30am Sunday on the second.
I saw the usual suspects, had tea, watched belly dancing, partied with some defenders of an allied nation and got to try on the coolest headgear ever! I will post more about this later.

Tuesday, I woke up with a sore throat. Lucky me, 2 days of health and I get the flu. Due to the above, my medication options were limited. I had been reading about Elderberry extract and its use in the prospective pandemic, so I tried that.
For the first few days, I took Elderberry & Zinc lozenges (10 per day) and rode out the fever. Then I switched to Elderberry capsules (3/day) for a day, and then a combo of both. They actually seemed to work, the really bad flu stuff lasted about 3 days, I was still getting pretty wiped out for another few days but no fever. 3 days ago I walked over 12000 steps and survived fine. Its now been 9 days, I still am getting a bit more tired earlier in the evening but otherwise feeling quite healthy.

Today I discovered that Ikea has cute little stuff guinea pigs! They are even machine washable and only $3.99. Is that cool or what?

What spice are you?

You Are Basil

You are quite popular and loved by most people. You have a mild temperament, but your style is definitely distinctive. You are sweet, attractive, and you often smell good.

What Spice Are You?

I haven't really fallen off the face of the earth

I have just been under the weather. I could say I am getting better, but the last time I said that I got worse so I won't.


On the plus side, during the last couple weeks I took over the ownership(?)of the Al Stewart Mailing List. Everyone from the old server has been transfered and things seem to be going smoothly. Posts are arriving in order and in a timely manner but best thing about it is that discussion is up. All we need now is a pun thread and maybe a Monty Python skit, lol! Al is doing a new ALbum so the ASML being running full steam ahead will be great!

I have been listening/watching the Grammy Awards. Lots of good music.
It was very cool to see Morris Day and the original Time (Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis) complete with mirror. Prince won a Grammy!
Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli singing the prayer together was a bit disconcerting but actually quite good. I love Bocelli's voice.

Spam-My apologies

I seem to have inadvertently spammed my entire gmail account this morning with stumbled on.

It wasn't intentional. Sorry.