Transformed

For Halloween, I wanted something different. Could be Amelie. Could be trying to reconnect with my Sicilian roots. All in all, though, much fun!:)


Happy bday J!!

One step down..

The roof is done! Wooohooo! Hopefully, we'll get a closing date today.

A whole new world

The spot is a small Indonesian island. A safe environment with finite resources, evolution worked its wonders here to produce pony-sized elephants and dog-sized rats. And, the most recent discovery, Hobbit-sized human-relatives! Three-feet tall, with skulls the size of grapefruits, evidence suggests these small cousins of ours lived there for thousands of years, until their fate was sealed by a volcano only 12,000 years ago. Not only is their size a startling find, but the fact that they existed so close in time to written history.
Sometimes I wonder if I could have been an archaeologist. It seems really cool.

Only a week or so late

I never thought seeing guys sitting on a garage roof and hacking it to pieces could make someone so happy!
Finally!
I may actually get to move at some point! wow

Son of the Shadows

So, I buried myself in my book yesterday and finished the second half in a day. Son of the Shadows is not a tale to really surprise you all that much - I had an idea of what would happen early on, for the most part. What was great, and compelling, about it was 1)a true love story well written that touched the sap in me, 2) the basis in and integration of Irish myth and lore. Not only is this set in Ireland of legends and the classic Irish tales told, but the characters also happen to be living some of them. Tho' not an expert in Irish mythology, this seems genuine, so that it gets beyond the "standards". I especially enjoy the inclusion and influence of the fomhoire or Old Ones (and especially when they are at odds with the Fair Folk).

All in all, a good read. If it weren't after 6, with me still at the office and starving and wanting to get house news, and if I were feeling a bit more creative, I'd write a more complete review. I think that's one exercise I can creatively set myself to here on a pretty regular basis. Expect it for Heart of Darkness (when I decide to finish it) and whatever is next in my pile (and expect something entirely different from Son of the Shadows)

A new candy and no patience

J picked these up at a nearby minimart. From the makers of LemonHeads and Atomic Fireballs, Narbles are "chewy fruit slammers" - and are very yummy. J had only left 3 for me, but the intense fruity flavor was really great. (0 calories, too)



I had always hoped that I was a patient person. But I'm finding that if I am told something will be done, expect it to happen, something that's tied to a really big thing, like getting into our first house of our own, and it doesn't - well, then I have absolutely no patience whatsoever. I am extremely upset - I feel either on the brink of tears or of smashing something.
I didn't think I could make Jenny's pumpkin picking, but I may, just to give the pumpkin flinger/ catapulter thingy a try. That might help a bit.
Maybe.

OK, this is just nuts

I know groups can get offended by stereotypical representations. I do a lot of work with the Native American community and can see how such stereotypes affect them, even though I myself think that some representations are out of respect (my high school-nicknamed Red Jacket after the great local chief, for example) and so all shouldn't just be summarily abolished.

So, when I saw this article in my daily blogosphere wanderings, I heaved a disgruntled sigh. This school, whose district has a good base of Wiccans, CANCELED Halloween at the school because witches might be offended.

Did they have to totally cancel it? Really? Why not use it as an educational opportunity??? Say: "This is the background of Halloween, it's not just about witches, it's really more about the dead coming back among us":

Being “between” seasons or years, Samhain was (and is) considered a very magical time, when the dead walk among the living and the veils between past, present and future may be lifted in prophecy and divination. (per this site)

THEN you say, "It's not really fair to stereotype witches with hook noses, pointy hats, and broomsticks, Wicca is a real religion and you can ask your parents to help you find out more about if you want." You then tell them that they can do what they want for Halloween, so long as it focuses more on the real meaning and doesn't stereotype witches.
Don't more kids go as Shrek, Harry Potter, and Spidey nowadays anyway?

PS

Thanks for the comment... Just to clarify - I'm not struggling with this solely because of what one or more people think of me. It's more a personal aspiration, I guess. Always wanted to be a writer as a kid - just haven't found the right way to get into yet.

Creativity

I struggle with what I hope is my creativity. It's poorly defined. It seems to hide underneath a lot of boring reality type things and only peak it's head out every so often.

This frustrates J. He'd like to see more of my creative side. I mean, it's got to more entertaining than, just, life, right?

Sonny and Danny are obviously both very creative. Hmmm.

I see creativity in my work - in finding the stories behind the numbers, in devising the best way to get customers to respond and with the sort of information we'd like to know, in coming up with recommended courses of action based on the findings. That's not really the type of creativity that goes much further than your job or industry. Who in the great wide blogosphere really cares about the impact of the rapor I have with my online research community when it comes to asking questions and interpreting results? Or what my company can do based on that?

Blogger has just put up info on NaNoBlogMo - National Novel Blogging Month - their version of National Novel Writing Month. Checking out the site, many people have already started. I wouldn't even know where to begin. Maybe I'll try a mini-version of NaNoBlogMo. Instead of creating a separate blog, I'll put stuff here. Instaed of trying to crank out a novel in 30 days, I'll try some short exercises, see if it takes me somewhere.

Since the stuff isn't gushing out of me, I figure I have to force myself to do it in some fashion. Then, if I turn out to be horrible or to hate it, I can return to normal-dom.

Google in the news, plus warm fuzzies

Google has been doing some killer PR of late. The two stories that jumped out at me (there may be more)showcase Google as the evil-defeating instrument of justice, in a sense:
Google IDs 1993 hit-and-run victim
Google 'saved' Australian hostage
Now, I'm not a Google-pusher (that reminds me I have to get my Dan Blakesly Halloween CD back - sugar-pusher!). Nor am I writing this because of the ties between this great blog tool and Google. If it were Ford, Citibank, or American Airlines with similar cool headlines right in a row, I'd be talking about them....

In other news, J and I went to a baptism and after-party Sunday. It was really great. Heartwarming, down-home, good people type stuff. Brings a smile.:)

the faint

i saw the faint play on wednesday at lupo's heartbreak hotel, they were really really good. they had a double video projection and had videos made specifically for each song and throughout had mouths moving to the song and they matched the singer perfectly. everything was exactly on cue. then thursday i went to an opening for a juried show i am in, i won second place which $75 dollars for me. this weekend, besides working i am plastering and painting some giant walls in my space and my friends band (double dagger) is coming to stay a night or two, they have in a show in sommerville mass.
goodnight

A pic from the train in the Indian countryside 

Save the date, save the Montage

Friend Jenn forwards word of a campaign to "Save the Montage Grille" here in Rochester. The Montage is one of Rochester's top music venues. You enter via a classy piano bar and then descend a few steps into the restaurant/music space. It's an awesome place that tends to feature blues, jazz, and folks like Will Sheff of Okkervil River (a show I really wanted to see and am still kicking myself for missing). And I hear the food is amazing!

Anyway, save the date - November 12
Music: Roomful of Blues
Come early - eat dinner! Save the Montage!
(it would really stink if Rochester lost such a great venue)

In other news, friend Kat' continues to send word of Indian adventures - and pics too! (will add a pic this evening)

the magnolia electric company

last i went to see the magnolia electric company (or songs: ohia, or jason molina, all the same) it was in a restaurant turned club that is all dumpy. it was a good show, the highlight being the last song, a cover of mama dont let your babies grow up to be cowboys. tonight i go to see the faint, though i am feeling under the weather and kinda dont want to go. but the ticket has been bought and im sure theband is counting on me to be there.
saw team america last weekend, it is very good. i laughed out loud.
the end

Apples, roofs, and boxes

I finally got to go apple picking with Mom this weekend! I would think this late in the season and, with our chilly weather, not a very popular activity - but The Apple Farm was packed! I got 3 very full bags of apples and hope to start with pies and applesauce soon. Yum! I think I dreamt last night of making mini-pies. :)

I also have been trying to pull the best recipes out of our old Bon Appetit's to cut down on the bulk we need to move and have found several other good-looking apple applications....

There's a whole hullabaloo going on about the garage roof on the house. Just so hard to figure out how it's going to get done. Too many layers of people to consult before you can even head in a direction and then you find out that it's a dead end anyway and have to start all over again. Ick.

Our first floor is a sea of boxes. I have a strange new walk, because I'm constantly having to twist and bend around them. And I have a bunch of bruises on hips and knees. Ah the joy of moving! Poor Molson - our cat - I think he's afraid we'll leave him behind....

Just too funny...

OK - I just couldn't resist pointing this out after Mom pointed it out to me. What a riot! HAVE to see this!

It'll stick that way!

It just struck me...

reading an article in Archaeology magazine on Mikhail Gerasimov, the man who pioneered the scientific art of facial reconstruction from bones - you know the whole thing with the skin depth markers then layering on the clay and all.

One key aspect of his work was including a "typical" expression for the individual he was working on. This was determined because:

Heavily used muscles - for example, muscles used to make a frown - leave permanent ridges in facial bones and give clues as to what expression the person might have most often worn.

Wow - so, in a sense, Mom was right when she warned against making the ugly face - it could be the final way you're portrayed in history!

Policies, procedures, and picks

The whole house thing is a rather big pain. Especially when some people really don't do the work they should. Some people have been a great help, others (more of them) are super frustrating. Kudos will go out once we close the deal.

Still, it is so annoying to get "the tone" that I'm stepping outside my bounds as a buyer when I try to follow-up on details and make sure things are being done, because I have experienced breakdowns in the area. People that are getting paid by this transaction should instead try to make this as painless and speedy as possible and might want to consider that at some point I'll need similar services again. Snooty and very, very frustrating.

Anyway, I haven't had much else going on lately, Danny is still a slacker, and Sonny is too busy (although he promises to post soon), so there hasn't been much to read here of late.
If any readers remain, what (within reason) might you want to know more about or to see a picture of? Votes will be filtered, of course, by what I deem appropriate and tallied (if we get that many).