Tuesday, December 24, 2013

A Christmas Carol

From bostonglobe.com article

"After reading an obscure literary journal published by Lowell textile workers and comparing it to Dickens’s novella, a Boston University professor and student are arguing that some of the most memorable elements of Dickens’s story—the ghosts, the tour through the past, Scrooge’s sudden reconsideration of his life—closely resemble plot points in stories by the city’s 'mill girls' that Dickens read after his visit."

~From Was Dickens’s Christmas Carol borrowed from Lowell’s mill girls?

Monday, December 23, 2013

Feline fix for the currently catless

 

An Engineer's Guide to Cats 2.0 - The Sequel

Meowykatmiss

Friday, December 20, 2013

Part Three

Music Magic

http://nprmusic.tumblr.com/post/60284448806/watch-swedish-singer-anna-von-hausswolff-perform-a
 
~~~

 

Part One & Two

http://mylittleredgirl.tumblr.com/post/70491862080/i-was-threatened-with-violence-and-rape-and-begged-a

"And all things considered, I’m still very glad I came out for that Anna Von Hausswolff show. She is really special. Her voice is powerful and good and gives me hope. If you like doomy, witchy, ethereal music, you should buy her album Ceremony. It’s gorgeous.

TL;DR — Music heals. Silence is death. Don’t ignore women when they tell you they’re in immediate danger and beg you for help."

http://theremina.tumblr.com/post/70314555185/i-was-threatened-with-violence-and-rape-and-begged-a

Conflicted

So.



BALE! ~ The Peterson Farm Bros


Much.



Sail! - AWOLNATION by Nanalew


Hotness.

Chore Roar

More poor.


Chore ~ The Peterson Farm Bros.


Clean the floor.

Hot Guys

http://blog.timesunion.com/amanda/the-mystery-and-intrigue-of-the-male-nurse/21427/

ChChChChChoices

http://legalizefrostitution.blogspot.com/2010/01/friday-flavor-face-off.html

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obamacare-hollywood-20131214,0,7464290.story#axzz2o1VymmLL

http://www.j-paine.org/blog/jocelyns_cartoons/2012/06/o-yes-im-loud.html

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-enrollment-limbo-20131213,0,3581548.story#axzz2o1VymmLL

http://paperyandcakery.com/2009/11/twilight-blog-new-moon.html

Subsidence Inversion

http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/212_spring2007.web.dir/Amber_Smith/Subsidence_Inversions.htm


Caller:  I sent in my application several days ago but I don't have a status update yet.

Call Rep.: Since your income is >15k, you automatically qualify for the state insurance. Those applications take 45 days to process. So that means...February.

Caller: But I was trying to sign up before the Dec. 23rd deadline to get covered on Jan. 1st.

Call Rep.: If you get sick, just tell the county.

Caller: I knew I qualified for the state health insurance this year, but I wanted to compare that with what I might pay for a Bronze Plan with a subsidy.

Call Rep.: You can cancel it and sign up for a private plan, but there will be no subsidy.

Caller: Why can't I get a subsidy?

Call Rep: Because of your income.

Caller: So since I make less than 15k, my income is too low for a plan with a subsidy?

Call Rep.: If you make over 15k, you can get a subsidy.

Things that don't get spelled out for you 'til you talk to someone.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Treepose

http://www.lowdensitylifestyle.com/health-is-the-greatest-wealth-part-2/

Enrollment snafus

Application for health insurance was filed through CA's website on Sunday. Meant to do it sooner, but then funerals and finals came into my life. I have been waiting for a status update since Sunday. Today I experienced a thirty-minute queue for online chat support that culminated in being told "no rep. is available." Quite the letdown after a half hour of watching the countdown (300-200-100-84-57-14-4!!! Then "Please try again later.") I was given the option of e-mailing them my question. The message I immediately received: "We'll get back to you in 2 days." Now I am on hold; it's been about 20 minutes. The first time I dialed the number I was told to "Press one to talk to hot guys!" I have no idea why. I checked the number and it was dialed correctly. The second time the number led me to elevator music paradise...





The character Ms. Perry plays in the "Roar" video would not take this lying down. I am heartened. Our hands have touched the same bamboo canes! Filmed in the arboretum that is not far from where I live.

Behold

http://lauralovescakes.blogspot.com/2012/12/3d-cookie-christmas-tree.html

"The ridiculousness of a cupcake sprinkle being officially banned..."

http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/2009/06/cakewalk-silver-dragee-strikes-again.html

Sunday, December 15, 2013

How 'bout I visualize visualizing you visualizing Part II


http://www.johnennis.tv/blog/alec-monopoly-strikes-again/














My idea of Monopoly dude's internal dialogue:

"If I find that there are certain quirky person(s) who occasionally interest me but know that I can't offer immediate assistance (such as a job) to such person(s), at the very least I could, from my heart and soul, send my very best wishes and also envision such person(s) finding themselves in the ideal circumstances to encounter people who can in some way assist them..."  




Elvis ~ Mama Liked The Roses

How 'bout I visualize visualizing you visualizing

http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/2010/09/successful-woman.html

http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/2010/09/successful-woman.html

Nighttime car tunes...

http://wallpaperscraft.com/wallpaper/skier_ski_jump_fly_sky_sun_mountains_76610

Packing and shopping for traveling can be a chore, but enjoyed this tune (and several before it: "Frozen Bubbles" and some of "Winter") in the car:

Sskii Jjumpp

The names and also the color scheme of the tracklist kind of went with the three songs!

KCRW, Nine Forty, Listening to "Maskenko Nights"...

 ~~~~~~~~~

And...to the end

Crybaby from "Hair"
 &
Fascination

 

Much ado about

movies never seen, books not yet read.

http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2006/02/a-quirky-cowboy-classic/

"Tommy Lee Jones wrote his Harvard thesis on Catholic writer Flannery O'Connor. At the time it no doubt seemed like a subject with little relevance to the craft of filmmaking, but, in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, it serves him remarkably well. Jones himself has admitted that the spirit of O'Connor looms heavy on his directorial debut...He clearly views the world through a pair of O'Connor shaded glasses—he views humanity as twisted and ridiculously monstrous creatures that seem hell-bent on their own destruction. Maybe he's being too cynical, or maybe he's read the first chapter of Romans. Either way, Jones doesn't let his fiendish, freakish cast of characters turn his movie into a downer—like O'Connor, he mines the darkness and finds in it a gleaming sense of the absurd. Is it dark? Heck yeah. But it's also sharply funny, even when it cuts so close to the bone it makes us feel more than a little uncomfortable."



Wanda The Wonderful


Desert America ~ R.Martinez


http://blog.nola.com/levees/2010/01/what_is_leveesorg.html

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Hallelujah by & by


Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch ~ I'll Fly Away

To the bookslot, soon

Desert America: Boom and Bust in the New Old West by Ruben Martinez:

"I find myself liking Lawrence...I read about him baking bread at the cabin in San Cristobal every day, and soon afterward I am at Walmart buying flour and yeast. I knead dough for the first time..."

(page 54 "Mornings In New Mexico")

http://labonnebouffonnerie.blogspot.com/2011/01/wet-kneading-sourdough-in-bowl.html


http://rudimentarian.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/snowstorm-sourdough-in-which-i-learn-air-kneading-and-humility/

"The Land of Enchantment is often represented as a land of three cultures in a sexy menage, but it is a rare day when Hispanos, Native Americans, and gringos sit down for a friendly beer at the casino."

(page 116 "In The Shadow of the Black Mesa")

http://donalupeskitchen.com/2011/12/celebrating-the-virgen-de-guadalupe/

"The new conversation was about recognizing that the acequia irrigation system was Moorish in origin and that the Virgen de Guadalupe, Mexico's Catholic patroness, was a composite of Spanish and Moorish and Amerindian dieties." 

(page 117 "In The Shadow of the Black Mesa")


http://www.daralislam.org/programs/retreats/womens-retreat/womens-retreat-gallery.aspx

"She picked up a bit from Carlos Castenada, a bit from Gloria Steinem, and some from Sandra Cisneros and Ana Castillo. She read A Course in Miracles and loved The Da Vinci Code and went to a church that Angela thought smacked of Scientology but Wilma insisted it wasn't, and what if it was?"

(page 209 "A Walk In The Woods")

http://billanddavescocktailhour.com/why-thoreau-wouldnt-drive-a-prius/

To be continued....

Ha ha December

December 14 & 13 were kinda funny on... http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/69991358525/i-do-not-recall-lobbying-for-anything-as-a-boy-as

 http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/69981057007/it-seems-to-me-that-the-desire-to-make-art

http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/69979691226/im-tired-from-blazing-saddles-madeleine-kahn 

http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/69938857251/amandapalmer-oh-my-fucking-god-go-to-google

PLUS...

Sunday, December 01, 2013

Gatos meditando


http://www.metatube.com/es/videos/182294/Gatos-meditando/

http://www.tohiena.com/2010/05/gato-meditando-no-frio.html

Domestic distractions while drying laundry



http://www.japanprobe.com/2011/02/05/neko-nabe-cats-in-pots/


~ http://amandapalmer.tumblr.com/post/68737234456/i-broke-a-lightbulb-on-the-kitchen-floor-on#notes

~ Bev Lee Harling: Introducing Barefoot In Your Kitchen

http://kitchencat.com/760/

http://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2013/03/saint-getrudes-day.html

http://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2013/07/sun-worshipper.html




http://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2013/08/butterfly-kisses.html

http://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2013/11/fiddleheads.html

http://www.bridgetzinn.com/blog/?p=123


Garden Hymn




(Loretta Lynn version)

In The Garden ~ a hymn greatly appreciated by both my grandmothers in this life. If they had a favorite singer, it is not known to me.

Also known as

http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/HFLC1974/398


Laundromat laundry

http://www.fulcrumgallery.com/Becca-Barton/Angel-Laundry_73956.htm


is what you do when the neighbors are using the machines...is there some kind of meaning to shuteye dreaming that you're talking to a film director in your grandmother's house ~a very pleasant, cozy dream~ & then the next day you get the sad but not surprising news, and have to make slightly nerve-wracking travel plans to catch a redeye flight later in the week, but thinking, well at least none of them involve mulholland drive (weirdly, that site has a song about driving to LAX set to clips from the movie...)


From http://www.shorpy.com/node/14562


Closer to Fine seems more appropriate.


From http://www.looseleafnotes.com/notes/2007/05/


Friday, November 29, 2013

Kittysaur!

Found at https://twitter.com/Gluonsrule/status/406523227171614720/photo/1


Because of https://twitter.com/Gluonsrule/status/406161387535101954
 

Food experiments

#1: Trying to make a jalapeno cranberry sauce by using lots of dates instead of sugar will make it come out a thick, spicy, reddish sauce or glaze to serve with meat or quinoa -- not terrible tasting, but not really like the original cranberry sauce.

#2: Where are all the baby squashes tonight?

#3: Balsamic glaze

http://cleananddelicious.com/2008/08/09/howto_make_balsamic_glaze_vide/

Stacking things at halfbakedharvest
~~~~~

Hmmm, more ideas for uses of the strange cranberry concoction?

Maybe some other evening...

http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chipotle-quinoa-sweet-potato-tacos-roasted-cranberry-pomegranate-salsa/

~~~~~

http://www.eatboutique.com/2011/11/06/balsamic-glaze/#.UpmIw9zTnxN

~~~~~

"Just a little...because it's an experiment" = eating half of the experiment with a hunk of crusty sourdough.

Takeaways from yesterday


Roasted baby squashes do not need herbs to be delicious

Jalapeno cranberry sauce

The Brontosaurus never existed

Korean businesspeoples' drinking habits

Thursday, November 28, 2013

some Descent ideas/associations

Boundlessness in Bloom by Duy Huynh


Ring of Fire

~~~

http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/23580/madrid-firemen-and-one-firewoman-strip-off-for-charity-calendar-to-help-the-hungry

~~~

http://www.buzzfeed.com/miriamelder/watch-this-indian-actress-shut-down-a-female-journalist-for

~~~

Mallika Sherawat & Bruno Mars

~~~

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/descent

Food for thought

http://www.michaelschoneman.com/2011/11/im-not-vegan-happy-thanksgiving.html

~ "P.S.  I expect this story probably sounds trivial, but if you've ever been poor and desperate, you know how humiliating it is to ask for help from someone whom you know doesn't want to give it."

~ http://piecesofmargo.blogspot.com/2013/11/thanksgiving-2013.html


Benjamin Franklin Gets a Facelift


~ A survey of men and women from 1998 to 2009 shows that women 65 years of age and older have a median income that’s 25% lower than that of their male counterparts, according to Bloomberg. Even worse, the federal study showed that women of that age group are twice as likely as men to be living at or below the poverty line."


~ http://business.time.com/2012/07/26/retirement-age-women-twice-as-likely-as-men-to-live-in-poverty-whats-going-on/



http://www.michaelschoneman.com/2011/11/im-not-vegan-happy-thanksgiving.html


~ "....gets hit on all the time by dudes who come in and act like they've never seen a circle-shaped cake before. But she's a little reticent, so usually she does her twitchy, eye-rolly, 'Uh, time to make the fonuts'-type dance, and she walks away. She just got out of a relationship with 'a high-profile chef' they act like they're not going to name for a while, and then she accidentally maybe lets it slip that okay, you dragged it out of her, it's..."

~ http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2013/08/11/211060932/the-real-foodwives-bravo-found-some-more-rich-ladies-who-gossip


http://southernfoodways.blogspot.com/2013_03_01_archive.html

 ~ "Contrary to conventional wisdom, researchers say it can hurt women to ask for more money. That's because when women do request either a raise or a higher starting salary they are more likely than men to be perceived as greedy, demanding or just not very nice."

"Neale said she thinks it is largely subconscious, and most bosses probably don't even know that they are judging women more harshly."

"When Neale is negotiating, she said she's found that she is more successful if she asks for a package of resources that will help make her employer better—rather than just more money for herself.
In academia, she said, that may mean she also shows how more resources for her research, plus additional teaching assistants, will help the university meet its goal of producing more high-profile results.

  'Then I'm not getting greedy,' she said. 'I'm doing things that help the organization.'"

~ For women, asking for a raise...

http://thegraphicsfairy.com/retro-clip-art-money-moms-women/

~ "asking is complicated"


http://amandapalmer.tumblr.com/post/65423995378/whats-the-most-important-thing-you-have-learned-this