I Am This Woman

I wish Britney Spears all the best. I hope Heath Ledger’s family can grieve and heal from their loss as time allows, and I even hold out a good thought for Tony Romo and his new girlfriend. Mazel tov!

But the onslaught and constant Chinese water torture of teasers, promos, gossip, “news,” and muckracking is just absolutely ridiculous. There is no good that can come of it. I don’t care if it “helps” someone to see Tyra’s cellulite; I don’t care if there are claims that Celebrity Rehab shows that Even Celebrities Are People Too. Any idiot can figure that out.

While I get a kick out of the snarkfest called The Soup, it’s not exactly the kind of thing that I want to spend my time on, sitting next to my child on the couch.

No, really, if you examine it even a little bit, there is nothing good that comes from participating in this kind of thing. It offers no return on the investment, it makes one jaded and it sucks up a whole lot of ink, money, and energy that could be devoted finer arts.

Like knitting.

Like Johnny Depp movies. I don’t need to know what he wears, what he smokes or what his children’s names are (Lily Rose and Jack) to know that I adore his performances. I do like hearing him talk about his work, but it is still not necessary.

Now, if you point me to an article or show where Johnny Depp is discussing knitting, well, that’s not bottom feeding then, is it? No, that would be inspiration!

I ran across this in a “random” quote generator today.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. — Albert Einstein

Indeed. I plan to do this, and very soon.

One of my bloggy friends - a woman I know only because I like her writing - is a walking miracle. And I love a good story.

Read her latest story, in her words, in chronological order, with apologies for perhaps plagiarizing too much of her blog into mine:

Boxes

Frightened

News

Questions

Memo

(more…)

Following suit with the great Green Tuna:
The AFI put out their list of 100 Greatest Movies of All Time. Those I’ve seen in green, those I haven’t seen in red, and those I saw part of or scenes from, or saw and really don’t remember in orange.

(more…)

I didn’t actually mean to not post an entry for the past several days but you turn around and suddenly it’s the end of the month. For me and my calendar, my son’s birthday in the middle of the month seques quickly to the MLK school holiday and then to the annual business meeting for my company which is a huge time sink, not always in a bad way.

As I’m typing this, I’m watching weather reports for a different (and colder) part of the country and mourning the untimely and tragic death of Heath Ledger. I may write about this later, but suffice it to say that I am distraught.

I also have a thought or two running around in my head about focus versus creating choices and staying fresh and alive. Perhaps in the midst of my busyness, the inner voice saying, “that’s just not me” will explain things.

I am now on Ravelry.

I’m working on an article for a deadline of two days ago, so I haven’t been blogging. But this quick update is to pause and reflect on the focus required for some types of writing, and the software that loves them. (Horrible syntax, but I was trying to make a pun on “the women who love them, the spy who loved me” and like that there.)

Word: all business. Arial 12, left justified, single spaced, spelling turned on, track changes turned off. Save every 5 min. Quick, dirty, feels like work.

Scrivener: pure fun and creativity. Full screen, notebook mode, outline, storyboard, post-its, research windows, play play PLAY.

WordPress: mushy, raw, kneading word-dough to get pretty web page. Hit Publish and “Ooooo look, shiny things!”

Gmail/web email window: visual telephone, chit-chat, blah blah blah. Hit Send, next…

Back soon, after deadline.

Drifts at sunset, originally uploaded by Andrea_R.

I am lucky to have friends in far-flung places, where it gets cold and snowy and windy. They step outside and snap photos, this one from Andrea in New Brunswick. I get to see them from the warmth of my office, in my robe and slippers, coffee brewing. No layers, no chapstick, no lost mittens.

Part of me wants to be impervious to cold, wind, snow and ice. I want to dance on the rim of this little snow canyon and howl at the moon. But I have evolved and adapted to wear a robe and slippers, not a wolf’s fur, and I use my paws to type very fast (and sometimes accurately!) rather than digging, clawing or prancing through the woods.

And since I like guacamole, shrimp and chocolate cookies, rather than snowshoe hare sushi or pack-hunted whitetail, I think the wolf and I have made a pretty good deal with evolution.

Everyone knows what happens to a clean litter box, a clean diaper and a clean countertop. In the case of the first two, as we say in Arizona, caca pasa. And for that countertop? Matter will be created to clutter it up. This is known as TigerWillow’s Law of Flat Surfaces. (I’m working very hard to get it accepted by scientists, but there’s this little quibble about repeatable, observable and the scientific method. Hrmpf.)

This morning, I woke with purpose. The purpose-driven day. Clean tables and countertops by bedtime. In order to move on with some new projects, I require the space to get things out and make a mess, but there is no room to make a mess. There’s a big mess in the place I want to make a mess.

This is known as a corollary to TigerWillow’s Law of Flat Surfaces. It is called the Mess Conundrum.

So far, my progress has been to put away the Christmas things, sort through and organize the coffee table clutter, clean off the craft table clutter and sweep, sort and re-sort the kitchen island clutter. Dining room clutter was moved aside (sans the Christmas items that were cherrypicked to be packed in the cheerful red and green plastic bins which are now in the garage), and dinner was served. Right now, a fine game of Stratego is being waged after dinner was cleared.

There again, another example of the Law and the Mess Conundrum. If dinner had not been eaten at the table, there might not have been a cleared-away spot for Stratego to emerge from the cupboard. And if the game isn’t put away properly, there will be no Frog Juice, nor will we be able to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner there tomorrow.

Clearing away, messing up, clearing away. Pendulums, night and day, earth and sun, and housework operate pretty much on the same principle. And that, friends, is pure science.

Judging from the sounds of boys divebombing Stratego pieces prematurely and very unstrategically, I’d say the game is over, and I must publish this entry. Stay tuned for more scientific help to keep life in balance.

How do you know if your Christmas slippers are indeed a great pair?

I left the house today – in the car and half-way down the alley to the street. Uh oh! I still had my slippers on, so I had to go back, pull into the driveway and go inside to put on shoes.

(And the bargain hunter in me is now cringing… all slippers are now 50% off! If only I could have waited! But perhaps the joy of toasty toes for 12 days so far is worth that other 50%?)