Jen's miscellany

So close but so far...

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:33:58 GMT

Due to the annoying working on weekends thing, I wasn't able to head to Sand by the Ton till a fashionable hour.

Unfortunately this was about an hour after the fire marshal stopped letting folks into the venue. Rather than hang out outside on the off chance I could find the "only letting artists and crew in" location, I headed home with the Grande Plan of taking a nap and trying again at 2am.

The nap was 2 hours of my being a nightmare factory, which didn't lend itself to actually functioning when the alarm went off at 1:30. <sigh> But I got to see much of the venue while setting up on Friday night, which, while missing performers and light shows, means I did get to see some of the sandcastles and other decor.

Sand by the Ton

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:42:08 GMT

I should probably promote this a bit as art I have helped out with is being debuted here... and the performance line-up is pretty fucking awesome.

I will be there mid-eveningish, though I am not sure when I will be on a crew shift for the Carbon Garden (big flowers that spit fire).

D'oh!

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:55:52 GMT

Hmmm. As I am kitteh-sitting, I have xthread's zoom for the weekend.*

Unfortunately, it seems I also have his phone.**

Whoops.

*this would be more awesome if I didn't have to work for all of it.
** this was probably not intendend, though may not actually be problematic

PSA: tastiness

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:15:38 GMT

W00t! Trader Joe's has rice crispy treats that are made with Agaroid rather than gelatin so they are vegetarIan-safe (though not vegan).

While I have never had packaged rice crispy treats that taste like home-made ones, these are pretty good.

There are Deep Wants... and then there are Deep Wants

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:15:04 GMT

Every once in a while time with someone will provoke desires that I have to spend several days wrestling into submission.

For example, cravings provoked by an evening at rissymonster's last week are still haunting me today. Not only was there tasty homemade mac & cheese, but I was spoiled with heirloom tomato salad, and Humbolt Fog on crackers (this is one of the few goat cheeses I like, and it very tasty). This alone would not be enough to leave me with...certain urges.

No, there was also a cake (it looked like this, except beautifully marbled.)

Now I find myself, four days later, horribly distracted with cravings, and still trying to convince myself that I don't actually need another cookbook for chocolate, and I really don't need a new bundt pan (oooh Bugs! Cathedral! Octupus!_.

Dear internets... do my moral math for me...

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:26:22 GMT

What is the end result of AmazonFail? A search of news articles suggests that it has kinda blown over with the mainstream news outlets buying into "whoops, unintentional error", a few blogs that are all about hating anything corporate still believing it was an act of suppression, and not a whole lot if followup from the anyone else.

Though I haven't purchased anything from them since, I haven't gotten around to findhing a better wishlisting tool, either. While Powell's is good for mail-order books (though I can not be lazy and go to a local place*), Amazon also has stuff that I can't cheaply find in local independent stores. So, should I ever be sufficiently solvent to indulge in thinks like sexy silicon bakeware or artsy bundt pans... where does the liberal internet community stand on Amazon at the moment?

*In the last two months: Green Apple, Logos, Bookshop Santa Cruz, Dark Carnival, DeLauers... I really have to finish what I have before I think about procuring more (heh, well, cookbooks don't count, right?).

33 cycles completed...

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:32:40 GMT

After errands, my day started with brekkers at Brenda's, which has the most amazing grits ever (and tasty beignets, too).

The weather fit one of my definitions of perfect: mostly overcast all day, with the sky clearing up enough to be deep blue with pink and purple cloud streaks for sunset, I got to people watch downtown, and treated myself to a sunflower to use as a royal scepter for the afternoon.

avar1c3 had offered to treat me to a tongue piercing as a gift (I have wanted one since I was 16, given all, now is a good time logistically to get one, and would have been the right sort of pain to help focus some processing). Alas, this proved impossible. Apparently my tongue is too short. While this is deeply disappointing (the intended affirmation did have sorta a consolation prize feel, and then to be denied even that, stung a bit), the industrial piercing I got instead really feels right and I can work with in a way that may end up being more positive for me than what we had originally intended.

And now I finish of the evening by sipping Laphroaig, kitties near at hand, and hopefully trouncing xthread at both Ticket to Ride and Race for the Galaxy.

Minus one tiny bit, today has been a pretty good birthday. Thanks to those who checked in with warm wishes.

Self-reflection...

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 19:13:40 GMT

So normally I avoid meme-like web devices, and I don't think this is the most optimal tool for feedback, but I am interested in the feedback.

From the limited sample set of adjectives, pick an even more limited set that you think best suit me (cause really, people only have five or six primary aspects). This gets compared with the limited set that I most self-identified with when I created the poll.

http://kevan.org/johari?name=estro

(this is nadyalec's fault. :} )

Edit: It is totally cracking me up that the ads on the bottom of the page (so far) have been for World of Warcraft and Dianetics.

A pointless gripe.

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:44:52 GMT

While I am notably not a fan of the Twitter phenomena, I do understand its utility as a social networking device and thus as a amazing meter for social trends. I even understand its use for giving fans a sense of connection with their idol of choice.

However, it really isn't the best medium for delivering intelligible political critiques. Incomplete words, SMS abbreviations , and general spelling fail is, maybe, forgivable between preteens. But from a member of the House Finance Committee? Were I either a Republican or one of Grassley's constituents, I would be deeply ashamed.

(A quick looks shows that both both Britnney Spears and Paris Hilton have fewer spelling errors and more cogent tweets than Grassley)

It isn't jumping ship...

Sun, 31 May 2009 01:15:29 GMT

...just preparing the lifeboat and keeping it stocked.

So I haven't had the twelve a day Russian bots adding me as a friend for a few days, but there are many other compelling reasons to keep a dreamwidth account as a backup.

I got an account early enough that just plain "estro" was still available. This is where I will continue to post for the nonce, and will update to the dreamwidth account intermittently.

OMG! OMG! OMG!

Fri, 29 May 2009 22:24:36 GMT

... because even if it is a Disney film...

Stephen Fry will be the Cheshire Cat.

le sigh...

Thu, 28 May 2009 16:31:36 GMT

I won't be going to MakerFaire this year...

I have been to the last three, volunteered at the last two, as well as being on a maker crew last year, and am kinda done for a bit. (Well, that and I will be working. <looks at calendar> Yep. Next day off is the 14th or 15th.)

But darn, the tactical corset makers will be there. (link courtesy of thewronghands.

I thought I was over crying about this...

Tue, 26 May 2009 17:42:17 GMT

I was wrong.

Court upholds prop 8

Pretty bendy creatures...

Sun, 24 May 2009 08:14:31 GMT

City Circus's Kamikaze Heart is an absolutely charming show, and well worth the $14 ticket price. (In a city where admission to craptastic one-acts can cost over $30, an almost two hour performance for under half of that is excellent.)

I didn't find the aerials routines to be the best part of the show (having watched several of y'all learning the hard stuff, I am now far too picky about what is technically difficult versus merely pretty.) The contortionists (unsurprisingly my favorite) were young but impressive, and I was pleased that the boys didn't fit the normal acrobatic molds of either ridiculously skinny or all muscles. The more endomorphic of the two, who I had initially thought was just a balancing base for the girls was jaw-droppingly flexible. Also, the break dancers were incredible. Admittedly, I haven't seen much to compare too, but prior to this I had always thought head spins were fictional.

<sigh> I really need to get my life settles so I can take the conditioning classes again.

Yeah, all from the local liberal rag...

Sat, 16 May 2009 22:09:02 GMT

Satisfied: Yup, still murder.

Miffed:Dudes. WTF. In Alameda even... which has a large queer family population.

Disgusted: GOP: Really? Gay marriage will kill small business because of having to provide more health insurance? You all are fucking pathetic.

Total productivty fail...

Fri, 15 May 2009 23:23:40 GMT

YouTubage. The Lobby Scene.

The original eye candy. Possibly one of my favorite film ~~action~~ sequences ever.

Bollywood rippoff. Close to identical blocking

Legos!

Preteens in a dojo

All that is missing is a muppets version.

This post brought to you by a combination of the original soundtrack and post Watchmen musings about the stylization mark that the Matrix action sequences have left on cinematic fight-scenes since.

Ah, the irony...

Fri, 15 May 2009 03:38:43 GMT

I think this is the second or third year running that National Bike to Work Day has fallen on a day when I have a borrowed a car.

(For those who don't know me so well, I have been doing the bike commute lifestyle thing for years. My driving is a rare occurrence.)

Mitigated nostalgia

Sat, 09 May 2009 19:42:03 GMT

While doing backups I found this bit of silly hack that I had started writing in 2003 as a gift for a friend during a period when I was writing regularly. It was intended to be the introduction to a series with autobiographical overtones: the adventures of the ogre and valkyrie, best buddies for ever.

The ogre and the valkyrie:
Once upon a time, in a world that is conceivably both far, far, away and yet touches ours, there lived a not-so-brutish ogre and a less-than-heroic valkyrie. Many others lived in this world too, and they do figure greatly into this tale, but as net forces rather than discrete individuals*. For the moment the only individuals of concern are our ogre and valkyrie.
Ogres, in general, live a mean and solitary existence, and ours was not much of an exception, although he would it were not so. Aspiring to academia, or perhaps a life of creation and thought, our ogre was burdened with the fact of daily existence. Most ogres do not find this a problem, as daily living is merely an exercise of bashing their way through the world, eating whatever morsels happened to cross their paths (frequently said editable bits are in the course of fleeing the aforementioned bashings), and dreaming about hot ogre-babes. To our ogre this was a bit of a chore, as effective bashing required one to set aside ones creative impulses, and had to be done by the rest of the world's schedule.** When any one, ogre or no, is brilliant enough to get truly lost in their own ideas, it is understandable that they are frustrated that such brilliance is undervalued by the world at large. Our ogre had to do at least some bashing to survive, but so poor at it was he, that he had very time to spend with his intellectual peers, those who could help fulfill his creative and philosophic needs. Thus, despite his soul's wishes, our ogre was trapped in ogredom.
Our valkyrie, on the other hand, could manage where it came to the smiting necessary in daily life. She did not manage it with any flair, but managed to get it done. Alas, although the smiting was necessary for survival, she did not derive much pleasure from it. She dreamt of the heroic life she felt she should have as a valkyrie, but suspected a lack of true talent prevented her from ever being able to achieve it. There were other issues with her valkyric style: rather than finding the physically valorous heroes of life, she unerringly found the heroes of soul, whether it be spirit or intellect (most often both) to earmark. This is not a skill that is likely to earn a valkyrie a promotion, however it is how she noticed the ogre.

* Imagine what would happen to our world if say, the asteroid belt and some of the smaller planets disappeared. Bad gravitational juju. Life as we know it would be fucked. Even though we have no specific interaction with any one asteroid and consider Neptune the odd neighbor that we never invite to block parties.

** An ogre has to bash while there are people around to be bashed, people who will properly react to bashings. For example, bashing a shepherd and his flock, or perhaps a random woodcutter, in the morning is fine, but after about 5pm they have gone home to their well protected domiciles and there is no one to bash. Weekends and federal holidays are also right out of the question. There are also occasional seasonal deadlines to be met, as herds moved to other pasturelands, or woodcutters turned into charcoal burners for a bit.*** Fortunate ogres succeeded without such scheduling if they post themselves along a route with lots of wandering actors, knights on quests, and absentminded missionaries. Our ogre had such a territory once, although it still required far too much work for the thinking he wanted to accomplish, it was far more nourishing (intellectually and physically) than where he is at the start of our story.

*** If you were thinking that this might be an extended metaphor for bureaucratic paperwork, you would be right, I just got a bit carried away.

The current ending (as could be written quasi-autobiographically) has the ogre having run off with some sylph, deeply hurting the valkyrie in the process, and they haven't talked since. While the valkyrie is finding fulfillment having her own adventures (some hard and painful, some wonderous), the ogre has become trapped in the lifestyle he hated so he can support his wife and child. There is even a second "save the marriage" child on the way (everyone knows this never works, dude, what were they thinking?).

The valkyrie's lot is great, but I lament that the ogre doesn't seem to be figuring out the happily ever after bit. Or even happily most of the time with reasonable expectations of rough spots. <sigh>

Picture of a devastated man...

Thu, 07 May 2009 19:41:25 GMT

For those who might be worried about xthread given his recent change in employment status:

Picture a distressed man updating his resume, frenetically calling contacts, and suffering sleepless nights.

That is not Richard. This morning (for values of morning that don't necessarily include AM) he has been sighted sprawled on the couch, cat to one side, simultaneously playing WOW and reading a comic book.

The enforced day off continued. Somehow the grab breakfast, check out a Farmer's Market (which isn't quite a farmer's market but is pretty excellent in terms of variety of uncommon goods) and play a game or two of darts and pool included getting sucked into Green Apple Books (ah, used bookstore love), a wander though Sloats Nursery (more joy and wishing I had both a yard and disposable income), and several hours at Ireland's 32. xthread and I both pinged local friends to drop by, where local somehow got expanded from a few blocks to a radius that included the East Bay and the Penninusla. The evening ended in the wee hours playing boardgames at the little house on the hill.

Banks and forclosed homes...

Mon, 04 May 2009 02:29:23 GMT

This article on foreclosed homes causing blight had me researching California's adverse possession laws.

While I don't think I could manage the five years required for ownership... it does have me wondering how feasible squatting actually could be. Just as an abstract. I am pretty sure that the hassle of getting booted after a few months wouldn't be worth the effort of trying.

On the other hand, I pay relatively low rent for the area, but given my current insufficiently employed status, even that is a stretch. Getting a cheaper/free stay from the title holder by maintaining the place might be something worth looking into, even if chasing a pipedream.

Urban CTF is back....

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:14:32 GMT

May 5th, Frank Ogawa Plaza: 7:30 meet, 7:45 rules and team breakdown.

8:00 Game On.

Weekend of awesomeness...

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:47:13 GMT

I am back though not quite caught up on sleep or internets, and had an excellent time. Most of my enjoyment came from lots of little moments rather than than the concerts as I only saw two shows.

I finally got to see Serpent Mother in full form, that and seeing the Cure are probably what I had most looked forward too. I also finally saw Cubatron, which I have been hearing about for a while and is a marvelous piece. Other joys included having the world suddenly booming the Dr. Who theme (and mixes of) during breakfast as the festival did morning sound-check. Saturday brunch with french toast with Nutella and cream cheese (it boggles me how many people have never had either of these on french toast). I managed to meet up with akil and wander for a bit and catch up on gossip. Camping with the crew in artist's camp was definitely the way to go: chill and the right kind of crazy. I also got 'road trip' time with one of my dearest friends, managing to make it back into the Bay area just in time to catch the sunset and drive across the bridge in that most beautiful dusky time.

I am now disappointed that I missed Leonard Cohen in Oakland last week, as his performance was good, but it really wasn't the right venue or audience. The Cure, however, played an amazing show that continued even after the house cut the main speakers half way through Boys Don't Cry ($1000 fine to Coachella for each minute past curfew). They finished up on under their instruments amps and the audience filled in the vocals. The also managed Jumping Someone Else's Train before power to the stage was also cut.

AFK... till Monday

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:32:27 GMT

I am heading to Coachella with this bit of art. (I am involved with this group and helped make it. For extra cuteness, this is puck555 explaining it.)

I am not sure what I was thinking when I signed up (Hot weather? Huge crowds? Hmm. probably "cheap adventure". ;} ), but I think I am going to enjoy myself, and look forward to seeing this piece complete and in the wild.

obHung-over post

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:35:36 GMT

I had thought my liver was being too effective... I was wrong.

avar1c3: I am still..mildly affronted at the notion of the skinny male critter being my doppleganger. Blond bob aside, I have corraboration, I "move more...aggresively". Also: UV shoulder pads? Fuck no.

Sobriety: I managed to take my boots off without you. Woohoo!

Dudes on the bus: Thanks for keeping me entertained on the way home with your sage advice for clean-cut messenger-scenester on the route home. Scenester to the the guys giving him a list of credit resources and other fiscal advice "Dude, how do you guys know this shit?" 20-something with the Kidd Rock voice, "There is more to life than selling drugs." (I couldn't tell if that was subtle mockery or not, but that it might have been was cracking me up).

Me: You need to go dancing more often. That being said don't have a third drink at the DNA.

Broken window theory...

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:29:30 GMT

I believe there is merit to the broken window theory, but it isn't only taggers, loiters, and building owners that need to be addressed. While riding to West Oakland Bart from Lake Merritt BART I noticed surface area of billboards with adds peeling off than of tags.

Oakland has financial woes, so given limited funds, it makes more sense to start fining Clear Channel (who has money) than trying to catch and fine taggers who generally don't have money.

(related link via xthread: broken windo theory experiment)