5 little known things tag, and I made 2 haikus too!

Dredging up that Blueberry header again. How can I resist?

Are these the right rules?
Nava composed a haiku
and so here is mine.

I am not an artist anymore. All my artsy stuff is done to promote other people's ideas, so it doesn't even count as art, but it does count as design, graphic design, web design, or illustration. Let's see... 5 little known things. When I was barely even two, I was drawing and painting at a pretty advanced level, and kept it up passionately until I was in my 20s when reality and mortgages kicked in, so I sold out to the J-O-B. As a person with art schooling, I will bring up some of the jobs I've had.

1. Retouching Sears portraits. Some of these portraits were just butt-ugly crap, and on top of that the negatives were dusty and scratched, so we all sat in a big open warehouse room and if you looked up from the roll, the supervisor goon yelled out "you outta work?". The photos were on a motorized roll which we operated with one hand while holding a tiny brush in the other. We made minimum wage (which was $1.75), and after paying my rent I didn't have enough money left for food, or even enough to park my car at work and had to park several blocks away in an even scarier part of downtown St. Louis. The place also had stupid rules about fraternization, in that males and females were not permitted to sit together during lunch or be seen speaking to each other socially.

2. Bartending in a redneck dive. I was paid $15 cash for ~9 hours of work with no actual breaks, plus all the booze I could drink and a frozen pizza. This job has a few colorful stories that go with it, so I will leave them for a later post. I quit it to take job #3.

3. Automobile assembler. Hard work. Noxious fumes. Hands exposed to naphtha all shift, booze, drugs, 125 degF at my spot on the line in summer. This was the job that convinced me that I need more schoolin', and this time with a desk job in mind. Decent pay and benefits for the unskilled, but we were laid off. Then the plant closed.

4. Housekeeping in Nursing Homes. This job was a promotion I sought after doing job #5.

5. Laundry worker in a Nursing Home. Practically the definition of the bottom of the barrel. We worked in the basement and it flowed down the big chute at us.

Five little known things.
I've been tagged as an artist
and must tag five more.

(I think the haiku is highly optional, ya'll. Just 5 little known things and tag 5)
tagging: konagod, a creative from my neck of the woods.
Dr. Monkey, Lord of the Crunky, who manages to keep the fez on.
mando mama, you are tagged as a string enthusiast.
undeniable liberal, who shows artistry with the turn of the phrase, and in coming up with NEW words where they are needed!
Michael, you are an artist, so consider yourself tagged if you happen to read this. No pressure!!

Cartoon from Toothpaste for Dinner.

7 years in ATX

Sorry for you folks out there enduring those horrible winter storms. Very treacherous -- dangerous. The day we left St. Louis for Austin was back around December 18, 2000. They had just had a bitter cold front come through following snow and ice, and it was about 2 degF when we were packing up the moving van. We just had our "efficiency" stuff, enough to live in a one bedroom apartment, and our 3 cats, Alex, Henry and Duncan. I drove a car with Henry and Duncan in it, and MrB drove the Penske truck with Alex.

Alex was hyperactive and loud. We got valium from the vet to help him make the trip, but even after a human-level dose he was wide awake and meowing himself sick. He was obsessive. He did not sleep -- at all. My cats were pretty scared and quiet, petrified with fear I guess, and as soon as Henry's carrier was opened for his litter pan break, he peed on the car floor instead.

There was another big winter storm expected to impact the trip, and we were super-lucky to have made it to a motel in Oklahoma before the highways became impassable. Otherwise we would have had to spend the night in the car/truck... each of us with VERY unhappy cats... not to mention freezing in a snow/ice storm. For an auditory impression of how he sounded, imagine Granny Clampett yelling "JED!!! JED!!!" at the top of her lungs.

Even in the motel, Alex continued to cry. He did doze off a little, but meowed in his sleep. I am not making that up. I didn't think it was possible. And he had been tranquilized.

The next day was thankfully fit for travel, hard to imagine repeating that evening, and I don't think Alex would have survived it. He meowed for the whole rest of the journey into Austin, and by that time we had almost completely lost his voice. I think the trip added a year or two onto him. He wasn't one to go with the flow, he was always as obsessive as a Terminator, didn't give up. He eventually got his voice back, but a little of the piss and vinegar was gone (only a little).

Our temporary apartment (until we could get a house in Austin) was in Georgetown, a good commute north of town. It was the only place I could find that would let us live there with 3 cats. There was sunshine and it was very pleasant, in the 70s in the daytime so a denim jacket was plenty for day or night. Back in the midwest, you don't get much intense sunshine in the winter, it's pretty gray and overcast, day after stinkin' day. The other thing we noticed is that it stayed light for about 45 minutes later in the evening. All in all, an excellent way to spend the solstice by having some sunshine (not to mention nice temperatures) to celebrate.

Feels like home to me, and we see friends every where we go. However, I fully understand and accept that it will take at least 7 more years before we are considered "local", and as far as some folks are concerned, it will NEVER happen. (I can't help those folks, and will never see eye to eye with them on that point) But -- if you bring something good to the table, something creative that nurtures and supports the local culture and the good things about it, you can get your Austinite credentials a little sooner.

Big Damn Spider Attacks Space Shuttle!!!

[News link]

Joey Burns Calexico

No. Not saying someone has committed arson in a California border town.

Happy birthday today to Joey Burns, lead singer, songwriter, guitar player and major driving force for the band Calexico. The band is based in Tuscon Arizona, and their quintessential sound is captured in this offering, The Crystal Frontier. The sound blends the American West with Mexico, and a lot of the songs, this one included, deal with the heartaches of The Border.


This one is more recent, the sound is a little less hot and dusty, the lyrics maybe a bit more political. It's called "Cruel"



The band has done a lot of support collaboration, including Neko Case, and more prominently Iron & Wine, a.k.a. Sam Beam -- who lives not too awfully far down the road in Dripping Springs. You will also hear them all over the soundtrack of that new Dylan movie, "I'm Not There". I'm going to post one more video here, even though it's as much Iron & Wine as it is Calexico... I am just really in love with this song right now. So there you have it. Recorded at KUT radio, Austin, Texas. "He Lays In The Reins"


Band website

Good on ya, Greencards!

The Greencards have had another stellar year of doing nothing but touring, burning out the van, working their asses off, and always coming up smiling. They have just gotten their first-ever Grammy nomination, so it's a big cause for celebration. We always believed in them. Always. Now I hope they win (it's for Best Country Instrumental for the song Mucky the Duck, and it's a fiery acoustic number that's unbelievably good. Listen to it on their MySpace. They're offering a free download Christmas song on there now. It's a handmade gift.

Cat Hair

If you're going to be giving gifts that are unwanted and unneeded by the recipients anyway, consider these Kitty Wigs. For $50 you can really annoy your cat, get some laughs, and hopefully they will leave the wigs on long enough to snap an enduring photo. Four styles/colors available.

The phrase "take a picture. It lasts longer" could not be more appropriate.

Yes, it's for real, apparently.

Yes, your small dog will wear them if you don't show him/her the label.

Yes, they will fit your sock monkey.

Found via J-Walk.

Survival of the Baddest

I know all the political junkies along the whole spectrum from left to right really thrive on this part of the campaign season. It’s truly up in the air now in both parties, it’s like a big free-for-all catfight: a hair-pulling, eye-scratching, crotch-kicking, mud-slinging fracas. I really don’t enjoy this part. It’s a game called “How Low Can You Go”. The public groveling is very tiresome. One by one they have to demonstrate that they have the correct religion and that they like blowing the hell out of animals with guns, and eat what what's killed in the food factories. Vegetarianism, treehugging, getting health care for everyone... that won’t play. It’s anti-corporate. You can’t be anti-corporate and be The President. Not for letting God run the government, being anti-theocracy? Relying on reason instead? Forget it. The USA is not ready for it. We, as a people, are subordinate to the corporations and the church -- meaning that even if we want to, we can't escape their influence and power over so many things in daily life.

Kucinich on the issues
I really like Kucinich for his views. I don’t even care about the rumors that he would pick Ron Paul for a running mate. He will not have a running mate, IMO, so it doesn’t matter. The ones who manage to emerge from the Big Scrap are the only ones who matter. I will go for Kucinich in the “playoffs” based on issues and his views, and support the bloodied victorious Democrat next November... and hope that person survives the chariot race, the "faulty" voting machines and all the stuff that keeps most people from exercising their right to vote.

And no matter how it turns out, it will mean the end of the Bush administration.

Jolly Saint Hick

A Christmas display showing Santa taking aim at Rudolph with his rifle.
[LINK]

Found via Fark.

Purrsday Night - Legs: He knows how to use them, Part Two

Jax plants his 20 lb. frame firmly in the leg zone. You weren't planning on going anywhere, were you? Gotta brush on ya? Maybe some cheese?

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Bad Kitty Cats - Cats - Catblogging -

Delete this post

Actual Snake Oil would work better

Ever see this ad? Not that you or I would fall for it, but it makes you curious, no?

At the top it says "PICTURE YOURSELF WITHOUT WRINKLES" with this graphic:

Which soon changes to this:


Then underneath it says the Dermitage Dual-Action Wrinkle Reducer does several things, including 57% less visible wrinkles (giving you 43% "invisible wrinkles"? -- now there's a concept), and it prevents future wrinkles!!!

Underneath THAT it offers a 14-day free trial supply. Seems all win-win and stuff, doesn't it? I was curious about just how well it might work, and found this feedback forum topic. It appears that FREE is not really FREE after all.

My daemon(s)

I just started the second book in the His Dark Materials trilogy (The Subtle Knife). With the Church all riled up over it, how could I resist? MrB just started The Golden Compass, and I want him to finish it before we see it on the big screen (hope it's still playing in the theaters by then... HINT HINT MrB... not rushing you... much.

Purrsday Night - Legs: He knows how to use them, Part One

Jax is a leg man. This is Week 1 of Jax's Leg Gallery. (and I'm sure Henry will interject here and there, if only to put his foot down)

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at This That and the Other Thing on Sunday - Cats - Catblogging