either way, i am not promoting jello.
the spoon was not invented for jello.
for the record, i think it is racist.
Friday, November 26, 2010
merry christmas
it's time for santa. when i was a young boy my mother told me about the spirit of giving and santa claus. it was part of the talk to help me understand why a boy like me was not going to have "the brady bunch christmas".
this is the santa face i remember from that time.
hi santa,
thank you,
mm
*i found this card in a thrift store. It was a stack of 50 cards for $1.00 but none were the same. What a deal.
this is the santa face i remember from that time.
hi santa,
thank you,
mm
*i found this card in a thrift store. It was a stack of 50 cards for $1.00 but none were the same. What a deal.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
bright flowers
when the color hits your eye
drawn on a whim
when the hunger is for wine
drawn on a whim
drawn on a whim
when the hunger is for wine
drawn on a whim
Friday, November 05, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
bike route in amsterdam
This is the basic route i took for a bike ride. I was sent to work in the Netherlands and the office was near the airport. There was not much to do there. The hotel offered bike rentals. I got one and rode to the city center, 19km one way. The goal was to get to the train station, Centraal Station. Once there, I rode around the city to take some photos and have lunch.
I ventured off the path hoping I would find my way back in time. I went north along the coast of the IJ to see how close I could get to the windmills. It was a very different area; very industrial and deserted on a Sunday. I got lost only twice but quickly found my way thanks to Google Maps on the old iPhone.
Once I got back to the airport I went in search of ice cream in Hoofddorp and went to the beautiful canal area of Aalsmeer.
It was a great journey though I was all alone. I must have appeared Dutch as I was asked twice for directions. The bike lanes all the way made it possible. The tunnel under the airport runway just for bikes was amazing. The US needs to get with it for bike lanes.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, June 05, 2010
a straight man with no girlfriend, is gay
many think this and
do not say it out loud and
why?
many do this and
do not say it out loud and
why?
many say this and
do not know anything about it and
what do i know?
but read this
:
do not say it out loud and
why?
many do this and
do not say it out loud and
why?
many say this and
do not know anything about it and
what do i know?
but read this
:
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Friday, March 05, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
at the farm
there is one place
i would rather be
another place than here
a place where race
has no face
another place
to be queer
i would rather be
another place than here
a place where race
has no face
another place
to be queer
Sunday, January 31, 2010
computer cocktail
hari g sent me this drawing and i added the mac logo and ribbon :)
but that is me at the computer with a glass of wine.
but that is me at the computer with a glass of wine.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Sunday, January 03, 2010
yoga boys
this is an amazing video i found surfing the web.
http://www.vimeo.com/8099151
this video below is a mmp edit of the above link:
http://www.vimeo.com/8099151
this video below is a mmp edit of the above link:
the end of beggars and choosers?
yesterday we read this article in the n&o. we quickly decided to hit the road from durham and visit the store in pittsboro for possibly the last time. this was the source of gifts for our 1st christmas together 18 years ago.
here is a link to the original article in the n&o.
below is the text from the article.
Merchant hit where it hurts - Local/State - NewsObserver.com
PITTSBORO -- Whoever burglarized Beggars and Choosers, one of Pittsboro's oldest merchants, snatched only the most precious items as they prowled the downtown shop in October.
They made off with the cash and the gold, silver and Victorian-era jewelry - and they took store owner Pam Smith's joy.
Of all she lost in the theft, it's her bliss she misses most. Seems she can't run the store without it.
"It's not the stuff and it's not the money," Smith says. "It's what it did to my spirit."
She'll be closing after a clearance sale today.
For 30 years, Smith's three-floored emporium on a corner across from the old courthouse served customers with an eye for the eclectic. Like the storekeeper herself, it all belonged to a different era: the vintage clothing, the chenille bedspreads, the antique furniture.
Beggars and Choosers began in another small Chatham County community, nearby Goldston, when Smith's husband, bluegrass bassist Thomas "Snuffy" Smith, suggested she put her "junk magnet" tendencies to good use.
After a couple of years, she began to think her 1940s women's suits and couture clothing from the '50s and '60s would sell better closer to the Triangle's colleges. But she wanted to raise her two young boys in a small town. Pittsboro, which still has only about 2,500 people, seemed perfect.
She bought the 1890s brick building, thinking she would never fill it.
The town embraced her.
"I went in there about once a week," says Chris Pratt, who has lived in Pittsboro for a decade. He bought Virlie's Grill, two doors down Hillsboro Street from Smith's store, a couple of years ago.
"I never knew what I was looking for when I went in," Pratt says of the Christmas decorations and old carrom boards that now hang in his restaurant.
The business grew as Smith bought whole estates, picking out the most desirable items and giving others to area thrift shops. As her collection of Depression-era clothing and accessories expanded, costumers for stage and film began to visit. She helped outfit "Bull Durham" and "Patch Adams."
Even in Chatham County, known for its artists and specialty farms, Smith says she's an eccentric. The daughter of a preacher, she has the residual accent of her coastal upbringing and a voice powerful enough for a pulpit - or a community theater stage, where she has spent a lot of time.
Her front display windows are a bit of drama, too, with Smith's mannequins in story-telling vignettes. One features a female form in a dog mask who appears to be holding class for a half-dozen canine figurines.
For the past five years, Smith has offered a special deal for clothing shoppers. Working from the stash in the basement, they could build an ensemble for free, but they had to wear every piece of it out of the store as they left.
"It livened up the town," Smith says, describing some of the mismatched combinations she sent into the streets.
Hidden in the store?
On special occasions, she wore costumes to work.
She was in she-devil garb for the Pittsboro Street Fair the weekend before Halloween, when the burglary happened. She spent much of the day outside, visiting, while employees ran the store and closed up that night.
About 45 minutes after closing, Smith went back to finish up.
She noticed the cash drawer was empty, but thought it was because it had been a busy day. Then she realized all the folding money was gone, too. She went upstairs and saw the jewelry cases had been picked clean.
The entire haul could have been taken out in one of the vintage pillowcases from the store's textile collection.
"We think maybe they hid in the store," Smith says, "and came out after it closed."
It wouldn't have been that hard, her husband suggests. "To hide in here, all you have to do is stand still."
When the police came, Smith was still in her sexy red-sequined devil dress, horns and crimson lipstick.
Looking forward
She reopened after the burglary and came to work as she always had, smiling, sporting a pair of striped Wicked Witch socks or some other bit of colorful attire.
She greeted her customers, helped them when they needed it.
"But whenever someone came in that I didn't know, I couldn't help but wonder, 'Could that be them? Could they have done it?'" Smith says.
The store - a source of income but also a social outlet for Smith, who gets to know people as they shop for a decades-old prom dress or a military jacket -had been tainted.
"I decided I had to close it," she says.
She's having a one-day sale from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. today to clear out the merchandise and, she hopes, the specter of loss. Everything will be 50 to 75 percent off.
At 62, Smith says she's not ready to retire, but not sure what she wants to do.
If the shop comes back, she says, it will be different from before.
"I have to make it my own again."
Additional coverage:
The Independent Weekly - http://tinyurl.com/yktuhur
here is a link to the original article in the n&o.
below is the text from the article.
Merchant hit where it hurts - Local/State - NewsObserver.com
PITTSBORO -- Whoever burglarized Beggars and Choosers, one of Pittsboro's oldest merchants, snatched only the most precious items as they prowled the downtown shop in October.
They made off with the cash and the gold, silver and Victorian-era jewelry - and they took store owner Pam Smith's joy.
Of all she lost in the theft, it's her bliss she misses most. Seems she can't run the store without it.
"It's not the stuff and it's not the money," Smith says. "It's what it did to my spirit."
She'll be closing after a clearance sale today.
For 30 years, Smith's three-floored emporium on a corner across from the old courthouse served customers with an eye for the eclectic. Like the storekeeper herself, it all belonged to a different era: the vintage clothing, the chenille bedspreads, the antique furniture.
Beggars and Choosers began in another small Chatham County community, nearby Goldston, when Smith's husband, bluegrass bassist Thomas "Snuffy" Smith, suggested she put her "junk magnet" tendencies to good use.
After a couple of years, she began to think her 1940s women's suits and couture clothing from the '50s and '60s would sell better closer to the Triangle's colleges. But she wanted to raise her two young boys in a small town. Pittsboro, which still has only about 2,500 people, seemed perfect.
She bought the 1890s brick building, thinking she would never fill it.
The town embraced her.
"I went in there about once a week," says Chris Pratt, who has lived in Pittsboro for a decade. He bought Virlie's Grill, two doors down Hillsboro Street from Smith's store, a couple of years ago.
"I never knew what I was looking for when I went in," Pratt says of the Christmas decorations and old carrom boards that now hang in his restaurant.
The business grew as Smith bought whole estates, picking out the most desirable items and giving others to area thrift shops. As her collection of Depression-era clothing and accessories expanded, costumers for stage and film began to visit. She helped outfit "Bull Durham" and "Patch Adams."
Even in Chatham County, known for its artists and specialty farms, Smith says she's an eccentric. The daughter of a preacher, she has the residual accent of her coastal upbringing and a voice powerful enough for a pulpit - or a community theater stage, where she has spent a lot of time.
Her front display windows are a bit of drama, too, with Smith's mannequins in story-telling vignettes. One features a female form in a dog mask who appears to be holding class for a half-dozen canine figurines.
For the past five years, Smith has offered a special deal for clothing shoppers. Working from the stash in the basement, they could build an ensemble for free, but they had to wear every piece of it out of the store as they left.
"It livened up the town," Smith says, describing some of the mismatched combinations she sent into the streets.
Hidden in the store?
On special occasions, she wore costumes to work.
She was in she-devil garb for the Pittsboro Street Fair the weekend before Halloween, when the burglary happened. She spent much of the day outside, visiting, while employees ran the store and closed up that night.
About 45 minutes after closing, Smith went back to finish up.
She noticed the cash drawer was empty, but thought it was because it had been a busy day. Then she realized all the folding money was gone, too. She went upstairs and saw the jewelry cases had been picked clean.
The entire haul could have been taken out in one of the vintage pillowcases from the store's textile collection.
"We think maybe they hid in the store," Smith says, "and came out after it closed."
It wouldn't have been that hard, her husband suggests. "To hide in here, all you have to do is stand still."
When the police came, Smith was still in her sexy red-sequined devil dress, horns and crimson lipstick.
Looking forward
She reopened after the burglary and came to work as she always had, smiling, sporting a pair of striped Wicked Witch socks or some other bit of colorful attire.
She greeted her customers, helped them when they needed it.
"But whenever someone came in that I didn't know, I couldn't help but wonder, 'Could that be them? Could they have done it?'" Smith says.
The store - a source of income but also a social outlet for Smith, who gets to know people as they shop for a decades-old prom dress or a military jacket -had been tainted.
"I decided I had to close it," she says.
She's having a one-day sale from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. today to clear out the merchandise and, she hopes, the specter of loss. Everything will be 50 to 75 percent off.
At 62, Smith says she's not ready to retire, but not sure what she wants to do.
If the shop comes back, she says, it will be different from before.
"I have to make it my own again."
Additional coverage:
The Independent Weekly - http://tinyurl.com/yktuhur
Saturday, January 02, 2010
to live off the grid
I wonder if I could live off the grid. It seems to be doable because I do not have a lot to give up to do so. Then, I could allow myself to be attached and try to convince myself there is a lot I would give up from possessions and other material items.
Quite unlike this couple (in the article below) who has figured out a way to keep the broadband internet access. I would need the broadband too.
NY Times article "Broadband, Yes. Toilet, No"
tmo
..
Quite unlike this couple (in the article below) who has figured out a way to keep the broadband internet access. I would need the broadband too.
NY Times article "Broadband, Yes. Toilet, No"
tmo
..