Contrite.

Ahem. I have been…scolded by Brenda. Well, she had her coffee in the Los Angeles mug this morning and used that as an excuse to gently encourage me to “get to posting” so here I am…posting.

I don’t make excuses when I don’t post because…well, it’s my blog and I’ll post if I want to but how can I not post when she drinks from the L.A. mug? Truth be told, all has not been quiet on this western front. Lots of things being made and fixed and cupaked and oh, I don’t know. Just lots of stuff. And I’ve been writing a lot, but then not posting it. Essays sort of. And random ones at that. One, that I will post shortly on the Obama campaign and branding. One on reading gothic literature. One on…well, I don’t know. But there’s a lot of things turning around in my brain that are bound to make an appearance soon. Until then, a few other things…

-My BFF recently helped start up an all new company in her field and it’s been a bit of a bear. It’s been a really good bear, but a really stressful bear too. I wanted to do something to mark the occasion for her but was kind of at a loss. When she told me that she would finally have her own office space, I decided to build a box o’ cool office stuff for her. I found some great post-it’s from KNOCK KNOCK, a funny cigarette pen for those really stressful times, great notebook and planner from Cherry Bomb Squad, a cool business card holder made from sock monkey fabric…but something was missing. I wanted her to have some art for her new walls but I couldn’t really find anything I liked, or that was the right size so I made her a version of the “Keep calm and carry on” poster that’s been going around the design blogs. If you’ve not seen this poster it looks like this:


It’s basically a British propaganda poster from World War Two. Well, propaganda in the sense that it was meant to reassure the public that eventually all would be well. And it’s kind of comforting. It didn’t originally come in pink but my friend likes pink so…but also, I wanted it to match my response to the original poster.


She says she hasn’t put my version up at work but only because she doesn’t want to offend anyone…yet.

-There’s also been a lot of cupcakes lately. Both vegan and non-vegan. And while chocolate cupcakes remain my favorite, man, when you can cram a cookie into a cupcake…that’s a serious dessert. Now to get some candy bars in there..

-I’ve been doing a follow along read at Austenprose of Northanger Abbey. I am a fan of Jane Austen anyway and I have read NA before but I am really enjoying it this time around. I have always found it to be the hardest Austen to get into because it’s a different type of humor than her other novels. See, this one is a parody of Gothic novels and not being a big fan of Gothics, I always felt a little lost. For whatever reason, it’s really clicking with me this time and I am enjoying it immensely. So much that I have just ordered some classic Gothic novels to help fill in the blanks. I also did a bit of research into Gothic novels and discovered some interesting ideas that really put me back in the mood for study and research, which in turn makes me want to read more, which then makes me want to buy a Kindle. I’m holding out for the next version but the more I read about them the more intrigued I get.

-I watched the VP nominee debate with a twitter feed over it. It was…well, it was about what you’d expect, a lot of people not saying much, but those who had something worthhile to say, did. What I found really interesting though was the idea. If I could watch a debate with some interesting policial pundits, commenting in real time, and not having to speak over the debaters…or even…you know, it would be really interesting to hear just a few, well spoken (or typed) average people commenting on it. I’d like to know what other people, people who aren’t my friends, or people with different political views see when the nominees speak without it all end up in one big shouting match. It’s an interesting application for social networking technology and I’d like to see what could be done with it.

-Finally, there has been much preparation for craft fairs. But not enough. So back to that. But here is one new thanksgiving design that I kind of get a kick out of. If you like it, it should appear in the shop shortly.