Boring.

Oh, if I only had something interesting to say…well, beyond my cat’s bathroom habits that is.

Well, I could tell you that there is new stuff in the store. That’s interesting. And it’s not your same ol’ kind of stuff either. Some of it is CRANKY. Some of it is…um…CAFFEINATED. Click over and see for yourself!

Hmmm…well, when at a loss for words I tend to go this route:

What I’m reading: The Virgin’s Lover by Phillipa Gregory. I’ll be honest here, I’m not one to be ashamed of what I am reading but this one made me feel…well…slightly uncomfortable. And it really shouldn’t. Well, maybe it shouldn’t. It’s just the bosom-y cover and the word “virgin” in the title that makes me twitchy. It seem too much like a tawdry romance. But it’s not…except for those parts where it is…damn. All in all it’s a fairly entertaining bit of historical romance. I might, however prefer a little less romance and a little more history. I don’t really care if Robert Dudley had it off with Queen Elizabeth but I really, really don’t care if “He had always imagined that she would be responsive but under his skilled hands she stretched like a cat, reveling in pleasure.” I really, really don’t. The rest is reasonably ok though.

I stopped reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma for no apparent reason, possibly only because it didn’t fit in my purse. Or maybe it was too heavy, as in, it weighed too much? I can’t remember. And what’s worse, I can’t remember where I put it. It will show up eventually…I hope.

Hunh, speaking of things I put down and then totally forgot, other than that girl in fifth grade who never really forgave me for that (get it? Because I insulted her and then…oh nevermind. I won’t bother.), I keep doing that with comics too. I started a Hellboy, put it down, I started another comic, which I now totally forget, put it down. Started Wormword: Gentleman Corpse, laughed out loud, declared it the best comic ever…put it down. I should really catch up on all those. And the ever growing stack of Fables and Hellblazers next to the bed. Someday…

What else, what else? Oh I picked up this magazine called Good. It’s byline kind of thing says “Good is for people who give a damn. It’s an entertaining magazine about things that matter.” It seems…ok. Good may be a little strong. I don’t know, I’ve only skimmed it so far. It’s pretty, and it’s not glossy, it’s matte, which makes it far more chic and serious but…well, I like the part about a person and his stuff. It’s like when I take a picture of what’s in my bag or on my wall, only the person they photograph clearly weeds out all the tampons and smashed granola bars and really crappy cd’s. Me, not so much. Actually, there’s no tampons in my bag today but there are TWO smashed granola bars (one Kashi and one Fiber One). I think the cds are something like Lamb and Portishead, so that’s not like when I have my Culture Club and Britney Spears cds, right?

What I’ve been listening to: Well, even though the cds in my bag appear to be Portishead and Lamb, I’ve actually been listening to the radio. We get one good station in L.A. well, good for me, that is “indie rock” and then we have one of those name stations, JACK, the kind that “plays what we want to”. I switch between the two. There are a few indie bands/songs that I just don’t like, so I flip and then the other station plays like four good songs in a row, so I don’t switch back, and then they play…I don’t know…Led Zeppelin or something and I go back to the indie station. I also am not a fan of the talking. The indie station has some excellent deejays but when they start to ramble, I am gone. But this morning, in the flurry of changing I caught Adam and the Ants, Foreigner, Twisted Sister and Cornershop. So between the two I am kept reasonably happy. (Brenda told me that I have eclectic listening habits, I think she’s probably right).

What I’m watching: Well I finally finshed watching Rome. Damn that was a good show. I am sorry to see it go but I will be happy to see the lovely actors of it unleashed on the world. I’ll pretty much watch anything that Ray Stevenson, Kevin McKidd, Polly Walker and James Purefoy make. As well as many of the less well known actors (less well known to me, anyway!). OH! and Ciàran Hinds, how could I forget him? And why the hell does James Purefoy ever wear clothes? Goodness!

Now it’s time to catch up on Heroes, The Riches and The Tudors. Is it just me or do you remember something about Catherine of Aragon having digestive troubles? Anyone?

More!

Well, I begged A.C. to ask me some questions, mostly because I really like answering questions but no one ever asks me things except stuff like “Is it possum or O-possum” and “Can you actually read Old English?” (Technically opossum but I call them possums and yes, a little bit. And yes, these are two actual questions I fielded today. Oh and I do get the "Um...did you mean to do that?" and "Oh, was that on purpose?" kind of questions but I really don't like those so much.)

So here are five more and I hope they at least KINDA make sense. And just so you know the Old English of “ask” was actually pronounced more like “axed”, well according to my dubious education anyway…

1. What is your favorite vegan cupcake recipe? And why do you like vegan cupcakes so much?

Well, so far my favorite recipe is actually an old girl scout recipe. I didn’t recognize it until the second time I made it. It’s called “Wacky Cake” and I remember it from my old Brownie handbook. I also really liked the chocolate-coffee-coconut cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes take Over the World. They had a really different, but pleasant texture from a regular cake.

My fascination with vegan cupcakes is completely random. I started reading about veganism years ago and somehow I became obsessed with the idea of vegan baking. I have tried a lot of different vegan baked goods and when they are good, they are very good, but when they are bad…well, you get it.

Since I have always loved baking but never liked to follow recipes, vegan baking is a real challenge. I know how cake batter is supposed to look and smell, but vegan cake batter is a whole different animal…oh…I guess that’s a bad analogy. Heh. Anyway, it keeps me on my toes in the kitchen. It’s like a science experiment for me. And so far it’s been going well. Some are better than others, yes, but nothing has been uneatable…yet.

Um…that was a longer answer than I expected.


2. What would be your dream vacation?

Oh see, here is another long answer…this is a tough one for me. Part of me always wants to go anywhere that there is sun, sand, palm trees and boat drinks. I have had excellent vacations in Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Key West. But another part of me screams “GO BACK TO THE UK! GO BACK TO IRELAND! GO BACK TO WALES! GO BACK TO SCOTLAND!” and then a third part wonders why I wouldn’t go somewhere completely new, like Spain.

I think the key to a dream vacation for me is no planning involved. I want to be there with no worries, no packing, no airlines…I just want to be somewhere else. Since that will never happen then today I am wishing for Key West, a fruity drink and a sunset at the southern most point in the U.S. with the southernmost bagpiper in the U.S. and the tightrope walking cats for company.


3. Where do you get the ideas for your design work?

Hmmm. This is kind of a weird answer. I get them from words. And usually the juxtaposition of two strange words. Like bunny and steak. I just get a word in my head and turn it around and around until I can visualize it in a different way. I’ve always been a big reader and when I read something, I see the pictures in my head, as I am sure most people do. But the pictures tend to connect themselves to the words and then the things I draw are usually an attempt to illustrate how I see a word in my head. Crazy? Perhaps. But I work the same way when I write a poem; I have one or two words in my head that turn round and round until I can string them into a sentence or a rhyme.

I spend a lot of time in my own brain. Which would explain why it doesn’t get used for much else.



4. You are taking a space-ship trip to a planet that's a long way away. You will be gone a long time. What people/things/places will you miss the most? What essential items would you have to take with you?


Well, let me start by saying that there is no way I am taking a spaceship anywhere. I have a fear of lack of oxygen, there’s no oxygen in outers pace, hence there is no me in outer space, but for the sake of imagination, I will carry on…
I will miss my family and friends. I don’t see most of them often enough but I am in contact with them pretty regularly. When people ask me how I can live all the way across the country from most of my family and many of my friends I say “Airplanes and telephones” and I am a firm believer that any distance can be bridged if you just try…even if I don’t really like airplanes or telephones…hmmm…this is harder than I thought. I will miss my cat. She is very precious to me.
As far as places…well…I am not all that attached to places but I suppose I would miss Disneyworld. I only get to go once in a while (like this year! YAY!) but it’s a place that sparks my imagination and lets me relax.
Things? I guess I would miss television, computers and books. But they are all things I could take with me. I wouldn’t miss my bed, or my dishes or anything like that. I like my things but I don’t feel particularly attached to any of them.
Essential items…well...OXYGEN of course. And water and food. But other than the necessities of survival, I would have to take a lot of books. A lot of books. And I would like to have a computer because that’s how I draw but failing that I could use some paper and pens. Chocolate. Good dark chocolate. And maybe a supply of whisky, Ablerour please. And tea. Lots and lots of tea. I don’t think I can live without my tea.


5. I like cookies. What is your favorite kind of cookie, and why?

I like cookies too! I have two favorites. For store-bought cookies, I am an Oreo girl. Classic. No double-stuff, no mint or peanut butter. Plain ol’ Oreos. For many years my dad ate 3 Oreos and a cup of coffee for breakfast. That sounds like heaven to me. (But I eat healthier than that!)

For homemade cookies I love chocolate chip cookies…but without the chocolate chips. Weird, I know. I do like chocolate chip cookies but I have a strange issue with them. I like the cookie soft and warm but I don’t really like melty chocolate. So sometimes I just make brown sugar cookies. But, since everyone else seems to like regular chocolate chips cookies, usually just let them sit and day so the chips are firm. Whatever. They are still good, I just have…issues.

Any other questions? Anyone? Wanna hear me recite the first fourteen lines of The Canterbury Tales in middle English? No?

If you want to be interviewed by me, please leave me a comment or send an email saying: "Interview me." (or the like).

* I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
* You will update your weblog with the answers to the questions.
* You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
* Then others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions and so on.

Close.

No, thanks, I've got plenty!
I have never really thought of myself as a vain person. And that is a very telling sentence isn’t it? Just thinking of myself is pretty vain. And thinking that I am not vain is a kind of vanity in itself. So…apparently, pretty vain. OK fine. Here’s the thing. Read the beauty magazines and they tell you not to have a magnifying mirror lest you become obsessed with every little flaw. Of course, without a magnifying mirror these days…well, let’s just say without a magnifying mirror I am flawless…and mostly faceless because the eyes don’t focus so well in the morning and I am not going to attempt to line or pluck or contour anything without a little focus. But this morning, I lingered on the close-up a little too long and noticed a dry patch of skin on my cheek, just at the edge of my mouth. Nothing big, nothing awful. If you even noticed it, you would probably only think that I hadn’t wiped all the breakfast crumbs away. It is seriously nothing at all. Dry skin.

But then, in the car, on the way to work, I started thinking about it. In my mind’s eye it got bigger and bigger. My whole face was scaly and dry. Nothing would ever moisturize this away. I actually had to resist the urge to peer in the mirror at every stoplight. In the magnifying mirror, leaning in close, it had filled the frame. Maybe it was bigger than I thought. Maybe there was exfoliation needed. Maybe I was shedding my skin like a snake. Maybe I was more grotesque than I realized.

I snapped out of it. What’s a little dry skin? But the idea of the obsession stuck with me and I thought about all the times I picked or poked or prodded something tiny into something much bigger. How many times a little irritation had not become a pearl but rather something quite nasty. All because I looked too close.

If only I could direct my obsession. I’ve heard of people with OCD that clean all the time. Clearly that’s not me. But man can I obsess over something so tiny that it had to be magnified in the first place. Talk about vanity. Yeesh.

Can’t throw away the mirror. And you can bet that I am now so moisturized that I would side out of your grip. But that little patch of dry skin…I know it’s still there…waiting to get me.

Tote.

Jodi asks, I answer.

I too carry both a purse and a tote bag and I think I may have documented the contents of my tote before, but it is an ever changing thing and a cheap and entertaining blog post (Well, for me anyway, I love knowing what people have in their bags!).

So the bag itself is a Le Sport Sac tote, blue with butterflies, in a shape and pattern they no longer make. I am not a big fan of expensive bags and I think that Le Sport Sac are a little expensive for a fabric bag BUT they last forever. I’ve had this one for…a while, I don’t know how long. And I am sure I bought it off a sale rack somewhere and it was well worth the price. I guess, in the scheme of things though, they aren’t THAT expensive…I don’t know. Whatever. Here’s what’s inside today…

• The Little Book of Hindu Dieties by Sanjay Patel-Jason showed me this book because he thought I would like the art and he was oh so very correct. It’s gorgeous and I am currently carrying it around as inspiration. I love this guy’s style and he draws the cutest Ganesha ever.


• Cartoon Cool How to Draw Retro Style Characters by Christopher Hart-another inspiration-style book. I bought this a long time ago and never looked at it, once I did, I realized it wasn’t quite what I wanted, but it did nudge my brain a little in a new direction, so I guess it was worth it. I don’t generally like the How To Draw kind of books but I do think that this one gave me a little boost towards something…not sure what yet though.


• Hellboy Animated: The Black Wedding-this is a little digest-sized comic. I love Hellboy, everyone knows that. And this new animated style is quite appealing. I haven’t read this yet but…damn, I guess this is just my bag of inspiration this week. I am planning on doing a portrait of Hellboy for another project and I wanted to kind of study him. Oh hey, I just looked inside and it turns out that the story is by a guy I like too!


• A post card for free shipping on anything from J.C. Penney. I am buying a new buffet thingy for my dining room.


• A post card from the vet saying my cat needs a urine test. Sigh. I know it’s necessary but I don’t know how to make my poor cat understand that. I will take her in because I have to, but it makes me feel so bad because I can’t explain to her why they need to do a “urine dipstick” on her. Well, I can explain it but I don’t think that she will understand.


• Storm Front by Jim Butcher-I just picked this up the other day. I have kind of fallen in love with The Dresden Files on SciFi and read that true fans of the books were not in love with the tv show (no big surprise there). I wanted to see the differences for myself. I also want to know if Harry Dresden actually uses a hockey stick as a magic wand.



• Profane Halo by Gillian Conoley-I read a Gillian Conoley poem last year during NATIONAL POETRY MONTH (it’s coming up, people, get ready!) and I really liked it. I happened to be at a bookstore for a friend’s book signing and on a whim, popped into the poetry section and there it was! I have read bits and pieces of it but I don’t know how I feel about it yet.


• Anything But Dreams, Selected Poems by Eric Nixon-I had been hanging around Eric’s blog and kept thinking that I really should buy his book because hey, I like poetry, he writes poetry, I should support such things…and I finally did. I read the introduction last night in the car and I really like the fact that he makes notes on what was going on when he wrote a poem. Very clever that.


• A blue file folder filled with comic-con stuff, paperwork, samples, forms and letters. I really better get on that. Oh and there’s a thank you note from my nephew in there too, with a picture. Aw, so cute!


• A pink cram-cream organizer filled with:
  
  
  
  • A little otsu annual weekly planner…empty. I really should plan things more.
  • Notes on the library card design
  • Felt tipped pen
  • Mini writing board filled with index cards covered with idea notes
  • Sample art for a shirt
  • 128 mg jump drive
  • a sticker that says “support indie comics you dope” from Young American Comics
  • a photo of a friend’s daughter.
  
  
• Two random ballpoint pens


• A sample pack of dessert scented lotions from Lushbox


• A small zipper bag holding an ipod mini and cables


• A Pria Grain Essentials bar that came in the mail (chocolate almond bliss)


• A grey and brown striped cotton jersey scarf


• A small cosmetics bag filled with:


• Badger Balm (chai rose)
• Fingernail clippers
• Banana Hair clip (white with black skulls)
• Emergen-C Immune Defense Fizzy Tabs (Ruby Lemon Honey)
• One Oral B Brush-up
• Alba Botanica Sun block SPF 30
• Tide to go pen (recently used on a coffee spill)
• Neutrogena mineral foundation thingy
• Artificial tears
• Headache and Tension therapy homeopathic spray
• One pink, sparkly hair clip
• Two quarters and a dime

I know that seems like a lot of stuff…and I guess it is. I still always feel like I am missing something when I leave the house though. But I guess, if it’s not in my tote bag, it’s probably in my purse. And truthfully, they are both fairly small bags. But I like to be prepared. And I usually am. Well, for poetry emergencies anyway.

Bacon?

Colleen asks (on her blog) “The most embarrassing poster I ever had hanging on my wall….” And I had to stop and think about it. I am a firm believer that no one (except my husband) should ever be ashamed of their musical tastes OR their childhood crushes. Why bother? Tastes change, people change, posters tear…what’s the big deal? That said, I am trying to figure out what would be the most embarrassing poster I ever had…hmmm.

Well, there was Donny Osmond, and I stand by my love for him. Every little girl loved him! And he wore purple socks! And I had the dolls from the variety show, one of Donny and one of Marie. And they wore…skates. That was weird, a variety show on ice. But if I am not mistaken the Brady Bunch had a variety show with synchronized swimmers so…dude, the 70’s were trippy.

I also stand by my Andy Gibb poster. He was cute. And I got to see him play Joseph in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” not long before he drugged himself to death. I’m not saying he was genius, just that he was pretty decent music for the disco era. I remember taking “Shadowdancing” out from the library over and over. Now I listen to his brothers from time to time. Turns out they made a lot more music than just “Saturday Night Fever”.

I have absolutely no shame for my Mick Jagger poster and I never ever will. In fact, if I had that poster right now, I would hang it up. It was a photo from the “Waiting on a Friend”video and he’s wearing that white fedora. I loved that picture. Oddly, it fell off the wall on his 40th birthday. That always kind of freaked me out. Look at old Sir Mick now. I was afraid that he was going to die that day because clearly, it was an omen. I need never have worried I didn’t actually get to see The Rolling Stones in concert until I was in college. It was the Steel Wheels tour and I honestly believed that it would be their last tour ever. Silly girl. Let me add that that concert ranks amongst my favorites ever. Damn, those old people could rock!

Ok, Ok, maybe I feel a little bit weird about that GQ cover of Christopher Lambert. The picture was actually from his turn as Tarzan but still…he was the Highlander. He does deserve some credit for that. Besides…he is pretty.

In college I had a HUGE poster of David Bowie, I think it was a promo poster for Absolute Beginners and I know it was a going off to college present from my BF (I still have it. It’s in the garage at my mother’s house). A lot of girls came into my room for the Bowie poster but they all stayed for…Greg Louganis. Let’s face it, it doesn’t matter who he loves, we still loved him…and we also didn’t know at the time that he wouldn’t be all that interested in us. Still…pretty.

By the way, here is the Translation for that page…
Not much help, eh?

I am not embarrassed by any of my pinup boys. Currently, my office wall sports Hellboy and Alan Rickman. People look at me strangely but then again, they always have.

Confessional.

• I don’t actually LIKE whole wheat bread, I just eat it because I know it’s better for me than white bread.


• You know that room you see in a decorating magazine, the one that makes you say “Oh, it looks so cold and clinical”? I dream of living in that room. The one with no knick-knacks to dust, no rug to vacuum, no…clutter. In reality, I live amongst the detritus of two people, one who doesn’t like to throw things away (him) and one who gets tired of cleaning (me). All I would add to that cold, clinical room is a book shelf, otherwise they are getting stacked up on the floor.


• Even though I am from New Jersey, I don’t really like Bon Jovi.


• I let my cat eat off my fork sometimes. After I caught her licking my toothbrush I just figured there was no point in fighting.


• I would rather drink water than soda but water makes me have to go to the bathroom more often.


• I think I once got out of a speeding ticket because when I went take out my registration about a hundred tampons fell out of my glove box (that’s not a euphemism).


• I can’t always separate the art from the artist.


• I prefer the taste of “fakon” to bacon.


• I drink really cheap wine and really expensive whisky.


• I love to sleep but I dread going to sleep.


• I sometimes watch “Mama’s Family” late at night.


• I think the term “punk” is a misnomer when used in reference to the Ramones.


• I once purchased a Kip Winger album as penance.


• I judge books by their covers.


• I have considered buying those Oreo cookie crumbs that they sell to make pie crusts and just using them as breakfast cereal. I know they make an Oreo cereal but what’s the point when they actually make the cookie crumbs?

Me.

It takes me one hour to get ready for my day. That is, it generally takes me one hour, in a pinch, I can do thirty minutes. But that one hour does include, showering, hair washing, hair drying, dressing, discovering stain on shirt, changing shirt, finding new pants to go with new shirt, finding new socks to go with new pants because old socks no longer match new outfit, mending hole in new socks because they are the only socks of that color left until wash day, putting on make-up, pulling up hair, fixing hair that was messily pulled up, feeding cat, cleaning up cat sick from too hungry cat eating too fast, washing hands, making breakfast, preparing lunch and drinks for the day (and by drinks I mean that I take my own tea to work, not that I must have cocktails prepared at all times, although that is not really a bad idea), packing my bag, putting on my shoes, rubbing the cat’s tummy until she bites, opening the curtains and windows so cat can get some sun, explaining to husband what needs to be done, or won’t be done or what is for dinner, running back to kitchen to pull something out of freezer to defrost for dinner OR throwing something previously defrosted into crockpot for dinner, getting down to car, packing car, getting into car, cleaning up coffee spilled while getting into car, securing seatbelt, finding previously prepared breakfast in myriad of bags, starting car, searching for radio station actually playing music, finding sunglasses, and finally getting out of parking space. An hour seems like a reasonable amount of time for that. And from day to day it changes, sometimes there are packages to be addressed, or notes to write, or cats to be dragged from underneath beds for vet appointments or…or…hey, there’s always something. But in that one hour I usually think, hey, I am doing ok. I am showered, I am dressed, I am made up and coiffed and prepared for the day. My makeup looks good, my hair is tidy, now that I have changed my clothes I am no longer stained or rumpled or inappropriately dressed for the weather. I am doing just fine.

I got in the car the other day and caught a glimpse of myself in the rear view mirror and I thought, “Oh, hey, I look nice. My skin is bright and rosy, my hair is shiny and clean and I have even managed to retain some lipgloss after a glass of soymilk and some goodbye kisses. Look at me.”

I arrived at work one hour later, walked into the bathroom and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

Who knew so much could happen in an hour in the car?

I apparently get about ten minutes a day of clean, tidy and nicely appointed. If you miss them, you just get me in all my me-ness. It occurs to me that some people, family and friends alike have never seen me within the “good” window, only the “me” window. They will never know that my eyeshadow was perfectly applied and that my eyeliner perfectly complemented my eyes. They will never know that my sweater was once unwrinkled, unstained and un-untidy, that my shoes weren’t always this dusty or that my lipstick was once not smeared. And when I get home and I tidy up again to go out…it’s never quite the same is it? That mascara that has left raccoon rings around my eyes isn’t going to budge and the hair will not bounce like freshly washed hair.

I advise getting here early otherwise you just get me.