Friday, October 9, 2009

Chicken Gods,frankenchickens,wellingtons,no time for ennui

A quick update to the ennui. The chicken god Apollo.. pronounced a-poy-yo. told me to get off my lazy ass and deal with my birds. I went out to feed them this morning and noticed that one of them had dark circles under eyes and the tips of her comb were dark. This could be any number of chicken problems. Too cold,molting,pox,mites,worms or even something called coccidiosisorsomething. It wasn't there yesterday! So I just spent my morning breaking up a bale of hay in the pen for warmth, sterilizing their water containers and dosing them with chicken antibiotics (the old fashioned sulphur variety... no bio-engineered monsanto crap in my girls... I mean.... who needs or wants frankenchickens). I dusted the coop and them for mites. I added vitamins to their food supply and to soften the blow I gave them some fish and dry cat food (recommended for molting because of the high protein), which normally they love. They are pretty mad at me right now for changing their environment and chasing them around sprinkling crap on them. They all ran to the backside of the pen and sat there huddled and glaring at me. I told them 'god' talked to me and told me to do it. But they have about as much tolerance for god talkin' nutbags as I do. Fortunately they are chickens and there is not a lot of storage room in their little chicken heads so .... I'm certain time will heal their ruffled feathers(pun intended). I have done all I can to insure their safety and good health. If I wake up in the morning and they are all dead ... its not my fault.... or maybe it will be. It wouldn't be the first time in history that a doctor killed someone with good intentions.
ON a side note, When GI Joe's went out of business this summer I picked up a pair of all condition wellingtons for $20. Best $20 I've spent in a long time. I haven't had a reason to use them before now... But today's chores were made so much easier without wet feet and legs. I slipped them off at the back door and sighed happily that I didn't have to scrape chicken droppings off my red wings. Yep for urban farming I highly recommend a pair. Even If they do make you look like something from a british sit com.

Artisan Lifestyle, Ennui,zombie apocalypse,changing seasons,natural cycles, weaving looms,sad artist

I've got myself a fine classic case of ennui. I dont see any reason to do anything. The garden is in and the weather is changing. I should be winterizing the yard so the chickens can free range. I should be enthusiastically building the pieces for our one night halloween show. I should be doing fall cleaning in preparation for being stuck indoors for nine months. I should be painting in the studio and trying to line up shows for the winter and spring ( although this seems really pointless because noone is buying art right now.... the first casualty of an economic downturn is always the arts). I should be working on my web site. But I honestly just dont care. I'm not depressed.... for all you big pharma junkies out there who will send me emails with the latest drone drugs you are on... dont bother.... I'm not taking any of them. During the coming zombie apocolypse,(yes jimmy has convinced me that there will be one) I plan on being one of the real people still alive and fighting for survival of the human race. If I can get over the ennui. Seriously, all I want to do right now is play tiger woods golf and watch dvd's of SG1. I have a theory about this. I have been thinking hard about getting a loom an honest to goodness loom. I've also been thinking about sewing. So maybe my cycles are getting more in tune with the old ways of doing things. There was a lot of work to do this summer and fall with the urban farming around here. But its all done. The garage is overflowing with jars of yummy goodness and drying things hanging from the ceiling. The coop has been cleaned and a nice layer of litter put down. Firewood is stacked high and ready to burn. The winter box.... growing beautifully and needs no assist from me. So, maybe I am just switching gears. Moving slowly into dark winter days mode. I wish it would hurry though.... I'm starting to feel guilty about two weeks of doing nothing. I need me some inspiration.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

ARTISAN LIFESTYLE, ETSY, handmade clothing, Corporate clothing sellers.... bite me!

Ok, Since corporate America cant provide me with quality clothing I am going to try the small cottage handmade industry. We are going to try Etsy for some handmade items. Here are a few Items I intend to buy over the next few months.
This retro apron Rocks!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32126159&ref=sr_list_10&ga_search_query=retro+apron&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=date_desc&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&show_panel=true

This is a dream dress!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27102311&ref=sr_list_4&&ga_search_query=1950%27s+skirt&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=date_desc&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

Very cool retro shirt
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25743355&ref=sr_list_5&&ga_search_query=1950%27s+blouse&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=date_desc&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

And this little number? OH Yeah!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26451939

So...... Macys,Sears,Khols,JC Penny, and all the rest of you mall space clothing sellers? A big ole raspberry to ya as I take my money and go somewhere else! Cuz, thanks to Etsy, there is somewhere else!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Poor quality, embarrassed, ripped clothes, khols joins the axis of evil, I'm sick of this crap, Help!

So, more ranting on the poor quality of clothing and products being sold to American consumers. My 30 year high school reunion was last night... and of course I wanted something cute to wear. So I went shopping..... again...... This time I went over to khol's ( a few other places too but found something cute that fit at khols) Found a cute satin, black fitted top (with whimsical polka dots). plopped down $44 for it and took it home. No, not American made.. but I was desperate and running out of time. I put it on at 6 pm and at 8:30 Jimmy whispered in my ear your shirt is unbuttoned and sneakily tried to button it with no one noticing only to discover it wasnt unbuttoned..... it had ripped six inches down the front. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? I dont wear my clothes tight, I'm only 130 pounds. Its not me. Its POOR,POOR quality! I'm really angry that khols put me in the position of being exposed and embarrassed in a social situation. But there is not a damn thing I can do about it. Does any one have any solutions to this dilemma?

Stargate Universe, FAIL,

I'm a big ole Science fiction fan! Loved the Stargate SG1 and SGA... When I first heard about Stargate Universe (3 years ago) I was thrilled we were getting a new sci-fi show. As the descriptions of the new show trickled out from the producers I became more and more wary of what they were doing. Words like younger, edgier, darker, character driven, etc, began to emerge. Hard core SG mythos fans were panning it before it ever aired. I decided to make up my own mind and watched it last night... minus the commercials which many said were a detriment to the flow of the pilot. I also decided this thing has to stand on its own as a piece of work. The cameos from the old guard were token gestures at best.... They didn't do anything but remind us that the 'old' Stargate is gone. The new characters are unlikable with the possible exception of the young lieutenant who finds himself in charge. The flashbacks to the characters 'previous' lives was just plain boring and unneeded at this stage of development in the storyline. I haven't seen enough of them to care who they were sleeping with or what kind of angst they personally deal with. All I can figure is that the producers thought they needed to explain all the whining and crying going on. They were so busy explaining the whining and crying.... they forgot to explain some of the basics... Like why 'that' gate. Who attacked and why. Who were the other people that came through the gate with the crybabies and why they didn't immediately all go to work to resolve the crisis instead of finding a room to take a nap. With the exception of the computer geek and the senator and his daughter (a summer glau knock off) everyone else there should have been some of the greatest minds the government could find to work on this project. And they were all sent to their rooms? I mean they couldn't have all been cafeteria workers .... could they? The Science Fiction part of it?... Well, they were on a different planet and then they all went to a broken down space ship. That's pretty much it. The can-do confident techno-babble of "I can do this with my eyes closed" or 'oh crap... give me a minute to figure this out", I have come to love in modern sci-fi, Just wasn't there. I mean ... come on.... they only had one guy on the whole planet that was thoroughly schooled in the ancient language? Not working for me.
I could spend some time making comparisons with other sci-fi shows of the past ... but I'm not going to bother.
the gist is , The new SGU is Tedious, angst ridden,badly paced,unlikable and un-smart (yes I do mean UN smart because they divested this show of all the cleverness, self deprecation and humor of its predecessors) Yes,yes.... I know its supposed to be darker... but does darker have to mean duller and dumber?
So, to the die hard Stargate fans... I say... Nope, this isn't Stargate and its not worthy of the name.
To those who like shallow mindless who-is-schtooping-who and who-wants-revenge and who-is-mad-at-who and how-mean-can-someone-be-without-be-without-being-strangled-in-their-sleep-turning-the-show-into-a-whodunit........ you will probably, like it.
For the rest of us who just want some smart, engaging sci fi programming. This isn't it.

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