okay. i've had enough. check out the spiffy new oasis blog here.

okay. i give up. i do not know why...yet again...blogger ate my template. i'm moving. looking for a suitable new home...be back with you when i locate one.

grrrr...rzzl frzzzl

wow! what a mess...what the hell happened to my formatting. this is not good. hopefully, it's just a blogger burp. check back later.

please.

this is for emdot. who's having a bad day.

from the slacker blogger s dot...who is also available for proms and pizza parties.

this is for emdot...who is having a bad day.

from the slacking blogger, s dot. who is also available for proms and pizza parties.

here's what i *should* be doing...ooma. gah! it drives me crazy. i want a store like this. in the past week i've had 4 women tell me i should open a store for "might possibly be in or nearing middle age" women who do not want to wear frickin' appliqued sweatshirts or talbots. where does the imagination go? does it dry up along with the ovaries? it's maddening.

i saw this really great looking 50 something woman in chicago last year while shopping with my pal alma at urban outfitters. i keep her in my head. she's my aging muse. i wanted to follow her around but i thought the police might then want to follow *me* around.

so...that's where i'm at today. check me later.
quote for the day: s. to the husband, "exactly what about me says comfortable?"

do i sound unhappy to you? someone...who shall remain anonymous...told me that i sound very unhappy in my blog. hmmm. just to set the record straight, i'm a perfectly happy person who occasionally has a bad day. i guess it may be that i write more when i'm unhappy. this is a good place to vent and i do. my life, for the most part, is fairly blissful. great kids and a great husband. great house. great dog. great, great, great.

sometimes my job ain't so great. it's frustrating. i work with some terrific people but the occasional asshole is the one that always gets the attention. i become incredibly frustrated by incompetence...and passive aggresives. we've got a lot of those. my first impulse is to punch them and make them cry. society frowns on this behavior in the professional world. too bad. a little playground justice is just what some organizations need. a little extra hard red rover or a good game of dodge ball.

or, a really painful pull the waistband completely off the underwear wedgey.

man, is everyone edgy around here lately. is it the moon? what, pray tell, is the deal? it's making me edgy and i feel great. i hate it when people pass along their nastiness.

so, let's get down to bidness and solve some problems. i just read a great column by seth godin in fast company. "if it's broke, fix it"...amazing concept. i'd love to link you to his column but i can't. go buy it. and...read about one of the best cities in america...des moines. would i lie to you?

if this doesn't make you laugh, you're in the wrong blog...

this is for kate, my canadian compadre:
The first draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it... If one of the characters wants to say, “Well, so what, Mr. Poopy Pants?” you let her.  --- Anne Lamott  

well, so what, ms. poopy pants?

need i say that i adore anne lamott? she's brilliant and funny and lets people know that human frailties are universal and just okay. i highly recommend reading, traveling mercies for anyone but especially for those who might be struggling with the "god" issue. any person writing about faith that can say, and I'm paraphrasing, "that would make jesus drink gin out of the cat bowl", is my kinda' gal.

i'm not blogging...why is that? bloggers block? weird.

seen today on the campus of eiu: "in loving memory of john ritter". i'm with you, whoever you are. i grew up with john ritter on three's company. but the performance that i really love best is john as vaughn cunningham in sling blade. it's a must see film. ahem, in my humble opinion.

what i'm currently obsessing over: propel water. love it. must have it at my right hand at all times. other obsession: designer handbags. lusting. not pretty.

family's current obsession: getting me to buy a new ipod so that *they* can have my old one. will they win? most likely.

what a day already. i started to write that i had the "mean reds" today but that's not really accurate. it's a holly golightly-ism. instead i'm {insert your word choice here}...angry, disappointed, overwhelmed...those are good ones to start with. but enough about me, it's a day to think of other things.

maybe i should be more like french toast.

peace.

why are they so much better than the ones you have at home? why *must* we take them? it's a universal isn't it...stealing hotel towels. well, our good friends at holiday inn know that we've taken them for billions and they are granting us all amnesty. unfortunately i didn't see this site until the amnesty date had passed. i think i'll post it anyway just because it's so darned brilliant. good for you holiday inn.

it's a musical day. i'm headphoning.

did you ever think you just wanted to change your life...do something new? i think that just about every other day. i've got plans...a lot of plans. i'm always seeing things that i think i could do better. what is that? megalomania? it's my mother's fault. ;^) she told me i could do any darn thing i set my mind to.

check out this guy. he decided to be a singer. just decided...that, christopher matthew dooks sings. you've got to hear "all pets pass go".

more weird music at 365 days project...

tra la la.

so...how are you feeling about yourself today? feeling frumpy? hiney feeling a bit too large? well, i've got the cure. check out this site sent to me by my pal, and fellow seeker of wacky websites, christy. it's called uglydress.com, and i think it's about the funniest goldarned thing i've seen in ages. the girl's a smart ass with a spot on fashion sense. see what you think. my score is double 10 brilliant. something good's got to come from all of those really ugly, poofy, pearled and bow-bedecked dresses. gah! lord knows it wasn't the wedding.

cooking with rockstars. imagine a dorito burrito with jack black. he's at jenville.

those who lust after paper must go here now...papivore . amazingly luscious paper. gah. i'm drooling.

okay. i'm back. back from a lazy beach vacation. thinking about food and cooking and other areas of domesticity. i'm really trying to stay organized this year. less work and more doing the family things that i enjoy. feeding my fam...working on my house. i love that stuff.

here's my favorite food network personality, sara moulton . i love sara. sara's a real person. that appeals to me. she mentions hiding the green specks from her kids...you know, veggies. i love that level of honesty. martha would never say stuff like that. go see sara. she's a good egg.

okay. it's dead. my old custom template has disappeared into the cosmos. we'll have to live with this one for a while until i get back from vacation. it's like i've just broken the heel off my favorite shoes.

damn and double damn. someone's redecorated my blogger. let's see what happens now.

okay. bear with me here folks...something's gone afoul in my blog-o-matic.

hot, smart and feared by stoopit boys. no, not me...j. this pink bloque link is from her. it's perfect...activism with a soundtrack. and. cute. outfits. talk about yer subersive tactics. those hair helmetted washingtonians could learn a few things from these chicks. use what your mama gave ya.

ahem.

you've got to love anything called not martha. creative chicks who are not crafty chicks need a place away from the painted tin and wreathy set. enjoy!

whew! i've been gone for too long. my mom got new knees. spectacularly miraculous process. now she's looking for lee majors...bionics unite.

i'm getting ready to leave for two weeks. a yearly beach pilgrimage. this year a luxurious twwooo weeks. i haven't had a two week vacation since i was 10 years old. that was a last minute trip to florida. very griswold's...including the station wagon. my mother almost ran into a concrete wall when she fell asleep at the wheel. awww. family fun.

i've decided to offer up something great from the midwest before i set out. how about amazing indiana goat cheese. yep, indiana...though most agree it's tres french. this is definitely on my list of close-to-home day trips. goat cheese goodness.

{i'm submitting an excerpt from my listsrv as my morning blog...i'm lazy, plus i wanted to write about this anyway...}

this statement from another person on my list regarding a heated discussion of the legitimacy of bowling for columbine prompted my response:
"My point was that Moore, the media, certianly our politicians - all think we are stupid."

my response:
i think this is the real meat of the discussion. democracy depends on an informed populace...sadly, that seems to be the minority these days. the fact that this group of people (dw) is having this discussion makes us fundamentally different than a whole lot of our fellow americans. i think this is going to be an especially interesting political cycle with howard dean blogging his way around some of his less informed opponents. even if it fails and even if you don't support dean's idealogy...it's the closest thing to a grass roots political movement we've seen in years. i applaud the idea of it. his assumption seems to run counter to those who believe that you can project your beliefs onto an empty headed bunch of citizens. his assumption seems to be that we can think and decide and then act. good for him. i'm tired of being barked at by a bunch of negative, sniveling, all i know is professional politics types. i'd have beat them up on the playground. then again...what if they're right...what if most of us don't *want* to think for ourselves. what a horror.

ahem...and about the news. my question is (and someone may have said this) since when do those delivering the news get to editorialize it. that really yanks my chain. deliver the facts. i'll go to a political talk show to hear the editorial viewpoint, thank you very much. then again...we're in a country that actually pays ann curry 50 times more than we pay a high school history teacher. that, my dears...is fucked.

love and vitriol...
s.

finally! truly unique music mixes for the many moods of stacia.

i'm a frustrated gardener. living on a rocky slope doesn't help. plus, a serious lack of time. i'm really hoping for some time this fall to plant stuff. i have vivid memories of beautiful, papery, poppies on my parent's farm. i think my love of vibrant oranges started there. and i lust after the smell of lilacs through clean curtains.

i think i'm a garden hoe. what do you think?

gah. i said something yesterday that i wanted to blog today but i'll be dog damned if i can remember it. i hate it when the happens. sooooo...i'll write about this. lomography::a group of very funky cameras. some with multiple lenses...or colors...or imperfect. i'm thinking of buying the imperfect one. it's a really interesting concept...beauty via imperfection. i find that i'm bored by perfection so this could be perfect for me. i'm more attracted to character than perfection...those perfect, surgically-altered, people do nothing for me. perfect is boring. so is predictable beauty. i want this sort of-edge of the precipice what happens next-camera. check the page out. it's spectacularly wacky. and...da da da daaaaa...cheap!

okay. i'm back. i was off work yesterday...taking a kidlet to the dentist, etc. in my mailbox this morning was my
andrea scher ::superhero newsletter:: it's always fun to read and, more importantly, inspiring. god knows i could use a little inspiration. this issue featured a couple of really interesting websites. a beautiful photo essay/zine site called blueeyes. not to be missed. stunning photo essays.

if you're looking for a creative project, check out one of andrea's other links. the international photo scavenger hunt. come on...all the cool kids are doing it. or, you might want to try the mirror project.

tips for the "hugging" girl from trinny and susannah...and for her brother.

i need a show like this. my wisdom and huuuugggee fashion sense is being wasted. ;^)

it's a frivolous pseudo-nauga-friday so i'm blogging friv stuff. this is for my girls...raised by an ab fab mom, poor things. here's our fav quote-

Edina - 'Look at Mummy, darling. Do I need surgery?'
Saffy - 'Yes... get your mouth sewn up.'

and my personal fav-
The last mosquito that bit me had to book into the Betty Ford clinic'
Said by - Patsy
In the episode - France


meet our new favorite fashionably bitchy brits...susannah and trinny...they say tits.

could this be someone we all know and love? check it.

under the heading, "and we wonder why people hate americans"...new yorkers and their yogic dogs. note::you'll have to give the washington post your birthdate, etc. to read this but trust me...it's worth it.

don't ask my why i need this. note the time of my first post of the day.

it's 4:22 a.m. and i'm checking to see if my blog is back. i guess they were doing a system migration or something yesterday and that made it unavailable for a bit. i wish they'd get the pro option up and running. i'm waiting.

wish i were sleeping. urgh!

i want to take one minute of your time to pimp for corbis. the only high quality digital stock house with a "personal" purchase plan that lets anyone buy their neiman marcus quality pix for k-mart prices. good for corbis for sharing their best marbles.

don't tell me that steve cheated.

gah. what to talk about? i spent most of monday doing minute refreshes of the steves keynote at the wwdc. it's a sickness. we're not like everyone else and sometimes a day like this comes along and it's soooo clear. why would a person obsessively stare at the screen of their brand new 17" laptop waiting to see the thing that's going to be better...so that she can obsess over that new thing. sick, sick.

i was talking to daphne about our rung of the geek ladder. i place us at nauga-geek level. still socially acceptable and able to converse outside our digital box. i'm thinking we may need these. seems appropriate.

looking for some new music and a really interesting website to gawk at? check out badly drawn boy.

speaking of music. eastern illinois university and the onion. it's a natural.

thanks to my gurl-wonder christy. the junior hipster. wait...that's underpants...

anyone who knows me knows i love moby. i'm putting a link-right here-so that jeff will read his online journal. i've been talking about it for quite a while now but for some reason he hasn't checked the site. so...go there now and read some moby. we saw moby's "teahouse' on food tv last night. it's called teany. there's no website but i'm linking you to an article on it. i wish they had a site...i'd love to have the teany teapot i saw last night.

i've been thinking. it's time for a meeting. it's time for god to make some cuts from the catholic god team. call them all together and just start pointing fingers. bishop thomas o'brien...you're out...and on down the line. bump some back to the junior varsity squad and move some hard working godly j.v.'s up. seriously. how do you reconcile your belief in an all-seeing, all-knowing god with leaving the scene of a fatal accident. hmmm. "i thought it was a dog". okay, so even if he were that stupid that should be grounds for losing your spot on the team. more stupid we don't need. so it's all a puzzler. how does the eye-in-the-sky feel about preying on little kids. preying vs. praying. forgive me that one...it wasn't planned.

let's start with bishop tom then move on to all of those other people who hurt people, in the name of or protected by, religion. god's full up on smarmy salesmen. let's move on to the good guys, the religious utility players...

you may have already seen this if you read kottke.org...if not, check out lance arthur's new site. those of you in san francisco won't want to miss his desciption of a san francisco summer.

my tres cool friend, emdot, just saw cabaret dioso and sent along the link. fab stuff. very fun site. plus...it hit just when i'm really enjoying this type of music. new computer. this thing is so gorgeous. elegant...and lots of other words like that.

nerd alert...you can firewire two machine together and use one as a firewire drive if you start up with the "t" key down. you probably already knew that. you're so smart. i also have a script for running your screensaver in the background with a little unix tweaking. you'll have to email me for that one. those who dare enter the dreaded "terminal" of doom.

dog damn this is funny...Cows With Guns - Dana Lyons. my sides hurt. this day is lookin' up folks!

oops! listen here. i just didn't want you to miss the splash page.

thanks for the dubbers who sent his my way. don't know what a dubber is? sorry. you just wouldn't get it.

ha! the new quark is out. someone please tell me what they're thinking with this $899 piece of software. they've got some gigantic cajones. i mean, really. i say we all move to indesign and fast. wait...we already have. sorry quark, you asshats.

i'm back...you lucky dogs. i got two new cds yesterday, The Be Good Tanyas is my favorite. the littlest birds makes me smile. give 'em a listen. love those canucks.

oh...and michelle shocked has a new album. it's a little on the religious side. that's certainly something i didn't know about her. you can "hear the lyrics" on her site. read the history/bio part. veddy interesting. oh, and the "her neck of the woods" is a great look at the music of east texas.

isn't it funny how a perfectly lovely day can go to shit in a moment. i started the morning with happy thoughts of the beach...even though it was 3:45. now it's 10:30 and i'm veering more toward the beach story i read once where the woman walks down the beach and doesn't stop walking. so much for the patience of the sea, eh.

feeling like a old pit-stained tee shirt. i'll be back when i'm out of the laundry.

this is the house i would build if i weren't living in one that i love already. seriously, seriously cool. all hail christy for providing this link.

i wish we saw more of this. really unique solutions to the low cost housing problem. i know that dwell is championing that cause. if you're interested in hip design merged with real life you'll want to buy dwell. it's cheaper than drugs and, if you're a design junkie...ultimately more satisfying.

insomnia again. i can't quite figure out what causes it. i thought it was wine but, no. so i've been up since 3:45 or so just puttering around and playing on the imac at home. i made a really nice ibook for my sister-in-law. lovely thing with beautiful beach photos that made me wish that july was tomorrow. gaw. i love it.

i read gift from the sea every year before we set off for the island. here's a quotation for you—
The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach--waiting for a gift from the sea.

retro retail therapy...i'm thinking if i buy that brain switch my creativity problems will be a thing of the past.

my pal jack handy on peace:
How come the dove gets to be the peace symbol? How about the pillow? It has more feathers than the dove, and it doesn't have that dangerous beak.

it's a good thing. but the best thing today is itunes sharing with bill and daphne. a seriously good thing. bill has "the archies" singing ~sugar, sugar~. i ask you...what is better than that?

whew!...life is good.

creativity...a conundrum. i'm not feeling creative enough. what am i doing with my whirring brain? i looked at a load of websites yesterday where everyone seemed to be doing things i want to do...think i can do. but, i'm not doing it...they are. drag. i think i've established some bad habits. i'm making a list and checking it twice. what to do and what not to do. i like this quote, "habit is a hell to which people cling in an attempt to stop the flow of change. but creative energy defies the repetition of habit."--carolyn myss, "anatomy of the spirit".

i sense an envelope that needs pushing. all the other kids are doing it.

i scream, you scream, we all scream for...ahem...icons. unless you're my pal marya and prefer the buddhist ones at the bottom of the page. she'll chant for icons...or sit...or something more quiet than screaming.

wednesday morning and all is well. i'm blissfully happy over the arrival of a collage i commissioned for my daughters. it's really their gift from my father who died long before they were born (a small "inheritance"). i pondered over what to give them that would be lasting and meaningful. thanks to ida pearle they have a beautiful piece of art that is one while they're at home with mom and will become two when they are grown women and have homes of their own. they will each take away a piece that forever shows the sisters together...and apart. really lovely and thoughtful work.

ida will post the work on her site within the next month but please do visit her now and see her other extraordinary work.

i'm out of control. what's new? my most recent rant is against people mailing (via our campus mail) printed copies of their damn meeting minutes. why would i care about their meeting and wouldn't i go to their meeting if i did? i mean the state of illinois is practically selling candy bars like a boy scout troop to raise cash and we're mailing paper copies of meeting minutes. not the mention the fact that the minutes for all of these meetings are online. duh. i just don't get it.

heh. i'd rather be rich than stupid. [today's jack handy]

this via kottke...see my link on the right. anywho...donald rumsfeld orders breakfast at denny's. absolutely brilliant.

let's keep this crazy train rollin'. follow me to a bright and happy place where all mac users have new 17" power books and all pc users are still using something that looks like that house i made out of a refrigerator box when i was five and runs like my old sidewalk skates.

in light of the fact that i have an actual family member interviewing today with the mac daddy...i offer this.

all hail steve.

this is for the s.f. citizen who stops by to read my blog. you know who you are. and...so does your sista' who will no doubt spew diet coke on her computer screen when she hits that link.

blogs are fun.

tell me. would you, if you had a glittery new blog like this one, link a wacky right wing christian from n.y.? only if he asked nicely and promised you a new belt buckle and some skoal? that's what i thought. his blog is :: pray naked ::. that's the only time he gets to say naked. naked...naked...naked. (quote my brother) that makes jesus wear a frown. saying naked, that is.

i'm a wine drinker. when i have a freelance appointment i always stop a this really nice little wine store and treat myself to something special. luckily, the manager there is terrific and has yet to recommend anything that i haven't loved. last night we had a bottle of trinchero meritage that was spectacularly delish. having never had a meritage i was skeptical but, once again, the guy was spot on. get thee to a wine place and buy thee a bottle.

i know three entries in a day is a bit obsessive but this must be posted lest i forget it.
my quote of the day from the zen dude :: see entry at right ::
"you can read about hopscotch for twenty years, but until you actually get out there and scrape yer knees, you aint a fucking hopscotcher."
perfection. we were discussing self-help books. i'm more for the knee scrape. but...that's me.

this one's for the bigguy...my oh-so-handsome hubby...love of my life...and former english professor. winkity, wink!

get your own Vegas stage name!

flip flop philosophy. that's my theme for today...and for life, i think. anyone who knows me well knows that i'm a flip flop kind of gal. all kinds... sparkly, flowery, beady, plain ol' just so. flip flops are for me the rough equivalent of birkies to the thick ankled english professor. they soothe my sole(s). they make me smile. they make me realize that i am much happier unrestrained and foot loose. i think they are perhaps the real personification of me .

damn. in the interest of fairness, i wanted to include a link here to a blog i read written by a woman who abhors flip flops but i can't find it. i think i read it via a link from asparagirl. hmmm. go figure. anyway, flip flop lover or hater...read asparagirl or just be dumb. your choice....choose wisely grasshopper.

so, last night i say to my husband, "there are so many nice people in this world...i don't know why we always focus on the assholes." i didn't think it was that funny but he nearly fell out of his chair. it's true. i had a week full of assholes...you know them, the people who go about wreaking havoc in other people's lives. urgh. it makes me crazy. i am especially yanked off at one particularly nasty passive aggressive. what's up with that? i don't go for the whole "smile and stab" routine.

assholes got you down too? maybe you need a little of this.

put on a depends then check this out. you'll thank me for it. special hello howdies to my pal, emdot my music muse.

for my canadian twin, kate.

My second favorite household chore is ironing.
My first being, hitting my head on the
top bunk bed until I faint.
-Erma Bombeck-

i was like one of those frackin' old army commercials this morning. i get more done by six a.m. than you do all day. damn, is it tiresome. and...my toilet and tub are clogged to ::quote christy:: craptacular proportions. did i just say crap and toilet in the same sentence. sorry. erase mental image now. really, i'm sorry. go here...she always makes me feel better.

oh, the stress of coming up with something new...redflower geee-orgeous stuff plus they're nice.

and i'm having a geek heart attack over this damn thing. why didn't you people tell me...gah!

currently lusting over these. ahem. jeffrey...are you reading this while you're in san francisco the land of hipness?!

real proof of my illness. geez...who knows this stuff? i'm like a heroin dealer...just a little taste...come on...just the sponges...really...

this one's for my fav law school grad...so special and I mean it...special. really. special. and not in that negative way that people can take it when you say "special"....i'm not going to make any comment about your bus or anything. just really...you know, neato. this one's for you...

i vote this the best radio station in the world. now, that's just me but...give 'em a listen.
CKUA. you'll be glad you did.

happy monday. what to write about? my crazy weekend...definitely not. too manic. i did do a fantasically long run to a really fun new music mix on my ipod. i was inspired by my daughter's dance recital. those dancers are really amazing. i have a whole new appreciation for dance. anyway, i remixed some stuff and ran and ran and ran.

speaking of running. my pal, Jen, ran a race this weekend. she's always doing something...tri or a run or something. very motivated. i admire that.

i feel very fortunate to be of the title 9 generation. when i started in public school p.e. we still had separate classes for boys and girls. i've always felt that my involvement in sports gave me a better attitude and a much higher level of self-esteem. i'm so happy to have daughters that are active in dance, soccer, and softball. it makes me so proud to see them out there...just doin' it.

here are a couple of the best female sport stuff companies, title nine sports and terry bicycles. get out there...

looking for an entirely new (and hip) way to tour a city? check out soundwalk. for those just checking in for a cool link of the day...clandestina. i'm not entirely sure what it is but i do know it's beautiful.

the lastest music industry nightmare shareitunes. check it out.

i'm going for a record number of posts in one day. it's because i'm so jazzed about this blogger thing. i have to share these great sites or explode. exploding is messy so let's play like mr. rogers and share. on campus we have this really nice online journal called agora. take a look. another online mix of words and images that i find absolutely amazing is born magazine. really incredible work.

geez. rereading my first two posts i sound like andy rooney or something. this link goes out to my pal christy. enjoy a little retro?

why all of the superficial shopping links, you ask? well, for one, i live in a house like this. not so easy to find the right stuff for it in our local stores. also...so i like a little shopping now and again. hey, it's not heroin.

why, oh why, would a web designer need to blog? lazy? maybe. busy? most definitely. too chatty for the maintenance that a traditional site requires. um...no comment.

so...this is the first day of the rest of my blog. i need a place to get info out and this seems ideal. i really want to post my links to exceptionally cool schtuff and really creative people doing really great work. oh, and of course...links to my quirky friends. that's where the "oasis" title comes from. we're not exactly a hip town so you have to know where to go in the ether to find what you need so as not to come in to work one day in an appliqued sweatshirt and keds. okay, i'll grant you that keds are a classic but fer cryin' out loud must we even *wear* our crafts. urgh. i digress. and...i shall continue to digress. stay tuned.