Judging A Book By Its Cover...

Fairly recently, I attended an exhibit at the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum in Neenah, WI., that blew me away.  It was all about books as an art form.  Three book artists gave a little lecture about their craft and what little I could pick up on was great.  I didn't hear as much of the talk as I would've liked, due to the other patrons conversing among themselves, screwing around with their cellphones, allowing their children to run about whilst shrieking, plus the dude next to me was PICKING HIS DAMN NOSE!!! but I did catch a few things, like how they make their own paper and their own ink, and can turn the most mundane objects into works of art.  The following pictures are proof of that.  I think the "books" that delight me the most are the one that was made out of the walnut shell and the one made out of glass (photo #2).

Some people are remarkable!  It's good to know that you don't have to use a computer/internet for everything, and I rejoice when I see that people have talent that isn't cookie cutter-esque.  

I Can't Get This Song Out Of My Head!

Is The Road To Hell Paved With Good Intentions?

I spent the better part of an hour on the phone late this afternoon, trying to give an ear and advice to the lovelorn.  A friend called wanting to know if she should wait around for the guy she's been seeing.  Apparently, he's just 2 months past a painful divorce and says he still has some feelings for his ex.  His ex cheated and lied and prevaricated, yet now that the decree is final, she wants him back.  My friend tried not to fall for him but she did.  She tends to be susceptible.  He told her to wait til November, as his workload was kind of crazy and the divorce was crazy, etc.  Then, he sort of gave her the runaround.  She's wondering if he's just scared and if she should wait.  I told her no.  She wanted to know if she should give up the dream of a husband and kids.  I said absolutely not.  I told her to spend the time from now to November getting over this.  I suggested going on a little vacation if possible.  Getting out.  Trying new things.  Offering her ears and a shoulder to cry on to other friends.  I said that if it's meant to be he'll come back but not to hold her breath.  I said that since he's in pain right now he's not thinking/seeing straight and that he needs time.  I said it sounded to me like he has been treating her as more of a coping mechanism and distraction than potential girlfriend material.  She said she doesn't think she'll get over it.  I said she was selling herself short.  Did I do right?  Things have been rocky with this friend over the past couple of years and a weird vibe of competition has cropped up, which is something I've never experienced with friends before.  I've been irritated with and sick of this person, but she got crying and before I knew it I was trying to calm  her down and set her straight.  I don't know...did I say the right thing?  As mad as she can make me, I'd hate to be responsible for her missing out on "The One".  At the same time, to wait til November for something that's not a sure thing seems to be the recipe for more grief.  It's not like she can get those 4 months back.  And what if, in those 4 months, he goes crazy with the ladies, having one-night stand after one-night stand, booty call upon booty call?  I suggested she take a break from dating, take a break(but don't give up on) from the dream, heal, try new things, make me a bacon sandwich...


I don't know if I'm qualified to give advice.  I'm mooning over some damn guy who may or may not know I exist.  C.G. is NOT a sure thing.  I feel kind of like a hypocrite.  


Damn.

You Have Got To Be F*cking KIDDING Me/Monday's Rant...

http://www.cracked.com/article_19288_8-weirdly-sexual-products-you-wont-believe-are-kids.html

Ex-freakin'-cuse me?!  This garbage is for CHILDREN???  A stripper pole?  Thongs that read "Eye Candy" and push-up bikini tops for 7-year olds?  Slutty Halloween costumes?  Skanky-looking dolls?  Tramp stamps and Playboy accessories?  And then people have the nerve to wonder why kids get molested, and child porn exists, and little ones are trafficked around the world to cater to the - I'm calling it what it is - sick, twisted, filthy, disgusting, deviant urges of f***ed-up and EVIL adults.  When did this shit become o.k.?  When did it become o.k. to encourage little girls to become tiny bimbos?  Whenever I see crap like this, or hear that the authorities have busted up yet another child porn ring or child trafficking ring, I thank Almighty God that my nieces are in Tae Kwon Do.  I thank God that the 14-year old knows how to snap the femur of a large adult male.  I think God that she knows how to go for someone's carotid artery and render them unconscious.  I also want to cry because no child should be obliged to  learn hand-to-hand combat in order to fend off some filthy, disgusting asshole, hellbent on temporarily assuaging his/her revolting, damnable urges.  And I roar in blind, foaming-at-the-mouth rage because there's no death penalty for pedophiles. 


I'm over 21.  I'm also no prude.  Stripper poles, bikini waxes and thongs are just dandy for me.  I can get tramp stamped as much as I damn well please and if I choose to spend my Saturday nights staring at a different man's ceiling, that's fine.  I'm a consenting adult.  I know and accept the consequences.  I also know how to block a blow and aim my foot at a guy's gut or his nutsack (courtesy of my nieces).  Kids deserve the right to a safe and happy childhood.  Innocence is not a privilege but a RIGHT.  If you're a consenting adult, find another consenting adult and bounce off the walls.  Hang from the chandelier.  Screw your brains out - I don't give a flying damn, but leave the kids out of it.


I don't care if you call me old fashioned, but I long for a return of letting kids be kids.  Shame on these companies for their attempts at financial gain at the expense of babies.  Shame on them for giving perverts more fuel for the fire.  And shame on us for allowing things to get to this point.  

Happy 4th of July!

Let freedom ring!!!

It's Been A Good Day Already...

The computer's operating as it should, the car is behaving itself beautifully (much to my relief), I just heard my favorite song (G n' R's Sweet Child O' Mine) and I've come from the bakery with good bread and a couple of lovely treats.  I have more than enough good books to get me through the heat wave that's coming (it's supposed to be 94F tomorrow with a heat index of at least 105F - yuck, yuck, YUCK!!!).  I picked up two books on the BBC list: Choderlos de Laclos' Les Liaisons Dangereuses  and Dumas' The Three Musketeers.  And, I got some great feedback on my writing endeavors.  I called my favorite cousin early this morning for her opinion and she said she can't wait to hear more.  I'm rewriting what I have so far because I felt like my normal voice wasn't coming through. Also, my original hero and heroine were a couple of saps and if they're sappy, then in my opinion, the whole story is gonna suck, so I'm making the chick more intrepid (but with a heart) and the dude an arrogant jackass.  He's got to be a jackass because I think I might have her take him down several pegs and if he's miserable and pathetic like the original, I worry that the story won't be as juicy.  Of course, I could keep him abject and put-upon and she could remain an icy bitch and I could write his comedown from the approach of "Ain't life a bitch/crappy things happen to good people".  It's really a toss-up at this point.  But it's fun.

Culture Can Be Hilarious, Part II