so question. gmail for me is acting CRAZY. and i guess im basically not allowed to send emails anymore. is anyone else experiencing this? or have you in the past?

almost everyone is coming up as 'undefined' and when i try to compose a new email the space to write the text is essentially non existent. arrrrg!

i took a photo with my computer. im a superhero!



and more music notes

oh man.  i am so full and happy!

anyone in the portland area whos looking for a fancy vegan meal.  MUST go to Hartwell's in Milwaukie.  yumm.  i felt like i needed to be a little princess with the posh wines and multiple predinner appetizers.  spendy but damn.

and yes mill end is totally better than fabric depot.  there are still some things that fabric depot has a better selection with but mostly mill end it better.

to anyone who may read this that i may not think to call...

My birthday is saturday.  so im having a few folks over at the house that evening.  and perhaps we'll wander to some bar somewhere.  not putting too much on the evening.  but anyone whos able to come by is welcome to.  there may or may not be appetizer/food stuff here, depends on how much energy i have when i wake up that day.

Have a good one and maybe ill see a few folks then!

amazing video! <--click for vegan giggles

Ive been watching the first season of Dexter, a showtime show.  its so disturbing but sexy and alluring at the same time.  it makes murder seem normal and exciting.  once i watch an episode i cant stop thinking about it and wanting to watch another.

heres to dinking around at home doing nothing.

i just found this bike.  the purple one, fucking adorable!  it was just posted this afternoon, so i hope to god its still available.

Any of you crafty types out there.

Ive been thinking about the dress tonight, since ill probably start on it tomorrow.  I am still debating what kind of fabric to use for the snake and birds.  I could use felt but maybe thats bulkier than id like.  what else could do well?  i could do some blueish patterned cottons for the bird and fuse them together, but the snake?  seems like it should be more textured and id need to do a line of wire on each side.

The other dilemma is attaching the animals to the dress.  i would really like to have it be removable so i could wear the dress on other occasions without them or some visible mark that they were there (like velcro, snaps and such would do).


any ideas?

today must be my new music day.

i was browsing on cdbaby.  I found the Opal Foxx Quartet.  which oh my...the singers voice sounds like tom waits but its all about loving men and being heart broken and he generally performs in drag. how fucking awesome is that?

the offical review:
"In its prime, Atlanta's Opal Foxx Quartet threatened to serve as a one-band cure for terminal jadedness. After all, who could muster an "I've seen it all before" yawn when confronted with a ten-piece beatnik-jazz-cum-performance-art troupe fronted by a rail-thin drag queen who sang about anorexia and happened to be a vocal doppelgŠnger for Tom Waits? Not surprisingly, the Quartet had difficulty holding shape and disbanded in 1992, but not before recording enough material (much of it produced by Michael Stipe) to cobble together the posthumous The Love That Won't Shut Up, released at a one-off reunion show on New Year's Eve '93. (Thoughts of further gigs were erased when drummer Allen Page died in early '94.) While Opal himself is clearly the featured attraction Ñ just check out the mind-boggling medley of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" and "Strange Fruit" for proof Ñ the canvas of steel guitar, cello and reeds is plenty beguiling on its own."

omi god.  so simon turned me on to Gogol Bordello, the singer was in everything is illuminated.

Its amazing.  and listening to a full album makes me think how much fun it would be if they played pirates tavern  the sound is kind of fitting.

and the first thing i saw/heard was this video thats so perfect for me.  Start Wearing Purple

In case you havent heard, or seen it.  cbs has a new show called creature comforts from the creators of wallace and gromet!  its adorable.  recordings from interviews with average folks from around the us put to cute animal animations.
aww.

Oh I can now offically tell people when IKEA opens.  So for all you Portland folks its July 25th!

someone posted on pdxvegans today.  and it pissed the hell out of me.

comparing omnivores, or specifically non vegans, to 'pedophilic acts'.  arrrg.  and they brought it up to be inflammitory then says, oh but the children are still alive. mmmhmm....
i usually dont respond to posts on communities, but i couldnt help myself.  it just got me fairly upset, especially after that whole alive comment.

thats all i had to say.

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.  Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.  All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.  A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.  Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it.  Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
-W.H. Murray"

from walking on water yet again.  this is basically what my conversation with my mom was about last night.  allowing yourself to be in a state of inquiry can bring forth many unexpected resources.  its amazing how much this book has moved me and i wasnt planning to get this one of his, but couldnt seem to find anything else written by him.  i doubt his other books would have had this influence on me, or if i read this one at a different time.

Ive been exploring my wish list on amazon and other books online to get a general list of what I want to look at when we go to Powells.
In the process of searching for Derrick Jensen, I saw a listing for a book, Pascifism as Pathology, set to come out this April.  Although he's not the primary author (which was my goal since its been WAY too long since Ive read one of his books), it looks fascinating.  Ive always wanted to believe in the pacifism but in my gut feel its ultimately unsuccessful.

The new one Pacifism as Pathology.

Looks VERY intriuging, heres the description:

"This extraordinarily important book cuts to the heart of one of the central reasons movements to bring about social and environmental justice always fail. The fundamental question here is: is violence ever an acceptable tool to help bring about social change? This is probably the most important question of our time, yet so often discussions around it fall into cliches and magical thinking: that somehow if we are merely good and nice enough people, the state will stop using its violence to exploit us all. Would that this were true."-Derrick Jensen, author of Endgame, from the introduction.

Pacifism, the ideology of nonviolent political resistance, has been the norm among mainstream North American progressive groups for decades. But to what end? Ward Churchill challenges the pacifist movement's heralded victories-Gandhi in India, 1960s antiwar activists, even Martin Luther King's civil rights movement-suggesting that their success was in spite of, rather than because of, their nonviolent tactics. Pacifism as Pathology was written as a response not only to Churchill's frustration with his own activist experience, but also to a debate raging in the activist and academic communities. He argues that pacifism is in many ways counterrevolutionary; that it defends the status quo, and doesn't lead to social change. In these times of upheaval and global protest, this is a vital and extremely relevant book.

gah! one more thing! I just saw Sweetpea is hiring vegan bakers!  it might be difficult hours to adjust to, but could be a a super awesome thing for me to be involved in.  another thing to put on my to do list for tomorrow--send resume to sweetpea!
that way i can do two of the things I love doing baking and then sewing on the side.  because my creativity is better spent on the clothing.  since im not nearly as brilliant in regards to original baked goods.
oh and its 6 hours 5 days a week at 8.50(maybe more with vegan baking experience) and potential benifits later on.

off to sew.

oh yum.  this was just posted on the vegan cooking community.
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna with Cream Sauce

Anyone in a semi close vicinity to me want me to make it and share with them?  It sounds like It could be a long labor of love, and so not worth it unless I have folks to share.



p.s. the gre program was a complete disaster.  still cant figure it out.  so he gave me $40 to see if I can find a different practice program.  bah.

gah.

OHSU cutting down animal rights and gay rights in one blow.  bastards

From IDA:

"A report recently released by the Humane Farming Association (HFA) documents inhumane treatment of cows at Threemile Canyon Farms in Boardman, Ore. The ongoing cruelty is so shocking that dairy workers themselves have stepped forward to blow the whistle on their employer, endangering their jobs and livelihood to expose the abuse.

Statements from workers allege that some of the male calves are separated from their mothers at birth and left to starve to death. An employee reports, "Supervisors usually shoot unwanted male calves. They don't die right away. Some lie on the floor and bleed out. Some have lied for three hours and are still alive." The dairy reportedly also kills calves by bashing their heads in or by swinging the calves by their hind legs and pounding their heads against the concrete floor.

The report also documents how workers are told to slice off a section of a cow's teat without anesthetizing the animal. The cows' teats are susceptible to infection due to the concrete floors being covered with manure, urine and standing flush water. To make matters worse, workers report the massive farm continues to milk cows with infected teats, a situation that workers first reported in a February 2005 article in the Portland Oregonian newspaper. One worker says, "?the blood and pus draining from the teat will go into the milk when the cow is milked." Another worker states, "The boss tells us to milk the cows even if they know the milk is bad. The milk will look like pieces of cheese."

Several months ago, HFA filed a formal petition with Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers demanding that criminal charges be brought against Threemile Canyon Farms for animal abuse. Yet in spite of having extensive documentation -- including worker statements, pictures and even video -- Myers has yet to take any action to stop abuse at Threemile. The fact the state of Oregon previously provided a $20 million taxpayer-funded subsidy to Threemile makes the state's inaction even more outrageous.

What You Can Do:

Please contact the Attorney General by postal mail, phone or personal email.

Attorney General Hardy Myers
Oregon Department of Justice
1162 Court Street NE
Salem, OR 97301-4096
Tel: (503) 378-4400
Email: doj.info@state.or.us

Click http://www.hfa.org/campaigns/threemile_dairy_petition.pdf to read an abridged version of the HFA report. Also visit http://www.ufw.org/_board.php?b_code=res_gal&mode=view&b_no=2053&page=2 to see photos of the conditions that animals are forced to endure at Threemile Canyon Farm dairy. (Warning: the pictures are graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.)"