Love this British article about a man who makes tiny little sculptures by carving the lead points of pencils!

There is a whole gallery, ranging from a little saw to Elvis' head. Go on, look. Then comment. No one comments. Is anybody out there?!?!

What Did You Just Say?

I am tired.

Sometimes, when I'm tired,

I have funny thoughts

Because my mind is sleepy too

And the thoughts get

Confused.

Sometimes, I have good ideas and inspirations when I'm reading through all of the other blogs and sites I like to read. Then I forget them. I get home and think, "Wasn't there something I wanted to make?" or "I read this article today that I wanted to tell (fill in the blank) about..."

So as an experiment(and due to boredom)I will list the ideas, thoughts, inspirations, questions etc. here. 

• 
  
  I saw a video on some site this morning of a 3 year old boy reciting a poem called "Litany" by Billy Collins. At first, it was the boy who was so impressive, but I keep thinking about the words of the poem, the first stanza here: (click the link for the video and the rest of the poem) 

You are the bread and the knife,

the crystal goblet and the wine.

You are the dew on the morning grass

and the burning wheel of the sun.

You are the white apron of the baker,

and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.

• I'm kind of excited to go to this event tonight for work called '“Global Sustainability: Central America to Maine."'There will be videos about Costa Rica and Maine, two of my favorite places on Earth. Free dinner and beers are also good. I wonder what kinds of people go to these things...and where I'm going to find the $10 "voluntary donation" considering I haven't had a paycheck in over a month. Hrmph.

• My iPod has been on shuffle most days when I drive to work. It definitely plays favorites though, and Im surprised by my iPod's favorites because I feel like it should have consulted me before picking these out. It loves all of the random old hip hop/pop stuff from college parties, like Nelly. It has really been pushing Matisyahu lately too. Sorry, iPod, I've kind of been over him for 3 years or so. Just skip those for now. I'm always happy when you throw me some Rustic Overtones, but it's the only band you play 2 and sometimes 3 times in a row! I'd like to thank you for playing "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits 2 mornings in a row though. Really gets me pumped up for work.

• Are coffee beans considered legumes?
• I love Googling something like this and finding out that, of course, someone has written about this exact topic:

Is the coffee bean a fruit or a legume?

 

Answer: it is a pit inside the coffee fruit.

The coffee bean is not technically a legume, because a legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or a fruit of these plants, and the coffee plant is not a member of the Fabaceae family.

The coffee “bean” is actually the seed of the coffee plant, the pit inside of the coffee fruit (AKA coffee berries and coffee cherries).

I Guess My Next Trip Will Be To...

ALAMODOGO, NEW MEXICO!

To feast my eyes on this...the World's Largest Pistachio Nut.

This reminds me of one of my favorite movie scenes in...the...world. Harlan Pepper! You stop namin' nuts!

Puh-lease.

Just LOOK at how adorable this wallpaper is! I would love this in a bathroom.

This comes to you via Grace Bonney, from Design*Sponge. In case you haven't heard (and marked your calendar), D*S is in the process of publishing a book! About the home! Grace emails me every once in a while to update me on how the process of getting the book ready is going. I doubt anyone else signed up for that email...right?

Anyway, she said that Julia Rothman has done some illustrations for the book...and she's the one to thank for this wallpaper as well. Thanks, Julia.

It comes in a few other colors too...

Great, more things I need.

I'll keep this short and sweet. My favorite book when I was younger (and I still have it...)was called "Our World." It had a blurb on every country in the world and big photos to add to the glory. It is now so disgustingly outdated that I can't find anything about it online to link this to.

However, today Jessie met Lonely Planet's "The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World." It comes in hardcover, paperback and a mini version that boasts "1140 images, 231 countries, one complete picture - without the weight of the world."

At this point, as my lunches have become random things from the fridge that are nearing or past their exipration dates and gas has been rationed to allow myself to get to work, $30.00 is a lot to spend on a book. I think I might just go to Barnes & Noble and read a few pages every day. But I do still want it...so....bad.

I need this book. I want to lie in bed and read about every single country. The best part is that for every country, there is a "In a Word" section that includes a common phrase or motto of the country. It was a little weird that USA's (yeah, I looked) was "Thank you, come again." Right?

It doesn't make it any better that there is also "The Cities Book."

I'm thinking of starting a charity drive. Who will donate to my cause?

Bad Moon Risin'

I think it's fun to read my horoscope. I don't actually believe it, but it is so entertaining when it seems like it really coincides with your life. That's about as far as I'd take it.

I don't really get too deep into all of the idiosyncrasies of astrology. When I was little, I knew a kid who had the same exact birthday as me. He was the main reason that I felt like my horoscope couldn't be accurate. How could he also be expecting a sudden romance or tough times economically according to the one moon that we both knew? How would the arrival of Scorpio in our 5th Houses mean the same thing when I hardly had anything in common with him aside from the fact that we got here at roughly the same time?

Point is, there is one thing I really do believe in. I believe (based on numerous scientific and emotional case studies done on myself and my mother) that the moon has the power to make you FREAK THE F OUT.

I have gone as far as to provide my mom and myself with beautifully handmade moon charts so we can alert one another when the moon is about to interfere. It's not a rare occasion when she calls me and says, "You know how everything has been really weird and people are turning into jackasses left and right? Yeah, full moon coming up on Saturday. Watch out."

Whether it is some similarity between the effect of the moon on tides and the fact that we are mainly composed of water or if it is some strange spiritual force that is trying to get my attention (I'm agnostic...only because I think being atheist is too definitive)I am aware of it, I respect it and I fear it. The Incas worshipped the sun...maybe the moon is my god.

Yikes, sorry, got too into it right there.

Point of this post: actually 2 things - First, beware of the full moon approaching tomorrow, the 24th of August. Notice anything weird or different? Second...and now this seems totally irrelevant...but read this site and see how funny it is!

Two Month Astrological Timetable

This timetable actually lets one know the best times possible over the next 2 months to do certain things for the best results.

Looking to make some sauerkraut to delight your German guests? Hold off until the 7th, or 8th. If you miss those dates, try again around the 25th or 26th.

Clearly, the end of the month is the best time to castrate your animals, whereas the middle of the month is better for dental care and slaughtering livestock.

I am so grateful to have this chart to go by. I don't know what I would do otherwise...probably fail at potty train kids because I started on the wrong day and ruin everything by cutting the hay too soon.

Oy!

I have had this song in my head for 4 days - ever since we watched a cute old couple dance to it at Skylark Lounge on SoBo. That's South Broadway, kind of like how LoDo is Lower Downtown...and now there's HiLo for the Lower Highlands and there will likely be CaHi for us losers up in Capitol Hill without an abbreviation.

I hope you get it stuck in your head. If you don't, watch it again and try snapping your fingers while doing exaggerated elbow movements.

Enjoy.

I'm in Marketing

I am working on a proposal for my boss about social media. More accurately, I'm trying to put together an argument in support of our company's use of Facebook while simultaneously attempting to explain what the hell it is to my middle-aged, foreign boss.

In my research, I came across InsideFacebook.com, which is a site that collects data on a weekly and daily basis about Facebook's users. It's very simple. There's a list of the "Leader Pages" for the day and the week based on how many new users "Like" those pages. Then, there is a list of "Loser Pages" (daily and weekly) based on how many users those pages lost.

The outcome is hilarious.

Good news, 75,400 more people liked Obama today. However, 36,598 more than that (111,998 people) liked Vin Diesel.

"ChapStick" took a devastating plunge in the "Like" world today, as they lost a whopping 276 users (likely to Vin Diesel.) This is not even close to the state of disrepair "Music" is in, as 9:51 am MST today, already having lost 4,892 users. Ouch, "Music" has got to be upset with that loss.

A theory.

Ooh, look, something shiny!

Ok, it's been about 5 minutes since my last post, and I feel like I need some cheering up (from a source other than gratuitous unsolicited male attention.)

Here are things that I love, want, need, like to look at, whatever. Just for viewing pleasure.

"This set of 8 antique classroom maps from 1919 is a remarkable find. Reclaimed from a single-room schoolhouse in Portsmouth, VA this set has a wonderful history which can be seen in each of its maps: United States, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Eastern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere, all mounted with spring rollers and set within a solid oak framework which hangs on the wall. Each map is full-color printed lithography by Denoyer-Geppert Co., Chicago dated 1919, 1920, 1921."

Ranunculus. In the colors of Kate's wedding palette.

Design*Sponge's DIY about using milkpaint to make distressed furniture.

Cape Cod in the summertime...even though I felt like I was cheating on Maine a little bit. I miss the ocean so badly, it actually physically hurts.

This perfume is one of the lovliest smells in the world. It's based on soap and water and always makes me feel clean and girlie.

"Ordinal Dresser" from Anthropologie. Enough said.

I bet it would be funny to see me driving this little vintage turquoise Mini, drinking some lemonade and airdumming on the tiny steering wheel to some sort of foreign pop.