Soap in My Mouth - Blog of Sheree Hill, Dirty Stories from the Dirty South

Belen Echandia

2008-01-03T12:04:00.000-05:00

I am in love with Belen Echandia's bags. They're a boutique out of the UK, Jackie, the owner/designer has an interesting story. She was a lawyer with a knack for networking and entrepreneurship, and ventured out on her own creating luxury bags. It's inspired me to come up with a few designs of my own.

How to Convert Any Toilet to a Low Flush Toilet

2007-11-07T11:55:00.000-05:00

A lot of discussion has been going on in my neighborhood about ways to conserve water. One of the easiest and most cost effective ways I found was to convert your toilet to a low flush toilet using a milk carton.

One of my neighbors passed along this information about creating rain capture cisterns:

Current watering restrictions are likely to get much worse, as the gravity of the situation reveals itself, possibly by next summer or earlier, beginning with pressure fluctuations or restricted hours of use. Of course if it rains heavily next Spring in the very small area needed to recharge the lake, things might return more or less to normal, at least for a while.

But since Lanier is the smallest lake in the United States with the smallest recharge area serving a major metropolitan area, and climatological predictions are indicating a continuing drought, it would nonetheless be prudent to start thinking not only about water conservation, but limited independence from the system.

Serious preparation efforts would probably include the installation of a plastic ribbed cistern made of potable( drinking water standard) grade plastic that can be installed in a rear corner of your house near a downspout and catch and store rainfall, which could be used to water at least the Oaks and Dogwoods that are at such risk during a drought.

Practical sized systems might be a 1700 gallon tank, measuring 5 feet wide, 5 feet tall and 12-14 feet long. Those same cisterns could also be filled by hauled water trucks and used for irrigation using a small pump to which you attach a garden hose.

In a serious water emergency where pressure or service is limited or interrupted, those buried or above ground tanks could be used to pump filtered, purified water up the back wall of your house,following the gutters downspout upward, entering into the attic, and dropping down to upper floor bathroom(s), and could be used for showering and flushing the toilet.

Snapped

2007-11-06T14:30:00.000-05:00

Some pics for my photography class. Melissa on Halloween.

Ami Chan and the Yetti overtaking the office.

On the luck of seven

2007-10-24T16:49:00.000-05:00

I came across the blog The Luck of Seven. Noel a hidalgo is traveling the world, sustaining himself completely through his social networks. He uses a site called couchsurfers, a network that connects travelers with people in the community they visit.

Taking your life into your own hands for the fun of it

2007-10-03T10:26:00.000-05:00

I used to ride a mountain bike. Let me explain something about mountain bikes, they're fun, they're easy on the ass but they are for biznitches. Now I am not talking about those crazy fuks that take their bikes actually ON mountains, clipped in, falling on their face eating mud the whole way down a 40 degree incline of pure pain, I'm talking about the lame-O's like my former self that would ride them around town on bike paths and sidewalks. I'm not knocking you if you have one, just put your little dog in a basket on the front of your bike and honk your self a good old time. You are what H2B lovingly refers to as "flatbars".

Now I have a road bike. It's a whole new world people, both good and ugly. Let me tell you something about riding a road bike in Atlanta. First of all, Atlantans are terrible drivers to begin with. If any of you have experience driving here you know what I'm talking about. People do not pay attention. They're too busy texting their friends, eating, smoking, talking, putting on makeup, yammering on the phone, yelling at their kids, doing bumps or as my father told me yesterday that he was doing on his way home, playing poker on his dashboard mounted laptop. All this instead of actually, well, driving. This is terrifying for someone that is sharing the road with these multi ton vehicles on a 10 lb piece of carbon strapped to 2 rapidly moving wheels and only a stupid piece of padded plastic to protect their noodle.

The scariest place that I ride is Dekalb avenue, it's the best way to get back from Decatur to Inman park. But, unfortunately its a three lane road with one lane that changes to incoming and outgoing traffic depending what side of the road you're on and what time of day it is. Of course, on Saturday mornings, there is only one lane going in my direction. Last Saturday I was nearly clipped by a Scion, Toyota and Minivan.

But you go fast. Really fast.

I must give it up to the fixed gear no brake folks, although I do think they're a little insane. One of the coolest ones I saw was a dude that had two tattoos on his legs, it said fixed on the back left of his calf and gear on the right back of his other.

I do admit feeling like a dork in my padded pants, but dammit those seat Feking HURT!!!!! I decided to create H2B a custom jersey to give a little bit of cred to his gear. The logo above I created to stencil on a jersey I got. I found a really cool way of silkscreening without having to use emulsion. It's called EZScreenPrint. You can check out their products here.

think of a happy place

2007-10-02T12:01:00.001-05:00

Because those last two posts were way too fucking serious, I give you an example of great use of company time.

Pharmaceuticals in Our Water Supply Are Causing Bizarre Mutations to Wildlife

2007-10-02T11:04:00.000-05:00

A coworker of mine was sharing with me a story of her associate who just got back from China, where she was studying the effects of pollution on China's water supply. Her findings peaked my interest and I did some research myself and came across this article.

It seems that the levels of pharmaceuticals in the water supply are causing mutations in fish, frogs and birds in our rivers and streams. I had no idea that when you take birth control, most of the hormones are flushed through the body and redistributed into the water supply, and that those hormones can cause male fish to become inter sexual.

"Meanwhile, federal officials continue to study the human health effects of the pharmaceutical compounds found in water known as endocrine disruptors, including possible links to neurological problems in children and increased incidence of some cancers. Federal officials are investigating a wide range of fish health problems in Cheasapeake Bay and its watershed. Several studies of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers have revealed inter-sex fish, a wide range of "abnormalities in which both male and female characteristics are present within the same fish.

The abnormalities include nine male smallmouth bass from the Potomac River near Sharpsburg, Maryland (about 60 miles upstream from Washington) that developed female eggs inside their sex organs. Inter-sex bass were also found in a study three years earlier, after fish kills about 170 miles upstream in the South Branch of the Potomac in Hardy County, West Virginia."

I know we all have to take certain medications to live, but this made me consider finding other holistic or organic remedies whenever possible.

Chip implants linked to cancer in Dogs

2007-10-01T10:06:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine's pooches were both diagnosed with cancer recently. The tumors were in the areas where they had chip implants. Both had their legs amputated and one passed last weekend. This alarmed me as one of my dogs has a microchip from Banfield The Pet Hospital. I did some poking around and came across this article in the AP today about chip implants causing cancer in lab mice.

"Published in veterinary and toxicology journals between 1996 and 2006, the studies found that lab mice and rats injected with microchips sometimes developed subcutaneous "sarcomas" — malignant tumors, most of them encasing the implants.

_ A 1998 study in Ridgefield, Conn., of 177 mice reported cancer incidence to be slightly higher than 10 percent — a result the researchers described as "surprising."

_ A 2006 study in France detected tumors in 4.1 percent of 1,260 microchipped mice. This was one of six studies in which the scientists did not set out to find microchip-induced cancer but noticed the growths incidentally. They were testing compounds on behalf of chemical and pharmaceutical companies; but they ruled out the compounds as the tumors' cause. Because researchers only noted the most obvious tumors, the French study said, "These incidences may therefore slightly underestimate the true occurrence" of cancer.

_ In 1997, a study in Germany found cancers in 1 percent of 4,279 chipped mice. The tumors "are clearly due to the implanted microchips," the authors wrote.

Caveats accompanied the findings. "Blind leaps from the detection of tumors to the prediction of human health risk should be avoided," one study cautioned. Also, because none of the studies had a control group of animals that did not get chips, the normal rate of tumors cannot be determined and compared to the rate with chips implanted."

As a concerned pet owner I called Banfield requesting to have the chip removed. The receptionist informed me that they would not remove the chip, as there have been no studies that prove the implants cause cancer in dogs. I was outraged that this research is out there and Banfield is refusing to remove these devices.

2007-09-12T14:34:00.001-05:00

I'm not dead

HTB (Husband to be) and I just got back from Italy. Here's a shot of the haunted villa where we spent a week of stormy nights gorging ourselves on pasta and panini. I can not believe how much food the Italians eat.

More italy pics here

Blog redesign and content soon to come....

Pain in my head

2007-01-17T10:49:00.000-05:00

Pain in my head. Friends insisted on rounds of mancala and hours of shit talking while the red wine flowed...painful awakening in twisted sheets that smelled of ciggys and tousled perfumes. I've been listening to the cure for pain album all morning.

Where is the ritual
And tell me where where is the taste
Where is the sacrifice
And tell me where where is the faith
Someday there'll be a cure for pain
That's the day I throw my drugs away
When they find a cure for pain
Where is the cave
Where the wise woman went
And tell me where
Where's all that money that I spent
I propose a toast to my self control
You see it crawling helpless on the floor
Someday there'll be a cure for pain
That's the day I throw my drugs away
When they find a cure for pain
When they find a cure find a cure for pain

eyehatechristmas

2006-12-21T11:49:00.000-05:00

I got an email today from S. He has a home in Virginia Highlands, an area of Atlanta saturated in the urban domestic 30-something’s mommies and daddies that run their jamboree clad tykes in $800 strollers past remodeled homes once falling to pieces, now shining in all their million dollar glory thanks to all the artists and gays that make this great gentrification nation possible. My friend, who shares my distaste of Christmas refused to put up Christmas lights and decorate his front yard with snowmen and blown up Santa clause statues. To add insult to injury, he left his pumpkin from Halloween on the front porch to thumb his nose at the entire affair. He woke up this morning to find that someone had hung a Christmas stocking on his front door and little ornaments all around his front porch. They even attempted at making a snowman face on the defiant pumpkin. Holiday vandals, what's next? Forced sex on valentines day? Hmmm..

So in honor of christmas vandals and scroodges alike,
here's to you

2006-12-12T10:09:00.000-05:00

The Coolest 8 Year Old In The World Talks About O'Reilly

Loved this spot.

playing with food

2006-12-06T11:54:00.000-05:00

Ami sent me these pics that are so cute they make my face hurt. Crazy Japanese!

lachapelle

2006-11-29T11:38:00.000-05:00

I love the way Lachapelle uses saturated colors and his set and costume design. His music videos are highly entertaining.

threadless

2006-11-28T10:33:00.000-05:00

So my t-shirt design was posted on threadless, vote or flame me.

branded

2006-11-20T13:09:00.000-05:00

I submitted this t-shirt design to threadless. It was a sticker idea that I came up with awhile ago, but forgot about on my computer. We'll see if it will fly with the LV logo on the gun.

roaster

2006-11-15T14:14:00.000-05:00

Everybody can do a few things well. For some it’s throwing a ball, others it’s cursing someone out. I can do chicken. All different ways, baked, fried, noodle soup, but a favorite is the roaster. It's amazing; you've never had a sweeter, tenderer, juicer piece of fowl in your entire life.

Well last night I made one, but instead of getting the usual 3 pound bird, I went for a 6 pounder. Due to its massive size, it took 2 hours to cook instead of the 1, and because I had to cook it at 550, let’s just say it was a tad warm. I had to turn the heater off because it was starting to feel like a Turkish bathhouse.

So 2 hours and 2 bottles of wine later I went to pull the chicken out of the oven and the heat from molten pan that it was in passed through my oven mitt and burned the shit out of my hands. I dropped the bird, the pan and all of that sweet juice, fat and oil into the oven, which instantaneously shot forth a massive fireball. I stood there completely frozen, entranced by the demon mouth licking flames from its door mouth, sizzling black heifer chicken half hanging out, looking like it’s trying to escape a burning building. I was having multiple thoughts at one time but could not act on one them. "Should I get the fire extinguisher?" "wow that looks insane" "where are the dogs?".

Luckily my roommate had seen the reflection of the blast and had the wits about him to turn the oven OFF. G pulled the bird out with metal prongs and threw its charred carcass on the table. I just stood there, hands burning, dilated pupils from my eye exam that day tearing up from the black smoke that filled my house, fire alarm going off piercing my ears. I started laughing hysterically, maniacally. What a show! And damned if that chicken still delicious.

mondays

2006-11-13T08:19:00.000-05:00

I hate Monday depression.

indecent proposal

2006-11-12T20:27:00.000-05:00

My intention last night was to be a good girl and stay inside with a friend, fire and bottle of pinot to watch Valley of the Dolls, which I must say is an absolutely fantastic movie. But, as usual the evil banshee that I try keep at bay named Consuela started rattling her cage and forced me to go to my spot ESL for few.

There is this corner of the club that has benches, it happens to be in clear view of the line to the bathroom, so there is always something entertaining to watch or someone to talk to while they do the pee pee dance. So I'm sitting there with G and a random stranger walks up to us, the conversation went something like this:

Stranger: "When's the wedding?"
Me: "Excuse me?"
Stranger: "Aren't you guys getting married?"
Me & Date: (in unison) "No no no" (laughing)
Stranger: "Oh yes you will, you’ll be married" (walks off)
Me: (turning to date) "what in the hell was that?"
Date: "I have no idea"

In our intoxication we laughed about how ridiculous this man's comments were and proceeded to joke that we should just hop a plane to Vegas and get hitched as the man must have been clairvoyant and it was some sort of sign. What would possess someone to say such a thing I have no idea, but it was entertaining to be told my future by some drunk strange man in a dark bar.

harassment

2006-11-08T11:00:00.000-05:00

So I was talking to a friend last night about an bad experience he had with sexual harassment in the workplace. It made me think about something I experienced that was devastating at the time, but ended up being the best thing that could have happened to me. I worked for 6 years for a large business doing uninspiring corporate graphics and torturous powerpoint presentations. My manager at the time was mid-level grunt whose shortcomings in life led him to get his rocks off by taking credit for my work and make me feel as small as possible.

I tried as hard as I could to be a good worker, stayed late, did extra projects, bent over backwards to make him and everyone else happy. It got me no where. One day I was at home checking my messages and saw that I had missed this pocket dial call from my boss:

Background noise – loud bar, drinks

Man: “You know Sheree, she’s got a nice rack”
(muffled sound)
Man: "...bimbo"
(muffled sound)
Man “Ya she’s just a stupid bitch”
(more muffled sound)

(click)

My heart dropped into my stomach, I felt like I had been slapped in the face. This bottom feeder that I had been busting my ass for was in some bar talking shit to one of his lame friends about me. I didn't know what to do, I didn't want to face this asshole again, knowing that all my hard work meant nothing and all he saw me was my bra size. I thought about bringing it to HR, but then the mess that would ensure was something I surely didn't want to deal with. So I took a different approach, I decided to get even.

I ripped the phone call to MP3, took it to work and told someone about it who I knew would tell him. His attitude changed, quite quickly. Suddenly mister nasty turned into mister nice guy. I started looking for another job and landed one at a real ad agency, close to where I lived. The day I was going to resign he nervously followed me into the back office; with a smile on my face I told him that I would be leaving and thanked him for EVERYTHING he gave me to the look on his face was absolutely priceless. It was the best thing that could have happened to me, if it hadn’t I might not have had the resolve to leave that place. So I thank you, for being a complete pig and leaving that message on my phone, it’s helped me get to where I am today.

social suicide

2006-11-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

Men really get the short end of the stick when it comes to fashion, we females have so many options, but for the most part, you walk into any store and the boys are a bit more limited in selection. Social Suicide is a London Based label that uses the their clothing line as a social commentary on allusions to money, power and war. The details are impeccable, concepts clever, clothing beautiful. Social Suicide Web site

Boogie

2006-11-06T15:22:00.000-05:00

Boogie is a brooklyn based photographer that shoots people and street scenes. His work is raw and haunting. http://www.artcoup.com

Ami gave me a link to this today. The name is hysterical.

whitestar and orange juice

2006-11-01T05:15:00.000-05:00

I was wrong.
i got an email from someone that I did wrong so long ago. There were so many things that I had to say. Closure is such a weird thing. It's like you hold so much pain inside of you for these things that you did to other people or to yourself. I'm glad I was able to say these things buried inside of me. I don't know if that's selfish, but I hope it made them understand that it was me that was wrong. I wanted them to understand that I see things differently, time does that to you, age does that to you, the things that seemed so important in youth fade in time. As we grow older we gain different priorities, who knows maybe 10 years from now I might think the things that I think are important are nothing. That's life though right? Perspective changes, it's like we're on a shifting plane, learning to see things from all sides. Like a wooden labyrinth with cosmic knobs. I truly feel remorse for hurting this person or losing out on something that could have been. I seem to hurt people without meaning to. i think that's a maturity challenge, to act for oneself without hurting others, to not be wreckless with people's hearts because you're lonely or lost. It's so hard. Because it's so easy to get what you want when you don't consider others. It's a slippery slope. One I need to go find an ice pick or strong rope for. I truly am so sorry.

2006-10-31T06:43:00.000-05:00

halloween bitches

whipped

2006-10-30T12:43:00.000-05:00

So this weekend some inherent truths that were drilled into my head yet once again.

A. Do not bring expensive fetish gear to Halloween parties
B. Jell-O and Brownies might sound like a tasty Sunday school treat, but add pot and vodka to the mix and you have recipe for destruction.

The latter most likely facilitated the former, however seeing as that last year my good paddle was lost as well, I am observing a trend. Damn perv drunkard thieving hooligans.

More pics from the party

Tagged: [halloween] [whip] [party]

forever 29

2006-10-26T10:17:00.000-05:00

happy birthday Naoya

2006-10-24T15:40:00.000-05:00

skin deep

Being in advertising I see a lot of what goes into touching up models and images to make beautiful pictures and sell ads. This is a great campaign by dove.

pinup

2006-10-23T12:15:00.000-05:00

My girl Ami has some work going into an art show tomorrow night, it's a benefit for Planned Parenthood, so if you like seeing girls in their skivies, come support a good cause.

Some new music I have found and been listening to obessively, Bella Nova and Lily Allen.

beer cans and boobies

2006-10-19T16:45:00.000-05:00

I think it's awesome that this is in wikipedia.
(thanks bri)

Disco

2006-10-16T10:16:00.000-05:00

The Scissor Sisters are playing at The Tabernacle on Wednesday so I'm searching for a pair of white quad skates to wear with my agent orange jumpsuit. It's absolutely necessary that rollergirl be channeled for this event. I'm obessed with the new album. It's show tune, elton john-esque, disco infused funk makes me want to do the hustle. Beep Beep. Get some babydaddy love from the video.

I don't feel like dancing

pain

2006-10-04T12:45:00.000-05:00

I want to crawl into bed and sink into a xanex induced oblivion. How does emotional pain become physical. It hurts, literally where my heart is. I hate that someone can make me feel this way.

LAXXX

2006-10-03T15:37:00.000-05:00

I flew to LA again on Thursday night to get out of my head for awhile. A fan of girls in their skivvies, I booked tickets for my friends at Lolita’s Cabaret Thursday night on Sunset Boulevard. I loved the host, a foul mouthed buxom woman in a tight corset that made fun of hipsters in the audience and said areole a few too many times for my comfort level.

The Akira act featured a little Asian girl in a black and red vinyl getup with matching rain coat prancing around to some Siouxsie Sue song, when she ripped away all of her pleather undergarments her LCD pasties lit up like the 4th of July. I was 7 drinks into it but nevertheless it was a beautiful sight.

D told me about the Avalon, which I booked for Friday, it is absolutely gorgeous. I would highly recommend anyone not afraid to drop some serious cash to check it out. The cabana areas around the pool are private and a great backdrop to a game of footsies and even more perfect if you run into people you don’t want to see or be seen by. A side note, the rooms come equipped with an Ipod dock and ottoman that just begs to be spanked upon.

Saturday night was the Standard, downtown LA location. After spending an unforgivable amount of time primping, miss thing and I headed up to the rooftop deck for some Saturday night action. They have these little pods that are reminiscent of something from 3rd grade that used to smell like pee and always had a dank feel to them, except these were clean and filled with a waterbed. We bounced and floated around in our private oasis until fueled with plenty of vodka we walked over the chaise area where we were approached by two young men. They looked no older than 17, a vision of homoerotism, walking, breathing Calvin Klein ads. I thought for sure they were gay and that we would be safe. Little did I know I would be chased by one of them stark naked 15 minutes later in our hotel room while the other preyed upon my now quite intoxicated friend. As he was chasing me around the tub (in which 6 people could easily fit into), located in the center of the room, black rosary flailing about his tiny body, I was collecting his converse shoes and tossing them out the door trying desperately to get them out of the room before I ended up in jail for statutory rape or encouraging public indecency. Once I rid us of the Columbians I ordered pay per view and kicked it while my friend snored off her hangover. I peeked out of my room door in search of fire for my unlit cigarette. A cute Asian boy walked by and happily obliged. I heard a knock on my door 5 minutes later where he stood with a fist full of matchbooks and a wry smile. I thanked him and closed the door. Another 15 minutes later and he’s at my door with the burger I ordered and asks if I want company. Turns out he’s a designer from New York and I ended up chatting him up for a bit while we sat Indian style on the floor. It was so weird, in this beautiful hotel in the middle of the city of angels and the most decent person I met was the bellboy. Eventually he headed out and I crawled into bed with miss thing, dreaming of floating waterbeds and bizarre strangers.

Pics Jodi and I spending too much time in hotel rooms with cocktails

Tagged: [Los Angelos] [The Standard] [The Avalon]

bandage

2006-09-25T18:14:00.000-05:00

Thursday night I saw Nouvelle Vague at the Variety Playhouse. One of the lead singers seemed to be both tina turner and bridget bardo trapped in one tiny french girl, the music was dark and samba-ey and made me feel like doing dirty things.
pics from the show

The next evening I headed back to the variety to catch Ladytron. They put on a fantastic show as well, albeit much more upbeat and driving. My friends and I ended up at the highlander and then MJQ for some hip hop and break dancing.
pics here

salty

2006-09-20T09:29:00.000-05:00

I wanted a red kitchen, had to have it, thought there was something so beautiful about scarlet. Then after about 2 years I wanted to punch holes in the walls because the color grated on my nerves so bad. So this time around I painted the walls a flat black and then made an illustration of the brooklyn bridge and NYC skyline, which I am going to project on the wall, tape off and spray paint with a high gloss. I did a test to see which paint works the best with a morton salt girl stencil naoya and I worked on. (see picture above)

cool

2006-09-18T14:48:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine was expressing frustration over his personal style because he felt it didn't necessarily fit into what he would consider to be cool in today's design landscape. It made me think about the definition of cool and what would make something be considered hip or dull. I have my own opinion of things that I like or consider to be hot, this is shaped by those I have surrounded myself with, the web sites I visit, the music I listen to, experiences I have had. Should an artist change their style to conform what they consider to be hip/cool/good? Is that conforming or adapting based on experience? What is the importance of it anyway, in art has technique become more important than conception and idea generation?

artwalk

2006-09-17T14:46:00.000-05:00

The Castleberry district of Atlanta is an area full of old warehouses that have now been converted to expensive lofts for setup individuals and artists that braved the crime 4 years ago. On friday many of the spaces opened up for the Castleberry Art Walk. I was impressed with a few artists, I shot a couple pics of their work. My caravan of girls then headed to The Royal and Bed to pour petron down our throats and shake our moneymakers.

pinned

2006-09-15T09:53:00.000-05:00

Pasta, red wine and buttons oh my! What a charming way to spend an evening with a friend. For anyone interested I would highly recommend playing with a button maker. Pound the crap out of your inspiration.

LAX

2006-09-10T11:11:00.000-05:00

So I haven't completely formed an opinion about LA yet. I am still here, drinking mimosas at 9am to solace the jackhammer in my head from last nights trader vicks tiki bowl incident. I flew in on thursday, thoroughly prepared to be disgusted by the fakers, but in all honesty it's been quite nice.

More than the shi shi dinners and overrated hotels the people are what really make LA fun to visit. It's like a freak channel 24/7. Venice beach has the rollerskate rockers, west hollywood, de gays, it's like a neverending circus side show of people with bad 80's haircuts and strange fashion sense.

Two of my best friends moved here recently and it was good to spend time with them and get out of Atlanta for awhile.

Pics

labored

2006-09-05T11:13:00.001-05:00

The Labor Day weekend went off without too much destruction. I had some friends over for a tamale party that ended in flaming bananas foster and shots of absinthe. I passed out on the couch but woke up in my bed this morning curled up next to Wyndl. I didn't see la Fée Verte, but maybe she carried me up to my room.

For those of you who have never had bananas foster, I would strongly recommend trying it. AND if you buy land o lake butter you can do this obscene trick Chris taught me with the Indian girl on the package.

Bananas Foster Recipe

* 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
* 1 cup dark brown sugar
* 2 bananas
* 2 oz. banana liqueur
* 4 oz. dark rum
* Ground cinnamon
* Vanilla ice cream

Melt the butter and add the brown sugar to form a creamy paste. Let this mixture caramelize over the heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the banana liqueur. Heat until the liquor is warmed, about three minutes. Add the bananas, add the rum (preferably warmed), then ignite with a flourish and cook for about 1 - 2 minutes. Let the flames go out. Serve over ice cream if you wish, but some hardcores like me like it just like it is.

Thanks to Gumbopages for recipe

Tagged: [banana] [fire] [absinthe]

bumps

2006-08-23T12:01:00.000-05:00

The open road has not been kind to me this week. Saturday night Tamera and I went to a benefit for one of her friends that lost his legs in some freak accident. Ironically it included drinking massive amounts of alcohol and riding motorcycles. When we got on the bike to leave, the headlight was burned out. Her surly friend Wieser suggested duct tape and a flashlight available for purchase down the street at the local CVS. Burly Wieser whipped out his trusty zippo and did a macgyver job of strapping it to the handlebars. Not to hinder our escapades, we went riding into the night like slightly handicapped banshees.

While putting on my lipstick this morning on my way to work my car swerved and hit the curb, busting not one, but both passenger side tires. Some would say poetic justice for a stupid driver putting on make up in the car and to a certain extent I can agree with you, but it was at a STOPLIGHT and I am highly skilled in such application. **The author notes that in the future all cosmetic application will be reserved for appropriate times when the said author is not behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.

poof

2006-08-18T11:43:00.000-05:00

Soaps back up. (problem existed between chair and keyboard)

While recovering from a recent self indulgent plastic surgery procedure, I was reading a local music publication, drinking beer and eating a burger at the earl (never underestimate the healing powers of Paulener, red meat and hydrocodon). I read an article about lala.com, a CD swapping program. Since I was trapped on my couch for the better part of 7 days I decided to give it a whirl. The interface has some fancy pants javascript and and the recommendation engine is very smart indeed. We'll see if I ever get my cds, hopefully not caked in small pieces of macaroni and crusty gravy stains.

stamped

2006-08-11T12:23:00.000-05:00

The stamp I ordered came in today. It's a pretty cool service, you upload the art and for about $12 they send you a self inking stamp. Fun fun fun. Now if I can just get my damn bedazzler to work...

Stamp Pics web site

so boss

2006-08-09T10:37:00.000-05:00

Represent

sounds

2006-08-01T11:08:00.000-05:00

So I gave my press passes for the warp tour to my little brother under the condition that he take some pictures of the show for me. He met the sounds (that's him in the middle), who I have to say sound quite good. I listened to them on Pandora, it gives me hope that not all new mainstream music is total crap.

Tagged: [the sounds] [music] [atlanta]

peaches

2006-07-30T14:44:00.000-05:00

I saw peaches at the variety playhouse on thursday night, the place was packed out with more lesbians than I have ever seen in one place, including pride. The show was amazing, even more so after I scored my rocker shocker necklace. More show picks on my flickr page

Tagged: [peaches] [music] [atlanta]

worldvision

2006-07-13T11:55:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a pitch for World Vision at the agency and went to check out their site. They're a non-profit that focuses on sponsoring children around the world. http://donate.wvus.org

pillow fight

2006-07-12T12:29:00.000-05:00

I’m sitting in Krog bar on Friday with Tamera drinking a $12 glass of wine when I get pelted in the head with a throw pillow. Normally something like this wouldn’t faze me, but due to my current surroundings, aforementioned adult beverage and the fact that no one around me looks less than double my age I am puzzled… if I was at the Clairmont Lounge and Blondie was crushing beer cans in between her breasts such a thing would be expected, but I just didn’t see this coming, literally.

There is a scuffle in the corner, I hear a man’s voice pleading to shush his friend, the warbling drunk woman teeters over to us “My friend likes both of yooz”, “looksh at im, eez cute”, she gestures in the direction of a man hiding behind some what’s left of his throw pillows. I felt bad for the guy, I mean, it’s one thing if your idiot friend of the same gender pulls a move like this, you can just apologize and be nice about it, but if your female friend does it, it’s even worse. We made painful small talk until emphasizing that we were both taken and thank you very much.

Has dating resulted to this? Is it a choice between internet dating and launching household items at perspectives to get their attention?

Tagged: [dating] [atlanta] [drunk]

vote for jordan!

2006-06-30T14:54:00.000-05:00

I asked my favorite 17 year old to help out with this promotion I'm working on. It's pretty funny, and somewhat disturbing. Vote for him so he can win some monies, he needs toilet paper and clothing apparently.

vote here

charmed

2006-06-29T11:30:00.000-05:00

I do a lot of work for an unnamed cell phone provider, for whom I attended the warp tour last night to snap shots of the crazy kiddies for the warp tour cross promotion site. It was highly entertaining, my favorite one being this kid. After the show we wandered behind the barricades (by the powers of short skirts and press passes) and met Steve and Pete from the buzzcocks. I was impressed with how tolerant and sweet he was to all of the kiddies that asked for autographs, even going as far to call a kids father and speak to him on the phone for a full 2 mintues. Steve invited us on the bus where we met Page Hamilton of Helmet fame and Enzo Penizzotto from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Highly entertaining evening. Sad to say we had to bolt before turning into pumpkins or something worse...

see all the pics here

Tagged: [buzzcocks] [joan jett and the blackhearts] [warped tour]

ass kickers

2006-06-27T14:22:00.000-05:00

My best friend gave me a pair of 3 inch soled combat boots for my 22nd birthday. They’re made of black leather and go all the way up to my knee. Twelve holes ran up the front of the boot like pairs of black snake eyes, followed by 15 pairs of eyehooks. The things take 10 minutes to get on, but I learned a trick from a boy I once knew, that if you hold the laces together and moves them left and right, they come undone quite quickly. I had hoped he would apply the same technique to my underpants but I had to fire him before we ever went there.

People didn’t fuck with me when I wore these shoes, something about them was empowering, I was instantly transformed into a force to be reckoned with, a 6 foot amazon ready to shove my steel toe up your ass less you even attempt to speak to me. It was as though in wearing these shoes I had gained a sort of power lent only to those strong enough to enforce menace with heavy fists.

Recently while getting ready to go see the sisters of mercy, I pulled down the AKB’s from the top of my closet. I dusted the leather off, the black not seeming as shiny as it once did. Putting them on, I didn’t feel the transformation I once did, but instead I felt absolutely ridiculous. Walking into the show, I saw groups of people milling about, all dressed in black, their pale faces smudged with garish colors, corsets squeezing the once thin torsos like pilsbury doughboys. It was a sad sight. A time has definitely come to an end, for the ass kickers, for a scene. I guess we all wear things for different reasons, to identify, to feel better, to feel empowered. Sometimes I wish I could wear my ass kickers into a meeting or a debate with the better half. Life was magical when it just took a pair of boots to make your night.

Tagged: [goth is dead] [boots] [music]

whistleblowers

2006-05-31T12:50:00.000-05:00

Not to get political, but something I heard on the radio this morning that didn't make me feel too warm and squishy. The Supreme Court scaled back protections for government workers who blow the whistle on official misconduct, with a 5-4 decision in which new Justice Samuel Alito cast the deciding vote. This could affect the silencing of police officers who fear retribution for reporting department corruption, to keeping federal employees quiet who want to reveal problems with government hurricane preparedness or terrorist-related security. I;m hearing the silence and it's deafaning.

See full article here

Thanks for the link bri.

Tagged: [bushsucks] [whistleblowers] [supreme court] [politics]

mp3 sugar

2006-05-21T13:20:00.000-05:00

One of my coworkers just turned me onto mp3 sugar, a russian website where you can download entire albums for $1, and they're MP3s, so forget about the pesky iTunes encoding. Apparently they are in litigation with the RIAA, so I would get the goods while they're hot, or not for that matter. If you use firefox, get the plugin Download them all!. This will allow you to get the entire album with one selection, otherwise you have to download the links one at a time.

My purchases today:

Sinead O'Connor - The Lion and The Cobra
Vega, Suzanne - Best Of Suzanne Vega - Tried And True
Morcheeba - The Antidote
Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die
Various Artist - Bar Lounge Classics-Oriental Edition
Various Artist - Tokyo Lounge
Massive Attack - Collected
Morrissey - Ringleader Of The Tormentors

jaws

2006-05-18T09:08:00.000-05:00

One of my biggest fears is sharks. When I was a kid I went to a museum in san francico where they had this huge great white shark on display in a big freezer case. Talk about scaring the snot out of a 8 year old. The thing had its mouth wide open, razor sharp teeth stained rust orange from all the blood it had torn from baby seals and small 8 year old children. For weeks after I had nightmares that the thing was going to eat me. I couldn't swim in the deep end for years without freaking out everytime the pool sweep would brush my leg. I love the ocean, which is a big problem, because always in the back of my mind, jaws in coming up out of the water to snack on one of my appendages.

So I was taken aback when my father emailed me this photo this morning of his catch yesterday. Apparently these things are so large and violent they have to shoot them to bring them on the boat. This, not being a problem since daddy has a gun on the boat...and in the car...and in the house. This is one time I don't have a problem with my fathers obsession with firearms. *shudder*

Tagged: [sharks] [fears] [ocean] [fishing]

peanut butter

2006-05-10T10:02:00.000-05:00

I have a passion for peanut butter. Not as in I really like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or, I like peanut butter cookies, but an all consuming addiction. I sneak down to the kitchen every night around 2 am and sit on the floor with a jar of smuckers natural peanut butter, a glass of milk and really big spoon.

So it was to my surprise and utter delight when found out that New York has a store dedicated to my favorite food. Appropriately at ilovepeanutbutter.com. I snatched up a jar of cinnamon, raisin toast peanut butter. Oh the new excitement in my nightlife!

Tagged: [peanut butter] [addict] [new york] [food]

gay husbands

2006-05-08T10:26:00.000-05:00

I met Bill when I was 18. I had just landed a job as a whipping boy in Captital One's customer service department and we were in a training class together. We instantly bonded and would sneak out to the parking lot for cigarette breaks and to look at dirty pictures. 10 years later we're still close. He came to Atlanta for the weekend and we had a night of debauchery. NYC pics to come soon.

PSOP

2006-04-20T11:58:00.000-05:00

Stumbled across a beautiful animation by the peeps at PSOP.

Tagged: [design] [agency] [web site] [motion graphics]

beached

2006-04-17T13:19:00.000-05:00

My parents invited Naoya and I down to Destin for the weekend, so we trekked 6 hours, looking forward to a much needed break from the work that has become all encompassing in both our lives. The trip started out good enough, I ducked out of work at 11:30 and popped in for a much needed lacquer job, then it was off to the beach. I have to admit, driving down Alabama state roads is a bit eerie. I usually spend all of my time in a city so crowded with traffic jams, thugs, hookers, students, hipsters and business persons, that winding down these rolling foothills, peppered with rusting trucks and mobile home parks with not a soul in sight was starting to feel uncomfortable. Scenes from Deliverance kept flashing through my overworked brain and I tried to avoid stops at all cost. An hour into the drive my stomach got the better of me and we stopped off at a subway that looked like a monster from the Victorian age threw up all over it. With our bellies full thanks to the baby meth addict behind the counter, we headed out. We finally arrived and the salty air and burning sunset was a magnificent sight. I lived in Florida for quite a few years, but it still takes my breath away watching the sun melt over the water.

The rest of the trip was filled with a deep sea fishing expedition gone awry, my first mate, hunched over the back of the boat losing his breakfast he forgot to eat. I worked on my sunburn, and am quite proud of the shade of crimson I cultivated.

Overall it was a good trip, but a vacation just isn’t the same when you have to sleep in a separate bedroom from your boyfriend and are forbidden to enjoy cervasa while soakin up the sun. The beach is pretty, but it’s good to be home.

See the pics here

Tagged: [beach] [fish] [sunburn] [destin]

frou frou

2006-04-07T11:35:00.000-05:00

I just bought myself a $150 bottle of perfume. I’m having a really bad day, and what other better way to cheer a girl up then to buy herself some obscenely over-priced frou frou. The stuff is narcotic.

I just spend 30 minutes reading rants of craiglisters in the “best of” section:
it's over, I'm leaving you...

never without

2006-03-24T09:48:00.000-05:00

Naoya launched Never Without's website today. His company that yours truly aptly named. It's pretty slick. Check it out.

Tagged: [design] [agency] [web site] [naoya]

mine

2006-03-22T16:23:00.000-05:00

I've forced myself to start running nearly every day for the last 2 months and it has done wonders not only for my waist size but also in adjusting my bad-ittude. As a reward my luva has offered to get me a pair of custom designed kicks from NikeID, and let me tell you, this web site is the bomb! Very nice interface and you can make some sweet sneaks. Be uber cool and have a custom ID stitched on. My foot love is in the picture above.

Tagged: [kicks] [sneakers] [design] [nike]

rides

2006-03-19T20:36:00.000-05:00

I wanted to take Naoya on a surprise date on Saturday, so I got us tickets to the 6 Flags theme park in Georgia. I was planning on eating funnel cakes and testing our stomach mettle on tea cup action, but little did I know he hates roller coasters. To top things off, the southern cheerleading association set it off with a cheer competition. The park was completely overrun by prepubescent girls slathered in so much makeup they looked like tiny doll drag queens. Oh the the matching uniforms! the glitter! the pure unadulterated fun!More Pics Here

Tagged: [6 Flags] [Rollercoaster] [Cheerleaders] [Funnel Cake]

brain dump

2006-03-14T16:17:00.000-05:00

I am convinced that we are uploading our entire civilization to massive hard drives so we can be wiped out and stored in some galactic database. This web site has a super cool way of doing it.
Tagged: [Upload] [Aliens] [Google] [News]

mama mia

2006-03-13T16:00:00.000-05:00

To say that I like pizza is like saying a preacher likes jesus. I love pizza, with a sick and twisted passion. I would eat it every day of the year if I could, at which point I would not be able to fit my ass into a movie theater chair, unless it was the kind of movie theater that had the flip up handles. And even then it would take a very large shoe horn and some industrial grade vasoline.
Since my budget currently does not allot for a wood burning oven in my kitchen, I got a stone and half assed some home made pizza goodness. It was fun tossin dough, drinking wine and getting covered in flour. Now that's my kind of party!
See more pictures here

Tagged: [Pizza] [Obsession] [Food] [Tossers]

get up

2006-03-03T06:46:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning at 4:45 am with this idea in my brain for a design, it woke me up like an petulant 2 year old and wouldn't let me go back to sleep. So here I am 2 hours later going through stacks of magazines and downloading an arseload of xlr8r podcasts. So, instead of my usual blather, I thought I would give you guys some cool things to check out so maybe you will be inspired to get your lazy ass out of bed and start making stuff.

Freecycle - Grassroots non-profit for giving and getting free stuff in your hood. I have used this endlessly. It's a great way to get rid of your unwanted junk piling up in the garage and get stuff too. Good way to get art supplies and junk for that installation your itching to make.

Agent Provocatuer - Awesome skivies, wicked site design. Warning: Might inspire you to make babies, use with caution. If you want to slum it without breaking the bank try Trashy.

The Dog Park Finder - Help your doggie make some new friends.

Liquor Snob - Make yourself a drink before you tackle that project.

Colorlovers - Make a color pallete.

Lifehacker - Make use of your time, lifehacker has great tips on how to geek out.

Coolhunting - And if you are completely uninspired, coOp some flava.

Tagged: [Design] [Ideas] [Links] [Inspiration]

don't quit your day job

2006-02-27T17:30:00.000-05:00

Saturday night was Karaoke night. My fellow friends and I ventured to Buford Highway, the only place in Atlanta with korean food so hot it's guaranteed to make your morning movement more painful than taking it up the backside from a chili pepper. International bowl Arcade is a thug hangout reminiscent of video game temples in Japan, only this place was full of kids looking like they walked straight off the set of OZ. See the pics here

Tagged: [Karaoke] [Asian] [Thugs] [Tone Deaf]

sugar rush

2006-02-22T15:11:00.000-05:00

At 4:45 this morning one eye popped open, blackened from sleeping in my eyeshadow and bloodshot from cigarette smoke, while the other fluttered in objection to the multiple beers and redheaded sluts that woke me from my sleep. For my birthday yesterday I met some friends up at 97 estoria for Paulener and cupcakes. After a trip to the kitty ER and cleaning up blood spots from the cat, a good drunken sugar rush was just what the doctor ordered. I could've killled two birds with this tasty treat.

Tagged: [beer] [birthday] [cupcakes] [eyeshadow]

bad bachelorette

2006-02-17T15:19:00.000-05:00

I've been to a few bachelorette parties. The women I choose to befriend are usually more interested in dirty martinis than dirty diapers. But I haven't dodged all the bullets, having been roped into 2 of these parties by former co-workers.

My friend Jennifer met a hot latin lover one summer. He didn't speak english and she didn't speak spanish, but I guess they got the whole "language of love" thing down pat, because they were engaged a few months later. I was told it was supposed to be an all out bachlorette party, hit the bars, strip club end up in a pile of vomit. Jodi and I showed up at her mom's house in low slung jeans and halter tops ready for some action. Me with the following in tow 1. Penis shaped sipper cup 2. blowup man doll with handcuffs to chain to her 3. blown up condoms pinned to a home made wedding vail. We show up to the door and it is answered by a woman in a Laura Ashley dress asking us how she could help us. We had walked right into a full on bridal shower. Aren't these supposed to be separate things? All of her family was there, her 3 year old niece snatched the naked man wrapped riding crop and feather tickler out of my hands and made a run for it.

As the night turned out there were plenty of shots, strippers and vomit, thanks to the bride to be. What is the deal with male strippers anyway. It's not hot. At all. I don't want to see any swinging richards in my face thank you very much, and then they got pissed off at me when I didn't want to look at them. A lesbian! I'm sure! Now excuse me while I grab a seat on the other side of the club to watch the girls dance.

Tagged: [bachelorette party] [strippper] [handcuffs] [tequilla]

13th floor

2006-02-16T11:07:00.000-05:00

I was sitting at my desk reading up on the latest celebrity trash when I was suddenly overcome with fear that the ceiling was about to come crashing down and pummel my computer into digital road kill. I asked what was going on and someone told me that they were doing work on the 14th floor. Since I am on the 12th floor, this just didn't add up. "Why the hell are they pounding through our ceiling then?" I asked, irritated at the high pitched whirring going on above my head, "it sounds like they're drilling for oil or giving Brad Garrett a lobotomy". It was then explained to me that there was no 13th floor in this building, that it goes 12, then 14. Apparently this is a common occurrence in buildings in the US and Canada. I haven't really ever noticed the number 13 on push buttons in the elevator, then again I don't really ever count the stupid things, I'm usually too busy thinking about important things like what the hell is up with Conan's hair or the tomcat breakup (because inquiring minds want to know).

It seems other cultures have similar architectural superstitions. Apparently Chinese culture has a fear of fours. (which is also the name of an excellent album by Lamb)

"Similarly, new buildings in some parts of China omit the fourth (as well as the 14th, 24th, etc.) floors, as the word "four" (Hanzi:?) sounds like "death" (both are pronounced "si") in Mandarin, the predominant dialect for the country, and most other Chinese dialects. A small number of buildings also follow the Western tradition of omitting the 13th floor, with the 15th floor immediately following the 12th.

Although the Hanja for four and death are read identically in Korean, buildings in South Korea tend not to omit the fourth floor. However, newer buildings tend to label the fourth floor with the letter F, instead of the number 4."

- Wikipedia

So apparently the Chinese are just pussys because South Korean's don't really give a shit that 4 means death. Either that or they have more things to worry about than a silly number, like crazy neighbors and oh I don't know... nuclear bombs?

Yet still, one still has to wonder what happens when you turn 4 in China. Do you parents lock you up in a cage? Put you in a barrel and nail it shut? I know my parents certainly wanted to do that when I turned 13. Come to think of it, wait, yes they did, but instead of a barrel they used my bedroom door, and yes I think it was nailed shut.

Tagged: [superstition] [13] [unlucky] [13th floor]

puppy love

2006-02-15T11:06:00.000-05:00

My friend Ami rescued this little sweet Shepherd/Rotweiler mix pup and is looking for a home for him. He is extremely playful and has already learned how to sit! Get you some puppy love.

Call or e-mail Ami
achan@360i.com
404.374.2810

Tagged: [Dog Rescue] [Humane Society]

eat your heart out

2006-02-14T12:11:00.000-05:00

A cute v-day distraction, the ACME heart maker.

stalkin

2006-02-14T10:48:00.000-05:00

Someone has come up with a brilliant way to stalk your better half. Worldtracker allows you, with 5 minutes access to anyone cellphone, to track their every movement, every moment of the day. Apparently they use cell phone tower data to track the location of just about any GSM cellphone. Ladies and gentlemen, may I suggest password protection.

weather report

2006-01-24T08:09:00.000-05:00

My breasts hurt today. It’s raining outside so I’m wondering if the twins are firing a weather announcement up my cerebral cortex or if something more ominous is going on. Life feels like an underwater video right now, all slow motion and oxygen deprivation.

I wonder if Christian Dior has been listening to Bahaus.

shock the pain away

2006-01-16T16:15:00.000-05:00

So thank god for ebay, where I can build up my paypal credit to support my iTunes habit of late, otherwise I would be poppin out babies on the black market or selling my hair and fingernails or somthing. Will trade sex for mp3s? I put together a grime/electro mix of all the new tracks I got today, take a listen to the podcast and let me know what you think. The first track from Lady Sovereign makes me wanna shake my moneymaker.

the dumps

2006-01-15T17:54:00.000-05:00

New podcast here Warning: may cause severe depression.

Satanist runs for governor of Minnesota

2006-01-15T07:18:00.000-05:00

Jonathon Sharkey prefers to be called "The Impaler". On his website he states "like Sly Stallone as Rocky Balboa" I am a fighter" And he sure is, as a professional wrestler, his stage name was Rocky Flash. I especially love the zebra striped shorts and black fishnets in the photo.

He claims to speak for "Vampyres, Witches, Pagans, Wiccans, Satanists, Demons and Other Kin". If elected promises to impale terrorists and corrupt police officers on spikes. I wonder if he would wear the celtic rug and carry the sword to work?

podcastic

2006-01-13T14:02:00.000-05:00

Holy mother of all that is nasally unfit for the airways do I hate the way my voice sounds, especially when I'm sick. Regardless, I have posted my first podcast. Downtempo goodness for your dirty little hearts.

If anyone has suggestions for a musical theme for next week, let me know. Here are some ideas I have so far.

1. The ultimate Scrabble soundtrack...ever
2. CD to blast as your drive out of the parking lot on the day you quit your shitty job
3. My X's wedding reception playlist according to me

ill shit

2006-01-11T08:35:00.000-05:00

I am sick for the second time in the last 7 days, I think this bug has setup shop for awhile, and I am not to thrilled about it. I have been spending way too much time watching TBS, and without the Tivo to fast forward through all the commercials, have developed sound loops of sitcom promos and monster truck rally advertisements running over and over in my brain. So, I'm going to pack up my Kleenex and hobble over to the bookstore today to pick up something of substance to read. Unfortunately "curling up with the laptop" isn't as wonderful as it sounds when you're sick. Although I did spend a good hour on nerve looking at naughty pictures last night. That's where I came across last night's party. I especially like the urban pinup section. I was amazed how fast he talked these girls into dropping their drawers and pulling their tops in subway bathrooms, on top of a police car in broad daylight and in their apartments after just meeting them for like 2 minutes. I wonder if I could get girls to do that? I feel an experiment coming on....

youngblood

2006-01-08T12:46:00.000-05:00

So I checked out an opening at Youngblood last night. I now have a massive crush on Mark Elliot. No I did not meet him, I just love his pictures.

past the mission (part II)

2005-12-29T13:40:00.000-05:00

I came home to find my mail stacked to the ceiling and a Swiss cheese down comforter on my bed - care of the mutts. It seems they decided that feathers are extremely tasty with kibble, which might be true for all I know. I guess they were just pissed that I didn't call from san fran.

It rained most of the week, except Christmas eve and of course, the day that we left. I am sure there will be nothing less than sun bathing weather for the next few weeks.

Christmas eve we wandered down to the mission on a mission to get the mother of all burritos. They don't do it up right here on the east coast, so I was quite excited for some authentic el mexicano. We rode the bus, which isn't something I've done since I ran away from home at 17, and for good reasons, the snake man, flash flood, flat tire in the desert, boys with dyed rats in their bags and child rapists all to name a few, but hey, those are different stories. As we went further towards the mission, the bus became more sardine-like as bodies pushed against one another and my mind raced to translate the flying preguntos from the 15 words I still remember from 4 years of spanish classes. When we finally arrived I stepped off of the bus on market street and was delighted at all of the markets crammed next to one another in the decaying buildings. There were plastic dolls, huge animatronic santa clauses, and droves and droves of latin americans all dashing to do their last minute shopping. It was awesome! I marveled at la mamacitas haggling with the asian shop owners over billowing dresses, bedding and toys. The chaos was making me heady. The place we were trying to get to was "closed for renovation" so we just walked to the next place across the street. The food was tasty. Pigeons flew into the store and walked around, you had to have the staff from behind the counter buzz you into the bathroom. My kind of place. I ate so much I made myself sick. And it was so worth it.

past the mission

2005-12-25T17:33:00.000-05:00

I went tooling in the mission district in San Francisco yesterday, I ate way too much delicious Mexican food and stumbled upon some ill artwork on Clarion street. I snapped some pics.

I also found good vibrations, a tasteful vibe shop I read about in cake, a great book the boy gave me for xmas.

da bomb

2005-12-24T00:05:00.000-05:00

nice piece in San Fran we saw today.

bad salad

2005-12-20T13:50:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting here eating salad that contains veggies I think should have been chucked a few days ago, they have that weird garbage smell/taste, usually a pretty strong indicator. I'm catching a flight to SF tomorrow morning to spend a week with the boy's family for christmas, and I refuse to buy groceries, am too lazy to pick up something and am trying to avoid the sad slice of mangled pizza in the fridge. (too late)
As usual I am busting my ass trying to finish up a project at the last minute - a compositing nightmare that would normally take a week to finish, in a span of 12 hours. Not that the last 4 days haven't provided me ample time, it's just that all the shopping and Christmas parties got in the way. What is a girl to do? Post to my blog of course! Isn't it interesting how one can find multitudes of other things to do there is something else one should really be doing? ok ok ok, I'm getting back to work, and my bad salad.

heavy metal

2005-12-12T08:32:00.000-05:00

Last night I checked out the Indie Craft Experience at eyedrum, where lots of crafty goodness was about. I was delighted over the work of Aalia Mujtaba's Mataalia. I'd be willing to bet her rings have magic powers. I especially like the confetti ring and bubble earrings. I wish I wasn't such a bad girl this year )@&#)&@#

work

2005-12-11T11:14:00.000-05:00

so this is what happens when we work on projects together....

shout

2005-12-10T11:16:00.000-05:00

So last night Naoya and I went to P'Cheen, a new spot that recently opened up in the old 4th ward. It's small, dark, cozy, very cool vibe. We were seated towards the back of the restaurant. The quarters are small, so everyone sits pretty close to one another. On my left were 2 metros enjoying a quiet dinner, and to my right sat a table of 4 black guys. The table to my left progressively got louder and louder until I could not hear anything Naoya was saying. We literally had to shout across the 4 x 4 table to hear one other. Little Jon was lounging back yapping na this and na that while his boys sat and ordered nothing while the poor waitress came back and forth to the table asking if there was anything else she could possibly get them. I do not understand this behavior. Is it a need for attention, or did their mothers just not teach them good manners? Not only that, the topics of conversation ranged from degrading comments about the white girls in atlanta and where you can order expensive bottles of champagne or just get the bottles and fill them up with something else, although I missed out on the recorking process. It's a free country, but if you're sitting next to me at dinner, lets talk in our inside voices, or better yet, please just shut the hell up.

holidaze

2005-12-08T16:45:00.000-05:00

Normally I hate christmas, I mean it. Call me a scroodge, but it's so chaotic it drives me nuts. I have a really large family, so the shopping gets out of control, and when I go home I end up eating way too much, although newsflash, that's not really a holiday specific occurrence.

So I've spent the last 2 hours christmas shopping instead of doing my work, Thank you Al Gore for inventing the internet! I just knocked out what would have before taken me a week in panic mode and full on girl fights with bitches over the last pair of uber hip stripe-E socks. Now I just scour through a list of websites I find in the back of my bust magazine, which I am now a big fan of! Who knew knitting was so sexy?

termination

2005-11-17T13:56:00.000-05:00

So I quit my job today, packed up my shit and walked out. I haven't done that before. It's a weird mixture of sadness and liberation. I got called into a meeting with my creative director and completely humiliated in from of our project manager for something that wasn't my fault. I won't get into the details, but I think it was the push that I needed. I'll miss all the wonderful people that I work with, especially my buddy steph. For now I'll find some comfort in Paulener and Creative Hotlist.

pics and current projects

2005-11-13T14:22:00.000-05:00

I just finished the web site I have been working on the last few months. http://www.inspiredtextiles.com and posted the pics from naoya's birthday party.

power nap

2005-11-11T11:32:00.000-05:00

I just woke up on the toilet. It's a startling realization when you are in a deep 15 minute sleep pattern and the sound of your snoring jars you awake. I was at work in the bathroom, asleep on the hopper. I hope someone didn't come in and hear me sawing logs. I am exhausted today, my hectic schedule keeping me from sleeping as of late. Someone once told me about the bathroom power nap. Supposedly if you sit backwards on a toilet, cross your arms and put your head down you can nap for 10 minutes, the blood will get cut off to your arms and the pins and needles sensation will wake you up. This technique hasn't worked for me. The bathrooms at work don't have tanks of them, so instead I prop my arms up on my legs and plug my ears, this seems to work fairly well, until my elbows slip and I accidentally slap myself awake, my hand landing in the wet spot of drool on my new jeans. But god do I feel better.

The link below has information about power naps and increased productivity. See, look at this wonderful blog entry you got as a result of mine. If you don't feel comfortable sleeping in the john, here are some other notable places I have power napped: conference room, my office, sick room closet, car (not recommended in the summer), and under my desk.

Power Napping for Improved Productivity

marked for life

2005-11-10T17:07:00.000-05:00

Right now I have black ink smeared all over the back of my hand. My short term memory is about as long as a pair of a Cowboys cheerleader's white hotpants. So when I have something I need to remember, instead of programming it into my celly or calendar like a normal human being, I bust out a big bad sharpie and write all over myself like a 5 year old. I am sure this is quite helpful in climbing the corporate ladder at my agency. "Look, she has notes all over herself, she must be really put together".

This reminds me of the time when I was in 9th grade and I read in my bible (Sassy magazine) about the straight edge movement. I thought I would be super cool and scrawled huge x's on the back of my hands determined to be " hardcore" while smoking in the back ally at school.... uhg

the surreal world

2005-11-08T16:56:00.000-05:00

Clive Thompson writes this week about the phenomenon of computer graphics looking more ghoulish as they become more realistic. He attributes this to the way the human brain perceives the minor nuances that just don't seem right. He parallels this with an article about the rise in plastic surgery that is causing "new wave of people who look just as surreal as our computerized avatars."
See full article here

far removed

2005-11-07T13:37:00.000-05:00

Ken Waters blew his horn in The Whisper Room at Churchill Grounds on Saturday night. I was pleasantly surprised as the Brazilian inspired tunes filled the room. He played a song from his wedding that was absolutely heart breaking. It made me feel a whole range of emotions, it was almost like an intimate conversation about one's life. I had too make a break for the little girls room and sat listening to the music through the walls. It actually sounded better in the there. It made me think about how a lot of things are like that, not that they sound better in the bathroom, but when you're removed from the full on assault, you can hear more of the melody of things.

Jodi and I took the pooches to Sweetwater creek on Saturday. It was a precarious climb with my two mutts leashed on a bungee tether harness. There were many times I thought I would lose my footing and fly face forward into the rocks below. Luckily we got out fairly unscathed and snapped a few photos along the way.

sugar pants

2005-11-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

Usually halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. What other day can you excusably dress like a tramp and eat all the chocolate all your little heart desires, unless you're name's Tina the drag queen or you're the office fatty with bad fashion sense. This year I did ziltch other than pass out tooth decay to the brats in my neighborhood, and let me tell you people I was APPALLED. I made the mistake of sticking the bowl out the door to keep my maniacal beasts at bay when it was the kids I should have been worried about, they went beserk, grabbing and pushing as they took half the candy out of the bowl in one fell swoop, one of them even came back for seconds. Someone should be passing out tranquilizer instead of sugar, or maybe just some apples with razor blades in them.

My favorite dancin ladies, The Dames Aflame, are giving burlesque dance lessons at Dance 411 Studios in Atlanta. You too can shake it like Carmen Electra and the pussycat dolls, but oh so much cooler. Here's the skinny.

fire ho's

2005-10-31T10:52:00.000-05:00

My friend Bill turned me onto the idea that birthdays should last 7 days. Every year he has Billfest, a party that lasts about 4 days or so, and the other 3 days he milks for all it's worth. I decided to subscribe to this idea last year and informed Naoya that we should have Shereefest, a week long party of monolithic proportions. That was fun, but the thing about relationships is that you may receive, but also give, so this year we started off the week long party the day of his birthday, Thursday which began at Rathbuns for a quiet evening and ended up at the shoe show, aka Tattletales, the atlanta strip club.

I hadn't stepped foot in the place in about 3 or so years, but I was surprised that not only did the tired looking strippers look like they had been beaten with an ugly stick, they were RUDE. Having been in this profession in my late teens, I couldn't comprehend why these girls were being so hateful. I guess having to strut that sad little stage in 6 inch stilettos for the last 15 years might put me in a bad mood too.

Trying to keep it down a bit, I decided to throw a surprise birthday party at the house. Although I think the most surprising events ended up happening to everyone that was there. We drank, played ping pong, beat the crap out of a pinata, broke up with our boyfriends, caught our coat on fire and ended the night with an ambulance.

oh the madness.

bad timing

2005-10-20T09:16:00.000-05:00

The gold rolex presented to JFK from Marilyn Monroe on the night of the famous madison square garden gala was auctioned off for $120,000. Monroe died two months later after overdosing on sleeping pills. The 36-year-old actress was found naked and face down on a bed in her California home. Her death was ruled a "probable suicide."

This supports my theory that watches given as gifts are a kiss of death to relationships. You might as well just give your sweetums a post it note saying "it's over". This has happened to me several times, ulitimately, within 4 months, splitsville. I guess it's not as bad as ending up dead, face down and naked though. Uhg.

linkage

crazytown

2005-10-17T16:31:00.000-05:00

Someone should really do something about Tom Cruise and Cameron Crow. I went and saw elizabethtown this weekend. For the most part it was bearable because Orlando Bloom is so easy on the eyes, but aside from that, its utter self righteousness and garden state rip off plot made want to go suck on an exhaust pipe. In case you missed the gist, OB works for a major shoe company coincidentally located in Oregon, land of the free home of the niketown. He is a hot shit 20-something shoe engineer that creates some superpower shoe that busts when it ends up getting recalled.

Just as Bloom is about to impale himself on a steak knife like sunday morning turkey, his sister calls to inform him their father has just passed and he needs to go to meet his estranged family in kentucky to have him cremated and bring him home. Fast forward, he meets the quirky smart girl who's unlike his shallow ladder climbing girlfriend who just dumped him after recent fall from glory, and she shows him how's there's so much more to life than work and success and la de fucking da isn't it wonderful, don't be so shallow and get sucked into the lie.

OK this is what pissed me off. The director and producer of this movie are en large a HUGE part of the very thing they are shunning. I feel crazy here, are these people just total sadists? They create the very thing that they are telling us is bad, and moreover, they recycle it to us and make us feel bad because we buy into the whole shebang. That's some sick sheait.

steamy

2005-10-14T10:01:00.001-05:00

There is something weird and uncomfortable about sitting naked in a small room with another stranger. Perhaps not in vodka fueled hookups post friday night clubbing that end with you and a cute stranger of the opposite (or same) sex doing the deed, but in a small steam room at the spa. Usually the steam room is empty, but I wondered how long I could enjoy my solitude before I would run into someone else there, or slip and crack my head open, which happened last night (sharing the room, not my blood with the floor). It was eire and quiet and just plain weird to sit there with someone else, in silence, with only the sound of water drops hitting the tile floor. I could hear her breathing and I tried to keep mine quiet so she couldn't hear mine. Too intimate of an encounter for me with a naked stranger. Does anyone else feel this way? Or are steam rooms just modern bathhouses for hot lesbian sex that I am not in the know about?

dead man catwalking

2005-10-03T16:52:00.000-05:00

According to this week's Village Voice goth has risen from the dead and hit the runways this fall. I've been poking around online and stumbled upon Gothic Lolita, a Japanese catalog full of dark goodness. Their approach to this is a bit more bo-peepish than the avant-stripmall hot topic flavor, but I guess it's only fair the girls from oversees bite our peter murphy since gwen defiled their hariguchi with her mispronunciation and bad interpretations. Here's to 6 inch stacks and black lipstick. Maybe all those corsets and vinyl in my attic will come in handy after all...

More info on Gothic&Lolita

dropping the ball

2005-09-29T12:47:00.000-05:00

I went to my first baseball game in 8 years. It really hasn't changed all that much, well, aside from the whole roid rage, endorsement contract, price gouging thing. Naoya took me to the Braves game with some of his friends last night and it was quite the full fledged multimedia bonanza. The LCD lights that encircle the statium piped advertisements faster than fat lines up poor kate's nose.

Then there was the jumobtron. It's not enough for us to have our large screen televisions in every room of our homes that we spend countless hours wastng away watching reality tv and baseball games - now people go to the baseball game to watch themselves on tv. Irony anyone?

The real kicker was when the batter hit a foul that flew over our heads into the bleachers and this man, on his cell phone, tries to catch it and misses, all the while not pulling the receiver off of his head. Come on! Don't get me wrong, I love technology and all, but it seems that the whole marketing/tech thing has gotten a bit out of hand. All I wanted was to watch a bunch of hunky men hit a ball around with a stick, and maybe eat some cracker jacks. I wouldn't be surprised if the next game I go to 8 years from now I hear, "Popcorn, peanuts, ipods"..

pictures from the game

prefused

2005-09-26T10:52:00.000-05:00

Last week I broke my "no staying out late on school nights" rule and went to see Prefuse 73 at the Drunken Unicorn. The venue is part of the MJQ concourse located on Ponce de Leon. Prefuse 73, an artist on Warp Records, is one of Scott Heren's many aliases. He has also put out work under projects such as Delarosa & Asora and Savath+Savalas. The sound is glitchy, clickity, hip hop defiled and digified. I was surprised to see that it was a live set, complete with drummer and bassist. Heren's brought it with unique sound and turntablism. Here's a track from his 2005 release, Surrounded by Silence.