Good to Know Archives - Page 193 of 200

January 6, 2011

UNITED THREAD

I am a fan of the bee. I always have been being a B. myself (Miss B. that is and not the other ‘b’ word). I feel a bit of a kinship. The first time I was ever stung by one it was completely my fault and I accepted my fate. On my pre-school playground I witnessed a bunch of bee’s that looked liked they suffered a most unfortunate accident. They were heaped haphazardly in a pile below a tree. I was convinced upper school hooligans had vandalized their hive and I mourned their loss. I decided the bee’s needed a proper burial. Whilst my brethren hung upside down from the jungle gym or joined their fellow pre-k’s in a game of chase (oblivious to the horror’s of the world at large,) I took it upon myself to do the right thing and give the bee’s a proper burial. One bee had not yet succumbed to the grim reaper and decidedly did not want to be buried alive thus placing it’s stinger smack in the middle of my tiny thumb–I would have done the same. It hurt but not as much as knowing the bee died afterward as a result. My career in bee undertaking was over in a flash.

I now prefer to admire the bee world from afar, so as to save both the bee’s and myself from any undue harm. United Threads, Three Honey Bee Hives, is one such work that instills that admiration. I revel in the the geometric hives the artist created and you can almost hear the buzz of the busy bee’s. It made me happy when I found it and I hope it does the same for you.

January 5, 2011

TWENTY-ELEVEN GOALS

So I mulled it over with George and she thought perhaps it was a good idea that I share some of my goals for 2011. Granted, George was sorely disappointed that none of my goals included bacon, perhaps next year. Let me briefly walk you through my list and hopefully by the simple act of adding + airing it to the interwebs I shall magically accomplish them all, a cyber osmosis of sorts.

Get married. On the 30th of December my Fancy (my fiancee) and I wrote down some of our goals. We both agreed that we should get married all ready. We (meaning me) decided on two dates–9.10.11 or 11.11.11.
Launch Besotted Brand. I do have every intention of launching Besotted Brand which if you are not sure what that is or what I plan do, my tagline is ‘purveyors of fine design’, so I plan on doing some fine purveyoring.
Become more proficient at Illustrator. I have never been great with Adobe’s Illustrator. In fact if there was a short bus for graphic designers I would surely be relegated to it. Good thing I am enrolled in a class next week so I will be honing those neglected skills.
Buy a new computer and have it calibrated. My current computer may as well be an abacus. I have needed a new computer for about oh? Half a decade now, it’s time. My new computer will be calibrated so my print outs will actually correspond to the colors I see on the screen, how novel.
Learn a new language. With the exception of Pig Latin and a few key words in French my language repertoire is sorely lacking. Being that mi madre speaks mainly Spanish I figured I would try my hand (or rather my tongue) at that. It will give me someone to practice with at the very least at the very best I will finally be able to argue with her in her native tongue. I checked out the Pimsleur Spanish cd’s at the library and have been listening to them in the car and at the office.
Quit my job and earn a living doing what I love. Need I say more?
Make some $$$ from my photography. I will take it in any capacity-teaching, classes, editing, my prints, actions, textures, clients, etc. This is the year for me to make this happen.
Start a creative writing project. I do a lot of writing for work but it’s the kind of insipid text that any reader unfortunate enough to have it placed in front of them can attest to it being an excellent curative for insomnia. The dictionary would be more lively. I am bored just writing about it. I have asked an ally in the plight against banal prose to join me in the good fight, she has agreed to help save me from myself.

I think the rest is pretty self-explanatory, but if you need clarification I am here. I am pretty thrilled that I am head long into day five of this new year and have actually made some progress on my list. At this rate I may actually be able to accomplish some of the above.

xx, besos, mi amigas!

January 4, 2011

READING LIST::JANUARY 2011

I am a voracious reader. I have been since I was a wee lass and my eccentric mother taught me to read at an age when most children are still trying to make sounds that resemble words. I don’t believe for a second my mother taught me to read for my edification but rather as a means to get me to stop harassing her to read the same book over and over again each night (as most parents are challenged to do). My reading has never been linear, I am of the ‘more is more’ camp when it comes to reading and often start multiple books at a time. I haven’t met many individuals like myself but when I do, we feel a certain kinship, we are like a secret society of reading rebels. For all the readers and rebels alike I shall let you in on what is currently stacked precariously on my nightstand:

Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder by Lawrence Weschler. Mr. Wilson happens to run a museum a stones throw from my abode that I have every intention of visiting sometime in the very near feature.
Modoc-The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer-This came highly recommended by Betty White and if Ms. White enjoyed it, I think that I shall too.
Dry Storeroom No.01, The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum by Richard Fortey-I downloaded a free sample from Kindle and had to high tail it to the library the next day to get more. You get the impression that Dr. Fortey never loss his sense of wonder at his good fortune to work in this prestigious institution. His narrative deftly leads you behind the hallowed halls and invites you into the inner sanctum–blissful.
The Rarest of the Rarest-Stories Behind the Treasures of the Harvard Natural Museum by Nancy Pick. Are you sensing a theme? Yes, I read a lot about animals and science. The Harvard Natural History museum is particularly of interest because it has (as the title suggests) a rare collection. Example you ask? Well for starters they have the only bird specimen remaining from the famed Lewis and Clark expedition.
Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent, The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin’s Lost Notebooks by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. This one falls under, I liked the cover and the title (and of course the subject) so what the heck? I already plowed through a book on Dodo’s , Galapago’s and the H.M. Beagle why not the lost notebooks? This book does not focus on natural selection but Darwin’s five years away on what could only be described as an adventure of a lifetime.
Rediscovering Jacob Riis Exposure Journalism and Photography in turn-of-the-century New York by Bonnie Yochelson & Daniel Czitron. I am fascinated by the turn of the century, and photography so this book immediately had my attention. For lovers of photo journalism and anyone inspired by the depression era images of Dorthea Lange, Riis could easily have been her inspiration. In 1890 he produced a book How the Other Half Lives that documented such poverty that you can not imagine existed in our bountiful country. A world where children worked the night shift at factories and people slept on wooden boards for beds. Riis wanted to harness photography for reform, which he did. The images in the book are new prints from his original negatives and are shockingly ahead of their time.

So there you go my fine friends this is my reading list for January 2011, which I am sure will continue to grow as the months progress. What books shall I add? You know now I have a soft spot for Swedish thrillers as well.

January 3, 2011

CUTE::PERUVIAN EDITION::

For those that can not read the fine print above (and thus comment on my uber witty repertoire) it reads as follows:

Extra large llama’s of the species L.gama, class Mammalia, are inordinately cute. This cuteness gives rise to the irrepressible urge to run up to them and squeeze them hard. Llama’s spit when they are angry and one might presume when they are squeezed hard–Professor B.

January 1, 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

George and I just wanted to pop in real quick to wish you all a Happy New Year! And yes, she is sticking her tongue out at you. I told her it wasn’t polite but she thinks it’s charming and now that I have her photo in front of me I am inclined to agree.

I am always excited by a shiny, new set of 365 days to do with what I please. I plan to take full advantage of them and have already started an extensive goal list, and you? I’m not much for resolutions but I can totally jump on board the goal getter train. Besides having things to both add and tick off my to-do list is sheer nirvana. I am wondering if I should air my goals on this blog as perhaps it may help keep me accountable, let me mull it over with George, she’s great with tricky decisions.