grey

It's been a grey day, today. The combination of heavy clouds and warm weather weirds me out. The sky says winter, but the air says spring/summer. Just rain already!

I've been doing a lot of research lately on DIY culture. It makes me want to try out all these new things. Studying and a lack of available funds complicates things.

...But DIY is such a beautiful thing. As a feminist and gender studies student, I can't count how many discussions in which I've participated on power, and the power of knowledge. It matters who possesses knowledge, and who gets to receive it. Maybe this is why I've always loved books so much. DIY seeks to circumvent this whole power dynamic surrounding knowledge. Don't know how to do something or can't pay someone to do it for you? Learn how to do it yourself. Especially in this age of the Internet and blogs, DIY has become that much easier.

My latest foray into DIY? Starting a garden. I've always said "when I move into a house permanently..." Why wait? I'm working on collecting buckets and bowls and tubs. I'm going to grow things anyway - starting with an herb garden. I bought seeds last week, and will start planting them next week.

I've never really gardened before. I have a few potted plants, but they look a little sad. I generally forget them in the summer, so their lives are a continual cycle of near death and recovery. This time I'm serious. I found an unused notebook and have already taken a few pages of notes from varying sources around the web. For some reason I take things more seriously if I'm able to make lists. I'm a chronic list maker.

Wish me luck!

things I like, spring 2009

~ walking by the turtle pond every day

~ books

~ cold brewed coffee

~ blooming trees

~ soft breezes

~ sun

~ smell of rain

~ big back yard

~ planting an herb garden

~ open windows

~ throwing the ball for Rowdy

this one seems different

Gaza Braces for War

Maybe I'm simply more aware of things going on in the world, but the latest happenings in Gaza have that stench of intense, drawn-out war.

It feels different, more serious, but familiar at the same time. I remember this feeling of dread within my heart while watching US troops roll their way into Baghdad - dread mixed with a little bit of fear, and a lot of helplessness. Worried for my friends in the military, and the potential humanitarian problems.

There's so much swirling about right now, I'm not sure that I can fully articulate everything.

matthew alexander explains why torture is counterproductive in interrogating terrorists

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Matthew Alexander

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

"Valentine for Ernest Mann"

by Naomi Shihab Nye



You can't order a poem like you order a taco.
Walk up to the counter, say, "I'll take two"
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.

Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, "Here's my address,
write me a poem," deserves something in reply.
So I'll tell you a secret instead:
poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes,
they are sleeping. They are the shadows
drifting across our ceilings the moment
before we wake up. What we have to do
is live in a way that lets us find them.

Once I knew a man who gave his wife
two skunks for a valentine.
He couldn't understand why she was crying.
"I thought they had such beautiful eyes."
And he was serious. He was a serious man
who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly
just because the world said so. He really
liked those skunks. So, he reinvented them
as valentines and they became beautiful.
At least, to him. And the poems that had been hiding
in the eyes of the skunks for centuries
crawled out and curled up at his feet.

Maybe if we reinvent whatever our lives give us
we find poems. Check your garage, the odd sock
in your drawer, the person you almost like, but not quite.
And let me know.

keith olberman on proposition 8

best-selling books of the last 15 years

Go here to see the list.

Not surprisingly I've read a lot of what's on this list. Well, except for the John Grisham and What to Expect series.