A somewhat goofy mini-collection of stuff I’ve been reading, stuff I’ve been thinking about and oh, some completely random crap.
Basically the stuff that never gets mentioned here because I’m not the kind of person who can just make some teeny little point. Not into the whole brevity thing, as the Dude would say.
Actually, I’m under the strict compulsion to write ten pages about anything on my mind. So this is me. Practicing brevity.
Item! Post No. 27 in the mostly ongoing series that ensures that I share at least some of the good stuff I find online.
Item! This post about Denise’s trip to Seattle is soooo funny!
Well, maybe just if you’re me.
Anyway, she went to Seattle. And then wrote a bunch of Twitter updates.
And then didn’t actually publish them because of a bizarre series of reasons that are somehow all my fault. Which is also funny.
So this post is her collection of unpublished Tweets, mostly about food.
And the whole thing is just so completely entertaining. Denise is always smart and funny and interesting, but if you can get her talking about food, you know it’s going to be great.
It’s a bit of a meandering stream of consciousness piece (because what else could a weekend captured in unpublished Twitter bits be), but that’s kind of what makes it so much fun.
“Breakfast a bust. Typical in-room coffee (can you say “coffee-mate”? mmm. When I open MY hotel, the honor bar will be stocked with free cream).
Llandro “bakery” and cafe across the street has no baked goods to speak of.
Disgusted with research; all the menus and venues are blurring together. $24, mussels, salmon, skirt steak, favas, radish, sustainable…blah blah blah. Yelp is a procrastinator’s nightmare.”
She’s @deniseds on Twitter.
Item! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Gross.
So you already know that I’m madly in love with Twitter.
Because it’s my favorite bar of all time. And because it is where my Right People get to find me by virtue of me just hanging out and being obnoxious, which means that I don’t have to do any “networking” or anything related to “the M word“.
By now, of course, the entire world and my mother know about Twitter.
But this? Seriously? This?
“For an investment of only $147, we’ll bring you 2,500 brand new Twitter followers … Guaranteed delivery within 14 days, however usually delivered within 6-10 days. Order now! — only $147!”
Yup, a company that shows how little it grasps the concept of social media by having its premise be the antithesis of social media, can get YOU more Twitter followers.
I mean, aside from the fact that you can get that many followers without paying for them and that the quality of connection with your “bought followers” (hardly your Right People) will be nonexistent and that … no, you know what?
I can’t even finish this because it’s so stupid. Just ew. That is all.
Item! Butterfly wishes
I love this post by Melynda:
“So Shiva Nata people — or Shivanauts, as we are called by Those In The Know — are extremely peculiar, but hilarious people…
It’s dark out there now, and my little origami butterflies are fluttering paper wings in the night breezes, sending my wishes into the sleeping world. “
Not sure if she’s on Twitter.
Item! Wisdom. It’s pretty great.
I’ve been reading bits and pieces lately from Gail McConnon’s blog about aging.
Not because this is the big theme in my life right now, but because I like her and I like the way she thinks about things. Plus, she’s got a nice, wry sense of humor.
I liked this post from a while back called If WISDOM & OLD Were The Highest Goals …
“Let’s be honest: Wisdom? We know it’s important. But we’ve been stomping on it for so long that we’re not even sure it’s still viable.
How do you tell the fake stuff from the real thing? I mean, all kinds of toxic and polluting wisdom might be coming in cheap from China. How would we know the difference?!”
She’s @TheAgingCoach on Twitter.
Item! Who’s on your Board of Directors?
I so adore this post from Sarah Vela called about figuring out who is on your Board of Directors.
And have read it a bunch of times (six?), because it’s inspiring. And cool. Plus I can’t wait to find out who is on my Board of Directors … a pirate ship can have a Board of Directors, right?
Then I can say “Walk the Board … of Directors!” instead of telling people to walk the plank and it will be awesome.
“Everyone should have a Jane. My Jane is named Jane, but yours could be named Chuck, or Jerome, or Tawanna.
It’s especially good if your Jane has known you for a very, very long time. My Jane has known me for about 20 years. She calls me on my bullshit, but she also sees where I’ve grown and changed.
She’s my “In Case of Emergency, Pull This Cord” person.”
She’s @orchid8 on Twitter.
Item! Update from the land of the Peculiar Shivanauts!
Let’s see. We had a discussion about whether men ever do Shiva Nata (and WHY things are weird that way).
And I put up a list of types of epiphanies you can expect from the practice (other than “hot” and “buttered”, of course).
And we keep getting more Starter Kit orders from Australia, so apparently a bunch of readers down under have recently started Shiva-ing it up, which is pretty cool too. Wheee! Maybe I’ll have to come and visit. 🙂
Item! Comments!
So it was really cool the other week when I got to work on my practice of how I ask for stuff and you guys gave me the best reading recommendations ever!
So I’m going to try it again.
Here’s what I want today:
- Decent place to get a bathing suit online (or in Portland).
- Something you read and enjoyed in the past week or so …
My commitment.
I am committed to giving time and thought to the things that people say, and I will interact with their ideas and with my own stuff as compassionately and honestly as is possible for me.
Even though asking for what I want still feels awkward for me, I’m just going to remind myself that this is a thing I’m practicing.
That is all.
Happy reading.
And happy Blustery Windsday. See you tomorrow.
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For the bathing suit, have you tried landsend.com?
This etsy shop sells my FAVORITE bathing suits ever, but the styles are of a particular…style. Might not be your thing, but maybe it is!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6044316
Oh wow, those are great emilylime. Too bad I don’t really need a bathing suit right now…
Havi, thank you for sharing the creative goodness you’ve discovered online. I loved reading Gail MacConnon’s blog, and will return to it often. And Sarah Vela’s post was thought-provoking and wonderful too.
A blog that I read with delight is Ann Handley’s Annarchy at http://www.annhandley.com/ She’s @MarketingProfs on Twitter.
Hope you find the perfect swimsuit very soon!
Love, Hiro
Hiro Bogas last blog post..There’s Wisdom in Shoes
@emilylime – DONE! Just bought the emerald one. This is so exactly 100% what I wanted too. Thank you!!
@Harriet – thanks for the tip! I do have a catalog from them but keep getting overwhelmed by too many choices.
@Hiro – will take a look! Yay.
@Laurel – right? RIGHT?! Sigh.
Oh Havi, I’m so glad that worked out for you! I had to buy a bathing suit last-minute at Target this year, but I really want to start a little savings account for a navy blue one from BettieB.
This is a quick, drive-by comment about something I’ve read and enjoyed: the serialized detective mystery Fission Chips. I must admit that I’ve only read the landing page. The title alone has me sold. 🙂
I’m melyndahuskey on Twitter–but I’ve been twitter-remiss lately.
And let me assure everyone that I consider myself quite as peculiar–but not nearly as hilarious–as other Shivanautical adventurers.
Read and enjoyed: Declare, by Tim Powers. Espionage novel with supernatural scary desert beings and highly contingent romance. What’s not to love about Guy Burgess’s father turning into a ferenc?
Melyndas last blog post..Orderly Transition of Power Salad–with homemade chutney!
Okay, those swim suits on Etsy are TOO CUTE! If you are ever in the market for another suit, there is a woman who runs her own shop on E. Burnside (around 30th) and will custom fit them to your body. She is an uber genius. http://www.sofada.com.
I heard (on NPR…good source!) about a job listing that had “250 Twitter followers” as one of the requirements. So, if you were desperately wanting that job, but lacking in the follower department, you could just buy them! Of course, if you had to buy them, you probably wouldn’t be right for that particular job…
Wendys last blog post..Please. No More Clutches!
I loved that post from Denise. Such a fun — and low-pressure — way to approach travel journaling.
You’ve already got your suit, but I’ll second the Land’s End recommendation. The suit I have from there has held up well over several years of use.
I read a wonderful post early this morning written by a woman named Tea. I discovered her thanks to Marilyn of Simmer Till Done. Tea talks about abandoning writing not long after she got her advanced degree in creative writing (yes, hahaha, the irony was not lost on her)…and how she got her love of writing back in a completely unexpected way. Thanks to blogging.
Tea’s post is called Gratitude and you can read it here.
Excerpt: “Really, I was just looking for someone to let me off the hook, to tell me it was okay not to write the book. That didn’t happen — they both told me I had to go through with it. And I was getting to the point where I knew it myself — if I’m having this much trouble with something, it usually means there’s something important to be learned and I need to get over my own fear and get out of the way. My late, great writing mentor, the astounding Amanda Davis, used to say that if what you’re writing about doesn’t scare you, you’re not writing about the right thing.”
Yowza.
I want to buy all the swimsuits at ModCloth.
http://www.modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Swimwear
And basically every other dress that they sell there.
I love their copy. I look at it way too many times a day.
This website used to be my secret obsession, but now I guess it’s my public obsession!
Kelly
@ wendy– that job posting kinda made me want to throw up a little. =)
you all have cute suit places. awesome.
Wanted: One nap. You 20-30 minutes of restful sleep in an hour’s time. Me: Shaky and headachey and whiny and unfocused.
This interview with Amanda Palmer is rather good. Covers twitter, being an artist, etc.
http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/07/interview-amanda-palmer.html
“…I draw a new blueprint every day and then set it on fire at the end of the night. I think the key for me has been realizing that every day and week and month is an improvisation…and that I can never define my success or happiness by last week’s measuring stick.”
oh YES!! do come to Australia… we’d love to have you! I just bought my Shivanata starter kit and can’t wait to have a go. I wanted to buy everything in your shop, but thought it best to pace myself 🙂 Found your blog a couple of months ago and am loving it! LOVING it! thank you for your inspiration…
Totally agree @harriet http://www.landsend.com
They’re way, way better than you might imagine.
Now wondering… If you can *buy* followers, wouldn’t it make more sense to time-share them to defray the costs?
Oh, and as a man, those are totally awesome swimsuits! 🙂
OK, I almost NEVER leave comments, but here goes:
– Swim suit – try Title Nine Sports – totally awesome swim and workout stuff, by a woman owned company that uses REAL LIVE COOL smart, active women as models, and tells their real stories along the way. I think about how they market their stuff when I think about how to market my (totally different) handmade stuff from my gallery. Oh, and the reversible bikini that I bought a while back that is the only bikini that I have owned and worn in many long years, is great, and the just brought it back to their on-line store last week.
– Board of Directors: My “Jane” IS actually named CHUCK! Too funny that you used that name as an example. He is my almost one-person board for my little gallery of fine American craft. He actually created the Target logo, and wrote the tagline “Buy More, Pay Less” He is a marketing genius with decades of experience as the owner of his own ad agency. He is retired now, but I think he needs to start a blog – or contribute to someone else’s. Never ceases to amaze me with his genius that does not age…
Ok, thing to read?
Thinking In Systems by Donella (Dana) Meadows.
Published posthumously, it’s the clearest writing I’ve ever read on how to veiw th interconnections between stuff.
Totally rad.
How about a whole book? Is that too much?
I just read Farm City by Novella Carpenter and am recommending it like crazy but I especially think you would like it Havi. She has a similar sensibility to yours, and how would I describe that? Michael Pollan described it as an inner-city The Egg and I and that really fits but I don’t know if you’ve ever read The Egg and I. It’s about a young woman who starts a farm on the vacant lot next to her apartment in a run-down neighborhood in Oakland. She raises vegetables but also
animals (the main distinction between a garden and a farm) and yes some animals are harmed in the book (warning to vegetarians). She has a blog I just discovered if you want to check out her style:
http://www.ghosttownfarm.wordpress.com
Popping back in to give a hell-yeah to Ann on the Title Nine recommendation. Can’t believe I forgot that one.
http://www.titlenine.com/
I’ve not ordered swimsuits from them, but lots of other stuff over the years, and they’re awesome!
@claire – thank you for sharing that Amanda Palmer interview. I was just listening to Dresden Dolls on the way in to work this morning! It was one of the best artist interviews I’ve read in a long time, and I loved what she had to say about the time period when she was thinking “I’m not really an ARTIST, I just spent all day sending emails” – I can so identify with that.
I love to look at Suzanne Cabrera’s sketchblog, An Open Sketchbook: http://www.anopensketchbook.com
Because sometimes I don’t want to consume any more words, but oggle instead. Plus, she’s just a really nice person.