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.
Yes, we are back with the Items. Item!
And — but of course — the exclamation points. Lots of them. I am throwing caution to the wind and exclaiming over … pretty much everything.
I don’t actually know if anyone misses the Items (Item!) when they’re not around, but I do really appreciate having a place to catalogue the various places I get sucked into online. Shall we?
Item! Post No. 36 in a ridiculous series whose very existence sustains me through my Extremely Necessary Vacationizizing, even if I have to skip a week here and there.
Item! Tactical Corsets!
I must have one.
“For too long, women have had to compromise practicality for beauty. Men got pants with cargo pockets and built-in knee pads, women got clothes whose only built-in feature was cuteness.
But why should men get all the high-speed low-drag tactical toys?”
The site is TacticalCorsets.com and I’m obsessed. Oh, yes. The Pirate Queen is in awe.
You can also watch a video here.
I honestly have no idea where I found this but I’m assuming it would have to be on Twitter. Because that’s what the twitters are for. Well, that and casually stalking people you’re obsessed with.*
* (Hi, Colleen, you fabulous Communicatrix you! I loooooooooooove you!)
Item! Speaking of things I must have. That are wrong.
Actually, I must not have this. I am not allowed to have this.
Still want one though.
It’s a … fitness machine? I’m not even sure what that means. And, apparently, if I had a television I would already know about it.
This is Ellen testing the Hawaii Chair.
Via @CarriBella.Thanks!
Item! I’m on the woo woo train!
Okay, this one cracked me up.
Partly because, as we already know, me-from-ten-years-ago would think that me-from-right-now (aka me-who-files-stuff-by-chakras) is the weirdest, most embarrassing person on earth.
But I hang out with all sorts of bizarre and interesting people. And so of course I don’t count myself as in with the woo-woo camp at all. But apparently I am.
(Woo Woo Camp. It’s just one guy.)
Anyway. Sparky Firepants is the funny. Mr. Pants! I love him.
“I drink tea in the afternoon. Man, I love my coffee. Go-go juice. Makes me feel all manly and East Coast to have my java and jump into the studio. Sipping a nice, soothing cup of tea later on helps purge the New York City man that lives inside my head. Besides, it gets really goddamned cold in here sometimes.”
Here’s the rest of it.
He’s @sparkyfirepants on Twitter.
Item! Seclusion and isolation: they’re important.
One of the big things I got from my Extremely Necessary Vacation was that I am happiest when I’m not around anyone but myself.
If you already know me, you’re totally laughing at me now because it’s not like this is some big secret. I’m a huge loner and I’m introverted and none of that is news.
That’s kind of why I love the internet. Because it allows me to have a job where I don’t have to see anyone I don’t like ever. And I only see the people I do like when I feel like it.
But the thing I was loving about Extremely Necessary Vacation was being shut off from everything. I was still writing, but I wasn’t spending time online.
And it was addictive. Not being connected was addictive.
Then I read Hiro’s thoughtful post about exactly that. It’s about the relationship between connection & solitude. And blogging.
“It’s been more than a month since I wrote a blog post.
First, it was my 60th birthday, and then I went away on retreat, and somehow, I found my feet on a winding path in a parallel life in which there was a blessed absence of deadlines and to-do lists–the kind of silent spaciousness I hadn’t known I’d missed until the horizons opened and melted into an infinite sky.”
The kind of silent spaciousness I hadn’t known I’d missed until the horizons openened and melted into an infinite sky.
Yes.
She’s @HiroBoga on Twitter.
Item! And one more thing about Hiro.
This is kind of a crazy thing to say, but you really cannot underestimate the power of having a clairvoyant business advisor.
I say that because I have one. I call her my non-evil Grand Vizier but yeah, I get a session from Hiro at least once a week and I also consult with her first on just about everything I do in my business before I do it.
Anyway, this is definitely not for everyone, but I have heard whisperings that she is going to be teaching a course this year on how to become your own business advisor. Like, how to be that person for yourself.
I have no idea when, what, how much or anything else.
All I know is that ohmygod I’m in. And that if this is even slightly your cup of tea you should sign up for her noozleter or maybe even write to her and ask really, really nicely to be on the list of people who get to hear about it first.
Item! Update from the land of the Peculiar & Hilarious Shivanauts!
The “peculiar and hilarious” thing comes from Melynda’s sweet bit about Butterfly Wishes.
Right. So I wrote a bunch of Shivanautical updates.
Which is where you can read about how absurdity reveals patterns. And also about how we’re sponsoring Roller Derby!
Because we are. And yes. Flailing: it’s good for you!
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:
- Things you’re thinking about.
- Films you recommend (that you would recommend to me).*
*HSP-alert: I don’t mind violence if it’s martial arts and/or general ass-kicking, but not so into stuff blowing up, and I absolutely can’t handle emotional or sexual violence.
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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The Tactical Corsets are astonishing–somewhere between vintage Madonna and combat gear! 🙂
Thank you so much for including me in your Wednesday line-up. I’m blushing, and honored, and blushing! (This exclamation-mark-thing is catching.):-)
Happy rest-of-the-week, everyone.
Love, Hiro
.-= Hiro Boga´s last blog ..The With-ness of We =-.
oh yay oh yay OH YAY! I have been missing the ITEMS! so much, but I didn’t want to ask about them…because I was afraid they’d become a bother to you and you just wanted to let them slip away into the night. Oh ho ho.
I feel like I have so much to say! So awesome that you and Selma are sponsoring GNR. Tactical corsets – amazing. And of course welcome back from Extremely Necessary Vacation.
Movie suggestions: My faves for peace and inspiration are The Triplets of Belleville and The Beaches of Agnes / Les Plages D’Agnes.
Triplets of Belleville. I recommend that movie to everyone. First, because the music is contagious. Second, because it’s just that good and happy. (Also, the dog barking at the train kills me every single time. You will know what I mean when you see it.)
Clearly I must watch roller-derby someday!
.-= elizabeth´s last blog ..i love vacations =-.
I third the motion. The Triplets of Belleville is a great movie! And the music is so cool I had to buy the CD!
.-= Riin´s last blog ..Business = busyness =-.
I just watched the Ellen-and-the-Hawaii-chair video and am still wiping tears of laughter off my cheeks. She is a comic genius. And the chair . . . ! Thanks for a great start to this rainy Wednesday! 🙂
.-= Hiro Boga´s last blog ..The With-ness of We =-.
I just watched “Sita Sings the Blues” on PBS, and was blown away. It’s an American cartoonist’s animated take on the Ramayana, as told from the POV of Sita. She also weaves in the story of herself and how her husband moved to India for a job and dumped her. The animation/imagination at play are wonders to behold. I can’t say enough about how fun and smart and visually rich it is, and have been raving about it to anyone who will listen.
She gives it away for free on her website, for downloading or streaming:
http://www.sitasingstheblues.com/
.-= Amna (@Germinational)´s last blog ..Germinational: Home, cooking daal. On a school night! Go, me. =-.
Wow, the Hawaii chair. What an… interesting… idea. Ellen totally nailed it.
I just saw “Bottle Shock” and recommend it most highly. It helps if you drink wine, but even if you don’t it’s an amazingly well-done feel-good underdog-makes-good kind of movie. The cinematography and sound effects are, respectively, inspiring and hilarious. Alan Rickman is terrific (though I still think of him as the perfect Professor Snape).
.-= Barbara J Carter´s last blog ..“Dots 13? little-bitty painting =-.
Re tactical corsets, check out the Carhartt Work Corset by Nifer. She came over to our camp to demo it this last burning man and it’s pretty awesome.
http://www.nifnaks.com/chatterings-blog/rugged-femininity-my-new-work-corset-21.html
Tactical corsets? Those might look good next to the UTILIKILT.
For a movie, how about Buster Keaton in Seven Chances? Or Vera Chitylova’s Daisies?
.-= William S. Randall´s last blog ..One Image Is All it Takes =-.
Also, I have to say that Triplets of Belleville is one of my favourites. You guys nailed it. Perfect suggestion and thanks for the reminder.
@Eran – thanks for the link. Fabulous. Someone was *just* telling me about this (via @sfslim, I think) and I was all ready to look it up. You rock.
@emilylime – oh good!
@Barbara – I adore Alan Rickman. I’m in! Thank you.
Who needs a Hawaii Chair™? My abs just got their best workout in five years, laughing at that segment. “Comedy gold,” as The BF (whose abs just got similarly, if slightly less worked) said.
Also, were I hypnotized into dreaming up my Absolute Perfect Stalker, I could not have dreamed up a more perfect one than you. Or something like that. You know.
Also-also, my go-tos in the movie department, weeded out to remove the weirdo sh*t that I love but that would upset my dear Havi:
1. The Third Man (watch every New Year’s Eve)
2. The Gay Divorcee (best dancing evar)
3. Summer (or “Le Rayon Vert”–best of many great Rohmer flix)
4. Comedian (FASCINATING docu about Jerry Seinfeld’s return to standup, paralleling the rise of a young comic)
5. Car Wash (best soundrack evar)
6. 28 Up! (best of the fantastic “Up!” docu series)
7. Caddyshack (more laughs per foot than anything ever filmed)
.-= Colleen Wainwright´s last blog ..Clearing my (psychic) clutter, Day 2: Out of the closet =-.
The chair! LOL.
Movies: If you haven’t seen Local Hero it’s a sleeper from the early 80s that is just full of winsome and quirky bits.
Kurasawa “Dreams” Short film anthology that is magical. 🙂
and I LOVE the Triplettes of Belleville.
Ratatouille. 🙂
My favorite film of all time EVER is Holiday. Made in 1938, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday_%281938_film%29
I can’t tell you why I think the film would be fantastic for you without giving away the ending, so I’ll just beg you to watch it instead. 🙂
I also second the recommendations for The Third Man and The Gay Divorcee.
Also, Item! I love Items!
OMG do I love Ellen! Why don’t I ever watch her show? I’m in tears laughing so hard. She’s a gem!
Lars and the Real Girl is one of my favorite all-time movies. The premise is: what if we treated people who have mental illness with kindness instead of condemnation? What would that look like?
It’s funny and poignant. Did I mention it’s funny?
.-= Julie Stuart´s last post … Got a business plan that makes you smile? =-.
Oh, I just watched Away We Go and thought you might like it. Such a sweet (but not at all fake) couple that doesn’t want to get married but build a home together. Ack! The heartbreakinglyness of it all! And a great soundtrack!
Also, because it’s time for baseball movies, I finally watched For the Love of the Game and wow. Even if you’ve seen it before – watch it again!
.-= Tara´s last post … Craft Attack! =-.
Yay! You are sponsoring Roller Derby! I saw a poster for the new season the other day and totally thought of you.
Welcome home, girl!
Danielle
.-= Danielle´s last post … There is no place for guilt in wellness. =-.
I’m thinking about being brave enough to finally leave a comment. (So far so good – just have to finish and push the submit button.)
I’m curious about how my personal trainer is very much like the Dance. He has me do stuff that makes my brain freeze (seriously, I can feel it working) and say “What? What muscles do I use to do that? In what order? How? WhATwhat?What?” And I can’t quite find the pattern between “Personal Trainer” and “Havi” but you seem to know the same things. Sort of.
I am also trying again to assimilate “Havi” and “Roller Derby” in the same sentence. But that’s all good for my brain too.
.-= Bullwinkle´s last post … Weekend Edition: The Dog =-.
I seem to be the last person on earth to see good movies, so you’ve probably seen these. But I’d hate for you to miss them, so at the risk of being trite:
For the soundtrack (love the music!!), the story, and the beauty of watching human dynamics unfold, I always highly recommend the movie “Once.”
Or if you’re ever in the mood for very light and very funny romantic comedy which also involves music-making, try “Music and Lyrics.”
.-= Tracy´s last post … Reflection: Stitching Meditation =-.
I thought Woo Woo Camp was just one guy, too (sort of a Todd Rundgren type with a reel-to-reel on stage with him). However, at the last concert, I swear I saw a dude backstage playing a comb.
So films.
Jenni and I just saw “Lives of Others”.It’s a happy little ditty* about East Germany before the wall came down. Plus, it’s in German. Bonus.
*okay, okay not so much the happy. It’s East Berlin circa 1984, for Christ’s sake.
And my new favorite movie ever, “The Station Agent.” Peter Dinklage is also one of my fave actors.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0340377/
Enjoy.
.-= Sparky Firepants´s last post … If you register your site for free at =-.
Kung Fu Panda. Seriously dude. Kung Fu Panda.
I MUST have one of those oh-so-functional corsets. I usually load my pockets down with as much as possible.
Excellent documentary, if you’re in to those: “It Might Get Loud.” Maybe not in theaters anymore at this point? Essentially, it’s Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White sitting around talking about (and making) music. The part where The Edge talks about writing his first song gave me goosebumps on my goosebumps.
.-= Emily´s last post … It’s All Part of the Process – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly =-.
The Station Agent.
If you don’t really like this movie, I’ll be shocked.
You might also try: Lone Star.
The Third Man and The Triples of Belleville are super great too.
.-= Sarah´s last post … Two Chairs, One Postcard, Big Hurry =-.
Oh, I love those Tactical Corsets! I absolutely want one!
You’ve probably seen this one already, but I watched My Cousin Vinny for the umpteenth time recently, and laughed just about as hard as I did the first time. Maybe it’s because my extended family are from the Deep South, and I grew up in a suburb of northern New Jersey. I know all about that culture clash; I’ve lived it!
Item! Exclamation points! Handy things!
.-= spiralsongkat´s last post … Wishin’, and hopin’, and freakin’, and copin’… =-.
A film for you… First thing that came to mind was Sita Sings the Blues, and since Amna has already mentioned it, I can say I heartily second that suggestion. I’ve dowloaded it and only watched it once so far, but just knowing that it lives in my computer makes me happy!
Now, since I’d like to add something to the list, here’s another one: Children of Heaven (original farsi title: bacheha-ye aseman). This is a lovely movie, with the sweetest (in the good sense, not the “cloyingly sugary” sense) story. I loved it, and I’m sure you would too. Let me know what you think if or (hopefully) when you end up seeing it.
.-= Josiane´s last post … Practicing body poetry with Havi =-.
If you enjoy the Triplets of Belleville, you would probably enjoy Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away. Another Cary Grant movie I love the hell out of is Philadelphia Story, with Katherine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart, too. Brilliant!
Lastly, I think any of Wes Anderson’s movies would be up your alley. They’re just awkward and endearing enough to be really memorable. My particular favorite is Darjeeling Limited. I haven’t seen it in over a year but some parts are still indelibly written in my brain. My other favorites are Royal Tenenbaums and Bottle Rocket.
.-= Amy´s last post … Help Miss Violet Escape! =-.
“Julie and Julia”. First because Meryl Streep is in it and she is fabulous in every role and she is once again a very sovereign woman in this one. And secondly because the film is also about blogging. And it is the perfect sit-on-the-couch-with-a-female-friend-and-drink-tea-or-wine-while it-is-so-totally-yukky-chilly-rainy-autumnal-outside-movie.
Wow, Tactical Corsets have Fire Poi Pouches! Now *that* is ready for anything!!
I love Items! Just so you know.
I loved the movie Princess Mononoke, by Hayao Miyazaki. There is some violence, but it is an animated, beautiful movie and the violence feels sort of … poetic? Remote? but also an important part of the story and the character development. And I adore the ending of the romance part of the story.
A really gentle movie, also animated and also by Miyazaki, is My Neighbor Totoro, which is a kids movie but it’s still great. It’s set in the fifties in rural Japan and is just a lovely thing.
House of Flying Daggers – operatic story, incredible martial arts/dance scenes, absolutely stunning visually.
Funny martial arts – Kung Fu Hustle, although you probably would want to miss the opening scene which establishes the real bad guys, open your eyes in time for the dance/kata sequence right after.
Big ol’ vote here for Local Hero – one of my all-time favorite movies EVAH. And with a similar flavor (and similar vintage), Shirley Valentine.
.-= Anna-Liza´s last post … Pollyanna Isn’t Ready for This =-.
Dang! I vote for Kung Fu Panda too!! Absolutely! And My Cousin Vinny! (How did I miss those suggestions before?)
.-= Anna-Liza´s last post … Pollyanna Isn’t Ready for This =-.
Just so you know, you just made me fall off my chair. And it’s not from Hawaii. I <3 Ellen.
Seeing other comments, just wanted to add two more thoughts:
Another great thing about The Darjeeling Limited is the palette–he uses a narrow range of gorgeous colors and it is so visually pleasing. I love when directors do that, it’s subtle and yet it has a big impact on the movie as a whole (Kirosawa is another one who is super aware of the frame–he makes great compositions all the time–esp. in the movie Dreams which someone mentioned above)
Lives of Others is also really great, but heavy. (I think Sparky Firepants and I have the same taste in movies). This movie is good for a snowstorm or a weekend of hunkering down–be forewarned, it might be hard to go do something else right afterwards, it certainly had a big impact on me….
An interesting tidbit about that movie is that the actor who plays the the main Stassi (spelling?) officer is East German himself and was followed by the Stassi for years as a young man.
I guess I like movies…
.-= Sarah´s last post … Two Chairs, One Postcard, Big Hurry =-.
Thanks so much for the Ellen post! My entire family is recovering from influenza, and this gave me a much-needed laugh. Actually, I was snorting so loudly my kids thought I was having an attack of some sort.
Movies: I love Michael Clayton. In the same vein, Duplicity. Great stories, enough humor to keep things from getting bogged down, terrific directing. Also: Clueless. Also, if you’re into kid’s movies at all: anything Wallace & Grommit. Chicken Run. Flushed Away (awesome sound track).
.-= WeeHoo´s last post … Mrs. Ditter Dispenses Common Sense Advice =-.
Of course. Kung Fu Panda! Kung Fu Panda!
And Wallace & Gromit. And Howl’s Moving Castle! And The Royal Tenenbaums. And The Station Agent.
These are all so, so great.
Thank you!
Hi there… I’m the fellow dork who’d love to read some discussion on chakras from you. Your filing system intrigues me.
🙂
Jessica
Yep, the Hawaii Chair thing was pretty funny (I’d never heard of it before).
Just wanted to point out that I’m sure I get the same benefits in only a slightly less ridiculous way: My office chair is a yoga ball.
It doesn’t force me to contort myself but I do have to (gently) use my back and stomach muscles to sit up straight. I find it very comfortable and my back doesn’t ache the way it does after I’ve been sitting in a regular office chair. Plus I can bounce when I feel like it!
I don’t sit on it all day, though — half an hour or maybe an hour at a time, max. I spend quite a bit of time on the couch too 🙂
I’m so intrigued and grateful to see all these movie recommendations. Mmm, movies. And cider. And couches. Ahh.
.-= Wendy Cholbi´s last post … In which I compare myself to the spaceship Heart of Gold =-.
One of my most favorite movies ever is “The Commitments” . I especially love the manager, Jimmy Rabbit. He goes through the whole movie “interviewing” himself. It says alot about believing in yourself, and making a commitment to something, just because you need to.