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.
Ah, yes. The first Items of 2010.
Bright and sparkly and covered in snow. Or something like that.
Item! Post No. 48 in a series that doesn’t have to make sense — ever — but meets some sort of need of mine for something, or at least we all hope it does.
Item! The relationship between creativity and trust.
Selma and I have been enjoying Dave Rowley’s blog which is called Creative Chai.
“… for me the itch is about wanting to impress people with what I create.
Actually, I think it’s more about not wanting to embarrass myself with what I create.
Bleah, even more than that, it’s about not wanting to create something that will start up that voice inside my head: the voice that doesn’t trust in my ability to create; that decides I have no right to be creating stuff, that labels the things I create ‘irrelevant’.”
Also he has one of the most swoon-worthy Twitter bios in the entire world:
Creativity elf, shivanaut, wobbly yoga bloke.
He’s @creativechai on Twitter.
Item! An amazing job application.
Okay, so sending a paper resume is already remarkable, these days.
But the cover letter on this one was titled College graduate sends resume via snail mail on purpose.
“Ironically, we were able to reach Hazan in regards to this story via email. When asked why she chose this antiquated means of communication, she told us she was having trouble stealing her neighbor’s internet that week and had read about the US Postal Service in a book.”
The response?
“We weren’t even hiring, but the letter was so great we had to grab her before someone else did.”
That’s @sernovitz on Twitter. I’m pretty sure I got to this via @treelizard.
Item! The poem. Or maybe it’s an essay. I don’t care.
This knocked me out.
When I made my little joke of making Zombie Yule a Jewish thing by wishing Happy Erev Zombie Yule, I went looking for a good link to explain it and didn’t find one.
See, Erev is the evening before — it’s when our holidays actually start. Like Christmas Eve, except that we have everything eve.
Anyway.
I didn’t end up finding a good way to explain it. But I did find this piece. And it just ripped right through me. Which doesn’t happen very often.
“But erev. Erev surpasses evening in every sense.
Erev is a gasp, the gala apple skin point-of-tooth-contact, pre-bite. It is the toppling wavering of a too-slow bike mount, the anticipatory moment before jumping off.
Erev is the pre-, the almost, the nearly, potential energy so volatile it almost glows. “
Temima Fruchter. That’s who wrote it. I think I love her.
I don’t know what to say to make you read the whole thing. Just do it. For me.
Item! Quality hating. Again!
I haven’t seen Avatar. And, let’s be honest, if it hadn’t been for the New Yorker, I probably wouldn’t even have heard of it before coming across this in The Hater column.
But I’m still somehow not surprised that James Cameron said something like this:
“Our biggest challenge right now is letting females, in either younger or older quadrants, understand that this is a movie for them as well.”
Or that Amelie wouldn’t let him get away with it. Oh, Amelie. Your hating is of the highest possible quality and I appreciate that.
“Aww, yeah. Females in any and all of the quadrants, James Cameron is making speech patterns at your auditory processing centers.
Please point your ocular receptors at Avatar. It is for your variation of the species as well. End Marketing Transmission.”
Item! Mr. Pants takes off the pants. Again.
A refreshingly honest post (really, would you expect anything else?) from my favorite Sparky Firepants (Mr. Pants!) about success.
And money.
And how we talk about it and relate to it.
Or don’t.
“Money is sweet. It’s awesome. I like money. A lot. Have you ever had money toasted with peanut butter? It’s a tasty treat.
Money is not success. It can be part of success but it’s not the whole lunchbox.”
You should read it. Good stuff.
He’s @sparkyfirepants on Twitter.
Item! Someone else’s confessional.
The wonderful Fi (full disclosure: I am a fan!) wrote this great post about … everything, kind of.
About art, depression, perfectionism, new beginnings and how they all relate to each other.
And because Fi wrote it, it’s smart, funny, interesting and goes to unexpected places.
“Maybe it was all those years of New Year’s Eve parties where you spent all evening angling to be next to some guy you fancied come midnight, only to find he’d gone to the loo when it came round and your chance of a New Year’s snog was gone for another 12 months.
Whatever, New Year’s Eve gets on my tits, and we mostly ignore it.”
She also uses the phrase “fakey authentic”. I love her.
She’s @FiBowman on Twitter.
Item! Ease.
Nice post from Larisa on how to bring some ease into the holiday season.
I know we’re mostly over with the holiday-ing, but there is usefulness in here and you should read it because it’s about using your body to categorize your list.
Which is terrific.
“Looking at my list, I was surprised to realize the idea of hosting a small party was actually very appealing to me while attending events felt like a huge, heavy chore.
Also, while my heart does feel really happy when thinking about giving gifts to loved ones, the pressure I was putting on myself to make them a certain way (thoughtful, unique, meaningful, perfect) was taking away any joy I felt in giving. “
She’s @LarisaKoehn on Twitter.
Item! Update from the land of the Peculiar & Hilarious Shivanauts!
The “peculiar and hilarious” thing comes from Melynda’s sweet bit about Butterfly Wishes.
Terrific guest post on the Shiva Nata blog from Briana called Truth elixir, nude dreams, realizations, just being.
Actually, it’s not really a guest post. It’s me posting an amazing letter. With permission.
I’d put in a quote as a teaser but good grief, there are nude dreams in it. Isn’t that enough? Click on the damn link already! 🙂
She’s @BrianaAldrich on Twitter.
Item! Comments! Here’s what I want this time:
- Things you’re thinking about.
- You can help me name my imaginary cat! Well, my down-the-street-a-few-blocks neighbor’s cat that I pretend secretly wants to live with me.
So not actually imaginary.
More like star-crossed lovers. I’ve been calling him Pumpkin Head McMuffin Muffin. Which seems to work.
But while I’m playing make believe that a. I have a cat, b. my landlord would let me have a cat, c. that I don’t travel all the time for teaching which makes the cat thing impossible anyway, you can namestorm with me.
My commitment.
I am committed to giving time and thought to the things that people say. 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 (but hoping for Balmy) Windsday. See you tomorrow.
Follow
Dude, you posted at night! Awesome. I won’t be the 35th commenter for a change. (maybe 😉
“hoping for Balmy” made me laugh. I thank you.
Also, I had a not imaginary cat when I lived in LA! His name was George–well, I called him George. He would hang out in this patch of grass on a little hill outside my window most every afternoon. I’d look at him and sometimes he’d look at me, and we’d have a lovely collection of minutes most days about 15 feet apart. I didn’t want him to be mine per se; it was more like having a friend check in without any talking. Company, he was super low maintenance company; all I had to do was notice when he turned up.
Also, I knew what Erev meant from The West Wing, but her definition is excellent.
We had an imaginary cat once, who would stand on the outside of our sliding glass door and play with our indoor cats. We named him Tommy. He was an orange-stripey. One day, I noticed him cowering in the corner of our small garden, incredibly sick. I caught him, took him to the vet, got him well, got him snipped and vaccinated and tagged, and let him loose. He used to be scrawny, but I saw him a few days ago and he’s gotten fat on rabbits and mice and whatever the neighbors leave out. He still comes by and plays with our cats on occasion.
What I’m thinking about:
I’ve been writing this bio-epic on my blog looking back on the Last Decade, and I’ve been pleased with it so far. But. I’m almost to 2005, and in 2005 I started a whole new kind of exploration that completely changed who I am fundamentally by releasing a lot of old beliefs. However, these explorations were in areas that mid-30s divorced mothers don’t usually play in. Controversial, to say the least. So I’m struggling with balancing my need to be authentic and my need to be public.
.-= lynn @ human, being´s last post … The Last Decade: 2004, part one =-.
Heeey, you have a twitter box! Awesome, I have to comment now.
Right now I’m thinking about Shiva Nata and what it does for me. I have to admit I’m still a bit hazy on the epiphanies thing. I would say it switches my brain on, which is awesome enough to keep doing it, but epiphanies? Um…
I made up a new pattern, by the way. I’m sorry. 🙁 I know you’re not supposed to, but this stuff is just so mathematically beautiful I can’t help but play with it. Would I ruin the other shivanauts if I teach them my apocryphal pattern? I hope not, but I’ll hold off just in case.
I think all cats should be called Cat. Although I knew a cat called Bunny, and one called Bear. Do you call him pumpkin head because he’s orange?
.-= Willie Hewes´s last post … New Year’s Good Intentions =-.
I pretend to be having kittens as well. I feed them and I have tricked them to play. I bear the scars from yesterday’s rather passionate threesome play on my hands and every time I look at them it makes me smile. But I haven’t named them either. For starters I don’t even know if they are male or female. Or which one is which.
Temima Fruchter TOTALLY gets the whole erev thing. Thanks for itemizing her. I may have to read everything she wrote now.
@williehewes-new pattern huh? I am still not wrapping my head around the given patterns.
Also wondering if blue finger tips at my keyboard means I should get gloves?
.-= Pearl Mattenson´s last post … 1.5.10 =-.
Cat naming, quite a delicate business. They just don’t listen to it if it doesn’t fit. Or if they don’t want to listen. Of all the cats we’ve had at home, I liked Figaro the best. The name, that is. The most popular cat name over here is Gizmo, courtesy to the top-10 list of cat names. They really top-10 list everything. Anyway, must be because little kitties look like Gizmos.
I have an Item! Have a look at this adorable kid performing the song ‘I’m yours’ by Jason Mraz. With a Ukelele!
Have a glorious Wednesday, all!
No ideas on a name, but I have a pretend cat, too. A real cat that wanders into my yard. I call her Christmas Cat because one of the times she came in my yard was on Christmas.
And one of my VPAs was answered which I know I should wait until the next VPA post to say but this way I can thank you twice for creating the space for me to A in a VP way.
I think Pumpkin Head McMuffin Muffin is a fine name. I frequently address my rabbits as Pumpkin. Even though they’re not orange. Or pumpkin-shaped.
.-= Riin´s last post … Feeling Reflective =-.
My son Ben says horizontal 4(?)-2 looks like “I’m a little teapot”. I can’t do that one with him around without us both cracking up. 🙂
My other son is going through our Burpee catalog and planning his garden. I am looking up the “make a journal from a sheet of paper” trick so that we can make him a garden journal. 🙂 He’s also interested in learning microknitting to make outfits for his sculptures.
Second snow day this week, and 4-6″ expected tomorrow, so we are going to get food this afternoon to prevent imminent cannibalism tomorrow.
If I had an imaginary cat, I would name him Salem, like the cat on the old Sabrina tv show. And a huge thank you for all the Item!s great fodder today. 🙂
.-= Andi´s last post … Goals 2010 =-.
I’m thinking about how now that I’ve found all these cool people writing all these cool blogs I’m spending a lot of time reading and trying to catch up. It’s actually making it hard to sleep at night – stirring up lots of thoughts.
My cat’s are called Matt, Ian and Frank (who seems to be on a really long holiday as I haven’t seen her in almost 10 years). My friend Dave naming his cat Phil makes me laugh everytime I hear it. And let’s not forget the Bassets – Dave and Sheila. So I vote Pat.
.-= Tami´s last post … Yoga+Music365 (day5) – Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie =-.
Today’s Items! are a smorgasbord of deliciousness, wisdom and hilarity, Havi. Thank you! Especially for the link to that wonderful post on Erev.
Today I’m thinking about the relationship between flow and action–when to let the current carry me, and when to swim.
Happy Wednesday, everyone!
Love, Hiro
.-= Hiro Boga´s last post … Traveling Teeth Follow Rumors of Home… =-.
Oh, brilliantness! This may be the best Item!ization ever-ever.
Regarding cat names – I think most cats naturally have many names – for different moods, different outfits, etc.
For example, my cat Simba: he is Thimby when he’s asking a question, or Bimby when he’s being super-adorable. Or Simbiotic, or a soldier of the Simbionese Liberation Army. His title in my kingdom is Minister of Protocol.
All of this to say – your imaginary cat has many names, and is probably already considering himself your Pumpkin Head McMuffin Muffin. Pumpkinhead for short.
Also – what is it with you and pumpkin-colored cats? You seem to be a magnet for them.
.-= Amna´s last post … Germinational: @richardmiller Besides, what would he get for his trouble – some freaking sunchokes? #poorburglarycandidates =-.
@Amna – oh it’s not pumpkin-colored. My fake cat is dark grey. But with a pumpkin-shaped head. See? Oh, never mind.
Calling Simba a Soldier of the Simbionese Liberation Army is the funniest thing in the entire world. You are great.
@Laine – your VPA came true *already*? AWESOME.
@Claire – oh good. Because yeah, the balmy was for you. 🙂
Now I have to look up Erev references from the West Wing.
Ah, Havi – imaginary cat naming. I wish I could help.
We’ve had odd odd names for our pets through the years — Dicky Squirt (for a hamster – WTF?), MiMi (for a dog, which was already my granddaughter’s nickname – might’ve thought that thru – Not. My. Fault) and my favorite —
well, maybe you could use this…my favorite of all was Pigwhistle (for a hamster, when I was a kid). Pigwhistle would make a nice sorta-imagineary-cat name. I always wanted to use it again, but it never seemed to “fit” any of my kids (and anyway, then their initials would’ve been “PC” – and that’s just silly).
You’re welcome to use Pigwhistle if your imaginary-cat will have it, with my blessings. You’ve got my blessings anyway – whether you use it or not.
I could stay here all day, dear Havi! As a matter of fact, I will wander the halls awhile, and also will click on each link in this Item – what a lovely post!!
Happy Wednesday to everyone!
.-= Square-Peg Karen´s last post … Shipwrecked =-.
I’m thinking about how I’ve got this cold-induced raspy, truckerette voice and how tomorrow I am hosting a big event at a museum in NYC. Those two happenings are bad news, unless I want the art people to think that my art is porn performance and that I do it all with a Newport in my mouth.
I’m going to shut up and get a Neti pot now.
.-= Lydia, Clueless Crafter´s last post … Blank Canvas =-.
Great item-ization! Will follow all of these people today.
Had a thought while driving this morning about ‘won’t-power’. Kind of like the Dammit list, and the opposite of will-power. Giving this more thought and will report back.
While reading this post, 20 year old was telling me about a theory he discovered (though it’s several months old) concerning the parallels between Calvin & Hobbes and Fight Club. Makes perfect sense to me.
http://www.metaphilm.com/philm.php?id=29_0_2_0
Cat name. Considering I have one white cat that never got past me calling her “white cat” in 15 years, can’t say I’d be much help. Though I do fancy the word “pickles”, especially when my 9 year old says it. Might make a cute cat name but perhaps conjures up clown images. Not so cute.
xo
.-= Gina´s last post … carpooling to oneness =-.
Ooooh, I like the post about working with your holiday list, even though it’s not the holidays anymore. I’m going to try that the next time I make a to-do list about anything. Which, considering the frequency with which I write lists will probably be soon.
Imaginary cats are possibly the best kind. Alas, I’m not very good at naming them though
I’m no help on the naming (though we did have a Porch Kitty for a while, so I totally get the imaginary cat thing). Either a name pops into my head immediately upon introduction or I agonize about it for days. Why not stick with Pumpkin Head McMuffin Muffin?
Thank you for linking to Mr. Pants today. The line at the top of his blog, “you deserve awesomization,” made my day!
Why limit the cat to one name? More nicknames = more love. Similarly, more syllables = more love. Pumpkin Head McMuffin Muffin perfectly illustrates that, I think 🙂 My own cat Nemo (he was named before the fish movie, thank you very much) is alternatively Nimmy, Neemopolis, Nimtronix, Baby Boo, Sweetykins, Luvadove, and any variation or completely different name I think up in that minute. You should also feel free to nickname any & all cats you come across. I call someone else’s cat Izzy Bazizzy.
What I’m thinking about: So many wonderful blog postings I’ve seen in the last week or so and there’s a common thread running through all the posts I’ve been drawn to, if only I could articulate it…. Also, that I shouldn’t be staying up till midnight (or later) on the internet reading said blog posts!
What else I’m thinking about: Your VPA thing, Havi, that I just discovered yesterday! I found this at just the right time because I need to learn to ask for what I want too. I’m glad you admit to feeling awkwardness because it makes the process seem more accessible somehow, is that a contradiction? And I’m loving that other people are joining in with their PVA’s. I’m hoping to come to that “party” soon.
.-= Christina Henslee´s last post … Final (Late) Entry to Best of ’09 Challenge =-.
Cats tell me their names. Why it doesn’t happen with my dogs — who knows, most of them already had names when I got them. Anyway. Once this black tom cat with white toes showed up in the yard on a muddy day. First time I saw him he was washing those white toes. I told him “You need some wellies.” So, of course, after that I called him Wellington (but I think he met his Waterloo a few months later a few roads over — or someone took him inside). My little girl yard cat is Sophia. She walked into the yard and I said, “Hello, Sophia, where did you come from?” She hasn’t left for six years. Her black and white gentleman friend is Luther. I think he was actually trying to say “Lucifer,” but I thought he was saying “Lex Luthor.” So. Close enough. A cat that calls himself Pumpkin Head McMuffin Muffin seems to have a lot to say, and quite an imagination. Might be worth listening to.
.-= Judy´s last post … Basenji Paradise =-.
If James Cameron wanted to keep his female quadrants… he should have kept doing Dark Angel.
Ooh cats! I have one of those red shiny Feng Shui type cats that wave the paw… we call him Salem. Yes, my boyfriend and I are taking the witch thing as far as it will let us. 😉
.-= Nathalie Lussier´s last post … What Are Chia Seeds? =-.
Also – please to remember that my late, lamented orphaned kitten was called, for his brief stay on this plane, Mr. Pipsqueak Monsterface.
Pumpkin Head McMuffin Muffin seems quite dignified in comparison.
.-= Amna´s last post … Germinational: @intuitivebridge That’s awesome! Curious, because me and elephants are *like this*. I want to hear all about it if you meet one. =-.
So “just do it for me” was exactly the right thing to get me to read Erev. Wow. Whether it’s a poem or an essay, it is a truly delicious serving of words.
.-= Shannon Henry´s last post … On Artists and Money =-.
Oh, we had an imaginary cat, just like Lynn, who would come to our sliding glass door and tempt our kittens.
We called him Socks-y.
Because, well, as you know, our *real* animals have such human names (Beauregard, Stella, Andre) that our *imaginary* pets need to have pet-like names.
Also, now I want a pumpkin muffin.
Thanks a lot.
.-= Tara´s last post … Helping Yarnies Share Your Thing =-.
Well, Pumpkin Head McMuffin Muffin is an awfully good name. I’m not sure I can do any better. Balmy O’Bluster, perhaps?
I’ve been thinking a lot about naps today. I received an electric blanket as a holiday gift, and it’s a wonderfully cozy thing. However, the elder of my two cats loves it even more than I do. He thinks it’s the nicest present anyone ever gave him.
Oh, and Temima Fruchter’s Erev is a gorgeously gobsmacking piece of writing. Thank you so much for sharing that!
.-= Kathleen Avins´s last post … Dramatis personae =-.
@helen
Since your blog is in an alphabet I don’t know how to read, I gather the hilarity of “I pretend to be having kittens as well” is unintentional.
In case you didn’t know, “having kittens” is an idiom which means to get overly upset or worried about something.
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/having+kittens
Cheers!
@havi I can describe the West Wing ep it was in if you like. Just hit me up on twitter.
@Willie –
Well, I’ll try to maybe reframe the epiphanies thing tomorrow since this has been coming up a lot recently.
But yeah, if you’re not getting realizations about yourself and your life, that’s probably a sign that your practice isn’t challenging you enough.
Time to bump up to the next level, probably. Because you really have to be making it hard.
Really, the only way to not get realizations that I can think of (as long as you’re challenging yourself) could be either not interacting with the understandings that do come up or thinking of epiphanies only in terms of things that Change Your Life In Huge Ways.
Though I’m pretty sure that most of my epiphanies have happened despite my not interacting with realizations, so maybe that’s not even a thing.
Anyway.
If it takes some pressure off, you don’t have to think of it as epiphanies. You can think of it as bits of useful information that will come together to generate epiphanies.
But if you’re not getting those, it’s definitely a sign that your brain is getting it. Yay, you.
Which means: now it’s time to make the practice a lot harder. 🙂
You can totally share any new patterns. That would be brilliant.
I mean, one of the *points* of Shiva Nata is that it trains your brain to find patterns and generate new ones, so we’re always trying to find new patterns and document them.
It’s liquid math! That’s what it’s for!
And no, the cat is grey. But with a head that looks eerily like a pumpkin. A pumpkin head. As opposed to a pumpkin cat.
@claire – I looked it up on Wikipedia! Man, life before internet was weird.
Kittens kittens kittens
cats cats cats!!!!! I love them!!!
At college, in the dorm rooms, obviously we weren’t allowed to have cats. So . . I systematically made my list of storefronts in town where there was a shop cat — one bookstore, one new-agey store, and of course a locally-owned petstore. They were MY CATS, dammit, and I visited them often. Now I have my own cat, but I still ‘borrow’ (in my mind) the neighborhood cats/kittens. Black Kitten is like four years old, by now, but to me he (or she?) will always be a kitten. 🙂 Rock on!!
Our cat Loaf ( http://tinyurl.com/yjar8n2 ) has diabetes. He has injections of insulin at 7am and 7pm every day.
It is possible for cats to revert from their diabetic state to a normal level of insulin and regular glucoseyness. We think Loaf may be in transition as his behaviour is becoming more and more bonkers.
Loaf has always been a little bit of a doofus, he’s not a bright boy (but he is *very* pretty – especially in his new pink collar). Recently even his normal doofiness has been surpassed by his new pastime. Loaf has been systematically removing all the holly in the basket by the fire and dumping it on the floor. You put it back in, he pulls it back out. We have given up fighting it and just watch him do it. So there is holly and crap all over the living room floor and this has to be tolerated alongside having your hair licked at 06.50am to remind you that it’s time to give him his shot.
who needs kids eh?
While I am lucky enough to have a non-imaginary cat, who has many names (officially his name is Velcro and it truly suits him well, but I often call him other things, including Mr. Fluffy Butt) This has given me a wonderful idea! There are several neighborhood kitties. Velcro does not care for them. Although he is an indoor kitty, he thinks the outdoors that he can see are his territory as well. I usually call the other kitties outdoor kitty or Velcro’s nemesis. Now I’m just going to name them whatever I want. Naming the outdoors kitties will be fun!
I think you should call imaginary kitty Pumpkin Head McMuffinMuffin, and when you feel calling him something else, do so.