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.
Seriously? Thirty four? Man, these Item! posts … just keep on existing. It’s bizarre.
Stop being so interesting, people.
That’s your last warning.
Item! Post No. 34 in a series that allows me to shout Item! loudly in the presence of other people.
Item! Let’s bring back the zero-guilt email policy!
I’ve never made an Item! (Item!) out of one of my own posts before, but lately people have been asking what you do when half your incoming and outgoing mail is essentially apologies for not having responded earlier.
So. This is a post I wrote ages ago about my zero-guilt email policy.*
* And even though I don’t do email anymore, it still holds.
Item! Brief explanation of (one use of) Twitter. With added snark!
I laughed!
Rob uses Twitter differently than I do, but I get it. And I dig his style.
Plus, this is really a great way of breaking down the different social-media-ey sites.
“Facebook. Where I connect to the people I didn’t like in high school, college, whatever, but didn’t dislike to the point of not “connecting”. I use Facebook out of guilt.”
He’s @robsaker on Twitter.
Item! The No-Brainer Scenario!
Loved this post from Victoria about The No-Brainer Scenario:
“The next step is to start looking at the gaps between what you know about the opportunity, and your no-brainer version of the opportunity.
For every condition in your no-brainer scenario, your options are either to ask for it or not.
Whatever you decide is fine — there are lots of reasons not to ask for something.
But either way, now you know what the opportunity would need to look like in order to feel good about saying yes.”
I heart Victoria.
And I am so happy she’s officially started her coaching practice. Consider this a clear “yes, I recommend her highly” statement.
She’s @victoriashmoria on Twitter.
Item! I went to the Antelope Fair. Well, not me.
The birds and the beasts were there.
I’m getting distracted. Back to the point.
We heard from Barbara in last week’s Item! too.
But I had to put this particular post in. Because it’s so great.
Here’s what’s great about it.
She breaks all the boring “expert” rules about how your blog is supposedly supposed to stick to one topic (why?!?!) and talks about something that is meaningful for her.
Good for you, Barbara! It’s your space. Do what you want with it!
“There will be no eating of hats!”
It’s a super fun post, with lots of great pictures. I LOVED it.
She’s @barbarajcarter on Twitter.
Item! Looking for roots.
Our Emily brought back her Looking For Roots blog with this marvelous post that is about … all sorts of interesting things.
“Yes, he had shuffled off his mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible.
An ex-toad.”
She’s @emilyroots on Twitter.
Item! Cheese, Gromit!
This is not really an Item! but my gentleman friend and I spend most of our time in Berlin eating or exclaiming over cheese.
Or ranking them according to our favorites and narrowly avoiding bitter arguments.
Me: This cheese has 45% fat!
My Gentleman Friend: Yay!
Me: Yay!
My Gentleman Friend: Ooh, and it has a picture of a monk on it!
Me: A happy monk?
My Gentleman Friend: A fat, happy monk! The very best kind!
Me: Because you have to watch out for the skinny ones.
My Gentleman Friend: Oh, yes. With their hawk-like noses and piercing eyes. Total bad guy monks.
Me: This cheese has 45% fat!
My Gentleman Friend: I’m in!
And in celebration of cheese in general, I must show you this. It’s a hotel, carved out of cheese.
Can’t remember who pointed me there, but it was definitely on Twitter. I mean, really! Where else could one find such things?
Also, the creature I call Sponge-pants Bob is there too, in full cheese regalia. The wrongness! And yet, on the other hand, the cheddar!
Item! Black Rainbow!
I was going to say something about this comic, but I will let Jeffrey Cheng say it, instead:
“I hope my work makes you feel something. Whether it’s love, hate, bewilderment, or repulsion.”
I’m kind of at the bewilderment part, with some love mixed in.
And I will add that my gentleman friend would probably do anything for a t-shirt featuring the second panel in this strip (12 grain revolution!)
It’s just one guy.
Item! The Biggification seminar in Sacramento is almost full.
Because I’m doing a thing (a thing!) and it’s a whole day of mad hot biggification for twelve people.
We have a pretty spectacular group of bright, interesting people so far. Ten of them, coming from New York and London and Tucson and Seattle and some other places I can’t remember.
And Selma and I will be flying in from Portland, obviously.
Anyway, if you might be one of the last two people to get in, you might want to take a look.
This way I can say I did due diligence in not completely hiding it, so as not to have to feel as bad when we take the page down.
Item! Update from the land of the Peculiar & Hilarious Shivanauts!
The “peculiar and hilarious” thing comes from Melynda’s sweet bit about Butterfly Wishes.
Interesting bits from some of my Dance of Shiva workshops in Berlin (yes, I’m still in Berlin) and why I like having a paint-spattered piece of wood as my stage.
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 recommendations ever.
Here’s what I want:
- Things you’re thinking about.
- Useful pirate-ey phrases.
(Edit: thoroughly non-useful pirate-ey phrases are welcome as well)
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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Try this for a dose of pirate-ey goodness: set Facebook to use ‘English (pirate)’. It’s awesome, me hearties!
I had a Gouda in Europe once – either Germany or Amsterdam, I think. Having never had Gouda before, I was so excited to get home and buy it regularly. It’s not the same. I am still searching for that elusive taste. So please have extra cheese for me!
On another note, fat makes everything better – why do we try so hard to take it out of things. I discovered whole milk cream-on-top yogurt late last year. I can never go back. The cream. Oh, the cream.
Thanks for the links!
(Much like cheese, I am also excited about the Sacramento seminar.)
.-= Elizabeth´s last blog ..the story of a girl, a dog, and a corn field =-.
I want to stay at the cheese hotel. That’s my dream come true.
Things I’m thinking about: spicy banana sushi.
Had some last night. It was amazing.
.-= Christine´s last blog ..5 things that make a practice routine work =-.
The best cheese I ever had was in Mexico. It was Chihuahua cheese.
As in the state, not the dog.
All kinds of fun Items today, Havi! Thanks for the fun and laughs!
🙂 Jen
Whoa, weird! I posted about cheese today too!
Cheese must be in the air. (:
.-= Pace Smith´s last blog ..Don’t go to the cheese factory =-.
Ooo, I’m an item. I think my heart skipped a beat. I’m not kidding. Of course, that might have been all the cheese…
@Elizabeth, everytime I get a gouda, I say out loud, “Gouda is so good-a!” Cheesy, I know. (rolling eyes at unintended punnishness)
And I love Barbara’s post on the fair! My daydreams are all rural…
And now I’d better get back to it, or the cap’n’s gonna come down here and say, “Gar, time to walk the plank, ya scallywag!”
.-= Emily´s last blog ..The Sun Also Rises on My Preconceptions =-.
I don’t have any new pirate terms to add, but I’m here to point out the multiple possible implications of “plundering one’s booty” or “straightenin’ yer jib.”
“Plumbing the briny depths” is another good one if ye be so inclined.
I’m an Item! …again!
*Swoon*
And thank you for quoting my “there will be no eating of hats” line. I’ve had goats chomp at bits of my clothing before, so I knew exactly what was on his mind when he eyed my hat.
.-= Barbara J Carter´s last blog ..More “little bitty” dot paintings =-.
There is this cheese company on Vashon Island called The Vashon Island Cheese Company and they have the best catalog of cheeses ever. I wish I was there with you Havi, eating the cheese at the cheese hotel.
I’m thinking about creative play and how it’s not the same as just messing around avoiding a project or grinding against a problem trying to find a solution.
Also thinking about stories.
.-= Bridget´s last blog ..Noodlin’ at Work =-.
How funny! Pace posted about cheese today, too!
We watched all of the Wallace and Gromit stuff recently, and I was reminded how much I love it. It was our kid’s first time seeing any of it, and it’s so fun and simple and interesting. I wish they’d make tons more!
Also, we’ve gotten into the “just one guy” thing. We decided to start a band, and we’re throwing all kinds of insane band names at each other, and the results are often hilarious. I may just blog about that, m’self.
Also also, Saturday is Talk Like a Pirate Day! It’s official! (:
.-= Kyeli´s last blog ..Don’t go to the cheese factory =-.
Havi, I may not comment much, but your posts always make me smile. Thanks.
And now I have to send my cheese-a-holic Hubby that hotel made out of cheese. 🙂
.-= Shawna R. B. Atteberry´s last blog ..Company Girl Coffee 9/11/09 =-.
@Elizabeth *fat on top yogurt is to die for!!!* Just had to agree.
When I was a child my mother went to a fabulous cheese shop and they gave me string cheese that I have yet to find the equal of. The only thing I can figure is that the fat content was much, much higher than you find today. *sigh!!!* I pine for cheese!
And a piratey saying… “Let us not, dear friends, forget our dear friends the cuttlefish!”
ARRGH!
Oh my goodness – I’m an Item!
I’m thrilled. Thrilled!
And now I totally want a 12 Grain Revolution t-shirt, too!
My utterly useless Pirate-y phrase comes from the punchline of my favorite pirate-y joke: “Arrrgh…it’s drivin’ me nuts!” (See if you can reverse-engineer the joke from that. Hee hee.)
Anytime something is driving me nuts, I have to say it that way.
.-= Victoria Brouhard´s last blog ..The Fading Significance of Fortune Cookies =-.
Be careful what you ask for, Pirate Version (arrrrrgh):
* I’ve got blisters on my poopdeck.
* Hey wench, nice treasure chest.
* Shiver me timber and scupper me mullet…
* I swear! It was me parrot!
* It’s not the size of the ship… But it is a BIG ship. ;^)
* Arr, I did not upload those songs off me own computer.
* Allo. Me name is Sven. Would you like to attend tonight’s pillage?
Hey, it’s all Gouda… I didn’t have the Havarti to keep going.
How funny that it is cheese day for everyone! I also had a cheese moment today – I ducked into an import store on the way back to the office and bought one of those little net bags of Babybel goudas, each one wrapped in wax with that little paper zip cord. You open it and pull the cheese out, and it leaves you with a Pac-man shaped wax shell. I used to love getting them in my lunch and then playing with the wax. They were always either red or yellow, but when I opened the red celophane wrapper today, the wax inside was orange. Weird. It still smelled the same, though. Mmm.
Thanks for all these great sites to check out!
.-= Sandra´s last blog ..Rookie error, hot or iced. =-.
My grandfather was not a pirate (he was an arms dealer) but he told me something very useful and pirate-ey the day I nearly got swept out to sea by a rip-tide:
“The sea is our best friend and our greatest enemy.”