martinimade

Once upon a time, Lisa and Adrienne worked for the same alternative newsweekly. Now, both spend their respective lives mining their creative souls and leading hermit-like lives. And so an idea was hatched. Every week, one would send the other a sketch—either in illustration or word form—and the other would make a companion to the sketch. The result would be posted on both their blogs every week, just for grins. Even if the result isn't award-worthy, the exercise makes both minds more nimble. Hopefully.

<VO>

Here at the Hair Club for Super Manly Men, we know that you have a lot of choices when it comes to your hair replacement therapy. 

You could go with plugs that have been vigorously cultivated from your should hair.

You could thatch your denuded head with a mat woven from freshly plucked goat beards.

You could choose creams, gels and unguents, rubbed into your manly scalp by strong lady hands. 

But when those fail, we know you’ll choose our patented BrowComb (TM) Technology. 

Remember, those of us at the Hair Club for Super Manly Men are also clients.

Also: Freebird! 

<end VO>

* While we have had the good fortune to not have to deal with this (yet), I have friends who have been driven mad by the durn things.

* The exquisite syllabi of David Foster Wallace.

* On the Gluten-Free Lifestyle category.

* He's not a clown.

* My favorite is #7.

* This is more accurate than you might think.

* My least favorite student question has been answered.

* Nerds and Male Privilege. 

* Now this is cosplay I can support.

* Note to self: Make time to watch this.

Perhaps the most exciting thing I have to share with you today is Magick4Terri, an online auction to benefit Terri Windling. Yes, I do have an item in the mix - but I'm also terribly tempted to bid on some other stuff. If you can, please help out. 

And if you'd like to do a little more "Cyber Monday," a phrase that gives me a tiny case of hives, shopping, let me just place a gentle reminder here that I have some books, both standard and e-, available for your holiday giving. 

But, really, shove some money at Terri if you can.

In other news, there really isn't much other news, other than the end of the Fall semester trying to kill us all. As it does.

I did, however, cook a fine bird on Thanksgiving:

My FIL actually asked if I always take pictures of my food. There is no right answer to that question.

Also, the husband and his uncle spent some of the weekend destroying and then rebuilding parts of our front porch:

The fun never does stop.

"So it bothered me, that night of the pitch-black sky, to find that I'd knitted a second heel. Once I'd done it and lost my young man. Twice and I'd lost my sister. Now a third time. I had no one left to lose. There was only me now.

"I looked at the sock. A plain thing. It was meant for me.

"Perhaps it didn't matter, I told myself. Who was there to miss me? No one would suffer from my going. That was a blessing. After all, at least I'd had a life, not like my young man. And also I remembered the look on Kitty's face, that happy, peaceful look. Can't be so bad, I thought.

"I set to unraveling the extra heel. What was the point of that, you might wonder. Well, I didn't want to be found with it. 'Silly old woman,' I imagined them saying. 'They found her with her knitting in her lap, and guess what? She'd turned her heel twice.' I didn't want them saying that. So I undid it. And as I worked I was readying myself to go, in my mind."

- Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale, a perfectly adequate modern gothic.

To those who celebrate it, a Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be filled with turkey and a lack of drama.

All, however, can enjoy this classic.

Once upon a time, Lisa and Adrienne worked for the same alternative newsweekly. Now, both spend their respective lives mining their creative souls and leading hermit-like lives. And so an idea was hatched. Every week, one would send the other a sketch—either in illustration or word form—and the other would make a companion to the sketch. The result would be posted on both their blogs every week, just for grins. Even if the result isn't award-worthy, the exercise makes both minds more nimble. Hopefully.

Memo

To: All Employees

Re: Mandatory Workplace Violence Training

On Thursday, we will hold our annual Workplace Violence Training. Attendance is not optional. (And, yes, Steve, that means you, too. We tire of your excuses, by the way, and boggle at just how gullible you must think we are.)

This year’s Training will focus on the proper uses of the common #2 pencil. While eye-gouging will be covered, we will also think outside of the box, so to speak, and look at all of the other potential painful applications of this common piece of office equipment. The men of this office (And, yes, Steve, you, too.) are advised to wear a cup.

Due to last year’s mishap, employees are advised to wear garments without loose ties, fringe or laces. 

Thank you for your co-operation.

Text ©Adrienne Martini; illustration ©Lisa Horstman. Until the end of time. Or something.

* I want to go here. And another from the Times: how to start running. And another: on better parenting.

* On good translation.

* Dialects. (Sadly, there isn't an example of the way Southern Tier New Yorkers say "elementary.")

* Try as I might, I can't visualize the result. I mean, I can see it if you pulled from the top of the ladder but not if you pulled from the bottom. 

* While I enjoy watching Work of Art, I doubly enjoy reading judge Jerry Saltz' thougths on each episode.

* If you've ever wanted to see what my handknitted socks look like, go to this and look carefully around the fireplace. (Why they are there is a long story, that I might relate if you ask nicely.)

* I'd like seven minutes in a closet with John Oliver, too. (And you can tell that he's spent a lot of time doing improv if you watch his eyes.)

* The douche is in decline.

* Sigh.

* I need a box of these. Truer words have never been put on a greeting card.

* "Here and Heaven" is my new favorite song.

* The best profile of Julie Taymor you're likely to read.

* Yes, this: "A commenter here, for example, began a supportive comment on a post of mine with: “I think Christie is correct, and I’m not just saying that because according to her profile picture, she’s absolutely beautiful. [emphasis mine]“. I get it. He wastrying to be flattering – but instead, he implied that my looks are the most important factor in whether or not something I write is correct."

As I do each year around this time, I spent the weekend with knitters. As is also traditional, I suffered camnesia. 

I did manage to take a few pictures of Anne Hanson's blocking workshop, tho. 

Note that knitters will use any water holding vessel when the situation is dire.

Hanson herself, with towel. 

Barbara Parry blocking some antique Orenburg lace.

Mere words cannot explain how gorgeous this was in person. Here:

Swoon.

Like I said, knitters are resourceful.

A fine weekend, all the way around. Oh - and I might have spent some time doing something other than knitting at the knitting retreat....

(thanks for the loaner wheel, Anj....)

Now I just have to figure out how to ply. And how all of this spinnable fiber wound up on my printer.

"Which path do you intend to take, Nell?" said the Constable, sounding very interested. "Conformity or rebellion?"

"Neither on. Both ways are simple-minded -- they are only for people who cannot cope with contradiciton and ambiguity."

-- Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age

Finally, after a year of wondering if it was ever going to happen, The Boy had his first loose tooth.

And shortly after this picture was snapped and he wandered back downstairs, he came running up to hand the tooth to me because he'd pulled it out. 

The Tooth Fairy finally got to put a dollar in his pillow. There was much rejoicing.

Related: the whole kids loosing teeth thing is one of the parenting tasks that simply squicks me out. I hated loosing them when I was a kid; it makes me queasy when my own kids show me how wiggly a tooth is. Bleg.