Sunday, January 27, 2008

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

easy being green

For everyone else who needs to escape from winter bleakness.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Sunday, January 13, 2008

under milk wood

From the brilliant pen of Dylan Thomas:

Alone in the hissing laboratory of his wishes, Mr Pugh minces among bad vats and Jeroboams, tiptoes through spinneys of murdering herbs, agony dancing in his crucibles, and mixes especially for Mrs Pugh a venomous porridge unknown to toxologists which will scald and viper through her until her ears fall off like figs, her toes grow big and black as balloons, and steam comes screaming out of her navel.

embrace the random xxiv

Linguasso Text Collage

Linguasso (for lingual and Picasso) creates totally random works of art, composed of text and based on varying emotions. It chooses an emotion, then displays associated words and dynamically created sentences in random fonts, sizes, and places.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

ten strategies for a healthy 2008

1. No more fast food at all, except for Subway. I've been sticking to this plan since mid-December, and it's amazing how much better I feel.

2. No caffeine. Goodbye, Dr. Pepper--you've been a good physician, but now you only prevent a restful night. You're fired.

3. Limited red meat. Mmmmm, tastes like chicken. Oh, that's right--it is chicken.

4. More fruits and veggies. I ignored them more out of laziness than distaste. Hell, I even like lima beans, so I should invite them to dinner more often.

5. No more falling asleep on the sofa watching TV. This odious habit is screwing up my lower back something fierce. Pathetic.

6. Keep walking. I can't let winter weather stop my walking meditations & ambulatory photo sessions. Layers, layers, layers. And a silly knit cap.

7. Early to bed, early to rise. What am I missing late at night? Commercials for Mighty Putty and the Samurai Shank? Exactly.

8. Read more. Healthy body, healthy mind. I failed spectacularly at this one last year, but 2008 is off to a good literary start.

9. Yoga or tai chi. I need a low-impact activity to keep myself from creaking like the proverbial rusty gate. This will be a tough one, as I am often a lazy procrastinating lump of dung. Gotta keep this body moving.

10. Blog more. Creativity and catharsis, the Wonder Twins of mental health. Let it out, rather than bottle it up. Good for me, good for you.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

keeping current

now reading:
World War Z by Max Brooks

now listening:
Son de Mar by Piano Magic

now watching:
Kissology Volume 2 DVD

Life is good.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

make-believe sunrise

Devastator and I were out shoveling the driveway early this morning--there's my exercise for the day! I did enjoy the smell of someone's fireplace. It reminded me of when I had a paper route in middle school and would be trudging across the tundra at 5:30 am, delivering news to accompany pancakes and sausages (this was the 70's--everyone ate sausage, and lots of it--mmmm, clogged arteries).

Now I have to ski over to work and shovel the walkway there--yay! For all who have only a vista of white today, here is a little bit of color.


Tuesday, January 01, 2008

resolution revelation

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about why I failed so miserably at all of my 2007 resolutions. What it comes down to is this: I had vague goals and no clear strategies for achieving them. It's not enough to say that I won't eat fast food--I have to figure out what I'm going to eat in lieu of fast food. It's not enough to say that I'm going to exercise--I have to determine what kinds of exercise, when, and how often.

Variety is going to be essential for me this year. I must vary my meals, vary my exercise, vary my meditations, and so on. When I get bored or fall into a rut, I have the nasty habit of stopping the activity entirely rather than changing the routine just enough to make it satisfying again. This habit must be annihilated.

Happy New Year!