punk crafts: take two

So, you didn't make it to the Bizarre Bazaar? Well fear not, you can still get diy/punk crafts online! (Or just look at the stuff to get ideas, and make it yourself, like I'm doing.) My favorite is the punk sock monkey.

While I'm in the mood, here's a quick diy craft gift idea for you: A vinyl LP candy dish.

You'll need an unwanted 12" record (for you youngins, that's a vinyl disc with a little hole in the center) and an empty tin can, an oven, and, preferably, a cookie sheet. Put the can on the cookie sheet, with the closed end up. Then put the record on top of the can. (It's a can sandwich!) Make sure that the can only touches the paper label on the record (so that the vinyl doesn't stick to the metal). Then bake the whole thing for about 5 minutes at a medium temperature (try 300° F). Keep an eye on the record, and watch it melt. When it's all nice and droopy, take it out. It will be a funky, wiggly shape. While the vinyl is still hot, you can carefully mold it, if the shape isn't quite even. Obviously, wear some kind of oven mit or something while handling it (you'll want to save your fingers for later activities, I'd imagine). Let the bowl cool, and voila! You've got a pretty spiffy, and very punk, candy dish for your coffeetable. You could also use it to put keys in, or jewelry, (unused) condoms, or any other random small items. Be creative!

If you want to make the bowl suitable for other, messier, items like chips or dip, you can try your hand at filling the bottom with clear acrylic stuff (make sure to temporarily seal the bottom of the hole with some masking tape, first). This stuff is available at craft stores, but I warn you, it's messy to work with.

Wheee!

This excellent web site has a similar idea, and the directions are more elaborate. Plus, there is a picture!

gender bias

It occured to me that my little mini-rant about older people dating teenagers was completely heterosexually biased. Sorry if I offended anyone. I'm ususally one of the most pro-queer straight folks out there. But when it comes to ruminations on love, I tend to forget about other people's preferences. But the advice still stands for same sex relationships. Honest, lasting love is all about equality. And there's just no way a mature adult can escape the tendency to feel superior to a teenager. And that's true no matter what gender you're doing the hanky panky with.

Speaking of kids. I just happened to catch a few minutes of the kid's show "Blues' Clues". It's pretty darn cool. Most tv shows out there are crap but, occasionally, someone does it right.

punk rock crafts

I have now seen it all. Somerville's first annual Bizarre Bazaar was held tonight. It was a holiday craft show by and for the punk/DIY set. Wallets made out of duct tape, and only duct tape. S&M whips made out of bicycle parts. (Hey, that was MY idea!) Beautiful stained glass ornaments made out of old (real) monkey brain slides, from an abandoned research facility. And plenty of zines. Fun stuff. And, for someone who is not at all a punk (though I was such a wannabe in college) I certainly knew a lot of the people there. My favorite is Jef Czekaj. He does the comic "R2D2 is an indy rocker" and plays in several bands with one of my old roommates. He's also got a strip in Nikelodeon's magazine. (How did a punk get into a mainstream kids' magazine?!) The fact that he not only remembers me from a couple of years ago, but that he also complimented me on my letter in the Phoenix, certainly makes him cool in my book. :)

Surprisingly, the other Jef (the EVEN COOLER one!) didn't know about this event, even though the store where he works, Flyrabbit, was selling stuff there. Sucks to be him.

I had about an hour to kill before the Bazaar opened, so I stopped into the Davis Square Goodwill, nearby. I came out with some of the coolest thrift scores ever. A working orange juicer from the 50's, a zen chime box that usually costs upwards of $50 in fancy schmancy museum shops but that cost me only a buck, and of course, another bike. No, I did not need another bike. But it was five bucks. And it's in nearly working order. It's got one of those super cushy, spring loaded seats and I just couldn't resist. It's an addiction, I know.

PS. I noticed that I mispelled Windoze wrong in my earlier post. But I left it "Wondoze", since it has even more of an ironicality to it that way. It was a Freudian slip that happened again just now. Maybe my brain just can't grasp the concept that a Microsoft product has the word "win" in it. or maybe it's just because the "i" and the "o" are right next to eachother on the keyboard.

I have a deckled edge

Quiet week. Only one committee related meeting, which was attended by not one, but two 20-something jock-townie guys from the Massachusetts government. You just KNEW that they drove SUV's with little American flags attached to their antennas. They were entertaining, if nothing else.

I found out that my Dad and Stepmother are ditching the family for Christmas this year. They've been planning a vacation for months now, but had neglected to mention it to me... I've realized that I'm just not a big priority in their lives. They love me and all, but I think that they would be perfectly happy if they saw me once or twice a year. Fortunately, my mom can never get enough of me!

Found out at work that they are really, really serious about forcing us to work on Wondoze machines, against all reason and common sense. PC's are ok if you just want to type letters and numbers on a screen, but ask it to deal with postscript fonts, graphics, or open an undefined document and the things just get all panic attacky. So, I'm looking very seriously for another job. (The CPPAX thing fell through. Too many applicants, and I was overqualified.) In the meantime my coworkers and I have decided that they need to give us raises Combat pay, if you will, for having to deal with an irrational operating system.

On a final note, a roommate bumped into the Jason a few days ago and reported back to me. Apparently, the the woman who he was waxing poetic about (immediately after he dumped me and vehemently claimed that he was not at all interested in being in a relationship), dumped him. And it turns out that she was 19 years old. 19!

Here's some advice for you men out there: If you are still dating teenagers when you're 30 (or even 29, 28, 27...), you are clearly not interested in a serious relationship. You should just go out and get a prostitute, and save everyone a headache. (Just remember to wear those condoms!) The same advice goes for older women, except that chances are slim that the kid is gonna have any feelings for you, beyond those in his dick, so he's probably not going to be too bothered when you decide to ditch him.

my fifteen minutes

Boston area readers can check out yours truly in an article in the City Section of the Boston Globe. And, I was right, the reporter did make note of my keen bicycling fashion sense. Unfortunately there is no photo to go along with the article. Though, there is another article a couple of pages away that has a great picture of a local mother and ALL three of her kids on a bike, as well as a guest, too. They've rigged up a sort of scoop thing on the front of the bike which holds the smaller kids and a trail-a-bike on the back for the older one. (Sorry, no link. The Globe website doesn't seem to have this one online.) This family was on my Rolling Blackout bike ride. They are cool people.

Also, if you are in the Boston area, check out the show at the Oni Gallery in Chinatown. It's hard to find, but it's worth it. The show that is going on for the next few weeks is a collection of engineering art worthy of Rube Goldberg. The show was organized by Dana Moser, who teaches in the Studio for Interrelated Media, the coolest department at MassArt. Check out the web site for his class on Computer-Controlled Media.

couch party

While trying to follow the critical mass group to the Couch Guy's party, I managed to loose everyone. I had to go all the way home and get the address. When I looked at the map, I almost decided to forego the party, because it was located in an area of Somerville which is nearly impossible to get to. It's one of those places where, because of some really insane urban planning, you can see where you want to go but just can't get there. But, I was determined to have some fun, so I hopped back on my bike and ventured out into no-woman's land. I did eventually find the place, and even had a little fun. Immediately, upon passing the doorstep, a bowl of Borscht was thrust into my hands, and, yet another person said "so THIS is Turil!". It was also refreshing to be at a party where getting plastered was not the goal. And, I was hit on by yet another geeky older gentleman. I think I've hit a personal best this week. Sadly, none of these guys is quite the turtle-type, though they all are very nice.

After the party, I came home to find all of my roommates hanging out, eating chocolate, and singing acoustic guitar versions of Pokemon songs. I love my roommies.

overqualified

So I just got a call (at 9pm!) from this organization that has a pretty cool job opening. It's an office manager/outreach coordinator for a progressive political action organization called CPPAX. A very unfortunate acronym, in my opinion. It conjures up visions of some over hyped sci-fi flick being remade by everyone's favorite sappy Christian television network, with Kevin Spacey turning out to be an angel instead... Anyway, the CPPAX woman was essentially conducting interviews over the phone, and I think I did alright. But she said that she was afraid that the position was beneath me. I reiterated to her that I feel that the most important aspect of a job is the people and the ideals of the organization, and that the actual everyday tasks are less of an issue for me. Hopefully she bought it. I really wanted to add that they were offering a higher salary then I'm currently earning. But it didn't seem entirely appropriate. We'll just have to see what happens.

In similar news, I spent the entire workday trying to cajole some html into looking the way I wanted it to. I compromised, and let it do what it wanted in the middle bit, while I forced it to do my bidding on the top and bottom. Hey, if they wanted a webmaster, they should hire one, and not borrow the graphic designer/art goddess. But I kind of had fun.

A random heads up. Home Movies, a part of the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim evening, is a really spiffy show.

Tuesday night was MassBike's annual Bike Night, and I did the tabling thing. It was fun and I even got to accept an award for the Somerville Bicycle Committee. I was interviewed for the Boston Globe, and the interviewer was most impressed with my ability to combine bike riding with a great fashion style. I told her that stretch velvet was the key. I also think that the couch guy himself was hitting on me. Life is funny.

the smallness of the world always amazes me

I've had an ad on a local personals website for years now, and I occasionally get responses from it. Even more occasionally I'll get responses from people I know. Yesterday, I got a response from one of my best friends from college. Apparently he didn't entirely recognise me from my picture or my description. Weird.

All during college this guy was dating one of my other best friends, and after we all graduated, they got married. Then they got a divorce. I haven't talked to either of them in almost a decade. (We had a bit of a falling out, having to do with a poisoned cat, which was probably an accident, but everyone seemed to be a little suspicious...) Now this guy is e-mailing me all over the place and it's just a little creepy. I do like him, and I always did have a half a crush on him way back when. But to go out with my best friend's ex just seems wrong. I don't know what I'd do if he wanted to do anything more than hang out.

On an entirely different note... Next Tuesday, I officially get inducted into the Somerville city government. Wheee! I guess that makes me some kind of politician. Do you think I'll suddenly become afflicted with a serious case of greed and incompetence? Tune in next week to find out.

who, exactly, voted for this man?

This is one of the most astounding things I've ever read. Our very own president, the leader of the so-called free world, the man that the citizens of our country (sort of) voted into the most powerful position in the government, actually said the following, out loud, and within full view of the press:

"If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."

(Sure, it was a while back, and he seemed to think that he was making a funny. But jeez, the man is just so clearly an imbecile. He probably makes jokes about bombs in airports, too. What's scary, is not that he's a world class idiot, but that around 25% of our country honestly seemed to think that he's the guy they wanted in charge. Who are these people, and what is in their drinking water?)

errant hydrogen

This one is in competition for best news headline ever: Gas from sun heads in wrong direction. See the whole article here. The article is less amusing than the headline indicates. Though you'd almost swear that it was written by those wacky folks at the Onion, even though it's actually from CNN.

You know, if the sun doesn't watch out, little Bushie might have it arested for being unpatriotic or something. (You knew I had to sneak some sort of political nonsense in there didn't you?)

So, anyway, happy Thanksgiving to you all. Hope it's a warm and friendly one for everyone. (Thank heavens my rich, republican aunt and uncle are going to be elsewhere for this one...)

sorry, there is no miricle pill

I just found the most succinct article about the liberal position on "Operation Enduring Freedom". It not only offers alternatives to bombing innocent, starving people but it has analogies too. And analogies are cool.

Oh, and for any of you who may have seen the ongoing discussion I started with my letter to the editor in the Boston Phoenix, here is a link to the World Court (actually called the International Court of Justice) where it discusses the court's findings incriminating the US government in acts of terrorism. Here is just one of the sixteen findings:

(3) By twelve votes to three,
Decides that the United States of America, by training, arming, equipping, financing and supplying the contra forces or otherwise encouraging, supporting and aiding military and paramilitary activities in and against Nicaragua, has acted, against the Republic of Nicaragua, in breach of its obligation under customary international law not to intervene in the affairs of another State

This is the primary reason that the US refuses to sign onto the World Court. If we did, we would have to abide by it's law, and that would mean that we would have to be held responsible for our actions. And, as we all know, that is something that politicians are loathe to do.

One final amusing, yet horrifying, tidbit of information. The CIA published a clip art filled manual on terrorism to hand out to potential rabble rousers in Nicaragua. I was going to provide a link, but the site has suspiciously disappeared. Hmmmmm.... But here is a link for a much less entertaining version without the clip art. I'll keep looking for another link for the cartoon version. It really is quite amazing.

drugstore gift suggestion

This made me crack up. I've got my period and I was in my local drugstore picking up some pads. I couldn't help but notice the "Makes a great stocking stuffer!" signs stuck all over the menstrual products' shelves. Is this sarcasm, or are they really trying to convince people that maxi pads are cool? Maybe they're slated to become the next fad, like pet rocks and American flags on SUVs. Needless to say, I bought two cases, and you can now all expect woven sacks, with a box of maxi pads inside, as presents.

(Now THAT was definitely sarcasm.)

quiet

For the first time a a very long time I had a lazy, quiet weekend. I decided to let the political world do it's own thing, while I started thinking about the holiday season. I'm a big fan of the whole Thanksgiving/Solstice/New Years season. I get to see my families, make lots of cool gifts, and eat warm, homemade food. Pumpkin pie, alone, is worth having to deal with the onslaught of annoying, jangly Christmas songs and mindless, rabid consumers clogging up the aisles.

Every year I do crafts for a solid month, in preparation for gift giving. There are usually two or three different items which I concentrate on. This year, I'm starting with weaving. I got some yarn at the Goodwill on Saturday and I've been weaving my brain out ever since. Those of you on my gift list can look forward to woven items this year. Aren't you excited? (Hey.... watch it. Or you might just end up with a woven sack of coal!)

On a similar subject, don't forget that this Friday is Buy Nothing Day. I like to promote it as a day to share something with someone, or to make your own gifts. Instead of going to a mall and subjecting yourself to the madness, save your cash. Stay home and teach a friend how to knit. Or make your own holiday cards by carving a potato and using it as a printing block like you did in kindergarden. Or go on a treasure hunt in the woods for pinecones and branches that you can use to decorate with (bonus points if you can find a chestnut tree and chestnuts to roast). Or (I really love this one) make origami with your money. Whatever you decide to do, don't spend the day giving your money to someone who already has more of it than they could ever use in a lifetime. And, remember to have fun. That's the important thing.

me

A search for my name (Turil) on Google provided a good half an hour of entertaining links. I had no idea that I was a bus company in Uruguay. Also, I am quite popular in the sci-fi/fantasy/roll-playing genre. One particular description of Turil worked nicely for me (actually, it seems so strikingly similar to me, that I'm wondering if it was written by someone I know...). The gist of this Goddess is that she's responsible for inspiration, art, and creativity. Cool. There were also a few writers in this genre who seemed to think that I was male. They're just a little confused...

you're never too old to be a hero

Let's see. The Nader rally was good. Nothing earth shattering. But good. The place was packed, mostly with college age kids. Though there were a few older people, most notibly an 80 year old WWII veteran who sat next to me for a while and told me his life story, as well as his theory that the US was screwing up once again. There was also an older woman, probably in her 60's, who had a nifty moon goddess sort of costume on and was waving an America flag that had a "Be all that you can be: work for peace" sticker on it. She danced through the isles all night and made people happy. And, of course, there's Granny D.

Granny D. is now 91 years old, and just a year ago she completed a walk across the country (3,400 miles or so) to raise awareness of corporate corruption in politics and to encourage the House of Representatives to pass the McCain Feigngold - clean elections - bill. (The bill did eventually pass in the House, but when it went back into the Senate, where it had already passed, it was essentially killed in a committee.) So Granny D. even after her huge adventure, and significant success, is still working harder than most corporate CEO's do in their entire lives.

On Sunday, Granny D. was awarded the Humanist of the Year award by the Boston Ethical Society. I went to the event, and got a chance to give her a copy of Dinkum Oil, which leads with her statement about the attacks of 9/11. She told me that she'd gotten into a lot of trouble for that statement. And then she reached up, patted me on the head, and exclaimed "Good for you!" What's so amazing about her is that she's not really amazing. She's just a regular person who cares, and isn't afraid of failure. Some people think that it's brave to point a machine gun (or missile launcher) at other people. I don't agree. I think what is really brave is to stand up against those people with the guns and say that you don't want to fight. Our country needs some more truly brave people. Actually, the whole world needs them.

While the rest of the US has it's head stuck up it's collective ass, and is wandering around muttering that it sucks but it's the way it's gotta be, I am off to join the few brave souls who want to try and pry those heads out. I'm dressed in my sexiest post-modern hippychick duds (baggy jeans, little black tank top with an even littler lacy purple camisole-thing on top) and I've got a messenger bag full of Dinkum Oil (that would be my zine, the name comes from the Australian slang term for "the truth"), and a pile of "peace is patriotic" stickers. I'm off to change the world. Wish me luck.

While I'm out there fighting the good fight (non-violently, of course), you can do some armchair activism by joining in a virtual sit-in over at the WTO (World Trade Organization), to demand that the priorities of human beings are placed before the priorities of big business.

plugged in luddite

As much as I was trying to avoid it, the inevetable happened. I've now got a cable modem. It was my roommates' idea. It took me three hours of troubleshooting on my own, and another hour-plus on the phone with a couple of people from RCN. That nasty 169.255... address kept wedging itself into my tcp/ip. But now I'm finally speeding along. Which is odd for a turtle. To be speeding, that is. I'm listening to a streaming techno station on MP3.com, and I already downloaded the new Episode II trailer. Aren't you impressed? Nah, me either.

So, the bad thing about the cable modem is that it took valuable time away from the important project. The zine is really, really, almost done now. And with the very visceral deadline of tomorrow (in time for the Nader thing on Saturday), I have to put aside my tendency to nitpick over little niggling details, like I usually do when it comes to art.

A thought occured to me today. If it is legal, in times of war, to kill people, even non-military civillains and diplomats and such, then would it be alright, legally, if someone (not me, of course) from God Bless America™ decided to off George Dubya? Does this war-exception extend to anyone, or do you have to align yourself with the opposition (opening yourself up to attack also)? It seems like there must be some provision to protect from this, but there could be some legal grounds for defense in such a case.

This all brings me to my final point of the evening. How is it that declaration of war suddenly makes murder AOK? A government can up and invade another country, kill as many people as it sees fit, demand obedience from the country's citizens, and implement its own form of government and officials. As long as its got the backing of a majority of the other coutries with the big guns, then its completely legal. What am I missing here? Sure, I can buy the defense argument. If someone rolls into my community waving around a big ole' tank and scaring the cats, I can accept that the National Guard is gonna come in and try to make the evil tank-people go away. But Nicaragua, Cuba, Vietnam? Those were completely unprovoked assaults on our part. Heck, even Afghanastan, since we still don't seem to have any proof who was behind the hijackings, except for a few Saudis and Indians with a death wish. How is it that we can ethically condemn "them" for killing people, when we are doing the same thing ourselves?

I'll leave you with that one to contemplate, while I go play with fonts...

Ani II?

My mother woke me up the other morning to tell me all about this musician she'd seen the night before. She told me that she really loved her, and that I probably would too. She mentioned that the musician was kinda like Ani DiFranco (yep, my mom is the coolest, isn't she?). So I go to check out the woman's web site and lo and behold, I realize that she's not KINDA like Ani Difranco, she's EXACTLY like Ani. It's creepy. Her name is Miranda Stone and the only thing that's noticably different about her is that she's apparently big into religion. But it doesn't seem to get in the way of her ability to write pretty cool songs. Check out her music here, and tell me someone hasn't been experimenting with cloning alternative folk guitarists...

So, while I'm sitting at work this afternoon, it strikes me that my employers have handed me an incredibly dangerous tool: website admin capabilities. It took me a week to realize that I now have the entire website in my hands, to do with as I wish. I'm generally not the sabotage type, but there is an awful lot of incentive to make a few subtle changes that reflect a more environmentally friendly agenda. Nothing that would actually cause any harm, of course, but maybe some subliminal messages about bicycling, or peace, or somesuch. A link that takes you to the Fish and the Bike page, instead of www.BMW.com, perhaps. Of course, if anyone ever discovered it, they'd know, without a doubt, that I was the one who did it. That's the one reason why I'd feel bad about leaving this job, without me, who'd be there pester everyone about progressive politics?

Seth suggests a tinfoil hat might help

So , I had an incredibly productive weekend, despite finally having to come to terms with the fact that Jason is never going to want me. Yes folks, Turil has finally gotten a clue. (Is that cheering I hear in the back there?)

Anyway, I forced myself to try and finish up the zine, and I impressed myself with the results. I'm 80% there, and it looks damned good, if I say so myself. I've had to significantly pare down the amount of stuff I had collected for the project. I barely had any room for artwork, so I guess it's ok that I didn't really have much to begin with. Though, I did find a photographer who has some excellent stuff, and he was overjoyed to have some of his work included. So, another night or two and I should have the thing done. I'm already thinking about doing another one, but that will all depend on my finances. (Anyone know of someone who might want to be my benefactor...)

By the way, if anyone is in the Boston area, this Saturday Ralph Nader is appearing at a rally/concert at the Orpheum. Comedian Barry Crimmins is the emcee, and Patty Smith will be playing, too.

It's nothing amazing, but this article is kind of entertaining. It reminded me about the news story about someone sending Bill Clinton a vial of Salmonella. Lightweights. If they were really serious about making the man ill, they should have sent him an undercooked McDonalds' Big Mac. If the salmonella didn't get him at least the cholesterol would.

I got my stickers today. Decided to go with the more positive "Peace is Patriotic" instead of the "War=Terrorism" that I'd originally planned. So if anyone wants some stickers (I think I have 200) to put up, let me know. I'm thinking of selling some of them to raise money to donate to Amnesty International. Or maybe just use the cash to help print the zine when it comes out.

The guy who stars in the new Richard Linklater film is also the guy who animated it. Odd. In an interview, he mentions that it's one thing to draw a self portrait, and an entirely different thing to do 8000 of them.