I’m torn between really loving the book, and being a bit frustrated or confused distinguishing between the two main characters–father and son– and the time shifts. But I’m only almost halfway through the book. On a sentence level, however, the book is incredible.

Speaking of tinkering, last week Judy Reeves (oh, she of San Diego Writers, Ink and A Writers Book of Days, among other lovely accomplishments) and I went to a journal-making workshop at San Diego Art Department. I took a silver-ring making class there last year.

This was a four-hour workshop on crafting/collaging your own journal– though not on binding your own journal as I had thought it might be. But it was still fun. Four hours with a good friend, getting our hands all sticky with glue and watching each other create something meaningful (after all, who doesn’t love a journal, right?).

I also learned some really cool ideas for collaging– notably the use of paint in collage– as background, or sometimes applied on top of the collage. The instructor really encouraged a lot of color, but I’m a bit more minimalist than that. Still, they look pretty good I have to admit.

As much as I love to write, because it’s an act of creating, I feel that same euphoria at working with my hands to create something with paper and paint and glue and ephemera. It’s also meditative and, most of the time, I can finish a project in a few days or weeks (if only I could do the same for my novel…).

Here are some pictures of the experience. The journal with the word Grizz at the top is mine–I’m not sure what my theme is/was: there are bears, old Japanese women in cat glasses, an upside down Oscar, British Admirals– figure that one out.  (Judy Reeves, in case you don’t know her and her fabulousness, is in yellow, the instructor Carla Christensen is in Pink). Do any of you take art classes like this for fun?

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

From NPR The Writer’s Almanac:

On this day in 1666, Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary:

25. Christmas day. Lay pretty long in bed. And then rise, leaving my wife desirous to sleep, having sat up till 4 this morning seeing her maids make mince-pies. I go to church, where our parson Mills made a good sermon. Then home, and dine well on some good ribs of beef roasted and mince pies; only my wife, brother, and Barker, and plenty of good wine of my own; and my heart full of true joy and thanks to God Almighty for the goodness of my condition at this day.

It’s raining on Christmas Day here in San Diego, but that doesn’t dampen our spirits–oh, no!

(actually, I hate the rain–especially driving in it).

We opened our presents–so many amazing books!Yay!

And office supplies from Ted’s mom (among many other wonderful gifts from her and Ted’s Aunt Susie– Ted gave me a coffee press for my office.

One of the gifts I gave Ted is this awesome Doodle Frame
get this– you can draw on the frame (it’s a pad of paper around the picture!)

Isn’t it fun?! (no that’s not me in the pic, but it kind of looks like me, right?).

Another gift I gave Ted is this Savitri Sukul Piggybank from the MOMA gift store.

This year I also made marshmallows. Yes, marshmallows. I tried making them last year but they turned out like Taffy– or rather, like caulking.

This time around I found a better recipe. It’s from About.com and in fact was pretty easy. Basically if you have sugar, corn syrup, water, vanilla, and knox gelatin around the house you can make these. Here‘s the recipe in case you’re interested.

And here are photos (for more go to my Flickr–> on the right sidebar).

note to self: one martini makes making marshmallows much more fun…

but they still turned out well

after your pour the MM into a pan you let it set for several hours and then wha-la, you have a slab o marshmallow

you then cut the slab-o-MM into squares and dust them with powdered sugar

I also made cocoa marshmallows (just add cocoa to the water and knox gelatin in the first step)

when you are done you can put them into nifty little mason jars and give them to friends and family.

Speaking of… We are off to The 3rd Annual Christmas game night with Eduardo, Jen, Dave et al.

…and to all a good night.

(coming in the next post: making soap)

No blogging from me for the next five-six days. I’m going camping in the woods of Guerneville for the annual Lazy Bear weekend, with Ted, Eduardo (yes, we are taking Eduardo Camping–scary, eh?), the Jasons, Charlar, and Aaron from NYC.

I promise pics when I get back.

Have a fun, safe, happy weekend.

I don’t remember how I discovered Etsy–oh, wait, yes I do, it was an ad in ReadyMade Magazine.

I’m getting to the purpose of this post in a moment, I swear.

Anyway, I went to a birthday party last week, for two friends (that I met through Eduardo) who are just about as cool as Etsy (not to mention they are two of the most attractive people in San Diego). At the party was this neato woman who had the funniest tattoo. It was a moustache, tattooed to her finger, so that when she put her finger under her nose it looked like a little drawn ‘stache under her nose. It was hilarious. I’m probably really behind the times on this but it was new to me.

I discovered it’s called a fingerstache and apparently it’s sweeping the country. There’s even a wikipedia entry about it (of course).

It got me thinking about how much I love mustaches. (ok, I just typed moustaches, but my spell check told me it was wrong!–what gives? Is moustache the European spelling and mustache the redneck spelling?).

A few months ago, you may remember, I bought this fun felt badge with a mustache on it (from MooseandBear– a great Etsy seller).

So yesterday I decided to do a search on Etsy for more mustache items and low and behold there are a TON! It’s easy– all you have to do is type in “Mustache” (or Moustache) in the search engine on the Etsy website, and a whole bunch of Moustache items appear, such as:

These ginger mustaches– party favors for your guests to wear. (from the seller Lupin)

This Ron Burgundy felt doll with that funky lil ‘stache. (from Kezzaroo)

This mustache book bag. (from Eriogonum)

This awesome print, called “Mustache Princess” (from CuriousZoo)

This freaking crazy pillow! which comes with velcroed mustaches!

MUST HAVE THIS PILLOW (from sallyenglanddesign) There’s also a smaller version of the pillow.

And, of course, the item i’m STILL pining for…

The Mustache Comb Necklace. (by Makool)

Sigh.

Wouldn’t I look cool with that? Tiny running shorts on, and striped tubesocks pulled up to my knees, my shirt unbuttoned down to my navel and the mustache necklace swinging like a pendulum between my chiseled pecs?

In the meantime, isn’t this awesome? I don’t know how I found it; I was surfing the net, reading travel blogs (obviously not doing the work I was supposed to be doing) and somehow this popped up:

Cracked Me Up.

This is the first time i’ve ever bought a copy. I’ve read it at friends’ houses, i’ve been to the website– i’ve long been a fan of Heidi Julavitz (In grad-school I studied for a couple of semester’s under her hubby Ben Marcus). But for some reason i’ve never bought one of my own. I think I was a little afraid of it– you know, like it was one of the cool kids and I was one of the geeks?

Well who’s a cool kid now, huh?

Now i’m thinking of getting a subscription.

Boo rah.

It doesn’t hurt that there is a cool drawing on the cover (one that includes Tippi Hedren–a definite plus) by Charles Burns.

In addition, there are interviews with Todd Haynes and Errol Morris (with Werner Herzog); Chuck Klosterman’s take on Road Pictures; an awesome article on Hitchcock’s mistake in not casting Henry Fonda as the lead in Vertigo (the role went to Jimmy Stewart); a great article by Jim Shepard called The Vanishing and American Sociopathy; and killer drawings of cameras by Paul McCreery (my new favorite artist).

Oh, and did I mention there is a DVD– part 1 of the film Pervert’s Guide To Cinema by documentarian Sophie Fiennes– which is “designed to lure you into Slavoj Zizek’s web of psychoanalytic theories on the nature of movies, desire, and fantasy.” It’s an illustrated lecture where Zizek inserts himself into the film clips he discusses (the locations and sets real and simulated)– including “Tippi Hedren’s boat on Bodega Bay” from The Birds.

Fabulous!

and grading and preparing for this Literary Arts Festival at one of the colleges where I teach Creative Writing (i’m giving a talk for their “Writer as Activist” Festival Theme–but more on that another time).

In the meantime, here is one of my latest finds/purchases via Ebay:

A pulpy British sci-fi novel called Revolt of the Triffids from 1952.

This was made into a creepy movie in 1962 called Day of the Triffids with hunky Howard Keel (of “Annie Get Your Gun” fame). I remember seeing the film when I was a kid and being pretty freaked out by it–especially the meteor shower at the beginning of the film that blinds everybody in England.

Like the recent film, The Ruins, it features killer plants.

Anyway, i’m a big fan of pulp novels, especially those that are based on films (like the one I got for the film “The Bad Seed“ a few months ago). So i’ve started collecting them.
Funny thing, though, this book, Day of the Triffids, really works the sex angle, which I didn’t think was in the original film, but by the looks of this pulpy cover the film could be soft-core porn (with plants). Note the buxom-y babe with the Jane Russell top and the Veronica Lake peek-a-boo hairstyle.

An ‘Unusual Science Fiction Novel.’ Mmm hmmm.

Fun stuff.

and the back:

They were lovers, caught between the heaven of their frenzied love-making and the hell of fighting the Triffids.

Here are some other, less sexualized, covers for the book.

And that, dear readers, is your movie trivia for the day.

I decided it was time for a change, so I shaved off part of my Morgan Spurlock–

Or my Morgan Spurlock-inspired goatee thingy.

I’ve had it since about 2005, I think.

Here’s a pic of the old look: And a closeup:

Now i’m sporting more of a Sam Elliott: (no pic of mine yet, but here is a lovely pic of Mr. Elliott)

or at least it will be a Sam Elliott after it grows in a little bit more.

I’m hoping to grow it thicker, kind of like a Magnum P.I., too (though mine’s a little longer):

When it grows a little thicker i’ll put up a picture of it.

Maybe i’ll even be able to get this mustache comb necklace from Cool seller, Makool, on Etsy:

I have to say, I think it’s kind of awesome (if a bit pricey, at $126.). Does anyone know where I can get a cheap knockoff? A Faux-Mustache Bomb Necklace like a Faux Fendi Bag? (my birthday’s coming at the end of April…)

In honor of my new look I just bought this funky felt mustache badge from Moose and Bear’s Etsy shop (who made the now infamous Wenis badge) to put on my man-purse. Love it.

Here are some other famous, classic mustaches:

Cary Grant

Charlie Chaplin

Friedrich Nietzche

and Cary Elwes