weapons of massdistraction

I cry uncle. Or, as my son’s Dad would have us say, I yield to the merciless aggressor. Everything is horrible. The news has been overwhelming this week. The U.S. House of Representatives shamefully passed CISPA. Our local weather can be categorized as soul-crushing. My illness persists. I need to be transported. Mentally at least, if not physically.

Five things to divert my attention:

• “In Sri Lanka, the coconut is, in a sense, a source of life. Not only it is the main ingredient in most Sri Lankan dishes, but the entire coconut tree — From the roots to the coconut itself to the tips of the leaves — plays a major role in the non-culinary ways of life. Without the coconut, things in Sri Lanka would be very different. We spent the day with a family of 8 on their coconut plantation outside of Negombo, where they showed us all this fruit (nut?) has to offer.” Wonderful video.
• Speaking of coconut….local ice cream makers FrozBoz have crafted a vegan-friendly coconut hibiscus and lime flavor. I would love to try it.
• Most of the news stateside has been crap, but the other day lawmakers in New Zealand approved a marriage equality bill. Go Kiwis! And in it’s-about-damned-time-news, Activists cheer as Montana formally decriminalizes gay sex
• This hyper polyglot teenager taught himself to speak 23 languages. Neat.
• Science is awesome. What Happens When You Wring Out a Washcloth in Space

With yet more snow blanketing our region it seems like Spring will never come. We’ll just skip ahead, eventually, into summer. And summer of dresses. To that end I’ve been pinteresting dresses I would like to wear. Some day, when the weather cooperates. But that only induces more guilt about being brainwashed by our consumerist culture. I can’t win. And now more than ever I want off this rock. But all I’ve got is escapism. Elysium or Oblivion? Speaking of off of this rock and escapism…I also have access to watch the Lil Bub documentary in its entirety (the trailer posits that she is really an alien). I plan to tune out the rest of the world today and daydream about warmer and happier times.

Mother Nature fights dirty. I was already feeling down about this endless winter but then I got kicked in the kidneys, so to speak. Been out of commission with a migraine that morphed into a nasty sinus infection. Still, I find this to be fairly helpful advice:

21 Tips to Keep Your Shit Together When You’re Depressed

Tangentially related…another really good read. How not to say the wrong thing - “It works in all kinds of crises – medical, legal, even existential. It’s the ‘Ring Theory’ of kvetching. The first rule is comfort in, dump out.”

Five good things for this gloomy Monday:

• I recently learned about Lyft, “your friend with a car” in Los Angeles. A most excellent idea.
• 40 Hilariously Mean Roger Ebert Reviews
• Leaning in? Don’t fall over. When I was college-age my parents earned enough income that I didn’t qualify for much in the way of financial aid. But they were divorced - and not amicably - and neither would agree to help me in any way. I was on my own the day I turned 18. I attempted to go to school part-time and work full-time. Working won. Now I’ve been in my IT career for 21 years and a single parent for 13+ years of it. I’ve never had the luxury of choice.
• Gorgeous photo series, The Masks We Wear and incredibly well done Comic Book Illustrations Into the Real World
• The 2013 Minneapolis International Film Fest has begun!

At work right now but heading to the doc later this morning. Hoping to get a Z-Pak to knock out this nasty business and return to my regularly scheduled programming.

Awful things happen all the time everywhere (like hey, another Exxon pipeline spill). But lately they have been happening adjacent to me. A good friend’s mother passed away. A good friend of some of my close friends, Elyse Stern, was struck and killed by a drunk driver who sped away and left her to die. Another bicyclist friend of friends survived a freaking Molotov cocktail attack on Minneapolis’ Midtown Greenway, in broad daylight. And Roger Ebert died.

I’ve been feeling pretty down this week so it is harder to come up with my usual five good things. But I’m going to do it anyway. Because it will make me feel better.

Five good things for this Friday:

• Edison High innovator engages kids, reaches finals in Teach-Off. What a wonderful teacher! Watch the videos and vote here for Christopher Leonard Pennington.
• So much new music to enjoy right now. I love the new Low. And the new Kurt Vile. And the new Marnie Stern. And the new Julianna Barwick single. Been listening to the Knife’s New album Shaking the Habitual, streaming via Pitchfork. Live music-wise we saw Low at The Fitzgerald last month and Sigur Ros Wednesday night. This weekend we’re going to see Iceage and next week Julia Holter will be at The Walker.
• This is an incredible project. “Beijing Silvermine is a unique photographic portrait of the capital and the life of its inhabitants following the Cultural Revolution. It covers a period of 20 years, from 1985, namely when silver film started being used massively in China, to 2005, when digital photography started taking over. These 20 years are those of China’s economic opening, when people started prospering, travelling, consuming, having fun.”
• Your Morning Cry: Volunteer Pilots Fly Rescue Puppies to New Forever Homes
• Lastly, fantastic scotch tape portraits. I need to set aside some time to do this with the guys at home. For sure.

Speaking of the guys at home…the boyfriend is all moved out of his old apartment, as of Monday morning. But definitely not all settled into mine (now ours). This is the first time I’ve attempted cohabitation since 2006. So far so good but we have a lot of work to do to de-clutter and get everything situated. I’m de-cluttering in other areas of my life too. Even just unsubscribing from the countless email lists I was receiving and trying to reduce other distractions as well. Going away up North to the solar barn home in Biwabik was the best thing ever. I kinda wish we were still there, where life is simpler.

Oh Minnesota in March. Today and tomorrow will be all about the snow dramarama. There have been school closures (a pretty rare thing) but not for my son. Though I did receive conflicting robo calls from the school district and the school about whether or not students would be dismissed early today. Either way, the roads are seriously rough. Spin outs and accidents and cars in ditches everywhere. Snow emergencies have been declared in both St Paul and Minneapolis. I am content to stay put at home with my car safely stowed in the garage. And I’m once again thanking my lucky stars that my landlord pays for snow removal service. I’m sad I’ll likely be skipping kickboxing tonight due to the inclement weather. But it’s not worth putting myself in danger just so I can go punch and kick others, even though I love it so.

Five good things, plus one sticky one, for this wildly wintry Tuesday:

• National Archives: Searching for the Seventies. Some seriously awesome shots! Oh, and speaking of that era - “if you ever wonder what is wrong with people who were children in the seventies…” - yes, this includes me. Enjoy this crazy classroom film, via your daily cartoon.
• I like what these folks are doing. The New Traditionalists: The back-to-basics movement ranges from food to fashion to art, with one thing in common - taking up old trades to forge a new lifestyle
• Looks like we have until the end of the month to check out the Guinness Book of World Record-breaking giant Lite Brite mural at St. Paul’s Union Depot.
• I do love watching Thom Yorke dance. First in the Lotus Flower video and now with the wonderful Fukiko Takase in the new Atoms for Peace video for Ingenue
• If Only Every City Had a Masked Lucha Libre Defender of Pedestrians
• Clearly I am in favor of documenting and sharing certain aspects of my life via social media. I was an early adopter of blogging, flickr, twitter, facebook, pinterest, now vine and more. But I am selective about what I share. This piece brings up some very good questions about Google Glass - not what it’s like for the user - but for everyone else other than the user.

Last weekend was a busy one. Dinner with a friend and swimming with my son Friday. Kickboxing Saturday along with house cleaning and then a house show. All day brunch at our place Sunday. And later that night I had a funny photo shoot with a band. We trekked outside, in the dark, up and down snowy hills and along railroad tracks to get to a ravine. I was bundled up and wearing my hiking boots. The actual photography part took maybe 15 minutes and then we slogged back to the cars. I went straight home. Where I decided to take out the trash. And that’s where I wiped out on ice, hard, in my alley. The heck? Earlier I was fine while hiking through treacherous icy locations, like a sure footed little goat. Guess I just wasn’t paying enough attention in my own back yard. At least I was so bundled up in layers under my puffy parka it cushioned my fall, even when I landed on my elbow.

Last weekend was a busy one. Saw Warm Bodies Friday night with the boyfriend (the book was better but the movie was cute). Kickboxing Saturday morning. Show at the Kitty Cat Klub Saturday night. Snow tubing in the suburbs on Sunday plus a visit with my Dad. A friend’s birthday party at The Butcher & The Boar Sunday night. Fun times, to be sure. But major stressors were thrown into the mix. Expensive car repairs. Debating whether or not to renew my lease and/or enter into a cohabitation situation. Realizing I need to start booking my 40th birthday party show now! Thankfully things seem to be working out.

Five interesting items of note:

• I am looking forward to this Vivian Maier documentary. Such an intensely private person! The opposite of me, to be sure. But she was so driven and prolific with her photography, only to keep it to herself and never share it with anyone. I’m so glad the treasure trove was discovered.
• Love what A. Lee Martinez has to say here with “Die Hard: The Phantom Menace Legacy“
• Speaking of action movies and whatnot… “How easy is it to knock someone out with a smack to the back of the head? What causes a person to lose consciousness?“
• Also Bruce Willis related…Cinema Tarantino: The Making of Pulp Fiction
• In a different sort of movie news…the Internet Cat Vid Fest is coming back! But to the state fair. During state fair season. At the Grandstand. Huh.

This weekend is shaping up to be just as busy. We’re going to party like it’s 2006! Some old friends are in town (and some no-longer friends, eep) for STNNNG’s new album release show / Modern Radio Records 10th anniversary. It begins with a 5pm house show which leads into simultaneous or slightly alternating sets at both the Turf and Big V’s. It’s going to be one helluva night. Thankfully my son will be staying overnight with his Dad.