Just Like A Chap--Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer

I say!

Momma's Got a Brand New Bag--or so...

Although it isn't really a "purse-purse" in the aesthetic fashion sense that that one would normally think of purses, the Blue Q shoulder tote actually holds up as a purse in the functional sense of looking cool and holding things. I am a "carrier of stuff" by nature: a big bag person. I've been carrying mine for about a week now, and can tell you it works as a purse because it is definitely capacious enough for my needs. The straps are long enough to rest comfortably on a shoulder while wearing a winter coat (still, alas, despite allegedly being spring, a necessity so far) and it has a pocket into which my automatic Chinese Laundry skull umbrella fits neatly. It has ample room for my wallet, cell phone holder, make-up case, zip-pouch of sundries (wet-wipes, hand gel, notebook, pens, etc.) lunch bag, and one folded "shopper" that I had to also purchase, also from Blue Q:

because I am totally in love with Carolyn Gavin's animal designs and I try to use my own bags instead of "paper or plastic" wherever I go. And I have even managed to shove in a water bottle and my Kindle, so what I'm saying is, if you are a pack beast like I am, this is not a bad way to go. The thin recycled plastic material is surprisingly tough and the zipper is usefully rugged. The woven material handles are not going anywhere nor breaking anytime soon.

So anyway, the bag was a sensible choice that definitely worked out. Also, the Letterpress design is pretty cool, especially if you like an old timey motif (I know I'm a sucker for "old-timey" packaging and advertising material--this reminds me of that).

George Bush--If only he found painting a little sooner...

At my other blog, I would go into how much I don't like the administration of GWB and what a miserable, incalculable, wretched load of damage he'd done to the state of the economy, American prestige, our foreign policy, how he made a hash of the War on Terror and the dreadful Iraq war and all of that--

Yet, as a person who isn't completely insensitive to art, I will say there is something specifically appealing, if still crude, regarding his style and choice of compostion as a painter. There are definitely issues of perspective, line, and detail that take a long time to really master and which he has some consistency problems with--but his dogs do have personality. Following through to the Gawker link, there are certain things he picks up visually, like the light reflecting the smooth roundness of grapes, or the play of colors in landscape paintings, that show an aptitude that might have really taken off if nurtured sooner.

And, you know, he might have been able to avoid politics, altogether. It has been suggested that he could command quite a bit for his canvasses on the strength of his name alone. If the proceeds went to, say, Katrina victims, or war refugees, one would not think that out of line at all.

Ermahgerd, pretty corn...

 I don't know how I missed this corn porn, which was posted at, like, half-a-dozen sites I occasionally visit--but check out this rainbow "glass gem" corn. I don't want to eat it--I want to wear it. I'm speaking as a person who does not make a habit of wearing produce. But that is really some very pretty corn. (Keeeee-rist! Blogger has enjoyed eating the videos I've tried to embed, lately--sorry it took so long for me to notice this one.)

GPOY: Blue Q "Join Us" Tote

I know, that isn't exactly me--but when I saw a fox drinking wine and talking about grapes with a blue hen on a small tote bag made of recycled material, for some reason, I said "That is very relevant to my interests."

Probably because of the "being relevant to my interests."

Anyhoo, I picked up the lovely "Join us" tote from Blue Q (designed by Carolyn Gavin) when I was at Journeys Gifts in Peddlers Village, and I have to say, it's probably the cheeriest lunch bag I've ever had. Also, I like Blue Q because they seem like a cool manufacturer and their products are some of the cutest. Since this is "Strangely Random Stuff"--I have to point out that their site qualifies as strange, random, and cool stuff. Basically this is kind of an endorsement. Also an excuse to point out the totes cute tote I'm pulling my pears and Lara Bars out of, these days.

(I've ordered a shoulder bag that I may blog about because I'm kind of over expensive leather purses, but still a total mega-purse afficcionada. Bigger the better, I say. This is an affordable way to do the status bag without the status: unaffordable credit card bill.)

Jukebox: Ray Charles: Ring of Fire

When Woolite Won't Do

I sometimes rebuke my vintage clothes for that kind of warmed-over BO stank you only notice after you've worn a second-hand thing for a couple hours, and then you realize it has "other people stank" all over it, but this is so rare, that I mostly just wash the items before wearing them, and re-inspect them for anything that might look like nits, and just go ahead and add them to my wardrobe. I find that the only things I've ever come across that were distinctively demon-haunted were actual televangelists, although some evanglists were distinctively dodgy even if not exactly on tv.

What I think I'm getting at is--really, Pat Robertson? Always be banishing? It's like you're half a witch yourself.  He would feel lighter if he went white lighter.

Meat the Future: From the Printer to the Plate?

  As you can gather from the Strangely Random ouvre, I'm something of a fan of meat. And yet, I'm also something of a fan of the environment, as well as a person concerned about the ethical questions raised by our eating the other species of animal that we share our planet with. I don't subscribe to the concept of the "dumb animal"--from observation, I've come to the conclusion that pigs, cows, chickens, the animals that we have domesticated and enjoy as food, are capable of feeling and thought, even language, of a kind. No, it isn't like our version of feeling or thought, but, still. They aren't people, but they sure aren't things. For that reason, I'm fascinated by the technological answer that might avert the ethical issue--3D printer proteins! Mechanically-generated meat! How in the hell does that work? Well:

Modern Meadows CEO, Andras Forgacs, tooks to Reddit recently to answer questions that people might have about his company’s technology. If you hadn’t heard, Modern Meadows is developing technology to bioprint meat and leather goods. Funded by PayPal cofounder Peter Theil’s Breakout Lab, Modern Meadows has successfully printed a 2 cm x 1 cm x 1 mm artificial muscle. Although the price point for bioprinted meat is still outrageously high, $326,700 for their first sample, Forgas believes his company is creating the future of humanely sourced meat.

So far, very expensively. But if you think about it, it has some serious potential. One could program the ideal marbling. Boost the compostition of Omega 3 fatty acids. Do away with gristle, but maybe still retain the flavor of gelatin. And I'm a little concerned about where the materials that the printer extrudes come from. Until they've worked this all out a bit, I think I'll just work with the grass-fed, free-range, local source meats I get at the Whole Foods.