Send Pinkie Right Over

I am a huge fan of public art.  San Francisco has some of the most beautiful murals just hanging out in various nooks and crannies.  When I lived there I went on a bike tour of the mission to see some of the most stunning homages to society ever made. Diego has a couple, but they are tucked neatly away in buildings. My personal favorite is the Woman's Building on 18th. The entire exterior of this four story building interweaves common female archetypes in a colorful cyclone of movement and wisdom.  The first time I saw it was after it's restoration in the late 90s.  I just stood across the narrow alley breathing in the waves of civic responsibility endowed to me by the artists.

In Seattle we have a sculpture garden, I haven't officially visited, but there is a giant rolly eraser just off Elliot that makes me giggle each time I pass it.  And I was dumb founded by the Yellow Arrow Project based in New York City where people posted yellow stickers with numbers on them.  If you found one, you text the number to yellow arrow and back would come the posters composition regarding that space, building or view.

I've wanted, for quite some time, to create something, perform something or build something of a public nature.  I have lots of ideas but I've got a motivational disorder, ha!  But yesterday, I had the best time ever when a group of friends and I played a spontaneous game of Red Rover in old Ballard outside of Kings Hardware.

Since we are not allowed to smoke in bars anymore, we were gathered outside the building chatting and smoking.  I started "popping and locking" (in a way that proves my severe lack of popping and locking know-how) for the people sitting in the window.  This some how became a group activity and without prompting quickly evolved into the linking of hands and the school yard chant, "Red Rover Red Rover send Checkered Shirt right over"  This request was sung out to complete strangers has they walked down the sidewalk.  Some would walk around, but the vast majority heard the call, set their mark and dashed into our linked arms.  Grown adults, men and women.  

The best part was, of course, our ability to  block even the most  aggressive attempt thus maintaining our undefeated status...  really it was the recognition in peoples eyes when they heard of call.  You could almost see the memories fire up and the complete joy grade schoolers seem to have cornered the market on, surge through the body as our competitors took flight.

I highly recommend the activity to you all.

Nothing in Life is Free

I really hate cellphone companies. Why is it that we have to buy new phones every freaking year? I've had Cingular forever since I get this awesome corporate discount. Basically I get 700 anytime minutes, two lines, free calling after 9 and free mobile to mobile and I pay 50 bucks a month. I'm not a big phone talker, so this is a good deal for me and my mom, who, by the way is still afraid to use the cellphone too much. She calls me everytime she's been on the phone for more than 10 consecutive minutes talking with my aunt on a weekend who is also on our network...sigh.

So Cingular buys AT&T and then they become the NEW AT&T and now they want me to upgrade my network becasue, get this, it's faster. Faster? Yes, faster. So, I can hear people faster? On the phone? Faster.

Um okay, so what do I have to do? Well, sign up for another two years, pay MORE money and we will make you pay for incoming text messages, how's that? uh...I'm thinking no. But explain how this is good for me again?

It's Faster.

Right. I'm hanging up now.

The Gnomes Have It.

The holiday known as the Birthday is my absolute favorite. I love celebrating my friends usually with random acts of public embarrassment, chocolate cake shots and home made crappy gifts. It is particularly enjoyable when I find that perfect gift. Earlier this year I when to knitty.com and found these badass space invader socks that I KNEW must be made for my friend Shanny. If you know her then you know I'm right. She's an absolute total old skool video game dork....and a scientist. That's right a Scientist. But now she's a scientist with SPACE INVADER SOCKS!!!! She'll probably get a raise.



So I love me some birthdays. Especially when it is mine. Take for example....TODAY. SAAAWWEEEEEET! And like all self respecting Leo's I always have a great time on Kelly-mas, in no small part due to my friends. Like, Shanny, who created a photo omage of the life and times of the lowely tea light gnome:

Did I say my friends were awesome?

Wonder Twin Powers Activate

In the form of a Blog. Shake the baby and throw out the bath water, we are back and ready to write.

I have only this to say, A Capella karaoke is the way of the future. A beautiful social experiment that requires mp3 player, ear phones and a party of 15 fully loaded and ready to rock....oh and a microphone. The beauty of it all is that only the singer with the earphones hears the music. The crowd provides their own internal drum track and bleat out the back up vocals and guitar riffs.

Do it.