A Thing of Beauty, and It's About Beer!

Through the magic of blogging, I came across the most beautiful poster for a beer festival ever:



It's for the Copenhagen Beer Festival 2010 (here's a link to their web site, but it's in ... Swedish?). The fine fellow who writes A Good Beer Blog received a few of these lovely things from yet another beer blogger, Knut Albert, who posted about the festival on his blog (named, aptly "Knut Albert's Beer Blog").

There's not a chance in hell I'll be making it to Denmark this . . . May (I think that's May), but I love the poster. Simple, clean lines, beautiful beery color - very Art Deco. How pretty would this look framed and hanging? Would you think me a poser for having it up in my living room if you knew I hadn't gone?

Breathe deeply, forget those jerks

Listening to the radio this morning, I got so angry that I was shouting and swearing. NPR was reporting on Newt Gingrich talking at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference this week. Gingrich, besides calling the current administration "the most radical administration in U.S. history," also made some comparison between the Republican party and its imagined rivals. The phrase that got me yelling was, "The Republican party was founded on the work ethic, not the redistribution ethic" (cue applause from audience).

What, exactly, I yelled cannot be printed, not even in "Scurrilous Tosh." Let's just say it would have looked like this:

F*+!K YOU! YOU F$*KING A**H{E!

Something like that.

I get so mad at this rabble-rousing bullshit. I have been working since high school. I've been a (bad) waitress, a secretary, a counter girl at a fasteners store (bolts and screws); I've sold soft serve ice, shoes, Girl Scout cookies; I've been a bank teller, a PR lackey, a low-level press release writer. I've promoted the openings of baby hospitals, I've called strangers to ask them how they feel about particular names of HMO plans. I've been a secret shopper, I've sold high-end bar stools, I've even stood for eight hours at a time, extolling the virtues of space-age material in pool cues.

I've worked. All my damn life. AND I'M A DEMOCRAT! And because I don't have an inheritance coming, nor a family business to take over, I will probably work for the rest of my damn life. AND I'LL STILL BE A DEMOCRAT! How dare you! RWARRR!!!!

I could go on and on (and get into some flame-throwing match with a total stranger, most likely), but I won't. My point is, I was fired up. I'm serious: SCREAMING out loud, in my car, in the office parking lot. At a RADIO. At people who I've never met, and hope not to.

And then I opened my car door.

And the orange blossoms saved me. And my coworkers (from having to deal with a sullen brat).

There are few things as lovely as the scent of orange blossoms washing over you in the morning breeze. I was standing downwind from the university citrus orchards, and the trees have just started blooming in the last few days.

Even now, writing about it, the fragrance washes the angry right out of me. This is why nature is important. It's simpler, and yet bigger, than petty politics. Newt Gingrich doesn't know me. That cheering mob doesn't care about orange blossoms. But the scent of flowers was right there, all around me.

And it's comforting to know that this swirling, nostalgic perfume exists regardless of me, of leadership conferences, of radio broadcasts. Regardless of politics, presidents, parties. The smell of orange blossoms simply IS. It does not need me, but damn if I don't get so much out of it.

I think I'm going to take a break from this computer and go for a walk. Perhaps it sounds silly to you, but I suggest you do the same, while things are growing and blooming. Preferably in the morning, but you know, whenever. I wouldn't be surprised if there's something poisonous curled up in your mind, be it a fight with your spouse or something depressing you read about in the news. But I bet there's something lovely in the air that might wash it away.

At least for a little while.

Hallelujah - It's Spring!

I realize that anyone who lives north of Florida would smack me for this, but seriously - it was an unusually cold winter. No, really! Especially for us native Floridians. We're like strawberries - we can handle a freakishly cold day here and there, but successive cold days might actually kill us.

So it's with a glad and humble heart that I welcome spring. It's been in the 70s for several days, the sky a lovely blue today, and the sun is shining. Best of all, my back yard is once again showing signs of life.

I've misplaced my camera, so I haven't taken as many photographs as I would like to; the iPhone camera has several limitations, most importantly (at least when you're talking tiny green buds), it doesn't have a close-up view.

But I did add two new and neat apps to the iPhone last night: Hipstamatic, which allows you to take photos that look aged, plus other cool effects, and TiltShiftGenerator, which also allows you to fiddle with color saturation, focus, and other photo effects. Both say that the app gives your photos a "toy camera look" - but I have no idea what that means.

Anyway, the azalea bush in the back is going crazy:

Photo taken with the Hipstamatic (John S lens, Kodot Verichrome film, standard flash)

Tiki, babies, and other awesome things I must leave the house in order to appreciate

First, did I mention I'm walking for babies THIS SATURDAY? And that I haven't made my lame fundraising goal? Hmm?



Secondly, and weirder, a tiki art show!

The Hukilau (warning: great site, but starts off with music - the player is at the bottom left of the page) is an annual event celebrating Hawaiian and Polynesian Pop culture while honoring the historic Tiki bar, the Mai Kai, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I've been whining about going for several years now, but can't get anyone to go with me, and this little lady doesn't go running around South Florida alone.

ANYWAY, the Hukilau is sponsoring an art show at the Bold Hype gallery in Orlando, beginning April 17 through May 8. Now, Orlando - not as far away as Ft. Lauderdale, AND the show is free. There will a ton of great art from contemporary artists, such as one of my favorites, Shag, and more. The opening night is going to have fun events, as well! Says the gallery owner:

"It's going to be a really fun night, with a tiki bar, music, food, and tons of tiki art. Scott Scheidly will have a new limited edition tiki mug, which will be for sale, and one lucky winner will receive it free, by wearing hawaiian shirt/dress you are automatically entered into the raffle. Opening night, Saturday April 17th, will go from 8 to midnight. The artwork will be up for a month after that. There is no fee to get in at any point."

Doesn't that sound like fun? Don't you want to go?




And don't forget the Hukilau itself - this is a tiki-must!

Help me reach my goal - sponsor me at March for Babies!

Were you thinking about giving a little bit to March of Dimes this year? If so, why not do so via me? Every little bit counts!

Thumbs Up for Roger Ebert

"I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out."

-- Roger Ebert

An excellent article on Roger Ebert in "Esquire" magazine. Film critic extraordinaire, Ebert is still battling the cancer that took his lower jaw. He hasn't spoken a word in nearly four years, but writer Chris Jones brings the man into full focus.

Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/roger-ebert-0310

A Look Back, with Fondness: 2009

As I was trying to catch up on my favorite blogs, I stumbled across a December post from an excellent one, Pilgrim Steps, about a year-end meme. And while, yes, it is February, I decided to look back on the fabulous year that was 2009.


1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Got married! Went to California and Yosemite National Park!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't think I made any for 2009. I did make one for this year - to get to work earlier - and I'm not doing so hot.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not any of my closest friends - they all did in 2008 and back. Some got pregnant in 2009, though.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank goodness. But people that I care about lost loved ones.

5. What countries did you visit?
Just the United States.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Two working showers in the house.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
5/09/09 - my wedding day.


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Training our puppy Murphy to be the lovely dog that she's becoming.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I didn't exercise at all - seriously.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing worth writing about.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Our wedding (of course, I didn't purchase it alone, but it was definitely money well spent).

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Murphy's - such a good girl.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
People who kill children. I don't think I will ever comprehend.

14. Where did most of your money go?
The wedding!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My honeymoon!

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
"Swing," by Savage. For some reason it became my and Kyle's theme song. (Ignoring the actual lyrical content, of course)

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?

1. Just as happy



2. Fatter, most likely.



3. Poorer, but not in spirit.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Running

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Tossing and turning in bed.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With family: Kyle's first, then driving to Palatka and spending time with my parents, my brother and his wife, and my husband. :)

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Yes, again and again.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
"No Reservations" with Anthony Bourdain.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.

24. What was the best book you read?
I can't remember reading a "best" book.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I didn't really have one.

26. What did you want and get?
A meaningful, lovely wedding and honeymoon.

27. What did you want and not get?
Fitter.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
"Coraline"

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 36 and frankly, I don't remember what I did. It came after the wedding and the honeymoon, so probably nothing too exciting.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I had made it to Maine.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
A little too casual.

32. What kept you sane?
Kyle, cooking, an awareness of how lucky I am.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Obama.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Health care.

35. Who did you miss?
My Nana Knight.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
I'm not sure I met anyone new in 2009.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
That the only thing good about missing someone is that it brings the realization of how deeply you loved that person and how much they loved you.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Every long, lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart, they were like Northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true:
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you