A Tale of Two Chimps: Part 1

What a traumatic news-cycle this week has been for our nearest living relations within the animal kingdom. I keep thinking of all those baby chimps out there, in their wittle diapers and parked in front of some TV somewhere, maybe an ice cream cone in hand... and maybe at this very moment one of them is watching that endlessly looped clip of the gunned-down Crazed Chimp of Connecticut... the lifeless chimp body being dragged away by his police executioners... Heartrending, just heartrending.

My Debut Album Drops Today

Ha. Not really. I just made a dummy album cover, courtesy of Wikipedia and Flickr, just for fun, and thanks to this blog posting, "wikipedia names your band." My randomly-generated band name is Pajama Party--it rather fits, actually. Ditto the album's title. Almost makes me want to start a band.

You'll learn the easy 3-step how-to as well as view the posted album covers of others in the blogosphere who played along. As time wasters go, I'd give it big ups: http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/wikipedia-names-your-band

* Pants Sold Separately

(Shudder). I may not date for months. Novelty T-shirts are one thing. But this?? It looks like it was manufactured using the Shroud of Turin method.

So if you want one of these for yourself, don't expect me to play enabler by providing you with a link. Go to Google. The search keywords should be rather obvious...

Knitting Subway Dude, You Just Brightened my Day...

"Knit 1, Purl 2, Knit 1, Purl-- Dang, I think I dropped a stitch..."

Can this Outfit be turned into a Color Scheme?

It's a common designer's trick for generating color palettes and schemes: springboard off the color combinations from a favorite photo, swatch of fabric, bubblegum wrapper, your old prom corsage--whatever you find pleasing to your eye's sense of color. I do it all the time.

And with this rather fun and easy-breezy online tool I found today, you can too. I tried it myself, and here's what I got:

It didn't quite capture the colors in the striped socks (or the brilliance of Marc Jacobs), so there's a dearth of accent colors to choose from. But a better quality photo or digital file might be the fix. I think I'll use this mainly to get those Web-safe color codes you need when generating content for the Internet--just roll over a color-chip with your mouse and voila, the code is revealed. But I'm already imagining all kinds of alternative uses for this tool... Come to think of it, it might come in handy while yarn shopping for that self-portrait in latch-hook I've been meaning to try...
Give it a whirl: http://www.cssdrive.com/imagepalette/index.php

Fashion for the Recession

Cutouts and peek-a-boo holes. An artful slash here and a provocative slice there... Now there's a Fashion Week trend I can get behind, even in these recessionary times. Especially in these recessionary times. Not for the actual fashion aesthetic, mind you, but simply as a matter of practicality. That threadbare T-shirt with the gaping hole in one shoulder, all those sartorial makeovers I've attempted on a garment armed with nothing more than a pair of scissors... Suddenly I've found a way to "spin" a woebegone wardrobe that screams "poverty" into one that purrs "fashion." This is one trend that I hope goes viral.

But I know how those fashionistas roll: troll the streets for inspiration, preempt the trends of the poor-and-not-so-famous, then dump said trend once it catches on. Or pair it with fur (another catwalk trend) to separate yourself from the (shudder) poor-hungry-tired masses for whom "the look" is not a conscious fashion choice but rather an economic necessity.

Oh Fashion... you heartless, spendthrift bitch...

Callout Cards

Is someone disrespecting you?

Making you or someone you know feel uncomfortable?

Tell 'em to back off with a Callout Card.

Send an amusing (for you) yet brutally-frank (for them) Callout Card to any and all who would use the technological marvels of the 21st Century--cellphones, emails, text messages, IM's--to pester and plague your peace of mind. Here's a sampling:

These would have been perfect for a certain "supervisor" (ha!) and saboteur extraordinaire I once had the misfortune of toiling under. Nothing would have saved me from her machinations, ultimately, or kept me in a job I otherwise loved but for her. But it would have been... cathartic.

http://www.thatsnotcool.com/CalloutCards.aspx

The Bailout Booth

Apparently there's a new site out there called bailoutbooth.com. And to generate some media buzz for their site they set up a booth in Times Square in NYC and just, like, handed out crisp $50 bills to anyone and everyone who stood on line--even more, in some cases, if one's tale of economic woe managed to so move the mystery man in the booth.

But if you missed out, no worries. Plans are already in the works for booths in other major cities such as Boston and Philly, among others. So start crafting and honing your tale of woe, folks... I know I am. Then I'm going to blow all $50 on booze, invite over some friends, turn on the CNN, and play a little drinking game: whenever some talking-head utters the word "Bailout" everyone has to chug a shot. Because if we really are facing "the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression" I think a bit of binge drinking is in order--wouldn't you say?

The Bailout Booth: coming soon to a city near you...

Hello Again

It's been a long long time between postings. Can't say I've missed it, truth be told. It took a lot of energy to follow the Obama saga at such a fever-pitch and for so long. Election '08 madness just reached the the saturation point for me back in November, I guess, and an extended break seemed in order. Can't say I'm ready to jump back on that (maybe dead?) horse again, but I'm flirting with the idea. Thought I'd give it a whirl today.

Nothing at all deep-dish to offer y'all today, though. Just some random musings on a few characters and key players from Election '08 that I thought I'd share:

Sarah Palin: She's like the Energizer Bunny from that advertising campaign back in the day--isn't she? Remember those TV ads? Where the Energizer Bunny would just randomly invade commercial spots in which he had no place, banging on his stupid drum while the Snuggle Bunny was busy trying to sell fabric softener or the Whassup! guys were in the midst of pushing their brand of beer, or whatever. I'll be, like, watching CNN and contemplating "The worst economic crisis since The Great Depression" or something, Ms. Palin far far from my mind... and then I'll hear the breaking news of her feud with Ashley Judd or whatever. Irksome, to say the least. I wish she'd just stay on her tundra and leave me in peace. But I know that ain't gonna happen. The one consolation: it's pretty fun being mean about Sarah, I have to admit. Takes me back to the old days...

Joe the Plumber: Like the poster-child for every person who doesn't know what the hell to do with his/her Life. Maybe I'll open a plumbing business. (a beat). Wait, maybe I should run for Congress instead... No, make that Joe the Country Singer instead. (a beat). Scratch that: an Author is what I really am. And by "author" I mean self-appointed Ambassador to the world.

Oh Joe... I'd like to judge you, I really would. But black as your kettle may be, my pot is rather black itself. Trying to pull off a career change in this economy has me bouncing from one potential job title to the next, too.