second hand love

We went through a bit of vinyl withdrawal here at the Lentil house waiting for a replacement belt for our turntable. Now it's here, it's on, all is well. It is a bit hard to believe a large rubber band can cost so much, but okay. It's also hard to believe a cartridge can be worth $300 - as ours would be, except that Mr. Lentil scooped it up at a thrift store, new in the box, for four dollars. I guess it averages out just fine.

To celebrate we cracked the seal on our original Blue Note recording of Jackie McLean's Action. Yes, it was sealed, geeky collector types, and no, it was not the re-issue! When we owned a record store we had to part with a lot of things we loved. Now, a year past it's closing, I'm starting to feel like a citizen of the world again, of our world anyway, the world where we buy something of quality because we know what we love, and we keep it. It is a much better planet. We're back to our house full of flea market furniture, discarded library art, dusty books and records - back where we belong.

Mr. Lentil said "Are you sure? We could sell it on ebay." Yes, I'm sure. A lot of good things are worth more than money.

turning japanese i think i'm turning japanese i really think so

Last night before bed I watched an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto who invented Wii Fit (among many other things). He was so sweet and obviously motivated by the simplicity and beauty of interactive design. Even saying it that way sounds too complicated. He is just directly connected with his work. Our work doesn't have to be complicated, just attentive and engaged, she mumbles to herself.

Then I went to bed and after dreaming about making thousands of Mii's in a contest, I dreamed I took Mr. Lentil out for his birthday to a small fancy restaurant owned by a Japanese family. We watched as they made our dinner, flat oval-shaped discs made of redbeans, served with a sauce and rice. I was taken aback when it didn't really taste like anything, but as we chewed it it got better and better. Then the mother and father and their little girl all came out with gifts for Mr. Lentil, wrapped in paper and covered with notes they had written to him in Japanese. So, in conclusion, thanks Japanese people, for all the food and video games.

First up today is a dress and shrug with ubersleeves made from the green and black fabrics that you see up there. Getting started with a CD mix of Brian Eno - Another Green World, Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong, Laurie Anderson - Big Science, Dr. John - In The Right Place, and my friend Norm: The Human - The Human Loves You. He does, you know.

etsy colors

my tattoo is cooler than i am, by far.

I took some better pictures of my tattoo this week. I also took some of the other one on my other forearm, which, for some reason, no one ever cares about. I won't even show it to you, so there. Take that. It's beautiful too. But you cannot see it.

I'm a bad leader. When I was a kid I had to earn beads for my Bluebird vest - for leadership, service, business, etc. But my mom was a group leader so I figured who wants to do all these boring things when we have boxes of those beads at home? What's my motivation here? Besides, who the hell wants to be seen in such an ugly vest? And when we recited our Bluebird pledge I would only mouth the line "I will always finish what I begin" because I didn't want to lie. Too bad there wasn't a bead for Cynical But Honest Pragmatism.

But I do enjoy running the Etsy People With Tattoos group. Perhaps because there is no work or obligation involved. Plus, no putting on skits, marching in a parade dressed "like an Indian" in a burlap outfit or selling candy door to door in the middle of Winter.

warn your children

So, I recently upgraded my operating system to Leopard. Ever since then, a couple times a day when I'm busy shuffling things around, a text file called "utah phillips quote" keeps opening up.

I didn't open it. It opens itself. (Cue the theremin.)

You might know Utah Phillips as the crusty old lefty who recorded an album with Ani DiFranco on her label. He's probably done a million other things, but that's how I found him.

I am a quote hoarder. You never know when a good quote is going to be useful. Apparently this one wants to be heard now. Or, my Mac wants you to hear it. Utah Phillips, to an auditorium of children:

"You're about to be told one more time that you're America's most valuable natural resource. Have you seen what they do to valuable natural resources? Have you seen a strip mine? Have you seen a clearcut in the forest? Have you seen a polluted river? Don't ever let them call you a valuable natural resource! They're gonna strip mine your soul! They're gonna clear-cut your best thoughts for the sake of profit, unless you learn to resist, 'cause the profit system follows the path of least resistance, and following the path of least resistance is what makes the river crooked."