sneaking a post in here. i just finished uncertain peril, a book by claire hope cummings about genetic engineering, the privatization of public institutions and the politicization of science. so interesting and important and thorough and, in many instances, shocking. i wanted to dog ear every page, but restrained myself since i had the book from the library.
cummings is a journalist, and she grounds the chapters of her book in specific places, like berkeley, hawai'i, abu ghraib, norway, vietnam, iowa, mexico. she gives the reader scientific, historical and political information, while telling fascinating stories. and, i don't want to tell too much, but storytelling, it turns out, is vital to our being able to deal with and transform the environmental mess we are in. stories and myths shape how we think.
i just read the first page of another book i checked out, diet for a hot planet, and it seems like it's going to be a continuation along similar themes. anna lappé opens the book by quoting environmental philosopher susan griffin:
Like artistic and literary movements, social movements are driven by imagination...Every important social movement reconfigures the world in the imagination. What was obscure comes forward, lies are revealed, memory shaken, new delineations drawn over the old maps: It is from this new way of seeing the present that hope emerges for the future...Let us begin to imagine the worlds we would like to inhabit, the long lives we will share, and the many futures in our hands.
these words about stories, art, social movements and the imagination encourage me.
reading the excellent wisdom of the last farmer by david mas masumoto right now. thank goodness peach season is here because this book makes a person crave peaches big time (and cry btw).
my camera has officially passed. i think i'll take a blog break until june while i work on my book project.
i am researching publishers right now for the book i've been compiling/designing. one of the publishers writes in their submission guidelines that when indicating one's target audience, one should not refer to "cultural creatives." they write: This mythical group is referenced in nearly one-third of the proposals we get, and carries no weight with us. this cracked me up.
yesterday i was craving waffles. and breakfasts in general. probably because i was looking at these.
while i was looking at breakfast photos and craving waffles (and eggs and toast and smoothies and cheese and and and), i listened to an npr concert by low and loney dear, two of my faves. these older loney dear songs are new to me. (download concert on bottom left)
one of my favorites from the cca mfa exhibit: mara baldwin
well, this has been a totally scattered post to break with. ah well. i leave you with these cuties: and smile please.
see you. (maybe it's time to transform the blog too....)
if you're in the bay area, come to our spring opening tonight from 6–9
project sprout gallery 900 tennessee st., #16 (at 20th st.) san francisco, ca
jen explores botanical lore and medicinal folk tales about dogpatch plants in her pieces. i am showing sewn leaves (a playful look at the many shapes nature takes) and botanical watercolors.
this shouting across the dividethis american life episode aired again yesterday. the first part is about an american muslim family that gets discriminated against and abused after 9.11. the worst of the family's troubles occurs a year after 9.11, when a hateful book is distributed to fourth grade classes throughout the family's school district. the fourth grade teacher at this family's child's school allows (and fuels) the students' cruelty toward their muslim classmate. a powerful, sad and angering story. the teacher should have been fired in my opinion. and it's shameful that none of the other families in the district complained about this book or about the hateful environment that was being fostered in the schools.
midway through passing out cards, we were forced (by our sweet teeth) to stop by tartine. i almost want to eat the cakes and pastries for their stunning good looks alone. luckily they taste even better than they look.
the other evening at art murmur, we stumbled upon a show of work by permacouture artists.i loved it. such thoughtful work that clearly requires a lot of process and craft. dying, weaving, sewing.
(i dyed yarn once in the cutting cold in sjövik, sweden. our class collected various plants from the area {i was on blueberry leaf collection duty} and spent all day outside dying yarn. in the end, we each had a wheel of yarn in so many colors, little tags dangling from each yarn swatch telling which leaf, berry, flower in nature lent its color to that swatch. it was a long and very cold day, but satisfying in the end to see the rainbow of natural colors.)
above is (a not good photo of) part of one of sasha duerr's woven dresses. so pretty. she is the founder of the permacouture institute. she also co-created a dinner to dye for, a slow fashion/slow food event.
and in what must be very unsustainable fashion, here are some photos from valentino and chanel books.
the valentino book is beautiful with great photos. his dresses are luscious sculptures. look at (fuzzy) young brooke shields.
this california bear looks out over the bay. well, the bay is over bear's right shoulder.
this is some of the view from the place where my friend was pet sitting. the place with mini. the house has an almost 360 degree view of the bay. from the front deck, the house overlooks sausalito, tiburon and angel island. one can see downtown sf, the bay bridge and the richmond bridge. from the back/side of the house one can see the golden gate and the point bonita lighthouse and the marin headlands. it's incredible! and so peaceful with all that water surrounding. so much blue passing through every shade.
the house perches atop the ridge across the highway from sausalito proper. and it really feels like a perch. like a birdhouse. i slept in a bed high up off of the floor. going to sleep i felt like i was on the tip of a triangle on top of another triangle on top of another triangle (the bed in the house on the hill). i am a bit afraid of heights, so the sensation was not entirely pleasant. i could almost feel myself swaying out over the ocean. tipping. but i gave in to the idea of falling and slept so soundly.
(since my camera is really on its last pink leg, the view photos don't do the view justice. the sky wasn't pink at all. both days it was blue, blue, blue. tried to adjust the photos in photoshop, but the pink is just too much.)
emporio rulli is an italian cafe, gelateria and wine shop with an old timey italian feel. there in the kitchen they make candy, tarts, gelato and many italian pastries. (the pastries were definitely better than the cookies.) the chocolate pastry above had a raspberry paste inside. so good! mmm m. oh and the coffee is delicious too.
this is mini, one of the fine dogs my friend liz is pet sitting. mini was rescued in baja from a dumpster. she was but a wee puppy. (how someone could leave this charmer {or any puppy} in a dumpster is beyond me.) when she was discovered, she was malnourished, but she is very spry and snappy now. look at and listen to how ferociously she attacks the snake. mini struts when she walks. her front legs are crooked, but that doesn't stop her! she is fantastically soft too. and likes to snuggle a lot. she also likes to stand on her hind legs, her front ones on your lap, and have you rub her back. she leans her head back then as far as she can and smiles.
i am making something very tall. pinky leon helps as usual. i will show you more in april. unfortunately i think i may have to seam rip a very, very, very, very long seam because it did not turn out right. found this video on emma's blog. you must listen to the sound too. the sound makes it.
1. if you want to stop getting credit card offers (for 5 years or forever!), check this out from the FTC. there's also a lot of info about stopping other kinds of junk mail here, but i don't know who sponsors this info. seems good though.
2. the usda is accepting public comment about GM alfalfa until this wednesday. here is the USDA email page. here is some wording from credo:
I am writing in regard to Docket APHIS-2007-0044, and I demand that the USDA reject Monsanto's application to market genetically engineered alfalfa. The USDA may not believe it matters if GE alfalfa contaminates organic and other non-GE crops, but I certainly do. Consumers must be able to avoid genetically engineered products. Farmers must be free of the threat of contamination and the USDA must not put organic farmers' livelihoods at risk. The USDA admits that approval of GE alfalfa will make transgenic contamination inevitable. This is unacceptable. Therefore, I urge you to reject Monsanto's application to sell genetically engineered alfalfa.
here is more info from credo on the matter. (you can also send your email through the credo site, but then you get added to email lists.)
having one of those especially clumsy days today. i've tripped twice—once catching myself on the kitchen sink with my elbow. have knocked several things over. gotten scratched by the cat (ok maybe that's not due to my clumsiness, but i did pet his tummy, so partial clumsiness, partial ornery kitty). and i made a bad soup from delicious ingredients. that is hard to do. hrmph.
in the few warm days we had last week, i started daydreaming about outdoor fika and picnics, complete with china and cloth napkins. this weekend i made these pink napkins for myself. the floral side is cut from a thrifted pillowcase. the other side(s) from left-over quilting fabric. i like to mix floral and geometric patterns.
i am not going to tell you where in the flat my cabbage photo was taken though. let's just say the turquoise walls (which are way more blue and bright in person) of a certain room seemed like they'd make a pretty background for the purple. (i hope my housemate and csa box sharer is not reading this.)
today i wrote a letter to one of my favorite authors to request permission to include some words of his in this book i'm compiling. the piece with his words in it is not by me, but the permission request "allowed" me to express my gratitude to him. (of course he is probably not the one reading the letter, but i wrote as though he would be reading it, and that felt quite nice.)
