Candyhog blog

Moving over, moving on

This blog will no longer be updated. Probably no surprise, since I have been posting so infrequently that to say this blog is over goes without saying.

HOWEVER!

I have started a new blog, a second chapter if you will. It's Picky Lunch.

I hope you'll join me over there, participate, and have some fun talking about food and all that goes with it. I'd be honored.

Bon appetit and bonne nuit!

A la prochaine!

 

What's right with this picture?

Several things!

1. As always, Gmail themes
2. Conversation view turned off
3. Priority Inbox

Other great Gmail things not seen in this image:

1. Labs: Undo send enabled
2. Labs: Default Reply all enabled
3. Labs: Advanced attachment options enabled

Deskchair travel

One of my deepest pleasures when I have free time and an aimless spirit is to travel the world using a Dutch utility called google image ripper (Flickr is fun, too, but it doesn't have the links to blogs and article sources where the photos ran). Recent events piqued my interest in Sana'a, Yemen...what's it like there? Turns out, the old city is gorgeous almost beyond compare:

 

My Yemen "travel" led to a curiosity about Cairo, for some reason, and I found this amazing image, which has only been altered to make up for an overexposed sky, in order to make it more like the naked eye saw (always a challenge with skies and foregrounds at dusk and dawn):

 

...and the same photographer wowed me also with this photo of a European robin:

 
However, despite the pleasures of the morning, my absolute favoritest find using google image ripper is the work of Christopher Herwig who has traveled to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Takikistan, China, and West Africa (Liberia in particular), taking the most amazing photographs, including this one:

The life Muffet

Imagine my surprise when my curds and whey (i.e., online Scrabble game) were interrupted by this character, 3 inches from my nose:

...Here's what the dramatic descent must have looked like, a snap of the somewhat hasty retreat:

Animism

I must have become so accustomed to everything being a character, from hangin' with the 8 & 10 year-olds, that I totally anthropomorphized this object on the ferry today:

Maybe a nod to the local love of Ugly Dolls?

Working hard and hardly working

Time to cry myself a river.

This has been an amazing — and I don't mean that in a good way — couple of years. For me, the recession has meant:

Too much work. Having to do a lot of side jobs even when I have full-time work, so that I have work when the full-time stuff dries up. Working with startups is fulfilling in some ways, but so insecure.

Too little work. Working with startups is fulfilling in some ways, but so insecure. Too many hours I could be working, when I am not working.

Too little predictability. Sometime too much work, sometimes too little, no ability to look ahead and plan accordingly.

Too little play. No money, no predictable time to set aside for play.

Sorry about the complaints. My cheerfulness will return.

Sock flaws

Must we live with the itchy compression we suffer from the elastic of sock tops? Some people say, "No." With scissors.

 

Quote of the day

"What you may sometimes think is odd behavior on my part might often be me worrying out loud to myself."

— My fabulous mother

I think the same is true of all of us, or the best of us, or whatever.

 

Today's Must-Read

Reminiscent of the McCain Golf Gear Product-Reviews-as-Artform episode, Amazon's #1-selling apparel item has 333 product reviews, and counting. A striking majority of them are masterpieces! A couple of examples are excerpted below, but do yourself a favor and read them all.

Great compliment for my skin art

Unfortunately I already had this exact picture tattooed on my chest, but this shirt is very useful in colder weather.

Why can't Amazon have more stars? 5 ain't enough!

So I'm looking for threads that say, "Hey baby...I'm real boss!" when I stumble upon this epic creation. The wolves spoke to me in a language all their own; it was like German, Mongol, and Bitchin all mixed together. I mean, one wolf howlin at the moon is major...but three???

I ordered next-day air (if only there was same day!), and, of course, a size smaller than usual to ensure the closeness of the wolves to my chest hair. When the package arrived, I tore it open, and I SWEAR angels sang. I think it was Freebird. I immediately removed my "No Fat Chicks" shirt, and replaced it with this finery. Lemme tell you: AW YEAH.

I'll spare the details of my conquests since I started wearing this shrit; suffice to say, I'm swimming in a sea of babes the likes of which are usually found on those K-Tel infomercials. I'm also more confident at work, and expect to be promoted to cashier soon. I owe everything to this shirt (I should say "shirts", since I now own 23 of them).

Easter in the PNW is best spent indoors, in my book

 

Updated Vintage Crab "Louie"

"A West Coast invention variously credited to eating establishments in San Francisco and Seattle, this careful arrangement of, at minimum, crab, lettuce, hard-boiled egg and pink "Louis dressing," cropped up around the start of the 20th century to showcase the Pacific Northwest's favorite crab, the mighty, the marvelous Dungeness."

— Seattle PI

Richard made a version for us with a spiced-up dressing (yay) that ended up being enough for 7 luncheon guests, who were not in attendance (Hence the TV remote control). It was delicious, though, and styled in a less-creepy fashion that that shown in the PI (above). That picture reminds me a little of those restaurants whose signs feature pigs in chef's coats carrying trays of roast ham.

A couple of essays

Patience rewarded!

After a long break — sorry about that, folks — I'm back with a very serious issue with which I need help. Richard made us a scallop lunch today and plated it two different ways. Can you believe that?!

It's like Who Wore It Better all over again.

Please vote and let your voice be heard by at least 7 people!!!

Passion, compassion, and evident truths

Andrew Sullivan's Passion of Ted Haggard is a very generous and compassionate post about the difficulties of self-actualization for gay people who are not allowed to marry, especially those trying to sustain religious beliefs.

I don't really understand about religion in the  modern world, but I sure do understand about marriage.  Without the ability to marry and be anchored in society in the same ways as everyone else, gay people are forced to the margin with many attendant pleasures and, these days, strong community, but also a missing core of effortless, innate inclusion in the mainstream flow of life.

In fact I once naiïvely told a closeted friend of mine, little knowing he was gay, that if I were gay I might opt to live as a straight person, so I could have a place within the world that was similar to everyone else's. And this from the sister of an out and proud gay man!

Obviously, living a straight life for any reason doesn't and can't work for gay people. And shouldn'teven be thought of. And the only way to obviate even the thought, let alone the awful consequences that shatter multiple lives when such a thing is attempted, is to accept and encourage codification that gay people are entitled to each and every right, sacrament, and privilege afforded to heterosexual people.

As Sullivan says with the brave passion of an insider:

That is why I am so insistent on marriage. It alone heals this deep wound and brings gay men and women into the human family where they can finally be allowed to flourish for who they are, rather than to become the contorted, distorted shapes the rest of the world is comfortable with. Anything else actually sustains the wound, because it imprints the indignity and perpetuates the pain.

Us, in a nutshell, thanks to the Wii

Today, I casually took a picture that seems to capture and encompass the character of our family.

In this picture, whether you can identify them or not (think "Hidden Pictures" from Highlights Magazine), are 4 people, 3 fish, some peanut people on a rusty peanut farm, a possible rolled-up armadillo, and evidence of a cat. Feel free to ask questions in the comments area!

Deconstruction

We love Top Chef. So much so that we found ourselves enjoying the following quick[fire] snack the other day:

Deconstructed Nachos!

Ingredients: Doritos, Tillamook Cheddar slab.

Struggling through a few things, but easily

I really do dislike Rick Warren, and the antipathy begins at the awful facial hair and schlubby clothing, continues through the get-rich-quick scheme of facile self-help populism, and of course lands squarely at the door of his advancing a less tolerant and inclusive worldview. Warren promotes disaffection for both homosexuality and atheism.

So why am I, the sister of a gay man, pretty sanguine about Barack Obama's invitation to Rick Warren to open the upcoming inauguration with a prayer? I mean, I have intolerance of my own when it comes to  religion.

My lack of outrage is based on:

• Obama's and Warren's mutual claim to lack of agreement on all issues, underscoring Obama's message of inclusion — now we see it in action, not the too-often disdained "rhetoric." Obama is the president of all the people, not just me. I have always wanted someone in office who served the best interests of everyone collectively, and you can't do that by being divisive. We've seen that.
• This is a moment at an inauguration, nt an appointment, so Obama gets big inclusion points without compromising any piece of the governmental agenda or policy. Which remain intact and ready to go.
• Obama created a peaceable context in which to make the boldest-ever-made, unequivical presidential statement in support of equal rights for GLBT (sounds like a sandwich!) people.
• The ensuing surge of airtime given to eloquent, unequivocating advocates of gay rights: it's beautiful! Go Mayor Newsom of SF, your appearance on MSNBC was great. And everyone else helping those who lag behind get up to speed with modern, tolerant, inclusive, secular life/governance in a populist, global society.

And if you don't believe me that this is all about coöption and inclusion and progress toward healing and reintegrating, the Chicago Tribune lays it all out:

The congressional committee handling the arrangements for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration has released the program for the event which will include famous entertainers like Aretha Franklin, Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman and a couple of well-known preachers, Rick Warren of Saddleback Church and Joseph Lowery, former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

There'll be two childrens' choruses from San Francisco (Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, a former mayor of that city, chairs the committee) the U.S. Marine Band and the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters. It looks like musical groups from the other services didn't make the cut.

The poet will be Elizabeth Alexander, a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize.

Lowery may prompt a bad flashback for President Bush. It was the now 86-year old preacher who castigated Bush's policies at Coretta Scott King's funeral two years ago as Bush sat only a few feet away.

— Abigail

I am a sheep

There is no shortage of snowy "Can you believe it?!" photography being passed around the NW today, so let me pile on!

In the picture below, our house looks like a Christmas card...if I weren't so lazy/busy I'd Photoshop in some cheery lights or other signs of habitation.

At the time this was taken, I was huddled over my computer at my desk as usual (when not in Redmond doing things many other people could do just as well for Microsoft), and RT and the boys were sledding on the hill.

The big newsflash there was that the neighbor, Zoe, in Kindergarten this year, won the  Sledding Championship for BOTH our driveway and hers. Watch out world!

Also, regarding Christmas, this is the first year that both boys have been opening their advent calendar windows first thing each morning without needing to be prodded.

OK, OK, I'll include a sledding snapshot. It's not very interesting except to document that our snow was not the usual, wussy almost-snow, it is significant in volume. And though mundane in the extreme, this picture is so much more interesting than the incessant pictures on TV of cars in trouble on bridges, topsy-turvy, etc. Trust me!

— Abigail

A diversion, or a new career direction

Friends, I'm sorry I've been so sparse with posts this month. I've been plowing all my writing energy into the blog at ivi TV, which I am using to explore and build interest in online television broadcasting, something that doesn't quite exist yet, except in fragmented pieces. It would delight me if any of you saw fit to subscribe and comment there, to get conversations flowing.

You can confess your darkest secrets regarding the TV you find yourself watching, anonymously ;-)

 ivi TV is a startup that has in place a solution for delivering encrypted and high-performance (P2P distribution) broadcast TV signals onto PCs. Neat, huh? It's a matter of first signing up broadcasters to join the first Internet Broadcast Network (we're writing the wikipedia page for that as I speak), then getting subscribers...the basic player will be free, and the experience will be as smooth as your traditional TV.

Difference is, you can carry it around on your laptop (and later your mobile device) and eventaully there will be a greater variety of progrtamming than you currently have.

Anyway, I'm thrilled to be part of this interesting venture as it comes together, and am in charge of marketing. If you have any great ideas about how to reach interested people, let me know!

(Skip this part unless you have an interest in marketing: Currently we're blogging and developing a healthy connections on Twitter, at the same time as we are spending time on messaging and material to help broadcasters understand why online TV is part of the future's screen-agnostic approach to viewing content. Articles and event presence will follow.)

I'm still at Microsoft until March, so you can imagine that doing 2 jobs plus everything else (boys, anyone?!) has me a bit busy. Oh yeah, and there are those holidays.

So, fewer blog posts and perhaps a louder silence from the NW than usual when it comes to other communications as well...apologies in advance. But! Email me for updates or with ideas or chat, or call! I can be lifted out of my frenzy for moments of happy catching up!

— Abigail

Skies

I was so happy to have my mother with me to witness these Seattle-bound sunrise skies on Saturday, otherwise I'd fear no-one would believe me. We would have missed them entirely if I hadn't been so smart as to leave my passport at home and force us to get out of the ferry line, go get it, and ride the 7:55 instead of the 7:05 boat.