randomness to clear my head

i'm reading the stern review and trying to digest it. i don't think i can read all 900 pages of it, but even just reading the abstract is taxing enough. in case you don't know what the stern review is, the quick version is that it's a tome on the economics of climate change commissioned by the UK gov't back in 2005 (delivered in 2006) and parts of it are already coming true today (like the bits about the greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen). and speaking of taxing, a lot of environmental taxes are suggested in the report. did you know that the UK actually has an Office of Climate Change? i didn't know that, but i think that's pretty cool. in any case, i needed a break, so i thought i'd have a coffee and a blog to clear my head a bit.

* * *

first a random picture of sabin's red converse all stars in the sunset light last evening.

they. totally. make. me. smile.

* * *

and now, a few random things to help clear my head:

: : i have collected 404 word verification words in a pages document (pages is the apple answer to word, by the way). that doesn't take into account all those that are saved in the notes on my iPhone and scibbled on various scraps of paper other places in this house. i'd better get to work on those for balderdash, tho' i've been doing them one at a time of late, so there are a few new ones over there. what disturbs me a little bit is that more and more often they are REAL words these days. i hope they haven't tweaked the algorithm again.

: : i'm making my bullets using two colons, because tara does it that way and i think that's totally cool.

: : yesterday i discovered the coolest online 'zine i've seen yet. it's called discounderworld and you really can read it online and it doesn't even hurt (usually, i have the urge to print online mags), but stacey has really gotten it right. however, if it still hurts you, you can download it FOR FREE in pdf. i have thus far resisted, but that's mostly to save my paper for my monthly blog printings and also because it's so readable onscreen. that's good design, my friends!

: : i have a blog friend named joyce (who i know as ilovejim on flickr) who has a blog called pattern and perspective wherein she chronicles all her fab vintage design finds. i met her on flickr because we are both fans of heather moore's fabulous skinny laminx line. anyway, she meets justjules via my blog and learns that jules lives only 1.5 miles hours (i thought it was miles, but it was hours) away from her (still a good story anyway). how about that for six degrees of separation?

: : i recently stumbled across a blog called turning*turning. i think it's another one i've found through flickr, because mal* was making those cool little fabric hexagons during her commute. she's an art therapist and i will be doing a guest post regarding my beloved studio and what it has meant to me from an art therapeutic standpoint on her blog later today. so do go check it out. and stay awhile to read her stuff--it's good.

: : using my trusty site meter (which was always kinda mysterious to me before and i really only looked at those pretty dots on the map), i found out that the groovy folks at okaygreat picked up moo's thing about my studio and posted about it too. but then, i stayed and looked around and found out that it's a way cool blog/tumblr/design website kinda place, so now it's a regular visit. 

: : i was recently accused of not understanding the struggle that people are going through of late in these times of GEC, especially in the US. and it's true, i probably don't understand fully, especially in light of the results of a facebook quiz i just took which tells me that i have an 88% perfect life. (sigh. and you KNOW how accurate those facebook quizzes are.) but just because i'm not going through it myself, and i'm maybe a little too focused on taking my crocheted stones to the beach, doesn't mean that i can't have sympathy and even empathy for those who are. because i do care. and i hope that everybody will be ok and get through it intact. and not have to sell all their stuff and their soul and their firstborn children on eBay. because that wouldn't be good. i mean think about it, the whole market flooded with a bunch of over-achieving first-borns. not good.

and on that note, i'd better get back to the stern review...catch ya later, lovelies.