lierre poet

poignant interruption

2012-01-23T15:31:00.000-08:00

Reading of his hands

Shaving her chemo-shaped scalp

We cry at our desks

99% bad habits

2012-01-22T12:45:00.000-08:00

I don’t know why I clicked the link to John Cheese’s The 5 Stupidest Habits You Develop Growing Up Poor, since it was posted by someone with sanctimonious tendencies, but click on it I did. And I liked it. He brings up some great points, highlighting some recognizable behaviors of the 99 percent and busting at least one stereotype about those at or below the poverty line.

Just recognizing and considering most of these habits can help change them, but the first habit on the list isn’t as easy. How is someone with a low income supposed to eat in a healthy way when the healthiest foods are the most expensive, the most perishable or both?

Is this where community (or personal, if possible) gardens can help?

Am I becoming a hippie?

Answers: I don’t know; Perhaps; Not as long as I love designer shoes I’m not.

women in batman’s world

2012-01-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

Reading Brian Enk’s The 7 best unproduced Batman screenplays (and what happened) got me thinking about the women of the Batman universe. I recoiled when I read that one screenplay planned to feature Madonna playing Harley Quinn as Joker’s daughter, which is a version of Harley that’s not even close to the one I secretly wanted to be after watching Batman: the Animated Series.

Then I realized that some time ago any version of Harley lost her appeal to me. She is too ditzy and childish. And when she’s portrayed not as Joker’s daughter but as the former psychiatrist the Joker subverted to become a lover he could manipulate and abuse, she represents an archetype I never want to be.

So I wondered which of the women in Batman’s life I would want to be.

I immediately thought of Catwoman, who has such a strong power and allure. But the thing is, she’s almost too strong. She’s such a defined vixen-bitch that ultimately she’s not that interesting (I know many, many men would disagree, but they’re not really concerning themselves with mental and emotional dimensionality. Ahem.) Sidebar: To me, Talia al Ghul shares many of Catwoman’s characteristics, and without the kickass costume, she’s never been someone to emulate.

Despite the name connection, I have no interest in being like Poison Ivy either. I never have. She’s self-righteous, which negates much of the intelligence and beauty she has.

No, the woman I find to be most interesting, and the one I’d most like to emulate, is actually one who doesn’t receive the honor of being called a woman at all (although she should). She’s Barbara Gordon as Batgirl. She is a complex, strong, clever, beautiful woman who does not have über-bitch dominatrix tendencies, but instead displays acts of nobility and kindness. Unfortunately, women don’t seem to be allowed to have such depth in Batman’s world, so the writers kept her as a not-quite-grown-up daughter figure (the girl in Batgirl) and then they crippled her, allowing her to be smart, but less physically alluring, as a wheelchair-bound Oracle. Even so, she’s the one I’d want to be. Because she, in many ways, is a paradox.

northwestern snow

2012-01-22T12:16:00.000-08:00

As I was driving home Tuesday night, my car was nearly hit by another vehicle. I was on Thompson, between Skyline and Miller, headed down the hill. Snow was still on the road. And it had become slick. Four of us were driving through the twists and turns cautiously. But the driver of a fifth car, the SUV behind me, had other ideas in mind. He or she decided to drive as if the icy compacted snow was no big deal. I saw the headlights in my rear view mirror get closer and closer, and thankfully saw when the vehicle started to fishtail. I was remarkably able to get out of the way, and there was just enough distance in my absence for the SUV to get under control before careening into car that had been in front of me. I was left less shaken than stirred into anger by the arrogance of the SUV driver. I would not be surprised to learn that this person was among the many Oregon transplants who scoff at how the natives drive in snow.

I was preparing a blog entry on why driving in the Portland area when it snows might be different than when it snows in other areas, but Art Thiel did it for me. His article, Critics of Seattle in Snow: Shut the Hell up, could apply to critics of Portland snow, too. He addresses how hills, a snow-melt-refreeze cycle, the issue of paying taxes for equipment and labor that is needed only .5 to 2 percent of the year, and even our abundance of trees can contribute to driving conditions unlike most other places in the continental U.S. when it snows. They are all valid points. And those of us who grew up here understand they are valid reasons for going a little slower (not granny-slow, just slower) at times when snow’s on the road.

But I don’t disagree with transplants about one thing: the news coverage. Dear Local News Teams, yes, I do want to know about road conditions, but I think you can do provide that information more succinctly and direct viewers to websites for more information. Watching reporters talk to residents of various metro area neighborhoods is not really necessary or interesting. It’s a joke, and it’s not helping the native’s reputation for needlessly freaking out in snow.

tinker tailor soldier spy

2012-01-21T14:38:00.000-08:00

As you may know from an earlier post, I was jazzed about seeing this movie. In addition to the phenomenal cast, I was drawn to the story that was hinted at in the previews (I haven’t read the John Le Carré novel, so I wasn’t familiar with the story).

The cast was indeed brilliant.

And the story? Well, that’s where I was a little disappointed. It was not nearly as intriguing as I expected, and it was also presented in a manner that I thought was much too disjointed.

Yet, I am so glad I saw it because it’s visual perfection. Every visual aspect of the movie—from cinematography, lighting and art direction to props*, wardrobe and hair styling—takes the audience back in time and keeps them there so it almost stops feeling like anyone watching is from the future. I don’t know how they were able to pull that off, but it was a trick worth witnessing.

Although I didn’t need to witness it in a theatre.

Which is my way of saying that it’s something you should see, but not until it’s available for your Netflix queue.

* I really want one of the posters hung on the walls of “The Circus,” but I haven’t had any luck so far. Yes, I can find posters for the movie. I just can’t find posters that were in the movie (or rather reproductions of them).

girl book v. movie

2012-01-21T14:08:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I saw The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and there’s one thing I’ve got to say right away.

I disagree with the friends and reviewers who say the movie is much more about Lisbeth Salander than the Vanger mystery Mikael Blomkvist is trying to solve. I found the opposite to be the case, which was how it should be in terms of remaining true to the book. Both the book and the movie intersperse glimpses of Salander’s life with the main plot (the Vanger mystery) until she’s finally brought into the mystery herself when Blomkvist begins working with her. It’s a technique that I thought was spot-on in both instances.

Of course the movie does cut a significant amount of the book. The cuts were welcome in the case of the Blomkvist’s legal trouble—and Millennium’s related financial issues. I found those threads to be a little tiresome in the book. However, they are minimized so much that someone who had not read the book might be confused by the movie. What I missed in the movie was Salander’s interactions with her employer Dragan Armansky, who is a great character who becomes increasingly important in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy. It’s also too bad the filmmakers decided to turn him into a pretty boy, which I didn’t sense in the book.

The horrifying violence between Salander and Bjurman in the book almost prevented me from seeing the movie. Friends have said they didn’t think it was as bad in the movie, and I agree that there certainly weren’t as many instances as there were in the book. But the actual acts in the movie had an eeriness to them that felt even worse than how they were described in the book. I think that had to due with Yorick van Wageningen’s performance and David Fincher’s direction.

On the subject of the performances, I have to say I enjoyed all of them. With the exception of Armansky and Salander’s original guardian, Palmgren, I thought the casting was perfect. And that surprised me. I was prepared to dislike Rooney Mara (part of me really wanted to see what Emma Watson would have brought to the role—there was a quality in her Burberry ads and her performance in The Prisoner of Azkaban that made me wonder), but she owned the role.

Owned it, I tell you.

Finally, if you saw the movie but didn’t read the book, I recommend doing so now and reading the other two books in the series in preparation for the other movies (assuming they’re made; or if you decide to watch the Swedish versions). They’ll help you have an even better understanding of Salander, which makes Mara’s performances even more amazing.

emotional illusion

2012-01-18T02:26:00.000-08:00

You can’t figure me,

since I’m opaque when I want

to be transparent

playful discovery

2012-01-13T12:39:00.000-08:00

This morning I was browsing the delightful L’Affiche Moderne and the following photo stopped me.

I love the way it conveys that reality can be a puzzle. And I love that the immediate “why didn’t I think of that” thought led to a “seriously, you could do something like that” thought.

Don’t mistake these thoughts as dismissiveness. I am actually inspired by the artist.

He’s made me consider what might be possible if I played around a bit when I’m putting together imagery for lierrepoet or lierrestudio. There is so much I can manipulate in even the simplest image apps (and—as much as it pains me to admit this—the publishing layout view in Word), that there’s no telling what I might discover when experimenting. Of course, these playful discoveries might be more likely in Photoshop, and I do hope to have it someday.

Being more playful is something you might do, as well, whether it involves photography, painting, music, video, sewing, cooking or just about anything artful. You might create something distinctive as you play with techniques, materials or ingredients. A mistake or misstep en route to your goal might lead you somewhere that’s more interesting for you and captivating to others.

I know these thoughts aren’t new, but I was glad to get a reminder to be curious and unafraid to play. I hope you are, too.

books live

2012-01-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

If you haven’t seen the books come to life in the video below, you should. Even if you have, perhaps you should again. (And don’t forget this magical book video either.)

anti-lullaby

2012-01-10T01:17:00.000-08:00

Rain’s interrupted
Bass thwarts my thin bedroom wall
The neighbors love rap

breathe, see, open

2012-01-09T23:09:00.000-08:00

Relax.

Watch things unfold.

And when the opportunity you’ve been hoping for appears (as it surely will), be fearless.

Fearless, I tell you.

Tonight, the role of The Cheerleading Fortune Cookie will be played by Ms. Lierre.

lovely resolutions

2012-01-05T12:12:00.000-08:00

You’ve probably already seen the To Resolve Project if you check out Swiss Miss (and if you’re not, do I really have to tell you again that you must?). If you haven’t, check out my favorites below, then head over to the site to download your favorites, which will make excellent wallpaper for your iPhone.

P.S. to Ali: Guess which one I think should be a joint resolution?

Credits (clockwise from top left): Liz Cook, Matt McCracken, Michelle Beuthling, Travis Ladue, Brian Yohn, Lydia Nicols, Melanie Leduc, Jonathan Mak

precocious miss k

2012-01-04T21:13:00.001-08:00

ME: I’m honored that you would paint my nails, Katy.

KATY: I am the one who should be honored that you’d let a seven-year-old paint your nails.

And again I say to you, I don’t know what they’re going to do.

dulled color?

2012-01-04T12:50:00.000-08:00

I had high expectations and admit that I felt giddy when I clicked the link for Colorful Homes.

But something…something’s just not quite right.

I can’t figure it out.

Perhaps you can.

crafty manuary

2012-01-04T12:27:00.000-08:00

Now even not-yet-men can participate in Manuary.

(P.S. Does that fact that I’m not freaked out by this

suggest that I’ve been in Portlandia too long?)

but with a better phone

2012-01-03T22:55:00.000-08:00

Stylish. Pulled together. Casually confident.

That’s what this picture says to me.

And it’s the way I want to be.

Much, much more often.

adieu 2011

2011-12-31T17:34:00.001-08:00

I could have done without all the doctor’s appointments, the hope-killing conversation and the esteem-shredding verbal attack, the carrot dangled by a vindictive weasel, and the costly accident involving three minutes between meetings, a pair of skinny Sevens, a toilet and my former iPhone.

But there were many wonderful meals (including my birthday one at St. Jack), some great runs, fun nights of dancing, trip planning giddiness, amazing (and amazingly paid for) shoes, and some exhausting but oh-so-worth-it lessons. Of course I’m also thankful for a solid income, a comfy home and five senses, four limbs and one mind that work.

I have no specific resolutions for 2012. I just want to do all I can to help it be a better year.

ghost

2011-12-28T08:29:00.001-08:00

Sometimes as painful as it might be to excavate the past, we have to do it. M has asked me to do some digging to see if a particular horror is holding me back. It might exist. It might not. And even after I consult someone else about it (which will be the opposite of fun), I still might not know for sure. If the horror is real, it would clearly explain some things. But then I’d have a ghost to bust. I am frightened of that. But not dealing with it and remaining stuck might be more frightening. Certainly it would be more depressing. So like I was saying, it has to be done. Please send a good thought or prayer in my direction. I could use the support.

the krzmarzick experiment

2011-12-26T16:45:00.000-08:00

Could you live in a 70s travel trailer for five months?

Not while you’re on a road trip, just while you’re living everyday life.

And not because the apocalypse had occurred and it was your only option either.

I’m pretty sure I couldn’t.

Reading about someone who can (and is), however, can be entertaining.

Especially when the person blogging about the experience is funny.

May I direct your attention to Urban Camping?

It’s where one of my coworkers (and maker of my sleek little coffee table with the pool ball feet) is posting about his experiment in living small for awhile.

P.S. See what happens when I finally have a day with nowhere I have to be? I blog. A lot.

board horrors

2011-12-26T16:15:00.000-08:00

I’m going to tell you right now, I feel like a complete snob for what I’m about to post.

Every time I browse a category on Pintrest, I am horrified by most of the pins. There’s a lot of platitudes and saccharine quotes, cutesy crafts, WT nail art, amateur-ish typography, and too-styled or too-perfect McMansion rooms that should never, ever, ever be shared as examples of good design (please, please, please, stop with the Tuscan kitchens already). Sometimes I wonder if Pintrest is the lovechild of someone who enjoys flipping through the Gorsuch catalog and someone who enjoys bargain hunting at Walmart.

Obviously, many people like what I find appalling.

Maybe you’ll see the examples below and you will love pins I dislike.

Or maybe the pinners aren’t your people, either.

I can only hope.

(See, total snob.)

mrs. f & ms. l

2011-12-26T14:10:00.000-08:00

I give you now snippets of conversation (and a little commentary) from a suburban kitchen on Christmas Eve afternoon.

Mrs. F: I’ve been worried about making mistakes a lot lately.

Ms. L: I worry about that, too.

Mrs. F: I never used to be that way.

Ms. L: I feel like I’ve always been that way, and now I wonder if it wasn’t such a good thing to be so worried about doing things right.

Mrs. F: The other way of looking at it is that worrying about making mistakes is what’s made you successful.

Yes, Mrs. F may be right that being concerned with perfection did allow Ms. L to do well in school, promptly land a coveted job, and remain employed when others were being laid off, but did it help so much in other areas of life? Is Ms. L’s continual singleness due, in some part, to being afraid of making a mistake? Has the perfectionism she’s often clung to appeared too much like the armor of an Ice Queen? Does worrying about potential failure prevent her from plunging into potentially happy and healthy relationships? Whatever the answers are, Ms. L is unlikely to bring that up with Mrs. F, since Mrs. F would take such ponderings as negative commentary on the way she raised Ms. L.

Mrs. F: Are our traditions okay? Do you like them?

Ms. L: Yes. Why?

Mrs. F: Well, you’ve been talking a lot about tradition lately.

Ms. L: What do you mean?

Mrs. F: Well, you mentioned it in your Christmas card and you talked about it the other night at dinner…

Ms. L: I don’t understand. What are you talking about?

Mrs. F: I just thought maybe you don’t like our traditions.

Ms. L: I do. Otherwise I wouldn’t talk about them.

Despite the fact that Mr. F stepped in to change the subject, Ms. L made an error that she may have to deal with later. Now Mrs. F may conclude that if Ms. L does not talk about something, it means she doesn’t like it.

Mrs. F: You notice everything.

Ms. L: I do? Well, maybe that’s because I’ve always wanted to be a spy.

Mrs. F: Like a secret agent?

Ms. L: Yes.

Mrs. F: Sometimes the things you say really surprise me. I can’t imagine you being a spy. You’re scared of everything.

Ms. L: I am?

Mrs. F: Yes!

Ms. L: Like what?

Mrs. F: Well…I don’t know. I can’t remember. I just would have expected your sister to be the daredevil.

Does Mrs. F also consider Ms. L’s “being scared of everything” another aspect that contributed to her apparent success? That is a can of worms Ms. L is unlikely to open. Because that sort of conversation she is scared of.

personal success

2011-12-26T12:55:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago, when I read that the Steve Jobs biography was Amazon’s best selling book of the year, I immediately thought this:

People are going to try copying his success and, in the process, will completely miss the point.

I think it’s worthwhile to learn from and be inspired by someone else’s success, but trying to mirror it may be destined for failure. Because as much as many (all?) of us would like a formula for success, there isn’t one. The path to success, like just about everything, differs from one person to the next. It’s personal.

Jobs appeared to be unapologetically himself. He wasn’t always likable or even understandable, but it seems to me that he had a singular, genuine focus that exists only when people aren’t trying to be someone else.

While there are many things about Jobs that can inspire you and me (and I do hope we are inspired), the question his story leaves me is this:

Will I play the games other people play to be where I want to be, or will I stick with developing who I am and trust that my strengths will be valued—and capitalized on—by the right people at the right time?

What about you?

planning, please

2011-12-23T11:01:00.001-08:00

Dear holiday shoppers,

As you are bustling around trying to cross off the last items on your Christmas lists, let me give you something to mull over. PLANNING I know, I know. We’re all busy. But here’s the thing: Christmas has happened every year on the same date for centuries. It’s not like it’s a surprise. There’s no reason you can’t sock away some of the presents you want to buy a few months in advance. Even if more people bought just a third of their presents before Thanksgiving, think of how much traffic (on the roads and in stores) could be alleviated. And subsequently, we’d all feel a little less anxious. Finally, a p.s. to all the retailers with extended hours: thank you SO much for perpetuating disorganized habits by extending our last-minute shopping opportunities.

Sigh/bah humbug, Jeanne.

eggnog cookies

2011-12-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

Lest you think that I’m the kind of girl who pins things on Pintrest but never actually does anything with them, here is a recipe I found that I actually tried and loved. I made them the weekend before last during an afternoon of baking while hanging with a lovely friend, her four-month-old boy and her sweet dog. There are a few modifications I’ve suggested via footnotes. And without further (in)eloquence, here’s the recipe.

Ingredients for cookies:

1-1/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup eggnog

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2-1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Eggnog Glaze:

1-1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons eggnog¹

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C)
Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Cream sugar and butter until light.
Add eggnog, vanilla, and egg yolks; beat at medium speed with mixer until smooth.
Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
Spoon onto un-greased cookie sheets or parchment paper and make the dough balls rather small, they will spread generously in the oven.²
Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg.³
Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.
While cookies are in the oven, make the eggnog glaze.
Glaze your cookies either warm or cooled and top with cinnamon.

Footnotes:

There must have been a typo, because 3 tablespoons is not nearly enough eggnog (unless you want to create a thick paste that will only cover about five cookies). I just kept adding eggnog—a little at a time—until the consistency was correct.

The note about overspreading is an overstatement. Just make the balls as big as you would for any other drop cookie.

I skipped this step and didn’t miss it.

la, eames, ice cube

2011-12-20T11:27:00.000-08:00

I’m late to the party on this one. If you are, too, see Ice Cube’s thoughts on L.A. and Eames’ architecture below.

dust on the brain

2011-12-17T12:37:00.001-08:00

Hello Readers. I think of you daily and have started composing posts about some recent Steve Jobs- and Christopher Hitchens-related tweets I’ve seen, as well as the history of communication, baking, Pintrest trends and holiday traditions. But right now I only seem to have the wherewithal to write about dust.

One of the things I love about modern design is not only how visually clean it is, but also how easy it is to clean. There are much fewer nooks and crannies where dust will accumulate. And I’ve come to base certain purchase decisions on how easy—or difficult—it will be to dust something.

Have you ever thought about that? Do you really want to spend extra time dusting? Or do you just not care about being dusty (or do you have someone to care about it for you)?

Think about it.

Because I’m sure you didn’t have anything more important to think about.

*smirk*

kid’s menu

2011-12-10T19:25:00.001-08:00

I took this shot during a family holiday lunch. The plate pictured belonged to an eight-year-old girl. I loved how she picked foods from just one band of the color spectrum.

liking elmo

2011-12-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

Here’s a confession: I was not an Elmo fan. He arrived a few years after my time of watching Sesame Street had ended, and I wondered, “Who is this new giggly puppet, and why did they mess with the original, completely loveable lineup?” I didn’t think he was necessary. I couldn’t understand his appeal. But the kids who were new Sesame fans did.

Now I can see why.

Because Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who brings Elmo to life and created his personality (muppetality?), has a passion particular to people who seem to be doing what that were meant to do. This is a captivating quality that makes Elmo seem so natural and believable. I think it’s a quality that really all of the Sesame characters have, because Jim Henson had it and so do the puppeteers who worked with him.

After watching Being Elmo, I also think Clash filled a void not only on Sesame Street, but also maybe in contemporary society as a whole. Elmo embodies love. He provides a sense of love, joy and nurturing that some kids may be missing in our hectic world. Barney offered this to an extent, but I think it was in a more heavy handed way that ultimately made him less likable.

Although Elmo will never be my favorite character (Grover and Cookie Monster still have my heart), I can appreciate him much more now. And I look forward to seeing how Clash will continue to influence Sesame Street and kids throughout the world.

Now watch the trailer and see the movie as soon as you possibly can.

silly critters

2011-12-04T22:22:00.000-08:00

In case you didn’t see my pins on Friday, above are some samples of Kevin Lucius’ giggly animal portraits. You can buy the prints on his Etsy shop. I think I may need the booksmart (ahem, hipster) bear. I adore him.

movie season

2011-12-04T20:21:00.000-08:00

I can’t be bothered with most summer blockbusters, sugary rom-coms and flicks with gross-out humor, which means I’m usually ambivalent about going to the movies.

Then autumn comes and the award contenders make their way to theatres, and I can’t seem to stay away. I see a movie every week, sometimes two, and yes, sometimes more. For example, I’ve seen four movies in the past eight days. I shudder when I think of the expense. Yet I also don’t regret seeing any of them. In fact, I recommend them. I’ve even provided micro reviews of three of them (Being Elmo needs its own post).

Hugo: It’s magic. Just magic. The story, the cinematography and the actors are captivating to the point you’ll wish you were in the movie and were part of such an adventure. I don’t want to say any more about it. Just see it. Don’t wait to rent it or download it at home.

My Week with Marilyn: I’ve always been ambivalent about Marilyn Monroe, but this story made me appreciate how complex—and even talented—she was. And the cast will keep you interested and amused. It’s not necessary to see it in the theatres, but is still very worth seeing.

The Hedgehog: This movie, based on Muriel Barbery’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog, is SO French, delightful so. The event I disliked in the book didn’t anger me nearly as much in the movie, and one of the main characters, Paloma, is more likable and interesting.

And which movies am I looking forward to seeing and telling you about next? Well, for starters, two I can hardly wait to see Eames and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. I still need to see The Skin I Live In and The Descendants (maybe The Ides of March and Drive, as well, and I’d be lying if I said tumblr sensation Typographer Ryan Gosling had nothing to do with that). Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and The Iron Lady are on the list, too. Finally, I’m on the fence about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, because as much as I loved the books, I’m not sure I can handle seeing the violence.

eclectic favorites

2011-12-02T23:43:00.000-08:00

Psssst. Something’s different about the lierrepoet sidebar.

You hadn’t noticed?

Well, take another look.

I’ve finally added a blogroll.

Poke around.

paring down, picking up

2011-12-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

Phew.

In the past few months, way too many things crammed into lierre land. And most of them were not fun. A couple of them could have been fun—or had been fun—but there just wasn’t enough time or energy to allow them to be enjoyable. I’ve finally been pairing down the list of obligations and things-I-should-try.

One benefit of this is that activity around here can pick up, and I can get back to blogging the way I want to blog. I don’t need to follow anyone’s rules, although I do like much of what Joy the Baker has to say about blogging. Like this:

“I don’t think this blog would work if you didn’t know how silly bonkers my life is. You know that there’s cat hair everywhere. You know that I burn toast. You know that I date boys and get dumped. You know that I crash my bike. You know that I occasionally eat my feelings. I think sharing is important. You know that weird thing you do with your sock drawer? Share that! Find you voice and be vulnerable. You’ll be surprised by how many people connect to your weirdness.”

december rawr

2011-12-01T07:08:00.001-08:00

There are slightly less than 31 days left in 2011.

Let’s make them count, people.

How about picking one abandoned resolution you made at the beginning of the year and doing something about it now?

Yeah, I don’t know why I’m so rah-rah this morning, but I’ve learned not to ignore it when it appears.

game over

2011-11-29T02:44:00.000-08:00

Once so alluring
Secrets, hints and subterfuge
Now the bait is stale

faux influence

2011-11-22T06:45:00.000-08:00

I’ve written about my Klout concerns before, but a Twitter string between @DaveAtNorth and @sbiedak, which involved Klout’s worth, riled me up again.

To me the rise of Klout illustrates that many (not all, but many) people become lemmings in the face of a new technology- or social-related tool. They flock to it because “everyone’s doing it,” and they don’t seem to consider whether or not it has any merit. I wonder how many people using Klout are secretly insecure about their own abilities to determine expertise. How many are just too harried to research what people with high Klout scores really offer? In my experience, even a little effort reveals that high scorers are often just a bunch of hot air.

When I look at the kind of content the apparent experts share and champion, I am often disappointed. The top-five-this and top-ten-that lists they write or share contain too many gross generalizations or common sense parading as deep insight. Any why, why, why must they share so many sappy inspirational quotes or business-related platitudes? To me, none of this reflects expertise that’s worthy of a high Klout score—or a large number of followers and friends.

I don’t think we should allow algorithms to create experts for us. But that’s exactly what we’re doing if we continue to use numbers as a shortcut for determining an individual’s professional value.

P.S. While I’m ranting, let me also comment on visual design. I am sick of seeing so-called experts with poorly designed blogs. If someone is unable to tweak the CSS for a template or cannot get help doing so, I wish they’d keep things as clean and simple as possible. Gimmicky fonts, 82 colors or scrapbook-like elements do not inspire confidence, because they just don’t look professional (although I admit I may have a bias in this area since I adore design).

P.S.S. When I mention “high scorers,” I am excluding actors, musicians and other pop cultural icons from this group. The question about them isn’t whether or not they have the expertise to warrant high scores. It’s whether or not they’re entertaining enough.

the lure of repressed dreamers

2011-11-21T22:10:00.000-08:00

I’ve had Aimee Mann’s Lullaby in my head all day.

“I see what goes on but I don’t say a word

It’s none of my business what dreams you’ve deferred

And you will do just what you always do

Close your eyes and let her run to you

And I know ’cause I’d run to you too”

pintrest girl

2011-11-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

I’m not the kind of girl who falls for just any social site or tool. I’ll try many of them, but they generally take awhile to gel (if they do at all). Google+ and I haven’t found our groove. Foursquare felt vaguely depressing. And the current raft of apps or services designed at sharing reviews, news or music are a bit too much effort.

Pintrest is not. It’s a super-easy and visual way to save, organize, share and find content. I’m just getting warmed up with it, and yet I’m already addicted. Although I have a few admittedly girly boards right now (fashion- and home design-focused), I have a more general design board and will be creating a food and beverage one. Feel free to follow along.

fashion failure

2011-11-21T17:45:00.000-08:00

Attempting to be a volunteer Fashion Editor is going nowhere fast. I cannot keep up with the fashion industry enough to blog even once or twice a week (let alone daily).

I was honored when Casey told me I could blog for her startup, but I became a little frightened when she bestowed me with a title I wasn’t sure I could handle. If I lived closer to the action and it was my full-time job, it would have been more confident. As it is, I can only occasionally contribute to CRACKERJACK+hOUSE’s blog. I offered to change my title to Contributor, but for now it will remain as it is.

As I was swept up in Casey’s enthusiasm for me and her vision of how big her business (and blog) could be, I began making plans that I soon realized I couldn’t fulfill. That’s a sad failure for me. But I cannot say it’s a failure without lessons. For example:

Blogging, for me, requires more of an energy than a time commitment. Even if I have a spare hour or two, it’s difficult for me to compose a post if I’m exhausted. I just cannot devote the focus and passion I need to blog. I don’t know why I hadn’t figured that out before. It’s exactly the reason lierrepoet goes radio silent—I am too spent to spend time blogging.

I love fashion and love knowing what’s going on in the industry, but I consistently having a point of view about it (that’s worth sharing) is harder work than I expected. It’s no wonder that most fashion blogs seem to focus on passing along information or curating content rather than providing interesting POVs on the industry.

I don’t want to change lierrepoet. The CJ+h experience has confirmed that regardless of the advice I may read about focusing on a single them, topic or industry, I have no desire to limit my writing in that way—even if it means a minuscule amount of readers. So there.

Not blogging as part of my job at CMD isn’t as much of a downside as I thought it was. And I’m no longer sure that I want blogging to be a big part of my career path anymore either. My job allows me to connect with people in other ways and they’re still satisfying.

Things will pretty much return to the way they were. I’ll be focused on posting here, although I will post for CJ+h once in awhile. Thanks to all those who have followed along as I’ve taken this little detour.

soapbox re: society

2011-11-02T15:46:00.001-07:00

Make no mistake, I dislike how Safeway handled the incident of the unscanned sandwiches. (Badly done, Safeway, badly done.)

I just wonder why the couple felt free to eat lunch while walking around a supermarket in the first place. It doesn’t seem especially sanitary or polite.

As a society are we really becoming so busy, disorganized and self-absorbed that we cannot be bothered to schedule a few minutes to sit and satisfy our hunger without disturbing others?

quasi hiatus

2011-10-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

Oh, I have things to say alright. And since I’m taking this week as use-it-or-lose-it vacation time, I should be able to post. Yet I’m not sure I will, because (big surprise) I cannot do it all.

If I want to get the most out of my experience with the CRACKERJACK+hOUSE blog, which you may recall is an after-hours, pro bono gig, I need to focus my blogging energies on it rather than lierrepoet for a while. I need to do this if I have any hope of helping Casey continue to connect with her industry and build her business, while also adding more social examples to my lierrestudio portfolio (remember kids, even if you think you’ve found your dream job, never, ever stop working on your portfolio).

Until the CJ+h blog is better established or I can find a rhythm writing for it, my posts here may be sparse or short. Maybe I’ll have a breakthrough or epiphany that allows me to continue posting here more frequently, but I’m not expecting that.

ridiculously bad

2011-10-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

I’ve got to give another h/t to Dale this evening for pointing me to Kitschy Living. It’s chock full of outrageous displays of tackiness and barely believable retro ads. The site also instantly reminded of some ads for Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo (yes, really) that Sara recently sent my way. You can buy them on eBay. Just in case you needed some inspiration for feathering your hair (which, I sincerely hope, you will not).

incredible little team

2011-10-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

Little did I know when I went to watch Noah’s youth football game on Saturday that I’d be watching an inspiring team. Sure, I knew they were remarkable. I’d heard they were undefeated and routinely reached their maximum point spread. But I didn’t realize that all the boys would be wearing pink socks in support of one of their moms who has breast cancer. Nor did I realize the boys would help one of their teammates, who faces the aftermath of cancer every day, score a touchdown. See the story below.

manifesto for everyone

2011-10-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Dale posted this a few months ago. Casey posted it yesterday. Now I have to post it on the off chance you haven’t seen it yet. It was written to be Holstee’s Manifesto, but it’s really a manifesto for everyone.

And unlike most of the posters I admire, I know exactly where I’d hang this one in my apartment. I think that means I should order it, non?

impossible limits

2011-10-24T17:32:00.000-07:00

What do people really mean when they begin a sentence with “Nothing’s impossible…?”

From what I’ve observed, most people don’t mean nothing. They mean nothing as long as it fits within their interpretation of how the world (or the deity in charge of it) is supposed to work. They cannot comprehend something happening outside that framework, and they will be prepared with all sorts of arguments if that framework is questioned.

Because life is easier when things are impossible.

There’s a sense of power in believing you know how things can and cannot work.

But even if you subscribe to black-and-white thinking, that doesn’t mean grey doesn’t exist.

Nor does it mean that the impossible—or your version of it—never happens.

praising imperfection

2011-10-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

“Dressing isn’t about perfection. This is such an English point of view, but I love things that are beautifully crafted yet slightly askew. When it comes to dressing, I don’t want everything to match or be from the same designer. Something in your mix should knock even your best look off a pedestal, like pairing our motorcycle jacket with that little black dress you’ve had for years. We’ll see you shining through—not just your outfit.” —Burberry’s Christopher Bailey

(And that point of view has made me want to dress much more like a girl from London than a girl from Paris.)

critical quote

2011-10-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

“There’s no particular sophistication required to be a critic. We know this, because children often dislike foods they learn to love as adults.

So, even if what you’ve done isn’t so great, just remember that those who can’t say so with grace, those who seem to take pride in criticizing you, their opinions don’t matter. It may very well be that you’ve created a masterpiece, and they’re just children.

If you can learn to be a fair judge of yourself, you won’t feel the need to rely on other people’s opinions.”—Chris Shiflett

(And many of us will spend our whole life trying to learn that. Also, while anyone can be a critic, it does require a certain sophistication to be a good one.)

out with the old

2011-10-23T12:28:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago, I heard someone say something familiar in a way that was new and resonant to me.

“You have to make room for the new by releasing the old.”

Sigh.

It’s true.

And it’s hard work.

I spent 2009-2010 piling on the new. It was an attempt to claw my way out of depression after realizing that no matter how much hoping and praying I did, something important to me was irrevocably out of reach. The approach served as a much needed kick in the pants, so I don’t regret it. I just wish I had taken time to deal with some old habits and patterns as I proceeded.

Because 2011 has become the year when doors leading to additional newness have remained locked (or have been slammed in my face) and at times my own body has sent out warning signals about the fact that I haven’t properly dealt with old issues.

I have been forced to pause or slow down before going forward.

God only knows how long it will take to clear out the old toxicities, but I know I will be better for the time and effort I spend.

a loving shoot

2011-10-20T14:52:00.001-07:00

The edition of from-the-cubes is coming to you from the Portland International Airport.

“This piece of tape is her. Can you fall in love with tape? I love tape.”—@barnhulio

deyrolle wouldn’t do this

2011-10-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

And yet, in its badness, this commercial is zany goodness.

want: goal ingredients

2011-10-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

Have you heard or read that a good way to achieve a goal is to break it down into smaller goals? That can be good advice, but not always. Sometimes a goal remains out of reach regardless of methodical effort.

I am not interested in speculating about why that happens. There’s usually not a definitive, provable or ultimately helpful answer to why. Instead, I’d like to look at what to do when attempts to reach a goal continue to fail, and how to break down goals in a different way.

Often, people look for single, unifying solutions (whether for the way the universe works or the way they can live a satisfying life). Many goals fit in this singular category. People think that reaching these goals will fix several problems all at once. For example, some women continue to see marriage as a way to simultaneously achieve many different kinds of stability or fulfillment. Then they are disappointed when it does not.

Some goals simply cannot hold the weight of all the wants inside them.

Perhaps we should look at those wants. Maybe we should stop setting smaller goals for ourselves in order to reach a bigger one. Maybe we should look at the ingredients of a goal as distinctive, self-contained desires we can fulfill in different ways.

Why do you want to achieve a goal? What are all the reasons that make it attractive?

Once you’ve asked those questions, ask yourself how can you fulfill those desires on their own. If you take your time with this exercise (i.e., don’t try to puzzle it out all in a few minutes or days or even weeks), you could be surprised by what you discover. You may even find satisfaction, for yourself and others, that rivals or exceeds what the original, unifying goal could provide.

Let your desires guide you to new goals. And if you’ve been someone who has demonized desire or viewed it as synonymous with non-productive lust, reconsider its purpose in your life. See the amazing things fire can ignite if you’re not trying to extinguish or redirect it.

comic economics

2011-10-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

Listen, I admit I’m too flummoxed by economic policies and their real or imagined results to have a firm opinion on what we should do about wealth disparities (although I’m pretty sure I’m anti-greed AND anti-whining).

But as in other times of confusion and despair, comic characters can come to the rescue with clarity and wit.

You don’t believe me? Well then, see this #OWS-inspired post at Comics Alliance.

rainbow feeder

2011-10-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

There are many reasons I like having a hummingbird feeder attached to my living room window. The prismatic effect it produces on the beige carpet is one of them.

random prompting

2011-10-14T17:40:00.001-07:00

You know how it goes with certain funny things people say. They are funny in the moment, and they remain funny to the people who heard them first-hand. But the humor doesn’t translate to people who weren’t there. To me, it’s a pity that these kinds of quotes (very funny to a few, not funny to most) waste away. I can’t explain why, but want them to be useful in some way.

Maybe they can be. Maybe there’s a perfect place for these quotes to go—a place that welcomes things devoid of context and encourages others to create the context.

It’s called the writing prompt.

Someone gives you a single sentence and it becomes a springboard for a freewrite, a story or a poem.

Starting today, I will be saving those you-had-to-be-there quotes and occasionally presenting them as writing prompts for you to use if you’d like, dear reader.

Are you ready to cut-and-paste or jot down the first one?

Here it comes….

I might have said, “Ralph Lauren Daffodil Refrigerator.”

a speedy post

2011-10-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

“You need to slow down in the parking lot.” – Dave E.

It’s true. I was too speedy as I left work the other night. And I do enjoy fast driving when I think I can get away with it (which is not often).

This sense has only been amplified since I saw the documentary Senna a few weeks ago. I thought it was an interesting glimpse into Formula One racing, which I may start paying attention to now. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, see the trailer below.

agency at-a-glance

2011-10-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

What is the culture like where I work? What are the people like? Well, the following video provides one perspective on those questions. See what you think.

This piece was edited by @barnhulio who had the good grace to keep me fairly hidden.

word pictures

2011-10-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

Oh, I quite like this.

(Especially superstitious.)

economic blame

2011-10-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

I’m not going to write that Wall Street is blameless, because I don’t believe it is. Neither do I believe that the U.S. government is doing a great job helping the economy recover. But the current finger-pointing many people are engaged in is making me mental. It’s also making me question if those playing the victim are being honest about what they’ve done (or didn’t do) to contribute to the problem.

How many people took loans they shouldn’t have taken? How many people bought houses that pushed them to live beyond their means? How many people maxed out credit cards to have the newest, the shiniest, the fanciest things?

Most people would say it’s absurd for an obese person to sue McDonald’s for making them dangerously overweight. Of course, McDonald’s will try to entice people to eat their calorie- and fat-laden meals because they’re in the business of selling that food. What they don’t do—what they cannot do—is force anyone to eat their food. A person can choose to eat a Big Mac instead of a salad, or to eat a Big Mac only once in awhile. McDonald’s is not the problem. The person’s choices are the problem.

Yet when I hear people talk about economic problems, I don’t hear a whole lot of talk about choice. I don’t hear either individuals or organizations taking responsibility.

People don’t want to say their eyes were too big for their wallets, and organizations don’t want to say their greed clouded their ethics. And no one wants to admit they believed one man could clean up a big-heaping eight-year-mess with a wave of a magic wand (even though he warned them how much time and effort it would take).

Unfortunately lying to ourselves isn’t going to fix anything.

Let’s try something else.

butterflies at bay

2011-10-10T01:14:00.000-07:00

He didn’t want her
So she armored her own heart,
lying to them both

not-so-up and running

2011-10-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

A 9:42 pace after running only four times in the past six weeks? I’ll take it. Thanks to Sara and Chris for telling me about the Panther Pride Run, and thanks to Elissa for joining.

I think I need to plan on doing more 5Ks with some good hills thrown in, because it will give me something solid to work toward without being too daunting. And believe me, I’ve felt daunted.

How can I build up to the Helvetia Half in June in a steady, encouraging way? I no longer have a running partner to train with me on the weekends, and it’s getting to be too dark to run safely alone during my favorite time to run (evenings). I guess it’s time to start trawling the running websites for training and motivational suggestions.

How are my running friends out there doing?

P.S. If you’re curious, here are the PP results.

pig chic?

2011-10-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

I was smitten when I saw this dress on the Zara site. Then I looked at the product descriptions and discovered it’s 100 percent pigskin.

As much as I like eating pig, I’m not as comfortable with the idea of wearing it.

Hmmm.

the seeds he left

2011-10-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

How will the world fill this void?

Who will be as innovative as he was?

Who will have the daring and drive to bring remarkable thoughts to life?

Maybe it won’t be just one of us.

After the talk stops and our sadness fades, maybe we can pick up where he left off—together.

May we stop thinking about why we can’t accomplish more.

Then his life will be more than the design and devices he championed.

His life will be one more great reminder of what’s possible when you think different.

Thank you, Steve Jobs.

shifting

2011-10-04T23:21:00.001-07:00

I’ve been fearlessly, doggedly fighting for the wrong thing. The funny part is, it actually wasn’t that hard to fight for it because nothing significant was really ever at stake. I just wasted months and months of energy on something that would never be as fulfilling as the things I should be fighting for.

And what are those things?

For now I can say they are more difficult things to fight for because they involving facing fears or dismantling comfortable habits that are diverting my attention and my passion.

I wish it hadn’t taken me 10 months to figure this out, but there it is.

Are you fighting for what you should be fighting for Why don’t you take a look?

fall, romance, music

2011-10-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

To me, fall shares something with Paris. It’s inherently romantic. I think even people who aren’t in a relationship (e.g., moi) can feel more dreamy and swoony during this time of year. And that’s why I’m drawn to certain songs when fall arrives. See below for two of my current favorites, as well as one that’s in the “modern classic” category.

charlatans

2011-10-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

They will attempt to discredit anyone who can expose them for what they really are. They will pretend to be noble, supportive, guileless or modest to convince you to hire them, help them, befriend them or sleep with them. Sometimes they get caught. Often they do not, so continuing to fool the rest of us remains in their best interest. If they weren’t so cruel, we might admire their cleverness. Perhaps you do anyway.

I do not. I have no patience for them—or anyone who believes them.

And now I will step down from this petite soapbox.

schneider

2011-10-01T14:43:00.001-07:00

Looking pretty good for a 29-year-old paper spider, no?

fashion of repression

2011-09-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, I’ve been smitten with the style of Audrey Hepburn and Jackie O. I’ve wanted chic sheaths with matching coats. I’ve also wanted to look like Jean Simmons in The Grass is Greener and even Doris Day in With Six You Get Eggroll. And when Mad Men debuted, I coveted Betty’s dresses.

Then Banana Republic started offering clothing inspired by the show. The first time they did, I rushed to the store and was disappointed. I thought it was because they’d poorly interpreted the mid-century styles. But when they offered a MM collection this season I realized the problem was something else entirely.

I’ve also realized what the problem is as I’ve looked at designer collections that nod to the MM era (starting with the floral wasp-waist dresses Marc Jacobs designed for Louis Vuitton in 2010).

And here it is. Mid-century fashion is either too cute or too constrained. It reflects the ideals women were once supposed to be (i.e., it’s too perfect). And to be honest, its elegant symmetry is not that interesting. Beautiful yes, Interesting, not really. At least not anymore.

I no longer want to dress exactly like Audrey or Jackie, Jean or Doris, Betty or Joan. Sure, I have a few pieces in my closet that are reminiscent of them, but I prefer to wear them in my own contemporary way. I like to add a bit of edginess or surprise to them. I like to find ways to make girly styles more sassy and va-voom pieces more casual or less aloof. I know many women do the same.

Designers who acknowledge this are the most successful at referencing the past. They add confidence and freshness to New Look silhouettes rather than copying them (or worse, simply lowering necklines or raising hemlines of old looks and calling them “modern interpretations”). They know grown woman don’t have to act like perfect little girls anymore, so why would they want to dress like them?

In short, most women don’t want declawed clothing anymore. They want something with a little RAWR.

And cue Helen Reddy….

thinking style

2011-09-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

“This is going to sound highfalutin, but [the secret to great style] is cultural knowledge—reading, viewing art, broadening your mind—because it will broaden your closet and your taste as well.”
—Padma Lakshmi

petite video vent

2011-09-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

A written post allows me to easily cut and paste specific sentences or passages I’ll want to reference later or quote in my own blog. A video post does not.

I can quickly scan a written post (either for a brief overview of the material or to find specific information). I cannot quickly scan a video post, although title cards indicating chapters may help.

If someone wants to give a demonstration of something, I can understand the appeal of a video post. But I do not understand posting a demo or instructional video without including supporting text that gives main points discussed in the video, lists out steps or provide a relevant link or links.

And for now, that’s I’ll I’m going to say about that.