Gina Spadoni & Lisa Wojne: Bathroom Book of Washington Trivia
My project between jobs... (*****)
Seth Godin: Small Is the New Big: and 193 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas
Elizabeth Gilbert: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
Really enjoyed this one. Insightful and thought provoking, but also laugh-out-loud funny too.
Siri Hustvedt: What I Loved : A Novel
Haunting novel of life and loss. Biggest takeaway for me is the notion that what one often misses isn't a person or place, but a moment in time where you felt at home and right with the world; the only way "back" to that is in moving forward into something new.
Khaled Hosseini: The Kite Runner
Excellent, tragic novel that manages to have the "right" ending. (*****)
Miyamoto Musashi: The Book of Five Rings (Shambhala Library)
Reading in progress...
Robert Scoble: Naked Conversations : How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers
Reading in progress...
Duane Elgin: Voluntary Simplicity, Revised Edition: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich
Interesting book from the eighties that is still valid (if not more so) today. Discusses the impact of the industrial revolution and the expected cycles of society -- explaining where the US is in this path and where we could go.
Rebecca Solnit: A Field Guide to Getting Lost
Reading in progress...
John Perkins: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Reading in progress...
Fred Moody: Seattle and the Demons of Ambition: From Boom to Bust in the Number One City of the Future
Explores the assertion that Seattle is historically a city of underachievers and basically uncomfortable with success (*****)
OneSpicyMama offers up a terribly unique recipe for Purple Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Cardamom Brown Butter on her blog A Beautiful Mosaic. 
So pretty. If it weren't about a hundred degrees here in Seattle (finally, summer has arrived!) I might even consider cooking it. Instead I'm sitting in front of a fan with M, eating peach sorbet. Mmmmm. Happy Sunday.
Cute eco-friendly items I put together at Polyvore (this site is proving addictive).
Click on the pic to be taken to a link with shopping/pricing details for each piece.
Via the new Polyvore Web2.0 site...which enables you to pretend you're an editor for In Style magazine and are putting together their monthly "Style File" pages.
I designed the below outfit and accessories; if you click on the photo you will be taken to my Polyvore page and be able to click on each individual piece for pricing, etc. Pretty slick. It's kind of like that little girl time-waster "fashion plates" for grown-ups. Do you remember those? There were a variety of carved plastic plates with pieces of fashion you could transfer to paper by scribbling on them with a colored pencil? This works much better. =*)
Now and then I'll capitulate and take an online quiz.
The one I just did at Blogthings (ummm, can't sleep; sue me) was kinda bizarre, because it didn't profess to do this, but it resulted in a Myers-Briggs type, and I happen to know mine because I've taken the actual Myers-Briggs test twice before.
While this is a seriously abbreviated version, the super nutty part is that this little web app managed to "type" me correctly. It produced my actual Myers-Briggs result according to two lengthy, real tests I've taken.
Wild. Perhaps coincidence. Don't know. Anyway. Here's the scoop:
You Are An ENFP
The Inspirer
You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends.
You are also unconventional, irreverent, and unimpressed by authority and rules.
Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives.
You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're quite the storyteller!
In love, you are quite the charmer. And you are definitely willing to risk your heart.
You often don't follow through with your flirting or professed feelings. And you do break a lot of hearts.
At work, you are driven but not a workaholic. You just always seem to enjoy what you do.
You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist.
How you see yourself: compassionate, unselfish, and understanding
When other people don't get you, they see you as: gushy, emotional, and unfocused
American Craft Magazine has an interesting piece exploring the morphing definitions of art and bemoaning the lack of the handmade in so much of it today.
Key quote: "The more I am convinced that aesthetic experience is essentially an experience of handmade-ness, the more I am convinced that the activities that we conventionally divide into the arts and the crafts are in some sense inseparable."
Key question (paraphrased): Is there such a thing as a work of art that is not, first and foremost, a work made by hand?
I go round and round on this myself, and get into philosophical debates with my fiance regularly. I often can't decide which side of the fence I'm on. I seem to straddle the middle somewhere. Thoughts?
"Blog finished." Isn't that perfect? Ric-Rac has a great post on a bunch of <darling> projects she's got complete enough to photograph, but that aren't really done yet...thus, they're "blog finished." Brilliant. I particularly admire her "blog finished" dolly selvage quilt (pictured, left).
Now if I could even get some projects to this point, well, that would be good. One must have goals. I shall make my new one to "blog finish" a few things. Perhaps I can manage that.
Lulubliss is seeking a good looking compost bin (at least not black or green plastic) and since I've been tagging some for awhile on del.icio.us I thought I'd share. Some of these aren't so great either, but there are a few somewhat interesting choices:
I like the NatureMill because it can be used indoors and fits in a kitchen cabinet. It can also go outside, and comes in a variety of colors. The basic one is a little boring so not really cool per se, but its utility is pretty slick.
The Worm Factory has a bit of an Asian flavor to it in terms of styling, and again doesn't satisfy the cool factor but its better than some. Maybe it could be decorated with gold or black Asian lettering.
The Sun Frost Scrap Eater is pretty cool. Made from an old Bordeaux wine barrel, it's designed to sit outside and make rich earth out of kitchen scraps and the like.
The Garden Estate Bin looks nice in terms of its traditional style -- I just wish it weren't made from PVC.
The RotoTherm Cranktec System reminds me of a big Tinker Toy (remember those?); its sort of retro and kind of futuristic looking at the same time. I like the sort of industrial look this one has, even though it is green plastic!
The Earth Engine Double Bin provides an organic, natural look that would blend into many yards well. I suppose it really all depends on what vibe you're going for. Seattle Tilth provides free plans for building your own three bin system that would look similar. Lowe's also offers similar free plans.
The ComposTwin Dual Tumbler seems like a composter in disguise. To me it looks like some sort of lottery machine. I bet it would work well, though. I mean for composting (not lottery drawings).
The Back Porch Tumbler is a little powder coated metal guy that looks like a mysterious tool of some sort. Or a little robot; can you see the face?? Its a nice sage green and can be moved around on its two wheels, which could be very convenient.
But the cutest composter I've found is called Planet Earth. A bit Marvel comics, perhaps, but it could be fun in the right setting.
I love cheese. IMHO, its the perfect food. Give me a crusty loaf of bread, some aged cheese, perhaps some Salumi prosciutto and a glass of red wine and I am one happy girl. Happy happy. This cheese knife looks like it might be just the thing to add to my little party. 
Well, I must say I still want an orange hose like the one I posted about awhile ago, but its kind of cool that Target has a new Cynthia Rowley pink hose (courtesy of Shelterrific). Also, its only $10. Ten bucks for a little Barbie-riffic pink hose. I still want an orange one, but its kind of a bummer its so much more expensive (like $60+ more).
I'm digging this trend of offering designer essentials. Why not add some personality to your garden hose?
Hmmm. What else could use some design that's just boring as it is. How about car tires. Why are they only black? Why not have a variety of colors?
Perhaps garbage bags. Why doesn't Hefty make them in colors or prints? Cute garbage bags.
BTW, why doesn't somebody make paper garbage bags? Like waxed inside or something. (Note: did a quick search and did find a paper garbage bag for yard clippings and such. It's called the Ecolobag). But I want some for the kitchen too. And I'd like them to be good looking.
What other utilitarian objects could use some beautification? Ideas?
M & I have had a glorious weekend of sticking close to home, working in the yard, taking walks and just generally enjoying each other's company. Divine.
I had considered having a couple of favorite peeps over, but we ended up dirty and sweaty and tired out after gardening so...oh well. Next time.
Along the entertaining route, I was flipping through Hip Sips (awesome little cocktail book by the owner & bartender of the very chic & very delicious Portland restaurant Mint) the other day and a recipe for a Mirrorball caught my attention as something to make for friends this summer.
Mirrorball cocktail
Serves 1
Fill a tempered pint glass with ice & add the vodka liqueur, lemon-lime juice, simple syrup, and cranberry juice. Cap the glass with a stainless-steel cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Strain the drink into a 10-ounce martini glass. Top off with the champagne. Serve immediately.
Watermelon infused vodka
Put the watermelon in a wide-mouthed glass jar with a lid. Add the vodka and seal the container, reserving the empty vodka bottle for storage later. Store in a cool, dark spot for 3 days. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the watermelon to a fine-meshed sieve. Press on the solids with the back of a large spoon to push the pulp through the sieve. Return the strained puree back to the vodka in the container, discarding solids remaining in the mesh. Place a funnel in the reserved vodka bottle and pour the infused vodka back in the bottle & seal. Shake the vodka to mix any settled watermelon pulp before you add it to a drink. Store in the refrigerator for up to six months.
Fresh lemon-lime juice
Squeeze out juice, mix and store in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours.
I remembered the above recipe when I came across a clever serving idea for it -- a tapped watermelon. TipNut.com explains how to make it. Cheers! 
Matryoshka love from If It's Hip, It's Here
I am a sucker for handbags, shoes, jewelry...I suppose really just accessories in general. I've come across the most interesting reuse of materials for handbags yet -- vintage automotive fabric. In the wrong hands, this could be a fugly disaster, but for Kim White, its brilliant. I am particularly fond of this groovy little shoulder bag hailing from the fabric of a 1975 GM Chevy Sports Van (back when vans were "sporty"). Rather Scooby-Dooish, wouldn't you say? If I were naming it I would call it the Daffney.
Design for Mankind has graciously put together her first, free & beautiful, 20-page e-zine celebrating where inspiration comes from, as told from a variety of perspectives. She features a slew of wonderful commentary and photographs from the creative blog-o-sphere and has packaged them all together in a most attractive way. Divine, I tell you.
I've come across some sleek and modern felt stools made by Gulassa & Co. that look quite DWR-ish. Probably about as "in reach," too, unfortunately -- as they look to just be sold to the "trade." I always think the phrase "to the trade" is so...I dunno...ostentatious, maybe? Found them via Seattle Homes & Lifestyles. It seems like they might be relatively easy to fabricate by gently padding a hardwood frame and then covering with industrial wool felt. Someone (probably not myself, LOL) might be able to do so, anyway.
I stumbled upon a really interesting new concept in language learning from a start-up called LiveMocha, whose beta product allows anyone to log-in and start collaboratively learning, practicing, or tutoring others in several languages. I love the idea of it; its one of those things that instantly strikes me as brilliant, and then I wonder why in the heck no one has done it before. You know, its one of those -- wow, that's great! "duh" kinds of things. Kudos to them for getting it out there!
I signed up tonight but have yet to take my first lesson. Check it out and tell me what you think.
If you're in Seattle next week and female, you might be interested in attending the next Girl Power Hour, which is focused on supporting the American Heart Association -- thus the Red theme this go-round.
I'm psyched, because I will actually be in town for this one and plan on being there. Sweet! Hope to see you there.
Here's the info from their invite:
The Girl Power Hour
Red Party
DATE: May 15th, 2008
TIME: 6:30pm-8:30pm
LOCATION: See Sound
Lounge // 115 Blanchard
MORE: $10 @ the
door, cash only
RSVP:
www.girlpowerhour.com
Wear your favorite
Red dress or accessory to support the American Heart Associations Go Red for
Women Movement at See Sound Lounge with Upside-Downtown Aesthetics for all
things RED!
Red Carpet, Red
Pearl Vodka Cocktails, Red cupcakes, Red Door prizes, Red Swag Bags, Pole
Dancing Showcase from Divine Movement and RED-HOT DJ Jeromy Nail! Generous Food
and Drink specials. Complimentary Appetizers. Swag bags on a first come, first
serve basis and the chance to win hot door prizes!
Please feel free to
bring flyers or business cards to add to our Flyer Table. Taking any left over
materials is appreciated.
Door Prizes Include:
Urbanabox - Wine
Prize Pack
The Local Vine -
Wine 101 Class
Petaline - a Red
Dress
Duque Salon - fabulous red-themed door prize TBD
...and maybe a few
more.
Red Party Agenda
Heads Up:
6:00pm - Doors open
6:30pm - Check in
7:00pm - Mixer Game
7:30pm - Pole Dance
Demo
7:45pm - American
Heart Association 1 minute Video/ 2 minute address to guests
7:50pm - Door Prizes
8:00pm -
Networking/Socializing until the end
8:30pm - GPH ends -
but feel free to stay as long as you want!
Came across this fabu t-shirt designed by Compai (two sisters who together are a powerful design duo). They create it out of a plain large shirt and I think it's great! They offer a tutorial via SuperNaturale on how to make your own, which is from their book 99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim and Tie your T-shirt into Something Special. They have a great story about their inspiration for the T design, which they call Chaos T-shirt Reconstruction.
Great song & video find via Writing Anam Cara.
I adore the decorating style of the singer -- her walls are fantastic. You'll have to watch the video to see what I mean. =*)
She is a Paris-born singer named Yael Naim, who also spent some childhood years in her ancestral Israel and whose musical style shows the influence of both.
Her song featured in the video below was licensed to Apple recently and has been on some commercials, which I didn't realize, but which has launched her popularity in the U.S....I found an interesting article about her here and another on NPR here. Her CD is going on my "to buy" list. It sounds really interesting as some is in English, some in Hebrew and some in French.
<Now if I could just GET WELL! I've got another doctor's appointment this afternoon and hopefully she can figure out what's going ON with my throat. Sick & tired of being sick & tired...>
Back when I was well and didn't have a persistent, constant sore throat (long, long ago it seems) M & I visited Zayda Buddy's in Ballard. We love kitsch, and then once we heard that this mid-west styled place was opened by one of the Top Pot investors (owners of our favorite lounge in the city, Sun Liquor) -- we had to pay a visit).
This place is really all about the ambiance, the irony, the kitsch & the vibe. The food is fine and will clog your arteries nicely; the real reason to go is the atmosphere and the drinks. Pull up a table, let down your hairs, order some tots and a beer or a cocktail. Now RELAX. Ahhhh. Good relaxing. Invite your pals and have a light-on-the-wallet evening.
We've been there twice now, and I distinctly remember M saying, after his first meal of tots and dog with Sloppy Joe mix & paying a very small check: "I think I love this place."
So there you have it.
The antithesis of classy, but sometimes that's what we're after, and classic can be a good thing now and then. Fun place for city slickers to go slummin'.
Scoop: While we were there, oddly, we ran into one of our favorite bartender's from the aforementioned Sun Liquor -- evidently something Sun Liquor-like is being thought about for Ballard. Joy!
I've been goofing around with the iLike application in Facebook, which is a music app (despite the name, its not from Apple) that's really cool.
I've been listening to nostalgic stuff, tunes from unknown and unsigned artists (many of which offer free mp3 downloads), and discovering all kinds of new songs and artists I didn't know about -- or learning of new projects going on. One new project that intrigued & titillated was that between Robert Plant (yes, THE RP from Led Zeppelin) and (I've since learned) country music star Alison Krauss who collaborated on the album Raising Sand and have since been on tour together. "No way" was my first thought -- this must be a different RP. But it was true. I had to learn more.
So I started listening to selections from their CD and watched a few videos. Impressive! A really different sound for RP. I didn't know what to think. I'm not a big fan of country, though I do like some old school stuff (think Patsy Cline & Johnny Cash) and some Bluegrass & folk. I wondered if Plant was in need of money? Were they having an affair? How did this happen? Such time to dwell on the bizarre is again coming by way of my debilitating cold...Good, bad? I dunno...
Regardless, I've decided this duo is inspirational, really, in that they are both on top of their careers and not in need of any media hooks to keep themselves afloat; instead, they both just love music and mutually agreed to stretch themselves in a new direction. Push their talents. Learn something. And that, I think, is where the inspiration lies. They don't need the money or the fame; they didn't decide to musically unite only after physically doing so. It appears that they wanted to create together out of mutual respect and the desire to grow. What's more, through this challenge they both experienced levels of fear that is unexpected from such successful people, and yet decided to embrace that vulnerability and explore it. Sounds like art to me...
I hope when I reach the pinnacle of whatever mountain I'm climbing (I have yet to discover its name) I too look ahead for new peaks to challenge myself with. Kudos to them, and a "thank you" for the lesson.
More about their partnership:
October 21, 2007 New York Daily News article
October 30, 2007 Spinner interview
October 31, 2007 BBC Breakfast Time interview (YouTube video) that really delves into the history of their working relationship and provides insight into both of their natures.
Back to the title of this blog entry. I'm voting for collective genius.
I like to check in on Craig's list to see if anyone's giving away something I need, or if there are any estate sales nearby to go to over the weekend. I've been totally sick this week and probably won't be going anywhere, but I'm also stir crazy and my sleeping schedule is all wacked, so I'm looking anyway. Window shopping Craig's list, if you will.
Turns out there's some super entertaining stuff tonight!
We need a picnic table for our new backyard, so I clicked on an ad for an Origami picnic table, curious about what it might be. I was picturing some sort of mod flat pack thing, but instead, I was rewarded with an actual miniature origami piece.
The ad describes it as a:
"Hand crafted miniature picnic table made entirely from foil confectionery packaging (gum wrappers). This is a sculpture based on an original design by the artist."
Um, yeah. Wow.
Here's a pic along with some more fascinating verbiage:
"Fantastic conversation piece.
Table features one piece top with green blue and silver colors. Seats are metallic green. (ants not included)
No glue or any other materials were used to create this unique
sculpture. Similar in style to origami construction in that no wrappers
were cut or torn during assembly. All structures were created by using
only folds, twists, and rolls of the wrappers. Surprisingly realistic
look, is very lightweight, and has a pleasant minty aroma."
Psychology class experiment, perhaps? Almost makes me want to respond and go get this little thing. Just for the story!
We also want to buy a grill, so I was clicking on free listings just to see if anything was decent.
One nice person was providing the following kettle Weber grill for free, noting that: 
"The BBQ is missing a wheel but I will also throw in the bowl I have been using to keep it level."
Is it my cold medicine, or is this really funny??
I wonder.
Regardless, I highly recommend reading & clicking on free Craig's list stuff as a pleasant way to pass the time. Seriously. Give it a try.
Using Etsy's Pounce I came across this cool little necklace from FindersKeepers. Something about it makes me feel happy (which is great because I'm a bit under the weather, fighting a bug off and losing the battle...)
I love this Neko Case video -- with art & animation done by Vancouver, B.C. artist Julie Morstad -- whose brother evidently went to art school with Neko (who is also from B.C.).
Morstad also illustrated the CD cover for Neko's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood album, and recently designed some modern & stylish wallpaper called Coral With Eye Flowers.
In case that's not impressive enough, she's recently published numerous children's books too.
