Brett Favre should tear a few ligaments during the next Jets game.

Just came back from a weekend in the heartland: Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, in Milwaukee. Good to see the sis and bro-in-law, and tons of fun seeing the rest of the family on the Schmidt/Phillips side. A few key lessons and takeaways from a weekend in Wisconsin.

1. Do not ever root for a team other than the Packers, especially during a Packer game when in the company of children raised in Packer country. Seems fairly intuitive, no? I guess I just didn't know how deep the well ran where Packer love is concerned. These kids looked at me like I was insane. Not like your garden-variety "oh whatever, (insert opposing team's name here) sucks!" It was like they just could not process how a person who was not a Packer fan was actually let in the house. I hope they weren't too traumatized with my cheering for the 49ers. Note to self: rooting against the Packers is up there between murder and adultery on the tablets. The shit is Real, folks.

2. Cocktails are tasty in the heartland. I loved the Moscow Mule, the Dark n' Stormy, and of course, the Old Fashioned. All very good!! Watch out cuz I've got the recipes.

3. Fish Fry is an important event/dish. It's like a Dishevent. I now basically see it as one of the major food groups.

4. When they say they have had 400 feet of snow, it doesn't really matter if it's cumulative or not, does it?

To little Monroe and Irene:
I LOVE THE PACKERS!

Upon reflection of the sabbatical

Those who know me would not describe me as having crunchy tendencies, nor would they know me to indulge in any mind-altering substances (in post-college life, at least). However the phrase "Tune in, turn on, and drop out" has been on my mind of late, humming at the base level (I've successfully ignored the hippy connotations). I have entered a phase that has clarified one thing to me: I need a sabbatical. Not a vacation, no: a true, deliberate, purposeful removal from my present pace. I've been uttering this phrase repeatedly in the last few weeks: "Work is really cramping my lifestyle"--and it's true. A little wikipedia'ing yielded Timothy Leary's definition of TITNDO; very apt, in my case:

"'Turn on' meant go within to activate your neural and genetic equipment. Become sensitive to the many and various levels of consciousness and the specific triggers that engage them. 'Tune in' meant interact harmoniously with the world around you - externalize, materialize, express your new internal perspectives. Drop out suggested an elective, selective, graceful process of detachment from involuntary or unconscious commitments. 'Drop Out' meant self-reliance, a discovery of one's singularity, a commitment to mobility, choice, and change."
(Leary goes on to say "unhappily my explanations of this sequence of personal development were often misinterpreted to mean 'Get stoned and abandon all constructive activity'". I wonder why, Tim?)

I'm not interested in rest from burnout. I'm ready to create new output. Do I need to be a 60 year-old tenured professor to have a sabbatical? Must I have achieved some pre-determined career success or breakdown to earn this? Do I need a desert or a mountain peak to achieve this? I don't think so. So internets, I am going to start "Sabbatical Weekends" in my life, once a month. Unless and until I reach the greatest leverage point, DESPERATION, I shall institute this faithfully, beginning today. Criteria to be determined. When I can get a break.

Here's today's cool thing:
Hug your sorrow plush tears! Woot! Having a bad day? Misery loves company! Plush tears. YES.

Dynamo Donut

Uh, I just had a farking awesome doughnut. No, for realz. I almost can't write about it. The darn thing lived up to the hype.

Before going out to Dillon Beach today, we went to get some fried pieces of goodness at a Dynamo Donut on 24th in the Mission. This is what I had, the chocolate spiced doughnut:

Mmkay. Some of the thoughts that ran through my mind while eating it:

Mexican chocolate.
Cinnamon.
Chile powder.
Crisp edges.
Moist.
Not too rich.
Rich.
Better than cake.
Better than doughnut.
Rainbows.
Kitty cats.
Dreams.

LOVED! Go get 'em. Look for the wall-wide, streetfront pickup window. Hip vibe but the counter folks are very sweet. Didn't have the coffee (cuz I was drinking my favorite chai) but I hear it's up there with the best of 'em. Damn good execution, folks!

Dynamo Donut
2760 24th St
(between Hampshire St & York St)

Thank God for memes

...or I wouldn't have anything to post! I'm in a rut! Or rather, a lull! However, my friends have been saying the darnedest things that every day I want to make them the quote of the day. And then I promptly forget them. I should wear one of those necklace paper pads with pencil a la Holly Hunter in The Piano. But I digress...

My pal Poet With A Day Job's got a list, and my pal LaDonna took it next. Now me:

1. The Last Book I Purchased:
The Food Snob's Dictionary, An Essential Lexicon of Gastronomical Knowledge. Since I'm not in culinary school or apprenticing at Gary Danko, I thought this would help me with some french foodie terms. Or the pronunciation of the names of famous culinary figures. Or for definition of certain menu items ("salsify" and "concasse"). And it does! It is rather tongue-in-cheek though, and is not at all what I would call a comprehensive volume of culinary knowledge. A fun read all the same, perhaps perfect for a certain room in the house...

2. The Last Film I Purchased:
Sarah Silverman's Jesus Is Magic. A live DVD. Does that count? If not then it would have to say "The Birdcage" because shamefully, I never had it on DVD. I know, I know. I couldn't believe it myself. So back to "Jesus Is Magic": I haven't watched it yet but I'm sure my mouth will be left hanging open from laughter and shock. And awe. And shock.

3. The Last Music or Spoken Word I Purchased:
Raising Sand, with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Somewhat unlikely but surprisingly good pairing. It smacks of alt country, bits of bluegrass, and a pinch of folk. T Bone Burnett produced it so whaddya expect. It's good I'm-working-on-something-at-3-am kind of music. It's also "hm, yeah, I guess I am thirty-six" kinda music. Sigh. I might as well pack it up and move to Scarsdale.


p.s. Dear Tim Gunn, Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, Heidi Klum, and Natalie Portman:
YOU. ARE. WRONG. Suede's dress was NOT cute. And Suede should have gone home for just being Suede. And on what planet is Terri's blue dress not the winner? You go, Miss Terri. I'm starting to feel a backlash to the backlash to the backlash with Project Runway right now. Don't even get me started.

What the fuck is this shit? From the mind of Suede, ladies and gentlemen. I get it, ok? But the execution is horrible, in my opinion.

Work it out, Terri. Challenge requirements met and exceeded, thank you.

By the skin of my teeth, sweeties

Hello again, blog. It's been a while and I'm trying to get back and it is...difficult. Last weekend's ZineFest just about kicked my ass. Frickin' exhausting. I guess that's what happens when you whore yourself out creatively for 16 hours on the weekend (there's a dangling participle in there somewhere...). The thought of going to work the next day actually made me physically ill, so I took that Monday off, and it worked wonders for my well-being. It was also fun to watch Golden Girls in the morning. "Shady Pines, Ma, Shady Pines!"

RIP, Estelle Getty.

I've also been doing some fun freelance for my sister and her new line. It's very exciting and I'm glad to be a part of it, however I've been pulling 12 hour days this week. Good results tho; perhaps I'll give a sneak peek sometime soon. Can I also say a big shout-out to my writing group sister-wives? Thank god for every other Thursday night. That shit is like wicked good THERAPY.

A'ight. Here's today's cool shizz. Corian rings. That's right. The counter surface material. Nice neutral colors like this graphite and some creamy white ones from these folks.

This weekend: SF ZineFest!

Be there or be...not there. But really, be there. Because I'll be there, sitting behind a table I'm sharing with my friend LaDonna Willems, poet and writer. We partnered on her book of poetry together last year; I designed the book. We'll be sitting there and I'll be the one looking somewhat awkward and reading magazines whilst drinking cherry cola. My other friend Melissa Fondakowski will also be there, hawking her fantastic recent book of poetry. It should be a great opportunity to pimp out my design services and see some more good shit. So get your buns over to the ZineFest if you can. It promises to be yet another DIY fiesta fantastico!

My promo postcard. Git it.

Renegade Craft Fair: Report from the Field

Yesterday we caught the tail-end of the Renegade Craft Fair's first showing in San Francisco (!) It promises to be an annual event here, and we're long overdue. 'Parently the Fair has been showing in Chicago and Brooklyn for the last 6 or so years (I believe Chicago was its first city). ANYWAY, we had to bootscootboogie through the fair on the last day, as we were due over in the East Bay in the early evening. This meant that our friend L. and Lani and I had about less than hour to spend at the Fair, since we had just come in from SanJo to attend a wedding the night prior. (Congratulations Laurel & Ricardo! Holla!) It was a craft frenzy, and I almost lost my mind trying to ferret out the cool stuff through the crowd of hipsters and crafsters and strollers and the roaming 30 piece band that was playing. It rawked, though, and I did make a purchase: Petit Collage's screenprint of the alphabet in blue/green. Love her stuff; had seen it hanging at Zinc Details many moons ago, and was psyched to get a print of my very own! I also learned that we are Noe Valley neighbors. Fun. Lani also got me a journal with a repurposed cover of an old 1973 Childcraft Annual (Jocelyn, remember those???) Awesome!

What was going on in the East Bay, you ask? Well, we got to milk goats, feed the horses, and harvest eggs from REAL LIVE HENS at Deer Hill Ranch where my friend M. is the Executive Director and farmhand extraordinaire. We were also able to pick some very sweet and luscious plums. I am flush with farm-fresh products. Slow food, ya'll, slow food. Thanks, M.! Can't wait to work on that logo!