Click Them.

Things you should read today that others have found:

obey


there's probably no god...


will it blend?


peace, love, unity, punch in the face.


feel like smiling?


first ever lolcat


we'll conclude with an old hip hop favorite of mine...

Best / Worst

Jesse,

Have I told you lately that I love you, and I love your FUCKING INTENSE blog?!?!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Keep it up, old friend. Miss you bunches every day! When I get rich I will fly to Brooklyn and we will party in style.

xoxo
'La

8 Years in 8 Minutes

Is it Tuesday yet?



We've got a mess to clean up, people!

Thanks for sharing, Aaron.

xoxo
Mrs. Olbermann

baby baby please come and rock me...

One of my favorites.



Amen.

Tranqui Yanqui

Nick is doing some more great work in Argentina.

Support my starving artist friend and send him hot dogs, paper, paint, or purchase his art. It's amazing.

Watch his video.

Send him love and support!

xoxo
Carlita

Best Idea Ever!

Lily and I are going to Mexico or Guatemala - for free!

there's only one catch...

hahahahahahah

xoxo
c

Starbucks, GOOD, and Consumption...

Oh, hi there!

On Sunday afternoon I was walking around downtown San Francisco with two friends. One wanted Starbucks brand coffee (no other coffee would suffice), so we stopped in one of 6 Starbucks within a 5 block radius, and while he was up at the counter I stumbled upon a free publication called GOOD SHEET. It's a small folding leaflet that is created by the consumer zombie machines (I mean editors) at GOOD.

GOOD is a total facade for a group of greenwashed lying corporations that appease both the zombie consumer and the not-so-harsh critics for being edgy, trendy, hip, and eco-friendly (hey - it's published on 45% post-consumer recycled paper, and the offset their emissions!). It is self-described as "a collaboration of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits pushing the world forward. Since 2006 we've been making a magazine, videos, and events for people who give a damn."

The GOOD SHEET No. 011 (Nov 20-26, 2008) was a post-election look at the US holiday economy. It states:

"The winter holidays: a time to join with family and friends, give thanks, celebrate, and get out the plastic and cash. We are a nation of consumers and we consme the most in November and December - in those two months, the retail profits come rolling in."

It has a bunch of great receipt-inspired graphics that give facts about what consumers are consuming in the holiday season (131 million pounds of eggnog, 67 million turkeys...) and the amount of debt it causes the consumer (12.8 billion in new debt in 2007).

But it treats it as normal, and beyond that - as a great way to stimulate the economy in these uneasy times of recession.

How long can we continue to support this failing system of beg, borrow, and steal? I know I'm the paranoid idealist anarcho-feminist conspiracy theorist who is always struggling with living in a world full of contradictions... but I know I'm not alone in feeling like I want to watch it all crash and burn!

Maybe...
...I read too much.
...I'll build my off-the-grid hut in the woods, be a farmer, and make bicycles and babies.
...I should become a barista at Starbucks, or work at Whole Foods (ha!)
...You should help me light some fires to get this crash-and-burn started!

xoxo
'la

through rose-colored lenses

I was reading Jesse's blog and was simultaneously impressed and horrified by his latest post about Sekai Camera, which is a mind-blowing app for iPhone.

I was on a date the other night (hubba hubba) and the dude's friends kept checking their phones and looking up directions to a place around the corner (literally around the corner). I kept turning their phones over and telling them to enjoy life (real life) because we only get one (in my opinion).

But I guess very soon "real life" will be considered one through rose-colored lenses, brought to us by some techno wizards for a pretty penny.

<3
carla

p.s. now I have 'send me an angel' stuck in my head...

Art

Please watch 50 50 by Oliver Laric.

Thanks to Jesse for this.

I owe you big time.

xoxo
Carla

Ugly Sweater Bike Ride Pub Crawl!

Yo Yo Yo !

Carla is turning 24 years old on October 24th and she's moving to Oakland, CA on November 6th!

The party is Saturday October 25th!

Ugly Sweater Bike Ride Pub Crawl!

Please wear a very ugly sweater.
Examples:








We will start at my parents house on the East Side for Armenian food and a few beers.
My mom and aunties are the best cooks in Providence.
Brace yo'self!
Here's a map of where they live:
View Larger Map

Then we will ride bikes to our favorite saloons, pubs, dives, and discos!
(Examples: Wild Colonial, Local 121, Wheels, AS220, Trinity, Julian's, Avery, E&O, Scurvy Dog...)

Can you handle it?

No gifts, please.
Well, maybe one of these...
I can't afford to ship a lot out to Cali.
And your presence alone is a gift!

If you choose not to bike, please don't drink and drive.
We can arrange for sober drivers!

I love you all very much!
Please let me know if you're coming so I can tell the Armenian Womenfolk to cook tons of food.

xoxo
<3
Carla

Yogurt!

I love yogurt so very much.

Hot, cold, salty, sweet, with dill, with garlic, with honey, strained, or liquidy - I could eat it at every meal. Sometimes I do.

This video is on point and I want you to watch it.



Did I really just blog about yogurt? Inspired by the PDD.

Love,
Yo Yo Ma

cars are for idiots!

Nick is in town from Vienna, where he has his art gallery, INOPERAbLE!

He is hosting a show of some Austrian artists in NYC. I'm having trouble finding a flyer for it, but when I do, I'll let you know.

bikelove,
Cyclocross Carla

P.S. That's him bike-skiing in the video.

P.P.S. The revolution will not be motorized.

Coming Soon...

...a reflection on Lil Wayne's new album, "Tha Carter III"

The most anticipated album has dropped.

Please have a listen.

I need a little more time to gather my thoughts.

"If hip hop is dead I am the embalming fluid"

Weezy is on some other shit.

xoxo
lil c

Milk and Cheese

Years ago Jesse shared Evan Dorkin comics with me. Milk and Cheese quickly became my favorite.

These "dairy products gone bad" had some of the most thought-provoking and subversive concepts to which I had yet been exposed. I was 14 years old and in 9th grade.

Evan and his wife Sarah Dyer do some other pretty cool stuff, too. Educating kids about pop sub-culture via Nickelodeon? Badass history lessons.

Sarah is also a bomb-diggity artist with the cloth. Through her I found Spoonflower, a DIY craft group that will print your designs on fabric (if you're invited). Check them out, DIYers!

As you might know, I am a nerd. I have a baby comic book collection including some great Archie comics from the 1960's. I recommend going into a comic book store this week and checking it out.

Try new things!

The Rock-afire Explosion

I just saw this on Jesse's blog. Amazing. Thanks for sharing, Jefferson!

“The Rock-afire Explosion was an animatronic robot band that played in Showbiz Pizza Place restaurants from 1980 to 1994. The show was created and manufactured exclusively for Showbiz by Creative Engineering, Inc. in Orlando, Florida. In later years, the show was sold to other restaurants and entertainment centers. The characters in The Rock-afire Explosion were various animals ranging from a dog to a gorilla. They would perform medleys of classic rock, pop, and country music, as well as original compositions.”

This dude Chris Thrash (who is he?) has reprogrammed them to perfection.

And don't worry, they do Usher, too.

xoxo
lady animatron

The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem...

I'm completely exhausted today.

Perhaps it's from working between 50-70 hours every week (except for my lovely vacations). But I think it's the lack of sleep I've currently come to accept as part of the serious condition I've diagnosed myself with: The FOMS

Fear
Of
Missing
Something

The FOMS started for me in the summer of 2000, when I worked as a counselor at an overnight summercamp. For 8 weeks of the year for three consecutive summers, I and a group of 50 other people my age lived in close quarters on a gorgeous property in northwestern RI. We were all between the ages of 16 and 22. After the campers were tucked into bed, those who didn't have "night duty" went out and caused mild mischief.

It's a church-camp, after all (disclaimer: it is not at all like this garbage).

Being a counselor is an exhausting job. The days were hot and long. Sometimes you just didn't feel like hanging out with kids and going to chapel, or eating the same old iceberg lettuce and chicken wings for dinner.

Those were the days that turned into the most memorable nights of my life. I should have gone right to bed. I should have slept and gained the much-needed rest for the upcoming day's work.

Nope.

The FOMS kick in around 10pm.

Dress in black as to not be seen. Raid the walk-in fridge for Sysco brand canned pineapple. Beat up an old appliance in the woods with a baseball bat. Send each other on scavenger hunts in the pitch dark. Skinny dipping. Pranks. Visit your lover. Light something on fire (there were contests based on pyromania). Write sweet notes for your coworker who didn't give in to the FOMS and is sleeping peacefully. Stargaze. Watch Orgazmo again and again.

Giving in to the FOMS proved to always be worth it in the past.

Now at age 23, with giant busy days filling my week, I find myself getting home from a 10 or 12 hour workday with a serious itching to go out and have big fun every night.
I barely use my Netflix account anymore (and my queue is kick-ass!). Should I give in to the FOMS or should I resist?

Hi. My name is Carla and I have the FOMS.

Am I alone on this?

xoxo
Restless With The FOMS Right Now

Thanks, Tatyana.

Government Health Warning:

Do Not Swallow Your Bubblegum!

Drop Science, Not Babies.

"The same Xerox lab that brought us Ethernet, the GUI and the mouse has demonstrated paper that can be reused after printed text automatically deletes itself from its surface in a day. Instead of trashing or recycling after one use, a single piece of paper can be reused up to 100 times."
slashdot.org

"The paper contains specially coded molecules that create a print after being exposed to ultraviolet light emitted from a thin bar in a printer. The molecule readjusts itself within 24 hours to its original form to delete the print, or heat can readjust the molecule instantly. Xerox developed the molecule."
computerworld.com



Oh, word?

I wish my job involved "developing molecules." Tonight we wrangled a group of twelve kids aged 1 to 13. My favorite part was asking the whole group of kids running around outside "Quien tiene moco?, porque tengo papel si lo necesitas." and having them all approach me so I could help them blow their noses. Gross and cute.

Sometimes I feel like a mom with way too many kids. Other times I feel like I wanna live on a polygamist commune and be a baby factory. And wear those great paisley frocks.

I guess being a baby factory is kinda like developing molecules at Xerox... except babies don't disappear after 24 hours.


xoxo
Lady Nerd Face

Subtle Butt

I really don't know how I feel about this product.

The video is predictable, but funny nonetheless.

Personally, a good apology after passing gas satisfies me. Or taking it to the other room.

But a carbon filter patch?!

(ok it's time for me to get back to work)

xoxo
'la