married to the sea...never fails (ok rarely)

in my opinion this is the most politely offensive web comic on earth. i often get images copied into emails from a favorite co-worker, with an equally "wrong" sense of humor. you'll find that these 18th century - esque illustrations seem perfect for contemporary references to the internet, rap music, sex, bathroom humor & much more. these comics are a collaboration of Natalie & Drew Dee, they sell select comics as t-shirts & messenger bags; and they keep an archive of the past year's work. i definitely recommend getting your inappropriate laugh of the day here.

we've only just begun...

the tragedy of "day after thanksgiving" has begun. christmas decorations are up in store windows and homes, christmas music floods all consumer venues and people all over america are shopping for the perfect gift. i'm sure you saw the ads telling resident crazies to hit the mall and favorite department store at 6am (or earlier) in a shameless attempt to save a buck on mediocre gifts...but for me, i resisted by flopping right on the couch with a cup of coffee and my knitting needles. i am hoping that most of my gifts for family & friends this year will have a little blood, sweat & tears in it. the first and foremost of this adventure will be self-designed christmas cards for all those living miles & miles away...and the rest, well that's a secret.

the diy and urban crafting has become a huge movement. i find now, that i can hardly get the supplies for one idea before i see something even more intriguing...where does a person begin? i don't consider my self a serious crafter, i don't have a booth, i don't sell anything or make mass quantities of one genre of craft; i simply dabble (i also love that word). i have found that i can get a lot of ideas on the craft magazine blog. i'm a huge fan; i found this blog after being sent a link from their sister site make magazine blog. they have links to local crafting events, podcasts and craft resources. the other great thing about this site is that people are more than happy to share details patterns & instructions.

the reason i write this today (other than my personal attempt at homemade and/or handmade holiday gifts) is that i am also really excited about the urban craft uprising next weekend in seattle. there will be over 100 vendors on dec 2nd & 3rd at the seattle center exhibition hall from 11am through 5pm. it will be my first trip there, but have heard nothing but great things about it.

forgotten & lost

i've always loved looking at my parents' and grandparents' old pictures. in fact, old black & whites and costume jewelry were the majority of what i took to remember both sets of grandparents and maternal great grandparents. i also have fond memories of resenting my brother and sister (10 & 12 years older than me) for having great white-framed, sepia pictures of them as kids that my dad took and developed himself. i was browsing and stumbled upon look at me tonight, thought you might like to take a gander at other family's lost and forgotten pictures.

regretfully yours

i missed the cut chemist show on october 25th here in seattle. it's true, i don't know why or how it happened; the venue was in walking distance of my place. maybe because it was a wednesday night before a big weekend or because my halloween costume had taken over all mental reasoning. anyhow, i bought his new album the audience is listening on monday. it's incredible, the track the garden got me and what's the altitude makes me become the asshole rocking out in the driver's seat on the way home from the gym.

my first memory of cut chemist was back in april 2003, when i saw jurassic 5 in grand rapids, mi. the show was a lot of fun and after was even better. a friend had let charlie in on a little secret and we were then able to have a beer with them in their dressing room. i noticed that neither cut chemist or dj nu-mark hung out. after we had worn out the welcome, we hopped in our car and began to drive away. i looked over toward the dumpsters behind the venue and begged the driver to slow down...there sat cut chemist, smoking a cigarette on top of a large green dumpster. i rolled down the window, yelled "great show," he nodded and lifted the hand holding the smoke and then we drove off. i always thought of him a little differently after that night.

my point is, check out this album.

a chain of events

i really enjoy photography that takes the next step, images that make you wonder how they came to be. ones that blur the line, make me wonder what the logistics between the photo shoot and editing were and in the end disturb or intrigue me. i came upon mr. toledano's website, via boing boing. he is a london born photographer, working in new york, doing work for companies such as le tigre and vanity fair. besides the actual photos, i was impressed by this statement describing his people shots, "i wanted each shot to be part of a story. as though you'd accidentally picked up the phone, and caught the middle of a conversation."

press the start button

in the last few months i've found myself spending more time putting myself out there. making my past times, opinions and current status accessible for people to see, indefinitely. it started with myspace and then onto gmail. myspace, i resisted it, protested it and as usual caved the minute i realized how much guilt-ridden fun it created. a gmail account makes blogging (blogger beta) and picture posting (picasa) impossible to resist, it's like a big red start button every time you log on.

so here i am, starting a blog, which will cause me to rethink the whole thing tomorrow morning, torment over the "delete blog" button and then think of or see something that inspires me to post it. i'm not 100% sure what the goal of stilldottie will be, and as a girl with a marketing degree and neurotic tendancies, there will be a strategic plan supporting it. he he.

i've pressed it...so get ready for my 2 cents on a little bit of everything.