The Cat wanted to say something.

I am working on my next post, but to bide some time, here is our cat Ginger decked out for the holidays:


Here are some gift ideas for Ginger and your kitty.

I hope your winter celebrations are going well!

The Twitchy-est thing I saw today.

It is finals time on campus and students all over are "in the zone". Every nook around here is filled with some student sleeping, reading, crying or complaining about all the work they have left to do into their cell phone.

The other night I left work and saw this girl at a table ready for the long haul:

I'm getting the jitters just thinking about all that caffeine.

The Legally parked-iest thing I saw today!

I apologize for my absence, I have been too wrapped up in work and school and my rock and roll lifestyle! Shame on me!

So as you know, economic times are hard and people are doing what they can to get by. In the alley behind my home we see people picking through the garbage and recycling everyday, looking for some metal treasures to trade in for money. There are all levels of scrap metal hunters, from people with a pick-up truck full of goodies to little old ladies with a little old lady grocery cart full of cans.

On my way in to work yesterday, I saw that one of these treasure hunters must of had an appointment downtown:
I wish I has been walking to see if their meter needed to be fed, I would have hooked them up.

The Sharp Dressed Man-iest thing I saw today

I ride the bus to work and I mostly take express buses full of people going to and from work or school at the University where I work. People are usually dressed pretty casual, as opposed to looking "corporate". I suppose the "corporate looking" people don't take the bus to campus.

However, there is one guy who has the corporate spirit!

He carries a briefcase and flies off the bus into a hurried walk down the street AWAY from campus. He walks like he is very important and cannot be slowed for anything. I have wondered (and have heard fellow passengers wonder to each other) "Where is that guy going? Why is always rushing?".

He even has an "important guy" build- broad shoulders, tiny waist, slight tan, sharp haircut, the "important looking" glasses.

Of course he always dresses for success...or tries to anyway.


He has multiple ill-fitting solid colored suits made of synthetic fibers, which apparently come with matching ties. He has lots of synthetic fiber colored shirts too, so he can mix things up.

I have also wondered (and have heard fellow passengers wonder to each other), "Where does he buy those awful suits?".

The Doodlingest thing I saw today.

Turns out I am not the only artist out there using paint to express what I witness in reality:

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/alb/452732709.html

This is from the "Best of Craigslist". I should warn you that there are drawings of fruit replacing some NSFW images.

Their grammar could use some work but overall I am very impressed.

The new bloggiest thing I saw today.

My beloved has started a new blog where you can vote on one of society's most pressing questions:

Cool or Tool?







Ok, I know, I know, I am shameless. I just love polls and voting so much!!


Oh, and I love my spouse too!

The Hands-free-est thing I saw today.

I am not sure if I have mentioned it here before, but Minneapolis has a large East African immigrant population. Related to this there is high number of Muslims and most evident are the Muslim women wearing hijabs and long flowing skirts.

I had been wanting to post about some of the clever things I see these women doing to complete daily activities wearing all this fabric. For example, I see women running on the treadmill at the gym dressed like this. Awesome! There I am looking for excuses to avoid the treadmill and they are running with their bodies totally covered in layers of fabric!

I think it is a fine example of how inventive and adaptable people can be.

My favorite is how I have seen many women use their hijab as a hands-free device for their cell phone. I had been putting off drawing this until last night, when I saw a woman dressed in the PERFECT fabric for this blog:


A cell phone skirt. Fantastic! I had no idea this was even available, but it makes complete sense to me now.

I am so glad I held off on drawing that.

The Inflatable-est thing I saw today.

There is a house near my home that loves to celebrate with inflatables- to the max!

Every holiday they their yard is literally overflowing with giant blow-up figures that I am sure fill the neighbors with joy and happiness!

I did not even know they made inflatable figures for some of these holidays.

Halloween of course is no exception. So let me toast their handiwork:


Seriously, my picture cannot do this house justice. They have more inflatables than I could fit in the picture!

If you are in Minneapolis, this house is just a 2 or 3 blocks East of the Chatterbox Pub and just west of Hiawatha. You should go and take in its glory! Remember that their winter holiday display is just around the corner!

Happy Halloween!!

The spookiest thing I saw today.

So I was hanging out with my 8 year old niece and I mentioned how much I love Halloween decorations (it is actually practically a problem as I have more decorations than I do square footage in my condo! Good thing my husband loves them too or it would be a long life).

Anyway, she drew this pumpkin for me:

Now I am exploiting it and using it as a blog entry...

I mean, now I can use it to get us all pumped up for HALLOWEEN!!!

Ow!

OH! I am hosting a Halloween party on Saturday with a friend and there is a coloring contest. If you want to enter, you could color and caption this and e-send it back to me! I would be proud to hang it up.

The smart assiest thing I saw today.

On the 16th Street Mall in Denver, I saw a man down on his luck with a new plan for making a living:





I give him points for being clever, but I guess I still owe him a dollar.

Since you read this, do you owe me or him a dollar?

The Speediest thing I saw today.

I was in lovely Denver, Colorado last week for work. Our hotel was on 16th Street, a pedestrian mall with electric buses that go up and down the street for people who would rather not walk.

Cars and bikes are not allowed on the mall. The buses are the only wheeled vehicles allowed on the mall. Or so I thought:




(I actually drew this by hand quickly on the plane and added the color online.)

This is one of several wheel chairs that I saw cruising down the mall where the buses roam.

Well played wheel chair users, well played.

The Earthiest thing I quickly drew today.

I drew this abstract and inaccurate picture of Earth because today people are uniting to blog about the environment.



Seemed like a great idea to me, though I am not environmental expert.

So this is a friendly reminder that we live on Earth and we should be nice to Earth.

I encourage you to check out other blogs and things out there to learn something new.

Now I am off to do some recycling and try to reduce my environmental footprint.

Oh here is a little about me today!

I was tagged by Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein to write 7 things about myself. see my list below.

I am suppose to tag 7 others to do the same, so if they are game, I would like to hear from:

Up Popped A Fox

Truth Surfer

Random Acts of Motherhood

Citizen of Flinn

Escape From The Scooby Doo Mansion

Black Coffee

Urban Pedestrian

And awaaaaaaaay we go:

1. I do not bring it up often, but I love Garth Brooks and some other late ‘90s country music. I have all of his albums, even that weird alter ego Chris Gaines album- which is not as bad as one might think.



2. If I had the power (or WHEN I have the power) I would ensure that everyone had a paid holiday from work on their birthday. We all deserve at least that day to take time for ourselves guilt and worry free.



3. One of my favorite things to do used to be filing my CD collection in alphabetical order by artist, then in chronological order by artist. When I moved more often, I would save this unpacking task until I could be alone and savor the job. Now that I use digital media for listening to my music most of the time, I get sad when I file away CDs that I have been using. I know that I am less linked to my music collection now and I miss the excitement of an album being released or searching for a used treasure at Cheapo.



4. I was a waitress in college, so I was almost always busy on Friday and Saturday nights. When I had one of those nights off, I cherished it and always did something fun with the time. After I stopped waiting tables, it took me years to allow myself to just relax on Friday and Saturday nights. I had this urge to fill them all with excitement because they were so special in my mind. I am over that now. I spent last Saturday night sewing and watching movies alone- and it was grand.



5. I recently took a weekend job as a counter server at a wonderful artisan bread shop. While the idea of getting to work by 6:30am does not thrill me, the job has actually been fabulous. The shop is always busy, the time flies, the customers are nearly all regulars who love to shop there, there are fun people who work with me and the owners are so dedicated. Surprisingly, I am actually a little bummed when I do not work there on the weekends.
(actual footage)


6. I have a very hard time waking up in the morning. This has been a historical problem. For years I have had multiple alarm clocks and even now my Mom actually calls me every work day to make sure I get up. However, if my bedroom door is closed and you open it I will bolt upright in bed. I guess my subconscious is ready to respond to an intruder.



7. I love when we get a thick snow cover overnight. I love when the trees limbs are heavy with white flakes and the yard is pristine- no foot prints or snow angels or anything. I really wish that everyone could stay home on these mornings to just snuggle up, look out the window, and enjoy the simplicity and calm of the new snow. The ugly truth is that life must move onward and that the new snow causes problems with traffic and tends to make people crabby.
   
   
   
   

The Securest thing I saw today.

Bikers have been stirring up attention in Minneapolis and some of it has been very sad.

Walking up the block the other day I saw a bike cleverly stored away from your everyday bike theif:


The bike was suspended 2 floors up, hanging out a window. It was secured by a rope that was slammed in the window and I assumed it was balanced on the very thin vanity ledge on the building.

I suppose they either:

1: pulley the bike up by the rope every day for storage

2: shove the bike out the window

3: are very tall, and therefore too tall for the bike

4: rarely use the bike

5: See it as an art installation

Either way, I commend their efforts!

In a similar vein, check out this tree suspended off a building in Paris.

The eye rolliest thing I HEARD today.

Ok, I did not SEE this, I heard it, lived it, and I had to share.

Someone knocked the side view mirror off of our car last night:




-not the end of the world, but I had to call and make an insurance claim.


I spoke to a lovely lady with a southern accent. She is probably in some call center somewhere and not in Minneapolis.




She suggested a repair shop that I had used in the past.

Being tired and annoyed that I was even making this call, I muttered aloud, but to myself, "I did not like that shop and they are hard to get to with the bridge detour."

She said, "You mean that bridge that collapsed? They haven't fixed that yet?" She said it with a tone that said "What's wrong with you people up there?" or "What could possibly be delaying the repairs?".

Sigh.

I explained to her that it is was a big bridge (6 lanes wide), over a big river and that it was a big mess that is still being sorted out.

In my crabbiness, I thought about telling her that people are still sorting out Hurricane Katrina too.

She just changed the subject.

I only wish that money, politiking, logistics, and the onset of Minnesota winter would not delay such construction (and other diaster repairs all over the who wide world).

The Dog is my Co-Pilot-est thing I saw today.

Walking through the neighborhood, I saw a loyal pet owner taking his best friend and some other guy on a drive:


The Some other guy had to sit in the back seat. Apparently the dog is a better navigator.

The Plaidest thing I saw today

Up at Gooseberry Falls my friends and I ran into a couple who had gotten lost on their way to the Sadie Hawkins dance...in the early 1990's:

The couple were clearly older than high schoolers, but they wore their matching out of date clothes as they frolicked through the falls. The guy even had an old style Twins hat.

I hope that they have been enjoying all the time that they have been together. I wonder if they know Kurt Cobain died.

The Age-inappropriatest thing I saw today.

I really need to learn to draw the elderly (among other things).

Today I saw a nice senior gentleman, probably hanging around 80 years old, get on the bus with this flashy hat:


He is living the good retired life apparently. Or perhaps, like my grandfather, he suffers from macular degeneration?

I wonder if my grandfather would hang with this guy? Would yours?

The Twistiest thing I saw today.

It has been well over a month since a major freeway bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed here in Minneapolis.

Families affected by the collapse are grieving, healing, and maintain hope for a better tomorrow. People still go an gawk at the site. The city has found ways to keep traffic flowing and to keep us all progressing.

There are benefits going on around town and the University of Minnesota has already launched a class about the disaster and urban life.

And some very strong people are working hard to clean up the concrete and steel and rebar.

The bridge remains are being shipped a bit down river on big barges, lifted up onto the river bank where they are to be pieced together by some people who will try to figure out what happened. My bus drives over the river in view of this "crime lab" each day.

The steel supports lie on the ground in piles- some piles are broken but straight pieces, some look like steel spaghetti piled up. It is hard to fathom that so much life and weight ever depended on that mess.





My thoughts are with those investigators and workers. I am stymied by how they can take a look at all that twisted and broken steel, focus, and make any sensible thought beyond "Whoa." or "Sh_t."

The Juxtaposiest thing I saw today!

En route to an event with a friend on a warn day, we pulled up behind a pickup truck plastered with the passion of the owner.

That truck had the widows down and was blasting a song that left us scratching our heads:



I suppose the meaning of songs can be determined the listener...

or someone was borrowing this truck to move!

The Birthingest thing I saw at the Fair

Even though the fair grounds are now quiet and cool, I still have a few things jotted down to share with you from my visit to the Minnesota State Fair.

One crowded attraction at the fair is the Miracle of Birth barn. Here you can see sheep, pigs and cows giving birth and then you can gawk at the cute little babies!

The place gets so packed with city slickers dying to witness the animals they eat that there are bleachers and many huge flat screen TVs hanging from the ceiling.

The animals are bred to give birth during the fair and some animals are induced. It is actually a very clean, well run and educational place. The animals are treated very well.

This year I was lucky enough to witness some poor cow give birth in front of hundreds of eager fair goers.

The crowd cheered and clapped as the deeply mooing cow brought a new male calf into the world. But the calf did not hop right into life; instead it lay lifeless in the hay.

Parents tried to avert the attention of their small children while the vet in charge stepped up and gave that gooey newborn CPR!!!!



Holy crap!

The little calf sprang into action with that breath of life.

Everyone cheered! What a hero! What a cute calf! Oh that poor cow!

I was in awe of what I witnessed and again reassured that I was not made to work in medicine.

The Mama cow began to lick her new son clean while my husband and I went to the All-you-can-drink Milk Booth.

The Alderaaniest Thing I saw today.

So I was taking the bus home the other day, sitting on the aisle seat just minding my own business; reading my book and zoning out the animated conversations around me.

The bus neared my stop so I perked up a little and the woman sitting next to me tapped me and said:

And I said "You look JUST like Carrie Fischer in 1977! Oh, and this is my stop too."

She said, "I know."

Then I tried not to stare at her the remainder of our trip.

Guys must ask her to wear that slave costume all the time.

The Crabbiest thing I saw at the fair.

The fair is a place of joy and pride in our great state. People show off their best talents and check out what innovations are in store for us in our bright Minnesota future.

Plus, this year they are allowing real beer at the fair (rather than 3.2 beer).

I once had a friend who said "People who wear sweatpants in public have given up on life." A very un-state fair fashion statement.

Does this hold true if you are also sporting a bowler hat and a pork chop on a stick?


The extreme frown, sweats and flip flops send a really mixed message here.

I would not hold the mustard stain against him, most people at the fair are stylin' with a sauce stain somewhere.

The second coming-est thing I saw at the State Fair.

Roaming around the fair I saw a man dressed comfortably, enjoying standard state fair activities: eating and collecting free stuff from non-profits & companies in bags.

He looked a bit Iike an older Jesus.....

and he was wearing sheep skin house slippers.

I wonder if he stopped by the Carpenter's Union booth to see his buds!

The Bathing Beautiest thing I saw at the Minnesota State Fair!

***Special Minnesota State Fair Edition***

The state fair has THE best people watching around. Everyone flocks to Saint Paul to be themselves and eat deep fried food on a stick.

I could just sit on a bench all day and watch the humanity go by! Some people go every day to take it all in!.

I have gone to the fair two evenings this year and I took notes on things to draw for you people. Here is the first installment:

At the fair, I saw dairy princess Princess Kay of the Milky Way and her head carved in butter.

I also saw Ms. Brooklyn Park 2006 walking about with a Pronto Pup in her best evening wear making Brooklyn Park proud! (Jesse Ventura was once the Mayor of Brooklyn Park, so goodness knows they need the good press!)



She was without any escort or entourage, so I was tempted to ask for an autograph. I chose to let her be; being a local celebrity can be very taxing, I'm sure.

I hope that Ms. Brooklyn Park is an age 55+ competition, otherwise the stress of the role is really showing on this beauty queen!

The Diverse-iest thing I saw today

Walking about the University I saw a man walking about displaying a clutch of cultures, breaking down social stereotypes:

He was wearing a nice jogging suit with matching shoes, a kippah, Tzitzit, and long peyos.

He was just your standard Minnesotan African-American Hasidic Jewish man.

The thing is that in Minnesota, even in Minneapolis, the Jewish and African American populations are small compared to bigger cities or cities in other parts of the country or world (Jewish= around 46,685/5,132,799 Minnesotans or 0.9% of the population and African American= around 202,972/5,132,799 Minnesotans or 4.1%) .

So this is the first MAAJM I have ever seen.

I had seen a Hasidic Jewish Reggae performer before, but he was from New York, and he was white. (He was the first white reggae perforner I had seen too.)

Maybe this guy was not from Minnesota, maybe he was just visiting. I guess I should have asked for his place of residence!

Anyway, I was glad to see someone so proud of and commited to displaying their faith.

The 1988-est thing I saw today.

Today I helped the "big man on campus" who has long left high school, but still clings to his glory days:



He was so dreamy back then- so Kirk Cameron!

He wore that Guess tee and those stone washed jeans in a sadly non-ironic way.

I am impressed with how the fabrics have held up. He must treat them with Woolite and love.

Or maybe he fell through a time warp, how will he ever return to his true time?

The Scurvy-est thing I saw today.

While talking a brisk walk through the park by my home, I came upon a man head towards the shore of the tiny lake with an air of determination.

He was dressed as some sea men have been known to dress, he carried a bucket one might take to fish, but rather than a pole, he had a handmade gadget that I am not sure has a name:

Twas this the Pirate of Powderhorn Lake?!?!!?!?

I knew the neighborhood had riff raff but I had no idea it had gotten this bad!

This picaroon was dressed in pirate boots, a piratey hat, and, I kid you not, a puffy shirt.

Along with the bucket, he carried a black pole with a child sized plastic chair stuck on the end. I have no clue what that is for- perhaps a perch for his parrrot or to tend to the futtocks shrouds?

The Proudest thing I saw today.

Walking about I saw a proud pair: a Father and Son spending time together. The young lad and his father clearly took pride in each other and their bond, because they wore matching outfits and had matching haircuts:



I am not even certain what their haircut would be called.

Their heads were shaved on the sides and the hair down the center of their scalps grew extra long and shaggy.

I suppose they may have just come from the beach or just did not have the time to prop up their extra tall Mohawks or perhaps they cut their hair using a scoop toss device as a guide in lieu of a traditional bowl.

Either way, it is nice to see family members like each other so much! I wonder how long that will last?

The Primary-est thing I saw today.

En route to the Picasso show at The Walker around 8pm, I spied an older gentlemen crossing Hennepin Avenue wearing his primary colors loud and proud:




I am not sure where he was going dressed like that at that time of night and I am also not sure where one would buy bright blue cargo pants.


I thought maybe he was a clown only part way in costume.


Or maybe he was making a statement against blending and merging.

In any case, the big bright yellow bag really tied it all together.


PS: The exhibit made me feel a lot better about my inability to draw human hands!


PPS: I started another blog about Geography: http://belatedgeography.blogspot.com/, if you are interested.

The safest thing I saw today.

In Minnesota, convertibles are only really useful roughly half of the year, weather permitting. Even so, people still own them and put the top down when they can.

Ah convertibles, symbolic of letting the wind whip through your hair and your inhibitions fly away on the breeze.

I saw a woman riding in a convertible recently who let that symbolism slip by her:

She was sporting a bicycle helmet as she enjoyed her ride.

I am not sure if she understands that bicycle helmets are not meant to protect her were the convertible to flip, but I suppose it gave the her a sense of security and tameness she was seeking.

The Shiniest thing I saw today

Each morning as the new sun shines and I walk to my bus stop, I pass by a car that is much adored.

Each surface has been buffed and polished. The white sidewalls on the tires gleam. All the brand logos have been removed from the car; perhaps to make it more "fly" or to prevent commercialism from ruining the genius design of the body itself.

Someone spends a lot of time on this vehicle.

Someone loves it very much.

Some one is very proud of it.


Someone is attached to family life in 1993 because rather than a hot rod or a muscle car, this car is a mid-1990's Plymouth Acclaim.

Seeing such pride being taken over such a simple car warms my heart. I day dream that this was the first car this person bought, or perhaps they are a car enthusiast who is also a firm believer in not taking out an auto loan.

The striking-est thing I saw today

Last night a large interstate highway bridge in my city collapsed during rush hour traffic over the Mississippi River.

As the sun began to set that night and the rescue efforts continued, my husband and I saw this driving up the East River Road (which runs along the east bank of the river) towards the tragic scene:




This large semi-flat bed carried multiple industrial lights like this:





to help light the river while dozens worked to save lives in the crumbled concrete and running waters.

As someone who was lucky enough to be safe at home when disaster struck, the sight of this truck made the unbelievable collapse of a familiar thoroughfare very real to me.

Thankfully all of my friends and family are safe and were not traveling that route at that time. My thoughts go out to all those affected by this and all those helping with the aftermath.

The excuse-iest thing that I have for you today

I have been away from the internet and busy at work.........

but please come back, I have lots more to draw for you!

The Groovin'-est thing I saw today.

Out at a rock show recently I witnessed a true dance commander. This guy really brought the party to the show and he got all kinds of people to join him in the booty shakin'.

We were all lucky he made it there, because the markings on his shirt made me realize that apparently someone tried to keep him from being there:

Unleashed.

If only I knew how to animate my little drawings, because he really had some good moves and high levels of enthusiasm. He must have been tied up a long time.

The clingy-est thing I saw today.

This couple was crusing down the open freeway at top speeds. The hefty gentleman was wearing his helmet and the spritely lady (note that despite my poor drawing, it was an adult woman) was not.

Without getting deep into to the helmet law debate, I have to say I think she should have had a helmet or a bungee cord or something on....


because she could not even reach around her man's waist. She was merely clinging to his back!

I feared what inertia might do to her if they took a turn to sharply or had to stop quickly.

I hoped she had strong hands and that his shirt was made of a high quality cotton.

The Snazziest thing I saw today.

The other hot summer night at a casual outdoor event, I witnessed a brightly dressed gentleman. He was somewhere between Miami Vice and artsy-fartsy:

His whites were crisp and glowing. His hair had been intimate with peroxide. His true age (or his tanorexia) showed in his not so smooth orangy skin.

You've got to have some respect for a man who puts fashion about comfort and practicality. Right?

Right?

The Mowgli-est thing I saw today.

While attending a concert my friends and I witnessed a man who, like me, clearly enjoyed The Hopefuls. He had wild and coarse long black hair and a wolf shirt on and he was crouched on the steps of Peavey Plaza literally howling throughout the set.



He was most surely raised by wolves. There is hardly another explanation.

As the sun set over the show, I worried if he would prove my theory wrong and tranform into another wolf being.

He kept holding his hands in the air making the "hang loose" sign while he howled. That makes sense to me because how could the wolves have properly taught him the "corna" sign without opposable thumbs?

The Rave-est thing I saw today.

I did some techno dancing over the weekend at a sci fi convention. There were lots of club kids out there grooving and waving their glow sticks.

One threesome of dancers caught my eye and made me smile:

I guess those two ravers needed some supervision or protection. The Storm Trooper stood at attention while these two danced around him.

I am not sure if they offered him a glow stick or not.

The New Waviest thing I saw today

Tattoos.

I could start a whole new blog about the different tattoos I see every day. I have a few myself. Some tattoos are pretty cool.

Not all tattoos stand the test of time- some can become dated or reveal just how young you were when you chose it (sadly I think I have one of those). Some even cause great regret.

I saw a tattoo recently that just struck me as odd on the person given his dress and behavior.

He was dressed pretty bad ass and he carried himself in a bad ass way. He looked like a bad ass grease monkey kind of guy who likes classic rock. He had a new looking tattoo of a ladies head on his buff arm that was very New Wave:


With my lacking skills I cannot do the tattoo justice, but bear with me. The tat looked straight out of 1983 and looked like it would be chosen by a huge Duran Duran or The Cure fan. He looked more like a guy who would have a skull or barbed wire on his bicep.

Like the biker in my previous post, you just cannot judge a book by its cover or itts cover art for that matter.

The Dedicated-est Thing I saw today

It has been so hot and muggy here all weekend. On Sunday the skys broke open. It was thundering, lightning and pouring rain as I drove up Hiawatha. Coming out of the tunnel by Minnehaha Falls I came upon a pot-bellied man riding his bike on the shoulder of the road against the rain and against traffic (rather than on the nearby bike path). Under his arm he gripped a treasure that to him was worth struggling to ride in the downpour:



A fridge pack of Diet Coke.

He must have really had a hankering for that Diet Coke. It is not easy to ride a bike carrying a 12-pack of pop or to ride against traffic in a thunderstorm, I can hardly imagine the urge he must have had to nip that would cause him to face the two elements together.

Perhaps some of you can understand his logic?

What would be worth that ride to you?