The Black Panthers

Okay, I'm not talking about the movie "Black Panther," which I liked, this is The Black Panthers. They were a social organization designed to help the black communities in the 60s and that lasted until the mid-80s. In school, we're taught mostly about the disruptive part of the Black Panther Party, but not about all the good they stood for.
It's important now to remember that black communities are still being left behind. What the Black Panther were doing was providing meals, education, and health services to under served  communities. They were policing the police, making sure that cops in their neighborhoods couldn't randomly kill black people out on the streets. They were making their own communities better by standing up for equality and freedom and what was right.
Of course, for this they were demonized. Nobody wants to hear about the good you're doing if you're disrupting the status quo. Disinformation campaigns, arrests, and murders did their job in shutting it down. But you can't stop a movement forever.
Our world's grown smaller. Social media has joined us is a way never before possible. We can all see what's happening to our neighbors, and we can all stand up for what's right. It doesn't just have to be the Black Panthers by themselves. It doesn't just have to be Lemonade. This is about all of us, and if you don't see it, yet, you will. This boat is too small to pretend we're in it alone.

What You Don't Know About The Black Panthers | AJ+

Octopus Overlords

Admittedly, I've been obsessed with cephalopods for awhile. What's not to like? They're pretty awesome. I'm a particular fan of the octopus. I love the way they can change colors and texture, the way they can figure out puzzles, and the way that eventually they're going to mount a ground attack and take over our planet. Ok, probably not that last part. However, I do think they're smarter than we give them credit for, and it makes me sad when I see people eating them, or on Chopped when I see some amateur chef butchering the poor thing to ribbons.
I'd love for some oceanic linguist to try to figure out how they communicate with one another, and to learn their language. We know that dolphins and whales communicate with one another, I'm pretty sure that cephalopods do, too. They just seem too smart to be out there on their own. Or, maybe I'd just like to think they are.
There's something truly alien about the octopus; something strangely other-worldly, and I'd like to learn how to talk to them before the evolve to breathe air. :)
The Octopus might never rise from the ocean to become our new rulers, but they're pretty neat anyway.
Watch the video if you don't believe me.

Earthships

This past week I went on a vacation with a few friends for another friend's birthday. We stayed at an Earthship. I don't know if you've ever heard of an Earthship before, but they've got to be the coolest thing in the world. Yes, there are problems with the design. Like everything that's self-sustaining, it requires some level of sacrifice. Did I say self-sustaining? Yes, yes I did. These homes are built to capture rain water as their primary water source and harvest solar and wind power as their sole source of energy. Because of the way it's designed, you can keep your home at a steady 70 degrees year round, no matter where you live. We were in Taos, where it was in the 70s during the day and 30s at night, but the main living quarters were comfortable all day.
Also, the front portion is a greenhouse, so you could grow a good portion of your own food. There's some proprietary technology involved, but most of the materials look pretty inexpensive. If you're willing to do most of the labor yourself, you could probably live off the grid in one of those things pretty cheaply.
Plus, with the way our grid system works for electricity and water, it might not be a bad idea to think of alternative ways to build homes. You sacrifice size and uniformity (these things can be a little funky, if you're not into it), for self-sufficiency and a green life-style. I'm up for it, but I don't think my HOA would let me do it. Might be time to think about moving to someplace a little less restrictive.

Check it out:

Where we stayed

More Earthships

Sense Memories and Wax Icons

When I was a kid we used to go to the San Antonio zoo every year. It was one of my favorite trips, not just because of the animals (which were fantastic), but because we always got a souvenir.
There are there machines called "Mold-A-Rama"s that make was casts of different animals at the zoo. I don't even know if the machines are still there, but when I was a kid, getting one of those things was one of the highlights of the trip. I would watch the machines making my animal, then it would fall down into a pocket where I would pick it up. The smell was fantastic, hot wax. It may sound weird, but that hot wax smell was magic, especially when holding a still cooling giraffe or elephant in my happy little hands. It had a slightly more oily small than  candle wax, maybe like cooking oil. And, it would fade so slowly that I almost couldn't notice until there were only faint whiffs of it every now and again.
It was like a scavenger hunt, trying to find every machine and collect each animal mold, especially since I could only get one per trip.
Sometimes, on the long ride home, I'd press my face up to my magic wax animal to make the zoo last just a little longer.

Food Truck

A friend of mine (or a sort of friend, someone who I want to be a friend, who I've met and would like to know better because she's pretty awesome, but is a Facebook friend - wow, way too much unpacking there) is opening a food truck. It's a rough business and takes a lot of work. I'm sure she's up for it, but I can't imagine why anyone who isn't a chef would want to do such a thing. She's a singer/songwriter and she's truly fantastic.
This does make me think, though, about how many dreams we're allowed to follow at a time. She wants to have a food truck with good soul food (vegetarian with some completely began items - YAY!). And, now she's going to do that while also doing her music. It's great to think that she can do bother. Brave and bold, and well, I'd get stuck on the timing of it.
Food trucks are usually open on weekend nights, but that's when the best music gigs are. Maybe you can cook the food in advance (low and slow does make the best soul food) and have someone else serve, but then people also like their food fresh and made to order.
I can hold myself back all I want. Just because I do, doesn't mean she does. It makes me happy that she's pursuing it anyway, and when it opens - maybe at the end of the month, I'll send a shout out and a link.
In the mean time, my job is to be supportive and helpful because everyone has a dream or three. 

The Last Jedi

I love the old Star Wars movies. They were the ones I grew up with and the ones that helped form my view of good and evil. And, like most of the original trilogy fans, I was furious with the prequels. They sullied my childhood by making other children's childhood better... yeah, I even knew it at the time, but man, those were not fun for me. However, I was a fantastic aunt and bought them on dvd so my niece and nephews could torture me by watching and rewatching those things and preferring them to the ones that I wanted to watch. What can I say? May sister's kids are evil.

So, with that history, I will tell you, I LOVE the new Star Wars movies. They're fantastic. And, one of the things that makes it fantastic is the inclusion of women. Who knew there were women in space? They still aren't seen in as many roles as men, but they're in leading and important roles, and that's fantastic. Yeah, yeah, "representations matters." It does, it really does. I had all the star wars characters and the ships and the accessories. You know how many girls there were? Two. Princess Leia and the green chic from the canteen.

I'm so excited that kids (and maybe I) will have the chance to really see themselves in some kick ass Jedi roles.

And, it makes the dudes better, too. Check out the way men grow through strong women (pretty cool analysis):

Bullying

Jamel Myles killed himself a couple of days ago. Or, as the new vernacular goes, his will be listed as a death by suicide. It didn't have to go that way. Jamel was in the fourth grade and had just come out as gay. His family was supportive, but his classmates were not. I honestly thought we, as a society, had moved past this kind of prejudice. The kids I know are accepting and loving and would have supported Jamel... at least I think they would. I hope they would. But children can be mean. Adults can be mean. Heck, we're learning now that a lot more people wanted to be mean, but were just hiding it until some jackhole, flag-humper gave them permission to be outwardly hateful to those who are a little different from themselves. And so, a fourth grader kills himself. The press and some politician, some celebrities and some random neighborhood busybodies will lament the bullying, as I will here. But it won't do any good. As long as our society says it's ok to harass trans-children when they need to use the restroom, or shout down Muslims when they're trying to pray, or shoot unarmed black men while they're handcuffed and lying in the street, or to grab at women without their permission; nothing will change. We've brought out the worst of ourselves.

So You Think You Can Dance had a beautiful dance routine choreographed by Travis Wall. It'll probably get him his thousandth Emmy. I wounder if Jamel Myles had seen it, would it have made a difference?

Cute Animal IQ Boost

Everyone loves animal photographs. Well, everyone loves them unless they're a monster. Are you a monster? I like the photos of the photographers getting up close and personal with their subjects. These are ridiculously cute. Plus, looking at cute animal pics are supposed to raise your IQ. So really, this is a lot like studying. I'm sticking to that explanation. You can use it, too, if you want. I'm not actually a doctor, but I have a terminal degree and that's kind of the same thing.

Cute animals doing cute things.

If you were ever wondering how to take liberties with definition of words or phrases, you've just got to look at the paragraphs above.

Also, just so you know, it's a little clickbait-y. It makes me sad, but the pictures are good, so that almost makes up for it. 

Don't Do It

I miss Hyperbole and a Half. It was a super great blog, funny, insightful, and very well drawn. Allie, its creator tackled things that I cared about, primarily being awkward, weird, and the irredeemable use of "alot."
However, what I miss most about her, is the way she tackled depression. I don't know how she got through it in real life, but her blogs were pretty spot on. And, it simultaneously felt like a cry for help and an explanation on why she wanted everyone to go away. It felt like I felt (or, more accurately feel). It saddens me that she doesn't post on her blog anymore because I feel wrong reposting her stuff when she's not posting anything new. However, here I go, because this is how I feel.

Depression

So, yeah. I might post part 2 later. She's really good. I hope you're ok, Allie.

Useful Friends

My friend Kevin lives in Seattle and occasionally recommends a new band or singer. Tonight it was Rusty Willoughby.

Okay, the Willoughby band Llama was a bit too rough for my migrainey head, but I like the collaboration he has with Rachel Flotard, Maggie Bjorklund, Barb Antonio, and Barrett Martin..  Really cool, actually. Too Early and Crown of Thorns are beautiful songs.

But, seriously, support smaller bands. These songs are from his album Cobirds Unite.

Multicultural Eating

I've been a vegan for about a year and a half. It didn't start out as an ideological choice, but it's turned into one. At any rate I tend to eat whatever vegetables, veggie patties, and tofu that I find. It's not real fancy or inventive. And, yes, it tends to be Eurocentric. So, here's a nice article about not eating boring healthy food. I might have to break out of my routine.

Healthy Multicultural Food

Everything looks Yummy!

Old Christine

Other than looking at my previous posts and noticing that I start with the word "sometimes" more often than I should, I've been wondering about the quality of the blogs. I haven't been doing them very long, and they tend to be super short. I guess short is better than long in this medium, otherwise it's tedium. Ewww.

Anyway, I've been watching reruns of "The New Adventures of Old Christine," which is one of the funniest shows ever. It holds up so well. I love how dysfunctional everyone is, and how they love each other anyway. That's good comedy. Old Christine genuinely believes she's a good person, but she's kind of not. She acts like she tries hard, but she doesn't really. And, everything she does is a mess. It's truly funny. It reminds me a lot of "Fawlty Towers." They both have main character who you like in spite of the fact that they're not great people. You root for them. You see horrible things coming their way, and you silently beg them to make better choices, but they don't. And the repercussions are hilarious.

I believe that Julia Louis Dreyfus is one of the funniest women on television. I'll bite you if you disagree.

Clouds of Fire

Sometimes I see something that really takes my breath away. Michael Ramakrishnan posted this photo of Altocumulus clouds & a sunset at 30,000 feet amidst California fires.

I mean, really, this photo is stunning.  The composition blows my mind. It's hard to believe that tragedy and heartbreak lie just below the surface. Wow.

There's always time for baby goats

Sometimes I'm supposed to be getting ready for bed, but I just have to check one more thing on Facebook first. Then there's this from Funny Family Moments:

I mean, really, that's worth missing a little sleep over.
I have an aunt who's not really an aunt who had a big goat named Randy. He was named Randy because he wanted to mate with anything that stayed still long enough for him to mount. She hated that goat, but never got rid of it. Every time she'd come into town she'd have another story about some horrible way Randy had embarrased her or befouled something. Poor Randy, he might have just been lonely. Or a predator. Who can tell? He was a goat.
Anyway, these goats are much cuter. I especially like the ones in outfits. I wonder if the goats like the outfits.

How we get there

There's a blood moon tonight which has made some of my twitter friends post helpful things on twitter like this:

Which then reminds me of this song:

Clarity in Space

The new optics upgrade for the space telescope are pretty cool. They take out a lot of the blurring telescopes get due to the atmosphere.

The difference is pretty amazing. My grandad and I used to talk about space stuff when he was still around. Every once in a while I see something I think he'd get a kick out of. I think this qualifies.

If you want the link to the article, here it is: https://www.space.com/41202-new-adaptive-optics-produces-stunning-views.html

Drop the World

Honestly, who knew I'd like anything by Lil Wayne? Most of his stuff is a little rough for me, but I keep coming back to "Drop the World." It speaks to the level anger and pain that's out there right now, but there's a defiance to it, too.

The background music brings in a lot of the feeling of almost post-apocalyptic isolation. There should be tires burning and I should have a tire iron in one hand and a chain wrapped around the fist of the other hand.

Obviously, this won't do for my everyday kind of existence. I've got to live in the non-apocalyptic real world. But if the world burns down tomorrow, I know which song is the first on my We-all-gonna-die playlist.

Sea Pig

I love this Buzzfeed video of the Sea Pig. Hilarious. And gross. I had to send it to my youngest nephew because I'm all about education. It's kind of my thing. Those kids are lucky to have me.