where did january go?

goodness, i let january get away from me without writing here. i blame the cold/flu from hell that just wouldn't go away. i finally started to get healthy around the third week of january, just in time to start a new job. as you can see below, i did collect a few links for this post and it has been open here in my browser since the beginning of the month. i really don't ever shut down my computer i guess is the lesson we can learn from that. i made the airy little boat above for an exhibition that i'm doing with a friend. i'll tell you more about that and show more pictures in the next post. i just have to get this one posted so i can clear the deck for that. i hope your january flew by too. it's the darkest, dreariest month, so it's good that's over.

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maybe it's good for you to hold a grudge.


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love dave barry's year-end round-up.

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these memed captions for medieval paintings cracked me up.

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the truth about that stupid wall.

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this made me laugh, even tho' i quite like marie kondo and her tidying up.


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concentrating in a digital world. advice i could definitely use.
but it's a bit harder to follow.

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so, about that 10-year challenge...

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art that makes you slow down and think by david opdyke.

now is the winter of our discontent

quite frankly, the chunky monkey cat looks pretty content.

these dark january days are a bit like being down a well. not really, but i wanted to bring up murakami and when i think of him, i always think of spending time down a well. i'm thinking that a good way to get through this, the longest, darkest, most dreary month, would be to go on a murakami reading binge. i think i'll start with this and then dig out my murakami library.

what gets you through the darkest moments of winter's discontent?

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nice piece in fast company on LEGO's future lab.

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loving that i was invited to contribute to this storystarter pinterest board.

it makes me want to start some stories myself.

seeking comfort

events of the past week. the past few months for that matter. four days of gusty winds, driving rain and sleet. general uncertainty. it all has me wanting to hunker down. light candles. stir up a real batch of cooked oatmeal - like the kind that you have to cook for 15-20 minutes (jamie tells you how here.) - and top it with blueberries (don't ask about the food miles), butter, real maple syrup and a drizzle of cream. seeking comfort. finding it. and also having it find me in unexpected forms that i only realized were needed after they arrived. life is like that sometimes.

a bit random for today, but it's been grey and dreary for days

small stone :: four

chickens pecking in the herb beds. a little half-grown grey cat stalks, doing the pre-launch wiggle of her haunches and then running straight for one little black hen. she aborts at the last minute, not daring after all. and the chicken gives her a good scolding.

small stone :: five

looking at a friend's photos of armenia on facebook. hearing the echoes of memories not my own in the beautiful, evocative images. feeling provoked to tears.

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vignettes of memories:

going to a bar in kazan with my russian (tatar?) girlfriends. it wasn't something they did often (or ever). all i really remember is their big, round eyes and the decor - which was faux cave, draped in plastic plants.

defying the last of winter in kazan (apparently my brain is in kazan) with long, cutoff jeans shorts on an april day. 

stuffing myself and my backpack onto a VERY busy tram (also in kazan) and at one point, being held up completely by the surrounding crowd, as my feet left the ground.

what is it about watching living daylights (the first bond with timothy dalton) that reminds me of kazan?

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is america in decline? and how much does it have in common with europe?
read more here.  

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i really like maria konnikova's thoughts on language.

while you're there, stay and read more of her blog posts, you won't regret it.

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have you read j.k. rowling's casual vacancy?
what did you think?