Freebies, zombies, and Asian food.....

Okay......here's something rather insane.  If you're a person that's into zombie movies, my family and I have been watching this movie called Wasting Away.  This is a really bizarre movie, because it's kind of a reverse zombie movie.  People are infected and don't know they're zombies.  It's on Netflix, but the title is Ahhh!  Zombies!

It's really kind of ridiculous.  I guess the 14 year old finds it funny.

Today, mom and I went to the Asia Market down in the Heights.  It's cool going there, because there's a ton of stuff most people don't see.  Whether it's at the 99 Ranch off of I-10, or down by Bellaire, getting to try new stuff is kind of fun.  A lot of people don't realize what they're missing.  I picked up stuff to make chicken curry, but we'll have to see what they decide to make tonight.  At least I got to the Farmer's Market.  Thought it was an interesting syrup.

Nothing much this Saturday.  But, from Saturday to Saturday, here's my freebies from the mail.  Cool, huh?

Real men wear pink - some even pink tutus....

I have to say, this is probably one of the coolest things I've seen in a while.

All artwork property of Bob Carey...hope he doesn't have a cow I'm promoting him on my blog....well...um, no pun intended.

This this is weird?  Hell, it's inspiring.

This guy, Bob Carey, is selling his books, his photography, no...his self-portraits....of him wearing a tutu.  And really, it's all for raising money to help fight breast cancer.  It's called The Tutu Project, and where it might seem really ridiculous to some people, it's one of the most loving, compassionate things I've seen in a while.  Maybe it's a tad bit silly, but that's okay.  Bob is getting out there for his wife, Linda, and his support for her during her fights against cancer, well....everyone could take a page from their book on the strength of love.  

As you know, I personally lost my sister to cancer last year, so to me, this is really, really amazing.  Yup, soon as I can, I'm getting a shirt I'll sport proudly.  Keep doin' your thing, Bob.  You are Legendary Epic.

And in your honor, my friend Trista even got Flash to show his support.  Which, might not seem like much, but really, we're loving the thing you do.

LEGENDARY EPIC.

This is Flash, who owns T. Cook, which of course, took the picture.  I don't think she had tutus for her bunnies or chickens, or she probably would have dressed them too.

shameless plug

Okay, no one enjoys 'like'ing things on their Facebook because they get a lot of extra crap in their newsfeed that just clutters up everything.

So if you like inspiring quotes, I would really love you to add The Diane Kilsby Insurance Agency.  The reason is that often times, the words are uplifting.  And if you like freebies, right now, every month, they give away a gift card worth about $25 to different things.  This month is Best Buy.  Anyway, all you have to do is be over 18, live in the state of Texas, and 'like' the page.  I don't get how I can't get anyone to do this - I mean, it's free.  Yeah, they're gonna offer to quote you, but it's an insurance agency.  And really, looking over the stuff, you pay maybe a bit more, but this particular office has friendly people, explain stuff to you, and generally, Farmers seems to pay out more readily if you've got damage and things.

So, this shameless plug is to help promote a friendly business.  Thanks.  We will now return you to your regular programming.

Get behind a CAUSE.....

I've gotten a lot of flack from the whole Kony 2012 thing.  For a few days, I was nail-biting over it as it broke out across the internet and went viral, then I did some thinking.  Took me about three days, and I decided to order shirts and go Cover the Night.  It didn't really matter to me how the media made it out....I wanted to do something...

I can't control every person's integrity.  I can't control their honesty.  I can't control their actions.  But I can control mine.  I am never going to be able to account for the Relay for Life and where the money will go.  I can't account for if Invisible Children is spending money on overpriced salaries or if The Wounded Warrior Project is spending every dime on helping veterans.

But I can control me.  I can work on my individual integrity.  I can make my actions count.  They are small actions, but every mountain is built by even little stones.  Janetta makes quilts, Bob takes pictures, and I'm gonna make stuff.  And I'll see how far I get.  But the whole point is to do something, to try to make the difference.

Maybe we won't make the cover of People, but damnit, we're doing what we can.

What will you do?

...my saving grace....

So, I cornered my husband in the car recently, and we were talking about things we wanted to do and where we wanted to be in the next few years.  Because that involves money, we decided that we're going to try the whole couponing bit.

Now, if you've never done this before (like us), there are some pretty crazy extremes.  I have worked retail.  I've seen people come in with basketfuls of groceries, like $400 worth of groceries....then pay like $8 bucks at the register.  I kid you not.

So Wednesday, I'm gonna make a run to get some circulars (they break Wednesdays still, right?) for the local places, and we're going to just go week by week and see what we can save.  I'll keep you up to date here.  This really isn't a 'couponing' blog, but it's the crap that is ferreting around in my mind.  Saving money means we get to travel, getting to travel means meeting more witches and pagan folk.  So...it kinda ties in, in a round-about way.

But really, we'll see what happens.  Keep you posted.

However, this blog...I don't know if it's evolving, or changing, or both.  I'm using a program called Qik for imprompteau videos.  I've joined instagram.  I'm on Facebook, Twitter, and several other groups.  You'll find me by name, most of the time, or the user ID.  I don't know....but I guess this is becoming what my blogs always tend towards - a day in the life of me. Noting wrong with it...but I expected this blog to be witchier.

Recyclebank

Recyclebank

It's a cool idea.

Bicycle Day 2012: The Shulgin Blotter Art Fundraiser

(Reposted verbatim) 

eBay store: http://tinyurl.com/shulginfundraiser

Website: www.theshulgins.com

Today is a particularly special Bicycle Day anniversary, as it celebrates the accomplishments of two great psychedelic scientists: Albert Hofmann, the father of LSD, and Alexander (Sasha) Shulgin, discoverer of the therapeutic properties of MDMA and hundreds of novel psychoactive chemicals. 

It was 69 years ago today that Dr. Hofmann embarked upon the world's first intentional LSD trip, and his otherworldly bicycle ride from his laboratory to his house gave name to today's anniversary. LSD first started being distributed on blotter paper around thirty years after Dr. Hofmann's premier journey, and after a short time this gave rise to a specialised art form - decorated sheets of blotter paper. After some time, art lovers and psychonauts began to collect the unsaturated (inactive) artwork, and since then its popularity as an art form has blossomed.

This Bicycle Day marks the launch of the fifth and final round of auctions in the Sasha Shulgin Blotter Art Fundraiser. The remaining 10 of 58 sheets of rare blotter-art, signed by Sasha and Ann Shulgin, Stanislav Grof, Ralph Metzner, James Fadiman and Dennis McKenna, will be auctioned on eBay to raise money for the Shulgins' extensive medical care bills. 

In late 2010, Shulgin suffered a stroke. Although he is recovering, Ann and Sasha are struggling against a tide of medical and care bills. Sasha has spent his life doing basic research and giving his work away for free and although large sums of money are being made from the fruits of his labour, Sasha did not make much money. Funds raised from the auction of these limited artefacts of psychedelic history will help an elderly couple that together have transformed psychedelic science in a way that no fundraiser can ever repay.

These sheets, which are signed by some of the most brilliant and influential thinkers in the past 60 years of psychedelic science, have been estimated to have current values in excess of $750. These values are expected to rise substantially in the future. Yet, the sheets have been selling at well under half these values. Please, dig deep and consider bidding on these important items, either as a wise investment or as a kind donation.

Happy New Year!

Yes, it is the New Year.  The New Year in Thailand.  It is called SongKran.  Here's the Wiki on it:


"The Songkran festival (Thai: สงกรานต์, Khmer: សង្រ្កាន្ត; from the Sanskrit wordsaṃkrānti,^[1] or literally "astrological passage") is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15 April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars ofSouth and Southeast Asia.

The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed. If these days fall on a weekend, the missed days off are taken on the weekdays immediately following. Songkran falls in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season. Until 1888 the Thai New Year was the beginning of the year in Thailand; thereafter 1 April was used until 1940. 1 January is now the beginning of the year. The traditional Thai New Year has been a national holiday since then.

Songkran has traditionally been celebrated as the New Year for many centuries, and is believed to have been adapted from an Indian festival. It is now observed nationwide, even in the far south. However, the most famous Songkran celebrations are still in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where it continues for six days and even longer. It has also become a party for foreigners and an additional reason for many to visit Thailand for immersion in another culture."

This celebration entails a ceremonial blessing by sprinkling of water.  Over the years, it has evolved into almost prankish levels.  So if someone hits you with a water balloon or dumps an entire bucket of water on you and runs for cover, you'll know why.

"The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns (sometimes mixed with mentholated talc), or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. This, however, was not always the main activity of this festival. Songkran was traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends, neighbors, and monks.

Besides the throwing of water, people celebrating Songkran as a Buddhist festival may also go to a wat (Buddhist monastery) to pray and give food to monks. They may also cleanse Buddhaimages from household shrines as well as Buddha images at monasteries by gently pouring water mixed with a Thai fragrance (Thai: น้ำอบไทย) over them. It is believed that doing this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year. In many cities, such as Chiang Mai, the Buddha images from all of the city's important monasteries are paraded through the streets so that people can toss water at them, ritually 'bathing' the images, as they pass by on ornately decorated floats. In northern Thailand, people may carry handfuls of sand to their neighborhood monastery in order to recompense the dirt that they have carried away on their feet during the rest of the year. The sand is then sculpted into stupa-shaped piles and decorated with colorful flags.

Some people make New Year resolutions - to refrain from bad behavior, or to do good things. Songkran is a time for cleaning and renewal. Besides washing household Buddha images, many Thais also take this opportunity to give their home a thorough cleaning."

So if you never got to that New Year's resolution, go ahead and make it now.  :)  Better late than never.  

Happy SongKran!

The Bamboo Dance - faster

The dance is quickened.  You can almost see the Riverdance in it the game. :)

The Dance of the Royal Family

This is the dance which the Royal Family of Thailand uses during ceremony and presentations.

The Bamboo Dance

Both a dance and test of agility.

The Silk Weaver Dance

This is a meditation dance created by the movement of those that wove the silk that is famous in Thailand.

The Rice Dance

This dance was created with the women in the fields, bringing food to their families as they worked to harvest the rice.