Quoth Corey to the cat, "Curiosity killed y'all."

As the autumn chill descends upon our noses, and the mighty triumvirate of bicycles, hoodies, and hankies comes to the fore, I am made grateful once again for having switched from facial tissues to snot rags. While bombing down Gray's Ferry last night, I rediscovered the utilitarian nose-blowing ease of having a hanky half hanging out of a back pocket, which is easier than having it tucked in all the way. In other words, I was flagging.

Because my hankies are garden variety white and I am right handed, I was flagging white on the right. If this is to be taken as a fetish signifier, I suppose it's not so inaccurate. But reviewing the list, I'm thinking that I might want to invest in some gingham and argyle cotton to rip down to hanky size. It doesn't hurt that I like gingham and argyle anyway.

Some of my picks because this is really overwhelming. Saw 2 of 3 Fringe preview shows, which are shows with 10 minute snippets of 10 or so upcoming shows.

Plan to see Rails and 7 (x1) Samurai because they come recommended, and in the case of Rails, two friends are in it.

I'm also interested in Store by kate watson-wallace/anonymous bodies (I saw a bit of one of her dance pieces earlier this year and really enjoyed it), and El Duelo (The Wake), which is flamenco in Woodland Cemetery.

Here are my reactions to the preview shows I saw at Plays and Players. The winners were Hermitage, Illstyle and Peace Productions, Ombelico Mask Ensemble, Sarah Carlson & Pamela Vail, Keyspeak, and The Gonzales Cantata which was namedropped by Rachel Maddow today...


Keila cordova dances: "gold"
A bunch of women in white, modern dance, some flirty themes, not the best modern dance I've ever seen. Lacked a little expression.

DysFUNctional Theater - Fefu and Her Friends
Pretty good acting, somewhat engaging storyline, kind of a chick flick

Hermitage: The Strange Story of the Ghost Men of Harlem
About two brothers who were essentially trapped in a house with like 163 tons of crap in it. No one knows their story, so this is an imagining of their family history, relationship, etc. A reclusive dandy takes care of his crippled brother until he catches himself on his own booby trap. They talk to each other until he dies, then the second brother eventually dies. Apparently it took the cops and fire dept days to get to the men after they died and they had to break through the roof b/c the windows and doors were blocked. It was kind of cute and interesting.

Writing Man Productions: 'Ships
This one was about twin brothers, one jock and one nerd. An asteroid is about to hit earth. The nerd is planning a spaceship and the jock wants in. I wasn't crazy about it

Dark Side Theatre Company: Murder!
Campy '20s period murder mystery. A little overwrought, cute costumes.

Illstyle & Peace Productions: Same Spirit Different Movement Fest
Stunning urban dance and acrobatics. Wonderful spirit. Exuberant and well worth it.

OMBELICO Mask Ensemble: The Power of Magic: An International Commedia for Everyone
Campy, fun, multilingual. Their description: "Commedia dell'Arte, a Cirque-meets-Shakespeare theatrical spectacle" is pretty accurate. It was cute and I would see it if it didn't take much effort.

Raine Djonson/THEACTORLADY: Pretty Young Thang
One-woman melodrama about sexual abuse in the African American community. Wasn't my cuppa, but I'm sure touching to some people

Sarah Carlson & Pamela Vail: Something Striking
Very good modern dance. At times interestingly subdued, at times intensely sensual

Secret Room Theater - 4Play - "Johnny Infamous"
Might be fun if you're drunk. 4 vingettes about foreplay. The one they did was a silly musical number set in the 50s about a dreamboat leather jacket boy who only makes out with inanimate objects, and the schoolgirls who have desperate crushes on him. Includes one requisite cross-dressed schoolgirl with a 5 o'clock shadow, cuz gosh, that joke never gets old. Kind of like an SNL skit that goes on too long.

Cross Cultural Theatre Initiative - Everyman
Described as "'avant-garde' progressive performance of the classic medieval morality play". Over the top and sort of scary, with lots of shrieking actors with flashlights running up and down the aisles, and a scene with women who represent vices sensually ensnaring the protagonist in lots of strips of luxurious fabrics. It was ok, might not be my thing.

Art Riot Theatrical Company - Salvation Road
Rebel girl finds Jesus, decides her family is a threat to her faith, family worries. Meh.

Keyspeak - Pumpernickel and Marmalade
2-man, extremely physical comedy. Familiar with the gam style of theater/comedy? Kind of like that, maybe related to mimes? Anyway, they act out everyday stuff, and are very, very expressive, clever, and fluid. I really liked it.

LizZ - Crooked House
1 woman show, a capella singing over costume changes, several characters. A bit heady and naked for my tastes.

Thomas Tirney & Tall Grass Productions - Salesmanship for Life & Limb
Corporate stereotypes are lambasted and mixed with what appears to be some sort of black comedy dealing with "incentification" of sales forces through threat of amputation. I might sit this one out.

Melissa Dunphy - The Gonzales Cantata
Ok, this one really surprised me because it sounds awful but is actually really well done. It's an operatic choral work with a large string ensemble, whose libretto is pulled from the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The players in the drama are all very talented vocalists in full formal attire, with Miss America-style sashes indicating their characters' names, but genders are reversed. So, like, Oren Hatch is an alto in a floor length red dress, and Gonzales is a gorgeous and decked-out soprano. I hate opera, classical music, and drawn out political comedies, but this one is done with such care and talent that I was really blown away by how much I liked it. I think what got me is that it's lambasting the Bush administration, which is something that is usually done with a sloppiness and irreverence reminiscent of the administration itself, but this attacks that clusterfuck with excellence and perfection. It's a serious piece of music, but also really funny when rather mundane procedural issues are treated to full operatic drama.

Masterbuilder Productions - The Ibsen Project: A Lonely Light
About playwright Henrik Ibsen. Standard theater drama. Not my thing.

Quinn Compositions - Katie and Pitark
An off-broadway style one act musical about a somewhat dowdy religious woman looking for her creative expression, and her love interest in a quirky free spirit who may or may not be from another planet? I couldn't wait for it to end. Musicals are really, really not my thing.

Flying Whale Theater Company - Mr. Harry
Rather essentialist and irritating look at "American xenophobia" via a reclusive and obese family looking for their lost dog, but afraid to leave the house.

Iron Age Theater - Shakesploitation II: Iambic Boogaloo
Not very Shakespearean, just kind of dorky mashups of pop culture and Shakespearean characters, like mainstream hip hop songs slightly modified for, say, Romeo and Mercutio. Pretty yawn and not that clever.

MasterGardenerSezWhut...WHUT! Woohoo!!!!! I'm IN! I think there were fewer applicants than slots, but still, I'm amped!!!

I keep watching this thinking there's something in here to be irritated about, but honestly, I'm utterly charmed and manipulated by how sweet this is. I was talking to a friend who finds it a bit patronizing, but I think I don't because some of the in jokes are pretty in, and because it looks like he's letting her upgrade the firmware on his Playstation. Now, I don't let ANYONE upgrade my firmware. That's true respect and trust.

Everyone, this is Bettie! She is a single speed/fixed built from a stripped Raleigh Capri. Bettie is a classy, flashy broad who isn't afraid of a little bling.



( Charmed, I'm sure! )

In the course of replacing stuff on your bike, how do you dispose of old stuff?

Naturally, metal stuff can go in the recycling bin or out on the curb for scrappers if it's big enough. But what about other stuff?

Cable housing: Some sort of plastic coating (pvc?) plus steel coil, plus maybe some other kind of plastic lining. Most responsible thing to do may be to strip off the outer housing and try to take out the inner liner, toss them in a landfill, and recycle the steel?

Brake pads: Rubber? Some kind of mixture of rubber and something else? Recyclable by a tire manufacturer? Dunno.

Bar tape: Leather: compost? Can you compost tanned leather, considering the horrible crap usually used in tanning? Cork: compost? Cork/plastic mixture: landfill?

Greasy rags: landfill? Campfire kindling?

Tires and tubes: Tire manufacturer? I mean, shit, I don't know where I can recycle rubber in my city. I know the motorcycle shop I've been to a couple times just puts them out with normal trash, which seems like it should be kinda illegal. The guy at the counter seemed to feel a little guilty about it at least.

Bikes have a lot going for them in terms of sustainability, but when I replace parts, I realize that I'm protected from a lot of very dirty processes that make it possible for me to live an apparently lower-petroleum lifestyle.

"Sisyphus Office is an exhibition organized by San Francisco based artist, curator, and co-founder of The Thing Quarterly, Jonn Herschend and based out of Skydive, a Houston, Texas gallery."

x-posted to Bike Pirates
First, the question. I have a road bike with a 9-speed cassette. I just adjusted the shifting and I can shift into all the gears. However, after shifting into the largest sprocket/smallest gear, the cage hangs just shy of the correct position, causing the chain to sputter and skip, then fall down to the next smallest sprocket after a few revolutions. I've adjusted the b-tension screw all the way up and down, and it doesn't seem to make a difference. If I move the low gear stop screw, I run the risk of the cage hitting the spokes, so that can't really be adjusted either. Any clues as to what I'm doing wrong? Other than that, it seems to shift pretty darn well. Could use just a little tweaking, but it's pretty good.

And now the amateur mechanic squee! I've had my road bike, Molly, for almost two years and I've done some work here and there, including building a nice aero offset back wheel. But this week and weekend I did the most advanced work I've done so far, replacing the brake calipers, brake/shifters, all cables, and handlebar tape. And my gosh, it's like having a new bike! The brakes are grippier than they were straight from the shop, and the bike just feels peppy and smooth like she did when we first met. She's also a lot shinier, and the new bar tape looks like a sharp new hairdo. I couldn't be happier. I must say, I really like working on bikes, particularly when the work turns out right. I find that for me, reading instructions ahead of time correlates strongly with success. This is a new strategy for me, (knowing sort of what I'm doing ahead of time rather than pulling and twisting stuff till it sort of goes, that is) and I'm rally excited to keep working on my conversion of an old Raleigh Capri frame and fork into a classy-blingy bombproof commuter. I've totally given into the "ooh pretty" factor with some of the components, and I am ok with that. Also, now that the old brake shifters are off, I kinda wanna pull one apart to find out why the indexing seems broken, and understand exactly what-all is going on in there.

34th and Walnut:

Septa bus keeps on truckin' as some African-American women flag it down, then look befuddled as it just brushes by. On the corner, a rotund Mexican gentleman on a bicycle smiles broadly.

A few seconds later, another bus pulled up and let the women on.

Line up, ladies. I'm single! Woo!

(from march 17)

in spring
the ice cracks and
opens up a space between spaces,
hours between seconds
it's always easiest to free-fall into canyons of memories
and yearning
the closer it gets to tax time

i think the mind tires itself out in spring
shuttling between yearning for the sunshine through the window at work
and smarting at the cold that still nips at the fingertips
i think it tires itself out
weaving through the warp of pragmatic winter and the weft of tender spring

there's an unsure excitement when pale, moist
feet come out of wool socks and
seriously anticipate sandals
and garish, bronzing heat
for the first time

when that ice cracks, when we fall in
when we sing more than usual
when we stand in the back door
and stare at the trees draped in night
and steep in the intensely calm bittersweet of then and now
we fall in on purpose as far as we can
to remember how deep our longing goes
when there's more to think about than survival

There are 3 baby raccoons on a porch near my house, and all indications are that Mama is no longer in the picture. I talked to two wildlife rehab clinics today who suggested:

1) Do NOT touch them with bare skin under any circumstances. This prevents both rabies transmission and leaving a human scent on the babies.
2) Since they were crying and left in a place that has had a fair amount of human attention it is likely that Mom is gone
3) Put on at least latex gloves and check their bellies. If the bellies are round, they are being fed and should be left alone. If they are empty, take them to a wildlife rehab clinic.
4) Pinch their skin. If it takes a long time for the skin to spring back, they are dehydrated. In that case, if they cannot be attended to by a professional for many hours, feed them 3-4 cc's (about a teaspoon) of kitten milk replacement (KMR).
5) Bring them to a clinic. The Schuylkill Center clinic is at capacity for the day, but they have a list of resources.

I spoke to Aark and Diamond Rock. Both were willing to take the cubs. Diamond Rock is closer, so I'm going to undertake Operation 'Coon Cub after work today. I'm pretty good with animals but I'm no expert. Anyone want to give me a hand with this, particularly someone with wildlife experience?


UPDATE:

Bleh. Sadly, I waited too long to take action. One of the babies was not there anymore, one had passed away, and the third was hanging on by a thread. It was critical enough that I went right to the Schuylkill Center instead of Diamond Rock in Malvern because of rush hour traffic, but the little boo passed away in the car. I wish I had taken them in last night, but I didn't know that several wildlife rehab centers accept animals 24 hours a day. I think I'm going to keep some kitten and puppy formula around the house for emergencies. When you need it, you really need it.

Meh. I did the best I could, I just wish I'd done it 24 hours ago.

It seems that Philly Car Share has pretty much jumped the shark. So last night we started discussing Philly Goat Share! You could borrow a goat for a day or two to munch down your lawn, then you could milk it for making cheese or adding to your cold process soap. This opens the door for all sorts of other great livestock shares: Philly Bunny Share, Philly Chicken Share, Philly Pony Share, etc. I'd totally sign up for Philly Puppy Share. Or we could just start the West Philly Cute Library, where you could borrow a kitten or two.

Of course JJ was the first person to take action, and thus, I give you Philly Goat Share.

So I guess I ride a motorcycle now.

( Ever notice how 'Born to be Wild' is a total hippy anthem? 'Like a true nature's child, I was born, born to be wild!' Pass the dandelion greens and nutritional yeast. )

One of my kitties passed away the Friday before last. His name was Poochie and he was the most Zen kitty I ever met.


Poochie looking unimpressed while I toast his magnificent fluffiness

( Poochie was... )

A large gathering of privileged mostly white people (penn undergrads) dressed up like privileged white people (fake canes and Styrofoam top hats) doing chorus line kicks to Public Enemy.

The walls at work are a jaundicey, band-aid beige.

In my younger and more oblivious days, I bought a cheap particle board shelving unit which was recently taken apart by someone with the best of intentions. I think it was ripped apart such that it can't really be rebuilt. But now I have big sheets of particle board in my living room.

I called a wood recycler, and they don't take it because of the glue. They referred me to a private waste disposal place that has a permit for particle board, but I can't find them. It seems that recycling the stuff is only possible if there is a company in the region that uses it to make new particle board goods, and I can't find anything like that in the area.

The Streets department says that the way to dispose of it is to landfill it since it is not hazardous waste. That's a pretty piss-poor answer if you ask me. Ikea accepts old furniture for processing....in Switzerland. And of course, the US is totally ass-backwards about even considering product take-back, stewardship, or end-of-life processing. So, short of putting it on the curb and hoping someone re-uses it, anyone know the least-worst thing to do with the stuff?

Matrimonial ultimatum for basic sanitation. Indian women rock.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Sunday-TOI/Its-no-toilet-no-bride-in-Haryana/articleshow/4298352.cms

Update: The pope sucks.