Kurt Elling

It's pouring out. Which for me, is better to look at then just the overcast clouds that has set up residence for days now. I feel myself sinking. I think I probably have SAD, because I really do start feeling down emotionally during long stretches without sunshine. I've been this way since childhood.

Hello Saturday! The photo above is of a beautiful flower that K brought me yesterday from a farmer's market. It's so gorgeous. It was his anniversary gift to me. My Hunny did well.

So, some crazy week, huh? Parts of the Voting Rights Act got overturned, as did DOMA and Prop 8 and the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin Murder Trial introduced us to Rachel Jeantel... which introduced us to a whole lot of drama.

And the fails keep coming. From Upworthy:

An IRS contractor hurt his foot playing football in military prep school. He never served in the actual military. Then one day, decades later, he used it to get preferred treatment in military contracts. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), who lost both her legs and still could lose her arm from combat injuries, felt that this might just be a touch inappropriate. It gets amazing around 4:30.

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Oh, yikes. This is quite an unfortunate logo and slogan. From America Blog:

FRC’s [Family Research Counil] anti-gay campaign is titled “Call 2 Fall.”  (Note the number “2″, done Internet-style – rather than being written out “two” – to attract the younguns.)

 

The anti-gay campaign’s slogan is “On our knees for America.”

And it’s accompanied by a logo that appears to be a man performing oral sex.

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(Relevant)

I loved this piece at Relevant by Rachel Pietka:

Some gorgeous photos of street art from around the globe at Street Art Utopia:

Street Art by L7m in Sao Paulo, Brazil

(Source)

I don't identify as a feminist. Not first wave, second wave, third wave or wavy wave. I don't like lots of labels, and this one, for me, is particularly problematic. It seems to mean so many different things to different people. The fact that people have to use descriptives like "second wave" or "pro-life" reveals the broadness of the word.

It's not just me eschewing the moniker, according to Christina Hoff Summers, writing at The Atlantic.

Buh bye DOMA. So long Prop 8. The Supreme Court struck them both down, and guessing by the weeping and gnashing of teeth by some Christian Conservatives, has also unleashed the impending fury of the Heavens (cue Pat Robertson, in 3, 2, 1...). Okay, sarcasm aside, I'm again left feeling, for the second time in a week, not surprised (first was with Paula Deen, who I'm sure, after stumbling through an apology-ladden sit down with Matt Laurer this morning, is probably thanking the pop culture gods that the SCOTUS ruling is such big news). This ruling was made by a secular court over a secular nation. The fight against DOMA and Prop 8 has been framed as a civil rights issue, and eventually, Same Sex Marriage will be legal in this land.

So what now? Carry on. From The Advocate:

 

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I can scarcely believe it, but baby cages were a completely normal thing less than 100 years ago. From the Daily Mail:

Mississippi wife, mother, writer and artist April Joy shares some pics of her home art studio, where she paints, sketches and draws, inspired by life, love and God.

So glad I said "yes."

Jesusgreek

Did you watch daredevil and Jesus enthusiast Nik Wallenda walk across the Grand Canyon on Sunday? I didn't. I was a bit busy.

Joe and I headed over to visit my mom at her nursing home in Newark yesterday evening. She had been in the hospital for five days last week, and we wanted to see how she was settling in.

She really wasn't. She has diabetic neuropathy, and spent most of our visit complaining of pain in her right leg and shoulder. Thankfully, my neuro pain was at a minimum, so I was able to help. I went to the nurse's station and requested ice packs. I was given four latex gloves full of ice packs. Good enough. I stretched her legs a bit, massaged her knee, and then placed the makeshift ice packs on her sore joints.

(NPR)

I so thought I'd skip the whole Paula Deen kerfluffle with just yesterday's quick mention. And I really was going to leave it alone because like everything celeb-related, the topic gets talked about, disected, chewed up, digested and then regurgitated to the point of just being a pile of vomit.

A picture I took of the Delaware Memorial Bridge on Wednesday night.

Happy Saturday, peeps. It's been a ridiculously crazy week for me, including what felt like a two second (was actually a one day) trip out of state and back. I also had another bad IVIG treatment and had to have a second nurse come out to administer it (that time went smoothly). Add in my mother's admittance to the hospital and my own plans for some more plasmapheresis in the next couple of weeks, and yeah, I'm not even sure what happened the last five days. So I needed to do this Some Saturday Stuff just to be able to catch up! Here we go!

I got an idea from a photo posted on Facebook by 11:11 creator Jamila Tazewell. The picture was her pretty little self beaming from behind a cool modern desk in her home office. She had just completed redecorating/reorganizing it. That little peak into her world got me thinking about how so many artistic people spread their creativity to their surroundings. Sometimes it's just a little extra in their cubicle at work, or a wall of eclectic frames in their hall at home. While I was reading Matt Appling's "Life After Art", I was reminded of how across history and cultures, we see art- on cave walls, homes, and churches.

So I started harassing, uh er, requesting photos from some of my favorite Creatives. Would they mind sharing pictures of their spaces with my blog readers? And two of them got back to me so quickly, I just had to get this series started right away. First up, Jamila, since she is my muse! Thanks again!

Me and my Daddy in 2010

Yesterday was Father's Day, and from a casual perusal of the interwebs, a lot of people have some pretty jacked up relationships with their dads. Or, with the father(s) of their kid(s).

This is quite understandable. Sad, but understandable.

Easter 2012

The very wonderful Leila, who allowed me to interview her, returned the favor for a feature at Baby & Blog. I opened up about my birthing experience, juggling personal time with 24 hour/7 days a week mommyhood (hint: I suck), and my very amazing hubby.

My nephew Kymani enjoying the fruits of his parents' labor.

Happy Saturday, All. I had a kind of so-so week. Not horrible, but not great, either. My weekly IVIG sessions are becoming increasingly frustrating, what with my always tiny and weak veins collapsing more often than not. On Tuesday, when nurse Melissa came to administer the infusion, after five sticks, it was obvious my veins were not going to cooperate. So she came back Thursday, and the third time was the charm. Further annoying me, I can't seem to nail down an appointment to have a port put in, which would alleviate the need to be stuck like a pin cushion every week. It would also alleviate my hands and arms from the little purple knotty scars. I hate that I'm now pushing to have minor surgery to keep up the IVIG which, while extremely beneficial, is not really making me better. It's like I have an inflatable lifejacket. I'm not drowning, but...

Oh yeah, I finally tried Chick-Fil-A yesterday, for the first time. It was okay. It's funny that so many people I know act like it is chicken ordained by God or something. It's good, but it wasn't a Revelation. ;-)