America Needs Glasses May 26, 2009
Posted by tintri in Uncategorized.2 comments
Two big news stories today.
President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor today for Supreme Court Justice, and the state of California chose to allow Proposition 8 to stay.
Sotomayor is of Puerto Rican descent and is the first Latina to be nominated for the position. Historically significant, and wonderful for the progress of humanity. However, it unsettles me that people are focusing on Sotomayor’s race and not her judicial merits. That she comes from a low income family is also inspiring, but not specifically for Latino people. She is an inspiration for everyone that proves no matter how you start out, you absolutely do matter and can reach the highest heights.
It is unfair for people to think that I, as a white female, have never endured racism or that if I have, I somehow deserve it. It’s ridiculous for anyone to push me down and say that because of what other people did in the past, I am not allowed to be confident in who I am and from where I came. It’s insane for people to try to tell me I cannot be inspired by and thankful for people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez.
Racism is not ok, folks. That includes the persecution and mistreatment of white people.
The second hot topic for today is the state of California upholding Proposition 8, which means gay marriage will continue to be illegal here. I am severely disappointed in my state, and truly embarrassed. I feel like apologizing to everyone for how insulting it all is, even though I clearly have always been vehemently against Prop 8. The only thing we can do, though, is continue to show our support of getting rid of Prop 8 and hopefully we can pull through in 2010.
I wrote a post in November about how I feel regarding the entire subject, so I’ll try not to repeat myself for too long.
I want to know where all these people are in California that are voting for Prop 8. Not including my strange, loopy fundamentalist aunt and uncle, I don’t think I’ve even met anyone who thought banning gay marriage was a good idea. Why is Church being allowed to continue interfering with State? All legal bindings should be civil unions and have the same legal and civil rights and acknowledgments, whether the couple is heterosexual or homosexual. Religious ceremonies are completely separate from the courthouse and no one has ever challenged that, or wants to. What is the deal, here?
Planting April 8, 2009
Posted by tintri in Gardening.Tags: decorating, garden, garden decor, garden decoration, Gardening, recycling, reusing
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I found the old gumball machine my dad used to have in the living room in the 80s and I want to try to repaint it and use it as a planter in my garden. I think it would look really cool. I also found an ancient wooden toolbox that I could use as a planter. My folks are total packrats, and now I’m having fun poking through all the stuff I can to see what I can come up with for my garden. Also helps to finally sort some of that stuff out. I want my garden to be a pretty, habitable place as well as being a source of food, so I’ve been looking over some decor ideas today. I think maybe some Christmas lights would be nice, and they’re waterproof, right? They’ve gotta be, if people let them sit outside in the snow during winter. I have some plain white ones that would make things look really nice out there, I bet.
I miss the boy, like no other. My days would be a million times better if I knew that he’d be coming home in a couple of hours, but alas, we are not there yet. This garden stuff is pretty much the only thing keeping my mind off it. Enough of that, though…
I want to go the farmer’s market this Sunday to see if I can find any cheap seedlings. I don’t know why I thought seeds would be the best way to go…I guess that just seemed like the natural thing to do, rather than buying plants that were already started. I also think I should buy some more gardening soil. I’m afraid my dirt is without nutrients and I have no idea how to figure it out. I started a compost pile, but it kind of looks like a garbage bag got ripped open in that spot right now. I put in some cut up greens, and some ripped up browns, so it should be fine. I guess time will tell. It’s overcast today, like it was yesterday. It rained maybe an inch yesterday, and I think that’s good for my plants, and the dirt looked nicer, too. Does light colored dirt mean bad dirt? Darker dirt just looks better to me for some reason.
I’m continuing to be overwhelmed by all the information on gardening. So many different opinions, so many things to remember. Companion plants, pests, beneficial bugs, plants that attack other plants, full sun, part sun, soil pH, amendments, etc etc…..phew. It’s insane. I guess this doesn’t truly become a relaxing business until all this kind of information has had time to soak in. I don’t even have a large plot and it seems like I don’t have enough seeds and sprouts to cover everything, but apparently it’s all going to get a lot bigger. A lot of people have scoffed at my gardening attempt, I suppose because I am definitely an indoorsy type of gal. I don’t know anything about the outside and usually try to stay away from it as much as possible. It’s just so uncomfortable for me. This year is my year to break out of that. I hope, anyway.
Hello, I am an empty lot. April 7, 2009
Posted by tintri in Gardening.Tags: garden, Gardening, neighborhood beautification, seed balls, seed bombs
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Found this while googling around garden sites. Really neat idea that I will totally do if I can find uh…worm castings and powdered clay.
Hello, I am an empty lot. I exist in your neighborhood. I’m just a big patch of dirt and some trash. I make my neighbors feel uneasy and sad. No one likes me and it makes me sad too. All over, it is a lose-lose situation.
But maybe you can help me? All I need are some seed bombs. They’re cheap and easy to make. And if you do it right, they are completely self automated and great for the environment. They will be a sight for sore eyes and they will make everyone happy. Especially the bees and butterflies.
Seed Ball Ingredients:
I make them different everytime, just like my pasta sauce!
1) powdered clay
2) worm castings
3) wildflower seeds indigenous to the area
4) water
5) mixing container
6) stick
7) loveHow to Make a Seed Ball
1) mix 5pt powder clay, 5pt worm castings, 1pt seeds in a mixing container.
2) add just enough water to make a nice muddy clay consistency
3) roll up the mixture into little balls like gum balls 4) let dry in a cool dry place for like 3 days
5) throw them in empty fields.How they Work:
A seed ball is a little capsule with everything you need to grow a plant all bundled up. The clay has lots of root-encouraging nutrients. The Worm Castings will give the seeds a nice fertilizer, good for land that hasn’t been cultivated or worked on for a while. The indigenous seeds are custom made for your area. They will know how to grow given the conditions. Now all they need is a nice rain. The perfect time to throw these is right before a light rainy season. The rain will melt the clay to expose the seeds, and your seed balls will grow.
Special thanks to Masanobu Fukuoka and LBGG
Suggested seeds to attract beneficial insects:
Clover, alfalfa, alyssum, nasturtium, yarrow, carrot, dill, daikon, celery, radish, fennel, caraway, chervil, gypsophila, coriander, calendula, mustard, anise hyssop, phacelia, agastache, and amaranth.Note: Please be advised to check with your local nursery or agriculture agency to determine which beneficial, native plant species would best serve the habitat which you are trying to restore. Nonnative invader species that are proven voracious spreaders should never be used as a tool of ecological restoration.
Application rate : A minimum of ten seed balls per square metre, a higher density may be required to reclaim derelict land.
Where Does My Garden Grow? March 29, 2009
Posted by tintri in Gardening.Tags: family, garden, Gardening, weeds
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Today my dad and I (mostly my dad) hoed the hell out of our “backyard”, which was just a packed dirt lot with a ton of weeds growing in it. We hoed, raked, shoveled and scooped and now we’re letting the sprinklers soak it so we can till it tomorrow. I’m so excited! Working out there was really nice. It gave me some time to spend with my dad outside, working on a project together. We watch tv and play videogames together but this was different somehow. My uncle came over and hung out with us and jumped in with the shoveling because let’s face it, I’m a weak little girl. No, not sexist, just really… small and no muscles. He brought a wheelbarrow over and they hauled all the sand over to his house. I asked where the sand came from, because I know we live on the coast but jeez I didn’t think our house was on top of sand, but they had a little chuckle at my ignorance and explained that it was from the sandbags the city doled out a while ago for some kind of flooding. They’re using it for..sinkholes? Or something. My dad and uncles are really handy, outdoorsy guys. Not outdoorsy as in hiking and eating granola all day, but they know how to build things and fix things and stabilize and uh…you know, they build sheds and lay pipes and all that stuff. Definitely manly men. They got it from my grandpa, who really would have loved to see this. So my uncle left, and then my aunt (his wife) came over and talked to me about some good ideas of where to plant certain things and what to do to the seeds beforehand and everything. She used to have a really big garden when we were little, so she knows what’s up. I know my garden project is a shot in the dark because I don’t know…anything about the outside, but she was actually encouraging. It felt awesome.
I think my family has a really hard time with me because so much of my personality and interests and hobbies go into the unknown for them. They react with resentment and sometimes hostility, and mostly passive aggressive comments and actions, and while that drives me up the wall, I guess I can sort of understand. But with this, working outside and building garden boxes and planting food and flowers, this is their turf, and it’s incredibly noticeable that they’re much more comfortable with me in this area.
I hope it keeps going in this direction, really. My garden can be a focal point for my family to not think I’m such a deviant black sheep sinner woman, and I can more fully appreciate the fact that they are experienced people who have interesting and useful things to offer, even if it’s just stories about my grandpa’s gardens.
Boats and Bellydancing March 25, 2009
Posted by tintri in Uncategorized.Tags: alaska, bellydance, bellydancing, black sheep, boats, festivals, fishing, henna, relatives, writing
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Some relatives I’d never met stopped by a few days ago to introduce themselves. It was my maternal grandmother’s niece and her husband and two kids. They’re from Alaska. I didn’t honestly feel like meeting them, but once I did I was glad, because they ended up being pretty cool. They seemed to really like me, despite my family’s noticeable attempt to show off my cousins and kind of sweep me into the background. I know I sound like a whiny kid, but after several hours of this, it was immensely grating. Every skill, talent or use I have, my aunt and grandmother attributed it to one of my cousins. No joke, any time I was asked a question about what I liked or what I could do well, my aunt or grandma cut in and either wouldn’t let me answer, or if I got an answer in, they’d say “well, can do that, and oh you should see how he does it, ……” Christ. Am I seriously that much of an embarrassment? I know I’m not the traditional sort of niece/granddaughter, but I have my merits, I think. In any case, I got their email and I plan on sending them notes in the future. I thought about emailing them sometime soon, but it occurred to me that I don’t actually know what to say. I’m not schooled in the art of keeping in touch with extended family. They said I could come up to Alaska and spend the summer there or spend time period, if I wanted. It was actually hard to not say “take me now!” I think if my life crumbles (god forbid) that’s definitely where I’ll run off. They live in a town with 1600 people total and own their own fishery and spend basically all summer on their enormous boat and fish for salmon. When it’s not the summer time, my uncle is a boat mechanic for the commercial boats. Isn’t that neat? Oh and before they had their two kids, they lived in Dutch Harbor, which is one of the places they talk about on Deadliest Catch, a show I used to watch all the time. In a weird, rugged way, I think of that town as being so romantic. It’s about 1200 miles away from where they live now, though, so I think a short roadtrip is out of the question.
The weekend after they left, I went to the Ojai Belly Dance Festival. It was small and I was nervous, but my sister went with me. She felt even more out of place than I did, though. I made her try dolmas, hummus, tabbouleh and spiced yogurt. She didn’t like any of it. Truth be told, it tasted like…well, like white folks made it. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! Some white folks can make Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food incredibly well, and I’m white myself and can make an unbelievable hummus. But yeah, she didn’t like it, but she did like the baclava, so not all was lost. I looked around at the vendors (there were only about six, if that gives you an idea of how small this festival was) and unfortunately they didn’t have any glass bangles, just huge clunky armbands which were quite pretty, but very expensive and not what I was looking for. The dancing was neat, and I caught an interesting dance being done by a man who used a big cane-like stick and he did some interesting footwork…it seemed Greek to me, but when he left the stage, he touched his forehead in a way a Muslim does, so I dunno. Maybe he’s a Muslim Greek, or something. Anyway I have no idea what the dance was, but it was really neat. My sister and I both commented several times that we wish we could move like that. There are classes here in Ojai, but I think I’m too shy. There’s one that’s actually tonight. I dunno…I think I’d have a heart attack, especially since I’d be going alone. I’ll think about it, but anyway…I got henna done, and the picture in this post was taken the day of getting it, after I scratched off the paste, so it’s bright orange. It’s darkened now, as henna does, into a burnt orangey red brown, and it’s so awesome. I wish I could get henna done all the time. And, to top it all off, my boyfriend thinks it’s hot. Woo! I wish I had gotten the henna lady’s card so I could go to her in the future. You know, like when the boyfriend and I have weekends away together.
I think I may write about a character who’s a boat mechanic. In a fantasy world, of course.
Classification March 18, 2009
Posted by tintri in Uncategorized.Tags: classification essay, English, english class, stupid teacher, writing
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I have to write a classification essay for English. Not my favorite kind, but the teacher makes it a thousand times worse. For instance, she’s forcing us to choose one topic from the following lists that we MUST write about:
1. shoppers
2. co-workers
3. parents
4. coworkers
5. salespersons
6.fanatics1. parties
2. community events
3. fundraising events
4. fights
Yes, she said coworkers twice. This is the woman that demands the use of spell check or severe marks against our grade will be taken in the same post she types “ordere redelcted” instead of “order reflected.”
So, I picked parties. Since we’re also forced to provide only four different kinds and no more, I chose tea, birthday, sleepover and pool parties. Confining us to how many paragraphs we may have is also pretty ridiculous, especially in an essay such as this, where the rules are pretty clear that we must be careful of not leaving any important category out. Not even giving any room on the number of categories we can have is terrible. It also has to be 1200 words or more, which typically I wouldn’t mind, but having to write any amount on junk like this will bore a person to tears and can be a bit difficult if the writer doesn’t want to bullshit their way through.
As it is, I know that pool parties don’t really seem to fit in very well with the other three. I did have pizza parties there before, but felt the same way and went for pool parties instead because at least they’re at home. The theme, of course, is parties for children.
I asked her if we’d be able to choose our topics for the next two big essay assignments in the class (a compare/contrast essay and a very big research essay as like, 1/4 of our grade) since we didn’t get to choose for our first two (the description essay and this one, the classification). She said we’d be able to pick our own topic for the third one, but NOT the fourth one. I really wasn’t expecting that. She’s actually going to choose our research paper topic for us? Jesus.
Anyway, after a second mini nap, I’ll probably start working on this. Hopefully I’ll dream up a better fourth classification.
Before My Time March 17, 2009
Posted by tintri in Uncategorized.Tags: childless, hormones, ireland, irish, st paddys day, st. patricks day, unmarried
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I’ve never cared about St. Paddy’s Day the way most people in the U.S. do. I’m Irish, so I only find it mildly amusing. The only reason I’ve ever worn green is so people will stop pinching me, because goodness that’s annoying. I don’t care so much about the “everyone is Irish” part as much as the eat, drink and be merry part.
Even though I’ve been under the weather and sleepy all day, I got myself ready and went to math class, and then went to Main Street in Ventura afterward. I called my sister for the second time today and she was borderline annoyed with me, or sounded like it. Maybe it’s just girly hormones or something but I was all sadface over it. I only asked if she wanted to go out, and I got my head chewed off. She didn’t even answer earlier this afternoon.
I’m childless, unmarried, and at home. Wah wah emo wah wah cry whine wah.
Hmph.
Next year, I swear to god I’m living it up.
Lift off! March 14, 2009
Posted by tintri in Gardening.Tags: container gardening, garden, Gardening, herbs, seedlings, sprouts
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I have some herbs growing inside right now, mostly on my kitchen counter and the windowsill, and look what I saw today!
Lots of beginnings March 14, 2009
Posted by tintri in Uncategorized.Tags: anime, canada, digital art, garden, hell girl, luminato, montreal, photoshop, prostitution, term paper, toronto, ukiyo-e, vegetables, wacom bamboo, wacom tablet, writing
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I got a Wacom Bamboo tablet from Brian. I have a feeling he wanted to put an end to my crying about not having an artist for the webcomic I want to create (but he’s also just an excellent friend to whom I am eternally grateful). So far, I’ve gone totally apeshit with it.
I’ve been drawing and testing stuff out like there’s no tomorrow. I’ve also tried looking up a whole bunch of tutorials but 90% of what I find is how to manipulate photos in photoshop. So irritating! I think I might buy some how-to Disney books, since I like that art style a lot. I also love the cutout type of art, but can’t figure out what that’s really called. I want to try all kinds of different styles, but to my knowledge there aren’t any tutorials around for that sort of thing. For instance, I wanted to try to do ukiyo-e style art, but I can’t figure out how to get the right…texture. The right look. And apparently no one on the internet wants to tell me.
But! I am happy. I can only get better, so I’m one step closer to being able to tell stories with pictures as well as words.
I got a 122/128 on my description essay for English. Woot! Considering I found some really embarrassing obvious flaws in it after I turned it in, I’m surprised. I asked the teacher if we’d be allowed to pick the topic for our next two essays and she said that we would be able to for the compare/contrast essay, but NOT the research/argument essay. Seriously? Doesn’t this woman get tired of reading about the same subject over and over? Her restrictions are so confining that they make me itch. She is too harsh on the people who aren’t good at this and doesn’t allow the ones who DO excel in it do anything with their abilities. Ugh.
In sociology, I’ll be writing my term paper on the history of prostitution. There are already a few books out there about the topic, so I don’t know if I’ll ever write anything super official about it, but that’s the beauty of blogs. I can blog about it all I want and share the info with anyone who wants to read! No one will cry about me forgetting to capitalize a letter in my Works Cited, either. I really want to focus on how it was seen as a noble profession for much of human history, and only with the onset of oppressive religion was it demonized.
Canada seems to be getting cooler and cooler by the second. Luminato is an art festival that Toronto hosts in June. Sigh. I wish I could drag Rishi with me for a year or two and just live in Canada and soak up how much better it is there. Does anyone know what the public transit is like between Toronto and Montreal? If I ever did the three months in Montreal thing, I could go down to Toronto for the Luminato for a weekend and then return to Montreal, as long as the traveling part was easy and not first-born-expensive.
I watched the first episode of Hell Girl earlier this evening. It’s an anime that’s actually very well done, artistically. At least, to my eyes. The visuals were quite pleasing. The story seems really interesting, too. A little girl and her three companions have a sort of service that allows humans to seek vengeance against people they truly hate. However, there’s a kicker to the deal! I won’t spoil it, though, because I really do suggest checking it out. I’ll be watching the rest of the show over the next several days.
Tomorrow I’m going to start working on my garden. Yay! I’m so excited. Hopefully I at least get it partly right and some things start to grow in a few weeks. And then I just have to convince my dad to start eating vegetables.
