. New Year's Machete

9 bushes, 1 machete.
We resolved to remove the risk of elementary school kid casualty in the new year by having the fortress-like hedge next to our driveway hacked out. Unfortunately this leaves nothing between us and John-the-neighborhood-asshole's house, two doors down. It's the orange house with tan trim. Please continue to park out front of it, as that makes him mental and frothy.

Happy New Year!

. Favourite Beer of the Week

Pliny the Elder was a Roman who wrote a great big book of Natural History, invented the word “hops,” and died while watching Mount Vesuvius erupt in AD 79. At least, that’s what Pliny the Younger said. Whether or not you trust his version of events is entirely up to you.

Pliny the Elder (the beer) was brought to our attention by Erik Marr, master brewer and expert Tater-Mater pie maker, who lives in Texas where Pliny the Elder (the beer) is unavailable, and who requested that we bring some into the state with us, despite it being highly illegal to bring your friends beer in Texas. As the holder of a Green Card I have no legal rights whatsoever, so my plan if caught was to shoot myself in the foot (unlike beer, guns are actively encouraged in Texas) and then sneak over the border to Mexico where I would live out the rest of my years undetected amidst all the other pale-skinned ginger-haired types. Fortunately, our packing skills were way too smart for Walker and his Texas Rangers who never once thought to stop us and search between my underpants for hidden beers, and so Pliny and I made it to Erik’s house completely undisturbed. I do not know if Erik liked the beer. He never said. But then I never told him that it had been packed in underpants.

Anyway, this was all back in September, and my own bottle of Pliny has been sitting in the fridge since then, and on its label I just noticed the phrases “Do not save for a rainy day.” “Age your cheese, not your Pliny.” And “Consume Pliny fresh or not at all!”

Now, you know I’m not going to throw out a bottle of beer just because it tells me to, so I drank it. And I liked it a lot.

Pliny is an IPA, which stands for India Pale Ale, which stands for the beer the English shipped to India so they’d have something nice to drink while they abused the entire subcontinent for a couple of centuries. IPAs were made high in hops and alcohol so that they could survive the long sea journey from England to India. At least that’s what Erik Marr said. Whether or not you trust his version of events is entirely up to you. My own research has proven that beers of all kinds made it to India just fine, and were enjoyed by the English in equal measure as they merrily rode around on elephants while ten million Indians starved to death. God save the Queen.

As a fascinating side-note - the world’s first IPA was brewed by the Hodgson brewery, although customers were eventually alienated by Hodgson’s dodgy business practices, and also by his pale skin and ginger hair.

. Tater-Mater Pie Maker

. Printing

I helped print our Christmas card. And for some reason I wore a dress. Does it make my bum look big?

. Shavings

I am trying to write, but can only stare at my favorite pencil sharpener. It was a gift from my dad when I was 10. He was in Japan on a business trip for a month & returned with many presents and very very pale from consuming too much Sapporo, raw fish, Sapporo, live fish, and Sapporo.

. Saucy Lito

Our blog 'mascot' is in a new intaglio & woodblock printmaking exhibition. And next to a room that shows what the Bay Area looks like if zapped by a miniaturizing gamma ray. (update: this room is confusing, smells like mold, & is rubbish -- stay in the gallery)

Systems of Sharing: Below the Surface
California Society of Printmakers Annual Member Exhibition
Bay Model Visitor Center, 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA

Opening Reception: Saturday, December 6, 2008, 1pm - 3:30pm
Gallery Hours: Tues-Sat 9am-4pm

http://www.caprintmakers.org/

. Thanksgiving Chicks

What all Thanksgiving turkeys should be made of.
(of dark chocolate, not Nicole...)

. Spinning Mum

Several years ago when my mum was visiting, we went up Mount Davidson, and she spun around.

. Purisima Creek Trail (smells great)

We went for a hike with Diane and found a disturbing number of ladybugs. And a crashed beehive.

. Contains 2 Naked Sponges

Natural biodegradable cellulose that does not come doused in undisclosed chemicals which accidentally bleach white spots on your lovely natural wood dining table after cleaning up cat vomit on said table.

. Unsere Doppelgänger

You know where to find us... Come out & play!

. Birthday Bundt

This bundt pan is as old as me today.
But my birthday cake is not.

. Trick or Treat?

Well, until Anthony takes another 8 years to acknowledge our brilliant chocolate-coated pagan holiday & comes up with a new inspired costume that arouses long-buried childhood phobias in everyone we pass, I'll be on a trick-or-treat vacation.

In the meantime, we will try to help keep the spooks out of our impending election with an exciting election blog to inspire friends & families & complete strangers to vote. (Because how cool would that be to have a clear, massive, indisputable majority vote for a change?)

What's that? You've run out of inspiration? The long bay area commuting worn you down? If only you had something to listen to that would inspire you to vote after all that driving... Well, we just so happen to know someone who has far too much motivation & inspiration for her own good. Not only was her essay chosen out of a thousand million submissions to be published in MoveOn's 50 Ways to Love Your Country, she got to record her essay for the audio book version. How crazy cool is that? And we know her. AND she has generously offered us a copy to give away on our humble blog.

So post your need or worthiness or voting might today, and we will "democratically" select a winner election morning. But, remember, you can only vote after you've entered our competition (didn't you see the note on your election booklet?)

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11/04 UPDATE: We had a strong tie between Sean the Canadian, who posted a mighty blog-comment roughly 5 seconds after this posting, & Tina in Rhode Island, who articulated 6 long bullet points in her favor, using her close-ties with Rod Stewart as a closing argument. Both were indisputably winning submissions, so both were chosen as winners by the author extroidenaire. Thank you all for playing & may we have as much good election fortune today!

. Seiko's Fingers

. SF Open Studios

If you haven't passed out after watching Saturday morning cartoons & eating your sugary chocolate cocobombs, come visit me at SF Open Studios this weekend.

I will be at Clara Street Studios with fellow Kala printmakers Jack Fahnestock & Dennis Johnson, as well as painters Melissa Wagner & Jerry Ververka.

There will be snacks.