The only thing I really want to say is that the art work this week has sucked. Problems, problems, problems.

I started drafting the patterns for figure two, and the only thing keeping me sane is that I recall I had all manner of problems when I got started on figure one too. It finally all came together perfectly, and this one will too. I still have a month to work on this project, and while that never feels like enough time, I am sure it will be.

The long and short of this week is that I am tired and grumpy, and now I have to go do some normal mundane life stuff, even though I’d rather be on the kitchen floor with my drafting tools madly scribbling. Probably best to put it away for a while anyway.

Nothing but problems, problems, problems.

Looking forward to the weekend, during which I plan to do no art work at all. Unless the mood strikes, of course!

• Oh, peachy. The plastic cover on the metal lid of the espresso machine's heating chamber has completely busted. #
• The migraine still lingers. Not as bad as yesterday but still bad enough to make thinking difficult. Boo. Hiss. #
• If I'm feeling energetic, and if it isn't rainy, I might hop a bus downtown tomorrow and go to the Blanton Museum of Art. Free Thursdays! #
• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian was worth staying up to watch. #

The clucking heads on CNN believe there needs to be a “crackdown” on bloggers who spread lies and misinformation:

“There are so many great things that the internet does and has to offer, but at the same time, Kyra, as you know, there is this dark side,” Roberts said. “Imagine what would have happened if we hadn’t taken a look at what happened with Shirley Sherrod and plumbed the depths further and found out that what had been posted on the internet was not in fact reflective of what she said.”

But Phillips replied that the mainstream media “can’t always do that.”

“There’s going to have be a point in time where these people have to be held accountable,” Phillips said. “How about all these bloggers that blog anonymously? They say rotten things about people and they’re actually given credibility, which is crazy. They’re a bunch of cowards, they’re just people seeking attention.”

Point number one: I can imagine what would have happened had the media –of which CNN is a large part– hadn’t “plumbed the depths further,” because they didn’t. No major news outlet did. They ran with the story put forth by a blogger without looking into it one tiny little bit until it became obvious they didn’t actually have the whole story. A woman who was doing a great job in her position with the USDA was asked to resign. That’s what happened when they didn’t bother to fact check and plumb those depths. Hell, they didn’t even dip their toes into the fresh water of facts.

Point number two: Why would the media not be able to fact check? That would be an integral part of the job of being a journalist. First one checks the facts of a story, and THEN one reports the facts. One doesn’t report bullshit and then eventually take the time to make sure it isn’t bullshit, at least not if one wants to be considered a journalist/reporter. Presumably, the clucking heads at CNN want to be thought of as journalists and reporters, right? Then they better find time to do their jobs. Doesn’t matter if every other news organization on the planet is reporting the sky is blood red, if it isn’t true, why bother reporting it? Oh yeah, ratings! Who cares about facts!

Point number three: Breitbart isn’t an anonymous blogger. His name is totally plastered all over everything he does, and what he does is spread lies and misinformation. For anyone, let alone a news organization (or the NAACP or the US government) to believe anything he says without thoroughly vetting it is the height of stupidity. How many times does someone have to feed them bullshit while calling it prime rib before they begin to get suspicious of taking the plate and gobbling it down? So CNN and every other media outlet sucked down the bullshit Breitbart was serving up, but now it’s anonymous bloggers that are the problem.

There’s an easier solution to the problem of bloggers spreading misinformation than to attempt to regulate the online speech of millions of people: hold news organizations accountable for not checking into the veracity of the stories they report. There are far fewer of them to regulate and hold accountable, and it is, after all, THEIR JOB TO REPORT FACTS. If they wouldn’t be reading blogs, taking everything they read on the internet as god’s given truth without doing just the barest minimum of fact checking, and then running to the nearest camera to breathlessly spread the word –or bullshit, as it may be– the Sherrod incident wouldn’t have happened, at least not quite like it did.

Is Brietbart to blame for tossing bullshit out there? Yes, but mainstream media is responsible for the story getting spread worldwide and the subsequent stupidities that followed, and we should expect better from CNN (and the other major news outlets) than we do from any blogger (most especially Breitbart) … what with reporting factual news stories BEING THEIR JOB and all.

Can you tell I am still somewhat inflamed about this?

I haven’t bothered to continue my search for a standard old manual alarm clock, because if I have to drive out of my personal comfort zone (my ‘hood) to buy something, it usually doesn’t get bought. My heart wasn’t thoroughly in the purchase anyway. I’m not entirely certain I would be able to function without a snooze button. It’s integral to my waking up process. I’d say my brain is slow to wake up, but that would be a lie. I just don’t like getting out of bed in the morning!

Therefore, I’ve been using two cellphones going off every morning on my side of the bed, which has been working well enough (though highly annoying). Between the three alarms in the bedroom every night, at least one of them always goes off correctly. Still, it’s bothersome to have so many alarms potentially going off at the same time, bothersome to have to maintain a charge on cellphones not being used as cellphones, and I wasn’t sleeping well for fear of a day when none of them go off at all, so I have also continued testing to figure out why our cellphone alarms have been acting oddly, and I believe I may have found the source of the problem.

When I originally posted my grumblings about this bothersome problem, a friend relayed a tale to me of another friend who’d had similar issues. His problem seemed to be caused by a strong electrical field. Lin didn’t immediately poo-poo the idea, so I figured it might have some merit. Cellphones are tiny computers these days, and they aren’t especially well shielded (owing to the ubiquitous internal antennas), so both of us could see there might be something to the theory.

Too lazy to try to scare up a meter to do actual research, and knowing the electrical usage in the bedroom, I thought about what might have changed lately. After all, we’ve had these phone since December, and this “alarm not alarming” problem is pretty recent. Well, there has been a somewhat recent change in electrical usage in the bedroom lately. Aside from the two things which have been plugged into one of the two plugs in the bedroom since we moved into the house –my blowdryer and a lamp– I had recently started turning on the ancient ceiling fan at night. I’d found the fan helped me sleep better during my naps, and I wanted to try it at night. I’m a middle-aged woman, what can I say. Sometimes I feel like I about to spontaneously combust, and cool moving air feels nice. I’ve been getting the best sleep ever.

When I describe this ceiling fan as ancient, I do mean it is equipment original to the house (circa 1959). Upon moving into the house, my first reaction to it was “Awesome! Vintage ceiling fan!” Then I turned it on and my reaction was “Wow. Electrical hum from the wall controller, and look at that deathtrap!” I use it, but it has always made me a bit nervous, though obviously it hasn’t burst into flames, shorted out the electrical system in the house, or fallen down and killed us in our sleep. I definitely could imagine it causing an electrical field of some sort, because well, it’s a scary old ceiling fan whose control box makes a loud electrical hum. Seriously, you can hear it sucking down the juice.

Reluctantly, I stopped turning on the ceiling fan at night when I went to bed a few days ago. My cellphone alarm has been going off perfectly and consistently every morning since. So has Lin’s. I’m not entirely ready to declare the problem solved, but there does seem to be a connection. I will (grumpily) continue to not use the ceiling fan at night. If the alarm failures cease entirely, I guess I found the culprit responsible.

Doesn’t make me happy though. I was really sleeping well with the ceiling fan on at night. Best sleep I’d gotten in ages. I guess instead of a new alarm clock I will now be considering a quiet, safe, and Energy Star compliant fan of some sort. I’m going to give it a few more days before I declare that the ultimate solution to our cellphone problem, but it seems likely it is. It’s a bit too coincidental that all our alarms started working properly when I stopped using the ceiling fan.

Erica for the win! Thanks for the suggestion!

• Oh look, it's morning again. I've already been busy for over an hour, and I already feel tired. Need more coffee! #
• Massive sinus headache this morning. Considering taking some pills and going back to bed until they kick in. #
• Today's plan went from do housework & finish pattern drafting to get dishes done & hopefully make dinner. That headache became a migraine. #
• I'm feeling the urge to knit. If my head is better tonight, maybe I'll cast on some arm warmers and dream of cooler weather. #
• It's pizza for dinner! Of all the foods in the house, that's the easiest to make, and pizza always makes me feel better. #
• I've fallen onto the couch, and I can't get up. Doesn't help that I'm pinned down by a cat. #

My two favorite shows cover the Shirley Sherrod situation with the usual hilarity mixed with truth…

• My allergies are kicking my butt today. Achoo. Cough. Hack. (blows nose) #
• Moving in slow motion today. Getting some things done, but each thing seems to take forever. Blech. #
• Ah. Time for the blessed event known as afternoon coffee. Good for what ails ya! #
• Wow it's suddenly getting dark and cloudy. Looks like we might get some of that promised rain. It'd make me feel better, so bring it on! #
• Grab your flotation devices! We have a downpour in progress! #
• Thunder + rain = 1 cat in hiding, 1 cat in my lap, and 1 cat begging for an open window, so she can watch the storm. #
• Cornbread is baking for tonight's leftover stew and later snacking. I can eat my own weight in cornbread. #
• The cats are in decorative mode in the living room. It's a rare sight to see … the three of them sleeping quietly at the same time. #

I’m feeling downright awful today. Allergies, of course. Nothing to be done about it but ignore it or drug myself. Neither option is entirely satisfying. No matter which I choose, I still feel pretty damn rotten.

Still working on my art stuff. It’s been slow going since I’ve been feeling crappy, but I keep plugging along. The original plan called for three pieces, which would later lead to the piece I really want to do (which incorporates these these pieces in a new way). Since I have gotten some extra time to work, I’ve decided to press ahead and shoot for the one large piece that these three pieces are meant to be a part of. It’s been bubbling around in my head since the early 80’s, has come out in a few paintings and other works, but it really wants to be this sculpture. So clear in my head, and it seems to be coming together clearly in reality too. I said I was going back to the beginning of my art career, and I did.

Best decision ever.

The rest of my life seems to be holding together too. It’s been oddly peaceful. I’m enjoying it for as long as that lasts. I don’t think it’s possible for my entire family and social circle to remain drama-free much longer, but it’s been nice the last few months. Why … it’s almost been more like a standard definition of “normal” than my usual definition (as in “normal” for my family).

Nothing much else to say! I’m back to not paying much attention to the news, because last week when I dove back into being up-to-date on the world was totally depressing. Ignorance is bliss, and for now, I am trying to remain as ignorant as I can of world events. The art in my heart right now is joyous, and being bummed out about the state of the world only makes it more difficult to create joyous things.

I will eventually get back into blogging more regularly. I’m just not terribly verbally orientated right now. Pictures and not words is where I am at. Once I’ve gotten some visual stuff out of my system, I’m sure I’ll be back to babbling with a great deal of verbose language. I miss it, but not enough to force myself to sit down and do it. Every time I have an idea right now, it’s just visual stuff. What I do need to do is sit down and get the photos off my camera. I’ve been taking lots of photos lately.

It’s the summer doldrums anyway. Everyone I know is either on vacation, about to go on vacation, or just coming back from vacation … or just spending a lot of time outdoors doing outdoor things, as opposed to being at the computer. The internet on the whole has been oddly more quiet than usual. Happens every year, though I think this is the first summer I’ve been so quiet. LOL!

And now I think I better do the dishes and some laundry and fuss around with my art stuff for a little longer before Lin gets home. I think I have just enough energy to do what I need to get done today, and then it’s dinner and laziness … and the strongest allergy pill I can stuff down my throat. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to breath with wheezing and not sneezing every couple of minutes. That’d be nice!

• Pulled up some carrots for tonight's stew. Love how carrots smell when just removed from the earth. So earthy & like carrot times a hundred. #
• Wish the stew would hurry and finish stewing. It smells so good! Should have started it earlier. #
• One More: AJ & Omar http://post.ly/omnm #
• Oddly, the theme song for Bewitched just popped into my head, and now it won't go away. #
• Did you know a human could survive consuming the milk of nine rats daily? #
• Did you know that ambergris is whale puke? And did you know it's used in perfumes? Eeew. #
• Have just recieved my video instructions for a future flash mob event. Wheee! #
• I've never watched a Bollywood movie. If I wanted to, and I think I do, what would be the best one for my virgin viewing experience? #
• The Sunday night emergency broadcast signal test has just blasted through the TV sound system telling me I've stayed up too late. #

• At the Store (again) http://post.ly/ocrB #
• Sitting down for my afternoon cup of coffee. Had a busy day getting caught up on some housework. Not fun, but gotta be done! #
• We're going to go see Vallejo tonight! Rock Americano! Woo hoo! #
• Have had our weekly pizza, a day late, are now watching Dr Who, & then off to music and dancing! Best date night ever! #
• Best Dr Who season finale and season EVER! #
• And where are headed out the door to PARTY! We're going downtown (in Pflugerville). LOL! #
• On the Way to P-ville! http://post.ly/ofKI #
• Almost Front Row http://post.ly/ofSc #
• Waiting on Vallejo to start. Any minute now. Can't wait! #
• Vallejo! http://post.ly/ofmV #
• Snake in the Grass http://post.ly/ofoD #
• Bruce! http://post.ly/ofz9 #
• AJ! http://post.ly/og12 #
• Watch out world! About to do a shot of Patron! #
• Omar! http://post.ly/og1S #
• Bruce & Robert! http://post.ly/og5r #
• Have had a fantastic night. Headed home, and OMG I have to pee. LOL! #