Squaring and Scaring

Pressing opening all those seams from the HSTs I made yesterday.

And then it was time to square them all up and also time for Scare Up The Vote, a horror community fundraising call for Harris/Waltz. Amazing stuff.  I really enjoyed watching the whole thing.

Getting to hear my fave, Stephen King discuss horror movies and books and the importance of the election with his son, Joe Hill was a great way to get all the trimming done. I'm now looking at the Go Kamala Harris website to see what else I can do.

 

Watercolor Holiday

The lovely afternoon view out of our balcony window.

I wanted to do a watercolor but I knew I had a small rectangle to work on.

I sketched it out with colored pencils and then watercolored it in on top. I didn't work directly from the photo but instead from the actual view which was changing. I lowered my head so that the top of the farther away bluff didn't show below the top railing as it does in the photo. I might do another watercolor to match the photo as I really like that extra stripe of yellow sky right below the railing. This would also make a nice abstract composition for a quilt.

Here's a colored pencil + watercolors piece that I made while listening to *Political Bit* the reporting preview of the upcoming Supreme Court mifepristone case. I guess those shapes are the pills that are now providing 60% of the abortions in the US which are possibly getting banned nationwide. So it's a rather moody piece...grrr.

That piece above was made in a bigger space in a new Moleskine watercolor journal that I bought last year at Dick Blick.  You can see the size comparison 5x 8.25" versus the 4x6" watercolor postcards I literally just opened the journal up this week to use for the first time. So I obviously don't need to make another trip back to Dick Blick as I didn't even use the thing for an entire year. When I'm at home, I just don't sit and do a lot of watercolor work.  

I guess I like working in this bigger space in the journal compared to the size of the watercolor postcards. 

*Political bit* This was done while listening to the reporting about the arguments made in the Supreme Court and the various expected outcomes for the fate of accessible abortion health care in our country. Seems like even if it's a "good" decision in this particular case, what comes next if the Comstock Act of 1873 is all of a sudden enforced again. Amazing that an anti-obscenity/chastity law from that long ago, which was never really repealed could come back into enforcement because we are no longer living in a country under the Roe decision. Guess I'll keep on calling my representatives and writing postcards.

 

Seriously Silly

I spent a lot of my time on Friday, cutting out the background shapes for the Temperature quilt while watching the cable news coverage of the big indictment news. My ridiculously oversized labels are working even if they are silly sized.

The two things went together pretty well, I didn't have to look at the screen all that much so I could concentrate on cutting. The numbers and so forth for cutting were very well defined so I could use most of my brain power on taking in the information that was being disseminated for several hours. There's so much there of course, but as a person who formerly held a US government security clearance designation at the Secret level it's too much to bear or even contemplate. 

It's hard to describe the way it was drilled into us day in day out, the extreme penalties we would encounter if we ever even whispered about what we were working on or with to those without the same clearance or the same "need to know". Much less actually intentionally taking the documents home and refusing to return them. Or waving them around and boasting about them. And that this was a former president who did all that? Inconceivable.

The fix is of course serious penalties and jail time. Lock him up? Yeah, absolutely. If we have laws, they've got to apply to everyone, most especially to the people at the top who really really know what's at stake. Literally any other person would already be in jail. I would not want to be a US Diplomat or spy right now, having to convince our allies that they can  continue to trust us after seeing a Five Eyes Only document on the floor of a maybe unlocked storage room at a un-hardened public/private beach resort. 

The thing is, the vast majority of the US public hardly knows or ever thinks about all this international relations or spy stuff. It's all in the bucket of things we can't do much about, so why worry about it. The truth is we will likely never really know the effects of what he did, what alliances fell or were weakened, which assassinations of our contacts in other countries were or were not due to this breach. The power inherent in the possession of these documents is not something we normally think about. It's just a piece of paper, a file folder. But it's the possession, it's who has it, who knows, who's willing to sell it or trade it away. 

Ahem, back to our regularly scheduled quilting programming! I had to buy all that lovely black background fabric to cut it up, thanks to Santa Cruz Vac n' Sew, I had either Kona or Painter's Palette to choose from. I chose the latter, and the color name is Ebony not black, I also picked up some more Wonder Clips to keep all these cut out pieces organized, another can of Odif 505 basting spray, some waistband elastic so I can make a skirt. 

Also pictured is a SpeedWeve which I got from Amazon, it was getting talked about at the BAM retreat and it sounded very handy for clothes mending.  DS saw it and thought it was a kalimba.

56 Years

 I was listening to yet another podcast, The Experiment, and they had an episode that really struck a nerve, 56 Years. If this embedded link works you can listen to it here:  

It's based on this truly remarkable essay in the Atlantic by Vann R. Newkirk III, American Democracy is Only 55 Years Old and Hanging By a Thread. 

The author's mother was born in 1964, (just like me), but it might as well have been a world away with how utterly different our lives were. The Voting Rights Act which passed in 1965, brought our country closer to having an actual representative democracy up until it was gutted in 2013 by the Supreme Court. And every year since, we're moving further and further away from that goal of an actual representative democracy. Not everyone believes we should be one. And unfortunately it's those people who fervently disagree with that specific goal have captured our courts at every level now. That means it will have to be a legislative fix, and that means Congress. Which seems impossible given the slim majorities in both houses the Democrats hold, and the filibuster too, but then...so did the Voting Rights Act back when it passed. 

From the Senate history page:

Once the bill emerged from the Judiciary Committee, it faced a filibuster on the Senate floor. On May 25, the Senate mustered the necessary two-thirds vote and achieved cloture by a margin of 70 to 30. The next day, the bill passed 77 to 19. 

Hard to imagine that we could get the 60 votes now required for cloture.  (See the filibuster can be changed!) I have to say even with that stark reality Newkirk's essay left me more hopeful about the future.

The quilt above was one I made in the month after 9/11 twenty years ago.

Wandering Wednesday - Marching in Santa Cruz

 Back in June the horrifying news of the family separation policy at the US border was initially paralyzing. I mean, babies in cages! Our government doing this, our tax dollars at work, ack! I donated to Raices Texas, and watched as much of the news coverage as I could take, but that wasn't enough. Then I heard there were to be marches all around the country and I felt it was time to get up off the couch and participate. My husband was also riled up enough to come with me, so off we went to Santa Cruz. The march started at the city center, and there were thousands of folks, the energy of it was great.

 How about this clever play on the jaw-droopingly uncaring jacket Melania wore on her visit to the border.

 There were so many great signs, I wish I'd gotten more pictures of them.

 One of the handmaids was there at the protest too.

The speakers at the Museum of Art and History plaza were great, but it was quite hot and very crowded so we didn't stay too long. I think a lot more people came than were expected so we didn't come close to fitting in the space.

And now I'm posting about this a few months later, and things have improved somewhat, but thanks to all the activism and some key federal court decisions, a lot of families have been reunited. But there are still more than 500 children separated from their families. Some of the parents have been deported without the children, which is unfathomably cruel.

These are people, fleeing horrifying conditions in their home countries, taking a very dangerous journey with their children, just trying to protect them, find a better life for them, just like any other parent in the world would do. And they followed the rules, they came to our country and asked for asylum. (You can't accomplish that from your home country, it's not a thing.)

And we (that's you and me if you're a US citizen) stole their children from them. With no plan in place to track the child and parent, none. They weren't treated very well, (how could they have been?), a lot of the people don't speak Spanish or English, and there was a lot of chaos. Pretty much the stories get worse and worse and my heart can't take reading all them, I'll admit that. This whole thing is Not Okay, and I'm glad that the ACLU and other organizations are taking action against these horrific policies.

It's not a thing our country can be proud of, this is not who we are supposed to be. This is not the story we've been telling ourselves about who we are. Or maybe it is, maybe there's more than one story, there's another one where those seeking asylum are all criminals, sub-human, not worthy of our care or concern, that we'd be suckers or worse for taking them in. Nah, that's not the American Way, unless we're ready to send the Statue of Liberty back to France and close our doors to the world. Nope, our country is huge, we loom large in the world and we are known for having a huge heart. We are big enough to use our huge capacity to absorb newcomers and welcome them into the fabled melting pot.

As Seen on the Street

 Ok, I lied, one last post from my visit to the SJMQT, but this time, outside!  How about this yarn-bombing (as seen in front of my car)?

And then there was this hilarious sign plastered on the light pole also in front of the museum. This was on the day of Trump's visit to San Jose, the streets were being closed in preparation and we all know how that turned out :(
**Warning for politics ahead:  In case you don't get the joke on the sign, John Miller is one of the pseudonyms that Trump would sometimes adopt when calling reporters back in the 80's and 90's. He would talk to reporters about himself as if he was a PR person named John Miller. And he testified to this fact in a court case, but now claims to not remember anything about it... And the 'Who is John Miller?' is a play on the catchphrase of 'Who is John Galt?' from Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged." So kudos to you, unknown sign-maker.

Happy 4th of July!
Another year down in the history books for the American Experiment. Wonder how many more we'll have?

A Beautiful Beginning

photo from Reuters.

I'm so proud of my country today, just beaming with pride, and filled with joy that we've finally passed one of the lines we needed to cross. Sometimes it is forgotten how young our country really is, compared to so many others, but now I am wondering: Are we finally growing up past our troubled teenaged years? Seems like it maybe...




The most stirring part of the brilliant inaguration speech to me was this part:


"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. "



With fingers crossed that it comes to pass.

And on a girly, fashion-conscious level: do we have a stylin' first lady or what? Her outfit is just beautiful, so appropriate and fresh, (I'm coveting those green gloves!), apparently the designer Isabel Toledo didn't know that Michelle Obama would be wearing her design. That would make your day wouldn't it?!

And on a personal, admittedly petty level, I'm so relieved and glad to finally get to remove the Bush countdown clock from my sidebar.

Two Days of Happiness, Back to Reality

Yes we did! What joy, to celebrate with the world.

Onwards and upwards.

I'm so proud of my country, it feels like we've really grown up, out of the selfish teenage years, into young adulthood, where we swear we'll try to be responsible now.

We'll just see, I keep saying to myself cynically. I'm trying hard to remain as expansively optimistic as I felt on Tuesday night. Understand that it is difficult to imagine for someone from my era (first political memories are (McGovern,Watergate, Vietnam) that our government can be radically reformed by one election. An amazing, historic election yes, but still, just one election. This change that so many seem to assume will just "happen" is going to be a hell of a lot of work over the coming years, and under the worst confluence of economic, international and environmental immediate problems that any president or government has ever had to tackle.

But this cynicism arises after several days of smiling, breaking into gushes of happy and relieved tears over and over again as I re-watched Obama's speech and the crowd reactions around the world. Happy dancing is over now, Back To Work! Fingers crossed that most of the people who were roused out of their slumber to actually go vote will stay at least a little bit engaged and aware, that will be the biggest help to making the promise Obama represents a reality we can all enjoy. And the rest of my fingers crossed that those who didn't vote for Obama will get on board and help row with the rest of their fellow citizens, instead of staying back on shore and holding us all back with fear, obstruction, and misinformation.

America's Choosing Day

I hope if you're reading this, you've already cast your vote today! If not, why not? It is important, so go do it! If you're in another country, then I hope you're happier with the outcome of our election this time around.

I wanted to share this, as I've been completely focused on the political campaign this year, it is such an important day in our country's history, and I'm holding my breath, biting my nails, and crossing my toes for luck that a lot of people vote, that their votes are counted, and that when the results are known, our country can move forwards and change what needs to be changed.

As highlighted today by my old college professor Robert Pinsky, former US Poet Laureate, a reminder of this great poem about what voting means in America with all the push and pull, sublime perfection and disappointing imperfections.

ELECTION DAY, NOVEMBER, 1884

- Walt Whitman

If I should need to name, O Western World, your powerfulest

scene and show,
'Twould not be you, Niagara—nor you, ye limitless prairies—nor

your huge rifts of canyons, Colorado,
Nor you, Yosemite—nor Yellowstone, with all its spasmic geyser-

loops ascending to the skies, appearing and disappearing,
Nor Oregon's white cones—nor Huron's belt of mighty lakes—

nor Mississippi's stream:
—This seething hemisphere's humanity, as now, I'd name— the

still small voice vibrating—America's choosing day,
(The heart of it not in the chosen—the act itself the main, the

quadriennial choosing,)
The stretch of North and South arous'd—sea-board and inland

—Texas to Maine—the Prairie States—Vermont, Virginia,

California,
The final ballot-shower from East to West—the paradox and con-

flict,
The countless snow-flakes falling—(a swordless conflict,
Yet more than all Rome's wars of old, or modern Napoleon's:)

the peaceful choice of all,
Or good or ill humanity—welcoming the darker odds, the dross:
—Foams and ferments the wine? it serves to purify—while the

heart pants, life glows:
These stormy gusts and winds waft precious ships,
Swell'd Washington's, Jefferson's, Lincoln's sails.

With a joyful, hopeful heart I cast my vote by early voting on Sunday at our county courthouse. It took all of about a two minute wait in line (I wish it were that easy for everyone standing in those 10 hour lines!!).

And as we waited, next to us another line moved slowly. It was the marriage license/ceremony line. While we waited we observed two gay couples being married, while their exuberant friends and families observed. My husband and I made goo-goo eyes at each other as we always do when we see people getting married. Something about recognizing what a huge step it is, what we believe it means to us, how terribly important and vital it is to human beings to declare themselves in this way.

With a huge grin on my face I enthusiastically said "CONGRATULATIONS!" to them as they passed by us on their way out of the office. They looked up surprised and said "Thanks!" What an immediate, in-your-face example of what we were just about to vote about! This Prop 8 issue on our California ballot, about taking away marriage rights from a certain group of our fellow citizens. I surely do hope that it is does not pass. As my husband said: "Aren't there a whole lot of other issues worth the time, energy and money spent on this? Didn't our state supreme court already decide this issue once and for all?" And as my son asked: "So, Mom, did seeing them get married make you feel like you needed to divorce dad and go get gay-married?" Of course not, that's why I voted no on proposition 8.

Yes We Carve

Have you carved your pumpkins yet?
Yes We Carve is a website set up for Obama supporters to contribute their Obama related pumpkin art. There's even a contest to win an Ipod for the best one. Cool idea! A very unique confluence of politics, holidays, art, design, and pumpkins!
I love all these hopeful pumpkins, with the light shining through, and the happy people and pets pictured with them, very uplifting and inspiring.

Contrast #2

More contrast for self portrait challenge.

This is how I've been feeling from the inside looking out at the world.

Green around the gills with sickness watching the un-feeling, un-thinking political vomitrocious kabuki play out as the world watches, jaw on the floor that America is falling for it again.


"Normal" from the outside looking in.
Whatever normal is for me anyways.

If you were used to looking at my face, you would notice the extra worry wrinkle in my forehead, as well as the bruisy circles under my eyes from staying up late reading political blogs or watching political conventions.

Working for the Clampdown

Have you been following the actions of the police/FBI/Homeland Security in Minneapolis/St.Paul? I realize it hasn't been on the news much, especially with Hurricanes Gustav and Palin absorbing the entire capacity of the 24/7 news cycles. I was morbidly transfixed this whole last long weekend by the unfolding saga of pre-emptive raids on "hippie homes" before the Republican Convention even started up to and including the appalling arrest of Amy Goodman and her producers from Democracy Now on Monday.

I can't believe that this is not being covered more widely. I know there is a lot of other news going on now. But c'mon, arresting people before they even have protested? Arresting journalists that are only covering the protests? Doesn't it strike you that this is a made-for-television event, especially with the availability of video?! Seems to me that this proves once and for all that we truly do not have a liberal media in this country. Or maybe people really don't want to know about this, it makes me feel physically ill just thinking about the whole thing, that my fellow citizens who only want to peacefully protest are being tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, thrown to the ground, and arrested.
The parallels to what Naomi Klein describes in her excellent and throughly depressing book, "Shock Doctrine" are absolutely chilling. Remember saying to yourself during the Olympics, when seeing all that coverage of the Chinese repression of the press: "oh thank goodness that can't possibly ever happen here"? Well it is happening here, whether you know about it or not. The ruling elites are realizing that their hold on power is tenuous, that they've almost been found out for the frauds that they are, and this is how the clamp down begins.

I found this quote to be particularly prescient:
"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear." -Harry S. Truman, 33rd US president (1884-1972)

Not my photo, from Flickr, thought it perfectly illustrated what I'm talking about here.

Sunday Cornucopia

It is the end of a week, and there are always leftovers. Before I go off to niece's 3rd birthday party, I'll leave you with these goodies:

Kale Chips, an amazingly good snack. I made one bunch of kale into these chips and they were gone in two seconds, I barely got a picture of the remains of one as Alex was about to eat the last bit. Super easy and really really good for you. I'm destemming the leaves next time though, a little bitter for me on that part. But honestly, usually the kale ends up in my green smoothie as no one around here likes it cooked or stir fried. So chips it is!
Recipe from Camp Joy was as follows:


Kale Chips

• 1 Bunch Kale



• 1/4 C Olive Oil (I used spray olive oil)



• Salt & Pepper to taste
  

1. wash & pat dry kale



2. spray or paint on a thin layer of oil covering both sides of kale



3. lay kale on cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt & pepper



4. place under broiler for 2-3 minutes



5. flip kale over & broil 2-3 minutes or until crispy, yum!

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I don't know if I missed the window for signups or not, time will tell. Anyways, even if I'm not an official participant in the Wardrobe Refashion blog, I'm still playing along at home. Have a few projects I've done recently that I need to take pictures of to share with you. Just overdyeing, but they turned out really cool.


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I'm attempting NaBloPoMo this month, where the subject is Food, so be ready for lots of food content in addition to the usual High Fiber Content. If you've posted every day already this month, then you can probably still sign up.
Visit NaBloPoMo

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And I didn't tell you yet about getting my very first ever pedicure while in Sedona. My sister-in-law Carolyn suggested it for the girls (Mom, Carolyn and I) and got these spa finder gift certificates at Costco, so it wasn't too spendy. It was really fun, and not all icky and horrible to have someone working on my feet. I don't why I was so worked up about it, but it was relaxing and my feet stil feel good a couple of weeks later. Plus I learned a few tricks to keep my toes looking better for the summer, we shall see if that works, right?!Believe me you don't want to see the "before" picture!

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Lastly, and truly most importantly, have you been paying attention to the FISA/Warrant-less Wiretapping/Telecom Company Pardoning/Law-breaking excusing debacle in the Congress? I've been writing letters and emails and calling my senators on the issue.
Go read up and decide what (pdf link) you think. We're about to become a monarchy....and even the future President Obama has completely reversed on his promises, yes flip-flopped even, and is voting on the side of getting himself some kingly powers.

Justice Overwhelmed

Here is a quilt I made recently, called "Justice Overwhelmed". I made it for the International Fiber Collaborative, a project to cover an abandoned gas station with fiber artworks. We were supposed to "express their concerns about their countries extreme dependency on oil for energy."

There are tons of pictures of submissions from all over the world (I'm on page two). The gas station is located in Syracuse, NY, and there is an opening reception in May, I hope if you live nearby you can go check it out. I can't wait to see the pictures of how the gas station looks when it is recovered.
Here is a closeup, showing the image of my original quilt "Justice" which I produced at the beginning of this endless pointless war back in 2003. A main part of the imagery dealt with oil and $$$, so I wanted to re-visit my original piece and see what else I had to say on this subject.

It seemed to me that we have come some many steps further down the road towards the death and destruction of our country, culture and world that Justice is indeed in an Overwhelmed state, all in the pursuit of securing our access to oil.

I'm re-reading what I wrote on the back of the original Justice quilt and I'm struck by how sad I am that I was right. I really truly wish I had been wrong about the war. That it turned out to be quick, easy, painless, and successful as was promised. I'm sad, but I'm not at all surprised.

News Eyes

For my first political self portrait for this month's SelfPortraitChallenge I'm trying to illustrate my angst and worry about Hillary Clinton getting the nomination or not getting the nomination. I am showing the furrowed brow, the long distance eyes, and the bags and dark circles, all part of the package. I could show my fingers on the keyboard as I go from political blog to political blog, soaking in all the news. Or my ears listening to NPR as all the posturing and analyzing goes on. On Tuesday the headline in the San Jose Mercury News read: "Is this Clinton's Last Day?" and then on Wednesday after the Ohio and Texas primaries it read: "Still Alive".

I'll be honest. I go back and forth several times a day. These two candidates are virtually identical on the issues (neither is progressive enough for me, but I'm over that) and one of them must win if our country is to start turning away from the edge of the cliff we're hurtling towards.

First I'm wanting so badly to have someone of my generation to be president, with newer ideas, less entanglements with the past and some actual inspiration and vision for the future.

Then I think (perhaps too much, perhaps wrongly) that this might be the last time in my lifetime there is a chance for a woman to become president. I want that so badly, it is a clutching raw visceral reaction, I experience it as a racing heart and sinking stomach. This might be it. If she doesn't win, there might not be another chance for a very long time (think of how long ago Geraldine Ferraro was nominated as VP!)

I admire Hillary Clinton and despise her in equal amounts. Intellectually I know she would be a great president and knows how to play the game to get things done, but that is exactly what makes me despise her. Weird huh? But I don't see how she can actually get there, back to the White House, sitting in the big chair of power. There are so many on the other side who hate her, just plain hate her. I don't think that she could overcome that and be a president for our whole country. And that is what we need. Someone that can get more than 51% of the public on the team, pulling for the success of our country all together.

The primary season can't end soon enough for me.

War, What is it Good for?

Gerrie's got a great collection of photos going over on Flickr, of this bumper sticker on cars, houses (including the White House), and people. I was really glad to see the Dems make the Repubs stay up all night to explain themselves earlier this week. It seems the smallest sacrifice they could make before taking the month of August off on vacation (must be nice, huh?!). I don't know why they're sticking with this failed presidency to prolong this unjust and unnecessary war. Hopefully enough voters in America are paying attention and have long enough memories (til the next election!).

And then the Dave Matthew's Band is trying to get people to pay attention to what happens to the veterans of our wars once they arrive back home. They have a petition on their website that they plan to send to the Secretary of Defense.