As Seen in the Sunday NYT

Apparently, Scion owners can design their own coat of arms and have their customized logo painted onto their cars. Hundreds of designed symbols were created by professional graffiti artist and toy designer Tristan Eaton. Interesting marketing concept. The Scion website is www.scionspeak.com.

Check out the article here.

a poem by ee cummings

I dedicate this posting to John Schiaroli

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)

i am never without it (anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear no fate (for you are my fate,my sweet)

i want no world (for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

Winter to me means Christmastime and Christmas means family.

Here's Anna dressed as Snow White, a costume she got from her great Uncle in NOLA.

What THIS winter has meant to me...

I'm one of those people that likes winter. I like the thought of Christmas being near, and seeing fluffy, white, sparkling snow. Unfortunately, that is NOT what we've had this year.

This winter has been one of rain, sleet, ice pellets and all kinds of nasty "Mixed Precipitation."

It has become a long grey season, and I am so ready for Spring! My daffodils are popping out of the ground, and I've seen one bluebird already - Spring can't be far behind, can it?

Yeah, good luck with that, LOL. More mixed stuff is predicted for the end of this week. I think this weekend I'm either going to curl up with a good book next to a roaring fire, or go to my local grocery store and purchase bunches of cut flowers and just PRETEND it is Spring.

How are you handling winter this year? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Winter in Huntington

These are photos of our last snowfall on February 24. After having lived here for almost ten years, I do enjoy the winter because of scenes like these. When we receive a fair amount of snow that blankets the ground and trees, it's really quite beautiful.

What Winter Means To Me

Winter is one of my favorite seasons. In October I start getting the itch to go skiing. I mean what else is there to do in the winter? With Norwalk's largest mountain being 100 ft above sea level and snow falls that measure about a foot, skiing is now where to be found without travel. Vermont is good in a pinch, but the real good skiing happens in Canada and Colorado. Here is a picture of one of my favorite ski trips to Whistler. My friends and I took a day for some Heli-skiing.

My Homework

What winter means to me ....

This is an image of my Dad. It was taken by me on his 80th birthday (which explains the slight frown). Therefore, it could only be winter when this image was taken (February 12, his birthday) and it could only be taken in Branford (my Dad has lived there for the past 50 years). Homework completed!

Have a Rad Day!

This is more humiliation than inspiration, but here is my story:

So, I’m picking up my lunch and I hear half of Pat Benatar’s “Promises in the Dark”. And I’m rockin’ out in the car by my lonesome only to have to turn off the car to come inside and eat.

I get to my desk – and you know how it is – I’m still humming the tune.

So I do what any of us would do, I go to iTunes and look up Pat Benatar to purchase the song.

I find it and scroll to purchase and there is a review of the song by an iTunes listener.

She/he writes, and I quote, “I wish I was alive in her time because her music is so rad. I’m so glad she came out with a greatest hits because we would have totally missed out.”

And I’m thinking to myself – just how damn old am I? I was at her concert ... at the New Haven Coliseum (which is no longer there) ... and I remember when her "Love is a Battlefield" video came out on MTV. Heck, I remember when MTV first aired!

And as far as I know, Pat Benatar IS still alive .... And so am I. I think.

Anyway, it killed my rockin’ good mood.

But only for a minute, because as soon as the song download, I turned up the volume and started rockin’ out again.

Now I Have A Name For It

I learned a new word today from Pseudodictionary.com. I love the use of the word in a sentence. We've all done this - and now we know the term for it. Too funny.

Pararectal - to pull a fact from out of one's own ass. This word can obfuscate the fact that you're making something up by using a scientific-sounding word to describe your fact-gathering methods.

ex. I'm pretty sure that most pigs DO fly. I obtained that fact pararectally.

While We're at the Arcade ...

The movie sucked, but the Starsky & Hutch pinball game rocks on. I'd love the opportunity to design a pinball game. J- you've hit upon one of my addictions! Great idea for a movie promo, though. Kudos to the first marketer who put the two together.

Pinball Wizard

Once everyone is done purchasing the Nosefrida, sit back and enjoy a game of SpongeBob Pinball!
http://area51.bigspaceship.com/public/spongebob/

Eat Pray Love, in that order

Elizabeth Gilbert wrote an amazing memoir on her journey of self discovery. Her words were truly an inspiration to me and helped me stay sane through a difficult time in my life.

I highly recommend this read.

http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/eatpraylove.htm

Nosefrida - I nose I wouldn't use this.

So, I'm a mom, a mom who would do anything for her child but this is crossing the line. As Anna would say, NASTY!

I'm amazed at all the press this item is getting. Click on the link to read more about this creepy contraption.

http://www.nosefrida.com/

If I Had a Theme Song ....

.... then this would be it : "I Will Survive" by CAKE, from their album "Fashion Nugget". Take a listen here. You click on "Listen to Samples" under the album cover. It's track #7. You won't be disappointed. I promise that it is a far cry from Gloria Gaynor's version.

Thanks to Heather and John and Anna for dinner, good times, and for reminding me how much I love this song. Rock on.

"Sidewalk Picasso"

It's true what they say; you do make a lot of sacrifices when you become a parent. One of my last remaining indulgences I absolutely refuse to give up is watching Sunday Morning on CBS. In my house, from 9AM to 11AM every Sunday, the cartoons go off and it is "Mommy's turn". Even my husband backs me up when the three year old begins to protest. Don't feel sorry for him. A little culture won't kill him.

This Sunday, there was a story about an amazing English illustrator, Julian Beever (unfortunate last name!), whose artwork, quite simply, blows my mind. Check out this story and, to see him in action, check out this You Tube video in time lapse. I can't believe his brain can think and draw in 3D ... and that he works in chalk ... on a busy sidewalks ... freehand. Incredible.

Design Legend: Paul Rand

Take a look at this tribute short film the One Show created to induct Paul Rand into their Hall of Fame.