Levi's 511

These are such Portland jeans!  I love the idea!  However, why don't they have a women's line as well?  C'mon Levi's, do you really want to make the statement that only men need jeans in which to commute to work?  That only men bike?  I'm pretty sure women would benefit from some reinforced, water resistant jeans too.

Reboot

I originally posted this in March of 2010.  I've decided it's still relevant--except for point 2's mention of homework.  Let's replace "Doing homework" with "Applying for jobs":

1. Reading books is a wise use of my time. Looking at books on amazon.com is a poor use of my time. (But seriously, look how cheap these are!)
   
2. Doing homework is a wise use of my time. Complaining about homework is a poor use of my time.
   
3. Drawing, painting, sewing, creating anything is a wise use of my time. Staring vacantly at craft blogs is a poor use of my time.
4. Singing and playing guitar is a wise use of my time. Spending an hour trying to find the tabulature for "Make My Heart Fly" is a poor use of my time.
   
   
5. Being outside is a wise use of my time. Sitting in my room, bored as the dickens, is a poor use of my time.
   
6. Cleaning my room is a wise use of my time. Moving around piles of dirty clothes, books, papers, and receipts while attempting to find lost spoons is a poor use of my time.
   
7. Writing letters is a wise use of my time. Journaling is a wise use of my time. Blogging might be a wise use of my time. Practicing my signature is a poor use of my time.
   
8. Enjoying good TV (aka 30 Rock) is a wise use of my time. Surfing hulu in efforts to find anything watchable is a poor use of my time.
9. Going to the gym is a wise use of my time. Looking at the lint between my toes is a poor use of my time.
10. Making dinner is a wise use of my time. Sneaking into the kitchen to eat chocolate chips is a poor use of my time.
11. Watching bad movies with my friends is a wise use of my time. Watching bad movies by myself is a poor use of my time.
12. Spending time with friends is a wise use of my time. Spending time wondering what my friends are doing is a poor use of my time. Attempting to discover what my friends are doing via facebook is an extremely poor use of my time.

Sometimes, you need someone else to say it for you

This quote comes from one of my favorite blogs: The Style Rookie.

"One day I will write about how the hipster stereotype is 1) boring humor, 2) too broad and applies to everybody, and 3) stifling of creativity because everyone is scared of seeming pretentious."

-Tavi  Gevinson, emphasis added

That quote manages to express a sentiment I have been attempting to pin down for a while.  I don't think I'll really know my opinion of the term "hipster" for at least a few decades, but at this moment, I'm trying to de-stigmatize the word.  The animosity I have towards it makes little sense when paired with my inability to define it.  I am tired of avoiding or reconsidering certain aesthetics because I think they might somehow fit into the indefinable umbrella of "hipster".  I'm certainly tired of attempting to define the indefinable umbrella, and I'm pretty damn sure the fear of being a hipster is poor reason for me to avoid things I find beautiful or interesting. 

A start to my day

By start, I mean continuation?  I didn't sleep last night.  Since the clock stroke midnight I have updated my résumé and applied for two jobs, gotten dressed, walked to the grocery store and back, eaten breakfast, watched the second half of Hello, Dolly!, and written this blog post.


Oh, I also found this clip from a favorite movie of mine:




I'll sleep later.

Hopefully.

(Treguna Mekoides and Tracorum Satis Dee!)

The Fallibility of Dahl

(image credit )

Roald Dahl counts among one of my favorite authors.  I loved him as a child, and now, after reading The Best of Roald Dahl, a collection of twenty-five of his short stories for adults, I have fallen in love with him again.  However, I have also recently collided with an account of his anti-Semitism that included this quote:

"There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity, maybe it's a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews. I mean there is always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere; even a stinker like Hitler didn't just pick on them for no reason." 

-Roald Dahl, as quoted  by  Abraham H. Foxman 

What an indefensible statement.  

This is not the first time a figure I admire has horrified me through a display of ignorance, hatred, or bigotry.  Nevertheless, experience has not yet taught me how to navigate such an issue; it has not taught me how to marry what I love about a person's work with what I object to about a person's life.

Right now, I find solace in the fact that none of us are perfect.  I try to remember if I go searching for the infallible hero, I will only find disappointment.  Perhaps it is better not to have heros at all: there are few things as dangerously black and white as heroes and villains.  And I think perhaps I am not supposed to marry these two contrary aspects of Dahl's legacy.  It will serve me much better to learn to recognize simultaneously the merit of Dahl's work and the downfalls of the man.  

Let's Stop Pretending

Welcome to my blog's new home.  Here are the reasons for the move as stated on my previous blog:

I'm moving this blog to a new URL. Why, you ask? Mostly, I'm moving because I no longer feel the need to be anonymous. Quite the opposite: If I am willing to post an opinion, thought, or idea on the internet, I should also be willing to support that idea with my name. A great deal of cruelty comes from the anonymity allowed by the internet. 

Also, if I am going to post my own writing and artwork, I damn well want people to know that it's my intellectual property! I am American, after all, and raised to hold ridiculous pride over works of my creation and to abhor the crime of copyright infringement above almost all else. 

Finally, I also want to associate my blog with the small but growing world of Crowlivia. Olivia Johnson is a pretty common name. Crowlivia is not. Google "crowlivia" and just about everything links back to me. I'm a power hungry despot. Obviously.

So, if you wish, you can now visit Cawing and Clawing, formerly Let's Pretend I'm Ruth Little.

Hopefully, this move will be linked with a resurgence in posting.  Until I get going, feel free to visit my on-line portfolio where I just posted some more work.