little ROXiE

has a good prognosis! our new little pup is hanging in there after a scary battle with parvo! she should be coming home from the doggie hospital tomorrow.

California On Fire

There is a yellow-gray haze that smells of burning wood blanketing SF today. It was more faint yesterday than today, and according to the Chronicle, tomorrow is supposed to be even worse. The Google map above really offers a gloomy perspective of the state on fire.

eames stamps

i just picked up these beautiful stamps from the post office and thought of my co-blogger designer friends.

in terms of an accomplishment, how does making it on a stamp rank? and i wonder how vigorous a selection process they have (the name eames did not ring a bell for me, but i like that it didn't). maybe i should start sending more snail mail instead of wasting such art on the electric company. or maybe bringing art to the mundane is the point. i have to say, i love the post office's commitment to interesting and unique stamps...

Shake Girl

If you have a few minutes to spare on the computer, I really encourage you to check out Shake Girl. It is a graphic novel created by a group of Stanford students about a true story that takes place in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia about a young girl who gets involved with a rich, older, married man. The story is specific to one girl, but apparently is not an uncommon scenario. You'll notice the illustrations change throughout because of all the different hands working on it. Be sure to check out the afterword for an eloquent synopsis of the context.

I read a book called Stay Alive, My Son by Pin Yathay a couple of years ago that taught me a lot about the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian revolution that was fascinating and at the same time heart breaking. I thought after reading it, "Why didn't I learn about this in school?". It is an amazing story written by a survivor of "the killing fields" that I can't recommend enough. It was such a major world event that for some reason, seems little known to our, & subsequent, generations.

DJ Quickie Mart at Bonnaroo gets a shout-out on Trudeau's Blog
Check out Trudeau's blog here.
Any of y'all going?
...and the Times is covering Bonnaroo here.

Tough Skin

It has been a while since I've seriously been on the prowl for a job, and I tell you, it takes some tough skin! Portfolio day was beneficial in many ways, but it was also quite humbling to be packed in a line with 100+ design students from around the state, waiting to be assigned our VIP designers with whom we would meet that day. Instead of fulfilling my fantasy of job offers being showered upon me from all directions, in my meetings, I was told my line spacing was too tight, or to not use my own illustrations and photography (that I should hire it out? student work? hmm...), or that I should pick a specialization instead of exhibiting a range of skills. However frustrating, I have to remind myself I went there for feedback and I am grateful for the experience of having to articulate my work over and over again to strangers.

I think that yesterday took the cake, however. As I picked up my portfolio that I had left with a design firm for a week for their review, the receptionist returned it to me and blurted "They didn't like it...". She sort of caught herself, realizing her job was to translate her boss's comments into something more tactful and followed it up with "...it's not quite the style we are looking for right now." Ouch. 

As I walked to the car, I tried to suck up the tears and pull myself together for my next meeting with a prospective freelance client. Refreshingly, this encounter was much more positive and I got the job. Phew. It's small but it's something. One step at a time, I suppose. 

The image above is a piece in my portfolio that is now online. I'd love some feedback. I promise I can handle it:-)

New Favorite Cookbook

This past Saturday I popped in the library on Texas St. to check out a few books. Gosh, I love the downtown library! Do you? It's icy cold and quiet and everything pretty much looks the same as it did when I was a kid...and that smell! I happened upon a book I'd seen in Japan by Harumi Kurihara. Harumi is know as the Martha Stewart of Japan. "Harumi's Japanese Cooking" is by far my favorite cookbook of late and I think y'all will like it too. The recipes represent modern Japan; influenced by the world but steeped in tradition. It's similar to how Ryo cooks here at home. She does a good job of briefly explaining both the modern and traditional Japanese ways of eating. I've made the Steamed Chicken Salad with Sesame Sauce, Salmon Teriyaki and the Egg Drop Soup and tonight I think I'll try the Salmon Burgers (I had a bunch of wild-caught salmon in the freezer). There are lots of pictures too! Check it out here.

If you can't take the heat...

Then get in to the kitchen to make cool drinks! We've experienced record highs this week for this early in the summer (heat index above 100 for almost 5 days straight now), and despite my Louisiana and Texas roots, I have to admit it has been quite unbearable. Maybe because we haven't had a chance to warm up to it...literally. (That said, I still managed to bike to work every day this week.)

So on Friday, I turned to this recipe for Berry Vodka Spritzers. So refreshing on a hot summer night! Then Saturday, with many leftover ingredients, and inspired by the blueberry mojitos I had a few times in New York and my over-flowing mint plant, I crushed the blueberries and added mint to the recipe. Very nice, too. Watch out, though. It's easy to forget these drinks have vodka in them! I only made it through the first hour of Atonement when we saw it on Friday night outside at the North Carolina Museum of Art. (The combination made my sleeping inevitable: late movie, heat, several vodka drinks, slow-paced storyline.)

For another cold drink recipe I've been making lately, courtesy of my cousin, blend several bunches of baby spinach, frozen fruit (I usually use strawberries but the variations are endless), and vanilla-flavored almond milk. I have added a tablespoon of peanut butter, flax seed oil, yogurt, plain milk, and fresh fruit before, too. It's the new favorite smoothie in our household, and you would never know there's so much spinach in there but for the green color (sometimes overpowered by the color of the fruit you choose).

Clinch

I have never seen the word "clinch" more in my life! What is it with these "buzz words" that get regurgitated by each of the major news outlets over and over again? Please Jon Stewart, please New Yorker, do a clinch spoof. I'm thinking a caricature of Obama squeezing the word "Nomination" with his butt cheeks, Jim Carey style.
What comes to mind when YOU hear "clinch"? How would you illustrate that word?