The Flatland Almanack

The Flatland Chronicles, The Digital Artwork Gallery, and More for 28-29 August 2006.

Updates to this blog ("The Flatland Almanack.")

• In The Flatland Chronicles I (Reality Bites):  To Congressional Democrats:  for God's sake, REPRESENT.
• In The Flatland Chronicles:  for 29 August, more about Gordon Ramsay and Deadwood; also a brief expression of optimism at the prospect of going back to work. 

Updates to THE DIGITAL ARTWORK GALLERY.  Lots!  I've been having fun.

Posted August 28:

• "High Twos!"
• The mother-of-pearl circus.
• Flying rainbow ladies [2 designs].
• Silver scarf 2.
• Silver star.
• Glass flower globe in pink.
• Crystal Rings.
• Silver brooch with amethysts.
• Miniature cross in gold with hyacinths.
• Tilting globe in orange and gold.
• Flower mandala.
• Inset jewel.
• Floating gemstones.
• Peach and yellow bauble?
• Golden, um, FRISBEE.
• Glass bottles.
• City Lights in the Rain.

Posted August 29:

• Chiffon Box (in honor of...my mom!) [2 designs]
• Graffiti Moon.
• Gold shield.
• Carved agate (for Frannie).
• Elaborate bead.
• Rainbow jewel (honoring Martha Beck).
• Sunburst in Clay (for Frannie).
• Satin Bow in Teal (also for Frannie).
• Silver hurricane.
• Fleur-de-lys.
• Swirl banner.
• Silver ornament.
• Jewelled crosses/jewelled stars.
• Ice cube.
• Baby tropical fish (violet).
• Baby tropical fish (blue).
• Crystal ornament.
• Weird little pictures.
• Modern art brooch.
• Green platter with sunburst.
• Four-pointed star in shell.
• Star-lidded pillbox.
• Decorations on lavender silk.
• Glazed clay mandala.
• Flower bubble.
• Potpourri Jar.

The Flatland Chronicles, Versus/Reversus and The Digital Art Gallery for 26-27 August 2006

   IN THIS BLOG [THE FLATLAND ALMANACK]

• In Reality Bites, a brief note on Katherine Harris's attempts to "clarify" the meaning of that quote about "separation of church and state" that I discussed previously; a great deal more on the subject of the city of New Orleans (inspired partly by When the Levees Broke, partly by Real Time with Bill Maher, and partly by the hurricane that's even now working its way north.  That note is here.

IN VERSUS/REVERSUS:

• Christopher Hitchens' Middle Finger.  He really acquitted himself in true neocon style on Real Time with Bill Maher, failing completely to rise above the audience's disapproval and finally resorting to rude gestures that I would have thought he'd consider beneath him.  Heh. This is the same guest, by the way, who during his last RT appearance was rebuking Bill Maher for "lack of chivalry" toward Laura Bush.   

IN THE BLOG ART BLOG:  A lot of new postings. I've made a lot of images and keep forgetting what I've done; it just seems like a good idea to go ahead and post them.

• Glittering Sphere.
• Metalwork:  Indigo Flowers.
• Cute sea serpents.
• The flower wheel.
• Pink and blue pendant
• Pendant with glass centerpiece.
• Remembering Katrina.
• Eeeevil.  Except Not.  An Object Lesson.
• Copper cross (two designs)
• Patterned ornament.
• Silver scarf for Julie.
• Indian scarf (for Julie too)
• Flower child (for Carlan)
• Purple cushions for Carlan
• Lacquered box
• Pink and blue pendant 2 (kissing snakes)
• Sea flower (2 designs)
• Parallelogram
• Black paperweight with confetti
• Iridescent star
• Teal planet (2 designs)
• Neon mandala.

The Flatland Chronicles and the Digital Artwork Gallery for 24-25 August 2006

  Here's a summary of recent updates:

In "The Flatland Almanack" (this blog):

• In "Quiddities and Oddities," good news about tea; and some information that really ought to interest everyone (believers and non-) about why "The Veronica's Veil" is nothing at all like the shroud of Turin---an artifact which is a lot stranger than you probably imagine or than skeptics so far can explain.  24 August 2006.
• In Reality Bites:  they're taking away Pluto.  BASTARDS. When I did a quick net check, most people are as outraged as I am.  24 August 2006. 
• In Reality Bites,  I say nothing at all nasty or snide about Katherine Harris; I just let her do the talking herself.  Also:  a poll that should show Democrats AGAIN that they really need to reach out to God botherers who are serious about Christian morality.  24 August 2006.

In The Blog Art Blog, new clipart:

Honestly, if I do say so myself, you really should check out my free clipart.  I really am working at it, and some of my designs are pretty cool.  I've been posting a lot of new samples---several new pieces a day.

• New clipart for 24 August 2006.
• New clipart for 25 August 2006.

Updates for 21-23 August 2006. When the Levees Broke; Gordon Ramsay; and the Homelife of Whales.

Updates for 23 July 2006:

In this blog:

In The Flatland Chronicles, my initial reactions to Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke, Acts 1-2; what governments could learn from Gordon Ramsay & a kick-ass idea for a reality show. 

In Quiddities & Oddities, some information about the homelife of whales.

In Digital Artwor Gallery, some new additions:

• Green and gold pendant.
• Carnival glass.
• Beads.
• Metallic gold chrysanthemums.
• Silver and Gold ribbons.

Get some little pieces of original artwork for your blog (free, naturally).

Updates for 22 August 2003: 

• In "Reality Bites,"  Reflections on Joel Stein's article in this week's Time, "Cupcake Nation"; and the imminent [FINALLY] return of Bill Maher's Real Time.
• Many rhetorical and non-rhetorical questions, and reflections on civility, in The Flatland Chronicles.

   

For 21 August 2006.

• In Quiddities & Oddities, an article on the music of the spheres (literally!) & how Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon led to the recovery of an important moon landing tape.
• In The Flatland Chronicles:  The Restoration of Civility---some thoughts.

Anglo-Saxon Attitudes, Just Eat the Damn Peach, and The Digital Artwork Gallery for 20 August 2006. Inspiration from the Master Chef.

In ANGLO-SAXON ATTITUDES, a long posting in honor of GORDON RAMSAY, chef extraordinaire, here.  I posted the same article in JUST EAT THE DAMN PEACH here, since it's also about what I call inspirational TV programming. 

To THE DIGITAL ARTWORK GALLERY, I added the following:

• Dragon's Eye Jewel, here.
• Blue and Gold Cross, here.
• Rainbow Weave, here.
• Rainbow Horns/Rainbow Party Hats, here.

The Flatland Chronicles and The Digital Artwork Gallery for 19 August 2006. First the bad news, then the bad news.

Since yesterday: 

IN THIS BLOG:

REALITY BITES:

Bitter Bad.  Haditha.   

Hard to Swallow.  My fellow Dems keep cranking out the conspiracy theories.  I am trying to understand how this is productive or if it's even supposed to be. 

QUIDDITIES & ODDITIES.

Asteroid Busters!

Rejuvenations & Interventions.

RELATED BLOGS: 

IN THE DIGITAL ARTWORK GALLERY 

• Gold & Silver Seals (three images of seals---not the sea creatures, but the other sort--- from one Florida photograph)
• Grapes & Pomegranate.  A "chi" cross in neon green, gold and brown.
• Bronze & Gold Cross.  A more conventional cross.   

The Flatland Almanack for 16 August 2006. New Content...

  I've got quite a number of updates to post from the last few days, since I moved most of the content from my original blog to my shiny new "sub-blogs", listed on the left.  But to start with, I want to list the genuinely new content I added today:

In "the Digital Artwork Blog," six new pieces:

• In shades of peach and gold, a pretty gold and white diaper-patterned piece, here.
• In orange and gold, a piece that reminds me of Roman jewelry (I must have seen something somewhere).  Anyway, it's here.
• A rainbow-patterned button in rather watery tints, here.
• A rainbow-patterned button in deeper colors, here.
• Blue silk scarf with gold stars, here.
• Red silk scarf, here.

The Flatland Chronicles for 12 August 2006. My house divided. But so be it.

  I am starting to move material from my old blog to this new one (though only the postings that still seem to have relevance and that I feel strongly about).  I'll be posting links and further information in a couple of days when I'm done with it all.  It's very time-consuming. In addition, I posted a pretty extended piece in my "Reality" category (where I pull together various bits of information that I've read which seem related and to which I've had a strong reaction." 

Today's dose:  "Spewing Out the Whole Cup of Joe."   For my inspiration, see Jon Stewart's take.  If you haven't seen it,  I recommend this link.

The Digital Artwork Blog, The Flatland Chronicles, Versus/Reversus & A Marginal Christian's Handbook for 11 August 2006. New Content!

POSTINGS FOR TODAY:

For today, I  added artwork to the "gallery".  Specifically:  A pair of rather Baudelairian flowers, one of which you see right here and which is posted for downloading here.  The other has a boxy metallic look which for some reason makes me think of the weird blue box in Mulholland Drive into which "Rita" disappears right before Diane wakes up, a very shivery moment.  It doesn't really look like that box, but for me it evokes it.  Anyway.  It's here.

I also posted a pretty silvery butterfly that showed up on my screen and an amusing flower that looks like a child's colorful summer camp project.

Okay, right, I have a good imagination, okay?

In addition,  I created a new category for dealing with short snippets of news called Reality Bites.  I posted commentary on an article I read discussing the relief efforts in Lebanon; and on on a blog entry by David Mamet arguing (in effect) that the negative criticism of Israel in the media is motivated by anti-semitism.  Finally, I included some brief remarks on an article from BBC Online giving the full story on Mel Gibson.  It's posted here.   

Because there is so much material in these last couple of days, I cobbled together several articles dealing with the UK investigations and some of the ways in which the UK problem differs from ours.  I really hadn't realized.  I published that posting also in The Flatland Chronicles, here.

Finally, I have included a comment on an interesting blog by Max Blumenthal and related article addressing the emerging "Christian Zionist" movement.  It's posted in my Versus/Reversus blog, here.

The Flatland Chronicles for 10 August 2006. New Content!

An emotional day, obviously, for everyone. 

I am feeling very annoyed with both political parties.   I wrote a condemnatory screed, spending a lot of time at it. Later, I decided I was being unfair to my fellow Dems, and deleted it.  Sigh.

But here's a comment on Burt Bacharach's thoughts concerning "An Inconvenient Truth." It's in Versus.  I know it seems an odd choice of subject, but it struck me.

Finally, I posted more pieces of homemade clipart.

• Two sets of "antique buttons," one with a 1920's feel; the other, more Victorian or Vicwardian.
• A multi-colored button that reminds me of a swirl of confetti.
• A "pin" that reminds me of cloisonne.  It's rather a crude design, but I love the colors.  Another, more refined "cloisonne" pin.
• A silly, handcrafted looking piece that looks like something I'd have worn as a ring during my childhood back in the Seventies.
• And speaking of the Sixties/Seventies, this and this, both derived from landscape photographs.  "Go quietly amidst the crowd....For you are a child of the Universe."