It's Friday, time for a better world...

So, I am determined to improve my outlook on this country and this world by finding examples on good people doing good things.

I think this is a good one to start with. These tattooed bikers in NYC, known as Rescue Ink, have been rescuing animals around the city. Read this article in the New York Times, it is inspiring and heartwarming. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/nyregion/thecity/24pet.html

I want to give each and everyone of these tattooed, tough, softies a big ol' hug.

And after you read the great article about these guys in the times, head on over to their website. http://www.rescueink.org/

Say My Name, Say My Name...

I am having a bit of an identity crisis lately with my name. It is not that I don't like my name, I do, it is just there are so many variations of it I am trying to figure out what to call myself.

In my rather large family is where most of the versions are found. On my mother's side I am called Katie, the name I went by in school as a child, this is also the name that most of my friends call me. Of course on mom's side I am also referred to as Aunt Kiki or Kitty, Katelyn, Kathryn, Katrina, and Girlie. On dad's side I am known as Kate, I was called Katie when I was little but once I got into High School it changed to Kate. I really like Kate and usually introduce myself as Kate. On occasion on dad's side I am called Katryn, a hillbilly take on Kathryn. Now when I go down south to my Great Aunt's I am known as Katie Lynn, everyone on that branch of the family tree calls me that only because Aunt Jewel didn't like Katie and wanted to call me Lynn (my middle name) but my mom didn't like that so Katie Lynn it was.

Professionally I go by my full name Kathryn (or Kathryn Lynn) but what should I have people I just meet call me?

New Artist Monday!

I come across artists all time, and I thought that every Monday I would post an artist that I have recently discovered.

This week is Steve Schofield. He's a British photographer and his Land of the Free series is a set of photos that addresses the fascination that the British public has with American popular culture and the sub-cultural world of fandom. The fact that he uses the subject's home adds a voyeuristic quality in this found object environment.

With his goal of combining the two genres of portraiture and documentary this artist is has captured an odd world of conflict between these costumed subjects and there homes and the details (really look at the photo's environment) are an example of the artist's talent of successfully combining the two genres he is working towards.




Steve Schofield is my new favorite artist of the week. Thanks Geekologie for the introduction!

photos from Land of the Free series by Steve Schofield

artist's website www.steveschofield.co.uk/

It is great to have little reminders...

So yesterday I went to my hometown (very small rural, republican, in the middle of Illinois- town) for my Uncle Guido's 60th surprise birthday party. I rarely return to my hometown, but I wasn't going to miss the possible drama that might have occured between my uncle and my cousin who was throwing the party (Uncle G doesn't like parties or suprises and on top of that, his wonderful wife passed away last month..) and so I rode with my Aunt Bev to said party.

The party was held at the local golf course club house. Now this may sound nice but, the club house is a shed that looks like the picture featured and the bathroom is a spider filled outhouse. Did I mention that the outhouse had spiders all over it? SPIDERS. OUTHOUSE. TRACTOR SHED. Oh and it was BYOB. My family is classy all the way. At least they took all the tractors out of the shed.

As the party started many people I knew and some I grew up with showed up at one time or another, and I think that all the girls my age and younger all called each other and decided as a whole to wear a tank top and denim skirt, seriously. Then I look out into the parking area and realized that my car was the one of TWO cars. All the rest was a sea of trucks and SUVs.

So there I was, sitting in a lawn chair, drinking my Miller Lite, in a tractor shed, on a golf course, really having to pee and I was reminded of why I had my car packed at my high school graduation to get the hell of of there.

Substitute Teaching Day of HORROR!

Today was my first subbing day of the new school year. I was teaching 1st graders (not my favorite) and was almost late because I had to drive over an hour to get there this morning.

I get to school and I am informed that it is Character Fun Camp today. (character as in traits, not cartoons) and that I will be responsible for taking 23 students around to 10 different events throught out the entire day. AWESOME! (not really)

While I was getting the kids ready to go out, the other 1st grade teacher brings in a mother of one of the kids in my classroom and this woman was deaf. It was explained to me that she was going to help out today and wanted to be with her kid. OK, this is a common occurance with days like this, and her kid knows sign language so the communication will not be too bad. THEN, I am beckoned out into the hall 5 minutes later and told that this woman was too be kept away from this child by order of the father who has full custody. So, while the office tried to contact the father I was instructed to "not let her run off with the boy." WTF!

So here I am, substitute, having to coral 23 5 and 6 year olds, plus a deaf woman who had not seen her son in over a month who is bipolar and may "just may" try to kidnap her son.

Unfortunatly, she was later escorted out of the school by the police after the father flipped out that she was there. Totally a huge mess. The one good thing was that this happened while the kids were at lunch and her son did not have to witness the ordeal, but me, I got to witness it first hand as she was begging me to help her and yelling that she was a good woman. I later find out that this woman is also homeless and is having a restraining order put on her so that she is not allowed to come within 500 feet of the school.

The rest of the day went a little better, yet still resulting in a sunburn for me, my voice hoarse from yelling, and the urge to have children ripped out of me...

major decision

So, I have to make this major decision. Unfortunately the options are not the ideal on either side. IF I go one way, I have to turn away from something I have been doing my whole adult life and what I really love. Yet I will have a better chance at a life outside of work and a more stable future, but possible regret.
To take the second choice is to achieve a goal, but yet putting myself in a worse financial situation.
And again, neither choice has a clear answer and because of that I sit here with this major decision and can't help but wonder, "am a screwing myself either way?"

UPDATE: So I made the decision. I will not be finishing my masters in costume design due to the reality of student loans and not being able to add any more to that debt. Sadness.

There isn't a Hefty bag big enough to hold all of this white trash

So, I just made a quick trip to the Wal Mart and as I was walking in the door this girl, maybe 14-15, walks by wearing a tiny tank top and a mini skirt so short it was more like a belt and too small that her belly was hanging over the top and out from under the tank top. Add to that some dirty flipflops and the ultimate accessory of the 18-20yo thug wannabe boyfriend who was holding her hand while holding up his pants with the other, I mean really why wear a belt if you aren't going to USE IT! Oh and props on the stained white wife beater, dude.

I was thinking to my self, Who would let their daughter dress like this and even let that guy within 20 feet of her?! Then I saw the answer to my question. There she was in all her 45 yo glory waiting in the cigarette aisle. Wearing the same outfit as her daughter, only she had added the lovely bandage on her leg from where she burned herself getting off boyfriend-of-the-week's motorcycle, hair so bleached it look like if you touched it it would break off in your hand and (my favorite) the bright red bra under her white tank top. My disgust changed to heartbreak. Looking at this young girl who has no chance and seeing her mother so wrapped up in her selfish life to realize that her daughter is following the only example she has had.

And as the girl and her trailer park thug boyfriend join the mother in the cigarette aisle thug boyfriend's hand go right up girl's skirt and I see the circle is already repeating itself.

Well, here I am attempting to start a blog, again. The thing is I really like blogs, yet I have trouble committing... Anyway I have a good feeling 'bout this one friends. So I thought I would start out with a Like and a Dislike to get the ball rolling.

I have most recently discovered and extremely enjoy the Welcome to Beijing song written for the 100 day count down to the Olympics. I like this song so much that I sing it all the time. The problem with that is I don't know Chinese, so I make up my own lyrics ( unintenually somewhat racist lyrics). But I can't stop singing this song. I youtube it like everyday, my favorite is the first time we see Jackie Chan. So I have included here so everyone can enjoy it.




Now, the jerk penguin at the zoo yesterday who spashed me with like a bucket's worth of nasty penguin water is something I really don't like. The jerk penguin, lets call him Terry, total did it on purpose, I mean, I like had my mouth open and Terry splashed me right in the face. Then Terry swam off so fast that I didn't get a good look at him, but I am sure he looked alot like the penguin in this picture. So if you see Terry at the St. Louis zoo, totally flip the bird at him for me, and do not stand to near the tank, cause if Terry is anything, he is a spashing jerk!