Blog Title: Ample Sanity

Positive

"Prejudice is the child of ignorance." William Hazlitt

1 Dec 2008: World Aids Day. See: Art for Aids, Positive Lives, AIDS: I Do Not Hide (video), World Aids Clock, HIV This Week.

When Bill Bragg isn't dreaming about the open seas and long train journeys he likes to draw pictures about the open seas and long train journeys.

In a dream world, where life is governed by cycles, living beings are born of cocoons and form couples. But something unexpected will happen. Watch: Haoma. (via nicosite)

Photoblog: Tom Kaszuba Photography. (via coolstop)

Brambleberry Blog is cozy. And friendly. Cozy and friendly and welcoming. I have a sudden urge to whip up homemade dinner rolls or maybe milk something. Unfortunately, all we have around here are llamas. They don't take too kindly to milking, and i'm not overly fond of being spat upon.

ooOOooo... Helen Dardik also has a blog: Orange You Lovely. Divine! (via blanket)

Want a free t-shirt? Glitchers.

MP3: Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis. Universal Love. Teardrop. My Thin Sides.

Professor Ocularo's X-Ray Monocle will make a dandy stocking stuffer for any Steampunk-loving Victorianesque gentleman. (via notcot)

Retail Therapy: Little Paper Planes Holiday Gift Guide.

Recipe: Caramel Rolls.

Games: Everybody Dies. Retro Masters Freeware.

Other Points of Interest: Gad. Roodie Doodie Papertoys. Tidy Favorites.

Revisits: Book By Its Cover. UbuWeb.

December Days: It's Beginning To Look Like Fish-Men (mp3 download)

Found Sentence: When he got home he phoned old friends and spoke in cliches.

Thank you DWT for Narwhal Magazine.

Listening To: Devotchka, "How It Ends"

She thought this was as good a place as any to stop, so she did.

Musical Geese

"Life is short. Unless, of course, you're hanging by your eyelids from two metal chains attached to a crane, waiting for help to arrive, in which case time tends to drag a bit." Tom Sims

Spacehack is a a directory of ways to participate in space exploration. Interact and connect with the space community.

Deploy is a free, open source, web application which allows user to quickly deploy a web project framework with valid XHTML and CSS in only a matter of seconds. (via dwt)

Poladroid is a free Mac application (Windows version is in the works) that will turn any photo into a Polaroid-like image that develops on your desktop. Currently in beta. (via ehub)

The art of Elbow Toe simply bowls me over.

Eva Funderburgh is a Seatlle-based ceramic artist whose work is sure to bring a smile.

Make's Open source hardware 2008 list. (somewhat ad-intensive)

TinyApps Blog. Yay.

MP3: Brand New Start. Plenty of mp3s to download at Wild Geese Music. (via swedesplease)

Retail Therapy: Rivet Vertical Leather Bag. (via the awesomer)

Games: Enigma: Hidden traps, vast mazes, laser beams and countless hairy puzzles usually block your direct way to the Oxyd stones. Akrasia is a single-player game that challenges game conventions and is intended to make the player think and reflect. It is based on the abstract concept of addiction, which is expressed metaphorically throughout the game.

Other Points of Interest: Bigshot Toyworks. Crisiswire. Moonlight Chronicles. Rubin Recommends.

Revisit: Robot Papertoys. Dr. Macro's Movie Scans.

Found Sentence: Insane people are always sure that they are fine.

Later, hot stuff!

It's all fun and games until someone removes a stint.

Having an outpatient procedure done tomorrow, then hobbling home to bake pies and get stuffing and such prepared. Enjoy your Thanksgiving -- see you friday. And please... it's not necessary to offer a "Awww, poor baby."

Notte

It's not what you look at or listen to, it's what you see or feel.

Questionable Characters is a lovely little collection of design ideas by Ben Barry and Frank Chimero. Should become even more useful over time. (via it's nice that)

Listening to two tracks, witness to the love between human and vampire. Also listening to bluesy St. Nick On the Fourth In A Fervor, Blue Foundation, & Biffy Clyro

Sorry. Losing my focus, so i believe i'll call it quits for the day. Seems i've developed a real talent for nitpicking lately. And they say you can't teach an.... uhhh, nevermind. We probably shouldn't go there.

I'm sorry, but you smell.

A couple years ago, give or take, a blogger (whose name I cannot recall at the moment) asked of other bloggers, "Why do you blog?" Folks answered in often lengthy and largely thoughtful, impressive ways. I said simply, "For affirmation." While that statement might seem egocentric, it was meant as anything but. It was also a mistake.

I had a quick email conversation earlier that brought home the idea of giving thanks. It also made me realize the mistake made all that time ago was in saying "affirmation" when i meant "encouragement". There are times when discouragement by the greediness and mayhem of the web gives rise to serious consideration of some other pursuit. But then.... Someone leaves a comment. A stranger sends an email. An artist or developer or writer shares his or her work. Encouragement, ideas, or creativity freely offered for a smile. Suddenly, discouragement is forgotten, at least for a time, replaced by the faith that there is a fundamental goodness to be found if one knows where to look. And if you're very lucky, every once in a while faith and goodness come looking for you.

Some of you disappear because i can be a huge pain in the ass. Some of you disappear because that's the fickle way of online life. People come and go; only rarely do we know why. But to all of you -- those who stick around, those who come back from time to time, those who stop but once -- know this: encouragement is an awesome thing to give away. Considering the season, considering this time of giving thanks, i think if encouragement has a smell, it is likely one of roast turkey and sweet potatoes, apples and cinnamon. It is the smell of hearth and heart and hope. So i just want to say......

Thank you for the cinnamon.

Perspective

"No amount of skillful invention can replace the essential element of imagination." Edward Hopper

Dedicated to defining words through the literal, figurative, and personal meanings found in each photograph: The Photographic Dictionary (via coolstop)

SurveillanceSaver is a screensaver for OS X and Windows that shows live images of over 400 network surveillance cameras worldwide. A haunting live soap opera.

Love at first sight: The art of Mister Rob Ryan.

Mix and match images from anywhere on the web to create outfits, interior designs, or any kind of collage. Polyvore.

Mufin is a music discovery search engine. Tried it briefly, looks promising.

In personal reflection, Kris Kuksi feels that in the world today much of mankind is oftentimes a frivolous and fragile being driven primarily by greed and materialism. He hopes that his art exposes the fallacies of Man, unveiling a new level of awareness to the viewer. (via notcot)

"The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be." Douglas Adams.

Visible Threads: Augustine in Carthage, The New Unofficial Pasha Malla Resource Center.

A Happy Thermometer didn't make ME very happy, but it did have a point. (via no fat clips)

ooOOOooo... Piranha Bar has a Rice Krispies Squares by Leo Burnett, all done up in Steampunk Style. See?

Fun and free: In theRelativity, the user can interactively design a 3D world that consists of a set of cubes and virtual characters inside of it. The scene can be browsed from arbitrary viewing angle. The characters are marked as moving black circles in the global view.

Retail Therapy: Clown Car Crash Tee. (via the awesomer)

Games: Night of the Cephalopods. Kokoromi Collective Games. Gridquest V2.00.

Recipes: Maple-Black Pepper Pork Chops.

Other Points of Interest: Xtranormal. Cookstr. Blart. Happy Trails.

Revisit: Future Pinball: The next generation in pinball simulation. (You'll need a bit torrent client to download.)

Found Sentence: He was trying hard to foster harmony between himself and technology but the more diligently he worked at the relationship the more the gadgets and computers seemed to conspire against him.

There's a doorway to your mind. Above the door, a sign. What does it say?

Twisted

Finished my xmas shopping list this morning.

Finding an inexpensive gift for a male friend who has everything he wants can be difficult. But when that friend is also a bit twisted, not so much. This (nsfw) t-shirt had me rolling.

Added a few items to the list for myself as well (like D.J. Spooky's "Rebirth of A Nation") because, let's face it, no matter how many hints I give that jolly old fart, Santa drives a red midlife crisis, not a cluetrain.

Notations

All U.S. states currently have a "safe haven" law wherein troubled parents may surrender their newborn babies, no questions asked, typically at a hospital. Unfortunately, in crafting their own safe haven law, Nebraska neglected to set an age limit for "child". Economically good news for some, as sales of roadmaps to Nebraska have increased 1000-fold in the 'mothers with grown shiftless children living at home' demographic.

Fun Read: "The rules are simple. Fill eight pages with whatever comes into my head. Try to get an issue done as quickly as possible." Jutchy YaYa: "2 steamed dim".

You might need to take a little extra time, because Alana Posts.

"I like going to the hotel bar because it feels like something Joan Didion would do. Her hand would be trembling on the highball glass and she'd have a nervous headache where I am robust and refreshed, but the referent is a useful one." In Which We Get Colonized All Over Again (via magic molly)

Games: Loftus and the Skycap. TIGdb Recently.

Retail Therapy: Octopus Cuff for cephalopod lovers. (via notcot)

Other Points of Interest: 3TD. Low cost economy fix? Blessed. Healthy: Turkey. Microsoft Plans No-Cost Security Offering.

Listening To: Noah and The Whale, thanks to 5500. (Official Band Website - Band at MySpace)

Found Sentence, paraphrased: A small supermarket at 3am is no place for a human being.

Never mention "green" and "singing" in the same post, as i did recently. I'll be channeling this damn frog for days.

On hand: A pile of bells. A pile of whistles. One small wooden pig. Now what?

Open Response to Private Email

Bipolar, adj: having two poles. And that describes it quite well. Specifically: cyclothymia. Friends and neighbors never figure it out. To them, moods appear as personality traits. Plus, we learn to adapt. To cover. Spouses or life partners know because, let's face it, the cycling interferes with normal function. Most stay, some jump ship. It's different for the family one is born with, however. They sort of have to love you. It's in the by-laws. Perhaps they tell themselves we're just "odd". Or perhaps they're such dysfunctional wingnuts themselves that they wouldn't know normal if it stood in front of them singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Are there guidelines or boundaries as to what one should disclose in a blog? If there are, then i expect i over-stepped them long ago. So what? This blog gathers little moss**. It's just not specific enough, you know? Nor do i run willy-nilly about the web leaving comments everywhere in hopes of reciprocation. All you will ever find here are fine links, a thought or two.... and me. As i am. The title says it all, because being open and honest is not only easier, it saves a lot of time and confusion later on.

Let me offer something i read once. It's a perfect guide to a satisfying life: "Don't steal a police car unless you're prepared to floor it all the way to Mexico."

And if that makes no sense, sorry, but this blog is simply not for you.

** not that i think you're green, mind. or that you grow in damp, shady places.

Tippling

Dare I say, spectacular? Thomas Hicks on the Isle of Wight.

Odd Sods: Lazy. #7. Them Apples. Lost Bicycles.

A Room With A View is a record of the rooms Andrew Hetherington has stayed in over the last four years. Each room is photographed using the same process, in as much as is allowed; keeping the lighting and framing consistent in order to let the individual personalities of the spaces present themselves equally. No special requests are made and he always take the room he is assigned. (via swissmiss)

Fraction is an excellent photography magazine. The november issue features images by Norman Mauskopf, Richard Renaldi, David Eisenlord, and others. (via coolstop)

Music Video: Just Like. Band: Beat Dis. Album: Keep Still. (via no fat clips)

There's a very good point to be made in Living with Anger.

Retail Therapy: Simple shoes for a happy planet.

MP3: Don't Watch Me Dancing. Human. Old Devils. Tonight, The Sky's About to Cry.

Games: Out Of Order. Nothing. Iffermoon.

Recipes: Sweet and Spicy Walnuts.

Other Points of Interest: Addict-o-matic. BumpTop. SonicSwap. The Curious Playboy. Impactist. Overqualified.

Revisits: I Love Typography. RideAccidents. Make a Sock Monkey.

Listening To: Jack Johnson.

Found Sentence: The reports on human progress are beginning to come in, and some are a little discouraging.

I love you but... is a joint project by Alex Holder and Ross Neil. Apply this concept to someone you know and finish the sentence: I love you, but.....