What I did over Summer Break. WAIT A MINUTE!!?? WHAT BREAK???

I think one of the sure signs of summer ending is the jump-starting of this blog. It's been a fun, relaxing summer with just many things more appealing than catching up on the key board. With some of the changes that start at work tomorrow, I might end up using my lunch time for more things like the blog. Maybe. Getting out of the office is oft needed too.

One of the pure social events was taking some visitors up to The Wild Center, the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks. I was really hoping to see and learn more about the critters around here, aside from the turkey, foxes, skunk, raccoons, turkey vultures, hawks and the pileated woodpecker that have been visiting my back yard.

But, aside from getting attitude worthy of a cat from a duck, I was able to enjoy the antics of their resident otters. Eons past, my favorite part of visiting the Utica Zoo was to watch the otters.


There were opportunities to join a birder and a naturalist on walks, but as I was the only one in my group that wanted to go, those will have to wait for another trip.

Another events that's been pleasantly taking up some time is helping with a friend's wedding. There will be another post about one aspect of the wedding shower, but below are some of the pictures used in one of the games. Pink fru-fru really isn't the bride's style, so we went a bit off the usual path. How many of these brides or grooms do you recognize as the political figures they are?

(No, you don't get a prize.)

And, of course, politics is picking up speed.

I've been on the road for Congressman Michael Arcuri again, still visiting great places in the district and meeting more great folks as well as reconnecting with longer-known ones. The volunteers who went with me decided that there's a house in Edmeston that would just be perfect for me. I wouldn't disagree though the commute would give me pause. Every year, I go to a craft show in Springfield, MA, but I am putting Smithfield, NY, on the "visit again" list. Serious fun shopping and what looks like a very relaxing B&B! Plus Herkimer, Norwich, Fairfield, Dolgeville, Smithville Flats, as well as Utica and New Hartford, all welcomed the Congressman very warmly. Even when he couldn't join us, the volunteers were wonderfully welcomed. Which says a lot about how much the voters like our Congressman. Click here to help out.

For those of you who read this blog 2 years ago, you know how excited I felt about seeing the district and all the treasures in it. This year, it rather feels like homecoming weekend. A childhood friend is running for Judge. A high school classmate is running for Congress. Jill Ghaleb is seeking to keep her seat as Otsego County Judge and Darius Shahinfar is running the NY's 21 Congressional District. And the high number of Arcuri volunteers who have continued through this campaign all together make each event filled with familiar faces mingled with all the new ones.

This is the first time I've wished I was a delegate to the DNC Convention. But seeing it at the Uptown Theater with about 170 other Obama supporters was good too. What a roller coaster Democrats have been on this year. Democrats aren't good at goose-stepping to the dictates of party officials. And in spite of Michigan and Florida escaping the consequences of their acts, at the end, we come together to do the right thing. Although "Democratic" is our first name, we all understand that the rules that govern DNC, GOP and American election processes are republic in nature. These federal campaigns are about getting the needed delegates. The popular votes roll into that, but popular vote isn't enough.

Senator Clinton said it very well.

I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

Politics can't be personal. Sure, the parents, spouses, children, siblings all have that claim and that motivation, but politics has to be about more than the person. Now, candidates aren't interchangable. Who someone is comes from all the aspects about him or herself. And for each of us who are active, there was probabaly one person who inspired us to get active.

In short, Palin is no Hillary!
Maimun

Love in Utica

Isn't it nice that love can still be found in the greater Utica area? Best wishes to the couple and their new addition...
Maimun

If Frogs had Wings

Most everyone has some kind of fantasy life.... Fantasy Football, Invisible Friends, Star Trek, Fantasy Congress, Second Life, whatever. Some are just interests, some are odd, some are childish, some are hard to understand, some are freaky.

Some, at least these two, are far from fantastic. They're scary. That they are contemplated and justified should give us nightmares.

McCain's 100 year war. No sane humane human should ever consider a 100 year war as a viable option for anything. Even The Hundred Year War stopped in year 3, year 10, etc, etc. It was only in hindsight that it was seen as a hundred year war, though paused by several truces. Edward III never planned for a hundred year war. His battle plan did not include Henry VI, fourth King into the future and born over 100 years after him.

That McCain served in Vietnam and was held as a prisoner of war and can still say out loud that a 100 year war would be OK with him should terrify all of us. That he, who knows first hand the horrors of war, can so casually commit the next 26 elected Presidents and the next 4 to 5 generations of Americans to any war is horrifying. That he acknowledges that this is a war based on lies and still stays his course is that much more horrifying.

Add to that, an adviser who unequivocally states that a terrorist attack would "be a big advantage" to McCain, and I'm left wondering not only where is McCain's better angel, but where are those of the company he keeps? It is disheartened cynicism that makes Democrats mutter comments of October Surprises, not jealousy. That a terrorist attack can be seen as an advantage to anyone makes as much sense as planning for a 100 year war does.

Two seemingly random pieces coming together can be simple synchronicity at play. Three pieces just may be the engineering of wings on the frogs.
Maimun

Neither Gender nor Heritage are the Issue

Some days, life really lives up to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Days, weeks, months, years...

I've always said that I'm lucky enough to have the luxury to be active in politics. Though I'm far away from being free of financial concerns, I do live within my means. That I am able to work one job and meet my needs give me the hours to do things that aren't financially reimbursed whether that's volunteering or playing, or whatever else I choose to do. Food, shelter and clothing are covered.

Health becomes a challenge as time goes by. Things could be worse or better but is certainly manageable.
The rest of the pyramid is still standing,

So, why haven't I been active here or anywhere else really over the Presidential campaigns?

Dean's asked a couple of times here and certainly it's been a topic of conversation more places than not. (By the way, Dean, Pam and I missed you and Arlene in Springfield. Like always, it was an uneventful trip... meaning it was a great weekend! And I found crafting goodies I've been wanting for a long time.)

I'm still active in Congressman Arcuri's re-election campaign and the enthusiasm hasn't faded. I'm sure I'll help out with other candidates, too, including Barack Obama.

I suspect that part of the reason I didn't get all fired up about the Presidential race is because the base question that was so hyped was a non-interest for me.

It seemed like the question the Democratic Primary was fighting over was "can a woman or a black man be President?"

Yes.

There's no agony, soul-searching, wondering, exploring or anything deeper than a loud, disgusted, and condescending, "Duh! Try reading the Constitution sometime."

Am I proud that it's the Democratic Party that brought forth Hillary and Barack? Of course. But, seriously, could we really expect that either a woman or a person of color would be allowed to achieve in the Republican Party what they do in the Democratic?

(OK, it was not the Democrats that were asking that question. We were answering the question of "which one do we want?" So, who was it that was really caterwauling that other question?)

Reality check, folks... Chickens who vote for Col. Sanders would never be accepted sitting at the head of the table.

I'm not so blindly faithful that I'd say "anyone but McCain" but I do pray for someone who won't continue dragging us down this damned road we're on.

I've started a sentence a few times lately with "whoever next leads this country will have the task to start to fix" and I stop mid-sentence.

Obama will have the task to start to fix all the destruction the Shrub Badministration has inflicted on America. The damages done run so deep that that it will take years to heal, no matter who the President is...President Obama, President Clinton (Bill or Hillary), President Santa Claus or President Fairy God-Mother.

I stop mid-sentence because I don't really believe that whoever next leads this country will take on that challenge. I believe that Obama will do his best to start healing the damages the last 8 years have brought.

I believe that McCain will not start the healing but rather continue the damages of the Shrub. If you don't accept that something needs fixing, you don't bother trying.

Anyone who can consider that a 100 year war is an option is not capable of leading the healing we need.

Will I be enthusiastically for Obama? Absolutely. Will I be working on his campaign? As much as I can. Will I donate? Yes.

And I'd have done the same if the Democratic candidate were anyone else.

This is why.
Maimun

Craft Night in Utica

Even a year ago, I was managing to do a better job of keeping up with things here. I'd love to blame it on the bead-making class, but that's really just part of it.

One of the joys of getting older is in still being surprised by yourself. As a child, I rather quickly became a practical, serious one. I used to love art class, but once it became an elective, it was no longer an option. Playing the violin lasted at most a year beyond art class. Eventually, the only creative outlet I did use was writing and that has managed to last most all my life in some form, though in more recent years, mostly as professional genre.

So it was rather a stunning revelation that I still liked a broad range of creative arts. Even more stunning was that I often like what I make.

So, when recently I'd been asked by several folks unconnected to each other, if Mojoz's Craft Night was still meeting, I figured that it was time to try again. All the creative play people engage in touch upon a vast array of needs. Creative, spiritual, recreational, developmental, exploration and any other incentive with which a person creates something, it's often a solitary endeavor. But if social can be added to the mix, everything is that much more creative, spiritual, recreational, developmental or exploratory. And it's a lot more fun too!
Mojoz's is at the corner of Culver and Albany in Utica.

Space, the Final Frontier

Thanks for the comments, Dean. I love the new look, though I'm a glutton for most anything space related. A use of our tax dollars that I'm thrilled over is that much of NASA's images are not copyrighted and their use guidelines are extremely generous. I wanted to be an astronaut more than anything else when I was a child and it's never really gone away. I'd blast off tomorrow if I had the opportunity.

Here are some sites for NASA images:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/index.html
http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/
http://nix.nasa.gov/

Once upon a time, I'd have to haunt antique stores looking for paper ephemera, either for my own collections or for my crafting, but what joy to find so much available on the internet.

I did step outside to watch the eclipse but only for about 3 minutes during the peak. It was frigid and 2 coats, 2 scarves, hat ands gloves still left me frozen to the bone. I really wish that I knew how to take night pictures. There have been some views of the moon that were breath-taking.

If you're also a Space fan, I'd highly recommend the movie "In the Shadow of the Moon." I saw it at the local museum, but it's now available on DVD too. I remember as a child sitting in class as we watched rocket launches and recoveries. There was a sense of awe and wonder that feels sadly absent in later generations.

And, I can't see the stars anymore. One of my strongest memories was of my first visit to the then uber rural ancestral home back in Bangladesh. The only lights available were wood fires and oil lamps. It truly seemed that that hemisphere of Earth had more stars in the sky than did ours. The Vancouver Sun had an article on the damage caused by light pollution that would be worth your time to read.

When I get home late at night, I do appreciate enough light to see that I can safely walk to the front door. But that's never caused me to gasp in awe or fill my soul as the drive through rural, no-lights roads on the way home always does. Motion-activated lights are the way to go.

Well, no politics tonight. I'll save that for another night.
Maimun

New and Improved. Well, at least New.

As you can see, I've played around with my template and got a whole new look here. I think it much better represents me than what was previously being used.

Sadly, the change also means that many of the links/images/etc that were previously posted have been lost. If you really need me to track any of them down, please leave me a comment and I will do my best, but no guarantees, OK? Otherwise, for now, I'm going to leave them lost in the grand universe.

To those of you who pop in here ever so often, sorry for the lack of updates for the last forever. I've been crafting and playing with my cat more than anything else these days. I plan to continue with Mike Arcuri's re-election campaign, though the Clinton and Obama elections are also intriguing me.

I've been keeping an eye on the Presidential race. For a long time, I've debated seeking a spot as a Delegate, but just never felt it strongly enough. I think this year would be a fascinating time to be a Delegate. But I've also been enjoying a number of conversations with college students about the Elections and voting. Younger voters always have a lot more at stake than anyone else with elections and I hope they get involved this year.

Maimun

A Propane Tank, a Blow Torch and Me

One of the joys of getting older is that I find myself more willing to try new things and stretch my comfort zone. A propane tank, a blow torch and me? Sure, I can try.

I don't think I've tapped into an inner pyro, but I can't wait to do this again. Christopher and Jacquelyne Rice of CNY Glass Studio and Gallery made combining fire, propane and molten glass a safe, fun, and creative experience. Their class structure of 2 teachers to 4 students and their generous teaching style made for one of the best weekends I've had in a very, very long time. Not only do I plan on taking more classes from them, but since they rent studio space, I hope to be up there playing just for the fun of it.

We first started with simple clear glass. Before we started melting glass, I asked what temperature we'd be heating to. About 2000 degrees. So, I figure that's why I was being rather hesitant to use the flame to it's optimal application. Hence, the beads that retained the swirls of molten glass:
Once I settled into heating the molten glass as high as I could, I finally got the more traditional bead shape:
Then we played with using the flame as a fine works tool more than just an intense heat source:

Then we shifted to colored glass. I still want to know why clear glass will not encase green glass, but will meld to it in partial coverings. This set is just colored glass without the clear glass coat. Similar enough for earrings, I hope.
Then I made a tube bead... an inner core of colored glass with a clear coat over it. The colored glass in this one changes as the heat works on it, so you're never really sure of what you'll get until the bead is finished. Serendipity in creating is a great thing.
And these are the rest:

tessellation 1

I've been carving my own rubber stamps for ages now and a recent discussion on Erasercut Exchange got me looking at how to make Tessellations. There's something about tessellations that has me almost mesmerized. I used the process outlined here to make the stamp that eventually printed as this:

A great site about tessellations

EraserCuts is an amazing group of printmakers. So is the Carving Consortium.

We're still trying to figure out what the best way to print these are.
Maimun

This Restarts as Summer Stops

It must be something about the ending of summer that brings me back to the computer and this blog. I've been enjoying the tomatoes as well as other goodies from the garden and farmers' markets, I've been soaking up sunshine and warm breezes while my cat enjoys his naps in the bed of catnip. I've been expanding my jewelry collection at Mojoz's Coffee-n-Crafts 2/4. But while I know many of those activities will continue, the last few days seem to bring signals of summer's end.

I managed to get to the Sterling Renaissance Festival. I wasn't expecting to get there this year, but it worked out, particularly with the incentive of seeing a glass bead maker at work. Now, I'm even more intrigued by the art. But not only is it an addictive hobby, but too it's expensive, never mind the whole deal about the propane tank and "flame thrower!" Oh, but it's still so tempting!

And, Monday brought Convocation to the college and today our last sessions of Orientation for incoming freshman.

The other sign was that I got to the first of this season's campaign meeting. After all the long drives and trips during last year, working on a County campaign almost ALMOST! sounds like a break. But if you'd like to volunteer to help keep Scott McNamara as Oneida County's District Attorney, head over here and join the team.

It's gotten very cool up here, days and nights. I'm really hoping that the warmth will return. It is August, not November after all. But around here, who knows?

Maimun