legislate me, baby!

it had been a long day and there were errands to run, people to shuttle after work. somewhere in the miasma of january ennui it seemed good to stop at kentucky fried chicken for supper. after purchasing a large bucket of chirp (which turned out to be quite a task seeing as the voice on the other side of the speaker made chicken sound like an exotic choice... one i couldn't seem to understand)
i hauled it home and spread it across the breakfast bar. what was wrong with me? how is it possible to turn items from nature into this? apparently, by the amount of leftovers coagulating in the refrigerator, this wasn't a wise choice.
this morning, as i reached for the creamer, the kfc bucket shouted out a comforting message to me. ZERO TRANS FAT! in big, bold red print, my apparent mistake was redeemed by knowing that despite how awful and greasy it had tasted, none of that grease was a trans fat. my heart beat a little more regular at that thought. thank you government, thank you legislation, you save me from my own bad judgment.
why, isn't that what government is for? to pass laws that save humans from having to think things through or suffer the consequences of their bad choices? for god's sakes, after all, do i really have to develop some sort of system of my own? my government says that trans fats are bad for me and that my fast food must not contain it. even if that fast food contains 10 other soul-sucking attributes, trans fats won't be one of them. i feel good... i'm o.k., you're o.k.

have we so embraced the nanny state, that we let them choose our food? what if i want to eat good, old fashioned lard? is it because if i do, i'll turn around and sue the lard company for making me fat? what have we become that we have no common sense. no common sense and no sense of ourselves. we are waiting for magazines, polls and spin doctors to tell us what we think. we just aren't sure of our relationships, our children, our choices. we need therapy. we need drugs. we need labels on our coffee to tell us it's hot. we need botox to tell us we are not old.

january doldrums can only be beat by dragging our lazy selves off our proverbial mental couches and start affirming our own choices. support and choose those who reflect and reinforce an independent spirit.

paving paradise

there is a lot of rhetoric floating in the air about what is valuable and where we should focus our resources (and the resources of those who, in theory, hate an independent spirit but are willing to buy some). apparently, the conclusions being drawn are these- continue to underwrite the debts and failures of those who pave paradise.
ah, paradise... means many things to different people. but theology aside, the paradise that's got my ear is the world where things possess value because they deserve it. is it just me, or does knowing what a Ponzi scheme is, inside and out, how to execute it and how many people will invest in one, depress you? Classic paving paradise the Ponzi scheme is-- people invest large amounts of cash in products, land, etc. that don't even exist. the chief ponzi robs peter to pay paul while skimming enough ponzi-licious benefit to drive bentleys and buy islands.

the latest bail-outs cover the butts of those who may not have had invisible products to sell, but have sold us something else... their business "acumen", their financial savvy, their rip-roaring ride to portfolio glory. we believed that they were and are valuable enough to borrow our grandchildren's futures to bail them out.
i am suffocating under the cement.

but let me redeem this rant. there is a slice of paradise that brightens even this jaded january soul.
call it a renaissance of paradise. a place unspotted by the taint of china's gluttony of goods, a place where all the same doesn't exist, a place where there is value imputed onto a thing because it richly deserves it. a human soul creates and inspires, coaxes a piece of metal, a twist of wood, a patch of wool into something that communicates, heals and is well... lovely. or powerful. or whimsical. or useful. something that has a story, a vision, a buck stops here reason.
just saying those words makes me feel like there is hope in this big void of gloom that is reiterated daily in the news.

i'm going to give you something sweeter than a pseudo economic stimulus package. i'm going to give you a ticket to see for yourself that despite what the government tells you-that you simply can't exist if they don't make it happen for you, there is a whole world of people making it all happen on their own terms. artists, craftspeople, visionaries and sages all bringing back truth and beauty in every conceivable shape and size. you can visit it yourself- www.etsy.com - a compendium of creators that will bring back a smile to your sorry mug.

www.LisasLovlies.etsy.com hand forges some of the most etheral lines of silver into my favorite earrings, www.dolcedreams.etsy.com hand embroiders on rich dupioni silks pillows filled with healing lavendar and flaxseed. www.petsalad.etsy.com cuts coins with vintage hand tools into works of art-- a skill he learned as a kid from a hobo that passed through his town. man! that just warms the cockles (grey's anatomy... where are my cockles?) of my heart. these arts are traditions, are honourable, are cosmic in their beauty. i can't forget www.joutomaa.etsy.com who created for me christmas greetings replete with a daschund wearing a traditional elf hat. i haven't sent christmas cards out for years, but i actually did this year just because i was in love with this work and had to share it. oh, and the woman who sells the muses that inspire me www.LillianOlive.etsy.com - vintage buttons that beg for reincarnation.
shout out to www.labrocanterie.etsy.com and www.newamsterdam.etsy.com for their unique take on the world's treasures. labrocanterie recycles memories- vintage finds that are so very cool and will flavor your dull digs with classic and timeless finds. newamsterdam lets you see the world in ways you've missed. see the world through his lens and you won't want to come back.
okay, i'm done for the day. effusive, blubbering praise for those all those that make life worth living.