Fame of a different color

LOU O' BEDLAM - Bill Murray & Wes Anderson (at Cannes) by Andrew...:

"Bill Murray & Wes Anderson (at Cannes) by Andrew H. Walker(Getty Images)

What we have here are two different, excellent uses of fame. 

Wes: I have achieved success and acclaim! I can wear expensive suits! 

Bill: I have achieved success and acclaim.  I CAN WEAR WHATEVER I WANT. I CAN HOLD HANDS WITH MY DIRECTOR. I CAN SHOW AFFECTION AND/OR SCORN AS I SEE FIT. I AM BEYOND THAT WHICH CONCERNS THE REST OF YOU, THAT WHICH PLAGUES YOUR DREAMS AND CONSUMES YOUR EVERY WAKING HOUR.  TIME IS BUT A WINDOW. DEATH IS BUT A DOOR. 

BILL MURRAY IS."

I'm with Bill on this one.

Work work work

Have you ever hit the wall, that point where work has become tedious and frustrating and you begin to feel trapped.

I'm there.

Life at the office has been crushing lately. Budgets keep getting cut and everyone is asked to act out the cliché, "Do more with less." My solo office began with less, so doing more with even less is difficult at best. Soul-crushing is a more apt description.

My starting salary nearly five years ago was pretty sweet. Since then, it's been cut each year while the benefits slipped away. The largest pay cut comes in the number of hours I must work now to chip away at an overbearing workload. Every day I work 12 hours instead of eight means another 30% cut in daily pay, and some days 12 hours is optimistic. If my work day rises to 14 hours, it's a 43% cut.

Yesterday, the office kicked off Memorial Day weekend by closing at 2:30. I left just after 6 loaded down with time-sensitive work to finish at home during the "holiday." I'm about to begin that on this beautiful Saturday morning, but wanted to unload here for a second for all of you to enjoy.

The frustration has to go somewhere, right?

Make Something!

You should make something tomorrow because I made something today. My wife is working toward launching her new sewing business, Crafty Beaverbrats. You can take a peek at her Etsy Store.

Look for Julie's art to take over the South very soon. It won't be long before everything south of the Mason-Dixon is quilted or cozied and resting on some frilly thing, probably delivered in a snazzy handmade tote. She may even dress you up.

My wife is clever and talented, which makes her invincible in most situations. I'm just happy (and lucky) that I get to build things for her upon request (except the deck, I know dear) and stand at her stand. She is a great woman who makes me a better person (except for this old man back pain I'm suffering at the moment.

something something pinched nerve I probably won't sleep ow

Her custom sewing table isn't finished, set at an ergnomically correct 26 inches to match her seated height, but the healthy skeleton has come to life. Some sanding, some stain, a few finishing touches et voila. My back tells me I lost a few hit points today, but the day is mine! My manhood leveled up with the purchase of a circular saw to go with all of that lumber we loaded up on the borrowed Honda Pilot and applied my newfound power to produce this!

Good Luck Julie! I love you!

Neil Gaiman Addresses the University of the Arts Class of 2012 on Vimeo

Neil Gaiman Addresses the University of the Arts Class of 2012 on Vimeo:

"Neil Gaiman Addresses the University of the Arts Class of 2012"

Great advice for artists (and isn't everyone an artist at the work they love to do?). Watching Gaiman's address is a worthy investment of 20 minutes.

Thrown to the Wind Beijing-based artist Wang...

Thrown to the Wind Beijing-based artist Wang...:

"Thrown to the Wind

Beijing-based artist Wang Zhiyuan piece entitled Thrown to the Wind ascends 36 feet into the air. Zhiyuan’s tornado of plastic waste is a reminder of the trash that overwhelms his hometown and it’s surrounding environment. It pretty much speaks to anyone - the reality is that we are all living with it the effects of non-dispoable waste.

The very second I saw this I thought of Shel Silverstein and Sarah Sylvia Cynthia Stout, the girl who wouldn't take the garbage out. Don't remember it? Here you go.

Discovered via the always captivating Things Organized Neatly.