Aaaahhh!!!

Look at the question that was on Ask Metafilter this morning!

How to ethically dispose of clothes that are too worn out for a thrift store (and bonus broken electronics!)? In Los Angeles?

Not Done

Really just a few more words about the "vintage" 80's clothes in a thrift store near you. None of this stuff is ever coming back, ironically or otherwise. There should be a special woodchipper just for all the black acetate that turns orange upon exposure to sweat and sunlight. I really and truly believe in waste not want not, but I also believe it is a waste of time to hand wash something not worth the paper tag stapled to the arm just because it will disintegrate in the washer and then need IRONING of all things.

Sunday reflections

This morning we heard a scream from Theron's room. Pause. Then Ash called out Are you okay? Theron yelled back something about a lot of legs. So Ash got up and killed something. When it was dead Theron says, "Oh, and Dad? If that had been a monster and not a bug you need to learn to get in here faster. You're not the Flash."

I haven't had my camera with me. So I missed out on some updated pictures of sweet little kids I haven't seen in ages and a perfect angel 3 months old in Pasadena. But here are a couple artist sketches of things I would have shot.

Man crossing street on Marmion Way with cereal.

Lizard catches moth as big as self. It sounds like a propeller trying to escape.

One reflection I would like to make is how disappointing thrift shops are these days. When I was a teen in the 80's you could find very cool things like wool cardigans, June Cleaver day dresses, slim paisley skirts and slacks that zipped up the side. What one finds now are 80's left overs that I am sorry to say will never come back. Cheap synthetic fabrics. Shoulder pads. Neon. The good stuff is now at places with the word "vintage" in the name and are not for the thrifty. I think it's just sad but it brings me to a question. I tend to use things, and clothes, until they are used up. Is it better to move them on before they are useless to someone else?

Street Art

Around my work neighborhood

Party supplies and, I don't know, dish soap? Hello Kitty got a mustache, too.

What's in the bottom left corner. Pipe?

This is my FAVORITE. I love how the artist chose a palette that blends nicely with the building. Clearly he was going for the impression of speed but looks like this mural is heading for a paint-over.

A river runs through her.

Back Up

OOOOkay. Computer is out of the hospital with a new hard drive - DOUBLE the storage since I found out it only costs 5 cents to add more. I admit I was looking at new laptops, sobbing over the cost and telling myself it was necessary. Coveting a white or green one. Picking out extras... But no, no, no, we're taking a turn for the frugal.
I'm sure there are pictures to post and things to report but right now we're just preparing for the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL and planning for our trip to Lake Tenkiller in Oklahoma next month. We're just about sold on the idea of driving. When I was a kid we would drive from San Diego to El Paso and the Southwest is just about one of the most beautiful landscapes ever. It's funny that I have such happy memories of those trips since they included such things as random flash floods and "holding it" until the car ran out of gas. Good times! Oh, mom, remember breaking down in Gila Bend? There was a goat tied to a gas pump and I considered trying to milk it. Thankfully not. There was also a picture in the station of a mummified "monster", a cross between a little razor toothed creature and a fish they called a mermaid. That's when I realized the Southwest is magical and mysterious.

June Gloom

The computer doctors don't know if my laptop will make it. They say the hard drive is going and it has nothing to do with the virus. Maybe that's true. Anyway, it's making me cranky so I'm not in the mood for chit chat.
There's a picture of our IVS booth on our blog http://inherentvicesquad.blogspot.com/