an honest panhandler.

um. i went a hunting of the jobs, and roamed far and wide.
i saw a bird diving for fish in the Mississippi.
i saw people walking on Main taking pictures.
i saw the real possibility of living in the cities this summer.
And a couple days ago i saw a panhandler whose sign read;
"NEED BEER. i luv you"

at least he's honest.

Observation #1: it is gorgeous outside. I am looking out the window of the McNeal computer lab, and the air is gently bluish and the brick-and mortar world underneath it looks like a prime spot for an adventure, as long as it lacks four walls. When weather like this happens after months of dark and knife-like cold, it does not matter whether I am blogging or schooling or knitting or hanging out, I would rather be outside. Doing those things. But since that is impractical and irresponsible at the moment, I'll tell you what I learned today.

Biomimicry. And proxemics. That is what I learned

Proxemics is the culturally varying phenomenon of personal space, bubble, distance, whatever. It is what makes it ok for an old friend to sit on your lap, and not a stranger. It is what makes loud phone conversations on the bus annoying, such that they end up in all their embarrassing detail on Overheard at the U of M. There's more to it, but that's the gist.

Biomimicry. ok. That kingfisher up there? he can dive into water WITHOUT A SPLASH. so as not to scare the fishies upon which he snacks. The folk who designed the Japanese bullet trains used the same strategy to keep the trains quiet coming out of tunnels, and to use less energy.

and sharks. I loved sharks as a small child, because they are cool. A particular kind of shark keeps its skin clean of bacteria because it has a certain sort of pattern on its body that bacteria cannot attach to. People are putting the same sort of patterns on hospital surfaces to reduce infections.

Namibian beetles have no access to fresh water, so they have grooves on their backs to collect dew, which they drink. Some skyscrapers use the same idea to collect water.

And there are a million more. It's quite cool.
I must run. I have no color class today, and it's free cone day at Ben and Jerry's.
And the thought of waltzing down the busy washboard of Washington Ave in the springish light with some buds and getting ice cream is rather intoxicating.
keep thy nose clean.
-Signed, Gyp.

What's Irish and stays out all night? Patty O'Furniture. ha.

WElll now.

break is tasty.

I paid a very pleasant visit to Hipsterville (the varsity theater with Copeland on the stage) the other day. I played spot-the-jeans-that-aren't-skinny, (only got to two), and thought about why I am ok with fitting in here.

we're born conforming, and hipsters are no exception, but I like how there seems to be more room for individuality here. and there are posers in every crowd. Get over it.

Indie music = Grood. nuff said. disagree if you wish, more for me.

I like art. So do they. Thereforth, we often get along.

They also tend to appreciate clothes more for their aesthetic appearance than where you bought them. Or, put differently, accept "thrift store" as a legit answer for where you got something.

some days hipsters drive me nuts, yes. some days i drive myself nuts. We're even.


ST PATTYS DAY.......

My family went to Cossetta's on Wednesday. This delightful, vintage, tasty Italian place is right in the middle of the St. Paul St. Patty's Day festivities. I thought we should be mobbed for not wearing green shirts. It all smelled and looked thoroughly like summer in the city; loud, happy, lazy, eating, drinking, yapping, busy, crowded, conducive to wandering slowly in no particular direction with some buddies, sprawling in a park and people-watching......twas positively intoxicating. (pun not intended.)

One does, however, encounter things that make the inner fashion sense feel nauseated.

Horizontally-striped green-and-white tights. As pants. On someone who had eaten their fair share of donuts.

that is all i have to say on the subject.

Tipsy people are funny. As in:
"I....I just talked to BOB. He,....StIll has to WORK. but...HES COMING AFTER...?"
and:
intoxicated dude dancing about on the stairwell, saying hi to folk as they pass by.

Signed, Gyp.

P.S. drunk people are also disgusting, and i do not like drunkenness, but if i didn't laugh at it sometimes, i'd have to cry.

mreeb.(s) also squee.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

mreeb.(s) also squee.

I was tired and annoyed in the brain the other day, and realized how long it had been since i had blogged. possibly a factor, since writing lets out all the crabby juices.

GUESS WHAT. ITS SPRING. heather says it isn't till the twentieth, but heather is shorter than me, so she can't be right.

There has been a lot of Hard Times lately. meaning the place. we saw a fellow walking in with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, no apparent reason.

you know how i know its spring? Number one, it is rainy. Rain after months of snow tells my brain to run the slide show of squishy grass and camp shetek and lazy excursions with the windows down and a distinct lack of school. Also, when I walked out of Middlebrook today, by the door was a patch of all the cigarette butts people had smoked, buried in the snow, and forgotten. Since that substance melted,they are all living in a big commune on the sidewalk now. I laughed.
hey, did you know there's this girl who recycled cigarette butts into clothing? www.coolhunting.com/style/mantis-recycled. too lazy to fix that link.

song of day. an old old old oldie. the shadow proves the sunshine, switchfoot. or as my pater calls them, twitchfoot.

so long. there might be more coherent writing later. when there are cats in my lap.
-Gyp

P.S. my personal ipod is temporarily out of joint, so on getting home for spring break, I am listening to the one i used to share with my family. It is strange. There is no "heather music" (that kid is responsible for a lot of my current favorites), and there is no hardcore. It dates my life. Other observation: My sister Hannah kicks butt at knitting. someday I will photograph the things she makes and post them.
one last thing: i have discovered that whenever I get discontent, thanking the good Lord for what i've got kills it mighty quick. captain obvious with your cliche truths for the day.
Song of the day: Dream within a dream, Oren Lavie.

Vous êtes étrange. Et vous. Et vous.

Do you ever have those days where you happen to glance to the side and realize that the strangest form of humanity is sitting very close you? That happened to me the other day. A very amusing looking person was eating dinner about 7 feet away from me, and I had to stifle my laughter from my surprise.

I realize that isn't a very nice thing to say, but if you can say it has never happened to you, you are are a complete liar.

Humanity is funny. That's about it.

And I am going to tell you about my current observations.

I saw a guy with hair yesterday that I swear you could hide 60 bulldozers in. It was huge.

And a person lacking hand-to-mouth coordination trying to eat something. This was amusing.

And people who should not wear leggings as pants wearing leggings as pants. That can only be funny to a certain point. Then it gets downright gross.

Oh, look. Another college tour. I don't like those. They clog up hallways like nobody's business. This group has moms eating lollipops in it. Aaaand down the escalator they go.

The escalator was temporarily stairs again today.

I think I will think about thinking about eating these Mike and Ike's now.

Have a rambly day.