gunky

an obama minute

october 6, noon

thousands of people will donate, just a little money each, to the barack obama campaign.

together, as one, we will do this to send a powerful message that will be heard across the country.

in one minute, we can help to change our country for the next generation.

for our children.

please register now for the event on monday.

your ten dollars (or more) WILL make a difference!

dmi

well, he's been at it again.
spending all his free home-time in his office, obsessing over photos.
to help with the worthwhileness, i link to him HERE,
and in the sites sidebar.

and i say, thank you, honey.

shopsin's

when i was in third grade i won some sort of prize for a story i wrote about a magical chair. i was really in to writing stories.

my bachelor's degree (aztecs, rah) is in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. during my senior year i read an average of one thousand pages of fiction a week. i fell asleep a lot while i was reading. and i wrote a lot of essays.

when i met my husband (who wasn't my husband at the time) i was a graduate student, majoring in literature. i read fiction. lots and lots of fiction. then we (my peers, professors, and i) analyzed the meaning of the fiction. what it meant about life and the world as a whole, what it was really saying while saying something else, and how that reflects reality. and i wrote essays about what i read. long, long essays.

when i watched movies, i analyzed the story. the motivation of the characters. the meaning. the meaning of the motivation of the symbols of the metaphors of the shadows of the camera angles.

my life was about trying to find meaning in the story.

darin was into non-fiction. news! truth! what? how? i didn't get it.

[cut to eight years later]

hi. i'm christina moran. the last novel i read was the seventh Harry Potter. a year ago.
oh, i read every day. The New Yorker. but i rarely read the fiction in there. and the television i watch consists entirely of netflixed episodes of The Dog Whisperer, Kitchen Confidential, and Heroes. all completely non-fiction. and i don't watch movies, i watch documentaries.

on a fluke i briefly read the synopsis of I Like Killing Flies, netflixed it, watched it, and haven't been so thrilled in a long time.
but i can't tell you more than that except: go rent it. so excellent. so funny and smart and entertaining.

and i'm still analyzing the meaning of it.

diapers II

i warned you that there was more.

as i searched to find what is best for me, my baby, and the planet, i read reviews of different kinds of disposable diapers. the most surprising and alarming complaint i found was in regards to seventh generation's chlorine and chemical free diapers.

people actually reported that these diapers are ugly.

this is a perfect instance where i feel like i do not fit in in this society, because ugly? UGLY?!
ugly, to me, is the diaper on the right (below), the most common diaper known.

it is so very hard for me to understand how garish cartoons advertising a tv show on a baby's bottom is not ugly and plain is. anyway.

i found that chlorine&chemical free diapers are better for the baby and for the planet. ok, duh.
and they have way less plastic and are partially biodegrade.
i tried three different brands: whole foods', seventh generation, and nature baby (L to R, below), all equally attractive.

i also ordered the starter kit of gdiapers, which have a flushable-if-you-have-good-plumbing (i don't) insert (inside a cloth cover with a snap-in plastic liner), which also can be composted or trashed, as it decomposes in a few months. here is a gdiaper next to the seventh generation model:

get to the point, you say?

well. the gdiaper inserts cost twice as much as pampers, and the c&c free dipes are in the middle of the two extremes. the gdiaper is bulky and hard to travel with because of all the parts that have to go together. they are the next best thing, environmentally, to cloth (if you don't wash the cloths 3 times per use, as recommended), though.

as for the c&c free sposies (i do love the nicknames, and i didn't make them up), when considering bulk, cost, tabs, rise, and of course couture, seventh generation wins easily.

in conclusion, i am using the gdiapers at home some, and the sevgen the most. and that's that.

tune in next time for gunky's exciting views on babyfood . . .

the race

i have had an "Obama '08" sticker on my car since before he knew he was running. just saying . . .

a few weeks ago i purchased these little buttons on cafepress to give to some of my friends.

when one pal passed on the offer, i gasped.
"i'm not sure who i'm for," she said. "remember? i liked edwards . . . "
"well whaddaya gonna do, vote for McCAIN?!" i croaked.

it wasn't until several days later that it occurred to me hillary clinton is still running, too.
i'm SO into politics.

green flips

i have flat feet. additionally, i can't wear shoes with backs. they annoy me. last year, a nice employee at whole earth provision in austin, texas, alerted me to the chaco brand that miraculously do good podiatric things to my feet, and i bought my first pair.

since then, i have become even more granola (more on that later), and this year i sought out a non-leather pair, and i'm pleased to announce they are even more pleasant to wear. that animal hide was just too slidey and my foot slipped around a lot in the footbed. these ones are grippy.

but the best part? they didn't come in a box, just in a UPS bag and on this hanger.

now i just have to deal with my guilt for those innocent boxes.

collars

i ordered the coolest dog collars on etsy, my favorite place to shop. my dogs can keep on a tag for about a week, but now! the info is right on the collar, and not written in sharpie. i got to pick the fabric that covers each super-strong collar, and they have snap clasps as required by doggie daycare. all this for only $14 each. click here to order your own. tell her that mochi and mòle sent you.

i can't get mòle to hold still for a photo, so here it is before he wore it: