http://www.flummel.com/ee Flummel, Flummer, Flummo, Daily, Journal, Parenting, Whining, Fun, Feel free to follow frequent fine flummery from afar, Find fiendish fun, fiery fulminations, and fascinating fickle fumings from a fixated farceur, Festiviti en {karan@flummel.com} Copyright {gmt_date format="2008"} 2010-09-07T19:35:00-08:00 http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/glenn_browns_history_of_the_united_states_capitol/ http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/glenn_browns_history_of_the_united_states_capitol/#When:19:35:00Z According to Government Book Talk (yeah...I read it): “From 1900 to 1902, the Government Printing Office produced a two-volume architectural history of the U.S. Capitol by the architect and author Glenn Brown. As a condition of its authorization by the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia, Brown personally selected the type and paper and designed the cover, which was based on a Capitol fireplace frieze destroyed in a basement gas explosion in 1898.  Only 200 hardbound copies were produced, making it a much-sought publication for architectural historians, collectors of Washingtoniana, and anyone interested in the art and architecture of the Capitol.” This year a second one-volume expanded edition has been released.  The new volume “brings back into circulation a classic historical work. Second, under the meticulous editorship of William B. Bushong, it’s more than just a reprint. In addition to annotating Brown’s text “to correct errors, identify sources, describe controversial issues, or point readers to further modern published versions of cited documents on selected topics,” this new edition adds many black and white and color photographs of drawings, prints, and paintings while retaining the historically important original photos (reproduced in full when cropped for the original). He also provides an excellent profile of Glenn Brown, highlighting both his career achievements and disappointments.” Go to the US Government Bookstore to order the 7 pound volume for $94.50, or download it in several pdf pieces here for free or visit it at your local library for just the cost of a bit of gasoline! Blogging 2010-09-07T19:35:00-08:00 http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/little_green_frog/ http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/little_green_frog/#When:04:37:00Z abowman.com Blogging 2010-09-07T04:37:00-08:00 http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/little_turtles/ http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/little_turtles/#When:04:33:00Z abowman.com Blogging 2010-09-07T04:33:00-08:00 http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/little_fishes/ http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/little_fishes/#When:04:20:01Z from abowman.com - click to feed Blogging 2010-09-07T04:20:01-08:00 http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/vistaless/ http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/vistaless/#When:18:23:00Z It’s been a week now and I can really truly report that I don’t miss working full time at all.  My VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America) service ended on Aug. 27th and because AmeriCorps stopped funding the position I had with HSR3 (Homeland Security Region 3), I was the last VISTA.  That’s how I refer to myself now, The Last VISTA, dramatic ain’t it? The ending was anti-climatic...as it should have been.  Because the funding for the work remains and only the position to coordinate it is gone, I worked hard to lay tracks for those who are permanent employees and yet...it was hard to leave it all in their hands.  My plan is to continue in a much smaller volunteer role but already I find myself less driven to make sure all the T’s are dotted and the I’s crossed.  : ) Now, yet again, the question is begged...what do I do with the rest of my life? Past and Present Karanitis 2010-09-04T18:23:00-08:00 http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/regarding_that_planned_muslim_community_center_in_nyc/ http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/regarding_that_planned_muslim_community_center_in_nyc/#When:19:03:00Z I’m sick of the discussion and the self-righteous outrage that this “debate” has sparked and I think that we need to call it what it really is....bigotry....and then move on.  I’m willing to bet a large sum that not one person has objected to the construction of a church anywhere near the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building...you know the one that that “Christian” Timothy McVeigh blew up. The one thing that we have to guide us is a constitution that grants freedom of religion and if we can’t continue to promise that to all who live here, then those crazy thinking men who toppled the Twin Towers have won. In The News 2010-08-17T19:03:00-08:00 http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/facebookoy/ http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/facebookoy/#When:13:54:00Z I think I’ve ranted about Facebook before, if not here at least to every single person who happens to cross my path.  Facebook brought all those bloggers who used to only blog about what they ate for lunch, how wonderful their children are and how fruitless their latest job search is into one single corner of the world wide web.  For that I am grateful. What I find most horrific about the place though is that benefit of viewing every single friend entry in a mishmash of order that totally crosses my eyes.  And by benefit, I mean not so much benefit.  I’ve endured Facebook for about a year, yielding first to the pressure to sign on because in my tiny little heart of hearts I am a true follower...I like to see what all the fuss is about and I want to belong.  After finding 2 people I have thought about for a million years, I at first thought, yay....this place is all that I’d heard about.  After getting hammered with requests for friend status with I’m sure were at least 4,889 stranger and getting jillions of forwarded messages in my email inbox, I attempted to pull in and withdraw a little bit from that world.  Even though I made public only a few personal details, it seems that Facebook attempts to link me to the masses who they feel might find a bond with me and they beat feet to my FB door begging friendship with me.  I wonder if that’s what the appeal is...the pseudo sense of popularity.  I didn’t like it.  I don’t wanna be a popular girl. Anyway, I wiped all personal details allowed and almost immediately, people assumed that terrible things had befallen me.  Some people saw that my relationship status was changed from married to I guess nothing at all and were deeply worried that Leonard and I were kaputt.  I received email messages from real friends who wrote in a panic about us and other messages worried that I was no longer employed.  I received not one email of concern worried that I’d lost my education or that I no longer had a birthday and I’m sure I removed those bits of personal information as well.  Because I don’t live on Facebook like most of the people I know there, I had no idea that I was causing such a ripple in the universe and missed all the concern that flooded my wall.  A friend finally called me and shared her concerns. For the record, Leonard and I are doing great.  Just fine.  We’re totally hot.  Even though my service ends in two weeks, I still have my VISTA position.  Although I’m not sure I remember everything I learned in high school and college, I still have my diplomas and my birth date remains June 22nd.  This total mass freakout by my various status changes finally brought me to where I am now.  I am overwhelmed and under impressed with my membership so if I can figure out how to do it, I’m deleting my account.  I just hope that it’s easier than trying to disconnect from Farmville. Now I need to get back to writing about what I had for lunch, tell you all how wonderful my children are and how hard it is to find a job. Blogging 2010-08-16T13:54:00-08:00 http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/does_everyone_in_the_car_have_to_be_alive_to_qualify_for_the_carpool_lane/ http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/does_everyone_in_the_car_have_to_be_alive_to_qualify_for_the_carpool_lane/#When:18:07:01Z We’re having our own little freak of the week story going on around here.  It seems that in Tenino, a little town very close to Olympia, some bozo was spotted driving his truck around with a dead woman passenger.  I assume she was all propped up and buckled in because someone corralled a Sheriff’s Deputy and reported her and her driver.  While having what must have seemed like a very surreal conversation with the Deputy (Are you sure you haven’t been drinking sir?  Could she have been sleeping sir?), the guy and his ticket to the Diamond Lane drove right by giving the witness a chance to point out the pickup truck and it’s odd cargo.  The Deputy pulled the guy over and after inspecting his passenger, arrested him.  I’m going to watch the late night shows tonight because my guess is that there’s a joke or two in this whole story. Blogging 2010-08-09T18:07:01-08:00 http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/the_fire_alarm_sounded/ http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/the_fire_alarm_sounded/#When:03:15:00Z Here I am in Aberdeen (the Washington flavored Aberdeen), freshly back from my CERT class, seated at the tiny desk in my room and checking email when the fire alarm sounds.  It’s no small thing, this fire alarm, it’s blaring and loud and ear drum busting shrillness.  Being the person I am now, trained to respond to emergencies, I grab up my cell phone and room key, drop them in my purse and head to my door to evacuate.  I touch the door with the back of my hand to check for heat, open the door a crack to check for smoke and seeing none, go down the stairs joining the man in the room next to me.  The man griped and bitched and moaned and groaned the whole time we descended because he just didn’t like this one bit.  Not.One.Bit.  He was upset because the fire alarm had disturbed his nap.  The only thing I could think of to say to him was that at least he knows now that he won’t burn to death in his sleep. That seemed to provide little comfort. When we reached the exit, we joined the only other person who decided to exit the place...a hotel full of guests in no fewer than at least 60 other rooms.  That’s right, 3 of us evacuated.  I had 10 fire extinguishers in my CERT truck and offered them to anyone who spotted flames but it turned out that this was an unannounced drill.  I suspected as much because I saw the fire inspection team checking smoke alarms....but did every other person in that place see them too?  I doubt it.  Karan’s PSA:  if you hear a fire alarm, don’t assume that it’s not a real fire.  There are enough fire-dead people in this world who did just that.  If it’s a drill, you get practice.  If it’s a fire, you get saved.  I wonder if I was the only guest who brought her own fire extinguishers. I bet I was! Blogging 2010-07-28T03:15:00-08:00 http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/childs_play/ http://www.flummel.com/ee/index.php?/site/childs_play/#When:03:00:01Z OK....Work of Art really needs to come up with more creative concepts for their weekly challenges.  Really. Reallly. This week, the clan was ordered to delve into their childhood beginnings and create a work that marked the moment in time their creative expression took form.  Yeah.  Really.  The manufactured hook to this challenge was that they could only use child appropriate materials, you know, like pipe cleaners and crayons and markers.  Yeah.  Really. Of course it was a painful experience for most of them.  Probably what hurt the most is that the whole idea of picking a single moment was ridiculous.  Every single artist I know came to art as a journey...it wasn’t just one of Oprah’s Ah Ha things...like someone flipped a switch and voila *I am an ARTISTE!* Most of them flailed around, playing with the little kid materials hoping for some sort of inspiration that would point them toward that golden moment.  For most, it never arrived.  Jaclyn was a particular disadvantage because I think she realized early on that showing her star-covered boobies was not going to be justifiable in this challenge.  She tried the pipe cleaners.  She tried Rorschach-style smuggies and in the end, she came up with a clothes line strung between two trees and some cockamamie story about how this symbolized that and that symbolized this.  I know it was cockamamie because she whined the entire show about how she couldn’t get it. Ryan struggled too.  He ended up with a bunch of crumpled pictures piled under a bunch of non-dominant hand pictures taped to a wall.  I think that he was partly there...if the pile of crumple were to signify the early struggles for art a kid who keeps working at it feels then the pictures on taped to the wall maybe should have been better...not so literally childish.  But he didn’t ask me so his looked stupid and I felt sorry about that.  We also learned that Ryan is a shunned Jehovah’s Witness and not even his mom is exempt for that shunning business.  I felt sorry for him about that too. Abdi drew little drawings of things other’s asked him to draw and his piece was a compilation of those drawings.  I think in some minor way he did exactly what the assignment called for.  His work symbolized his growing skill at drawing and his acceptance by his peers as an artist.  If that’s an Ah Ha moment, I don’t know what is.  The judges hated it. Mark created a book of Mark.  I liked it and I wished that I could have seen more of it.  He was smack in the middle of the top and bottom group so he faded into Episode 7 obscurity. So did Miles.  His work was a checkerboard sort of affair that I didn’t like at all until I saw it on the wall.  It was all black and white squares and three rubber band balls in the three primary colors were stacked below it.  I was impressed enough to be surprised by it at the showing. Nicole’s piece was the most complex.  It was a sculptural work symbolizing layers of her self with somewhat hidden artworks inside the sculpture on each layer.  I didn’t really like looking at it, but I liked the symbolism she was going for...but unless your in a feel it-smell it only sort of gallery, looking at it is what art is all about it. Finally Perrigrine, Falcon Girl.  She told the tale of a very unchildlike childhood.  She grew up in a community of adults who showed her many adult vices, giving her the golden opportunity to be totally screwed up in her adulthood.  So far, though, I haven’t seen that in her so it seems that she embraced the weirdness that she witnessed and made herself into her artistic self.  Her piece at first looks way messy and convoluted.  It featured candy and little unicorns and sparkles and playful things all mixed together with cigarettes and joints and other adult things and in light of her childhood, it was sort of powerful.  Of course she won this challenge and I think she deserved to.  Hopefully, if she wins that grand prize, she can spend it on therapy when the time comes. Blogging 2010-07-27T03:00:01-08:00