meanlouise.com

But no spandex! (And that’s probably good)

It’s all gonna go to hell at over at Focus on the Family. They’ve changed their dress code and that’s gonna lead to nothing but trouble:

Focus on the Family has a new look - or at least its employees do.

Beginning today, men who work at Focus no longer have to wear mandatory business attire, including tie, and women employees don’t have to stick with just dresses or skirts and hosiery. Men can now come to work donning an open collar shirt - but no spandex - and women can arrive decked in dress pants and pantsuits.

In a related note, when I tried to tag this post “pants,” wordpress suggested I used the tag “squirrel underpants” instead. That says something about my blogging habits that I don’t wish to contemplate on a Friday evening.

I first saw the Focus on the Family story at Spare Candy. You should go read her funny post about the Hottest Girls iphone app.

rebecca | 7:29 pm

tags: hottest girls, iphone, pants

filed under: jesus files, the, linkage | 3 Comments »

Save Ohio Libraries

Across the country, public libraries are being crippled by budget cuts. People in the state of Ohio have mounted an aggressive campaign, Save Ohio Libraries and are holding rallies, utilizing social media and encouraging citizen action.

The Governor wants to cut the budget for public libraries by 50%. About 70% of public libraries in Ohio are funded solely by this fund, so cutting the already shrinking budget means library closures, layoffs and cutbacks in hours and materials.

We have until June 30th to get our voices heard. ACT NOW!

You can get more official information from the Ohio Library Council here

.

Jim Rettig, President of the American Library Association, issued a statement about the situation in Ohio explaining why this is a National issue and not just a local one:

“A projected 50 percent reduction in funding for Ohio’s libraries would result in unprecedented national disaster,” said ALA President Jim Rettig. “We understand that in a recession difficult choices must be made, but libraries are part of the solution when a community is struggling economically, and are a necessity in efforts to get Americans back on their feet.

“From coast to coast, libraries have been first responders to the national economic crisis. They have been inundated by job seekers and users looking to better their lives through education. This also is the case in Ohio, as Ohioans are depending on their local libraries for free Internet access, employment services, personal finance resources, small business development and education and cultural programs.

“What will happen to the people of Ohio if their right to free access to information is taken away? The Governor’s drastic proposed library budget cuts are the largest in history and will impact more than 8 million registered library card holders. Every one of Ohio’s 251 public library systems could experience limited hours, program and staffing reductions or, worse yet, closures.

“Libraries are so much more than bricks and mortar. They are places where everyone - regardless of age, race or income - can come together, whether it’s for information, self-help or to find their place in the community.

“I encourage all Ohioans to contact the Governor’s office to express their opposition to his proposal to cut library funding and urge Ohio legislators to reject the Governor’s plan.”

You can follow additional developments by searching #saveohiolibraries on twitter.

rebecca | 10:28 am

tags: ala, libraries, recession, save ohio libraries

filed under: libraries | No Comments »

The Benefactor

In Friday’s Washington Post the Reliable Source reported on the mysterious letters being sent by someone calling themself “The Benefactor.”

Suspiciously, a letter alleging to be from the Benefactor showed up at the office on Friday. In the opening shift confusion the envelope was dropped into the mailbox for Board members with my name on it. I’m not clear whether a volunteer read it, didn’t understand it and wrote my name on the envelope or whether it arrived pre-addressed. (It only had my first name). That’s all I know, so here’s a picture of the letter:

The Benefactor, originally uploaded by meanlouise.

Is it real? Is it a hoax? The letter (which was slipped under the office door sometime Friday) reads:

The Benefactor

rebecca | 2:40 pm

tags: artomatic, benefactor

filed under: artomatic, true life 2009 | No Comments »

A bit of sunshine

Even though I’m drowning in deadlines, artomatic wackiness, and technological meltdown, my day started out with a big dose of happiness when I saw that our installation was mentioned on Lenny’s blog.

rebecca | 1:20 pm

tags: antomatic, artomatic, dc art news, lenny campello, robin tierney

filed under: art, artomatic | No Comments »

insex

Yesterday Michele and I were at Natural History to see the new ants exhibit (more on that over at the antomatic blog) and Michele noticed how amorous the grasshoppers were. I promised to send her a link to some pictures I took last year.

Not having time or energy to post anything else, I’ll post the link here instead of emailing it to her. There’s a whole series of them, the first picture is here.

rebecca | 10:00 am

tags: ants, grasshoppers, photos

filed under: wild kingdom | 1 Comment »

“The whole show runs on guts, spit, and duct tape,” she says.

From the Huffington Post, Jill Yaworski visits Artomatic in, “Artomatic Celebrates Anniversary.”

rebecca | 10:31 pm

tags: artomatic, huffington post

filed under: artomatic | No Comments »

My Microwaved Little Pony Is So Cute

My Microwaved Little Pony Is So Cute, originally uploaded by perfectlymadebirds.

How does this happen, you ask? Well then, you obviously haven’t seen dOvetastic microwave theatre.

Today your professional microwave operator will be microwaving My little Pony for your viewing pleasure. Our thanks goes out to Toybandit of Long Lane, Missouri……..GO St. louis RAMS!!! for making this microwaving possible. This model of my little pony is the largest most realistic toy pony made in the industry which requires four “D” size Duracell batteries making this pony the SUV of toy ponies. Nothing beats the copper top inside a Kenmore microwave.

(There’s more to that explanation. You’ll have to go to the youtube page and read it all, it’s much to long to copy and paste here)

rebecca | 11:55 pm

tags: american visionary art museum, dovetastic microwave theatre, kenny irwin

filed under: art | 2 Comments »

Meet the Artists: Saturday the 13th

Mark your calendars, Saturday June 13th is Artist Night at Artomatic. The “meet the artists” portion of the evening is officially 7-9 p.m.

Husband and I are excited that we’ll get to see Dr. Birdcage and Phil. We’re having another slumber party that night and we’re hoping Phil will read us bedtime stories from my collection of extra-terrestrial ethnographies.

“Dr Birdcage and Phil” has an excellent ring to it. Like Tony Orlando and Dawn, except not at all like that. Maybe like that a little. I’ll think about it a bit more and get back to you.

Can’t think about it right now, I’m distracted. It’s possible that Sherill and I may be getting slightly too enthusiastic about Artist Night. Specifically, about our dresses.

We’ve been overheard making statements such as, “Add the other corset and you could set your drink on my breasts!” and “My dress won’t fit into the trunk of my car” and “I won’t be able to wear a tiara and a veil at the same time.” These could perhaps be indicators that we’re out of control. I don’t have the energy for all this, so I was starting to loose momentum about dressing up. I actually started having second thoughts about the whole Bee Widow outfit after I took one of the crinolines out of the underskirt and decided it was still a bit awkward to wear all evening. Then I remembered something very important. I remembered that the actual Meet the Artist time is 2 hours and I could, you know, change clothes at some point into a less formal gown or maybe even…jeans.

Yes, there are far, far more important things to think about than ballgowns and boobs and bees, but they aren’t nearly as fun.

rebecca | 8:49 pm

tags: artist night, artomatic, dr birdcage, meet the artist, phil nesmith, sherill anne gross

filed under: artomatic, true life 2009 | 1 Comment »

Rebecca Gordon: Art Princess for a Day: Live Art Creation at Artomatic 2009

Rebecca Gordan: Art Princess for a Day: Live Art Creation at Artomatic 2009, originally uploaded by sintixerr.

Jack stopped by the comments in last night’s post and left me a link to this image from his installation.

rebecca | 12:02 am

tags: artomatic.art, artomatic09, jack whitsitt

filed under: art, artomatic, true life 2009 | No Comments »

Video of Jack updating his installation

Jack updated all three portraits in his installation piece. This is a short video pulled off his webcam that shows him creating the 3rd portrait. (I was the 2nd one and am visible in finished form occasionally on the right).

Jack Whitsitt making Live Art for an Audience at Artomatic 2009 from Jack Whitsitt on Vimeo.

rebecca | 4:03 pm

tags: art, artomatic, jack whitsitt

filed under: artomatic | No Comments »