shameless self promotion, ya know

hello all!
classes are up & happenin' again. although I never really took a break as I did summer classes (ugh).
OH, but interweb viewers, i have important fun things to tell you. mainly, i would appreciate it very much if you stopped by my new etsy shop. tell your friends, siblings & enemies. it'll be a hoot.

www.rolianditly.etsy.com

peace,
kaitlyn

problems w/ individualism

Talked about time space fabric in the apartment today. It was a good discussion. Here are some of the things I'm trying to sort thru:

Even though everything is inner connected (in the sense that everything changes as an effect of some other force), I find it impossible to function without a focus on individualism. This bothers me because it makes me feel less connected to the larger scheme of things. Also, it makes the daily things I do feel sort of frivolous. The problem is, what would direct my choices & actions if I didn't act on a singular level (which Steph pointed out the necessity of doing to me :D)?
I suppose I would die & become part of the Earth or I could become a Buddhist monk or continue learning about quantum to become more in tune with things that are larger than I. Ironically, all of these options deal with my singular self.

Additionally, what I can't bridge between is the cross over from scientific concepts like time space & Gaia (though this one lends itself more) to political & social economic issues. Science makes me not want to be involved with messy things like politics & social issues. I view politics, ect. as purely human-made issues. In my mind, maybe wrongly so, science & quatum theory, ect. hold more gravity (no pun). They are based in things that we have no control over & that will continue to exist despite us (even if we change them
while we're around). Political issues, ect. will die with our species (thankfully).

(foto) Speaking of problems with individualism,
here is me with a hot pink clay model of my
face a la Stephanie.

The second photo is me being existentially consumed represented
by the figure and Steph's dinosaur face.

Michfest

Weekend of womyn
Winds through woods, wondrous wombs
Within wildflowers.


Vaginas vary
Velvet and voluptuous
Visions of Venus.


Matriarchal mass
Mother Earth is majestic
Mystic mindful moon.




PS- Alternate ending for Vaginas was "Vegetables vanish." ...wink

sortin' thru it all

hey hello!
I finished watching Human, All Too Human: Jean-Paul Sartre which is a BBC documentary on the philosopher. I have a tendency to consume a lot of material, but never try to understand it with my own words. I lean more towards being right brained and letting intuitive understanding suffice (I'm lazy). I apologize if this is incoherent, contradictory, or simply irrelevant. My thoughts are in a jumble and I have a hard time writing things that will be viewed on the internet. I'm learning.
So here are some ideas & things, quotes mostly, that I found interesting:

• "What we think of as self-consciousness is actually our consciousness of the world. The idea that we have such a thing as a self [...] is a myth."

- Jonathan Ree, a philosopher in the doc. explain Sartre's ideas

• "To be conscious of something is to relate to an item in the world rather than a inner representation of it within your head."

- Jonathan Ree

I'm not entirely sure what these quotes mean. I really don't know enough about Sartre, but I think they suggest our tendency to take our perceptions of reality as fact. That reality really is this way or that. More likely, as Niels Bohr said, "Existence of the world 'out there' is not something of its own, but is inextricably tied up with our own perceptions of it." Thus, whether you understand 'self' as an image in your head or by external objects within the world, your subjectivity is always prevailing. maybe...

• Sartre's need for failure: suckcess allowed for institutionalization, concreteness, closed minds, and unflinching-ness. To keep this from happening, one must "not take anything for granted [...] Sartre would say something wonderful, 'I think against myself.' You have to think against everything that has been given to you by education. You have to criticize every single thing that has been given to you."

-Annie Cohen-Solal, a Sartre biographer

I feel this is a good idea. Whenever you think you're right about something, listen to the voice (whether its your own or more likely someone else) that says you're wrong and try to understand why that might be. It doesn't mean you are wrong, but it keeps you open. I think that's important.

when life breaks your tent before womyn's fest...

we here at "things that come out of our mouths" have succeeded in fixing our tent. the elastic that keeps the pole pieces together snapped. of course you could buy a relatively inexpensive replacement or a new tent, but you would learn no life skill that way (sarcasm)! and then, what would become of those poor tent pools, how could you deal with that guilt? exactly. that's what we thought too.
so, after much trial and error, we found the best way to thread elastic thru involves:

• replacement elastic cord
• sewing needle
• thread
• masking tape
• scissors

Step 1: Line up all the poles. Use this to make sure your elastic cord is long enough. You will want extra to tie knots on both ends. For now, only knot one end. One knot will suffice.
Step 2: Next, find the pole with joints at both ends. There is only one like this. On our tent they are metal, though they probably vary in style. This pole will be the first and most difficult to get the elastic through.
Step 3: Use this pole to measure the thread. You'll need twice the length of the pole approximately.
Step 4: Take one end of the elastic and tie the thread to it very tightly. Wrap this joint with a wee bit of masking tape. You want the tape to be mostly on the thread but covering the tip of the elastic. This will help the elastic fit in the smaller section of the tent pole
Step 5: Thread the needle on the free end of the thread.
Step 6: Drop the needle through the pole. Secure the thread on the opposite end of the pole and carefully pull the thread until the elastic follows through. This is tricky, so don't worry if it takes a few tries. We broke the thread the first time!
Step 7: The rest of the poles are easy to put the elastic through. Just make sure you start with the joint-less end of the pole. When they are all on there, knot the other end to secure the poles together.

Tahdah! Your tent pole is better than new! Enjoy all the camping adventures in your future!

mind vomit

"I am going to walk around with a tape recorder," says Kaitlyn, "so I can remember the things that come out of my mouth." Thus, the blog begins.

We were using craigslist to fill the void where facebook once was in our lives. Unfortunately, the audience was less than responsive. Especially when it came to "w4t," which is an unavailable resource on craigslist [specifically in strictly platonic, fcbk has left us w/out interweb friendship]. So now, we must blog. And our first blog is this: Why do you ignore the needs of w4t, craigslist? Discuss.

Btw, Steph just found her keys that had been missing for about a week in a place they should be... her pants pocket.
peace.