Robin Williams Hearts Brian Wood

Yeah, I know I mention him a lot around here, but that’s ’cause I heart him, too. Check out his honeymoon pictures from Iceland.

Go, Brian!

The Endicott Studio site is still down as we’re awaiting the transfer of the domain, but the Endicott blog is up and running:

Endicott Redux

And I’ve begun posting. So check it out!

Some kind soul also made an LJ feed, in case you’d rather read over there.

We recovered all of the files after the server crash (thank you for all of your prayers and libations) so as soon as the domain transfer is complete, we should be back in business.

I get a lot of friend requests on MySpace. Most of these I welcome with open arms (this means you: my page is here). But there are some that I could do without. At first, I’d smile quietly to myself in that “that’s nice, dear” way when the unsigned bands whose music has absolutely nothing to do with anything listed on my page came a-calling. Hundreds of requests later, well, not so much. And then there are the “make money now!” people — whom, I suppose, will never leave well enough alone.

My point, and I do have one, is that it’s all fine and good to promote yourself and reach out and touch someone (it’ll be my turn one of these days), but for the love of Goodness and Gracious, please try to be discriminating about it. Like, for example, the Booze and Yarn people. I like booze (you know, in moderate amounts). I like yarn (you know, in insane amounts). I live in New York City. I can appreciate a little indie/urban/retro aesthetic. It’s a match made in heaven.

If you’re a real person, none of this applies. If you’re a real person, I’ll pretty much friend you back (this means you), provided that you and/or your page isn’t totally lacking in taste. But if you’re out there “friend of friend of friend” bombing people, um, up your nose with a rubber hose. So there.

Man, I’ve wanted to say that for a long time.

How ’bout that Booze and Yarn, eh? Bet they’re wicked cool girls (and guys — I saw at least one dude in the Myspace pictures). I want to make these.

Our RED interview podcast is up. We’re in there with a buncha other cool folks, including Genco/Purvis favorite Greg Ruth!

I’m scared to listen. Someone tell me how it is.

You know this whole NYC-is-crazy-for-cupcakes thing? Totally buying it. It’s my birthday and I have decided — nay, deemed — that I shall have cupcakes. And then, just for good measure, I shall also have cupcakes on days that are not my birthday.

Every time I watch CHOCOLAT (one of my favorite movies, which, come to think of it, I should get for my dad, as I think he’d really dig it, and oh — man phat Alfred Molina love here, by the way), I want to open up a chocolate shop. You know, along with a yarn store and a used bookstore specializing in out-of-print occult and folklore. After five minutes of bakery surfing for that perfect birthday cupcake establishment, I think I can add “pastry chef and cupcake shop owner” to my list of life’s ambitions. Dad always did tell me that owning my own bidness was the best thing, so he might even approve of this train of fantastic thinking.

Ah, I’m getting ahead of myself. Better stay on-task:

All Cupcakes, All the Time: a blog that could get me in a lot of trouble
Sugar Sweet Sunshine, starring OMG!-red-velvet!! cupcakes
International Cupcake Tour: go team!!
Cupcake Cafe: has an outpost right next to Books of Wonder
Baked (I’ll forgive ‘em the ironic hipster aesthetic if the goods taste good — oh wait, it’s in Red Hook so that’s ok)
And, of course, Magnolia

Because it is my birthday, I have created a new category for future blog posts entitled “cupcakes”. Who knows where this could all lead…

For once in my life I’m not going to play that stupid “let’s pretend it’s not my birthday when it in fact IS my birthday” game. So. Today’s my birthday. I ushered it in during the wee hours by writing and opening presents from my mom, which segued nicely into surfing for vintage craft books and magazines on eBay. Holy crap — and I do mean crap. My mom, who is the coolest person in the world, inspired the journey by her choice of gift. “Hrm, PACK-O-FUN magazine,” I thought. “I wonder how long they’ve been around.”

Over fifty years. And they’re still going strong.

The thing that kills me is that the eBay listings go on and on and on again, and your eyes start to glaze over, and yet you still keep clicking. Well, ok, I kept clicking. “Just as you thought your favorite song was winding down,” Leland says, “there’s another stanza!”

Mom’s book, which is the new craft book from Leah Kramer (the woman who runs Craftster) is a scream. And I literally did scream when I saw this, discretely nestled in the back sections. Being a huge octopus fan in the 70’s, of course I remember these. I made these (I’ve been crafting for a long time, just ask Mom). I loved these. And now, as a woman in her 30’s, I am petrified of these. Leah admits that her mom made her one of these and she was petrified.

Speaking of petrification, while swimming in the land of eBay last night I stumbled upon an old Pack-O-Fun with a picture of a clown on the cover that totally puts to shame just about every clown-related item that my best friend has ever (sweetly) tormented me with. Do you dare?

I finally did get some sleep. Leland had presents waiting for me in the morning. Tonight, I’m thinking cupcakes. But I could change my mind between now and then.

I’m allowed to change my mind, for it is my birthday.

My birthday will not involve clowns.

Found via CraftyPod’s Diane Gilleland (the lass is everywhere these days), a lovely new-ish distro/zine resource:

Fall of Autumn

I particularly enjoyed the tips on how to name your zine. And don’t miss zinester hangman.

You know, I just love zines. I love making little bits of paper art that I put together myself. I’ve decided that no matter how much professional writing I do, I’m always going to make zines too.

The bulletin board became a snidge unwieldy, so Midori built a brand new blog:

Endicott Redux

Check it out! I’ve got posting access, so I’ll be yammering away over there soon.

In other Endicott news, the journal’s server fell down, went boom, so we’re all wringing our hands until the shenanigans get worked out. In the meantime, if you feel like sacrificing a chicken and libating a bottle of scotch on our behalf, hey, go for it. We can use all the good vibes we can get right now.

(Note: that’s a metaphorical chicken and metaphorical scotch, you understand.)

Swear to goodness, I just don’t know how these people do it:

The Fantastic Menagerie Tarot

Karen Mahoney and Alex Ukolov of Magic Realist Press have done it again. Oh look — and again:

The Victorian Flower Oracle

And oop, don’t look now, but this is on the way as well.

I think my head might explode.

(15:16:45) SpookyLikeDat: okay, this is just too much:
(15:16:45) SpookyLikeDat: http://nwfolk.com/songlists/bagels.html
(15:17:45) WorkPalNick: Didn’t expect it to need its own category
(15:17:48) WorkPalNick: “Bagel songs”
(15:17:52) SpookyLikeDat: Exactly.
(15:18:04) WorkPalNick: I wonder if there’s a Sirius radio station that plays all bagel songs, all day
(15:18:18) SpookyLikeDat: I dunno, didn’t think the “folk tradition” (ahem) would have much to say on the subject
(15:18:30) SpookyLikeDat: http://nwfolk.com/songlists/kazoo.html
(15:18:49) WorkPalNick: Ah, but that’s songs that have a kazoo in them
(15:18:55) WorkPalNick: Now, if they had a list of songs where people were playing the bagel?
(15:18:57) WorkPalNick: I’d be impressed.
(15:19:29) WorkPalNick: In fact, if I ever start a band, I’m going to find a way to make music with a bagel, and do it.
(15:19:36) SpookyLikeDat: you could eat it
(15:19:44) SpookyLikeDat: if it’s toasted, it’s like percussion
(15:19:50) WorkPalNick: And we’ll be the headliners at Foo Bar, the bar I’m going to open when I retire.
(15:20:03) SpookyLikeDat: I hadn’t heard about this.
(15:20:10) WorkPalNick: Yeah, I just decided that a few weeks ago.

All kidding aside, this could keep me entertained all day.