Ladies & Gentlemen, Take My Advice...

Pull down your pants, and slide on the ice. --OK. You can leave your pants on, but anyone who hasn't gone sliding in a while, you are totally missing out dudes!

Here we have Trusty Pam, ready for action as always. Of course on her very first run she was busting out her fancy "no hands" moves. What a daredevil!

Me next! See those kids way to the left? They were awed by our sliding pwnation and after a while a couple came over to try trading sleds around and racing a little. Since they were like, 11, I kept the trash talk G rated (you're welcome, mom's of America). I'm pretty sure they thought we were "big kids" at first, but after our identity as some kind of weird hybridized adults was revealed, they didn't seem to care. Just so we were down with some slippin' slidin' action!

Remember being little and wanting someone to come pull you back up the hill? It still seems like a long way up, but I'd totally rather do this than a dumb stairmaster.


In other Sue news, Faceburner now appears to completely BLOW. I used to like going on and seeing, "huh-- someone in turkey found my blog by searching 'creepy dolls'...". Or even, "Gee, someone found my blog by searching 'woman eating doughnut', should I be worried?" It was always a kick to go on and see people were signing in from all over the world, how many from Canada, etc. Now they've converted to Google Feedburner and have decided to SUCK. You have incurred my wrath Feedburner. I'm totally breaking up with you.

Just get over me dude. Move on. Oh quit it! (I hate when they cry.)

Also- hello world, this is us--Americuh-- finally trying to pull our freeking heads out. It was so amazing to witness the inauguration speech live today. I've never experienced an emotion other than complete despair connected to a political event before. It feels good to be an Obamanation rather than just an abomination.

I've often looked at all the depressing blobs wandering glumly around Walmart, or read some idiotic conservative scree somewhere and thought, "Well, see there, people = mostly dumb, following, scared, tunnel vision, losers. We totally have the government we collectively deserve." Cheery huh? I've taken coolness where I could find it, in small helpings-- people who say "Hi" on the trails I run and bike on. People who let someone ahead of them in line. But it's been micro coolness.

Now I'm feeling hopeful on a macro level for the first time in a long time. Thanks Barack.

Big Fat Reflective Wed

On the very day " 'Mericuh" elected its first African American president I finished (well, almost-- I have about an hour to go on her) Elmira-- my first African American character, and sculpture. Tendrils of energy people.

Elmira is listening to music and hopefully depicts the rapturous feeling I wanted to capture with her. She is actually much more sensual, with a tendency to lose herself entirely in the music, like me, and her body begins to groove of its own accord. I didn't have the time to give her the body I wanted, but still think I imbued her with that joy and receptivity and love of music. Sometimes it's like whatever it is already exists and you're just putting steel around it. That's how she felt. You rock Elmira.

Had President Elect Obama not won you would have encountered a giant test pattern today and a simple headline reading -- "Sue's head has exploded". When Bush was reelected I stayed up until roughly 3 a.m. watching the returns in shocked disbelief. Ultimately the only comfort I was able to find was listening to The Mamas and The Papas "Dream A Little Dream" over and over and crying. I considered roaming the country wearing a sign-- "Real-live Liberal" like some sideshow freak. Clearly I was "other".

Yesterday in my little corner of the world people overwhelmingly supported Obama. People are paradoxes. Nothing can surprise me now, on either end of the spectrum. A horrid woman running for congress (incumbent) on a platform of divisiveness was victorious. Her acceptance speech was a far cry from John McCain's gracious call for unity. She vows to return to Washington to "keep fighting!" This is the same harpie you may have seen on national T.V. accusing Obama and many of her fellow congressmen of being "un-American." I literally hate her, even though I know this is playing right into everything I can't stand in her. By feeling this way I'm just being the through the looking-glass version of her-- "ish". I'm trying to calm the tiny warrior in my heart.

Meanwhile at a time when nearly everyone world-wide is fearful about the economy and even liberals ran on tax cuts here in the U.S. -- people in my little corner (MN) voted to raise their own taxes to support the arts and environment. This morning a bubble of hope is rising within me based on this and Mr. Obama infectious idealism, but it's tempered by the knowledge that people continue to be paradoxes. (I guess that's what makes them interesting to write about.)

To my friends around the world (hey-- I've seen you, I have feedburner, don't freak out) I can only say although culturally we are a younger people, and that does fundamentally affect the way we see the world and ourselves, we are as good, bad and ugly as humans everywhere. The neo-cons haven't vaporized overnight. Elizabeth Hasslebeck's head sadly didn't actually explode. People are still inexplicably threatened by homosexuality, and other things they don't understand (math-- shudder). We need to not only strive to be our best selves, but to try to excavate the good in all of those around us, to tease it out, not hammer them into submission-- much as the tiny warrior would enjoy kicking some conservative ass.

With this new administration we have an opportunity to finally do some good and re-join the world community in attempting to solve some of the problems in our big / small / horrible / wonderful world. Let's move forward with courage, tolerance, patience, and intention.

I think we could all probably use a does of mellow this morning, so take a listen to "Hallelujah" in the player by Rufus Wainwright. It's nearly light out and Elmira is waiting.

Big Fat Partisan Tues

Hey people-- I know it's Mon, but you e-mailers seem to get stuff a day later so here you go. It's election day. I don't like to talk politics on this here blog, but it's only one day every four years.

Remember to get out and VOTE. Bring an umbrella, folding stool, book, water bottle, whatever it takes to get you through the long line.

All you homophobic, machine gun loving, anti-science, anti-women's rights, anti environment, pro giant corporations running amok-- golden parachutes flapping in the breeze, preemptive democratizing strike people are invited, however, to stay home.

Edit to add: Just got back from voting -- no line -- YAY! My polling place was in a local church. I rode my bike there and was glad it went so quickly because this is the last day of nice weather and I HAVE to finish this sculpture today. When I got home I realized my fly was down the whole time (I always manage to remind myself I'll never be entirely cool), and today, for no other reason than they were handily on top of the pile, I wore my leopard print undies. Hopefully no one got an eyeful of my possibly predatory looking lady region. This just seemed rather par for my course-- public embarrassment. Should have been peace signs or something. Oh well...