For every five tanks...

Empire, by Dar Williams Album: My Better Self
Buy on Amazon.com.

Oh, Dar, I love you so.


Who's afraid of the sun?
Who would question the goodness of the mighty?
We who banish the threat,
When your little ones all go nighty nighty?
Well there's no time for doubt right now,
And less time to explain,
So get back on your horses, kiss my ring,
And join our next campaign.
And the Empire grows,
with the news that we're winning,
With more fear to conquer,
more gold thread for spinning,
Till it's bright as the sun,
Shining on everyone.
Some would say that we've forced our words,
And we find that ingenuously churlish.
Words are just words.
Don't be so pessimistic, weak and girlish.
We like strong, happy people
Who don't think there's something wrong with pride.
Work makes them free,
And we spread that freedom far and wide.
And the Empire grows the seeds of its glory,
For every five tanks plant a sentimental story.
Till they worship the sun,
Even Christ-loving ones.
And we'll kill the terrorizers
and a million of their races,
But when our people torture you,
That's a few random cases.
Don't question the sun,
It doesn't help anyone.
But the journalists cried out,
When it was too late to stop us.
Everyone has awakened
To the dream they could enter our colossus.
And now I'm right, yeah, you said I'm right,
There's nothing that can harm me,
Cause the sun never sets on my dungeons or my army.
And the Empire fell on its own splintered axis.
And the Emperor wanes as the silver moon waxes,
And the farmers will find old coins in their strawberry fields,
While somebody somewhere twists his ring and someone kneels.
Oh, where is the sun shining for everyone?
Where is the sun shining for everyone?

Buffy Wallpaper - Sad

Lilah and Wesley Icons

Watching Angel this time around (about the 10th time, probably), Lilah and Wesley really struck me, especially the idea that once the you add a little black you can never get white again - all you get is gray.
OK, crazy evil bitch, yes. But there's depth to her character no matter how much she tries to deny it, as evidenced by the look on her face when Wesley dumps her.
Feel free to use the icons if you wish. Any comments would be appreciated, since I am new at this.

Buffy Alphabet Icons

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Buffy, here are 26 Season icons from my favorite season (6), one for each letter of the alphabet. I've never made icons before, so any comments would be appreciated. If you like them, feel free to use them.

Can you scan this? Or Why won't someone just pay me to be a musician?

When my boss says, "Could you scan this for me?" I run for the hills. Or at least I would if there were any hills and if the people living in said hills all wanted voice lessons, therefore eliminating the need for me to work in an office. In case you are ever called upon to scan a document in my office, here are the steps to follow:

1. Insert document in Brother MFCDSHGDOJFKDd329857498574893nsfdnsdlkjfsd printer. (If you can't find printer, simply follow the large bright blue cord leading from my office, across the room, over the doorway, around the next room, to the pile of blinking black boxes in the middle.)
2. Press SCAN.
3. Wait 8 minutes for fancy printer/scanner/faxer/nailbuffer to receive 3-page fax advertising Disney time shares.
4. Press SCAN again. Choose computer. Ponder why the printer no longer recognizes the computer you wish to scan to, even though you programmed it last time.
5. Choose the one computer it does still recognize, even though you know this computer is too old and slow to accept a scanning job and will probably freeze.
6. Turn off frozen computer and wait 10 minutes for reboot. For efficiency's sake, search for Brother MFCFDSAKJDS25789437589437dfklsdjflsdj manual while waiting and look up "scanning" to figure out how to reacquaint brother with newer, faster computers. Turn to page 12.1 and read "Scanning information can be found on your Brother MFCSFKSDJK4673497658gfdklsjk installation disk." Search for installation disk.
7. When computer has rebooted and disk has been found, use large paper clip to open disk drive. Insert disk and manually close drive. Locate and read scanning information.
8. Survey the office and realize that the newer, faster computers are in use by people who can't give them up at the moment. Resign yourself to making the slow one scan. Think to yourself, "I am paid hourly. This is OK."
9. Repeat steps 4 and 5.
10. Sigh.
11. Repeat steps 4 and 5.
12. Wait.
13. Wait.
14. Wait.
15. Search computer files in an ever-increasing perimeter to figure out where scanned documents are saved by default.
16. Reset default.
17. Repeat steps 9 to 14.
18. Save scanned document as pdf.
19. Wait.
20. Wait.
21. Open email program. Sing a little "I hate Outlook" song in your head while waiting.
22. Attach pdf to email addressed to boss and hit send.
23. Wait.
24. Type in password when prompted even though you've told it to "save password" 142 times.
25. Wait.
26. Ponder error message.
27. Repeat steps 21 to 25.
28. Sigh.

I suppose the relevant questions here are a)Why won't someone pay me to be a musician? and b)What would Buffy do?

February, a Dar Williams song

I've seen several posts about the Dar Williams song February lately, and they're all about, well, February, and how it's so long and cold and seems to go on forever. This song has been in my top 20 for a long time, and here's the funny thing - I've never thought about it as a February song. For me it's a year-round pain and hope song about how relationships freeze up and go awry and how that somehow happens without us noticing. And then it's too late. And then we think back to identify what went wrong and we can't remember. Thank goodness for the last verse of this song, or it would be seriously too depressing. Even though the last line is "I have lost to February," it's sort of like an acknowledgement that we just keep on keeping on, steeling ourselves for the next inevitable rift, because that's what humans are meant to do, that's how we grow, and if we think of it that way it's not so traumatic.

I had a friend once who found no meaning in this song. I couldn't understand why, and then I realized someone's who's never had the experience in February won't get it. Maybe when a love drifts away or an argument turns into a year of silence, she'll get it.

I threw your keys in the water, I looked back, They'd frozen halfway down in the ice. They froze up so quickly, the keys and their owners, Even after the anger, it all turned silent, and The everyday turned solitary, So we came to February.

First we forgot where we'd planted those bulbs last year, Then we forgot that we'd planted at all, Then we forgot what plants are altogether, and I blamed you for my freezing and forgetting and The nights were long and cold and scary, Can we live through February?

You know I think Christmas was a long red glare, Shot up like a warning, we gave presents without cards, And then the snow, And then the snow came, we were always out shoveling, And we'd drop to sleep exhausted, Then we'd wake up, and its snowing.

And February was so long that it lasted into March And found us walking a path alone together. You stopped and pointed and you said, "That's a crocus," And I said, "What's a crocus?" and you said, "It's a flower," I tried to remember, but I said, "What's a flower?" You said, "I still love you."

The leaves were turning as we drove to the hardware store, My new lover made me keys to the house, And when we got home, well we just started chopping wood, Because you never know how next year will be, And we'll gather all our arms can carry, I have lost to February.

lyrics (and music) by Dar Williams

No one writes like Dar.

And here's a bit of trivia. Dar and Joss Whedon both went to the same college. Kind of makes me wish I'd gone to Wesleyan...

Etsy

I've finally made time to repost some items on Etsy.com. Here are a few samples of what I posted.

Granite Aqua Necklace

Made of Granitex Sculpey clay. Beads made by me. Necklace assembled by a friend, who comes over and makes short necklaces for me. If left to my own devices, all my necklaces end up about 3 feet long.

Orange Butterflies Necklace

Martini Olive Earrings

Polymer clay cane beads are made like this.