Dystopia

In Hell...

2008-02-20T14:43:00.001-08:00

I made myself a forum, and am working on a gallery of sorts too. I tried moving my blog to my domain, but it shat on the idea, so here it stays. Not much to look at right now, but as I don't feel at home in most forums, I wanted to make my own.

VIP pass for all of you as soon as I'm done.

I wanted to list things together theme/subject based and give some out of the box type suggestions. It's a work in progress to say the least. First time I've had a domain all to myself and there's plenty of things I want to do with it. After I figured out how. I'm pretty good with the graphic side of things, just not so much with the coding.

P.S. The ape is moving!! The ape is moving!! He's going to Boston right after he finishes his residency. They seem to have made him an offer. I've made him plenty of offers, but this one apparently didn't involve a foot and his ass. Hurrah! This doesn't mean I get the whole flat to myself though...Uh-oh Ravioli-O..

Fashion Week Hangover

2008-02-10T15:09:00.000-08:00

My feet hurt, my butt's still numb, and my eyes are still recovering from some less-than-stellar sights (Heidi Klum at the Marc Jacobs/Vuitton screening for one! WTF was up with that? And the shoes? The whole thing made me throw up a little bit in my mouth.)

Paper - Shelleyrae Cusbert's Kraft Card (LOVE these!)
Furry C - Dani Mogstad's Monsters Under The Bed (recoloured)
Flowers - Kate Hadfield's Doodled & Stitched Flowers
Cookies - Kate Hadfield & Jacque Larsen's Princess Tea Party
Journal Strip - Kate Hadfield's Journal Blocks Primary
Arrows - Kate Hadfield's Doodled & Stitched Arrows
Arrows - Kate Hadfield's Journal Blocks Primary
Staple Thingies - Kate Hadfield's Messy Staples 2
Cookie Monster Label - Peppermint Creative's
Frames - Kate Pertiet

more to come....
(yes, Uncle Nick was there)

The (wall-to-wall gay) meet & greet party at Beige next...

Sleeps With Prada

2008-01-26T16:34:00.001-08:00

Okay, my big love/obsession of Prada isn't a shock to anyone, but the day I get a new pair, I spend hours and hours just examining and holding them, that I usually wake up next to them the next morning.

Alpha - Christy's Cardboard (re-textured)
Bottom Sheet - Dani's Road Trip

Loads of hand-painting, digi-draping and digi-rouching by me and my little smudge brush. (The burn brush got the night off.) THIS is what I like doing most - making something out of almost nothing.
The only photo is my my last precious pair I acquired.

Shoes - Prada (duh!)

Ferosh Or What?

2008-01-24T23:16:00.000-08:00

I so deserve this as a loyal Prada customer and devotee. I'll chuck my iPhone in the bin on the day this lovely jewel rests in my hand. I present to you the fabulous LG KE850 Prada Phone & LG KE850 Prada Active Case.

Another NY Treasure - Napkin Notebook

2008-01-21T14:11:00.000-08:00

I love the idea of writing down my number/thoughts on a napkin. This is just brilliant. Just saying...

Napkin Notebook, by David Arnold and Jason Kreher, $6.50

Another NY Treasure - Lucky Beggar Purse

2008-01-21T14:01:00.001-08:00

One of my favourite NY culture icons, but with a different function this time.

This clever leather change purse is designed in the likeness of the iconic New York paper coffee cup. A portion of the proceeds from each purse is donated to HELP USA, an organization that has helped the homeless since 1986, $30 at MOMA

Coco Would Be Confused...

2008-01-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

I already covered the ferosh Chanel ski attire (which would work well in Aspen), but this is a tad more out there. Way out there. I love Chanel dearly. Well, Coco's Chanel anyhow, but this makes me question any medications Karl Lagerfeld might be taking right now. Sometimes The NYT highlights some odd choices.

$195, available at select Chanel Stores and Jeffrey New York (212) 206-3928

Words Cannot Describe...

2008-01-19T23:44:00.000-08:00

Remember The Promise

2008-01-14T02:55:00.000-08:00

Paper: Jen Ulasiewicz's Down By The Sea Add-On
Paper: Christy Lyle's Too Hip Gotta Go
File Folder: Gina Cabrera's Office Essentials Folios
Twigs: Jen Ulasiewicz's Harvest Potpourri
Ribbons: Amy Martin's Messy Mix Ribbons (modified much)
Pin: Me
Alpha: Laura Deacetis' Just Plane Cute
Heathrow Passport Stamp: Laura Deacetis' Just Plane Cute

Day Without Art/World AIDS Day

2007-12-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

Sorry everyone for having to dash on a moment's notice. I had to leave for the airport at 2am - which gave me less than 4 hours to pack. Sure, YOU might be able to pack in 4 hours. Me? Not so much. I've never been asked to do anything like this though.

Dec 1 is World AIDS Day and...Day Without Art - something I whole-heartedly support. I pretty much assumed that I'd be here in the city doing prep work for it, and watching confused tourists at museums, and going to a benefit or two. (I have some nifty shoes to prance around in.)

That was not to be. Got a call from a friend wondering if I'd be interested in helping with some of the prep work for the first ever London HIV/AIDS Conference (17 Dec - 19 Dec). There are also quite a few small events coinciding with the big conference that were trying to pull things together in record time. Being a poofy Brit, what could I say? For what it's worth, Virgin Airlines is a dream. How often can you say that about air travel these days?

I basically ended up doing bitch work. Nothing too fabulous. Many trips to the print shop. Then, many more. I didn't even have time to shop. No tea at Harrod's. Nothing. Zilch.

My hotel didn't have internet access, but I brought my laptop which had some of my favourite kits to work with. Since I don't do the pubs anymore, I sat in my room fiddling with layouts. I'll get those up today and tomorrow. Managed to avoid my mother too. I rang her up, but who knows where she got off to. It wasn't worth a train trip to Portsmouth to find out either.

(Above: A huge red ribbon made up of 6,000 red flowers in Parliament Square, representing the number of people who die every day from AIDS-related diseases.)

Layouts to follow...just transferring stuff from the laptop to the normal computer so I can fine tune and tweak. It's not as if I brought everything possible to work with. LOL. Just about 400 gigs of stuff. Not nearly enough!

Make Your Own Jukebox Labels

2007-11-23T07:29:00.000-08:00

This is pretty damn cool, especially if you're big on retro things like I am. Check it out here. I'm thinking of using them as tags for holiday gifts. (This also happens to be what I'm listening to right now.)

I'm slowly recovering my from noxious sinus infection too. What a giant pain in the ass it's been too, although I can do a pretty good Brando impression right now. I learned a pretty groovy home remedy though, and trust me, I was trying them all -- as this hit me bad in the middle of the night. Mix cinnamon in water, swish around your mouth. It tastes like the weakest apple cider ever made, but it's not as gross as half the cocktails suggested. I will remember this one for sure. Couldn't even eat Thanksgiving dinner (or dinner the night before for that matter). Too swollen. Too nauseous. Too blah in general.

Finally!

2007-11-16T22:12:00.000-08:00

I was just whining about how cool it would be if you could pick your own custom wordy bits, and then like magic - now you can! 10 bucks for 20 words, or 7 bucks for 10, I think. So, I made a list of 20 words, but that didn't fill all my needs. So I bought another 20, and almost got everything I wanted on the list. But, third time's a charm, so I went back for 20 more words. Yup, I spent 30 bucks for 60 words. LOL.

I have most of the other packs, and there were always a few that I thought should have there, but weren't. And I wanted some flexible words to use with the ones from Basic Bits to create a whole batch of new combinations.

About, Adventure. Adventures, Anatomy, Best, Birthday, Blimey, Brilliant, Brit, Brooklyn, Chicago, Chuffed, City, Coast, Coney Island, Cor, Create, Day, Definition, Downtown, East, Favourite, Friend, Friends, Here, Imagine, Interview, Library, Life, Liverpool, London, Look, Los Angeles, Lower, Manchester, Memo, Memories, Menu, North, Notes, NYC, Parade, Portrait, Shopping, Side, South, Strummer, Thing, Things, This, Thoughts, UK, Upper, Uptown, Village, Week, West, Wishlist, Worst, Year. (That should count up to 60, I hope.)

Trying To Get The Balance Right

2007-11-16T00:22:00.000-08:00

Almost Everything - Lauren Grier & Robin Carlton's Crazy Little Thing

Tag - Robin Carlton's Collaged Neutrals Alpha
Tutus - Jen Wilson's Tuile Flowers
Brushes made from rubber stamps by Teesha Moore

Myopic

2007-11-15T15:25:00.001-08:00

Paper - Christy Lyle & Robin Carlton's Girl Next Door Nerdy
Cardboard - Christy Lyle & Robin Carlton's Girl Next Door Nerdy
Cardboard - Trish Jones' Senses - Soothing
Cardboard - Rebecca Digrazio's 100% Recycled
Numbered Ribbon - Christy Lyle & Robin Carlton's Girl Next Door Nerdy
Round Tag - Christy Lyle's Graphic Shapes over Mandabean's Hanging By A Thread
Rubber Bands - Nancy Wilkins's Rubber Bands (blog freebie)
Envelope - Paper Moons' Scrapz (blog freebie)
Paper in Envelope - Ilona Hemp's Spring Time
Ruler - Christy Lyle & Robin Carlton's Girl Next Door Nerdy
Protractor - Christy Lyle & Robin Carlton's Girl Next Door Nerdy
Coffee Stains - Christy Lyle & Robin Carlton's Girl Next Door Nerdy
Blueprint - Ann Hetzel Gunkel's Arts & Crafts over Victoria Feemster's Solid Drama paper
Alpha - Robin Carlton's He's Krafty
Index Tabs - Robin Carlton's Tab You're It
Gamble House Stamp - Me

1984

2007-11-13T20:24:00.001-08:00

Okay, I think you're going to have to click the picture to enlarge to see the animation. This whole animation thing on here is cheesing me off. (Big thanks to Traci Reed for putting my frames together!)

I adore Orwell, so it's no shock that my favourite movie/book is 1984. Here's my tribute to it, prompted by the SSD Pop Rocks challenge for Fall TV Line Up. ( I don't do YV. Period.)

So Simple To Do, And Yet...

2007-11-13T16:50:00.001-08:00

Miss Tara Beckons!

2007-11-12T22:17:00.000-08:00

Miss Tara finally found me on Yahoo last night. (She's only been on the link list here forever.) There's a spot open on her CT, and it might have my name on it. We shall see. She's really good, plus anyone who does a full-on NYC kit can do no wrong. (I don't know why this damn preview won't animate, but the elements are AWESOME. Nuff said.)

I may be entirely biased about this kit, but I don't think so, most of it would work with any city, but for me there is NO other city -- so it hardly matters.

Blue Ribbon Bakery

2007-11-12T13:38:00.000-08:00

This is the yummiest smelling place! I had to do a LO with it for Traci Reed's blog challenge. I want more food/cooking related goodies to play with! Please! (I want it noted there was a requirement for the glitter and stars.)

Paper - Gina Maria's Christmas Baking (altered quite a bit)
Bread Sticks - Dnadryad's Bread Stick Alpha
Frame - Nancy Comelab's Ultimate Frame Collection - Vintage
Bread Tags - Peppermint Creative's Recycle Bin
Date Sticker - Jenna Nelson's Thrift Dates
Journalling Block - Traci Reed's Graphically Grunged
Ribbon (Bow & to make Circle) - Mary's Scrapgalerie's Flower Dreams
Glitter - Amy Wolff's Artiste
Alphas - Kate Hadfield & Corina Nielsen's Fun & Fancy Free
Word Bits - Kate Hadfield & Tiff Brady's Wordy Bits Basic
Brushwork & Stars - Me

SSD Hottie & Nugget Chat

2007-11-12T12:33:00.001-08:00

Paper - Laura Deacetis' Pink Lemonade
Paper - Fee Jardine's Pippi
Paper - Scarlet Heels' Graphtastic
Paper - Dani Mogstad's Lil Sunshine
Paper - Dani Mogstad's MVP
Alpha - Ronna Penner's Mr Bubbles (Clear)
Bubble Blower - Traci Reed's Blow Me A Bubble
Ribbon Tie - Natalie Braxton's Knotty Little Ribbons
Bubbles - Some converted PSP tube
And, everyone needs a bitch pill...

Got Snow?

2007-11-10T16:44:00.000-08:00

I'd like to put the blame for tedium of this layout squarely on the shoulders of Dani Mogstad! I bought her kick ass Winter Thrill kit at SSD, and I didn't really have anything special in mind for it...until I saw the zipper. Which then make me think "Ski Jacket!" and led to the unrealistic thought to hand quilt one of her papers to look more like a down jacket. *Shakes fist at Dani*

There was a nice plain black paper in her Halloween collab (Scared Silly) to use for a base for the quilting. So that was a start. Slapped on a diagonal grid on it (that would later be replaced with stitching) and got to work with the airbrush tool to give each diamond in the grid it's own amount of puff and some little tension puckers from the stitching. The ski lift tickets are just scans. (I'm a big ski nut.)

Paper - Kay Miller's Arctic Antics

Paper - Dani Mogstad & Jacque Larsen's Scared Silly

Paper - Dani Mogstad's Winter Thrill
Zipper - Dani Mogstad's Winter Thrill
Stitching - Me
Lanyards - Kim Jensen's Date Beads (shortened & modified a bit)
Snowflake Brushes - Michelle Coleman's Snowflakes
Lift Tickets - Me
Alpha - Me (below)

I didn't have the right alpha to use for it, so I had to make one. I figured with all the newspaper, map and whatnot alphas floating about -- winter needed one made from ski trail maps. (I wanted just to use the ones from Brokeback Mountain's ski trails, but I didn't think you all would find it as amusing as I do.)

Poke Here to Download (it will only be here for a limited time!)

If you use it, I'd love to see what you did with it.
Enjoy. I don't give a shit if you share it, just don't rip it off and claim as your own. Got it? Good.

Amusing Myself

2007-11-09T15:34:00.001-08:00

Okay, here are some links that collectively illustrate the state of the world we all live in, and much some things have changed from that mystical time known as "the good ol' days"...

Top 15 Unintentionally Funny Comic Book Panels

The commentary alone makes this a "must-see". It's really interesting to look back and how different the meanings of slang was not so long ago. Lois Lane and her robot adventure and the Archie & Betty one made me choke laughing.

I'll add more to this is a few.

Hot Time, Summer In The City

2007-11-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

If I would have paid attention in Round 1 - and oh I don't know, say...used any actual brushwork - this is what I should have done. Opening hydrants in summer, is one of those "only in NYC" things I remember growing up. Air conditioning for all of us in buildings built before WW2 would have been easier.

Paper - Dani Mogstad's Winter Thrill (blended into a solid tan background)
Tag Book - Christy Lyle's Tag Book Cardboard
Frame - Rachel Young's Frames Vintified
Photo Wrap - Kate Pertiet's Photo Wraps 1
Brushes - Ron's Splash 2

Ron's brush bundle is very worth getting. There's something for everyone in it. Really high dpi, and huge sizes too. Here's the original picture I used to you can see what a difference the brushes made. I totally recommend them to anyone who likes and collects small things that make a big difference.

There's Always One!

2007-11-08T11:40:00.000-08:00

Ain't that the truth!

Let It Snow!

2007-11-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

Winter is not the time to be un-fabulous. Freezing your ass off is no excuse for looking like crap. And apparently the (sacred) Chanel feels much the same way. They may be oh-so-last season, but the 2006 Fall/Winter line was inspired.

The skis have a wooden core but are covered in Chanel’s signature quilted leather. Although these are designed to be used it is unknown how they will perform on snow and whether the leather will deteriorate due to the amount of snow that it will come into contact with.

SUAS (Week 4)

2007-11-02T01:56:00.000-07:00

Paper - Michelle Coleman's Written In The Stars
Paper - Lauren Grier's Julieolioli
Paper - Kim Christensen's Rad Solids
Paper - Christy Lyle & Robin Carlton's 365 - January (to make the aliens)

Glittery Stuff In The Sky - Jackie Eckle's Painted Dribbles 1 (combined with the above papers)
Swirl In The Sky - Michelle Coleman's Doodle Ditties - Whimsy
Wire Swirl - Weeds & Wildflowers' Believing In You

Foil Paper - Angela Barton's 21
Foil Paper - Diane Rigdon's Take Out
Fabric Edge - Leora Sanford's Frayed Fabric Edges

Alpha - Lisa Whitney's Beautiful Mess
Stars - Michelle Coleman's Written In The Stars
Star - Lauren Grier's Pieces Of You alpha
Spaceship - Me (3D Max rocks when it comes to chrome)

(and the pic in the background is Area 51 at night)

SUAS (Week 2)

2007-11-02T01:45:00.000-07:00

When I have a bad day, I take out my take-away menus, and order more food than a single person should ever be allowed to order. After the deliveries have been made, and I rarely order from just one place, I grab a few month’s worth of interior design and architecture magazines and my sacks of food and head off to my workspace and plop myself on the floor and spread my feast out around me and dig in. This is the only way I know how to make a sweet night out of a sour day.

Paper - Heather Ann Melzer - SUAS kit
Paper - Heather Roselli - SUAS kit (recoloured slightly)
Overlay - Michelle Coleman's Glow
Overlay - Dani Mogstad's MVP
Splatters - Jackie Eckles' Painted Dribbles

Papers - Michelle Coleman's Serendipity
Alpha - Robin Carlton's Collaged Naturals (Tag & String)
Alpha - Christy Lyle's Cardboard
Alpha - Dani Mogstad's Hand Stitched (recoloured)

Placemat - Diane Rigdon's Take Out
Napkin - Diane Rigdon's Take Out
Fortune Cookie - Diane Rigdon's Take Out
Take Away Box - (This was really easy to do. I took a pic of a takeaway box, used the polygonal lasso tool to trace each panel and fill it in. Then, just applied papers to it with the ol' CTRL+ALT+G trick, and burned the appropriate edges for depth. Did this method with the handle, chopsticks and the snowpeas as well.)

Paper - Amy Teets' Whitie Tighties Papers
Paper - Diane Rigdon's Take Out (White Graph)
Chopsticks - Christy Lyle's Cardboard Alpha 2
"Snow Peas" - Michelle Coleman's Island Adventurers (Those little circles were perfect for peas!)
Pagoda Stamp on Box - Diane Rigdon's Take Away

Rice: Brush made from a close-up pic of rice found on Google, blended with Jackie Eckle's Origins paper

This Is Soooooo Me

2007-10-30T07:09:00.001-07:00

Challenges

2007-10-30T06:39:00.001-07:00

Phew! The SUAS contest is over. Well, mostly over. Just the final judging is left, but I'm not exactly waiting with baited breath for the results. I made it to the top 10 once, for a LO that I don't think should have been picked. It wasn't exactly standing up for anything, it was a fluff piece - but they liked it. I would have much rather have been singled out over a layout with some substance to it - but apparently people like ordering take-out as much as I do.

During the downtime between challenges, I went roaming for other challenges on blogs, forums, etc. just to keep the flow going until I could begin on the next round of SUAS - I tend to do these after the deadline for them though. I don't do it for a prize, or comments -- which I really don't like getting BTW - good or bad. (I mean the opinion of someone I don't know, whom I didn't solicit means close to zilch to me.)

Christina Renee had one in the DST forum about 10 Things from High School. I figured that would be a fun one to do. Interestingly, I spent more time on this than my Round 6 SUAS layout. I'm pretty happy with it too, which is rare. The crappy thing is when you reduce to fit the 150 kb allowance for the forum galleries, the red bleeds, and it looks like shit. So here it is here. (Click to enlarge.)

Paper - Melanie Willmann's Basics - Leather
Paper - Tracy Ann Robinson's Peek-a-Boo Cardboard
Tartan - Me (with Leora Sanford's Frayed Fabric Edges)
Net - Melanie Willmann's Net (recoloured)
Safety Pins - Cheryl Barber's Sew Simple - Pins
Clipped Ribbons - Jeannette Gaidecki's You Colour My World
Frames - Kate Pertiet's Stacked Photo Frames - Vintage
Tape - Christina Renee Designs' Piled High With Attitude
Alpha - Jess Bolton's Unamused
Alpha - Christina Renee Designs' Worn Tape Label

Uzumaki

2007-10-22T06:26:00.000-07:00

Paper - Lauren Grier's Lisa Rosey Posey
Paper - Bren Boone's Lucious Solids
Spiral Overlay - Me
Twigs - Janna Billman's Twiggy Valentine
Frames - Kate Pertiet's Curled & Flat 2
Photo Wrap - Kate Pertiet's Photo Wraps 1
Snails - Me
Gold Foil - Me (on a cell from the manga)
Stitches - Me

Quoth The Raven, Baltimore

2007-10-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

Paper - Shalae Tippetts's Eerie

Paper - Bren Boone's Lucious Solids (with an overlay of a vintage map of Baltimore)
Paper Border - Holly McCaig's Paper Borders

Arrow - Carolina Pessoa's Cardboard Arrows
Star - Meredith Fenwick's Antique Stamped alpha
Ravens - Valerie Randall's Harvest Pumpkins
Bird Stamp - Rhonna Farrer's Vintage Birds
Twigs - Janna Billman's Twiggy Valentine
Grasses - BPAK'S Nature 2
Frame - Radmila Littledeer's Vintage Mess

Journaling Strip - Carrie Stephens' To Be Alive
Cardboard Border - Holly McCaig's Trick Or Treat
Alpha - Dani Mogstad's Hand Stitched

Font - Poe Novermore (from this handwriting)

Cutest Thing Ever

2007-09-27T05:17:00.000-07:00

On my endless quest to save as much of the pre-Disneyesque NYC as I can -- or least celebrate the New York I love, I am always on the lookout for unique things. This may be the cutest thing ever.

A ceramic version of the Classic NYC Coffee Cup. You used to be able to see these EVERYWHERE. But they're starting to fade away. Only $12 each too.

I still haven't gotten around to finding a welder to transform the Coney Island subway sign into a floating headboard yet. It's only of my favourite things I've collected.

*whistles innocently*

Hey Taxi

2007-09-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

"I love everything about New York. You have to really love it here to want to live here, especially after you realise what’s under all the glitter and frenzy. Growing up here, I never had a reason to learn to drive. I’ve only known one person here who had their own car and I don’t envy their insurance rates, the hour-long search for a parking space, or the tres chic “No Radio” sign on the dashboard.
I spent so much time in the back of cabs, that it all kind of wore off on me. When I was 28, I took the driver’s test, without any formal instruction -- just what I picked up from countless drivers, and I passed! I’m one hell of a defensive driver on the rare times I actually am behind the wheel of a rented car -- and of course, I yell a bit."

Paper: Lauren Grier's Julieolioli (very cool papers to have on hand)
Ribbon: Lauren Bavin's Welcome
Screws: Trish Jones
Alpha: Dawn Stocstill's Cardstock
Brush: Fee Jardine's Paintbox

Chef Tony

2007-09-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

One of my heroes, Anthony Bourdain is up for an Emmy in the category of "Outstanding Informational Programming - Long Form" (for the Beirut episode). They're announced on the 24th here in NYC. Good Luck, Tony! (Click To enlarge.)

Paper - Bren Boone's Lucious Solids
Paper - Corina Nielsen's Arsenal
Overlay - Merkeley Designs' Censored Tools
Frame - Nancy Comelab's Ultimate Frame Collection
Alpha - Jan Crowley's Downtown
Alpha - Fee Jardine's Big Adventure
Wooden Spoon - Carolyn Bender's Shabby Kitchen
Wooden Spoon - Terry Maruca's Grandma's Recipe Box Add-On
Whisk - Taran Conyers' Country Kitchen
Wrap - Kate Pertiet's Photo Wraps 1
Ramones Ribbon & Bow - Me
Gingham Bow - Natalie Braxton's Knotty Little Ribbons
Journalling Block - Fee Jardine's Get Noted
Paint Stroke - Michelle Coleman's Brush Strokes
Paint Splatter - Jackie Eckles' Painted Dribbles

Avant-Garde Stuff!

2007-09-15T22:22:00.001-07:00

Call For Entries: Common Ground 2008

2007-09-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

Common Ground 2008 is a digital art exhibition with a theme of environmental stewardship and sustainability, which this year is specifically devoted to "Future Earth: Our Home in Peril?"

Benefits for participating artists are said to include participation in print, broadcast and online marketing campaigns that will bring the exhibition to over 100,000 at on-site events worldwide. Revenue will also be generated for the artists and for environmental non-profit organizations, with a show catalog featuring the included works.

Deadline for entry is September 30, 2007, with no fees for submission. Submission guidelines and entry forms are available on the Common Ground site.

*SSD Blog Challenge* What do I do other than artwork on the comp? I read independent news, lots of it. I'm not a big fan of Fox News (aka "Fix News") or any of the other commercial news shite -- so I tend to leave the AP wire running in the background -- then go check out a number of political commentary blogs. I always have a different audio book everyday on while I'm doing either thing though. (Today, it's Franz Kafka's "The Trial".)