Wily Wednesdays - What comes after badgers?

My dear, neglected blog, I haven't forgotten about you. The exciting news is that I'm working on an old computer tonight, which means I've found all sorts of random goodies to revive. What fun! I forgot about a lot of this stuff. Before February has zipped past me, let's get something posted here already. How about...a stained-glass psychedelic mushroom. What? Yeah, I have no idea.

Wily Wednesdays - Crochet Hat with Brim

A not-half-bad attempt at crocheting a hat without a pattern. I believe it's one of my first flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants projects.

Wily Wednesday - Yule Crafts 2011

It's time to reveal what was keeping me madly busy during the last two weeks of December (and part of 2012). I wanted to wait until I gave away most of the gifts before writing this post, which is why it's late. I had big plans for Yule, but I procrastinated too much, and technically I'm not even finished. Anyway, here's a sampling of the 2011 Yule crafts:

• New clothes for Bender!
• Head scarves for Kai (in the background)
• Paw stockings
• Catnip fishies
• Plush Angry Bird (Kai's obsessed with these guys)
• Winter-themed FSMs (I only had the tree on hand, but I think the Santa hat is my favorite.)
• Polymer clay tree ornaments
• Jars of homemade blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry jams (I'm most proud of the blackberries -- we picked them in our own neighborhood. Doesn't get much more local than that!)
• Homemade soaps, lip balm, and lotions.
• Geeky Perler Bead magnets (I never did these as a kid, so I had to try them out.)
• Oatmeal fudge (a recipe from Kai's mother)

What will 2012 bring?

Happy New Year, everyone. Besides being too cliché to stomach, we all know laundry lists of overblown New Year's resolutions usually fail by February, and that's not what I've popped online to spout. But it is another stop on the ol' timeline, and I can't resist forming a few ideas about what I'd like to see happening in my life.

It comes down to personal development, and this is just a reaffirmation of an ongoing goal to live more mindfully. I've let that endeavor slide a bit, and I suspect that's why I've felt a little stuck lately. I want to continue my efforts to change the fundamental ways I view the world, to keep raising my level of consciousness, to live in the present, and to resist the temptation of falling into judgment and cynicism. The art portfolio, word count, weight loss, debt reduction, school and learning goals, etc., will follow from that (provided they're all reasonably set).

Wishing you a peaceful year of heightened awareness!

Wily Wednesdays - Paw Stockings

Ever since I was a kid, the cats have always had a holiday stocking stuffed with toys. I'm not sure why it took me this long to come up with a more appropriate shape. I had some awesome patterned fleece that I've been carrying around for years, and it seemed perfect for a paw print (plain red stockings are so boring). The bonus is that I've got enough for several projects.

I'm also using this stocking to revive my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/89287667/paw-holiday-stocking



Photos of the process after the jump...

Wily Wednesdays - Mace Windu

Yes, we're digging deep into the archives this week, but fear not. I've got all kinds of new stuff in the works; I just can't show you until after the holidays. So for now, I give you a high school drawing of Mace Windu:


Speaking of characters named Mace, bonus points for anyone who knows what movie this guy is from:

Seattle Atheists goes outside the bus

In 2009, Seattle Atheists decided to run a visibility campaign with a few varieties of interior bus ads. They featured freethinking quotes from famous figures like Carl Sagan, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. Besides outreach to other non-theists, the ads' intent was to educate the public about the legacy of skepticism and critical thought in American history. Despite what religious fundamentalists would like to believe, America was not established as a Christian nation, but rather founded on secular principles that included, for good reason, the separation of church and state. The campaign got a lot of great feedback, so our goal for the next round was to take it to the next level and try for a few ads on the outside of the buses. Two years and some generous donations later, we were finally able start working on that project.



Thanks to a lot of intense work from our dedicated volunteers, our new bus ad campaign launched this week. Twelve local buses are now displaying banners with photos of regular folks in different everyday scenes. The theme: "1 in 4 Washingtonians is an atheist," a stat is based on the 2008 ARIS (American Religious Identification Survey) report. The key idea, again, is visibility. As the website points out:

Many of your friends, your family, and your coworkers are atheists. We help build your bridges, deliver your mail, and heal you when you're sick. Whether you realize it or not, you know plenty of atheists. We'd like to be open about who we are. An atheist is someone who doesn't believe in a god. So open up, come out, and get to know us.

While I recognize that there's been a bit of chatter trying to nitpick the "1 in 4" number (some want to argue that being agnostic, irreligious, having no religion, etc., doesn't necessarily mean you don't believe in god), which is fair, the real message is that those without a god belief do, in fact, make up a noticeable portion of the population, especially in the greater Seattle area, and we deserve to be heard. If you're an atheist, we simply want to say that you're not alone. If you're looking for information about atheism, humanism, skepticism and the like, we can provide you with those resources. And if you're a theist, we just ask that you don't discriminate against others based on religion, and if there's something you don't understand about atheists, feel free to ask us! We're an open book. This campaign is about encouraging dialogue and dispelling myths that surround a perfectly healthy and wholesome worldview.

In closing, I especially want to thank our photographers (Josh and Mike) and graphic design artist (Kyle) for an outstanding job on these ads. Amazing work, guys!

Wily Wednesdays - Winter Fractals

This week I'm pulling some fractals out of the archives. These seemed appropriately snowy and icy for the season. Enjoy.