Thank the deities for little kittens

wait for it . . . . .

sometimes even kittens get tired of crap!  *

* this blog does not advocate violence on the part of kittens and recommends that firearms be kept unloaded and locked out of reach of small children, small adults, and kittens.

First, it was a beautiful weekend.  Mister Man performed at Pepe’s Bistro; I went along to have lunch.  Yum!  We walked out totally stuffed after Cuban Sandwich, Asparagus Quesadilla, Cucumber lemonade, and chocolate flan cake — wow, the cake was killer!

(photo from Lincoln Journal Star)

Pepe prepares food that is so wonderfully flavorful, vegetarian, and prepared with locally grown produce.   We were served by the always lovely Justine.

I decided to dress up and channel my inner chola — big hair with lots o’spray, bandana, tons of makeup, and attitude to match.

I’ve been in a XXXicana state of mind, probably due to Dia de los Muertos and puras ganas.

I attended UNL’s Dia de los Muertos celebration dressed as Frida Muerta; I was treated like I was the incarnation!

Mister man wore his dancing skeletons tie he got in Albuquerque this summer; Orale, an Irish Vato!

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Today I raked leaves — just really moved them around the yard.  I put a lot of leaves in the chicken yard.  The chickies just love the leaves.  I found a couple of fat worms which Henny and Penny quickly devoured.  It was very funny to watch them jump into the middle of the leaves and start scratching around.  Here’s some footage from Chickie Cam:

Balam is having identity problems . . some days he thinks he’s a chicken!  He loves to eat chicken feed and drink out of their water bottle.  Today he even got into the coop . . . I have bad news for him . . . he won’t be layin’ eggs anytime soon.

And no post would be complete without news of teeny tiny baby Cleo.  She had a vet visit this past week and only weighed 2.4 lbs.  The vet put her on medication for parasites [yuck] and she’s started to get a little tummy now that she’s absorbing more nutrition.

Otherwise, it’s been a busy time.  I spent last weekend in Bellingham, WA for a business meeting of the National Association for Ethnic Studies.  We are working hard to prepare for the conference in April.  Lots to do still.

So, will Liv Tyler and Royston Langdon dress in black face for Halloween next year?

Hehee!  My avatar is spinnin’ around SL on a virtual Segway!

Last night I was visiting the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum in Second Life (http://latino.si.edu/education/LVM_Main.htm).  It’s an excellent presentation!  Thanks to Pablo Rangel for giving me the heads up.  The sim includes embedded videos (aka machinima) on Afro-Latino music, Dance & Masks in a Mexican community in the US, and other subjects, and an exhibit on the Olmec (see my previous post re the Olmec in the virtual Mexico sim).  Vistors to the museum can click on images, people, or places and be connected to the extensive collections held by the Smithsonian.  Heads up  . . . there will be a Dia de los Muertos celebration from Oct 29-Nov 2 in the museums placita.

If you’re wondering why I’ve been in SL so much, I ‘m down with the flu, hopefully not  H1N1     ^o^         plus, It’s research!!!!!

Really.

It’s  fall break at UNL which gives me a little bit of extra time to focus on projects and have a little R & R.  So, I headed off to Mexico, courtesy of the Mexican Board of Tourism — all from the comfort of my living room.  Talk about being an armchair tourist!  Of course I didn’t ACTUALLY go to Mexico, I took a VIRTUAL trip via Second Life.  Here are photos from my trip:

First, I did some upgrades to my avatar . . . new skin, different eyes, better piercings.  Vanity, thy name is avatar!  This photo was taken in the colonial section of virtual Mexico.

First stop: La Venta and the Olmec Archaeological Park

I have to say that the builders of this sim did a great job.  I think they must have used photographs of actual monuments which were then copied onto the simulated monuments.  The details are accurate and visually stunning. It is like being there — except no schlepping your luggage around or getting all sweaty in the coastal lowlands of the Veracruz area!

Next stop:  Palenque

The above photo is of the Temple of the Inscriptions, famous for housing the tomb of the great Maya king, Pacal.  In the sim, one can climb up the temple and then down the shaft into the center of the pyramid to view Pacal’s tomb.  I’ve done this in real life and the payoff is outrageous!!  I’m very impressed with this sim . . . again, just enough detail to entice and give the feeling that one is looking at the “real” thing, but not too much detail to make the sim run too slow.

This is the palace at Palenque.  Nice addition of the fire for ambiance!

Shot of a colonial church. The tourism board created a sim that features several archaeological sites, beaches, jungles, and colonial architecture.  It’s pretty amazing! There’s a musical soundtrack, ambient sound, and the discos have preset dance animators that allow your avatar to salsa like a local! Unfortunately, no one has yet found a way for you to enjoy a cerveza con un plato de enchiladas!

No trip to Mexico would be complete with out picking up souvenirs.  I got a free sombrero, but it didn’t fit!

Alas, not all is perfect in the virtual world — but the imperfections reflect real world issues.  The above photo is of a voting booth (you vote which sim you like best).  The prize for voting is a “Beautiful Mayan Inspired Outfit.”  OMG, this is cultural appropriation at its worst!  But, just the kind of sexy, exoticized pastiche of stereotypes to appeal to tourists!

I’m teaching a course right now on the Ancient Maya . . . I’ll have to work these images into my next lecture!

Second Life is truly amazing and this simulation of Mexico presents tourist destinations in a way that entices while not fully satisfying.  I sat through a short tourist board video that showed Mexico and Mexicans — which was a cool way to insert the real into the virtual.  The overwhelming message of the video and the sim was “VISIT MEXICO.”  I’m curious as to the effectiveness of this sim as a promotional device.  SL boasts of +1 million visits per month.  When I log on there are usually 40 – 65 thousand people inworld — that’s a lot of people!  A great deal of time, energy, and expense went into the creation of this sim, but it probably costs less than running TV ads and has the added bonus of giving avatars the opportunity to “experience” Mexico.  Probably for some, this is as much experience as they will want to ever gain . . . but for others, it is an engaging way to test the waters.

From an educational perspective, I can see the utility of sims of this nature.  I can send students inworld to virtually experience walking up the steps of a massive pyramid.  I have in mind the development of a course doing virtual ethnography in SL . . . a great way to learn how to do anthropology without the trouble (and expense) of going into the “field.”

Anyone interested in reading about SL should check out Tom Boellstorff’s text “Coming of Age in Second Life.”  It is an excellent presentation of SL and the possibilities of doing anthropological research in the post-modern/post-human era.  I “met” Boellstorff in SL . . .  it’s kinda funny . . . he’s from Nebraska and teaches at UC Irvine while I’m from Orange County and teach in Nebraska!  Even the virtual world is full of coinkydinks.

So much for blogging today . . . the kitty wants some pate . . . do you think I spoil her?

I was awakened Saturday morning to Tom’s loud exclamation, “Oh, F@#k . . . it snowed last night.”  Needless to say, Mister Man is not favorably disposed to the winter season.  Fortunately, it was just a light dusting.

But, it did require some “farm” chores.   Henny and Penny weren’t too sure what was going on . . . it was their first snow.  So, I raked up the snow from around their yard so their little toes wouldn’t get too cold.  Maybe I should ask Onion Tears to knit them some gloves!  Tom had already fortified their coop with straw bales to keep out the wind and retain heat.

Here’s a video of the chickens enjoying the brisk winter air (and Balam, too).

I fortified the “chickie cave” to keep the snow out . . .

The girls seem to appreciate it!

The rain barrel had to be drained

So, that was Saturday morning . . . trying to winterize in early October . . . frankly, we were not prepared for snow.  We still had not taken the garden hoses off the spigots and Thursday evening we were out at 11 pm picking green tomatoes in the dark.  Global warming is perhaps a misnomer . . . we should call it global climate change.  Our summer was very cool and winter has made a fairly early appearance.  The cats, however, don’t seem to be too phased by the whole thing

They spend most of the day sleeping

The kitties are best buddies now.

Mister Man enjoying cat company

Cleo and me taking a nap

What better way to enjoy the cooling weather?

Mister Man had a gig with the New Delta Boogie Boys at the 4th Annual Veg Fest held in the “Historic Havelock District”.

This event was organized by several organizations that we support . . . and they invited the NDBB to play.  It was a brisk afternoon, pleasant enough, but hard on the musicians (stiff fingers).  As always, Tom, Stan, Pablo, and Patrick served up some great  blues to entertain young and old alike.

You can keep track of upcoming gigs at   www.ruminentrecords.wordpress.com

Veg Fest also hosted a salsa contest (the condiment, not the dance) with the stipulation that the ingredients had to be locally grown and include melon.  Luckily, our neighbor Keith had just given me a watermelon earlier in the week. So I diced, seeded, chopped, tasted, salted, sawed, scooped, and garnished a recipe I made up for the contest.  Here’s my entry:

Watermelon and Mint Chiffonade Salsa

Judging was by Pepe Fiero (owner of Pepe’s Veggie Mex Bistro), Maggie (owner of Maggie’s Wraps), and Judy a la Carte  (radio host on KFOR).  It was a blind taste test . . . competition was a little lacking . . . only 3 entries until the final minute when two more showed up.

Judging. . . . .

Ta-da!

First Place!!  And there were prizes!

Woohoo!! A Rain Barrel!!

the long view

At the end of Veg Fest a few of us headed over to

to enjoy a few brews with friends.

Dave and Joan were kind enough to schlep the barrel to our house since it wouldn’t fit in my car even if it hadn’t been filled with Mister Man’s guitars, gig bags, guitar stand, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Had beer & wine with Dave and Joan.  Ran out to DeLeone’s for quick Mexican food  . . . and then just enough time to powder my nose, touch up my lipstick and drive over to Q to join my BFFs for the Drag review.  We had a great time.  Girls looked great  . . . I was complemented by a couple of performers on my hair and boots !!!  YES!  What we all need sometimes – validation that our internal diva-ness is workin’ it!

A lot of fun packed into one day!  Phew.  I think I’ll take it easy today.

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Ah, such is life . . . constant movement and change is needed for us to remain healthy.  Doesn’t mean we have to like it,  I suppose.  Vincent D’Onofrio is bowing out of L&O: CI (although he does hint at possible guest returns).  D’Onofrio is a fabulous actor . . . stretching himself to the limits in very odd roles such as in The Cell, Full Metal Jacket, and Impostor. This last flick is not as well known as his other movies.  But, it is the first role that made me remember D’Onofrio.  I naturally saw Impostor when it premiered . . . it’s based on a story by Philip K. Dick.  PKD stories and novels have suffered and benefited from Hollywood treatment.  Anyone who knows me will tell you what my all time favorite movie is (Blade Runner).  In Impostor, D’Onofrio foreshadows his role as Goren.  He is a government agent trying to track down an alien impostor that has infiltrated earth with the intent of causing much mayhem (isn’t that what all aliens do?).  As the plot pitches, turns, and folds back in on itself, we are sure that D’Onofrio is right, but he doesn’t seem to represent good.  I loved the film . . .

Anyway, that’s my ramble for now.  I’ll miss D’Onofrio  . . . I’d let him interrogate me anytime!

We took Cleo for a well-baby vet check . . . Phew!  all test results returned negative for the nasty diseases.  I did ask the vet to check the kitten’s nether regions . . . I checked yesterday, but couldn’t find any external parts.  I thought maybe  I was losing my touch (so to speak) . . . but turns out that Cleofides is FEMALE !  So, now Cleo’s full name will be Cleopatra.  Cleo is NOT a happy kitty right now . . . shots, blood draw, frontline, dewormer, nail clip, and an anal probe >:-(

Teeny tiny Cleo weighs only 1.86 pounds . . . all that trauma has sent her into a deep slumber . . . . .  shhhhh!

Well, we just couldn’t live without a kitten . . . so we adopted a new baby last night. I named him Cleofides – Cleo for short. Here’s our new guy:

Cleo is an orphan . . . his mother died so he was bottle fed.  As a result he is a little on the runty size at 8-10 weeks.  He has a vet appointment tomorrow for his first baby shots.

First contact with Balam went smoothly . . . Amby paved the way.  I think we are all happier now but miss our little Amby terribly still.