ReadyMade - digital vs. print.

I've long been torn by the divide between reading my media sources online or in print. Usually I prefer print editions, for sometimes silly reasons: I like getting ink on my hands, I like the portability, and I like being able to write and do crossword puzzles in the paper. In practice though, I get most of my news and other information online. It's nice because I'm not wading through piles of old papers and it's free, but there are still drawbacks.

When I used to pick up the local paper, I would thumb through nearly every section. I didn't read everything of course, but I did a quick scan of headlines and knew what was in there. Editorial decisions about which stories were above the fold were only made once a day. Meanwhile, at startribune.com, headlines switch multiple times a day and the most read and e-mailed articles are prominently located on the side. Some might argue that this is perhaps more democratic, but it's hard to email articles to people when they are buried.

I'm getting away from the point here - which is to discuss that ReadyMade Magazine is now available online, for free! (Okay, and it has been since April, which is when I started this entry.) I've been a fan of this magazine for a while, but I never got around to getting a subscription. Soooo without further ado, a review of the latest online issue of ReadyMade.

One of the ingenious things about ReadyMade online is that instead of putting the article text and pictures on an entirely different looking webpage that is cluttered with side bar ads and other junk, the online version looks like the magazine. Of course, this includes everything, including the full page ads, so it's a bit annoying when pop up ads show up on top of that. The two page spread displays nicely across my browser, and the zoom navigation is pretty intuitive. There are a few drawbacks to this, of course - I had to read the up and down pages on packing tips sideways.

The other thing that the online version does well is to make good use of the tools available in the medium. You no longer have to type in the address of that site you read about, you can just click it! Want to read that article they mention in the editor's page? Don't worry about paper cuts, just click on the number!

What is it missing? The fact that it's an actual magazine, of course. For many obvious reasons that I've already touched on and more (portability, cuttability, loanability), reading a magazine online is just not as exciting as holding it in one's hands.

But is that excitement worth the $5 cover price and the hassle of storing it later? Probably not. The truth is, I really enjoy having easy access to ReadyMade once again - even when I used to buy it from the newsstands, it wasn't exactly easy to find. And though it's not quite as exciting as getting a nice colorful magazine from the store or in the mail, I will happily read it online again.

someone cares about what somebody else had for lunch.

A wise woman once said, No One Cares What You Had For Lunch. Although the book looks a bit silly, that phrase has always haunted me whenever I want to write about the fabulous thing I ate for lunch, or breakfast, or dinner, or whatever. Sometimes I listened to the warning, sometimes I ignored it, but then worried that I was resorting to the style of my livejournal days. [Quote from 2001: so i took a nap this afternoon. i seem to be having so much trouble sleeping lately. i don't get it. I only keep these around so I can be thoroughly embarrassed by my younger self.]


But a bigger part of my response to this whole assertion is that it is a LIE. Why else would I read about what 100 New Yorkers had for breakfast with such rapt attention? Why would I start theorizing about the day of the week this survey was taken, as it seemed odd that so many people had such hearty breakfasts? Why would I become motivated once again to make my breakfasts more creative, more pretty, and perhaps even fashion cute napkins and place mats so the whole meal looks more like the ones at simply breakfast?

Maybe it's true that no one cares what I had for lunch (or breakfast). But I care about what you ate today. And if you took a picture of it, I'd be even more fascinated.


For the record, I had a rare breakfast provided by work: some fresh fruit, a honey wheat bagel with walnut cream cheese, and chai tea at home.

new goal: flight attendant.

I've been looking at this collection of flight attendant uniforms for...well, my eyes are starting to glaze over. But it's addicting because there are some real gems in here. So much fun. Most of my favorites are from the 70s, as the colors tend to get muted as time goes on. (Also, the skirts tend to get longer. Sorry, business travelers!) Here are a few that caught my eye:

[edit: the pictures apparently don't like to be linked. Boo. Will be fixed shortly.]
[re-edit: gosh, I don't know what is up with blogger but it makes me sad because this post is useless without pretty pictures. until I can fix it, links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.]





Some of my favorite airlines (for uniforms, anyway):
Eastern Airlines
Air West
Allegheny Airlines
United Airlines

spring and other things.

- I went to the farmer's market for the first time of the season today. I was worried it wasn't open when I walked up - it was, just pretty empty. I picked up some herbs and put them in a pot, and then realized that was maybe a bad idea since some might need more water or less water but whatever. I can always move them.

- I also took my bike for spin today...the gears aren't perfect, but it's still good. But man, I feel so out of shape. Never mind that my biking muscles are never really formed, but even with running I feel tired after a few miles.

- My stupid window air conditioning unit has been sitting on the floor since last fall. [Long story as to why it was never put away in the first place.] Now the stupid thing is taking up a third of my nice window, and I'll probably use it four this summer.

- I made myself a tumblr. Part of me is excited by it, but I'm also annoyed that instead of having one place where I can post everything I feel pressure to splinter things off. I shouldn't post links here now, they should go there! And then you (all four or so of you) readers will be pressured to check not one but TWO sites, and I understand why you might not. And to top it all off, I'm still interested in twitter! (Except that seems more like a thing you do because your friends do it and you're all connected, and I can't think of that many friends I know on there so I would feel silly and unpopular.) So a plea to all web 2.0 people - will you please stop making websites for every tiny little purpose that are so attractively designed?


Shit, I just thought of another idea: a site for only complaining about how hard it is to keep up with all the other sites. It could be called metameta.com. I'm stopping now.

ah, craigslist.

Best Missed Connection of the Week


This wasn't anything out of the ordinary until I read the last line. And then it got me to thinking - do you really want to meet a potential mate at Planned Parenthood? [And this is nothing against PP, as I totally support them.] But think about it - nearly everyone there is either getting tested for pregnancy, STIs, or about to have their annual lady check up. Maybe it's just me, but I don't really want to get hit on when I'm about to go through that. Then again, that makes it the opportune time for more missed connections:

You were the hot lady with a look of dread on her face. I didn't want to bug ya since you were about to be felt up by a doctor. But if you want, I'd be happy to play doctor with you. (And don't worry about me, I'm clean - they said the rash will go away.)

diary of a foodie.

I used to have a Saturday tradition of watching cooking shows on PBS, which has sadly fallen to the wayside in the past months. My standby favorite is America's Test Kitchen, but it's gotten a bit boring lately. Other favorites tend to get recycled in and out with no warning, which can be disappointing when they're good. (As evidenced here - I have not seen that one in months.)

But seeing as how I'm sick and sniffly today, I found myself catching an episode of my new favorite show: Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie. (warning: that link will play a video on click) I've seen it a few times, and they're often focusing on sustainable farms and eateries from around the world and it's just really fun. Today's show caught my attention because it was all about food bloggers (though none that I currently read). David Lebovitz talked about Paris and its specialty cheese shops with amazing eggs and of course, I too wanted to move there. But mostly the episode just motivated me to blog more about food, even if I'll never be featured on tv because of it.

diy, for food and craft.

Craft

Sew, Mama, Sew (which I only recently discovered) is listing ideas for homemade holiday gifts all month long. Ack, what a fabulous idea! Of course, in order to finish presents by Christmas, I probably should have started them in...oh, I dunno, April?

One of the gift ideas that I would rather make for myself is this lunch bag. While trying to make sense of the directions, I managed to find a video on how to make a messenger bag out of plastic bags. Neat!


Food

Inspired by this question [What cooking do you do diy?], I finally made my own granola using this recipe. It turned out pretty well and was so easy. I also am very intrigued by making my own yogurt, since I like to eat it a lot and I get mad at all the non-recyclable yogurt containers I have. So, that's something to think about.

food will save the planet.

Although I tend to be wary of most trends, I'm okay with environmentalism being a trendy and hip thing right now. In fact I hope it becomes so trendy that the envirohipsters start rolling their eyes when hordes of unfashionable people commence to swinging their reusable bags at Target.

Going along with the current trend, I'm pretty amused by this site that claims eating peanut butter and jelly can reduce global warming. Now, I fully realize that vegetarian diets are better for the environment, but if you keep reading there's some sort of challenge to eat pb&j sandwiches as much as possible for two weeks. WHY? I guess because pb&j is marketable (the tofu campaign doesn't sell as well). And curbing global warming is marketable. And there you have it! Eat completely bland sandwiches forever even though there are many other veggie options for you that taste better. Though wait! It says to eat foods that use less pesticides and then this nytimes article says that peanuts use LOADS of pesticides!

Confused? Try reading The Green Lantern on Slate - this week, vegans vs. vegetarians! I like this column too, although I'm starting to think it's a lot of number crunching designed to make people feel less guilty.

Where am I going with this? I'm not really sure, but I find it intriguing how everything in the world is changing how people view food. It will be interesting to see if trends hang around, or if they just get kicked to the curb like most food fads.

dawdle.

My flight to San Francisco leaves in about two in a half hours, and I am miraculously ready to go a whole 30 minutes before I need to leave! Amazing! And thus, I bring you links.

Gabe & Max's Internet Thing
Well thought out advice on how to use the internet for maximum benefits.

David Byrne likes the Blow!
Wow, that's a much better capsule of her live show than I could ever write.


Also, in case you're wondering, my love affair with butternut squash has not cooled down. In fact, it's so sizzling and hot it burned my mouth.

Okay, vacation! Wahoo!

clicky clicky.

Today is a good day for the internet. Yes, other days are bad. Sometimes very bad. Look what I found already!

Super cute Parisian girl at the Sartorialist
Even her cigarette is stylish! How is that even possible? (and omg, the shoes. the shoes.)

The World's Best Candy Bars? English, of Course. [NYTimes]
It's so true. I would eat a cadbury milk bar nearly every day and still managed to lose weight while studying in London. (Again, how is that even possible? Answer: lots of walking and soup. And chocolate.)

Is My Hybrid Turning My Kids Into Eco-snobs? [Slate]
Funny. I don't know if it's just one of those selective observation deals or what, but I feel like I see Priuses everywhere now. While reading that I also confirmed an earlier discovery that my nytimes login, taken from bugmenot, is a New York Times SELECT ACCOUNT. Take that, New York Times! I am not thwarted by your little orange icons!

smorgasboard.

Craft:


This is what you do when you have clothes you don't wear anymore, and also an unexplainable affliction for plaid, and also a lot of free time. You make a new shirt, dammit.

Food:
My weeklong project of eating all the vegetables I bought will be trying, but I will succeed! Mashed potatoes every day! Also, I'm so annoyed that I didn't buy snap peas because if I did I could make this...which looks really good. Recipe idea for dinner, perhaps?

Elsewhere on the internet: Viewing American Class Distinctions through Facebook and Myspace

Truly fascinating stuff. It's long, but entirely worth reading. The commentary on the use of these sites in the military is interesting too. Quotes!

They see it [myspace] as gaudy, immature, and "so middle school." They prefer the "clean" look of Facebook, noting that it is more mature and that MySpace is "so lame." ... That "clean" or "modern" look of Facebook is akin to West Elm or Pottery Barn or any poshy Scandinavian design house...

When I first started tracking soldiers' MySpace profiles, I had to take a long deep breath. Many of them were extremely pro-war, pro-guns, anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, pro-killing, and xenophobic as hell. Over the last year, I've watched more and more profiles emerge from soldiers who aren't quite sure what they are doing in Iraq.

[Also, if I ever go to grad school for sociology I would be ALL OVER internet research.]

places I used to live.

My old apartment.

My old roommate discovered this gem of an ad for our old place in Madison. When I read it, I like to pretend that it was written with a sort of "wink wink nudge nudge" sensibility, not to mention a complete overusage of the thesaurus. I mean...it will "make the cheeks on your face turn red" while it " seals the deal of satisfaction" (with "benefits"), AND you can share "illusionary desires" with your roommates. Are they not completely pandering to sexually frustrated college students?

Heh, or maybe I'm reading a little too much into that.

diy. or, buy diy.

Anti-Factory

I stumbled across this through one of those funny blog trails, and I find it so inspiring. Really cute clothes altered beautifully using mostly found fabrics, thus reducing dependence on both sweatshops and farms to grow cotton and the like. It's silly how I always bookmark sites like this with the intention of emulating their designs and ideas, and rarely with the intention of buying anything. ($88 for a shirt is just not something I'm used to. Yet.) And do I make anything similar? Rarely. There is the hope that someday I will be able to make creations like these. Someday, someday.

well, it was a good effort.

A week ago I pledged to keep track of everything I ate in an attempt to track where it was from and see how much of my food was actually local. It only took about a day to realize that pretty much all of my food is from far away. Of course, this isn't too much of a surprise, considering that it's still relatively early in the spring in Minnesota and I am accustomed to eating bananas. But there is hope! The farmer's market is within walking distance (although not a very interesting walk - downtown St. Paul is very boring on the weekends...), and pretty soon the locally grown veggies will all be all over. Also, the co-op nicely designates which products are local. We're trying. We're also trying to get a bike, but give us time.


In other internet wanderings....some things I enjoyed reading this week.
The New Snob Appeal of Tap Water

Middle East Conflict Intensifies as Blah Blah Blah, Etc.
So true, so sad, so funny.

The Onion on This American Life

"Seeing this project through to its culmination was equally satisfying and strange," said Vowell, speaking at a book signing in Colonial Williamsburg dressed as Betsy Ross. "I feel not unlike the early Pilgrims, who, standing atop Plymouth Rock after a long and arduous sea voyage, reflected on their journey, perhaps thinking to themselves 'For God's sake—doesn't anybody have anything to eat in this settlement?'"

(Ha. I own two Sarah Vowell books now.)

I think you're really "cool."

You know those people who always have to point out errors in grammar? These "people" are often annoying. And I am about to become "one" of those people.

Smoking "hot" body at Festival Food Store today

I just laugh at this whole thing. I "think" it's supposed to be a compliment. Thank you, anonymous author, reading this was a "pleasure!"