Anti-consumerism-rant-slash-wish-list.

Even before I had a name and mounds of websites explaining it, I have been obsessing about the simple stuff. This year was all about simplyfing, simplicity, and so on.
Call it what you want, environmentalism, cheapness, reducing modern life stress...
Oh well, the holidays are coming. Despite the fact that I never celebrated Thanksgiving (or Halloween, for that matter), and that I'm away from my family (for the 6th straight year), I like the holidays. But I'm not looking forward to running around, singing carols, shopping, cooking, eating, getting fat, getting crazy, getting stuff.
Part of the problem is that I am not making money enough to shower my friends with gifts, but also I worked very hard on decluttering my house all year long to get caught in the whole thing.
I don't know if I'm being too radical, but I'm not alone: turns out I found some friends who are gonna advocate for buynothingday.org. Other websites (thanks, God) also have the same drift: buynothingchristmas and hundreddollarholidays.
So I'm seriously thinking about going tree-hugger on my friends and kinda preaching about my philosophy on acceptable gifts - I still like gifts, mind you.
This is a summary of whatever the radically simple people out there might suggest you give this Christmas and that I'm taking for my birthday (wink, wink) since I'll have a kick-ass party at Franklin's.

No-gift gifts

buyables

The moderates start the list with buyables, but they should be fair trade and everything, or consumables, like tea or coffee or chocolate, hmmmm, chocolate! Oh, and Vertigo has nice books always on sale - this is a little off-topic, but I just like them, they are a nice neighborhood store.

used

yours - Yes, I want your stuff. If you don't use it and think I'll like it, tell me why and I'll be happy to have something to remember you by.
thrift - Instead of buying something new, buy something at valuevillage or a garage sale, I'll still appreciate it as long as it doesn't smell musty (and it usually doesn't if it is a thrift store, they are careful about this stuff). A book (with a nice dedication, please) or a cd (cd exchange, right next to the gyro place) are good choices.
swap - I'm thinking about holding a swap party to exchange odds and ends (not as gifts, just as a recycling effort). There's always an outgrown sweater, the odd china, I don't know. Ellen, help me here.

home made

I don't really like the idea of going Martha on holidays, because it only adds to the end-of-year stress. Who wants to slave over arts and crafts if - let's be sincere - they are not gonna look that great afterwards? Unless, of course, it's something you do well and easily, like a compilation of your favorite songs or a notebook with recipes so easy even I can cook (there's a challenge!) or printed pictures of all the parties we went to this last year...

time

teach - C'mon, teach me, tiger. There are so many things I can't do: sing, cook, do laundry...
be my slave - Offer to cook for me, fix my computer or drive me around. I promise I won't be too demanding. And it doesn't have to be now, during the holidays.
quality time - Let's spend some time together... No, really, let's have dinner somewhere, go walking, talk, have tea.

memories

photos - Print me pictures. Add funny captions.
cds - Compile those tunes. No pagode, pleeeease.
performance - Sing for me! Write me a card!
artwork - But no breakables.
displays of affection - Give me a hug, for God's sake!!! It doesn't sound like it, but I'm pretty easy to please...

To be framed and cherished until 2010.

It's a postcard-sized, peach-colored piece of paper I got in the mail today. It says:

November 3, 2005


Dear Resident:

As requested, your address was removed from our list on 10/1/05       .

It takes 6-8 weeks for this process to become effective as ADVO pre-prints its mailing labels in advance. Your delete status will remain effective for a period of five years. You will need to contact us again by 8/1/10       to reapply your removal request for an additional five years.

[paragraph about how I'm missing out by not receiving their offers and that other companies may mail me with other catalogues too]

[paragraph with the address to write to if I opted out by mistake. ha!]

This is the awesome prize I get from the afternoon of boredom when I excluded my address from those pesky grocery ads that come with the missing child thing. I used Shopwise's parent company customer support. I also tried to stop ValPack, I don't know how that went. (btw: they are lying, they don't really need your email.) I also stopped all other catalogues by going to the dma website and mailing them (oh, yes, they charge you to do it via web). I know it really seems to the untrained eye that I have nothing to do or am an annoy-ing/ed grandma, but I really hate the ritual of going straight from the mailbox to the recycling bin. Let's hope they keep their word and leave me junk free until 2010. Or the next valued resident.

UPDATE: I got the missing child slip from ShopWise and NO GROCERY ADVERTISEMENT!!! Ohhhhhh...
UPDATE2: For a more complete guide to opting out, check the Center for Democracy & Technology guide

Ô joga fora no lixo!

Via 43 folders:

You have way too much crap.
I'm just guessing. Guessing that right now, in your life, in your closets and in your garage and in your car trunk and in your brain and even in your desk drawer you have way, way too much stuff, far more than any one person or single family needs and, oh my God, have you even seen your closet lately?

If there's one upside to these [decluttering] shows (superficially, at least), it's how it might, just might, slowly dawn on a few viewers that more does not equal better, that excess crap actually equals undue stress and nausea and burden, and that, in truth, the more junk you have, the tackier it looks. Hey, anything's possible.

It is one of the healthiest things you can do. Honest psychologists and good spiritual healers often advise patients with overactive minds and squirrel-like attention spans and problems focusing and problems sleeping, they will tell them not to pop some Ritalin or merely take an herbal tincture and eat more leafy greens, but to go home right now and, yes, clean out your closets. Clear out your clutter. Strip it all to the beautiful essentials and then keep it that way.

Os grifos são meus e ninguém tasca.

I knew him before fame...

David Eisner, a blogger and software developer at the University of Maryland's Computer Aided Life Cycle Engineering Center, believes the record label's actions will ultimately backfire and drive otherwise legitimate customers to download pirated music from the online file-sharing networks.

"The people they're trying to stop from stealing their music are always going to find a way around these types of technologies," Eisner said. "Sony is just hurting people who obtain their products legally, and many of these same people are now going to think twice about doing so."

A manivela

Uma reza atendida em onze dias tá valendo ou é muito devagar?
Eu tô achando é bom.

Maria Rita

Vovo' Rita faria 100 anos. Hoje.

Weno knows me

Não era pra ser eu, não, mas que tá igual...

Maçaneta.

Todas as maçanetas aqui são colocadas de cabeça pra baixo. A maçaneta embaixo, o buraco da fechadura logo acima, a chave entra com a serrinha pra cima, para abrir você gira no sentido do batente, para fechar gira no sentido contrário.

Quatro anos e ainda não me acostumei.

Site feed

I loooove it. Minha voltinha diária ficou bem mais fácil...

Domingator Cinemator Theme Song

The Artist formely known as David Eisner graciously shared with us his theme song for Domingator Cinemator. Domingator fans worldwide thank you, David.

O mesmo novo velho

Tia velha rides again.
Impressão minha ou esta joça está andando em círculos???

Da nota de mil

Não vou viver com ninguém. Viverei com o Catete, o Largo do Machado, a Praia de Botafogo e a do Flamengo, não falo das pessoas que lá moram, mas das ruas, das casas, dos chafarizes e das lojas. Há lá coisas esquisitas, mas sei eu se venho achar em Andaraí uma casa de pernas para o ar, por exemplo? Contentemo-nos do que sabemos. Lá os meus pés andam por si. Há ali coisas petrificadas e pessoas imortais (...)

Machado de Assis, "Esaú e Jacó"

Mínimas

- Estão voltando meus superpoderes.
- Agora que meu único meio de comunicação é o email, eu checo a cada 15 segundos quando estou no computador. Quando estou longe do computador consigo mais ou menos manter a compostura.
- Uma garoa fina que só dá vontade de dormir.
- Engraçado ver as pessoas aqui pronunciando "Domingator Cinemator"!

Simples assim

Eu não disse que estava tentando simplificar?

Ou o meu msn, ou o meu yahoo messenger, ou o meu google talk...

Não me condenem por obscura

Mas...

O deus mudança me mostrou o prazo de validade das coisas. Querer por capricho é mau. Interromper o que se gosta por auto-disciplina nunca foi o meu forte.

Dá cá uma garrafa e promete, por favor, que aberta soltará todos os cheiros, diálogos, afagos, barulhos e a cor. Só por um instante. Ben Harper na vitrola, please?

Logun-edé sumiu pros lados da África, bem escondido. Achei agora um canto de Oxum, flagras fáceis da origem do mito.

O meu blog, estas palavras loucas que ninguém vai entender, às vezes me lembra - só eu com a chave das palavras - daquela faísca no escuro.

A ver se os fantasmas voltam para pelo menos dar notícias. A esperança da bruxa é que, na véspera do seu dia, o canto no meio da madrugada possa evocar o fantasma estranhamente querido.

Oi, Vó.

Entrei no metrô cansada. Linha laranja, linha vermelha, linha verde. Na linha verde olho, olho de novo. Vó Totônia. Os mesmos cabelos, castanho-esbranquiçados, descendo pelas costas num coque que desmanchou. Os mesmos olhos, o mesmo jeito de olhar que a gente vê nas fotos. A saia reta até a canela, o casaquinho por cima da blusa, meias e chinelos de couro. Ainda bem, se eu visse havaianas amarelas ia morrer do coração. Eu já estava ali, com o olhinho raso, tentando não encarar, ela puxa os óculos de leitura e começa a ler jornal. Tinha que ser jornal? Tinha. Tinha que ser o Washington Post com uma foto sem mais tamanho do Einstein na contracapa que estava virada pra mim. Comecei a chorar que nem uma doida. Chegou minha estação, desci, ela desceu, estava andando logo atrás de mim, apertei um pouco o passo, chorando, olhando para trás de vez em quando, vencendo a vontade de falar com ela, falar o quê, meu Deus? "você parece a minha avó!"? Fui para a saída oeste, ela também veio caminhando devagar, cheguei à rua, soluçava, fingi que esperava um carro para vê-la ir na direção do ponto de ônibus. Andei mais, solucei mais, enxuguei os olhos, passou.
Hoje eu vi minha avó no metrô.

Aaaai!

Fiz alguma coisa errada no template e meu blog ficou cotó!

Agora deu certo, mas peço desculpas a quem comentou nos últimos posts - especialmente ao Marcelo, senão ele vai achar que eu tô implicando com ele. Eu já tava há um tempão querendo tirar os yaccs.

Comentem away, por favor. Eu vou receber email toda vez que aparecer um comentário, ueba!!!

Eu pensando

A moça Magaly do Eu pensando lançou um concurso de trovas. Eu, neta do João Acelino que colecionava poemetos (incluindo o do vestido da prima) e da Totônia que não deixava ninguém fazer versinho de pé quebrado, lasquei três quatro improvisos:

(Ilusão)
Mirei naquele futuro
Destino pensei que fosse
De miragem era feito:
Acabou-se o que era doce.

(Olhos)
Os seus olhos me olhando
Muito atentos desta vez
Você me chama de boba
E eu te amando em inglês!

(Sonho)
Em sonho falei com Deus
E no sonho respondia:
"Não precisa ser poeta!
Faça só engenharia..."

(Primavera)
Venta muito no outono
e eu abrigo uma quimera:
que o globo revirasse
e já fosse primavera.