Skin Art

Tattoo artist Liam Sparkes' puffin is amazing! I have a special place in my heart for puffins, but I also love his medieval linear shading style. He works in the UK, but you can check out more tattoos and designs on his flickr, all very depraved and beautiful:

puffin, a photo by lyam on Flickr

 I got my puffin by the lovely and mega-talented Tina in February:

La vie s'enfuit (c) magicienne vegetalienne

Happy Bike to Work Day!

On the front lines from 6am til break down at the Freedom Plaza. Even Mister Mayor showed up! Let's hope Gray puts OUR money where his mouth is and reallocates funds to alternative transportation. I also had my first fall in over a year. Had to be on Bike to Work Day. In front of the entire WABA staff. Totally worth it, great to see so many bike people in one place, even the bike cops on 'roids!

Wear helmets, be safe, take care of one another.

And use hand signals because people that drive cars tend to not pay attention unless you are waving around in their direction or have something shiny or blinky.

bike cozy, bruised knees, dirty bird (c) magicienne vegetalienne

Now, sleep forever.

Why I'm Vegan: Excessively Fun Vegan Recipe Blogs

I just came across The Vegan Stoner blog (and hopefully soon-to-be cookbook!) which is comprised of delicious, ridiculously easy and fast recipes, minimalist ingredients to cook healthy on the cheap. And it's illustrated! It's accompanied with idiot/inebriated-proof directions, making it accessible to young folk, old folk, and those with a grade F- in culinary skills.

It kind of reminds me of my childhood cookbook that got me into cooking and feeding myself in the first place (after I made the recipes veg-friendly): Kids Cooking: A Very Slightly Messy Manual. It even came with measuring spoons and had a veggie dog treat recipe! Aw nostalgia.

All the lazy veg*ns, parents, excusatarians, and omni's alike out there, check out one of my favorite recipes below and the rest of the munchies at The Vegan Stoner Blog: 

(c) The Vegan Stoner

Here's an interview with the creators of The Vegan Stoner at Disarray Magazine

For All My Bitches

Ceci n'est pas une salope  (c) magicienne végétalienne

Street Harassment Haiku:

No chance in a bar.
Nor on the bus. Who are you??
Respect me, Fuck off!

If you are a witness, be an ally. If you are a victim, be brave. If you are safe, speak up. This war on women has got to end.

CLITFest DC is sponsoring a Self Defense Workshop this Saturday, check out the Defend Yourself website for more info on that and other upcoming classes!

UPDATE:
Eve Ensler (Vagina Monologues) on Huffington Post today: She's OVER it.

Insightful and cathartic sites on Street Harassment, violence against women, and smashing patriarchy:
(And feel free to suggest more in Comments!)

Bitch Media
Bust MagazineDC Abortion Fund
Consent is Sexy Campaign
DC Trans Coalition
Feministe 
Feministing
Feminist Teacher
For the Birds Collective
Fully Engaged Feminism
Gender Across Borders
Guerrilla Girls
Gulabi Gang 
HIPS
Hollaback DC! 
Hollaback! International
Jezebel 
Men Can Stop Rape
My Strength
Philly's Pissed
Right Rides 
SlutWalk Toronto 
Stop Street Harassment
The Consensual Project
The Curvature
The F Word
Tiger Beatdown
WEAVE 
Visions In Feminism Collective
Yes Means Yes!

DC: Give a Hand to Girls Rock! DC

Girls Rock! is an international movement to empower young girls with self-confidence and new skills in an inclusive, creative space. I only wish I had a Girls Rock camp near me growing up!! 

The DC chapter is starting to organize for their fourth camp this summer! Do you have any instruments to donate? What's a skill you can share? Can you sponsor camp scholarships or help fundraise? Want to be roadie? Who doesn't want to be a counselor and guide the girls through their week at camp and the camper band showcase??? You don't necessarily have to be a musician or female-bodied to volunteer, they need a multitude of resources and assistance. Get involved with Girls Rock! DC here.

They are also moving equipment storage spaces, come lend a hand THIS Saturday! More info on that and future events on the GR!DC Events Calendar. 

Girls Rock! DC Band Camp Showcase

DC: Get Off Your Ass Weekend

There's tons of awesome events and activities this weekend, so don't stay in bed all day or you will have regrets! Here's just a few of my favorites:

Alexis Rockman: A Fable for Tomorrow
This weekend is the last chance for the Alexis Rockman exhibit at The American Art Museum. This is by far one of my favorite contemporary artists and a DO NOT MISS!

Alexis Rockman blends fantasy and dark humor with scientific discovery and conservation, depicting a visual story with a very polished, classical style of painting to create often macabre biological futures within these photo realistic works. All on gigantic, physically imposing canvases and boards.

Biosphere: Hydrographer's Canyon

Take an hour and see this exhibit before May 8th!  

American Art Museum
8th and F Streets, N.W.
11:30am-7pm
FREE!

Friday May 6

Black Cat

1811 14th St NW

Think of England: A Modern Ladies Happy Hour
Red Room
7-9pm
FREE!



Hume, Dope Body, Ed Schrader's Music Beat, and Matt Northrup
La Molienda 
3568 14th St NW
8pm-11pm
$7


Saturday May 7

Mt. Pleasant Farmer's Market-
The first Farmer's Market of the season!
Lamont Park
@ Lamont and Mt. Pleasant Sts
9am-1pm
FREE Bike Clinic and music



Punk Rock Flea Market II: Spring Cleaning and Skill Sharing Edition- A flea market, with music, and now skill shares! Attend the Knitting and Hooking skill share with the Warm + Fuzzies and yours truly!
St. Stephens Church
1525 Newton Street NW
12:30pm-5pm
$3




European Union Annual Open House-
Have a worldly experience without the TSA hassle! DC embassies are open to the public for tours, meet and greets, art, films, free food and drinks. Learn about all that each embassy and their country has to offer.
City-wide event. Check the brochure for participating embassies and their locations.
10am-4pm
FREE!


Sunday May 8

Mother's Day
Do something nice for your mom! No matter what, you came from her uterus (or were raised as if you were!) And it hurt. Say sorry, and say thank you! Flowers, brunch, well wishes, an engaging phone call, shopping, crafts, doesn't have to be a huge production, but take a moment to be appreciative. Too often the ability to take a step bake and actively appreciate a loved one goes undone all year. Also- good thoughts and hugs to those who have a hard time on this day. I'm going to reflect on the recent passing of my grandmother, who raised three sons in the 60s (unholy hell!) and helped with three grand kids. She was a gentle, loving, compassionate, and inspirational woman. The only time she ever used foul language was about Republicans, who can't love that?  




Bike Maintenance Workshop- A free workshop led by an experienced cyclist and former bike messenger to get your bicycle geared up (get it??) for this season's rides. She'll discuss basic maintenance and cleaning and point you in the right direction if you have more in depth questions. Not for bike overhauls or replacing parts. Bring your bike and a few old tees or rags to Malcolm X Park and listen to the drum circle while you re-lube and tune up.


Please bring old t-shirts or rags, toothbrushes or other such brushes that you don't mind getting trashed. Buckets are helpful too!

Malcolm X Park (upper park near drum circle)
3pm-6pm

Memento Mori: Osama bin Laden

He's dead. He's finally fucking dead. We started 2+ wars, murdered numberless civilians, thousands of American and Allied soldiers, the Mid East is more unstable than ever, we created contracts for mercenaries and corporations to reap all the profits with no oversight, used up more of our oil just to secure their oil, bankrupted the USA, and burned bridges with former allies. And we are still fighting. And this whole time they wanted us to think he was rotting in a cave somewhere? He was in a fortified compound 50 km from Islamabad, Pakistan. 

While I have to admit I'm initially relieved he's gone, an undeniable knee-jerk-reaction type of blood lust post 9/11, I have a hard time justifying murder of anything or anyone, let alone the countless killed and the survivors of wars in the name of defeating terrorism or assassinating one horrible terrorist in Pakistan? What about the conflicted soldiers fighting unjust wars in the name of patriotism, and the families they left behind? Was it worth it? Will it be worth it in the long term? 

It leaves me with more questions than relief or any sense of justice. Just because he's dead and buried at sea doesn't mean IT is over. Though this has created relief for many within the US, and given closure to the families and victims of the 9/11 attacks, we will not magically pull out of foreign occupations. Our troops will still be in harm's way. We cannot undo the trauma to their people going from regimes to military imperialism. How many more people have to die? Is execution without trial the democratic, ethical response? How will this help in the long term goal of peace- if that's even a goal of our elected officials and their military branches at this point? Will this trigger far worse retaliation or will this finally heal our country? Can Americans finally stop being xenophobic and anti Islamic? Can we get our troops home before retaliation happens instead of rebuilding? Can we all admit that invading two countries and having a military operation in a third was not about revenge, it's been about resources and who controls them. Will they justify new excuses to avoid the independent rule and economic autonomy of these countries? I hope that all those that celebrated his execution with machismo-American posturing sober up and reflect on what it is to celebrate the death of thine enemy and think of the continued suffering of innocents at our hands abroad. I plea for peace.


Read on:
Tim Wise: Killing One Monster, Unleashing Another: Reflections on Revenge and Revelry
Truth Dig: On Osama Bin Laden’s Death

Huffington Post: Cenk Uyngur- Bin Laden Dead -- War Was Not the Answer

Huffington Post: Osama's Legacy- American Drift 

Grist: Now that we’ve killed Osama bin Laden, let’s kill oil

The Guardian: Osama bin Laden is dead – but not al-Qaida or its cause 

Colorlines: The Ability to Kill Osama Bin Laden Does Not Make America Great
 
TED Talks: 9/11 mothers of victim and terrorist heal through friendship

The Interdependence Project: On Killing Our Enemy 

Partial Objects: Osama bin Laden is dead. Now what?