Case-Notes from the Artsy Asylum

May I Tip Your Blog?

Blogtipping, which happens accross the blogosphere on the first day of every month was started by Easton Ellsworth as a way to highlight blogs that you admire.

Tomorrow's the day, so to do your own BlogTipping you simply:

• pick three blogs
• list three things you like about each and
• provide a helpful tip.

Why not get out of your comfortable neighborhood and go tip some blogs. The rewards are great for all concerned as your blog and those you tip join others at the BlogTipping keyword search at Technorati.

Find my tippees here along with others who've caught the Link leak virus.

 

Cweeole or Kitgen? Cats Can Has Gooder Grammar

Anil Dash says it's possible to get cat-speak wrong.

"Incorrect kitty pidgin jumped to my attention the first time I saw a reference to Dune being used with a lolcat image. . . .  the caption . . . "I are dunecat. I controls the spice, I controls the universe."  . . . was just all wrong."

"The fact that we can tell no cat would talk like this shows that kitty pidgin is actually quite consistent."

At the risk of lapsing into internet culture speak can I just say ROFL? 

And yes, wo DO know how our cat would speak!

OK, admittedly this is one of those things that strikes you as hilarious or makes you go "huh?"

If you're in the first group it's time to get the Depends now before reading more about what Anil's tempted to call lolcat grammar  aka: "cweeole".that is "useful to help cats talk to humans."

Stop laughing. You'll wake the cat. Go read now so I can talk to Grammar Girl about this lolcat grammar issue.

 

For examples of lolcat:

• see I can has cheezburger
• or join  me on twitter - http://twitter.com/susanreynolds. At some point you'll get an error message & be introduced to multiple lolcats
• Laughing Squid just added a squid lolcat

Favorite Your Technorati Fans

What's Technorati Favorite Your Fans?

• It's a free download
• It connects to the Technorati.com service
• It finds everyone who has favorited your blog and automatically favorites them back.

The thought process behind the idea:

If someone has gone to the trouble of adding you to their favorites, this program will return the favor, without requiring you to go through all of the people who have favorited you and then adding them manually.

Especially since the doshdosh project / meme / whatever you want to call it this is something people already do, the real question is why not automate it?

So //engtech came up with this program intended to save you - and me - and all of the friends of doshdosh, //engtech etc by automating the process.

Return the "Favorite Fan Favor" and download the program here or just read more about it.

And don't hesitate to favorite me while you're at it, OK?

.

What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing With an Accent Like This?

I've been thinking about podcasting but have cold feet. The obsessive thinking part of this is driving me crazy. I realize that I need to reassure myself that

a.) I have something to say

and

b.) I'm not going to repeat the history of high school when my public speaking teacher tried to train my speech patterns by forcing me to make morning announcements on the PA system.

So following the lead of Kevin Kennedy-Spaien I took the American Accent test.

For the record: I'm not like the people who think that an accent is something that only other people have, those other people usually being in New York, Boston, and the South. I know that I say ruut beer and living ruum, so I was up for the test to reassure me.

   

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Northeast   Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island.  Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.
Boston
Philadelphia
The Midland
The Inland North
The South
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have?

Looks like I have enough of the Great Lakes girl in me that I sound like I'm from a little bit of everywhere in the northeast. I went to school in Philadelphia and on the border of New York and Canada, so sounding like I'm from all over the place is a pretty accurate assessment.

The question remains if I have anything to say that's worth listening to

.

Gathering for Visibility and Profit

Just now when checking out my earnings on Gather.com I realized it's time to cash out points for another $50 gift card from Borders as a result of my reading and writing for them.

It's been a good way for me to increase visibility and has quite literally paid off not just in blog traffic but in dollars and cents. I was always a believer to some extent but I didn't actually think I'd ever see a measurable profit from this activity.

Just goes to show ya.

Keep informed on Gather.com!

Content ranges from politics to cooking, and my favorite part - earning Gather Points™  that I turn into cash for reading, writing sharing photos and otherwise using the site! 

Spring Comes Late at Chez Reynolds

Did I mention that my husband's heart surgery both really knocked me for a loop and is having long lasting productivity effects?   

One result is that it's a week later that I'm getting around to posting my response to the Eco Art topic from last week.

The art piece "Spring" is designed to elicit an impression of the planet's fresh soft bounty and remind us of its delicate fragility no matter what time of year we see it.

See more of my Inspire Me Thursday and Illustration Friday pieces here and more from other artists at the Eco Art topic link.

 

Empowering and Celebrating Women though Unitus

Some of it could be that my husband had wires and a defibrillator permanently screwed into his heart last week, so I'm unusually spouse-sensitive these days. But I was touched by the way Unitus has set in motion a way for all of us to pay tribute to people in our everyday lives.

Who knows if it was Chris Pirillo who fist drew my attention to Unitus, but the tribute he created for his wife thanks to the format they provided has gotten my attention in a big way.

Chris writes of his wife

"I consider myself lucky that my wife, Ponzi, is both a life and business partner. . . . my entire existence (and the lives of those around me) has been enhanced by her presence."

This is something well worth learning more about:

• How Unitus Empowers Women
• Read Success Stories

      

Hokie Healing: A Project for VA Tech

Mosiac Yarn Shop, the local shop where Virginia Tech college kids hang out to knit, is hosting a "Hokie Healing" charity knit with the goal of collecting 8x8 crochet or knit squares in Hokie Colors (maroon, orange) with which to make blankets for families of victims.

The Hokie Healing hosts ask that you

"Knit or crochet squares out of the nicest, softest yarn you can afford and confine colors to Maroon, Burnt Orange, White and Black."

Please mail squares to:
Mosaic Yarn Shop
880 University City Blvd.
Blacksburg, Va 24060

For more information phone 540.961.4462

 

Related post: Virginia Tech Tribute

Huzzah - It's the Hair Ball Harvest

Talk about making lemonade out of lemons! Curious Jayne has proof she can go one better, making kool-aid hand-dyed and felted cat hair "beads"

Jayne says

"I started with a lot of fur, but it was only enough for a handful of beads, so I’m back to harvesting again."

Harvesting? The stuff seems to harvest itself all over my house! Let's send Jayne our extra cat hair so she can turn those gorgeous gem-like little beads into full fledged balls.

      

Resources: Kool-Aid dying

On Lemons and Lemonade

 

Beyond the Fjord: Art in a Soothing Vein

It turns out that having wires screwed into a spouse's heart has a way of interfering with other activities.

After living and breathing heart monitors for days I  need something calm and soothing in my world. Could I even think about anything beyond medication, cardiac electricians young enough to be my children, and questions about recuperation?

Could I even focus on a belated contribution for last week's Illustration Friday topic "Polar"?

A serene monochromatic palette of blues and a complex maze like pattern of lights and darks worked into the small mixed media art piece: "Beyond the Fjord"

After it was done and I was loading the image into the blog I began to wonder if the maze has some kind of meaning connected to heart circuitry. But then again, I'm never sure exactly what's going to come out when I make art - and I'm never sure what's behind it either.

I love a good conundrum.

      

Find more Illustration Friday and Inspire Me Thursday pieces in this section of the Artsy Asylum Blog and enjoy other Illustration Friday submissions here.