AliThinks

File Under: People Are Nuts

I have started frequenting the comments to articles on a news site. Occasionally I leave a comment. My username is Alison, because back when I signed up, I thought "First!" There is no other identifying information about me on my profile at this site.(I'm just saying that, because it's not linked to this blog, or any of my other usernames around teh interwebs.)

Last night someone found a comment I made so interesting (because I said I knew someone who was involved with what might be called "alternative religion," and if you give me an S, some ham, and an ism, you've got it), that he kind of got his panties in a wad. This person, to paraphrase, found my acquaintance with this "alternative religion guy" quite amusing. I quote, "I've read many of her posts on other political issues and found her support for Obama so unrelenting* that I suspected her true icon name was Ali's son. But this is even better."

*Um, it's really not unrelenting.

I just kind of laughed at the guy's bizarre logic. But then I got to thinking, SO WHAT? What if I were a Muslim? What if the President were a Muslim? In a perfect world, no one would care, because this is America, Land of the Free and It Doesn't Matter What Religion Others Practice. (Oh wait, in a perfect world, there'd be no religion, but I digress).

Remember when people were freaking out because presidential candidate John F. Kennedy was Catholic? I don't either. But it happened. And guess what? It turned out to be no big deal.

Perhaps in my lifetime, we'll have a Muslim president and it will turn out to be no big deal. Even better? An atheist president! Imagine that!

As Promised

A photo of some* of our Cricket Press posters above the mantel, as promised in my last entry.

*We have five more framed posters to hang on the opposite wall. The only thing stopping me is fear of fucking up. (Two of the posters in the above photo were hung on nails that had been there for years. It was easy to hammer a nail in the middle to hang the other poster. The five remaining posters are not all the same size and shape and will require some artistic talent to arrange.)

Local First

For the past couple of years, Allan and I have tried to purchase as many goods from locally-owned shops as possible. And while that may not seem to have anything to do with the video I'm about to post, it really does. You'll see.

This video recently won a regional Emmy, and the part I want you to watch starts at the 17:00 mark. It's a profile of local artists Sara and Brian Turner, who are behind Cricket Press. We have a few CP posters framed and hanging above our mantel (I'll post a photo later; the morning light in this room isn't conducive to a good pic) and are big fans of their aesthetic. In the video you can see where I work, although it looks a little different there these days!

Here's the video. Unfortunately, I can't embed it here. More commentary below. 

My workplace looks different because we hadn't installed Jim Shambhu's mural yet. Here's a video of that, done by our friend Mick.

Here's a longer version, complete with circus music, if you've got the time and inclination.

So, um, yeah. Where was I? Oh yeah. Lexington is full of cool stuff like Cricket Press. I bet your community is too.

Two Years

Sneak Preview, originally uploaded by Alison.