like Marvin Gaye, what's going on

saddest. thing. ever.

msdynomite — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 03:56:28 GMT

**Free** 28 yr grey TB Mare to good home http://tucson.craigslist.org/zip/563910407.html HIGHLIGHTS: has Melanoma needs meds 3 times a day her meds are only $13 for 1+ month supply will need teeth done in the next 3 months but good for now. coughs sometimes when being ridden, gets attatched to other horses and barn sour easily she wont eat alfalfa unless it soft seriously. could that get any sadder. I mean, really. particularly the owner telling you it's only $13 a month for the meds. like, please, take this horse. I'm reminded of the saying: "that's sadder than a puppy trying to lick a kitten back to life. and the puppy has cancer." anyone in Tucson want a free horse? jebus. I have to go wrap myself in a rainbow. with some giggles. and bubbles. and unicorns now.

vaginas?

msdynomite — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:01:23 GMT

is that what you think whenever you see this ad, or is it just me? this ad seems to show up everywhere and despite the fact that it says "yagnas" the "y" looks like a "v" and it's just missing that skinny little "i"... I tried to see what they were actually selling but their website is filled end to end with 7pt type on like, 8pt leading with an aversion to paragraph breaks so I gave up. If you figure it out, let me know. Until then, they're still "vaginas" to me. add this to my collection of comical Tribe ads.

if the internet threw a house party...

msdynomite — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:10:04 GMT

the longer you watch it the more funny it becomes as each of the internet's main companies are caricatured accurately. http://www.cracked.com/article_15825_internet-party-what-happens-when-googles-parents-leave-town-weekend.html Google finding people. eBay and PayPal as partners in crime scamming people. Wikipedia continually misinformed. Facebook poking people and shouting facts.

more All Souls prep

msdynomite — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:41:22 GMT

so I got my makeup figured out (see previous entry: http://people.tribe.net/msdynomite/blog/9f018365-30af-48ce-9219-486f1a50472d ) and now I have my costume mostly finished. :) It's a mish-mosh of stuff from previous years, with a few new things thrown in: I made the sleeves from scraps (still have to finish the right one). The skirt is a hoop skirt I made 2 years ago (shown here without the hoop, I have to make a new one). The top skull I decorated that same year, from a different hat. The hat is from various victorian and circus costumes, with some more sequins and some beads added to the back. The bones and beads are from the train skirt I made last year, along with the belt and beads (under the corset top) made for the same costume. I added side panels to an old storebought pleather top, and turned it upside down to use it as an underbust corset. The Boy made the heavy necklace last year from beads and Catholic Saint charms he'd collected. I have a matching parasol too that I may bring, made 3 years ago from a children's Shrek umbrella. It's like the Frankenstein costume of All Souls past. ;)

preparing for All Souls

msdynomite — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 05:52:10 GMT

The All Souls Procession is this coming Sunday (what used to be called the Day of the Dead festival in Tucson, "that crazy dead people Christmas you people celebrate"). I've been doing some prep work here and there during the past couple of days. Here's the sketch for my makeup -- the dots represent rhinestones that will be glued to the makeup. I'll have a hat on so half my forehead will be covered. I think it's settled. took me several tries to figure out what to do with the mouth. I might add some more to it. Hopefully I can execute the makeup like the sketch. And hopefully this will help some of you recognize me there. ;) I never can seem to just do a skull. I try every year and I end up with something not a skull. I don't know what my innate aversion is to that. And no matter what I do it always seems to come out Asian-looking. I'm starting to just resign to it. :) Meanwhile I've been modifying and embellishing some past costume elements for my All Souls clothing. Looks like this year will be a mishmash of all sorts of elements I've made from past years, with some revisions in parts. :) I've spent the past several days working on ginormous design files for my day job. The kind that take literally several minutes to open and 10 minutes to save. So instead of staring at the status bar I've been working on my costume during those times. While the work has been mind numbing and maddening, on the up side it's given me time to do some costume work in pieces. Otherwise I probably would've just thrown something together the afternoon of the event. :)

wholly interactive, batman!

msdynomite — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 20:09:59 GMT

an amazing piece of art that redefines "interactive" and "participate". it would be much rad to see something like this at a bm event: http://kotaku.com/gaming/video/shadow-monsters-gameplay-is-a-bit-amazing-297555.php oh, if I had those skills...

brew that coffee: lunar eclipse this pm / Tue am

msdynomite — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:19:24 GMT

for you non-burners and those staying home this year, tell your boss now that you'll be in late tomorrow (Tues). The full lunar eclipse occurs late this evening for those on the west coast, early Tuesday morning for those on the east coast. I saw the last one and it was amazing. Totally worth catching. Brew some coffee, set your alarm, whatever you need. :) all kinds of helpful info on the times, phases and moon position at Nasa: http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2007Aug28/TLE2007Aug28.html if you scroll down there's a handy chart that gives starting and ending times for all time zones rounding off the times here... EAST COAST: you need to wake up at about 5am, with prime viewing from 6-7:30am. WEST COAST: you need to stay up and start watching at around 2am, with the prime viewing between 3-4:30am. CENTRAL TIME: wake up at 4am, prime between 5-6:30am. MOUNTAIN TIME: stay up or wake up at 3am, prime between 4-5:30am.

like a crazy gunslinger of playa practicalness

msdynomite — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 20:48:10 GMT

Above is a concept sketch I just finished last night for some hardcore jumpsuit reconstruction. It's grown from mere embellishment to walking performance piece of sorts: The Gifting Suit. larger images here: FULL SUIT: http://images.tribe.net/tribe/upload/photo/511/715/511715fc-b9ae-41eb-8658-d70a5e39303c SLEEVES/LEGS DETACHED: http://images.tribe.net/tribe/upload/photo/bf7/b9e/bf7b9e21-8acb-48b6-820b-a2e626c5ca01 Here's the little story of evolution: For this past Toast I had decided I wanted one of those industrial jumpsuits. Something quick and easy to put on, that would help conceal the weight gain and still allow me to be somewhat costumed. Plus, I'm crazy for jumpsuits: onesies for big people. After a couple of weeks of searching and trying on at least a dozen (always too big or too small) I finally found one that fit perfectly: a military flight suit in near-perfect shape, only $15. I wore it off-the-rack all through Toast and it was awesome. So many handy pockets that made it really fun to interact with people. One night I had a handful of skewers in one pocket and a bag of marshmallows in the other, giving them out to people who wanted to roast them over the fires. Another day I walked camp to camp offering from a bag of seasoned edamame, with a zip-bag in one of the pockets so people could throw their shells away right there. So I got the idea there to kit it out like mad with D-rings so I could clip handy things to give away, turning the jumpsuit into a walking gifting machine. Need some hand sanitizer? whip-zing. Here ya go. Out of sunscreen? sha-bang. No problem. Like a crazy gunslinger of playa practicalness. Of course when I got back home I started scheming and expanding on the idea. I knew I wanted to avoid the typical, plain I-found-an-industrial-jumpsuit look, aiming more for a pit crew meets Tank Girl meets psycho cheerleader vibe. I also wanted to make a far departure from the military aspect. So while reds, blacks and silvers looked great with the green, I opted for the blacklight-bright pink and orange instead. Actually, I was obsessed with pairing the flightsuit with bright pink since I first bought it, and it stemmed from there. My goal was to keep *all* the functionality of the jumpsuit, while changing the structure as much as possible. That was the challenging part because there are pockets everywhere, meeting almost end-to-end, leaving little space to slice it up and change the line. I've spent 3-4 days sketching and I think I've finally succeeded. The Boy says it looks like a cartoon Mexican cab. I can live with that. ;) Of course, now I have to begin the actual sewing. It's going to be A LOT of work due to all the details. There will likely be a fair amount of hand sewing since I won't be able to get the machine around all the parts. Hand stitching is not my best skill so I supposed the project will at least allow me to improve to a respectable level. And I'm wondering how to get the theme to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly to play every time I whip out a giftie to some damsel/dandy in distress. ;) What I'm most excited about is I feel I've finally managed to marry my "art" with a community contribution. Unlike painting or sculpture, costuming isn't really something that can be made and then shared with a community. Which means anything I create, even when worn by others, has always been a one-person experience. In terms of burner events I've been wanting to contribute creatively, but have felt that my medium is inherently individual not participatory. Now I have a way to fulfill creative expression while still giving back, making the suit a roaming piece of gifting and community interaction. Coupling that with Robin Lasser's dress tent sculptures ( http://www.robinlasser.com/artwork/index.html ) I'm trying to think of ways to expand on the costume+community idea for bman 08. --- { DETAILS } --- { More versatility } I wanted to get as much all-weather mileage out of it as possible since the temperature changes quickly in the desert. Plus, I'm obsessive about versatility. So the sleeves and bottom pant legs are connected with O-rings and snaps, allowing them to be detached and worn in any combination. I'll be making matching arm warmers and over-the-knee socks to wear under the suit, adding more mix-and-match versatility. { D-rings for storage. } The top right pocket rings will hold those Purell hand sanitizer bottles with the rubber loop. The left side rings will hold travel-size sports sunscreen that have a carabiner clip. I may add more if I feel they're needed. { More pockets. } The size hip zippers aren't actually pockets, they just unzip as side holes. So I'm going to stitch proper pockets inside each. The back of the flightsuit is plain, with no pockets so I'm attaching 2 butt pockets for more functionality and visual interest. I'm also creating additional gear slots on the outside of the existing middle pockets (front legs). The left pink slots will hold small containers of hand lotion. The right pink slots will hold SPF lip balm. And one of the existing pockets will be devoted to wet wipes and baggies for the potties. { More embellishments } The little gold stars are actually these cool 3-D shank buttons. I found a huge box of them at a local discount store and felt they'd be fun to give definition to the lines. Of course, lots of tedious hand sewing to attach them. There's no real belt of defined waist on the original flightsuit. There are two velcro straps on either side of the waist area to adjust the fit, but I wanted more of a structured waistline to add some femininity to what is an inherently masculine garment. I'm adding a belt over the existing velcro, which has the nice benefit of visually extending the front pockets to form a faux-vest on thee front. The back graphic is just a place holder. I haven't yet designed it, but it will probably be a combination of silkscreen and embroidery. I want to have text circling a center graphic, somewhere between WWII airplane art and Sailor Jerry tattoos. I'm envisioning "Desert Dynomite" surrounding a graphic of 2 sticks of dynamite with a star or wings. The Boy has offered to illustrate it and help me print it. Yay! { Materials } I've amassed a frightening pile of dayglo materials (you'd be amazed at how much is out there) and plan to mix as many different fabric textures as possible within the color scheme: satin, velvet, cotton, knits, grosgrain, athletic mesh, fringe, quilting, metallic trims. Basically creating organized chaos. I wanted to use some fantastic vinyl and confetti dot fabrics I found, but it's important that everything be machine washable and dryable so I forwent the extra pizzaz for practicality. ...yeah that's a lot of writing about a simple thing. But design is an illness, if you don't already know. If you made it this far, you deserve an extra big yummy virtual cookie for reading the whole thing. ;)

Woohoo! Minxy on the home page!

msdynomite — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 19:51:14 GMT

First it was in the Top 100, now it's on the home page! I just found out that my Minxy Shroogie is on the Etsy homepage Featured Items YAYNESS! This is the kind of thing that makes the long hours and lack of socializing seem worthwhile. :) Etsy home page: http://www.etsy.com Minxy direct product page: http://www.etsy.com/view_item.php?listing_id=253678

ms. dyno, we're ready for your closeup

msdynomite — Tue, 23 May 2006 23:35:01 GMT

I just wanted to share one of those knock-me-over-with-a-feather moments. I was asked to give an interview for Etsy! I'm the featured seller of the week. You can check out the interview from the home page www.etsy.com (about midway down) or directly here after 5/28/06 www.etsy.com/featured_seller.php This means a feature on the home page for the week and a full page interview in the archives. You guys have always been so supportive and encouraging, through messages and sales... I just wanted to say thanks. It's part of the reason this happened. I was floored when they contacted me and excited all day. I consider it an honor to have been asked. But I was also totally frantic, given less than a day to write the interview and provide photgraphs. Plus, I'm now having to sew and photograph all night for the next several days so I can post new and different products to take advantage of the coverage. They have a template for questions, but made the mistake of saying "You can add some questions if there's any you can think of." So of course I peppered a few oddities throughout. ;) I have to give props to the staff for accepting my offbeat submission. Though they did remove one thing -- a line at the end of my tips for selling that apparently stepped over the edge: "Personally, I also find that a live puppy sacrifice to the Dark Overload every new moon really helps keep the business humming." Sometimes humor doesn't translate well online. ;) If you check it out, be sure to click on the top studio photo. ;) The Sudden one and I were laughing so hard that half the pics came out blurry. He just kept saying "you done lost your damn mind". I have to credit him with the end result. If it weren't for his influence and and creativity I would've been stressed and too serious about it, resulting in a more more boring product I'm sure.

pictarded

msdynomite — Thu, 04 May 2006 00:49:55 GMT

some outtakes from this past weekend's photoshoot... The Sopranos reject. I look like I'm making someone an offer they can't refuse. In reality, I was saying "let me see if we got those last shots" and my bf snapped the pic mid gesture. So now it looks like "yo, Vinnie. gimme the mutha fawkin camera, or fahgetaboudit" The Emo Spaz. That was my response to my bf saying "you're goth, look angry." The best part of this pic is that you can see my pj bottoms. We were only shooting from the waist up, so I was wearing "comfy pants" the whole time. I looked like a mental patient: fully made up from the waist up, jammies and barefeet from the waist down. ah yes, destroying the"magic" I know. :)

like the Jeffersons, I'm movin on up...

msdynomite — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 21:28:43 GMT

I sell on Etsy.com (an online marketplace for handmade goods), which has a feature called The Sampler that ranks the Top Sellers. I made it onto the Top 100 Sellers list at the end of last month... which gave me a little jazzy buzz. :) In the past 17 days since then, I have moved up 45 slots. I'm now #51! neato! This is due in large part to many of you fab folks here. So big freakin thanks to you! I'm such a geek that I took a screenshot of the page. :) click the image here for the full size view. there I am. ;) No one is really sure of the formula used to determine the "top sellers", and I don't know if I'll be able to stay there long. but it's pretty neat while it lasts. :) Gee, and to think it alll started with an empty afternoon and some arm tubes...