gender boot

Some things just don't need genders assigned to them. It irks me that short haircuts cost more for women than long hair haircuts cost for men. There's no reason that my last trip to Paris should have been filled with people chasing us down going "femme, femme" and pointing across the street. God forbid a woman consider purchasing men's clothes. I think, too, that people are more freaked out when you don't look particularly girly, but they suspect you might be a woman. It's like they have to defend something. If you look straight-ish, they can be comforted in the idea that you're trying to accomplish the Gap's much beloved "boyfriend look."

Sadly, it's not limited to Paris. Yesterday in New Paltz (the name of which drives my Dutch friend crazy, "It's New Platz, New PLATZ!" she protests) another, not-Dutch friend was challenged for trying on a "men's" shoe. This is in an outdoor sports store, where you think the guys working there are going to be a little laid back. But no. He insinuated that the shoe wouldn't fit because it was a men's shoe. I'm just not convinced. What kind of shoes or clothes do you suggest trannies wear?

While I'm being irked, can I just say that little kids shoes are always nicer and brighter than adult shoes? Another wild injustice!

Photo courtesy of Eartha Kitsch, who, as a bonus, also has a picture of a possum. Possums are becoming a leitmotif.

"may she find what she's missing, even if it's not what she lost"

mattilda's public art project, lostmissing, is an open letter, a lost cat flyer, a tantrum a question a pressure point a release, the present holding the past, and hunger.
If you can relate, participate by posting her flyers, making your own, and sending photos.

use what you've got

There's a guy in Poughkeepsie composing music, amazing music, by hitting the bridge with various tools. This idea isn't so new...people who haven't had much have created musical instruments out of whatever they could find for eons. Those of us who ride the NYC subways are intimately familiar with the bucket drummers who keep us dancing on our commutes.

It does still seem novel to be playing the Mid-Hudson bridge. The compositions will be complete and made public this summer, celebrating the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage up the Hudson River. You can listen to a clip here.

And, I don't know if there will be drummers there, but this summer will also see the opening of the Walkway over the Hudson. This railroad bridge, just north of (and visible from) the Mid-Hudson Bridge, was the longest bridge in the world when it opened in 1889. In the 1970s a fire damaged the bridge, and it's been out of use since. It's being re-engineered as a park and walkway over the river, connecting rail trails on either side, and promises to be a stunning public space. Parks and paths and views and drum music make for happy living.

traverse

The problem of freeways (and other blockades) cutting off the movement of people (who are not in cars) and animals is not new. And there hasn't been a lot of attention given to solving the problem—just ask anyone who's ever stayed in a motel and tried to get to the restaurant across the road on foot.

Some cities have introduced overpasses and underpasses in pedestrian-thick areas, like universities. But only in money generating ones, which is why there often aren't even sidewalks in poorer neighborhoods. So non-human animals who need to cross the road? Well, tough luck.

Some activists, tired of seeing massive amounts of animals hit by cars even in so-called "preserves," are campaigning to build over and under passes for deer, alligators, panthers, and salamanders. I'd heard about land bridges over I-78 in the Watchung Reservation area of New Jersey, and heard that auto accidents on that stretch of road decreased dramatically, with no reported collisions with animals. Proposals for a similar project to allow coyote and opossum to safely cross the Sepulveda Pass in L.A. was met with scorn, even from environmentalists, who wondered how animals would find their way there. But apparently the oldest land bridges (and tunnels) built with wildlife in mind are in the Everglades, and both humans and animals seem to be appreciating them.

I don't know how the animals find the best hikes, the best bridges, the best bicycle paths, either, but I'm sure once they do, word gets around.

touched

We've talked botanigrams before (moss graffiti, guerilla gardening and the like), billboard alteration, and wheatpasting, but here is another version, clean tagging or reverse graffiti. This version, by Paul Curtis, is paid for by advertising agencies, and riffs off those who've been writing messages in dirt for years. Using graffiti styles as advertising isn't new, unfortunately, but creative types are happy to steal back methods that have been lifted from street artists.

Using cleaning brushes (or in some instances, power washers and stencils), tagging or drawing into grime does have the allure of things that have been touched or used a zillion times. Picture the worn and darkened wood of your grandma's trowel handle. It can be that beautiful.

But it doesn't mean I have to give up spray paint!

mudpie

cob oven and rocket stove on stone base, originally uploaded by abovegroundpool.

I have experience with mud. As a kid I participated in a race through an obstable course built in a foot of mud (and loved it). As a young adult I trekked to sulpher mud baths in the Northeast of Brasil, and relished the mosquito relief my full body mud coating gave.

Now comes the earth building chapter! I've been interested in cob for a while (a building material made of clay, sand, and straw or wood chips). I'm inspired by wonderful adobe buildings in the desert, kept cool by their foot thick earthen walls. I dream of living on radiant heated earthen floors, but understand the importance of starting a little smaller.

I was thrilled this weekend to participate in building a cob oven and rocket stove for Phillies Bridge Farm Project in Gardiner, New York. It was a wet weekend, so although we got the oven and stove built in two days, we'll have to wait for drier weather to cut the oven door, remove the sand, and fire up. You can see the all the steps from base to plaster here. You can learn about cob ovens here and rocket stoves here.

The short and sweet is that the rocket stove is the super efficient element, while the earth oven heats slowly then stays hot for a very long time, baking incomparable foods and bringing people together to enjoy breads, pizzas, etc. They are both a pleasure to use. And, I must say, a pleasurable project to spend the weekend on. How often do adults get to play in mud for two days straight?