la antropologia de las barbas

i know its been a while. and i've got nothing for you right now.

except.

the promise of.....



"toward an anthropology of beards"

lo hice

ok, so that dilemma of the day thing didn't quite happen...

but i'm sitting here eating homemade ice cream (a birthday gift from ee), and am thinking about self-sufficiency. when i learned to knit & crochet this summer i joked that it made me one step closer to completely removing myself from the capitalist system. and not that i ever really intend to go off the grid, but there is something so fulfilling about having control over how exactly you're inserting yourself into commercialist systems. yes, this is just the control freak in me rearing her ugly head.

but i'm quite proud of things i've been doing lately that help me to claim a sense of agency where i didn't before. knitting scarves, crocheting hats, screen printing t shirts, making ice cream, brewing beer, growing veggies, mending shoes. and of course the usual sewing and flyer making.

there's nothing profound here. i suppose my point is there's a certain contentness that comes from making something that i never get from buying. Sure Sharon Zukin may say that we are in an age where shopping is a profoundly social process in which we claim or invent identity. But I'd like to think there is an admittedly smaller, but strong number, that is more in line with Halberstam's notions of queer time and space. we are working under the radar, creating our own identities along avenues that are decidedly anti-consumerist (along with plenty of other anti- s) despite the fact that i covet a $300 coat, and drove a car to school today. little steps i suppose. i'm no saint. but at least i've successfully boycotted whole foods for the last 8 days.