Science Fair for October 6th-12th

Fall has come to California! It was so bitterly cold this morning that I almost busted out my winter wool coat from NYC, can you believe it? Jeanne and I spent the day out in San Francisco yesterday, where we discovered tons of great, new, local designers, poorly behaved Boston terriers, and how totally awesome the roller derby is. More to come from us re: those designers, and roller derby, so keep an eye out! Now for your weekly dose of the Science Fair:

-I am a lady on a mission, and that mission is to smell like freshly picked apples all day long. It's taken a lot of research, a lot of flim-flamming about on the internet, but we have managed to compile a treasure trove of fragrances that should do the trick. I suppose one could always carry around a perfectly ripe honeycrisp apple to bite into at appropriately dramatic moments, but my purse is only so big.

-Speaking of apples, I've also been making pies like a madwoman these days. I'd post pictures if they weren't attacked with forks and knives the minute they come out of the oven, alas and alack! Not only does my co-worker bring in bags of freshly picked apples from his trees every week, but I am a die-hard (maybe the secondmost die-hard-est) fan of Pushing Daisies. Specifically, I think everyone in the whole world should be watching it, loving it, and living it as I do. Lee Pace, do you know how much I love you?

-Since Jeanne and I just went to the roller derby (Oakland vs Richmond, it was glorious), we have been obsessed with taking up quad-skating. I've been looking at SkateMall, which even has a separate derby-related section, but am offended by the ridiculous names all of the other skates have. Why are ladies' skates called "angel" and "cheerleader" when the exact same skate, in black, is only for men and called "senator" or "athelete"? If you've ever seen derby girls in action, they are most definitely athletes, thank you very much, skate-making industry! I want to eventually join the Silicon Valley Roller Girls, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

-Last weekend, I saw Stuart Townsend's Battle in Seattle, a slightly fictionalized version of the protests at the 1999 WTO meeting. As somewhat of an expert in riot control agents, I found the escalation of tensions and confusion between the police, government, protestors, and locals fascinating, and it's something you see every day on the streets of America, on a smaller scale. It's still happening today in Thailand.

We have political signs in our front yards, on bumper stickers, and tensions are running high right now. The message, really, is to remember that we are all human beings, all working to make this a better world for ourselves, if not one another. So, ladies and gentlemen, be kind, be understanding, and above all make your own opinion. You don't have to follow the party line just because you feel obliged, or everyone else is, you have to do what is right, and be passionate about it. That's all.

Well, that was pretty much MY week. We put up a "Vote NO on Prop 8" sign in our front yard. If you're a Californian please do your research and make an informed decision. Above all, have a great week, eat some fresh apples, and enjoy these early fall days!