A Cincinnati Fairey Tale Beginning

If you missed the free opening celebration of Shepard Fairey's "Supply and Demand" exhibit at the CAC last Friday...well, then you should just go ahead and punch yourself in the face.


To say that the Fairey opening was *THE* event of the city that Friday night would definitely be one of the biggest understatements of the year. The place was (uncomfortably) packed but yet buzzed with the energy from Fairey's 250 works and the magnitude of the realization of just how darn lucky/blessed Cincinnati really was to have gotten such a big, artistic "get."


I felt incredibly lucky to have been able to say, I was there when the Fairey tale unfolded...

 

 

And if you don't want to go completely blue from all the punching of the face, you still have a chance to catch Fairey's work. The exhibit runs from Feb 20 - Aug 22, 2010. So get there...unless I punch you in the face.


Also, look for (some of the initial) murals Fairey has erected so far around the city (it's been confirmed he'll return in May to finish installing the rest.) Consider it your newest scavenger hunt assignment of sorts. See if you can take pics of all of them...I know I'll be!


To learn more about Fairey's fairy tale, go here and here.


Also, find him on Facebook and Twitter.

And in honor of the exhibit, I decided to get Fairey-fied myself...

 

Get Fairey-fied here.

I'm (sick and) Tired Of...

There are a lot of things in this world that piss me off. And if I didn't love Jesus, I'd go Moses on every single thing that pisses me off.


SO...since I can't go Moses on every single thing that pisses me off, I compromise by (trying) to channel that pissedoffness into something productive...and legal.


That's why when I heard about Dan Hoffman and Carrie Pollare, I was inspired...to do something.


Dan & Carrie founded I'm Tired Of. You can read their whole story here, but in a nutshell, they took their passions about what pissed them off and decided to do something about them.


And not only that, they turned it into something cool, trendy and fashionable.

Based on the success of Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG bracelet concept, Dan & Carrie created their own bracelet - out of recycled metals & tires (get it?! tires..."tired of!" I freaking love it!) - that could represent/support/bring awareness to, not only one specific cause, but rather multiple ones. Check out the full list of current causes here. For every $10 bracelet you buy, they donate half the sale ($5) to the causes. The best part? If you don't see a cause on the list, you can suggest a new one or vote for their next cause(s). Oh and FYI, if you're not digging the bracelet (or you have extremely tiny wrists; bracelets are a lil snug) then you can purchase T-Shirts, bumper stickers, key chains or pet tags for your cause.

I got my seven bracelets in the mail the other day (See? I told you a lot of things pissed me off...and that's just the tip of the iceberg!)

And who knows, on those days that I'm EXTRA pissed off, I just might wear them all...at once! (They sure beat the ole' black elastic Goody hair ties I wear.)

So there!

You know the drill... please support Dan & Carrie on Facebook and Twitter.

Vegan No Mo: Birth of a New MoJo

April 11, 2010, would have marked four years that I became a vegan. I say would have because in the beginning of December 2009, I started transitioning into being a vegetarian. 


Why the change? 


It all started when a waiter at a local restaurant screwed up my request for no cheese on my salad. As I debated internally on whether to make a "fuss" about it and send the salad back, I just kept quite and ate it. Why did I give in? I honestly have no idea, but at that moment, somehow I rationalized with myself that it was ok (it's not like it was a piece of dead chicken in my salad...it was only shredded cheddar cheese.) And boy, at that moment, that cheese looked so good, that I gave in to my craving for it.


Now throughout my stint as a vegan I've always craved things vegans shouldn't really be craving: cheese, fish, chicken, ice cream, buffalo wings, etc., etc., but then again I've never been a traditional vegan (I've never denied the true awesomeness of how delicious animals taste...I just made a very conscious and ethical decision not to eat them.)


I've always taken pride in my complete commitment to veganism. It was really a test of my will power and a test to see if I could be faithful to a cause and passion that I believed in so strongly that I was willing to make personal sacrifices for. And while my heart, emotion and passion rage on, my body is beginning to revolt against the restrictive lifestyle.


And since I don't have any desire to return to an omnivore diet (I could never eat meat now without feeling guilty) and in efforts to not completely sabotage my four years, I decided that being a ovo-lacto vegetarian (vegetarian who also eats eggs & dairy) would be the best option for me, at this point in my life.


This new transition into being a ovo-lacto vegetarian, will be held with the same high standards that I kept for myself as a vegan. That means I will only consume eggs and dairy that have been ethically produced from: organic (cage-free, grass-fed hens) and (grass-fed humanely raised cows).


And just because I'm not, as a friend likes to say, a "pure vegan" or "100% vegan" anymore, doesn't mean my passion for animals to be humanely treated has waned. It still remains strong as ever.


So that's it folks...I'm vegan no mo.

Which has lead me to another predicament of sorts...my Twitter handle. 

Since I'm not a veagn anymore, I can't really call myself "Veganjacob" anymore now can I? 


So after some suggestions from my beloved twitterati, I decided it was high time that I changed my handle.


And while I liked, LOLed and disapproved (you know who *YOU* are) all your suggestions, I've made the executive decision to make my new handle...

Mojojacob 

I chose this handle mainly for three reasons:

1. I don't want my handle to "typecast" me again. While I thoroughly enjoyed being known as "the vegan," in my social circles, sometimes that's all people saw about me...and that got real old, real quick.
2. "MoJo" was a nickname a good friend gave me years ago and was the username I used for the first email account I ever signed up for when I was a teenager. I felt so grown up having my own private online space that my parents didn't even know about. So "MoJo" definitely has some sentimental value. And personally, I think it has a nice ring to it.
3. I really wanted "MoJacob" but can you believe that someone else beat me to the punch?! Dang her! The last time she tweeted was in July '09! *grrr*

I hope this clears up any questions you all may have had because guess what folks?

...that's all she wrote!

#snOMG3.0: Gone to the Birds

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Weekend Filled with ♥

The weekend started out with a fabulous, romantic dinner at Oriental Wok in Ft.Wright on Friday night. If you haven't been, you owe it to yourself. The owners, the Wongs, and the staff, will treat you like royalty...and a member of their own family. And don't forget about the food...definitely worth the extra penny than your regular Chinese joint.

 

(American and Indian eating gourmet Chinese)

(We found an army of adorable table decorations hiding out in the coat room at OW)

Then we headed home for a quite evening at home...and the unveiling of my "big surprise" for Adam.

It all started with this card I found...

 

"A big scoop of love

A hug and a kiss

To tell you this...

'You're super great!'

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

XOXO"

(inside of card)

 

See, Adam loves ice cream. No seriously, I mean he loves ice cream. He eats it every.single.day. and sometimes multiple times a day. I mean he loves the stuff so much that he even started a FB fan page.  

So as soon as I saw the card, I knew it was perfect...and just meant to be.

What other option did I have than getting him a basket full of all his favorite ice cream (and toppings) to go along with his card?!

(There were 8 pints of his fave ice cream in there!)

Needless to say, he was speechless!...

 

 (Inspecting his loot)

...And very, very happy!

I even got him a heart-shaped bowl (and a red-glitter spoon) that he has been specifically instructed to use to eat all the contents of the basket, regardless if it's just one scoop...or a few pints...
 

 (Ice cream ♥)

He didn't waste any time executing his role of ice cream quality assurance taste tester ...
 

All settled in and enjoying his present. It was a great way to watch the Winter Olympics opening ceremony...  

 

Saturday we had a double date with my wife and her man, Sam, for dinner and a movie (FYI, save your money and wait for "Wolfman" to hit your TV screens.)

Then Sunday, Adam gave me one of the best presents he could have ever given me...coming to church with me. Oh, and he also gave me flowers & a card...

 (Fiona & Kitty made sure Adam's gifts passed quality & sentimentality control...by eating the leaves.)

Then Sunday evening was QT movie time...and massive food binging...at home with the other love in my life...the sis.

All in all, it was a great weekend filled with ♥ and loved ones!

Hope everyone was able to spend time with those they love this past weekend!

#snOMG'10 According to Kitty

Miles From Where You Are

Right now, I feel like I'm miles from where you are, what you are experiencing, what you are going through.


But I want you to know that I am...here.

Loving...you.

Waiting for...you. 

Believing in...you.

Believing in...us.





Set The Fire To The Third Bar*


I find the map and draw a straight line
Over rivers, farms, and state lines
The distance from 'A' to where you'd be
It's only finger-lengths that I see
I touch the place where I'd find your face
My finger in creases of distant dark places


I hang my coat up in the first bar
There is no peace that I've found so far
The laughter penetrates my silence
As drunken men find flaws in science


Their words mostly noises
Ghosts with just voices
Your words in my memory
Are like music to me


I'm miles from where you are,
I lay down on the cold ground
I, I pray that something picks me up
And sets me down in your warm arms


After I have traveled so far
We'd set the fire to the third bar
We'd share each other like an island
Until exhausted, close our eyelids
And dreaming, pick up from
The last place we left off
Your soft skin is weeping
A joy you can't keep in


I'm miles from where you are,
I lay down on the cold ground
And I, I pray that something picks me up
and sets me down in your warm arms


I'm miles from where you are,
I lay down on the cold ground
and I, I pray that something picks me up
and sets me down in your warm arms


*Also theme song from the Dear John movie