Monthly Archives: September 2011

How do y’all like the clothespin?

Posted on September 30, 2011 by cheapskateintellectual

Thinking of new graphic design strategies.  Messing around with the clothespin pictures I took in the last of the sun today, I realized: hey, I kind of like this.  And what do you know, there’s even a font called Poor … Continue reading →

Posted in technology | 2 Comments

Impromptu Friday poem.

Posted on September 30, 2011 by cheapskateintellectual

What Work Is For Hurry home through the warm bright afternoon with a load of students’ work to read, your laptop wheezing in your bag, to whirl white sheets into the cold machine and pin them to the line to … Continue reading →

Posted in writing | Leave a comment

Why the copyright sign?

Posted on September 30, 2011 by cheapskateintellectual

Much as I hate the reasons for having to do this, and despite its corporate appearance, on the advice of a good and savvy friend I’ve added the copyright sign to the CI masthead, as you can see. “That’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in technology | Leave a comment

Gardening in reality.

Posted on September 21, 2011 by cheapskateintellectual

“A garden, you know, is a very usual refuge of a disappointed politician.” — Alexander Hamilton, 1802 (qtd. in NY Times, 9/15/11) As a society, we’ve got a reality problem.  A know-nothing right-wing anarchism designed to starve government to death … Continue reading →

Posted in art, community, corporations, culture, politics, self-reliance, writing | 3 Comments

Little windows, into dark and light.

Posted on September 13, 2011 by cheapskateintellectual

An ironic, forlorn voice, a twist on Edna St. Vincent Millay’s, floats through my head suddenly tonight: Oh my foes, and oh my friends, oh, I am so afraid. Fear is not a characteristic note for me, in anything I … Continue reading →

Posted in politics, resilience, self-reliance | 5 Comments

September 11, in my own backyard.

Posted on September 11, 2011 by cheapskateintellectual

I can’t remember when this country has ever been so afraid, even more than it was in the days and months following 9/11.  Except that what is clouding our hearts and our minds and our lives right now is not … Continue reading →

Posted in community, corporations, culture, gardening, politics, self-reliance | 4 Comments

Early fall, in fragrance and light.

Posted on September 5, 2011 by cheapskateintellectual

Last night it became impossible to ignore.  Clipping a stem from my backdoor rosemary pot and stripping its leaves into a pork, tomato, onion, and garlic stuffing for peppers (thank you, dear Nigel Slater), I smelled the green cedary tang … Continue reading →

Posted in attention, biking, Driftless region, food, gardening, gratitude, seasons | 2 Comments