Molecula

posted for a friend of a friend

2009-04-22T05:46:43Z

Here's a message from someone I know who is trying to help save her best friend and classmate's life. I'm not quite sure what to do with it, except throw it out into the world and hope it finds fertile ground. And hope for a happy ending.

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Become Natasha's Hero!
April 21-30 FREE ONLINE Bone Marrow Donor Registration Drive
http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_Now/join_now.html

Tuesday April 21 - Thursday April 30
FREE REGISTRATION using code BK041309

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Become Natasha's Hero!
Time Sensitive: April 21-30 Free Bone Marrow Donor Registration Online.

Natasha Collins is an outstanding 26-year-old Yale medical student who is battling leukemia for the second time, and she needs your help to save her life. At the age of 23, Natasha was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). After two years of treatment, followed by a cord blood transplant, Natasha came to the Yale School of Medicine to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. Unfortunately, during her first year as a medical student Natasha was re-diagnosed with leukemia. She braved chemotherapy, and now she needs a bone marrow transplant to save her life. But out of the millions of registered bone marrow donors worldwide, Natasha does not have a match. We are asking you to register because you could Become Natasha's Hero.

Natasha is half African American and half Caucasian, making her a molecular minority because her bone marrow is difficult to match. A match for her is likely to also be of mixed heritage. Minority and mixed heritage donors are underrepresented in the Registry and very much needed. That being said, we encourage everyone to sign up to offer hope to all those looking for donors.

A little about Natasha: She grew up in Syracuse, NY, with her mom, dad and younger brother (Anne, Ted and Teddy). Natasha graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University and is now a student at the Yale School of Medicine. In addition to being a stellar student, loving daughter, and generous friend, Natasha loves to cook, knit, travel, and eat carrot cake. From her volunteering to her teaching chemistry in Qatar, Natasha has touched many lives. She has a bright future as a doctor and we need your help to make this dream come true.

Please consider registering for the Be the Match Registry. Our online drive for Natasha is April 21-30. You can register for free at www.marrow.org using the code BK041309. By joining the Registry, you give hope to patients everywhere with leukemia, lymphoma and a variety of other diseases. When you register as a bone marrow donor, you join a global movement of more than 12 million donors who stand ready to give someone a future. You may never be called upon to donate, but if you are, you and perhaps only you will have the power to save a life.

Registering is simple and takes as little as five minutes, and our online drive will allow you to register for free. You will be asked to fill out a basic form with your contact information and medical history (which remains protected), and then you will swab the insides of your cheeks with a kit that is mailed to your home. No blood draw is required. Your saliva is all that is needed to register. Five minutes of your time today could mean a lifetime for someone like Natasha.

Thank you,
Natasha, her family, and her friends

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Become Natasha's Hero!
April 21-30 FREE ONLINE Bone Marrow Donor Registration Drive
http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_Now/join_now.html

Tuesday April 21 - Thursday April 30
FREE REGISTRATION using code BK041309

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Additional ways you can help

Share Natasha's story with your friends and family, especially those of minority background as the Registry is actively seeking more minority members. With a few e-mail and phone calls, you can get the word out about the importance of registering. They could be Natasha's match. And save her life.

Find a drive near you at http://marrow.org/JOIN/Join_in_Person/index.html

Visit us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=65568844747&ref=nf

E-mail us at matchnatasha@gmail.com

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Myths and Facts about Bone Marrow Donation

MYTH: The bone marrow donation procedure is painful.
FACT: General or regional anesthesia is always used for this procedure. Donors feel no needle injections and no pain during marrow donation.

MYTH: All bone marrow donations involve surgery.
FACT: The majority of donations do not involve surgery. The patient's doctor most commonly requests a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation, which is non-surgical and does not require a stay in the hospital. If marrow is requested, it is a surgical procedure, but there is still usually no stay in the hospital.

MYTH: Pieces of bone are removed from the donor.
FACT: Pieces of bone are not removed from the donor in either type of donation. A PBSC donation involves taking the drug filgrastim for five days leading up to donation in order to increase the donor's needed blood-forming cells. On the fifth day, blood is taken from the donor through one arm, passed through a machine that separates out the blood-forming cells, and returned through the donor's other arm. In marrow donation, no pieces of bone are taken; only the liquid marrow found inside the bones is needed to save the patient's life.

MYTH: Donating bone marrow is dangerous and weakens the donor.
FACT: Though no medical procedure is without risk, there are rarely any long-term effects from donating. Only five percent or less of a donor's marrow is needed to save a life. After donation, the body replaces the donated marrow within four to six weeks. The NMDP screens all donors carefully to ensure they are healthy and that the procedure is safe. The NMDP also educates donors, answers questions at every step, and follows up after donation.

MYTH: Donors have to pay for the donation procedure.
FACT: Donors never pay for donating. All medical costs are paid by the patient's medical insurance or by the patient, sometimes with NMDP assistance. The NMDP reimburses donors for travel costs, and may reimburse other costs on a case-by-case basis.
(from www.marrow.org)

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Become Natasha's Hero! is a community of Natasha's family and friends searching for her bone marrow donor match. We love Natasha, and we need your help to save her life and those of many others in need of a bone marrow match. For questions and to offer support to Natasha and her family, please e-mail matchnatasha@gmail.com.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=65568844747&ref=nf

Sunbrothers this Saturday 6-10pm

2008-02-08T15:36:41Z

Don't miss the work of the LED wizards Sunbrothers and Jeremy Lutes! Tomorrow night, their machine-heavy workshop will be transformed into a fairyland of LED and fire art.

There will also be handmade chocolate, urban jewelry, slurketta's red and passionate portraits, Jeremy's new shimmery-insects, and my stuff, too.

And there will be drinx and snax!

more info:
http://www.sunbrothers.com/news.htm

a Contra Costa Times article:
http://www.ibabuzz.com/seen/2008/02/07/art-aglow/

To summarize:

Sunbrothers Valentines Day Show
Saturday Feb 9, 6-10pm
1345 S. 50th St, Richmond (*easy* to get to - off 580 Bayview exit)
map

I hope you can come!!

a question for my geek friends

2008-01-25T16:31:28Z

Well, my MacBook just isn't portable enough, so a got a cute, cute little ASUS EEE. I love it! But there is one problem.

Do any of you use email on more than one computer? How do you handle that?

I know I could just keep the messages on the server and access the same inbox/outbox remotely, but I really like having my mail on my computer for the times when I'm offline. I use Eudora on the MacBook now. I'll love to have some way for Eudora, or a similar program, to detect what activity (like responding to emails) I've done on the EEE and sinc it up. Any ideas??

(It would be ideal if my Eudora-like program could access both the inbox on my server and download that into its inbox - and access the sent-mail folder and transfer that into sent-mail.)

Thank you!

Spell GEEK!

2007-09-13T21:08:21Z

geekbracelet1
Originally uploaded by ravenamide

It exists! The GEEK bracelet, spelled with amino aids.

Confused? Check out my description on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7073599

Still confused? Let me know so I can change my description!

Bee-In

2007-05-24T01:17:53Z

Anyone going to (or know anything about) the Bee-In at Grace Cathedral on Friday??

http://www.pollennation.org/event.html

movie on Friday in Elmwood?

2007-03-27T20:20:59Z

My mom's friend's son wrote a movie that is showing in Berkeley on Friday. I don't know much about it, but it did sell out on its premiere dates in LA this month.

It's playing at Elmwood Theater in Berkeley on Friday. I'm not convinced I will go, but would be inspired if others are interested. Anyone?

The website: http://www.guidetogettingdown.com

CODEX

2007-01-24T18:00:50Z

via Jonathan:

Photos of Codex have been uploaded to flickr here

...for those of us who didn't happen to walk into the right book store at the right time, like you-know-who.

the best event of the year - January 27

2007-01-08T03:41:46Z

Rosin Coven's Edwardian Ball is right around the corner... and the tickets are close to selling out. They're already sold out at one of the internet sites that offers them, but they are still available at tickets.com

So.... if you would like to attend the Edwardian Ball (which, by the way is highly recommended by all who have attended) - buy your tickets now! I very much doubt there will be any left for sale at the door.

Details at http://www.edwardianball.com/

Also, a pre-ball dinner in our Edwardian/Goreyian best will be planned! And pre-dinner costuming!

I hear that soundhive, tapeworm, slurketta, and colonelhandsome will attend. Who else?

The Ump is Dead! Long Live the Ump!

2006-10-12T18:05:30Z

The belly of the wugglyump has turned out to be quite acidic. I think it's time for escape.

Please don't email me there anymore - use my madewithmolecules.com domain for now. Also, I haven't received email at wugglyump for the last day or so, in case you've emailed me there...

Ugh, Frustrated, but Free. And time to think of a new domain name. (yeyy!) And perhaps I need a different LJ handle... hmmm....

Annecy

2006-03-19T19:53:50Z

Yesterday I visited Annecy, France, about 30 miles south of Geneva. (If you are like I was three months ago, you will have no idea that Geneva is at a strange tip of Switzerland causing it to be surrounded on three sides by France.)

I noticed about 5 minutes after leaving my apartment that I forgot my camera, but not wanting to miss my ride I didn't go get it.

Therefore, I can't show you pictures of the picturesque 12-14th century stone dwellings, churches and castle. I can't share the beautiful little canals (Annecy is the "Venice of France") or the most-photographed-building-in-France (a triangular stone building bisecting a canal). Nor will you see the pretty lake, a model for how poluted water can be restored, or the breathtaking Alps (it's near Mt Blanc, the highest point in Western Europe). But I really don't care about not having those pictures.

The never-taken photos for which I grieve are of a strange little parade that took me by surprise. I started seeing children wandering around in strange face-paint and odd costumes. I thought maybe there was a pageant or a costume-craft class. Later I saw the full parade as it wandered through old town.

I'm sure I won't be able to describe this oddity. All I can say is that it seemed so French; so like nothing I've seen in the US. At the head of the parade were men in toxic-clean-up suits, some with gloves pinned on the back like tails. The had face paint - so weird - like an amateur, but well studied, Cirque Du Soliel. (In fact, that's the type of make-up everyone had...) The men were pulling and pushing a man on a cart who seemed sort of like a ring-master. Then came some kids in fanciful costumes made from garbage. They looked like little rubbish (I *am* in Europe) fairies or elves. And they kept coming: many little groups of them, each faction similar to itself and different from the rest. I wondered if this was some sort of recycling parade or homage to the successful lake clean up effort. Crowds had formed to watch and vendors sold confetti and silly string. A group of adults with -what?- French Congo (?) make-up playing the weirdest ass xylophones I've ever seen - with big, curved, phallic, seed-pod like projections from the bottom. (And for the first time I missed the camera - to get a pic for L.) As I stared mesmerized, willing the scene to be burned into my brain, another participant spun around and threw confetti in my face. That actually broke some layer of ice, made me feel more a part of the festivity.

There was just more and more of the same: more strange costumes, more strange instruments, more characters engaging the crowd, more little trash-fairy-fiend-children. The last act was a man on a self-driven float in very strange make-up and attire. A sign said he was the (something) butcher. He played a flute track and pounded a live drum set over it. There were (fake I assume) slabs of different meats hanging behind him. It was creepy and weird and marvelous. The whole parade reminded me of a movie whose name I just can't recall. I think it was French. That's all I could think to describe it - "This seems so French!"

So, sorry for not getting photos for my costumy friends, especially jD. R would certainly appreciate the light-hearted depravity of the scene.

I learned later that this was Annesy's "Carnival," but so unlike a Mardi Gras or an American Parade. I truly felt like I was somewhere else.

After the parade, there was confetti everywhere on the 600 year old cobblestone street. There was confetti on all the pedestrians, too. Into the evening, the streets remained crowded as people shopped and sipped espresso and cote du rhone in cafes.

Sign Up!

2006-01-16T16:59:06Z

Gashlycrumb Tinies at the Gorey Ball
21 January 2006

The Plan:
Everyone picks a letter/child. You don’t need to dress exactly like the child! You really don’t even need to dress vaguely like the child! [For the costume-challenged: just pick one with telltale props (like me!).]

We’ll provide kindergarten-like, Gorey-infused name tags, so people will get it. The more letters we fill, the more effective, so sign up your friends! Email me your choices and I’ll add them to this list.

See the drawings here
Gorey Ball link here

A is for Amy who fell down the stairs.
B is for Basil assaulted by bears. –Dan
C is for Clara who wasted away.
D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh.
E is for Ernest who choked on a peach.
F is for Fanny sucked dry by a leech. –Carol
G is for George smothered under a rug.
H is for Hector done in by a thug.
I is for Ida who drowned in a lake.
J is for James who took lye by mistake.
K is for Kate who was struck with an axe.
L is for Leo who swallowed some tacks. –Martin
M is for Maud who was swept out to sea.
N is for Neville who died of ennui.
O is for Olive run through with an awl. –Mikeys
P is for Prue trampled flat in a brawl.
Q is for Quentin who sank on a mire. –jD.
R is for Rhoda consumed by a fire.
S is for Susan who perished of fits.
T is for Titus who flew into bits.
U is for Una who slipped down a drain.
V is for Victor squashed under a train.
W is for Winnie embedded in ice.
X is for Xerxes devoured by mice. –Logan
Y is for Yorick whose head was knocked in.
Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin. –Raven?

Un-Wedding

2006-01-01T23:26:05Z

Last night I attended an unwedding. A couple getting divorced wanted to mark the event, not as a failure, but as an evolution. They raised an interesting point: we gather our friends for the happy events, but not the difficult ones - the times when we really need our community support. During the ceremony, the two talked about their relationship and what they had learned. They said they still love each other, but can be better friends outside a marriage-bond. It was sad, yet so healthy-seeming. It provided them closure as well as an incentive for personal and joint reflection (in preparing the ceremony.) It allowed the audience a chance to understand what was happening with their friends and gave a good example of how such sad events can be navigated. As one of the officiators said, it's good for us to see our friends be human. I hope more couples do this.

Tiny Invitation

2005-11-28T16:57:26Z

I'd like to invite you all to an art opening in Nob Hill (ish) on Saturday. My jewelry will be on display. Nothing that you all haven't seen before and I'm just one of 50 artists, but this is my first real gallery show, so I'm excited about it!

I'd like to plan something with friends afterward. Dinner or drinks or maybe gather at someone's place. If people have suggestions, please let me know. I'd post the plan in a few days.

here's info from the website (http://www.studiogallerysf.com/wst_page10.html)

tiny

Wednesday, November 30th - Saturday, December 24th
Reception: Saturday, December 3rd, 4 - 8 pm

Studio Gallery
1718A Polk Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
415.931.3130

A show of all small work, perfect for gift-giving or treating yourself.

All the wall pieces are under 7" x 7", the tabletop pieces are all small, and everything is under $149. We'll have nearly 200 different pieces on display, representing work from over 50 local artists. The show has something for everyone: some terrific cityscapes of San Francisco, lots of new jewelry, mixed media pieces, prints, tiny baskets, resin tiles, pit-fired ceramics, glass, and much more. It's a great way to get unique, handmade gifts for the holidays and support the local arts community at the same time.

OoL Poster

2005-11-26T17:34:42Z

Here's the poster Brandon made for the OoL Premiere.

OoL is COoL

2005-11-17T22:26:31Z

Yeyy! OoL is done! Brandon finished editing last week. My copy should be arriving via post today - I can't wait to see it!! Here's the placeholder webpage: http://www.quirkyworks.com/ool/

The premiere will be in Seattle on Sat December 10. If any of you want to go, I can arrange crash space at my friends'. We hope to have the SF opening in late December or early January.

Listening for the postman...

Ant Chair

2005-11-16T20:48:51Z

I thought some of you would appreciate this, discovered in Santa Fe last week.

Baby's First DNA

2005-10-29T03:59:16Z

I love sciency textiles! Check out this knitted DNA:

http://kimberlychapman.com/crafts/knit-gallery.html#dna

(Anyone want to make me a right-handed one??)

how to be Emo

2005-09-16T14:32:59Z

now, you, too, can be Emo!
http://www.somethingdirectory.com/main_emo.htm
(20 min flim - very entertaining.)

back home.

2005-09-10T05:11:54Z

I'm leaving for California tomorrow, hopefully doing the drive in one day.
I'll miss Seattle, but CA is home. I'm looking forward to seeing you all soon!

OoL: Origin(s) of Life on Earth

2005-08-09T02:20:03Z

Oh, here's why I'm in Seattle (other than sampling infused alcohols). Brandon and I are making a short animation-ish movie called OoL: Origin(s) of Life on Earth. The trailer (made 2 years ago) is here: http://www.quirkyworks.com/video/ool.html . Check it out! And while you are there, explore Brandon's website, QuirkyWorks. He's a creative genius.