WHat?

I have been in the mood for a few weeks now to draw a really good skeleton or two in my journal. I went online to find old 1920's cartoons of dancing skeletons when I came across these old Cab Calloway videos.

(Get's pretty good around 4 min. in)

(One of the BEST songs ever written. Especially because I think the word "infirmary" is one of the scariest words in the English language)

In that same vein, I have a list of the top 5 things they should definitely bring back from the 1920s:

1. Long underwear with the button-up behinds

2. Cough syrup with cocaine in it

3. Long cigarette holders

4. Giant radios

5. Creative, adult-themed musical cartoons

Look who moved onto my soi

Giant snails moved onto my block. I want to make friends with them but I don't know how. Is it racist to assume that all snails have French accents?

We have new friends at work

These things are yellow

Dear Omaha

While I was traveling in the North last week, I brought several magazines with me to look at designs and typography. Two of said magazines had Omaha references. And I feel like I need to say something about that.

Dear Omaha,

I am not writing this letter because I don't love you anymore, I just think we need some time apart. We have been together so long that I just need to see what else is out there.

I am not forgetting you or all the good times we had together, I just need time to breathe. It's not you. You are wonderful. So many great qualities. Steak. Family. the Old Market. It's me. I am just too restless right now.

So please, Omaha, stop leaving me messages. I don't need to open magazines in Thailand only to read about Warren Buffett going to Gorat's or Connor Oberst moving home.

Still, it will be hard. All of my music reminds me of you. When put iTunes on shuffle I hear "Turn the Page" or "Hello in There" or other songs that reference you.

So, Omaha. This is not goodbye. It's bon voyage. I'll be back.

Lovingly, tenderly, internationally yours,
Molly

Diakonia

With all of my blathering on this blog, I tend to forget to update whoever reads this about actual significant things going on. Namely, this month, the Diakonia came out.

Diakonia is JRS Asia Pacific's publication that's been coming out since 1982.

But this one in particular is fantastic. Why, might you ask? Because I got to redesign it! Too much fun. God bless inDesign and (why not) Johann Gutenberg.

You can look at the pretty little PDF here.

But more than getting to design the thing, I got to contribute to it. Designing is fun, but writing is why I get up in the morning.

My favorite story wrote is this one. It's about Sri Lankan people, some living in hiding, others living behind bars, who are trying to be resettled to new countries. It was one of the first stories I wrote when I got here. I visited the Immigration Detention Center and visited the home of a Sri Lankan family. And when I sat down to write it, I just thought, "Whoa. This is what being a refugee is. Ok. I am on board." So perhaps you can read a little of my amazement between the lines of the story. Or maybe you can't.

My favorite story, experience-wise, was this one. Ollie and I traveled outside the city to see JRS's largest project in the country. It was first time in a refugee camp. Like for real. Like soldiers patrolling the boarder. Like bamboo houses. Like people fleeing real conflict. Like jungle. So that, of course, like every story I have written so far, was an eye-opener.

I dig this gig.