Watch This — Japanese Fun Facts

Talking legumes that resemble puppies and disseminate arcane trivia. What have you been doing all your life, if not watching Mameshiba clips? Fava bean is the latest. So much weird Japanese goodness.

Wantables — The Back in the Saddle Edition

Wow, it's been over a month since my last post. I've been meaning to get back at it for a while now. Alas, I've always wound up shrugging it off and being just all-encompassingly lame.

Lame no more!

Leave it to Seed to inspire me to blog again. This Costa Mesa eco-super-store is an oasis for me; when I'm there (and just in The Camp, in general), I don't feel that spirit-crushing feeling I usually have when out and about in Orange County. Even though I'm not too terribly granola crunchy, or tree-huggish, I always want to buy everything in this store...even the camping stuff!

On last weekend's trip, I had to limit myself to a Livity sunhat (I got #38) and a Strawberry Shortcake picture disc from the used vinyl stacks. These other goodies caught my eye, too, though...

31 Bits necklaces and stackable recycled paper bracelets

These are gorgeous handmade fair trade accessories from a collective of women in Uganda. I could see pairing the necklaces with shirt-dresses and sweaters for Fall and giving the bracelets as gifts. Just a small criticism: Were there no Ugandan models available for the photo shoot? Their shopping page is a little Ann Taylor Loft.

Tiny Whales onesies and T-shirts

Okay, their site is kind of jacked up, what with the annoying music and the non-functioning shopping page and all. (EDIT: Just found out about their Etsy page, which is infinitely more functional.) The line itself is quite striking in person; really clever graphics, sophisticated color palettes and super soft cotton. Honestly, being the snob that I am, I was rather surprised to find out the designers are a husband and wife team from OC. It's a different aesthetic than I'm used to seeing in this Spongebob/Disney environment. Personal reminder: "When you assume..."

Kids Konserve reusable, waste-free lunch kits

Thankfully, my daughter's school serves an incredible hot lunch every day (as well they should, given the king's ransom we pay each month). If, however, we were stuck at one of those Jamie Oliver intervention schools, I might consider copping one of these kits. Each recycled cotton bag includes a cotton napkin, stainless steel water and food containers, and a little snack pouch. The idea is to eliminate plastic bags, paper towels, aluminum foil and the rest.

They are pretty much too good for kids. I mean, the total cost of all my daughter's preferred snacks all together (nori, apple slices, pretzels, yogurt and cheese) is nowhere near the $45 asking price. But can you really put a price on moral superiority? I think not.

Seed sells each of the kit's components separately, in case you need multiples of any one thing, or if you just want to try the Food Kozy out without spending a small fortune for the rest. I think I may buy a pair for field trips.

"Moon Walks A Tightrope" poster

We have been looking all over for a print to fill some empty living room wall space. I came across Slide Sideways' stationery at Seed and found out some of the same designs are available as prints on the Seattle couple's Etsy site. Great timing, too, because they're having a sale!

For the Love Of Lists — Rewind

Shows I wish I'd never seen so I could enjoy the pleasure of discovering them all over again (in no particular order).

1. Freaks & Geeks — Okay, this one's just starting to re-air on IFC. There is so much goodness in this show (the lame guidance counselor, "Come Sail Away," bitchy Busy Phillips, solar plexus-punching), but my favorite element was the delicious awkwardness of Jason Segel's mating ritual.

2. Buffy The Vampire Slayer — I actually don't need to have my memory wiped of this one. I can watch it whenever and wherever (provided my kid is nowhere near the TV). In college, this was the only show I actually even watched (too busy having a life for all the others). Enter pregnancy: My life slowed down A LOT and I rented and watched the series in its entirety. Now, if I could permanently delete Dawn, Drusilla and Tara...

3. The Wire (give or take Season 3) — Omar, Omar, Omar. Violent TV is not really my thing, but I made an exception for Snoop, The Barksdales, et al. Not for nothing, this reel waters the series down, but it's good for a little re-cap.

4. Arrested Development — It was too good to last (okay, if you skip the whole Charlize Theron storyline). I went around quoting that show so frequently — "Her?", "I blue myself!", "Marry me," "No touching!" — that I was nearly unintelligible to non-viewers. Linuses. HA!

5. Extras — I needed, like, prescription-strength deodorant and a box of tissue to watch this show. It made me so intoxicatingly uncomfortable.

6. Mr. Show with Bob and David — It's probably best if this one stays in my past, if I'm honest. It requires a lifestyle that's not exactly befitting a housewife and mother...

7. Chappelle's Show — Prince pancakes, Darkness! and The 5 o' clock Free Crack Giveaway. Laughing until you fart was always acceptable when this show was on.

8. Flight of the Conchords — Once upon a time, I came across Bret shuffling around a tiny L.A. neighborhood library. I made some weak-ass quip to him about wishing I had a camera-phone in my bag. Sigh. Good times.

I guess it's good that I've watched the show's two seasons multiple times; it makes my sing-alongs so much, um, "cooler"...yeah, that's the word I'll use.

9. Eastbound & Down — New episodes air in September. When I first came across this show, I couldn't believe it ever got made. Glad it did. Kenny Powers is so wrong, people.

Kenny Powers Is Back In September

Honorable Mention:

Degrassi Junior High — The original is what I'm talking about here, the one I used to fight my sister for the privilege of watching (we only had one TV to share and the Canadian series came on PBS at the same time as 21 Jumpstreet). These were accurately imperfect pre-teens with acne, split ends, jacked-up teeth and wardrobe repeats. None of the glossy wannabes you'll see on the show's modern-day incarnation. Thanks to Degrassi, I got my first televised inkling of the angst that I would later come to know and customize.

Art I Heart — Souther Salazar

Thanks to Drawn!, I learned of Souther Salazar's newest work, "Alejandro and the Idea Machine." This is a sculpted piece, which differs from the wall-spanning paintings I'd grown to love via various Giant Robot group shows. On his blog, you can check out a cute time lapse video of the piece's creation.

And if you're around L.A. tomorrow evening (which, due to a San Diego wedding, I won't be), he's giving a gallery talk at This Los Angeles.

Watch This — (Ideally, with a Cool Girl b/w ages 7 and 12)

That Amy Poehler...always giving me reasons to love her.

I just discovered her webisode project, "Smart Girls at the Party." Now entering its second season, the series is aimed at showcasing pre-teen girls' under-represented talents and interests— no shopping, boys and other precocious nonsense. Poehler interviews a young gardener, a steel drum-player, a yogini and, as is the case in the first episode of Season 2, a robotic engineer.

Find more videos like this on Smart Girls at the Party

Smart Girls' tagline is "Change the World by Being Yourself." You really get a feel for the authenticity of that sentiment as you watch these refreshingly awkward girls. There's scarcely a Disney'ed out pre-diva in the bunch. The interviews are set up "The Daily Show"-style and it's adorable to watch the deadpan responses to Poehler's faux-reporter shenanigans.

If you can get past the intro yodeling, I'd say this is a great (albeit, short) viewing alternative to "iCarly" and the nauseating like. Bonus for geeky grown-ups: The episodes end in dance parties featuring Will Arnett and an interchangeable cast of Poehler's celeb friends (Aziz Ansari, Kristen Wiig, etc.).

The Newest Swirl Syndicate Design!

The Swirl Syndicate site is back in action, after a (possibly, too-long) hiatus. I've streamlined my stock a bit, added a ton of stuff to the sale section and made the switch to using all 100% organic cotton shirts.

This is my newest design, made possible with the technical help of my very brilliant friend, Daniel Lievens.

"Soul and salsa. K-pop and klezmer. Bhangra and bluegrass. Whatever your little one's mix, it rings out in perfect harmony."

Thanks to Daniel and, of course, my husband (aka, #1 Computer Genius) for helping me get back on my feet. Now, don't let all their hard work go to waste...go shop!

Wantables — Gimme 2 Pair...

Just spotted these via the NYT site. It's been a minute since I've obsessed over sneakers*, but when I scrolled through this "Africa Lifestyle" collection by New York artist Kehinde Wiley, the old yearning came back. I'm also loving the West African-inspired prints on his little collapsible canvas Tekkies.

*Actually, the last time was another pair of Pumas, designed by Kozyndan...but the limited-edition designs only came in big honking guy sizes back then.