entry: 9002

weather: clear and cold.

it's about 3.30am eastern standard time
and i have come to a conclusion.
nomatter where i live
i will never find a late night snack
as fulfilling as a wawa snack.

i got a mini hoagie, chips and snapple for 6$
to a new yorker that is a bargain!
a very delicious bargain...
and i feel great now
thank you wawa, for another good snack.



this won't be a long post
because i need sleep
i'm sailing back to queens tomorrow
to see my wonderful co-captain
who saved me from peril today.
if it were medival times
he'd be my knight in shining armor.
but it's not.
so he is my urban naturalist in long johns.

Happy New Year Sailors!

entry: 7777

weather: sunny and sunny

Christmas has passed
and i am more than pleased
with my presents.
i've also been enjoying the company
of family and friends
and drinking lots of champagne.

the only downside
is that i miss my co-captain like crazy!
i cannot wait to see him this weekend.

in other news, my cousin informed me
that a giant squid had been captured alive
though it was killed in the struggle,
which i think was unecessary.
and she was only twenty something feet long.
a baby.
they should have just taken a video and let her go
because maybe giant squid need to remain
one of the great mysteries of the sea.
here is a picture of the poor giant lady.


I'm all for the study of giant squid
but I am more for preserving their species.
innocent lives need not be lost
in the quest for knowledge.

entry: 4220

weather: cold. just cold.


I'm a day away from setting sail for South Jersey!
It will be nice to relax for an entire week
but I always miss New York when I am gone.
all New Yorkers are spoiled.


I'm also taking this time to get ideas together for my show.
February 26th is not that far away.
Squids need to be sewn and collages need to be made.
I have some ideas i plan to work on
so we shall see how it all pans out.

Another thing worth mentioning is that this week
is the 5 month anniversary of my co-captain and i!
hooray for us!

Since this post is more a Captains update
than animal facts
i'll end with some pictures of my work from this semester.
karen has the better photos. but these will do for now.

Merry Christmas Sailors!!

entry: 0156

weather: looks cold outside.


the semester is FINALLY over
the boost in positivity on the SS Chambs is phenomenal
and its the christmas season
added bonus.

The only hard thing about the holidays is finding the right gift
for those near and dear.
since this site is dedicated to our furry and not so furry friends
on land and sea
i've compliled a few ideas of perfect gifts to get the animal lover in your life.

enjoy!



1.) Adopt a Manatee


These lovable sea cows are available for adoption on
savethemanatee.org for a mere fee of 25$
you even get to choose your own manatee from the location of choice.

Also, if adopting fun creatures is your thing, check out wwf.org
the selection is exotic and the price ranges from $25-100


2.) PETA gear




The PETA site has loads of shirt for everyones favorite activist.
I particularly liked this one because i know that fish have feelings too.
It gets the point across without being too harsh.
added bonus? the shirt is 16$
thats cheaper than a shirt from urban outfitters!!

3.) Save a life!

Adopt furry friends like these



from a no kill shelter such as BARC (barcshelter.org) in brooklyn
There is nothing better than giving an animal a home
especially when they have been a little down on their luck

entry: 0017

weather: chilly..but not that chilly.

This week is truly the week for celebration.
The winter semester is FINALLY coming to a close!
only the autobiography to hand in on thursday
and then I will be the happiest Captain on the sea.
And, as if that isn't great enough, I am attending my Christmas present tomorrow!
My co-captain's gift to me was tickets to the Wainwright Family Christmas!
Everyone knows that Rufus makes me swoon.
My co-captain is truly the best.


Besides the latest on the SS Chambs
there has been an exciting edition to the creatures of the deep!!
They call it the Yeti Crab.
and it looks like this.


This guy is a blind deep sea dweller found in the South Pacific.
cleary what makes him special are his snazzy arms.
which besides looking fashionable, trap bacteria for food.
there is nothing more that my crew and I love than funtional beauty.

SInce his is still a new discovery
not much is known about their likes and dislikes
But I bet he is a sucker for cookies.
the claws are perfect for grabbing.

The crew here on the SS Chambs
wishes to extend a friendly hello and how d'ya do
to the trendsetting Yeti Crab.
With hopes that we will meet soon.

entry: 1118

weather: sunny and cold.


funny how time flies.
i find myself at the end of the fall semester.
frantically trying to finish all the things that are due this week and next
what a mess.
this won't be a long post, as i have many tentacles to sew.

but i will say that by the end of the week.
i will have 2 mini books about Jenkins.
one depicting his public life
and one on his home life.
i'll post some pages from them.
have a good week sailors!

entry: 6890

weather: unseasonably warm....again.

i awoke today to find that there was a baby mouse stuck in a glue trap in the hallway.
naturally. i broke into tears.
i always take it upon myself to toss the torture traps in the garbage
however. the girl next door apparently has them in her room.
there are humane ways to trap mice.
my point? be a friend to animals big and small.

but today is not the day to dwell.
today happens to be one of my best friends birthdays.
lets call her Lady. (you can find her blog in my links)
Lady's favorite animal is the penguin.
so today will be dedicated to the projectile pooper. the penguin.


There are many different types of penguins
some enjoy the frigid temperatures while others prefer climates a bit warmer,
penguins have a layer of blubber, a layer of down feathers and finally the outer feathers.
and if that isnt enough to keep them warm then they snuggle!
for the penguins in the warmer weather spreading their wings
and spreading their feathers will provide a cool down.

and did you know that penguins bond by touching necks
and/or slapping eachothers backs with their flippers.
kind of like Secretary with cute little birds.
and penguins- unlike koala's -stick with their mate for years
and therefore do NOT spread chlamydia around like wildfire.
(sorry koala's i just think you should be more safe.)

and of course, my favorite penguin fact.
they can projectile poop up to 16 inches away from themselves.
keeping their nest and feathers clean.

entry: 5111

weather: crisp yet unseasonably warm

ah, back in Queens, in the sleeping quarters of my co-captain.
It was an excellent mini break from my education.
I enjoyed rendezvous' with some of my favorite crew members
got lots of sewing done
and took lots of naps with Big Big Mees, who also has adventures at sea.

My current project is making stuffed animal squid
pictures will be up once a few are completed.
as usual, i have many in the process but only one actually finished.
maybe my new years resolution will be to finish what i start before i begin something new....
but who really keeps their resolutions anyway.

In my continuing quest to further my knowledge about giant squid
i found myself at barnes and noble with 2 of my crew members.
luckily for me i managed to find an entire book devoted to Steven Jenkins and his mysterious kind.
(sidenote:- for those who dont know who jenkins is i will write a detailed biography soon.)

besides the new squid book, i purchased an italian workbook
in hopes of improving my fading language skils
only 3 months left til Roma!
I also found a book of animal facts, i should have bought the book
but money is tight on the SS Chambs and with the holiday season here already
money cant be spent on just anything.
Since i have focused this post on me rather than the creatures of the oceans
i'll throw in some random animal facts that i can remember.

enjoy!


FACTS!

-rats and rabbits cannot vomit.

-there is a kind of lizard who uses debris in the ocean to travel from one island to another

-pigs have corkscrew penises and ejaculate a pint of semen

-if need be, lobsters can find their way home

-chlamydia is common among koala bears

-certain spiders have their penises in their mouths

-it would take 30 minutes to boil an ostrich egg



no wonder they have the clap.....crazy koalas.

entry: 1234

weather: dreary and not enticing.


Ah New Jersey. The state of gardens. and of wawa.
I've sailed my ship home
and it feels great to be here.
It is hard to believe that it is thanksgiving already
this year is just flying by!

life is good right now on the SS Chambs.
no complaints.
but life will be hectic with the ending of the semester...
more on that another day.
today is a day for turkey.

obviously turkey's are not the sea faring type.
but i thought this might come in handy for those so inclined.
enjoy sailors.
happy thanksgiving!

Making a Turtle Shell Turkey Call

A novel, yet effective, friction-type caller you can build is the box turtle or terrapin shell call. The sounding chamber is an empty, dry terrapin shell
topped with a sheet of slate or red cedar. The striker is a red cedar or
hardwood peg topped with a corncob.

Materials:

* One empty and dried terrapin shell.
* One piece of 1/8-inch red cedar or slate for the sounding board (approximately 3" x 6", depending on length and width of shell).
* One five-inch long piece of 3/8-inch hardwood or red cedar dowel rod for a striker.
* One dried corn cob.

Procedure:

* Cut and sand the sounding board into a shape that fits the length
and width of the shell. Round or oval shapes work well and look good.
* Lay the sounding board across the open underside of the shell and mark
the points where the sounding board rests against the shell
- the contact points.
* Dab epoxy at three of these contact points and press the sounding board
to the shell long enough for the epoxy to set.
* Taper the corn cob with sander or sharp knife.
* Trim the cob length to about 4 1/2 inches.
* Drill the center of the cob and drive the dowel rod peg
into length of the cob, leaving about 2 1/2 inches of peg exposed.
The fit must be snug.

Note: Length and weight of peg and cob can be altered, resulting in tone variation. Try several lengths and weights.

If you plan to use this call for hunting, painting the shell in dark colors and making sure not to leave any exposed white will reduce the risk of another hunter mistaking your call for a turkey's head.

Operate your call like any slate and peg caller. Make sure to utilize the forward part of the call for the best sound.

entry: 3764

weather: dreary but warm


i awoke at the crack of dawn today to sail back to brooklyn
only to find that class had been cancelled.
i would have rather stayed in the cabin with co-captain.

On the bright side, only 4 weeks remain in the semester.
magic i tell you, magic.
I look forward to a mini vacation
where i can work, and go on adventures with friends and lover. singular.

Normally around this time of year the weather begins to turn cold
I can even remember a few November's where it even snowed.
but thanks to global warming all that has changed.
It's a nice mix of spring summer and fall. lets call it spraller.
Spraller may feel nice. But just think of what it is doing to our friends in the freezing seas.


FACTS!

~~Rising temperatures have a dramatic impact on Arctic ice,
which serves as a kind of "air conditioner" at the top of the world.
Since 1978 Arctic sea ice area has shrunk by some 9 percent per decade, and thinned as well.


~~In the Arctic the impacts of a warming climate are being felt already.
Coastal Indigenous communities report shorter periods of sea ice,
which fails to temper ocean storms and their destructive coastal erosion.
Increased snow and ice melt have caused higher rivers
while thawing permafrost has wreaked havoc with roads and other infrastructure.
Some communities have had to move from historic coastline locations.
Sea ice loss is devastating for species that have adapted to the environment,
such as polar bears and ringed seals in the Arctic and Antarctic penguins.
(facts courtesy of national geographic online)



for more not so fun facts on global warming
check out:
globalwarming.org
epa.gov/climatechange/
stopglobalwarming.org

entry: 4886

weather: dreary and cold




recently i have become obssessed with the marine life in the coldest parts of the world.
and if i wasn't so terrified of getting eaten by a mystery sea creature
i think i'd throw on some diving gear and go.

at any rate. i've been doing some reading and animal planet watching
about the creatures that thrive in these freezing temperatures.
and i came across a photographer named Norbert Wu
a nature photographer extraordinaire- these are some of his shots from Antarctica.


urchins. the pin cushions of the sea.


i want to hug this weddell seal.

i have the blue planet episode of the frozen seas on my netflix list.
i can't wait to get it.

entry: 1855

weather: crisp and glorious

Last week someone may as well have put a hole in the bottom of my boat.
I felt like i was sinking to the bottom of the abyss.
It is so easy to forget that there is no clear definition of art.
and its also easy to forget that there will always be people that support what you do.

in the coming weeks i am hoping to really improve my time management
and spend any extra time working on shirts, bags, etc to sell on etsy.com
i have 7 months left.
it is time to really get it together.

entry: 5857

I feel like my ship has hit a sandbar.
the idea of 7 more months of school seems like an impossible feat.
sometimes i'd rather walk off the plank into a feisty group of sharks.
the more time i spend in educational institutions the more i am convinced
that some people just do not belong in them.
I'm beginning to hate things that i love to do.
i have no money and loads of debt.
my life is ready to set sail and the rope is still tied to the dock.

if i feel like i am being caged in, i will only want to break free.
get me out of here.

entry: 9011

weather: sunny and chilly


A stream of motivation has put a new wind in the sails of the SS Chambs
the crew and interns agree that the next month will be a busy one.
plans for tshirt and tote bag production are in the works.
hopefully will be online at etsy.com before christmas.

Studio work is also going better
i have begun to focus more on a single topic....
steven jenkins.
and am please with the results so far.

The co-captain and i recently made a list of adventures we plan on taking
i am looking forward to crossing things off the list.
Autumn, is the perfect time for charting new courses.
get out your maps and compasses.

entry: 0883

weather: confused..it doesn't know what it wants.


Yesterday was the kind of day when I wanted the rain to come.
Today, I just want it to be crisp and dry.
My hopes for the weather usually mirror my moods.
Lately I suppose I've been a grumpy captain.

But when no new discoveries are being made, taping the documentaries is on a brief hiatus, and there is no income -
it's easy to see why.

I just recalled a piece of a dream I had last night. I was hosting a gathering, and a dear friend and senior prom date
(yes we had proms in sailing school) was sitting at my kitchen table in denim overalls with no shirt. (it was a sort of theme party) and I immediately began to cry because i knew it could not be possible for him to be in my kitchen. later i listened to the messages on my phone...which was a phone i had years ago and he left me a message and at the end it said i love you.
the whole time i knew he was not alive. it was so bizarre. and it makes me miss him and his contagious laugh.

He serves as a constant reminder to me that life, indeed, is all too short. And each person should sail the open seas, and dive deep into the unknown without fear. I am convinced that the worst thing a person can do is worry so much about the future that they forget to live in the present. Enjoy everything you have, and appreciate everyone that loves you.

I usually don't like to get into telling people how they should live their lives. But I do really believe that life is a beautiful thing, and most people forget that. So if you aren't going to map out wild adventures or dive deep into the caverns of the sea, or even take a swim with some dolphins. Promise that you will at least take the time to enjoy the sea air, bask in the sweet sun, let the tide bury your feet in the sand, and wear sunscreen- because sunburned sailors are not attractive.

entry: 7727

it's been a weekend of sailing adventures for the SS Chambs.
Down to South Jersey and Philly and then back up to Queens.
Met up with some of the crew for drinks and diner food
and talked of shoes, ships, ceiling wax, cabbages and kings.

Sometime last week..
my desire to travel the seas and a few cocktails helped me to set a new course.
I mapped out a voyage to Rome.
My first mate will be accompanying me
and this will be our European Extravaganza: Part 2
Any kind of extravaganza is a good one. lets be honest here.

Needless to say, I am beside myself with excitement.
Minus my frustration with school, life is great.
the co-captain is still wonderful and I found that he makes a delicious quesadilla.
which is excellent because though i am a skilled sailor, squid extraordinaire, and manatee enthusiast
I cannot cook anything besides pancakes and macaroni and cheese..the boxed kind.
so finding a fantastic man who can cook fantastic treats is a bonus.

My obsession with Steven Jenkins has led me to ponder whether or not I should incorporate him
and my love and respect for the sea into my work.
I consider the sea to be a wonderful metaphor for Art.
Unpredictable. Constantly Changing. Mysterious. Alluring. Full of crazy things.
I would grow terribly bored in focusing on one topic or medium.
Kind of the way that I need to constantly sail from place to place.
My work may appear to have no connection but somewhere in there lies a conjunction.
At least as far as I can see....but what I see won't matter much to onlookers.
Most just want to believe they know more about the work than the artist does.
And yes, sexuality, feminine issues, and interest in anatomy are present.
but maybe I just like to draw legs and manatees.

Lets call it instinct.
I put the head of a man on the body of a pin up because i feel as though it should be there.
Maybe its my subconscious interest in gender roles. or maybe I just think it looks good.
I do not think that all art needs to be conceptual or from a deep place.
I believe that it comes from feeling, intuition- and that can encompass conceptual.
But my mind does not function that way.
I often act on impulse.
I'd like to think I construct my art in the same way.

entry 1033

weather: sunny and chilly


docked in bk once again. but it's never really for a long period of time.

had a lovely weekend between south jersey and queens.
a nice little sunday with the co-captain, kind of disappointed that we won't be crossing paths that much this week.
but i will be a busy bunny.

i'll be spending a lot of time in the studio this week. i feel as though i need to make more progress.
but really i'd rather be sailing the open seas. once this year ends, i'm going to raise my anchor and say goodbye to brooklyn.

my life after college will basically be dedicated to starting the Center for Giant Squid Studies. where folks can go to research giant squid and track steven jenkins so that he does not strike again.

i'm going to try and post picture of my work later this week.

entry: 7328

weather: cool and clear.


I suppose it is natural for someone who sails the seas to miss home once in awhile.
The SS Chambs will be paying a visit to the southern end of the garden state in a week and a half.
and I am thinking it will be glorious. The strange part about "home" is that when i go, i always miss the new york life.
i'm not out of touch with the people but i'm out of touch with the sj area.

I've been lax on working on my projects. just have not been inspired. and you cannot force these things.
but this week looks promising. because a breath of fresh air came with the viewing of Science of Sleep.
I loved every minute of it....well maybe not when he sneaks in to take the horse...but thats for anxiety reasons.
I simply cannot stand to watch people embarassed on film. I relate and have an inner freak out.
silly bunny.

Autumn is just about here and it is hard to believe that October is days away. Last time i checked it was definitely June.
Time really does fly when you are having fun.

entry 3829

weather: sunny and glorious

an exciting day on the SS Chambs, new job on the horizon. very excited about it
glad to be leaving bobbyflayland. and all of its ridiculousness.
but will miss the fantastic folks.

work in the studio is going well. creating a wall collage..thinking that perhaps my show will in fact be a wall collage...or entire room collage. complete with cupcakes and an afterparty. because i know everyone will be dying for a drink.

the co-captain and i continue to sail the open seas together. still happy. going to plan a weekend trip to montauk soon.
very much looking forward to it.

taking a voyage home to south jersey on the 6th. can't wait to see the sj crew and family. not to mention big big mees.

christina's bday event tonight. will be nice to hang out with the BA crowd outside of work.

entry 7483

weather: rainy and gross


still docked in brooklyn.

i miss the island even more after a visit to 97 clinton st. rhome was as excited to see me as i was to see him.

still no sign of jenkins. possible he has retreated back to the deep for an undisclosed amount of time.

the crew is still on leave and doing their own things. hopefully we can reunite soon.

i have decided to create this log in attempt to better gather my thoughts, put my work up, and keep the general public notified on the whereabouts of steven jenkins. *(the giant squid)