I Can't Believe its Not Butter!

Melati Suryodarmo.
You may remember her from her infamous Youtube video:



It is quite difficult not to laugh the first time watching it, but after the giggles and tears one may start to think what is she doing? and WHY?

Exergie, the butter dance, was created as a way to express what Melati was going through at the time:

"When I created butter dance, I was in a situation where I realized that my life has been up and down, fell down and I got up again. These has to do with the nothing with very specific, but every time when those moments of shifting happens, it becomes a very special moment. It is the time where decision and our resistance are required. The work was created after a long process of understanding different kind of experiences and then induced them into the point where emotional contents put into one."

In her dance, we can see those special moments in her face. The fall is always unexpected, but she always gets up no matter how difficult.

The butter is also an important aspect of her dance. It is something she has struggled with culturally and physically.

"I love butter, and I hate it at the same time. It also represents my relocation from my culture, something that I love and does not come from my nature of nutrition (we donʼt consume butter in Indonesia) at the same time it has changed my body since I get used to it in Europe."




Since her dance focus was on struggles in life, butter seemed to be the perfect medium.

The Exergie, though awkward and painful, is actually an apt translation of what we all go through. Humans handle every new difficulty in life somewhat clumsily. Though we choose to hide these aspects of our lives, Melati embraces it and shares her vulnerable moments with the world.







The dance was first presented in 2000 and another performance was uploaded by a viewer in 2010.  The video went viral in 2012. Though she has been misunderstood from a number of public viewers, she remains optimistic and finds it "...interesting to see how people in general react to an art work."

Who knew one performer and a dollop of butter could deliver a message with such raw honesty. 

12 days of Mr. Fuzzy Sweepstakes

Win your very own Mr. Fuzzy! He is the perfect travel buddy. Starting tomorrow, 12 days of Mr. Fuzzy begins! See details below on how to enter. Good luck! :)

Old Overacheiving Joe

Joe Foss was the leading fighter ace in WWII, shooting down at least 26 air crafts, earning him the Medal of Honor. Then after all that attention he decided to live a quiet life and become a General in the National Guard, the Governor of South Dakota, the first commissioner of the American Football League, and a television broadcaster.

Joe came from a poor background. He grew up in a farmhouse that didn't have electricity. After waiting for 4 entire years, at 16, he and his father finally saved $3.00 for a ride in an aircraft. Everything was great until Joe turned 17. There was a storm and his father stepped on a downed electrical wire ironically near his non-electric farm and passed away.

What Joe probably looked like working on the farm

Joe dropped out of school to help his mom with the farm; however, this did not deter him from his dream of flying. He worked on the farm for a couple of years, and worked part time in order to make money for tuition, books, and flight lessons. Once his brother took over the farm, he went to college and convinced the University of South Dakota to set up a Civil Aeronautics Authority flying course. He gained 100 hours of flying time, and excelled in boxing, track, and football. Oh yah, he also had a part time job bussing tables in order to pay for tuition.

Be all you can be...

At 26, he wanted to be a fighter pilot, but they said he was too old and was sent to be apart of the photography department. However, as you can tell, Joe was not one to give up on what he wants. He pestered and nagged his way to the fighter squadron. In his first assignment he shot down a Japanese Mitsubishi Zero. He soon became the leader of his own squadron of 8 Wildcats called "Foss's Flying Circus". In 3 months his circus shot down 72 Japanese Air crafts, of which 26 are credited to him. He received the Medal of Honor.

Receiving the Medal of Honor from Franklin D. Roosevelt

After he was released from duty, he opened his own school for flying and became so successful that he had to expand to a 35-aircraft operation. A few years later, at 39, he became the youngest state Governor. Four years later, he became the first commissioner of the American Football league. He assisted in expanding and promoting its broadcast to ABC. He then became a host on ABC, the president of the American Rifle Association, President of the National Society of Crippled Children and Adults, and co-authored a few books. At 87, Joe passes away.

If Joe lived any longer, he would have taken over the world.

Never give up, never surrender!

At 42, Alan Rickman finally landed his dream job.

In his younger years, Rickman had an interest in the arts. In high school, he developed an attraction to drama. However, drama was "not seen as a sensible thing to do at 18."  So in order to make his mom proud, he took up the much more stable career of graphic design.

Rickman and a few friends opened their own graphic design studio. Surprisingly, they were pretty successful. After going to college, gaining a stable career, and making good money, Rickman decided that this was the perfect time to try something new. He requested an audition from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. At 26, he was accepted into RADA and finally began his acting career.

The new Nike spokes model (Just kidding :)

Getting accepted was just the beginning of his journey.  To support himself, he would work as a dresser for actors, meaning that he would actually help actors put their clothes on. Though a pretty boring job, he did get to meet Nigel Hawthorne and Sir Ralph Richardson, and probably gained immense experience in choosing which belt goes with what tie.

                            (Nigel Hawthorne)       (Sir Ralph Richardson)

For TWENTY-some years, Rickman roamed around in the theater scene. He was acknowledged by few and gained little recognition. It wasn't until his role in Les Liasions that he began to be noticed by American audiences. He was nominated a Tony for his performance. However, when a movie version was picked up, he was kicked out and denied the role. Mr. Malkovich was hired instead.

Don't worry, at this time, Rickman finally reached the plump age of 42 and landed a little movie called Die Hard, which open the door to many more opportunities.

The rest is history.

Prostitution, Piracy, and Power

One of the most notorious pirates of the China seas, Ching Shih, ruled with an iron fist. 

If you tried deserting Ching's fleet, your ears were chopped off. Rape of a female prisoner would result in castration or beheading. Any display of cowardice would result in beheading. If you were caught stealing you would lose your head as well.  Seeing a trend here?  Punishment for hiding loot would be flogging, but if you were caught twice, off with your head!

Ching Shih was highly respected pirate in the 19th century, who was so strong that her power threatened the Chinese goverment.

Ching Shih in battle.

Yep. That's right! her.

Ching Shih's early life is unknown, but her initial career was a prostitute. She was then captured by pirates. At this point, many would believe this would be a life ending fate; however, Ching Shih is no ordinary woman. 
 
Ching Shih was beautiful, intelligent, and conniving. Her beauty and wit won the heart of Zheng Yi, a powerful six fleet captain. With her help, in 1804 Zheng Yi created the Red Flag Fleet and became the most powerful pirate in China.  After he passed, she fought her way to gain full leadership, leading 1800 ships and more than 80,000 pirates.

From rags to riches.

Ching Shih was undefeated. If anyone resisted Ching Shih or her pirates, their feet would be nailed to the deck and then they were beaten severely.She was stealing and looting everywhere. She began levying taxes from cities for "protection". Her power could not be ignored and the Chinese government was scared.

In the end, Ching Shih was one of the few that were able to succesfully retire from piracy. The Chinese government allowed her to keep all her loot and her men were also protected. She remarried and opened up her own gambling house and her men were able to live comfortably becoming government and military officials (pretty corrupt!). She died peacefully of old age.

Now that's a life.

Something Different

ITS TIME FOR CHANGE! Don't worry the change will only affect 3 people... It is more about giving Domestic Sanity a clear direction.

"Individual thought, everyday life"

Everyone is unique and we wish for our shirts to describe who YOU, the individual, are.

With this in mind, the blog is going to be different. I know this may be depressing for the few that find my little stories interesting (Sorry, Mom and Dad!). It shouldn't be stories about my life. I don't want you guys to get the perception that I am narcissistic.... =/ Though I will miss writing about memory lane, it should be a blog that is beneficial and interesting to everyone, not just me... :'(. Starting Sunday, I will begin to blog about individuals, local heroes of our society, unique stories of those who didn't follow the crowd, and maybe some interviews from people who stayed true to themselves and are doing what they love (It should be fun! :). Of course there will still be updates on the business, and maybe I'll throw in the occasional retro picture for old time sake, but BE PREPARED times are changing....

Introducing: Frost

  I want to introduce you to another part of my family. His name is Frost! Isn't he adorable!! We were actually contemplating naming him Booger, but thought Frost was the more fitting name. (Though when he started chewing up and digging everything, Booger seemed more appropriate...)

Here is the first trick I taught him! He can shake hands! However, later I found out that all dogs can do this -____- so it wasn't a trick at all =/

 Here is Frost high...

Here is Frost sniffing...

Frost thought that this was the most slimming angle of his face (Myspace taught him well)

Isn't he so pretty! He even starred in his own short film. I'll show you some other time. It's a bit depressing...

 Frost was a goofy and loving dog. His favorite activities include sleeping, eating, and playing tag. He passed away two weeks ago.

I miss him.


-Alison

THANKSGIVING!

Hurray! Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I get to pig out :)

Here is another amazing poem to celebrate!

Thanksgiving

The Pilgrims ate a feast

Indians wanted peace

So they ate together

seems like forever

Thats why we have Thanksgiving

November is near

So don't shed a tear.

Oh yah if you happen to see this in time... Domestic Sanity is having a BLACK FRIDAY SALE!!

25% off our entire stock starting Friday! Just enter "blackfriday". Hurry sale ends Sunday :)

-Alison

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I hope you have a fun night. In preparation for this sweet holiday, I shall give you some advice from my younger self in the form of a poem :)

My First Pimple

O my!

Should I cry?

I got my first pimple

I didn't know it was so simple

Yesterday, I went trick o' treating

When I was eating

I got a lot of chocolate

That fit in my right pocket

I ate them all that day

Then I had to pay...

So have fun and beware of pimples ^_^

-Alison

Guns pt.2: The pew pew gun

Ok. So I noticed the last post I made makes my brother sound QUITE terrible. Actually, all the posts I write make him sound like a total douchebag, which is not ENTIRELY true. He is A LOT wiser now, being the old man that he is...

 
My new plan is for every terrible story I tell about him, my next blog will be a happier story. Then Mark will look more like a normal child and not a future serial killer that lures people in with his artistic shirts (<---- I PROMISE he doesn't do this... or else I would be dead or maybe I ALREADY AM! DUN Dun duuuuun... >:D )

Continuing with my theme on guns, there were fun times! The "You have 10 seconds..." didn't happen THAT often. The most fun came when my brother purchased THE PEW PEW gun. We called it the pew pew gun because it is probably the weakest BB gun you will ever find. Since it was so weak, we refused to give it the all power title of "Airsoft gun" and instead designated it the pew pew gun.  If anything, it was more startling than painful.

Since I was a strong girl, and could take the pain of a pew pew gun, we devised a daily game. We would find ways to steal the gun from each other. However, the point of the game was not to torment each other by annoyingly shooting someone until the cartridge was out. Instead, the goal was to shoot someone when they least expected it. There would be no point in shooting someone when they knew, because it wouldn't hurt and there is no creativity in that. The gun was known for its startling appeal and that is what we used it for.

Many times these covert operations occurred when my brother was on the computer in my parents room. I would finally get a hold of the gun from his room and tiptoe my way into my parents room. Then when I got closer, I would begin to crawl so I would remain out of his peripheral vision. Finally, after much waiting I would aim and

 *PEW PEW*

Mark would  jump

I would laugh *MUHAhahahaaaa*

Then an evil smile would come across his face and he would raise from his chair..  >:)

That was my cue to scream and run *AHHHHHHHHHHH*

The house was only so big, so running wouldn't last long. We would then both grab pillows. I would use it to defend and he would attack. His height advantage took away the fairness of most games we played -_____- After wearing me down, he would be able to pry the gun from my hands and the game would start all over. I would be on my toes all day just WAITING for the moment of revenge.


-Alison

Guns pt 1: You have 10 seconds...

Today I thought I would share another wonderful story about my childhood. Sorry, this is another Mark story. I promise there will be a Brent story...eventually... :)

When you are a child, pictures are normally captured through the eyes of your parents. So many photos tend to be facades of the actual relationships between siblings...

Oh sure, I look like I am having fun, but it is once the camera is put away and the parents leave that fear overcomes me. Leaving me alone would be safer than leaving me with Mark...

Mark, from a young age till his high school years, has had an obsession with guns.

As a child, he would build them out of Legos, then it developed into water guns, and in his
 teenage years they became Airsoft Guns...

At first, the worse it can get was Mark pretending. He would run around making *pew pew* sounds and kill imaginary bad guys all over the place. When his obsession of guns evolved to Airsoft, playtime became less fun and more dangerous. Shooting accurately could no longer be obtained by imagining it. Instead, he needed to find a moving target.

My parents would be out working and Brent would normally be with his friends (he is quite the social butterfly...which is probably why I have less stories about him). So Mark and I would innocently watch all the TV we could before our parents arrived home. However, the TV was not enough for Mark. He needed to adjust his scope so it would be accurate when he played with his friends.

All of a sudden, in the middle of a TV show Mark would say, "Alison, you have 10 seconds..."

I would be like "WHAT!?!"...

Then he would start counting down, "10....9...8...."

I would then run to the farthest corner of our backyard. He would then lie down at the the door of our house and slowly shoot. Then he would adjust his scope and shoot again...

Don't worry, he only hit me a couple of times and sometimes I would remember to grab pillows before running out...he just needed to test his accuracy...  -______-


-Alison

Introducing: Mr. Fuzzy

For the few that look forward to my blogs, I am so sorry for the delay! I have been busy on a new project.

Meet Mr. Fuzzy.

He is small, dark, and handsome
He is a great listener
He is travel size
His hobbies include being spontaneous and traveling

He really wants to see the world, but being small has its disadvantages. His legs can only take him so far! So we are going to help him. Sorry, if you start seeing him tagging along in your packages. He means no harm! He's just has a curious spirit.

 Help him along in his journey and share his adventures here.  :)


-Alison

AJ Rafael + Blush Video

Mr. Bear #2

My second attempt at making our bear! Hurray for improvement. Mr. Bear #1 is no longer alone :)


-Alison

Snail Mail

  
 I went to a small college about 30 minutes away from Napa valley. We were on a hill and were very sheltered. At times, I would feel as though I was in a mystical land, more accurately, a beautiful prison. I had no car so I was on campus most of the time. The gym was small, the dorms were separated by gender, the food was inedible, and there was curfew until you were 21.

      As you can imagine, I dreamed of being outside where the cars roamed free and the food was edible. My only source of outside civilization was my mailbox. Of course there is email, but there is something about snail mail that is much more tangible and meaningful.

      Freshman year, I remember checking my mailbox religiously. Everyday was the same. I would enter the dorm thinking, "Today is the day! Maybe a friendly note, an unexpected package, or MAYBE a note from a cute guy ^___^!" Oh, the possibilities were endless! I would then take the 10 second walk toward my mailbox, close my eyes, make a wish, open my box, look deep inside and, just to make sure, reach my hand way...WAY... back. The results always the same. I would take the long walk up three flights of stairs empty handed... "I guess the cute guys will write to me tomorrow!" I would hope.

     Sadly, my dreams didn't come true. Prince charming never wrote. My parents only send me packages on my birthday. My brothers and I only talk at home. And my most faithful sender was Amazon. I learned that in order to receive, one must first give. Luckily, I like writing letters as much as receiving letters :)

     Since I like writing letters so much, I thought it would be fun to write all of our customers a personalized letter! I always like receiving extra unexpected goodies when I order things online. So I hope my little notes make people feel the same. Also, since I am slaving away at this business, this is the only way that I can communicate to people outside of my house....  so... please be my friend??

   The initial idea started because of imperfect machines. The printer sometimes makes minor mistakes. As a result, all of the misprinted, unused photos for D.Sanity were cut up and made into stationary suitable for notes. On one lucky occasion, the Street Fighter teddy bears were misprinted, which means a couple lucky people will get special Street Fighter notes. Since there were only a few, I only use them for those who ordered 2 or more items! There are a couple left so GET THEM WHILE YOU CAN! :) I try to write as entertainingly as possible. I hope you won't be disappointed ^_^
 

-Alison




 

Presenting: AJ Rafael

Today I had the pleasure of meeting AJ Rafael! :) He was so kind. He wore one of our shirts that will be shown in his upcoming Youtube video featuring Blush. I'll post it when it comes out (for all 3 of you that read this).  PLUS, he let us even have a mini photo session. We told him to act natural and this is the result.  Ladies... brace yourself.

So there you have it. Every girls dream. AJ is cuddly and seductive ;)


-Alison

Book Poems! (8 years old)

  I found the "How do I look" poem very entertaining and decided to draw a comic of it today! :) I am no Mark, do not expect much... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

-Alison

Scared of the Dark

Scared of the Dark from Domestic Sanity on Vimeo.

Telephobia

Growing up, I do not remember having any irrational fear of heights. Roller coasters and planes were fun! Of course, whenever I stand on a ledge, I sometimes imagine falling and become afraid, but that's not very interesting. However, as a child I do remember having a horrendous fear of...

(Google images)

THE TELEPHONE...

The sun was setting and the house was dark. The parents were out of the house and Brent was out with his friends. Only Mark and I were left. I was 6 years old.

"Ring" "Ring" "Ring"... 

I never pick up the phone. Since my parents were out, and Mark wasn't paying attention, it was my duty to pick up the phone. I felt brave.

"Click"

Hello?

Hellloooo little girl. I know where you live and I am going to KILL YOU! MUHAhahahahah!

AHHhhhhhhhhhhh!!

*STAB* STAB* BAM* BAM*

 Then I would die.

This is the scenario of what I thought would happen to me if I ever picked up the phone. I do not know the exact reason for my irrational fear, but it probably has to do with too many scary movies or violent news (courtesy of my brother and dad). For this reason, whenever he had the chance, Mark would throw a ringing phone in my direction.  I would then burst into tears and run away.

This, my friends, is the face of EVIL!

-Alison