- Library Thing lets you catalogue your books online, and searches various databases and bookstores so you don't have to type everything in. It even includes covers. You can add 200 books free, and then have to pay a yeary or for-life fee. I like the idea of having a list of books online, where I can access it from anywhere should I need it for insurance purposes. It won't be long before I have to pay, though, assuming I get around to adding all my books. If you want to look at my books (have only added a few so far), seach for me under "feynico."
- TV Shows on DVD is a site where you can find out if your favorite shows are on DVD and vote for them to be on DVD if they're not. You can also make want lists for existing and yet-to-be-pubished DVDs. Now everyone go and register and vote for The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne. Do it now. Please.
- My Livejournal. It's so much easier to keep track of other people's Livejournals when you have one of your own. I'll probably end up putting personal, daily-life type stuff, plus writing updates, here on Anagram for Ink, and use the Livejournal for visual arts stuff. No doubt they will cross over a lot. But there you go. One more thing for me to neglect.
29 July 2006
Joining Things
Yeah, well, you all know how much of a joiner I am. But I found a few cool sites that seemed worth the effort of registering.
19 July 2006
Font Geek
What does it say about me that I was more excited that my 20th Century Art teacher complemented the font I used on my midterm paper than by the fact that she gave me an A?
Oh, it was 12pt Garamond.
Oh, it was 12pt Garamond.
15 July 2006
The Usual
So, school goes along pretty much as usual. Photography is my favorite class. It's intense but lots of fun. Letterpress can be a bit on the dull side at times, but I've discovered I really like setting type. It should be really boring, but I like it. I'm going to buy a small letterpress, if I can find one on eBay that's both a reasonable price and in good shape. In the meantime, I bought a camera. This camera. Yes, I finally blew all of my birthday money, plus a bit more besides.
Now I'm saving up for a sewing frame and a book press for bookbinding purposes. With what's left in my bank account (aside from what I need to, you know, live) I'm going to buy PSP stuff to review, and probably a second hand PSP on which to run homebrew -- I have an idea for an article series for work, following my attempts to downgrade the firmware and get homebrew running. Potentially, therefore, the second PSP could pay for itself.
Now I'm saving up for a sewing frame and a book press for bookbinding purposes. With what's left in my bank account (aside from what I need to, you know, live) I'm going to buy PSP stuff to review, and probably a second hand PSP on which to run homebrew -- I have an idea for an article series for work, following my attempts to downgrade the firmware and get homebrew running. Potentially, therefore, the second PSP could pay for itself.
Hardcore
Some of you may know, either just from knowing me or from following my ramblings on this blog, that I am entirely non-religious, yet also fascinated with (and sometimes horrified by) religion. So someone I know who is a student of Zen (hmm . . . should that be capitalized or not?) was reading this book called Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, and the Truth About Reality (by Brad Warner). I thought it sounded interesting, so I asked to borrow it. I just finished reading it this morning (and, since I only borrowed it Thursday afternoon, you can safely draw the conclusion that it was an absorbing read, and therefore also a quick read). Hmm. I expected it would be interesting and well written, from the things my friend said about it. I wasn't really expecting so much of it to resonate -- and resonate strongly -- with the way I already think about things, religion included.
For example:
Or:
The older I get, the more I think the dangers of religion -- any religion -- far outweigh the benefits, though I know there are an awful lot of people, even non-religious people, who would strongly disagree.
There are simply too many interesting things in the book for me to quote them all -- too many times when I stopped reading so I could absorb something properly. Here's one, though:
Hunh. I'll stop quoting now, and gushing. I think I'm going to have to get a copy of this book for myself, though, and read it a few more times. I'm not going to suddenly become religious, but this is, I think, something that warrants further investigation. Anyone want to read the book and tell me what you think of it?
For example:
It's only when people believe that their beliefs are above questioning, that their beliefs alone are beyond all doubt, that they can be as truly horrible as we all know they can be. Belief is the force behind every evil mankind [sic] has ever done.
Or:
Religions, the supposed institutional repositories of humanity's understanding of the deeper mysteries of the universe, have never offered anything more to me than sophisticated methods of avoiding the truth, of building elaborate fantasies in place of reality.
The older I get, the more I think the dangers of religion -- any religion -- far outweigh the benefits, though I know there are an awful lot of people, even non-religious people, who would strongly disagree.
There are simply too many interesting things in the book for me to quote them all -- too many times when I stopped reading so I could absorb something properly. Here's one, though:
Buddhism won't give you the answer. Buddhism might help you find your own right question, but you've gotta supply your own answers.
Hunh. I'll stop quoting now, and gushing. I think I'm going to have to get a copy of this book for myself, though, and read it a few more times. I'm not going to suddenly become religious, but this is, I think, something that warrants further investigation. Anyone want to read the book and tell me what you think of it?
04 July 2006
Back to School
Yes, today it was back to school again. I had my first Letterpress Printing class, which is going to be very exciting. Real printing with real moveable type. The kind you can take out and move around in different configurations, without the use of a computer! Okay, I am being silly, but I think it will be a good class. The prof is not the mot dynamic speaker ever, but he knows an awful lot about the history of printing and book binding, and stuff, and seems to have a vast store of amusing stories that probably only book geeks actually find amusing. Luckily, I am a book geek.
Today we had a kind of show and tell with lots of samples (both real and reproduction) of manuscripts and early printing. Then we got a tour of the print shop (I think the third I've had this year, but I love it there, so that's fine with me), and we got to poke around in the basement, where all the type is kept and where we will be spending a lot of time in the next seven weeks. Yay!
I also spent a fair bit of time in the dark room, working on my prints for the portrait/self portrait project. My portrait negatives came out pretty thick; I'm not sure if it's a shooting problem or a developing problem. They're not beyond hope, though, and I got some decent prints from them. Quite a few were not in great focus though, which is a bit disappointing. Part of the problem is that my subject was moving quite a bit, but I very much didn't want her sitting still and posing, so the only solution would have been more light. I guess I should have used both of the lights I had, instead of just one, so I could have used a smaller aperture and therefore had greater depth of field. But anyway. She was a great subject, so I am happy about that.
Tomorrow I'm going to shoot some more self-portraits, even though I really already have enough for the project. I have some mad scientist ideas, which are just too much fun not to do. I do wish I had more props, though, so this is a project I may revisit in future. I also still need to make some prints for a sort of related project, which I may hand in as part of the portrait assignment -- a book of me playing on my PSP while also doing everyday things like doing the dishes and getting dressed. It'll be a day-in-the-life sort of thing, and each photo will have the time under it, but no other text (except possibly to say what I'm doing -- for example "9am, brushing teeth" or something).
And finally, I had Survey of 20th Century Art, where I handed in my take-home exam/essay (which is, I think, a decently written blather), and got back my slide test (only an A-, alas, but pretty good considering how little time I ended up having to study). So that was my day.
Today we had a kind of show and tell with lots of samples (both real and reproduction) of manuscripts and early printing. Then we got a tour of the print shop (I think the third I've had this year, but I love it there, so that's fine with me), and we got to poke around in the basement, where all the type is kept and where we will be spending a lot of time in the next seven weeks. Yay!
I also spent a fair bit of time in the dark room, working on my prints for the portrait/self portrait project. My portrait negatives came out pretty thick; I'm not sure if it's a shooting problem or a developing problem. They're not beyond hope, though, and I got some decent prints from them. Quite a few were not in great focus though, which is a bit disappointing. Part of the problem is that my subject was moving quite a bit, but I very much didn't want her sitting still and posing, so the only solution would have been more light. I guess I should have used both of the lights I had, instead of just one, so I could have used a smaller aperture and therefore had greater depth of field. But anyway. She was a great subject, so I am happy about that.
Tomorrow I'm going to shoot some more self-portraits, even though I really already have enough for the project. I have some mad scientist ideas, which are just too much fun not to do. I do wish I had more props, though, so this is a project I may revisit in future. I also still need to make some prints for a sort of related project, which I may hand in as part of the portrait assignment -- a book of me playing on my PSP while also doing everyday things like doing the dishes and getting dressed. It'll be a day-in-the-life sort of thing, and each photo will have the time under it, but no other text (except possibly to say what I'm doing -- for example "9am, brushing teeth" or something).
And finally, I had Survey of 20th Century Art, where I handed in my take-home exam/essay (which is, I think, a decently written blather), and got back my slide test (only an A-, alas, but pretty good considering how little time I ended up having to study). So that was my day.
29 June 2006
I Am A Moron
Someday, maybe I'll learn to take my own writing advice. You know, the really basic "never send out your only copy of a story" advice? Yeah, well.
As many of you know, I used to write the content (and do some other stuff) for About.com's Creative Writing for Teens website (now I do the PSP site). Well, a lot of the articles are tool-based, meaning you plug them into an online form, essentially, and it gets added to the database. Well, I developed a really bad habit of composing directly into the tool. And then I stopped doing the site. Leading up to my switch to PSP, I did start a word doc and cut and pasted the text from many of my articles into it. Except I don't know where I saved the doc. And now the CW for Teens site is no more (not just my version; About decided to remove it entirely). I have never been happier that Google caches pages--I found a lot of my old stuff that way. And the really old stuff I still have on the laptop harddrive. But there are a few bits and pieces that somehow never got saved anywhere but on the About servers, and which have disappeared from Google.
Yeah, so I feel a bit stupid. I didn't even think about it until someone emailed me looking for a manuscript format article I wrote. I did find that one, but now I have no energy left to email the guy back (even with a happy stomach full of sushi). Tomorrow, I guess.
It's not even that I'll ever need the stuff again. Unless I decide to pubish a how-to-write book, which I probably won't do. It's just mine. I made it. Geh. I will recover. At least it wasn't stuff I really cared about, like my fiction. Now that I have mostly saved in multiple places (some of it exists in various versions on floppy disk, laptop harddrive, cd-rom, Mac harddrive, and one or more hardcopies in a box somewhere in BC).
As soon as I'm done cat sitting, I'll be making sure updated copies of all my fiction is in multiple formats and possibly even different places (anyone want to volunteer to curate a hardcopy or cd of one or more stories? see, I'm paranoid now).
As many of you know, I used to write the content (and do some other stuff) for About.com's Creative Writing for Teens website (now I do the PSP site). Well, a lot of the articles are tool-based, meaning you plug them into an online form, essentially, and it gets added to the database. Well, I developed a really bad habit of composing directly into the tool. And then I stopped doing the site. Leading up to my switch to PSP, I did start a word doc and cut and pasted the text from many of my articles into it. Except I don't know where I saved the doc. And now the CW for Teens site is no more (not just my version; About decided to remove it entirely). I have never been happier that Google caches pages--I found a lot of my old stuff that way. And the really old stuff I still have on the laptop harddrive. But there are a few bits and pieces that somehow never got saved anywhere but on the About servers, and which have disappeared from Google.
Yeah, so I feel a bit stupid. I didn't even think about it until someone emailed me looking for a manuscript format article I wrote. I did find that one, but now I have no energy left to email the guy back (even with a happy stomach full of sushi). Tomorrow, I guess.
It's not even that I'll ever need the stuff again. Unless I decide to pubish a how-to-write book, which I probably won't do. It's just mine. I made it. Geh. I will recover. At least it wasn't stuff I really cared about, like my fiction. Now that I have mostly saved in multiple places (some of it exists in various versions on floppy disk, laptop harddrive, cd-rom, Mac harddrive, and one or more hardcopies in a box somewhere in BC).
As soon as I'm done cat sitting, I'll be making sure updated copies of all my fiction is in multiple formats and possibly even different places (anyone want to volunteer to curate a hardcopy or cd of one or more stories? see, I'm paranoid now).
Nik Shoots People
I rescheduled the photo shoot with Deva's mom Judy to this afternoon. I'd hoped to photograph her in her sewing room, which has wall-to-wall shelves full of fabric and other crafting goodies, but it was so cramped I couldn't have got the tripods in. So instead we shot in the living room, with Judy on the couch, surrounded by fabric samples and all her many current projects. I hope the window behind her won't be a problem (the curtains were drawn, but they were pretty thin).
Ryan (Deva's son) had offered to be assistant, so I handed him my 35mm and he took pictures of me taking pictures, pictures of his grandmother, pictures of Sam-the-cat-who-has-thumbs, etc. His friend Mark was there, too, so after I took pictures of Judy and her crafts, I took some of Judy and Ryan, and then some of Ryan and Mark playing Yu-Gi-Oh cards. It was pretty fun. I've ended up with 4 12-exposure rolls of medium-format (120) fim, and most of a roll of 36-exposure 35mm film. And I just realized I didn't save any film for the Nik-as-mad-scientist shoot Ryan is going to help me with tomorrow. So I'll have to remember to stop at the NSCAD store and buy more film. 2 rolls should be plenty; I'm doing the mad scientist ones more just for fun (unless they turn out really well, in which case I may use some for the portrait project).
Anyway, that was my day. It's been really hard to get up in the morning. Possibly I am abusing caffeine too much and it's getting back at me, like it used to. Bleah. Oh well. Tomorrow is work, then mad scientist photos, then anime and hanging out with roomates, then more sleep. Oh, and I'll probably develop whatever film I have somewhere in there, too, and then print on the weekend. We'll see.
Ryan (Deva's son) had offered to be assistant, so I handed him my 35mm and he took pictures of me taking pictures, pictures of his grandmother, pictures of Sam-the-cat-who-has-thumbs, etc. His friend Mark was there, too, so after I took pictures of Judy and her crafts, I took some of Judy and Ryan, and then some of Ryan and Mark playing Yu-Gi-Oh cards. It was pretty fun. I've ended up with 4 12-exposure rolls of medium-format (120) fim, and most of a roll of 36-exposure 35mm film. And I just realized I didn't save any film for the Nik-as-mad-scientist shoot Ryan is going to help me with tomorrow. So I'll have to remember to stop at the NSCAD store and buy more film. 2 rolls should be plenty; I'm doing the mad scientist ones more just for fun (unless they turn out really well, in which case I may use some for the portrait project).
Anyway, that was my day. It's been really hard to get up in the morning. Possibly I am abusing caffeine too much and it's getting back at me, like it used to. Bleah. Oh well. Tomorrow is work, then mad scientist photos, then anime and hanging out with roomates, then more sleep. Oh, and I'll probably develop whatever film I have somewhere in there, too, and then print on the weekend. We'll see.
27 June 2006
Blargh
It's hot. I know I shouldn't complain. After all, it was raining all weekend, and I wished it was nice. I don't mind, really, I just wish I only had to walk places in the evening, when it's cooler. The worst part is, I keep forgetting my sunglasses, so I have to squint a lot, or else walk with my eyes closed. Anyway, I'm not really complaining about the heat, I'm just tired and sweaty from hauling lots of camera equipment from school to home and then from home back here (where I am cat sitting) -- most of the way on the bus, I am glad to say. And I will have to haul it all back to school tomorrow (not on the bus), and then sign it out again on Thursday and repeat the whole process because my portrait subject was too worn out from company and sick people (S.O.'s dad in the hospital for a triple bypass) and wouldn't let me photograph her. I wanted to take the pics anyway, because, well, sometimes people are more interesting when they're tired than when they're all dolled up and ready for portraits. But she wouldn't let me. So Thursday it is. (Not, but the way, that I am complaining about that either -- there's no phone here, so she couldn't call and tell me not to come, and anyway we had a nice visit.)
Why, I wonder, is it so hard sometimes to write about things that happened without sounding like one is complaining? Oh well.
In other news, I raided my host's dvds the night before last, and watched Das Boot because I had always heard it was really good. And it was. Quite amazing, really, both visually and in the development of character. Very long, but well worth it. I'll watch something else tonight, but I haven't decided what yet. Last evening I went for a walk around Halifax's South End and decided this is the area I'd like to live in, should I decide to stay, and should I manage to find some kind of work that lets me pay the sort of rent normal people pay. I also went along the harbour front, where plenty of other people were also walking. It was nice in the fog, though, as all the usual busy sounds were muffled and things distant were obscured. Alas, because -- I presume -- I was dressed in the usual dark clothes and walking as quietly as I usually walk (which means people don't tend to notice me right away) some poor old guy in a hat thought I was stalking him. He made some humourous comment when he noticed me, but I think he really thought I was following him, waiting for the opportune moment to steal his wallet or something.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, my hair is all green now. Well, actually it was all green. It's now brown with a faded green patina and some brighter green streaks, due to an uneven bleach and dye (very hard to do this to one's own hair, even with last minute emergency roommate assistance). It was all in the name of art, anyway. In my photo class there's a woman with bright red hair and one with blue hair, so with me having green hair we made up the primary colours of light: RGB. So our photo teacher thought it would be fun to photograph the three of us. Therefore I dyed my hair all green. With the heat, though, I'm seriously considering shaving off the back, skater-style, or at least cutting that part really, really short. (If you can't envision what I mean, look at Sorcha's hair in "Meddlesome Spirits" (middle panel), only my hair isn't that long anymore.)
Now I think I'll make a salad, because I'm still too warm for cooking. I have some feta cheese and lots of different veggies (in many different colours!). Hmm. Except I just remembered I haven't any salad dressing. Maybe a sandwich . . . I have some nice gluten-free cheese bread . . .
Why, I wonder, is it so hard sometimes to write about things that happened without sounding like one is complaining? Oh well.
In other news, I raided my host's dvds the night before last, and watched Das Boot because I had always heard it was really good. And it was. Quite amazing, really, both visually and in the development of character. Very long, but well worth it. I'll watch something else tonight, but I haven't decided what yet. Last evening I went for a walk around Halifax's South End and decided this is the area I'd like to live in, should I decide to stay, and should I manage to find some kind of work that lets me pay the sort of rent normal people pay. I also went along the harbour front, where plenty of other people were also walking. It was nice in the fog, though, as all the usual busy sounds were muffled and things distant were obscured. Alas, because -- I presume -- I was dressed in the usual dark clothes and walking as quietly as I usually walk (which means people don't tend to notice me right away) some poor old guy in a hat thought I was stalking him. He made some humourous comment when he noticed me, but I think he really thought I was following him, waiting for the opportune moment to steal his wallet or something.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, my hair is all green now. Well, actually it was all green. It's now brown with a faded green patina and some brighter green streaks, due to an uneven bleach and dye (very hard to do this to one's own hair, even with last minute emergency roommate assistance). It was all in the name of art, anyway. In my photo class there's a woman with bright red hair and one with blue hair, so with me having green hair we made up the primary colours of light: RGB. So our photo teacher thought it would be fun to photograph the three of us. Therefore I dyed my hair all green. With the heat, though, I'm seriously considering shaving off the back, skater-style, or at least cutting that part really, really short. (If you can't envision what I mean, look at Sorcha's hair in "Meddlesome Spirits" (middle panel), only my hair isn't that long anymore.)
Now I think I'll make a salad, because I'm still too warm for cooking. I have some feta cheese and lots of different veggies (in many different colours!). Hmm. Except I just remembered I haven't any salad dressing. Maybe a sandwich . . . I have some nice gluten-free cheese bread . . .
25 June 2006
Where the Hell Have I Been?
I expect one or two of you may be wondering that. Well, I've pretty much been where I've been all along -- either at home working or at school attending classes. Or, occasionally, buying art supplies so that I can do projects for said classes.
Last week was end-of-term for half-summer classes and mid-term for all-summer classes, which meant I had a final project and an exam to study for, plus a non-final project to work on. The final project was to make an edition of 17 flag books for Book Arts class (I actually made an edition of 19, so I could have a couple extras). It took longer than I thought. The flag book is a fairly simple structure, but I didn't quite realize how much longer it would take to make 19 of them. And, of course, I knew what I wanted to do and am too stubborn to simplify in order to get things done faster. So I was up pretty much all night one night, but I got it done and I think it turned out pretty good. I'll post pictures soon.
The mid-term was a slide test for Survey of 20th Century Art. I hardly studied. I always feel guilty about not studying, yet I almost never worry about not studying. I just don't stress about tests, for some reason. Anyway, I managed to cram titles and dates and artists into my brain in what little time I had, and remember enough of the lectures and discussions and readings that I think I did okay. Now I have a take-home to do for the same class, but it shouldn't take too long.
The other project was a work-in-progress for a self-portrait/portrait project for photo (that is, the project consists of both self-portraits and portraits of someone else). I wasn't as prepared as I'd wanted to be, but luckily the thing isn't actually due for another two weeks. I've since shot another roll of self-potrait stuff, which may or may not be what I was aiming for, but even if it's not, I think I can use it for a book project that popped into my head while I was out for a walk (walks and showers seem to be when I get all the best ideas, or occasionally in the middle of the night when I'm not really awake enough to manipulate a pen). I have a subject lined up for Tuesday for the portrait part, which I think should be fun to shoot. I may or may not post some of the results of this project later on, but I probably will add a few things from previous projects, as I know a few of you friends-and-family types are curious to see what I've been doing.
Right now I am cat-sitting, so I have lots of peace and quiet. Also I have a week and a half off school. I am trying to do lots of work, since my three-month review is coming up soon and I really need to get more content up. Other than that, I am reading and eating yummy, healthy food (I have been getting into some very bad junk food habits lately, which explains why the extra weight just won't go away). Today I went for a walk (I was originally going to hop on the bus to Value Village but it was raining very, very hard this morning; when the rain let up, I decided to just ramble around a bit). I ended up at Pete's Frootique, a fancy sort of grocery store with lots of organic things and local things and gourmet things and generally delicious-looking things to eat. I picked up a few ordinary things of the vegetable variety (I did splurge on a yellow zucchini instead of a green one -- they looked so lovely), and found some things I've been looking for since I moved here (like rice paper). And tea! I finally found Lapsang Souchong. And loose, too. They have many loose teas and so I shall be going back. Why I hadn't gone there before now, I do not know.
On the way back, I stopped in at a newsstand that had the best selection of magazines I've seen since Yates Street News in Victoria closed, and spent a pleasant half-hour browsing. I bought a couple things to read, and now I am back and blogging and there is some sushi in the fridge waiting for me to eat it.
Last week was end-of-term for half-summer classes and mid-term for all-summer classes, which meant I had a final project and an exam to study for, plus a non-final project to work on. The final project was to make an edition of 17 flag books for Book Arts class (I actually made an edition of 19, so I could have a couple extras). It took longer than I thought. The flag book is a fairly simple structure, but I didn't quite realize how much longer it would take to make 19 of them. And, of course, I knew what I wanted to do and am too stubborn to simplify in order to get things done faster. So I was up pretty much all night one night, but I got it done and I think it turned out pretty good. I'll post pictures soon.
The mid-term was a slide test for Survey of 20th Century Art. I hardly studied. I always feel guilty about not studying, yet I almost never worry about not studying. I just don't stress about tests, for some reason. Anyway, I managed to cram titles and dates and artists into my brain in what little time I had, and remember enough of the lectures and discussions and readings that I think I did okay. Now I have a take-home to do for the same class, but it shouldn't take too long.
The other project was a work-in-progress for a self-portrait/portrait project for photo (that is, the project consists of both self-portraits and portraits of someone else). I wasn't as prepared as I'd wanted to be, but luckily the thing isn't actually due for another two weeks. I've since shot another roll of self-potrait stuff, which may or may not be what I was aiming for, but even if it's not, I think I can use it for a book project that popped into my head while I was out for a walk (walks and showers seem to be when I get all the best ideas, or occasionally in the middle of the night when I'm not really awake enough to manipulate a pen). I have a subject lined up for Tuesday for the portrait part, which I think should be fun to shoot. I may or may not post some of the results of this project later on, but I probably will add a few things from previous projects, as I know a few of you friends-and-family types are curious to see what I've been doing.
Right now I am cat-sitting, so I have lots of peace and quiet. Also I have a week and a half off school. I am trying to do lots of work, since my three-month review is coming up soon and I really need to get more content up. Other than that, I am reading and eating yummy, healthy food (I have been getting into some very bad junk food habits lately, which explains why the extra weight just won't go away). Today I went for a walk (I was originally going to hop on the bus to Value Village but it was raining very, very hard this morning; when the rain let up, I decided to just ramble around a bit). I ended up at Pete's Frootique, a fancy sort of grocery store with lots of organic things and local things and gourmet things and generally delicious-looking things to eat. I picked up a few ordinary things of the vegetable variety (I did splurge on a yellow zucchini instead of a green one -- they looked so lovely), and found some things I've been looking for since I moved here (like rice paper). And tea! I finally found Lapsang Souchong. And loose, too. They have many loose teas and so I shall be going back. Why I hadn't gone there before now, I do not know.
On the way back, I stopped in at a newsstand that had the best selection of magazines I've seen since Yates Street News in Victoria closed, and spent a pleasant half-hour browsing. I bought a couple things to read, and now I am back and blogging and there is some sushi in the fridge waiting for me to eat it.
21 June 2006
Umm . . . I'm Not Really Dead
Just really, really busy. But after Thursday I should have more time and will actually write something about what I've been doing, and even post pictures of art. Art by me! Right now I have to go spend the rest of the day making books for my final Book Arts project, which is due tomorrow morning. Then I have to find a few minutes to study for my 20th c Art mid-term slide test. But first, more tea.
02 June 2006
What country should you live in?
| Which country should you REALLY be living in? The United Kingdom You have pride in yourself and pride in your country. You believe that history and culture is an important factor to the future of your country, and that traditions and values should be upheld. You love your scones and tea, and reading soppy romance novels. The UK is where you should be...
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| Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests. |
More Star Wars Geekery
Star Wars Death Star Explosion Aftermath: the usual warning about food and beverages apply. Especially right at the end.
27 May 2006
Which Star Wars Character Are You?
Your results:
You are Qui-Gon Jinn
(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)
Click here to take the Star Wars Personality Quiz
You are Qui-Gon Jinn
| Overall, you're a pretty well balanced person. But maybe you focus a little too much on the here and now. Think about the future before its too late.  |
(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)
Click here to take the Star Wars Personality Quiz
Best Semester Ever
I am currently very, very glad that I decided to take classes this summer. It's all because Alvin, my last semester's photo teacher, kept saying how great it is to take Intro Photo in the summer. And it is.
So, right now I'm taking Survey of 20th Century Art, which is a twice-a-week, hour-and-an-half lecture course (all summer). It's not especially exciting, but certainly not the worst lecture course I've done. I'd like more background on the social and political conditions, but I guess there's just so much to cover that there isn't time. Oh well. I like the teacher, though; she's nice. Actually, I like all my teachers this semester.
I also have Book Arts, twice a week for four hours (for the first half of the summer). It's such fun! We make a book every class, and we've been working our way gradually from really simple pamphlet form to more complex sewn forms. We haven't done any multi-section books yet, but we have done one with an accordion spine, and part of the homework this weekend is to make a flag book, which is a variation of the accordion. Also, we have to make an "altered book." While I don't much like the idea of cutting/gluing/writing on an existing book, I do have a good idea, and a Value Village archaeology book that makes frequent reference to pre-flood things. Heh. Pre-flood. Here's a bit about my teacher.
And there's Intro Photo, twice a week for four and a half hours (all summer). It's a really good class, too, and everyone seems to actually want to be there (as opposed to just taking it for credit or because they need one more elective). I just spent my entire Friday afternoon in the darkroom, making prints for Monday's assignment. I might even go in Monday morning, if I decide later that my prints aren't quite "sparkly." I actually re-did some prints that I got a B+ on, because I wanted to get them right (I think Deva thought I was a bit mad, because a B+ is a very respectable grade). Anyway, thanks to my teacher (hi Adrian *), I think I may actually have figured out how to make good prints (or at least better prints). So, yes, still really liking photo, and still thinking about changing my major (about which more later).
*Not that I think he'll actually be reading my blog, but one never knows, and it seemed rude not to say hi.
So, right now I'm taking Survey of 20th Century Art, which is a twice-a-week, hour-and-an-half lecture course (all summer). It's not especially exciting, but certainly not the worst lecture course I've done. I'd like more background on the social and political conditions, but I guess there's just so much to cover that there isn't time. Oh well. I like the teacher, though; she's nice. Actually, I like all my teachers this semester.
I also have Book Arts, twice a week for four hours (for the first half of the summer). It's such fun! We make a book every class, and we've been working our way gradually from really simple pamphlet form to more complex sewn forms. We haven't done any multi-section books yet, but we have done one with an accordion spine, and part of the homework this weekend is to make a flag book, which is a variation of the accordion. Also, we have to make an "altered book." While I don't much like the idea of cutting/gluing/writing on an existing book, I do have a good idea, and a Value Village archaeology book that makes frequent reference to pre-flood things. Heh. Pre-flood. Here's a bit about my teacher.
And there's Intro Photo, twice a week for four and a half hours (all summer). It's a really good class, too, and everyone seems to actually want to be there (as opposed to just taking it for credit or because they need one more elective). I just spent my entire Friday afternoon in the darkroom, making prints for Monday's assignment. I might even go in Monday morning, if I decide later that my prints aren't quite "sparkly." I actually re-did some prints that I got a B+ on, because I wanted to get them right (I think Deva thought I was a bit mad, because a B+ is a very respectable grade). Anyway, thanks to my teacher (hi Adrian *), I think I may actually have figured out how to make good prints (or at least better prints). So, yes, still really liking photo, and still thinking about changing my major (about which more later).
*Not that I think he'll actually be reading my blog, but one never knows, and it seemed rude not to say hi.
19 May 2006
Happy Birthday Deva!
Yep, it's my roommate Deva's birthday today. She's still one year short of being the answer to life, the universe, and everything, so I can't tease her about that yet. We don't really have anything planned (except a trip to Value Village when she gets back from renewing her driver's license). When it gets a bit closer to my b-day we'll probably have some sort of feast. Or cake. Or a feast and cake.
(Ah! I just realized it's now only 2 weeks until my birthday, until the day my age will no longer be the western world's magic number twice. Although the digits will add up to the western world's other magic number. Not that I find any particular sigificance in numbers, they're just fun to play with. Like words.)
(Ah! I just realized it's now only 2 weeks until my birthday, until the day my age will no longer be the western world's magic number twice. Although the digits will add up to the western world's other magic number. Not that I find any particular sigificance in numbers, they're just fun to play with. Like words.)
10 May 2006
PS3!!!
Okay, I knew this a few days ago, but thought I should wait to post it, on account if being too excited. The PS3 comes out in November, and won't be as expensive as many people feared! Here's the press release.
So now the question is this: Preorder from EB Games and try to scrounge up an extra 600 bucks by mid-November, or hope that someone gets me one for Christmas?
I'm anticipating that there will be interactivity with the PSP, at least on some games, so I'm going to need one for work (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it).
So yeah. I got some thinkin' to do. Preorder, or hope for xmas? Preorder, or . . .
So now the question is this: Preorder from EB Games and try to scrounge up an extra 600 bucks by mid-November, or hope that someone gets me one for Christmas?
I'm anticipating that there will be interactivity with the PSP, at least on some games, so I'm going to need one for work (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it).
So yeah. I got some thinkin' to do. Preorder, or hope for xmas? Preorder, or . . .
02 May 2006
T Minus One Month . . .
So, the date is May 2, meaning it is one month until my very own birthday. And speaking of birthdays, could everyone I know who wants me to remember their birthday please post a comment with the date of their birth in it. The reason I'm asking is not because I have forgotten when everyone I know is born, but because the big birthday summer season is fast approaching, and their are a couple of birthdays that I'm always convinced are a few days before or after their actual date. Now previously I have lived close to people and there were enough reminders that by the time the date arrived, i had it straight. But now, living far away from the bulk of my friends and relatives, and having packed the little book I started keeping with all the days noted somewhere in a box . . . Well, I think you can see where this is headed.
No, I'm not going to list the ones I always get right, because that would just make the owners of the ones I always get wrong feel bad. So there you go. Please comment with your birthday (and, you know, your name) and also the birthdays of anyone you can think of who isn't likely to read and/or comment on this blog.
Right.
So I spent much of this morning trying to get a decent picture of me to submit for my Guide photo at work. I finally got one I'm happy with and sent it off. My favorite, though, wasn't quite suitable (having part of my hand over my face), so I decided to make it my new profile photo. Here it is, bigger (yes, I did just re-green my hair):
No, I'm not going to list the ones I always get right, because that would just make the owners of the ones I always get wrong feel bad. So there you go. Please comment with your birthday (and, you know, your name) and also the birthdays of anyone you can think of who isn't likely to read and/or comment on this blog.
Right.
So I spent much of this morning trying to get a decent picture of me to submit for my Guide photo at work. I finally got one I'm happy with and sent it off. My favorite, though, wasn't quite suitable (having part of my hand over my face), so I decided to make it my new profile photo. Here it is, bigger (yes, I did just re-green my hair):
30 April 2006
More PSP Stuff
For anyone keeping track, I recently picked up Medievil Resurrection and PQ PSP games.
Also, here's a PSP on eBay with version 1.5 firmware (and a 2GB memory stick). You know, in case anyone wanted to get me a second PSP for my birthday. Because it would be very useful for work. And I'm going to have to buy one myself soon (and this is exactly what I need). Anyway. Birthday in a month plus a few days. Hint. Etc.
Edit: Ack! Someone used "buy it now" already and the auction's ended. But here's a firmware 1.5 machine in the UK (the Japanese version), and another. Plus, here's another in the US, and one and two in Canada. But best yet, here's a ceramic white Japanese machine from the UK. Any of these would work, but I like the white one best (probably because my current one is black . . .)
Also, here's a PSP on eBay with version 1.5 firmware (and a 2GB memory stick). You know, in case anyone wanted to get me a second PSP for my birthday. Because it would be very useful for work. And I'm going to have to buy one myself soon (and this is exactly what I need). Anyway. Birthday in a month plus a few days. Hint. Etc.
Edit: Ack! Someone used "buy it now" already and the auction's ended. But here's a firmware 1.5 machine in the UK (the Japanese version), and another. Plus, here's another in the US, and one and two in Canada. But best yet, here's a ceramic white Japanese machine from the UK. Any of these would work, but I like the white one best (probably because my current one is black . . .)
28 April 2006
Flash for SW Geeks
Okay, all my Star Wars geek friends (and also the ones who aren't really Star Wars geeks but have seen the movies and will understand the references), go watch this: the sith rejects. Oh, it's a flash animation, so don't do it on a machine that chokes on flash, if any of you still have computers that old . . .
25 April 2006
Argh! (Wireless Woes)
Maybe I'm just thick, but I can't get the wireless router to work right. It was working just fine, but then our ISP changed the batch of IP addresses assigned to us, which is perfectly normal, but they were outside the (rather limited) range that the router recognized as ours. No biggie, I just went through the setup wizard again, and changed the IP address. All was well. I thought I'd look into how to make it so I didn't have to do that anymore, and in the meantime, I'd just update it whenever it stopped working.
Then it happened again. This time, for some reason the router wouldn't update. I got tired of trying and just hooked up the wired router again. We've been happily running off it for weeks now, but I really need to get the wireless one working for, you know, my job. The PSP can only access the internet wirelessly.
So, today I decide to take a stab at it. It took a few tries, and switching to Netscape from Firefox (I don't know why, but it worked). I successfully update the info in the router, and get it to work with my PC laptop (on which I have been doing the updates). So then I poke around in the settings to see if I can figure out how to make it work properly. I change "DHCP server" to "DHCP client" reasoning that I am, after all, a client and not a server. So far so good. Then I plug in the Mac to see if it's really working. Alas, it isn't. So I swing the chair around to change the settings back on the router, and suddenly the PC isn't talking to the router anymore, and refuses to do so. Over and over.
Result of today's attempt to fix technology: much frustration and still no wireless. At least the wired router works without me actually having to set up anything. Bleah.
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