Arrikas Ego Trip

Memories I dont want to miss out on

2009-12-21T10:27:00.001-08:00

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Paris and Stockholm
Current mood: contemplative
Category: Travel and Places

Rare is it that i believe that what i believe is important enough to bother saying aloud without the knowledge that others are listening. Today is a rare day. I speak. Not necessarily to say what i mean but to question what i believe and what others believe, to ask if anyone can contradict my query and reassure me as to the truth of such statements as "Paris is beautiful" so I am not left to wonder how or why.

Awakened in Stockholm, I attempt to surf the internet while i decipher which path my day will take. It is always a bit odd and unusual waking somewhere you hadn't planned to be less than a week before. So long as the curtains remain pulled closed it makes no difference - but once they are open and i look about outside everything becomes a bit stranger. Today I see snow. A narrow rushing road piled with snowdrifts, the quintessential winter wonderland in theory. I find it difficult to come up with spontaneous hopes and aspirations without them seeming a bit rushed in their creation. When it comes to Stockholm all I have in my head are vague notions of milkmaids named Helga, thanks to Improv and acting classes with Kathleen over the years. I keep trying to verify where I am, Sweden and Switzerland mixed up in my mind too often (now at one, a few summers ago it was the other.) I loved Geneva, now i need to find something that I love here.

Paris was dirty. When searching for a descriptive word, there is no need to search. Paris looked like the grey and depressing concrete slab of Simon Fraser University after ten thousand free cans of spray paint were given out to anyone who cared to mark their territory, throw a party and leave their waste scattered about to prove that they existed, that they were a someone, that they had been there.

I can now imagine what the moon would look like if space travel were accessible and everyone was able to have their way and visit it. The moons surface would become a messed up monument to the existence of millions of individuals as they scrawled their names in the sand, tagging moon rocks and plastering parts of themselves across its dusty surface in a desperate cry to be seen as something greater than themselves.

I am certain I have heard the claim that Paris is beautiful. I am now caused to question who it was that spoke, to wonder where i heard or saw that statement of belief. I cannot seem to back it up with facts or quote an instance of its being stated as fact. That Paris is beautiful is undocumented. Merely the concept of Paris and beauty in the same sentence is perplexing to me now.

Interesting, yes - Creative, most definitely - Unusual and eye catching? Facts. But beautiful? This idea confuses me. It causes me to search in vain, wondering if something was lost in translation perhaps. Maybe they meant "Paris is beautiful in June when the sun is out and Parisians have spent three months cleaning the streets and whitewashing the 300 miles of graffiti away for a few days before it returns with a vengeance." For those who might say Paris is Beautiful, I am left wondering how they got there and where they purchased their rose coloured glasses as I would have loved to fly in on that Griffen and miss the dirt and grime and graffiti that plastered itself upon everything like a second skin.

When we visited Paris yesterday and the day before - everywhere we looked there were gaping holes in the ground as earth movers shoved the cities' dirt from one plot of land to the next. Giant holes were cut into the ground alongside seemingly new apartments and condo homes. The construction was so haphazard and complex that I was quickly questioning whether these constructions were the remains of near finished buildings - or if in fact their intent was in tearing them down.

Trash piles burnt next to abandoned caravans, old women and young children stumbled into the questionable warmth of derelict truck bed covers scattered throughout these degradingly simple compounds. Wall after wall after wall after wall blemished by (gang) tags, entire city streets marred by names and acronyms vibrantly adorned every textured surface that we passed. The air stank and altered gravity, the chemicals within its makeup pressing heavily against hair and skin, each breath taken less fresh than the last.

I liked Paris, I thought the Louvre was beautiful, as were the courtyards adjoining it and so much of the artwork it contained within. The Eiffel tower was interesting (but still so impractical an object that it doesn't inspire me to great heights, even the notion of climbing it to say i had was beyond my needs. ) I saw the eiffel tower, I enjoyed the train rides and our walk in the brisk winter wind - and the architecture of the historical old buildings near by, but i remain uninspired. The miles of land around it were lacking in care, the efforts and imaginations of Paris wrapped up so tightly in the awe and wonder of this one object that they neglected hundreds more. Ambient noise was unremarkable, music played as trains readied to depart and otherwise there was no distinctive sound earning its memory.

As my photograph was taken while I stood before the Eiffel Tower, several men peed on the surrounding bushes, mere feet away.

I kept listening for the subliminally echoed whisper of "Paris is beautiful" but found it too easily drowned out by the deafening roar of neglect.

Goals and rewards...

2009-05-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

Mini vent fest about to take place... I need to hide from contact with the outside world and explaining once is easier than taking time to chat on the phone or IM with individuals... for the next 7 days.. I do not exist..... SHHHHH

This is the last week of classes - dead week. Next week is exams, though for me - it feels like its this week and its just a really long week. Instead of giving work throughout the semester, my Survey of English Literature class has 2 essays due on exam day as well as numerous paragraph response essay questions and simple response queries. All in all a fun way to end the semester, I would prefer to do the work over the four month time period of courses but the professor is nice and did not wish to overwork us. Semi illogical given my current situation, but hey - its college, life is meant to be a challenge of late nights and intense work periods right?

In addition to English Lit., my Womens Psychology class requires three weeks of work to be turned in by next Sunday.. maybe sooner really - i didn't look at the final due dates and i think it was a Wednesday requirement also... I may just do the two new weeks of work and let the one "magic week" assignment I never finished go. Trying to set priorities here. Ive made a schedule and I intend to beat it. Ideally - I will finish every essay - every project, all of it - by tomorrow night. I am not expecting perfection, just doable versions of all that I need with the acceptance that I may edit them Wednesday or Thursday for completeness (along with my prior essay i need to revise and all my online work that is still required!) I will do all of this - Now! Immediately! Without deviating from my intentions to play in photo shop and create lovely images of where I aim to be instead of being where I am meant to be.... Though I do have to say the above creation of mine is rather motivating ....

It is our Six year anniversary and I want to spend it relaxed... having fun. Ideally, on Saturday we will go off on a long drive to Monteray beach through the redwood forests everyone in California loves so much. We will follow this with a relaxed day at the aquarium reenacting where we shared our first kiss. A walk on the beach, sunset in the sand.. Ghiradelli Hot fudge Sundaes, perhaps fly our kite... simple pleasures.. so simple and achievable if I can just shut up, sit down and finish this ride...

Then, after the weekend is over i will touch down in reality again and resume studying for my algebra final for 72 hours straight and achieve a delightfully successful semester end and the beginning of a long hot, slow summer.

Moral of the story is - I am afk until thursday/friday of next week - taking care of me.

The Celebration after that will be Maker Fairre where I am going to act as a volunteer this year! Geektastic fun - leading up to my aim to attend the actual event on Saturday....

Tomatoe Sauce - hold the tomatoe!

2009-04-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

As a child I suffered from a variety of ailments - most of which memory and time have erased, while a few reinvent themselves again from time to time. The main example of this presented itself as skin irritations which have randomly reoccurred during the past six years in which I have traveled the US and abroad.

Having left the clean and moisture rich air of the Vancouver rain forest behind for the dry heat and sunshine of California was bound to have an effect. I accepted this. Trading tank tops and shorts for the many layers I was accustomed to would obviously expose my skin to more contaminants than it would have been subjected to in my prior life. I took it in stride, accepted the many prescriptions and ointments prescribed and went about my life. In theory. What I actually did was bitch and moan a rather lot, so that even I got sick of complaints regarding "my body" (but that is besides the point!)

Initially, the issues would flare up following dinner out. Usually a lovely Indian Curry would precede it by a few days - then the urge to scratch my arm would consume me. I banned spicy food from my diet for a few weeks to test the theory that the curry caused my discomfort - and it nearly explained it. Except, once in a while I would give in to the desire for a wonderful korma or Butter Chicken - and no reaction would follow the meal. Odder still - I could cook at home and nothing would happen at all no matter what spice combination I would throw together in the meal. For months there appeared to be no pattern.

Then I began to experiment with removing selected foods from my diet which I recollected being banned from as a child for health reasons. Finally I stumbled upon my Eureka moment. While it is satisfying to know that I can still enjoy my spicy Thai and Indian curries, it is difficult to navigate around the actual cause of my reactions.

Tomatoes loath me, even while I adore them.

During the greatest flare ups I had often been eating fresh tomatoes from the farmers market daily, I would eat curries and pasta and chili and rice every week. Honestly - more likely, in every meal. While I like to pretend that maybe it is the pesticides used on the tomatoes, or something in the soil or during transport that I am allergic to... my own testing cautiously disproves this. Within a week of having deleted ketchup tomatoes and eggplant (another nightshade linked to the causation of dry skin reactions) from my diet I reverted to healthy skin that gets compliments again.

The magic cure, the deletion of something I loved, simple - and yet so complex. One moment I traveled down the road towards psoriasis, eczema and repeated trips to the pharmacy - the next moment, seemingly cured!

With one Caveat. Tomatoes are such a mainstay in American life that it requires constant navigation to avoid them. Breakfast, lunch and dinner - in restaurants, delicious tomatoe based meals call out to me. I look away, walk away, stay away.

I am mildly troubled as I walk past the baskets full of Cherry tomatoes and the rainbow of Heirloom Tomatoes at the Farmers market each week; saddened by the difficulty of locating pasta sauces and pizzas without the banned food in the ingredients list; I am amused by the kindness of my friends as they separate Tomatoes and Eggplant from the other broiled vegetables when I Join them for Barbecues.

Most of all, I am thankful that my allergy is a mild one. If I eat a curry every few weeks - the itch factor remains in check for the most part. A pizza slice here or a few spoons of beans on toast there - these are mere blips on the scratchiness scale, easily lived with even if they are not to be desired.

The true difficulty in possessing a simple allergic reaction such as this one - is that it is so simple it becomes complex because of its simplicity.

Each time I interact with tomatoes I am aware of how recently I last ate them. Too often - too soon - too much and I am back to square one. Faced with total elimination from my diet for weeks until the toxins or acids or whatever it is that cause my misery have depleted themselves enough to be at a safe level for me to eat them again. I can honestly say - I doubt that I will eat a heaping plate of Spaghetti and marinara sauce ever again. This saddens me.

THINGS I want to do....

2009-04-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

When I wander most successfully I find myself surrounded with great ideas for "not quite right now." The following are a small compilation of semi random things I am interested in... just not quite right now...

1. Collect Pine cones this year so I am ready for fall / winter crafts.
2. Find Pussy Willows.
3. Collect Maple Leaves and make these awesome maple leaf roses i saw ages ago and just bumped into tutorials for again while randomly avoiding the last third of my math exam that waits in front of me. (Ideally BEFORE July 1st, Canada Day arrives)
4. Drag someone to Maker Faire on May 30th. Geek out.
5. Actually plan an anniversary before it is a month past.
6. Do SOMETHING on my birthday that is actually FUN - on the actual day, not 3 before or two weeks after... but ON the ACTUAL day so I can get it out of my system and not be irritated by it for the remainder of my lifetime.
7. Polish off my degree (so close!)
8. Bake my own bread.
9. Tile my patio this summer vacation.
10 Demolish and tile part of my kitchen.
11. Paint a mural.
12 Set up the projector in the back yard and watch movies in our own drive-in theatre, minus the cars.
13. Hike
14. Bike
15. Try out letterboxing and maybe Geo caching if i can fix my GPS.
16. Have my nephews and family visit for a few weeks so we can get some time together before they are all grown up.
17. finish this test....

The World's Largest DIY Festival Maker Faire coming to the Bay Area

2009-04-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

A two-day, family-friendly event to MAKE, create, learn, invent, CRAFT, recycle, think, play and be inspired by celebrating arts, crafts, engineering, food, music, science and technology.

While for many, Spring break, Summer vacation, Christmas and Easter are the events to anticipate with eagerness - the Geek in me is ecstatically happy to see that Maker Faire is coming to a local venue next month.

Make is one of my top destinations each month, along with repeated visits to Craft and Geekdad. These Zines and Blogs are great brain food filled with creative geekified concepts that keep me entertained.
While Etsy is an amazing resource for artists /crafters /makers /hackers /creators to showcase and sell their creations, the previous sites assist you in the creation of the creations, how to's and procurement of needed supplies. My first issue of Craft purchased last year included a cardboard loom which introduced me to weaving. The forums and project sites have led me to felting (both wet felt and flat felt) as well as to many other projects and brainstormed ideas.
Current projects I am fiddling with include felted balls, adventures with LED's, Hula Hoops, magnets and pink baseballs. This year I am going to make it to Maker Faire, equipped with at least a couple cool crafted wearables with the intention of standing out so that I blend right in!

A few weeks ago, a new friend took me for a day hike in the Almaden Hills. Incredibly well informed, she shared her knowledge of the plants and wildflowers and we chatted about future hikes. While I expressed my past interest in treasure hunts (Captain Vancouvers Great Treasure Hunt took up YEARS of mine and Beekers time way back in the 90's), she explained the idea of Letterboxing to me. Similar to Geocaching, except without the GPS - Letterboxers locate hidden caches and leave their mark by stamping a log book with their personal stamp. Clues to locate a local Letterbox can be found online at various sites such child friendly Atlasquest or Letterboxing North America which describes the activity as "an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming "treasure hunt" style outdoor quest. A wide variety of adventures can be found to suit all ages and experience levels."

This sounded great to me! Over the next few days I traversed the internet for knowledge and scavenged my bins of hobbies n' crafts bits-n-bots for the simple equipment deemed necessary to make our own permanent stamps. This was no time for potatoe stamps!

Though I located the equivalent of a GIANT sheet of white rubber eraser on sale at D&J Hobbies in Campbell - any clean eraser would have done just as well. Also -though they recommend carving tools - a charcoal pencil and exacto blades worked beautifically for the purpose. This past weekend we met up again and spent a more relaxed evening over a glass of wine and carved stamps for future letterbox adventures. I sketched out a young womans face (inspired by B's fascination with Manga and fairy illustrations) while my friend sketched out and then carved a wonderful rustic owl.

Downside - safe, carving tools would allow the kids to explore this a bit, but unless I stumble upon an inexpensive set to test out - the exacto blade will be kept off limits and stamp carving is a "second mom" only event.

Plus-side - watching me craft anything they are not involved with directly inspires the girls to venture off into their own collections of craftables and they always live up to the challenge of entertaining themselves.

While my bronze cast instructor is quick to dismiss anything useful as being far removed from "art" - I beg to differ. Each of the imaginative pieces that have been conceived by the little ones this week are definite masterpieces.The Girls are well on the way to becoming GeekGirls - this past weekend they each completed felted creations to be shown with pride. I will post pictures of A's Flower Bouquet and B's nifty felted handbag soon.

Apples to oranges

2009-04-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

When cutting back on spending it is possible to cut out certain items completely while other items cannot be fazed out. Perhaps not a matter of life or death, they remain important. Toilet Roll for one. Some brands evoke dust clouds that cause allergic bouts of sneezing in this household. I choose to avoid them altogether (I cant help but wonder WHAT that dust cloud is made up of and why i would want whatever it is to touch any region of my body in the first place). My family tends to buy the brands with excess dust... but i realize sometimes price effective buying precludes everything else in reality. Beyond the dust issue, I am open to debate when it comes to 2 ply or 4 - but really, I have better things to do than to debate the merits of tissue conservation.

Another item is cat food. I swear that I devote more time and energy to locating cat food for reasonable price than is reasonably reasonable. Old wives tales of seniors eating cat food are evidently just that. In fact -it can be cheaper to buy a whole roasted chicken once a week than it is to buy 5 cans of food that my dear feline will eat 5 consecutive meals of. Hes not picky - hes precise. He refuses to eat anything that is too gross to eat, simple as that. This month I lucked out and located cases of Fancy Feast at Costco - thus far he has eaten 50 cans in a row while only walking away from 4 dishes of cod (eww it looked nasty to me too). But hes at his threshold for eating the same 4 foods repeatedly and Costco lacks variety - I need quality discounted cat food fervently.

While at the shops last night I noticed an ad for www.smartsource.com. Like so many others - they post printable coupons - but what they do as well is post the prices of advertised items from the weekly circulars. I aim to keep an eye on it for a while and see if virtual price comparisons equal savings in the store. Of note - When i visited the site for Safeway i discovered they have coupons online as well. These are in addition to the Club Card savings we are all trained to presume are the deepest savings available. I have to say i was surprised more at myself than at Safeway - I should have searched for the deals, not just waitied for them to award them to me. A funky addition is the ability to clip these coupons and print them - Or to connect them to your safeway card from the site itself. No paper required. Cool Idea once you get past the dissapointment that you werent already getting the best deal by using your member rewards card.

Spoofee.com also compiles weekly advertisement circulars, has an online coupon code section as well as forums where people share links to products and samples they've found deals or samples of. Shoplocal.com lets you search circulars as well - but goes a step further to let you browse newspaper advertisements they have scanned in as well.

Willow Glen Stimulus Package

2009-04-13T10:22:00.000-07:00

For the past two years we have been lucky enough to participate in erewards surveys.

In return for time spent filling out surveys, the currency earned can be traded for gift cards, magazine subscriptions and giftcards for stores such as Borders and now, finally - Gamestop!

Four months into the year and we nearly have 2 gift cards for $25 of gaming, as well as well, we have already received several Borders gift cards for $15 and monthly magazine subscriptions to Inc. and Rolling Stone. Sadly - while last year I got Entertainment for free, this year it has yet to become an option.

If you get a random invite in your email for erewards, I would recommend taking it. You cannot apply to join, they find you and send an invitation to individuals selected by thier partners (like Gamestop and Omaha Steaks). The surveys are simple, not too personally sensitive in content and the payout is a nice addition.

I will easily complete a survey on my Iphone while waiting in line at Safeway (this either shows that quick 13 minute surveys are easy - or why I am so sick of shopping at Safeway - I can honestly plan out how to be "busy" standing in line for at least 15 minutesof each visit.

While there are a few rewards that are food related - most are more "fun" than economical additions to the home budget. I am not the type to invest in magazine subscriptions, but as a freebie - they are great, and I always look forward to redeeming my borders giftcard as well (its limited to once yearly).

Talking about money saving ideas with friends recently has sent me on a search to determine how readily available coupons of value can be found. The following collection of coupons and codes will be aimed at the San Jose / Willow Glen area initially. I will continue to post items of note as I verify their relevance. I use coupons often enough for it to not be a signifigant surprise how big a difference the savings can be - but the convenience of low prices is preffered - Safeways Club Card is one big coupon in my mind and we steadily purchase items based on the total cost / savings. If they do not scan the safeway card correctly - you know it.. the price impact is so great. Other stores require paper pieces to save on items purchased and I am so close to DONE with Safeway that its time to invest time figuring out where the best coupons are to be found.

A search for "coupon" on Yelp.com has led to several great, local leads for money saving this week. Hopefully the ladies I lunch with every week or two will not have to give it up completly if we can take advantage of deals like the following one from a local restaurant.

Thai Pepper, one of the restaurants friends and family have visited a good number of times has a coupon for one "Free Entree" when you purchase another - coupon is found in the April 8-14 Metro. I used to ALWAYS scour the Metro - thanks to a good swift kick in the, err reminder - I intend to resume doing so.

As a family we have chosen to work on depleting our canned food resources and the avoidance of random restaurant meals - but focused intent to eat out, with money saving coupons in hand - can continue to be on the menu, so long as we plan ahead.

Wow Coupons has compiled links to various restaurant clubs that offer discounts for signing up. I reccomend the creation of a new email account through gmail to use for coupon offers exclusively - then forward the account emails to a folder on the main account. That way they do not swarm the main email with spam. I like that I can control the access these new sites have to my free time being spammed into nonexistence.

Thus far - I have received:

25% off at Fresh Choice. A coupon appeared in my email immediatly after registering each email address - expires 2 weeks from receipt (wait to use additional email addresses for future coupons!)

Papa Murphys sent a coupon to print for $2 off any size pizza, so far, while Wendys emailed $1 off.

The site for Jack n the Box has $1 off coupon for the mini sirloin burgers (one was enough to fill me happily) - signed up to see what they email.

Besides restaurants, Wow also provided links to a variety of Brand Name websites' coupons. These include savings on Betty Crocker products, Pet Foods and Dishwasher liquids.

Additionally - I signed up with Bed Bath and Beyond and recieved a %20 off coupon immediatly (my Keurig coffeemaker requires coffee cups which are readily available at BBB. But I also often use our Best Buy Rewards to buy my coffee there).

Specific determination of how to cut grocery bill totals is harder to come by. The necessity of attending several large grocery stores to locate the best value seems to be made redundant by the amount of time lost waiting in line, travel to the shops and refueling the car with Petrol.

I will continue to weigh the pros and cons of the different shops - there are several that I just haven't visited in awhile due to their more distant locations. Following the milk,eggs,produce basics formula I believe it will become easier to price compare and decide which stores win the war on economics as my reciepts begin to be for the same few items each month.

At Safeway, I now vow to avoid inner aisles altogether unless it is to restock certain items such as pasta and ketchup. It takes mere minutes to circle the store to grab a roast chicken, bread, milk, eggs, juice, sausages and then hit the produce aisle. I gave up sodas and chips months ago to focus on healthier eating, so bypassing these aisles is getting easier with time... sticking with the mantra that fresh is best. Sadly my chip substitute - the sweet potato is no where to be seen and I make note to look elsewhere for other items missing off my list.

Round the last corner with rabbit food and salad fixings in hand and Kablammo. Time stands still. Ease and economy are out the window. A single line trails two thirds the distance around the store while two express cashiers slowly, methodically recite their greetings and farewells to each customer. What is more fun than waiting in line? Waiting in a line which only slightly represents a line because it is so thick with confused customers merging in from everywhere, 30 people deep (we have time to count while we wait in ques) - accompanied by the experience of being jostled and frowned at by all those around you as you push your cart of 32 items forward and determine whether to enter at "15 items or less" or "20 items or less."

Pain all around. Nothing like unbridled hatred based on how many yogurt cups are in the cart.
This leads me to ignore the convenient location of the Safeway and avoid the safeway altogether when possible. Simple fact - if I cant leave the store, it isnt worth it. Too many times I have rounded that corner to see the chaos and I just drop the basket were I stand. Exit stage left. Take home thai or make waffles for dinner instead.

While Trader Joe sells bananas for $.20, a lot of the other fruits and veggies feel too expensive to touch on any regular basis. They are prepackaged and this makes it difficult to price compare or buy only what you need. Rather than face cost chaos - I skip the Bakery and Produce section in this store COMPLETELY (*except for the bananas and Naan Bread). Since about 80% of what we eat is fresh fruits and vegetables - Trader Joe is never my go to store when I am buying Groceries for the family of four. We learned this the hard way when we stopped there one afternoon to grab snacks. One daughter wanted an Apple as her snack, the other wanted a Blueberry muffin while Dad chose Carrot cake muffins. None of these items were available individually. A quick snack between errands resulted in 16 items at the register when we were seeking 4 simple snacks in total. Needless to say - we caught the irregularity of this before our turn came to pay and walked out empty handed and headed down the street to Fresh Choice Instead.

Personally - I shop there quite often when planning meals for one, as the selection of prepackaged meals and frozen foods which cost less than $3 is extensive. The microwaveable Thai takeout boxes are a great example of this. Also - Unlike Safeway and other shops such as Lucky or Nob Hill - I can get in and out of the store in fifteen minutes or less. For me - speed of shopping has a notable impact on the cost of the shopping trip.

It is also a great place to stock up on $2 wine for your personal consumption. Though I have yet to feel sassy enough to offer a glass of Charles Shaw to guests - these bottles make a great cooking companion.

I am on the hunt for coupons/discounts on other Thai and Indian restaurants as well as other items that I purchase most often... that seem to be consumed quickly by the family.

Lettuce / Carrots / Greens suited as bunny food - best produce prices in willow glen /san jose area ( I love the Campbell farmers market but as a family venture it doesnt remain inexpensive)

Pet foods
Canned Cat Food
Dry Cat Food
Oil - olive and vegetable oils
Cereal (Cheerios crunch)

Earth Hour and Family

2009-03-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Earth hour this weekend. While many parts of the world dimmed their lights for an hour, we removed ourselves from virtually all electricity for the better part of two hours. The prep was more exciting and well thought out than our last two new years eves combined.

I had determined a few days prior- that this moment, ( between eight thirty and nine thirty when the lights of the City would be dimmed ) would be the best chance to make use of our telescope and have a stargazing event of our own. So we dusted off the telescope, rounded up picnic blankets, lit candles and prepared an easy pizza dinner to snack on in the dark. In addition to the telescope and binoculars, I brought out my guitar and later we took turns strumming tunes for each other in the candlelight .

Well prepared - we were early to the party. While we waited for the clock to tick down to the official starting time, we tossed a giant beach ball my sister sent us back and forth in the dark, playing a kinder form of keep away as our eyes adjusted. Dad wandered the perimeter and turned off the motion sensitive lights that TheCat illuminated for us with his prowling of the yard. We played together in the stillness of the night and watched as the stars grew brighter and our eyes adjusted.

While initially tempted to enable internet access and access starcharts that way, instead I perused the bookshelves and located The Night Sky and located our very cool glow in the dark starfinder wheel. With one blast of the torch to power it up, we could hold it up to the sky and compare what we saw with the chart. Of course now I've located a more detailed version that can be made ourselves (not glow in the dark of course).

When my sweetheart was satisfied with how he had lined up Orions belt, he called each of us over and I stood there with his arms around me watching the stars come into focus before us. Absolutely fabulous! Like a dork, the dork that I am - standing there beneath the stars, surrounded by my favorite people - it was heavenly.

While monuments such as the eiffel tower (for 5 minutes??? - I show my disbelief by using no capitalization there) and the Egyptian Pyramids faded to dark and throughout the world, bridges and skyscrapers seized to pierce the sky with their light, we took turns dancing around the backyard with our lightsabers lighting our way. Sadly - the rest of the world embraced the moment with more precision. Images of San Francisco and San Jose are much less notable nd dramatic than London or Peru.

My random cuteness - Stevethecat being adorable in the tub.

2009-03-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

Empathy

2009-01-15T21:03:00.000-08:00

I react strongly to stories of human tragedy - I tend to easily become emotionally involved. Alone tonight - I let myself watch the actual news footage about the crashed plane and it has been good and wonderful and inspiring to see happy endings do come true. A Jtragedy averted.. instinctive heroism on all accounts. just amazing to see the ferries all turn in unison to assist.. within 30 seconds rushing to the plane... that instinct and goodwill just seems lacking so often it was nice to see they didnt think about it - they just went to work to help.... makes me feel happier today even though it also makes tears stream down my face.

Dyed in the wool... what does that mean anyways?

2009-01-08T05:39:00.000-08:00

According to various internet references , the expression "dyed in the wool" refers to a state of steadfastness, especially with respect to one's political, religious or social beliefs. The expression comes from the fact that fabric can be dyed in a number of ways. The woven fabric may be dyed after it is complete, or the threads may be dyed before they are woven. When a color is "dyed in the wool," the wool itself is dyed before being spun into threads so the colour is least likely to fade or change.

The red and orange wools worked out great, as you can see below. I got carried away and proceeded to create my first wet felted purse, above.

Don't drink the Kool-Aid

2009-01-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

A friend purchased several bags of wool roving from an online retailer a few months ago and passed on a pound of it to me. I have been looking towards getting the time to dig it out and "do something" with it ever since.

Alone for several days yet, tonight is that moment and I am presently in the midst of a craft night extravaganza. One of those rare nights when i can make a mess and noone can see it, when I can make mistakes, throw my hands in the air and say stuff it as i cram evidence of foiled artistic attempts into the garbage can then try again.

Tonight, I recreate the mess of childhood and the memory of my big sister beautifying our barbies. Tonight, I dye with Kool-Aid. I had intended to use more classic dye methods to alter the wool roving in preparation for felting projects. I had planned to follow proper traditional textile processes - right up until my research showed that many of those methods were likely hazardous in their applications, which to me seemed absurd. When the directions for natural plant based dyes direct you to use harmful chemical to set the dye, there is a logic flaw in there somewhere. Kool-Aid it is.

Funny enough, a search for Kool-Aid on Google brings up dozens of craft dye references but lacks info on potential Kool-Aid retailers. I had to follow a hunch and search several aisles of three grocery stores in order to gather the 7 packets I now possess. Kool-Aid is a dying breed it seems :)

I admit that I pondered for more than a moment whether or not I was REALLY going out at 9:30 pm, in hunt of powdered drink mix - but the fact is - yes I did. Unfortunately my color of choice eluded me. Regardless of how fervently i searched - there was no blue to be found except on the packages themselves.

Happily I made it through without having to explain to a store clerk that I was looking for a .33 cent package of kool-aid in a specific color. Unhappily though, thus far I am surrounded by several shades of red , a lovely orange and a sad purple with only the faintest hint of blue.

Using a turkey baster, I applied small amounts of several dye colors to a few test pieces of roving. The final effect provided fainter, diluted shades as the wool did not soak in a large amount of dye like the others.

I still processed the wool by placing it in the microwave for a series of two minutes on high, two minute pause, two minutes on high - then drain if water is clear, but i transferred the wool test strips to a glass bowl from the pan.

I was happily surprised to verify that the dye water really does turn clear once the dye has all been absorbed into the wool as its steamed and heated. You can see the dye water halfway up the baster, after the process has completed its session of ten minutes on high in microwave - pause for two minutes and then another two minutes on high til water is clear. I found many sites with koolaid dye directions, all similar in nature - the one i followed is linked below.

Although the process of dying wool has taken me several hours - one dye from start to finish could be completed in ten minutes then left to dry. If the wool is left to cool in the microwave, this process could be done with children safely and with less mess than some other rainy day activities. I am looking forward to testing that theory soon.

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/FEATdyedwool.html

Leaf Motif Bronze Sculpture Series

2009-01-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

Images of my most recent sculptures are now available to view.

This is currently a work in process as I continue to add comments, edit the layout and upload further images once I have succeeded in bringing the pieces closer to completion. I have organized the images in a tutorial style format with simple comments and explanations about the process for those whom have a curiosity about terms used.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/arrachne/sets/72157612301393330/

Further explanations and definitions thanks to Wikipedia : Burnout, Gates, Cups, cast, lost wax, ceramic shell mold material, silica, Slurry, foundry, metal casting

I would like to thank everyone in advance for positive feedback.

2008-12-08T21:41:00.000-08:00

Random Pretty little things

2008-12-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

An Amazing Sky

2008-11-30T20:37:00.001-08:00

Driving home with the girls tonight, we had the opportunity for an interesting Science Conversation on the Fly. The Techno Geek in me lives for these moments and when my sweetie pointed out the alignment of the moon and Planets in the sky tonight, we all looked on with awe. A beautiful image hanging in the night sky as Venus, Jupiter and the Moon all converged towards one another. A quick search on my iphone as he drove led me to verify which planets they were and other details on the subject. You can read more here.

The moon is the brightest, closest and smallest of the three and is 252,000 miles away. Venus, the second brightest, closest and smallest, is 94 million miles away. And big Jupiter is 540 million miles away.

The three celestial objects come together from time to time, but often they are too close to the sun or unite at a time when they aren't so visible. The next time the three will be as close and visible as this week will be Nov. 18, 2052, according to Jack Horkheimer, director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium.

There is nothing quite like a leisurely drive home surrounded by overly excitable post Black Friday weekend shoppers while having a detailed conversation about the planets.

Its great to let the universe remind us of the more important things. I was also reminded about the upcoming meteor shower expected to begin Dec. 7 and run through the 16th.

Check the schedule here and plan on taking some time to view an amazing event with your families.

Bored of Chores? Make a choreboard or play a game !!

2008-11-21T19:15:00.001-08:00

choreboard2
Originally uploaded by arrika_arrachne

There are only so many hours in a given day, a fact that becomes more evident as clutter grows up around us and threatens to overtake our home. While we sleep, dishes dirty themselves and dust mites throw a party.

A quick search online for "chores" finds a wealth of free activities and motivators for teaching kids how to manage their chores - yet lacks options for those adults amongst us who might not have developed our innate cleaning abilities as successfully as we would like.

Lists are not enough, scheduled dates for chores are too hard to maintain with an active schedule and busy life... heaven forbid we ask family to pitch in and do a specific task as this request is seen as punishment for some unseen offense.

It is difficult to teach our families that household tasks are a natural element of life, a fact of nature. It is a challenge to teach that washing dishes after dinner is a necessity so that the next meal can be just as enjoyable an experience; that our personal habits affect more than our own person; that caring for our surroundings creates a happier home for us to live within.

I have a choice. Persist in perpetual debates with family in a vain attempt to get things done or try the unknown. Anyone accustomed to the selective hearing abilities of an eleven year old can see where this is going. I know when I am fighting a losing battle and house "work" is an Achilles heel if ever there was one.

My own natural habits are less than Martha Stewartian in execution, yet I have not given up on teaching myself new tricks. I believe that I must first improve my own habits and then rely on the trickle down effect to motivate the rest of the clan. Luckily this seems to be working. Within the past six weeks we have all noticed a vast improvement on how the house looks and feels. Still cluttered and sometimes chaotic, as any family home is likely known - but it is getting easier since i decided to begin with myself first.

Chore charts just make no sense to me. This is a fact. I tossed that idea out the window and leave it for families with a 4 yr old they are teaching to brush teeth and make his own bed. Gold Star Stickers are no longer coveted in this house. I wish that they were!

Instead, my solution is off the beaten path. - I located templates to print out chores onto business cards then arranged them on a Magnetic Board in my kitchen. Rather than try to appoint tasks to each family member or allocate a day and time for items to be ticked off a list - I faced my reality head on.

Everything I could think of that needed to be done, I wrote out on the Chore card.
The Post Office, Washing Dishes, Folding Laundry, Picking up Soda Cans throughout the house and taking out the recycling, Groceries, sweeping floors, combating clutter (I made three of these cards as it seems to be the biggest mountain I climb each week).

I stopped myself once I had 2 dozen cards printed off and cut out in front of me. I counted them. I poured myself a drink then sat down again to reflect on what I saw in front of me.

I breathed in, I breathed out - then I let myself stop feeling so panicked and guilt ridden. I acknowledged the fact that there were more tasks laid out than there were hours in my day - and that there was in fact absolutely no way possible for me to do everything. Some things, yes - but most definitely not all.

I laid the cards out on the magnetic board, determining which items held the greatest impact on our lives and on our home. I thought about what tasks caused unhappiness or stress if not completed with the greatest timeliness and success. I removed a few after determining that they had the least impact or were seasonal. I brought it down to 22, very nearly enough hours in the day - a number that seemed a bit more sane.

Each morning as I sit and sip my coffee I peruse the board and rearrange priorities. Items that are urgent make their way to the top right - the lesser items I move on over to the bottom left and the mid range needs hover somewhere in between. Success is a day when i get to move many items further down without having to drag more chores up to take their place.

I explained to everyone that these were the tasks that needed to be done, the reason I wasn't available more often to participate in family time. I explained how the jobs were organized by priority based on what I thought needed to be done and suggested that anyone in the family could take a look and make suggestions if they felt something had become more important and should be moved up the Que.

I also agreed with them when they said that they could take on tasks for us. That all help would be valued and appreciated and make it easier for me to spend time having fun without worry about all the chores left undone.

Within a week of making the board, our home became a whirlwind of activity. Simple needs of reorganizing our cluttered bookshelves motivated Dad to move furniture, pack up old video games and clean out garage shelves to make room for my art supplies. Not what I had expected at all :)

I haven't asked anyone to do more than what they do already, but the kids have broached the subject over dinner on a few occasions - and the entire family has been picking up the slack on their own now. There is more appreciation going around now that they have a more specific visual aid available and I don't feel like such a failure when i cant find time to get every last thing around the house done.

I have taken to closing off both kitchen doors from time to time and insisting no one leaves until all traces of dinner have been washed, dried and put away. While we are trying to teach them to wash dishes themselves Ive discovered I have to wash them twice if they aren't kept company :P

Another strategy I am working on is to make this all more fun. Competition is big in our family and Games are very nearly a way of life. I have been looking for a way to make home life more fun and successful in regards to chores. I have never been a Suzy homemaker. I am not quite housewife material - but the game Chorewars is helping to make chores more fun for the whole family.

We have been experimenting with playing Dungeons and Dragons, but as I am not in control as the Dungeon Master I tend to get bored too easily. This is a rather relevant method of incorporating a quest based game with the reality of housework without taking away the fun. I'm looking at Chorewars as a way to experiment and explore the options before the dust bunnies get too big to fend off.

Come Join my Party as we attack the evil clutter and reap the rewards gained by cleanliness - it has to be better facing these demons together than it is to attack fall cleaning alone. To join just cut and paste the following link into a browser window - we can attack the chaos together!

http://www.chorewars.com/invite.php?id=ca263b8c9b75

Quirks - Tagged by Kelline

2008-11-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

I do not often respond to chains, the pessimist in me restricts me. Yet here and there I come across a moment that entertains me, Kellines post at http://boelfamilycraze.blogspot.com/2008/11/quirkstagged-by-my-sister.html.

My big sister led a chaotic life in her early years and I believe that this may have played a large part in how close I became to Kelli as she grew up a few years behind me. Their natures balanced each other out at either side of me and offered me guidance as i worked to circumvent my own pitfalls in life.

I have always been extremely proud of Kelline, most often when she would least expect it. She has been my mentor for more than half my life. A best friend for more than 15 years, a lifetime. Here again she is leading by example - writing her story and sharing it instead of my method of perpetual debate of where to begin.

We have an opportunity right now to share in the stories and that is an amazing privilege for me. I am inspired and blessed to have been chosen to be her family regardless to how saddened her history might be.

Quirks

1. I bite my nails to the quick

2. I am an amazing animal trainer and wish I could make a career of it. Animals around me grow up to be so unique and amazing it is phenomenal. I can't wait to get our dog in the next year or two :)

3. I have a Nankie ( I still sleep with the blanket folded up under my pillow. It was my superhero shield through childhood and I have never grown up enough to not want that extra level of security).

4. Troll Dolls

5. I break stuff to make stuff. I love to reverse engineer, dissect electronics, toys and robotics and then mash parts together from several items and see what i can come up with. I have numerous Furby exoskeletons laying around.

6. I LOVE Canada

7. I am a geek. I play and design video games. I translate information as a hobby. When someone seeks information I find it. I am always learning everything i can about everything i can. I am informed.

8. I get bored easily. To alleviate this i do half a dozen things at a time in steady rotation. I have a hundred hobbies - maybe i will count them in another post.....

Proposition 8

2008-11-12T12:10:00.000-08:00

lest we forget...

Olbermann: Gay marriage is a question of love
Nov. 10: In a Special Comment, Countdown’s Keith Olbermann disagrees with the passing of Proposition 8 in California and urges people to accept love between people of the same sex.

Keith Olbermann
Anchor, 'Countdown'

Finally tonight as promised, a Special Comment on the passage, last week, of Proposition Eight in California, which rescinded the right of same-sex couples to marry, and tilted the balance on this issue, from coast to coast.

Some parameters, as preface. This isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics, and this isn't really just about Prop-8. And I don't have a personal investment in this: I'm not gay, I had to strain to think of one member of even my very extended family who is, I have no personal stories of close friends or colleagues fighting the prejudice that still pervades their lives.
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And yet to me this vote is horrible. Horrible. Because this isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics. This is about the human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it.

If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don't want to deny you yours. They don't want to take anything away from you. They want what you want—a chance to be a little less alone in the world.

Only now you are saying to them—no. You can't have it on these terms. Maybe something similar. If they behave. If they don't cause too much trouble. You'll even give them all the same legal rights—even as you're taking away the legal right, which they already had. A world around them, still anchored in love and marriage, and you are saying, no, you can't marry. What if somebody passed a law that said you couldn't marry?

I keep hearing this term "re-defining" marriage. If this country hadn't re-defined marriage, black people still couldn't marry white people. Sixteen states had laws on the books which made that illegal in 1967. 1967.

The parents of the President-Elect of the United States couldn't have married in nearly one third of the states of the country their son grew up to lead. But it's worse than that. If this country had not "re-defined" marriage, some black people still couldn't marry black people. It is one of the most overlooked and cruelest parts of our sad story of slavery. Marriages were not legally recognized, if the people were slaves. Since slaves were property, they could not legally be husband and wife, or mother and child. Their marriage vows were different: not "Until Death, Do You Part," but "Until Death or Distance, Do You Part." Marriages among slaves were not legally recognized.

You know, just like marriages today in California are not legally recognized, if the people are gay.

And uncountable in our history are the number of men and women, forced by society into marrying the opposite sex, in sham marriages, or marriages of convenience, or just marriages of not knowing, centuries of men and women who have lived their lives in shame and unhappiness, and who have, through a lie to themselves or others, broken countless other lives, of spouses and children, all because we said a man couldn't marry another man, or a woman couldn't marry another woman. The sanctity of marriage.

How many marriages like that have there been and how on earth do they increase the "sanctity" of marriage rather than render the term, meaningless?

What is this, to you? Nobody is asking you to embrace their expression of love. But don't you, as human beings, have to embrace... that love? The world is barren enough.

It is stacked against love, and against hope, and against those very few and precious emotions that enable us to go forward. Your marriage only stands a 50-50 chance of lasting, no matter how much you feel and how hard you work.

And here are people overjoyed at the prospect of just that chance, and that work, just for the hope of having that feeling. With so much hate in the world, with so much meaningless division, and people pitted against people for no good reason, this is what your religion tells you to do? With your experience of life and this world and all its sadnesses, this is what your conscience tells you to do?

With your knowledge that life, with endless vigor, seems to tilt the playing field on which we all live, in favor of unhappiness and hate... this is what your heart tells you to do? You want to sanctify marriage? You want to honor your God and the universal love you believe he represents? Then Spread happiness—this tiny, symbolic, semantical grain of happiness—share it with all those who seek it. Quote me anything from your religious leader or book of choice telling you to stand against this. And then tell me how you can believe both that statement and another statement, another one which reads only "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

You are asked now, by your country, and perhaps by your creator, to stand on one side or another. You are asked now to stand, not on a question of politics, not on a question of religion, not on a question of gay or straight. You are asked now to stand, on a question of love. All you need do is stand, and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate.

You don't have to help it, you don't have it applaud it, you don't have to fight for it. Just don't put it out. Just don't extinguish it. Because while it may at first look like that love is between two people you don't know and you don't understand and maybe you don't even want to know. It is, in fact, the ember of your love, for your fellow person just because this is the only world we have. And the other guy counts, too.

This is the second time in ten days I find myself concluding by turning to, of all things, the closing plea for mercy by Clarence Darrow in a murder trial.

But what he said, fits what is really at the heart of this:

"I was reading last night of the aspiration of the old Persian poet, Omar-Khayyam," he told the judge. It appealed to me as the highest that I can vision. I wish it was in my heart, and I wish it was in the hearts of all: So I be written in the Book of Love; I do not care about that Book above. Erase my name, or write it as you will, So I be written in the Book of Love."

Barack Obama, Acceptance Speech

2008-11-06T09:40:00.000-08:00

PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

Its the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

Its the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

Its the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

Its been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and hes fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nations promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nations next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy thats coming with us to the White House. And while shes no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what youve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didnt start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generations apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didnt do this just to win an election and I know you didnt do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how theyll make the mortgage, or pay their doctors bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who wont agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government cant solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way its been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, its that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if Americas beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one thats on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. Shes a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldnt vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that shes seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we cant, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when womens voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Geek news & the Large Hadron Collider

2008-09-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

A dear friend recently directed me to youtube to entertain/educate myself about one of the newest scientific breakthroughs via the Large Hadron Rap.

Earths biggest atom smasher, located in Geneva Switzerland, began its work this week amid a wave of internet buzz driven by a Rap song popularized on Youtube. Entertaining and informative, the song created by Kate McAlpine, has increased public awareness of a cientific experiment which has been referred to by opponents as a doomsday device.

More information and interviews can be found here. Further articles on the LHC can be found at Popular Mechanics & The New Yorker.

A Wiki rundown of the LHC may be located at Wikipedia.

As so eloquently explained in the video - the LHC, or Large Hydron Collider is a multibillion-dollar machine which will collide two beams of protons in a head on collision while propelled at close to the speed of light.

This thought alone raised my curiosity as to whether protons have heads to crash into... and why not? More information needed - I continued my journey until l I stumbled upon the Higgs Boson at Particle Zoo. Any felt loving Geeks out there see Christmas gifts in their future???

Publish Post

Creators of Habit

2008-09-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

I possess an ability to take random ideas, dissect them and alter their configurations into something completely different. I often felt that I was alone in this quirk but over time I have discovered that this is not the case. I have always reverse engineered my surroundings and recently I have become more successful at tracking down my fellow creatures of ingenuity.

Bronze casting is a rather good foot in the door for its ability to take found objects and to incorporate them into found art, molds and sculptural elements through various stages of the sculpting and casting process.

Stepping further outside that realm - these past weeks, these dog days of summer, have led to my developing a devout interest in sites provided by other Creators of habit. These are sites I return to time and again for nourishment when i need a challenge to daydream upon.

I am random, hear me roar. To steal from the maven of random creations, here follow - a few of my (current) favorite things.

Mmm. Fun creative cooking. Tastespotting is a visual feast of Food blogs which is ever changing and inspirational. An example of its delicious spontanaiety are these pancakes with recipe and easy to follow directions posted at makeandtakes.com. Pop Up Pancakes are an awesome idea. These are the perfect size to eat on the run! Mix in a little syrup with the batter and you are good to go!

I could cite 3 dozen recipes and link to a dozen more sites i found via tastespotting - but instead i refer you to investigate the visual feasts yourself.

Moving on... I am learning to weave. Or rather, i am learning to learn how to weave. I tend be very spontaneous with my pursuits.. my resume of handicrafts and hobbies is incredibly long. I want to know how to do EVERYTHING and luckily i seem to adapt well to taking on the roles of teacher and student in most cases.

My downfall seems to be textiles. I adore beadweaving, In the past I shown incredible patience while working with intricate detail work of jewelry making - but I cannot sew. Neither do i knit. My girls insist that they can show me and away we will go. Realistically - this is likely true, so i should clarify. I do not want to sew or knit.

They bore me to tears. the entire concept eludes me. So although i do not want weild a needle or two whichever the case may be... I do wish to achieve creation of clothlike materials for various projects. My solution for slightly quicker to instant gratification is to weave my material and evade needles to my best ability.

I have this daydream which imports value into my hobbies. They are a means to an end - if ever trapped on a deserted island with my sweetheart, doomed to spend the rest of our days alone in paradise, i intend to be well informed in enough skill sets that the world will still be our oyster. I know how to create a kiln, locate clays and sculpt pottery to eat off of. I possess knowledge enough in bronzecasting to make our own arrows, swords and shields to hunt with and protect ourselves. I am skilled enough at carpentry and physical labor to build a hut worthy of Sims Castaway fans acclaim. I can even garden and play a small amount of music to entertain us on an improvised piano made of half filled shells and a mallet - but this would all take place unclothed.
I need to fill in the gap in knowledge. I need fashionable clothing to complete my daydream.

I only appear random - I always start accumalating project knowledge through advance research and then begin the hands on portion of the learning process weeks later. When I became aware of the barbed nature of wool It was enlightening. Online weaving tutorials led to info on Needle felting (which allows for fabric to be meshed together with many needles sans thread), weaving wool together integrates with the felting oncept admirably. I can avoid "sewing" and still make a lot of the items i have had my sights on for so long. MAKE has an excellent information source on many maker projects involving LED's that need fabric to complete - until now i was sidelined by my unwillingness to sew.. but now there is hope. I am also accumulating a lot of knowledge from Instructables.com on how to felt and weave and solder circuits into clothing.

I talk too much... shhhh

Back to School

2008-09-05T23:11:00.000-07:00

This has been a good week. a busy one, yet an effective one. I feel only mildly chaotic and stressed, better yet - I am very self aware of the cause of any stress and strain on my sanity. I know why i am feeling discomfort and by being knowledgeable about the source - i free myself from a lot of the angst and anxiety that would otherwise be forthcoming. So yes, it is the end of week one and i am a bit on the AHHHHH side. Thankfully I have a great team of supporting cast members to make it all good.

At the last minute I made some major changes to my class schedule. That in itself is a pretty big roll of the dice. the action of deleting a class to free up unit space to then beg for acceptance into another class which may or may not have room for your sorry ass is always a bit of a frightening one. Unfortunately, the Wednesday night course i was taking was not going to be a success by any measure and I felt that it was wise to acknowledge the fact before time took its toll on me. I was being optimistic in taking a class at a sister college only to determine that the quality of life offered was less than that which i was accustomed to. When i got home from the first nights meeting - I had to fight the urge to promptly throw out my bag as it had spent 3 hrs on the floor directly touching the most grotesquely unhealthy environment i have come across since my journeys aboard Amtrack traveling between San Jose, Utah and Vancouver Canada.

Run on sentences aside, i was dissapointed to discover that between the time of registration two weeks ago and that of my attendance at the actual class, this week, the course description had eroded from one which spoke of weekly guest speakers from various silicon valley companies in the realm of game design, graphic design and other tech sector industries to one which the instructor noted that all his guest speakers failed to show up last semester and our final project would be the completion of a business card.

Run. Run Run.

And i did. Health and sanity now remedied with a quick switch (successfully i may add) to a more relevant course load which is not redundant and a repeat of courses i have taken 3 times already. YAY ME!

I was really looking forward to industry leaders taking the time to speak with me, but que sera or whatever that saying may be. Time to move on.

My solution? A counseling course for careers in tech. Voila. Perfection. Definitely a skill set i am in need of. My eclectic interests make it difficult to quantify my skills within a box. I am a giant zig zag of passions. I could definitely find value in analysis of what makes me tick and a gentle push in the right direction via this class would be welcome.

I often feel too old. I hear others say it too often. but when i stop and THINK i realize that's not true. I am not too old for anything. I can begin any journey from this moment as my starting point. Every day is the beginning.

Geek Alert

2008-08-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

When I was in High School, friends and I conceptualized a category of identification for ourselves, well aware that if we did not define ourselves with a label - others would be liable to do so for us. After much debate, we settled upon the title "Techno Hippie Individualists"Recently sorting through boxes of photographs and mementos I came across my own laminated membership card. A practical joke given to me by a friend and fellow member so many years ago. Years later, it still resonated with me.. Looking back on circumstances, I believe that I must have had the greater influence on the naming decision. Unlike K & J, S & others - I am the only one who grew into her geekiness. I stand alone.

I was inspired by my high school Film classes & work experience program which placed me at the warehouse of set supplier William F. White. Oddly enough K & J were more successful at following their hearts into the tech sector - taking classes in stage production and film makeup while my feet led me elsewhere on a wildgoose chase; but we all lacked equally in the follow through. Time and circumstance, family and lifestyle choices defined each of our destinies more than a tiny piece of cardboard pressed between shrinkwrapped plastic.

I somehow doubt my fellow members remember this at all - but for me - the basic memories last yet. I still rememeber the call sign for CRAT radio, our high school station which J coerced me into helping to DJ with her during school lunch hours. A cassette player and a PA system accessed from the front office of the school.

In hindsight it would be hard to deny that that experiment in geekiness obviously related to my becoming devoted in future years to KSIM radio - the online radio station created in Interhogan to complement the gaming world of THE SIMS ONLINE. KSIM Rocked my world and it, along with TSO, allowed the opportunity for me to create friendships and circumstances for me that allowed my life to evolve further than it might have if the Tech side of life had not been so available to me. Although later renamed WOKI and then SLAK Radio as time progressed and the evolution of community gaming evolved past TSO & Star Wars Galaxies - KSIM is where it all began.

Years later I still pour my heart into the tech side of things. I get giddy at the geekiest events, an example of which is the new STAR TREK ONLINE game being created by a local company to me. When i close my eyes and imagine myself transported to another universe, cryptic studios is well on its way to creating one of my ideal destinations. Mauii and Disney are great vacation spots but theres nothing like the geekfest of a well crafted mmo. I might not quite fit the definition of your mothers hippie experience but the Techno and the Individualist are still in full control.

Time Travel, Writing and the Persiedes Meteor Shower

2008-08-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

When my sweetheart travels I often go with him, if not in fact then at least in action. When he is in another country and the clocks alter time I follow suite. My days get longer at first and then capsize in on themselves as I adapt to catnaps sprinkled in between long chats on the phone or via the computers. This occurs regardless of my best intentions to stay in the timezone where my feet are planted.

There are benefits to my sleepless nights; I am at my most creative late at night. Alone, my emotions run high and the shadows offer a discretion that is too easily voided out by the introspective light of day. In the dark I can write, but it is harder to peer at the page and reread the words laid out bare. Words fall from my fingertips with more honesty when given time to rest upon the page a while before being edited apart and dissected under bright lights. Nightfall allows time to pass before the fitful barrage of second guesses occur.

At this moment I am still at the brainstorming stage where ideas bombard me with such great impact that they threaten to remove prior thoughts and dislodge them from memory. I am still at the stage where I am frightened enough to keep pen always at hand, prepared to jot down my frenetic thoughts; to sketch them out a little later, once the tumult dies down somewhat and i can scavenge through the remnants of paper and text files to find the hidden gems.

My intention, to let the words fall, free of critique and restraint. Pleased enough with their existence in of itself.

It is a result of this recent time travel, the catnaps and what might be empty nights that in fact are not empty, that I will be readily available to sit outside and watch the Persiedes Meteor Shower this evening. While awake.

Details available on tonight's sky show that Perseus will rise in the northeast this evening, around nine pm, August 11th. It will not be until after 2 am that the moon sets and the sky becomes clear enough for the main show to present itself though. In a few minutes I am going to go dust off our telescope and ready my sky watching theatre in preparation. Then later, when I awake from another catnap I am going to curl up with a glass of wine in one hand and a pen in the other to watch the falling sky...

I will be looking for Perseid Earthgrazers--meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond.

Earthsky offers a calendar of meteor and stargazing events for North America here. Astronomy.com offers excellent introductory to stargazing at their site. Space.com offers historical background and details on where and how to locate the best viewing experience.

Age of Conan - Wayfarer

2008-06-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

I currently have a level 43 HoX and a 35ish Dark Templer in the world of Hyboria inside Age of Conan. Unlike Vanguard, LOTR and EQ2 - I am striving hard to not appear lost in game all the time. Luckily AoC has succeeded in being less complex than some of those "other" locales. To make things even easier, AoC Wayfarer has made its way into the world.

Unlike past map installations for EQ2 and Vanguard etc, this one installs so simply its hard to remember it is there. In fact i had to load aoc on another computer, take a look at my map in game and then return to the first PC to verify that I had done anything. The one downside for me though is that the auto launch feature after update does not work for me at this time. Instead i still launch Conan manually from the desktop.

With luck, this will be the tool that helps me raise my harvesting skills to a level where i can start donating the resources needed to complete our tier two Guild City.

Inspiration & emulations

2008-06-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

Still on my path of introspective wanderings.. searching for more active online pursuits than awaiting my Scramble turn on Facebook... I came across the website of a Canadian band called Arcade Fire. Not only a well laid out and interactive website - but home of a rather awesome interactive music Video. Simple pleasures for simple minds. I am Amused.

Watch and Play with the music video for Neon Bible. Song is pretty decent too.

Release your inner Picasso and create your own Mr.Potato Head'ish creation at Mr.Picassohead.

Trippiness, Cuteness and other Oddities

2008-06-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

The following diversions are predominantly denizens of this funky site called Neave.com

Plug in your microphone and prepare to be dazzled and bemused. Bounce is a fun diversion with limitless possibilities. Blow, whistle or sing to control the bouncing balls. Blast the stereo to really make them bounce. I sat at my piano keyboard and practiced playing "Beauty and the Beast", then went random and made a game of it by aiming to get the largest silver ball across the screen to the far right then back to the far left while banging away random notes. A perfect diversion for a totally random day.

Dig out your old 3D glasses and head on over to anaglyph Draw in 3D. this is rather fun even without having torn apart the house looking for old paper 3D glasses or hunting down any that might have made it home from IMAX. Rotate the page, scroll up or down, draw in all three planes. Neave.com is an interactive website created by designer Paul Neave.

Surf on over to Neaves' out of context television application and prepare to be bewildered. Giant mutated killer spiders and talking canines o'my.

This next link, Imagination, feels inspiring, most especially after having watched video for the Italian art installation, "The Cloud" so recently.

The Cloud - from mitmobileexperiencelab on Vimeo.

Exercise your imagination and become part of a fiber optic light show of your own making.

Make a wish on a dandelion.

Create a retro kaleidescope here and fiddle with a newer version here.

M.A.S.H. brings back memories of early childhood, my sister and her friends used to play it back when I was in grade two or three. Some days, when i was lucky she would draw out an extra layout on the corner of a lined page from her workbook and let me have a try at predicting her future.
Play Mash here.

Loss and diversions

2008-06-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today, two close friends of ours lost their dog to the tragedy of time. As he was a stray when they first brought him into their family, his exact age has been undefined, but it was up there in the 15-17 yr range. Even 15 years is a lot of lifetime to have lived. It is with great sadness that they had to say goodbye to him today...

This leads me to the reasoning behind my sudden urge to resume updates of this blog. I was wandering less than aimlessly today, seeking out mild diversions and oddities that might divert my friends away from their great sadness and give them a moment of quiet or laughter or something of a mixture in between. Todays randomness is brought to you by our furry friends... those creatures great and small who make our worlds go round and whom have the power to make the world freeze in place at the moment of their loss.

Surfing the internet, riding the waves in search of new amusements... the following are some of the coolest links I have come across recently.

http://musicovery.com is an interesting and dynamic, interactive music tool. Beautiful and simple graphics allow you to experience listening to online radio differently. A free flowing and easily accessible interface allows for a truly interactive experience. We used to spend a lot more time listening to music. allowing it to be a destination rather than an addition to the background noise of other activity. Part of my free time of these two weeks has been invested in recreating a listening space again. Rearranging craft boxes and art supplies is now a priority.

And now for something completely different! Eddie Izzard is an actor who flew under my radar until recently. I only recognize him through the newish television drama "the Riches", where he portrays a "traveler" or conman impersonating a lawyer. Eddie Izzards voice sounds a lot like a Monty Python character, which of course is a great generalization... but his voice over for the death star clip posted previously had me momentarily confused as to whom the narrator was. Funny enough, his website does not make mention of the sole reason I am aware of Izzards' existence. The Riches is an okay show. Not a great show. I can understand why it is not on his (predominantly British) Biography. Especially true since he is also a co writer of the series. I try to watch new episodes still... but the operative word is "try". I "try not to watch any television that takes an effort to sit down and push play on the Tivo remote. My braincells deserve better. Which takes me further down the brainstorming chain of random where is she leading with this-ness...

Follow that weakened chain of thought - Imagine yourself as a Lego character! A few of my posts from earlier included personalized Lego Characters used as Business cards. Reasonably Clever allows for you to play around with that idea and create your own mini!

Anticipating Wall E

2008-06-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

There is something inherently appealing about the upcoming movie WallE and I can't hardly wait.

http://gizmodo.com/5017269/lego+built-wall+e-it-was-only-a-matter-of-time

http://gizmodo.com/5018226/all-you-need-is-love-from-talking-romantic-handsome-men-piggy-bank

Random amusements for today

2008-06-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

The telephone rings not.

2008-02-19T19:19:00.000-08:00

If i look at my call display, the results are as follows.

80% of phone calls in the past 5 years have been from my sweetheart.
6% from my older sister.
6% from my younger sister who adopted me when we were 13.
my mother hasn't phoned in years.

my stepdaughters have phoned twice. yesterdays call was to verify what brand of cold medicine we had determined necessary to treat the ailments we brainstormed together over the weekend.. An alternative to ingesting childrens tylenol for headache and fever when her symptoms were no longer such. a very simple call, yet more meaningful than one might expect.

of the remaining 8% of phonecalls - 4% would have been made up by housing contractors all calling within a 2 month time period of renovations.
the last 4% of calls are a diverse bunch.

two friends waiting at a Greyhound Station in Sacramento for my bus, wondering when i was going to arrive finally.

a friend in new mexico wanting to thank me for the "get well soon" card i sent her when she was ill.

a dozen friends attempting to locate each others hotel rooms as we met up as planned in Las Vegas.

an elementary and highschool friend back home in canada that i reconnected with right before she got engaged and then married.. asking me to please attend... then thanking me for being there for her after it was all over....

a friend calling to find out if my train had arrived in Seattle yet.

friends wondering if we were getting close to the campground we were meeting at yet.

a friend in san diego, making plans to show me around Old Town while my sweetheart would be stuck in business meetings...

a friend asking me if i wanted to fly down and wander hollywood with him for the weekend then attend a roundtable discussion held with the cast and producers of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip at the University.

I dont have very many telephone conversations, but those that do take place tend to be of great importance. It seems that the limited contact makes the moment stand out more for me. Although a lot of my greatest friendships don't include regular face to face or telephonic interactions i think i spend more quality time with them than many people are blessed with.

Though i have to say - i do wish friends called me more often regardless of the time we spend together online.

Casting Completed

2007-12-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

Bronze is heated and poured into the hollow molds suspended over a bed of sand. The sand helps prevent molten spills from running amok if a piece is cracked. The pieces are then cooled prior to removal of the shell from the bronze cast sculpture.

Burnt Out

2007-11-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

After cleaning up any exterior casting that might contaminate the inner shell by scraping it with handtools and discarding it, the molds are ready for burnout. The furnace is heated up for about(15 minutes and then the sculptures are placed inside. Next, the shell and its interiors of wax (or other materials such as twigs, skewers or styrofoam) are heated beyond thier melting point to flow freely from the molds and fall into the large metal basin of water beneath the inferno. Done successfully this will leave behind intact hollow shells.

Flaming wax remnants are scooped out of the Metal basin so as to prevent buildup and possible flareups. The really cool outfit is an added bonus. Next burnout I will remember to get a picture of myself to add to the collection.

The near finished lost wax shell is removed from the furnace after it has baked for 30 or so minutes. Before moving, it is allowed to cool off so it is no longer red hot but instead resembles spent ash. The lost wax cast is placed in the cooling rack where it awaits vaccuming and final cleanup with an air hose. Compressed air will be shot up through the cavities and remove sediment that might affect the final appearance of the sculptures once the molten bronze is poured into them and then cooled.

Next week - casting on thursday. Pictures to follow.

Crafty templates for those with free time to spare.

2007-11-20T21:25:00.001-08:00

Because i do not have enough to do right now I was thinking i would create an interesting winter themed christmas card slash notice of change of address to send out this week. I am pondering using an interesting template from a site like the following.

http://www.ruthannzaroff.com/mirkwooddesigns/

On a side note

2007-11-19T21:35:00.001-08:00

It will seem rather odd in retrospect to pop into this tiny parcel of my universe and see no reflection on day to day life as it is taking place at this moment - it is because of this that i make note of today as being one of the most amazing moments in my life. Just as tom couch jumped on oprah so does my heart leap about with silly love infused gleefulness. I am incredibly excited and thus far succeeding at not letting myself rein in the emotional bliss. I am living the dream - only it is a reality greater than i would ever have imagined. one day and a half until i hold in my hand the keys to our new home. Chaotic bliss is a wonderful theme.

Ready to proceed to the "lost wax" step in lost wax bronzecasting.

2007-11-19T21:26:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I am all set for burnout of my pieces. After several weeks of repetitive slurry dipping then rolling in the sand my pieces have gained enough weight and substance to move on to their next positions. First, they will be placed in an enclosed firepit then be toasted at extreme temperatures so as to lose their internal mass and become hollow forms. I have been told that it takes about 30-45 minutes for the wax and other debris to burn out.

Next week the hollow molds will be set to hang in midair while molten bronze is poured into their empty shells. Once it cools the exterior sand and solidified slurry will be gently chipped away with hammers and chisels so as to reveal the near final subjects of my affection.

The raw metal will be ugly and deformed in appearance i expect. It is only after the pieces have all their superfluos bits sawed off, are sandblasted and filed down that we will be able to see whether they are a success.

Seventh dip in the slurry

2007-11-19T21:15:00.001-08:00

Layering the shell onto the wax sculptures

2007-11-19T18:55:00.000-08:00

Pets & Earthquakes

2007-11-08T17:58:00.000-08:00

My 7 year old Maine Coone, "Steve The Cat", attempted to alert me of the earthquake repeatedly in the ten minutes prior. I came home from working out just after 730 and went directly to the shower and change. Normally when i leave the shower, Stevie jumps in to play with the watertap and chase drips, instead - he followed me. Normally he has 4 things he demands of us vocally or with intense "follow me" body language and directives like nudging with his head and leading by walking a few feet until we follow along while directing us with the odd vocalization or meaow.

These four things are:

- to follow him to his food dish and to correct whatever dilemma he seems to believe needs correcting in regards to the fullness of said dish
- open a door for him to enter or exit or just stare out of momentarily while considering whether to enter or exit
- to pick him up to cuddle
- to turn on the faucet.

Just after 8 pm i had exhausted each of these options. I had tried to coax him into the tub to play with water while he just stood on his rear legs and stretched up to tap my elbows with his paws instead.

It was after dark so i never concede and let him out to play at night so that wasnt an option.

He responded to being picked up with a quick cuddle and then leaped out of my lap and persisted in the follow me directives of nudging mine and my partners legs as we sat at our desks in the office and tapping our arms with his paw.

When i attempted to follow him he went only so far as the hallway but showed no interest in going down the stairs to his food dish. As a rule, we never walk ahead of him or beside him for fear of being tripped - my family and I always follow behind instead - but tonight Stevie the cat wasnt going anywhere for us to follow him to.

This led me back to thinking he wanted water not food and i resumed trying to get him in the tub before standing finally in the hallway between bathroom and office. I stood there chatting with my other half - talking about the cats' odd behavior, mildly exasperated at how to entertain my darling goofy cat while he rubbed against my legs.

It was while i stood there in the doorway with my cat rubbing against my ankles that the room began to roll like a wave beneath my feet. He scooted under a table and while I shouted in sudden comprehension "earthquake!", my sweetheart ran into the doorway to stand with me.

In the silence following the tremor I succeeded in finding Stevie while he catnapped under the kitchen table downstairs. Seeing the logic in this I joined him for a few minutes of ear scratching and fed him a handful of kitty treats and apologized for being too dense to understand what he was telling us all along.

Slurry Dipping ( not to be confused with skinny dipping)

2007-11-08T17:27:00.000-08:00

Today i did something unusual. Instead of wasting time wasting time - I moved forward and returned to the studio this afternoon to finish two of my sculptures and get them on their way.

A Frog in Toads Clothing & Voodoo are now safe on their way to that strange land where finished projects go. With a little luck and perseverence they will actually complete their journey and evolve from their wax forms into solid masses of bronze.

At some point in the future I am going to come up with some meaningful allusion to satisfy others when they ask why i created each of these items, but atm the fact is i made them for me myself and i.

I have no expectation of making my first bronze sculpture and its being a work of art. Rather, its expected and anticipated that any initial creations are more liable to be a laughed at pieces of crap that others mock with the expectation that you expect to be mocked and are also already in on the mocking and self torturous mind games of low self esteem.

I decided not to fall into that mangled mess of self loathing and disinterest that comes with belittling my own handiwork and so i struck out to make what i enjoy.

I have made 2 items which i expect might make it past the "buried in a cardboard box" stage of evolution. My frog will always be a frog to me, for i can see within his princely heart that he isnt a toad at all no matter what others say. And Voodoo has camouflaged himself so well that others believe he is an edible cookie rather than a symbol of energy and confidence. So be it. Fact is - i anticipate having Voodoo and Frog in toads clothing find places in my home and because of that I sculpted outside the box.

Today, frog and voodoo both found themselves raised in stature. They were elevated above wax cups on waxen rods that will form a series of channels. I then scurried on over to the lab and cleaned them each with dishsoap , airdried them - with would you have guessed it? - Air. Next, I sprayed them with car wax or its equivalent then dried them again with the airhose.

Finally i Dipped each wax sculpture into a large caked tub filled with a lovely yellow slurry. Thus began the process of creating their first coat of their future outer shell. Each sculptue will be dipped repeatedly and slowly over a period days or weeks, depending on how often i get over there to do it. The great part is they are at least on the way. Now i have to start on another project... this time something filled with empathy and emotion that counters the happy bits i have already made.

Wax & Wood Clay Sculptures

2007-10-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

The initial project i am working on can be a sculpture no greater than 5 inches. Easier said than done. After working through several initial concepts i finally created a frog out of woodclay to my satisfaction. I then molded a second frog out of wax. It seemed a lot easier to create the wax toad after i had worked with the prototype. Initially i wanted it to be smooth - but i have now texturized the wax frog so it looks quite cool. Better pictures to follow soon.

This week I will be setting up pour cups and attaching them to the frogs. Then they will be immersed in a fine sand like substance to build up an exterior casing.

Are you anybodys favorite person?

2007-09-27T16:51:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while i am caught offguard by an idea or the execution of an idea that has the potential to be something astounding. One example of this is, "Are you anybodys favorite person?" a question posed by mememolly as video commentary on youtube, the week of sept 16th 2007.

This video prompted me to think back to my interactions with others over the years and of the many opportunities i had to let those around me know how and why they were so important. It also prompted a sense of sadness for the fact that i have fewer opportunities now than i did then to interact with others and share those beliefs. Not necessarily because they are less deserving now than they were then of friendship and empathatic encouragements - then because i am now so far out of reach.

I can say with success that 3 years ago, others did know that they were my favorites.
Today i think they might not have any lingering awareness that i care though, when opportnity allows, i still try to step forward and assure tham that their friendships are still valued. Without the day to day interactions, the regularly scheduled opportunities to share in each others day to day lives - the sense of precedence and priority seems to have faded. Time seems to have eroded the confidence that knowledge brings.

I choose to believe that everyone i connected with in TSO knows that they were important to me and that although i have one favorite person, one favorite family - i also have my favorite community.

Adventures in Metal Sculpting

2007-09-02T22:31:00.000-07:00

Wednesday will be day three - and thus far i have yet to experience any true sense of dread. Perhaps it is yet to come. Theoretically - a course in metal sculpting should not be that far out of my realm of comfort considering where my past activities have led me. I should feel confident what with welding and aircraft maintenance courses not that many years behind me....

Creating new memories

2007-08-15T13:48:00.001-07:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free! I was daydreaming a little too much today... and decided to create a dream sequence to splice into life.

Fine Silver Jewelry

2007-08-08T04:17:00.000-07:00

Here are several of my current jewelry designs in process. Using PMC or Precious Metal Clay, I have begun sculpting several jewelry items. The clay can be sculpted by itself or manipulated using stamps, molds and other shaping tools. Once formed- the pieces are fired and the clay burns off while the silver particles embedded within it become compressed together and form the solid sculptural item.

Molds can be made out of mixing (bellacold in this case) molding compound together and then pressing found items like shells, coins or small toys of interest into the molding compound and allowing it to set. The mold can then be used in one of several ways.

Cork clay was compressed into the mold then allowed to dry before removing it, Then allowed to dry over 24 hrs to completely dry it out before i then painted thinned out silver clay paste onto the surface, letting it dry repeatedly in between coats. The more coats the greater the strength when the cork clay burns out in the kiln. This method leaves me with a hollow shell.

The butterfly at top right has a cork center and consists of 3-5 layers of paste thus far. The butterfly on the top left has been fired, leaving its center hollow and a few small occlusions which i have now filled with clay and intend on firing again next monday. This will help to correct any weaknesses in the piece.

As is the case with the dragonfly and leaf - PMC clay can be rolled out thinly and then pressed into the mold so as to gain as much detail as possible. Letting it set until quite dry before removing,then sanding lightly to remove imperfections in the surface.

The tardis and dragonfly with leaf were made by pressing clay directly into a mold while the butterfly and the second dragonfly, along with the beads of varying shapes were crafted from cork clay forms.

Narrative through use of imagery, 2006

2007-08-08T00:59:00.000-07:00

A tendency towards accepting nothing less than perfection neatly guarantees perpetual failure. To me, no item of artwork is ever quite complete.

There just comes a moment when i no longer resume working on it and my interests lean in some other direction than the one they had currently been invested in.

Projects remain unfinished and incomplete, often disposed of haphazardly some time down the road when I no longer feel attached enough to it "to bother."

Usually when i finish working on a project - it no longer exists in my mind. It is this flaw which i hope to erase through use of this blog.

Through documenting the process and conclusion I hope to find closure.
At best, i may finally enter my comfort zone and begin to feel able to accept myself as an artist.

At the very least i will have a record of the artwork which I have invested my time on over the years.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this video is worth that times ten

2007-08-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

For Beeker.

A thousand words....

2007-08-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

Why am I finally joining the Blogosphere after years of reluctance?

I commonly find myself gathering images, stories and ideas which relate to those around me - it is a natural tendency of mine. I am easily mesmerized in research, seemingly regardless of the topic, as i find satisfaction in pursuing each individual new idea. Whenever a friend or family member, (or stranger in distress) finds themself asking how, who, or why - I enthusiastically jump in to work with them to determine those answers. I get excited by the network of ideas that following up on each concept can evoke. Put simply enough, I like to think. This is a dorky response in many ways, yet for me it is as accurate of a reasoning as I can conceive of at this time. I find that I succeed in finding items of interest to an eclectic audience.

I have created and destroyed numerous websites over the past 13 years, never content with the topic or focus; uncertain of the audience that I seek to reach. Unsatisfied with the limitations that I placed upon myself I would cease and desist, only to begin the cycle some time later, yet again.

I like to think. I live for it in fact. The result of this is that my thoughts remain diversified in their focus and intent. While i failed in my first attempts at maintaining a website, namely due to a lack of focus, I believe that my thought process lends itself readily to the current environment provided by keeping a Blog.

Arrikas Ego Trip, the first website I created, back in the early days of the internet is hereby reincarnated in blog form. My primary goal is an experiment of sorts - to sieze the opportunity to document my thought process and share with the community. To seek out, my thousand words.

Snapshots from my mind

2007-08-06T23:38:00.000-07:00

2007-08-01T23:09:00.001-07:00

addme

2006-07-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

Cuter than the Koalas, I fell in love
with a baby giraffe at Torongo Zoo in
Sydney.