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June 26, 2003
Harry Potter, Star Wars Galaxies, Warcraft III, and Creative Dwellings
I've been away for a while, reading the new Harry Potter book. Finished it two nights ago. It's still pretty good, although it didn't flow as quickly as the last book. It wasn't until three-quarters of the way through the book that I started feeling like I had to finish it NOW. For those who haven't read the book yet, I will not spoil it by going into details here. I'm working on writing a review, though, which I will post when it's ready.
I bought a copy of Star Wars Galaxies today. Been hearing about it for weeks from my friend, Don Bailey, who was a beta tester. Check out his blog for screenshots. I'm trying to figure out what I'll cast my character as. It seems that currently, being a tailor is quite lucrative, as people want nice clothes for their characters. I also like that you can train pets. I want a cat-like pet.
Another game I'm really looking forward to is the Warcraft III expansion, which I pre-ordered today. I'm just getting ready to kick butt again. It's been a while since I played.
If you are interested in architecture, check out artist Ricky Boscarino's creative dwelling. The house has a Seussian feel to it. The glass bottles in concrete idea is not new, though. I saw a similar concept in Prince Edward Island when I visited the Bottle Houses/Maisons de Bouteilles.
Posted by Kathy at 04:55 PM | Permalink
June 16, 2003
New Camera, World's First Color Photography, and SARS Art Project
I got a great new camera recently. The Canon S400 digital camera. I know that you serious photographers out there will probably scoff at my choice, but I just wanted a small, convenient camera that I could take everywhere with me. The best thing about this camera is that I actually use it all the time. Maybe I'll include pictures on this site pretty soon.
Speaking of pictures, Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii may have been the first color photographer in history. Sergei was a photographer to Tsar Nicholas II, and was able to photographically document the Russian empire pre-World War I. Although there was no color photography at the time, Sergei intended for his images to be seen in color because he captured each image in three stages, using red, green, and blue filters. The Library of Congress was able to take those composites and combine them to produce color photographs. This exhibit is absolutely fascinating. Too bad it was two years ago.
Another exhibit worth mentioning is the SARS Art Project. The title of the exhibit is self-explanatory. Some of these images are actually quite humorous.
Posted by Kathy at 04:59 PM | Permalink
June 14, 2003
Baran, Fruits Basket, Cocktail Weenie Art, and Community Supported Agriculture
I watched an interesting movie today. The title of the movie was "Baran". The movie is a love story based in Iran, circa 2001. Unlike most love stories, there is very little interaction between the two main characters. Everything is implied. The movie did offer an interesting look at Afghans living and working in Iran, although I thought there were some slow moments in there.
On the anime front, I just finished watching the entire "Fruits Basket" series. This is some of the best anime I've seen in a while, in terms of originality, and I highly recommend it to any anime fan. I think my favorite character is probably Kyo. Momiji is a close second, though.
The fresh produce I've been getting from my CSA share has been excellent so far. There's some luscious looking Swiss chard, Russian red kale, mixed salad greens, and pac choi. I even fed some of the greens to the rabbit that lives in front of my house. I think he agreed with me that the greens were tasty. I also purchased a great new cookbook, "Local Flavors", that bases all recipes on Farmer's Market produce. I chose this book for several reasons: 1) the book is focused on seasonal produce, 2) it is mainly a vegetable-oriented book, and 3) the recipe ingredients are few, and uncomplicated to obtain. I'm enjoying cooking at home a lot more now because the produce is so fresh. In the not too distant past, I would just eat out almost all the time.
I saw this cute web site on cocktail weenie art. You have to see it to believe it. There's even instructions on how to assemble the pieces.
Finally, here's a funny link for all you comic art fans out there.
Posted by Kathy at 05:02 PM | Permalink
June 05, 2003
Little Iron Chefs, Cereal History, and Community Supported Agriculture
If you've watched Iron Chef before, imagine Little Iron Chefs. This is a pizza making contest for little kids. Yes, they're cute, but strawberry jam on pizza? The winning recipe sounds pretty good, though.
While we're on the food tangent, do you know about the history of Kellogg's cereals? Kellogg's is located in Battle Creek, Michigan, which holds a free cereal fest every year. I have to admit that even though I grew up in Michigan, I didn't know the details outlined in this article. Gives me something to think about while eating Frosted Flakes.
I purchased a share of a local community supported agriculture (CSA) today. CSA shares are a great idea because all the produce is grown biodynamically. Because it is economically challenging for a smaller farm to compete with large farming franchises, purchasing a CSA share helps to supply the smaller farm with operating capital. I also like the fact that I'm able to pick up organically grown freshly harvested produce every week. I purchased a share from Piedmont Organics. I plan on writing about the experience as the growing season cycles though, so stayed tuned.
Posted by Kathy at 05:07 PM | Permalink