Random Penguins

Birthday fun

2010-03-18T18:18:00.001-07:00

It was my birthday this past week and I took the day off work (shocking!) to relax and have some fun out and about in the city...since I've been feeling a little cooped up doing nothing but moving and house sitting. After relaxing a bit in the morning I was taken out to lunch at Palisade's, which was a real treat with great food and a view of Elliot Bay.

Then it was off to downtown and the Pike Place Market:

...where I was treated to some beautiful birthday flowers. You can't do better than Pike Place Market flowers, they're the best:

Wandered around a bit and even visited the gum wall. I was especially taken by these mutilated peeps:

...and this graffiti wall including some art by Henry:

After a brief stop to walk and feed the dog it was off to dinner at one of my favorite french food locals, Gainsbourg:

Where you can enjoy some yummy food and drinks while watching movies of Gainsbourg performing:

...or other french movies. They obviously knew it was my birthday cause they played Amélie later that night.

Can't go wrong with French onion soup and a Kir Royal!

I think it was a good time had by all...especially the key monsters!

Spring Flowers

2010-03-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung already in Seattle...we've got flowers blooming everywhere, and for a while now. I've been going on lots of walks recently and finally started carrying around my camera so I could capture some of the blooms:

the magic of youtube

2010-02-05T12:48:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Leah's blog post recently about youtube had me remembering some pretty memorable stuff I've been entertained with on that website...not so much about babies or funny home videos....

Most recently was the Shorecrest High School vs. Shorewood High School lip dub & continuous shot smack down. Shorecrest was first, putting together Outkast's song "Hey Ya" and what looks like the entire high school for our entertainment. And while Shoreline's work is indeed quite entertaining and an interesting tour of their school, the one thing that I came away with was a sad feeling because I noticed that it doesn't look like the students actually have real polaroids in their hands during that section of the song (although I could be wrong, but the shaking of the "polaroids" looked too flimsy and floppy for them to be real and looked instead like sheets of paper). This brought out the photo geek side of me who is so very very very sad that Polaroid went out of business. *tear* Some day soon kids will hear that song on the oldies station and be asking their parents, "What's a polaroid? You mean there were pictures that were made without a digital camera?!?! How would that even work?!?!?!"

Thankfully Shorewood took up the challenge and they created their own lip dub in retaliation. This one definitely got my attention, and I wasn't able to keep from gushing about it for a week. Made me proud that these schools are in Washington State, although we won't talk about why it had to be Shoreline schools rather than Seattle schools that came up with these great creative videos. Come on Seattle high schools!!! Get your butts moving and show Shoreline that you're the best!!! ahem, right...well..back to the lip dubs...all I'll say about Shorewood's work is that it was superb, and you have to also watch the making of. :)

Another fun youtube experience (that has nothing to do with high schools) is watching the stop motion greatness that is Tony vs. Paul. Pure wonderfulness! I could watch that every day all day!

The best thing about my job...

2010-02-04T11:15:00.001-08:00

...is the random presents and gifts we get from time to time from a client who was especially happy with the job we did and the extra mile we try to always go in completing a job.

Today's awesome gift basket that will be devoured at lunch (except for the mangoes which need to ripen more):

2010-01-29T16:52:00.001-08:00

...Feels more like 6 days....ok, so I never ended up posting any more from my trip to Europe over the summer. I'll try and get some pictures together from that and do an abbreviated roundup of the journey for whoever is still reading this (ahem, Dan).

In the mean time I will just apologize, once again, for my lameness. And this time I'm not going to make any promises about keeping up with this blog, because obviously that doesn't help...and instead will be plastering my computer with small yellow sticky notes reminding me to update my blog (photographic evidence to come). And Dan, thanks for the little kick in the butt comment :)

Getting back into the blogging spirit is going to take a bit of time I think, because I really have no idea what to write at the moment...however, I did find some fun pictures when I did a quick peak at what I've got in my photo archive that hasn't gotten any screen time. Plus, one of the pictures is quite relevant as it fits in with a fake holiday that's coming up soon...so enjoy!

uh oh! someone had a bit too much fun...

Be my Valentine?

Europe update...brief

2009-07-28T22:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I´ve been told that I need to update this blog...since we´re leaving Barcelona this morning for France and we don´t know what our internet access will be like the rest of this trip I thought I´d quickly write something up before scarfing down my breakfast and making a run to the train. Man, sorry for the run on sentences but this is going to be a non edited write up.

So, Barcelona has been a blast...Lisa and I can´t believe that our stay here is already over! We saw tons of neat Modernisme architecture and went to the Salvador Dali museum, which apart from the crowds was an amazing place! Highly recommend it! We also saw the black virgin statue at Montserrat Monastery and hiked around the mountain yesterday. We did TONS of people watching from our balcany overlooking the main tourist street, the Rambla and got to recognize all the local characters, from the homeless who sleep on the benches at knight to all the different street peformers.

And that´s just a little of what we´ve been doing and seeing.

I´ll try to update with another blog if I can...pictures will have to wait until I get home...sorry jj!!

Now I have to run!!

I'm still around...

2009-03-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know I'm been super lame about updating this blog recently. I'm trying to get myself back in the swing of things so I changed the look a bit, and here are some pictures I can share from a trip out to Bainbridge Island on the ferry earlier this winter.

Seattle skyline at sunset.

Mt. Rainier with ferry at sunset.

perfect symmetry

2008-06-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

I was reading a french photo blog one day, Zoum Zoum, and the blogger had images by Julien Benhamou up. Julien's symmetry portfolio is all about exploring the "perfection" of a symmetrical body or face. Since Craig and I needed a bit of a destresser at the end of this intense work week we decided to try and copy Julien's idea. So we went down to our imac, took some head shots and then Craig did some flipping and flopping in photoshop to create new versions or our faces with perfect symmetry. So, can you tell which image below is the real me?

SIFF: movie #1

2008-06-03T11:36:00.000-07:00

I have a bit of catching up to do on this blog...but until I can organize some pictures from my last mini vacation here's the first installment of my Seattle International Film Festival movie reviews.

My first film was Island Etude, a movie from Taiwan. It's about a young man named Ming who goes on a bike ride around the outside of the island, along coastal roads. The movie follows Ming on his journey, introducing us to all the interesting characters he meets along the way as well as showing us all the strange random sites that pop up on pilgrimages like this: my favorite being four dogs each on their own skateboards. The director, Chen Huai-En, made this movie after meeting a young man very similar to Ming who was riding around the island by himself. Some of the stories and characters in the film are based on stories this real life Ming recounted and some are made up. The most interesting part was that the person playing Ming in the movie isn't a real actor and on top of that he's deaf...which adds a completely different dimension to the movie. I'll admit that the film was a bit long and slow in some parts, but overall it was what it was, a trek, a pilgrimage dealing with physical endurance and being alone with yourself...while having to suddenly deal with the random characters that pop into your world. Plus I now want to visit Taiwan :)

while in NYC....

2008-03-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

...I'll be posting some blog entries on the joint blog with Janet and Bekah, Aimless Wanderings.

We'll be posting pictures too...so check it out! And thank you Bekah for letting JJ and I take over your laptop to play on the internet and upload our pictures so that we can make these blog entries possible. You're the best! (and I love your keyboard...it's so fun to type on!)

p.s. Leah & Dan, if you guys are reading this I will be in touch soon about trying to see you guys, even if just briefly. Still not sure of what the schedule is like for next week, but will try to figure that all out soon! I can't wait to see you guys again and meet Rascal!

Vacation!

2008-03-27T10:43:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd write a brief blog to say that I'll be going on vacation for two weeks in NYC. I'll try my best to write while I'm over there (JJ, Beks...maybe some joint blogging?). At the very least I'll be be back in a couple of weeks with pictures and hopefully some interesting stories.

Birthday Bonanza

2008-03-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

I celebrated my birthday recently with a happy hour/ice hockey game party and have some pictures to share from the event. I'm just amazed that we didn't get kicked out of the cocktail lounge between everyone dumping out their party bags all over the place and the scavenger hunt that was set up with birds scattered throughout the premises and toys flying every which way. It was a mad house...just the way I like it! These pictures are dedicated to Janet. Wish you could have been there my friend but we'll have fun for your bday with Beks in New York very very soon!

Yay jello cocktails

All decked out.

The Ingy gang!

Jonah, party planner extraordinaire!

Don't know what to say about this...there are just no words ;)

Dream Home

2008-03-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

Angry Little Girls!

2008-03-05T16:39:00.001-08:00

phones for the homeless

2008-02-29T12:13:00.000-08:00

Google announced that they will be handing out free cell phones and free voicemail to all the homeless in San Francisco, working with shelters and homeless outreach programs to distribute the phones. I think this is a fabulous idea and I'm interested to see how it works out. The one thing that was really clear to me when I was volunteering with homeless women was that a big part of their situation was the isolation that being homeless creates. No phone is a big issue in keeping people from being hired for jobs as well as being able to open a bank account (the other issue is no mailing address). And while naturally there will be those people who would use the phones for illegal activity such as running drugs, etc. there will still be others who will truly benefit from this.

What most people don't realize is that a lot of the homeless out there would much rather pick up there lives and get a job, find a stable place to live and be off the streets. It's when they are given the tools they need to break down the walls of isolation that the lack of money creates in this society that these people are then able to lift themselves up. Simple things like clean clothes, showers, free medical attention, computer and internet access, help with writing a resume and yes, phones...a means of communication with the rest of this fast paced society that is more interested in making sure that they take care of themselves. Who cares about anyone else, right? Me, me, me. The matra of our consumer driven society.

Duh

2008-02-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

At least someone is saying something against the treatment of Palestine by Israel on a global level. It would be nice to have some action as well rather than just talk.

I'm still here!

2008-02-21T14:17:00.000-08:00

It feels like forever since I last posted...sorry! But I'm back and I've got a couple of days worth of pics to share from last night and last weekend. I'll start with last night...went out with my friend Sarah who is visiting Seattle and caught the lunar eclipse from gasworks park. I didn't get any good pictures of the moon, but I had some fun with the skyline:

Next I've got pics from snowshoeing on monday...that was a ton of fun! I went with my coworker, Craig, and his dog...my godpup...Guinness. We managed to make it out of the mountains alive without getting eaten up by any avalanches...so that was a good thing. We also didn't get eaten up by any sasquatches, but mainly cause we had Guinney with us who scared the sasquatch away by barking his head off at one point. And man was there a lot of snow up in the mountains! For those who are curious we were in the Cascades attempting to climb up to Lake Annette...but we didn't make it...making your own trail in the mountains on snow shoes is a lot more tiring than normal hiking, let me tell you!

Such a handsome pup!

Here be old avalanche debris

That's right, there was so much snow the road signs were covered up.

And now my last batch of pics...just a few more I promise. I went out to Port Angeles and Sequim with my good friend Lisa and her parents for a tour of some wine tastings. I think my favorite winery was Lost Mountain...it's hidden away up in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains so you can sip wine outside on their deck while surrounded by moss covered trees and slight views of the mountains through the branches. We also had some fun walking around the beach in Sequim and then had dinner at the Three Crabs Restaurant which reminded me of my grandmother because i think the last time I ate there was with her..which was a bittersweet memory...I'll start you off with a silly pic from the ferry ride over to the Olympic peninsula:

United we stand...maybe

2007-10-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

I was catching up on my reading of the (Notes on) Politics, Theory & Photography blog where there was a link to this Harper's Magazine article. In this article it discusses the merits of a general strike in this country on Election Day, November 6th. The idea being that a general strike would then force the Bush government out. But the article is interesting to read because it is bold in it's description of our society's complete lack of interest in politics and how our country is being run and the decisions that are being made in our name. So read this article...good food for thought.

Summer in the Fall

2007-10-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

So even though it's almost the end of October the weather has been pretty warm in a lot of the country...the east has been seeing temps in 70's (even though this is the time when they usually have their first frost if not first snow)...and now Seattle is having some of that warm weather. Today it's in the lower 70's and feels like summer even though the leaves are all changing. It's wonderful to be able to see bright orange and red leaves with the backdrop of a perfectly blue sky...not something we're used to here in Seattle. Of course the downside of all this warm weather here in the west can be seen if you check the news at all with images from the inferno that has enveloped southern California.

walk abouts

2007-10-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Because of the photography scavenger hunts that I've been on I'm carrying my camera around with me a lot more as I walk around town...and taking some random pictures...here are two that I took the other day on my way home after work.

Orange

2007-10-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

The next installment of the photography scavenger hunt is up online at the aimless wanderings blog. So check it out for lots of orange fun!

JJ the camera-head

2007-10-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

What a big eye you have...

True Blue

2007-10-03T10:01:00.000-07:00

Wanting to do some sort of activity with friends who live in different parts of the country is difficult...however, JJ, Beks and I are attempting just that with a photography scavenger hunt! Our first assignment was to photography blue things. We've taken our pictures and today's the day for the Blue Reveal! Ahem, except the other two won't have time to post their pictures on their blogs until this evening, so I'm a bit early. oh well, enjoy!

So here's some blue trivia along with some blue pictures: Ever wonder why a bride needs "something blue"...well, apparently to the early Israelites, blue was a symbol for love fidelity and purity (which is why most old paintings of the Madonna show her wearing blue).

A bit of science, blue light has the shortest wavelength range.

Here's a brave model who agreed to let me photograph her for this mad scheme...thanks Jonah, you're gorgeous all in blue!

The blue color, Azure, is the national color of Italy (the color of the former royal family).

In the Hindu tradition, those who are divine are blue. As a example would be the god Krishna.

And one last blue tidbit..in Japanese blue is "aoi" means innocence and inexperience.

You gotta love stubbornness

2007-10-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

She's my neighborhood hero too.

Mountain Day

2007-09-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

It's that time again....when I am actually feel jealous for all those little kiddies who are students at Mount Holyoke College...the one day I wish I still went to school there...cause today is Mountain Day. The bell tolls, and the students at MHC are currently enjoying a beautiful surprise day off classes...meanwhile the rest of us still have to be at work out here in the real world. Man I miss that bubble sometimes...could use some milk and cookies too!

Oktoberfest 2007

2007-09-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Fremont held it's Oktoberfest this past weekend, and of course I had to go and check out the Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving Contest. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling well on Saturday, so I only went on Sunday...but it was still excellent and a ton of fun. And of course I took some pictures of flying pumpkin guts to share with you all. Please enjoy:

Here was the first contestant...his pumpkin was pretty good, my second favorite of the group.

Then there was the flying viking. Got a pretty good shot of spraying pumpkin guts on this one.

This guy wasn't too bad, although I enjoyed his lumberjack outfit better than the carving. It would have been better if he had broken out in song, "I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok..."

My favorite pumpkin of the lot...and the overall winner.

Then there was the politician, Joe Szwaja, who carved one but didn't stick around for the voting at the end...but that could have been cause he also needed more practice at carving with a chainsaw.

At the end the MC butchered a pumpkin just for the fun of it and to try to get the kids in the front row just a little bit more pumpkin covered. And speaking of the MC...in all my pictures I got some really funny expressions...and couldn't help myself:

Talk Like A Pirate Day

2007-09-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

Ahoy! It's National Talk Like A Pirate Day me maties! Arrrr! So don't be a lubber, grab some grog and watch out for the bilge rats of the world!

Injustice

2007-07-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

I was just reading some articles on Truthout while eating lunch and I just had to post a link to one of them concerning a small town in Louisiana and the flagrant racism there:

Injustice in Jena as Nooses Hang from the "White Tree"

While this article is highly depressing, I think it's really important that people know that this sort of thing is going on all the time around this country. On the one hand you have young African American star football players going to prison for 22 years because they punched a white kid and got into a fight...meanwhile, Scooter Libby...who lied under oath to cover up serious crimes gets a reprieve from Bush so that he doesn't have to do jail time...and Bush still might pardon him 100%. It makes me sick.

In any case, read the article or at least skim through it.

It's summer!

2007-06-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

Forget the summer solstice, the real way you know it's summer in Fremont is when the outdoor movies start up...which was this past weekend (although I didn't realize this until just today). Here's the line-up for this summer...I really can't wait for some of these, like the twisted flicks (where Jet City Improve takes over the dialogue and sound effects to B movies...they're great!)

So if you're in Seattle, or coming to visit (*cough* JJ or Leah *cough*) check out the schedule and let me know if y'all want to see any movies with me!

Good Old Fashioned Summer Fun in Fremont
2007 Seattle Summer Schedule



	Saturday, June 23 - Movie: Fiend without a Face - TWISTED FLICK - Disguise Yourself Night



	Saturday, June 30 - Movie: Airplane! - Disaster Night



	Saturday, July 7 - Movie: The Neverending Story - Fantasy Night



	Saturday, July 14 - Movie: Santa Claus - TWISTED FLICK - Christmas in July!



	Saturday, July 21 - Movie: An Inconvenient Truth - Save the World Night



	Saturday, July 28 - Movie: This is Spinal Tap - Rock and Roll Night



	Saturday, August 4 - Movie: Moulin Rouge - Green Fairy Night



	Saturday, August 11 - Movie: Cat-Women on the Moon - TWISTED FLICK - Space Alien Night



	Saturday, August 18 - Movie: Casino Royale (2006) - Bond Night



	Saturday, August 25 - Movie: The Princess Bride - Storybook Night



	Saturday, September 1 - Movie: Dreamgirls - Showtunes Night



	Saturday, September 8 - Movie: She Demons - TWISTED FLICK - B-Movie Night



	Saturday, September 15 - Movie: The Sound of Music - Pre-Oktoberfest Night

Solstice Party

2007-06-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Summer solstice is fast approaching this week (although you wouldn't be able to guess that summer was on it's way based on the weather in Seattle). Fremont hosted it's celebration of summer this past weekend with the Fremont Solstice Parade and Fair. I also hosted my own celebration...a pre-parade/birthday breakfast party for Ali. It was a lot of fun with crepes and mask making. I've included some examples of the wonderful works of art that were created and then worn down to the parade. We lucked out weather wise that day because it didn't rain, and in fact the sun came out for most of the parade! I guess it helped that the parade was shorter this year...and there were no steel drums :( in fact the music overall was lacking in funk and good beats...except for a great rock band float, they were pretty good. Well, enjoy the masks...i'll try to post some pics of the parade soon...but look for them on the other blog I contribute to: aimless wanderings cubed.

Also, I cannot forget to thank Naomi for these pics...she did an awesome job documenting our crazy masks :-)

Free Art!

2007-06-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

The Henry Art Gallery is celebrating it's 80th year and is opening it's doors all summer for free...80 free days to celebrate 80 years. So if you're in the Seattle area between today and Labor Day, be sure to stop in at the Henry to check out some contemporary art or just stare up at the sky in the Turrell Skyspace.

Moving on....

2007-05-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the Norwegian parade in Ballard on the 17th. A great time was had by all...especially the people standing around our small group of trouble makers. For those of you who have never been a Ballard parade it's important to know that Ballardites are very proper, sombre and quiet at these types of events (which is why Fremont is better). And then there are those crazies who start making lots of noise, clapping and shouting and generally carrying on...that would be oonams and friends. My dad was even there, clapping REALLY loud whenever he especially liked a float or drill team performance...meanwhile, no one else around us was emitting a single squeak, let along whisper. Great fun!

I Heart SIFF

2007-05-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again! The Seattle International Film Festival is gearing up and getting ready to begin! The schedule comes out today and for the next couple of days members will get first dibs on tickets (which I am one of this year....finally I don't have to freak out about buying my tickets the second they come on sale for the general public, just to be sure that I get into my top film choices!). The best part is that there are a lot of French films this year...including Paris je t'aime, which I have been waiting to see for ages now! I haven't had a chance to look over the entire schedule yet (I have to work after all)...but I'll post a more detailed list of what looks good to me later on once I've had to time to peruse the full schedule. And if anyone out there has any suggestions for me, by all means send them my way!

Georgia Does Not Rule

2007-05-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

Here's just a quick post to let y'all know that the film "Georgia Rule" is a terrible terrible movie. Don't bother going to see it...especially don't bother paying money to see it. Granted I didn't really read anything about it before seeing a pre-screening last night, but I was under the assumption that it was a comedy...some sort of feel good thing where three generations of women in a family work out their differences and come together with lots of laughter and merriment for the audience. Um...not quite. It's sort of like that, but add in a really bitchy Lindsey Lohan who was basically playing herself in the movie...and then add in a story line about Lohan's character having been sexually molested by her stepfather (who happens to be Westley from Princess Bride....he's not supposed to be the bad guy!!! Even if he has added a few pounds since his "asssss yoooouuuuuu wiiiiiissssshhhhhh" days). Anyway, the whole thing was terrible...even though I will fully admit that there were some scenes that were funny, and that kept me engaged. But really, I could only stand so much of the weird acting, editing and overall strange handling of the sexual abuse storyline. I went with Jonah to see the film, and we both agreed that overall the stepfather totally got away with being a skeezy bad guy and wasn't even punished for his crimes! In fact it seemed like the movie was placing the blame on the women in the film for the stepfather's criminal acts!!! Not cool. Really, really not cool!!!

So yeah, don't go see this movie.

Happy May Day!

2007-05-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

In celebration of the first day of May I've included some pictures of Lilly of the Valley flowers to share with you all. Since I can't give all of my friends the flower itself as a celebration of May Day you'll all just have to do with looking at a picture of them. And for all of you who like to study botany I've included the image below (thanks wikipedia). I'm very sad, however, on this 1st day of May, because usually I can pick Lilly of the Valley from my garden...but apparently the plants were either accidentally dug up...the squirrel got them...or the other plants suffocated them...but we no longer can find the flowers! So sad!!! I tried to buy some new plants but so far all I've found are the stupid little miniature pink variety. booo! Oh well, I guess I'll have to look harder next year. And for those of you out there that have today off in celebration of Labor Day, enjoy!

The results are in

2007-04-23T13:38:00.001-07:00

All I have to say after the first round of voting is:

Non Sarko, Oui Sego!

4 times the fun!

2007-04-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

I got a great gift from my dad this year for my birthday....a four lens lomography camera! I had quite a bit of fun using it at my birthday party, and wandering around Fremont. I'm still getting used to using it since it's basically like a box with four lens...no flash...nothing. Picked up some 800 speed film (FILM...what the hell is that anyway?!?!?!) so that should help out some. Anyway, here are some examples to titillate the masses....ENJOY!

aimless wanderings cubed

2007-03-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

yimfay, wunderhund and I have merged our brains into one cohesive blogging element. Hmm, that sounds weird. What I meant was that we have joined forces to write on one single blog. I'll still be writing here, but check out our new space as well for more random things to read:

aimless wanderings cubed

And as soon as I get around to downloading some pictures I'll have a new entry for this blog as well! Promise!

Moisture Festival

2007-03-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the best time at this great event that happens a stones throw from my house every year (and to which I have never gone before last night cause apparently I'm lame). Anyway, this fun time to which I have alluded was at the Moisture Festival, which takes place in the back of Hales Brewery every year in March. It's this great evening of comedy, music and variety show.

My favorite act was Godfrey Daniels (see the above image). He totally reminded me of my childhood on Linden Ave. when we used to have our street parties (the birth of the Fremont Solstice Parade). We used to have big puppets like him that would wander around during the street parties. Those were some great times. The other fun connection between those parties and last night was that there were quite a few faces in the audience last night that I remember from my childhood...it was like we had all gotten back together again after all these years :-)

For anyone in Seattle who hasn't been to the Moisture Festival before (like me), I highly recommend it!! So check it out!

Examples of Spring

2007-03-07T12:08:00.000-08:00

I realized that I needed to post some pictures to prove that spring really is here...so on my walk in to work this morning I got some shots (even though the sun is now gone and it's raining again..but that's ok since it's still relatively warm and not super freezing like in New England today). So here are some flowers for you all to look at, enjoy!

Spring!!!

2007-03-06T14:24:00.000-08:00

Spring is here! The temps are in the 60's today in Seattle...all the cherry blossoms are in full bloom and the spring flowers are starting to bloom. The sun is out, the skies are blue and it's really really really hard to be at work right now in our dark cave of a studio. We have the front doors wide open, but that kind of makes it worse since then the beautiful weather seems just out of reach. The sun is mocking me!!

Even though I'm stuck inside, I still have to say that this weather rocks! I remember when I was on the east coast at MHC and my parents would call me around this time of year while there was still winter weather all around me and they would start listing off all the flowers in bloom in our garden. It used to kill me! They were so mean. New England definitely has the best fall season...but the lack of spring always made me sad. I can deal with the rain and cloudiness as long as I know that we'll be getting these kinds of days...not to mention the incredible summers :-)

Sasquatch!!!

2007-03-03T10:56:00.000-08:00

I just purchased tickets for the Sasquatch Music Festival at the gorge on May 26th! So excited cause I'll FINALLY get to see Manu Chao perform live!!! Can't wait!!! There are other groups I'm thrilled to get to see live such as Bjork and Arcade of Fire...but really the only reason I'm going is to see Manu Chao...Bongo Bong Baby! ;-)

Some Guinness Fun

2007-02-15T12:39:00.000-08:00

And no, I'm not talking about the beer...I mean Guinness, Super Dog! He has finally updated his blog with some Valentine's Day pictures...so check it out!

Cupid Vomited On My Desk!*

2007-02-14T12:46:00.000-08:00

As my friends know, I don't like pink...and I'm not one of those who likes all the hearts and flowers of Valentine's Day. Too Girly. Which is why when I walked into work this morning the first thing I said was not a cheerful "hello" but instead was a four lettered profanity beginning with an s ending with hit. There are no words for what my desk looked like this morning...you'll have to just admire it yourselves. Unfortunately my dazed reaction to what I discovered upon getting to work is immortalized on camera because Craig was soooo sweet (NOT!) and hid a video camera and caught every single swear word and glazed over look. No, JJ...this video WILL NOT GO ON YOUTUBE.COM!!! And as for you, Josh...you got me good this time..but could we just stick with roses in the future? Actually don't even bother answering that question, I already know what you'll say. *sigh*

*Ali's description...not mine, however I felt it was quite fitting.

lime in da coconut

2007-02-07T11:51:00.000-08:00

Youtube.com is an evil evil site...hours can be spent watching video after video. However, there are some really great videos to be found. One that I just found is the original video made to the lime in the coconut song by Harry Nilsson. I recommend you all check it out for a good laugh and enjoyment. Harry Nilsson was brilliant...absolutely brilliant :-) Be sure that you watch it all the way through...my favorite part is at the very end with the coconut.

Things we learned in Hong Kong*

2007-01-29T12:34:00.000-08:00

*Please see the other half of this list on yimfay's blog

1. Beware of Stairs
3. Skinny girls have jiggly legs.
5. Puffy pantaloon shorts are in (the ones made from jeans are extra gross).
7. Guys in HK like/have "messy" hair.
9. KFC is everywhere...seriously, everywhere!
11. When entering the subway you walk on the left (cars drive on the left too).
13. There are glass wall barriers in the subway so that no one will fall in the gap (phew!)
15. You'd better know how to use chopsticks...or else.
17. Toothpicks are everywhere...and are used after every meal.

Snowshoeing!!!

2007-01-29T12:10:00.000-08:00

Craig, from work put together a snowshoeing outing over the weekend...which was SO MUCH FUN! I am now completely addicted to snowshoeing. In fact I'm going to have to purchase some for myself! It's just so great to be able to go hiking up in the mountains in winter and not have to worry about falling through the snow or slipping and sliding down hills. We went out with a pretty good sized group, I think there were seven of us and two dogs (Guinness, of course, and Ali's dog Sam) and we went up the Denny Creek Trail. We didn't quite make it up to the top of the trail, which brings you up to an alpine lake, but we did see a beautiful creek and pretty big waterfall. We also had lunch on a large snow field which was pretty spectacular. One of the best parts of the day was coming back down the mountain cause it turns out that Ali is just as crazy as I am...we both love racing down after a hike! And with our snowshoes we were able to run down the ice and snow without fear of falling..it was AWESOME!!! So of course, now we're starting to talk about the next snowshoeing adventure :-) But this time we're thinking of going off trail. Can't wait!! In the mean time here are some pictures from this latest outing:

Ali and Sam:

Some waterfall action:

The snow was a wee bit deep...this is a foot bridge across the stream, just to give you an idea of what we were walking on:

The group hiking up the trail before we needed snowshoes:

Craig on the BIG snowfield where we stopped:

The Soccer People

2007-01-25T12:56:00.000-08:00

I was just eating my lunch and reading some articles online when I came across this one by one of my favorite bloggers: Rootless Cosmopolitan

It's awesome, and if any of you follow international sports, especially soccer (or football as the rest of the world calls it) you should enjoy this article as much as I did.

Duh!

2007-01-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

This cartoon brought to you by David Horsey and today's issue of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

more snow

2007-01-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

Woke up to a winter wonderland in my neighborhood this morning. We got more snow early this morning, but the surprise part is that Fremont got about two or three inches! Normally I don't get any snow at my house, when the rest of the city gets a couple of inches Fremont and Ballard get just a dusting since we're right at sea level. Although, apparently my house is up a bit higher than Ballard cause as I walked in to work this morning there was less and less snow the closer I got to the studio. Took some pictures on my way in...while there wasn't a lot of accumulation, the dinosaur and flamingos at Archie McPhee's were looking a bit chilled with their blanket of white. And while this latest snow fall is nothing compared to the storm hitting the east, it's still a lot more than we usually get. But by this afternoon or evening, I'm sure all this snow will be gone. The temps are supposed to finally get back up into the 40's later today and it's supposed to rain...so bye bye snow!

Surprise! This one's for Dan:

2007-01-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of reading material on this blog. I've been super busy, then I was on vacation, then I was busy again dealing with work. And I've also just been plain lazy. But I'll do my best to be better at posting on this blog...and I'll try to get Guinness to update his blog as well for anyone that checks out his site.

Anyway, to try and motivate myself to post more often I thought I'd get some new pictures up (cause I'm sure everyone is sick of seeing the same ones for the past several months).

These were taken on a recent hike up around Tiger Mountain. It was a great hike, and a really beautiful day with blue skies and sunshine. I will admit to complaining about how much "up" there was in the hike...Josh, be sure to read the elevation gain a bit more carefully next time. ;-) But the view and the snow at the top was worth all the pain. We started the hike with the regular lush green forest of Western Washington:

But the more we climbed up the more snow started piling up. By the top this is what it was like:

And from the very top we could see the Olympic Mountains in the distant west (the really small lumps in this picture):

Plus there were the rest of the Cascades to the east, and their foothills:

This is why I love Washington, even if the current weather is pissing me off...you east coasters can really take back your weather now...please! I miss having the ability to walk around without a coat during most of the winter!

some pics for a friend

2006-10-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

So, I promised a friend of mine that I would post some pictures for her to see on this blog. So all of the rest of you, sorry, but you'll have to deal with seeing these pictures as well. And no, I'm sure you won't understand what they're all about...but that's ok, cause you're not supposed to. But I wanted to be sure that my dear friend who is in India can get the chance to see some friendly faces from home. So there we go. :-)

trikes!

2006-10-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

On my walk to work this morning I passed by a really interesting site. Outside the front of a building in Ballard there was a wall being erected with rocks, and interspersed in the rock wall were small tricycles! It was just too random..had to take a picture and post on this blog.

Happy Mountain Day!

2006-09-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

If I was still at Mount Holyoke, I would NOT be in class today. Why? you non-MHCers may be asking? Well, because it's Mountain Day...that one precious day that we all yearned for from the start of classes in the fall, when the abbey church bells would start going off bright and early in the morning to announce that classes for the day were canceled so that we might all go out and climb a mountain. Although, to be perfectly honest I never went and climbed Mt. Holyoke on Mountain Day...I did at another time...but usually I spent Mountain Day relaxing and enjoying that there were no classes. And if I got really lucky and Mountain Day fell on a day when a paper was due then I usually spent the day in a happy haze of euphoria that I had more time to work on and finish said paper :-)

If only we alums could continue the tradition of Mountain Day in our work environments...how great would that be?!?! But instead I'm stuck inside at work on a gorgeous Seattle fall day with temps in the upper 70's, blue skies and bright sunshine. It's just so sad...so very, very sad.

Instead of pictures from a hike today...I've included some pics from a hike I did a week or so ago to Lake Serene (including a tree that was on the trail that I fell in love with).

Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving!!!

2006-09-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was Oktoberfest in Fremont...and my favorite part of the Fremont Oktoberfest took place: the Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving contest!!!! Love it! So much fun! And of course I went to both days of the event and took a million pictures (which made choosing a few for this blog kind of difficult).

For those of you who have never heard of Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving, it's basically where you care a pumpkin with a chainsaw. This process creates great entertainment with a combination of factors: lots of loud noise, spraying pumpkin guts and wacky personalities.

Here are some pictures from the carving contest, cause it's hard to describe and much better to see visuals to get the full impact:

The winner from the first day (and my favorite from both days):

It's all about Beckham...

2006-08-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

...and soccer, I suppose. Went to the Real Madrid vs. D.C. United game last night, and was one of the 68,000 spectators who were drooling over Beckham. Lisa and I both were insanely jealous of the little girl who got to walk out with Beckham when the players were announced...he held her hand and draped his arms on her shoulders the entire time. *swoon* The above picture is from the warm up before the game. Beckham is the one in front with his back to the camera, wearing those awesome blue shoes (that he wore during the World Cup as well...I love those shoes!). The game itself was pretty awesome as well. It was an interesting experience to be in an almost sold out stadium for a soccer game, and then to have EVERYONE cheering for both teams. The final score was 1-1 and there were some really great shots on goal. I felt really bad for Freddy Adu, the 17 year old on D.C. United, because all the older players were tripping him, hitting him, and the ref was against him the entire time. He seemed to be a bit frustrated about that...not that I blame him.

Anyway, I tried getting some more shots of Beckham, but the only way I could get anything descent was to use my digital zoom...which created some funky pixelized photos...so I decided to have some fun in photoshop:

This one is a fun one with brush strokes over the image.

And then Beckham in color pencil.

And last but not least...Beckham under plastic wrap!

Coup de Boule

2006-08-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

So I read an article on the BBC online today that was talking about this song that has been sweeping France. It's called "Coup de Boule" or Headbutt, and it's by La Plage. Apparently the recording company, La Plage, made up this song as a joke right after Zidane headbutted the Italian and then proceeded to help lose the game because he didn't play. This little joke of a song, though, became a huge success and now is played on all the radio stations and all the beaches :-)

After reading this article I, of course, became quite curious to hear the song for myself. I found it online...and I have to say, for any of you who understands French, you must check out the music video at the link below (click on the link for "clip de Coup de Boule)...too funny! And even if you don't understand French I think you'd still find it funny. Enjoy!

La Plage Records

Pirates!

2006-07-31T16:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday night was the Seattle Seafair Torchlight parade downtown. It was a lot of fun with tons of wild little kids running around like puppies and clowns and pirates (did I mention pirates...yes, there were pirates). I had a bit too much fun taking funky pictures in between laughing fits. And here are some of my favorites for your viewing pleasure! See if you can tell what the subjects of the photos are!

Relaxing Doe Bay

2006-07-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

I love the San Juan Islands! Spent a prolonged weekend at a hippie resort called Doe Bay on Orcas Island and came back feeling totally relaxed and wishing that I could spend the rest of my life up in the islands. It's so great how as soon as you get on the ferry at Anacortes everything else just falls away...the only things that become important are the water, the weather and food. All I did over the weekend was eat yummy food (there's a new cafe at Doe Bay that serves incredibly delicious vegetarian food and really good Kire), sleep and nap in the shade, stare out at the water (the view seen below), read lots and lots (got a great book about soccer called, How Soccer Explains the World, by Franklin Foer), some hiking under really green trees and last but certainly not least: spending lots of time in the hot tub and sauna at Doe Bay...which also has an incredible view of the bay.

The whole weekend reaffirmed my wish to some day run my own bed and breakfast...I think that would be so great! I would love to try and create an environment, like at Doe Bay, where people feel totally pampered and relaxed. I mean, at Doe Bay I was camping, sleeping in a tent, but everything about the place from the nice showers, the hot tub, the great restaurant and the public kitchen made the entire camping experience feel more like some sort of luxury camping resort. Now I want to do that, but in a bed and breakfast environment...and maybe up in the islands. I'll just have to keep dreaming.

Allez les Blues!!!!

2006-07-05T15:27:00.000-07:00

I don't believe it!!! France won against Portugal today, which places then in the final World Cup game against Italy! The blue team is playing against the other blue team! I'm soooo excited!!! Party at my house for the final on Sunday!

mutant animals

2006-06-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

So I've been trying to get my pictures together from the Fremont Solstice Parade to post them on this blog, but haven't had the time to go through them yet to pick the best ones...in the mean time I do have some other pictures that I can post for y'alls viewing pleasure. These images were not taken by my camera...they were in fact forwarded to me, and I just couldn't resist not sharing them. So enjoy! And if you want to see more, let me know and I can forward them all to you :-)

Parkour

2006-06-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

Parkour Craze Reaches New Heights

The above is an article from the BBC about the street art called Parkour that involves jumping from rooftop to rooftop, scaling walls and basically some pretty cool feats of acrobatics. I recently saw a French action movie called District B-13:

District B-13 official website

which features this new street sport, and I totally fell in love with the it. I know that I could never pull off being able to do these stunts myself, but I love watching others do it....the fluidity, grace and seeming ease of it is really awesome. Not to mention that the moves are just plain hot. One of the two guys who started Parkour in the suburbs of Paris will be featured in the new James Bond movie, and there are several documentaries that have been made about the sport. If you'd like to see more, here are some websites that I found with a quick google search:

Parkour::Free Running

le Parkour

Urban Free Flow

Foiled Again

2006-06-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

I think that the boulangerie in Wallingford has something against me...over the past year I have been trying to get some of my favorite tasty treats from there, but every single time I manage to get there...THEY'RE CLOSED! One time if was because they were on vacation, one time it was a Monday which is their one day of the week off, but all the other times it has been during their open hours on their open days...but they've been closed! Like this morning for example: I was in desperate need for some comfort food cause I had a lonely night last night without Guinness (my dog sitting duties are on pause because Uncle Richard took him up to the farm for a few days). So I decided that what would make me really happy would be a brioche aux amandes, or really any tasty treat at the boulangerie. So I walk over before having to catch the bus in to work....and they were CLOSED!!! *gasp* I think they knew I was coming and closed up to continue this mean game they have going on here.

*sigh* I have such fond memories of that boulangerie from when I was a kid...my parents and I used to get Sunday breakfast there every week for years. It's actually the best place to get French bread and pastries in town. They're not super sweet like some places, and much more authentic in how they're made.

One of these days I'll trick that boulangerie into being open for me! Maybe I'll just keep going by every day and until they let me in. hmmm, must plot and plan.

How to watch the World Cup

2006-06-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

I read TomDispatch from time to time...and today there was an article by Tony Karon entitled "How to Watch the World Cup: Politics and War by Other Means." It's a great article with great stories about the importance of the World Cup to all countries (except the USA). It's a bit long, but I highly recommend reading even just a portion of it, it covers a bit of everything:

TomDispatch: Tony Karon

And here's a great quote from that article:

"From contemporary geopolitical and cultural conflicts (or their historic echoes) to the impact of globalization, the World Cup offers a real-time snapshot of the state of our world."

I then, of course, had to look up Tony Karon's blog, Rootless Cosmopolitan, and here's the link to his World Cup commentary:

What do they of football know who only football know

Happy Art Is Fun

2006-06-05T12:14:00.000-07:00

I'm back online after our modem crashed at work...that was difficult. However did we live life before the internet came along? Ditto for cell phones.

Anyway, I had some fun this weekend going through some old art material I had stashed away...and found some pretty funny mementos from my past. But the only person who will understand is Leah...and possibly Beks:

Hidden away between scraps of art paper was an ad for a French movie featuring a guy on a bike...taped over his head was the head of Legolas...and taped over the name of the movie was the slogan "Happy Art Is Fun". And then a few minutes later I found some other treasures...figures from a Buffy the Vampire Slayer game, all with talk bubbles wishing me happy birthday in true Buffy fashion. That's right Leah, I still have those little guys...and had a good laugh upon finding them again!

movie update

2006-05-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

So far I've seen three movies at SIFF, and for the most part they've all been great. And for now my favorite is Expiration Date, which I saw on Saturday. For anyone who loves quirky comedies and like making fun of death...this is the movie for you. Especially cool (as far as I'm concerned) is the fact that the film was shot entirely in Seattle (cameo appearances for the troll and Waiting for the Interurban...also featured quite a bit is Ballard Ave.)

I also saw Russian Dolls which was pretty good...Xavier super annoying, but he's supposed to be...and I wish that more of the characters from l'Auberge Espagnol had bigger parts in this movie. But overall it was great to finally see something happen between Xavier and Wendy. And it was so obviously a French movie...and no JJ, this does not mean that everybody died at the end...just that there was lots of nudity. There's this one scene where...well, I'll keep that a secret for anyone who wants to see the film :-) Plus, seeing Paris again, even if on film, was awesome.

And the last movie I saw this weekend was Princess Raccoon...I've been finding it a bit hard to describe this film...it's a musical, filmed primarily on stage sets...and it's a sort of fairy tale about a princess of magical woodland creatures and a human prince (whose father wants to kill him off) who fall in love. There were some great dance numbers (and by great I mean incredibly silly), but one of my favorite scenes is when the king is trying to kill Princess Raccoon on a beach (one of the few scenes not on a set)...but all the dialogue was dubbed in and they didn't use any of the sounds from the surf or wind...so you see a beach with waves and obviously lots of wind pulling at clothing, but you don't hear any of it. Very strange...but then the entire movie was strange.

Seattle

2006-05-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a neat website with photographs of Seattle...they're 360 degree images and very fun (but beware, you might get dizzy if you spin the images too fast):

VR Seattle

The present or the past?

2006-05-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

From the today's Seattle PI, cartoon by David Horsey.

SIFF

2006-05-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

I bought tickets for the Seattle international Film Festival yesterday...in case anyone might be going, here are the movies I'll be seeing:

Expiration Date (already posted about this one...can't wait to see it!)
Russian Dolls (this is a sort of sequel to l'Auberge Espagnol)
Princess Raccoon (Japanese, and I guess it's a musical..we'll see)
Carmen in Khayelitsha (South African and based on an opera)
Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas (this just looks silly)
Vishwa Thulasi (need to get my Indian movie fix)
No. 2 (from New Zealand)
the Valet (and I also need my French movie fix)
What Remains (documentary about the photographer Sally Mann...this one should be excellent)

Can't wait to see these movies :-) I love SIFF, but I wish that it wasn't just once a year...sigh. Or I guess I wish that we got more international movies as general releases instead of having to wait for film festivals to see them.

football! (not american football..the real game)

2006-05-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

In a little less than a month the World Cup of soccer, or football as the rest of the world calls it, will begin. Then it will be one solid month of intense competition. I'm already starting to get excited...and at work Richard and I have been checking out the FIFA website for updates and looking at slide shows. I've even already found a local pub in my neighborhood where I will be able to go and watch the games. Here is the website in case any of you want to check out the teams or the game schedules:

FIFA World Cup

And I also have to post two of my favorite pictures that I nabbed from the slide show:

This impressive looking guy is the Czech team's head coach, Karel Bruckner. Doesn't he look like some sort of warrior king getting ready for a major battle?

And to contrast the intense Czech coach, here's another pic that is a bit more in the realm of the silly, gee...I wonder, do you think a lot of guys watch football?

court jester

2006-05-05T17:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right...I'm going to take a minute to join all the many others talking about Stephen Colbert's monologue at the White House Correspondents' dinner. If you have been living under a rock over the last week, here's a site that has video of the event:

Thank You Stephen Colbert

I wish I could have been there...I think it would have been vastly amusing to listen to Colbert roast Bush and the media right to their faces. To see the media squirm in their seats and laugh nervously or not at all and the watch Bush try to keep up and understand what's really being said. "Wait, is he making fun of me, or is he really praising me?" But really, what were they expecting when they invited Colbert themselves...have they never watched his show?

Here's another link for y'all. It's to an article in the Seattle PI:

Why Stephen Colbert is my hero

Expiration Day

2006-05-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

So I learned about what looks to be a great movie over the weekend that encompasses all the feelings I went through when I turned 25...basically that my life was over cause I'm old now...only I didn't have a milk truck trying to run me over :-)

Anyway, it's an independent film, shot in Seattle and looks perfectly goofy...I can't wait to see it:

Expiration Day

And this makes sense how?

2006-04-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

Exxon's $8B 1Q profit is 5th highest ever

It's amazing to me that the oil companies are getting away with this right now. Are people not outraged enough by these numbers compared to gas prices these days? And don't even get me started on what Bush came up with a few days ago for his plan to lower gas prices.

Shoshone Land Rights

2006-04-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

For anyone with an interest in native american issues and their fight against government practices and laws, this is an interesting article...and of course it's from The Sunday Times Magazine UK and not from some US magazine or paper.

Defiance in the Land of the Free

impeachment

2006-04-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042406B.shtml

Who knows? It just might work.

too true

2006-04-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

Fremont Outdoor Movies

2006-04-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

OK people, I just found out that the list of movies for the outdoor films in fremont is out! So for those of you in Seattle, time to start filling in your calendars cause you know that I'll be trying to drag y'all to see my favorites! And they have some awesome films on the list this year! Without further ado:

Good Old Fashioned Summer Fun in Fremont
2006 Seattle Summer Schedule

Saturday, June 24th - Movie: Kung Fu Hustle

Saturday, July 1st - Movie: Shrek 2

Saturday, July 8th - Movie: Black Scorpion

Saturday, July 15th - Movie: Labyrinth

Saturday, July 22nd - Movie: Shaun of the Dead

Saturday, July 29th - Movie: Grease

Saturday, August 5th - Movie: The Manster

Saturday, August 12th - Movie: March of the Penguins

Saturday, August 19th - Movie: Bend it like Beckham

Saturday, August 26th - Movie: It! The Terror from OuterSpace

Saturday, September 2nd - Movie: King Kong

Of course if you know me at all you should be able to guess which ones will be my must sees...Kung Fu Hustle, Labyrinth, Shaun of the Dead, March of the Penguins, Bend it like Beckham...and then three the of the above movies will be Twisted Flicks so I'll also have to go to at least one of those...I'm thinkig maybe It! The Terror from OuterSpace (cause I'm almost 100% sure that one will be a Twister Flick..and for those that don't know what I'm talking about..the Twisted Flicks are when Jet City Improve members perform all the dialogue, soudeffects and music for the film and all original sounds from the film are taken out...hilarious good times).

hmm...well...uh....riiiiight

2006-04-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

David Horsey cartoon from todays Seattle PI.

happy easta from da easta croc

2006-04-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

Crash! Bang!

2006-04-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

Had a strange morning at work today...we received several calls from clients all worried because they heard through the grapevine that a car had crashed into the studio! Apparently there was something about this on the local news last night. I think that it's another Art & Soul Gallery which is not in Seattle, but one of those bordering towns somewhere like Lynnwood because upon reaching work today the studio was whole and healthy. In any case, these clients all had friends who saw said news broadcast and then reported to their artist friends, "hey, your photographers/printers had a car drive into their studio!" I will admit that it is a bit strange to receive a call in which a client is freaking out because they think there is a car that has run over their art while in our care...all I could think to do is walk down to the front of the studio, look around and then shrug and say, "nope, no car in here."

musical excitment!!!

2006-04-12T18:43:00.000-07:00

I just found out that one of my favorite musical groups, Amadou and Mariam are coming to town!!! They will be playing at the Showbox (not my favorite venue, but whatever..it's Amadou and Mariam!!!!!!!) on June 20th. Super excited! Must get tickets! Although I don't know who would want to come with me, since the only person I know who would probably go is my dad. hmmm.

hack hack

2006-04-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

So what's the deal with getting sick in the spring time? I don't get it...although even worse, I suppose, is getting sick in the summer. In any case, if you couldn't already tell...I'm sick! bah. And it's my own fault too...have been working quite a bit lately cause things are crazy busy at work...then there was the opening on Saturday so that was even more work and then for some reason Sunday night I could not sleep..not a wink! So of course, woke up monday with a sore throat...I figured it would go away pretty quickley, but noooooo. It's wednesday and I've still got it! On the plus side it is JUST a sore throat, even though it's kind of annoying I'll live ;-) On the other plus side I get to drink yummy lemon and honey drinks that my mom makes for me. I even had one to go this morning....mmmmm. There's something very soothing and happy about hot water, fresh squeezed lemon juice and tons of honey.

long time no write

2006-04-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

It's been forever and a day since I last wrote on here, so I thought I'd finally put something up so that the St. Patricks Day cartoon will go away. Work has been crazy busy so I haven't really had the chance to take time for blogging...and speaking of work, I'd like to give a public shout-out to Alison...thanks for the talking monkey ecard..that was AWESOME!!!

OK, so let's see...what to write...what to write. Well, I guess I can do a quick recap of the last several weeks. I'll start with my bday which turned out to be an awesome celebration that lasted about two weeks. It included a great Paperboys concert at the Tripledoor, extreme ironing, dinner at Costas Opa and getting shiny blue Greek worry beads, the best birthday cards from Lisa's fourth grade class (who think I'm the desk fairy) and an awesome birthday song sung over the phone with cha cha chas (I still have that message saved on my phone, it's just too cute), going up to Vancouver for the first time ever and loving it, also including meeting some very sweet friends of Naomis who got married that weekend (this trip also included lots and lots and lots of asian food, with a three hour post-wedding chinese dinner, yum). There was a lot more, but that's all I have the energy to recollect for the moment. Basically turning 25 became a big old party that didn't want to end :-) and I've stopped stressing about the white hair...it can grow as it pleases.

Since the trip to Canada work has been crazy crazy crazy so there hasn't been too much to report, except that I saw Anna Nalick at the Tractor Tavern which was a lot of fun. Most people there didn't really seem to know her music, and there was a really super drunk lady who has practically body slamming people..and who did she decide to stand (if you can call what she was doing "standing") next to? Oh yes, that would be me. But besides that it was a lot of fun.

hmm, what else...oh! Had a weird experience yesterday when walking home from work. I was waiting at a light and heard the chugging sound of an old truck also at the light. The sound immediately brought up memories of going to Maine when I was a kid with my grandparents to visit my sort of adopted grandparents. Anyway, the truck sound reminded me of the sound of the boat motor when we'd go out on the water island hopping or fishing. All of a sudden I could practically smell the Maine ocean. It was a super strong sensory memory and kind of weird...but also made me wish I was back there now, but especially with those certain grandparents/adopted grandparents who are no longer around.

One last thought..I love springing forward and the fact that there is sunshine when I walk out the door after work..even when I get out late! Makes me happy...can't wait till the weather warms up even more! Summer and all the fun that includes in Seattle will be here very soon! Can't wait!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2006-03-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

Hours of entertainment

2006-03-16T14:18:00.000-08:00

You all MUST check out this website:

South Park Studio

The above image was created through this website...it's the South Park version of me! Only, they don't have devil horns, so I couldn't really complete the full me...but the angel side is represented. Ok, gotta go back and make more...this is way too much fun!

French students revolt

2006-03-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

Over the past few days I've been following news from France where students in Universities, and now high schools have been mounting demonstrations against a new employment law that the Prime Minister, Villepin, is trying to push through. There was even a sit in at the Sorbonne in Paris...the students were eventually taken forcefully out by police in full riot gear. There's going to be huge demonstrations tomorrow with students and young people traveling from all over the country to Paris to participate. Basically, this new plan was set up in an attempt to try and create options for employers that would make it easier to hire more young people (this being an attempt to help resolve major issues that came out with the rioting months ago)...however, the program puts into place options for employers that do not at all favor the employee. One of the major issues is that the employee (this is applicable for anyone 26 years of age and younger I believe) is placed on a two year contract which states that at any time during the first two years of employment, the employer can fire the employee without giving a reason, nor does the employer need to give any sort of notice..one day your working and the next your not.

If you can read French, here are some sites with info for and against this new employment plan:

Movement des Jeunes Socialistes

UNI

And here's an article in english for those of you who can't read French but might be interested:

Seattle PI

It's been interesting to follow this issue...it reminds me just how lame the US is in terms of how citizens interact with government and politics...I know that France is a smaller country and all that, but really. I can't imagine the youth of the US rising up and demanding better employment rights if something like this happened here. And these demonstrations that have already taken place, and are being planned are having an effect...politicians are responding and there is a dialogue and interaction between citizens and government. From experience I know that the French take their politics very seriously and they would never stand for a government that did not allow them to be vocal in what they stand for...or for that government to ignore them. Of course some of what has been going down in France with the students has been violent, but then again that doesn't surprise me much either...the French Revolution comes to mind. Although, apparently there had been a week of peaceful demonstrations with no attention being paid so the students decided to force the issue. We'll see where this all goes.

This and That

2006-03-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

Found a five dollar bill when I got off the bus on my way home from work last night. That was exciting :-)

By using the measuring tool in google earth yesterday...I discovered that I walk about two miles when I walk to work. And then from there figured out that I walk 4mph. Speedy me!

Have become addicted to lemon tea over the past week.

Can't wait for my trip up to Vancouver this weekend...it's finally hitting me that I'm getting out of Seattle for a few days! And getting out of the US as well...even if it is just crossing the border into Canada. Still exciting :-)

ok, that's all the random stuff I can come up with at the moment.

Pearls Before Swine...again

2006-03-10T10:28:00.000-08:00

I love those crocs...they're so stupid!

A quarter of a century

2006-03-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

I'm old today....25...I think I hear my knees squeaking, and I woke up with a pain in my back, and my eleven white hairs stood up on end this morning, and...and...oh, wait...I guess I'm not really that old yet. Plus I still have my better than 20/20 vision so that's all I really care about (especially with my job). However, must everyone keep saying, "ah, 25...you're a quarter of a century old." that just makes me feel like I'm ANCIENT!

I'm as old as a quarter now....yay!

Google's quote of the day:

2006-03-08T10:51:00.000-08:00

"I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out."
- Rodney Dangerfield

Oscars

2006-03-06T11:36:00.000-08:00

This image comes from the Seattle PI, their collection of Oscar shots...it shows Nick Part and Steve Box, the creators of "Wallace & Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit"...they brought matching crazy bow ties for their Oscars...how cool is that!? I love those guys!

Other winners that I had to cheer for were the Frenchies from "March of the Penguins" who brought stuffed animal penguins with them!!! yay! More cool people! My mom and I were jumping around cheering for the Frenchies when they won :-) well, plus we really loved that movie. Then there was the winner of the Best Foreign Film that went to "Tsotsi" from South Africa, which isn't out in theatres quite yet...but I've seen the trailer and it looks excellent, and apparently the soundtrack is awesome as well. Can't wait to see that one! One other movies that was up for Best Foreign Film was "Joyeux Noel", a French film that shows good potential as well...but mainly I have to see that movie cause my favorite actor with the gorgeous eyes, Benno Fürmann, is in it. *swoon*

video

2006-03-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

So why is anyone surprised at what the new video that was just released shows concerning Bush being briefed about hurricane katrica? I mean, we know that he lies all the time...I mean, duh, weapons of mass destruction in Irag? Come on now. Here we are now getting to view another lie...his statement that no one could have guessed the levees would break in New Orleans is now officially a lie...cause he knew, and so did Chertoff. Although, perhaps he wasn't listening during that video clip...perhaps he was just sitting there with his brain turned off. That's an even scarier thought.

On a completely different note, check out the following site:

7 Deadly Sinners: March calendar

click on the calendar image and you'll be able to read all the details...it's quite excellent.

Port woes

2006-02-27T09:40:00.000-08:00

Alright, so I have to give my two cents of this whole Dubai port scandal thingy. Personally I think it's kind of funny....I mean, you have Bush and his administration that have been creating a culture of fear within the United States concerning terrorism and the Arab World. Then along comes this port deal that would have an arab corporation running six ports within the US. Really, Bush should have seen this coming. Of course there are now a vast majority of Americans who are angry and scared at the prospect of having arabs controlling our ports (which have major security issues to begin with). Now, my own opinion is that as long as the Dubai company is checked out and gets an ok security wise to come into the US then there's no problem...they should be scrutinized just like any other foreign company coming to work in our ports just because that is the smart thing security wise to do. Should we be scared that the United Arab Emirates will try to take over the country or let in mass groups of terrorists? No. However, I just can't help but think that Bush had this one coming :-) The really bad part is that this whole thing is making the US look like a country of racist idiots who think that anyone of arab descent must be involved in one way or another with terrorism. Sigh. The really sad part is that for a huge chunk of the US, this sentimate is true. Thanks Bush.

voting

2006-02-25T15:01:00.000-08:00

Finally some hard evidence is being found that proves there was voting fraud in the last presidential election:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022506F.shtml

The world we live on

2006-02-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

Craig discovered something really fun at work yesterday that I've been trying out this morning: google earth. I remember when google first came out with this product...it wasn't available for use with Macs, but it is now! So I downloaded it to my computer this morning and proceeded to make myself sick! It's super fun! You feel as though you're flying around the way that the program zooms you in and out and around the globe. It makes my head spin. The coolest parts are some areas that they have built up with a 3D effect...like Mt. St. Helens. You can fly over it and then level the globe out so that you're looking at the mountain straight on instead of from above. Very cool! Except that now I need to take a break and get my head to stop spinning.

and the Cheney jokes continue...

2006-02-15T15:03:00.000-08:00

Craig found this online at: http://www.joeygibson.com/images/cheney.jpg

No killing, just love

2006-02-15T12:01:00.000-08:00

OK...OK...I promise, this will be the last comic I'll post for a while. I realize that I've put a lot up over the last week or so...but there have been so many great ones! And I HAD to post this Pearls Before Swine...too funny, and since I put up the one from yesterday, I had to complete it with this one.

Brrr

2006-02-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

So apparently my thoughts of spring came a bit too early...and all those poor flowers that have popped up all over the city were a bit premature as well. Temperatures over the last couple of days have been steadily dropping...we even got a bit of snow in the hills of Seattle Monday night, and this morning I woke up to frost and the water in the the bird baths frozen solid. And the temps are supposed to be getting even lower by the end of the week...every day the weather men keep predicting colder and colder temps...now we are at 20 - 15 degrees as the low for Seattle Thursday to Saturday...and if the wind picks up then it'll be even colder with wind chill...with the highs during the day around 30. BRRRRRR!!! Stupid Alaska air...stay up north, we don't want you down here in the Pacific Northwest! There's a reason I moved back to Seattle, and that was to get away from the cold of east coast winters! I can deal with all the dark clouds and rain...but I am bad with cold...really really bad.

Happy Loves Day

2006-02-14T10:04:00.000-08:00

While most parts of Valentine's Day kind of piss me off, I will still join in the festive atmosphere of hearts and pinkness by telling y'all to check out the following blog:

7 deadly sinners

This group of artists have compiled a collection of old Valentine's Day cards, created new ones and also put up a few from when they were youngsters. It's a pretty funny compilation with some strange, strange stuff. But I think that pretty much anyone will find something that they like..for example one of my favorite is (surprise, surprise) the pirate card. :-)

Happy V-Day, and watch out for that crazy cupid character...those arrows look deadly, who ever thought it was a good idea to give a bow and arrow to a crazy little kid? He's either going to hurt himself, or more likely shoot the arrow into someone's eye! ouch.

what did I tell you about cupid?!

2006-02-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys, another Pearls Before Swine cartoon...but when I read it, I thought it was so perfect.