Dim Sum Diaries
Via Warren Ellis, Sergei Larenkov took pictures identical in perspective to WW2-era photographs then blended the original in. The result? Fascinating, eerie and totally awesome.







See more here.
This is me (left) circa 1990 or 1991 with my friend Tina (on the right)!!!! What the hell is up with my hair!!!!

I have my ass glued to the computer chair and my ear glued to the front window, waiting for the fedex truck to pick up my packages so I can get on with my life. Maybe I should hire a receptionist so she can sit in the foyer and wait for said truck to appear...make me tea...and also field my calls? :p

Anyways, here are some thoughts for the day and neat things from etsy...

Frank Chimero writes about pseudo-structures, when there is a creative challenge (or even irl I imagine), breaking things down into components, or following certain rules can make tackling it a bit easier...



Many of the greats used pseudo-structures. Vivaldi wrote four violin concertos: one for each season. Shakespeare’s sonnets follow a specific rhyming scheme and are always 14 lines. During Picasso’s blue period, he essentially only painted monochromatically. There’s many more.

The restrictions in a pseudo-structure can take many shapes. They can be conceptual, where the restrictions determine the subject matter of the work. (Write a song for each one of the muses. Create an illustration for each letter of the alphabet. Write a short story inspired by each member of the Jackson 5.) They can also be structural, where compositional restrictions are created. (Paint on surfaces that are 3 inches wide and 24 inches tall. Write a 14-line sonnet. Choreograph a dance, where the dancer doesn’t step outside a 6×6’ square) Or instrumental, where the tools are deliberately crippled. (Paint monochromatically. Write without pronouns. Write a song on a mistuned guitar.)


Next up, some lovely items from Maryink I'll probably indulge in very soon...

Arcadia Votive candleholders.



French Copy Ad Tee



Brown Acorn and Flower Scarf...



And finally this to chew on for the day, The 50 Most Loathsome People of 2008.
Man, I used to sneer at people who used Facebook and MySpace, and now I've become one of them... oO

I got on FB a few months ago through a high school friend I infrequently talk to. Then somehow I added a friend from college to my list and these past few days my friends list has grown from 5 to 40ish! Crazy! People I haven't talked to in 14 years, it's good to hear about how they are doing and such.

Here's the kicker though, I graduated from a liberal Christian College (liberal for them, it was actually quite conservative...at least they didn't require us to only wear dresses). So since graduation, while many stayed true to their calling or beliefs or what have you, I went WAYYYYYYYYYYY out of my way to avoid any mention of religion, relationships with certain deities from then on. And reconnecting with all these people, it's like, instead of "Let's do lunch", it is "Let's do church!" Dear god. Hmm that was a bad pun.

Anyways, I have one particular friend from there I'd been trying to find over the past years, using the various search engines and internet people finders to see if I could get in touch with her. Apparently she lived in TN, but she had no updated contact information so I was unable to find her. Then all of a sudden BOOM she pops up on Facebook, and we immediately exchange #'s and I call her and we're squealing and screaming like two very silly people (much to the consternation of Daughter who has never seen her serious Mom like this, and the amusement of Hubby) for like 10 minutes. It's like no time had passed at all and we were talking and kept interrupting each other in our excitement. So, as impulsively as always, I tell my friend I will visit her in TN in March. Southwest is having a fare war so I'm able to get a roundtrip ticket fairly cheaply. Yay! I told her that everything I eat in Tennessee has to be fried and greasy and totally southern comfort food. I can't wait!
It seems that the only way for me to keep organized lately is to make lists. Lists of all the stuff I need to do for work, my cousin's upcoming baby shower, lists of what I eat and how much I exercise, a list of the dinner menu for the week and on and on. It's enough to drive a girl insane!!

So whilst on the road to insanity, I decided to at least make that journey arty and FUN, so I bought this cute little Make-A-List stamp from etsy.



I totally love it, but then I realized I needed a ink stamp pad. Unfortunately the local market apparently doesn't carry this as an office supply anymore...why? Do business people not stamp things anymore or what? I didn't want to pay $100 for a pack of 36 ink stamp pads from amazon.com, so off to the craft store I went to procure the ink stamp pad. Fun times to be had trying to evenly ink the stamp and repeatedly stamping every page on my desk calendar like a mad woman till I get a clear result.

By the way, if aliens come to earth and decide to transport me to the Regency period in England, I am totally going to buy this gown, wear it and steal a kiss from Mr. Darcy.

With Valentine's Day coming up, I told Hubby I wanted him to get me some piece of jewelery this year. I thought it might be nice to get a wedding ring because since I've spawned two children, my fingers have grown 2 ring sizes (yes, my fingers are like sausages now) and the old wedding ring doesn't fit anymore. But I didn't want to spend that much money because we're watching our pennies, so Hey Hubby, why don't we go to the nearest Irish store that sells irish goods, especially jewelery!!! More specifically a Celtic themed ring!! So off we go to said store and we peruse the rings and I find a very lovely one with Celtic knots all 'round it and Hubby buys it for me...yay! And the great thing is that I don't even have to wait till V-Day to wear it! So that was totally cool.

I don't know what my preoccupation is with all things Irish and English either. You know that SNL skit with Chris Farley when he interviews celebs and he just ends up asking lame technical questions about movies...


Chris Farley - Interview Paul Mc Cartney (SNL) - MyVideo

I felt like hanging around the counter of the store all day and say in that Chris Farley tone of voice..."You know like Irish stuff? I really like it. You know the Celtic Woman musical group and the High Kings musical group? I like really really like them. Do you like them? I know all the words to all their songs now..."

But then maybe that would be too creepy.

So we left the store and spotted a heretofore undiscovered Irish Pub across the street. Hubby didn't even bother to ask whether we were gonna go in, I grabbed his hand and immediately dragged him inside. I looked excitedly at the menu and there was the usual pub fare: bangers and mash, irish stew and shepherd's pie...but there was something I hadn't seen before (only briefly mentioned in one of Nora Robert's irish romances)...boxty. At first I thought it was maybe something like a Bento box (cuz they both have "box" in the name, yes lame I know), but it turns out Boxty is a potato pancake, which they fill with various meats and veggies and sauces. Kind of like a meat crepe. So we order the chicken with a wine cream sauce (onions and mushrooms), and also steak fries (proper term: chips) with accompanying creamy curry gravy to dip in. And while we are waiting for the food, The Old Triangle comes up over the speakers and I sing along loudly (because I know all the lyrics after repeatedly listening to The High Kings CD), much to Hubby's embarrassment.

So the food comes, and the chips w/ the gravy were really good and the boxty was very hearty and good, but a bit bland. I'm sure there was plenty of salt in there, but now I'm wondering was it intended to be so bland?



"You know what would make this dish? Green onions, then there would be a bit of the savory in there and it would be perfect!" I tell Hubby.

"You mean like the Asian Green Onion Pancakes?" Hubby replies. "Ah so the foodie in you is really Chinese!"



Bah.
It's been warm and sunny in Cali recently, which is nice because I'm ready for winter to be over already. I have a bunch of pretty skirts and dresses that I can't wait to wear again! That being said, here is a possible outfit that might be ideal for that girl-on-the-go (maybe a part time spy!) via Etsy of course. Okay maybe not so much spring as skimpy...but who cares!!!

THE DAINTIES

Every girl needs sexy, power underwear...the Sweetspire Camisole fits the bill nicely. If one should need to disrobe very quickly in order distract male enemy spies, I'm pretty sure this would work. I think it would also be great for prancing around the house in!



HIDDEN ACCESSORIES

Next, if said femme fatale has something to hide...



A black garter purse is just the thing if you are on the go (or on the run) and need to carry your cell phone, wallet or even a gun or something! Very cute!

THE MAIN EVENT

Then of course you must lull everyone into thinking you are a sweet, innocent thing---this pretty Burgundy Ruffle Front Dress from Sue Bradbury's excellent etsy shop is PERFECT!



ACCOUTREMENTS

Next comes jewelery of course...and I think



Agent 99 Earrings from Leavesofglass really gets into the spirit of the adventure. From the description listing: Get your spy gear in good working order, girl, because it's time to save the world from Kaos (and Max...). This pair of earrings is a complete retro 60's throwback. Frosted vintage lucite tube beads have a funky random pattern of silver divots that look just like the bubbles in a lava lamp. Elongated bright sterling silver kidney hooks add to the dramatic effect. Barbara Feldon would be proud. 'Nuff said.

Pair this outfit with black stilettos from Verseau Vintage...



Et voila! Fini!
This is what you do when your bored, queued up and waiting to pvp with your gang of face wreckers in WoW...

Learn to tilt-shift photography photoshop thingy-a-mijingy! It's supposed to make actual irl photos look like they are created miniature models...

Here's a cool example via Smashing Magazine:



Here is my rendition, I got this lovely photo of Ft. Lauderdale from istockphoto...



After I followed the tutorial:



Maybe could still use a little tweaking, but it's fun to do. Looks better if you look at the bigger version.

In other news, via Green Chair Press, a brilliant video titled This Is The Way We Live, celebrating Fourth Estate's 25th Anniversary.

Not only do I dig the clothes from Lucy, I made the pic below my desktop background so it keeps me motivated to work out.

Whilst driving around doing errands, was listening to my fave oldies station, you know, known for playing THE OLDIES such as doo-wop and songs from the 1950's and 1960's. They'd recently begun to play more song from the 1970's which I figured was okay because you know, we are in the 21st century all that. Then, much to my surprise, the song Caribbean Queen by Billy Ocean came on! Dude, that's 1985!! My junior high years!! Not oldies yet!!! No No No!!!!! In case you don't remember that song or hadn't been born yet (wankers) here is the video:



I totally remember rocking out to that song too. I thought Billy was like the coolest dude out there....anyways....

So yeah when chicks turn 36, they have to do the mammogram to ensure they don't get breast cancer...and twas my turn now (first time). I was a bit nervous since it was my first time and everyone is always like ZOMG MAMMOGRAMS THEY ARE SO BLOODY HORRIBLE!!!. Anyways, when I went they basically place your boob on a metal plate (with a cloth on top so it wasn't cold) and roll it and mash it around like the machine was making a pancake, so it wasn't that bad.

Then you stare anxiously at the images and keep asking the technician, "Do you see anything? Do you see anything? Are you sure?????"

Her reply? "We may call after the nurse who reviews the mammogram looks over your pics, since this is your first time and we have nothing to compare it to...and take additional pictures."

All I heard was, "Your probably going to get another call cause since I might see a lump and will need additional pictures."

A few days of sweating it out and dreading another call until I finally get a letter in the mail giving the all clear...whew!

*Sigh....yep I'm getting old! :p
Hubby and I had a relaxing staycation at home, Sis & Bro-In-Law and Mom & Dad trundled the kids off to San Fran for a week of whirlwind fun and exposure to all things Chinese. In fact, it took like 4 days before Hub and I realized we were FREE to do adventurous things like FLY TO PARIS AT A MOMENTS NOTICE!! But since we're trying to save money, we settled for GOING TO DENNY'S FOR BREAKFAST AT A MOMENT'S NOTICE (5:30 am)!!! I know, we're so wild.

The latest book to have caught my attention is Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Nguyen. It's actually on sale for like $5 at amazon.com, so it's a good deal too.



I'm in the middle of it now, try to slowly savor it...its like a autobio...she emigrates from Vietnam at a young age (but she is roughly the same age as I am) and her family ends up settling in the middle of white bread America (Michigan!!) and it details her growing years trying to fit in, but not quite. She gets way obsessive about food, her love and fascination of anything that is American. In fact I can kind of identify with some of the things she goes through (her love of hot lunches from the school cafeteria, she is quite shy and takes refuge in books), though I don't think I was quite as obsessed with the foody thing. Bich has never known who her biological mom was (shrouded in mystery...DUM DUM DUM) but of course the end of the story reveals all, so we'll see! It's not too long of a book and a delight to read so far, so I definitely recommend it.

Oh and here is a moment of zen as to how far we've come in the last 60 years...check out this ciggie ad from the '60s:



Hope everyone had a good one!