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July 30, 2007
Never fails
Filter to block copyrighted material from YouTube coming this fall.
Filter to get around blocked copyrighted material from YouTube coming this fall.
July 29, 2007
Found
Aimee and I were looking at the picture frames at Target when she spotted something out of place. The placeholder sheet that sat in the frame had some writing on the reverse side that showed through.
It reads:
Ty- I just wanted you to know how much you mean to me as a best friend, I couldn't ask for anyone better! We have so much fun together... going on runs, jammin out to ring tones, granite city, or getting you addicted to Starbucks. We have so much fun doing whatever! And thats what I love most about our friendship! Your amazing couldn't ask for anyone better.
July 27, 2007
Death cat
The news media are full of the story about the cat that "predicts" death in a Rhode Island nursing home.
...I don't want to alarm anyone, but has anyone considered that the cat is the one doing the killing? I'd steer clear of that furball.
July 26, 2007
Use your noodle
I've eaten ramen noodles since college.
Actually, I never really ate ramen at college, but on summer and holiday breaks at home as a late night snack, usually while watching some foreign movie I rented from the library.
Nowadays I'll sometimes have it for lunch. I make it with the packaged seasoning, occasionally with tofu or scrambled egg or veggies thrown in.
For a while my favorite was Manchuran's Chile flavor.
Then I discovered Nissin's Top Ramen Spicy Vegetable at Hy-Vee. The noodle consistency and flavor beat Manchuran Chile hands down.
But after a while, it started disappearing from the shelves.
Every Hy-Vee I went to I checked to see if they had it, to no avail.
Out of curiosity, I contacted Nissin through their website. I got a reply.
"The Nissin product you inquired about has been discontinued."
Oh noes!
"Though many costumers enjoyed this product, the demand for it was ultimately not high enough" blah blah blah. Words cannot change the fact that Spicy Vegetable Top Ramen is no more. This is like discontinuing the DeLorean. Or M*A*S*H. Or Crystal Pepsi. Yet the noodles still mock me from their product page. The free coupons included with the letter do little to sooth the aching withdrawal of Spicy Vegetable.
And wait... coupons for free ramen?? I think the postage getting the coupons to my house are worth more than the actual coupons.
Nevertheless, if anyone sees any spicy vegetable ramen, buy me as much as you can carry. I'll send you some coupons.
July 17, 2007
Sad day
I've come to the conclusion that three years is a long time.
That's about how long we had Lucky bird.
He was our first pet and it's hard to remember life before him.
He liked to get scratches from us.
He liked to explore holes.
He liked getting his millet seed in the morning.
He liked chewing on things he wasn't supposed to.
He liked flying to us when he wanted attention.
He liked the feel of metal surfaces.
Tragically, the last one was fatal.
I was in the middle of lunch on Sunday when I decided to close the bathroom door, since Chester likes to go in and get into trouble. What I didn't know was that Lucky was in the hinges of the door, intrigued by the metal.
As I shut the door I heard a squawk. Lucky flew out into the living room and on to the floor. It looked like his wing was broken. I tried to pick him up but he was behind a chair so I couldn't quite get him.
He went for safety behind the side of our couch. When he came out the other end he had blood all over his beak. I picked him up in my hands. It seemed like he was probably choking on his blood and there was nothing I could do.
His eyes slowly closed half way, then all the way. He died in a matter of seconds.
In my hands.
It was the worst.
We buried him Monday in his box that he loved to climb into. A piece of bamboo from his old bird tree we made marks the spot.
We loved the bird very much, and it will be hard to be without him. Kirby misses him, but we are doing our best to keep him busy.
Thanks to everyone who has passed on their condolences. Nobody really has to leave any more in the comments unless you have any fond memories of him (her) you'd like to share.
July 13, 2007
Anything goes
The first video of Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones was posted on the official site... not all that exciting...
But I thought it was interesting that George Lucas is wearing a "Han Shot First" shirt. Maybe he does have a sense of humor (read: knows he's reviled but being worth $3 billion ain't so bad).
July 09, 2007
Day 3
By this time, all the walking had started to take a toll on our feet.
We each had a couple pairs of shoes to switch things up, but it only helped so much.
We had a little bit of a plan today: Museum of Modern Art in the morning (it opened at 10:30) and the Broadway performance of Avenue Q in the evening. We got our tickets online in advance, but for anyone looking to get same-day discount Broadway tickets, check out TKTS.
We grabbed some breakfast at Brooklyn Bagel on 5th. It was raining pretty steadily so we ate inside. After, we walked north to MOMA. The walk was maybe a little over a mile, but seemed farther in the rain.
When we got to the MOMA about 15 minutes before it opened, we saw a long line stretching outside. "Uh oh," we thought, dreading the thought of waiting outside.
When we reached the end of the line, a MOMA employee told us Citypass holders could skip the line and pickup their tickets at the specified desk. Score.
We turned in our passes for tickets and we were one of the first ones to get in when they opened.
We grabbed a free audio pass and made our way up -- MOMA is six floors, we figured we'd start at the top and work our way down.
We checked out Starry Night on the fifth floor on the way up because we knew it would be crowded later.
It was great getting a head start and seeing some of the works early, because after an hour or so the museum was quite crowded.
It was fun seeing art from Picasso, Van Gogh, Jackson Pollack, Andy Warhol, Monet, Kandinsky, Salvador Dali, Matisse, etc.
Some pieces were clearly works of genius but some make you say "uh... I could do that." For example, when we were there, they had a special exhibit by sculptor Richard Serra. One of his "pieces" was basically two long metal slabs: One on the floor and one on the ceiling, perpendicular to each other. According to the audio tour, he said he got the inspiration while laying on his back and looking at the wood cross bars on the ceiling above him. Wow. Brilliant. I wish I had thought of that.
Same thing with the paintings that are just a canvas painted a single color. Dogs playing poker has more artistic talent to me. Maybe because I could paint a canvas with nothing but one color, but painting a dog is far beyond my skill.
Anyway, there were a lot of pieces that were very impressive, even they were beyond the skill, of, say, me, or a two-year-old, or an elephant.
I did like this sculpture, which is inscribed in French, "To Be Looked at (from the Other Side of the Glass) with One Eye, Close To, for Almost an Hour." You probably think I'm kidding. That's because you don't know anything about art.
There were some school kids doing some drawings and I snapped this picture. It's no blue canvas, but I think it turned out pretty well.
By the way if you want a virtual tour of the MOMA, they have a great searchable/brows-sable site.
After MOMA we stopped briefly at the 5th Ave. Apple Store again and then FAO Schwartz to check our their multi-thousand dollar near 1:1 scale stuffed animals and life-sized LEGO characters.
For dinner before our show we went to "Indowok," described as Chinese food prepared Indian style. The food was okay. We didn't get a chance to sample any actual Indian food; I would have liked to compare it to Des Moines' India Star, which is awesome.
Unfortunately we didn't have time for a Scientometric™ testing. Nine a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, if anyone is interested.
We set off for the Theater District for our 8 p.m. show of Avenue Q. We had some time to kill (but not enough for the Scientologists) so we watched some prep work for a Criss Angel stunt. We didn't stick around for it but I'm sure it was full of magical goodness. And him yelling "Mindfreak!"
Avenue Q was fun. We were laughing during it, but the white-bearded, slightly heavy-set guy smelling of cigarette smoke sitting next to Aimee was non-responsive the whole show. At one point puppets enter the audience asking for donations (jokingly) and one got right into his face. He didn't laugh, snicker, smile, anything.
Also, before the show there was a girl (I'm guessing maybe 17 years old) sitting right behind us having a very entertaining cell phone conversation. Entertaining to us, anyway. She went on and on about all her personal problems, including having a bum cough/spit on her open wound ("I had a bug bite, but I kept picking at it."). Then she called the person she was talking to self-centered, then put them on hold for five minutes while she took a call from her mom. Good times!
July 04, 2007
Finally!
Bored on the 4th? Check out the new issue of Galactic Times. Thanks to Dan and Woodsie for the stories.
July 01, 2007
Art jerk
Aimee and I overheard an interesting back and forth at the Des Moines Arts Festival.
In one of the photography booths, a guy was flipping through some matted prints.
He pulls one out (I think this is the one),
and innocently asks in broken English how he (the photographer) got the colors and if he used Photoshop.
The photographer responds, "What? Thirty second exposure. Put the camera on a tripod. Get a clue."
The guy looks at him for a few seconds trying to figure out a proper response. Finally he says, "Well... this is a very nice picture."
Photographer replies curtly, "They're all nice pictures, come on."
I'm not sure if it's a major faux pas to ask a photographer if he uses Photoshop, but his reaction was way off, especially since he obviously uses something on his pictures. Unless he lives in a magical land where everything is in black and white except select colors.
I really wanted to tell him he uses too much Photoshop*. ...And do you really have to travel to Croatia to find a cracked wall to photograph?
This is why I love Flickr... there are so many amazing photographs you can find by people off the street (or people you know). Yes, many of them are heavily Photoshopped (just look at the "more properties" of any neat-looking picture and look for the Software: Adobe Photoshop). Flickr members are usually pretty friendly too, and are happy to talk about their pictures in the comments. But all in all, if you like gawking at and talking photography, it's the place to go. Not, apparently, the Des Moines Arts Festival (although I'm sure they're not all jerks).
*Don't get me wrong, I think there is a place for Photoshop, but when does it go from a (capital-p Photograph to a Photo-illustration? How many pixels can you change? Sure, I've had to use it myself. But I think it's better when you are upfront about how much Photoshop you've done. You could be a horrible photographer but great at Photoshop and come out with something amazing... so what are you: a photographer or a digital artist?