I want adventure in the great wide somewhere…
…..I want it more than I can tell!
Love that song, I sympathize so deeply. It’s from Beauty and the Beast, if you’re wondering.
Anyway, today I read this: New US-Russian Crew Docks at Space Station After Super-Fast Flight
Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz TMA-08M space ship carrying a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Friday, March 29, 2013. The Russian rocket is carrying Russian cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin, Pavel Vinogradov, and U.S. astronaut Christopher Cassidy.
Even as the Space Shuttle program closes up shop to make way for a new phase of spaceflight, space science continues to advance by leaps and bounds. I still hold onto a childhood dream that one day I might go into space.
But even more than that, when I read this article, one quote in particular struck a chord with me.
“We as human beings, we like to explore; there’s frontiers of knowledge, there’s frontiers of physical space that I think we all just feel compelled to go to and each one of those different types of environments, be it space or high mountains or the water, all bring different aspects to what we can learn, what can we can bring back to better life in either a small spectrum of our lives or in the broader sense of it,” Cassidy said during an interview with NASA. “That’s how I think the space program is.”
I love that feel. That feel you get… when someone else puts into words just exactly how you feel.
My need to explore is undeniable, though I am more often than not forced to stifle it so I can go about my everyday work and recovery cycle that is necessary to pay bills that are necessary to live my lifestyle, etc, etc, blah blah blah.
But I go out when I can, and I hope that will become more and more often as I achieve greater means to that end.
How can anyone not desire to explore new places, new worlds? To learn and discover all that life has to offer? It is a basic instinct that should be cultivated and exercised as often as possible.
Go out, my friends, and find adventure!
Glacier National Park, Montana, USA – by Miles Morgan
Jingle bells, Vader smells! The Sith lord laid a–! [force choke]
Clearly, Lord Vader will not stand for such tomfoolery. But it would appear that he is preparing for the holidays, nonetheless.
Hi folks, it’s been ages. Yadda, yadda, yoda, etc. …Wot?
So Star Wars has been in the news recently, and I’ve been discovering numerous fun themed holiday crafts and tidbits. Seemed like a hint.
Disney probably owns half the world by now, even if we don’t have hard evidence. Right next to China. Anyway, they just bought Lucasfilm at the end of October, including of course the vast and powerful Star Wars empire. Will Disney damage Star Wars with their newly acquired Jedi powers? Well I don’t know what to think, but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what exciting further adventures the new Star Wars films will bring!
Now then, what does this have to do with the holidays? Well they may still seem like a long ways off, but as I just discovered yesterday, they really are approaching at lightspeed. Hurr hurr. And there seem to be a few Star Wars themed holiday bits and pieces floating around. So why not share, right?
I found these fantastic Star Wars snowflake patterns while cruising around Pinterest. (Yes, I too have been thoroughly sucked into the endless vortex of ideas that is Pinterest.) Took them to work to share with the guys and they were an instant hit. Since the ladies had been doing some more traditional snowflakes, and these were a most excellent fit.
DIY Star Wars Snowflakes
I also found some delicious looking cookies in everyone’s favorite Star Wars shapes. Blogger Sugarbelle didn’t like the way the Williams-Sonoma versions worked–or didn’t work–so she invented her own shapes using regular holiday cookie cutters. Mmmmm cookies now I do want!
Star Wars Cookies Using Holiday Cutters
There are loads more Star Wars holiday items, like Lego ornaments, stockings for the fireplace, wrapping paper, cards, and on and on… But I think I will end here, and leave you all with this:
Princess Leia Meets the Disney Princesses – by Adam Dix
Thoughts? Share all the impressonions! …I, for one, am excite.
Do-overs
Even famous art gets do-overs, right?
Back in the day, painters had their subjects sit for tedious hours while they painted them from life. Portraits took many sessions, resulting in countless wasted hours of delirium for the subject. In more recent decades, painters have had the luxury of taking a photograph of a subject and working from the still image. It is a very common technique these days and is hardly worth mentioning.
Except now they’re doing it backwards…
Booooooom.com asked photographers to turn famous works of art into uncanny photographs as part of their contest, the Remake / Photo Project. Many famous paintings, photographs, film stills, and even sculptures were remade in exquisite detail.
“Pot Pourri” remake by Tania Brassesco and Lazlo Passi Norberto
(click image to see original by Herbert James Draper)
One of my favorites was the “Pot Pourri” remake by Tania Brassesco and Lazlo Passi Norberto. They matched details so well, even down to the position of the woman’s hand. It makes for a very lovely photograph.
“The Ship” remake by Justin Nunnink
(click image to see original by Salvador Dali)
I absolutely loved “The Ship” remake by Justin Nunnink. The way the remake combines the crafted ship sails with the figure and the backdrop painting is just wonderful. I even get the same sense of silence and quiet from the photograph as I do from the painting.
“Bedroom in Arles” remake by Joshua Louis Simon
(click image to see original by Van Gogh)
And the “Bedroom in Arles” remake by Joshua Louis Simon is just stunning. Even if it weren’t for a contest, this is a work of art that needed to be made. I hope it is kept as an installation somewhere because it looks like something that ought to be experienced, more than just viewed in a photograph.
Check out the other entries on the site. Which one is your favorite? What’s a famous work of art you’d like to see remade? After all, every work of art is an imitation of some other piece of art, whether it exists in a photograph, on a canvas, or alive in nature. There are no real originals, but new ideas and twists on old ones make new art novel and extraordinary! (:
How to Serve…
Chicken. It’s a cookbook! Well actually it’s just a couple recipes…
It’s been a while since I posted about food. Which might make it seem like food is not one of my main concerns. But do not be fooled! I have been told I am a foodie, which in my case usually means I like to eat out a lot. But when I have more time, energy, and dollaz for ingredients, cooking new recipes can be quite appealing as well.
Today I read some tasty-lookin recipes involving one of my typical eat-at-home staples–chicken.
I think the first recipe here is a little uninspired… I suppose it’s good if you’re really hankering for some kinda baked, casserole-type dish, but the lackluster ingredients and the Yahoo-determined calorie count (856 per serving) make this recipe the last one on my list.
The other three, however, all sound fairly healthy and dericious (say it with an “r”, it’s just more fun ok?). I’d most likely go for the second recipe first, since mushrooms are awesomesauce. And the sauce sounds awesome too. Though I think I’d add a more useful green than parsley, for both flavor and nutrition’s sake… maybe some cilantro and spinach? Mmmmm.
Chicken With Creamy Mushrooms - photo by Ellie Miller
While the last two recipes look delish too, I think I could see myself adding a lot more veggies to both. Lately I have been completely ditching pasta, rice, and grains in general from meals I cook at home, and instead just piling on the veggies. I hear it’s a healthy, weight-loss safe trick, though I have yet to see the results I so strongly desire–most likely because I still eat out a lot more than I cook… Ah well, such is the life of a busy foodie!
Crispy Herbed Chicken Strips - photo by Ellie Miller
Stairway to…
upstairs? Hey folks, long time no see. Happy 2012 and stuff.
I used to have dreams about staircases when I was a kid. Apparently, as a dream symbol, climbing stairs represents the feeling of advancing or progressing in your life in some way. Perhaps for me it was a reference to growing up? Either way, dreams of climbing stairs often made me feel good about myself. And since those days I have a fondness for staircases, especially very interesting or novel ones.
Not too long ago, I found this article about some pretty neat staircases. Some are extra-functional, others are extremely pleasing to the eye. All are absolutely fantastic.
Bookcase Staircase, England
This one is definitely my favorite for obvious reasons. I’m addicted to books and I always say how I’d love to have a gigantic library in my own home someday, something akin to that iconic and baroque library in Beauty and the Beast. This staircase would fit in nicely with such a book-friendly home. I’m definitely going to keep it in mind for any future, in-home staircase projects I may decide to undertake, whenever I eventually choose to own a house.
Ribbon Staircase, The Czech Republic
I think this one may be my second favorite, based purely on its novelty. This ribbon of a staircase looks almost insubstantial, especially supposing it is put to the test by the feet of anyone weighing more than a small child. But according to the article, it was well-built to withstand at least the same use as a normal staircase and is indeed quite sturdy.
Staircase Slide, England
And of course I can’t talk about staircases without mentioning this one that has an accompanying slide. Whether as a kid, an adult, or somewhere in between —which is probably the best description of my current state of being—I know I’d love to have a slide in my house. I would probably opt for one that has more of a winding design, following a spiral staircase, most likely. But any type of slide would be both fun and convenient for a quick get away.
This reminds me of another in-home slide I wrote about before, which was also quite enjoyable, though a little less practical due to its location in a child’s pirate-ship-themed bedroom. Avast ye bilgerats!
So yeah, what’s your opinion of staircases in general? And of these particularly interesting ones? What’s your honest opinonion, do tell!
2011 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,700 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 45 trips to carry that many people.
The end is near!
The end of 2011, that is… nevermind what may happen at the end of this next year…..
Well, I’m not typically one to dwell on events of the past year for long. I’d much rather celebrate the new year and new opportunities, forging on into the future without too much distress over the past. What’s done is done.
However, someecards.com –well known, at least in my blog, as one of my favorite sites for excellent wit, snark, and semi-unfriendly greeting cards– has provided an excellent opportunity to review the past year with brevity and hilarity. Just the way to do it, if it must be done at all.
Check out some of my favorites from the list below, and see the rest right here on the site.
And with that, we can all bid farewell to the passing year and all its tragedies, trimuphs, and utter bullshit. This weekend, I’ll be saying to 2011, “thanks and so long sucker!” I’ll be in Austin celebrating at another costume con and looking dead sexy in sparkly red. Helloooooo 2012! Show me watcha workin with!
