May 28, 2005 | 0 comments
France is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Jules Verne's death this year. One of the events was a 4-day parade in Nantes, Verne's birthplace, where a theater company, Royal de Luxe, performed, with giant marionettes, a Verne inspired play telling the story of a visiting Sultan and a time travelling elephant.
Check out the amazing marionettes (and a row of cars sewn up!?!) in this photo and mpeg gallery of the events from last week here.
According to this site this show will be touring in Le Havre in mid-July, London in September and Bilbao, Antwerp and Calais in 2006.
May 23, 2005 | 2 comments
I feel so dorky. But both Lia and Ron passed me a baton, so here goes.
Total volume of music on my computer:
14.27G or 3,385 songs which will take me 9.4 days to listen to completely
The last CD I bought:
Pieces of April soundtrack
Song playing right now:
Magic Man — Heart
Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:
Unlike some people, I don't have songs that mean a lot to me. There are songs I really like and that I listen to in phases, but there aren't any that have really spoken to me that I feel mean anything to me. Sorry, I'm just not that deep. So this is just a list of songs that I really like(d) and probably still listen to more than others. Don't try to read into it.
Pale September — Fiona Apple
I know, everyone hates Fiona Apple because of that preachy MTV awards mishap. But I really loved the entire Tidal album and Pale September was my favorite. I loved it so much that... um... I bought Fiona Apple sheet music (and boy was that hard to admit) so I could learn the piano parts. I only learned that I am awful at playing Fiona Apple Music.
En Particulier — Blonde Redhead
I don't know why I love this. Because it's in French? Because I have a Japanese Girl crush on Kazu, the singer? Because it features handclapping? All of the above.
Such Great Heights — The Postal Service
Yes this seems so cliche, but I listen to this song all the time on my headphones. I love the intro in stereophonic sound. Although I'm over TPS I still prefer this original over Iron and Wine's cover made famous by Garden State. It just makes your feet move and the video set in a microchip Clean Room is so bad ass I can hardly stand it. Clean Rooms are awesome. I visited the Clean Room at Sematech's microchip processor lab once. I got all dressed up in the coverups and hair caps and masks and everything. It was awesome.
Fantastic Cat — Takako Minekawa
The first song I ever heard that introduced me to Japanese Pop. Still one of the best J-Pop songs ever, even though it's about a cat.
I Like You Most — Slowreader
For no good reason, I just really like Slowreader and I really like the lyrics in this song and the line "I like you most all the time" and I listen to it most all the time.
Five people to whom I'm passing the baton (no pressure):
David (if you still blogged, but you can draw a picture about it for your sketch blog)
Joanna
c9
George
Winston
May 22, 2005 | 1 comments
I like Star Wars, but I don't claim to be a Star Wars fanatic or even a fan. I think it "everything that is worthy and amiable", to dryly quote Jane Austen. I remember when Episode I released I took off work and stood in line with some friends for like 2 or 3 hours for terrible seats in a packed theater. The popcorn was the best thing about that afternoon, but I wasn't as disappointed with the film as so many others, mainly because I didn't really care. I didn't care so much as to not even bother putting myself through the wretched lines and packed houses to see Episode II. It wasn't until a few nights ago when I borrowed it from Joe and Jenn did I see Episode II in its entirety for the first time. It was alright.
As a kid, between my neighbor Elliot and me, we had the entire Star Wars action figures set. When we moved, I left my half of the toys at his house. I just didn't care. (Years later after I learned they might be worth something, I found out he sold them all, so I guess he didn't care either.) I remember I watched the original trilogy almost every weekend on my dad's little 9-inch television as I was growing up. It held my attention as a kid but as I became older I became indifferent to it all. I like the stories very much but overall I don't really feel any sort of emotional connection with the characters. Or so I thought.
Last night, in a very non-packed theater, I actually cried during Revenge of the Sith. I don't know what came over me. I felt completely silly. It all started during the scene where Obi-wan tells Anakin that he loved him and leaves him on the lava rocks to die. It just completely broke me, having known Anakin's story for 20+ some years and finally seeing it unfolding before my eyes on screen. And then for the rest of the film I was a basketcase. So I can't really unbiasedly say if the film was good because as it turns out I do have strong emotional ties to these characters and have been waiting to see this part of the story for over two decades, even if i didn't know it. I spent the whole night thinking about the story, wanting to watch them all over again, even dreaming about it. Somehow Mr. Lucas brought the enthusiasm from my childhood back into my life again. Thanks.
So yeah, besides some obvious plot holes and writing inconsistencies, it was really good. I might even say I loved it. I wonder how the younger audiences feel about Episode III. I also wonder why those Jedis don't get some freakin' wrist straps for their Light Sabers. Would make a lot of things much easier.
May 18, 2005 | 0 comments
My favorite new online store is American Science and Surplus. It's really hard to describe what they sell because their inventory is so insane, but I guarantee you'll find something you'll want at a really good price. As the name suggests they sell science related items like graduated beakers and microscopes but they also sell books and toys and furniture and clothes and electronics and tchochkes and art supplies and robot parts and so many other things that you never even knew existed that will dazzle your senses and help complete those DIY projects you've been working on. The best part of the site is that the product shots are lovely line drawings (some with the option of a photo view). I recommend ordering a paper catalog as the line drawings are much more charming in print. Some itmes of note:
modern hanging wall shelf
radiometer
24k gold flakes in oil
measuring wheel
royal mail hat
break your own geodes
split camera
dutch backpack with a cool lion
star wars mini books
1,000 pens
historic action figures
dichroic assembly
boneless chicken