Friday, July 1, 2011
A Little Taste of Shared Euphoria
Wonderful shared laugh tonight: on my ride home from work, two couples were sitting on a bench at the side of the road, facing me directly. All at once, they crossed their legs at the same moment. As soon as I realised what had happened I smiled at them and then all four broke out into delighted laughter. What a treat.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Another thing that made me go "Hmmmm..."
This is a graphic representing the most popular words in advertising girl's toys from the Wordle(TM) site. "The most common words used to advertise girls' toys, like Barbie, Bratz Dolls, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, Zhu Zhu Pets, Polly Pocket, Easy Bake, Monster High, and Moxie Girls." (from a creator called Achilles Effect) It includes such gems as "killer-boots" and "ever-after", although, interestingly, I don't think I saw the word "princess" in there.
This is a graphic for boys' toy advertising. "The most common words used in ads for toys like Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Nerf, Bakugan, Beyblades, and Kung Zhu." (AchillesEffect) Note 'stealth', 'dominate', 'weapon', 'weapon' 'strap-in', battle', enemy', but not 'kill' (or, for that matter, 'strap-on' -- phew!)
I'm conflicted. On the one hand, I'm not that surprised. On the other hand, I think the gender equality movement might want to sit up and take notice. What I'm wondering now is, do they have a 'gender-neutral toys' category, and what would the Wordle for that one look like? A combo? A completely new set of words? A mash-up of stuff about nature and the weather and junk food?
Hmmmm.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Point-and-Shoot Show-and-Tell
I was just checking out a blog called Everybody Likes Sandwiches. The blogger (I started to say "writer", but bloggers are, happily, usually more than that) writes about and posts recipes and photos of her creations, and don't they just look splendid! I'm pretty sure it's going to be a go-to site for me in the months to come. I've already downloaded her recipe for the flakiest biscuits ever!
So now I've got the urge to post a few pictures I've taken recently with my Christmas-gift-to-myself, a new Nikon point-and-shoot. Along with semi-pithy comments, natch.
When I fly, I love taking photos, whether in the air or on the ground. Sometimes the results are striking, like this view of the wing as we travel away from the setting sun.
At work, there are busy days and quiet days, Luckily, on one of the quiet days, I had the camera handy and could fill some of the time with snapping photos (don't tell my boss), like this one of the cloud chamber in Space, one of my favorite exhibits in that hall. The chamber shows the 'contrails' of sub-atomic particles from Earth's upper atmosphere, which rain down in all directions, including through the super-cooled alcohol mist in the chamber. It looks like some sort of UFO! Wicked!!!!
The camera has a 12 MPG capture, which, for most purposes, is ridiculously huge, but when I combine it with the Macro feature and upload a big version, the capture has its advantages. O.K., so this isn't gi-normous, but you get the idea.
This morning I rehearsed for my upcoming art song recital in the huge old catholic church nearby, where my accompanist keeps his piano. As we were packing up at the end, he pointed out the beautiful light pouring in through the south windows, which was making some of the oak pews glow. Too bad the temperature in the church wasn't actually as warm as it looked. Stupid winter.
I don't always carry it with me, but when I do and I get shots like those, I'm thrilled.
So now I've got the urge to post a few pictures I've taken recently with my Christmas-gift-to-myself, a new Nikon point-and-shoot. Along with semi-pithy comments, natch.
When I fly, I love taking photos, whether in the air or on the ground. Sometimes the results are striking, like this view of the wing as we travel away from the setting sun.
At work, there are busy days and quiet days, Luckily, on one of the quiet days, I had the camera handy and could fill some of the time with snapping photos (don't tell my boss), like this one of the cloud chamber in Space, one of my favorite exhibits in that hall. The chamber shows the 'contrails' of sub-atomic particles from Earth's upper atmosphere, which rain down in all directions, including through the super-cooled alcohol mist in the chamber. It looks like some sort of UFO! Wicked!!!!
The camera has a 12 MPG capture, which, for most purposes, is ridiculously huge, but when I combine it with the Macro feature and upload a big version, the capture has its advantages. O.K., so this isn't gi-normous, but you get the idea.
This morning I rehearsed for my upcoming art song recital in the huge old catholic church nearby, where my accompanist keeps his piano. As we were packing up at the end, he pointed out the beautiful light pouring in through the south windows, which was making some of the oak pews glow. Too bad the temperature in the church wasn't actually as warm as it looked. Stupid winter.
I don't always carry it with me, but when I do and I get shots like those, I'm thrilled.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Must. Act. On. This!
"... procrastination leads nowhere but to spinning our wheels and standing still. Staying stagnant provides no joy or fulfillment. Joy comes in making progress, accomplishing, and achieving our musical and personal goals. That requires action and work—and yes, beginning with the first step."
Sarah Thomas, Editor, Classical Singer Magazine.
Maybe not the most elegantly-stated affirmation, but words I want to live by, starting now.
More from her:
"Begin. The rest is easy."
Okay! Okay!!
Sarah Thomas, Editor, Classical Singer Magazine.
Maybe not the most elegantly-stated affirmation, but words I want to live by, starting now.
More from her:
"Begin. The rest is easy."
Okay! Okay!!
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