I color-copied some maps from an old grade-school geometry book for the background, then used the silhouette stamps from ????. The letters are QuiKutz.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Travel ATCs
I made these a while ago for a swap. I ran across them again, so decided to post a couple. As I recall, this was actually an alphabit swap, and I had to use the letters C,E,S,X and A. Here are C and E:
I color-copied some maps from an old grade-school geometry book for the background, then used the silhouette stamps from ????. The letters are QuiKutz.
I color-copied some maps from an old grade-school geometry book for the background, then used the silhouette stamps from ????. The letters are QuiKutz.
Iron Man
I finally saw "Iron Man" on Sunday, in an attempt to spend some time in air conditioning. Har. The theater was warm, but the movie was surprisingly entertaining.
The movie tells the beginning of the Marvel Comics superhero "Iron Man." The man is Tony Stark, played here by Robert Downey, Jr., a billionaire playboy who runs Stark Industries. Stark produces the latest in technical armaments for war. Tony's inheirited the company from his father, a developer of the atomic bomb, and is mentored by Obediah Stane, played by Jeff Bridges.
While on a look-see in the Middle East, presumably Iraq, Tony's humvee caravan is attacked, and Tony is kidnapped by what we suppose to be terrorists. Tony is severely injured in the attack with a shrapnel bomb -- produced by Stark Industries. He is saved by a doctor, also a captive, who inserts an electo-magnet into Tony's chest cavity to prevent the fragments from piercing his heart.
The terrorists want Tony to build them the newest Stark missle, dubbed the "Jericho." Tony and the doctor spend many days dimantling old equipment, welding, etc. and produce not a bomb, but Iron Man's exoskeleton.
As you might guess, Tony escapes the clutches of the evil doers, and returns to LA a changed man. He wants Stark Industries to stop making weapons, a move not endorsed by an increasingly menacing Stane or the stockmarket.
The movie tells the beginning of the Marvel Comics superhero "Iron Man." The man is Tony Stark, played here by Robert Downey, Jr., a billionaire playboy who runs Stark Industries. Stark produces the latest in technical armaments for war. Tony's inheirited the company from his father, a developer of the atomic bomb, and is mentored by Obediah Stane, played by Jeff Bridges.
While on a look-see in the Middle East, presumably Iraq, Tony's humvee caravan is attacked, and Tony is kidnapped by what we suppose to be terrorists. Tony is severely injured in the attack with a shrapnel bomb -- produced by Stark Industries. He is saved by a doctor, also a captive, who inserts an electo-magnet into Tony's chest cavity to prevent the fragments from piercing his heart.
The terrorists want Tony to build them the newest Stark missle, dubbed the "Jericho." Tony and the doctor spend many days dimantling old equipment, welding, etc. and produce not a bomb, but Iron Man's exoskeleton.
As you might guess, Tony escapes the clutches of the evil doers, and returns to LA a changed man. He wants Stark Industries to stop making weapons, a move not endorsed by an increasingly menacing Stane or the stockmarket.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Mamma Mia!
I've been trying to post all week, and haven't been able to get in. I can't leave comments on websites, either.
I saw "Mamma Mia!" on Wednesday afternoon, with a theater full of other women. Most reviewers panned this movie, but at least Roger Ebert was honest about it: he admitted the movie wasn't made for him, but for women and girls. And it is a woman's movie. I enjoyed the movie, and so did my audience-mates.
The plot is paper-thin. Donna, an aging hippie, runs a hotel on a Greek Island. She's raised her daughter, Sophie, as a single mother, and is in the midst of preparations for Sophie's wedding. Unbeknownst to Donna, Sophie invites three men who might be her father. You can tell almost from the first instance who Sophie's dad is. But, much singing and dancing will have to occur before the happy ending, and a couple of mysteries will be revealed.
The music is very catchy, even if you weren't a particular ABBA fan in the day. I bought a pricy Diet Coke at the snack bar as I entered the theater, and the 16 or 17-year old girl who waited on me let me know she LOVED the movie, and she'd sung along with it when she saw it at the drive-in. She bought the soundtrack, and knew all the lyrics by heart. She was very cute.
I saw "Mamma Mia!" on Wednesday afternoon, with a theater full of other women. Most reviewers panned this movie, but at least Roger Ebert was honest about it: he admitted the movie wasn't made for him, but for women and girls. And it is a woman's movie. I enjoyed the movie, and so did my audience-mates.
The plot is paper-thin. Donna, an aging hippie, runs a hotel on a Greek Island. She's raised her daughter, Sophie, as a single mother, and is in the midst of preparations for Sophie's wedding. Unbeknownst to Donna, Sophie invites three men who might be her father. You can tell almost from the first instance who Sophie's dad is. But, much singing and dancing will have to occur before the happy ending, and a couple of mysteries will be revealed.
The music is very catchy, even if you weren't a particular ABBA fan in the day. I bought a pricy Diet Coke at the snack bar as I entered the theater, and the 16 or 17-year old girl who waited on me let me know she LOVED the movie, and she'd sung along with it when she saw it at the drive-in. She bought the soundtrack, and knew all the lyrics by heart. She was very cute.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Y.ou K.now Y.ou R.ock Challenge
Well, here goes. My stamping friend, Julie Koerber, has a new challenge blog. I am determined to participate, since closure of our local stamp store means no more fun classes. I hesitate only because I've seen the challenge entries already posted, and there is SERIOUS talent in these challenges.
The challenge was to create a card using an "album" cover as the jumping-off point. Being old, I chose an old disc, the Brian Setzer Orchestra's "Dirty Boogie":
After several tries, I came up with this:
I sprayed Radiant Rain (Irish Mist, Sky Blue) on 140-lb hot press watercolor paper, and wiped with a papertowel. I have not perfected the blob-less application of these beautiful glittery sprays, so wiping after applying eliminates those glitches.
The stamps are all Impression Obsession. I went with the drink theme, although I used coffee in this iteration. On the album, the smoke from a cigarette is highlighted with white; I highlighted the steam from the coffee cups with a white gel pen. It's only slightly visible. I topped the card with a Martha Stewart border punch, to add some angularity, and balanced that with the stick-on pearls, which also adds a little more white.
The challenge was to create a card using an "album" cover as the jumping-off point. Being old, I chose an old disc, the Brian Setzer Orchestra's "Dirty Boogie":
After several tries, I came up with this:
I sprayed Radiant Rain (Irish Mist, Sky Blue) on 140-lb hot press watercolor paper, and wiped with a papertowel. I have not perfected the blob-less application of these beautiful glittery sprays, so wiping after applying eliminates those glitches.
The stamps are all Impression Obsession. I went with the drink theme, although I used coffee in this iteration. On the album, the smoke from a cigarette is highlighted with white; I highlighted the steam from the coffee cups with a white gel pen. It's only slightly visible. I topped the card with a Martha Stewart border punch, to add some angularity, and balanced that with the stick-on pearls, which also adds a little more white.
Dog Days
July is traditionally the month during which the "dog days of summer" begin. According to Wikipedia,
I am celebrating the dog days by making doggie cards. These will mostly go to a friend, who kindly requests a bundle of cards as a birthday gift. The first card features a dollar stamp set I got at Joanne's:
The same little chihuahua, using a Martha Stewart border punch as a mask:
Finally, a Hero Arts stamp set:
[t]he Dog Days originally were the days when Sirius, the Dog Star, rose just before or at the same time as sunrise (heliacal rising), which is no longer true owing to precession of the equinoxes. The ancients sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of the Dog Days to appease the rage of Sirius, believing that that star was the cause of the hot, sultry weather.
I am celebrating the dog days by making doggie cards. These will mostly go to a friend, who kindly requests a bundle of cards as a birthday gift. The first card features a dollar stamp set I got at Joanne's:
The same little chihuahua, using a Martha Stewart border punch as a mask:
Finally, a Hero Arts stamp set:
Monday, July 21, 2008
Hancock
Summer wouldn't be complete without a Will Smith movie, and Hancock is this year's offering.
Smith is an angry, hungover superhero with a bad attitude and a penchant for saving humanity with maximum destruction of property. As an example, in the opening sequence he helps the LAPD apprehend a careening Suburban filled with machine-gun toting bad guys. When Hancock arrives at full-speed, he breaks through the freeway signs, which land on a number of police cruisers and destroy them. He eventually lifts the Suburban, and, flying over downtown LA, crashes into several buildings with the vehicle before he impales it on the tower over the Capitol Records building.
Into this public relations nightmare steps Ray, played by Jason Bateman. He has a plan to revamp Hancock's public image. Ray is the movie's moral center, an ad-man with a heart for the world. He's been trying, unsuccessfully, to get a big pharmaceutical company to donate a tuberculosis drug, in exchange for use of an "all Heart" logo. Not surprisingly, big business is reluctant to bite.
A fun movie. Will Smith is always entertaining, and he sees to quite enjoy the havoc he creates as Hancock.
Smith is an angry, hungover superhero with a bad attitude and a penchant for saving humanity with maximum destruction of property. As an example, in the opening sequence he helps the LAPD apprehend a careening Suburban filled with machine-gun toting bad guys. When Hancock arrives at full-speed, he breaks through the freeway signs, which land on a number of police cruisers and destroy them. He eventually lifts the Suburban, and, flying over downtown LA, crashes into several buildings with the vehicle before he impales it on the tower over the Capitol Records building.
Into this public relations nightmare steps Ray, played by Jason Bateman. He has a plan to revamp Hancock's public image. Ray is the movie's moral center, an ad-man with a heart for the world. He's been trying, unsuccessfully, to get a big pharmaceutical company to donate a tuberculosis drug, in exchange for use of an "all Heart" logo. Not surprisingly, big business is reluctant to bite.
A fun movie. Will Smith is always entertaining, and he sees to quite enjoy the havoc he creates as Hancock.
Friday, July 18, 2008
No more Zoo
Click on the photo to make it marginally bigger.
A layout I did earlier this year; I'm posting it today so I can get in the habit of posting everyday, or nearly so!
All papers are from Club Scrap.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
WALL*E
Wednesday was my half day, so I saw "Wall*E" the new Disney-Pixar animated movie. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Wall*E lives on Earth, quite alone except for his cockroach pal. He goes to work as a trash compactor; he is cleaning up an abandonned and despoiled Manhattan, by all appearances. All human life has fled the planet, ruined by the megaconglomerate "BNL" or "Big and Large."
His routine is set aside one day by the arrival of EVE, a drone sent by the orbiting humans to check to see if life has returned to the planet. Wall*E falls in "love" with EVE, and presents her with a green plant he's rescued from an abandonned refrigerator, and has growing in an old shoe. EVE's sensors respond to the plant, and she is drawn back to the orbiting ship, Wall*E tagging along.
The humans have all become very round, nearly boneless creatures whose only work consists of sitting in motorized chairs and drinking all their food in big slurpies, their every need attended to by numerous robots. The Captain is likewise round and attended to by the menacing "Auto-Pilot," whose presence nearly prevents the Captain from responding to the positive indicator of a rejuvenated Earth.
A good movie, many out-right belly laughs.
Wall*E lives on Earth, quite alone except for his cockroach pal. He goes to work as a trash compactor; he is cleaning up an abandonned and despoiled Manhattan, by all appearances. All human life has fled the planet, ruined by the megaconglomerate "BNL" or "Big and Large."
His routine is set aside one day by the arrival of EVE, a drone sent by the orbiting humans to check to see if life has returned to the planet. Wall*E falls in "love" with EVE, and presents her with a green plant he's rescued from an abandonned refrigerator, and has growing in an old shoe. EVE's sensors respond to the plant, and she is drawn back to the orbiting ship, Wall*E tagging along.
The humans have all become very round, nearly boneless creatures whose only work consists of sitting in motorized chairs and drinking all their food in big slurpies, their every need attended to by numerous robots. The Captain is likewise round and attended to by the menacing "Auto-Pilot," whose presence nearly prevents the Captain from responding to the positive indicator of a rejuvenated Earth.
A good movie, many out-right belly laughs.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Back from the Netherlands
Earlier this month I was in Rotterdam for a Zonta International convention. 2,000 women from 67 countries participating in a 4-day meeting to elect new international officers and board members, and vote on a series of by-law changes -- which turned out to be surprisingly contentious.
While the meetings were interesting, my travel companion and I were most interested in seeing something of the country. Big cities like Rotterdam are mostly the same. Rotterdam's appeal comes in its very modern architecture; it was flattened by bombs in WWII and had to rebuild most of the center city. The Erasmus Bridge, aka "The White Swan" is a particularly striking example.
We took the water bus up the river for an hour to Dordrect, the oldest official city in Holland, chartered in 1220. We wandered the streets of the old city, took many photos, and ate lunch in a cafe along a canal.
We climbed the clock tower of the Grote Kerk, up 247 steps to the top crow's nest for a stunning view of the city and the surrounding country. We could see Rotterdam in the distance.
After our short time in Dordrecht, we traveled by waterbus to Kinderdijk, to see the windmills, as pictured above. A system of 19 windmills drains the Kinderdijk polder; the mills were built in the mid-1700's, and most continue to serve as houses.
We toured the inside of a mill; very tight quarters indeed. As we exited, we saw a family dressed in what appeared to be regional costume, complete with wooden shoes, appropriately called klompen by the Dutch. Of course I bought a pair!
The windmills of Kinderdijk are one of the best known Dutch tourist sites. They were placed on the list of UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Brrr!
Making some cards to give away, and dug out an old Stampin' Up set. It's a favorite, and I've done it in purple and green before. But this time, I used my Big Shot and a Cuttlebug embossing folder of snowflakes to add a little something. It came together well, although the color on the scan is not true to life.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
The Journey is the Reward
Just a couple of cards finished tonight. I like the kimono stamp, but haven't used it before tonight. I'll make some similar cards using different color schemes, since I'll probably be giving this card away in a card set.The background of this card is Hero Arts, as is the kimono, from the clear set "K." The sentiment is Amuse Art Stamps. It's hard to distinguish the Chinese characters in the background; I'm blaming my scanner. It is supposed to be a watermark-type background, but is stamped with Distress Ink in Fired Brick.
The second card uses the same kimono image. I stamped it as a background with watermark ink. The sentiment on this card is Stampin'Up. On both cards, the image of the kimono is slightly raised from the card surface with foam tape.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Ghost Town
Saturday we made a wide loop through Lewistown and the Judith Mountains. I wanted to show Morgan a ghost town, and Kendall filled the bill, at least according to on-line descriptions.
We ate lunch at a cafe in Lewistown, and then took off to find Kendall. The road is in good repair, as it was used by the gold mine at the old town site before they lost the ability to mine with cyannide leaching and closed down.
There are a few stone walls remaining at the town site, and some holes where the buildings were. The old bandstand is intact. We took pictures, naturally, and Morgan took a video of the cows grazing there. She was as excited by the cows as anything.
On the way, we passed the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" house that was built last week for a local family. The house is on the Roundup Road. It's said to be 3,400+ sq. ft., and it's nearest neighbors are trailer houses and sheds. The house the family formerly lived in was a converted chicken hatchery, which was likely a good match for the neighbor hood. The new "castle" looks a little out of place.
We ate lunch at a cafe in Lewistown, and then took off to find Kendall. The road is in good repair, as it was used by the gold mine at the old town site before they lost the ability to mine with cyannide leaching and closed down.
There are a few stone walls remaining at the town site, and some holes where the buildings were. The old bandstand is intact. We took pictures, naturally, and Morgan took a video of the cows grazing there. She was as excited by the cows as anything.
On the way, we passed the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" house that was built last week for a local family. The house is on the Roundup Road. It's said to be 3,400+ sq. ft., and it's nearest neighbors are trailer houses and sheds. The house the family formerly lived in was a converted chicken hatchery, which was likely a good match for the neighbor hood. The new "castle" looks a little out of place.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wikimeme
The rules:
Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday month and day only. Then post 3 events, 2 births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday.
December 12:
3 Events
1787 - Pennsylvania becomes the 2nd state to ratify the United States Constitution.
1901 - Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.
2000 - The United States Supreme Court released its decision in Bush v. Gore
2 Births
1745 - John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1829)
1863 - Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (d. 1944)
1 Holiday
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
People think of more ways to waste time on the internet . . .
Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday month and day only. Then post 3 events, 2 births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday.
December 12:
3 Events
1787 - Pennsylvania becomes the 2nd state to ratify the United States Constitution.
1901 - Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.
2000 - The United States Supreme Court released its decision in Bush v. Gore
2 Births
1745 - John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1829)
1863 - Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (d. 1944)
1 Holiday
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
People think of more ways to waste time on the internet . . .
Monday, June 25, 2007
It was a little break, I guess.
Hmmm. Almost 2 years since the last posting? I wish I could attribute the lapse to something spectacularly exciting which took over my time -- but no such luck. Perhaps it's just the constant sameness of my life that has me so un-inspired. Ah well, I'll try again.
I have decided to "convert" this blog to more of a hobby blog -- still with some personal, silly stuff, but with more focusing on my hobbies of papercrafting, rubberstamping and knitting.
Here's a sample:
This is an ATC (Artist Trading Card) I made recently for a swap. I used the "seredipity squares" technique, except instead of an inch square, I cut the background to 2.5" x 3.5", standard ATC size.
The images are all Stampington & Co. The raven is stamped on a darker purple, and cut out. I like this stamp set, and I love how this card turned out.
I have decided to "convert" this blog to more of a hobby blog -- still with some personal, silly stuff, but with more focusing on my hobbies of papercrafting, rubberstamping and knitting.
Here's a sample:
This is an ATC (Artist Trading Card) I made recently for a swap. I used the "seredipity squares" technique, except instead of an inch square, I cut the background to 2.5" x 3.5", standard ATC size.The images are all Stampington & Co. The raven is stamped on a darker purple, and cut out. I like this stamp set, and I love how this card turned out.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Read any good books lately?
Some where, some how, I got this list of books that I've seen on other blogs. Some truly are classics; the others -- not so much. I mean, c'mon, DaVinci Code? The Pelican Brief? Really?
Anywho, the idea is to indicate which you've read. Mine are in this lovely shade of purple:
1. The Bible
2. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
3. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
4. The Koran
5. Arabian Nights
6. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
7. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
8. Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
9. Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
10. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
11. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
12. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
13. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
14. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
15. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
16. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
17. Dracula by Bram Stoker
18. Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
19. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
20. Essays by Michel de Montaigne
21. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
22. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
23. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
24. Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
25. Ulysses by James Joyce
26. Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
27. Animal Farm by George Orwell
28. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
29. Candide by Voltaire
30. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
31. Analects by Confucius, (in classical Chinese, even!)
32. Dubliners by James Joyce Joyce
33. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
34. Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
35. Red and the Black by Stendhal
36. Das Kapital by Karl Marx
37. Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire
38. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
39. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
40. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
41. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
42. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
43. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
44. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarq
45. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
46. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
47. Diary by Samuel Pepys
48. Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
49. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
50. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
51. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
52. Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
53. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
54. Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
55. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
56. Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
57. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
59. Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
60. Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
61. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
62. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
63. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
64. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
65. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
66. Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau
67. Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais
68. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
69. The Talmud
70. Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
71. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
72. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
73. American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
74. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
75. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
76. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
77. The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
78. Popol Vuh T.S. Eliot.
79. Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
80. Satyricon by Petronius
81. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
82. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
83. Black Boy by Richard Wright
84. Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
85. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
86. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
87. Metaphysics by Aristotle
88. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
89. Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin
90. Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
91. Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
92. Sanctuary by William Faulkner
93. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
94. Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
95. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
96. Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
97. General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
98. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
99. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
100. Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
101. Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
102. Emile Jean by Jacques Rousseau
103. Nana by Emile Zola
104. Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
105. Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
106. Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
107. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
108. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
109. Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
110. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
111. The Odyssey by Homer
112. Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
113. The Pelican Brief by John Grisham
114. Sphere by Michael Crichton
115. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
116. Tales of the Otori by Lian Hearn
117. The Bacchae by Eurpides
118. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
119. Starseeker by Tim Bowler
120. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
121. Sabriel by Garth Nix
122. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard
123. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
124 . The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
125. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
126. Othello by William Shakespeare
127. Why I Am Not a Christian : And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects by Bertrand Russell
128. The Metamorphoses of Ovid
129. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
130. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
131. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
132. Empire Falls by Richard Russo
133. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
134 . The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
135. Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
136. Emma by Jane Austen
137. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
I read most of the true classics and the political philosophy books in high school, so it's been a loooooong time -- no book report will be given! Those were the days, when I used to really read, and think. I remember them fondly . . .
Anywho, the idea is to indicate which you've read. Mine are in this lovely shade of purple:
1. The Bible
2. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
3. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
4. The Koran
5. Arabian Nights
6. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
7. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
8. Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
9. Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
10. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
11. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
12. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
13. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
14. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
15. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
16. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
17. Dracula by Bram Stoker
18. Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
19. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
20. Essays by Michel de Montaigne
21. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
22. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
23. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
24. Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
25. Ulysses by James Joyce
26. Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
27. Animal Farm by George Orwell
28. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
29. Candide by Voltaire
30. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
31. Analects by Confucius, (in classical Chinese, even!)
32. Dubliners by James Joyce Joyce
33. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
34. Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
35. Red and the Black by Stendhal
36. Das Kapital by Karl Marx
37. Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire
38. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
39. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
40. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
41. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
42. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
43. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
44. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarq
45. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
46. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
47. Diary by Samuel Pepys
48. Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
49. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
50. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
51. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
52. Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
53. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
54. Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
55. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
56. Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
57. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
59. Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
60. Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
61. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
62. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
63. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
64. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
65. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
66. Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau
67. Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais
68. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
69. The Talmud
70. Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
71. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
72. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
73. American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
74. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
75. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
76. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
77. The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
78. Popol Vuh T.S. Eliot.
79. Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
80. Satyricon by Petronius
81. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
82. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
83. Black Boy by Richard Wright
84. Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
85. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
86. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
87. Metaphysics by Aristotle
88. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
89. Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin
90. Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
91. Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
92. Sanctuary by William Faulkner
93. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
94. Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
95. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
96. Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
97. General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
98. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
99. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
100. Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
101. Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
102. Emile Jean by Jacques Rousseau
103. Nana by Emile Zola
104. Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
105. Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
106. Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
107. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
108. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
109. Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
110. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
111. The Odyssey by Homer
112. Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
113. The Pelican Brief by John Grisham
114. Sphere by Michael Crichton
115. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
116. Tales of the Otori by Lian Hearn
117. The Bacchae by Eurpides
118. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
119. Starseeker by Tim Bowler
120. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
121. Sabriel by Garth Nix
122. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard
123. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
124 . The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
125. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
126. Othello by William Shakespeare
127. Why I Am Not a Christian : And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects by Bertrand Russell
128. The Metamorphoses of Ovid
129. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
130. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
131. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
132. Empire Falls by Richard Russo
133. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
134 . The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
135. Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
136. Emma by Jane Austen
137. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
I read most of the true classics and the political philosophy books in high school, so it's been a loooooong time -- no book report will be given! Those were the days, when I used to really read, and think. I remember them fondly . . .
Friday, August 19, 2005
Bad Blogger! Bad!
I admit it. It's not like I'm too busy to blog. I'm just too lazy. I couldn't keep up with my diary in junior high, either. I've read some blogs where the author commits to blogging a couple days a week. Could I do that? Once a week? Probably not.
I've gotten addicted to -- of all things -- knitting blogs. I've knit since I was a child, off and on. Finished a couple of sweaters, an afghan, multiple scarves, etc. Anyway, all the knitting blogs have inspired me to pick up my needles again. I've made a shawl for the office in a fan pattern with a microspun acrylic-rayon blend in a medium blue. I bought a pattern from Elann for a "Wind and Waves" shawl, and am working on two versions: one, in an autumn-hued wool worsted from Australia (from my local yarn shop) and one in blue-green tones made with TLC acrylic from Michaels. I'll be able to block the wool one to display the pattern, but think the acrylic one will not be as impressive, from a pattern standpoint. It's colorway is prettier, though.
I've also been fascinated with felted bags. I made a Booga bag out of Noro yarn, as recommended in the pattern. Blues, purples and greens, in a striped pattern. I made another with a Plymouth skein of wool in blue, gold and maroon. It works up in a cool wave pattern, that duplicates itself on the other side of the bag. It is a cool effect, but I think both bags are too small for me. I will likely end up giving them to my friends. I've also made a felted buttonhole bag, in Lion Landscape yarn, color is "Sunset" I think. I adapted the pattern to use a single-strand Landscape, and size 11 circulars. The pattern called for doubled bulky yarn, and size 15. I made the body a little longer than the pattern, and it looks like it will be PERFECT. I felted these bags last night -- the Noro took a little longer than the Plymouth or Lion. I knit another buttonhole bag in Mode Dea Cachet yarn, a wool, acrylic, and polyester blend. I have no idea if it will felt or not, but it's 75% wool, so I'm trying it. The colorway is Wink, orange-y and blue and green and grey, with gold metalic. It's really quite interesting. I'll post pictures when I get them developed -- no digital for me.
I've gotten addicted to -- of all things -- knitting blogs. I've knit since I was a child, off and on. Finished a couple of sweaters, an afghan, multiple scarves, etc. Anyway, all the knitting blogs have inspired me to pick up my needles again. I've made a shawl for the office in a fan pattern with a microspun acrylic-rayon blend in a medium blue. I bought a pattern from Elann for a "Wind and Waves" shawl, and am working on two versions: one, in an autumn-hued wool worsted from Australia (from my local yarn shop) and one in blue-green tones made with TLC acrylic from Michaels. I'll be able to block the wool one to display the pattern, but think the acrylic one will not be as impressive, from a pattern standpoint. It's colorway is prettier, though.
I've also been fascinated with felted bags. I made a Booga bag out of Noro yarn, as recommended in the pattern. Blues, purples and greens, in a striped pattern. I made another with a Plymouth skein of wool in blue, gold and maroon. It works up in a cool wave pattern, that duplicates itself on the other side of the bag. It is a cool effect, but I think both bags are too small for me. I will likely end up giving them to my friends. I've also made a felted buttonhole bag, in Lion Landscape yarn, color is "Sunset" I think. I adapted the pattern to use a single-strand Landscape, and size 11 circulars. The pattern called for doubled bulky yarn, and size 15. I made the body a little longer than the pattern, and it looks like it will be PERFECT. I felted these bags last night -- the Noro took a little longer than the Plymouth or Lion. I knit another buttonhole bag in Mode Dea Cachet yarn, a wool, acrylic, and polyester blend. I have no idea if it will felt or not, but it's 75% wool, so I'm trying it. The colorway is Wink, orange-y and blue and green and grey, with gold metalic. It's really quite interesting. I'll post pictures when I get them developed -- no digital for me.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Batman Begins
After seeing my sister's family off after church, Sasha and I went to see this movie. It was great! Very dark, meaning that there was not a lot of light in the setting. Gotham was dark, the Bat cave was dark, stately Wayne Manor was dark, etc. Christain Bale was an excellent choice for the part of Batman; I didn't care much for Katie Holmes as Rachel, his childhood pal. Loved Michael Caine as Alfred! His character brought much-needed comic relief, and kept Bruce Wayne grounded.
There's talk of another picture in the franchise, following this beginning. Certainly the end of the movie suggested the possibility of a showdown between Batman and the Joker. If the director and cast remains the same, it would be worth seeing.
There's talk of another picture in the franchise, following this beginning. Certainly the end of the movie suggested the possibility of a showdown between Batman and the Joker. If the director and cast remains the same, it would be worth seeing.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Madagascar
I took niece Marjorie to see this movie last night. It was okay -- certainly not a laugh riot. I liked last summer's Sponge Bob Squarepants movie much better.
We came out of the theater into a cloudburst. I ran to get the car, and picked Miss M. up at the door. I drove a block before I pulled over into a parking lot to wait out the main thrust of the storm. I was soaking wet, just from my 30-yard run from the door of the theater to the car.
We came out of the theater into a cloudburst. I ran to get the car, and picked Miss M. up at the door. I drove a block before I pulled over into a parking lot to wait out the main thrust of the storm. I was soaking wet, just from my 30-yard run from the door of the theater to the car.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Cinderella Man
I saw Cinderella Man last weekend. Despite the fears of my movie pal, the boxing scenes were not that intense, at least to me. She covered her eyes many times -- I watched with fascination.
I grew up with my dad watching the Friday Night Fights on television, and learned about boxing from him. I learned to appreciate a fine boxer.
As everyone knows, Cinderella Man is the story of Depression-Era boxer James J. Braddock, dubbed "the Cinderella Man" by Damon Runyon. I knew how the great match against Max Baer would turn out, and despite that knowledge, felt the tension build and easy as the ending was revealed. Skillful filmmaking never goes out of style.
I read somewhere that the studio released this movie too early in the summer season to really garner the big box office they were hoping for. This movie should be an Oscar contender in many categories -- it's a shame that many will miss it, turning instead to fluff like Mr. and Mrs. Smith or The Longest Yard.
I grew up with my dad watching the Friday Night Fights on television, and learned about boxing from him. I learned to appreciate a fine boxer.
As everyone knows, Cinderella Man is the story of Depression-Era boxer James J. Braddock, dubbed "the Cinderella Man" by Damon Runyon. I knew how the great match against Max Baer would turn out, and despite that knowledge, felt the tension build and easy as the ending was revealed. Skillful filmmaking never goes out of style.
I read somewhere that the studio released this movie too early in the summer season to really garner the big box office they were hoping for. This movie should be an Oscar contender in many categories -- it's a shame that many will miss it, turning instead to fluff like Mr. and Mrs. Smith or The Longest Yard.
Monday, June 13, 2005
"Into the Woods"
After drying out on Sunday morning, we attended the Billings Studio Theater production of "Into the Woods." This Steven Sondheim musical follows the lives of a number of familiar fairy tale characters, exploring what happened to them after "happily ever after." It is an amusing and sophisticated show, well-performed by some BST regulars, and several new faces.
Favorites for me were the baker (Vint Lavender), the baker's wife (Bobbi Hawk), the witch (Christie Arnold) and Little Red Ridinghood (Maddy Brown). Red was particularly funny brandishing the carving knife she used to skin the wolf! I think Ms. Brown is a high school student. She has a great singing voice, and great stage presence.
Favorites for me were the baker (Vint Lavender), the baker's wife (Bobbi Hawk), the witch (Christie Arnold) and Little Red Ridinghood (Maddy Brown). Red was particularly funny brandishing the carving knife she used to skin the wolf! I think Ms. Brown is a high school student. She has a great singing voice, and great stage presence.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
