Here we have in the living room a pile of pillows of various shapes and sizes. You might think it’s harmless and drop your guard as you unwittingly walk by this scene in the house. But from its natural hiding space, a predator launches itself out from under the pile, illustrating how dangerous the wilds of the living room can be for the unsuspecting visitor.
Continue readingPacific Northwest: Part IV (Dungeness Spit)
After our disappointing Hurricane Ridge outing, we had to recover so we opted for an early lunch. We were planning to have a big sushi-buffet feast for dinner, so if I recall correctly, my lunch consisted of clam chowder, a few of Vin’s fries, and a slice of chocolate cake. A highly nutritional meal, no? 😉 But, lo and behold, after lunch, as we drove onwards, the sun came back out. We decided to risk stopping at Dungeness Spit. [[image:pacnw51.jpg:Dungeness Signboard:center:0]] Before you ask what this is, and if we expected expectorating when we were there, it’s basically a long, narrow strip of land that sticks out the coastline in the shape of somebody hocking a loogie. It was pretty foggy though. Pretty much the best picture I could get of the Spit is this one, taken from the overlook by the parking lot. [[image:pacnw52.jpg:Dungeness Spit:center:0]] [[image:pacnw50.jpg:Vin and Vincent at […]
Continue readingPacific Northwest: Part III (Hurricane Ridge)
The next day dawned rainy (as evil Mr Weatherman had forecasted). We drove back east towards Seattle, and decided to try Hurricane Ridge to see if the rain would hold off. On the way up the Ridge, this is what we saw: [[image:pacnw47.jpg:Bambi? Is that you?:center:0]] Bambi! And his family, too: [[image:pacnw45.jpg:Bambi’s Aunty?:center:0]] [[image:pacnw46.jpg:Bambi’s Mommy?:center:0]] I couldn’t see any big antlers, so I presume these are female adults. Although what do I know about deer in North America? Nothing, really. In the meantime, what about another video distraction? Say “Hi, Bambi!!” [[image:pacnwbambi.jpg:Where’s Thumper and Flower?:center:0]] But this early on in the drive up, it looked promising (weather, I mean). We might be able to see some stuff. Right? Wrong! By the time we got to the top, to the lookout point, the temperature had dropped to below freezing, the wind was whipping us around, and freezing rain attacked us. 🙁 […]
Continue readingCan Anyone Guess This Tune?
[[popup:aota.jpg:(thumbnail):I hope I remember the music theory:left:1]]So my keyboard, an old Yamaha PSR-300, has been out of commission for a while since the power adapter died a glorious death. Then, there was a movie score tune that has been playing incessantly in my mind, so I decided to write it down somewhere. But since the keyboard is non-functional, there was no way I could play the tune on it. So yesterday I thought why not search the net for a virtual keyboard. Bingo. Then playing the tune, I thought… why not write it down. So I wrote it down. Click on the thumbnail to see if: I still remember my music theory and notes and symbols and whatnots. You can identify the tune. P.S. I don’t think I have a category for this type of crap on the blog. Oh well. P.P.S. Playing a virtual keyboard using a graphics tablet […]
Continue readingPacific Northwest: Part II (Rialto Beach)
After the wet Rainforest adventure, we relaxed and napped in our room before going out to dinner. Vincent recommended the Smokehouse, a little outside of downtown Forks. This guy welcomed us: [[image:pacnw30.jpg:Is this what Eric Cartman looks like grown up? Pie!!!:center:0]] It served excellent local seafood and we had a lovely meal. We were too full to try the pie though. 😉 When we left the restaurant, wonder of wonders, the sun was shining! We decided to take advantage of the break in the rain and headed down to Rialto Beach for a little post-dinner beach sight-seeing. Here’s Vincent at the entrance to the beach: [[image:pacnw31.jpg:Vincent at Rialto Beach:center:0]] Views of the beach looking left and right: [[image:pacnw33.jpg:Looking left:center:0]] [[image:pacnw34.jpg:Looking right:center:0]] See those big tree trunks lying on the beach? They’re driftwood. Yes. Driftwood. The biggest blinking driftwood I’ve ever seen! See this giant formation of driftwood – I see […]
Continue readingPacific Northwest: Part I (Hoh Rainforest)
Last month, we packed our bags and took a flight to Seattle, WA for an almost week-long Pacific Northwest extravaganza. We met up with our friend Vincent (a citizen of Gloomville), who went to good old ACS way back when, and who is an Admin at the Unofficial ACS Alumni Forum, and he had thoughtfully planned an itinerary for us. We arrived in the evening and Vincent took us out to a lovely dinner (but we didn’t take any pictures because we were so out of it from the flight that I forgot to take pictures). We checked in to our hotel and Vincent said goodbye, but he would be back early the next morning for the first thing on our Pacific Northwest itinerary was to go to the Olympic Peninsula for a couple of days. This means an early morning ferry ride on a weekday (to escape the huge […]
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Illustration Friday: Missing
Few and far in between, yet another Illustration Friday piece makes its way into the weblog. The title of this Illustration Friday is “Missing”, which means that this guy in the picture is in deep trouble. Really deep trouble.
Continue readingJuly 2007 Reading
[[image:books.jpg:Book Image taken from the internet:center:0]] Books Read: The Storyteller by Mario Vargas LlosaSnow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa SeeThe Polysyllabic Spree by Nick HornbyLittle Children by Tom PerrottaThe History of Love by Nicole KraussFragile Things by Neil Gaiman (started by not finished by end of July) Books Bought: The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick HornbyFurious Observations of a Blue-Eyed Ojibway: Funny You Don’t Look Like One Two Three by Drew Hayden Taylor This entry was inspired by one of the books I read in July, The Polysyllabic Spree, in which Nick Hornby writes about the books he bought and the books he read on a monthly basis. Hornby, of course, was writing for a magazine and got paid for his efforts. But because of his witty descriptions not only of the books he bought and read, but also the events occurring in his life at the time of […]
Continue readingWho, Me?
Well! It’s been a while, and I apologize for being so slow about it, but it’s been a busy July (see? now August oredi..). Since Hijack Queen tagged me, could it be true? Am I? Really? Little ol’ me? Well, shucks! Thanks 🙂 [[image:rockingirl.jpg:I Rock?:center:0]] Thanks, Queen! Let’s party like it’s 1999! So let’s pass it on. I tag you, Rockin’ Girls: 1. LiLiaN who, is rockin’ towards her PhD 2. Athena who is in a rockin’ new grove 3. PreciousKambing on rockin’ Planet Kambing Rock on, girls!! (Sila gives the “rockin’” hand sign and sticks her tongue out a la Gene Simmons, and rocks on to the sunset to the soundtrack from This is Spinal Tap)
Continue readingAnother Opera!
Quick update! So after the disastrous Nixon in China opera, we went to the final opera of the Cincinnati Opera 2007 season, Aida by Giuseppe Verdi. [[image:2webbill_performance.jpg:Aida Graphic, borrowed from the Cincinnati Opera website:center:0]] It was really, really good! The singers were amazing, the sets were huge and fantastic, and Vin and I were very happy with the entire experience. I must get us some opera glasses before next year’s season! See you next year, Cincinnati Opera! 🙂 * I have to say I LOVE all of the graphics they used for the operas, especially the Aida one. Gorgeous, no?
Continue readingFamily Reunion in Belle River – Addendum
Check it out! Whooooosh! [[image:poolslider.jpg:Vin goes splash:center:0]] And please note that at the end of the day, there were reports that the slide was starting to fall apart. We (and I include me in this) did enjoy going down that slide! 🙂
Continue readingFamily Reunion in Belle River
July has been a pretty eventful month for Vin and me, I have all kinds of things to blog about. But it has also been a pretty busy work month, so it hasn’t been too conducive to blogging. But before we finish out the month of July, I wanted to reflect back on our trip up to Belle River, Ontario earlier in the month. A family reunion was held at Vin’s cousin Liz’s house. This is the maternal side of Vin’s family – Vin’s Auntie Vera settled in Canada and we were happy to be included in the gathering. This was my first time meeting everyone other than Joanne, so forgive me if I make any mistakes naming all the family members! On the day itself, luckily we had name tags. 🙂 [[image:bru01.jpg:Auntie Vera on the left, cousin Pam on the right:center:0]] We had a lovely time at Liz’s place […]
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Irfan’s First First Cousin
Today begins a new era in Irfan’s life. He is now officially a first cousin to another human, in this case the less-than-a-day-old, yet nameless newborn son of Kak Nor & Abg Kie. He’s a pretty handsome, but quiet and sleepy dude. Which is better than the poor girl in the cot beside him, who seemed to be having a nightmare. What nightmares can a 3-hour old baby have anyway? We’ll go and visit Irfan’s new cousin again tomorrow and see if we can get better photos. The nurse gave Cik Emma a hard time today for taking pictures in the ward. The sleepy one: The sleepy one turns the other way: Irfan decides to join his cousin in the dreamlands:
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Gary’s Book Nominated for 3 Ennies
Congratulations to Gary Astleford for getting the book he co-wrote for Black Industries, Children of the Horned Rat nominated for 3 Ennie awards. The nominations are for Best Interior Art, Best Writing and Product of the Year. Product of the Year is a hell of a big deal, of course, but I am very proud of him for the nomination for Best Writing. I seem to remember a conversation with Gary a long time ago. It was on how gaming products nowadays focus too much on rules, or intersperse rules with fluff on the campaign world… as opposed to try not breaking the fourth wall and write the book as if it was genuinely from that campaign universe. Then finally have all the custom rules for the book and such be an afterthought but easily accessible and indexed when required. Now, going by the subtext of the Best Writing award, […]
Continue readingNixon in China: Minimalist Rant on an Awful Opera
Last summer, Vin and I started going to the Cincinnati Opera where we enjoyed 3 wonderful operas last year. This summer, with great excitement, we subscribed to the entire season (Cincinnati Opera is a summer season, they produce 4 operas each summer). We enjoyed Faust in mid-June, then had to miss Cosi Fan Tutte due to an unexpected death in the family. We gave our tickets to our friends who said they very much enjoyed the performance. The third opera this year was Nixon in China. We went to see it on Saturday night. [[image:nixon_internal.jpg:This graphic pinjamed from the Cincinnati Opera site:center:0]] Now begins the rant. Better not continue reading if you object to profanities because I’m afraid I can’t contain myself on this one. This opera FUCKING SUCKED. IT SUCKED ASS. It was an opera in 3 acts, with intermissions between each act. We stayed for 2 acts and […]
Continue readingChocolate Lemon Bars
Thanks to the birthday presents from Lilian, I have had some more fun experiments in the kitchen. One of the recipe books contains the recipe for Lemon Bars, which is a sugar cookie-esque base topped with a tangy lemon custard. I decided to up the ante and top the custard with a layer of melted chocolate. Well. Who can blame me for wanting to add chocolate, right? 😉 First, make the bottom cookie layer. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and press the dough into a thin layer at the bottom of the pan. Bake until this layer is golden brown and let it cool. Make the lemon custard and then top the cookie like so: [[image:lb1.jpg:Topped with Lemon Custard:center:0]] There is no coloring in the custard – that lovely yellow is a combination of egg, lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Melt a combination of bittersweet chocolate, […]
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