Life On Replay

But NOT real life, thank heavens...

Someone who's heard me sing along to the radio got me a present - a 'Sims 3' game, with a bonus package consisting of the essence of singer Katy Perry.

(and I said)...Wait..What?



I had to laugh; this 'Showtime' edition lets you create a mini-you and have him/her blunder through a KP style career track that starts you out busking on the street for coins and may let you into 'superstardom'.

But if your mini-you doesn't succeed?..
...there's infinite do-overs, whew!

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Definitely a more certain outcome than the lives of the characters in Ken Griswold's award-winning novel 'Replay' - where a few select people must randomly re-live portions of their past lives.

I re-read it recently, and their choices make it painfully clear that decisions must be made, and that you can't avoid all of life's uncertainties.

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Here's a few bits of one guy's Sims lives:

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As for me?...
I've yet to unwrap my Katy Perry simlife.

Maybe I'm not ready for all those colorful choices?

For TT's 'Life Uncertainties' day
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Walk Around The Lake

... in just a few million footsteps.

On April 29 2010, Kate Crowley & Mike Link, veteran naturalists, set off via foot & kayak to circumnavigate Lake Superior.

145 days later they'd gone full circle.
It was 1555 miles. (2503 km)
That's quite a walk.

They took video, and collected valuable data on water quality, invasive species, ecology, geography, and human impacts all along their hike. So it was a scientific venture as well as a personal adventure.

link to their interactive map

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Their trek struck a chord with me because my family traveled to see Split Rock lighthouse, one of their landmarks, when I was a child. The shore was rocky, the lake was clear, cold & endless.

And I was chilly after only a few minutes.
Can't imagine how bone-cold you'd be after 5 months.

They saw these moose tracks along the shore...

...and maybe it went in circles around them but
I bet it didn't go as far as they did. :)


For TT's 'Full Circle' day
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A Round of Donuts

Have a ball, its Nat'l Donut Day!*
*oops, a day late, its really the 1st Fri in June.

Hey, lets make it a world-wide celebration, by trying out as many different doughnut versions as we can. Here's a few to get you started:

China - Jin deui (煎堆) - a hollow fried pastry made of sticky rice-flour, w/ a sweet filling

Finland - a Meat doughnut (Lihapiirakka)

France - Beignet - heavenly pockets of yeast dough, sugared
(also a New Orleans treat - that's where I had'm - yum!)

Greece - Loukoumades - donut balls dipped in honey & spices

and here's Japan's Karinto ...



Its deep-fried, of mostly flour, yeast, & brown sugar.
...no matter what it actually looks like....

Norway - Smultring, ("lard ring") donut-like but smaller

Peru - Picarones - a sweet, ring-shaped pumpkin fritter

South Asia - Paratha - fried bread, stuffed with vegetables

West Africa - Akara - fried dough made w/ black eyed peas

Not enough? See more at this (link in new window):
List of international fried treats.

And last but not least...

Gee, dogs really do love donuts... ;)

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Ice Cream Sandwich

The classic, and edible, types:

Homemade, but sadly not by me...
Cheesecake ice cream, plus caramel !

Recipe from the nice lady @ Triple Scoops
(click to go there)

Storebought...
This chocolate-chocolate one is a winner.

@ Lord & Taylor's cafe, NYC
(click to go there)

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versus the newest (non-edible) type:




Google's new OS, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich.
(not quite sure why...)

The new features tempt me; they seem quite jazzy:

- visual voicemail
- incognito mode
- panorama camera
- time lapse images
- photo editor
- beam data transfer
- more wireless access
- plus 'Peoples' & other apps

VERDICT:
Cool new product. And lets hope it will be unlike my other OS's and my other ice cream sandwiches, and won't ever 'freeze up'. :)

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Unveiling their new symbol @ Google's office:



For TT's 'Ice Cream' day
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DriveBy Funnies

Stop, Look & Lol @ Funny Signs:







And because it can't be mentioned enough...



Finally, don't forget:

I just needed a few laughs today...

- Hope you did too :)

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btws, just found this - long but has good ones:



(A few more lol signs @ DailyMail )

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Hunger Games Aussie Review

Found this Australian gal's spoiler-free review.
First thing she says is that the movie is 'amazing'...
She saw 'Hunger Games' last night, 24hr ahead of U.S. release.

Watch her self-video as she walks home @ 2am:

She says its just 'amazing'
'faithful adaptation w/o being beholden to the book'
'Jennifer Lawrence was sublime'
'Thought Josh brought the spirit of Peeta'
'Its got pace and tightness'
'good even for people who've already read the book'

So, according to her 'The Hunger Games' will be a hit.

But the most unique thing about her experience to me was the small theatre she was in. The theater provided champagne on little numbered tables? And those table dots with numbers (D1, D2) indicate that they had assigned seating in this cozy little cinema.

Personally, I wouldn't care what film I was seeing if I got to see it in large comfy seats with a glass of champagne in my hand...




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Seasons of the Moon

Our moon never seems to change...
Its fissures, craters and other formations look permanent, frozen except for a few small indents here and there.



We know the moon didn't always appear like this...
And now, thanks to NASA, we get to watch its history:

NASA's 'Evolution of the Moon'


Credit goes to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter group - thanks to their hard work we can all experience the 'seasons' of the moon.

And without having to wear a spacesuit,
or even an anti-meteor helmet. ;-)


For ThemeThursday's: 'Season'
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Escaping the Costa Concordia

Teen films as family escapes the ship.

This 5 minute amateur video chronicles their evacuation, from the moment they felt the crash during the magic show, until they reached the emergency shelter on shore.

The kid added explanations (in text windows) so you know what's going on during each individual video clip. Interesting raw footage, and well worth a look.



Imagine getting in a lifeboat like that, and then just when you think you're rescued, it tips so badly that you have to go back onto a sinking ship. And try to fathom what was like, climbing down the side of that giant boat in the dark!

Scary, nightmare scary...

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Bring Us Your In-Laws

`
I like amusement parks...

Especially the ones with quirky, unique rides.

I remember going to Disneyland as a teenager, and thinking 'Gee, wouldn't it be great to -live- here?!'. Then I grew up and realized that perhaps a few more vegetables and a few less decibels might make for a better life.

Yet I still yearn to see these two in person:


Cool Water Slide in St. Joseph, Missouri.

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and
Wildwood NJ's not-so-spooky boat ride:



Marvel at the bright day-glow colors.

Then lol at that final sign inside.

Thrills for the entire family...

so plan ahead for Halloween. ;-)

For our H'ween TThursday topic: 'Thrill'
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One Fish Two Fish Red Fish OMG FISH

A five foot flying fish, actually.

Ever want a 5 ft remote-controlled helium-filled flying fish? The video below shows a family that owns both the Shark and the Clown Fish 'Air Swimmer' models:



They fly both of them throughout the house.
And in the city. Just watch it. Awesome.

So awesome that I got my own 'Nemo' on Monday.

The box it came in is surprisingly small;
it fit into a regular priority mail box.

Now to find a helium source so mine can fly.
And hopefully I'll avoid the ceiling fan.
You know how fish hate ceiling fans.

And BTW, thanks Mrsupole for
our great new TT topic: 'FISH'
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How To Tell if Someone is Lying

Nonverbal clues, anyone?...

Chimpanzees can't talk, but they can still fib. Researchers found that chimps can divert other chimps, and thus keep them from realizing that the first chimp is hiding (and not sharing) a banana.

We humans are so much smarter, we should be able to tell when others are trying to deceive us, right? Just to be sure, here are two short videos:



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There, now I feel smarter, don't you?

For TT's Communication day
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Watching Letters Fly By

A quick post about fonts and flicks...

You see common Kinetic Typography when movie credits zip by as you sit in a darkened theater. btw, Its much more difficult to add floating notes during the film itself, like those sliding rules in 'Zombieland'. (a fun movie, if you can stand gooey gore.)

Below is a narration enhanced with active letters.



A person named Chris did the kinetic typograph above,
using the villian's speech from 'V for Vendetta';
a movie w/ Hugo Weaving & Natalie Portman, kinda
'Black Swan meets the bad guy from The Matrix'...

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This next flight of word & letter fancy is


called 'X versus O', by

Reminds me of those Sesame Street bits, but for adults.


* Hope you've enjoyed these very moving letters... ;-)

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for TT's 'letter' day
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