Theme Thursday

Its early, but are you in the mood for Thursday yet? Not me, I have a meeting that I'm not going to enjoy...

So here are a few places to give us all a bit of Thursday to look forward to: new topics you can write or do an artistic bit about to match.

One theme this week: 'Mirror' .
*I'm going to try it - we'll see everyone's Feb 11th.

Another theme for T-day: Pink & Black.

twitter: a portfolio themethursday tweet.

unique: Theme Thursday 4 gadgets?

And: video/CGI 'theme days'

This 'Ghost Eye' has an interesting effect.
Is it a real eye 'CGI'-ed onto a spiral?...

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Now we've got something to look forward to.

Besides the weekend, of course. ;-)

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How Can I Resist?

Today was World Nutella Day and I missed it again.

But all is not lost, because I'm not going to miss Erin's Blogging is for Dorks contest. And you shouldn't either, since you might win this cute little guy:



So I'm taking my task seriously, and I must produce a work of art, either written or visual, that stars Erin & co... and here it is...

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Behold, my Erin-centric entry:

'Be Our Valentine!'

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Just in time for February's favorite day too.

...Its a two-fer! ;-)

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The Ghost In The Machine

via the amazing 'Performance Capture' room.

''...this is not an animated film.
These actors do not just stand at
a lectern and do a voice part...''

- James Cameron

Avatar actors performed inside their graphical world in real time.

That's revolutionary - there was no waiting for CGI cut&paste to see their scenes. A giant 'live' video game with real people.


Multiple angles of 'Pandora' slide past
as the actors move inside it.

I don't want to move to Pandora, but I'd sure like to play with that performance-capture room. Imagine your home movies done anywhere or anywhen? Very cool.

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p.s.

NEWS: Cameron has decided -not- to bid to get his own series back. (Years ago, in order to get the directing job on 'Terminator', he had to sign away his rights to it. Typical Hollywood.)

It seems that the studio that owns it went bankrupt, and so now the rights to continue the 'T' series are being auctioned off. Sony is in the running, as is Lionsgate, but JC has opted out. Estimated price - $30 to $70 million.

If you were him, would you want it back?

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Tuper Tario Tros

Super Mario Brothers meet Tetris

If you like those two games then you'll have fun with this. Use the spacebar to toggle between 'Mario' mode and 'Tetris' mode. You'll be making points either way, as you help Mario travel to the castle.

fyi: This little version is just two levels long, so you'll be able to finish it without spending all day. (thank heavens)

You can play Tuper Tario Tros here online.
Thanks! to kongregate.com & SwingSwingSubmarine.com

Here's someone working on level 1:

Like those old SNES games, but shorter, thank God.

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Not to brag but lets just say I did much better on this game than on that other mini Tetris game...

Ta da! ... that was fun.

nubile Brezhnev

Wait, come back! - No funky history lesson, honest.
And no pics of that Ruskie as a young man either, because, 'Ew'.

The image above is just a screen-cap of the oddest captcha (word verification) that I ran into this week.

But since nowadays, it seems like the chosen words are more closely linked to the content of what I'm viewing - Where did this one come from?

I assure you I wasn't browsing bloomin' bushy-browed Bolsheviks.

I was actually looking at blogs w/ clips of quirky pets.

So unless a lot of people named their pups, or maybe their platypii, after past Soviet leaders, I'm stumped. Anyone?

p.s.

Isn't there a site that collects strange captchas?...

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Hm. No. Not even if said pet had giant eyebrows.



Imagine yelling 'Yasser! or Brezhie! out the front door...

* of course, they won't come... they're dead

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_{info credit, Wikipedia and Wiktionary, thanks!}

Fabio Sticks It

O Fabio! I will read more to you now, yes?
... Fabio? ... FABIO!?

Lol'd reading about Fabio's 'Cafe Firenze'/'Taste!' tour.


The article writer swoons for Fabio & his co-author:

"Like a whirlwind storm, their presence changed the atmosphere and their cologne scented it..."

"Fabio Viviani was hot before he starting cooking on Season 5 of Top Chef. Women loved the handsome Italian with the spiked, short tendrils of black hair..."

"...the people confuse me with Fabio," said Falleni, who smelled of Opium cologne and wore a charcoal Armani suit."

Meanwhile the only recipe of theirs that she mentions?... the balsamic martini. Probably because of this quote:

"It is made with strawberries, vanilla rum, lime, simple syrup and balsamic vinegar," Falleni said. "It's a little acidic, and it's sweet. So, the women go for it of course, and I go for the women..."

(Those were the best bits, to read all, click the pic)

She must write romance novels on the side.

Wanna bet she Tivo'd all his moments on TC too?


p.s.

AARP member?
You could always check out some 'Top Chef Seniors'... Nah.

Seattle calls Kathy Griffin

...with the siren song of hot mini-donuts?

{seattlepi interview}

Q: Are there any places you visit regularly while in town?

Kathy: My favorite place is at Pike Place Market, you know where they sell the doughnuts. It's a small hippie kiosk where they sell these little sacks of doughnuts. They're amazing. They actually fall down from heaven. That was 90 percent of the reason I visited there. Whoever's running the board of tourism should just say, "Come to Seattle, where there are little sacks of doughnuts."

Now there's a thought.
Heaven probably does have donuts.
Bet the French part has those powder-sugar things too.

Yum. But I"m getting off track here...

KG will be in Seattle through Sunday.

Stroll to her book-signing tonight at 7 p.m. (U of W bookstore, 4326 University Way), or try getting tickets for her 8 p.m. Fri/Sat shows. (Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St)

But remember, if those don't work out, stalk her here:

'Daily Dozen Doughnut Company'

Love how this video person notes 'dirty glass', but still orders.

And the Pike's Place Pig has duct tape on his neck?
Hm. A band-aid for a bronze boar boosting beignets?

The Dead Will Tell

And sometimes you need to know.



Made the chart above as a public service...

All because I was stuck on a train, reading a book that I *thought* was a mystery. Then suddenly an odd character with pointy ears shows up. Uh-oh.

Did I pick up some dreadful fairy tale or a 'Trek', or 'Twilight' knock-off from that grab & go newstand? As I read further I realized that there is a way to tell what you're in for as you dig through that unknown novel. Note how the dead guys are doing, and follow the chart.

Then you'll know if its time to look for the nearest recycling bin. (Sorry to anyone who thinks "Court of the Air" is great stuff.)

* And don't trust newsboys for book recommendations.

New New York Art

<

Floats like a butterfly... made of trash bags.

Caught in a still image, it looks like it could be made of bronze.

* She's looking away because, though he looks like a demon-centaur, he's really just a big windbag. A politician, no doubt.

The video:


I'm glad somebody uploaded this to youtube.

After all, if you're going to have a city full of hot air that smells bad, then dang it! - you might as well dress it up and make it look good!

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orig link from: NYmag.com

Top Bid = Top Chef

Get your bids in!

The NY Drama League's annual Benefit Gala Auction has begun, and one item is a Tour of Top Chef:

#-139 This 'priceless' VIP package includes:

4 VIP tickets to a Top Chef Tour show
(* pick any 2010 Tour stop)
Meet and greet with TC chefs
Tour of the Top Chef Tour Kitchen
Top Chef gift bag, including items such as
an autographed Quickfire cookbook,
Top Chef t-shirt
Top Chef apron
etc...

Highest bid so far is $ 650

Woo, its getting expensive. But not as expensive as going to the auction in person. Tickets to the event start at $750, going up to $1,995, or $7,500 to reserve a table. And add to that whatever ca$h you plan to spend on drinks or the auction itself...

Online auction is here: Bidding For Good .

* Just 2 weeks left to bid - I'm wondering how high it will go, because the online bids are just the beginning. They will continue to allow additional bids at the gala event itself.

Are drama geeks also foodies? - Guess we'll find out.

Chicken ala Craig

On the 10th anniversary of food maven Craig Claiborne's passing... here's my favorite chicken recipe of his:

Tarragon Chicken Crepes

2 cups cooked chicken cut into 'dice' cubes
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup heavy cream
Salt to taste, if desired
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 tb chopped fresh tarragon or 1/2 tsp dried
8 crepes (use your favorite recipe)
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley.

1. Cut chicken, and set aside.
* reserve the cooking liquid (if homemade)

2. Heat butter in a pan and add the flour, whisk together.
When blended and smooth, add the broth, stirring rapidly with the whisk. Add the cream, salt and pepper to taste, cayenne pepper, nutmeg and tarragon.

3. Add half of the sauce to the chicken and stir to blend.

4. Use equal portions of the chicken filling to fill each of eight crepes. Fold the crepes as desired, two per plate.

5. Spoon the remaining cream sauce over each serving, and sprinkle with chopped parsley for garnish and flavor.

Yield: Four servings.

And its very 'Yum' !

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First Person Tetris

New twist on an old game: You look at the screen and realize that this '1st person tetris' has your active piece always in dead center.

So how do you add each new piece in? You must use the spacebar to 'rotate the screen'. Then when the pile slides to the center to meet its newest piece it all fits together. Easy, right?...

Well, lets just say my High Score is Not-So-High.

So, when it snows again,
or when you have insomnia...
stay indoors for a bit and
go play online here:

FirstPersonTetris.com

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eta: one guy's video of his attempt: