Did you see the lady singing the national anthem at Obama's Grant Park Rally in Chicago last night? This may have been Chicago-specific coverage, as my local ABC cut from the national coverage as soon as they projected it for Obama.
It was pretty embarassing and borderline disgusting. I've held an internal debate about how bad it is to use a few wrong words in the anthem, after all she got the general themes right. However, I think I'm comfortable with being appalled that the person chosen to sing the national anthem before the appearance of the new president couldn't get it right. We're not taking Marvin Gaye from the USA basketball commercial (from the 1983 NBA all star game actually) doing his groovy thang with it- but getting the words right. We're talking, lady with a mic, belting it out like anyone- but screwing up the lyrics repeatedly. She may have even swapped 'stars' and 'stripes' around, I'm not sure, and haven't been able to find a video of it to review. And that's pretty bad.
She was purportedly Jennifer Hudson's friend- Hudson sang the anthem at the DNC- but that's all I got at the moment. Can't find a name anywhere, but I'll post more as an edit if/when I find more.
A trifling point, perhaps, given the magnitude of last night (and how well everything else went, from the crowd downtown being great- though I wasn't there I saw and heard plenty of positive things- to both candidate's speeches). However, I was sufficiently bothered and unimpressed that I wanted to bring this up.
Also, for everyone's peace of mind: I did laundry Monday, thereby avoiding dressing in filth.
[edit: Finally, RIP Michael Crichton. If not for thee, I may not have made the life choices which led to my being an underpaid, underappreciated graduate student of Human Genetics this very day. I don't hold a grudge though, it will all be worthwhile, eventually. And eventually WILL come- my thesis committee gave me approval to write last week! Anyhow, thanks for the inspiration and rest in peace, Michael.]
Showing posts with label filth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label filth. Show all posts
05 November 2008
02 November 2008
Pumpkin Time
I've recently disappeared from the blogomat for a while. There are a few reasons for this: for one, I've had no further laundromat experiences to write another critically acclaimed entry about, because, shamefully, I have not returned to the laundromat since my last story... that was September 21, according to my blog. (I have not lived in my own filth as of yet, however: when I was in my most dire need the lovely Brigitte did me the favor of washing a load a couple weeks ago) (dressing in filth is becoming rather imminent, however) For another, I said when I restarted my blog that I wasn't going to just pratter on about things I do, because my life is not sufficiently important or interesting to subject 4 other people in the world to that. And finally, I was kind of busy, I suppose.
But I think it high time for me to get back at this, so I'll spend your time on my moderate pumpkin-carving mastery. Or since it's only moderate, I suppose I should call it pumpkin-carving skillz. Or, for the folks still in Iowa who don't live with Gweat's, pumpkin-carving abilities. After intending to but missing the window last year, the fabulous Brigitte and I (with help of pumpkins her mother bought for us) cut us up some pumpkins a couple weeks ago with my really, really cheap knives. It's been probably at least ten years since I carved a pumpkin, so I wanted to try some interesting things beyond the ol' eyes and mouth. I think they turned out interesting at the very least.
The blank canvi for a carving session. Sadly the far right pumpkin USED to have some really cool green stripes on it, but they disappeared as the pumpkins ripened between purchasing and carving. A cameo appearance is made by the cats, Ellie, in gray, and Panther, stylishly donning black- it's probably easier to find her eyes as she really gets lost in the shadow of the entertainment center.
The magnificent Brigitte working on a pumpkin amidst the mess of innards.
The finished products in full light. Not in the same order as before.
Brigitte's first ghost in dramatic-effect lighting. I think this was the best pumpkin, because that is one very cute ghost.
The first pumpkin I carved. I got myself in a bit of a pickle by my carving procedure- cut out big chunks before the fine stuff, so I didn't have enough structure when I did the fine stuff and ended up breaking the region where the front legs and antennae/mouth parts extend into the moon. However, some fine work with a toothpick or two got it to look pretty respectable. You can see the toothpick going from the mouth to the spider's front left leg.
Another very cute pumpkin by Brigitte. This was the largest pumpkin, and as you can see from the pictures taken in full light it had some neat bumps to it that were incorporated as warts on his face. She was excessively hard on herself about it b/c there was a structural issue with the right eye. Some handy toothpick work though solved the problem very nicely- you can't tell there's any problem. The eyes did, however, end up getting pretty weird after a couple days, curling back into the pumpkin. I didn't realize how not-very-long they last after you carve them.
My second entry, a somewhat artistic cat face. Technically it all went pretty well, had some problems with the nose region, mostly because this was the second one I carved and I was getting careless. I'm a little disappointed with how the eyes look a bit crooked, but I probably couldn't draw a convincing cat face on paper so I probably shouldn't be too particular.
We saved the seeds and I roasted them with various spices: herbs & wing sauce, garlic, red pepper grapeseed oil & habanero, and 'pumpkin pie spice' & cinnamon. They're all pretty delicious. I just ate some. So there.
(My god this was a domesticated post. Carving pumpkins and cat pictures. Simple expository dialogue. Ugh. I feel like I'm disobeying my 'don't post about just living your regular life' edict. It may be a while before I post again, rather disappointed in myself.)
But I think it high time for me to get back at this, so I'll spend your time on my moderate pumpkin-carving mastery. Or since it's only moderate, I suppose I should call it pumpkin-carving skillz. Or, for the folks still in Iowa who don't live with Gweat's, pumpkin-carving abilities. After intending to but missing the window last year, the fabulous Brigitte and I (with help of pumpkins her mother bought for us) cut us up some pumpkins a couple weeks ago with my really, really cheap knives. It's been probably at least ten years since I carved a pumpkin, so I wanted to try some interesting things beyond the ol' eyes and mouth. I think they turned out interesting at the very least.
The blank canvi for a carving session. Sadly the far right pumpkin USED to have some really cool green stripes on it, but they disappeared as the pumpkins ripened between purchasing and carving. A cameo appearance is made by the cats, Ellie, in gray, and Panther, stylishly donning black- it's probably easier to find her eyes as she really gets lost in the shadow of the entertainment center.
The magnificent Brigitte working on a pumpkin amidst the mess of innards.
The finished products in full light. Not in the same order as before.
Brigitte's first ghost in dramatic-effect lighting. I think this was the best pumpkin, because that is one very cute ghost.
The first pumpkin I carved. I got myself in a bit of a pickle by my carving procedure- cut out big chunks before the fine stuff, so I didn't have enough structure when I did the fine stuff and ended up breaking the region where the front legs and antennae/mouth parts extend into the moon. However, some fine work with a toothpick or two got it to look pretty respectable. You can see the toothpick going from the mouth to the spider's front left leg.
Another very cute pumpkin by Brigitte. This was the largest pumpkin, and as you can see from the pictures taken in full light it had some neat bumps to it that were incorporated as warts on his face. She was excessively hard on herself about it b/c there was a structural issue with the right eye. Some handy toothpick work though solved the problem very nicely- you can't tell there's any problem. The eyes did, however, end up getting pretty weird after a couple days, curling back into the pumpkin. I didn't realize how not-very-long they last after you carve them.
My second entry, a somewhat artistic cat face. Technically it all went pretty well, had some problems with the nose region, mostly because this was the second one I carved and I was getting careless. I'm a little disappointed with how the eyes look a bit crooked, but I probably couldn't draw a convincing cat face on paper so I probably shouldn't be too particular.
We saved the seeds and I roasted them with various spices: herbs & wing sauce, garlic, red pepper grapeseed oil & habanero, and 'pumpkin pie spice' & cinnamon. They're all pretty delicious. I just ate some. So there.
(My god this was a domesticated post. Carving pumpkins and cat pictures. Simple expository dialogue. Ugh. I feel like I'm disobeying my 'don't post about just living your regular life' edict. It may be a while before I post again, rather disappointed in myself.)
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