Electric Food

Originally uploaded by oskay

I have to say, this is one of the most unusual and fascinating ideas since candy sushi: Circuitry made with sugar products.

Truly ingenious, if time-intensive :)

Quotes, # 006: Hungry

Ahh, yes, Robert Bloch. The writer who made it difficult for many people to use a shower (Psycho). The youngest protegé of HP Lovecraft. A favoured writer of Alfred Hitchcock's television programs.

The author of this week's quote.

Which can be understood in so many different ways :)

This image, as well as all of the preceding Quotes, are for sale as physical art you can put on your office or home walls. Feel free to email me if you'd like to own this piece of American Pie(ty). Be the first on your block to be the first on your block.

All rights reserved, © caren park, http://RealistAtLarge.blogspot.com.

Uncomfortable Short Reviews

An interesting posit: Take a story, then break it down into the shortest possible summary that tells the most plot, and what comes out tells a subtly-different story, nominally quite unpleasant when stripped of most/all niceties.

My favourites include:

• ALIENS: An unplanned pregnancy leads to complications
• AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON: Tourist causes riot
• BATMAN: Wealthy man assaults the mentally ill
• DEBBIE DOES DALLAS: Cheerleaders develop valuable entrepreneurial skills
• DEEP THROAT: Medical anomaly earns woman new friends
• DELIVERANCE: Tourists experience local hospitality
• DIE HARD: Dysfunctional cop saves marriage by murdering foreign national
• DOCTOR FAUSTUS: Scholar learns nuances of contract law
• DRACULA: Immigrant clashes with locals
• E T : Out-of-control pet causes mayhem, sadness
• FRANKENSTEIN: Scientific advancement proves unpopular with general public
• GHOSTBUSTERS: Unemployed college professors destroy hotel with nuclear weapons
• KARATE KID: Boy gains acceptance through violence
• KING KONG: Endangered animal stolen, shot
• LOLITA: Man encourages step-daughter to take chances
• LORD OF THE RINGS: Midget destroys stolen property
• ROSEMARY’S BABY: An unplanned pregnancy leads to complications
• STAR TREK, the Original Series: Over-sexed officer routinely places crew in danger
• STEPFORD WIVES, the: Woman has difficulty adjusting to suburban life
  
• SWEENEY TODD: Businesses flourish when freed from stringent regulation
• TAXI DRIVER: Modern dating proves challenging for working class man
• TERMINATOR: An unplanned pregnancy leads to complications
• TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: Tourists have difficulty with regional cuisine

Between unplanned pregnancies, problem dating, tourists, and immigrants, it seems a fair number of popular movies have very little originality. Hmmm...

Quotes, # 005: Humility

This week's quote is all about Humility, which brings to mind lyrics of a song some thirty years old: "Oh, Lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way!"

Epitomises the gentleman for whom this quote is famous, Ted Turner, don'tchathink?

Anyway, this image, as well as all of the preceding Quotes, are for sale as physical art you can put on your office or home walls. Feel free to email me if you'd like to own this piece of American Pie(ty). Be the first on your block to be the first on your block.

All rights reserved, © caren park, http://RealistAtLarge.blogspot.com.

Maria, in Antwerp

i don't usually put in plugs for TV shows here, especially not those located in Belgium, but i really have to say this particular advertisement is an exception to the rule:



i think the producers learned a lot from their previous experience for the Beeb with casting in London a few years ago, where the generic "we" were annoyed with less-interesting promos for much of the spring and summer of 2006.

keep that smile on your face all day long!

Kenai, RIP

This morning, it was reported that Kenai, a female Gyrfalcon residing at the Woodland Park Zoo, had died while flying her free exercise program.

A little over 5 years ago, I took these photos of her. She was quite feisty and, as I recall, not averse to using her free time to exercise 20-30 miles away on occasion, leaving her handlers more than a bit perturbed.

On this occasion, however, zoo staff believe she was hit by a vehicle near the Green Lake Reservoir, not far from the zoo.

She will be missed.

Quotes, # 004: Vacant

From time to time, we all meet people like this, folks whom we recognize aren't playing with a full deck: "He's missing aces through eights, and you can choose the direction"

In honour of these individuals, I offer the following photo of a wonderful giraffe, munching contentedly on tender foliage...

All photos are copyright myself. Please ask my permission (which can be gained in a number of ways, not the least of which is by solvent monetary currency or barter (grin)) to post these elsewhere... Most are also available in physical poster form, signed even on request! Help me market them and receive my undying devotion. Thanks :)

Me, a Vegetarian?

Not even close. However, sometimes I feel the need to eat my green brethren. When I do, it usually takes the shape of butternut squash, spinach salads, and fresh corn on the cob.

A few days ago, I managed to snag myself about a pound of fresh asparagus, and a few pounds of sugar-snap peas. The snaps are a Costco staple, and allow me to munch non-guiltily between meals. Tonight, however, they came together in spectacular fashion.

The recipe? One pound of asparagus, base ends trimmed (to be composted), the remainder snapped in two; and about 8 ounces of sugar-snaps. Place about 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine into a large sauté (or deep frying) pan and melt. Add the asparagus to the pan for about three minutes, tossing occasionally.

Now, add granulated or chopped garlic (to taste; I believe you can never put too much garlic into any dish), and at least a decent sprinkling of non-granulated sea salt. Last ingredient to go in are the snaps. Toss and sauté for the next 5-6 minutes. If you are like me, you want the asparagus to be slightly-crisp. Cooking longer turns asparagus to mush, but that's just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Serve hot.

Pretty inexpensive, reasonably healthy, definitely fast food, very tasty. Feel free to drool here. I would...

Tips and Tricks

Gotta love GeeksAreSexy!:


Absolutely handy to know, even if you aren't among my time traveler friends :)

Not Sure What This Means

But, because Easter approaches, it must be time to fire up a few holiday-related funnies:



I have to ask my pastor friends and family if this is the norm for the holiday :)

Tuesday at JBP

After a morning and bit of afternoon chore doing, it was time to soak up some sunshine for a change. And so, it was time to wander down to Juanita Bay Park, where winter/spring transition was happening. The four Bald Eagles (two adults, two juveniles) that nest on Rose Point were soaring all afternoon, there were fly-bys of paired Common Mergansers and a Wood Duck male. A single female Hoodie was found fishing along the western boardwalk approach near some Common Snipe. Meanwhile, three crested Double-crested Cormorants in full breeding regalia noticed jumping carp and catfish in the same place and came to investigate.

Numerous Great Blue Herons were fighting for some reason (they don't nest in the neighbourhood that I know of), and more than a few Red-winged Blackbirds were dive-bombing anything that threatened their confused perceived territories. Tree Swallows were burbling overhead most of the day, and Belted Kingfishers were fishing the entrance to Forbes Creek.

Lastly, there was also a Pot-bellied Gentleman (PBGE, for want of a better term) who paddled his way into the restricted waters wearing only an attitude and inappropriate shorts. He thankfully removed himself before he caused too many vision problems...

And the hits just kept on coming once I got home, to be greeted by one of the neighbour Hairy Woodpeckers, a gaggle of Pine Siskins, incontrovertible aural evidence for a Common Yellowthroat, a Fox and Song Sparrow, and a House Finch with some of the most yellow and orange feathers I've ever seen for them.

Quotes, # 003: Anonymous

OK. So Virginia Woolf may have been a little on the crazed side, and yet her aphorism, even today, contains more than your average ring of veracity.

To wit, quoting Wikipedia, "...A more recent example of a pseudonym is that of Joanne Kathleen Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter Series, who was advised to use the pseudonym 'J K Rowling,' for her editor thought she would sell more books if her audience thought she was a man..."

Wonder how that went?

All photos are copyright myself. Please ask my permission (which can be gained in a number of ways, not the least of which is by solvent monetary currency or barter (grin)) to post these elsewhere... Most are also available in physical poster form, signed even on request! Help me market them and receive my undying devotion. Thanks :)

Growing Spaghetti

It seems so obvious now...

honest!

2009.04 Desktop Calendar

it's snowing. no, really. no rain, like last post (about thirty minutes ago). so, in that vein, i am posting an april desktop calendar image that hopefully reminds one and all that spring is possible in the puget sound.

no, really. it has happened in the past, and i fully expect it will happen again.

soon. i think.

anyway, this shot was taken at spencer island (everett) a few years back. the view is looking north towards mount baker and, as you can tell, the ducks were more than a bit skittish; i think hunting season had just closed. the lighting was spectacular, the day and the company (hi, david!) were both exemplary.

Please feel free to download this photo for personal use on your computer's desktop. To download, just click once on the image, which will bring up the enlarged image on a new webpage. Then, right-click on the image and follow your operating system's instructions for pictures / images.

I hope you enjoy :)

Not Kidding

It is snowing. Again. Like last week. And the week before, etc. No, really.

Yes, it is April Fool's Day, but that's not why it's snowing.

I think.

According to the radar, we should see nothing but rain. Looking through the old weather window, which is looking outside, we are seeing rain and snow, with more snow as time presses forward. We were dusted around midnight last night, but it was gone by this morning.

I seem to recall Mill Creek/Bothell getting snow twenty years ago during April, about a foot or so. Same time, Seattle saw nothing but rain.

Gotta love Seattle weather.