neon epiphany

the golden compass

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:47:39 -0700

Terribly disappointed by the film of The Golden Compass. The whole thing was cut like a highlight reel -- all action, zero contemplation -- with scenes (such as in Mrs. Coulter's lodgings), presented as actual montages, chirpy music and all! How one is supposed to be able to form an emotional reaction to this material in spite of all this is a mystery! The terrible dialogue didn't help much, either. Was somewhat hoping for a make-up kiss of sorts when Daniel Craig would do his "thing" at the end, but then the movie just ended. Pffft!

Interesting that the US version credits "Northern Lights" as the original source material, as I'm not aware of its having been printed here under that name. Am pleased by that, of course -- you're looking at the woman, after all, who special ordered the first Harry Potter movie from Canada in order to get her philosopher's stone fix.

Am working my way through all six hundred-odd pages of Absolute Sandman #1, and have come to the realization that I'd really like to draw a comic myself. Just one page would be enough. Maybe one of these days...

It's May, and Seattle is sunny at last, & plastered with pink:

big love

Here's to our first snow-free month of 2008. Please?

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under wing

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:54:24 -0700

Odds & ends, because it's all I feel up to:

Could tell that Elizabeth: The Golden Age wasn't exactly to a level with its predecessor, but it was too easy to lose myself in its costuming and set design. Those dresses! (swoon) ... sadly, all Clive Owen's subplots were dead weight, I felt, and I'm pained in saying so as I love Clive Owen dearly.

Alan Moore love fest continues: Top 10 #1 was great, eagerly awaiting book 2; League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #1 a fun read though more of a simple diversion.

<3 Heart Station, as expected.

Officially filled up on $4 gas last week, but too shellshocked to come to terms with it 'til now.

Didn't warm to Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett until her final, heartbreaking duet with Toby. Anthony and Johanna? Ugh. Johnny Depp, unsurprisingly, continues to amaze.

Am not feeling like jumping on GTA IV's bandwagon with the rest of humanity. Truly, when would I play?

newborns

These little guys were hanging out with their mother just outside my building's rear entrance (am not sure why, but immediately the cover of Beatles For Sale came to mind). They hadn't been there long, at least not in this state -- you could still see eggshells on the ground. Was immediately flush with newfound sense of renewal, and v. timely so... and oh, but they look cosy, don't they?

Just looking at them made me feel warm, too, and loved.

Thanks for the well-wishes, all. Really, and truly, mean it...

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signed, sealed, delivered

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:25:01 -0700

dragonfruit

Did I mention how much I hate taxes? Finally, thrillingly done, but at a cost -- apparently the window of time spent doing them coincided exactly with a window of unseasonably beautiful weather. This is the usual story of my life.

Had a brief conversation with a lovely barista at Aberdeen Centre's Starbucks, where the following vital information was gleaned:

Mango tea frappuccino will never arrive because apparently it already did, and due to an abject failure in north American test markets was a no-go. Test markets which went unnamed for their own safety, because they are so finished once I uncover their taste-defective identities.
Tangerine and pomegranate have been off the menu some time, leaving only the heavy stuff, but you can still get a strawberry-lemon tea frappuccino if you ask nicely. A touch over-sweet, but it'll work in a pinch.
Iced green tea with a couple squeezes of melon syrup: maybe the best idea of all.

Believe me, as a non-coffee-drinker who spends a lot of time with addicts, this is all going to save my life someday.

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contented, after a fashion

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:42:32 -0700

published!

I got the table of contents page! (shush, please don't tell me if that's a bad thing!)

Feeling unreasonably giddy at the idea of being published in a real, live, you-pay-for-this magazine*. Even if the other envelope never arrives, I think my euphoria should last for awhile yet. To tell you the truth, I was offered some decent money a couple years back for several shots by the Washington State Tourism Board, but at the time fear of having my real name out there (and, after all, they have to cut a check to somebody) convinced me not to. ~ so glad I got over it, because it's really quite enjoyable!

On the other hand, hate, hate, hate, hate doing taxes. Seething hate. How do I get myself into this situation every year?

*This is the May 2008 issue of Popular Photography & Imaging.

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vox hunt: shoot the sunset

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:11:25 -0700

"The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire." -- Pamela Hansford Johnson
Show us a self-taken picture of the sunset.
Submitted by Connie.

berkeley sunset: over there

ruby beach sunset: split light

nile sunset: flying home

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i am legend

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:58:06 -0700

To bring some closure to Monday's entry, I present dai bao:

dai bao

Sadly, such a mélange is not often photogenic, but I'm sure there are those among you who can appreciate the imagery! Note forgotten ingredients like Chinese sausage, spring onions, and then imagine the wonderful, aromatic steam air which pours out as you bite into the pocket of filling, and you can complete the picture for yourself. There's absolutely no sense of scale in these photos, but I stick with my softball comparison.

As quickly as it came, it went; Good-bye, GNE, sleep well, and Thank You for the best April 1 on record. Sniffle.

Took out Alan Moore's Promethea: Book 1 from the library, even before I'd read a single page of Preacher. Feel like I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but it only seemed appropriate after a night spent dreaming I was the superpowered reincarnation of Cleopatra, fighting terrorists with the ability to see their actions as words on a printed page and affect their fates through copyeditor's marks. Seriously. And! You should have seen it, loves -- my costume was amazing, a thing of bronze and silk and leather, full of reptilian ferocity.

That's right, I even get to cosplay in my sleep. If that's not a superpower, I don't know what is.

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bastille day

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:46:02 -0700

As of last night's posts, Paris Hilton has now been banished from my front page. I suppose some would say my work here is done, and I certainly feel a sense of accomplishment.

But! I haven't told you yet. I'm having a photo published in a real live photo magazine (Popular Photography & Imaging), which I guess has happened before, but they're paying me for it, which hasn't. Whomever it was found me on flickr, which means that after nearly twenty years, I've finally figured out how to make money on the internet.

This is the one, an oldie:

Gehry waves

I might even have some money left over after paying for the magazine!

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