Digital Imaging II

I'm taking Digital Imaging II for the first half of summer school. I really like the teacher, but so far been more of a review of what I learned in Digital Imaging I than learning much new, although I am learning that having a nicer camera has a HUUUUUUGE difference in the quality of pictures.



Make sure you click on the images to better see them. See them better. Just click on em.

Book 4 of 12: When You Are Engulfed in Flames

For book 4 I somewhat cheated. Those of you with a disgustingly good memory may recall that I wanted to read 12 books this year that I already own but have never read. Well, my spare time being what it is, (fictional) I found time to listen to a book on CD. Since I don't own any books on CD, I listened to this from the library.

I first heard of David Sedaris (the author) in my Creative Writing class. He wrote what became my favorite reading assignment of the semester, the short story "What I Learned," a surreal retelling of his college experience, and quite possibly one of the best and funniest short stories I've read.

While at the library I hunted for some books on CD that I wouldn't hate listening to, such as the last book in the Belgariad that I could finally finish and stop lying about having read them all. Another was a set of short stories/tales written and told by the incomparable Garrison Keillor, someone I grew fond of after serving a 2 year (mostly) honorable mission in Minnesota. In the vicinity of Garrison Keillor I noticed quite a few comedy CDs being passed off as books, as well as other books on CD being passed off as comedy. Among this collection was a familiar name, David Sedaris. Hey, I thought. He's that guy that wrote that story I read that one time, that was funny. I should check it out. So I did and on my way to and from work and school for the last 2 or so weeks I've been among David's captive audience. His writing (and reading, Sedaris reads his own stories) is at once dry and witty and bawdy toilet humor. Self-deprecating to a fault, he manages to be dislikable and lovable, distant and relatable all at once. Now that I sound sufficiently like the back of a book jacket, let me try to sound like myself. David Sedaris is one of the best storytellers I've had the pleasure of listening to. When You Are Engulfed in Flames is a collection of 22 short stories mostly regarding one aspect or another of the author's life. He tells stories about (I won't list all 22, just the 13 or so I found particularly entertaining): a family member who once had a parasitic worm, trying to catch up with his taller walking companion, memories of a hilariously bad babysitter, talking about Princeton (my favorite), a rude neighbor who became a friend, buying a skeleton for his significant other, accidentally being stuck in a waiting room without clothes because he doesn't speak French (it makes (more) sense in context,) accidentally coughing a cough drop into the lap of a sleeping airplane seatmate, his parent's art collection, using album LPs as shields from kamikaze French birds, having a boil lanced from his backside (the title is "Old Faithful,") and moving to Japan on Jon Stewart's recommendation in order to quit smoking.

I would recommend them all except maybe 2, (neither of those are listed above), one story I wouldn't recommend because of it's graphic nature (though I wouldn't necessarily blame the author as it's about his encounter with disgusting people and why I would never hitchhike) and the other I wouldn't recommend just because I tried listening to it about 4 times and couldn't stay focused on it enough to know whether or not it was any good.

But, for what it is, namely recollections and short stories told from a selfish but self-deprecatingly lovable narrator, I can't think of a better read. It doesn't have many hilarious quotes, just because that's not his writing style. His jokes are subtler and more drawn out than a string of quotable one liners, but it makes for a richer reading (or in my case, listening) experience. 4 out of 4 stars. 5 out of 5, whatever my rating system is.

Picdump- Whimsical Edition

Funniest Cartoon I've seen in awhile

Courtesy of Chuck & Beans from shoeboxblog.com

Friday the Umpteenth

As a kid, I watched a lot of television. (Still do, but then, I still consider myself a kid in many ways.) One of my favorite programs was the Disney channels' "Adventures in Wonderland." In addition to being closed-captioned for the hearing impaired, it also was recommended for viewing by the American Federation of Teaching and the National Education Association, as they pointed out at the beginning of ever episode.

It was a fantastic show, (don't let the picture fool you), clever and educational with (mostly) great songs. I think one of the reasons why it hasn't been released on DVD is one of its famous guest stars was OJ Simpson. And as we all know, the only thing Disney likes more than money is bleaching out and hiding any hint that casts any kind of shadow over their family-friendly wholesome image.

One episode I remember was about Friday the Thirteenth. The residents of Wonderland were all afraid and haunted by the bad luck associated with this day, until the Red Queen pronounced Friday the Thirteenth to be "Friday the Umpteenth" which was the luckiest day of the year. All the Wonderlandians (Tweedle dee and dum, Mad Hatter, Caterpillar, etc.) realized that luck is a matter of perspective. For example, when one character was building a house of cards, he found out it was Friday the Thirteenth, the house of cards collapsed. But after the proclamation of Friday the Umpteenth, he realized that, though it collapsed, it was the biggest, tallest house of cards ever constructed.

To nine year old me, this was huge, and very educational. You mean luck can be changed simply by perspective?

This Friday the Thirteenth was a wonderful day, and I didn't even need to change much of my perspective to make it so.

I've worked at my job for a year and a half now, the longest I've ever worked anywhere. I love it here, but I've felt a bit trapped, as my school schedule has prevented me several times from promotions and advancement. However, on Friday, I received 2 promotions, one with a pay raise, and one without. Still not a manager, but it's progress as well as I think the first time I've received a pay raise, not counting commission jobs in the past.

I also was 'paid' for my first graphic design job. My friend Charity wanted someone to make business cards for her, I volunteered my services and designed some business cards for her etsy shop, PitterPat Heart. She and her husband paid me by taking Tracie and I out to dinner and arranged for our favorite babysitter to watch Morgan so we could have a grown-ups night out. Best. Payment. Ever.

So this Friday the Thirteenth or Friday the Umpteenth was one of the best days I've had in quite awhile. In fact, the only 'bad' luck about this day is I'll have to wait until January for another Friday the Umpteenth!

Book 3 of 12: Odd and the Frost Giants

I really read this in March, honestly, but with school and work being school and work, I didn't have time/didn't make time to review it then.

So this was my third book of the year, the first 'kids' book, also marking a quarter of the books I've set out to read this year. Yay me.

Odd and the Frost Giants is a story of an unusual boy (is there any other kind in children's literature?) who has a bad leg and annoying smile and leaves home. (His father died years earlier and his mother wed a widower who favored his own children over protagonist Odd.) It takes place somewhere in Scandinavia sometime in the middle ages (Viking times). Odd lives in his father's old woodcutting shack until he meets an unusual fox who leads him to a singular bear overlooked by an individual eagle. The bear's paw is trapped in a tree, Odd frees him and they follow him home. While asleep Odd thinks he dreams the animals are all talking, but this being a Neil Gaiman book, Odd wakes up and not only realizes the animals are all talking, but is told that these animals are none other than All-Father Odin (the Eagle), the Mighty Thor (the Bear of course) and mischevious Loki (Fox) whose fault it naturally was that they are in this predicament. (A Frost Giant tricked Loki into giving it Thor's hammer)

With Odd's help they make it up the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard. There Odd drinks from Mímir's well, outsmarts the giant largely through smiling at him in an annoying way, and Asgard again belongs to Odin, Thor and Loki, who of course returned to their natural forms. Freya the goddess fixes Odd's leg which he had broken when a child and he returns home all growed up.

Despite the fact that the book really should have been called "Odd and the Frost GianT," (there was only one) I really liked it, though it was very, very short. It read like a child's story merged with a tale from Norse mythology (my favorite mythology) which is pretty much what it was.

My biggest gripe and only gripe was just the brevity of the story. While it made it easy for me to reach my goal, having read it in a few hours on March 31, it read more like an outline of a story rather than a full, fleshed out tale that Gaiman is known for.

Still, if you have a few hours to spend and you love Gaiman as much as me, I would recommend it. 3 out of 5 stars.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Playing Peek a boo with Moby
Seeing a freshly clean room in my home even if it's only clean for a few seconds
Going to J-Dawgs on the rare occasion I'm in Provo
Calming down an angry customer on the phone
Having time to just relax with Tracie
Birthday Cake
Falling in love with an author I didn't know existed
A new CD from one of my favorite musicians
Getting a water filter $1000 cheaper than originally advertised
Visiting friends
finishing a 50 page novella
building a website
completing an 8 page brochure
drawing a life size self portrait that actually looks like me

Being DONE with the semester