Why I Started to Drink

Another reason why I say I *must* meet Randall Munroe at some point. He just reads my mind.

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C'est Moi a la Anime

This is the closest to a photo of myself with my new haircut. Make your own.

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Shop Update: Pins!

Instead of launching the entire site all at once, I've decided to put up merchandise in stages.

Today, I present to you - PINS!

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On a Reading Streak

And in today's episode of the MellowBeing show, we're here to talk about books and the joys of reading. Yep, this post is non-craft, non-NYC and non-geek related. Oh, the surprises I have for you guys sometimes..

(please forgive the obvious over-Photoshopping on this image.. I had a bit too much fun with it)

The reading streak started when my coworkers and I rediscovered GoodReads and started to obsessively add all the books we've ever read to the list. I mentioned to EchantedDroppings that I'd be hitting the triple digits of books read by year's end. So far, so good.

A few weeks after declaring this, I was reading on BoingBoing an article about how Art Garfunkel has read over 1000 books since 1968. I looked at the detailed list he has listed on his site.. pretty impressive, I must say. I then stumbled onto the list of "1001 books you must read before you die" and quickly found a group on GoodReads which is dedicated to accomplishing just this.

I wanted to end the post by showing a photograph of the amazing bookmark that Jessica from LostButtonStudios had made me during a bookmark swap but I recently lost it :( I feel pretty awful about it - I lost it in the most ridiculous way and it was such a one-of-a-kind item customized for myself. Sigh.. I will be posting later on the gorgeous earrings she included in her package as a separate entry.

Well, that is all in this episode. Stay tuned for more!

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Green Wristwarmers

Several months ago, I made a custom pair of wristwarmers for Enchanted Droppings. It's my first pair which are textured and long with buttons.

Here they are posing with Mang's pig stapler:
And here they are being modeled by Enchanted Droppings herself!
It's a bit too warm in the office lately to wear them around here.. guess next time, I'll finish them before summer is around the corner ;)

Labels: crafty, knitting

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Owl-E

A little while ago (read: a long time ago) I wrote about my part of the Crafty Daisies Swap I had participated in. It took quite a while for my softie to come in the mail. My swap partner Lusterbee was getting worried that it had been 2 weeks since she'd sent out the package and I still hadn't gotten it. In the end, I did get it! The box looked like it had been stepped on, thrown about and punched at. It was a pretty amazing sight.. The USPS had carefully put the beat up box in a plastic bag with a message of "We're sorry. Blah blah blah. We apologize for the inconvenience.."

In any case, here is the Owl-E! I've kept him at the office so I thought it'd be appropriate to take the photos while at my desk. (not to mention that it was a summer Friday yesterday and I had some time to kill before heading out).

Isn't my little owl adorable?! I love the handsewn beak and the button eyes the best. It's all very cute. The note that came with it - figured you guys might want to check out the blog and tutorial it came from. Lusterbee is a pretty cool chick and we've kept in touch. This has been a great experience. I think I'll be participating in more swaps now :)

Labels: crafty

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FO: Silver Silk Neckerchief

Voila! Sewed in the edges. A quick 90+ degree photoshoot in the backyard. And now the neckerchief is ready to be seen by the world.

(details: easiest. project. evar. CO 4 stitches with size 10.5 needles. Increase one stitch at beginning of row every 2 rows. Then do the reverse on the way back and create a wide triangle. Could easily be adapted for a large shawl and the garter stitch looks beautiful in its simplicity with silk and large loops.)

Labels: crafty, knitting

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Busy Bee

This bumble bee softie was made as part of the recent Softie Swap from the Crafty Daisies blog for my swap partner, Lusterbee. She got it and loves it. Now I want to make another bee!

Labels: crafty, crochet

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WIP: Silk Neckerchief

This project was to be a Mother's Day gift for my mom.. She's a big fan of neckerchiefs and silk ones at that. I had bought 2 skeins of silk yarn while in Argentina with the intention of making her a shawl. But I noticed.. she doesn't wear shawls. She has a few dozen mini scarves and can't seem to get enough of them. Not to mention that I couldn't work on this project on the train considering only my size 5 circulars and size 8 flat needles were train friendly and I'd be needing size 10s... so I figured a small project would do just fine.

This in its early stages at about 35% done:
This was after the second attempt. I should've known that using metal needles + silk yarn was going to be troublesome - it makes for some very fast knitting.. but.. one of the stitches slipped off at one point. I tried undoing rows and picking the stitches up but silk is VERY slippery! The whole thing became undone.. le sigh..

More to come when it's finished and blocked.

Labels: crafty, holiday, knitting

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Podcast Review

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd do a quick podcast review. This ties into "spending less time online".

Really, what does it come down to? Being efficient.

And nothing's more efficient than a podcast that will catch you up with the latest industry news in a few minutes to an hour.

The podcasts mentioned below are my current favorites. They range from general news to tech news to randomness to craftiness
(listed counterclockwise):

Sticks & Strings
a knitting podcast by an Australian bloke

You Look Nice Today
Journal of Emotional Hygiene with Merlin Mann as one of the 3 main guests

Knitters Uncensored
Hilarious trio based in Germany. Definitely uncensored.

This American Life
There's a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. It's mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always.

Craft.Rock.Live.
Vickie Howell's podcast which lasted for one season. She has an interview with Greenday's lead singer's wife as well as other crafty divas.

NYTimes Podcast
News on the go: Front page news, NYT Tech Talk, Political Points: On The Presidential Campaign, Science Times, Only in New York

This Week in Tech: TWiT
Join Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, John C. Dvorak, and other tech luminaries in a roundtable discussion of the latest trends in high tech

That is all folks! Check out these podcasts when you have a chance. Let me know if you've converted to any of them :)

Labels: crafty, geekery, lecture, random

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Future of Internet Talk

I attended this talk last month. Below is the description. The questions are what I jotted down. This is just food for thought. Enjoy!

Sponsored by the NYU Information Law Institute, Free Culture @ NYU, and ISOC-NY

What will come of the next decade on the Internet? We often take for granted the state of the net today, but there's no guarantee that it will remain this way. Will the digital future be dystopian, or is there a brighter outlook ahead than some may believe? Our panelists - thinkers and net visionaries, with backgrounds ranging from art, law, technology, politics, media, culture, and entrepreneurship - provided their perspectives on the future of the net, and engaged with members of the audience to further the exploration of what lies ahead.

Panelists:
Lauren Cornell, Executive Director, Rhizome
Clay Shirky, Adjunct Professor, NYU ITP
Jimmy Wales, Founder, Wikipedia and Wikia
Tim Wu, Professor, Columbia Law School
Jonathan Zittrain, Professor, Oxford University, Visiting Professor, NYU Law

Questions Discussed:
Is it a bright or bleak future for the Internet?
With the advent of user generated content, how do we manage to bring out the best information?
Is Wikipedia just a happy accident?
Does mob rule lead to a productive and useful knowledge base?

View the video archive here.

Labels: geekery, lecture

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