mental floss

Bit late posting, because we got home late last night and my mind just started clicking into gear. :)

akasha13131 was sick Sunday, so we ended up at the American Museum of Natural History.

( serious nerd photos within. )



Sadly, I was pretty drained and lacking a reasonable attention span conducive to museums, so we skimmed through most of the museum. Nhan started fading, too, so we headed home.

I've been thinking about the nature of my blogs. I really like to share experiences with others, even people who are NOT on LiveJournal (they email, instead of commenting). I wonder, though, if I'm a bit TOO prolific with the images. What do you think? Do you enjoy seeing photos of my adventures? Or do you think I'm a little over-the-top with the daily posts? Seriously- I'm just wondering, because I don't want to clog up everyone's bandwidth. :)

We're home now, and I think I'll be able to pick up Armand and bring him home later this week. Next Sunday I'm planning on cooking dinner for anyone who would like to come over and watch Iron Man in HD. Anyone interested?

The last day of the trip before heading home.

We started with a quick afternoon in Philadelphia; we could only fit in the Liberty Bell and Reading Terminal Market. I had wanted to see the Mütter Museum with all the strange medical and scientific collections (such as 2,000 samples of non-food gut contents ingested by people), but we didn't have time. We left Philadelphia and met Nhan's cousins in Princeton for a birthday dinner. We had SO much fun talking to people!

( photos of Philadelphia and Nhan's family )


croquembouche.



Today we were hoping to visit Gia and Justin in New Haven, but Gia is very ill with a cold. :( take care and feel better, Gia! So, it's looking like we're going to head over to Queens for East Buffet and then head home. Or something like that...

We drove to Baltimore Friday, visited the National Aquarium, and then headed to somewhere in Jersey near Philadephia to sleep for the night. Today we plan to hit Philly for a bit, and then head over to Princeton to see Nhan's cousin and other relatives.

( I was really impressed with the Aquarium! )

You can see the Animal Planet Australia exhibit in the front tower;
a second tower (behind) held the Rain Forest exhibit.

OK, now for today's "real" post. :) The plan was to visit the National Zoo in the morning and then the Air and Space Museum/Washington Mall in the afternoon. But once I get around animals? Yeah, all bets were off. LOL.

Hyrax!


( Come to the Zoo! (25 photos) )

We just watched the debate. I'm really fond of Biden now; I was unsure about him before. Sure, neither party is the be-all, end-all. I really think that Obama and Biden have the right attitude and passion to govern our country, help Americans, and bring the U.S. back into a favourable light on the world stage. That's my two cents, at any rate.

I've learned something new: take away my camera, and I suddenly feel inadequate. :P

The club (9:30 in D.C.) is an awesome venue, and the staff were very cool about explaining how the tour wasn't allowing pro photography (defined as any camera with a detachable lens). Still, I was upset about only having my little pocket camera. The concert was great - I loved Elsiane (Stephanie Sotto), one of the opening acts! Go to her site and check her out.




( A couple more photos... )

Today we went up the mountain. :)


Our shoes. :)

( views, a horse, and another creepy spider. )

We arrived in D.C. this afternoon, and checked into the hotel (swanky Omni: woo woo!). The area is so pretty; we're at the Smithsonian Zoo metro stop, so we'll be able to walk to the Zoo tomorrow (hopefully it won't rain). We got some crappy Indian food for dinner (hellooooo, stomach!), and will be leaving soon to see Delerium. On the way back to the hotel we had to wait a couple minutes for a motorcade to pass. Police were everywhere, so it must have been someone important. It occurred to me that... duh.... we're in D.C.. I'm sure this happens all the time. And I imagine it must get slightly annoying at times.

Ugh. Tummy. Blech.

Today was cloudy again, so we saw Ghost Town and played mini-golf. We saw deer and a marmot, but the latter was annoyed and hid in his burrow. We also went to a market that had all sorts of antiques, produce, gifts shops... you name it.

Today is neurobeat's birthday: hope you did something sufficiently cool!

I called Angell Memorial for an update on Armandkitty. The liaison read the notes left by the doctors and vet techs; he's doing fine, and has received notes such as "hugamuffin," "adorable boy," and "cuddle monster" among the other "eats well," "no vomiting," et cetera. :) My good boy!

Gia has been writing a lot over at Associated Content, so check out her profile to read her stuff. I have a couple things published, too; check out my profile to read my articles.

( want to see some photos from today? No bugs this time. Promise. )



I hope I'm not bugging people on my friends' list with all these photo posts! Tomorrow we are going to try to head to the peak of Massanutten, and then we're off to D.C.!

Today was cut short because I tripped over a log. FUN. :/

After lunch we visited a local pet shop, ( complete with Corgi. )


Nhan being silly:

We started today with the usual timeshare "check-in," which usually ends with a slightly uncomfortable sales pitch. We then headed back up to the Shenandoah National Park. It was misty again, but we had a nice drive!

I love crisp fall days, especially when there's mist!


( more photos... )

I have photos of our room and of Nhan in the hot tub, but I figure I would keep it tasteful. ;) As much as I love cool, misty fall days, I'm ready for a little sunshine! It's supposed to be better this coming week. Funny story about dinner today: we set the GPS for "Dixie's Southern Diner," figuring we'd get some local grub. It sent us through farmland and back roads, and we ended up at.... a field with a broken-down tractor and a weathered barn. So... we ended up heading over to a main street and "Happy Garden" Chinese restaurant. It was OK, but I'm still hoping for some more yummy Southern food. :)

I forgot to go to the post office before we left Thursday, so I still have birthday packages that need to be mailed to neurobeat and leg_0f_lamb! Woops... sorry, gals... I'll be a bit late with the birthday wishes. :(

Today we drove up to Shenandoah National Park; the plan was to drive the South end today, find a short trail or two, and amble about searching for marmots. However, the weather was blech, so we ended up driving, looking at lots of misty valleys, and heading to the movies for cover.

( photos... )
A fully organic lawnmower system. :)



We decided hiking was futile, so we went and saw Choke instead. Great movie, if you don't mind crazy delusional people and unapologetic sex addicts. :) Now we're back at the resort, hoping that tomorrow is a bit less moist...

It was a struggle to get out of bed this morning. Courtyard Marriott has magic mattresses. :)

It was pretty dreary all day, and Highway 81 is rife with trucks.
This is what we stared at for most of the afternoon...



( more.... )

We are now at Massanutten resort, just having watched the second half of the debate. Nhan's annoyed that we didn't get here in time for the first half, but I figure there's always YouTube. Hopefully tomorrow the weather won't be quite so icky, and we can take in some of the beauty of this area.

We left home at 4:00. The plan was loosely based on driving as far as we could, and hopefully seeing Jared and Annabel on the way. As it turns out, we figured we'd end up in New Haven right around dinnertime, so we stopped in to say hi and have dinner with Gia! She was SO adorable in colourful kneesocks and a Gothy outfit. :) We had Turkish, said hi to Justin and Emmakitty, and we back on the road to New Jersey.

( cute photos! )

We drove through New York without too much trouble, as it was now after 9:00. Getting to Jersey City was a bit of a comedy of errors - one slightly right-versus sharp-right mistake via the GPS took us a few miles out of our way, and THEN many of the roads around their house were closed for roadwork. We finally got there, though. ( Additional cat torture ensued. )

So the plan now is to head to Virginia. We're currently in Lebanon, New Jersey, which feels like it's in the middle of nowhere. But we're on "corporate drive," so we're likely in some armpit of an area that's being blocked by trees around the hotel. :)

He still hasn't received his radioactive iodine shot, but Armand has already been universally loved by the entire staff because he's "the kitty who gives hugs."

*sniffle*

Even the chief radiologist told the doctor that Armand is one of the most lovable kitties.

My god, the cute.

He gets the shot this afternoon.
My baby boy. :)

Thank you, eevilyounggirl, for reminding me!


(insane geek mode: ON)

One of my peeves has always been blatantly misused punctuation (often accompanied by bad grammar). I took a few media writing and editing courses back when I was young and fabulous, and I fell in love with the intricacies of communication. SO, when people bludgeon language, I get annoyed. note: I know I'm not perfect myself (this is, after all, a blog), so back away from the red pen. :P

So, National Punctuation Day even has an OFFICIAL MEATLOAF. And the guy who started it has fully embraced serial commas, which I, too, started appreciating after much bludgeoni convincing from Tracy and Gia. :)

Other news and otherwise cool tidbits.

dj_nocte: seems you should devise a way to protect solar panels; they seem to be a pretty hot commodity these days.

Environmental flip-flop retailer Gisele Bündchen is now wearing trees. Her first campaign involved a water dress and the launch of her own green blog; she's now raising awareness on deforestation, wearing a really *ahem* nice-looking forest outfit.

Gia has been writing a lot of stuff lately! Check out her Associated Content page and rate her work! :)

Armand's vet called yesterday to let me know he had a small mass in front of his heart. I authourized an ultrasound, and it (thankfully) turned out to be a benign cyst. I was personally hoping for a fat-globule, but cyst is OK. She said he's doing wonderfully and is such a cuddly kitty. Ahn.

Meanwhile, Gabrielle and Claudia are more clingy; Gabrielle was a LOT more vocal at dinner last night because Armand was not there to do the usual pitiful-kitty begging. :)

Saturday I photographed Debo, a Presa Canaria mastiff, for the Underdog ResQ calendar. He is a boulder of a dog, but such a foof. If he wants to kiss your face, he's damn well going to kiss your face! LOL.

( photos. )

This morning, I took Armand to Angell Memorial for his 20-day inpatient thyroid treatment. It's a radioactive iodine therapy that will cure his thyroid condition. I really love the doctor and her staff; they seem to think Armand is going to get a lot of cuddling, since he's such a good boy, and that's just spiffy with me! I felt much better about him being in there for 20 days after I met them. I still worry that he's going to be sad, but once this is over we won't have to deal with daily medications.

I took this photo this morning. His pendant says "Good Boy." My handsome boykitty!

ganked from sanguineempathy



I'd be pretty embarrassed if I DIDN'T do well on this hue test, since a great portion of what I do revolves around colour palettes. Of course, staring at the hue bars for several minutes makes everything look wonky, so. :P

take the test here.

Ah, orejen, how you derail my productivity. :P

( thinky meme. )


Today I ran errands:
Dropped off business cards
Mailed packages
Bought a f*ckton of fabric for Cavy Cozies
Had pages trimmed for my CavyCalendars
Bought three pretty tops and a sweater at Lane Bryant, all at half off with coupons.

just like vtgrrl, I had a fancy for some Turkish food, specifically, imam bayildi. I had thought to cube the eggplant as well, but decided to keep it whole, and ended up grilling it... it turned out OK, but next time I'll do better.


We all ate outside. You can see the Carrot Salad (made by Jenny and me) and tabouli (by Dani) on the huge oval platter. Jenny also made a crunchy salad (in the white dish).

( more... )

We spent Labor Day weekend with Jenny and Jeremy out on Martha's Vineyard. It's very pretty out there, and Jenny took us all over the place on small adventures. We even got to meet up with the Merry Vermonters for a sunset romp on Sunday.


Polly Hill Arboretum on Saturday.

( 22 more. )
I still have photos from Monday in the camera; we went to see La Amistad, docked at Vineyard Haven. Very sobering accounts of the ship and the people from Sierra Leone. Hopefully I can get those photos uploaded and update the online photo album...

....we have just completed a lengthy discussion.... many of the titles that had previously been scheduled for publication were put on hold pending the final resolution of those discussions.

During that time, each pending Hollan title was reviewed internally by the Editorial Directors at Sterling Publishing, and decisions were made as to how we would proceed. For each pending title we reviewed, the following options were considered;
Move forward with publication of the title
Hold the title for publication at a later date to be determined
Re-purpose the content for use in another form
Pass on publishing the project.

In the case of Smitten Kitten, we have decided to pass on this title at the present time - however we retain the option to re-purpose the files and content for future use if it is determined to be appropriate for an as yet undetermined future publication.

I know this was not the result you were hoping for, and please understand that we do not take these decisions lightly either. We approach each title individually, review what is currently available in our own backlist, and the retail marketplace, examine sales data for comparable/competitive titles, and make our decisions accordingly.

We wish you all the best for any future projects you may be working on.

I suppose knowing it's not going to happen is something of a resolution. Now I need to figure out whether I might be able to resubmit to Sterling with another vision of the book, or be happy that I have the experience despite my work never getting published. Right now, I'm a bit too crushed to think straight.

aithlyn, Ghost's photo was so pretty. I'm so sorry. I think I'm going to post the photos that made it into the book, so my friends can at least see the result of those two months of work!

edit:
These are all my LJ-friend kitties who were in the book
(according to my draft printout):
sanguineempathy: Zoe's boudoir photo; Fester's "Vincent Price" photo
neurobeat: Tippy's metal scream;
(and for Dana - Tika's bitchy socialite AND garden shot;
for Matt - Peanut's fairy outfit)
aithlyn: Ghost's tux and roses pose (with the quote "I am merely the canvas on which women paint their dreams" by R. Valentino alongside)

The Arlington farmer's market is every Wednesday from June through October. It's only a block from my house, so it's ridiculous that I haven't gone more often. I've caught the Watertown and Belmont markets, and still have yet to catch the Davis Square market...



( more )

*dies*

N.Y. / REGION
Tough Guys and Puppies
Librado Romero/The New York Times
Published: 20080822
A small army of bikers, calling itself Rescue Ink, works to help lost and abused animals.

And while we're at it: Ridiculous Bento.

This weekend Nhan and I spent a few days at Cape Cod with my friend Jean and her extended family; we haven't seen her in five years, and can never seem to organize a trip to England to visit them. Now that Nhan has more vacation days it is more likely that we can go in 2009; I just need to get some more well-paying projects so we can save up for a nice trip!

The weather was pleasant the whole weekend. The huge extended family were all fantastic. I took tons of photos, but I don't like posting photos of children without parents' permission, so that limits things a bit.

We arrived Thursday evening and had a walk along the beach.


( lots more photos of the weekend. )
We are heading to Martha's Vineyard over Labor Day weekend with Jenny and Jeremy. Meanwhile, I'm staying fairly quiet online, as I've been working on finding (paying) projects and taking care of personal things.

A big thank-you to Jenny, who overcame a tentative fear of pilling a cat to take care of Armand while we were away.

David is, of course, flipping out over his newfound geezer status. :)

Now I totally understand why my friend Jo Ann is crazy about them. OMG the cute.

We got home tonight and started walking to the door; Nhan almost stepped on something on the walkway. The baby squirrel was still breathing, so I wrapped him in a towel and brought him inside to check him over. I went to a Squirrel Rescue site for a "to do" list. Jo Ann will get my voicemail and get in touch with me tomorrow (she's a wildlife rehabber); I should put him outside in a box tomorrow morning, but there are too many groundhogs around in our yard, and the street is too close. Poor skwerl.

Meanwhile, I couldn't let the cute pass us by without photos!


He's hellbent on sleeping, like a good baby squirrel should be. :)

( a couple more. )

RIDICULOUSLY cute.

:)

ganked from laxphimia and lebonheurbum...

Edited after seeing arianasilver's instructions, which are more thorough!

The Omnivore's Hundred is a list of foods the gastronome Andrew Wheeler thinks everyone should try at least once in their lives.

The rules of the meme:
Bold those you have tried.
Strikethrough those you wouldn't eat on a bet.
Italicize any item you'll never eat again.
Asterisk any items you'd be interested in trying but have not yet.

( my list! I'm pretty adventurous, it seems )

We have updated our online photo albums.
New albums: our day in Boston a couple weekends ago,
and Jenny's birthday/Southwick's Zoo last Sunday.

Your good deed for the day!

Angel's Gate is non-profit home for special needs animals. Animals, many of whom are terminally and/or critically ill or physically challenged, come to live out their days at Angel's Gate in peace, dignity and love.

There is a letter-writing campaign underway to get Angel's Gate featured on the TV show "Extreme Home Makeover." Please read the letter under the cut, and mail out a short letter ASAP to ABC. Feel free to pass on to your friends as well - the letters need to be sent out as quickly as possible - the initial wave of letters has been postmarked on Tuesday, 12 August.

( the project, and the address to send your short letter. )


Send your letters to this address:

Lock & Key Productions
C/O Family Casting
P.O.Box 38670
Los Angeles, CA 90038

We're looking for a new clumping cat litter, and I'm trying to avoid sodium bentonite.

We used Tidy Scoop for over 10 years with our cats; it masked odours well, and was hard-clumping. The cats seemed to like it until recently, when Tidy Scoop appeared to change their formula. We then started using Arm & Hammer, and really like the hard clumping. All three of our cats use one litter box, so hard clumping and low-tracking is needed.

Arm & Hammer is OK, but we are realizing that we go through it very quickly, and we'd like to browse other options. For the past three weeks, I've been loft-sitting with two Siamese cats, and the litter their people use is Precious Cat cat litter. It seems like a great product, and I didn't go through much of it during the three weeks.

I would like to read some opinions. We tried pine-based litter and organic litter by Arm & Hammer, and those didn't please us (nor the kitties) at all. I would love to know what you guys use, why you like it, and any sort of organic/cat- and Earth-friendly properties it has. Thanks!

Today we went to Southwick Zoo (lots of photos forthcoming) with Jenny and Jeremy. Of course, no birthday is complete without total strangers flanking you for a silly photo. :)

( more Jenny! )

This weekend was sort of up in the air at first, but Saturday Nhan got to play lots of tennis at Solair, and Sunday we got lucky with the weather and went to a zoo that none of us had visited. It turned out to be a fun weekend. :) I shall be doing a huge zoo post as soon as Nhan can get the photos uploaded to our photo album.

From Sterling Publishing:
MEOW—meet a gorgeous group of felines, all dressed to impress! Nothing is prettier than a confident kitty, and animal photographer Tammy Raabe Rao has captured 39 sassy images of cats modeling their finest attire. From tabbies in tuxedos to Persians in precious gems, these furry marvels are well groomed and ready for romance. Feathers, boas, pearls, and tulle abound, making for quite a fashion show. Insightful and delightful quotes about beauty from such rich and famous celebrities as Marlene Dietrich, Robert Redford, Audrey Hepburn (as Holly Golightly), Madonna, and Keira Knightley help bring each fabulous feline’s unique personality to life.
Cat lovers will become more and more smitten with every hilarious image—and style fanatics will too!

It should be out; publication date is 5 August.
If you want to purchase on Amazon, please use the link above or on rubicat.com.

Thanks!

When left alone, I tend to eat a lot of cereal, and not just for breakfast. I also tend to eat like a "normal" person, for I usually cook stuff that seems, to some, foofy. I can hear Jenny's voice in my head: It's so faaancy!

Tonight I ate a frozen stuffed chicken entree and green beans. I shot a couple photos, for I have just been hired for an intermittent food-photography gig. The company liked the photos I sent them, which have been the same photos I've posted here from time to time.

( chicken. )

I've been going through all my clipped recipes, organizing them into meaningful categories. I have so many things that I want to make for friends. Thing is, I don't cook in the summer, because it's way too hot and uncomfortable in my kitchen. Blech.

My lemon basil is huge. I think I'm going to use it to infuse oil and/or vinegar. mmm.

First, we're a little late with our wish, but:

Hope you had a great day!

We thought of you today as we wandered quasi-aimlessly in downtown Boston. We were headed to the IMAX theatre, stopped at Faneuil Hall for lunch, and then ventured through much of downtown. For those far-flung friends: another taste of Boston.

( our day in photos. )

My hair is wet, but we're still cute.

A client of mine wishes to embed a photo gallery into his site, via a photo image host (he's thinking Photobucket, but he's malleable). I have been reading that Picasa has a solution, but it seems to have bad feedback. I can't find anything on Flickr.

Does anyone here know of a photo-sharing site that can be embedded into an external site without too much trouble? He wants to be able to update the albums himself, which means I'd be placing code and letting him do all the rest.

Twice a day I have to find Claudia, to give her medication. She's getting better at not running from me, and yesterday, even Naomi hung out next to us without bolting. Progress! Or Whisker Lickins. Either way, I'll take my victory. :)





Hopefully one of these days I'll be able to shoot them out in the open.
They're such pretty girls. Except Naomi is a pudge.

My original macro;
please credit rubicat.com
if you post it elsewhere.

( from Sunday. )

Friday night we had dinner with Jenny and Jeremy, and their friend Jim.
( photos )

Saturday Gia, Justin and Lisa drove up from New Haven to spend the day with us. The Vermont Garrison also joined us; we all went to the Aquarium, Faneuil Hall, and Harvard Square.


Glenn, Megan, Lisa, Chris, Jim, Ellen(top)/Gia(bottom), Nhan, Justin.

( lots o' photos. )

Nhan has updated our photo albums, so there are a lot more photos from Saturday online!