http://kottke.org/10/02/googles-super-bowl-ad

It didn't feature an athletic woman with a flimsy bra throwing a hammer through a screen, but I thought Google's Super Bowl ad was pretty well done:

Tags: advertising   Google   search   Super Bowl   TV

&nbspThe blurb on the back:

William Melville's daughters are heiresses to the world's most exclusive fashion dynasty. Beautiful and rich, they are envied by all. But behind the glittering façade of their lives, each girl hides a dark secret that threatens to tear their family apart.
Smart, ambitious Elizabeth knows how to manipulate every man she meets, except the one who counts: her father.
Gentle, naïve Caitlin, the illegitimate child, struggling to fit into a world of privilege while staying true to herself.
Stunning, spoilt Amber, the party girl with a weakness for bad boys; more fragile than anyone realises.
As each of them seeks to carve out her own destiny, Elizabeth, Caitlin and Amber face difficult choices, which will take them in wildly different directions. But as old wounds resurface and threaten to destroy the foundations of the Melville empire, their paths will cross again. Because the simple truth is that, no matter how far you go, you cannot escape the claims of family.

( My Thoughts... )

http://kottke.org/10/02/balls-of-mud-that-shine

I've posted about hikaru dorodango a couple times before but they're always worth another look. Dorodango start out as sloppy mud balls but through careful shaping and polishing with dirt and sand, they end up perfectly round and shiny. Here is a particularly beautiful and unusual example, made from some yellow soil in New Mexico:

That totally looks like leather! Here is a more traditional (and shiny!) example:

Both of these were made by dorodango artist Bruce Gardner. Here's some video of how the balls are made:

This video is good as well but if you want to create your own, these detailed directions will be a better guide.

Tags: hikaru dorodango   how to

http://kottke.org/10/02/balls-of-mud-that-shine

I've posted about hikaru dorodango a couple times before but they're always worth another look. Dorodango start out as sloppy mud balls but through careful shaping and polishing with dirt and sand, they end up perfectly round and shiny. Here is a particularly beautiful and unusual example, made from some yellow soil in New Mexico:

That totally looks like leather! Here is a more traditional (and shiny!) example:

Both of these were made by dorodango artist Bruce Gardner. Here's some video of how the balls are made:

This video is good as well but if you want to create your own, these detailed directions will be a better guide.

Tags: hikaru dorodango   how to

Bridget Jones's Diary


Helen Fielding

Bridget is keeping a journal this year. Her goals are to lose weight, stop smoking and meet a man who isn't a alcoholic, workaholic, commitment phob, misogynist, megalomaniacs, chauvinists or a emotional fuckwit. Her year is ripe with man issues, mom drama and job troubles. Her friends are her only constant through a very eventful year.

Being an occasional fan of chick lit I was pleased with Bridget Jones's Diary. Having just seen the movie for the first time a little more than a week ago I was expecting a plot slightly more like the film, but was pleasantly surprised with how fresh and different the book was from the film. Most girls will empathies with Bridget's 'Singleton' lifestyle, her weight loss struggles and the frustration of mothers and friends of mothers trying to set her up with various men. It is also apparent that 1996, when this novel was written, could be looked at as a new sort of dark ages by todays young adult population. No Cell phones, the thrill of instant messages on company computers and no real speaking of Google ever. A refreshing, light read.

Rating:
****

More can be found at my blogspot at it's new address here

http://kottke.org/10/02/authentic-imitation

The way that books used to be printed, the reader would have to cut open each page with a paper knife before it could be read, every page a tiny gift from the writer.

The printing happened on large sheets of paper which were then folded into rectangles the size of the finished pages and bound. The reader then sliced open the folds. Paper knives, variants of letter openers, were used for this purpose.

The deckle edge on modern books is an imitation of what those sliced open books looked like.

Tags: books

http://kottke.org/10/02/authentic-imitation

The way that books used to be printed, the reader would have to cut open each page with a paper knife before it could be read, every page a tiny gift from the writer.

The printing happened on large sheets of paper which were then folded into rectangles the size of the finished pages and bound. The reader then sliced open the folds. Paper knives, variants of letter openers, were used for this purpose.

The deckle edge on modern books is an imitation of what those sliced open books looked like.

Tags: books

http://kottke.org/10/02/beautiful-planetary-posters

All nine of the planets in our solar system are represented in these wonderful posters by Ross Berens.

Pluto. Never forget.

Tags: design   Pluto   Ross Berens   space

http://kottke.org/10/02/from-the-blog-of-terry-richardson

Celebrity photographer Terry Richardson has a blog to which he posts quick snaps. Sorta like everyone else on the planet except that oh, there's Kate Moss and there's Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen and there's Justin Theroux and there's Doutzen Kroes and there's Tracy Morgan.

Somewhat NSFW in places.

Tags: photography   Terry Richardson

http://kottke.org/10/02/beautiful-planetary-posters

All nine of the planets in our solar system are represented in these wonderful posters by Ross Berens.

Pluto. Never forget.

Tags: design   Pluto   Ross Berens   space

http://kottke.org/10/02/from-the-blog-of-terry-richardson

Celebrity photographer Terry Richardson has a blog to which he posts quick snaps. Sorta like everyone else on the planet except that oh, there's Kate Moss and there's Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen and there's Justin Theroux and there's Doutzen Kroes and there's Tracy Morgan.

Somewhat NSFW in places.

Tags: photography   Terry Richardson

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100207.html

Most galaxies have a single nucleus -- does this galaxy have four?

Title: Catching Fire
By: Suzanne Fire
Pages: 391
My Rating: A
Summarys: Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

My thoughts with spoilers:( Read more... )

# 12: Chasing Waves: A Surfer's Tale of Obsessive Wandering by Amy Waeschle:

I knew we were onto something good when we passed a disquieting bit of voodoo--a molding cloth doll with fraying yellow yarn hair and no eyes nailed through the head to a baby fir tree. The path was lined with salal shrubs, ferns, the occasional spiky devil's club, salmonberries, and a mixed canopy of alder, fir, and huge cedar. When I first heard the surf, filtering through the thicket, my heartbeat quickened.

Synopsis: A collection of Waeschle's musings about learning to surf around the world.

( Yeah, about that exciting. )

(How pathetic is it that having an honest-to-god-weekend is such a rare and beautiful event that I must blog about the fact that I'm not working).

Slept in!

Woke up and went to the Barn!

Ate lunch with a sizeable group of barnfolk! Had social interaction not-about-work!

Stopped by feed store, picked up goods! The Boy has been instructed to use Green Cool on Louie post-jump.

Rode my mare!

Took Bessie to Agility!

Home now!

Now for some details....

That was a fantastic ride on Faran. Best one since the schooling show. She was great at the show, then not-so-great the next ride -- fussy about the bridle, made me think I was being too handsy, but then I realized her bridle was done up one-hole-too-small, and when I dropped it a hole for the next ride she was much happier. Have since switched the bit into her western bridle, because I don't like using the english bridle with a western saddle. The reins are too short to easily handle without being buckled, and the buckle runs the risk of looping around the horn. Used the western saddle yesterday, and she was crummy off the leg and sloppy, leading to arguments. Or was I the one that was sloppy.

And so I'm now overanalyzing the variables for today. There were two known independent variables that always make for a better-behaved mare. First, the Boy was riding Tucson in the arena. Tucson's presence calms Faran down, just by being there. Second, RNB was teaching a lesson in the arena... RNB's voice sharpens Faran up, because she can hear the Sheriff. I also think I either ride better, or she likes it better, in the Stubben. Both, probably. Then there's the western bridle (no noseband? perfect bit placement? easier to set an open rein?), the smaller spurs, the more constant leg contact, the fact she ran around a bit, the time of day, the fact she felt good enough to do a cute little kitty-stretch coming out of her stall.... none of it matters, of course. I just want her to be this nice all the time!

She was just so nice to ride today. Appropriate, picked up her gaits smoothly, was, if anything, a little too eager to canter and attempts to pick up more trot led to some premature, but lovely, canter transitions -- and no fussing about coming back down to the trot. And some smooth circles, and some responsive maneuvering around the extra-crowded arena. Pleasure pony!

... and Bessie was a hard worker in agility today. It was tough, with a lot of contact and touch work, not a lot of long extension work, but she kept trying. She really loves working.