So, more on my Digital Projects Lab job at the UNT Library. I am transcribing letters in both Spanish and English from the Lorenzo de Zavala archive for the Portal to Texas History (amazing guy and first VP of the Republic of Texas!). His son, Lorenzo de Zavala, Jr, was aide-de-camp for General Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto and acted as interpreter between he and Santa Anna! His letters reveal an affectionate and articulate man, as well as one intimately involved in Texas history. This project gives me urges to check out books on Texas history, visit the Alamo again, and write letters to my grandparents, all at once!
A bad typo can completely change the tone of a sentence, as proved by the example below. Replace "important" with "impotent," and it reads quite differently...
"He [Santa Anna] told his captors to conduct him to the Texan camp to confer with General Houston to whom he had important things to disclose."
Interesting note on transcription: one of the ways I figure out words that I can't make out from context or by looking at similarly shaped letters in other words, is by tracing the word with my finger, to figure out how the hand was moving when it was written. For some reason, this often helps me to determine whether a letter is a "r" versus a "s," for example, by figuring out what direction the hand moved. I don't know why sometimes this is easier to figure out kinetically than visually, but I guess whatever works is valid!
...And right, I'm also painting a nursery mural right now through my business, Snazzy Decor. This particular mural is incredibly immersive, due to the fact that the client painted the entire room, including ceiling, a light aqua-type blue, and also because I painted a wash of dark ultramarine blue that fades from dark at the bottom to light where the wall meets the ceiling, all in an irregular, watery-looking wash. It makes the whole room very effectively seem underwater, and I am incredibly tempted to do the same in my own bedroom.
So far, I've also painted a border of sand around the bottom, a section of coral and an octopus (yet to be finished), two dolphins (one finished), and a six-foot-long blue whale (almost finished). I've got a lot more fish and coral to add, plus some things like a treasure chest, seaweed, and a turtle. Hopefully I can somehow accomplish the rest of this by mid next week, so that I can return to a more realistic pace of two jobs and one course. (Eek!)
6.10.2005
6.05.2005
All Dressed Up And...
I had all this great stuff to write on Thursday and Friday, and no time to write. This evening, I have all this time to write, and no words with which to tell it.
Drat.
The most I can say is that I am pleasantly full, tired, and slightly sunburnt. I feel accomplished--this afternoon, I dredged mud, grass clippings, and ferocious weeds out of our culvert. Then Alex took me to pick out a new cell phone--I picked it out but have to wait to pick it up--and treated me to dinner at BJ's Brewery, hence I am stuffed beyond all reason with spinach and artichoke dip, crunchy good pizza, and vanilla ice cream with freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie.
I have lots of things I am excited about with my new job and my new mural, but just no way to put them in real words. I'll update you all later this week.
Drat.
The most I can say is that I am pleasantly full, tired, and slightly sunburnt. I feel accomplished--this afternoon, I dredged mud, grass clippings, and ferocious weeds out of our culvert. Then Alex took me to pick out a new cell phone--I picked it out but have to wait to pick it up--and treated me to dinner at BJ's Brewery, hence I am stuffed beyond all reason with spinach and artichoke dip, crunchy good pizza, and vanilla ice cream with freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie.
I have lots of things I am excited about with my new job and my new mural, but just no way to put them in real words. I'll update you all later this week.
6.01.2005
School's Out For Summer!
Oh wait, it's not.
But from 5pm today until 8 am Monday, School's Out!
Things I am excited about this summer:
1. swimming (I'm going to try to do this more than twice this year)
2. grilling
3. Batman: Animated Series, Season 3 (Greatest comic-book animated series, AND Batgirl's debut!)
4. Batman Begins (It has Batman, right? and Morgan Freeman? and Liam Neeson? I am so there. Of course, it lacks the retro-stylings of the Burton version, and I think we all know that the new Batmobile sucks, but still, it's BATMAN.)
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Okay: Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Roald Dahl. There's nothing I don't like in that list.)
6. War of the Worlds (Spielberg. 'Nuff said.)
7. The Big Over Easy (By the author of The Eyre Affair; comes out three days before my birthday; perfect timing!)
I am also pondering forsaking my well-established "geek tan" (translation: greenish pallor) for a--gasp--real tan. A decade of what began as fear of skin cancer and wrinkles ended up as a natural result of working, schooling, and living online, as well as much habitual movie-watching. And, love the sun though I do, everytime I *was* outside, I slathered myself in 45 spf sunscreen--even in winter.
So I'm thinking, after ten years of the Great White Ghost, perhaps this one summer I could take my new laptop outside and get a tan while I work. As in, little to no sunscreen. I keep looking at my legs and pondering how they might actually look attractive, instead of glaring. And this leads into...
Things I am afraid of this summer:
1. Skin Cancer
(Oh, and wrinkles; did I mention wrinkles? I know I look twelve, but I have this ridiculous fear that since I am approaching thirty, one day I will wake up and look thirty, and never have the sexy in-between appearance of the mid-twenties.)
2. The Fantastic Four (Yeah... a comic book movie for which the trailer worries me, rather than excites me. Hmmm.)
3. Having No Time, EVER (see previous post)
In any case, let summertime commence!
But from 5pm today until 8 am Monday, School's Out!
Things I am excited about this summer:
1. swimming (I'm going to try to do this more than twice this year)
2. grilling
3. Batman: Animated Series, Season 3 (Greatest comic-book animated series, AND Batgirl's debut!)
4. Batman Begins (It has Batman, right? and Morgan Freeman? and Liam Neeson? I am so there. Of course, it lacks the retro-stylings of the Burton version, and I think we all know that the new Batmobile sucks, but still, it's BATMAN.)
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Okay: Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Roald Dahl. There's nothing I don't like in that list.)
6. War of the Worlds (Spielberg. 'Nuff said.)
7. The Big Over Easy (By the author of The Eyre Affair; comes out three days before my birthday; perfect timing!)
I am also pondering forsaking my well-established "geek tan" (translation: greenish pallor) for a--gasp--real tan. A decade of what began as fear of skin cancer and wrinkles ended up as a natural result of working, schooling, and living online, as well as much habitual movie-watching. And, love the sun though I do, everytime I *was* outside, I slathered myself in 45 spf sunscreen--even in winter.
So I'm thinking, after ten years of the Great White Ghost, perhaps this one summer I could take my new laptop outside and get a tan while I work. As in, little to no sunscreen. I keep looking at my legs and pondering how they might actually look attractive, instead of glaring. And this leads into...
Things I am afraid of this summer:
1. Skin Cancer
(Oh, and wrinkles; did I mention wrinkles? I know I look twelve, but I have this ridiculous fear that since I am approaching thirty, one day I will wake up and look thirty, and never have the sexy in-between appearance of the mid-twenties.)
2. The Fantastic Four (Yeah... a comic book movie for which the trailer worries me, rather than excites me. Hmmm.)
3. Having No Time, EVER (see previous post)
In any case, let summertime commence!
5.31.2005
Got Summer?
So, what's in store now that the line is done and Episode III and Serenity have been seen?
Well, it's back to my more prosaic life. I end Maymester tomorrow at 5pm--yippee!--to start Summer Semester on Monday--sigh. No, really, I'm actually always glad to take a course--and let me tell you, now I'm glad to have ten weeks to take it in, instead of three! I'm also starting a new job on Thursday, working at the Digital Projects Lab of the UNT Library, transcribing letters that date to the 1830's Republic of Texas days and creating metadata records about them. In addition, I will continue my position at UNT's Center for Distributed Learning, acting as research assistant and jack-of-all-trades.
Oh, and I have my own mural-painting business, have I mentioned that? Monday, I begin an undersea-themed nursery that will feature--I'm pretty proud of this--a six-foot-long blue whale. I spent about ten hours one day online getting reference photographs of coral, fish, and the like--I think I ended up with twenty pages of coral photos alone!
So, yeah. Between school, two jobs, and my business, it's not like I expect to have anything to do this summer... sounds kind of boring, yaknow?
Another thing I'm excited about right now is an art project for New Braunfels (where I grew up). The Art League is calling for artist submissions of concepts for four-foot tall beer steins that will be decorated and then placed on display next year during tourist season. My mom and dad, both members of the Art League, Alex, and myself are submitting separate concepts for steins. We won't hear about acceptance until sometime in August-November, but I can't help being excited about it. It's very similar to the Cows on Parade project that has been held in various cities, that I always wished I had been a part of.
So that's my update! (Yes, yes, photos still forthcoming for the patient. School and work manage to suck up a lot of my time right now, but I am strongly thinking about the photos!)
Well, it's back to my more prosaic life. I end Maymester tomorrow at 5pm--yippee!--to start Summer Semester on Monday--sigh. No, really, I'm actually always glad to take a course--and let me tell you, now I'm glad to have ten weeks to take it in, instead of three! I'm also starting a new job on Thursday, working at the Digital Projects Lab of the UNT Library, transcribing letters that date to the 1830's Republic of Texas days and creating metadata records about them. In addition, I will continue my position at UNT's Center for Distributed Learning, acting as research assistant and jack-of-all-trades.
Oh, and I have my own mural-painting business, have I mentioned that? Monday, I begin an undersea-themed nursery that will feature--I'm pretty proud of this--a six-foot-long blue whale. I spent about ten hours one day online getting reference photographs of coral, fish, and the like--I think I ended up with twenty pages of coral photos alone!
So, yeah. Between school, two jobs, and my business, it's not like I expect to have anything to do this summer... sounds kind of boring, yaknow?
Another thing I'm excited about right now is an art project for New Braunfels (where I grew up). The Art League is calling for artist submissions of concepts for four-foot tall beer steins that will be decorated and then placed on display next year during tourist season. My mom and dad, both members of the Art League, Alex, and myself are submitting separate concepts for steins. We won't hear about acceptance until sometime in August-November, but I can't help being excited about it. It's very similar to the Cows on Parade project that has been held in various cities, that I always wished I had been a part of.
So that's my update! (Yes, yes, photos still forthcoming for the patient. School and work manage to suck up a lot of my time right now, but I am strongly thinking about the photos!)
5.27.2005
Can't Stop the Signal
(100% organic and spoiler-free)
Serenity.
Amazing.
Wow.
Now I will try to compose myself enough to write a blog post.
Trey Stokes: you wanted a movie with smugglers and spaceships, this is it. No rules, deep characters, and great lines. This is the movie we waited for.
To a beat the dead horse of a worn-out cliche, this movie blew me away. It was grainy and the color-timing wasn't properly balanced (oh, what words you learn at an advance screening), and apparently the soundtrack wasn't there for 75% of the movie--I wouldn't know, because my husband had to inform me afterward. I was too busy looking at all the pretties.
And about "can't stop the signal" itself, which had no meaning for me prior to the movie except "that Firefly-related website where we can find info on advance screenings," just know this. You will know. And in the meantime, it is a metaphor, and it means: go and tell your friends, because come September you will see box office records crumble as this non-star-driven movie amazes an entire nation of people used to formulaic films. This movie could fly on its own--but it won't have to, because everyone who has seen Firefly and now everyone who has seen Serenity will come out, impassioned by this story, and will bring their friends, and we will show everyone that this is the most successfully cancelled show, the most incredible movie--I can't even say so many good things about this movie that it would later come as a let-down to you. No disappointments here.
Let me clarify:
ROTS is great. It is the movie I waited for--years, then weeks in line. It did not disappoint.
Serenity is a different film altogether. It is the unasked-for gift--or rather, the gift we all desperately wanted after Firefly was torn from us in its genius infancy, but that we knew we would never receive. And miraculously, here it is, and it's something incredible that we couldn't have even imagined.
And I must say, I doubted. Not once the trailer was released--!!!--but when rumors circulated that Joss was re-visiting the earlier story to bring in an audience that had not watched the series. I thought, that's ridiculous. He can't re-tell the series in one movie, and it will be all boring re-hash, and we'll have to sit through short versions of key show scenes.
Do not doubt. Believe.
I know this resounds with those of you who have seen Serenity.)
Oh, and bring ten other friends with you to the theater in September, okay? It shouldn't be hard--show them the trailer, and if you're really a good friend, you'll kidnap them for an entire weekend--don't worry, you'll only have to convince them to watch the first episode, and then they'll watch the entire rest of the series on their own, that weekend. But those that you can't kidnap, bring to the theater anyway. They can watch the series while they wait for this movie to come to DVD--what, a freakin' year from now?!!
Sigh. Sometimes the incredible parts of life make the other parts--and the waiting parts--really suck.
Okay, that's it, who's lining up for the September showing?
Serenity.
Amazing.
Wow.
Now I will try to compose myself enough to write a blog post.
Trey Stokes: you wanted a movie with smugglers and spaceships, this is it. No rules, deep characters, and great lines. This is the movie we waited for.
To a beat the dead horse of a worn-out cliche, this movie blew me away. It was grainy and the color-timing wasn't properly balanced (oh, what words you learn at an advance screening), and apparently the soundtrack wasn't there for 75% of the movie--I wouldn't know, because my husband had to inform me afterward. I was too busy looking at all the pretties.
And about "can't stop the signal" itself, which had no meaning for me prior to the movie except "that Firefly-related website where we can find info on advance screenings," just know this. You will know. And in the meantime, it is a metaphor, and it means: go and tell your friends, because come September you will see box office records crumble as this non-star-driven movie amazes an entire nation of people used to formulaic films. This movie could fly on its own--but it won't have to, because everyone who has seen Firefly and now everyone who has seen Serenity will come out, impassioned by this story, and will bring their friends, and we will show everyone that this is the most successfully cancelled show, the most incredible movie--I can't even say so many good things about this movie that it would later come as a let-down to you. No disappointments here.
Let me clarify:
ROTS is great. It is the movie I waited for--years, then weeks in line. It did not disappoint.
Serenity is a different film altogether. It is the unasked-for gift--or rather, the gift we all desperately wanted after Firefly was torn from us in its genius infancy, but that we knew we would never receive. And miraculously, here it is, and it's something incredible that we couldn't have even imagined.
And I must say, I doubted. Not once the trailer was released--!!!--but when rumors circulated that Joss was re-visiting the earlier story to bring in an audience that had not watched the series. I thought, that's ridiculous. He can't re-tell the series in one movie, and it will be all boring re-hash, and we'll have to sit through short versions of key show scenes.
Do not doubt. Believe.
I know this resounds with those of you who have seen Serenity.)
Oh, and bring ten other friends with you to the theater in September, okay? It shouldn't be hard--show them the trailer, and if you're really a good friend, you'll kidnap them for an entire weekend--don't worry, you'll only have to convince them to watch the first episode, and then they'll watch the entire rest of the series on their own, that weekend. But those that you can't kidnap, bring to the theater anyway. They can watch the series while they wait for this movie to come to DVD--what, a freakin' year from now?!!
Sigh. Sometimes the incredible parts of life make the other parts--and the waiting parts--really suck.
Okay, that's it, who's lining up for the September showing?
5.24.2005
I Have a Good Feeling About This...
So: the review. (warning: spoilers ahead for those of you who haven't been able to see ROTS yet.)
I've heard a lot of people--SW and non-SW fans alike--saying that ROTS is their third-favorite Star Wars movie, ahead of ROTJ. I can't imagine that--personally, I think if Lucas even made a movie that was so spectacular that it was "better" than the OT, I still wouldn't like it so well. There's that nostalgia factor, for one. And I personally like Ewoks and Yub-Nub (no hate mail, please).
But I will say that ROTS is above and beyond the best movie of the prequels, as we had all hoped. There's darker action, better action, and in particular a shining opening act with the space battle/rescuing of Palpatine. It's action, it's humor, and it just feels more like classic Star Wars. The acting is better all around--no, not perfect, in all likelyhood due mostly to directing and dialogue, which we should all expect by now. But it's a good Star Wars film, and I think Lucas did a good job of showing Anakin's transformation and motivations.
Some specific comments... Less CG, particularly with the Clone Troopers--and did we have to see their faces so much?--would have been nice. I was so glad that Darth Plaugus has been at least implicated as the power that created Anakin from the Force. It's much better than a) having Anakin as the Virgin Birth, or b) my personal belief that his mom got knocked up at a party and was too embarrassed to mention this to Qui-Gonn. I'm still not satisfied that no real reason was given as to why the Jedi Council didn't notice Palpatine's Sithness--or even his Force capabilities--for so long, and I can't tell you if I am satisfied or not with the mention of Qui-Gonn finding the secret to immortality as reasons for the diappearing/not disappearing death acts scattered throughout the septology. There were questions that weren't even addressed, such as: who the HECK was Siphodius? (If this was explained in a book somewhere, please email me. I'm super curious!) But overall, a good movie. Some answers, more questions, but nicely done--again, particularly due to that rockin' beginning.
Quick answers:
Favorite moment: Dang it, don't ask me such hard questions.
Least favorite moment: Darth Vader's Young-Frankenstein-stiff "No!" as he learns of Padme's death. Arg, that one hurt.
Most nostalgic moment: Oddly makeup-ed as Tarkin was, I loved the Death Star construction at the end. I loved feeling completely tied into A New Hope.
The photos from the line... the photos are coming. No, really. I forgot that I had company over this weekend and that Maymester class to attend to, so the rest of the pictures are coming more slowly. Let me recover, get a chance to clean my house, finish my homework, and hopefully in the next week or so I can get those and the C3 pics completed and linked here.
I've heard a lot of people--SW and non-SW fans alike--saying that ROTS is their third-favorite Star Wars movie, ahead of ROTJ. I can't imagine that--personally, I think if Lucas even made a movie that was so spectacular that it was "better" than the OT, I still wouldn't like it so well. There's that nostalgia factor, for one. And I personally like Ewoks and Yub-Nub (no hate mail, please).
But I will say that ROTS is above and beyond the best movie of the prequels, as we had all hoped. There's darker action, better action, and in particular a shining opening act with the space battle/rescuing of Palpatine. It's action, it's humor, and it just feels more like classic Star Wars. The acting is better all around--no, not perfect, in all likelyhood due mostly to directing and dialogue, which we should all expect by now. But it's a good Star Wars film, and I think Lucas did a good job of showing Anakin's transformation and motivations.
Some specific comments... Less CG, particularly with the Clone Troopers--and did we have to see their faces so much?--would have been nice. I was so glad that Darth Plaugus has been at least implicated as the power that created Anakin from the Force. It's much better than a) having Anakin as the Virgin Birth, or b) my personal belief that his mom got knocked up at a party and was too embarrassed to mention this to Qui-Gonn. I'm still not satisfied that no real reason was given as to why the Jedi Council didn't notice Palpatine's Sithness--or even his Force capabilities--for so long, and I can't tell you if I am satisfied or not with the mention of Qui-Gonn finding the secret to immortality as reasons for the diappearing/not disappearing death acts scattered throughout the septology. There were questions that weren't even addressed, such as: who the HECK was Siphodius? (If this was explained in a book somewhere, please email me. I'm super curious!) But overall, a good movie. Some answers, more questions, but nicely done--again, particularly due to that rockin' beginning.
Quick answers:
Favorite moment: Dang it, don't ask me such hard questions.
Least favorite moment: Darth Vader's Young-Frankenstein-stiff "No!" as he learns of Padme's death. Arg, that one hurt.
Most nostalgic moment: Oddly makeup-ed as Tarkin was, I loved the Death Star construction at the end. I loved feeling completely tied into A New Hope.
The photos from the line... the photos are coming. No, really. I forgot that I had company over this weekend and that Maymester class to attend to, so the rest of the pictures are coming more slowly. Let me recover, get a chance to clean my house, finish my homework, and hopefully in the next week or so I can get those and the C3 pics completed and linked here.
5.19.2005
Say Cheese
Here is the "Best Of" Album--photos from all days leading up the the big day, but NOT including the 19th. More complete photos to come later, as well as "day of" photos. Also, check out the Frozen One video.
Be patent, there's more to come!
Be patent, there's more to come!
Life After the Line
Well, the big night has come and gone. Right now, I am madly trying to catch up on work and school, so I won't be posting anything of note today. I'll try to get all the line and night-of photos compiled into an album by this weekend and post the link here. I had one or two people requesting a review of the movie posted on the blog, but I won't post that until I've seen the movie again on Friday (and my brain recovers from all the excitement and finds it easier to absorb the entirety of the movie). In the meantime, see my friend Kodiak's blog for a brief review.
The media has been asking us for days; now what? Aren't your little geek lives over without anything to wait for? To which I reply...
Serenity, Narnia, Batman Begins, Hobbit (I can hope, can't I?)--not to mention all the rest of the great movies we have to look forward to, and Star Wars TV--I'm personally iffy on the live-action idea, but I dearly wish for more Clone Wars animation action.
And did I mention Serenity? May 26th is now less than a week away... and if you think that means I won't go see it again when it's released in September... then you've never watched Firefly and therefore don't understand.
The media has been asking us for days; now what? Aren't your little geek lives over without anything to wait for? To which I reply...
Serenity, Narnia, Batman Begins, Hobbit (I can hope, can't I?)--not to mention all the rest of the great movies we have to look forward to, and Star Wars TV--I'm personally iffy on the live-action idea, but I dearly wish for more Clone Wars animation action.
And did I mention Serenity? May 26th is now less than a week away... and if you think that means I won't go see it again when it's released in September... then you've never watched Firefly and therefore don't understand.
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