Montreal Steak (Rib Eye) + Garlic & Thyme Bell Pepper
Pumpkin Cake + Neufchâtel Frosting
Archive for the ‘Miscellaneous’ Category
I’ve recently started dabbling in sewing (by hand), and it’s completely addictive. It’s slow but rather meditative. I began at perhaps 1 ft. / hr., but fortunately I can do 1 ft. / 10 mins now thanks to practice and improvement of technique. I was originally using pins to hold together fabric to be hemmed / joined, but now I use ordinary Scotch tape, which is much more sturdy and which doesn’t prickle my fingers. I’ve had this rather cute set of Singer hand-sewing needles (it’s like a drill bit array for those who like higher-powered tools ..) and several spools of thread for a long time, but I never really made use of them.
Years ago, I had made a clay (Sculpey) doll, barely anatomically passable, but I never had any clothes for her so she remained wrapped in Asian pear styrofoam (you know, the waffle-y kind) at the bottom of my white crafts box (with sandpaper, beads, clay, lace, felt, string, etc.). But this weekend, I decided it’d be fun to make a miniature version of Grosgrain’s “20 minute elastic-band skirt” (it takes 20 minutes IF AND ONLY IF you have a sewing machine =P), which solved the “how do you get the skirt/pants on” conundrum in the absence of miniature zippers or buttons. To match, I also made a simple top from a home-brewed pattern (basically, it uses six fabric straps to tie around the back, one pair at the neck, one at about the bra-line, and one on the lower back — because of the scale, this actually gives pretty good coverage of the back. Note of course that she’s made of clay and therefore cannot put on a regular shirt without breaking her arm.
The solution here isn’t without its problems – the elastic skirt design works well for life-sized people because the amount of girth added by the elastic is negligible. However, while everything else scales down, the width added by the elastic does not, and therefore the skirt juts out a good deal. Not that this hasn’t happened in existing dolls already. It’s not horrendous and actually fixes the problem of her not having any buttocks (because I baked her lying on her back, and that obliterated her buttcheeks, unfortunately).
In any case, onto bigger and better projects … . I’ve been looking at the array of free patterns available at sites like Burdastyle. I assembled a 1/9 scale pattern for a “coffee date dress” yesterday from the 20-page PDF to try to get an understanding of how to fit fabrics to body shapes. It’s not really that intuitive, how 2-D shapes will wrap around complex 3-D forms. But as with hand-sewing, practice definitely improves technique.
Dear JetBlue,
My flight was originally scheduled for 7:15 but delayed due to a late incoming flight, although the gate board never showed a revised time nor even the word “delayed,” and no intercom updates were given after we changed gates. We were further delayed by a mechanical problem once we were on the runway, three hours later, and had to deplane.
When the replacement plane arrived, we were told that the pilots were updating logbooks, which would take “3 to 5 minutes.” Two hours passed with no further updates, and then we were told, just before midnight, that the pilots had just realized that they couldn’t fly any further hours by regulation (which would imply that either we should have had a different crew to begin with, or that they should have called a replacement crew while getting the replacement plane).
The biggest problem is the following: we were told that it was “highly recommended” that we wait for the replacement crew to arrive, as the flight would “definitely be taking off” tonight, and that the replacement crew had a hard 2-hour time limit to arrive. We were discouraged from cancelling or rebooking because the next day’s flights would be full and we couldn’t be guaranteed a seat.
So nearly everyone stayed for the duration of the next one and a half hours, during which we were served snacks but given no updates about the status of the replacement crew. At the end of this period, we were suddenly told that there was no replacement crew after all and that they decided to cancel our flight instead. No explanation was given for why the replacement crew never showed or why they could not keep the promise that the flight would “definitely be taking off.”
A new flight is supposed to be created for tomorrow morning, but we received no receipt, boarding pass, or even flight number for this new flight. Regardless of whether the new flight exists or not, after the initial weather and mechanical delays, there were clear points when there was inefficiency and blatant misinformation which compounded the delays. The cancellation came with no explanation and completely contradicted what we were told hours beforehand, capping off a frustrating 8-hour episode in the airport.
Writing for symphony orchestra is an amazing experience. As you turn a piano sketch or melodic fragment into a symphonic work, it blossoms before you like the plumage of a peacock or a valley appearing over the horizon. Of course, it is also one of the most difficult and frustrating tasks because of the sheer number of voices and sounds that need to be balanced. I’ve decided to take a moment here to discuss my encounters with the symphonic form and how my approach and ideas have changed over time.
The beginnings
Symphony No. 6 in C major – 1998
This was my first serious attempt at writing for an orchestra, and you can tell because of its rather blocky and stagnant presentation. The only notable part of this movement is the very opening, in which I created a simple texture which is reminiscent of the tolling of bells, which gives way to a unison melody that opens up until full harmony.
Symphony No. 10 in D major – 1998
The first movement of this string symphony was an important milestone. Besides being the first symphonic movement that I completed, it was also the first to employ the sonata form structure. However, I still had a very primitive idea of the development, which I handled by basically using the copy & paste and transpose functions. It creates an unintended comical effect, and I still refer to this technique as the “copy & paste” sonata form. I began exploring ways to hand off melodic lines (in a juvenile way – I jokingly call this movement a constant run of 16th notes handed off between the voices). Moreover, I began to experiment with adding and dropping voices to create textural variation.
Listen to the brand new Garritan Orchestra MP3 made especially for this post!
Symphony No. 13 in a minor – 1998
The primary subject of this symphony was very experimental for me at the time. Consisting of only straight half-notes in every single instrument, it became my task to create unexpected harmonic changes in order to maintain interest. While still triadic in nature, I began to move away from straight I-IV-V harmonies which were exclusively used in every previous attempt.
Moving to the full orchestra
Symphony No. 17 in e minor – 2002
Still staying firmly within the realm of 4/4 time, 4-bar phrase, this 45-second fragment of a movement still managed to serve as good practice for writing for full orchestra. I still had serious misconceptions about the instruments (for instance using an A clarinet and C horn), but I had already begun to group and pair instruments for certain effects, such as the piccolo-violin-harp combination or full-brass + percussion combination.
Another important idea that I discovered here was the introduction. Prior to this symphony, the theme always came “head on” – the very first note was the main theme. Here, the introduction is only two measures long, but the idea of “easing into” the theme has become very important in every subsequent symphony except No. 22.
I just today rediscovered this piece, having forgotten about it for several years. Never made into a MIDI, it sat unnoticed in the shadow of Symphony No. 18. To commemorate the first substantial full-orchestra writing I did, I have produced a Garritan Orchestra version of this opening.
Symphony No. 18 in a minor – 2002
This one-movement symphony was a major turning point for me. Beginning with an extended, harmonically ambiguous introduction, I began to explore the possibilities of chromaticism and atmosphere, key aspects of the symphonic experience. The main binding motif is in the tympani, E-B-E, B-E-B, while many themes arrive in succession.
The primary subject alternates between bombastic 2-bar a minor/D major arpeggios and thin, comical 2 1/2-bar harmonically ambiguous ditties. The concept was perplexing or hilarious, depending on the listener. I personally intended it as a joke, but some people didn’t get it. The entire symphony was based on abrupt changes in color, dynamic, and tonality, up until the very end whent he introduction reappears but then ascends with one of the best harp lines (imo) that I have ever written. It is simplistic but for the first time really strongly captured an emotion in a symphonic work.
There were also new contrapuntal ideas that I introduced which helped to break away from very square meters. One of my favorite passages is where the clarinet and bassoon trade off an Eb-C-B motif at one speed while the flutes and violins do similarly, but at half the speed, leading to a temporal mismatch.
Symphony No. 22 in d minor – 2004
I wrote this piece with my youth orchestra in mind, hence the flute + strings orchestration. While harmonically much more conservative than 18 which had preceded it by at least two years, this work marked the first completed symphony, consisting of four traditional movements: sonata form, slow movement, scherzo, and rondo. It was also important because it set into focus melodic contours and development. In the second movement, I created melodic arcs which spanned many sub-phrases which meld into one another. And in the first movement, the majority of the space is occupied by the development which takes the themes through many transformations, of which my favorite is the Eb major lyrical treatment of the previously march-like secondary theme.
There are just a few quirky moments in this symphony, one of which is that the boom-cha of the second theme’s accompaniment switches beats (i.e. 1 and 3 instead of 2 and 4) between the exposition and the recapitulation, thus emphasizing opposite melodic tones.
Symphony No. 23 in a minor – 2004
This “movement” consists only of two isolated but related fragments of ideas which are based on tremolo strings. The only notable aspect was the use of 7ths and 9ths as standard parts of chords, rather than just triads.
Symphony No. 24 in d minor – 2006
Firmly rooted in romantic-era harmony, this movement was easy to write in many ways. However, it has probably also been the most successful symphonic attempt to date, because the evolution of the melody and texture proceeds at a very regulated pace and the 6/8 meter backed up by the tambourine keeps a dance-like atmosphere going. My favorite part is the secondary theme, which is incomplete but based on a haunting, piercing oboe melody which drifts over a distant, fluid chord progression.
The current days
Symphony No. 25 in f#- 2009
The spiritual successor of Symphony No. 18, my current endeavor again utilizes a tympani motif, this time F#’-C#-F# (F#’ is one octave up). While atonal, it does have a harmonic binding based on certain pedal notes. The work as a whole is very F#-centric but in general avoids suggestion of the classical triads, instead using ornamented open fifths as the basis of the harmonic structure.
There is a lot of space between successive iterations of the opening motif, carried by the flute. Each time, the motif becomes more elaborate and more contextualized until the floodgates burst open.
I’ve been putting off upgrading Wordpress for the longest time because of a paranoia of losing all my posts. But after backing all the SQL databases and core files twice over, I decided it was finally time to upgrade, to plug security holes, upgrade spam filtering, and begin work on a new theme. I jumped all the way from Wordpress 2.0 to 2.8.4 – a huge time-warp – and it’s been interesting trying to figure out where everything is on the dashboard now.
I’m currently using a modestly modified form of the “Evanescence” theme, but I want to switch to a fixed-width format as soon as I resize photos and such appropriately. The bloated layouts I’ve been using are simply hard to read because the text column is twice as wide as any web layout would recommend.
But at the very least, I’m not using the age-old WordPress default that I had for years (ever since a frustrating battle trying to get a banner image to display).
I have traditionally disliked the color purple, but in a recent dream, my mother (dream-mother, I guess) gave the protagonist a plum-colored dress which evoked a soothing calm. Plum, a slightly red wine-tinted shade off from true purple, gives up some of the regal aura. The dream’s dress was a very simple unwaisted, sleeveless knee-length dress, like what a younger kid might wear. The pattern was based on intricate stamp-like diamonds in blue, green, yellow, and white.
Here, I decided to adapt the color to a different sort of design which is still loose but a bit more elegant. I did away with a whole-dress pattern, reducing the basic concepts to the bosom and trim.
Technique-wise, I tried out an idea put forth in a Deviant Art tutorial I read through recently, which was to decouple shading from the actual colors. By making the shading a grayscale layer multiplied against a solid template, it is possible to generate complex patterns without having to individually shade each color, which has always had ugly results for me in the past. In addition, it becomes effortless to change the color of the dress on a whim. I have included here the final drawing as well as a version which removes the solid color layer to reveal the shading. It actually looks quite nice (or nicer) as a white dress.
At a gift store a few weeks ago, I saw a nice set of matching wrapping papers which were sold as a set. The first was a floral black and white print, white-dominant, and the second was a polka-dotted print, black-dominant. Even though I didn’t buy it, the concept lingered and I wanted to try applying the concept to a dress fabric because it seemed like a rather nice combination. I freehanded the dress pattern without reference and transformed the polka-dots into a sinusoidal pattern, but the rest of the body is actually traced from a photograph, so I wouldn’t really consider this art. Although by virtue of what photograph I traced this from, perhaps this conveys more ideas and emotions than other works that I would consider “art” …
Even though there are still so many rules and conventions in this world, you can see signs all around that traditional barriers are coming down. Here’s a song that I think exemplifies that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWyuPJd1MDM. The song was written by Ataru Nakamura for Jero, both of them contemporary singers in Japan.
It’s a nice and simple song, although the context is also important: Ataru Nakamura is a MtF transsexual who honed her songwriting and singing skills while socially isolated during middle and high school; Jero (Jerome White, Jr.) is a computer engineer/English teacher, 3/4 African American and 1/4 Japanese, who decided to fulfill a promise to his deceased Japanese grandmother that he would perform enka – the traditional popular music of Japan – on the big stage. For songs that I think exemplify their respective styles, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8NBwrcs_R8 (Umi Yuki / The Ocean Snow) by Jero and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK32d3juhJs (Tomodachi no Uta / Song of my Friends) by Ataru Nakamura.
See full bracket here
An analyst said that all the 2 seeds are really strong this year, but I don’t think I agree. Of the 2 seeds, Michigan State has been most solid coming down the stretch, but even they had some ridiculous losses early on. Duke won the ACC tournament but has a history of underperforming in the NCAA tournament – I think Texas has a legitimate shot at beating Duke in the second round. Oklahoma has had a great season, but towards the end, they had losses to teams ranked below them, even with Blake Griffin back. I think if Syracuse makes it to the Sweet 16, there’s a good chance of them beating Oklahoma. Calls that Oklahoma will lose to Clemson seem iffy to me, though – Clemson is a strong team but inexperienced in the tournament and with a strong dependency on outside shooting that is not a good strategy for consistency. Memphis has the distinction of 30 wins and 2nd place last year, but against teams that count in their schedule – Xavier, Georgetown, and Syracuse – they lost all three. In the NCAA tournament, every team is bound to be behind at some point, and if a team hasn’t built up in-game experience to handle being behind, there’s a risk of premature exit. SI’s Seth Davis says that Missouri is overrated and never had to play OK and KU to win the title – that’s correct, but there are many ways to get to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, including the “clearance” of tough teams by early-round upsets. We’ll see.
Final Four – I have Michigan State, UConn, Nova, and UNC. Louisville is strong but to have to potentially get through Ohio State, Wake Forest, and Michigan State is a tall order. People say Memphis deserved the last No. 1 seed rather than UConn, but why? UConn’s losses consist of an early loss to Georgetown, then two losses to Pitt which is hardly relevant because that establishes that UConn can’t beat Pitt, which they wouldn’t have to do unless they met in the title game anyway. And the 6-OT loss to Syracuse was a loss, but the last OT’s scenario, given all the fouled-out players and fatigue, is hardly to be extrapolated. Saying that Memphis will beat UConn requires Memphis to make it to the Elite 8, which I don’t think is guaranteed. Maryland, for one, can mess things up if it plays a few of its top games. While they don’t have any chance at getting past the Sweet 16, I think they can do some damage before exiting. Pittsburgh is good but they have a lot of pressure on them because very few people regard Louisville as the “overall top seed” – as the Metro put it, they’re definitely the most disrespected overall #1. I think Duke, Villanova, and Florida State are all potential upsetters. In the South, well, I have to pick my own team. But besides, this is comparatively the weakest region, and UNC is playing in Greensboro and, if it advances, has to move all the way to … Tennessee. Gonzaga tends to overperform as a cinderella and underperform as a single-digit seed, and the lower part of the bracket has Clemson, Oklahoma, and Syracuse which are all strong and matched teams and which may potentially wear each other out.
Felt like using my watercolor pencils again. I messed up some of the inking (on the face), but the skirt and socks came out much better than I expected.
Caroline is happily chomping away at a nut-encrusted candied apple. I realized that it was a lot of fun spilling the colors outside of the puddles, so I played around with the sorts of shapes and gradients I could coax out. I really like how the puddles create dynamicism out of the negative spaces.
I decided to cut down on detail in favor of the big picture. I especially wanted to practice my technique with using highlights, since in the previous two the highlights were drowned out by excessive water that bled the colors to uniformity. I think the colors turned out much more vibrant here as a result.