In this blast-from-the-past photo, the Rat does a mirror dance in someone’s bathroom. Why? We don’t know but it’s pretty hilarious!!

We can dance if we want to!

I’ve been wanting a new apple //e ever since the one I got from a friend was ruined when the septic tank backed-up. Trust  me it was a goner. So I jumped on craigslist, listed a post a few days and $100.00 later I have myself a great little apple //e, and other interesting stuff. ( All to be posted later because I’ve got a whole bunch of stuff to go through.)

I’ve been wanting a new apple //e ever since the one I got from a friend was ruined when the septic tank backed-up. Trust  me it was a goner. So I jumped on craigslist, listed a post a few days and $100.00 later I have myself a great little apple //e, and other interesting stuff. (To be posted later I’ve got a whole bunch of stuff to go thru)

ando um bocado desinspirado e aborrecido por tanto nada de muito complicado…

haben mich nun voll in ihren Klauen…

Genauergesagt Silene, Erzrivalin von Devilman und ihres Zeichens verewigt in einer Serie von thematisch zusammengehörigen Bausätzen… eine neue Leidenschaft ist somit lichterloh entflammt

Passend dazu ist meine erste Silene in der Sammlung auch jene, die das Licht repräsentiert – der Start der Devilman Reihe ist gelegt

Hier ein paar Referenzbilder des japanischen Künstlers Pygmalion – seine rosa gefärbte Version passt perfekt zum Licht und so wird diese Farbe wohl auch meine Silene zieren

]]> http://danamnelson.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/commodore-64/ Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:41:05 +0000 danamnelson http://danamnelson.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/commodore-64/

Yeah… remember that one?

That was my very first computer.  I was recently asked to go to our local public radio station, 88.3FM  WNIN and record a bit for the “Plugged In”  show. Plugged In is a weekly technology show. They discuss technology news and topics with a focus on how they affect our daily lives.

They have a segment called “Ye Old Tech”.  I went in to tell about my Commodore 64 and came out with the realization that this gift may very well have been the gift the turned me geek – for life.   Enjoy…

Listen to it Here: Commodore-64

Happy Friday All! Please forgive me for putting the blog up so late. Between the tryptophan hangover, all the cooking, cleaning and shopping I’ve done in the last 72 hours, I am running on fumes, so you can blame Thanksgiving  and Black Friday for that! I dont have much to say about the randomly selected videos I’m posting up today because, well, I’m still not fully functioning right now, lol. Today, I present to you a handful of songs some may have never heard or haven’t heard in a long time, from Boyz II Men, Changing Faces, Chi Ali, MC Breed, Nona Gaye. Just a few notes to add on the artists for today FYI. Changing Faces is making a coming back—don’t know how that come back will go, but they are, lol. Chi Ali is the little brother of Dres from the 90’s rap group “Blacksheep” (who has been featured on a past FF blog), rapper MC Breed (real name Eric Breed) passed away last year at almost this very date (11.22.08) and Nona Gaye is the daughter of the legendary singer Marvin Gaye. So if you didn’t know, now ya know. Please enjoy these songs, comment, vote and suggest. Have a blessed weekend!

*Exits outta the firescape*

Boyz II Men – Please Don’t Go (1993)

Changing Faces – G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T. (1997)

Chi Ali – Age Ain’t Nothin But A Number (1992)

MC Breed -  Ain’t No Future In Yo Frontin’ (1993)

Nona Gaye – The Things That We All Do For Love (1993)

Image via C R's Flickr photostream.

There is a saying: “They don’t make things like they use to.”  I’ve said it, I’ve heard people say it, and even though some people see the statement as hyperbolic, I agree with it at least 95% of the times that I hear it.

Disclaimer: I’m a history teacher.  I love the old stuff.  I love being able to have old (i.e. “vintage”) things in my possession so I can touch, smell, and wear them.  Of course there are many many people who share this desire for things-of-old, but I’m willing to say I believe that I lust after such things with more zeal than your average person.

So why do people like me exist?  Why do we devote large amounts of time and energy to acquiring vintage merchandise?  Speaking for myself I’d say that it comes down to the standard of quality which existed in the past, but died in the name of easy access to things at a low cost goods, and the idea of “planned obsolence” which has increased the profit margins of creators of disposable merchandise over and over again.   I like having stuff that was built to a higher standard of quality, stuff that has that “build to last” feel to it.  In addition to that I think that the style of items from the past is much more appealing than many modern day things, which I believe often have much less classy  look which reflects the fact that they are cheap and replaceable.

I like the fact that I’m a person who is into vintage stuff, I’d even go so far as to say that I take pride in it.  I like the idea of tracking down vintage stuff, of hunting it down.  But I do have to admit that at times it can be frustrating.

This essay is my attempt to outline three ways a now-a-days there vintage seekers like myself can acquire high quality goods that were / are made to last.  The way that I see it there are basically three ways to about finding and buying cool vintage stuff…

1. Re-sale of vintage goods via the hunting and getting lucky.

This method involves hunting for vintage goods by going to garage sales, estate sales, some sellers on eBay or craigslist, and thrift stores.  The methods requires lots of luck, and more often than not the hunter comes home empty handed.  However, on the rare occasion that some vintage stuff  is found  the hunter only has to expend a fraction of what he or she would normally spend to acquire the merchandise.

I see this method as similar to playing slots.  The hunter spends a small amount of time and money hunting for goods.  Most the time the hunter will come up with nothing, but he or she doesn’t spent lose much cash either.  When hunters use this method they don’t really expect it to pay off, they do it for the joy of the hunt.  However, every now and the hunter gets lucky, the same way that someone playing slots does, by putting in a small amount of time and money then getting a huge pay out.

2. Re-sale of vintage goods via vintage merchants.

Image via Paul Holloway's Flickr photostream

When a hunter is willing to spend some money this is often the method that gets used.  The hunter goes to a shop which specializes in vintage goods, finds what they need / want and spend a large sum of money to acquire it.  A good vintage shop is a very nice luxery for those who are near one, and happen to have the disposable income to spend large sums of money on vintage (used) goods.

The main thing that makes a good vintage shops such a boon to a hunter is that such shops take the time to create and cultivate good relationships with the customers willing to spend money by going the extra mile and keeping a look out for / stocking goods that a particular buyer is known to be interested in.

This method is far from 100% effective, because vintage shops don’t know when they will have a certain item in stock.  After all they are dealing in stuff that is scarce, so it is not uncommon for them have great items in stock at moments when it is finacially inconvenient for a hunter to buy said items.

(Side note: I think it is important to point out that the merchants who sell these high priced vintage goods spend lots of time using method one to track them down.)

I don’t really use this method, because I can never bring myself to pay what I consider to be a large sum of money for used clothing.  Even if it is vintage, my mortgage doesn’t care.

3. Buying goods where are made using “old school” manufacturing techniques.

A good example of a company making things today, but using “old school” techniques to do so is Billykirk, which makes some really amazing leather goods by hand.  Another example would be the Rising Son & Co which makes lots of great stuff by hand.

Image via official Billykirk blog.

(Side note: both the companies I linked to above make their goods using machines and tools that were used to create the kind of goods that we call vintage today.)

This sort of stuff tends to be really amazing, and extremely expensive.

True story: I’d love to buy this stuff, but again most the time it is so far out of my price range that I can’t.

The companies that make these goods stand by their products way that the craftsmen of old use to stand by theirs.  When ever I do see this stuff I wish I had the money to buy it.  It is new, but unlike so many other new things it is made to the highest standards of quality, and I know it will last for a long time.  It has all the advantages of the vintage goods that I covet, and because it is new I know they will last.

“Several other factors, such as subject matter, movement, and the distance of the subject from the camera, also influence when a given defocus becomes noticeable.
The area within the depth of field appears sharp, whilst the areas in front of and beyond the depth of field appear blurry.
For a 35 mm motion picture, the image area on the negative is roughly 22 mm by 16 mm (0.87 in by 0.63 in). The limit of tolerable error is usually set at 0.05 mm (0.002 in) diameter. For 16 mm film, where the image area is smaller, the tolerance is stricter, 0.025 mm (0.001 in). Standard depth-of-field tables are constructed on this basis, although generally 35 mm productions set it at 0.025 mm (0.001 in). Note that the acceptable circle of confusion values for these formats are different because of the relative amount of magnification each format will need in order to be projected on a full-sized movie screen.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

So.. if your final output is 35mm film projection in cinemas or whatever, and the apparent focus of 16mm footage becomes dubious when blown up to 35mm size.. does this then cancel out the effects of using wider 16mm lenses with deeper perceived focus? I mean.. you’re using longer equivalent lenses when shooting on 35mm, but if the tolerance, the margin of error is more forgiving because there’s no blowing up of the image, which format ends up being less forgiving in terms of perceived focus when outputting to 35mm film?

This is where I rush to my nearest film lab, beg for their 16mm short takes, and start testing in my backyard on an ancient, makeshift film camera.. I wish I was old-school.

O MC que due abertura no caminhos do Harlem, Kurtis Blow encontrou o seu primeiro sucesso em 1979 com “Christmas Rappin”. No ano seguinte ele voltou com “The Breaks”, um autêntico hip-hop clássico, que faz sucesso ate hoje. Ele foi o primeiro rapper assinou com uma grande gravadora e lançou cerca de dez álbuns entre ‘80 e ‘88. Seus outros sucessos incluem “Basquete”, “If I Ruled The World” e “Hard Times”.

Songlist:
01. Rappin’ Blow (Part 2)
02. The Breaks
03. Way Out West
04. Throughout Your Years
05. Hard Times
06. All I Want In This World (Is To Find That Girl)
07. Takin’ Care Of Business

INFO:
Nome: Kurtis Blow – Kurtis Blow
Ano: 1980
Genero:Rap
Arquivo: MP3
Birate: 192 kbs
Tempo: 39:27
Do: Vinyl-Rip

http://rapidshare.com/fil…_1980_.zip.html

DEVELOPED IN THE 1600s, it was still the coolest calculation tool in the classroom way up until about 1974 when the scientific calculator made it largely obsolete. Before scientific calculators, students apparently had a greater conceptual understanding of mathematical operations. Many of you reading this right now might be cautious to comment here on any personal experiences with this implement lest you reveal your true age. $15 (1960s prices). Website

(click to enlarge)

DATE

14.12.2009 (MONDAY)

TIME

7 – 8:30PM

VENUE

URBAN GROOVE SUNWAY BRANCH

RM60 – UG STUDENTS

RM80 – NON-UG STUDENTS

URBAN GROOVE PROUDLY BRINGS

Ricky Carranza aka 3ki Rick from Finland to Malaysia to conduct a workshop on

ORIGINAL LOCKING STYLE

For all the locking lovers, don’t miss this chance to learn from the maestro himself on pure funk styles.

Ricky himself is a close friend and student of Greg Campbellock from the original lockers. He is currently based in Finland where he runs his own academy called Style Dance Industry. He is a highly versatile dancer which specializes predominantly in popping and locking.

For booking and register please call / sms

012 – 3896588

016 – 5584466

HURRY UP !

LIMITED PLACES AVAILABLE !

Check out Ricky’s videos here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnJkNWwhZPg&feature=fvw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMJZMQk6YVM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQbihTyL3sw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeNs5qwYBn8&feature=related

The new blog is up! Improv and D&D!

http://www.dungeonmastering.com/blogroll/you-want-to-do-what-the-art-of-improvisation-in-gming-part-2

Meu sonho é ter uma tattoo na mão, mas além de eu achar que dói pra caramba, falta-me coragem. Fora que #mamãeink vai ter um surto, né? Eu tinha separado originalmente estas fotos pra o Tattoo do Dia, mas como tinha várias já, resolvi juntá-las num post só!

This is one of my favorite song from the Punk/Rock group- Green Day. Who doesn’t like Green Day? They did their new song “21 guns” at the AMA’S (American Music Awards) sunday, it was good. I saw them in concert once, they are amazing LIVE….

“Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)”

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don’t ask why
It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it’s worth it was worth all the while

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

I came across this article on BMX cruisers in Oregon Cycling awhile back and I think it really captures why cruisers are so fun and why more and more people are getting into 24″ bikes.

The writer, Tom Baldinger, talking about his “secret agenda”:

My agenda is naturally, more cruiser riders on the streets, the race tracks, the skate parks, etc! I love to see other people on them, because I know what fun they are!

Why to get a 24″ instead of another type of bike:

If your budget is limited, and you are looking for a bike that is easy to maintain, can be ridden hard, and will provide more entertainment than should be legal, I would highly suggest a 24-inch wheel BMX cruiser.

How a bicycle is more than just “transportation”:

…if a bike ride is more to you than a utilitarian passage from point A to point B, if you are prone to explore alleys, jump off curbs or look for embankments, cruisers are a great option.

And finally, because (and I think this is a little tongue-in-cheek) riding a cruiser makes you a bit of a renegade:

Perhaps the best reason to ride a cruiser is the renegade factor. Mountain bikers chuckle, 20-inch wheel BMX riders scoff, road bikers are bewildered. Cruisers have a kitsch factor that’s hard to beat, they are super practical. Try one out, you’ll be surprised at the amount of saddle time it sees and I guarantee the ride will put a smile on your face.

Here’s hoping that 2010 will see even more renegades giving cruisers a try….

Excusez le jeu de mot de merde du titre, utilisé des milliasses de fois par les journaux.

Alors qu’elle se demarque encore une fois par son positionnement anti-homophobe, je vous propose du vieux Lady gaga, quand elle s’apellait encore  Stefani Germanotta, et qu’elle ne portait pas encore de perruque. On notera qu’elle faisait deja preuve d’une legere folie dans sa maniere de marteler son piano… Elle porte une robe vert suicide z’avez vu ? =)

Pour ceux qui doutent encore de son talent, c’est tout simplement sublime. ( Pardon si ca brise un mythe de la voir en “vraie” )

_

_

( sinon rien a voir, un film-docu – et pas de cul- qui semble interessant a voir: La domination masculine )

It is one of the best-loved, most legendary campaigns in the Dungeons & Dragons library, yet I never played the classic adventure, “The Temple of Elemental Evil”.  Written by Gary Gygax and Frank Mentzer back in 1985, the timing was never right.  It was initially released for play with the 1st Edition rules, but a few years later in 1989 the 2nd Edition of D&D was published, making the whole thing a moot point.  (We didn’t do much of the “conversion” stuff back then.)  Then 3rd Edition was released and Monte Cook updated the Gygax/Mentzer adventure into the now-classic-in-its-own-right “Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil”, chronicling the next generation of adventurers in Hommlet, keeping the history and events of the original adventure as part of the background of this sequel.  As much as I wanted to adventure in the Temple of Elemental Evil, we never had the right group.  We didn’t do much in the way of published modules in my D&D group those days, but I bought the adventure book anyway, and there it sat on my bookshelf since 2001.  I even went as far as starting a d20 Modern conversion of the adventure simply because it seemed like such an epic, classic story that I wanted to be a part of it.

Now it’s 2009 (almost 2010!) and there is a new edition of Dungeons & Dragons.  Wizards of the Coast recently released an adventure for the 4th Edition entitled  ”The Village of Hommlet” and it looks like a fantastic introduction into the world of the Temple of Elemental Evil.  Perhaps in the spirit of the generational feel of the previous adventures, I should call this one “Revenge of the Temple of Elemental Evil”.  I’ve looked over the Village of Hommlet adventure and started the preliminary steps in the massive project of converting the 3e adventure into something playable (different but recognizable) in 4e.  My players have no idea yet what I’m going to unleash on them, but they are soon to be traveling as armed escorts with a caravan on their way to a small village named Hommlet…

Following that mega-adventure, I plan on running them against the titan kings.  I just got my hands on a copy of the 4th Edition adventure “Revenge of the Giants” (having its own, equally rich history), the sequel to the campaign “Against the Giants”, probably my favorite all-time adventure that I’ve ever participated in.  Giants are my absolute favorite enemy to fight in D&D, and it would be a great follow-up to “Revenge of the Temple of Elemental Evil”.

There’s only one problem.  My heart’s not 100% into it.  The truth is, I don’t want to run these games.

I want to play them.

Have you ever played any of the adventures? Is there an adventure you’ve always wanted to play but never got the chance?

01 – The New Mastersounds – One Note Brown
02 – Naomi Davis – Forty First Street Breakdowne
03 – The Sugarman Three – Funky So And So
04 – The Soul Destroyers – Blow Your Top (pt.1)
05 – Connie Price And The Keystones – The Badger
06 – The New Mastersounds – Gt
07 – The Imaginary Visions – Texas Rumble
08 – Speedometer Ft The Speedettes – Wait Up
09 – Joseph Henry – Whos The King
10 – Sharon Jones – Got To Be The Way It Is
11 – The New Mastersounds – Coffee Providers
12 – The New Mastersounds – Turn This Thing Around
13 – Sharon Jones – You Better Think Twice
14 – The Mighty Imperials – The Matador

http://hotfile.com/dl/18511265/4ef4936/funkcentury.rar.html

Here’s a two-year-old Rat for you to enjoy. She’s in the middle next to a very spidery Pake Pudge and the adorable mssarahmorrison (also available on Twitter)!

Rat's second Christmas!