randomness

If I’d Grown Up In Holland…

…I might have watched Sesamstraat as a child.

Like the American version, Sesame Street, Sesamstraat features Kermit, Grover, Bert & Ernie, Elmo, Zoe (the little orange Elmo-esque monster), Oscar, and “Koekiemonster.” However… they also have a purple Big Bird character named Pino, a pig named Purk, a Rowlf-ish dog named Tommie, and a rodent named Ieniemienie (or Ienie for short).

I translated part of the Dutch FAQ with Babelfish (because the Google translator doesn’t include Dutch to English). With minor editing for grammar (but not enough to destroy the charm of automated translation), this is the result:

Q: Why is Pino yellow in America?

A: That is not Pino, but his cousin Jan (in American: Big Bird). Sesamstraat is transmitted in about 160 countries around the entire world. As lot of countries make their own version of ‘Sesame Street’. Tommie, Ieniemienie, Pino, Mr Aart and only plays all other Dutch actors in the Dutch version. In each country there other animals that live in Sesamstraat. Because Pino is also a large bird he is frequently wrongfully confused with his American cousin.

The purple Big Bird just warped my little mind when I first saw it, though.

music 6 Comments

New Toy

So, this is what’s been occupying my time for the past two days: Aaron’s (early) birthday present to me. *squee*

See, a few days ago, I told Aaron that I was going to splurge one last time with my new Amazon Visa before I lay off the spending. Of course, he asked what I was going to buy, and I told him: an iPod Mini. And he got this look on his face and said that maybe I shouldn’t really buy one right now…

*facepalm* I should know better than to buy myself stuff right before my birthday. I’ve done that before, and thrown Aaron for a loop. Luckily, I hadn’t actually purchased a Mini yet, so all was well… except that I’d managed to ruin a really, really keen birthday surprise.

It’s still keen, though. I’m still all a-squee about it, although I can tell that it’ll soon become part of my normal gear, like my wallet and my lomo.

Wanna know what’s on my iPod?

The Afghan Whigs / Air / Bob Mould / Catherine Wheel / Coldplay / The Cure / Depeche Mode / Fischerspooner / The Flaming Lips / Flogging Molly / Folk Implosion / James / Keane / Lou Barlow / Peter Gabriel / Smashing Pumpkins / Sugar / Tegan and Sara / The Violent Femmes / The White Stripes

…among other things. @whee!

house

Weekend Projects

As Amy had to cancel our weekend of girlie giggles due to Grandma’s gallstones, Aaron and I opted to make use of the weekend to take care of some much-needed home improvement projects. More maintenance than improvement, actually.

First on the list: fertilize the lawn. It was very necessary. Our yard looks like poo, due to a.) the lack of proper lawn care by the previous homeowner, and b.) the giant field of weeds across the street from our house. The back yard also has vast bare patches, but that is a problem to address another day—say, in the Fall.
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ruminations 3 Comments

Photo Opportunities

I was just over at the Jolesch website, ordering myself a 10×15 of the portrait we had taken at the MCGC finals last weekend. (I <3 the Intarweb + digital cameras for quick photo turnaround.)

While I was perusing their website, I contemplated the conversation I’d had with the photographer after our little photo shoot. For the sake of the non-photographers here, though, I’ll put my geekitude (and self-esteem issues) in the extended entry, where you won’t have to read it if you don’t want.
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sewing 2 Comments

T-Shirt Surgery Part II: RCC Halter Top

I’ve never owned a halter top, as far as I can remember. I know my mom liked them when she was younger (read: before she had me and gained weight). Eventually I figured, what the heck. I wanted to see how I’d look in one… and I’m really kind of getting into this t-shirt surgery thing. Plus, I was curious about Sheryl’s claim that halters really are made so that even those of us with ample boobage can go braless in one. O.o

I ended up combining this tutorial for a basic halter top with this one for an empire waist. I knew I’d need some semblance of support, and just having a basic, flat halter top with no tightly-fitted bodice just wasn’t going to cut it.

The Process:


Witness the hunter green RCC shirt, intact and in all its 2XL glory.


I took my fabric marking pencil and, comparing the two tutorials, drew in where I’d be cutting and sewing.

I cut off the sleeves and removed the collar, then mostly removed the back and turned some of it into the halter straps. I also took some off the bottom, to make it shorter. Once everything was cut, I finished all the newly-raw edges, then I hemmed the bottom and turned down the cutout back, where the empire drawstring would thread through. (I’m really proud of my hem. It looks tres keen, IMHO.)


This is the finished product! It’s not exactly how I’d envisioned, but it was a learning experience. I was thinking about maybe putting a white or gold edging along the neckline, but I don’t know if it turned out so well that I’ll be into putting a whole lot more work into this particular design.


Witness my flubbery back! No, really, check out my keen drawstring action. The original plan had been for it to tie in the back there, but a.) I’m just not that coordinated, and b.) the drawstring (made from the leftover material off the bottom of the shirt) ended up stretching like a mofo.


Here’s a view from the side. Not a bad t-shirt surgery experiment, after all.

I have discovered two things tonight. #1: I like the way a halter top makes my shoulders look. #2: It really might be OK not to wear a bra with one of these; it’s really quite comfortable. #3: I should just buy one, instead of trying to make one that will fit properly. ;-P