I would have loved to get my photos up yesterday, but you know busy holiday weekends and all ;) I hope everyone had a good weekend! For your viewing pleasure, my first and mostly successful attempt to photograph fireworks at this year's Red, White and Boom celebration in Columbus:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=284191&id=867975112&l=f71f0cffde

Some previews:




I really lucked out with the vantage point, thank you Ben's dad!! We were on the 12th floor of one of the downtown office buildings, which is old enough that you can actually open the windows. Woot! We had a great time :)

Such as cleaning, shopping, and some stuff from actual work I have to do today. No better place to procrastinate than Cracked.com! Happy reading, my fellow nerds ;)

8 shitties Transformer disguises Silly toy designers.

5 reasons Megatron should have fired Starscream Bosses of the world, take note!

Star Trek's 6 most ridiculous alien races I actually could have added a few more to this list, but they're pretty good picks!

5 reasons the Terminator franchise makes no sense Yeah, good points...I still love those movies though, even if this newest one was a bit lame. Ah, well.

Okay, must go shopping now. Later, all!

Yeah so I indulged my nerdiness and went to the midnight premiere with Ben, and don't get me wrong the movie's a LOT of fun! Things to keep in mind though: a) it's a Michael Bay film, and he hates characters but loves the military and giant explosions and helicopters at sunset, so that's what you're gonna get and b) this is a movie about giant alien robots based on a line of toys. To be fair, I paid to see giant robots beat the snot out of each other and blow shit up for 2+ hours, and that's what I got!

That said...the first Transformers was so much better in so many ways. The story for the first film had tons of problems; plotholes, WTF military and character moments, and Bay's own special brand of racism (mrrrr!), but the story itself was simple and there was at least some effort at character development (thank you Spielberg!).

This movie though...the effects are fantastic, I expect nothing less from ILM, but the story is a nigh-incomprehensible trainwreck. And character development? HAH! Yeah, no, not this time. Too many plot threads, too many characters, dialogue so bad and jokes so unfunny it was almost painful to watch. It sucks because I was very excited about this film, and mostly what I feel now is disappointment. It's not like I was going into this movie with high expectations but still, you need a story that makes sense, even in a summer popcorn blockbuster.

I'd go into more detail, but this review here sums up everything I would have said rather nicely. It's full of spoilers though, so don't read it if you haven't seen the film yet.

Still, it's not like I feel as if I wasted my money or anything, I have no regrets. It's just they could have done some very cool things with the concepts they set up in the first film, but they completely and utterly failed. Damn you Micheal Bay :/

Chocolate milk/banana/raspberries/pineapple/ice smoothie.

Heaven.

That is all ^_^

After I got home today I walked through the living room and spotted Sakura lounging in the sunset light coming through the window. I have an orange sheet on the couch, and that was reflecting light back onto her and it was just so pretty. I couldn't resist ^_^ Plus, she decided it was time to be all photogenic ;)






More pics here: http://pics.livejournal.com/calger459/gallery/00082q9y

Yes, I am spamming you all with photos of my cat. And no, I don't care ;)

Why hello there summer weather, just in time for May! Had to go shopping after work, and just as I was leaving Target the sky opened up. I hung around inside and chatted with some nice people until the rain slackened, then made a break for the car.

The drive home was awful >_< So much rain! About halfway there, with me only averaging 40 mph, the rain got really heavy and suddenly HUGE WINDS. Seriously, the rain was going sideways and I was totally blind. I immediately put on my blinkers and pulled over into the shoulder to wait, while the giant winds shook my little Civic.

After about ten minutes I got going again, and what do I hear on the radio? "Tornado warning until 6:30" (this was at 6:15)

...fantastic >_< I'm speculating whether the giant wind of doom was maybe an F0 tornado going across the highway. Unlikely, since I'm in one piece, as is the car, but it makes you wonder a bit.

Very happy to be home :P

So I'm folding laundry, looked over and saw Sakura perched on top of the blanket mountain.






Sakura: Get that thing out of my face. Now.

So this is has been making the internet rounds the past several days, but I'm going to keep passing it along, 'cause this is one of the most amazing things I've seen/heard.



Based just on Susan Boyle's incredible voice, you'd never expect the face she has. Poor thing, though I'm in agreement with Sarah that a good makeover would do wonders for her. Here's the performance on Britain's Got Talent that's gotten her so much attention: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

*props chin on hands and listens to her sing*

I wish I had a voice like that! *envy*

This is just amazing. Just a thin bit of plastic between this guy and outer space, and that's the earth reflected in his helmet. Yet he looks totally thrilled to be there. Like, "Hi!"



Title: STS-109 Astronaut Michael J. Massimino Peers Into Window of Shuttle During EVA

Description: STS-109 Astronauts Michael J. Massimino and James H. Newman were making their second extravehicular activity (EVA) of their mission when astronaut Massimino, mission specialist, peered into Columbia's crew cabin during a brief break from work on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The HST is latched down just a few feet behind him in Columbia's cargo bay.

Date of Image: 2002-03-05

Original link: http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~9~9~58751~162595:

I wanna go to space!!



Link: http://zuserver2.star.ucl.ac.uk/~idh/apod/image/0612/trussnauts_sts116_big.jpg

I'll admit to my occasional moments of mental disconnect resulting in profound dumbness; we all have them, and we all want to crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment afterward. This lady though...seriously takes the cake. Just...wow. No words.

Hey guys, sorry I was MIA for a bit, last week Friday I headed out to Las Vegas to visit my brother, he's doing the Lion King stage show again for a year (or maybe more, depending on how well the show does). This was the first time I'd spent any amount of time in Vegas, I rather like the place actually :) I also got to go the Grand Canyon for the first time ever, that is an awe-inspiring place. I've never been anywhere else that made you feel so tiny and insignificant, and the vertigo I got toeing the edge of the canyon was kinda fun ;) Other trip highlights were touring around some of the casinos (I officially love The Luxor, that place is classy, and fun!). At first I thought the gimmicks each casino/hotel have would be annoying, but I got into them after awhile. The Knight Rider Festival also happened to be going on while I was there, so I spent Saturday geeking out amongst replica Kitts ;)

Random note about deserts: This seems like the obvious thing to say, but DAMN it's dry out there. I drank water continuously, and it never seemed to be enough, I was constantly thirsty the entire time. People who live out there, is that something you adapt to over time?

Anyway, photo time! The Knight Rider photos are posted to LJ here, http://pics.livejournal.com/calger459/gallery/0007py72

Photos of everything else are posted over on my Deviant Art account: http://calger459.deviantart.com/journal/23906842/

My fave photo of the trip:


Deep by =calger459 on deviantART

Aside from that...I'm sick, first cold I've had in many many months. Ugh. Stupid full planes! No, really, full flight out to Vegas, 7 days later bam! Cold. Probably not a coincidence. Gonna stay in bed today, drink hot tea and draw. And watch Knight Rider probably. I think I get even geekier when I'm sick...

This...this just makes me furious.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/sci_fi_channel_aims_to_shed_ge.php

Some choice quotes:

"In some universe, the name “Syfy” is less geeky than the name “Sci Fi.” Dave Howe, president of the Sci Fi Channel, is betting it’s this one.

What's wrong with being a geek again?

“We spent a lot of time in the ’90s trying to distance the network from science fiction, which is largely why it’s called Sci Fi,” Mr. Brooks said. “It’s somewhat cooler and better than the name ‘Science Fiction.’ But even the name Sci Fi is limiting.”

...you're a SCIENCE FICTION cable channel. WTF, well no wonder your programming has gone so far downhill in the last several years! (with a few notable exceptions such as BSG)

"The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular,” said TV historian Tim Brooks, who helped launch Sci Fi Channel when he worked at USA Network."

......

Wow, this man is coming across here as a serious asshat. Okay folks, for the record I'm not a) antisocial/dysfunctional, b) living in my parents' basement, c) a professional failure or d) any other damaging "geek" stereotype. What I am is a person who enjoys things and isn't afraid to admit it. I love science fiction, fantasy, anime, and spaceflight; I love these things because they are fun, interesting and above all imaginative. I'm an artist who's happiest when she's creating things, and these genre inspire me. There is NOTHING WRONG with being passionate about a subject, and enjoying it and loving it. It is not a crime to be a geek or a nerd. All the technology and progress we as a society enjoy? All invented by "nerdy" scientists who love their respective subjects and who are dedicated to learning and imagining. I'm sick of the connotations that have built up around those two words, which this idiot running SciFi Channel is only perpetuating with this branding change.

I'm a geek and nerd and proud of it. It does not make me stupid, incompetent or a failure at life. I think this Mr. Brooks is in for a nasty surprise when he's managed to totally insult and alienate the audience that kept his channel alive.

Anyway, back to watching NASA TV, they're adding a new section to the ISS today ^_^

Edit: Hmm this post was rather ranty, I feel like I should clarify a bit why this whole thing bugs me so much.

( Let's talk about this some more )

It's that time of year again, Sunday was Sakura Group's annual charity benefit concert for UNICEF :) It went very well! I brought my new camera along to try and get some good pictures, the lighting was pretty low so most of the pictures came out blurry, but these are the better ones. I took these during rehearsal before the concert, I didn't play this particular set of songs so that left me free to photograph. Yay!

( follow the pretty picture link! )

Is finally being able to open your windows after a long, cold snowy winter :) Going to be 70 today!

That first wash of fresh spring air is easily my favorite smell in the entire world ^_^ *basks*

Been digging through some old sketches and things, and I decided to try a series where I finish some of them :) Lot of fun!


Cloud Dragon - Mei by =calger459 on deviantART

Me: I'm home, sorry I'm so late, koto lesson tonight with a couple of the newbies in the group, they were quite chatty...

Sakura: That's nice, I'm gonna go on a walkabout! *slips out the door*

Me: No you're not, get back here! *struggles to put down koto and purse*

Sakura: Lalala can't hear you, walkies!! *heads for the stairs*

Me: It's COLD, come back!

Sakura: *gleefully hops down the stairs*

Me: ARGH! *dumps everything on the floor, dashes back outside, making sure to close the door. It's cold out!*

Sakura: Yay bottom of stairs!! Uh...now what?

Me: *tromps down and scoops her up* INSIDE NOW

Sakura: *protests loudly*

Me: *having perfected the art of one-armed cat toting, gets door back open* You want your food or what?

Sakura: OOH FOOD! Yes please! *snuggles against legs*


I think the furry one has cabin fever. Spring, can you hurry up please?

Thank goodness at Sakura's routine vet visit Saturday, I finally had her microchipped...

So...the left-hand side is my old Fuji Finepix, the right is my new Nikon.

o__O I'm...very pleasantly stunned. I can't wait to take this new camera to the Grand Canyon in a month! :D

Happy Valentine's Day everyone ^_^

So it's been storming all day in Ohio today, and tonight during tutoring the sun broke through the storm clouds briefly. Me and Yuri looked out the window to see what was easily the most perfect, gorgeous rainbow I've EVER seen. It was amazing, a full half-bow going across the entire sky, very large and bright. I tried to get a photo with my phone...I would have killed to have had my real camera with me. Of course, only after it was it gone did I go darn it, I could have taken a series of photos and made a panorama!



Not even close...it looks so thin and insubstantial! Ah well probably just as well, rainbows are one of those things you just have to see for yourself, and this one was certainly rare and special :)

Does this mean my luck will improve?

So...after watching all this stuff about NASA and spaceflight and the Apollo missions...I'm watching Flight of the Navigator, one of my favorite movies as a kid, and the "bad" guys are NASA. For the first time, I noticed this:



Well...it may not be actually, but it sure LOOKS like one. ^_^;;