Pumpkin Art And Scary Sand Art By Ray Villafane

Apparently he does it by scraping the pumpkin first:

And then working on each pumpkin for about eight hours

If you want to learn how to carve your pumpkin- Mr. V has a tutorial on his website

He also does some pretty cool sand art sculptures:

His website

Around The World

Come 'meet' and promote bloggers in the People and Places Around The World project.

Through a series of four photographs- featuring interpretation of:

Inside, Outside, Creative Space and Wild Card-

With the intention of stimulating dialogue and promoting creativity.

Inside

Outside

Creative Space

Wild Card

If you have not already 'met' Grace- She is the lovely lady behind My Year In Haiku.

To read her daily haikus and see her photography visit:
My Year In Haiku

this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember

www.soulemama.com/soulemama

Around The World

Come 'meet' and promote bloggers in the People and Places Around The World project.

Through a series of four photographs- featuring interpretation of:

Inside, Outside, Creative Space and Wild Card-

With the intention of stimulating dialogue and promoting creativity.

Inside

Outside

Creative Space

Wild Card

(I only wish my dill did this well- this past summer)

If you have not already 'met' Sherri- She is the lovely lady behind The Claw blog,  Essbesee etsy shop and designs creative Headers for websites at Headers for Hire. 

To learn more about what she loves and what she makes visit:
The Claw
and
Essbesee
and
Headers for Hire

Around The World

Come 'meet' and promote bloggers in the People and Places Around The World project.

Through a series of four photographs- featuring interpretation of:

Inside, Outside, Creative Space and Wild Card-

With the intention of stimulating dialogue and promoting creativity.

Inside

Outside

Creative Space

Wild Card

(What an amazing shot of Finn in the puddle)

If you have not already 'met' Taryn- She is the lovely lady behind: Mama Gone Green. 

To learn more about her passion for the environment and what she creates in her creative space visit:

Mama Gone Green

Beams In The Forest- Sébastien Preschoux

Sébastien Preschoux is a 35 year old self taught French Artist/Designer. In this project called Lasers he uses Acrylic string to create a series of acrylic installations in environments were no previous man-made graphics existed.  Argentine, Tri-color, 9 colors, and Cocoon are all examples of geometric string art creations in previously organically shaped areas.

Mr. Preschoux creates handmade works of art as a commentary to today’s generation which disposes of images at a industrial rapidity and cease to ask [] themselves about where these things are coming from- he strives to create art that is not easily reproduced and often temporary. His yarn installations arise from his graphic work and from the observation of the sunlight in nature. With my work I concentrate on the line and its repetition. With these installations I wanted to reproduce the sunbeams with coloured cotton yarn.

Further quotes from his interview at: http://trendland.net/2010/05/16/sebastien-preschoux-interview

The first time I made a thread installation it was in the forest in Argentina. It is very pleasant and approachable to work in natural environments : no one disturbs you, you take the time you want, the time you need. Additionally trees are a very solid construction on which you can work without destroying anything.

Around The World

Come 'meet' and promote bloggers in the People and Places Around The World project.

Through a series of four photographs- featuring interpretation of:

Inside, Outside, Creative Space and Wild Card-

With the intention of stimulating dialogue and promoting creativity.

Inside

Outside

Creative Space

Wild Card-

A bike named Gigi (I am in lust)

If you have not already 'met' Lenore- She is the lovely lady behind Write. Lather and Repeat. 

To learn more about where she lives and what she uses her creative tools for visit:

Lather. Write. Repeat.

Film: The Runaways

Last night Dr. J and I watched a film starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning titled The Runaways- based on the life story of Joan Jett and Cherrie Currie.

The band made popular the song Cherry Bomb and Joan Jett later did a cover of one of my favorite songs Crimson and Clover- this film is surprisingly good and even has a 'make out' scene between Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning.  Dakota Fanning has come a long way since starring as Sean Penn's daughter in I Am Sam- another one of my favorite films. The film also gives a great history of girl punk rock band's and music of the 1970s while showcasing Kristen and Dakota's actual singing chops-

It took my tech team two hours to upload this feature below

(by tech team I mean Dr. J) -so please have a listen:

Do you like to listen to Crimson and Clover- over and over?

this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember

www.soulemama.com/soulemama

New Dish, New Drink, New Injury

For two days our house smelt of chocolate- hot gooey lovely delicious chocolate.
One of the ingredients needed for this amazing recipe was a dark ale.  Dr. J picked up a beer I've never tried before called Moose Drool.  Being fundamentally Canadian I thought it was a great name- now add to that that I am not a huge beer drinker and that we are now on our SECOND six pack- because I can't stop drinking it- and well- I consider this blog worthy-
Moose Drool = Great Beer
The recipe.  Not a dessert, is a short rib meat entree.

This photo does not do it justice but Dr. J removed all the meat off the bone and with mashed potatoes and bok choy it is just plain amazing.
Here is the recipe and if you are not already familiar with David Lebovitz's blog- You are in for a treat!

Now in other news I have carpal tunnel syndrome- in part because my thin, dainty, aristocratic wrists are predisposed to it and in part (I choose to blame it on) WORD VERIFICATION. 
Word Verification serves no purpose that I can see.  If you choose to moderate your comments then it really doesn't make sense to have this feature.  Nothing frustrates me more than reading a great post- leaving a comment and then having to type in a word verification. 
Maybe I'm missing something here- Is there a reason that you choose to keep word verification on?
Please let me know so I don't look like an ass. 

Cheers!

Twitterature

I love to read and my degree is in English Literature. In high school I may have used Coles notes (Cliff Notes if you’re American) for an essay or two (sorry Mrs. Fabian- I really did love your classes). In university I never did this kind of nonsense because I had the luxury of going to an amazing college that had a plethora of English courses and I was able to choose the classes that I was interested in.

When I found this book titled twitterature by Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin I was smitten. These two clever college freshman from the University of Chicago reinvented a series of classic novels using tweets as their format.

Many of my favorites such as The Catcher in the Rye, Paradise Lost, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and The Great Gatsby are represented- in short form, via a series of tweets.  I love it-
Anyway- it’s a quick and hilarious read- I have taken the liberty of copying out George Orwell's Nineteen eighty four!  If you are familar with this novel then I am certain you will find it as entertaining as Dr. J and I did!

Here, as it appears in twitterature:
Nineteen Eighty-Four
By George Orwell
@Ratatouille

London is a totally ridiculous place these days. (I actually mean ridiculous in a totalitarian way. Best keep this to myself.)


What’s with the slogans like ‘War is Peace’? Do only I see they make no sense? Seems someone in the government is on a very big opposites kick.


I found a little journal and a tiny place in my room where Big Brother ISN’T watching. Now I can record dissident thoughts/jerk it.


Look, brother, if I wanted to be WATCHED doing my dirty business, I’d make a sex tape. Oh? You already have it?


God I hate rats. It’s important that you know how much I hate rats, because I really, really hate rats.


At work; dullsville. How can rewriting history be fun if you’re betraying the timeless ideal of truth? Let’s see: Truth Is Lies?


Disregard last tweet. Need to keep those bad thoughts out of my head, otherwise I’ll have to make a trip to the Ministry of Love.


P.S. By ‘Love’ they mean imprisonment, execution, and unspeakable torture. In that order. Like I said, opposites are the new white.


Met a drab hot girl today. Slipped me a note saying she loved me. Romance is forbidden because everything good in this society is bad. Hmm.


Fuck it, life’s a risk. Had sex on the hillside; went wild, though for a moment I was ashamed of my varicose veins.


While you should never date a hooker or a porn star, I suggest a girl who writes porno. Guess what she thinks about all day?


We defeated Eurasia in the war! Or was it Eastasia all along? Either way, we’ll take them as usual.


Julia and I do it every day. Nice store owner rented us a room without cameras. Must not launder the bed sheets too often or we’ll be caught.


My boss wants to see me; this can’t be good. Maybe I’ll get laid off and have to transfer to the Ministry of Irony.


Surprise. He is part of a secret organization devoted to overthrowing the party. Julia and I are in. This is so exciting.


Just kidding. Big Brother WAS watching! Carted off to the Ministry of Love, as I tweet. Makes me think of childhood for some reason.


Sometimes you’re locked up in a secret government prison. Then you meet this crazy old woman. And it’s you mother.


Hard to post through endless rounds of torture. O’Brien tells me that the Party wants power for power’s sale. Deep, man.


DAMNIT. FUCKING RATS IN MY FUCKING FACE. WHY DID I TELL I HATE RATS? NO KILL JULIA PLEASE GODDAMIT. FORGOT: THERE’S NO GOD.


I’m a free man. I do love Big Brother. He is doubleplusgood – truly, in my heart, I love him. Because I am free. So very free.

To order a copy through my Amazon store for less than $5 USD click this

Red Rock- Hiking

 

Film: La Mission

We watched this movie this weekend.  Dr. J went to sleep before it was over but it is well worth watching if you think Benjamin Bratt is hot.

There is a lot of this to see in the film:

This film is written by Benjamin Bratt and his brother Peter who grew up in this eclectic and colorful area of San Fransisco.  I think whether you are familiar with the area or not the scenes that give glimpses into the neighbourhood are interesting to watch.

In light of all the media coverage over gay teen bullying I also think this film is relevant.

Click to buy via Amazon

Have you seen this film?

Do you like the eye candy?

Moon And Sun

Here are some fun inspirational photographs which my father in law emailed us.

To me they serve as a reminder of the ying and the yang/ sun and the moon.

The Great One produces the two poles (Heaven and Earth), which in turn give rise to the energies of the dark (yin) and the light (yang). These two energies then transform themselves, one rising upwards, and the other descending downwards; they merge again and give rise to form.

These last two photos are of me and my youngest monkey at Laguna Beach.

To read more about yin-yang philosophy and the source of my quote:

http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Yin-Yang.htm