We Are the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Snoqualmie

tylercat — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:35:38 GMT

On my current work schedule, the only day I have completely clear is Saturday (luckily this will be changing at the end of the month). Which means that I haven't been up to much in my free time lately, but this weekend I made it out of Seattle! Went East to Snoqualmie Falls.

Got a good walk from the top viewing area down to the rocks. In the sevenish years since I last visited they built a high wooden boardwalk along the bottom with signs cautioning leaving it, but, like everyone else, we climbed over the rail and scrambled down to the rocks. Had a very calming picnic.

Here are some beautiful roots on the trail to the bottom of the falls:

I like Seattle, but driving through the countryside was like letting go of a breath that I didn't know I was holding. Guess I'm a country mouse at heart. Saw about two cows, got nostalgic for VA.

It's been snowing in Washington, further inland

tylercat — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:48:08 GMT

Seattle weather is messing up my internal clock.

If I can see my breath, it can't really be June.

GIANT SPIDERS

tylercat — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:18:58 GMT

Today I went to the Woodland Park Zoo and petted a tarantula. It was soft. I thought its hair would be coarse, but aside from the drastically reduced surface area, it felt like petting a cat.

tylercat — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:43:20 GMT

It's snowing here: huge fluffy clumps, floating like down feathers.

Absurd, but amazingly lovely.

I've been working on a website for Ingrid's photography business. I'm really challenging myself, learning a lot. Today: I am working with Drupal. I think I like it. Nothing's online yet, though.

I am in Seattle

tylercat — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:33:55 GMT

It was snowing when the plane landed.

I already unpacked my suitcases, now I am waiting for some boxes to come in the mail. Currently, Dad and I are watching Eegah.

Top Three Teas

tylercat — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:13:23 GMT

It's getting colder, and I'm drinking more tea. And mostly black tea these days. My top three flavors:

Earl Grey (I have Ahmad Tea London)

Vanilla (such as Harney & Sons Vanilla Comorro)

Mango (Republic of Tea: Mango Ceylon is subtle and Hawaiian Islands Tea Company: Mango Maui is supermango)

I drink coffee too sometimes when Mom's making that, but I like putting lots of milk and usually some sugar in it. Tea is a lot healthier! I pick teas that are naturally sweet-flavored. What drinks do you guys like?

Devil Never Cry

tylercat — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 00:01:36 GMT

I just beat Devil May Cry. It was great! Thanks wensleydale for lending this epic badass game to me!

I didn't realize I would like this game. I thought it would be too fighting-oriented (I tend to go for games with adventuring/exploring or character customization). I must say it was a lot harder for me (on normal mode) than other games I've played (except for Myst). But it was totally satisfying to finish each mission. And the moody setting really added a lot. It was pretty funny too. In summary, I love it.

Next Topic: Here's a linkpimp: EMG-Zine
"an e-zine for artists and writers of fantasy and science fiction"

It's more weighted to the art side, I'd say. Current issues are public online, the archive is subscriber-only. This issue isn't their strongest, since they had to run an old column by ursulav (she writes Wombat Droppings) and they don't have any reviews, but I wanted to link it before I forget. Check it every month.

Still packing.

Here Till December

tylercat — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 21:06:50 GMT

I bought my plane ticket to Seattle. Leaving December 1st.

Right now I'm going through boxes of old papers. Mom gives me a lot of the stuff related to me to sort, and I've come across a whole slew of evaluations from early elementary years. It's kinda neat to see the parent/teacher perspective on me. Stuff like, "Katie recognizes numerals 0 to 20 except 13, 15, 17, and 19." Childhood: the Behind-the-Scenes Special.

It's also a little strange. I don't recognize my younger self as myself at all. But I guess it played into the current me somehow, with a series of little changes that add up to a fully-developed person.

Moving, Eventually

tylercat — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:38:12 GMT

Well, it's been a while since I posted about my life. Mom has decided to sell the house and move West, and I'll most likely be going to the West Coast as well to be in a better position to hunt for an animation job. So we've been doing more of the same: cleaning, sorting, etc. Which bring me to my first point: we now have furniture in excess of what we need.

FREE STUFF
Any of ya folk moving into apartments around here need bookcases? Or possibly a large table? If you come get them, they're yours.

I've also got some actual work to do now: A freelance project, that I should be finishing up in around a month, depending on how quickly talks with the client go. It's exciting! And also stressful, what with needing to whip the house into shape at the same time and all. But I'll keep it under control.

Plus, yardwork. I've discovered that it's grueling, but satisfying. Makes me sleep well, anyway. Get up at 8:00, rake/transport magnolia leaves till the afternoon, and I feel ready to go to bed at 3:00 PM!

The Case of the Disappearing Cat

tylercat — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 03:22:12 GMT

It is a law of physics that an empty box placed on the floor will soon contain a cat.

Mom and I recently adopted a stray. We call her Zephyr.

Put it in a Box

tylercat — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 14:36:45 GMT

Still cleaning. It's hard to figure what to with some things. One is sort of obligated to keep some things, but they just sit in a box in the attic forever. For example, my great-grandmother's fur stole. It is made of four small animals (minks?) sewn together. They have little faces and dangling feet and tails. It's just about halfway between cute and gruesome. I know neither Mom nor I are ever going to wear it, but we are keeping it.

Letting Stuff Go

tylercat — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 18:01:27 GMT

It's quite obvious, looking at my clutter, that I have too much stuff. Once again I am sorting, organizing, cleaning. It's easier to get rid of old clothes, and Paperback Swap has helped me let go of books (though I usually have to wait to reread them first), but throwing old art projects away does give me a pang. I keep the ones that have decorative value or artistic interest, I keep the ones that I might cut up and use in something else, but even the scribbled ugly experimenting projects from my drawing classes give me pause. Oh well, no use hauling around trash just because I made it.

This has always been one of my problem areas, but I see big improvements in myself over the last year.

Bearfence Scramble

tylercat — Wed, 30 May 2007 15:04:48 GMT

By the way, I'm back in the C-ville area now.

On sunday, Kendra and Patrick and I went to the Shenandoah National Park. We did a two hour hike that gave us nice view of a waterfall and also a timber rattlesnake, one of Virginia's three types of poisonous snakes. It did not deign to rattle.

After a picnic lunch (mmm...melted cheese sandwich), we went to take a look at another 'trail' that a couple from Georgia recommended to us: the Bearfence Rock Scramble. The scramble part was climbing over and among piles of rocks and large boulders. The way was marked by blue paint slashes on trees and rocks. We moved along the ridge of the mountain, often with precipitous drops to either side. The climb to the peak was the hardest. I had to pull myself up on my knees. I glanced to the side and was transfixed by the drop and the empty air. But it was amazing. We all sat for a while on the top of the rock and took in the 360 degree view of mountains and valleys. A small black and white bird hopped near us as it ate ants.

Wear good shoes if you visit it, and I'd recommend pants, not shorts, too.

It's been awhile since I had hair long enough for a ponytail

tylercat — Thu, 03 May 2007 01:28:10 GMT

I wanted to put my hair up as I was sorting through stuff at my house, and I found a scrunchie to wear.

I feel so fourth grade. :D

In other news, I think I'm getting better at letting things go. Paperbackswap was my first step in not being a packrat.

Thaleron

tylercat — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:42:49 GMT

I had to try it for myself. Currently I am 'passive and assertive.' Hm.

Meteors this weekend

tylercat — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:24:32 GMT

Hey, Lyrid meteor shower's this weekend. I probably won't watch them since it's hard to get up predawn and it's harder to find a dark place to watch from around here. Just that you might want to know.

"Most years in April there are no more than 5 to 20 meteors per hour during the shower's peak."

Creativity

tylercat — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 20:40:36 GMT

I was in the Post-Production lab, and I had no ideas and decided to give up for the day. As I was walking home (through the cold and damp, LOL at Virginia climate) I had all these great ideas for animating our 30-second spot. Funny how inspiration waits like that. So I'm going to rock it in the lab tomorrow! (Too cold to go back tonight.)

At least digital's only bad for your back, and wrists, er, and, eyes too

tylercat — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 19:57:42 GMT

Yesterday my figure drawing class did a huge draw on a roll of paper on the wall graffiti group picture 'slam painting' thing. It didn't turn out too great but it was a lotta fun.

(TMI warning) But, since then, when I blow my nose, I've noticed charcoal dust in my snot. This is a new experience for me.

Commencement

tylercat — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 01:06:22 GMT

Hi all! I haven't sent out invitations yet, but I'll be graduating Saturday, May 5th! Does anyone want to come? I can probably fit one or two of you in my apartment if you want to spend the night beforehand here. When do you guys all graduate? I sure hope it's not the same weekend. :)

Love!

Article on Tenacity

tylercat — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 03:26:14 GMT

I'm starting to get myself in gear for finding a job. I found this article, which seems useful so I thought I'd share.

"All it takes is showing up, again and again, until you get someone’s attention. THEN, and only then, do your skills come into play."

Smart people are dumb.

Hypercube

tylercat — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 01:27:18 GMT

Taking a break from drowning in film theory (postmodern? postfeminist? poststructuralist? posthumanist?) I found this on Astronomy Picture of the Day. The description is quite charming: "a dynamic three-dimensional drawing (two spatial plus one time) of a four-dimensional depiction of a five-dimensional cube," although I think that Greg Egan's applets are more aesthetically pleasing. Here's a few favorites. Most of them do something when you click them.

Hypercube is entrancing.
Wythoff is really neat.
Slice is another one I could stare at for a while.
Flowers is pretty.
Laplace is fun if your sound works.

EDIT: From Spaceweather, a lovely photo of the partially-eclipsed sun rising over India.

3.14159265

tylercat — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 19:23:36 GMT

Happy Pi Day everyone!

Art Opening: Nautical Theme

tylercat — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 17:16:44 GMT

Hey, I don't think I've actually said this yet, so here's an announcement. I'll have some pieces in the student gallery artWorks opening this Monday from 5:00-700PM. The show stays up till March 31. Anyone want to come? :)

A Long Shot

tylercat — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 01:06:07 GMT

EDIT: OUR COMPUTER IS NOW UNDEAD, AND SEEMS LIKE IT'LL PROBABLY MANAGE FOR THE GALLERY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP EVERYONE.

Does anyone have a tv/computer/DVD player that they aren't using and wouldn't mind lending to me to put in the student gallery for a month to show my animation on? The computer I had planned on using is totally dead. :(

There is still the last resort of living the computer-less life till March 31 while my computer sits in the gallery, so all is not lost, but if you have an extra video-playing device, I would much appreciate it.

I am SO COOL

tylercat — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:11:08 GMT

Guess who's writing a proposal for a research paper titled "Battlestar Galactica and the Counter-Hegemonic Reconstruction of the Gaze."

That's right. I am. Oh yeah.

PS: I forgot how absurd psychoanalysis is. But I think I've read enough about the power of the penis now to write my paper proposal.