A Sim Story

Yesterday, I made my very first Sims film. I took my story and characters from an amalgamation of the True Blood series and Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris.

I had a lot of fun making it and plan on making more, with my own story line. Now if I could just think of one... :) Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Crush, crush

I think I've started to grow up a little. Partially evident in that my schoolgirl like crush on Conor Oberst is fading. Not that he isn't still fab and I'm sure when he hits his 30's (soon) and sheds the boy look a bit more, I'll totally be back to crushing on him. Especially if he keeps that hair. Right now, he looks like an emo version of my husband.




But now, I'm completely digging Blitzen Trapper's Eric Earley. I'm sure part of it is the music... folky, eclectic tunes with a rugged but not too backwoods edge. Maybe it's odd, but maybe it makes complete sense but most of my "crushes" are very similar looking to my husband. Very dark, slightly unruly hair, dark eyes, scruffy. A good look, if you ask me. :)

holy wow - adam augustyn

As it's clearly stated in my 'about me' section, I love product design. I will buy a product simply for the way it looks. That's why I'll buy Voss over Dasani (although, I liked Voss much better when they only had glass bottles).

Today, I stumbled upon some really great product design.






All by Adam Augustyn out of Brooklyn, NY. This guy could definitely get me to buy more Aspirin. There are some fantastic illustrations and logos on his website as well, so take a look.

the internet broke

Today, for some unexplained reason, our internet stopped working. Usually it's due to our router and the crazy network of laptop, desktop, desktop as server, wi-fi, Apple TV, and VOIP that my husband has set up. For the sake of my sanity, I stick with my Macbook and Apple TV and if either one stops connecting properly I just yell for my husband and he rejigs, resets, reconfigures, or whatever. He knows the right sequence of little blinking lights on the routers. I could too, but I sort of refuse on principle. I figure, if you have it set up right, it should just work. But, I digress!

So the internet just stopped. This time, it was not the crazy network... we were just cut off. The few occasions this has happened, there is a twinge of panic that strikes me. I suddenly feel completely disconnected from the world, like all the windows and doors have been bricked over. Actually, I would probably prefer that, I would have an excuse to spend more time on the internet! But then, that little voice of reason tells me to calm down, that there are many other things to do. My panic voice has an equally valid retort that there are numerous websites I could be wasting my weekend on, and that it's not just the internet, but my phone, my TV (we don't have cable, we rely solely on the Apple TV) are all gone.

Am I too reliant on the internet and technology in general? Yes, yes I am... and I like it that way!

And do you know what I ended up doing? I was forced into productivity... I cleaned. Oh, broken internet, how I loathe thee!

Comic: Toothpaste For Dinner

Cupcake Cuteness

I've got cupcakes on the brain lately, I plan on making some for an upcoming pool party. When I came across these at Advertising Is Good For You this morning, I had to share.


Of course I love Betsey Johnson, too! There's more designer cupcakes listed, but this was my favorite (pink!).

Some people need a few reminders...

So the big Coldplay gig was last night here in Des MoineS (as the Howling Bells singer pronounced it). I still have trouble understanding what is so hard about pronouncing Des Moines properly, does no one speak French? Anyway, I digress.

After experiencing the varied crowd at last night's show it's apparent a few people could have done with a crash course in the etiquette of concert-going. Etiquette as I see it anyway, and of course, what I say is gospel. :)

1. Be polite during the support band. Don't talk during their set. Not just for them, but others might not want to miss the potentially next big thing because you have a need to talk too loud about things that aren't impressing anyone.

2. In a venue like an arena with assigned seats, this is especially important: Bathroom breaks and beer runs need to be at a minimum and well-timed.
a. Don't leave and annoy people during a song.
b. If you must leave during a song, leave during a filler song.
c. Wait until a good or hit song is over before returning to your seat.
(Snow Patrol's "Run" and Coldplay's "Yellow" were both interrupted numerous times by people who couldn't wait to leave)
d. If you leave AND come back during a good song, a "Sorry!" is in order.

3. Women over 30 should not act like they're in high school again just because they're having a night out. Some of us take music very seriously.

4. Men: Backwards baseball hats and two-armed fist pumping should be saved for football games.

5. Don't be a douce.



Last night's show was all-in-all pretty good. I have never been super keen on Coldplay. Sure, their music is pleasant and catchy but a little too... liked by all for my tastes. However, last night made me like them a lot more. The end of the show did drag a little and I wished they would have saved a more popular song for the end of their encore (Shiver would have been my pick).

Snow Patrol was good as well. I got to hear "Chocolate", "Run", and "Chasing Cars", so I was happy. It was a good night, I'm glad I got out to see it.

Pull the covers over your head

Since I'm having trouble getting whatisblik.com to load (hmm?) I've been browsing other wall decal vendors in it's absence. While doing so, I discovered this:




Now I love Donnie Darko as much as the next dude, but who wants to wake up to freaking Frank? No thank you. This would give me nightmares. The only purpose this could possibly serve in my world is to intimidate the monster in my closet into staying put.

I have don't have an excuse... I have many.

I've seriously dropped the ball on blog posts this last month. Lots of things going on and I haven't had a lot of time for the internet (I know, gasp!).

There is good news... I'll be absent another week. Haha. We're going on a little vacation and hopefully when I return I'll be ready to get back to it. Probably. We'll be going to the sunny location of Branson, Missouri. I know, sounds lame. But it did fit our criteria of 1) Day or less to get to driving 2) Kid friendly things to do 3) Being able to do absolutely nothing guilt free.

See you soon!

"I, Robot" and Converse Conundrum

This is quite after the fact, but I watch "I, Robot" a lot, as it's a pretty good movie and makes great background noise.

One thing that has always bugged me about the movie is the scene where 'Spooner' is at 'G.G's house and she asks him about what he's wearing on his feet. Which he replies "Converse All Stars, vintage 2004." Now, the movie is set in Chicago 2035. That's not a vast amount of time, why is G.G. shocked by these shoes? It stand to reason she's seen them before.


Let's assume G.G. is 80 years old. So in 2004 she would have been 49. Too old to keep up with fashion trends? Perhaps. However, Converse All Stars have been around since 1976. When G.G. would have presumably been 21. This would allow plenty of time for her to catch on the the trend. She could have known people who wore them! One would think the sight of the shoes would make her feel more nostalgic than anything.

As a side note, that bird syrup container on her table? I have the same one in green and yellow. I feel so futuristic.

Zombie V Shark

Warning: This is graphic (albeit silly).



While I appreciate the attempt made by whoever made this, I have issues.

1. Can zombies actually swim? I have not seen any previous evidence of this. Only that they cannot drown since they are dead and can travel through water, but not by swimming, but by shuffling along the bottom.

2. Zombies don't eat sharks. All flesh is not created equal. How could a zombie even identify a shark as food? It can't smell it underwater. Unless zombies only identify food by things that move. But you don't see them trying to attack trees swaying in the wind and dogs: dogs always seem to be safe. Unless this zombie is highly evolved but it's highly doubtful.

3. The zombie in the movie is swimming backwards, away from the shark before it attacks again. While that makes sense for a human, zombies are too mindless to go on the defensive. They don't duck or deflect or run away. The just keep going, they don't know any differently.

Zazzle Postage Sale

Right now Zazzle is having a sale, new postage at old postage rates! Just enter NEWPOSTRATES at checkout. Through May 24th,

Here are my postage designs:

Indie Grunge
Line Art Flower
Retro Flower
Birdie

April Fools

A while ago, my husband told me about the coolest thing: people hacking construction signs. Well, I think so, anyway. The best (although most obvious) message is as below:


Yeah.

Since I heard about it, I've wanted to do it... I know, I'm horribly juvenile and irresponsible. With it being April 1st, my inclination is creeping back into my mind. Alas, my husband won't let me. With my luck, I would get caught and I'm not going to jail by myself. That means my terribly clever message isn't out there bewildering or enraging passersby. I'll just share it with you now (and if someone uses my message, please send me a photo, I don't mind living vicariously):

"NATIONAL CURFEW IN EFFECT REMAIN INDOORS"

Snowball Surprises (that look nothing like snow)

These went over pretty well in my house the other day. In a weird domesticated sort of way, I bring you the recipe.

Total time: 50 minutes
Makes: 20 snacks

You will need:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups regular or Frosted Cheerios
• 1 to 2 tablespoons candy sprinkles
• 20 small candies

1. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper

2. Pour sugar and corn syrup into 3 quart saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, just until mixture starts to boil. Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in peanut butter until mixture is well blended.

3. Stir in cereal until it is evenly coated. Cool for 5 minutes. While mixture is cooling, put candy sprinkles in a shallow dish.

5. Lightly spray hands with cooking spray. For each snack, shape about 1/4 cup of the mixture into a ball around 1 small candy. Immediately roll the ball in the candy sprinkles to coat. Place balls on the cookie sheet. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store snacks in loosely covered container.

Nutrition info for one snack:
Calories: 120
Total fat: 3.5g
Sodium: 75mg
Sugar: 15g
Total carb: 21g
Protein: 2g

"Mama Was a Riot Girrrl?"

This is old (2006) but I just stumbled on this article from the NY Times about kid bands. The term "kid-core" is used, so how could it not be a good read?

Pale and thin, with fluffy manes of rocker hair, Lucian and Julian are also partners in a record label, Beautiful Records, which has recorded Care Bears on Fire and Magnolia, using equipment that Lucian was given for his eighth-grade graduation, soon after a baby sitter introduced the two boys to ’80s punk.

“We were into, like, Rancid and Blink 182 at the time,” said Julian, cringing at his junior-high lack of cool. “That ended when we heard Minor Threat.”

I always lament at the fact I didn't give my kid some Stroke-esque name like Julian. It seems maybe it's over used. At least in New York. Phew.

This article also strikes me as cool because my husband and I had joked that we were going to "grow our own band", as in have kids to fill the positions. Like a garage rock Partridge Family.

Internet radio woes for the Mac user?

I'm not a TV person during the day. As a full time mom, it would be easy to have the TV on during the day. But TV sucks, mostly. I'm a radio person. Internet radio is great but since I use a Mac, a lot of places want to stream using Windows Media Player or RealPlayer. Which also sucks.

I found Flip4Mac that plays .wma and .wmv through Quicktime. It's handy. Download it here.

Uber Gross

This morning Tristan is snacking on something that is making my stomach turn. Frosted mini wheats dipped in ketchup.

Before you question what kind of mother I am, this was all his idea! He found a little cup of ketchup leftover from a restaurant in the fridge and wanted it opened. I told him it would taste gross with his cereal but he kept persisting. I thought once he tasted it, he'd spit it out and we'd be done. Oh no. He dunked in the first piece, took and bite and stared and leaned toward me with a over- exaggerated "Yuuummmm!"

Boys.

Yeah, I'm a Twilight freak too.

Okay, so I admit it. I adore the Twilight saga. Although, I did try really hard at first to resist it. I tried to reason with myself that it was for teenage girls and it would be silly of me to indulge in such foolishness despite my fascination with all things vampire. The argument has flaws right from the start as I have trouble remembering on many occasions that I'm not a teenage girl anymore. It might take me until I hit 30 to get that through my head.

I finally succumbed though when faced with a potentially mind-numbing 8 hour transatlantic flight. So I bought Twilight at Heathrow airport. No, I was not proud but it was a relief to stop fighting a battle that was inevitably going to be lost.

I read it. Totally hooked. I had to read the whole saga, which I did. All four books. Loved it to the very end. I will probably read them all again someday. I joked to my husband that he should read them if he wanted an insight into the girly mind. Truth be told, these books are really unfair for guys as no mere mortal guy can compare to Edward.

Now, I have not seen the movie. I wanted to get through the books first. So I'm excited for the DVD release tonight at midnight. I'm secretly hoping my husband buys it for me (did you get that, hon?). :) Reading the books it was difficult to not picture the actors from the movie as the characters since the previews for Twilight were already playing before I read the first book. I'm a little interested to see how well I think they fit.

I have to just mention the author Stephenie Meyer for a moment. She's totally a kindred spirit (to invoke Anne of Green Gables). Her apparent obsession with Muse makes her that much cooler.

So, if you're having a midnight Twilight party, send a hey my way. I can play nice. :)

IKEA offers fabric desktops

IKEA has desktops available for download that showcases some of their new fabric. A fun idea and good marketing! Seven in all.

Download them here.

Photoshop Tutorial: Modern Easter Egg

I found this great tutorial on creating very cool modern easter eggs. I was actually looking for inspiration on real modern easter eggs, but this works too! At PhotoshopBuddy.

Here is how mine turned out:


Feel free to use it/share it. Just please link back or credit Ash @ Automatic Blonde. Thanks!

More changes

Yep, I changed the look of the blog again. I'm just dying for Spring so I thought I would give the blog a more "fresh" look. I hope you like it. :)