I'm not sure I believe it...

This is quite amazing. It goes beyond the "suh-weet" category. It is a "pixelroller" that enables you to actually paint images on a wall effortlessly with a paint roller device. Be sure to check out the video on the website.

PixelRoller is a paint roller that paints pixels, designed as a rapid response printing tool specifically to print digital information such as imagery or text onto a great range of surfaces. The content is applied in continuous strokes by the user. PixelRoller can be seen as a handheld “printer”, based around the ergonomics of a paintroller, that lets you create the images by your own hand.

Honestly, what will they think of next??

Matthew's June

Just a taste of what his month has been like...

Cool Eyes!

Check out this picture Annie found of a dragonfly's compound eyes. He's kind of a cute li'l guy...

Cinderella Man thread

Since I did a Mansfield Park one, I had to start a Cinderella Man one too. I'm anxiously awaiting Melodee's eloquent and comprehensive critique on TRP, but until then, let's discuss it here.

Here's what I've got to say: BEST MOVIE EVER!!!

What do you think??

Check out Christian's post (of See Life Differently) on it.

Amanda says...
I thought it was a really great movie, without ever falling into that cheesy, "feel good" kind of category. The main character was pretty much completely admirable in everything he did, without being at ALL goody-two-shoes - he worked hard, struggled with many things, and basically was just like any other guy who lost it all during the Great Depression. It's just that he did the right thing even when it was really tough and you expected him not to...

Melodee says:
What's this about "an eloquent and comprehensive critique on TRP?" Aren't you expecting rather a lot? Something is hopefully forthcoming on the porch, but not that (after all, I've only seen the movie once and can't even remember my favorite line! But I knew as soon as I heard it that it was my favorite! :).

Mansfield Park thread

I just finished Mansfield Park and I'm anxious to discuss it with my fellow Kindred Spirits. I never have time to actually TALK to you guys, so maybe we can do it here. Not that we have any time to post here either, but it's worth a go.

I've heard a rumor that SOME of you do not like Fanny Price or Edmund Bertram. Is that correct?? I actually heard Amanda say that she wanted Fanny to marry Henry. What's up with that? That's sick and wrong.

Personally, Fanny is not my favorite Austen heroine, but that's only because she's TOO perfect. Her patience and perseverence is sickeningly admirable. But, she still rocks. Edmund isn't my favorite either, and he is total sap (although he wouldn't admit it), but he still was 'supposed to' end up with Fanny.

What do ya think?

Amanda says...
Well, having never read the book (as you can tell by my profile!), I'm basing any suppositions on the older movie version. And in it, Henry is not totally a slimeball, although I suppose I can't really see him and Fanny being right for each other. I just don't want her to end up with Edmund! I think she'd have more fun with Henry (if he didn't end up being a complete jerk), and then I'd just like her better. Does that make any sense? :-P

Andrea protests...
Well, I'll admit that Henry IS more exciting and romantic, but that doesn't mask the fact that he is a TOTAL slimeball. One criticism I have would be that Fanny and Edmund's romance could've been more developed. It was like one minute Edmund was heartbroken and then all of a sudden he and Fanny were together. But I guess that's not what their relationship was about. It was more of a developed friendship.

Melodee says:
I have long known that I must reread Mansfield Park. I didn't like it when I read it before, but I was very young, so I don't know how intelligently I read it! But I never wanted Fanny to marry Henry. ick. And as for having fun, Amanda. . . Fanny doesn't like fun, does she? (ooh, that's mean.) Edmund drives me nuts. A popular saying at Pemberley is "E.N.A.S.U.T.H" which stands for "Edmund needs a slap upside the head." I wholeheartedly agree. What a bum. Anyway, I'm ready to give the book another chance. According to my "to-read" list, I'm reading it in August :)

BTW, Amanda, help me out here. Why is that I get so very irritated when Edmund goes after Mary Crawford, but not nearly so irritated when Roger goes after Cynthia? Are the two situations really analogous? (I hope not, because I adore Roger, as you know!)

Italia, Italia!

Hey, check out this cool page with Italian cityscape panoramas. Now I am really jealous of Matthew!

Melodee says:
I'm green.

Quote of the Day: Nigel Barley

Not that we've been having "quotes of the day," but it sounds good. Plus, it gives me an opportunity to mention Nigel Barley, my favorite anthropologist. (The only one I know anything about, in fact.) Bob & Martha introduced his books to me last year, and I've just started a new one, Ceremony, on my lunch break.

Anyway, I liked this quote -it's pretty accurate of me at least:

We are all overdrawn at the moral bank. The slightest challenge by authority draws on deep wells of guilt.

Okay, time to run outside for a few minutes of sunshine before going back to the fluorescent lights...

Note: Ok, I realize now that quote is not very striking without the context of a story, but I'm too lazy to share any of my own right now. (Nigel was waiting in some customs official's very uninviting office in Cameroon, with plenty of time to think what he might have done wrong.)

Andrea says...
One thing about myself that drives me absolutely crazy is whenever I see a police car in my vicinity, I freak out. It doesn't matter if I'm doing anything wrong or not! I am still paranoid that I'm going to be 'caught' - at what, I don't know, but the fear is still there. Dumb.

From the Mountains to the Sea

While I was in the mountains last week I had two conversations about the merits of Mountains vs. Ocean. When I was little I used to argue regularly about this issue with my best friend (she was from Oregon and I was from Montana). I think the last time we debated I ended the conversation by crowing, "The Bible says that in heaven there will no longer be any sea. Ha!" Aack - don't trust your interpretation of the Bible to a little girl with a point to prove. . .

While I love to visit the ocean, I have never wanted to live near it. It is so huge and so very restless. In and out, back and forth, rolling, rolling, rolling. Even a "calm sea" is never at peace - the tides are always pulling and pushing; there is always the roar of the waves. The mountains are huge too - they can be just as dangerous and unforgiving as the sea. But I can't count the times I have sat on a rock in the mountain woods on a sunny day and soaked in the peace and silence.

One of the ocean advocates last week argued that the motion and sound of the waves is soothing, and the restlessness I feel must come from my own heart. I don't know. I think it's probably a matter of familiarity breeding affection, like Amanda was talking about in her post below. I've always lived near the mountains; they bring me strength and peace. Others who have lived near the sea get the same from it. What about my fellow kindred spirits?

Amanda says...
Well, either way, I think it's a rather enjoyable debate to have - there's a lot of merits to both. ;-) I always liked oceans better overall, compared to say, the Beartooths (I know, that's heresy!) - they're not so big and cold and bare. But I'm not sure I'd really want to live by the ocean, maybe just within closer driving distance. And a couple weeks ago I decided mountains really are beautiful and awesome and all of that. We were staying in Red Lodge, and took a little ride to Roscoe for dinner. (I get what those bumper stickers mean now, by the way!) We drove through some the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen: green rolling hills/valleys with the blue mountains in the not-to-far distance.

I want to go there again sometime - anyone else up for a drive some Saturday??

Andrea says...
Great post, Melodee. It's a good question to raise. Growing up at the foot of the Crazies, I'm a little biased towards "my" rugged mountain range, but I also love and fear the vastnass unknown of the ocean. I love the peace and stillness of the mountains (like you pointed out), but I also love to feel the power of the rolling waves on a boat. But, my point of veiw has changed only in this last year. Hiking Crazy Peak last summer gave me a new fear of the mountains and scuba diving in the ocean made me fall in love with the sea. Hmm...

Amanda - I'm up for a drive ANYTIME. :)

What color are you?

At work, some of us have attended this Team Transformational training. It is a four-hour seminar on becoming more effective communicators with each other. Fluff fluff fluff. A particularly interesting part of the training was a test that we all took that determined our personality. There were four major categories that were each assigned to a color. Yellow personalities are efficient, organized and practical. Blue’s are tolerant, nurturing and compassionate. Green’s are analytical, logical and determined. Red’s are adventurous, non-conforming and spontaneous. It actually was a fun exercise because we all learned more about each other’s personalities and communication abilities. The thing that struck me as funny was that although the exercise was supposed to be “neat and tidy” and fit us all in a “box”, it didn’t work that well. Everyone’s score came up differently. Some people had a dominant color, some came up half blue and half yellow and some had traits of all four colors! I was struck at the uniqueness of every single person’s results. It makes me laugh to think of the people that think that they can put us all in certain evolved boxes and we will fit perfectly. I have a coworker that has an aging dad in the hospital that just had a valve replaced in his heart. It seems as though everything that can go wrong has and the doctors are just stumped as to why he is not getting better. This makes me think of not only our different personalities, but also our different physiologies. It’s scary and somewhat amusing how much these “experts” DON’T know about the human body and what makes it tick. Wait...shouldn’t evolution be taking care of all this for us? Shouldn’t natural selection, by now, have formed us into little robots with all the same features and personalities? It makes me think of a line in a great movie I saw yesterday, Mostly Martha. An aunt, who is a chef by profession, is suddenly responsible for raising her orphaned little niece and after a frustrating argument tells the little girl, “I wish there was a recipe for you.” The fact is there IS a recipe for us. It’s a unique recipe for every single one of us and only our Heavenly Father knows it. And He doesn’t have to write it down to remember it.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Matthew 10:28-30

Melodee says:

Thanks for your thoughts on this, Andrea. I am in awe of our creative Creator, who not only made us each different, but truly knows each of us better than we even know ourselves. Most of the time I don't understand myself (let alone anyone else) and it is comforting to know that He understands me... And sometimes a little bit scary - I'm thankful for His mercy!

Such a shame...

Death of the 'Mix Tape'.

And sadly, VHS's aren't far behind.

Familiarity

There's that old saying that "familiarity breeds contempt," but I'm not so sure that's usually true. In general, I think being familiar with something makes me much more tolerant of it. There's examples of how that works both ways, too - for instance, songs I used to like that got overplayed and now I don't care for much, and songs that I didn't like at first, but through hearing them often enough in a context I liked (with friends, on a good day, etc.), I got sorta attached to 'em.

What do you guys think?

Or even if you don't think anything about this, just post something!! ;-) Brooke? Sue? Annie? Brian? Molly?

Cache?

Cache says...
Woof!

2:00 Friday afternoon....wishing for 5:00

This is how I will feel in a couple hours as I walk to my car in the beautiful sunshine...

Penguin Dance
Sorry to say, but you need WMP to play it.

Amanda says...

Yep! :) Hey, I'd forgotten about that clip. It completely made my afternoon to see it again!

Consult and Blabbery

I know I'm kind of on a comic kick, but today's Dilbert really made me laugh. This is how I feel at work everytime I spend more then five minutes with an ultra-geek. I just walk away with a dazed and confused look on my face. I dedicate this post to my geeky, but still human (i.e. can carry on a normal conversation) coworker, Sue. :)

Click on the comic for a larger, more readable version.

Another great Pearl...

Amanda says...
LOL...I like that one. It's kind of like how bad it would be if you could read people's thoughts (or vice versa).

Not guilty on all counts

Amanda, you owe me a buck...

Amanda says...

Well, I should have been right! :-P I guess you guys are better judges of human nature than I am. (Although I'm the one that just read To Kill a Mockingbird - this is like that, only in reverse!)

Note: I should add that I didn't follow the trial very closely at all, so my expectation for a guilty verdict is based on everything I heard about before; but I guess there is also the possibility that he really wasn't guilty of what he was being accused of, so perhaps my opinion should be less adamant!

Andrea says...
I should also note that I didn't follow the trial at all either. I am just the pessimist that always expects the worst outcomes in every situation. So, now the question is: Was this the worst outcome? Is this a success or a failure in the history of our American judicial system? What do you guys think?

Slug

Yeah, that's what I feel like...a SLUG. I watched SIX, count 'em, SIX movies this weekend. I was playing big sister to a girl that was staying with me and she had the punies all weekend. Poor thing. Anyway, this is what I watched (because I know you're DYING to know):

• The Incredibles - great flick. Except my Ebay/Bootleg(?)/Asian version kept skipping in my old DVD player. Bummer.
• Harry Potter - The Chamber of Secrets - Good stuff, except the big snake. That's gross.
• Harry Potter - The Prisoner of Azkaban - The best HP movie yet! I really, sincerely enjoyed it. Thanks for lending it to us, Rachel!
• The Princess Bride - As you wish...
• The Life Aquatic - Slightly humorous. I love Bill Murrey and Owen Wilson and they have great chemistry together. But, what a bizarre movie!
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding - funny funny funny - I love the family dynamics of the Portokalos'. It's very endearing. It kind of reminds me of the Howes' - we're loud and we always are eating..

Yeah, that's approximately 12 hours of vegetating. Pathetic, I know. But, it was still fun.

Logic

I like things that make sense. This is why I've always like math. But, this little quirk of mine has often got in the way of my faith. Sometimes, I just want to plug in the numbers and have the right answer pop out. God doesn't always work that way and I struggle with not being frustrated with that. That being said, here's a great quote on the subject.

Logic may be viewed, perhaps, as a machine which is designed, at best, to be such that when we feed into it certain data and turn the logic crank, we inevitably get certain conclusions out the other end. Logic is designed to give inevitably true results starting from known true -- or assumed-to-be-true—premises. Logic is a wonderful tool when we want only logical conclusions. We should not reject such a machine merely because it is not equipped to handle all of reality. The scientist who commits himself to use a logic machine is doing wisely, qua scientist, for use on data of science. But if he feeds into that machine convictions that there is not God, or ignores God because He is not in his corpus of data, and then draws from his logic the conclusion that God does not exist, his conclusion is irrelevant. Logic is a tool; it should not be made into a religion.
--Kenneth L. Pike (1912-2001), With Heart and Mind [1962]

Top Ten..

I found this while looking for some books and thought you might have a laugh reading it.
http://writingcraft.deep-magic.net/article.php?id=33

Amanda says...
That was funny. I think I liked the paying bills with books one best!

Andrea says...
Very entertaining. I'm so glad you posted, Brooke! Keep it up!

Sink Me!

Girls, I just found a great Scarlet Pimpernel site called Blakeney Manor. It has e-texts of every single Pimpernel book (though I kind of doubt any of them are as good as TSP.) It also has oodles of audio clips, including our dear Percy reciting his mahvelous poetry. It has history about the French Revolution, and, our favorite, the "Which Character are You" quiz. These are SO bogus (how do they tabulate the answers, anyway?) but still fun. Since you all know how utterly brilliant, witty, and beautiful I am, it will be no surprise to you that I am Marguerite! (hee hee) According to the quiz I have "caviar tastes." Oh, is that why I shop at Wal-mart!




This test brought to you by Blakeney Manor.

Find out:Which Scarlet Pimpernel character are you?


Amanda says...

What a riot! That's the funnest which-character-are-you quiz I've ever taken...although I did cheat a little and say that at a party I would be probably be losing money at the card tables. ;-) Some of these answers are just too good not to choose! It was so tempting to try to come out as Chauvelin. Thanks for posting that, Melodee.

And since you're all dying to find out what charming and delightful person I am:

This test brought to you by Blakeney Manor.

Andrea says...

Suh-weet! I came out as Percy. "You are a brave, heroic, and very clever Englishman with aphilanthropic streak. You are the leader of fashion in London,live in a very big house, have a very beautiful wife,and a lot of lolly. When you're not playing the social fop,you enjoy organizing and carrying out dash-cunning rescuesof poor little Frenchies from the scummy hands of the evil Revolutionary Government."

Um...I didn't realize that I have a very beautiful wife. Weird.

It also says that I hate mushy sentimentality, which is kinda true...

Great find, Melodee!!

Movies Again

I guess Annie tagged me a while ago for this, so here goes.

Total number of films I own on DVD/video: Hmm...I'm going to estimate it at 12, because I'm too lazy to count.

The last film I bought: Napoleon Dynamite

The last film I watched: the last part of Emperor's New Groove on Tuesday night and the last part of In Good Company on the airplane last week. (Two halves make a whole?)

Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me:

1. St Ives. Like Annie said, I watch this with my sisters a lot. That really goes for all of these (or else they're ones I just like to watch with them)...
2. 10 Things I Hate About You.
3. The Princess & the Warrior. I don't watch this as much, but it's one of my favorites. Plus, I've got to have something on my list that's not exactly a chick flick! "Tchüß."
4. You've Got Mail. (I guess I don't really count this as a chick flick, either.)
5. Bend It Like Beckham.

I already have too many pictures posted on KaramojaAmanda, but this one is so cute that I have to share it...

Owl Pellets

Ever dissected one of these? I was doing research at work and got a little distracted by this site, which might only be really funny if you work for a company that sells these things. (But since half of us do... ;-) )

Ok, back to work!

Andrea says...
Gross.

Geek? I think not.

Some people have way too much time on their hands. Compared to these guys, I don't even come close to achieving the "geek status". Check it out.

The "Star Wars" Worlds: More Science Than Fiction?

But, I guess I can claim a little geekness, considering how I found it.
(Hat tip: Slashdot)

Amanda says...

Nope, definitely not that much of a geek! Thanks for posting that - I just skimmed, but got a kick out of it.

Karamoja Pictures

I added some new pictures to KaramojAmanda, if you want to see 'em...

Andrea says...
Good stuff, Amanda. I just can't get over that hedgehog peeking out at you! :)

Waters

Amanda says...
Great pic, Andrea!

Andrea says...
Thanks! It was taken while we were BOTH hiking up the West Fork, but on different trails. :)

Summer Food

Last night Andrea had me over for dinner, and we had a total "summer foods" feast! I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted more, so we ended up having chicken fingers AND burgers. And sweet corn on the cob, potato wedges, macaroni salad (which I found out Andrea loves), watermelon, strawberries, and wine. You don't get much better than that! I ate and ate, but it was so tempting to try to eat even more - it was all so good!

Thanks, Andrea! =)

Andrea says:
I'm so glad you're back, Amanda...

Well...

I don't really have anything to post, but I don't want to leave it all to Andrea. ;-)

Melodee is writing a really fascinating newsletter on eyes. (I think you should post something about it!)

Andrea says...
Thanks buddy, I appreciate it. But, come on, you have five weeks of blogging material stored up in that brilliant mind of yours. You can come up with SOMETHING. I think Melodee should do a post about microscope facts.

Melodee says:
Amanda, I already had an eyes post almost entirely finished before I came to work today. I just finished and published it on TRP.

Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps

I watched Strictly Ballroom again with the Mattson's on Wednesday. It's a pretty cute show. My favorite scene is one where Scott and Fran are dancing backstage during a dance competition(I think they are doing the rumba) and they are kind of silhouetted against the curtain. It's great. What also makes the scene so great is the song that they are dancing to - Doris Day singing "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps". I've had it stuck in my head ever since. So, I came in this morning and found a sweet deal on Ebay of the soundtrack to the movie. Until I get it in the mail, I have to rely on just this tiny audio clip. So, I thought I'd share my excitement with y'all.

Melodee says:

I'm glad you gave the movie another chance. It is very silly, but delightfully so. I love it. I'll have to come over and listen to the soundtrack when it comes!

Brooke says:

Am I allowed to watch this movie yet?

Melodee says:

Nope ;) I purposely didn't watch the whole thing on Wednesday, because I was "saving up" to watch it with you. So let's do it!

Amanda says...

Hey! Me, too?

Pearls Before Swine

I’ve found a favorite new comic strip. The title, Pearls Before Swine, drew me to it, and after reading it for a few weeks, I found myself addicted. This particular strip really struck me (if you can't read it, click on it to see a bigger version.) Maybe it was the timing or something. Lately, I have been thoroughly disgusted with myself and my selfish heart. Have you ever just gotten SICK of yourself? So sick that you just want to take a vacation from being you? Well, that’s how I’ve felt lately. Being a Christian and trying to love my neighbor has just been so much work lately and I’ve been failing so miserably, that I just want a break from my failure. Loving people is hard. (That’s a horrible to truth, isn’t it?) Thank God that I don’t have to rely on my own goodness for my salvation. Thank God for my constant sanctification of my sinfully hard heart.

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”
1 John 3:16-20

Not even little yoda!

Ain't he cute? It kind of makes you want to go out and get one, huh??