Free Rice Thursday, Nov 29 2007

I came across this great website a few days ago and decided it needed to be shared.

The website is a vocabulary match game where you have to match words against their synonyms. For every word you get correct, they donate 20 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program. Since their start on October 7 of this year, they have donated roughly 4,180,025,950 grains of rice. That’s about 104 tonnes of rice. The obvious benefit to you, if you keep playing regularly, is an improvement of your vocabulary. The unfortunate side effect: work productivity is way down again.

Check out the rest of their website — you’ll find some interesting stats, among them what countries around the world are doing to end hunger. We’re way down near the bottom, as usual.

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Second annual bring your own drinking container party Tuesday, Nov 27 2007

Few weeks ago, Stephen and Stacey held their second annual “Bring your own drinking container” party which was, as before, a ton of fun. If you are not familiar with the party here is the short version:

They provide the booze (two kegs this year) and all you have to do is show up with a drinking container. The word “container” is used rather loosely here because the big twist is: it has to be something you wouldn’t normally drink out of (like the mannequin Stephen butchered and than groped throughout the night).

The high point of the night is always the container contest which breaks down into four categories: biggest, smallest, grossest and most creative. The contest is judged by the audience and decided by their cheers.

Laura won in the biggest category, because size DOES matter (Stephen’s actual words). Keith won for the grossest. Nate gave him a pretty good run for his money but in the end the dirty old tighty-whities persevered. This guy beat me by the slimmest margin since the 2000 Presidential election, and got the most creative award. Now that I think about it, I have no idea who won for the smallest (someone please let me know). Update: Per Keith’s comment below, Sarah won for smallest with a 10 microliter (1.0 x 10^-5 liters or 0.003 ounces) measuring cup. Small indeed.

You can also view all of the images I took here.

As a bonus I’m posting a pic of the inside of my Deus Ex Machina drinking container, which required you to pour in water in order to be able to drink vodka and cranberry juice out of it. As you can see when poured water into the funnel, it filled the white container. The weight of the container would cause it to descend and the scooper at the other end of the see-saw lever to be pulled up. With each scoop from the main (second) container a portion of the drink would be poured into a third container not shown here. It was located right in front of the scooper. Once the top was mounted a tube ran into the third container so that drinking was possible. Two wires also ran into it and whenever liquid was present, an LED would glow as a result of the closed circuit. The container that received the water initially had holes in the bottom which let the water out slowly. Once its weight returned to normal, it would be pulled up by the now heavier scooper. Pour water. Repeat process. There were many other interesting back-ups and safety systems but I don’t feel like going into detail I’m sure you’ve already fallen asleep twice.

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Quick update Wednesday, Nov 21 2007

I need to …

put up/send out pictures from our Halloween party — a Victorian themed Masquerade Ball — which was just plain awesome. Best estimate is that around a hundred people in fantastic costumes showed up for a good time (some reluctantly leaving around 4:30 in the morning)

put up pictures from Stephen & Stacey’s drinking container party as well as pictures & design sketches of my Deux Ex Machina drinking container that as many have assured me, should have won for most creative. Despite its awesomeness — such awesomeness it would make Chuck Norris nod in approval — it didn’t win for a number of reasons that can be best summed up as: people didn’t get what it did. I’ll explain when/if I ever get around to putting up the pics. That was also a great party and I’m already looking forward to next year.

process all the pictures from my last photo shoot with Carrie, a new acquaintance I’ve made, who has been willing to spend time modeling for me.

come up with more ideas for photo shoots

get packed for our annual Thanksgiving climbing trip

go through a few thousand images, and judge them for the everyman photo contest. two sections down 4 more to go.

On a completely different note, since my last real update I have …

celebrated mine and Laura’s one year anniversary (night of our Halloween party)

completed all possible 200 miles of the two-day MS150 bike tour and raised a little over a thousand dollars, thereby accomplishing both of my goals. next years goal: ride 300 miles in three days by riding the hundred miles from St. Charles to Columbia, then follow up with the 200 miles at the MS bike tour.

read the entire Harry Potter series and thought they were all great.

read Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. I enjoyed that one as well though I felt he fumbled it a bit at the very end. The first book, The Golden Compass, should hit the big screen sometime in December 2007.

read almost all books, all the ones I cared to read, by Neil Gaiman (American Gods a while back, then Good Omens, Stardust, Neverwhere, Anansi Boys)

seen the Stardust movie earlier this year as well. Didn’t live up to the book, of course, but was throughly enjoyable.

seen the live action Transformers movie and nearly peed on myself out of sheer joy.

been to a Renaissance Festival (in Kansas City) which was an awesome experience

entered two mountain bike races and won neither of them.

broken my wrist during a dirt-jump crash landing about eight weeks before the aforementioned MS bike tour. spent six weeks in a brace.

done the moonlight ramble.

traveled to Puerto Rico and made friends with some locals

discovered some cool new bands/artists like Beirut, the Decemberists, the Pipettes, Grizzly Bear, Amy Milan, Andew Bird, etc.

I’m sure there is a thing or two I forgot, but as it is 12:30am, I am out.

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Ok fine, I’ll jump in on the hype Monday, Nov 12 2007

If you have been watching TV lately, you undoubtedly noticed the commercials for the upcoming movie Hitman. My personal opinion is that we really don’t need another computer game-to-big screen movie, even if it’s one my favorite games. I’m not sure what the story is but I think anything of importance was already resolved in the game. So while technically I’m not really joining in on the hype, I woul’d like to share these paintings and sketches I did of Mr. 47. I did these paintings and sketches a few years ago — I can’t remember exactly — when the game Hitman: Condename 47 first came out.

 

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Out-of-genre experiences with Zach Condon Thursday, Nov 8 2007

Last year I was introduced to a band called Beirut, a seemingly random collection of experimental instrumentalists from Brooklyn, led by young mastermind Zach Condon, through a song so memorable it lodged itself in my brain and refused to depart. Mount Wroclai (Idle Days), as the song is nonsensically titled, makes just as little sense lyrically. This, however, doesn’t mater at all, as Condon’s voice simply adds another layer — another crooning instrument, if you will — to what starts out as an eastern European / Balkan gypsy-ish accordion piece. Perhaps that is the reason why I find this song, and everything else by Beirut, so appealing. I find myself transported to a different yet familiar and comfortable place. Zach Condon’s music manages to be strangely uplifting while being melancholic — probably a result of mixing loopy accordion riffs, lazy trumpets and chiming glockenspiels with a waltz-like tempo and beat, that makes you want to get up and move to its mesmerizing rhythm.

What brought me out of blog-hiding was another Zach Condon masterpiece upon which I stumbled just a few days ago. Nantes, can be found on the recently released CD, The Flying Club Cup, which is, from what I understand, phenomenal. While I have not had a chance to listen to The Flying Club Cup, I have listened to Nantes over and over again. As one reviewer wrote, “That enigmatic, unclassifiable quality continues on Nantes [...]. The haunted-house organ riff that opens the song sounds like a setup for a variation on modern garage rock. But when the tango beat enters soon after, Nantes transforms into something else altogether: a new genre that could be called poignant ballroom cabaret pop, with Condon’s drowsy voice intoning over it.” Indeed Condon seems to have managed to transcend musical genre’s once again, which is one of those small victories for anyone who doesn’t like neat little well-labeled packages. The only question that remains now, is weather Beirut will be making a stop in St. Louis anytime soon.

Mount Wroclai (Idle Days) on youtube. The video was made by a random fan, there is no official music video for this song.

Nantes on youtube

Nantes performed live in the streets (of New York I think Paris I am told)

Enjoy.

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