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Flashback to Freshman Year: Moose-Head and Panda

Here is the final project for year 1 of Japanese language at Swarthmore College, made by James, Adam, and myself:

 Moose-Head and Panda

*There are no subtitles, but just know that the story is about a panda who falls in love with a moose-head but that love is unrequited.

Enjoy!

Summer Project Two: Glass Bottles -- Recyclin' Fever

My friend Mark reignited my passion for making cute shit. I had been on a bit of a hiatus after coming to Vietnam, and though I tried to pick up knitting again a few weeks ago, I got distracted and would take naps instead. However, whilst perusing Go-Go Godzilla! (thanks Mark) I was reminded of a little hobby I used to have freshman year at Swat.

It all started in Japanese class when I started drawing little cartoons of Godzilla and trying to make all my essay and speech assignments about her. My final project was a crudely animated (read: photos of my drawings edited together and not really animated) but was a huge hit with my class and professors. I will look for it on my old computer -- but after the fry-scapade last year, methinks I may have lost it -- but no matter, that is not the point... I took the Godzilla cartoon I made and taped it onto a glass bottle of tea I had recycled. When the bottle would get grotty, I just use another bottle, peeled off the label and stuck my infinitely better more cute more fabulous one onto it. And they'd last a while--you know, if I didn't get water or juice or tea dripping down the side, or if I was actually paying attention to the water jugs in the library and not leaking a mess on the carpet, well... They'd last for about 3 weeks.

I had even made a bottle with a cartoon of myself.

And just a little while ago I got to thinking: Why don't I make those little cartoon bottles again? And I have plenty of doodles to spare, and there's lots of glass for recycling. And you'd totes-mc-goats be the koolest kid on the block if you had one of my bottles...




And so commences the crafting :D ...just as soon as I get back to the U.S.

The Breakfast Diaries

The last two weeks I've regretted not taking pictures of the wonderful food I've been eating. Yesterday, I put new batteries in my camera (it eats up batteries like M&Ms, you know?) and took pictures of my breakfast, plus my dinner from tonight--which was served, I found out later, on a Minnie Mouse/Lady and the Tramp kid's plate!! What a fun sight to see after finishing my meal...

Tomorrow evening, I return to Saigon and will live with my host family for one week until it is time to come home. I am sad to leave my friends, Mr. Hien and Mr. Duy--and of course, Thi, Thu, Thien, and Tram. They were all so wonderful to me. It's a shame I couldn't spend more time with them--as many are seniors and are writing theses and preparing for graduation. However, tomorrow afternoon, I will be fortunate enough to have my last meal in Hue city with my Hien and Duy--two people who have been invaluable to my research efforts. I can't thank them enough for their help, and will never forget them. Luckily in this day and age we have email and facebook, so it won't be difficult at all to keep in touch with them!

Anyway, let's commence with the photos:

My delicious lovely breakfast for $2 USD--TAKE THAT, DENNY'S!!

my deep fried heaven...

eggies!!

Now, there was supposed to be a picture of a delicious fruit salad here, but blogger wouldn't load it. I will try again later.

:D

Aerobics and Cookies

So I was feeling particularly bloated this afternoon--I'm not sure why. This evening, after dinner, I decided to try some light aerobics. I'm a huge fan of aerobics, by the way... And really cannot wait to begin it again. At some point. In earnest.

Anyway, I thought a 30 minute work-out would help me to feel better--and it did. My playlist featured Santigold, Gipsy Kings, and of course, Beyonce. Because you know, no work-out is ever complete without at least one or two Beyonce tracks. Now, what may have sabotaged my efforts was that roll of strawberry cream Oreos sitting in the mini-fridge.

After showering and resting, I sat ate the entire roll. About... a dozen cookies? I mean, I enjoyed it, to be sure. But afterward, I got to thinking--the Oreos probably canceled out the few calories I burned dancing. And then I felt like a chubby chubster (which I am, I realize this) and just had to kick myself. Next time I will eat the Oreos PRIOR to my work-out!

Nothin' like chocolate fuel...

A Meditation on Cupcakes

I've started watching a show called DC Cupcakes. The show is about the stresses that two sisters/co-owners of a bakery face on a day to day basis. Needless to say, it's a pretty vapid show. The two women complain about amazingly stupid things like whether or not to use sour cream or full fat cream in their recipes, in addition to having bitch-fests at one another over creative projects. My favorite character is their sweet chubby mother who hangs out in the back office answering phones and screwing up orders.

What's most interesting to me about the show is its focus on the two white sisters as opposed to the full fleet of men and women of color who slave away in the kitchen.

If I Were a Carpenter

Don't tell anybody, but I really really like The Carpenters. Yes, Karen needed a hug and a cheeseburger; Yes, Richard was a little bitch who drank too much and was in love with jealous of Karen, but still had his own talents too--but I just really enjoy their sound.

You can see the "bitch" in his beady little eyes.

Recently, I stumbled upon a compilation disk full of Carpenters' covers by artists such as 4 Non Blondes, The Cranberries, and Grant Lee Buffalo. Naturally, my goal is to purchase it, covet it, and listen to it on repeat this entire summer. But that's only part of my great summer project for 2011.