I’m convinced that going to a classic car show in a small town is the quintessential end-of-summer activity. Last weekend, Andrew and I went to the Main Street Car Show in Minden, Nev., where we both went to high school (although we didn’t know each other in high school. He’s probably the only person in our graduating class I didn’t know). Minden is in the Carson Valley, which is a small community about an hour away from Reno. Currently my mom and Andrew’s mom still live there so we visit every so often.
When we got there, it was sunny. Look how blue the sky was!
But that didn’t last very long because soon the clouds came and it started to pour. It continued to rain on and off all afternoon. Normally I love summer rain but it was difficult since everyone had their beautiful cars displayed and they were getting soaked.
Andrew and his family had three cars on display: a dark grey 1957 Eighty-Eight Oldsmobile, a yellow and white 1957 Ninety-Eight Oldsmobile and a green 1957 Thunderbird.
The 1957 Ninety-Eight Olds:
The Thunderbird:
The grey Oldsmobile is my favorite because of all of the detail.
We also walked around and checked out the other cars.
But what made the day really special were the awards Andrew and his family won for their cars! Andrew’s car, the grey Olds, won him first place in his category. The white and yellow Olds also won first place, and the Thunderbird won People’s Choice (and Andrew’s grandfather got a GIANT trophy for it!).
It rained last week here in Northern Nevada. Summer storms in Nevada are wondrous. We’re in a drought right now–we’re almost always in a drought–and it’s such a nice break from the relentless dry heat when the clouds just let loose. I’m happiest when it rains (like the song by Garbage–that was my anthem in high school) and when the clouds overhead are grey.
This week I started rereading one of my all time favorite books, Ecstasia by Francesca Lia Block. Ecstasia and the sequel, Primavera, are all about different environments and how they effect people–mostly, the city vs. the desert. The books are also about the progress of age and beauty. The story is essentially post-modern mythology and fairytale. I first read this book when I had just moved to Nevada from the Bay area, so the urban/rural dichotomy really hit home. But whenever it rains here in the summer, I think of these books and its beautiful language about the desert.
So I finally watched The Book of Eli–took me long enough! And wow, this is probably my new favorite movie, and definitely my favorite post-apocalyptic movie. This film got mixed reviews, largely due to its religious overtones–it is, after all, about *SPOILER* a guy trying to bring a Bible out west during the aftermath of an apocalypse. However, I didn’t see the film as overly religious. As a writer and a researcher of literacy–and an atheist–it’s hard to deny the impact the Bible has had on human history. I liked how one of the last shots of the film was of the newly-printed Bible being placed on a shelf along with other religious texts. That showed me that this film was less about the Bible itself, and more about the preservation of history, and the start of a new era–which is what the best post-apocalyptic stories are about, I think.
Anyway, enough of that. The story of the film is great, but the cinematography is really what makes this movie awesome. Each shot could easily be in a graphic novel or video game. I like how it captured the grittiness of a wasteland, but still made it seem beautiful. And the costumes are epic. Can’t we all just dress like this already?
I really enjoy listening to music using digital tools–I’m a frequent user of Pandora and Spotify, but I also like to branch out and try new services. The internet is a perfect venue to listen and view media with friends, or with like-minded strangers around the world. Here are four projects you might want check out if you’re looking for some new music–and some new people to share it with.
I found Turntable.fm pretty randomly but I love it, especially the “chill out” station. Basically, Turntable has a bunch of different music rooms labeled by genre, and you can create a little character and “hang out” in the music room. You can listen to other DJs or be one yourself. The website has music you can choose from, or you can upload a file from your computer. Other listeners can like or dislike the songs you choose, and you earn points. If someone likes your song, their little character will start dancing, and you can earn some DJ points which eventually allow you to upgrade your character. Also, if you like a particular DJ, you can become of fan, and an email will be sent to you whenever they are playing in a particular room. Turntable.fm has an iPhone app but since I don’t have an iPhone, I can’t really review it. I’ll check back soon to see if they come out with an Android version. I think this is a cool website to use on a tablet, and I often pull it up on one of my monitors while I’m working since it’s a nice way to be both a passive listener or an active one, depending on your preference.
I don’t know much about this one since it’s still in beta, and it seems to be very similar to Turntable. Also, the name “rolling” seems to have drug connotations–which is fine, but that may give potential users the wrong impression. Betabeat did a good write-up about how it’s different from Turntable, but I’m not quite convinced. The idea of the virtual “restroom”– “where users can DJ, chat and spraypaint graffiti on the walls” according to Betabeat’s article–is kind of interesting. We’ll see. I do like the graphics, but I am kind of already sold on Turntable’s cuteness. You can sign up for beta to check it out in the meantime.
This is a newer app I just heard about, and it’s only available for OSX, iOS and Android, which means that I can try it on my smartphone but not on my computers. I haven’t tried it out yet–couldn’t find it in the Play store–but from what I’ve seen, it’s a collaborative playlist that your friends can add to at a party or social event, and listeners can vote on the songs played. This is definitely an app to use in person with people you know or are actually hanging out with, rather than people on the internet like Turntable, so it’s nice that there are different options available depending on what kind of music person you are.
I’m a big fan of PixelJunk games, so I was intrigued to hear about their latest project, 4am (formerly called Lifelike, but I think 4am is a way cooler name). 4am is an interactive game-like project in which the player uses the Play Station 3 Move controller to mix music live with people on the internet or with a live audience. Players can also tune in to other people’s sets. It was just released on May 15, so download the demo if you have a PS3 and let me know what you think. I’m still playing around with it but I do like the concept a lot. I wish there were more music options, but the graphics are beautiful. It would be a great addition to a party, and if I were a DJ I would totally incorporate it into my sets.
I was going to make some stupid Limp Bizkit “Nookie” reference but I refrained. Anyway, I’m making progress on The Battleroom. I’ve had a few set backs, and have completely reimagined parts of it, but overall I’m pretty happy with how it’s coming along.
One of the areas I was stuck on when we moved in is this little nook in the corner of the room. It’s not quite big enough to put a desk or anything substantial, but it’s not small enough to just ignore it. Originally I had planned to build my bookshelves there, but I opted to put them in my closet instead (more on that later). Luckily, I have a smart boyfriend who suggested making it into a crafting/hacking area, which is what we did.
I had originally bought the yellow paint for the inside of the closet, but this worked out better as an accent wall. The color I chose is Valspar’s dandelion chain.
I chose a pegboard since I plan to use this area for building things, and I didn’t want to shove the tools in my filing cabinet. Plus I think they look cool.
The surface is made out of fence posts I bought at Home Depot, and also used on the bookshelves I built. I like that they look unfinished, and I also don’t mind if they get scratches or paint on them (because they most likely will).
I’ve had the filing cabinet for a while, as well as the chair, which we got as a pair at a thrift store a few years ago. They were supposed to be our kitchen table chairs but we got a new dining table and chairs last year, so now they serve miscellaneous purposes. When we got them, we painted them and reupholstered the cushion. It fits pretty perfectly in this spot.
I want to use the wall on the left for project ideas, but for now I put some Portal stickers and some pages I liked from National Geographic.
I’m pretty happy with how this area turned out. It’s nice to have another surface in my office besides my computer desk.
I realized the other day that I totally forgot to post the rest of my pictures from my quick trip to SF last month. Here are some I took with my real camera (i.e., not my smartphone).
I never shared pictures of the solar powered phone charger I made a while ago. I had been wanting to use solar panels on a project for a while because I think they’re cool, and solar power is awesome, but I couldn’t think of anything very interesting… so I made another phone charger, because chargers are useful, and it would be handy in the event of the apocalypse. Which, of course, is the reasoning behind most things I do.
I usually get my project cases from Radio Shack, and that’s also where I got this solar panel, all for less than $10.
Drilled a few holes for lights and switches.
I picked a pink LED for the indicator light since I don’t usually do much with pink electronics.
Test it all out on the breadboard… always a good idea before soldering things in place.
Hastily spray painted it silver, with a pink pattern on the side.
Inserted the lights, switches and USB port for power. Not pictured, but I glued the solar panel to the top. Not the slickest solution, but it works well enough.
Shine some light on it–it works!
Charging in action. (See the date? Told you I did this a while ago.)
That’s pretty much it! I often carry it around with me as part of my EDC but I haven’t had tons of opportunities to use it yet. Maybe during the summer.
