Won Park Origami

Aside from AV the Origami World is ruled by Won Park.

The Squiggle Flourish makes the eye!

STEGOSAURAUS 

I would be scared if I saw this on the ground.

Theres more too.
-jv
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Chicken and Dumpling Soup for the Soul

This soup recipe is amazing. Just make it.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Ingredients: 

2 32-oz. containers chicken stock

¼ cup olive oil

1 large white onion, chopped

2 ½ cups chopped carrots

2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tablespoon pre-minced garlic)

2 cups chopped celery

2 pounds chicken breast (or whatever cut you like)

Salt and pepper

1 can Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits

1 small bag/bundle fresh spinach, (optional, highly recommended)

Parsley (also optional)

Directions:

1.     Prep: Chop onions, carrots, and celery. Mince garlic. Trim chicken of fat, leaving the cuts whole.

2.     Pour chicken broth into a large pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

3.     Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic and sauté until onions start to brown, about 5 minutes. Drain.

4.    When the broth begins to boil add the onion mixture to the pot, along with the celery and chicken.

5.    Season with salt, pepper, and any other spices you like (Italian seasoning works well).

6.    Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

7.   Separate the dough by the perforated lines. Cut each piece into quarters.

8.    After 20 minutes, remove the chicken and cut it up into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken back into the broth and bring the heat up to medium.

9.    When the soup is simmering, add the dough to the pot. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

10. Wash the spinach and remove stems.

11.  After 10 minutes add the spinach, stirring the pot so the leaves get under the dumplings.

12.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes more.

13.   Remove from heat and sprinkle with parsley if you’d like.

-ID and AV

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Hidden Talents

There is a teacher at my high school from Europe. She teaches French. Her name is France.

(I woulda inserted a thumbnail of her here, but I don't have one)

One of the most interesting things about this woman is her incredible hidden talent. So, yea she's foreign and glamorous and speaks French, which I think is a big enough deal. But, she's also an incredible artist. She's serious about it too, and sells her stuff on etsy. She's got a real thing for drawing cars.

Here's a picture she made of my dog. ON HER IPHONE.

(made on a fuckin' iPhone)

(her daughter's view from the potty)

(a girl from her class)



Her blog is called wagonized (not sure why), but I think she's pretty great. It amazes me that she's not teaching art. So, I started to wonder...what hidden talents do other people have? Does that cop have an outstanding voice? Or is this bank teller a good breakdancer? You never know.


fp
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Make Your Own Any Color Chalkboard

I've been on a DIY tear thanks to Pinterest, which, for real, if you haven't joined I'll have a hard time having a conversation with you. It's been awesome making sweet stuff every day. Some things have worked out (watch for homemade lip gloss and delicious risotto tutorials on EdZachery) and some have not (alas, that lace headband did not stay on my head). And it's time to share with you lazy, non-pinning bastards, because I love you.

Yes, that is a yellow chalkboard.

Guess what, you can make chalkboard paint in ANY COLOR! I'm talking any paint you have on hand, readily available, in the rainbow tone of your choice can turn ANY SURFACE into a straight up chalkboard. FOR REAL. ok, enough excitement, let's do this shit.


Step one. Pick your paint.
It should be an appropriate paint for the surface, probably and I doubt you could find a way to make spray paint work. But other than that, any paint. 

Step two. Gather the other supplies.
A) Un-sanded tile grout. You can find it in any hardware store and maybe other places, I got mine at Ace. It cost three dollars and I'll be able to make tons and tons of batches of chalkboard paint. You can borrow mine.
B) Something to mix it all up in, I used a mason jar as they have handy measuring cup lines.
C) A paint brush. I used a mini roller brush, but I'm pretty sure whatever painting implement you have around the house will work.
D)Stirrer. If you have a paint stirrer wooden stick thing, AWESOME. But if not, use anything you don't mind ruining that is appropriate..
E) Something to paint. The possibilities are endless. Cardboard, wall, cabinet door, trashcan. Go nuts.
That's it.


Step three. Mix it up.
Pour one (1) cup of paint into your container. Put in two (2) tablespoons of un-sanded tile grout into your container. Stir. Try to get the clumps broken up, this is not pancake mix, lumps are bad. They make clumps of un-colorful chalkboard. Bad.

Step Four. Paint.
Paint it on. I did two coats. Live your life the way you choose.

 Step Five. Prime the board.
Once the paint is completely dry, rub a piece of chalk all over the board, getting a thin layer of chalk everywhere. Wipe this off with damp cloth.

Step Six. You now own a super colorful awesome chalkboard.
If you don't know what to do now, I'm not friends with you. 

-av
Did-it-myself-er

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Pinterest is my creative distraction

Recently I've become obsessed with Pinterest, a self-described “virtual pinboard” and hub for all things visually-inspiring. Rather than racking up a long list of bookmarks, I “pin” images to my Pinterest boards when I find something interesting online. Recipes, DIY projects, artwork, quotes, landscapes, fashion—anything worth remembering. You can "follow" other Pinners' boards so you can see what your friends find exciting. I'm LOVING following Alice, Jill, KatieCaff and Lucy.

When I get stuck in my writing at work I often browse Pinterest for the sake of creative distraction. It’s inspiring to be presented with an array of fresh visual ideas whenever I want. And like all things social, my Pinterest experience would be much better if you joined. The site is still in closed beta (let me know if you want an invite!), but the interface is beautifully done and I expect big things in their future.

-Senior Pinterest Correspondent
id

ISHABAMI

In 2009 I drew a picture and tried to write SHABAM! underneath the picture and to be fancy I was going to put an upside-down exclamation point at the beginning of the word. I drew the word from left to right starting with the upside-down exclamation point and working my way over to the regular one on the other side. I messed up and put another upside-down exclamation point at the end of the word. "ishabami" I liked the way the picture looked though, so I hang the picture anyhow. The next day when BJK came over he saw the picture and said "ishabami?" and the word sounded right. Since then I have adopted it as a nonsense word that can mean anything or nothing at all. And I began to write it everywhere along with a bunny. I began a blog a few weeks ago to have ownership of the word on the internet. ISHABAMI.BLOGSPOT.COM I have added a bunch of painting and pictures, some from 2009 and a few that are more recent. Here are three samples.

-jv
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The America Flag - Past and Future

As today is one of 7 particular days of display for the American flag, let's look at the different designs of previous flags, and take a glimpse at the possible future flags. 

Another flag in use from 1777-95

War Time Flag

New Englanders are pretty familiar with the flag that Betsey Ross probably didn't sew, but not only was there a different flag in use during most of the American Revolution, but thereafter at least four other flags were in use for the next 18 years, until two more state were added to the Union.

 The thirteen stripes have only been altered once, with the addition of the first two states after the colonies, the flag featured 15 stars and 15 stripes. After this it reverted the 13 stripes and the number of states for the number of stars.

Over the years there have been no less than 24 flags as states were added. Most maintained the stars in lines, but some had the stars in a circular of star shape.

Initiated with Colorado's statehood

In use 1837-45

At present there are designs in place for up to 56 states. So should DC or Puerto Rico ever be granted statehood, Congress is ready to update the flag. 

Last, ever wondered how to fold the flag? Here you go:

 -av
Girl Scout Troop 1021

ps. Nobody does the Star Spangled Banner better than Marvin

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Amazon for the Boy Scouts of America

Hey y'all!
If you didn't know, I'm a Boy Scout in Westford, which is cool, and I know how to tie knots and make awesome fires, but to do this my troop needs to have money.

So, my troop is doing a fundraiser where if you use Amazon to buy excellent things, you can go to Amazon through my troop's webpage and they get 2% of your purchase's to help me learn how to make even better fires and tie even better knots!

So, if you shop at Amazon and like Boy Scouts, or at the very least like me, go to this link and click on Amazon Store in the left hand corner and go shopping!

Thanks!

jb

Goldeneye Spawn Patterns

Part 1: Temple.
Temple was the first level I ever noticed a pattern in. I know the patterns to Facility, Stack, Archives, Bunker, and most recently Complex. I have enjoyed sitting atop the Goldeneye multiplayer world for long enough and now it is time to spread the wealth.

Any level I do not know the pattern to is not worth playing.

I have taken pictures of each of the spawn points. I have set up the pictures so that on the top of the screen there is the hunter and on the bottom there is the hunted.

Step 1

Step 2: From Step 1 move to the right to the door that leads to a downhill ramp. There is a room on the left with no door and a room on the right with a door. Your opponent will spawn in the room to the left wait until they spawn and go down the hallway so the game does not bump them onto Step 3

 














Step 3: After having gone into the room without a door from the downhill ramp go back to the hallway. Wait at the door, you can open it just do not go inside. Wait for your opponent to spawn they will be in front of you slightly to the right.

Step 4: Having gone into the room with a door proceed across the room and go up the far side ramp. This will lead you back to the room from Step 1. Stay close to the wall on your left and go straight ahead to the door. Open the door and move forward until you see a dark downhill ramp on your right. Your opponent will probably have just enough time to spawn by the time you get there, proceed down the ramp.

Step 5: Go back up the dark downhill ramp you used to enter into Step 4. At the top on the ramp take a right to go downhill. Once at the bottom of the ramp do not enter the room. Wait for your opponent to spawn they will be to the right.

After Step 5 to pattern resets and goes back to Step 1. As long as you do not get to close to the spawn point the cycle will continue until the end of the game.

I will be putting up the spawn patterns to Stack, Facility, Archives, Bunker, and Complex in the upcoming weeks.

-jv

p.s. KMV, I could have never done this without you, love you very much.

Make Your Own Volcano

So, I'm teaching Pompeii to my sophomores right now and they're loving it. Especially when we each created our own virtual volcano (thanks, Discovery) and whoever created a Plinean eruption got some extra cred. It's still cool to make things explode.

Bit of a downer compared to vinegar and baking side, but I'll take it, 21st Century.

-fp

Make Pictures with Sound Board Colorama

This is my new favorite song:

Sound Board Colorama

Literally, what a legit deal. I don't even know what this is.
Those are all the same link I'm so excited about it.


 But it could entertain me for at least three hours.

Every day.

For the
rest
of
my
life.



Also, street art is always a plus.

<3jb

Spring Blossoms!

Walking to donate blood today I found a couple small miracles down in the ground. BLOOMAGE!

Not only is life more beautiful now but we can all start working on our base tan, drinking Sangria, and smiling more in general. .Have a happy day. =)

We're gonna make it!

                                    -jmn

Motorized Couch

So my friend and I were talking about the pros and cons of buying a moped as opposed to a car and she sprung this video on me. It's kind of outdated, but still intriguing. I also love the reference to Wendy's at the end.

--Also, av and lab, doesn't the blonde guy right at the end sound just like rob weast?

kthxbai

-jb

Napkin Art

Sometimes SCT and I play a game where I draw a nice scene, and she adds some special flare.  Below are a couple of my favorites.  Enjoy!

In case you can't read them, this one says,

"Just keep going."

"OK!"

In the boy's right hand: "ROOF-E"

jc

i heart strangers

I've been really getting into reading blogs this semester. My Vienna blog is my pilot experience...and so far I have been loving writing it. But now, I find that I not only love blogging myself, but reading others and finding new ones. This could partly be because it takes me a long time to drink my huge cup of coffee in the morning, and I don't like reading the news for more than 10 minutes.

i just happened upon this dude who is an amazing photographer (I have been in a photography kick for like a month now). He's an artist from copenhagen who has been traveling all over the world the past couple of years. I'm going to copy and paste his explanation about the blog entitled "i heart strangers" below, because I love it.  

"hi there. my name is joshua langlais. i've got a thing for people. and i've got another thing for photography. so i am working on ways to combine the two in a worthwhile way. you can see my current and previous projects on here. the first is called "i heart strangers" - my attempt at loving my neighbors. every single day, i went out into the world to seek out someone i had never before met. i introduced myself and asked them if i could photograph them. i took something valuable away from every encounter and did my best to pass that along to you. i started this on september 8, 2008, with the intention of doing it for a year, but i did it for a year and then decided to continue. i eventually stopped after 625 days. you will also see "joshualanglais.com", which is my attempt to make beautiful photographs of some of the people who don't necessarily qualify as strangers. this is my professional website, a place to see what i am made of, if you will. pass the word along because i want everyone to meet my strangers and friends."

He actually has stopped the strangers project, as of last may, but he has over 600 posts, but I am still excited to catch up on it. He is still posting on his other blog, and that one has some amazing photography as well:  http://www.joshualanglais.com/. I vote if we like it, we should add it to "blogs we like" or whatever on the side.

peace and love.
-lab

New Shoes

Hey guys!

I just made some new shoes (I make a new pair like every 6 months) and I'm so excited about them that I wanted to share them with y'all, because you're a lot of artsy craftsy people.

White cheap shoes from H&M, this time with stabilo pens (I usually do sharpie, will have to be more careful about getting caught in the rain in these). The quotes come from an e.e. cummings poem, "somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond/any experience" and "nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands".

it's raining on the sunflowers. just fyi.

that's the emerald city to your left.

first day wearing them today!! (it's already late morning in Vienna)
the first day is always good luck, i like to think.

also, the procrastination of 2 huge papers has led med to discover that you can not only take pictures with photobooth on mac os, but also VIDEOS. i just recorded all of the songs i've been playing recently and have been uploading them to youtube, even though i make mistakes, the sound quality is shitty, and i've had a cold for a month.5 now. if you miss me, check them out! i guarantee either smiles or the satisfaction of knowing you could probably record a better video than me will be your reward.

one of the happiest songs in the world

also, straightened hair is so soft. i forgot that.

peace and love.

-lab

If You Talk About It..It Will Happen

First lets learn how to do a screen shot. Start by pressing Ctrl and PrtSc as shown:

Awesome job! Now you have the screen copied. Then open it in Paint, Picassa, or whatever picture editor you use and go to town. Now to the real point of my post.

Ever accidentally send an e-mail that you didn't mean to send?

Wish you could take it back?

weird.


Well... NOW YOU CAN!!!!!

First open your gmail in a new tab,then go into your Settings and look in Labs

Here you will find AMAZING things that Gmail has hidden from you. Most important of all is the UNDO SEND lab. They're in alphabetical order. There are some other great ones like Google Calendar, Got the wrong Bob, Mail Goggles should be mandatory on all teenagers computers. There are a few other great ones, check them out.

-RDK

The Dark Art of Knitting

Hi Everyone!

I know there are a few HP fans checking this out and I also warned Alice that my contribution may end up being a bunch of arts&craft ideas so this seems like the perfect way to start.

One of my little sisters friends spent a lot of time in the hospital as a child and became a knitting prodigy. This is her newest creation. Its too incredible not to share:

So from straight on this just looks like your run-of-the-mill striped (black and glow-in-the dark green!) scarf but as you look at it from different angles the dark mark is revealed! I have no idea how she did this and I sort of want it to remain a mystery. Maybe she's a deatheater..

- sct

Homebrewed hair rinse

For whatever reason, I keep hearing about apple cider vinegar hair rinses. So when i found a brand new bottle of it in the cupboard, I decided to go for it. According to magazines and a random facebook friend, the mixture helps remove build up from styling products and conditioners, restores hair's natural pH (whatever that means) and adds shine and bounce at the same time. So I tested it myself, just for you!

I used the simplest recipe I could find, which was 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar distilled in 1qt water. After shampooing and rinsing with my regular shampoo, I poured the mixture over my head and smooshed it around. I let it rest for a minute or two and then rinsed it out with cold water, supposedly to seal the hair. No conditioner needed. But be warned, I got a little in my eye and damn, it stung.

For real, my hair is so shiny right now. And the smell of vinegar is gone now that my hair is dry. And if you're worried about the smell, a couple of recipes have herbal infusions or optional drops of essential oils like tea tree or lavender. Most of the recipes recommend using the mixture no more than once a week. I think I'll start doing it once a month.

Your personal home remedy tester,

av

p.s. it's elvis' birthday. here's a tribute to his dreaminess