New Blog of Random Me

Why? I don't know.

Chick here: click me click me click me to go to the new blog

Beastly human vanity!

DRAGON*CON

Dragon*con is less than a week away and I'm helping my friend MOXIE MAGNUS work on her coiffure. It's going to take a little more work. I've got a hair dresser friend who's going to do some trimming for me today and we'll see how that goes. I'll post the current pic and the one after the trim soon.

Tribble Background

Here's a background I made for Moxie Magnus' Trekspace page. Check out her blog.

When tiled this background looks pretty good (and yes, I did sew the tribbles some time ago).

New Blog for Work

I spent the majority of the day working on this new blog for work. I'm a little concerned that the background is odd, but I'm going to keep it for a while because I like it. I'm not sure anyone else will.

The blog is called Massage Savannah, which similar in name to my website url: massagesavannah.com.

Stupid Blogger Backgrounds

I spent my whole day making backgrounds for Blogger. What a big pain in the butt. At least I helped moxie out and now she has an original background for her site.

MOXIE MAGNUS

Charms

 

“The power attributed in China to spells and charms

is really so great that we may call it unlimited…

“…words are no idle sound, nor characters or pictures are merely ink or paint, but that they altogether constitute or produce the reality which they express or represent. And as any desired magical effect may be expressed in words or writing, it follows as a matter of course that by means of charms and spells every imaginable thing may be effected.”

—J.J.M.  de Groot, The Religious System of China, 1910

I didn't paint these today. I actually painted them back in 2005. There were a part of a series of 6 charms that I made based on Chinese paper charms. They are written in a special type of esoteric script called "spirit writing". They are intended to keep malevolent spirits away. Traditionally, they would be red or occasionally yellow, but I thought I would just play with the color and make some blue. They are 3 feet tall and 11 and a half inches wide. The medium is acrylic on wood.

I intended to create more pieces and put together a show (which I may still do). I'm thinking about selling them on Etsy--maybe $100 a piece plus shipping.

Snap Crackle Pop and Butter

I've been busy lately, what with my birthday and all! I did make a wonderful stir fry the other night, but the pictures didn't come out very well. Today I said "Damn you diet! I want homemade rice crispy treats." And so that's what I made today. They aren't as good as the ones I used to make. The recipe calls for three tablespoons of butter, I used four. That was conservative. I used to use a whole stick--now thems was some treats! (pgi: poor grammar intended)

...

Hand Lotion

Today's thing is hand lotion! My aunt and uncle and cousins are vacationing on Tybee island this week and I dished up some Alba lotion and added essential oils as a gift for them. The scents are bourbon geranium, lavender, neroli (my personal favorite), jasmine and Roman chamomile. I wish I could upload the smell!

Corks

Just a little cork box to hang on the wall. I'd like it in the kitchen but there just isn't any room.

Revisions

Chess set is done. Finished the board today and although it is a real rush job, I'm pleased. I think my friend will like it.

I also reworked the found object piece I stuck together. I changed the color and...still think it's not quite there.

Found Objects

Nice concept, needs to be re-executed.

And yes, the tapes do glow in the dark....

Chinese Chess

Today's thing is a Chinese chess set (xiang qi) that I'm making for a friend's birthday. Chinese chess is exactly like chess. Well, exactly like chess except there is a river in the middle of the board. Oh, and there are elephants instead of bishops and they can't cross the river. And the soldiers (pawns) can move horizontally once they cross the river. And the general (king) and his two advisers can't leave the palace. That's pretty much it. Got it?

I never liked chess, but I'll play any game that has an elephant in it.

My set is pretty rough. I didn't want to spend too much time on it and my main focus was playability. Like most Chinese chess sets the pieces are just round discs. Mine are wooden. Why didn't I just buy him a chess set, you may ask. Well, Chinese sets actually have Chinese characters written on them instead of pictures. My friend can't read Chinese. Sets with pictures are not so easy to find.  The pieces are done but the board will take a little more time. It's no work of art, but it is today's thing!

For more about Chinese chess, check out Wikipedia's Xiang Qi page.

And, just for the sake of scale, here's the little globe thing I made yesterday:

...

Theme Music (as Suggested by Matt)

No, I did not make this. My buddy Matt suggested that this should be the theme music for my blog so I decided to post it. I remember the song but, wow, it was a TV show.

...

Small World

Here's a little globe I made from a Styrofoam ball, a chopped up road atlas and some glue. 

...