| (no subject) |
[Jul. 13th, 2008|10:02 pm] |
Speaking of Antique Bakery the anime version has started airing, and I've watched the first two episodes on YouTube.
I kind of hate it.
First of all, it's ugly. UGLY UGLY UGLY. (Cakes are pretty though, I'll be honest.) I know they usually simplify character designs for animation, but this is just terrible.
WAY too many gratuitous flowers. What is this, Card Captor Sakura?
Cheesy melodramatic music.
Eiji is...strange. Too girly, not enough juvenile delinquent.
Overall, it's kind of embarrassing to watch.
They've completely dispensed with suspense and started with Tachibana's past, and how Ono and Eiji came to work for Tachibana. Episode 2 was the lame boxing story (for some reason they had to move it up in time to before the store even opened? Come on). If you're going to do that, then go ahead and introduce Chikage and let's get on with it. *adores Chii*
ETA: Miki Shin'ichirou, nice to hear your voice again. |
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| Chii does not work here. |
[Jul. 12th, 2008|06:14 pm] |
You may or may not know (or care) that I am a fan of Yoshinaga Fumi's manga Antique Bakery. I read it for the characters, but it doesn't hurt that the action centers around a patisserie. And they really go into detail about ingredients and technique. It's very inspirational, in a "don't try this at home" kind of way. If only we had a place nearby where I could get la vraie pâtisserie française, I thought.
Well, it turns out we have. Wednesday, I was looking for a place to buy myself a nice dessert, and it turns out that Patisserie Poupon is less than a block from the Metro station nearest the Whole Foods (and thus, arguably, on the way).
I got this:
It's pistachio dacquoise with pistachio Bavarian cream, and cherries. It was pretty good, not amazing. I'll give them another chance and try their croissants.
What I really want, though, is an occasion to order the Gateau Belle Helene (Poire William mousse, Venezuelan milk chocolate mousse and dark chocolate cake). 'Cause, yeah.
(The rest of the story is that I went to Whole Foods and then, during the bus ride home, it started raining hard. I did have an umbrella, but it was difficult to keep my precious cardboard box dry on top of my heavy bag of groceries. It was kind of pathetic: all I want is for it not to rain all over the birthday cake I bought myself, is that too much to ask? All the while forgetting that my cell phone was in the outer pocket of my shoulder bag, right where it was when it drowned in the last rain storm. Fortunately, both survived.) |
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| It is finished! (sort of) |
[Jul. 10th, 2008|09:25 pm] |
The trunk is "finished" and in the hands of its rightful owners
Actually, I still want to add a dark wash to the pressed tin to make it look more antique, but that will have to wait until my next visit
See the whole ordeal here |
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| Yay music! and...stuff |
[May. 15th, 2008|08:18 pm] |
Last night's BFMS contra dance was played by the Coal House Klezmer Band, and Lo! it was made of awesome. Usually I'm so focused on dancing that I hardly notice the music, except as a cue, but there was no ignoring these guys!
In other news, real feta is really tasty. I got some Bulgarian sheep's milk feta at Whole Foods today, and had it on a salad with marinated radishes and cucumbers, kalamata olives, and romaine. Sooooo good. |
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| So slow |
[May. 11th, 2008|07:21 pm] |
Here's the latest progress on Tara and Simon's wedding present.
See the new tin? See all the (reproduction) nails? Yeah, that.
Don't worry, it won't look quite as much like crap when it's painted and the handles are on.
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| Event review |
[Apr. 4th, 2008|11:03 pm] |
UPDF was really great. And overwhelming and stressful. But mostly great.
I got a ride with someone I'd never met (hereafter SR) who turned out to be really knowledgeable and helpful. Between my having randomly spammed the registration list for rides, and Ken telling other people about me, there were several other people there who recognized my name. And possibly knew a bit too much about my practicing habits. But even the ones who had no connection at all were very friendly and nice.
My actual class (at this particular festival, one registered for only one class, which met five times for 2-3 hours per class) was only so-so. We did a bit of learning by ear, and a bit of playing parts, but mostly we learned a lot of tunes from sheet music, and played them in unison. 15 dulcimers, all playing the same thing (or trying to). About a third to half the class apparently thought it was acceptable to work out a bit of the tune on their own--while the teacher was talking, or even while she was playing! But it gave me a bit of confidence I guess.
The theme of the weekend was English, and the experienced players' mixed-instruments class focus was English Dance Band, so there was an English Country Dance. Which was the funnest thing ever, even if I still don't understand how a hey works. There was also a great concert. The combined effect of these was to leave me with an unreasonable fondness for "Barbarini's Tambourine"
Postscript is that SR and I got together and played last night (she's a fiddler) and it was lots of fun. We traded tunes, and I lent her a CD, so she'll probably be back. And I think I'll finally go to the Baltimore Folk Music Society contra dance this week. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 4th, 2008|10:43 pm] |
I happened to discover today the existence of a 1965 film version of Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One, a really horribly funny satire on the funeral business that I read last year in Florida. I mentioned this to my college-educated public-television-watching co-worker, who confessed her unfamiliarity with Waugh. Even when I mentioned Brideshead Revisited. Sigh.
So yeah, now I have to update my Netflix queue and reread Brideshead, being the only Waugh I have at hand. And possibly watch YouTube clips of the miniseries, which I have never seen. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 19th, 2008|09:59 pm] |
Today was the first time I played with another musician (that I wasn't paying for the privilege). It was pretty fun, but really? I don't think there's any call for having multiple dulcimers going at once. It's kind of ok as long as one of them is playing backup, and I'll try to prepare some of that for next time, but I really need to find myself a fiddler or something.
Yes I checked Craigslist. |
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| Twice is coincidence |
[Mar. 17th, 2008|09:30 pm] |
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Yesterday I started watching Ken Burns' documentary The Civil War (only 18 years after it came out...) and today at my dulcimer lesson I got a new tune... Ashokan Farewell. If anyone mentions Sullivan Ballou to me tomorrow, I'll know it's a conspiracy. |
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| OMG dulcimers |
[Feb. 22nd, 2008|10:55 am] |
I'm going to the Upper Potomac Dulcimer Festival! I'd casually thought of going before--it's even penciled in on my calendar--but I wasn't sure if I was at a point yet where I could keep up. Also there's the getting to Harpers Ferry issue. So I had kind of dismissed it until Ken brought it up last night at my lesson. I still don't know how I'm going to get there, but this morning I made my hotel reservation and sent in my application.
The really scary part? The intermediate class is full, so he told me to register for the advanced class. Seriously? I've been playing all of 10 months now.
So yeah, I'm going to be spending every free moment between now and then practicing. As if I didn't already. (Sorry, Ben!) |
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| The Challenger |
[Feb. 12th, 2008|09:28 pm] |
This guy is the second candidate for the position of Brenna's Dulcimer. I played it once before when I didn't bring my regular instrument to my lesson, and I liked its sound and slightly bigger range. I found out yesterday that it's also a lot heavier! And for some reason it has been going flat very quickly. I'm hoping that regular tuning will settle it.
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| Early Valentines |
[Feb. 10th, 2008|07:53 pm] |
If you were close to me, I would give you one.
But it looks like I will have to eat them all myself.
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 4th, 2008|06:05 pm] |
I'm not sure how it has escaped my notice for over a year, but there's a store on Charles street around 24th whose sign advertises (among other things) PATENT MEDICINES. *gapes*
Photographic evidence to follow. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 14th, 2008|10:28 pm] |
Someone thinks I should be updating this thing. Fine, I needed to ask you all anyway:
Why aren't you watching The Wire? Get to work! |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 31st, 2007|09:37 pm] |
Having (finally) finished the third season of The Wire, I just watched A Man for All Seasons. So gorgeous. Couldn't take my eyes off it.
Oh, and the story was okay too, but you just knew it couldn't end well. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 27th, 2007|10:25 pm] |
On Thursday evening, the Silver Spring Metro station smelled like Band-Aids. That is, the sharp (I want to say sterile) smell you get when you open the wrapper. Since I'm pretty sure there was no Band-Aid opening festival on the platform, I presume there is some component or substance that is the source of the smell. So I Google "smells like band-aids".
Apparently, the diabetic community thinks insulin smells like Band-Aids. I do not think this is the answer I am looking for. |
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