The Radula

The Daily Dose of Dumb

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:17:00 +0000

This is going around FB:

Now I can never hear this song (aka Earth's Anthem) again without ROTFLMAO.

The Young Artist Grows Up

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:31:00 +0000

In October of 2008, I wrote the post Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl, which featured some of Tay's artwork. Looking back at it, I realize that in drawing herself she identified her self much more closely with her art. It wasn't just what she did, it was part of who she is. Over the years, her art has developed quite a bit. Her online work doesn't show the depth of what she's capable of, mostly because of the limited tools she has to work with on her home computer.

She's taken to entering timed drawing contests on Deviant Art and YouTube. And recently she started working on two such projects, one which she aborted in favor of the other, but found her trail to Flash ran out before she could complete it.

Here you see the portions of that animation put together. Some is just rough outline, some is outline over the finished background layers, some sections are complete. If nothing else, going through the video and seeing all the stages of the animation process represented gives some idea of the process itself, if not an appreciation of the time it takes to produce the two-D animation frame by frame:

This is what Tay devotes hours per day doing when she's not at school... I can only imagine what she'll produce in a longer timeframe, with the proper tools, and when she's working at it full time.

Animation is a difficult, almost impossible field to break into. There are plenty of unemployed would-be animators. For Tay, failure has been inconceivable. Even if she ends up working in some other field... even if she ends up cleaning the BioPark grounds (her second choice career), she will still be an animator.

As a mom, I hope she will develop a more challenging second choice, but realize that whether she goes into science, or computers, or something else entirely, she will be, first and foremost in the minds of everyone who knows her, an animator.

Reflections on a Gator

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:11:00 +0000

Or, at least reflections on his aquarium.

Star Wars Uncut

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:45:00 +0000

A crowd-sourced version of Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope

If you've got a couple hours to spare, it's well worth watching.

Learn more about the project at: http://www.starwarsuncut.com/about

First Choice

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:37:00 +0000

At this point, both of my daughters have been accepted to their first choice schools. Tay is ready to go to State in Las Cruces, and Cay is heading up to Santa Fe University of Art and Design. With the low cost of State and the New Mexico Resident discount, Lottery Scholarship, and PELL, Tay will need to take out very little in student loans to get to school. SFU doesn't take Lottery Scholarship, and with a annual expected total cost of $41K, even with maxed out subsidized and unsubsidized loans, Cay will fall $11K short. $11K, by coincidence, is about my total annual income.

At this point we're waiting for a talent scholarship, and hope to hear back from committee on the 30th or 31st. The maximum she can get is full tuition, which will still leave about 10K to apply other grants and her PELL, and with her student loans she'll make it. We're hoping for a full tuition scholarship based on her portfolio... but we'll see. We may find ourselves trying to patch together the balance with misc scholarship money from other sources, and are now beginning the search for anything she qualifies for.

Now comes the hard part: Raising money to pay the down payments on housing and tuition... the school's "earnest money". State allows you to postpone payment until the start of the semester and apply financial aid to it. SFU wants the money by March 15th, so we'll be engaging in a lot of fund raising between now and then. If you buy one of my t-shirts by January 30th the $2.60 I'll earn from it will go towards Cay's downpayment fund. And we're already thinking we're going to have to sell some furniture to make it work. Cay is out hitting the pavement after school now all the time trying to find temporary work, and next month we're eligible at all three food pantries, so I'm thinking we can cut the food budget a bit.

The education both kids will be getting at their schools are well worth the price. I would have thought the extensive program Tay is getting at State would have cost a lot more, and while I'm worried about the cost of Cay's school, considering the quality of the sound stages on campus (where they filmed Cowboys and Aliens, The Book of Eli, and Transformers, to name a few) and access to equipment, internships, and professionals in the field, it's well worth every penny.

Off to Farmington

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:20:00 +0000

I love my volunteer work...

If we could talk to the animals...

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:55:00 +0000

I've often thought about the level of intelligence other species have, and their ability to communicate. There's a certain amount of skepticism in the scientific community about referring to the communication of animals as "language". There are jokes about girls entering marine biology to "talk to dolphins", and while there's plenty of research on "calls", using the word "language" seems to break down the barrier between US and THEM, something that people seem very uncomfortable doing.

Today on ABCnews.go.com there is an extensive article on animal communication, featuring one of the animals I'd written about previously, prairie dogs. The article features quite a few links for further reading, as well as videos. It's worth the time to look over.

YouTube Video du Jour: Attacking Shark Gagged by Slime

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:01:00 +0000

Jan 21: encased

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:36:00 +0000

Various cocoons
Photo taken at the Albuquerque BioPark Butterfly Pavilion.

Check out those webbed toes!

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:30:00 +0000

SOPA, PIPA & RL

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:48:00 +0000

I'll be the first to admit it: I can understand some of the concerns about internet piracy and the abuse of copyrighted information. BUT, I worry about the way these bills could restrict information.

If someone were to cut out their grandmother's obit from the newspaper and send it to a relative out of state, isn't THAT piracy too? Or even posting that favorite comic on my fridge, where guests might see it, isn't THAT piracy? Is loaning my best friend my favorite book illegal? Or hanging pictures in my house, because they are being displayed in a place people other than myself, the person who paid for it, will see it?

and how is it different if I do it on a "virtual" wall?

The government is, in effect, trying to shut down something we've done forever: Share and display the things we love, the things that interest us, and the things we think are important. Just because it's done electronically and not through the mail, on our walls, or on our front porches, that doesn't make it any different.

Can we read aloud to children in schools? Or are sharing storybooks piracy? Can we discuss the news, quote the newscaster?

And when all that is taken from us, when we can no longer discuss and share information, what would be left for us but individual isolation, lack of social discourse, ignorance, and sheep-like adherence to whatever thoughts the media will present, without conversation, without challenge, without evaluation?

We can keep our earbuds in listening to our (legally bought) music, and watch our dramas on the vid screens, but don't think. The temperature in the US is rising to Fahrenheit 451.

She doesn't "get" people.

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:04:00 +0000

Tay (coming home from school): What are you watching?

Me: Temple Grandin. It's the story of an autistic woman who..

Tay: I don't want to watch a stupid movie about a stupid autistic... (sitting down)

(after a long silent viewing, the credits roll)

Me: Those are actual photos of her and...

Tay: Is she a real person?

Me: Yes.

(Tay jumps up and runs to her room)

A lot of Temple's behaviors as shown in the movie were very similar to Tay's. The scene that hooked her was the scene after the party at her mother's house, when she's in her room talking to her mom, wishing for her "squeeze machine". It's so seldom that Tay sees other people, or representations of other people, with these behaviors in a positive setting that she really seemed able to relate it Temple Grandin on some level.

I know I had delayed watching this movie for a long time. I am always a little skeptical of other people's stories. I know that each family searches, often in the experiences of others, for some glimmer of understanding, of hope, or some magic cure. I've always been one of those people who believe you should take a strength based approach, and not merely direct a child's entire educational experience on their perceived weaknesses.

I don't know what Tay got out of this. I know if she weren't getting something, she wouldn't have remained seated and watching. Afterwards she went back to her "work": her animations. I'm not sure how she's processing this, or if she'll ever think of this again. I'd like to think that she will.

The 10th Commandment

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:25:00 +0000

We're a nation built on breaking the 10th commandment. We're all worried about keeping up with the Jones's and one-upmanship. So, yeah, I get it: I'm not the only one. But today I have to admit, I've been doing some serious coveting... and not just of my neighbor's ass.

I covet things that are a little different.

Today I was cruising through blogland in my secret identity (which as most of you know, isn't so secret, especially since I just linked it here) and I'm looking at pictures in other people's blogs. One blog had a photo of that individual's pantry, where there were shelves of food. All of my food fits in one single lower cupboard, and even that's half empty most of the time. It amazes me to think that people can open a cupboard or what seems to me to be a closet and look around and say "hmmm... what will I eat today?".

One blog had a picture of what I suppose one would call an average middle class living room. There was a fireplace, but more than that, there was room for a couch a chair AND a love seat. My living room is about the size of an average master bath.

People have art on their walls, they have tables with photos of loved ones (the little table space I have doubles as dining, desk and book shelf) they have extra pillows on their beds, and some have blankets they change with the seasons.

and to most people, that seems normal... seems average. To me it seems like paradise.

I freely admit I lust for the things other people have. I lust for a car. I can see the little apple green Ford Fiesta in my mind. I lust for a house. I imagine a little two bedroom, although it's not clear in my mind whether it'll be a craftsman or an adobe. I imagine having space in the cupboards that are filled with food so I don't have to open a cupboard door and see so few selections. I'd like to have a shelf of soup for days when I'm sick, and most things don't stay down. I dream of having room on a shelf for three or four different kinds of tea. I fantasize about having a home with walls painted other than eggshell, and carpet other than beige.

A lot of my online friends don't get it. They've never had to live with less, and they lust for more. They want that big car, that giant house on the hill, the big yard, and maybe a staff to keep it all in shape. They can't imagine a living room this small, or someone living truly hand to mouth. They're so sure that what they have is so little.

And perhaps that's the way of it. I know when I was homeless, I dreamed of what I have now: a bed to sleep on, a roof over my head, a refrigerator and a stove. I've pretty much had to claw myself up towards the poverty line after falling out of the middle class when Lupus took over my life.

But I still dream of being middle class again, as unlikely as that is at this point in my life. And at times I can't help but feel a little bit jealous, especially of those who take the things I only dream of for granted.

Film Star

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:55:00 +0000

I think it's a problem that a lot of us face: we really have no idea how much we've really done in our lives until we sit down and look at it all, either writing a resume, or, in Cay's case, listing her film credits.

I'm not sure we have all her qualifications, but a two page list is pretty impressive for someone as young as she is, as is her (even with only one season of credits, as she waits for the update to her page) IMDb page.

Whichever school she attends, they'll be lucky to have her.

Of course, her first choice is the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, a private school in Santa Fe. Being in Santa Fe will allow her to continue as crew on The After After Party, where she's been working for well over 50 episodes.

It'll also allow her to continue to volunteer and do her docent training and animal handling training at the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo.

Her second choice, State University of New Mexico at Las Cruces, is also Tay's first choice school. Tay has already received her offer of admission, so Cay will have a lot to think about when she receives hers. I'll encourage her to wait on acceptance, since it's unlikely that Santa Fe will respond before State does.

These days it seems that colleges are looking for a lot more than the common list of student clubs, volunteer work, test scores and grades. At least in media arts, they're looking for students who are already professionally competitive.

Both girls have learned the importance of having some professional or amateur visibility in their field.

Yet they still have a habit of underestimating or understating the scope and importance of their work.

Today was a good exercise in self reflection, and it's even made me think about sitting down and cataloging my own accomplishments.

But for right now, I'm basking in some of the reflected glow (is that from Bounce Light?) of my young videographer.

Jan 14: Gossamer

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:13:00 +0000

American Rubyspot Damselfly
Hetaerina americana
Photo taken at the Albuquerque BioPark Botanical Garden during Dragonfly Festival last spring.

Rubyspots are an interesting example of "cost" when it comes to adaptations. The bright red spots on the males seem to be terrific for attracting mates, but a hinderance when it comes to acquiring food. Rubyspots with the brightest spots tend to have less hunting success, perhaps due to visibility to prey.

Another Penis Fencing Video

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:04:00 +0000

(Because you know you want it)

Hat tip to Deep Sea News for (trying at least) to post this today.

She's IN!

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:44:00 +0000

My youngest just got her Offer of Admissions from her college of choice. It's a good feeling, for both her and me. Now I've got one more standing in the wings for her turn. And I know it won't be long now...

Today at the Zoo Slideshow:

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:47:00 +0000

The Shape of Their Future:

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:03:00 +0000

Life Photo Meme, Jan 7: Honor an Invert

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:02:00 +0000

Welcome back, to the newly restored Life Photo Meme. This week is Honor an Invert Week, and of course, I'm going to start out with my favorite nudibranch photo from way back, taken at the Cabrillo Aquarium during Sea Fest in 2006:

Acanthodoris Lutea

AKA the Orange Peel Dorid, Acanthodoris Lutea is an intertidal nudibranch of the American Pacific Coast, from Alaska to Baja California, Mexico. When handled, Acanthodoris Lutea emits a scent like sandalwood.

Join this week's Life Photo Meme by adding your link below:

Recovered Graphics

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:38:00 +0000

Every now and then (like today) I go through some old files, and find something I'd done that still tickles me. This is one of those things, made with an online comic creator a few years back:

(click for full size)

Remember When?

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:38:00 +0000

a selection of photos from my childhood showing the style and culture of the day...

Christmas Day. Note the high tech sound system!

My little sister on our new couch, with what kids listened to before there were MP3 players.
The "radio" played one song: 10 Little Indians.

Me, in the "play room" (one of the five rooms in our home, all the kids shared a bedroom)
I'm guessing that's Creepy Crawlers behind the stack of boxes that I'm playing with.

Remember when family vacations looked like this? I do.
BTW, this is Craters of the Moon National Monument.

Remember when we wore our "Sunday Best"?

Introducing KEEP LEFT

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:37:00 +0000

My newest Zazzle store, which will be updated through the year with t-shirts for the 2012 Election.

Get a sneak peak and a first shot to buy the two first designs to be uploaded by clicking on your favorite below:

This it is, and nothing more.

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:17:00 +0000

"While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping..."

The other day I was waiting for the bus downtown when suddenly I heard this bizarre sound, followed closely by a banging noise. I looked up, and saw the reflection shifting in a window of the office building across the street.

Standing on the sill of the window was a crow. He looked around for a moment, then turned back to the window and struck it hard, repeatedly, with his beak. Before I could get the camera out, he turned. I got just one photo before he flew away.

As is often the case, as soon as I put my camera away, he was back, once again furiously tapping at the glass, and once again, I got my camera out just in time to videotape him flying away.

And then, because I didn't put my camera away again, the bus came, and I was left wondering. Was he tapping on his own reflection? Or was there something beyond the tinted window he saw that he wanted? Or was that just Mr. Poe's office?

Nudibranchs ARE Awesome

noreply@blogger.com (Dorid) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:15:00 +0000

Hat tip this morning to Kevin at The Deep Sea News, and to my friends who emailed me the link to this video, knowing what a nudi fan I am.

... And just a reminder: Tomorrow will see the first post of the newly restored Life Photo Meme here. It's the first one of the month, and you know what that means. It's HONOR AN INVERT day.

Yes, it's safe to expect a nudibranch post from me.