Gilgamesh

I've been watching a nice Japanese cartoon series called Gilgamesh. It's about some kids who were born with a paranormal power(highly flexible telekinesis, telepathy) and a catastrophe that happened in which the whole lower atmosphere was covered with a mirror-like magnetic field, so no one could see the blue sky. The magnetic field also has the effect of disrupting all electronics equipment, so none can be used, and a sort of steam punk effect is brought out in a creative way. The catastrophe, called Twin X, named for the date it occurred, 10/10, is linked to the finding of the tomb of Gilgamesh and the source of the great catastrophe, which is also somehow linked to the children's power.

In my opinion the plot is well put together. It has a gothic feel to the animation and action flow. The characters are all developed well and with some complexity. There is a fascination with pianos in this series, as a sort of comfort zone for various characters. It's interesting. Also, issues of scientific ethics such as cloning and other DNA modification are explored.

I only have 3 episodes left to go, so I hope it ends well!

Rachel's Art

Rachel sent me some way cool pics of her latest art project!

Let me show you guys:





 

 So this piece is a pair of shows into which Rachel etched the words "I can't even look at that!", echoing the words of her least-favorite teacher in her art department during her most recent review. She then stamped the shoes with black paint all over her studio and a little bit outside her studio.  Supposedly it left one of her teachers speechless ^_^  It expresses her frustration at the callous and inconsiderate expressions some of her teachers have made to her while doing a critique of her art.  

I really like this piece, and I hope you do too :-)

Portabella Cheese Steak

Ingredients:
6-inch sourdough roll
1 yellow onion
1/2 portabella mushroom
3 slices muenster cheese
4 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp olive oil

Dice an onion.  Heat the butter and vegetable oil in a skillet.  Put the onion into the skillet and sautee until brown. Heat olive oil in a skillet.  Cook the portabella mushroom in the skillet until cooked on all sides.  Put mushroom and cheese into the skillet with the onions and sautee until cheese is melted.  Slice the roll lengthwise in half but do not separate the two halves.  Fill a large pot with an inch or two of water.  Place a collander over the pot and put the roll into the collander.  Cover with the pot's lid and set water to boil(You may of course use a proper steamer if you have one).  Once the water boils bring it to a simmer until the roll is moist and soft.  Put the roll onto a plate and carefully empty the contents of the skillet onto the roll.  Enjoy!

Video of Engagement

Rachel and I put together a documentary of our engagement.  
Hope you enjoy it! 

My favorite band right now is Page France.  They have a great innocence to their sound, and the lyrical composition of Michael Nau is genius.  They love to use objects from nature as symbols and occasionally personify them.  They love to use circus analogies. They love to talk about playing instruments, clapping hands, and singing.  The lyrical style is what one might call "random", but they're all well-constructed metaphors.  They use xylophone and organ and a strummy accoustic guitar extensively and bass and drums and electric guitar sparingly.  The female vocals of Whitney McGraw are inserted subtly and give the music the air of a children's song.

Oooo, and they seem to be coming to Champaign in March ^_^

I got engaged!

On Christmas Eve, I got engaged to a lovely girl named Rachel Drum.  
She writes about it in her blog. I took Rachel to Natural Bridge State Park in Kentucky, while we were visiting my Dad's side of the family in Lexington.  I gave to her a Gelin Abaci tension ring holding a white sapphire stone.

We will get married in late July or early August, likely somewhere on the east coast.