November 2011 Archives

I came across a few cute deer-related items on Etsy. Deer always remind me of November and early December, when the trees are bare and spotted with snow. These deer are perfect for those cold, wintery days.



1) RoyalMint: http://www.etsy.com/people/RoyalMint
This is one of the cutest stuffed deer I have seen, and it is stuffed with personality.

2) dobleele: http://www.etsy.com/shop/dobleele
This cotton fabric has an image of deer stenciled onto it. Simple.

3) Silver for my Magpie: http://www.etsy.com/people/silverformymagpie
Deer antlers are cool for ear-rings.

4) abbyberkson: http://www.etsy.com/shop/abbyberkson
I love the cuteness of this deer mug. The little deer is dressed for winter.

5) VirtualDesignLab: http://www.etsy.com/shop/virtualdesignlab
This is a nice piece of art for the wall to give it some dimension.

6) MarmarSuperstar: http://www.etsy.com/people/marmarsuperstar
I love the cute deer badge, and the shop also features many more cute animals.

(Note that all photographs are credited to their Etsy shops.)

A few weeks ago, I went to the European Drift Allstars final at Wembley stadium in London to watch cars competing at drifting around a track in front of the stadium. Surprisingly, the weather was fairly good, although a little chilly with a few spots of rain, for the end of September. I was on camera as well, next to the fourth place driver (from Bulgaria) and his car at the interviews at the end of the races, while the camera crew captured the mood. It was a good day out with access to the pits and to see the drivers and their cars.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my visitors from the United States. I have compiled a list of autumn natural artwork as we continue our journey to the end of autumn. It is not quite winter yet. Hopefully these bright colours will put a smile on your faces.

Cindy Columbia: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TwigsAndLace
This colourful artwork features illustrated leaves.

A few weekends ago, I visited The Pumpkin Festival, which was held at Royal Victoria Country Park near Southampton in Hampshire. The highlights of the festival included a walkway of scarecrows, and giant pumpkins and squash. Foods made of pumpkin were celebrated and put up for sale, and I tried some pumpkin soup. I love pumpkin, and unfortunately puree pumpkin was nowhere to be found. (Luckily, I still have a tin can of pumpkin to use for my yummy pumpkin cookies.)

A pilgrimage was made to Canterbury during a weekend away in Kent, England. It's been over ten years since I visited the walled city, and I enjoyed this time much more than my first visit. Most of the day was spent in Canterbury Cathedral, where many of these photographs were taken. (Canterbury Cathedral is the burial place of king Henry IV and other notable historical figures.) 

Here is a tool that may come in useful for web developers; in a click of a button (after typing or copying and pasting a URL, of course), developers can see what technologies any given website uses. (Of course, the same can be achieved with Firebug with some analysis.)

http://underthesite.com

The Washington Post Social Reader was one of the new applications announced at the annual facebook conference in September. This application gives FaceBook users access to view and share articles and see what their friends have read without leaving the social media website. In addition, news will be tailored to each individual user based on their profile and the past stories that they have read or stories that their friends have read; this tailoring is done using Trove, and other media companies are beginning to use technology that tailors news stories to viewers (1). In addition, users will also have the ability to tailor news stories based on the categories that they are interested in.

The Guardian have launched a similar application, and others will probably do the same, depending upon the success.



Unfortunately, just over a month after the launch of the Washington Post Social Reader, the application seems to be down, so I have not been able to access it. This may be due to high volumes; apparently a million users have added the application within the three weeks after its launch (2). However, many of these users are probably simply trying out the service and will not become regular users, and the application being down does not help.


1) Isaac, Mike. A First Look at Social Reader, WaPo's New FaceBook App. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/09/facebook-social-reader-wapo/ [22 September, 2011].

2) Harbison, Niall. Facebook app helps newspaper get 1 million new readers within 3 weeks. http://www.simplyzesty.com/technology/uncategorized/facebook-app-helps-newspaper-get-1-million-new-readers-within-3-weeks/ [15 October, 2011].

I booked a tour of the Carr-Taylor winery in mid-October during the grape harvest season. The tour involved learning about growing grapes and the wine-making process used at the winery. At the end of the tour, we sampled various wines and made purchases of our favourites.

I love these cute illustrations and diagrams printed onto a range from cards to bottle openers, and cloth bags to tea towels. "Girls Can Tell" is a printing business run by Sara Selepouchinin in Philadelphia; Sara creates the illustrations (inspired by her degree in mechanical engineering and architecture) and prints each one by hand. On the inspiration behind the drawings for these objects, Sara states that "the belief that surrounding yourself with things that make you smile is totally important". I can't agree more; life is much better surrounded by good design and little things that make one feel content.

I have added a few of my favourites here. What gardener would not love a bottle opener with garden tools or a BBQ? I absolutely love the Eiffel Tower diagram coaster, and the tea towel with different types of glasses is perfect for any lover of fine wine or spirits (or a chilled pint).



View Sara's website: http://www.girlscantell.com/

View Sara's Etsy website to admire and/or make a purchase: http://www.etsy.com/people/girlscantell

Red Bull are hosting a video competition with the star of the video being the Red Bull can. The best animations in three separate categories (drawn, CGI, and stop-motion) will receive a prize. Prizes are then put into two additional categories: students and non-students. Prizes include a month internship at Aardman Studios (makers of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run) or other creative agencies, laptops, and animation software. Trial versions of the software to create the animations can be downloaded from the Red Bull Canimation website.

Some of the animations have been placed into a gallery, which are available on the website. Flying horses, grannies attacking handbag-snatchers, airplanes, dancing animals, and Red Bull can rockets are some of the representations in the animations. The image below is a screenshot from the animation submission by Kat Willott.



The deadline for entries is the 15th of November, so hurry if you want to submit an animation.

http://canimation.redbull.co.uk/

With the fifth of November upon us (known as 'Bonfire Night', celebrating the end of Guy Fawkes and his plot of treason to assassinate the king in Great Britain), we can see other themes of unrest and unhappiness with people and institutions of power four-hundred years later.

"Occupy London" is a movement made by a group of protesters angry with the banks and the financial crisis, which has been set up camp next to St. Paul's Cathedral in London. A second camp has since been set up in Finsbury Square. The protests were sparked off by similar protests made around the world. Topics ranging from banks sparking the financial crisis to unfair pay, job losses, and equality are addressed in posters and banners at the camp.

I visited the site a few days during the protests with my camera, and the results are below.

1) http://www.blottshop.com/