Mysteries of the universe

In their unheralded attempt to put the "science" back into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Academy Sci-Tech Council had a presentation last Wednesday night about the making of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The title of the program was chosen by Tom Hanks who is clearly one of the all-time biggest 2001 nerds. He was joined by Doug Trumbull who was the visual effects supervisor (all of 24 years old) on the film. (Little known fact: Doug was Rob's boss when Rob and I were first engaged. Rob worked for Doug's effects company, EEG, while they were doing the effects on Blade Runner.) Doug didn't work on a ton of films, but his credits include Andromeda Strain, Silent Running, and Close Encounters. Not a bad list.

 Tom Hanks announced that Buzz Aldrin was in the audience (insert standing ovation here) and then said, "Buzz Aldrin is the one man in the room that can watch 2001 and say, 'Now that looks fake!  Earth's too big! And those mountains are too pointy!'"  When a scene appeared where we were told the actress was wearing velcro shoes, Tom would say, "Hey Buzz, why not velcro shoes?" Or when one scene had tables with ashtrays, Tom called out,  "Buzz? Ashtrays in space? Really?"

2001 was done in the olden days before computers were used for special effects. I guess that's what was most amazing. Every "computer screen" on the spaceship was actually a small film being projected. The "vector graphics" were actually wire models that were filmed to look like computer images. To build the Discovery spaceship model, Doug would order 1000 M-1 tank model kits and "kit-bash" the parts, repurposing them from earth to space. On the other hand, the way Doug figured out to create the planet Jupiter was a process so complex that Rob is absolutely giddy with joy that he now understands a fraction of it. We walked away in complete astonishment of Doug's creativity and engineering skills. And he was only 24.

Tom Hanks was the ultimate fan-boy when 2001 came out (1968) and knows every frame of the movie backwards and forwards. He (like many in the audience, including Rob) built the model of the Orion spaceship (Rob ordered his kit off the back of a Chips Ahoy box), and he (like many in the audience, including Rob) listened to the soundtrack "800 million times."  And then he told what it was like being a 14 year old trying to explain the "starchild" to his sister's stoner boyfriend... Yep. Definitely a fan. In the company of fans.

Afterwards we talked with/fawned over Doug and then oogled the memorabilia on display in the lobby. I met a fellow (shown below) proudly carrying a 2001 doll. I asked him where he got it and he said that an Italian company made only 500 of them and he got his at an auction at the Playboy Mansion. The incongruity of a grown man standing in the Academy lobby, holding a doll he won at the Playboy Mansion, will just have to remain one of the mysteries of the universe. 

(A.) Looking for George Clooney and (B.) why I love laser-guided cruise control

(A.)  No, this is not another pathetic attempt to put a photo of George on the blog. While waiting for the plane to take off to Chicago last week, Rob whispered in my ear that he overheard the flight attendants saying that George Clooney was going to be on that flight. We were seated early and had upgraded to First. So tell me what else could I do but to try to look at every single face that appears through the door to see if it's George? 

I love airports and I love looking at people in airports. For the same reason I love looking at people in the DMV office. Everyone sooner or later flies somewhere and everyone sooner or later has their license renewed so there's your chance to witness a fabulous cross section of your fellow man. Under normal conditions, I would be looking at everyone coming into the plane. But this could not under any circumstance be considered normal conditions, and, thus, I only had eyes for George.

You probably can guess what happened. George was a no-show. Did he have a change of plans? Did he miss the flight? Held up in security? All I know is that in looking for George, I missed everything and everyone else. My pre-flight passenger check consisted of evaluating each and every passenger as: not-George, not-George, not-George, etc. My pre-flight passenger check was about what I didn't see, oblivious to what I did see. 

Ah, you know I'm going to pull out a life lesson here, don't you? Once we fill in the blank with what we think we want to see and then define our happiness by that which we think we want to see, life slips down the aisle, avoiding our gaze. While we look for George.

(B.) Laser-guided cruise control changed my life. I set the speed, I set the distance between me and the car in front of me, I relax. The car in front slows down, my car miraculously slows down too. The car in front speeds up, my car miraculously speeds up too. I don't understand it, but that's part of the fun.

So, now I'm a different driver. I let my car do the work. I'm still looking out for whatever I'm supposed to be looking out for, but I am no longer anxious or angry when I'm doing it. I'm fascinated with the process of giving up control.

This has (not surprisingly) spilled over into other parts of my existence. In my life, as in my driving, I'm not exactly closing my eyes and taking my hands off the wheel, but I'm just not as concerned with what the other guy is doing. My pleasure comes from getting from point A to point B and what everyone else does or doesn't do isn't in the long run going to help or hurt me. I just keep the tank filled and the radio on and enjoy the ride. 

There's a lot of drama on the road but when you're gliding along without much effort on your part, how other people drive seems less important. As long as they're not tailgating or flipping you off, then you're able to keep going with your inner poise intact and seem less inclined to scream or drive off a cliff.

I guess this post is about happiness. It doesn't come from getting what you want. And it does come from moving ahead with some degree of calm. That's all.

Rob's Little Helpers

Rob has spent half the weekend reconfiguring our vast array of electronics, plugging and unplugging, running to Fry's and back, more plugging and unplugging, more runs to Fry's. And he's lucky to have two very relaxed little helpers continually by his side for moral support. (click photo to enlarge)

Beautiful surprises in my garden

I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore by the lovely things that appear in my garden. But I am. I really don't have too much to say about them. The lovely things mostly speak for themselves.

My adorable bowls-o'-succulents from Lowe's...

A big thank you to whoever came up with the idea for these leaves...

I would be happy staring at this color all day long and doing nothing else with my life forever and ever.

A bougainvillea and geranium outburst.

Exotic stuff.

One tree, different lighting, lots of colors.

My wandering grape vine.

Pine cone trap.

 Perfect threesome.

Baby oranges!

Baby grapes!

Baby strawberries!

And, saving the best for last, baby pears!

Chameleons, Orcas, Zombies, Dreamworks, Rooftops, and Mothers' Day

Our visit to Providence was way more than we'd anticipated. I'll sum it up in this post as best I can, but it involved all of the things listed in the title of this post, including Mothers' Day. (Every time I write "Mothers' Day" I have to check myself so that I don't end up as the target of one of our favorite websites, apostropheabuse.com, which by the way just yesterday posted one of my submissions from our trip to Venice Beach and, no, that's not a shameless plug.)

Since we're about at the end of her/our four year Providence adventure, I couldn't help but be flooded with memories of the beginning of said adventure - when Claire and I first set foot in the city and started looking at the school. She walked into the RISD Nature Lab and exclaimed, "Did they do this just for me?" She had found her home. 

We went back there to see Kate and Andrew who were working there (and because we love it almost as much as Claire does). They showed us an adorable baby snake, horrifying beetles, albino frogs, sweet turtles, and one ornery chameleon named Prince Oprah. Kate held out a mealworm with her long tweezers and Prince O snapped it up with his extra long tongue.

While Rob bonded with the bear, and I with the chameleon, Emily bonded with the snake.

And apparently Kate and Andrew had bonded with each other, as was evidenced by this sign (which is supposed to tell students where the "monitors" - i.e. lab workers - are at the moment.)

One of our favorite parts of visiting colleges is getting to sit in on classes. In a stroke of wonderful timing, we were able to sit in on a "character creation" class taught by Shanth Enjeti. The assignment was to create two characters - a protagonist and an antagonist. They posted their designs on the wall and Shanth explained what worked and what didn't work. Before he started, we looked at all the work and loved every bit. After hearing Shanth, we had to agree with his assessment. Claire's protagonist was a baby orca in a parka and the antagonist was a tall somewhat menacing-looking seal. 

Later we went to a party on the top of one of the older buildings in town. It had been converted into loft apartments, but the top was a garden and wonderful view. We all were ready to hand over the first month's rent to reserve a space.

The party was for a collaboration between a local production company, StoryHat, and the RISD illustration department. Twelve students were chosen to brainstorm and develop characters for an animated movie. Claire had signed a non-disclosure agreement so she couldn't tell us anything about the project. But at the party, the founder of StoryHat (below) told us that one of Claire's drawings was currently in a presentation to Dreamworks, which felt remarkably satisfying and, as Rob calls it, "circle of life-ish." (On a side note, Rob met another man from StoryHat, Michael Corrente, who directed five movies shot by our good friend, Richard Crudo. Small world.)

Andrew, Kate, and Em make a Claire sandwich.

Below (in his perpetual orange sweatshirt) is another of her favorite professors, Nick Jainschigg. (His website makes strangely intriguing sounds.) I love his A-Painting-A-Day idea and had previously bought one of his pear paintings. Nick was the one who had to buy two sets of Claire's tiles on CafePress. When asked why two he said, "What if I break one?"  Click here for a link to the tiles. (Good news is that she's currently selling them at her cost. But please note that they're a little on the PG-13 side...)

Next stop, Andrew's dorm room where he showed us his short film, Working Stiffs, which is a mockumentary about zombies. Then he showed us a photo of a zombie that he created. Turns out the zombie was Claire. None of us recognized her. Below, he's showing how he made a silicone mold of her everyday ear so he could make her a set of pointy-droopy zombie ears.

And below is normal Claire beside the image of pointy-droopy-eared zombie Claire. (Click on zombie Claire image to enlarge to scary proportions.) I vastly prefer normal Claire.

The last day of the trip was Mothers' Day. In Providence with daughters and Rob. Perfection.

The "Man Wall" and other things found in Claire's dorm room

This is the "Man Wall" that greets one upon entering Claire's dorm suite. It has certainly grown more comprehensive since the beginning of the year and represents all the men whom the dorm mates deem worthy of their attention. The latest addition is a photo of Robert Morse from "How to Succeed in Business" so they're nothing if not versatile in their taste.

Above is Claire's half of the room, complete with Claire.  Below is Kelly's half, complete with a partially completed self portrait.

This being the end of the year and the end of the four years, there was lots o' art to show us. Below is part of her series of "18th Century Subversive Toile" work which she has made into greeting cards, invitations, tiles, and paper plates and cups. 

Here are some results of her fabric design class.

And we bid a fond farewell (for today) to the dorm room. More to come....

Claire and friends have a clue...

Claire and her roommates Kelly and Kate, along with friends Beth, Elisa, Molly, and Eloise, had the opening of their senior art show last night.  The poster they made to advertise the show was a re-creation of advertising for the game "Clue." It was perfect. They also had individual portraits of themselves in character. Good poster = lots of show attendees.

The show ranged from wild animal portraits, to large scale self portraits, to jewelry, to stuffed animals, to stuffed corsets, to concept designs for a horror movie, to animated character designs. It warmed our hearts to see so much skill and imagination and camaraderie and creativity and beauty all packed into one room and made me feel like it's a great time to be a young woman today.

Claire and Em with Claire's new business card.

"And over here to my right are some tapirs..."

Claire's pen and ink drawings, fabric designs, and steam-punk corset. She printed the corset fabric herself, complete with rivets and portholes and rust. It looks like a submarine corset. It's an understatement (no pun intended) to say you've never seen anything like it...

Backside of corset.

Older woman looking at Claire's nekkid drawings... Eek!

Em and her Revolutionary War reenactor friend, Will, who is working on his PhD at Brown University.  His field of study, not surprisingly, is "Discipline in the 18th century British Army." 

More drawings and paintings.  I love that Maribou Stork....

Claire and friend Maddy Carr

I just love this photo...

Em and me standing right in front of the "18th Century Subversive Toile" tiles (her description, not mine) that I was hoping would be in the photograph. Arggh.  They're available for purchase on CafePress and when her professor found that out, he left to order some!

Rob and me with Deatheater mask and corset. (Not to be worn at the same time.)

I just realized I have no photos of Hummels all together that evening. Hmmm. Probably should ask Claire to work something up in Photoshop. I don't have a clue...