I went broccoli picking! It was during a volunteer trip to a local community farm project dedicated to urban agricultural education and sustainability. I helped tend to rows of brassica (the genus of leafy cruciferous greens, as I learned from the volunteer leader), then grabbed a bucket and hunted for evasive broccoli heads. The fugitive green bouquets were actually rather tricky to spot. It involved a lot of moving leaves aside and following the branching patterns of the stems. The heads are found right at the point at which the thick stems branch out into leaves. Perhaps this whole experience has led me to better appreciate the virtues of broccoli, but we'll see how my taste buds feel about it. It's a bitter, centuries-long battle between kid and vegetable, and I'm not sure I've defected to the adults' camp on the subject yet. I've recently developed an odd affinity for zucchini...but those are botanically fruits.
I'll keep this post short, because glorious Thanksgiving leftovers are calling to me. Happy post-Thanksgiving, folks--keep digesting! Cheers! Clem
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This past weekend, Bing Concert Hall hosted the Sibelius Festival, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Jean Sibelius' birth. I got to sit in on the Stanford Symphony Orchestra's performance of Sibelius' Finlandia and Symphony No. 2 in D major and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no. 1. If you're not yet familiar with the greatness that is Tchaik's Piano Concert No. 1, here is a link to a Monty Python clip for your cultural edification. As a nod to Sibelius' homeland, the hall was bedecked with gorgeous fabrics imported from Finland. The tablecloths were from a series of Sibelius Monument designs from Finnish fabrics manufacturer Vallila. You can click here to learn more about the designs (in English!) The Sibelius Monument in Helsinki kinda reminds me of a pipe organ, although Wikipedia tells me that the purpose of the work was to "capture the essence" of Sibelius' music, not mimic a pipe organ. Ah well, abstract art is open to interpretation.
Anyway, 'tis all for now. Cheers! Clem Happy November! So I've recently discovered a British YouTube morning talk show, Cereal Time, and have been catching up on the videos. I came across one detailing the conception of a novel superhero: Mrs. Radish-head. From the prefix, the assumption is that she's married. I can't help but wonder whether the "Radish-head" part is her maiden or married name. Anyway, here's my visual interpretation of the character in all her Raphanus sativus glory: Also not too long ago, I made a clothespin catapult for a physics project. The objective was to modify a clothespin to launch a mini-marshmallow as far as possible. My team got the marshmallow to travel a whole ten meters. We spent a few hours one afternoon fiddling with items around the house: popsicle sticks, bottle caps, pebbles, a brick. The brick was actually my mom's door-stop in the garage. Since then, we've had to awkwardly hold the door open with our feet while we bring in the groceries. Oops. I should probably replace it. Anyhow, I had a bunch of popsicle sticks left over and was in a creative mood yesterday, so I thought, why not make something? And so, Steve the Popsicle Stick Croc was born... (I know, best origin story ever--from the depths of unwanted surplus and probably-misused time, a reptile emerged...) At least, I assumed it was a crocodile. Someone asked me if it was an alligator, which reminded me of a Wild Kratts episode that I watched with my little cousins (who got me hooked on the series for a while) that covered the differences between crocs and gators. For your edification, a quick, illustrated overview of two key differences, courtesy of yours truly: Will post shortly about the Sibelius Festival/Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 concert that I attended this afternoon.
For now, cheers! Clem |
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