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Blinks

Wednesday, 14 May, 2008

• Ten Tasty Tips for Photographing Your Food (via Photojojo): must bear these mind when offering up tasty digital morsels for Michael;
• And speaking of photographing your food, I saw this book in BerkelouW the other day: Face Food: The Visual Creativity of Japanese Bento Boxes. Where do these mums get the time???
• Speaking of food, have you seen cuisine.com.au? Name three ingredients in your fridge and it will endeavour to come up with a recipe for you;

• Speaking of photos, you can now use Photoshop online—for free! (Unfortunately you can't use layers);
• If you know nothing about Photoshop, you should probably view these tutorials: You suck at Photoshop (via Photojojo): They crack me up. Not only are they instructive and practical, they also tell a story. (Warning: contains unsavoury language);
• And still speaking of photos, now you can engrave your Moleskine with an image of your own design (via Guan);
• Rooms (via Philip): A beautifully designed and very simple puzzle game with sliding rooms and doors and other cool (Matrix-y like things). Warning: highly addictive;
• Ysolda interviews Emily Johnson about her Family Trunk project (she is designing and making knitted garments that correspond to members of her family). The etymology of “yarn” is particularly interesting;
• Worldwide Knit In Public (KIP) day: 14 June (Matt and Larissa's wedding ... not sure if they'd like it if I came and Knitted in Public there ...);
• Knitty delights for Spring:
  • Lace ribbon scarf (made this for Bec)
  • Laminaria
  • Spirogyra
• Knitty's instructions on felting (FYI for me later);
• Calcifer as amigurumi (from Howl's Moving Castle);
• Buffy the Concept Slayer: What the slayer has to tell us about philosophy;
• Cookie Monster: A Sweet, Sensual Id, Unfiltered: C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me ...;
• What it really means to be healthy (via Robin McKinley): Guardian article about myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) which is also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). I love this bit:

  Increasingly, I've been thinking: what would it be like if I recovered tomorrow? Having faced years of teasing (some good-natured, some less so) for my supposed laziness, I would doubtlessly seize the opportunity to dive into a full-time job. With it would come status, security and a better salary, but also long hours, long commutes and pressure. Today I can work on my own terms, at my own pace, and I can be home when my son returns from school. Don't misunderstand me. Although I have a far better life—thanks to a supportive family—than many people with ME, I do want to get better. The problem is that the society that “healthy” people live in is just not that healthy. I am caught between the desire to be a “normal” member of society and a recognition that normality has its downsides ...

  ME has forced me to embrace a healthy lifestyle: yet this should be possible for everyone, not just those with a chronic illness. But how many “healthy” people feel obliged to come into work when sick? How many “productive” people feel exhausted much of the time and are dissatisfied with the maelstrom of modern life? Is “pushing yourself” whether you are sick or well always laudable? It is unsurprising that there is disenchantment among many well people at the pressures of daily life.

  Good point.
• And finally, I finished reading Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor by D.A. Carson. It's a biography of his dad, Tom Carson, but it's also a reflection on life in ministry, the spread of the gospel in French-speaking Canada and what it takes to be faithful. Two quotable quotes stood out for me:

  He [that is, Tom Carson, Don's father] complained to Old Mr. Blair that “there just isn't enough time.” Always suspicious of lame excuses and of anything that even hinted at the suggestion that God could have arranged the disposition of time a little better, old Mr. Blair smiled, put his arm around Tom's shoulders, looked directly at him, and quietly said, “Tom, you have all the time there is.” That was all. (p. 28)

  Must remind myself of this whenever I wish for more time.

  Mum used to tell us kids, “Work hard, and play hard, but never confuse the two.” By this she wanted us to know that while we were working, we should not fritter away the hours by squeezing in distractions and various kinds of play. The result would be poor work combined with guilt feelings for a job poorly done. Similarly, when we were playing we were not supposed to be thinking about work because that would dilute some of the regenerative value of downtime. But Dad never learned Mum's simple maxim. The total number of hours he put into his calling each week was excessively high, but occasionally—as much out of fatigue as discouragement—he would permit something else to intrude, and then feel guilty about it. Mum's maxim should be posted on the mirros of most ministers. (p. 93)

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