I'm bad at posting, these days.

Things have been fairly busy, but not to the extent that I have any excuse for never posting. So...uh, oops! Let us play catch up. Here's what I've been up to lately:

1. Blah blah house stuff blah blah. Actually, there's been a lull as we wait to accumulate a bit more cash to pay for more paint and tile, etc.

2. I've been working on making cyanotypes for some of my Christmas gifts this year. The process sounds a little complicated, but actually just finding the right chemicals was the big pain. I went to a camera store close by, and they stared at me blankly when I asked about the stuff I'd need. Eventually, they called a more knowledgeable colleague who directed me to a blueprint store. I called there, and they told me the chemicals aren't made anymore. Hmm. So I called Adray, Century Camera...eventually 6 different places, and everyone either had no clue what it was I was looking for, or told me it was impossible to get the chemicals, or that they cost hundreds of dollars. Double hmm. I realize cyanotypes are not an "everyday" photo process, but I'd expect people working in photography stores to at least have a vague idea of what I was talking about. At one place, they asked me to describe the process and when I said the prints are developed using water the guy told me I must be mistaken.

So... instead I went to the source of all life and things arcane, the internet. Within minutes, I found a little place in IL that sold the chemicals in the quantities I needed for well under $20, even with shipping. I got my package 4 days later. Thank you, Froogle. So nyah to all those nay-saying photo clerks!

I made the ultra-secret UV sensitive concoction, and painted the paper with it, and now I'm just waiting for a sunny day so I can use genuine, all-natural, free-of-charge sunshine to make the prints. And...it's been steadfastly raining. For days. Bleh.

3. The Hillers near us has linguine-style tofu shirataki noodles. I'm in love.

4. I got the cats some bonito flakes rather than their usual treats, which I noticed had various dyes in them. They are in love.

5. The Boy has been home for the weekend, and is at a three day training seminar in St. Clair Shores, which means he's at home part of this week, and then I'll be heading down there soon to hang out with him in Cinci. That should be lovely. More Boy-time.

6. Nihao is looking at me disapprovingly, probably because of the fact that she's not currently inhaling vast quantities of bonito flakes (see point #4).

7. Okami rates among the most beautiful games I've ever seen. It feels as though you're running through a Hokusai painting. The action flows so smoothly, and the story is very fairy-tale inspired, which I adore. One of the lovely and original aspects of the game is that, since the main character is folk tale deity (in the form of a wolf), the player can affect the environment of the game by drawing with a calligraphy brush. A circle stroke in the sky creates a sun to turn night into day. Another stroke across a dead tree brings it bursting into full bloom, and so on. The game doesn't take itself too seriously, at the same time as being engrossing enough to really draw you in. My only complaint so far is that it does a little too much shepherding in terms of letting you know where to go next. At the same time, the player does have a reasonable amount of freedom--I haven't felt railroaded through the storyline. Perhaps the extra guidance will make this game more playable for people who aren't usually gamers. I hope it does really well. I'd love to see more art and folk tale inspired games like this.

Here are a couple examples of environments in the game.
Aaand, that's all for now.