testing your memory
“Attention! A thorough test of your memory has begun!”
She chuckles when she reads this message as she observes the hardware test running on her erratically behaving computer, which had been making her grumpy all day.
You are browsing the Blog for Neat stuff Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Marja-Leena Rathje.
by Marja-Leena by Marja-Leena Finnish knitting lesson
(Still from The Last Knit by annekeAnna)
Talk about obsessive-compulsive, this animation is extremely well-done and hilarious.
Thanks to my husband for finding our evening’s laugh medicine. Enjoy!
by Marja-Leena weekend joys
We had a gorgeous sunny day yesterday, perfect for a family gathering to celebrate a daughter’s birthday. Today is a fall day with rain, the house is quiet and I’m catching up with a bit of blog reading before we have more company arriving this evening. It’s been a busy September so far.
This is mesmerizing and joyful: Pipe Dream. Thanks to whiskey river and blaugustine for this wonderful link.
The above photo is of an unusually brilliant sunset we were able to special order for our visitors earlier this month as we were having a walk in Cates Park, North Vancouver. I know, it’s just too pretty!
P.S. Some wild word fun with Buffalo buffalo Buffalo via mirabilis.
by Marja-Leena best gift
A gift suggestion list in this morning’s spam mail:
accident insurance black-throated
jig-jig
long-wedded fog signal
dor bug
qualm-sick equalizing bar
by Marja-Leena Helvetica, a film
Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.
Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day. The film was shot in high-definition on location in the United States, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France and Belgium. It is currently in post-production and is slated to begin screening at film festivals worldwide starting in early 2007.
It sounds quite interesting, or is it just for nerds? I think one of my artist friends, who is very knowledgeable about type, may find it quite fascinating. Set in the context of global visual culture, the film should appeal to artists and graphic designers – I admit to being intrigued.
Check out the interesting links at the Helvetica website. Thanks to Luksus, (a Finnish blog mostly written in English about art and design in Finland and around the world) and the Canadian mirabilis. I hope we get to see this film in Canada.
(Image above is my spontaneous and unprofessional little play with Helvetica in Photoshop. Graphic designers need not be too critical, please.)
by Marja-Leena caught in a web
A long and mighty battle between these two insects outside a window next to our front door had us transfixed with fascination, as well as some horror and pity for the winged creature. We could not identify this winged insect with orange legs and a very long tail appendage with what looks like a very long stinger at the end. It seems to have a body rather like a carpenter ant with large lacy transparent wings.
Husband took lots of great photos of the drama, as winged creature struggled to free himself, flipping over and around the sticky strands that held two of his feet. Here he is upside down with the small spider tentatively approaching, then receding from this kickboxer and his wings in rapid motion.
Here’s another photo, sharpened and turned over to show his appendages and wings more clearly. Anybody know what this winged creature is?
by Marja-Leena slide show: aurora borealis
Ooh, there’s a truly outstanding and beautiful slide show of the Aurora Borealis at Virtual Finland* (from where I’ve borrowed this photo)!
Finland is a leader in the study of the Aurora Borealis, the majestic display of colours that adorns the northern sky. The hub of auroral science is the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory, SGO, in northern Finland, a centre of excellence in geophysics and related disciplines. Experts share their knowledge with Virtual Finland visitors, explaining fact and fiction regarding this cosmic wonder. And when you see our sensational images you’ll know why this is VF’s number one site, with millions of visitors around the globe.
Go see the slide show* and then read the accompanying fascinating articles.
The aurora was the subject of an earlier blog post here.
**Sadly, the links have since expired and are thus removed.
by Marja-Leena weird habits meme
This meme has been going around many Finnish blogs and now I’ve been tagged by SIKURI (written by a Finnish-American blogger and writer, formerly sananlaskija). I’ll do mine in English to open the field since so many Finns that I read have already taken up the challenge.
I’m to list five weird habits of mine and to challenge other bloggers to do the same.
1. I am an artist and a printmaker (what’s that?), who also uses the computer in image making (is that art?).
2. I am a blogger (what’s that?) and addicted to it.
3. I love my computer (they’ve always been Macs) – how geeky.
4. I can’t read, write, or do arithmetic if there’s talk around me.
5. I can’t cook in a messy kitchen. (My family can tell you about my complaints about their bread crumbs and dirty dishes left on the counter.)
Anyone out there want to take up the challenge – c’mon!? Send me a comment when you join in.
Jan.18th: Artist Elise Tomlinson has just posted her 5 weirdest habits!
Jan.19th: And here is new art-blogger Daniel North joining in! Welcome, I’m pleased to meet you! I really like what you say about the international connection, “as more of an interactive art project, plus …the fact that it has crossed the Atlantic”.
ADDENDUM: I’m thinking now how great it is that I’ve gotten comments on this from artists and writers, and two artists have taken up the challenge and posted on their blogs, and wouldn’t it be a great interactive project (as Daniel called it) if more artist bloggers joined in? I started out taking this quite lightly, perhaps a bit flippantly, by referring to my being an artist, printmaker, blogger and computer nut as weird habits – that is from the perspective of people who are not into these activities and don’t understand or appreciate those who do. But here on the internet I have met so many people who are all of these and we understand each other, so I’m not weird at all! Nevertheless I do have some weird habits I’m sure, even if I don’t realize that! Anyways, I’ll stop rambling on, and call out to more artists and writers and of course any bloggers to write about your weird habits. If you are reading this and live outside North America and Finland (where it began), please join in and make this a truly international interactive project.
Jan 21st: Read Printfreak’s list!
Jan.25th: And another great one from Anna of Self-Winding!
by Marja-Leena humour
© Bizarro.com – scanned from Vancouver Sun Nov.26.2005
A little message to yours truly and her obsession with rock art?
by Marja-Leena flash drawing
You must watch this fascinating animated drawing of a skeleton coming to life! It’s been making the blog rounds, but I saw it first at Zeke’s Gallery. As Chris said, it’s “wicked cool”. The source appears to be a Russian site. Any readers out there who can read Russian? Try a drawing yourself!