Scroll down for underwear patterns. With a sewing machine, I'd bet making your first pair would take you a long, annoying afternoon, but if you wanted to make ten or so, by the fifth it'd be about an hour's work each.
Does anyone know a good place to get a sewing machine overhauled in Manhattan? Mine jams constantly, and I'm not sure whether it's just a piece of crap or if it can be adjusted to stop doing that.
What do you make curtains with, Gonerill?
A device used for making Halloween costumes after being sufficiently bullied by one's children.
Stupid question [off topic]:
If you were buying takeout sushi, say a mixture of nigiri, gunkan and temaki, how many pieces per person would you buy [as a meal, not as a starter]?
[6, 8, 10?]
per person? I'd err high. 10 at the least.
Just this morning I bought amazing underwear off the internet.
I know I've eaten 20, when they really seemed unlimited. I'll bet I could go much higher, and George Kennedy will now take your bets.
5: Yeah. Somehow "But Mommy's billable hours are really lagging" never seems to compete with the big, understanding-but-disappointed-to-the-core eyes. Word to the wise -- furry fabric hides a multitude of shitty stitches.
google trends lets you see which cities prefer "ass" to "tits" and vice versa.
(In retrospect "shitty stitches" was perhaps an inopportune turn of phrase in a post about hand made undies.)
staple shoulder straps to a big box and decorate the outside. Car and robot are easy, and even young kids can usefully contribute effort.
11: I actually usually get suckered by appeals to my vanity. "But you can make anything!" Which I can, slowly, painfully, and with indifferent results and a whole lot of cursing.
Isn't furry fabric a bitch on a sewing machine, jamming wise? Or are you hand-tailoring?
13: Not this time; too attenuated. At least three topics beyond the posted one in a dozen comments.
The model in the linked ad would be vastly more appealing without the high heels, because of course the panties-and-high-heels looks says 'porn.' Without the heels, it'd be more like 'Hi sweetie, you're looking cute this morning. Hey wait, did that used to be my t-shirt?'
Now that Gonerill's on a mission to buy a sewing machine, I humbly offer that Super Bowl Sunday is an excellent time to buy one. Lots of sales at sewing shops.
What do you make curtains with, Gonerill?
Erm, when life gives me lemons?
Hrm. Like one of those 70s beaded curtains, only with really big beads and eventual mold? Avantgarde.
Isn't furry fabric a bitch on a sewing machine, jamming wise? Or are you hand-tailoring?
I'm a bitch on a sewing machine. Seriously, I have no particular talent other than knowing how to thread the machine and push the pedal. I have not had any more difficulty with fur than with ordinary fabric. And the fur seriously covers up some less-than-perfect stitches. Also, furry costumes rock when your trick-or-treater must brave the bitter northern climate.
Okay, only that first part should have been italicized...
Hrmph. Maybe next year. This year's request was a commercially available Wonder Woman costume ("The kind with a skirt. I don't understand why she's in a bathing suit sometimes.") Which, yay, because this has not been a good month for tailoring.
Newt wants some video-game character -- MegaMan -- but I haven't been able to get him to show me a picture of what exactly he wants yet. Internet searches give me a whole bunch of different costumes under that rubric.
Oh, I thank heavens for Harry Potter. Commercially available robe plus school uniform underneath. Happy kid, no mama cursing at the sewing machine.
Oh, and Jesus McQ -- are you serious about Super Bowl Sunday sales? Because my 1950's hand-me-down model may be due for replacing...
The model in the linked ad would be vastly more appealing without the high heels, because of course the panties-and-high-heels looks says 'porn.'
I see what you mean, and I suppose it does.
But it leaves me wondering whether it's possible for those of us from another era to see things without making the connection, consciously or not. Or whether it infects everything, and age of exposure, time of life, etc. are unimportant.
I used to own 23 different Skinny Puppy tee-shirts. Some day I will instead have a Skinny Puppy quilt. I don't think my wife wants Skinny Puppy panties.
Ahem. I bought underwear. Wouldn't you like to know what kind?
(They will go unappreciated IRL, alas.)
furry fabric hides a multitude of shitty stitches.
Fleece!!! Which doesn't even require serging.
PK wants to be a ghost this year. Sheet and scissors, here we come.
he model in the linked ad would be vastly more appealing without the high heels, because of course the panties-and-high-heels looks says 'porn.'
Right, as opposed to the see-through shirt, the smile and combed hair, and the third picture with her ass sticking out, laughing like she's having the time of her life.
I dunno about you, but when I'm doing laundry in my underwear (or hanging around in my underwear, period), I'm usually doing so with uncombed ratty hair and a pissy expression on my face.
29: Have you been shopping from the International Male catalog again? And if you wear them to DCcon, I'm sure someone will have the courtesy to depants you.
when I'm doing laundry in my underwear ... I'm usually doing so with uncombed ratty hair and a pissy expression on my face.
You're shattering people's illusions about domesticity.
29
Sloggi? [fuck knows why I am guessing]
Obviously, Hamilton, you need briefs that say "skinny puppy" on them.
Smasher, we want to see them on you. Preferably with high heels and a cute, fuck-me pose.
30: Well, it's the difference between an unrealistic 'porn' fantasy image, and an unrealistic 'domestic bliss' fantasy image. Not realism, but different fantasies.
BTW, everyone congratulate me. I've been married for a decade, as of right about this minute.
32: Shattering illusions is my stock in trade.
Can I just say I love the new babysitter I've borrowed from a friend? She does dishes and sweeps the floor, man. And she brings her 2 year old for PK to entertain/play with. I keep paying her for an extra hour out of sheer gratitude and the terror that some day she'll say she's not available.
Serging. I've heard of that... None of the fabrics I sew require serging. Even if they do, they learn to live without it.
Not skinny puppy. T-Rex.
Congrats, LB! I will not tempt you with images of my International Jock purchases.
35: Congratulations!!!
Isn't the "domestic bliss" fantasy pretty much a version of the porn fantasy? Pretty girl, perpetually available and interested in sex, and more wholesome looking than those tramps with the acrylic nails.
Congrats LB -- just goes to show, the domestic bliss fantasy really can come true!
I don't know where "perpetually" comes from, though. To remind you of times, to suggest a world where there were such times, seems a different thing.
Congrats! The majority never get this far.
Does the sewing machine in question jam in the material (that is, is it a needle jam) or is the spindle/motor proper jamming?
I don't think my wife wants Skinny Puppy panties.
I want Skinny Puppy panties! No, not for me!
max
['The underwear site looks like they do good work, but why do they have the whole precious thing going on?']
43: Not so much with the tidily combed hair, admittedly, or the perpetual availability, given the hours I work. But we are goddammit domestic.
Oh, I thank heavens for Harry Potter.
The other day a colleague told me she had sent a student to talk to me about something, and said student had reported back to her, saying, "All I could think was, 'Harry Potter! Harry Potter!'." Maybe I should invest in a costume.
And blissful, LB. Domestic and blissful.
BTW, everyone congratulate me. I've been married for a decade, as of right about this minute.
Hey, that's great! Congratulations! 10th is tin, I'm afraid. But maybe Buck could modernize and buy a portfolio of mining futures for you.
re: 47
Robes are great. The whole 'swooping like Batman the Dark Knight through gloomy cloisters' bit is addictive.
LB: I don't know from costumes, but this is the classic Mega-Man in his standard outfit. Basically just a blue helmet (kinda like the pilot helmets in Star Wars) with lighter blue tights and then dark blue undies over the tights (in the classic superhero style). Also, really big dark blue gloves and boots. Sometimes his right forearm is a cannon instead of a fist, as shown in the right picture. Seems like a pretty easy costume in the scheme of things.
Or were you looking particularly for costume designs that you could mimic?
47: They sell some great creams these days to help minimize the appearance of that scar.
Does the sewing machine in question jam in the material (that is, is it a needle jam) or is the spindle/motor proper jamming?
Well, the stitch-backwards-to-make-a-knot-at-the-end-of-the-seam lever just doesn't work anymore, and I get these giant tangles of thread on the wrong side of the material all the time. (I think fiddling with the stitch tension is supposed to fix that, but not in any way I can figure out.)
So is the "perpetual availability" from the associations with that look, as Jesus McQ suggests? Is that what I'm not getting?
51: I want to buy something, not make it, this year. But costumes marked MegaMan seem to be in all sorts of different colors. I just have to pin Newt down at the computer and get him to show me what I'm supposed to be approximating.
I have to admit that purchased costumes have come a very long way from the days of the cheap mask and plastic overbib with the character's picture printed on front.
I do feel foolishly overindulgent with the Halloween costumes (back when I was a kid, I got dance-class leotards, add ears and a tail, and burnt-cork whiskers four years out of five). But I like dressup, and the kids enjoy it too -- last year's Nausicaa outfit got plenty of wear.
I just have to pin Newt down at the computer and get him to show me what I'm supposed to be approximating.
Well, this costume looks the closest out of the early Google results (man, there are some weird new Mega Man costumes online in terrible colors). I'm sure Newt would approve.
Congrats, LB.
10th is tin, I'm afraid.
Apparently, tin is traditional, while the modern gift is diamond jewellery. But who's responsible for this codification of gift-giving, anyway?
57: Oh, I'm totally the same way. Also with the homemade birthday cakes, as I think we've discussed.
We were homemade costumers too, when I was growing up, and when the kids were small we did some of that. But it seems a lot more energy has gone into Purim, in our house, and Halloween largely fallen by the wayside.
Is Halloween the only costume event in most people's calendars, or are there other Carnivals in people's lives that take their dynamic from that tradition?
Sorry to be going Bahktin at this hour.
59: Yeah, I've been justifying getting Buck speakers (one of the bookshelf models suggested in the earlier thread -- thanks for all the advice!) with some incompletely worked out train of thought along the lines of speakers -- loudspeaker -- megaphone -- horn -- tinhorn gambler -- tin. I don't think it actually works, but I've got a story.
Perhaps the speakers are so nice that they even sound good to your tin ear.
Quick Man was indisputably Mega Man's coolest enemy, with Wood Man coming in at a distant second.
What objects of value, suitable for a gift, would have been made of tin anyhow? Or is "tin" here one of those more generic words that have become more specific over time, like "corn" and "cattle?"
Well, the stitch-backwards-to-make-a-knot-at-the-end-of-the-seam lever just doesn't work anymore, and I get these giant tangles of thread on the wrong side of the material all the time. (I think fiddling with the stitch tension is supposed to fix that, but not in any way I can figure out.)
{visualizes imaginary sewing machine for a coupla minute}
Ooooooo. Ok, so this is gonna be an older (mid-80's or earlier, perhaps) model so it's semi-mechanical? The regular tension adjustment should be one-shot. That lever (and others, depending on how much electronics the machine has) should move a bar inside the machine - one of the things it would do is add additional tension to the thread, since all the patterns will use different tensions. And that implies you've got a broken/stripped/cracked gear. I'm pretty sure you won't be able to get it fixed, unless it is a lot newer than I imagine, since the replacement parts won't be made anymore. Probably better off using the repair money to get a new one.
max
['Not a normal adjustment, sadly.']
Congrats, LB. We just had our seventh last week.
are you serious about Super Bowl Sunday sales?
I've always noticed them around here. Makes sense, certainly.
Congrats, LB.
'Smasher, show us the undies. LB can resist temptation.
Don't click, LB! Yours is a happy and costumed home.
65: Didn't pots and pans used to be tin? That's what I think of a tinker as fixing. I'm guessing that after ten years of marriage, you could probably use some new cookware.
66: Ok, so this is gonna be an older (mid-80's or earlier, perhaps) model so it's semi-mechanical?
Nope, new in the mid-90s, but it's pretty darn mechanical -- no visible electronics I can see.
70: Tres fetching, although I think I'd prefer a more traditional bandanna pattern, white on blue rather than blue on white.
LB: 10 years for you, 152 days for me. Yay us!
And as for the costume issues, well, let's just say that we'll have a bit of time before Mrs. NCP and I are dealing with that.
I can't fulfill your requests, LB, I just can't. I beg you not to implore.
Congratulations, LB. Did you end up buying speakers?
74: Ooo, you're just so appealing when you're begging. Go on, beg some more.
75: I did -- deciding between the various options proffered by settling on bookshelf speakers, and then picking at random from the ones recommended. If they suck, I'll go back and figure out who recommended the specific ones I got, and then bitch at them.
The copywriter-cuteness of the post title jars me a bit: I keep thinking of right-wing Christians, and their intimate apparel.
In the realm of variations on this theme, I suppose "thunderwear" has long since been used for something.
re: 77
Which ones, out of curiosity?
The M3V2 on the linked page. If they suck, it's Bave's fault.
I suppose "thunderwear" has long since been used for something.
The original and most widely worn concealed holster available anywhere in the world!
some incompletely worked out train of thought along the lines of speakers -- loudspeaker -- megaphone -- horn -- tinhorn gambler -- tin. I don't think it actually works, but I've got a story.
Someone's been practicing law too long.
81: with it's patented "3 Layer Moisture Barrier" not just one layer to protect your firearm!
The mind reels.
re: 80
Those look nice. Stellar reviews.
Yeah -- I do feel sort of bad about violating our general non-aggression pact with relation to anniversaries (Buck is completely stuck for something to get me, and is kind of wrecked about it), but not bad enough to not get him something I think he'll like.
85: No he's not. He's bluffing. He's already gotten something amazing.
I love the little animated gif where she puts down the puppy and they both pull guns while she makes a cross porn star face!
85–86: My friend tells me that every year, her husband tells her that her Christmas present is being delayed for some reason or another and that they're not going to be able to exchange gifts on Christmas morning, and even though she knows it's coming every year, he manages to convince her.
Nope. I suck to buy for -- I really don't wear jewelry, because I lose it, and that makes me sad. (And I fiddle with it endlessly. I've given up completely on earrings, because tugging on them all day makes my ears sore.) I don't use electronic gadgets: the iPod he got me gathers dust. Pretty much, I go to work and I read novels.
I could use a couple of new suits, but I'm not expecting him to take me to Brooks Brothers and buy me a suit. That would be silly. (Sweet, but not something I'm expecting him to schlep downtown to do.)
89: (I ask in all earnestness) Something decorative?
Those speakers are a horrible temptation. They ship to England and price in pounds.
Got one. Graduation from law school present Tag Heuer that doesn't leave my wrist for months at a time. (The great thing about diving watches is that there's no need to run the risk of misplacing them created by having to take them off in the shower. And the rotating bezel is good for timing stuff.)
Really, there isn't a material object I don't have that I'd be happy to own, short of things like real estate. It's a nice place to be in, but it makes gift-giving occasions a misery for family.
93 to 90.
91: Maybe, but our apartment's kind of full of stuff. I suppose we have some blank wall space to hang pictures on, but I'm not jonesing for anything.
The obvious answer is a new sewing machine! Could anything be more romantic?
An e-reader! Or a five-pack of massage gift certificates!
Heh. Considering that he got me the last one, and it hasn't functioned all that well (and I really don't use it a lot -- once or twice a year), I doubt that's what he's thinking.
Based on earlier comments posted from work at midnight, a long holiday in the Pacific might be a good gift.
95: To symbolize the love that binds the fabrics of your lives...
Art? Blown glass, turned wood, 18th century drypoints?
A case of unreasonably excellent wine?
Or a five-pack of massage gift certificates!
This is actually not a bad idea at all. I may suggest that to him.
Really, there isn't a material object I don't have that I'd be happy to own
I know a number of other people (my father, for instance) who think this about themselves. With a little though it's usually possible to come up with an interesting gift that they enjoy. I frequently recommend buying people tickets to concerts or sporting events or something, but I'm not sure either of those are good for LB.
Really, there isn't a material object I don't have that I'd be happy to own, short of things like real estate. It's a nice place to be in, but it makes gift-giving occasions a misery for family.
Mrs. Ruprecht is very emotionally attached to gift exchanges, and I am exactly the opposite. I told her that material objects fall into three categories: I already have it, I don't want it, or I can't afford it. For a long time she persisted in trying to find the unicorn that would constitute an exception to this, and that made for some unhappy birthdays and anniversaries. Finally I had to start deferring some planned purchases and putting them on an Amazon wishlist so that she could buy me something I wanted. This struck her as cold and somehow less meaningful than the traditional surprise gift, but it was better than the alternative.
The argument that finally persuaded her of the merits of my position: "You remember all those people who got us wedding gifts that weren't on the wedding registry, on the theory that it would be somehow more special? You remember how pissed you were that the things you really wanted went unbought while you got a bunch of crap you didn't want? It's like that."
I frequently recommend buying people tickets to concerts ... but I'm not sure ... those are good for LB.
Yes, the special refined higher music-loving part of her soul is missing.
Ogged's got the correct idea.
Spa gift certificates are always a good gift for people who aren't good about giving themselves treats.
104: I like to think of my self as not quite fully human in this regard -- soulless, but trainable enough to be allowed indoors.
Perhaps a water buffalo for some impoverished family?
103: precisely describes a hurtful divide in our marriage too. Guess which side I'm on?
Mrs. Ruprecht is very emotionally attached to gift exchanges, and I am exactly the opposite.
Annoyingly, I really like getting people presents -- delighting someone with something they wouldn't have bought for themselves but love is fun. And I like getting them too, in theory, but in practice there just isn't stuff that I want.
107: If you're looking to support a family, I'll volunteer mine.
re: 106
I prefer not to be judgemental about the zombies in our midst. My dad is the same way. He only really likes music when he's drunk. The rest of the time, it passes him almost completely by.
Hi, my name is Juan Campos. I wonder if anyone on this blog can help me contact the 16 year old who commented on this blog in 2006 her abortion after having being raped. She said she would have called the baby Rebecca Ann Smithers.
The top of the discussion on that page says something about stopping my hert beat and somewhere along the line the name of Rosalind Hursthouse, a prolife philosopher, was mentioned.
My email. juanserpent@yahoo.es
110: But what would you do with a water buffalo? Are they suitable for barbeque and bacon?
I said I was soulless, not that I lack qualia. I'm absolutely dripping with qualia.
I know we're past this topic now, but may I ask:
Any suggestions on making an Athena-helmet for my 3.5 yr old? I imagine that some sort of Classical helmet of plastic is available for purchase somewhere, but I'd just as soon go simple/homemade. I'm thinking cotton skullcap plus fabric (cardboard) cheekguards, but I can't imagine how to attach a plume to it without great floppiness. If it helps at all, some statues of Athena show her helmet topped with a Sphinx, but I don't really foresee carving a Sphinx in my near future.
When I was 8, I had an Odysseus helmet cut out of a paper bag, but I think we can do better than that....
I commend to you Joel Waldfogel's 1993 Paper "The Deadweight Loss of Christmas" for an empirical study of the destruction of welfare incurred as a result of gift exchange.
Bah, humbug.
Obviously Buck should get LB a heifer.
My friend tells me that every year, her husband tells her that her Christmas present is being delayed for some reason or another and that they're not going to be able to exchange gifts on Christmas morning, and even though she knows it's coming every year, he manages to convince her.
The way to do this well is to truly forget at least once. The rep will stay with you for years.
re: 114
Ah well, on the qualia thing we are back to dsquared's Ryleanism again.
A voucher for a place that does handmade shoes.
119: Merely confirms the rightness of the idea.
Having finally looked at the original site, I was disappointed in the image described by B in 30. I suppose her ass is kind of sticking out, but tamely by 1925 standards, much less those of the 21st Century. I demand pornier pseudo-porn!
113: You can plow fields. Buck could tell LB it's a down payment on the real estate he's going to buy her for the 15th.
115: I think your easiest route is to find something to buy. If you're set on making it, how are your paper-mache skilz? If it were me, I'd take a ball cap that fits her, stuff it like crazy with newspaper and stick it on a wine bottle to get it off the ground,and wrap with plastic wrap for waterproofing. Now you've got a head-form, and you can go to town with the paper-mache.
120: A water buffalo could be thought of, among other things, as a shoe-making kit.
Pwned by Jesus.
This happened to the Apostles all the fucking time.
re: 115
Make a paper/card section to go round the forehead? That way you can attach a plume to that.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2092762_make-cardboard-helmet.html
Of course! Papier-mache!
But then, the reason I didn't think of it is that I've never papiered-mache in my life. Probably not the ideal project for starting out. The ægis is ambitious enough, I think.
I don't know if there's a post that'll help you, JRoth, but the makezine folks are crazy about Halloween. Loads of cool and often gruesome projects.
Make a paper/card section to go round the forehead? That way you can attach a plume to that.
Ooh, that might be good. The cheek guards and visor can be one big cardboard piece, providing a fair amount of stability for the plume.
Now I just need to shear a horse's mane.
Hey, LB, could I have some of the bristles from the water buffalo?
It's easy, albeit timeconsuming because you need to leave a lot of time for drying. The glue is just flour and water mixed runny, and you dunk strips of newspaper in it before applying to the form. I'd say a helmet like the one you want is a three-day process -- first day, apply a layer of strips for the basic shape of the helmet, with cheek pieces. Dry overnight; next day, build the crest, and anything else 3-D. Dry overnight and paint.
Or, if you're, you know, not insane, ttaM's link suggesting wrapping some cardboard around her head works too.
103- I was like your wife for a long time. Then I went to gc's and that was ok, but boring. Now, I always gift experiences- nice dinner, a show, spa, trip, etc. That has never, ever failed to work.
It's interesting. The Chinese have a tradition of not opening a gift in front of the giver. Think how many awkward, phony reactions that would save.
Now I just need to shear a horse's mane.
Old broom, or new, cheap one. You probably need a new broom anyway -- who remembers to replace them. Buy a new one, cut off the dirty ends of the old bristles and use the rest of the old bristles for the crest.
Paper mache is easy, JRoth. That's why people do it with little kids.
Tear up a bunch of newspaper, make a 4:1 water:flour paste, soak the paper in the paste, smooth it piece by piece onto the form until it's at least a quarter inch thick, let it dry for a couple few days, and paint it with poster paints or acrylics. Voila.
I'm absolutely dripping with qualia.
Maybe Buck should get you a round of antibiotics.
Oh neat, we're becoming a crafts blog.
Alright, if I can do it with the child, I'll do it. I'm holding each and every one of you responsible if this turns into a disaster (such as "papier-mache'd dog"). Pictures whether it works out or not.
Next week: posts on thread crochet.
(I was crocheting a lot a couple years back, and stopped all of a sudden in the middle of about four projects. I should really pick up the Irish lace doily again sometime -- that'll be nice if I ever finish it. And I need to get going on a blanket for my niece's baby.)
Does anyone here draw or paint? I have an idiosyncratic crafty hobby that's a nice complement to abstract computer work and its weird social environment, so that part might be generic. I've been trying sketches and watercolors with my kid, and toying with taking a class in hope of improving some.
if I can do it with the child, I'll do it
Crafts blog, dammit, not kidd/ie pr0n blog.
137: You're an architect. Don't you have crazy modelling skills from architecture school?
Um, what's up with 112? The complete absence of a response makes me think that sort of thing isn't totally unusual, but I'm new here, and weirded out.
Today is shivbunny's birthday and I have yet to buy him a present but I'm making lasagna which is like a present for your tummy.
Oh neat, we're becoming a crafts blog.
Obviously, someone needs to ask how to make dildos at home.
You probably need a new broom anyway -- who remembers to replace them.
Wooden square floor broom, smallism, about 8 inches long. Get something like a child's baseball batting helmet, drill two holes in the batting helmet, cut two dowel pieces, drill holes through middle of the dowel pieces, and drill two holes in the broom, and put a bolt through each hole. Nut side goes out the broom part.
That way the whole mess is rigid, and you don't have to worry about fit or shape, and it should go fast. You can fake up something with the chin, with paper mache, even. Primer that sucker and shoot it up with shiny bronze paint.
max
['It should be reasonably cheap.']
posts on thread crochet
anything but that.
144: Ooo, Athena by way of Marvin the Martian. That does sound easy and would look pretty good.
142: I looked up the referenced comment, and it's there. I don't know anything about it beyond the contents of the comment, which the writer of 112 has access to, so there's not much to say about it.
145: I wouldn't mind a post on thread crochet, but please, don't anybody think of making your kid a bathing suit. My grandmother once crocheted me a bathing suit out of phentex yarn, which I felt so embarrassed to wear, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings...the small horrors of childhood.
lw, what's your idiosyncratic crafty hobby?
137: Just make sure and put down some kind of waterproof table cloth or big sheet of plastic or something, b/c cleaning flour/water paste off the furniture/floor is a pain in the ass.
139: This is an awesomely good book about drawing with kids.
Believe me, nothing in architecture school prepared me for papier-mache-ing a Greek helmet. But it did prepare me for this.
And yes, Max's 144 sounds good, if I can find a helmet small enough. (note: instead of drilling down the centers of the dowels, use a short length of pipe as a spacer)
That's an impressive cake. Want to do one for me for PK's upcoming birthday? Thanks.
149: Dude. I bow to your architectural bakerhood.
I blow glass. Takes about a year to learn, is kind of expensive until you find outlets to sell the excess after all your friends have enough stuff. I made my kid a glass pickle that my wife claims is obscene.
Neat. Can you make useful stuff, like, I dunno, a set of wineglasses or something?
I hope those speakers are nice, LB. You'll eventually have to invite me over for a listening party.
150, 151: Thanks. It's honestly one of the things I'm proudest of in my entire life. I was up til 3 baking, then up again at 7 to frost it. 7 minute frosting was the key - sticky as hell, but really sculptable. (And, to further pat myself on the back, I'd never piped icing before, either)
Your kid seems to be into ancient Greece, that's awesome. I guess I never realized how common allusions to ancient Greek and Roman myth are in educated discourse until I run into the occasional friend who wasn't obsessed with them as a kid and doesn't get my references or various literary references.
Plus, I think the only people who could really get into The Silmarillion were ones who loved Greek or Norse myths when young, and everyone wants their kid to eventually love The Silmarillion, right?
142, it seems that because that was a drive-by comment, anyone who responds to it should respond by email.
This appears to be the thread in question, containing the earlier drive-by comment in question. We have no way of getting ahold of that person, whoever she was.
156: Once work settles down, I swear I'm having a bridge night.
I got a piece of handblown glass for a wedding present. We call it "The Blob". I assume it was supposed to be a paperweight or something. The Blob was the specific instantiation of the phenomenon noted in 103 that convinced my wife that "homemade gifts made with love" were way overrated.
OTOH, I know some people who are genuinely talented artists and craftsmen, and some of their gifts are cherished possessions.
There's a way to make the foot without an assistant, but I've never learned how. The man who owns the workshop where I rent time specializes in decorative goblets. Me, I do bowls, and vases mostly.
What was the occasion for the acropolis cake?
Your kid seems to be into ancient Greece, that's awesome.
And as anyone who's ever known me would tell you, it's my total pushy-parent dream come true (she's not named Iris because I like gardening). But the best part is that I didn't actually push it on her: we went to a Christmas concert at the local Hall of Architecture, and she started asking questions about Athena and Medusa, and it was off to the races.
A somewhat distant friend of Snark's parents, someone who certainly should not have felt any need to give us a wedding present at all, sent us a framed color xerox of a terrible watercolor she'd painted. Very odd.
164: I'm impressed, too. PK continues to be all about mice. Obviously your child is going to completely pwn mine educationally.
Once work settles down, I swear I'm having a bridge night.
LB and Jackmormon: The Wild Ones of Unfogged.
What was the occasion for the acropolis cake?
Third birthday, goddess-themed party. I believe that we suggested it, and she reacted with great enthusiasm. I actually avoided suggesting the Athena costume (I'm really trying not to push it on her), but she has asked several times. One day she grabbed a length of pipe and a ghost-shaped trick-or-treat basket that she said was an owl, and pretended to be a statue of Athena in a museum, sitting stock-still as my wife and I passed through, admiring.
Obviously your child is going to completely pwn mine educationally.
Her day care teachers are enthralled with her detailed, accurate, and graphic tellings of the Medusa/Perseus story. "Iris told us all about Medusa today."
If PK needs more mice, I just found one in the house today. I'd be happy to box up any I find and mail them to CA.
144: Ooo, Athena by way of Marvin the Martian. That does sound easy and would look pretty good.
You read my mind! Plus next year, if the helmet still fits, they (she?) can go as Marvin.
And yes, Max's 144 sounds good, if I can find a helmet small enough.
Well, if you can't you can still go the paper mache route and use a broom anyways, since the broom is closest look to the Trojan broom (not actually Trojan tho, is it?) without driving yourself insane trying to make one.
(note: instead of drilling down the centers of the dowels, use a short length of pipe as a spacer)
That would work as long as you epoxy the pipe, otherwise it'll rattle. I just went with wood (or plastic) dowels because, well, that's what the broom handle would be made of, and those might be easier to shape. But if you use epoxy (as in JBWeld, as in plastic in a tube), you might be able to just skip shaping them altogether.
max
['JBWeld cures everything except STDs.']
What about epoxying about an inch of PVC pipe, the right diameter to jam the broom handle into, to the top of the helmet? You could glue the handle in or if the fit was good enough, just jam it in.
Any thoughts on coloring the bristles? I'm not convinced spray paint would be all that effective, but I could be wrong.
As for 172, why not just cut off the first 2" of the handle and screw+epoxy is to the helmet?
PK continues to be all about mice.
With Keegan, it's hockey. Noah, swords and throwing food.
This appears to be the thread in question
God, the internet is so strange.
Will someone teach me bridge? I know hearts and euchre, knew (but have forgotten) spades and whist, but have never even attempted bridge.
With that much of a background, you'd learn how to play fine in an hour or so.
How about without that background? My roommate keeps on asking me if I'll play with him, and when I say I don't know how he offers to teach me.
173: I'd be surprised if spray paint on broom bristles didn't work great, really.
174: That's awesome. They'll all have a fabulous time working together in the fast food industry.
Sally and Newt share a mutual Pokemon problem. Sally's been pushing me to find some, like, Pokemon venue where she can play with other people. I have the impression these exist, but I'm kind of dubious about the whole thing.
Anything academically cool, not so much.
180: Yeah, PK's a big fan of the local comics store, which has a side room filled with kids playing Magic or whatever it is.
After they finish their shifts, all our kids can go hang out there.
178: A couple of days. Seriously, if I were you, I'd learn spades first -- it works fine as a game on its own, but it's just about exactly half of bridge. Once you can play spades, then take another evening and learn the other half of bridge.
(There must be computer-game spades available free somewhere. I wouldn't bother learning bridge that way; you need people. But for spades it'd work fine.)
When I was that age, the kids would go hang out at the library to play collectible-card games.
I with B. Of course, it depends on what color you're aiming for. Most of the brooms in the stores will be black (plastic bristles), but some might wheat.
As for 172, why not just cut off the first 2" of the handle and screw+epoxy is to the helmet?
That should work if you can get the dowel pieces locked up long enough for the epoxy to dry. The handles on most of the brooms I'm thinking of, point off at an angle to the broom.
Because I forgot: Nice cake!... and how does the Gorgon head and the amputated breast feature in this scenario?
max
['I mean, other than 'It doesn't.'']
112 above and the response to it sent me traipsing through the archives. I especially liked text's little one-two punch here.
I kind of want one of those "Uninsu(red)" shirts, even though I don't really get what's going on with those parentheses. I know, I know. I accept whatever fate you deem fit.
Would you settle for "(xxx)acted"?
Penny Arcade on Pokemon tournaments:
some, like, Pokemon venue
Back when Keegan was into Pokemon (the pre-hockey days), they such gatherings at Toys R Us on Saturday mornings. No idea whether that was a local tradition or a corporate one.
Corporate. My mother was the coordinator of her store Pokemon league.
max
['That was childhood #4, I think.']
The corresponding columns paint a much better picture.
how does the Gorgon head and the amputated breast feature in this scenario?
Well, it was Amazons, not Athena, with the amputated breast, so that puts that off, thank goodness (I think it actually came up once, but really weird bits in myths often get ignored by her - if she knew it, she'd be thinking, "WTF?"). But I plan on using a simple cutout of a preClassical Medusa mask, then thread for the snakey tresses. The ægis was often depicted with a snakey fringe, but I suspect Crafty Wife will draw the line short of that (not that I blame her).
Obviously, Hamilton, you need briefs that say "skinny puppy" on them.
Alas, that ship sailed about 40 pounds ago.
BTW, everyone congratulate me. I've been married for a decade, as of right about this minute.
Yay! Congratulations!
if I were you, I'd learn spades first -- it works fine as a game on its own, but it's just about exactly half of bridge.
Also, 500. It's like bridge for dumb people (or so I've been told; I play 500 but have never learned bridge).
Mr. Drive By commenter has written a book about Spanish shipwrecks.
112 weirded me out too, and I wondered if this was a common form of spam.
Congratulations, LB.
Late, but LB, you could explain to Buck that the speakers you bought him are loud enough to cause tinnitus.
I add my congratulations to the Breaths.
I originally read the link in 168 as suggesting a game of 'contact bridge.' Seemed like a genteel way of blowing off steam, like 'tackle whist.'
I'm fond of cribbage, myself.
Congratulations, LB! Buck sounds like a delightful fellow and your kids similar. Kudos to you for being rad, and deserving them.
