Lady Mechanika/Saga

I recently acquired by very first Kindle which has allowed for great amounts of in-class distractions in the form of comic books. The two i've read so far are Lady Mechanika by Joe Benitez and Saga by Brian Vaughn and Fiona Staples. Lady Mechanika takes place in 17th century Europe and revolves around a sexy part-machine main character with super-human abilities struggling to unravel the mysteries of her past. What attracted me to it straight-away was the Michael Turner -esque art style which i've loved ever since Aspen and Soulfire. 

The second series, which has won my heart as a new favorite, is Saga. According to Wikipedia Saga has been described as "Star Wars meets Games of Thrones" which naturally engaged my immediate attention. The story is set in a science fiction/fantasy dystopia where war has extended its grasp over the entire galaxy. Against all odds, two young soldiers from opposing factions fall in love and have a child and must now escape the bounty hunters set forth to destroy any possibility of a future for their newborn daughter.  What I found most intriguing about the graphic novel is the character design which is both incredibly strange and delightfully charming. 

Also being read is the original Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and The Manhattan Projects. 

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The Santa Fe Photo/Drinking Excursion

A Marble Wildflower Wheat at the Santa Fe Tap Room on the Plaza

Recently I was joined by my wonderful camera comrades for a trip to Santa Fe via the train. The initial idea was to have a creative adventure made up of photographic playtime. The reality of the trip, which I foresaw coming, was simply a very long drinking game spanning from 8am until 8pm that night. It is also important to state, however, that it was awesome. Needless to say, I didn't get too many photos :/

A Marble Beer Flight at the Santa Fe Tap Room on the Plaza

The most awesome dog to ever wear an aviator jacket

My love on the train to Santa Fe

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Pixelated Cross-Stich: Super Meat Boy

The first of many embroidered pixel art pieces was completed just before Christmas in time to be turned into the most time-consuming holiday card i've yet created.  It is, of course, a tribute to the tedious "love story" between Meat Boy and Bandage Girl. The piece measures roughly 8"x 5" and consumed an estimated 16-18 hours.

The projects I have planned in the near future are going to be quite a but smaller and possibly formulated to fit in small frames or turned into patches. You can probably make an educated guess as what the next project is laid out to be...

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Culinary Camaraderie: Creamy Rice Pudding

Whenever my fridge is nearing emptiness and the craving for sugary substances is upon me, I find myself almost always having just enough leftover ingredients for rice pudding. In this particular case I doubled the recipe as I thought that a measly 4 serving size batch wasn't going to cut it. I was pleasantly surprised when J and I had enough for a full 3-day pudding feast.

The following recipe is in its original form for a 4 serving size portion.  I left the raisins out of the batch as whole and added them on a per serving basis.

Recipe (Source: All Recipes)

3/4 cup uncooked white rice (I used sushi rice)
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan; stir rice into boiling water. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

-In a clean saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg, and raisins; cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

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Photography: Sugar Skulls

A shoot I did back around mid-October with model Arial (Model Mayhem) and MUA Elysia. The rest of the set can be viewed here on my Flickr page: Day of the Dead set

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Culinary Camaraderie: Gingered Cranberry Sauce

This Thanksgiving we were given the task of providing the traditional bowl of coagulated red fruit mess which no holiday table can apparently do without. Personally, i've never really liked cranberry sauce as its always come across as too bitter, full of unwanted nuts, and always seems to come presented atop a doily. This year, however, I made the discovery of this delightfully easy recipe that even I, the traditional nemesis of this dish, enjoyed most thoroughly.

The secret, my culinary comrades, is ginger.

Recipe (Source: Cooking Light ):

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger 
• 1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries 
• Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 9 minutes or until the cranberries pop. Cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

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Evangelion Pinky:St

I've had these figures on my desk for the last few months and only recently had a chance to go out and photograph them. This particular set of Rei and Asuka has always been one of my favorites and I was excited to see them go on sale as an import back in March.

As per the norm of Pinky:St vinyl, these disassemble and their parts are interchangeable with any others from the line. This particular set came with two figures instead of the singular figure with alternate parts which is most typical.

I feel like the second set I received requires a slightly more "urban" background so photos will be up as soon as the opportunity arises.

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Culinary Camaraderie: London Fog

I almost hesitated considering this a recipe due to the rather short list of ingredients and crude measurements but the delectable final result was too delicious to pass up.

Servings size: 1

-Your favorite mug's worth of milk

-2 tbsp Earl Grey Tea (I used loose-leaf Cream Earl Grey from a local tea shop)

-1 1/2 - 2 tbsp Vanilla syrup 

1. Heat Earl Grey and milk in a small saucepan until just before boiling and stirring often to avoid scalding.

2. Pour contents through tea strainer into mug. 

3. Add vanilla syrup, stir and enjoy. For best results, drink on cold british-like afternoons.

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The Photography Expanse

I wish I had something a little bit more photo-heavy to post but life has been busy of late. Not in the "I hate my life and am going nowhere" sort of way, but rather the opposite. Here in the place of more entertaining visuals is a screenshot of a graphic project I wrote this evening in Python.

I am currently in my fourth week of school with a 13 credit-hour course load to ease my way back into things. I can already see that this was a wise decision based on my currently feral concentration levels. I anticipate this week to be filled with substantially higher volumes and focused amounts of study in order to more readily assure a straight A average.

Besides school, I have been keeping busy with an assortment of outings as well as at-home projects, some of which I hope to document and write about quite soon.  Thanks to winning runner-up to Photographer of the Year the other night at the Guerilla Photo Group 6th Annual Gala, I have become inspired to step up my photography game and take things a bit more seriously. I will be be taking my camera with me to more places as well as indulging in and planning much more elaborate shoots in the near future (so stay tuned).

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