Best Halloween Light Show 2011

Update: The owner of this house, in Riverside, California, does a light show every year (previous shows were set to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and "Monster Mash"). This year's show is set to "Party Rock Anthem" and "This is Halloween" (which is the version below. I didn't upload the "Party Rock Anthem" portion). It takes the owner 15 hours to program one minute of music and he started programming this year's show back in March. He limits himself to one show a night out of deference to his neighbors.
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Original Post:
I don't know where this is (or if it's even real), but it was great fun. And, of course, I couldn't neglect to put up a  Halloween post today.



Have a fantastic day! (And if you're going to go sit in a pumpkin patch waiting for The Great Pumpkin, I hope that you find the most sincere pumpkin patch ever).

What Can't Technology Do? An Amazing 3D Printer

I don't know if any of you watch This Old House (or if you can even see it in your area), but I've been a fan for years, and recently they began working on a house where they have a full color 3D model to work from. They visited the company where the model was made, and while it wasn't identified in the show--that's a This Old House rule. They don't promote products--it was easy enough to find info on ZCorp on YouTube.

I'm still stunned at how this printer can actually print a working 3D model in full color (with moving and functional 3D parts). Watch this video (which isn't the one from This Old House) as they print a working adjustable wrench.



Here's the actual 3D model used on This Old House (again, no footage from the program). And while the music and the quick zooms in and out were a bit annoying, you can see how much detail this model contains. The incredible thing is that it came out of the printer that way, with all the color, every bit of shading and the details just as you see here.



Isn't that awesome? Welcome to the 21st century!

By the way, one of these printers can be yours for only around $40,000. Guess I'll have to settle for the video, but that's okay. I don't have to have every toy, but I love the fact that tools like this exist. How innovative some people are!

A Storm Trooper Halloween...

Looks kind of like this:

This image is from CClone who is doing an image a day (stormtroopers, Star Wars toys, clonetroopers and Lego). You can check out all the images on Facebook, on Twitter, or if you're not on either of those, on her Flickr page.

(I love the idea of an Imperial Stormtrooper having a little storm trooper and carving a pumpkin)!

H is for Halloween Cake

With Halloween almost here, there are lots of zombie, ghost and vampire posts on the Internet, but I'm not really into seriously scary stuff (I once saw "The Ring" and it gave me nightmares), so I'm just going to concentrate on the fun stuff. In that vein, today's cute and fun (and sometimes pretty) cakes are meant to make you smile instead of scream.

Image by riptheskull

Image by catwitchwoman71

Image by samdogs

Image by ladybugbkt

Image by FlickrDelusions

Image by chrisinplymouth

Image by 'Lil (she had some cute ones with eyeballs and skeletons if you want to check out her photostream)

Image by donbuciak

Image by megpi

Image by Ecstatic Mark

Image by abakedcreation - These little cupcakes were so cute and looked so complicated, but here's the blog entry about them. Interesting (cake mix and a recipe from The Cake Doctor were used.  The little ghosts are cleverly cut out using a cookie cutter, then folded over gumdrops to create their colored eyes. Fun stuff)! 

This has really gotten me into the Halloween spirit. I'm glad there are people far more clever with fondant than I. Have you ever made a decorative cake? I haven't, but those little ghost cupcakes are calling for me to try my hand at them.

If You'll Excuse Me...A Very Brief Foray into a Book Sale

Note: This is not today's main post (scroll down and you'll see it), and I do usually try to refrain from a lot of book promoting here. This blog is supposed to be about fun, and I don't like being heavy-handed. But...I am, after all, an author, so now and then I have to mention "the books."

In this case, I just noticed that Amazon appears to be having a sale on RICHES TO RAGS BRIDE. The paperback is selling for $1.85 and the Kindle version is selling for $1.76. These things happen from time to time. I usually don't know when they begin and never know when the price will revert again, but I do try to let people know when it happens. Here's the book cover and the links.

Link to Amazon's print version

Link to the Kindle version

Usually, Amazon and Barnes & Noble are in sync on these sales, but that hasn't happened yet, so if the price drops at B&N, I'll post that info and the links later. Thank you for your time. I now return you to our regularly scheduled blogging.

Animals Being Dramatic

Animals sometimes seem to know more than we do. These animals certainly seem to.



Now, wasn't that cute?

via Presurfer

The Lorax

I just saw the trailer for The Lorax, one of my favorite books (Dr. Seuss, you were so wise).



Along those lines, I see that there's a new Dr.Seuss book out. The Bippolo Seed is a collection of seven stories that were published in magazines in the 1940's and 1950's. Has anyone read it yet. It's on my list of books to acquire.

And if none of that piqued your interest, how about some background behind how The Lorax came to be made as well as the news that a Dr. Seuss bio is going to be made, starring Johnny Depp. (I heart Johnny Depp. Is there any part that man can't play)?

That's a lot to look forward to (and in the case of the Johnny Depp film) a long time to wait. For now I'll start with the book. I know some little people who love Dr. Seuss, so I'll probably need multiple copies with Christmas not that far away.

It's Double Teddy Bear Week

I know I just caved to my teddy bear obsession a few days ago, but this one was too good to pass up. The Teddy Story by Laura Herald. is a wonderful stop motion animated story about an abandoned teddy bear.

The Teddy Story from Laura Herald on Vimeo.

Definitely some sad and sweet moments there.

Cupcakes in a Mason Jar

As I've mentioned before, I'm not much of a cook. I like things to be fast and easy, but...I like them to taste good and look good as well. So, when I saw this cute post over at Inspire Me Crafts (a very pretty site with some great ideas), it was right up my alley. In this case, the cupcakes were a gift, and it was a nice, inexpensive and easy to make gift that I certainly would have liked to receive. So, check it out and tell me what you think (I think there could be all kinds of variations on this).

Image by TyAnne at Inspire Me Crafts

Check out Inspire Me Crafts to see how these were made as well as the story behind them. I love fun things like this! And imagine all the color and flavor and topping combinations, and how these cute little colorful jars of cake would be a great centerpiece for all kinds of other spin-off ideas. Put them in a basket with a book and some tea, coffee or hot chocolate and you'd have a nice gift for any occasion. Make the frosting orange and brown for a unique autumn finale to a dinner. Those are just off the top of my head. Any other possibilities?

John Lennon Painted in Salt

Artist Bashir Sultani makes unique and striking paintings using salt. In this stop motion video, he "paints" John Lennon.



Check out his YouTube channel to see other videos of Steve Jobs, Einstein, Darth Vader, Ghandi, Harry Potter and more.

Even if You Don't Want to Read Ebooks...

I know that many people still want to read only print books, and I still read a lot of print books, too, but one thing that I did long before I got an ebook reader was to download the free Kindle for PC app and the free Nook for PC app (there are other free apps for Macs, the Web, a Blackberry, iPad, iPhone, Android and Windows Phone 7).  Yes, these apps enable  you to buy ebooks and read them on your computer, but...their chief appeal to me is that I can get a nice sample to read before I have to decide if I like the book enough to buy it.

This has helped me time and time again. Because of being able to do this (and the samples almost always offer a generous bit of the book), I have been able to sample and try new authors, whose books I would have been loathe to buy sight unseen in the  past. And I've been able to decide yes or no on books I've been wavering on. After sampling, I can make an informed decision, ignoring the books that don't appeal to me and acquiring the books I do want in whatever format I prefer, print or ebook, at whatever time I choose.

Actually, although I tend to be mostly an Amazon customer with occasional forays onto the B&N site, I could buy my books elsewhere if I chose to do so. I could even use it to help me decide what library books I wanted to check out. This is just another nice, helpful tool to have around.

Here is the link to the page offering the free Kindle apps

And the free Nook apps.

Just a note: I never receive unwanted emails from Amazon. Barnes & Noble sends sales ads, but I may have opted in to that a long time ago, and I'm sure I could opt out if I wanted to. They're not cumbersome.

California Poppies

I know it's not spring, but the flowers are dying, so I'm in need of a little floral therapy. One of the places I want to go someday is the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. The park is open year round, but the poppies bloom from (about) mid-February through mid-May. There are 8 miles of trails, some wheelchair accessible. And benches, so you can sit and enjoy the beauty.

Here's what I hope to see:

Image by travelingCA

Image by Mastery of Maps

Image by mcbridejc

Image by Daniel Peckham

This film, by Moving Art, captures fields of poppies blooming after a spring rainfall.



Update: After reading Mary's comment below on the lavender fields in Tasmania, I found this image from Bridestowe Estate in Tasmania. (I really want to see this. Beautiful and it must smell heavenly)!

Image by littleyiye

Teddy Bears Make the World a Better Place

There's a reason (I think) that teddy bears are so comforting to children. Unlike real bears (which can, admittedly, be scary and/or possibly mistake you for a scrumptious meal), teddy bears are soft and cuddly, and some of the ones they make now seem to have real personalities.

The other day I was on YouTube and ran across this adorable little video:


Using the watermark, I went searching around and discovered Taddy Teddy (maybe I'm the last person in the world to make this discovery? Apparently, the little bears are available in 60 countries, but I've never seen them). What's awesome, though, is that you can go on the nopostie site and for 99p, personalize a video e-card. They're so cute! (You can preview the cards, too, and there is quite a selection. Click on the Me to You link on the left if you only want to see the teddy bear ones).

Here are some of the others:







Aren't those sweet? In the interest of full disclosure (and to give credit to the owners of Taddy Teddy), No Postie appears to be a division of Carte Blanche Greetings, the company that makes the stuffed animals. Now I'm off to look for a bear (I hope they've reached our shores).

Because You Can Never Get Enough George Clooney...

UPDATE 9:03 AM - If you're not into Geoge Clooney commercials, chime in to share your favorite George Clooney moment or movie.

We've discussed the fascination with George Clooney before. And I loved that bank ad he did recently, so here are some of his earlier commercials for those times when you're between movies.

One for Fiat:


Four for Martini. Sorry, the first one is a bit fuzzy, but...I liked it, so I left it in (George Clooney with a moustache?):









And...George Clooney and John Malkovich for Nespresso (the first and third begin the same, but about 48 seconds in, things change and the endings are completely different):







And three more:







There were also ads for three other products, some from a long time ago, but they were really fuzzy, so I left them out. I hope you enjoyed your "morning with George."

Bob the Hamster Falls in Love

This is a cute little video by Jacob Frey. Be sure to watch past the credits to see the end of the story.



via Presurfer

Action Figure Ninja Short

In the distant past, one of my family members liked to watch Ninja flicks. I wasn't that much into them, but I did admire the choreography that went into them. In this clever stop-motion video, Olivier Trudeau used action figures and great sound effects to reproduce the Ninja effect.



via Miss Cellania

Amazing Cloud Formations

I'm not sure what autumn has to do with interesting cloud formations (maybe nothing), but I've been seeing a lot of them lately. Here are some that other photographers captured on film:

Image by richardcox8592

Image by Pixie Led

Image by Dru!

Image by davedehetre

Image by dotcompal

Image by mendhak

Image by Lucy_Hill

Image by slack12

Image by paul (dex)

Image by Werner Kunz

Image by Paulo Brandão

Image by ~jjjohn~

I hope you get some great cloud watching weather soon!

Bumper Stickers

I have a fondness for bumper stickers and yet...I've never put one on my car. Various reasons for that, the main one being that I don't want to have to remove them when they start looking ragged or when I sell the car (which isn't likely considering the fact that I keep my cars forever, but still...).

But I do like them, especially if they're not crude or insulting or political. Maybe I'll buy some and tape them to my office wall, just for fun. Here are some great ones from Etsy. (I've included the stores' links below them).

Etsy store for 3 above 

Etsy store for 3 above

Etsy store for 1 above

Autumn is Awesome!

Despite not really having any time, I took some time last week to get outdoors (because you know, you just have to do that sometimes. It's unhealthy to live in front of your computer). These photos are mostly from one or two outings, but I'll confess that I slipped in a few from prior years. Sorry about the dates on those! (Oh, and I didn't take these photos. Another family member did).

The bees were very busy. There aren't tons of flowers at this time of year, but they were taking advantage of those still in bloom.

These were taken in several locations. One or two may be from the Little Red Schoolhouse in Willow Springs, Illinois; there are some from Lyman Woods Interpretive Center in Downers Grove, Illinois; there's at least one from the Paul Lange Arboretum in Delavan, Wisconsin, and the one below is from Volo Bog State Natural Area in Ingleside, Illinois).

I suppose that every place in the world has its awe-inspiring moments. Autumn is one of those moments in the North American Midwest region. We have four full seasons which means that we have gorgeous autumns but also that we sometimes have very cold winters. This coming winter is predicted to be extremely cold and snowy, at least in Chicago. I guess I'd better enjoy autumn while I can!