Hiking >> Things I Like

It’s been a while since I wrote a “Things I Like” post. Having just gotten back to Connecticut, I got to do one of the things I like to do a lot during the summer: Hiking.

Recently, I got to go hiking around the West Hartford reservoir and Sleeping Giant State Park (both in CT). I not only got to enjoy myself and go running through the woods with some good company, but also got to reconnect with CT by having to drive through parts of it I hadn’t seen over a year.

I think what I enjoy most about hiking is being able to enjoy the sounds of the forests. (Most of them… Mosquitoes coming in for blood- not so much.) If you sit still and listen to the wind in the trees, it sometimes sounds like the sound of the shore. Also, it is usually much cooler in the woods than it is out in any of the urban spaces.

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• Day Trip: Sleeping Giant State Park (litchfieldhills.wordpress.com)
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• May Hiking Report (circadianreflections.wordpress.com)

Internet Random Fact Lists >> Things I Like

So, I am finally posting something for Things I Like. Well, here it is! I like:

Internet Random Fact Lists

I don’t really know why. I guess I have this thing for trivia and facts that can be inserted into conversations or be used as conversation starters. Plus, they are a great way to get some blog ideas or at times (in a not so great way) they can help you procrastinate.

Here are a few of my favorites sites to visit when I need some random Internet facts. (Warning: These websites should be used only in cases of extreme procrastination or when you actually do have time to kill.) Happy reading!

http://www.toptenz.net/

http://www.cracked.com/

http://listverse.com/

Related articles

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Things I Like: Fat Grip

This “Things I Like” post is on a band I like: Fat Grip.

Performance at Harbor Park, Middletown, CT - July 16, 2010

Fat Grip is a Connecticut-based band that were nominees of the Hartford Advocates “Best New Group” of 2009. They wrote/recorded the theme song for the WCCC 106.9  “Picozzi, Klonk & Holden Show.” Within the past year, they released their first full length CD: Nobody’s Perfect.

The band is made up of four member’s:  Jimmy Moutinho, the founding member, guitarist Les Robertson, and bassists Matt McCarthy and  Andy Parker.

Harbor Park, Middletown, CT- July 16, 2010

These four guys have cited influence from The Beatles, Foo Fighters, The Replacements, and The Ramones. Combined with a high energy, professional stage presence, original songs, as well as covers, and the use of some less traditional rock instruments like trombones for some of their performances, Fat Grip puts on an entertaining and memorable show.

You can check out Fat Grip’s schedule  of shows on their website and catch them @Fatgrip on Twitter. Samples of their music can also be listened to on their website.

Things I Like: Bones (The Fox drama)

This “Things I Like” has been posted early for the simple fact that I have a small obsession with the topic: Bones, the crime drama on Fox Network. (The new season is starting up. You can’t imagine how ridiculously excited I am about this.)

Bones is an American crime drama television series produced by Far Field Productions and Josephson Entertainment in association with 20th Century Fox Television that premiered on September 13, 2005. The series was created by Hart Hanson. Hanson, Stephen Nathan, Ian Toynton and Barry Josephson are executive producers.

The show is based on forensic anthropology and archaeology and is very loosely based on the life of forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs. Its title character, Temperance Brennan, is named after the protagonist of Reichs’ crime novel series.

Each episode focuses on a FBI case file concerning a mystery behind a set of human remains that defy the standard methods of identifying a body. Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) uses her ability to read clues in victims’ bones to help solve the crime together with the help and partnership of  FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz). The rest of the cast includes Michaela Conlin, T. J. Thyne, Eric Millegan, Tamara Taylor and John Francis Daley.

Like any crime drama there is murder, intrigue, science, law, and romance.

Season Six starts today, September 23, 2010 and, of course, I will be having my fill of the drama (and eye candy, since the cast is very attractive) at 8/7c.

You can catch up on older episodes and the most recent episodes (posted Fridays) on HULU or the Fox website.

Things I Like: Anamanaguchi

Following up with the early 90′s theme from this month’s “Sunday Sense” series, this “Thing’s I Like” post brings back memories of 8-bit video games and music.

While popular culture brings us a world of realistic 3-D graphics and a digital musical experience, the 8-bit genre is music written with synthesizers emulating old-school video-game-system sounds.

New York chiptune band Anamanaguchi creates original songs that easily bring back nostalgic memories of Skywire and Mega-Man, but video games aren’t their sole influence. In 2006, Anamanaguchi released a free-download EP Power Supply.

Believe it or not all the songs on the EP are produced entirely from a hacked 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System. The band also has released a number of singles and provides music for the video game Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game. The game’s original soundtrack by Anamanaguchi was released on Amazon and iTunes by ABKC Records in North America on August 24, 2010, and was released internationally on August 30, 2010.

The Anamanaguchi interview with The A.V. Club provides closer look into the band and the growing 8-bit genre.

Related Articles

• Happy 8-Bit Day! (tantek.com)
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• Anamanaguchi: The badass behind Scott Pilgrim’s music (destructoid.com)
• Scott Pilgrim vs. These Screenshots of His Game [Scott Pilgrim] (kotaku.com)

Things I Like: Petrilude, Freelance make-up artist

Today’s “Things I Like” is about a favorite freelance makeup artist that I love watching on YouTube named Petrilude. The man knows his make-up and does a series of videos related to costume makeup for one of my favorite holidays: Halloween.

Petrilude’s real name is Josh (or Joshua.) This 25-year-old, Illinois resident is a self-taught, freelance makeup artist on YouTube.  He uses a JVC Everio HD Camcorder and as for his digital camera, it is an Olympus Stylus 720SW, & Nikon D60. At the time of this posting, he is #25 – Most Subscribed (All Time) – Gurus and #47 – Most Viewed (This Week) – Gurus on YouTube.com.

The man is popular and with good reason.

Josh’s tutorials are down-to-earth, straight-forward, and easy to follow. What attracted me most to his tutorials is the fact that he does makeup that can transition as costume makeup. His Halloween-related tutorials are excellently put together and stunning in terms of the results. This is not to say that his other videos are any less put together or informative. If I had to state a complaint about his videos, it would be that he sometimes speaks rather fast, but this is understandable since the videos can only be so long. Most of his videos are around 10 minutes in length.  Josh does provide multiple ways to contact him with questions or comments and has a range of sites other than YouTube that you can explore.

In the past, Josh has done tutorials on everything from basic skincare to the Corpse Bride movie character makeup to weave demonstrations.

If you want to see the wide range of Josh’s work you can check out his YouTube page or his blog. Below you can see an example of some of Josh’s work:

Things I Like: Charging Bull, New York City

This “Things I Like” post is continuing is the temporary theme of New York City

Charging Bull on Bowling Green

and is being posted out-of-sequence to make up for some of the missed postings over the summer. So far, I discussed SoHo, The Met, and the River to River Festival.This time I’m looking at the Charging Bull statue on Bowling Green in Manhattan. The statue is also known as the Wall Street Bull. According to the NYC Tourism site:

On the night of December 15, 1989, sculptor Arturo Di Modica and friends drove a flatbed to the 60-foot tall Christmas tree in front of the New York Stock Exchange, and unloaded a 7,000-pound gift. Workers arriving in the Financial District the next day were confronted by a sleek, 16-foot-long bronze bull, head down, nostrils flaring, poised to charge up Broad Street. In a flyer distributed that day, Di Modica stated that he created the sculpture after the stock market crash of 1987 as a symbol of the “strength, power and hope of the American people for the future.”

This is the Charging Bull and what some consider his luckiest parts. See how shiny they are from the rubbing?

The police seized the sculpture and placed it into an impound lot. The ensuing public outcry led the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to install it two blocks south of the Exchange in the plaza at Bowling Green Park. The statue looks up Broadway towards Upper Manhattan and has become international known.

It is said to be good luck to rub the bull’s horns, nose, and testicles. These areas are the least tarnished on the statue due to all of the rubbing of thousands of hands from thousands of visitors each year, as well as, from NYC residents.