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Mushy Made Easy – Valentine’s Day Cards and Messages Belle Piece Want to play a game? Baby’s First Birthday–Celebrating the Cardstore Babies! The Creative List: Written Word A Loving Thanks–Valentines Day Thank Yous The Unreal Universe Quiet Me How-To: Valentine’s Day Party Invitations Creative List: Artists Abound at Arena I missed the actual tenth birthday of this blog/me blogging but I can’t let a milestone like that go unmarked, can I? Originally started as a place to store and share links, this blog gradually became a place to playfully interact with the world, and over time that turned from introspection to exploration of the world, media, experiences and ideas. I don’t think I’m alone in that kind of journey with blogs. I am immensely (unreasonably, perhaps even pathetically) proud of having been blogging for so long. I can say confidently that I was in at the beginning, when all this were fields. I was here before many of you young whippersnappers who have gone on to eclipse me...

Creative Feature: Design Army The Creative List: Written Word Baby’s First Birthday–Celebrating the Cardstore Babies! A few recent moments Spice Jar Labels Mushy Made Easy – Valentine’s Day Cards and Messages My Trip to the Veggie Market and a Recipe for Masala Garbanzos I'm Sorry I've been away! Prayers for Mumbai...Say No to Terrorism! The Creative List: Events I know the first rule of blogging is “never apologise” but I’m sure one of the other rules is something like “keep it up” which I have been woeful at doing recently – the terrible timing, so soon after my celebratory tenth blogiversary postings, was noted and probably deeply significant. Lots of travel, lots of stuff happening at work, lots of really lousy things happening with regard to our housing situation (synopsis: After seven months dangling at the end of a property chain last year, we finally gave up on the place we were buying and found somewhere else with no chain. All progressed well until the owner of the h...

Creative List: Artists Abound at Arena How to Avoid Duplicate Imports in iPhoto Quick Crispy Veggie Fritters and some Old Projects Prayers for Mumbai...Say No to Terrorism! The Creative List: Visual Arts The Creative List: The Performers My Trip to the Veggie Market and a Recipe for Masala Garbanzos The Creative List: Events La Sophistication Spice Jar Labels Hot on the heels of my chapter about iphone photography in lomokev’s new photo project book, and inspired by Heather’s list of apps (and my [not so] recent upgrade to an iPhone 4) here is my list of favourite iPhone photography apps, with some examples of each in action… I’ve tried a number of photography apps over the past three years of iPhone usage, but these three have come to be my stalwart accomplices. Crucially, they all allow me to be creative, and enhance my existing creativity, without getting in the way and making something which I don’t recognise as “my” work. I formula for a good photography app is: my skills + app = ...

Quick Crispy Veggie Fritters and some Old Projects The Unreal Universe Mushy Made Easy – Valentine’s Day Cards and Messages Accents iPhone photography apps: addendum Sophistication The Creative List: New Media The Creative List: Visual Arts Cute Book Labels for Kids A Loving Thanks–Valentines Day Thank Yous Given that there’s so much going on at the moment (of which more anon), rather than leaving this place to echo silently (frequently thought of but untended) I’m going to try and get into the habit of posting a few random things whenever I get a chance – photos, links, moments – without much context.

A Recipe for Minced Meat Curry-Indian Style A Loving Thanks–Valentines Day Thank Yous Belle Piece Bye Bye Einstein Quick Kebabs from Burger Patties Mushy Made Easy – Valentine’s Day Cards and Messages Scenes from Phoenix La Sophistication Cute Book Labels for Kids iPhone photography apps: addendum My lovely little sister Anna spent much of September circumnavigating the lower United States by train. Being the brilliant, webby, writery person she is, she conceived an intriguing participatory project to help while away the miles as well as atomising the memories, jotting moments onto a hundred and fifty custom-made and decorated postcards which were flung around the world to friends and strangers who had signed up to be on the receiving end. You can read more about the snailr project, here and the original idea, here. I received my postcard last week, but entirely failed to capture it digitally until today. But it’s fun seeing the other postcards find their way onto the web – from mental...

How-To: Valentine’s Day Party Invitations I'm back! Quick Crispy Veggie Fritters and some Old Projects The Creative List: Music I'm Sorry I've been away! Speak Your Language Scenes from Phoenix Washington Has a Secret: We Have Artists! The Unreal Universe Baby’s First Birthday–Celebrating the Cardstore Babies! I sometimes play a game when I’m reading stuff on the internet. It’s called Commentogeddon – or, if you prefer, Crystal Ballocks. Do you want to join in? Here’s how you play: 1. Read an article which has comments open. Since most things have comments these days – wisely or otherwise, YMMV – this can mean anything on a blog, news site, content portal or whatever. It helps if the comment count is greater than 0, but don’t read the comments just yet. 2. As you are reading the piece “above the line” (i.e the blog post, article, original content), try to predict the nature of the comments which will follow. Your prediction may concern form, tone or content of comments. F...

Prayers for Mumbai...Say No to Terrorism! How-To: Valentine’s Day Party Invitations Valentines Day DIY Crafts Spice Jar Labels The Creative List: Written Word La Sophistication Luddite Thoughts The Creative List: Music The Creative List: Style Quick Crispy Veggie Fritters and some Old Projects After writing not long ago about my favourite iPhone photography apps, I have a small update. I don’t know if it’s got something to do with the quality of the iPhone 4 camera, or the way they’ve tweaked the algorithms in the app, but my love for CameraBag (at least its Helga setting) has dwindled. It no longer seems to be able to bring out the punch in shots. So for punchiness these days I turn instead to Lo Mob, which comes with 28 different filters, including TTV, instant, and more. Some are more interesting than others, and I’ve been particularly pleased with the transformative effect it’s had on some of my recent shots – the black and white ones with high contrast are especially effective. It...

Mayfly 2010 Celebrate National Handwriting Day With Personalized Stationery Quick Kebabs from Burger Patties Quick Crispy Veggie Fritters and some Old Projects Creative List: Artists Abound at Arena The Creative List: Visual Arts The Creative List: New Media The Creative List: The Performers Speak Your Language The Creative List: Written Word What’s all this, then? This is a personal site, created and curated continuously since early 2000 by Meg Pickard, a creative geek, passionate photographer, anthropologist and web experience /community /social media specialist, who works for The Guardian & lives in London, UK.   The site includes a blog - a personal and evolving collection of links, opinions, thoughts, ideas, anecdotes and musings - as well as a variety of other projects. It is also a place to aggregate some of the author's distributed web activity, like photos, links and music.   More info about this site and its author. Important note #1 This is a personal site . The con...

The Creative List: Style Mayfly 2010 Baby’s First Birthday–Celebrating the Cardstore Babies! The Creative List: Events The Unreal Universe It’s Never Too Late to Say “I’m Sorry” Quick Crispy Veggie Fritters and some Old Projects Quiet Me Quick Kebabs from Burger Patties Laughter Express This is a personal site, created and curated continuously since early 2000 by Meg Pickard, a creative geek, passionate photographer, anthropologist and web experience /community /social media specialist, who works for The Guardian & lives in London, UK.   The site includes a blog - a personal and evolving collection of links, opinions, thoughts, ideas, anecdotes and musings - as well as a variety of other projects. It is also a place to aggregate some of the author's distributed web activity, like photos, links and music.   More info about this site and its author.

Quiet Me It’s Never Too Late to Say “I’m Sorry” Luddite Thoughts How To: Make Gift Tags out of Holiday Cards Spice Jar Labels Celebrate National Handwriting Day With Personalized Stationery My Trip to the Veggie Market and a Recipe for Masala Garbanzos How-To: Valentine’s Day Party Invitations Prayers for Mumbai...Say No to Terrorism! Speak Your Language Almost forgot to do my Mayfly project summary for 2010. Househunting. Negotiation. Fucked over by two vendors then landlady. House! Finally! Goodbye SW14, hello Surrey. Painting. Nesting. Happier, poorer, more in love than ever. Remember: 24 words summing up the last 365 days. Over to you, in the comments below this time (because I haven’t got time to set up a separate page before going out for dinner). And happy new year. Hope 2011 is a good one.

Speak Your Language It’s Never Too Late to Say “I’m Sorry” The Creative List: Style The Creative List: Written Word Belle Piece Quiet Me The Creative List: New Media A Loving Thanks–Valentines Day Thank Yous Washington Has a Secret: We Have Artists! The Creative List: Visual Arts Sophistication is a French invention. The French are masters when it comes to nurturing, and more importantly, selling sophistication. Think of some expensive (and therefore classy) brands. Chances are that more than half of the ones that spring to mind would be French. And the other half would be distinctly French sounding wannabes. This world domination in sophistication is impressive for a small country of the size and population of Thailand. How do you take a handbag manufactured in Indonesia, slap on a name that only a handful of its buyers can pronounce, and sell it for a profit margin of 1000%? You do it by championing sophistication; by being an icon that others can only aspire to be, but never ever at...

Celebrate National Handwriting Day With Personalized Stationery A Loving Thanks–Valentines Day Thank Yous The Creative List: Written Word Creative List: Artists Abound at Arena How to Avoid Duplicate Imports in iPhoto Creative Feature: Design Army Speak Your Language Spice Jar Labels I'm Sorry I've been away! Prayers for Mumbai...Say No to Terrorism! Sophistication is a French invention. The French are masters when it comes to nurturing, and more importantly, selling sophistication. Think of some expensive (and therefore classy) brands. Chances are that more than half of the ones that spring to mind would be French. And the other half would be distinctly French sounding wannabes. This world domination in sophistication is impressive for a small country of the size and population of Thailand. How do you take a handbag manufactured in Indonesia, slap on a name that only a handful of its buyers can pronounce, and sell it for a profit margin of 1000%? You do it by championing sophi...

Celebrating Co-worker Birthdays–Fun Ways to Party at the Office How-To: Valentine’s Day Party Invitations Belle Piece Luddite Thoughts My Trip to the Veggie Market and a Recipe for Masala Garbanzos Spice Jar Labels Cute Book Labels for Kids Washington Has a Secret: We Have Artists! Accents The Creative List: Written Word We know that our universe is a bit unreal. The stars we see in the night sky, for instance, are not really there. They may have moved or even died by the time we get to see them. This delay is due to the time it takes for light from the distant stars and galaxies to reach us. We know of this delay. The sun that we see now is already eight minutes old by the time we see it. This delay is not a big deal; if we want to know what is going on at the sun right now, all we have to do is to wait for eight minutes. We do have to “correct” for the delay in our perception due to the finite speed of light before we can trust what we see. Now, this effect raises an interesting ques...

Mushy Made Easy – Valentine’s Day Cards and Messages A Loving Thanks–Valentines Day Thank Yous It’s Never Too Late to Say “I’m Sorry” How to Avoid Duplicate Imports in iPhoto Prayers for Mumbai...Say No to Terrorism! Baby’s First Birthday–Celebrating the Cardstore Babies! Celebrate National Handwriting Day With Personalized Stationery Quick Crispy Veggie Fritters and some Old Projects Creative Feature: Design Army Just Arrived: Military Valentines Perfect for Sending Your Love! For all its pretentiousness, French cuisine is pretty amazing. Sure, I’m no degustation connoisseur, but the French really know how to eat well. It is little wonder that the finest restaurants in the world are mostly French. The most pivotal aspect of a French dish usually is its delicate sauce, along with choice cuts, and, of course, inspired presentation (AKA huge plates and minuscule servings). The chefs, those artists in their tall white hats, show off their talent primarily in the subtleties of the sauce, f...

The Creative List: Events Laughter Express Bye Bye Einstein Quick Kebabs from Burger Patties It’s Never Too Late to Say “I’m Sorry” Creative Feature: Design Army Baby’s First Birthday–Celebrating the Cardstore Babies! How-To: Valentine’s Day Party Invitations The Creative List: Written Word A Loving Thanks–Valentines Day Thank Yous Here is a French joke that is funny only in French. I present it here as a puzzle to my English-speaking readers. This colonel in the French army was in the restroom. As he was midway through the business of relieving his bladder, he becomes aware of this tall general standing next to him, and realizes that it is none other than Charles De Gaulle. Now, what do you do when you find yourself a sort of captive audience next to your big boss for a couple of minutes? Well, you have to make smalltalk. So this colonel rakes his brain for a suitable subject. Noticing that the restroom is a classy tip-top joint, he ventures: “Belle piece!” (“Nice room!”) CDG’s ice-co...

Quick Kebabs from Burger Patties The Creative List: Written Word Just Arrived: Military Valentines Perfect for Sending Your Love! The Creative List: Style A Loving Thanks–Valentines Day Thank Yous Creative Feature: Design Army The Creative List: Events Quick Crispy Veggie Fritters and some Old Projects Speak Your Language The Creative List: New Media For the budding photographer in you, iPhoto is a godsend. It is the iLife photo organization program that comes pre-installed on your swanky new iMac or Mac Book Air. In fact, I would go as far as to say that iPhoto is one of the main reasons to switch to a Mac. I know, there are alternatives, but for seamless integration and smooth-as-silk workflow, iPhoto reigns supreme. But (ah, there is always a “but”), the workflow in iPhoto can create a problem for some. It expects you to shoot pictures, connect your camera to your Mac, move the photos from the camera to the Mac, enhance/edit and share (Facebook, flickr) or print or make photo books....

I'm back! Quiet Me I'm Sorry I've been away! The Creative List: Style How-To: Valentine’s Day Party Invitations Prayers for Mumbai...Say No to Terrorism! My Trip to the Veggie Market and a Recipe for Masala Garbanzos Baby’s First Birthday–Celebrating the Cardstore Babies! Speak Your Language Spice Jar Labels Starting from his miraculous year of 1905, Einstein has dominated physics with his astonishing insights on space and time, and on mass and gravity. True, there have been other physicists who, with their own brilliance, have shaped and moved modern physics in directions that even Einstein couldn’t have foreseen; and I don’t mean to trivialize neither their intellectual achievements nor our giant leaps in physics and technology. But all of modern physics, even the bizarre reality of quantum mechanics, which Einstein himself couldn’t quite come to terms with, is built on his insights. It is on his shoulders that those who came after him stood for over a century now. One of...

I'm Sorry I've been away! My Trip to the Veggie Market and a Recipe for Masala Garbanzos Mushy Made Easy – Valentine’s Day Cards and Messages The Creative List: Visual Arts Just Arrived: Military Valentines Perfect for Sending Your Love! I'm back! Creative List: Artists Abound at Arena Speak Your Language The Creative List: Style Cute Book Labels for Kids Indians pronounce the word “poem” as poyem. Today, my daughter wrote one for her friend’s birthday and she told me about her “poyem”. So I corrected her and asked her to say it as po-em, despite the fact that I also say it the Indian way during my unguarded moments. That got me thinking — why do we say it that way? I guess it is because certain diphthongs are unnatural in Indian languages. “OE” is not a natural thing to say, so we invent a consonant in between. The French also do this. I had this funny conversation with a French colleague of mine at Geneva airport long time ago during my CERN days. Waiting at the airport l...

How To: Make Gift Tags out of Holiday Cards The Creative List: The Performers Quick Kebabs from Burger Patties The Creative List: Visual Arts Quiet Me Creative List: Artists Abound at Arena Prayers for Mumbai...Say No to Terrorism! The Creative List: Music Washington Has a Secret: We Have Artists! The Creative List: Written Word The French are famous for their fierce attachment to their language. I got a taste of this attachment long time ago when I was in France. I had been there for a couple of years, and my French skills were passable. I was working as a research engineer for CNRS, a coveted “fonctionnaire” position, and was assigned to this lab called CPPM next to the insanely beautiful callanques on the Mediterranean. Then this new colleague of ours joined CPPM, from Imperial College. He was Greek, and, being new to France, had very little French in him. I took this as a god-given opportunity to show off my French connection and decided to take him under my wing. One of the first ...

How-To: Valentine’s Day Party Invitations The Creative List: Written Word I'm Sorry I've been away! I'm back! Celebrating Co-worker Birthdays–Fun Ways to Party at the Office Just Arrived: Military Valentines Perfect for Sending Your Love! My Trip to the Veggie Market and a Recipe for Masala Garbanzos Creative List: Artists Abound at Arena The Creative List: New Media How To: Make Gift Tags out of Holiday Cards I’m an introvert. In today’s world where articulation is often mistaken for accomplishment, introversion is a bit of a baggage. But I have no complaints about my baggage, for I have been more successful than I expected or wanted to be. That’s one good thing about being an introvert — his ambition is aways superseded by the need for reflection and introspection. To an introvert, the definition of success doesn’t necessarily include popular adulation or financial rewards, but lies in the pleasure of finding things out and of dreaming up and carrying out whatever it is t...

Celebrate National Handwriting Day With Personalized Stationery The Creative List: Visual Arts Valentines Day DIY Crafts Cute Book Labels for Kids Creative List: Artists Abound at Arena The Creative List: Style Celebrating Co-worker Birthdays–Fun Ways to Party at the Office I'm Sorry I've been away! The Creative List: Music Mushy Made Easy – Valentine’s Day Cards and Messages Posted on 08 November 2009 Go Ahead, Google Them.  Meet some of the D.C.’s leading New Media professionals. DUPONT VALLEY: Meet Peter Corbett (@corbett3000) founder of iStrategyLabs (ISL) . “Follow” him and you’ll find he is known for co-creating D.C.’s Apps for Democracy and co-founding Government 2.0 Club, Government 2.0 Camp, and Transparency Camp. Recently NASDAQ OMX hired ISL to launch its first global social media marketing campaign and the Army tapped them to create a contest encouraging military technologists to build new web and mobile apps. Somehow he still finds time to Tweet like 20 times a d...

I'm back! Just Arrived: Military Valentines Perfect for Sending Your Love! Mushy Made Easy – Valentine’s Day Cards and Messages Valentines Day DIY Crafts The Creative List: The Performers Creative Feature: Design Army Washington Has a Secret: We Have Artists! The Creative List: Written Word Celebrate National Handwriting Day With Personalized Stationery Baby’s First Birthday–Celebrating the Cardstore Babies! Posted on 10 November 2009 All with an eye for the unusual: introducing a cadre of influential metro area visual artists. Maggie Michael (whose work has been described as “sculptural painting”), and her husband Dan Steinhilber (who they say creates “painterly sculpture”) are the current glamdarlings of the Washington art scene. Michael is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant and an Artist Fellowship from the . She was a resident artist in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s Artist at Work program in 2006-07. During 2008, Michael was...