cool things! – Page 8

Coolest. Astronaut. Ever!

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has been using his time on the International Space Station to show that space is not just for scientists, but also for artists and creators. He’s been posting some beautiful photos of the Earth from space, and now he’s made a music video of his cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” with a few revised lyrics! He apparently recorded the video and audio of his song on the station, which the producers on the ground mixed with the music track and edited together into this video. He recorded this with new lyrics having to do with his return from the ISS, which you can tell he’s going to miss. It’s really a great job that he’s done, and I hope others get to follow the musical and artistic trail he’s blazed!

Now, by definition (mine), astronauts and cosmonauts are cool people, but I have to say that, after the Apollo astronauts, Chris Hadfield is on my list of The Coolest Astronauts Ever!

Enjoy!

Finally, a new book!

After many years of dithering and dawdling and otherwise procrastinating, I finally have a new book out! Hopefully the first of many, its photos cover one morning and early afternoon at the Kiyosumi Garden in Tokyo, Japan, on my first full day there.

In case you’re interested, I have both print and ebook versions available, although not through the Apple iBookstore. I’m using the software and website of Blurb.com, which is a print-on-demand service that provides book composition tools, as well as a marketplace and promotion utilities (such as the preview below) to help people create and sell books. Their model is quite reasonable, they establish a base price for paper quality, number of pages, and size of book, and the creator (me!) adds a small amount of markup, to keep once the book sells (hopefully!). I want to take more of the photos that I took on my Nerdtour 2012 trip and make books from them, because I saw and photographed some interesting sights and activities in the Tokyo area, as well as in the Touhoku region of Japan.

I named this book “Kiyosumi Garden Tour” and it’s basically a walk-around through the park, in pictures, with some occasional explanatory commentary in captions. The ebook version can be previewed and ordered here, while the print version (much more expensive, but batteries not required!) is available here.

If you want you can preview a few pages in this viewer (click on the “view fullscreen” icon to see a larger version:

Kiyosumi Garden Tour by Andrew Diseker

Look for more books during the upcoming year!

Reaching Autumn: A “Calvin and Hobbes” fan movie…

This is an interesting short (13 minutes) movie, “Reaching Autumn: A Calvin and Hobbes Movie”, featuring live actors portraying the characters “Calvin” and “Susie Derkins” from the comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes” once they’ve grown up and entered society as young adults. Calvin is portrayed as a serious businessman who’s abandoned his imaginary world, while Susie is shown as a bohemian, free-spirited artist. They meet by accident and have lunch together, while comparing notes about their childhood memories and their current lives. It’s a tender movie, with flashbacks and many scenes in the autumn woods. Some of the acting is a bit stiff, the timing is not quite right, but the heart is definitely there, and if you have fond memories of the “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strip, then you won’t be disappointed in this take on it, especially the end.

Enjoy!

DC Sakura Matsuri 2013 – Matsuri!

Well, after walking and walking and walking, I made it to the end of the parade route, where I was able to finally cross Constitution Avenue to the side where the matsuri was taking place. Then it was another 4 block or so walk to get to the nearest entrance to the matsuri, where I stopped to rest for a few minutes. I decided to pace myself after looking in on the huge crowds of people milling about (or trying to!) inside the matsuri fence, because there would be no sitting inside! I managed to spend about 4 hours there, got to see some interesting booths, inflicted my Japanese on some poor folks, and basically had fun. I saw a very high-energy J-Pop band called “M’sh”, and watched some friends perform in a cosplay “fashion show”. After that was over I decided it was time to start the long walk back to my car in the Potomac Park, so I headed back to the Tidal Basin, taking a few more photos along the way. I did stop at the Jefferson Memorial to buy a soft drink and take another short rest, but since I was so close to the car I figured it would be better to keep going. Finally I got to my car at about 5 PM, after starting at 8:30, drove home, unloaded my SD card, and promptly went to sleep!

So, one week later I managed to upload some more photos here! As always, click to see the full-size photo!

Enjoy!

There were a few people at the matsuri... — There were a few people at the matsuri…

And you thought DC *traffic* gridlock was bad... — And you thought DC *traffic* gridlock was bad…

Dancers performing a traditional Hokkaido fisherman's dance — Dancers performing a traditional Hokkaido fisherman’s dance

Some cosplay friends at the NHKWorld booth

A couple of Cherry Blossom Queen candidates

I have a bag, it's a pink bag, others may have other bags, but this one is mine. Any questions? — I have a bag, it’s a pink bag, others may have other bags, but this one is mine. Any questions?

Chillin' at the Tidal Basin... — Chillin’ at the Tidal Basin…

It was... a little crowded... — It was… a little crowded…

DC Sakura Matsuri 2013: Tidal Basin Morning

So, the last of the cherry blossoms are dropping their petals, and the primary colors are turning from pink and white to green, after a seemingly endless Winter. Here are photos I took during my walk from the Tidal Basin to the DC Sakura Matsuri (street festival) on Saturday.
I’ll have photos from the matsuri itself in a later post.

Enjoy!

As promised, more cherry blossoms…

Here we go, a batch from Tuesday evening (the only time I can get down there is around 5:30. Dang job!). I got some pretty neat pictures of the blossoms, and especially pictures of people enjoying them! I also got some eerie effects by photographing cherry trees at night, lit by streetlights!

So, here are some more, and even more to come later! Enjoy!

Some more cherry blossoms, 2013

Here are a few more photos I took during a long (long) walk around East Potomac Park, to see the cherry blossoms. More to come!

Enjoy!

Evening on the Potomac

Just a few scenes from Washington DC, near the Tidal Basin and along the Potomac River, near sunset Friday night. The cherry trees are just barely beginning to open, especially the “weeping sakura”, the willow-like species from Japan. The main trees, the Yoshino, will be in full bloom in a couple of days, now that our cold weather has (finally!) moved on, allowing the warm Spring air to coax the blossoms out. I will have some photos from the peak in a couple of days.

Until then, here are a few to enjoy!

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