"fat pony leg"

Okay, semi-complicated link arc.

i frequently read a fashion blog based in Chicago, which lead to the find of this picture of a pump with a carved heel. This being kind of pirate-awesome, i sent the link to a labmate, who exclaimed 'Fat Pony Leg!', among other things. She (Holly) later sent me to a link of the aforementioned fat pony, who happened to be from Looney Tunes. She mentioned that it was actually the first picture that popped up in a google image search for ' looney tunes white pony fat '; i repeated the search and she was indeed correct, with this being the first webpage. The little flying my little ponies reminded me of 'Bronies' - HOW COULD I FORGET ABOUT BRONIES? And there you have it.

Things to post on later: GoT hairstyles and the lab lottery adventure.

midnight and a half already?

So, Kimbra? Reference Settle Down and Two Way Street.

She's the female on Gotye's Someone That I Used to Know, and a strange blend of Feist and Florence + the Machine. Moreover, her music videos feature ballet-like moves, which is a tiny bit odd. She's popping up everywhere.

Also, strange find of the evening, article-wise, a paper featuring kinases i'm very interested in, lab-wise, and running.

baggage

Alright. i need a new backpack - the straps are coming off of my current edition. i recently got a new camera, and it fills the majority of my current main compartment, anyway. i REALLY want to be able to store the camera with the lens attached, to facilitate quick shots - it's awkward having to fumble around in one's bag, make everyone wait or recreate a scene rather than grab my camera out and just take a picture. i also want to be able to carry around all of the papers and books that i currently do, as well as food and other sundry items. i don't want it to be solely a camera bag, which makes bag hacks (the use of inserts to convert a bag to one that carries a camera) really all that practical; for all intents and purposes, i currently am using a camera bag to recreate this in my own backpack.

So i've put some research into new bag acquisition. Crumpler is a brand based out of Australia, and they sell a bag (the Enthusiast) with a compartment on the bottom where you can store a fully assembled camera. The full volume of the bag, however, is only 10L, which is relatively small. Plus, it's not waterproof and the compartment always has the risk of opening up due to it's position.

i like the design of Timbuk2's Ram conversion backpack/messenger bag; i could just use my current set-up, and the side-opening compartment is a decent approximation of how i'd like the bag to open. The volume is 20L, which is pretty awesome. Plus, i'm curious about messenger bags?

Any votes?

pathways

It has come to my attention that threshing through cell signaling transduction papers (for instance this) is a lot like reading the Bible's Old Testament - this kinase phosphorylates these kinases, which then phosphorylate 3 other kinases and act on kinases in other pathways, which then go on to activate this kinase and these 3 transcription factors, akin to so-and-so begat 3 sons, who each begat 4 sons, who then all begat 7 sons and founded this tribe over here, which had conflict with that other tribe...

Okay, maybe not exactly, but close enough.

midnight streaming concerts.

SXSW (South by Southwest) is sort of a big deal at home. i've never gone; it's too much money, at what's typically been an inconvenient time (late March? seriously? but on the same hand, i guess there's never a convenient time). The bands and music is the festival features is compelling, though, and i saw yesterday that NPR is streaming bands live. Last night was streaming from Stubbs, a concert venue/bbq joint that i've been to a few times (though only once for a concert - Jurassic 5). The venue reminds me sort of a large basketball court with a stage on one end, fenced in. i've never seen Andrew Bird live (which i'm going to have to change at some point), despite having youtubed his live stuff constantly, and he was featured last night at Stubbs as streamed by NPR. i stayed up to watch, despite my better judgement - the concert was set to start (originally) at midnight, which eventually got shifted back to 12:30, etc. i told myself i'd only stay up until 1, which ended up being 1:30, of course, falling asleep in my couch watching the concert on my comp and reading Bryson's In A Sunburned Country (click on that, it's incredibly well done).

Sincerely pleasant. It's curious to watch a concert by someone you've never seen in a venue you HAVE been to; a warp in time and place, and i could nearly fool myself into thinking i was there.

hipster bike

From a friend's FB, this link to a craigslist posting of a hipster bike for sale. Wow.

Kid A, etc

Starting at the beginning, which is actually the middle. So, Punch Brothers have a new album out, Who's Feeling Young Now. It is an instant favorite - i really, REALLY like all of the songs. The thing's airtight, and i've had it on repeat for about 3 days straight. One of the tacks i like most is their Kid A (up until 6:27), a cover of a Radiohead song. It's pretty abstract, as mentioned by Chris Thile in a recent interview.  To me, it's got a sort of midsummer night's dream feel about it.

And, despite the fact that i don't much care for Radiohead, at least, i don't think i do, i really like their version of the song, too.

Also, i'd mentioned it to Holly, but the Punch Brother's Patchwork Girlfriend puts me in mind of a crazy Frankenstein creation of the perfect girl. Jack was going off the other night about chimeric humans (where embryos can combine and a single person results). Humans that result usually only have strange blood types. A patchwork girlfriend as described in the song seems more to me the result of crazy genetic mosaics akin to those of a calico cat, if not the outright Frankenstein situation. okay, i've had too much to think again.

Another recent topic of conversation was androgyny, particularly as it relates to models. There's been a large stir on various fashion sites lately about some dude named Andrej. Along these same lines is a report of gender-less grooming/fashion from the NY Times. Hmm.

Oh, goodness. Tripped over this on Neil Gaiman's tumblr today, and i think it may have application to other awkward populations (*cough* scientists *cough*). He goes on to post an actual invitation, for those braver than myself.

Yes. Very yes.

Also, this article regarding the recent events in flu research is in the March 12th edition of the New Yorker. The article was written to support the fact that the research was done, which i appreciate (if any connotation needs to be applied at all).

NYTimes article regarding garage biologists and the possibility for (intentioned or not) mutant H5N1 flu generation.

The majority of my feeling on this is that, in the publishing of this article, they're merely further increasing the chances that someone will attempt it.

randomness

It has been a curious day.

From Holly, a link regarding lab coats. i miss my oversized button-up shirt that i used as a lab coat in undergrad. For the most part, we tend to only wear lab coats when we're working with live virus (eh), radioactivity (YES), or we're cold. Also from Holly, this 30 Rock clip regarding chocolate.

From Jack, the TWiV rap.

From Cass, a youtube link to a remarkably catchy song.

Additionally, i realize that it indeed has been a while since i posted pictures. This shall be remedied soon, with my apologies.

vintage posters

Several recent posts from the blog Brain Pickings have included vintage posters.

Vintage Science Posters here, i adore the Beckman one as we use Beckman centrifuges (actually from that era) in lab.

Also, Vintage travel ads. Any of them would make amazing t-shirts, as i was telling my dear friend Anne, but i particularly like the National Parks ones.