Geek in Heels - Page 91

Jun 4, 2011 • In Art/Design, Movies

20 Minimalist Typography Movie Poster Designs

I am loving these simplistic movie posters, imagined by Swedish designer Patrik Svensson of Prince Hat. Not only do they bring out some of the best and most memorable elements from each movie, they also accomplish this with the use of as fewest attributes as possible.

A couple of them are a bit difficult to comprehend (Can someone explain The Usual Suspects one for me? That looks like two paper clips…), but once you “get” the design, you can only marvel at its genius.

Via Bit Rebels.

It’s a…

Girl!

…but we’re not certain.

BebeDeux was moving around so much that the doc had a hard time getting a good look at the goods. He thinks it’s a girl, but he says he wouldn’t bet on it.

We’ll just have to wait until the 14th to find out for sure. (Sigh.)

I know that the gender is still not definite, but I wouldn’t be lying if I said I was initially upset. (I have always wanted two boys.) J was a teeny bit disappointed too, but only because he says I had built up the expectation.

Now that we’ve had some time to let the news sink in, we’re feeling a lot better about it. We already have a great girl name picked out but were still undecided on a boy name. My mother tells me that having a little sister would be easier for Claire and that they will become very close.

There’s also the theory that attractive people are more likely to have girls than boys, which J — ever the humble one — likes to boast about and exclaim with a woeful sigh, “It’s inevitable that I will only have girls!” 🙄 We all know that the real reason he’s more likely to give me XX sperm is due to the fact that he’s a software engineer and works with computers all day long (apparently, XY sperm tend to die off in such environments).

As I have discussed previously, if BebeDeux does turn out to be a girl, we will be trying for a third baby within the next few years.

Now, please excuse me while I go feed the beast (aka my pregnant self).

Let the Guessing Begin!

I am now 18 weeks pregnant with BebeDeux. Since babies’ genitalia start to become distinguishable via ultrasound starting at 16 weeks, you know what that means…

It’s time to start the gender-guessing game!

I waited until today to post this, because I have an OB appointment tomorrow morning. If BebeDeux cooperates, we will be able to know whether Claire will be having a little sister or a little brother.

If BebeDeux is uncooperative, we will need to wait until June 14, which is our Level II Ultrasound (otherwise known as the anatomy ultrasound).

I’m really not sure what we’re having at this point. My symptoms have been very similar with both pregnancies, but I am a bit more nauseous and have been experiencing migraines. The biggest difference with this pregnancy is that my skin has remained free of acne — if you can remember with my pregnancy with Claire, I broke out all over my body.

I am leaning towards a boy solely due to the Ramzi Method. But even that isn’t foolproof.

Would you care to take a stab at the gender? Take the poll below!

[poll id=”2″]

Here’s to hoping that BebeDeux cooperates tomorrow so we don’t need to wait another week to find out!

The 5 Greatest NBA Finals Moments, ‘Legoized’

After an embarrassing performance by my beloved Knicks in this year’s NBA Playoffs (way to celebrate your first playoff appearance in 7 years!), I must admit that I haven’t been quite as into the rest of the playoffs, or even the finals.

But even I couldn’t ignore Dallas’ spectacular sweep of last year’s champions, or the revival of the Chicago vs Miami rivalry.

Or the fabulous video below.

Now, with Game 2 of the finals scheduled for tonight, I am finding myself rooting for the Mavericks. Perhaps I am still harboring some resentment toward LeBron?

What about you? Who are you rooting for in this year’s NBA Finals?

Via Up Next in Sports.

Site Redesign (Geek in Heels 6.0)

It’s done. After working all last week and through the long weekend, my site redesign is finally complete.

Introducing Geek in Heels 6.0 —

I know that when adding a place for ads, I could’ve just easily done so with my last design. But I had been itching for a redesign for ages — so I figured, why not now?

(J is thrilled that I included him in my banner. He says I better add Comang too — what do you think?)

I am still working out some minor kinks here and there, so please bear with me for the next week or so. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, leave a comment or send me a message via my contact form.

Now, on to the ads…

Since I just added the JavaScript to start running BlogAds on this site, I do not have any advertisers yet and I may not for quite some time. I went with their suggested rate of $40/month for a 160×100 ad (which is the same size as the “Advertise Here!” image) while larger sizes and Flash/video files cost up to $192/month.

(Did you know that Perez Hilton, who also uses BlogAds, charges $4,000 per week for a 160×200 ad? 😯 )

You can see all my ad options here.

And since I am new to the ad game…

For a limited time, get 30% off your first ad placement with
the discount code NEWAD30! (without the exclamation point)

Notice that the bigger ad, or the longer duration you buy, the bigger your discount will be. 😉

And that is what I’ve been up to the past few days.

That, and Claire’s teething. Earlier today, she would start screaming if I put her down anywhere. I had to carry her and bounce her around for two hours in order to keep her from crying. My arms and back are killing me. Caring for an infant while you’re 18 weeks pregnant is exhausting. And this is precisely why I will be passing out as soon as I click the “Publish” button on this post.

Have a good night, and I hope everyone here on the east coast is surviving the heat wave!

Enjoying a Lazy Weekend

While Claire’s nighttime sleep has somewhat returned to normal, her naps are still a mess. All week I had been dealing with 15-30 minute naps…and she only takes two per day! I try to make up for her lack of sleep with early bedtimes, but keeping a cranky, teething (no top teeth yet), sleep-deprived baby entertained all day every day has been taking a toll on my patience.

My wonderful husband knew how stressed I was by the time Friday rolled around, so he contacted a girlfriend of mine and asked her if she would take me out Saturday so I could get a break from the baby and enjoy some adult-only company while he stays home with Claire. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love this man?) Needless to say, I had a wonderful time yesterday and I am feeling refreshed and recharged.

Right now I am writing this post on my phone while J drives us to my parents’ for a Memorial Day BBQ. As you can see from the below picture, we dressed Claire in an adorable outfit for the occasion. I must admit that baby clothes are much cuter and fun with the warm weather – we’ve been putting all the great hand-me-downs we’ve received to good use.

Posting will continue to be light this weekend, especially since I have been working hard at redesigning the site in order to make room for ads.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

The (Incorrect) Western Interpretation of Asian Plastic Surgery

A few days ago, CNN Asia posted a video and an accompanying article titled “Plastic surgery boom as Asians seek ‘western’ look” which tells the story of Lee Min Kyong, who opted to have Asian blepharoplasty — otherwise known as double eyelid surgery — at the age of 12 in order to “westernize her eyes.”

This really pissed me off.

As I have written in the past, I am well aware that East Asia has a disturbing rate of cosmetic surgery. I also believe that many people who choose to go under the knife are — in my opinion — too young to make such decisions.

But I wasn’t pissed about this.

I was angry at CNN’s assumption (and the resulting skewed report) that Asians have plastic surgery in order to look more “western,” or “white.”

Westerners did not invent the double eyelid. Many Asians naturally have it. The reason that so many Asians prefer the double eyelid to the “monolid” is because it lifts the extra skin and fat on the upper eyelid and creates a crease which gives the illusion of larger eyes.

Large eyes, a well-defined, pointed nose, and a smaller chin are standards of beauty in women for many cultures. And they have been what is considered the ideal beauty in Asia for centuries, well before its assimilation with the West.

Now I’m sure that some Asians who go under the knife do so because they want to look white. But I can assure you that these people are few and far between. The vast majority of Asians who get plastic surgery do so in order to become more aesthetically-pleasing while retaining their Asian features, not to look more western. And most Asians do not think that being caucasian does not automatically make one more beautiful.

Here are two of Korea’s biggest celebrities, Song Hye Kyo and Lee Hyori.
Neither of them look “white,” in my opinion.

While the Asian idea of beauty may have been influenced by the West over the years, the idea that Asian women are trying mimic caucasians is an incorrect interpretation. An Asian woman getting double eyelid surgery, a nosejob, etc is rather an attempt to enhance one’s features in a society that overly glamorizes beauty and celebrity culture.

Likewise, an Asian dying his/her hair, wearing colored contacts, etc are not in efforts to look more western. They are merely ways of standing out and experimenting with your looks in a sea of black-haired, brown-eyed people.

In my opinion, the notion that Asians have plastic surgery to look white is like saying caucasians who tan and get lip fillers are trying to look black.

Going Cable-Free, the Geek Way

Late last year J and I made the decision to cancel our cable. Not because we had stopped watching TV, but because we were no longer watching our favorite shows as they air. Sure, the DVR that our cable company had provided was getting a lot of mileage, but we couldn’t ignore the fact that the majority of the shows we enjoy are available — for free — online.

So what is the best way to live cable-free in a technologically-driven household? Well, this is how we did it…

1. Connect a media computer to your television.

There are some great media streaming devices on the market today (Boxee, Roku, and Apple TV to name a few). However, we decided to go for an actual computer instead because a computer allows us to play DVDs, downloaded videos in practically any format, in addition to everything that a media streaming device would do.

J considered building our own computer. But after calculating all the parts we would need, we decided that getting a Mac Mini would be comparable in cost.

Our Mac Mini is directly connected to our television via an HDMI port, so technically, we are using our television as a giant LCD monitor. The image quality is great and having a 52″ screen to do the occasional Photoshop work ain’t too bad either. 🙂

2. Invest in a wireless keyboard and a mouse.

With the keyboard, we decided to keep it simple and purchased the Apple Wireless Keyboard. It’s small, unobtrusive, and perfect for what we need.

We went a fancier route with the mouse: the Logitech MX Air. When J first described it to me, I asked him, “You want to spend HOW MUCH for a mouse?!!” But once I tried it out in person, I was hooked.

What’s so special about a computer mouse, you ask? Well, the MX Air is designed to be used by home theater PC users and presentations by tracking motion even after you lift it off a surface. Which means you can hold it just as you would a remote control.

The buttons that run down the middle of the mouse can function as playback controls, and the smooth surface where the scroll button would be is actually a touch panel sensor where you can slide your finger up and down.

And for those who are wondering — yes, it can be used exactly how you would use a regular computer mouse too. I find that I use it on a mousepad (or directly on our couch 😉 ) when doing “computer” work, and lift it and use it as a remote when watching videos.

3. Purchase an HD antenna.

For the rare occasions when we are able to watch a television program as it airs, we use an HD antenna.

The very first time that we hooked up the antenna to our television, we couldn’t believe our eyes — the picture quality was better than what we had with cable! And while the channel selection was limited (which was expected), we were able to pick up a few channels that we would’ve had to pay extra with our cable company, e.g. a Korean channel and a Chinese channel.

We went with the Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified HD Antenna due to is popularity and positive reviews on Amazon. But we have also heard that a $20 HD antenna from Walmart works just as fine, so I don’t think an antenna makes that much of a difference if you live in, or near a metropolitan area.

4. Subscribe to a video streaming service (or two…or three).

We’re currently subscribed to Netflix‘s $7.99/month unlimited streaming plan. We’re pretty happy with the service — the quality is better than we had expected, and there is practically no lagging. That being said, we do wish that more older movies and shows would be available for streaming (and not just on DVD, which we would need to pay extra for).

We watch most television shows which have already aired on Hulu. Again, the quality is pretty good (the picture quality on Hulu is better than that of most network websites that are streaming the same shows) and I wouldn’t be lying if I said that I have been tempted to subscribe to Hulu Plus on more than one occasion.

I have also recently discovered that with my Amazon Prime membership, I have access to over 5,000 commercial-free, streaming movies and TV shows.

We scour the web for websites that stream live sports games. We download television shows that are not available on Netflix or Hulu. We’ve also discovered new programs and movies that we would have never known about if we hadn’t canceled cable.

And that’s how we did it. Sure, the initial setup cost quite a bit a money, but considering that we were paying almost $90/month for cable, the investment has evened out after a few months.

A Half-Assed Update

Claire woke up no less than nine times last night. Each time with an agonizing scream that pierced my heart.

Needless to say, I got very, very little sleep. I decided to take her to the doctor this morning in order to ensure that there was nothing physically wrong with her. I was particularly concerned that she might have an ear infection because the symptoms of an ear infection are very similar to those of teething.

Our pediatrician declared Claire perfectly healthy, albeit a bit cranky. She remarked on Claire’s great hand-eye coordination, her terrific balance, and even her clean ears. After checking her mouth, the doc showed me how her top middle gums were painfully bulging with some white showing underneath.

“It looks like she’ll pop two at once again,” she added.

I couldn’t help but wonder if this was a metaphor for our initial years as parents, with a second child who will be just 13 months younger than the first. Extra difficult while it lasts, but get it out of the way fast.

Now, please excuse me while I try to catch some ZZZs before my daughter wakes up screaming again.

Education Regrets

With the increasing number of studies and articles questioning the value of college degrees, in addition to the declining rates of employment and starting salaries among new graduates, it is no wonder that today’s young adults are fraught with regrets about their college choices.

According to a recent study by Rutgers University’s Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, a full 74% of recent graduates wish that they had done something differently about their college careers. At the top of the list is choosing a different major, with getting more internships/experience a close second:

I can’t help but be reminded of myself and my husband when reading articles such as these. Shortly after we had first started dating, I had asked him, “If you could go back in time and change one thing about your past, what would it be?”

“College. I would’ve taken that scholarship at NYU instead.”

Incidentally, that was my answer too. Except I would have gone with Columbia.

What is so ironic about our matching answers is that we had met in college; if we had not attended JHU, we probably would have never met.

But then again, NYU and Columbia are in the same city so there is still a slight chance that fate would have intervened.

What about you? Do you have any big regrets about life? What is your biggest regret about college?

Via Geekosystem.