Geek in Heels - Page 98

Mar 26, 2011 • In Art/Design, Books, Personal

New Deluxe Penguin Classics

So I had no idea that the iconic publisher Penguin had started a series called Graphic Penguin Classics which takes popular and classic novels and redesigns the covers, illustrated by today’s hottest graphic artists. (You can get a better look at the covers at this Flickr Set.)

This is yet another lesson that reminds you that you learn new things every day. Even when you’re thirty and overtired and have baby drool stains on all your clothes.

Anyway, how much do you love the new designs? I mean, don’t get me wrong — IMHO, nothing beats the classic Penguin book covers (did you know that you can get them in postcard format?), but sometimes a redesign can help you notice things you haven’t before, and/or see things in a whole new light. I’m especially digging the new cover for The Communist Manifesto, illustrated by Patrice Killoffer.

Today, Flavorwire featured two new additions to the Graphic Penguin Classic series, as well as three new covers from a new series titled “Penguin Threads,” which looks to be this year’s answer to the publishing house’s 75th Anniversary Penguin Ink collection.

Which one do you like best? I’m loving the cartoonish feel of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I knew that I recognized the style when I read that the illustrator, Ivan Brunetti, has created many covers for The New Yorker.

Giveaways

Ahh, giveaways. I know for a fact that the net is full of people who trawl sites just for giveaways and contests, as well as those who manage to enter single drawings numerous times under various pseudonyms without getting caught.

Because who doesn’t like free stuff?

And as much as the blog is great on its own, I’m sure that one of the reasons The Pioneer Woman is so popular is because she’s always hosting FABULOUS giveaways.

Hosting a giveaway is also one of the quickest ways to draw new readers to your site. Not all visitors will stick around, but I’ve found that I’ve always snagged at least a few new loyal readers from hosting giveaways. And I’m sure that this is one of the reasons I am always seeing great giveaways on the sites I read regularly.

That being said, I don’t always enter giveaways myself.

Why? Unless it is a product/service that I really, really want or need, I won’t do it lest I ruin the chances for someone else who really wants to win.

Does that make sense?

I know that some of my fellow bloggers want as many people as possible to enter their giveaways to: (1) make it more fun, and (2) show that they have a good readership.

But even then I won’t enter unless I really want to win that product/service because I know that there’s someone out there who must want it more (and in my eyes, is more deserving to win).

Do you enter as many giveaways as possible?

Does anyone else share my philosophy on giveaways?

With that out of the way, let’s get to the fun stuff.

I recently received a $20 gift card to Shutterfly* that I have no use for — so I figured why not give it to one of my readers?

To enter the giveaway, just do one or two or all of the following (each will grant you a separate entry):

Comment on this post
Tweet: I just entered to win a $20 gift card to Shutterfly.com via @geekinheels and you can too! http://bit.ly/eueDGP
“Like” this post using the Facebook “Like” button at the bottom of the post

The giveaway will close at 9pm EST on Sunday, March 27. I will announce the winner on this blog.

And stay tuned for another giveaway next week…this one I’m pretty excited about, because I use the product myself and love it! It’s on my must-have list of items for babies!

*The gift card is good for a one-time $20 credit towards a purchase of $20 or more (excluding shipping, handling and taxes) at www.shutterfly.com.

Interactive Map of Average Breast Cup Size by Country

You can’t say that you didn’t see this one coming.

Last week I linked to an Interactive Map of Average Penis Length by Country. And today I present its female counterpart (click on map to view):

Once again the data is not too surprising. I was a bit taken back by the average U.S. breast cup size (which is a D, just in case you’re too lazy to click over), but it makes sense considering the country’s high obesity rate.

I should also say that this post is not meant to poke fun at, or objectify the sexes. I believe that both maps are neat representations of questions I’m sure everyone has wondered at one point in their lives. So please, don’t take offense (ahem, commenter “MISANDRY”) as I am but a purveyor of trivial data. 🙂

Via Geekologie.

“The Life Aquatic” Told in 60 Seconds [Also, in Clay]

The Life Aquatic is my favorite Wes Anderson movie, so I can’t not share this awesome claymation spoof remake. I only wish the creators had used the fantastic soundtrack from the original, but I guess there’s only so much you could fit into 60 seconds. 🙂

Via Geek Tyrant.

The 31st Way to Upgrade Your Ramen

Yesterday, the foodie site Serious Eats wrote about the 30+ Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Instant Noodles. And while I certainly wouldn’t call every method “easy” (just reading about the Ramepherd’s Pie gave me a headache), nor did all the modifications actually look that tasty in this blogger’s opinion (Ramacos and Ramac & Cheese look…interesting), I was glad to see the American public be exposed to all the different ways to enjoy the ubiquitous Asian treat.

Besides, J has been adding additional meat, vegetables, sauces, etc to his ramen ever since he first learned to boil a pot of water, while I have been using the Instant Snack method of enjoying your ramen ever since I can remember (I remember actually thinking that I had invented this method of eating ramen, and excitedly telling all my friends about it).

That being said, I was surprised to see one VERY simple upgrade not be mentioned in the slideshow or its accompanying article. Then I realized that it is another trick that my mother discovered on her own while experimenting in the kitchen…

Just as your ramen starts to boil in the pot, add some crushed/minced garlic and a bit of sesame oil.

That’s it. It’s probably easier than any of the other upgrades in the Serious Eats list, but you won’t believe the difference in flavor it makes!

And the best part is that it can be combined with practically anything else to give your bowl of noodles that extra oomph.

Try it the next time you prepare your favorite package of ramen. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. 🙂

Historically Hardcore

Artist Jenny Burrows and her copywriter friend Matt Kappler created these mock ads during school for inclusion in their portfolio…and it went viral.

The posters initially had the Smithsonian name and logo at the bottom, but the museum, who was none too pleased with the attention, asked for the association to be removed. (I personally don’t quite understand why the museum chose to do this — I think it’s great publicity that would only help draw in younger generations.)

Check out the rest of the story on Jenny’s blog. I sincerely hope that she gets a chance to create more of these “Historically Hardcore” ads in the near future!

Via My Modern Metropolis.

“How I Met Your Mother” Russian Remake

This is just too hilariously awesome not to share. Fans of CBS’s How I Met Your Mother will undoubtedly be able to easily identify each character and scene as I have. And as Best Week Ever states, “Russian versions of TV shows look a whole lot like porn parody versions of TV shows, but with way less sex and way more Russian.”

Enjoy!

When “Healthy” Equals “Fat”

I myself have not been to Korea in a while, but I have plenty of friends and family members who visit regularly, and can confirm the fact that Korean girls hardly ever participate in sports, and would rather go on extreme diets than exercise to lose weight.

In fact, aside from low-intensity workouts and stretches, Korean girls are discouraged from exercise in fear that they will become too muscular, and thus be called “fat.”

Yes, you read that correctly. In Korea, having defined muscles = fat.

And if you can believe it, the direct translation of the word “healthy” — 건강하다 — actually has negative connotations. Because when someone tells you that you “look healthy,” it really means that you “look bulky.” Or, in the minds of image-conscious Korean girls, “you’re fat.”

I’ve always dismissed this phenomenon as another less-than-ideal quirk that is specific to my native country. However, when I saw the below clip from Arirang TV (an international, English-language network in Korea…probably the most popular of its kind) I became livid. Take a look:

Just the title of the segment is enough to draw ire: “A twist in figures! The beautiful stars with healthy lower bodies.” 😕

In the clip, reporters and so-called experts analyze the bodies of popular Korean celebrities who have thin upper bodies and “healthy,” muscular lower bodies. They clearly believe that having a “healthy” lower body is a flaw, and even go as far as to suggest outfits that would minimize the look of muscular legs as well as yoga poses that would help slim down the offending appendages.

What’s even more disturbing is that South Korea already has the lowest obesity rates in OECD.

Nevermind the fact that most Korean meals are half the size of those in the US, or that Koreans as a whole are much less sedentary than Americans due to the way their mass transit system is organized.

Because when you take into consideration “news” segments such as these, the proliferation of “thin is best” messages that permeate all Korean media, the image-conscious society and the unhealthy methods Korean girls employ to lose weight and look good (evidenced by the thriving diet pills/supplements industry and high rates of plastic surgery), one can’t help but wonder how healthy these thin girls are.

As a matter of fact, news of girls fainting on the subway, or of celebrities being admitted to hospitals as a result of their malnourished bodies — while sad — are not rare in Korea.

And jaw-shaving surgeries and calf-reduction surgeries, which go beyond liposuction to actually transform your bone and muscle structure, have become so popular in Korea that women fly in from all over the world to get it done in a country where not only do the doctors have the most experience performing such surgeries, but it is also quite inexpensive compared to similar procedures in other nations.

I personally think that the celebrities in the video who are criticized for having “healthy” lower bodies look great. Never would it have occurred to me that their legs are too muscular.

And the “before” legs in the picture above? I would actually love to have those legs.

But then again, I grew up in the U.S., where defined muscles are actually considered attractive.

Via The Grand Narrative.

Stupid Tongue

Spring may have officially begun, but it’s a miserable day today here in the NYC area (can you believe it snowed this morning?)

Whenever the weather is like this I feel like an old lady. My joints ache and my eyelids feel like they’re made out of lead. My mind feels fuzzy and I can’t concentrate. I have trouble remembering the simplest of things, like my own phone number.

So here’s one for all of us who are adversely affected by days like these. I hope it brings a smile to your face and helps brighten your day!

Via haha.nu.

Parents and Technology

Last month I received a phone call from my dad. This is how the conversation went:

Dad: Jenny I want a smartphone.

GiH: That’s great. What kind do you want?

Dad: …the smartphone.

GiH: Okay, but there are many different types of smartphones. Do you have a specific brand in mind?

Dad: The one that my friends have.

GiH: 😕

My parents are typical Korean immigrants in their 50s with very little exposure, let alone experience, with technology. My dad has a laptop, but he mostly uses it to check the security camera feeds connected to his store. Sure, he visits Korean news sites but this also means that J and I are constantly asked to “fix” the computer (ie, remove all the malware and spyware my dad has inadvertently downloaded).

My mother still can’t differentiate between email addresses and web URLs. It isn’t uncommon for her to read/see/hear an ad, call me, and ask me to check out the product/services in more detail by visiting the website…and she’ll give me an email address instead.

They get confused if a gadget or appliance has more than just a power cord. J and I bought them a nice GPS system — in Korean, no less — but they’re still afraid to use it. They know that I have a blog, but they don’t quite understand what a blog is and they never visit this site (probably because they do not remember the URL and do not know how to bookmark sites in their web browsers).

(via High Expectations Asian Father)

Then, a couple of weeks ago I received a Facebook friend request from my mother. Uh-oh.

The very next day I got the following text message from my sister:

Mom wants you to accept her friend request on fb.

YES mom is on fb.

Soon, I began to see her all over my Facebook news feed. She was friending people left and right (mostly family members, but also her friends’ children as well as a bunch of my sister’s friends) and writing mundane stuff on our mutual friends’ profiles (eg, “Have you guys eaten dinner yet? What did you eat?” Except in Korean.)

It got worse when last week, my sister gifted both parents with iPhone 3Gs.

They both immediately sent me texts. And continued to send me texts…all the time.

My mother used to call me 2-3x a day whenever she got bored at work. Now, she writes on my Facebook or sends me text messages instead. And according to my sister, she will send my sister texts from the next room.

My father takes pictures and videos of Claire so that he can show them off to his friends. He’s even managed to find various Korean iPhone apps and is constantly fiddling around with them.

This is not to say that my parents are now tech-savvy; they’re far from it. My mother still doesn’t understand the concept of downloading photos to the computer or phone. Instead, she will take pictures of the photos and save them in her phone. My father still thinks that Facebook is a photo-sharing site. And they both still shout into their cell phones because they believe that such small devices do not have the power to properly amplify their voices.

And in instances such as these, all you can do is smile and ignore it. Only later, when you have some extra time and have taken an extra dose of patience pills, can you try to explain it to them in a way that they will understand.

How are you parents’ knowledge of today’s technology? Are they socially connected via Facebook, Twitter, etc? Do you chat with you over instant messages? Send you text messages? Own smartphones?

New Deluxe Penguin Classics

You may also like:

Giveaways

You may also like:

Interactive Map of Average Breast Cup Size by Country

You may also like:

“The Life Aquatic” Told in 60 Seconds [Also, in Clay]

You may also like:

The 31st Way to Upgrade Your Ramen

You may also like:

Historically Hardcore

You may also like:

“How I Met Your Mother” Russian Remake

You may also like:

When “Healthy” Equals “Fat”

You may also like:

Stupid Tongue

You may also like:

Parents and Technology

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