deal #oftheday(s): baskin robbins scoopfest, tues 22nd - thurs 24th

Going on today, only until Thursday!

If you scream ice cream, Baskin Robbins is holding a three-day "Scoop Fest" in honor of Sony Pictures' The Amazing Spider-Man 2™.

$1, $2, and $3 scoops, as well as Spiderman-inspired ice cream flavors, will be available throughout the promotion. Anyone with a sweet tooth or a Spidie-crazed child is encouraged to "swing on by" (I know, I know x).

Daily prizes are also being given away all month, with 3 grand prize winners winning a bunch of memorabilia, but most importantly, a whole YEAR of free ice cream! More details at the official website here.

HOW TO ENTER: During the Contest Period, an eligible Entrant can enter the Contest on Twitter or Instagram. To enter the Contest using Twitter, the Entrant must Tweet a photograph of the Entrant performing his or her interpretation of a Spider-Man pose, including the hashtag "#BRHero." To enter the Contest using Instagram, the Entrant must post a photograph of the Entrant performing his or her interpretation of a Spider-Man pose, including the hashtag "#BRHero." An Entrant must be a follower of @BaskinRobbins on the respective social media platform used to enter the Contest (e.g., Twitter or Instagram) at the time of entry and continuing until May 30, 2014 for winner notification purposes to be eligible to win/claim a prize. These Official Rules can be found at www.amazingscoopfest.com.

good deal: $1.99 incl. shipping at cardstore.com!

 
This wandered past my eye on the interweb and, deciding to check it out, was pleasantly surprised!

Cardstore is like an online Hallmark that holds a nice blend of contemporary and mainstream designs, with a lot of great customization options as well. You can include your own photos not only on the front but on the inside of the card as well. I walked through the process, and the online layout is appealing and easy to use.

IMO, $1.99 for a customized card is pretty sweet, and the deal includes shipping, though tax is added (so the final came out to be a little over $2). And the code applies to up to 100 cards :O. Belated birthdays, just because's, summer catch-up, someone on your mind...

According to the site, Friendship Day is August 4, so use the code and try Cardstore out before the promotion ends on Monday the 29th!

olio fri #2: tip #oftheday, discounts for l.a.metro riders

There are many benefits to public transportation, but in the ravenous car-opolis that is L.A., such boons often seem not worth the trouble. The city is such a spread-out sprawl that saving the planet, or even the money, does not seem worth the increase in travel time.

Still, we must tip the scales in ways that we can, and so Metro has this great thing called Exclusive Discounts for Metro Riders. Those who know me may also know I am kind of shamelessly into any sort of discount or bargain. I honestly don't see anything wrong with that, though there are those who may disagree. But really, why pay full price when you don't have to?? I don't understand T_T (and thus, my affinity with "Thrift Shop" from first listen).

Anyway, their website states:

Useful sidebar search
from their website.

Go Metro and Save

Welcome to Metro Destination Discounts, the program that gives Metro riders exclusive discounts to destinations in LA County. Go Metro to participating locations and events and you’ll save on admission, get discounts on meals, and receive free gifts.

It’s easier than ever to Go Metro to a night on the town.

Now Metro Rail trains run until approximately 2am on Friday and Saturday nights. So you can catch the overtime action, stay for the encore or take time for that bite to eat and still count on Metro for your ride home!

How It Works

1. Check participating venues and events listed below.
2. Plan your route to your destination using the Metro Trip Planner.
3. Go Metro to your destination.
4. Show your valid TAP card, Metro Employee ID, or LA County Employee ID at destinations to receive special offer exclusive to Metro riders.

Taking a cursory glance, discounted places include: Bar Celona (Pasadena, 15% off), Chado Tea Room (Little Tokyo, 10% off), Kings Row Gastropub (Pasadena, $5 off $15 minimum), Sugar Fix (Pasadena, 10% off), and Casey's Irish Pub (Downtown, 15% off - hmmm maybe I will pop in here next Sunday), just to name a few.

I JUST FOUND OUT THERE IS A BIG WANG'S DISCOUNT HERE (15% OFF) AND I WAS THERE NOT SO LONG AGO!! !!! !!!

Okay. Time for me to be sad now.

Go out on the town and have a ball :)

game #oftheday: age yourself - see what you'll look like in 30 years

I feel like I'm in a Tom Cruise movie.

Hahaha this is so fun and so morbidly mesmerizing! I stumbled across this game, Face Retirement sponsored by Merrill Edge and Bank of America, with technology from Modiface. You get to see how your face will age in every decade, and mine went all the way up to age 107. There are also some interesting tips on the side about how the economy may change in the future.

I noticed the biggest aging factor seems to be a sagging of the jaw and everything just starts to droop down. I guess that's what aging is according to Modiface... I got my brother hooked on it and after he got freaked out about himself, we got carried away and had a lot of fun testing the game's accuracy by taking pictures of our parents' old photographs, back when they were young. :X

To try it out, enter your age and sex, take a picture of yourself and then let the creepy magic do its work! They have an "Audio Off" option for those who are more leery, but you can turn it up high to get an even fuller experience. XD
(For those concerned about privacy and rights, the images used and produced are only up for as long as you use the service and are on the site. After you're done, it's erased online, unless you choose to share your results on Facebook, whereupon it'll be on Facebook's servers.)

Here are my results. Now I know why my mom always says youth is the greatest beauty:

The present.

Age 57.

Age 87.

Hahahaha! Okay, not recommended for anyone with a Peter Pan complex, but I had a lot of fun.

vid / song #oftheday: red hands

Happy Friday and Happy MLK Weekend! Happy to share this interesting-lovely song and music video by Canadian group, Walk Off the Earth. Appreciate their harmonious musicality and the balance they play in contrast.

Shoutout of thanks to Nicole over at Big English for doing her rec'd song at the bottom of every post, which is what led me to the band's Youtube channel and this song! Here is "Red Hands" (title reminds me of Lady Macbeth):

vid #oftheday: mickey mouse club "cry for you"

I just had to post this, because -

Well, this is my Facebook reaction: I AM SO AMUSED!! SO AMUSED!!!!! 1:39 HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA WHAT IS THAT!!! WHAT IS THAT?!?!

{ illustrator } artist #oftheday: teagan white

I found this lady when I was browsing through Society6, the online art producer/distributor that houses a lot of great illustrators. Every piece of hers that happened to float up in the recommended images would catch my eye, so I quickly became familiar with the name Teagan White. Her style is sweet and understated, with an almost manga sensibility; she's got a thoughtfully cute side, like in Things Squirrels Probably Shouldn't Be Eating, but also a darker bent that comes out in her typography work, like in Only Skin.

Here's the bio from her official website:

Teagan White is a freelance designer & illustrator from Chicago, currently living and working in St Paul, Minnesota, where she recently earned her BFA in Illustration from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. Her body of work encompasses intricate renderings of flora and fauna, playful depictions of cute anthropomorphic critters, illustrative typography, and everything in between. The subtleties of nature and reciprocal relationships between organisms are her primary inspirations, and her work typically incorporates flat, limited color, decorative arrangements of organic forms, and obsessive detail. 

Her clients have included Nike, Wired Magazine, Anthropologie, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Target, and many small businesses, independent musicians, and individuals. 

Teagan lives in the woods across the street from train tracks and a fox den, and spends her tiny amounts of free time taking photos, exploring forests, rivers, lakes, fields, and swamps, picking wildflowers, and collecting animal bones.

And here are some prints from her Society 6 shop I especially like:

FISHER FOX

THE NORTH SHORE

THE LAST ACORN OF AUTUMN

ANIMAL'S TEA PARTY

ABC BOOK - C

To know more about her, you can visit her website's Info page or check out one or some of her many links { Tumblr / Facebook / Twitter / Etsy / DeviantArt / Instagram }. You can buy her art on Society6.

(music) artist #oftheday: emeli sandé

Emeli Sandé, born Adele Emeli Sandé, is a London-based Scottish singer and songwriter. I just heard about her from watching some clips on the upcoming 2013 BRITS Awards. Sandé was nominated for three categories, those of Best British Female, Best British Album and two nods in Best British Song.

Her voice and tone often remind me very much of a more clear-toned Leona Lewis, clearer and more classic R&B. In "Clown," Sandé sounds like a sweeter, higher-toned Mary J, and in "Daddy" her voice reminds me of a less-nasal Rihanna. To be honest, the color of Sandé's voice isn't very distinctive, but it is extremely supple and definitely has power and range. She's a solid performer, which you can see in her live videos. As a songwriter, she's also skilled in crafting a sound. I like that every song has a bit of a dark tinge to it, sonically speaking, even though the lyric material may be hopeful or sweet. Not in a depressing way but in a more atmospheric, Batman-movie sort of way.

On first listen, my favorite songs from her 2012 album Our Version of Events are "Where I Sleep," "Next to Me" and "River." A little more bare bone, "Suitcase" and "Breaking the Law" have a nice acoustic sound.

If you like what you hear, you can check out Sandé's Vevo/Youtube, visit her official website and/or buy her album. There's also a cute interview here where you can get to know a litte more about her.


Emeli doing "Where I Sleep" live:

tip #oftheday: gasbuddy gas price maps

I found this site one time, when I was determined to find the best gas prices available in my area. The site has a slew of things on it, enough to write it off, but just bypass all the links and head for the GasBuddy Price Heat Map. Enter in your zip code and you're good to go!

This site is super useful, with an easy map visual and prices reported by fellow users. I've got to head out now and grab from a place a mile away, as I've only four miles worth left in my tank!

photo #oftheday: national geographic winners 2012

Have you checked out the winners from National Geographic's 2012 Photo Contest yet? The Grand-Prize Winner is definitely an incredible image, so be sure to click through and view in full size.

There are plenty of incredible shots, and here are my favorites:

Grand-Prize Winner: "The Explosion!" by Ashley Vincent

Honorable Mention, People: "Captive" by Wendell Phillips

Viewers' Choice for People: "Expedition Amundsen" by Kai-Otto Melau

Honorable Mention, Nature: "Predation" by Fransisca Harlijanto

art #oftheday: nieve y deshielo

Snow and Thaw (Nieve y deshielo), c. 1900, by Darío de Regoyos y Valdés (1857-1913)
Via Glasstire.com. Photos by Dimitris Skliris.

quote #oftheday: john ashbery

Looking up "morass" after reading this blog post and being immaturely amused by the pronunciation feature:

One idea is enough to organize a life and project it
Into unusual but viable forms, but many ideas merely
Lead one thither into a morass of their own good intentions.

--John Ashbery (b. 1927), U.S. poet, critic. "A Wave."

Via Dictionary.com.

song #oftheday: one

Can't believe it's already mid-December! The passage of time always has my mini subconscious freaking out.

Anyway, you've probably heard this U2 song before, BUUUT... have you heard this very cool version featuring Mary J. Blige?! It was after hearing this duet rendition that I started liking the song. Testament to the powerful pipes of Mary J!

song #oftheday: your song

This might just be a week full of songs #oftheday ;)

Another song I came across from a past gym class! "Your Song," as covered by... some unknown. It's a beautiful, mellow piano arrangement, so I asked the gym instructor!, and she said it was by The Chosen. I looked it up, and it only seems to show up as some song in the gym company's music bank. A little further digging revealed that it maybe a cover of an Ellie Goulding cover though - I guess it's cheaper to find someone else to cover it, regardless of it not being an original version. Enjoy!

song #oftheday: countdown

So my gym membership ends today *:(* I previously bought a three-month Groupon that has been serving me quite well. Perhaps the best thing about my little gym stint, even better than the newfound (newformed?) muscles, is the newfound music! For the record, Gold's Gym plays pretty nice tunes. I've often heard new songs from group classes and overhead that I go look up at home later.

One track is "Countdown" by Beyonce, from her album 4. It was one of the songs for a dance class and is a superfun, catchy tune, with an interesting use of the line "killing me softly" and an impressive mesh of lots of styles and elements:

song #oftheday: no words

The band I've recently been crushing on, The Script, (I just really like their goofy, down-to-earth attitude, I think they're adorable!) recently released an album a couple of months ago. Titled #3, the album has ten tracks of pop-rap-rock sounds, and this is my favorite song from the album. Though I still think "Breakeven" is the best song they've done, "No Words" is really catchy and the contrast is quite interesting. While the sentiment is sweet and nothing new, sonically, it's a little dark and almost haunting, retaining a modern edginess:

song #oftheday: nobody's business

Has everyone else heard this song? I'm pretty sure they're blasting it on the radio stations now.

I first heard this song this past weekend and my reaction was: O_O. That's a statement. Don't wish to delve into all the Chris Brown and Rihanna commentary myself, so I'll just say that I did very much like the nod to Michael with "The Way You Make Me Feel" utilization and reference.

vid #oftheday: the love competition

Thanks to my friend who rec'd this video to me, I got to watch this interesting short film titled "The Love Competition," a joint venture between The Stanford Center for Cognitive and Neurobiological Imaging and filmmaker Brent Hoff made under Wholphin, a short film quarterly.

The Love Competition from Brent Hoff on Vimeo.

Because "Love is a feeling you have for someone you have feelings about."
Get the DVD | Subscribe to Wholphin

It was released early this year, at the much more timely period around Valentine's Day, but it's still an interesting and fun watch. I think the opening question some articles have used, "Is it possible for one person to love more than another?" and "Can one person experience love more deeply than another?", is a bit misleading since it's basically a measurement of brain activity in an area theorized to have a relation with feelings of love. That obviously does not directly conclude to loving more than someone else.

Don't let the numbers and charts aspect throw you off too much though. For all its clinical trappings and electronic bleeps and boops, it has a very humanistic draw in each subect's story and expressions, and for its length is a very interesting, enjoyable piece. Watch and see if the one you're rooting for "wins."

;)

artist #oftheday: alberto macone

"dicembre" by Alberto Macone, born 1971

Came across an image on Pinterest and looked it up using Google Image Search (that little gray camera ico on the right side of the search bar). The original pin went to a Tumblr link; the artwork being so whimsical yet rather somber gave it such an interesting play of mood that I wanted to find a more direct link.

My search brought me to ArtOdyssey, which contained a short profile on the artist and a number of his lovely images in larger resolution.

Turns out the artist is Alberto Macone, a man actually working as an assistant professor in the Medicine and Pharmacy Department at La Sapienza University in Rome, Italy. He was actually born in NY though, so he possibly still retains U.S. citizenship? Anyway, I think it's wonderful that he's gone from having a biochemistry degree to exploring this other visual side in children's illustration, still doing both.

Macone has his own blogspot blog operating as his official site, which you can visit here. I located his official website through the snippet information in this online auction for Drawing Dreams Foundation (which, I'm guessing, is where ArtOdyssey got the info from).

Here is some more of his work - I really like the one with the man in the tie, "altrove," too:

   

   

   

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My site Disclaimer & Discloure. Click through links for glorious full-size. Why do I only post image thumbnails of images that aren't mine? Read up on copyright and the unlikely but unfortunate odds of getting sued.

photos #oftheday: happy autumn

In celebration of tomorrow being the first day of fall:

   

  

Credit: P0RG / Jeremy Cram / 3

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Click through for glorious full-size. Why do I only post image thumbnails of images that aren't mine? Read up on copyright and the unlikely but unfortunate odds of getting sued.