Thanksgiving Break

This Thanksgiving break, my family and I visited San Francisco, where we stayed at the Hyatt. In San Francisco, we visited many places, including the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and many shops in the Mission district.

MoMa

http://www.moma.org/

There was one really fun exhibit at the MOMA. It was called Frequency and Volume by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. There were projectors lined up against the wall, and by standing in front of them you could cast shadows. The special part of that exhibit was that by moving side to side, you could change the radio station. On the opposite side of the projectors, speakers were lined up and by moving forward and backward you could change the volume. My siblings and I had a great time at that exhibit, and we spent almost an hour there.

Getting squished by a giant foot

Posing for the camera and listening to 274.16

More posing...

... And more posing

This was one picture in the MOMA that I really liked. Mushrooms with multiple eyes and spikes.

Walking through the Mission district, some unique shops really caught my eye.

Mission Cheese

http://missioncheese.net/

Mission Cheese has its menu written in the shape of sheep.

 Dandelion Chocolate

http://www.dandelionchocolate.com/

Dandelion Chocolate recently opened. It has a shelf describing the different type of chocolate, and there are jars for sampling too. A nice man who worked there explained to us how chocolate is made.

826 Valencia 

http://826valencia.org/store/

826 Valencia is a pirate store. It sells treasure chests, wooden legs, diamonds, eye patches, and other pirate accessories.

"Tyrant"

This was an essay for school that is written as a newspaper article about "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell.

 "Tyrant"

In 1940, Eric Blair wrote an essay describing the events that happened two decades earlier in Burma, a former independent country that had been colonized by the British Empire during the previous century.

Eric Blair, born in India as a British citizen, was “all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British”.  Blair, who worked as a sub-divisional police officer in Moulmein, Lower Burma, from 1922 to 1931, was a persona non grata[1]. Even though he was part of the colonial power, he strongly believed that “imperialism was an evil thing”. Since Eric Blair wrote about controversial ideas, he used the pseudonym[2] George Orwell to protect his identity. 

When an elephant escaped from its owner during must[3], Blair, as a police officer, was called in to help.  At first he wanted to use his old .44 Winchester in terrorem[4] , but when he saw what the elephant did to a Dravidian coolie, he exchanged his old gun for an elephant rifle.  The elephant had slammed the almost “naked body” of the laborer to the ground, “with arms crucified and head sharply twisted to one side” and a face with an “expression of unendurable agony”. Using words like these, the reader sympathizes with the Burmese people suffering like Jesus, being tortured by the wild elephant, the imperialistic British Empire.

 Eric Blair followed the elephant’s tracks, gathering a crowd of people as he walked towards the paddy fields.  Prima facie[5], he realized that he “did not want to shoot the elephant”.  Looking at the huge crowd surrounding him, Blair felt pressured to fulfill the expectation to kill the elephant.  Blair suddenly understood what it meant to be a tyrant. He realized that when “the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” Blair felt like “an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces”. He was going to shoot the elephant to save his face. When Eric Blair finally pulled the trigger, he did not hear the bang, but only heard the crowd cheering. The elephant died a slow and painful death.

The Burmese owner was distraught by the death of his elephant but, as a native, had no say in the matter. Among the Europeans, the elderly thought that Blair had done the right thing. The younger British citizens believed it was a shame that the elephant had died since the life of a native was worth less to them than that of the elephant.  Eric Blair was thankful that the elephant had killed a human to be considered legally (though not morally) innocent. The events that happened that day revealed to Eric Blair what imperialism does to people – the oppressed and tyrants alike.

---

[1] An unwelcome person

[2] Pen name

[3] In season for breeding

[4] As a way of intimidating

[5] At first sight

Fimo

Lately I have been making a lot of things out of Fimo. Fimo is a type of clay, similar to Sculpey.  This is a video I made showing all the things I have made out of Fimo so far.

If you would like me to post a tutorial showing how to make any one of these things, please comment.

Vacation

Sorry for not posting any articles lately.
I went on vacation in Europe for six weeks!!!
I will start posting more articles this month.

Starburst Wrapper Chain

1.  Eat A LOT of Starbursts!!!!
           -Yum, Yum, YUM

2.  Lay one wrapper down on a table so that it is long but not tall, with the blank side facing up.

3  Fold the wrapper in half 3 times

4.  Fold it in half horizontally

5. Fold it so that the outer edges are touching the crease.

6.Fold it in half once again.

7.  Take the end of one of the wrappers and insert it into the end of another wrapper.

8.  Continue.

For more detailed instructions got to

 http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-starburst-wrapper-chain/

Lego!!!!

Some pictures of the the Lego city I helped build ...

the whole city

house one

 it has a desk, a closet, a sofa, and a bed (not shown)

 house two

 the movie theater

the two houses

the cafe

Basic Bread Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 packet Red Star Active Dry Yeast
2 cups organic white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon salt
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading

1. In a large bowl, combine warm water, sugar, yeast, and two cups whole wheat flour.  Cover mixture with a clean towel and let stand 10 minutes until bubbly.

2. Stir in salt and vegetable oil.

3. Stir in all-purpose flour, one cup at a time. When the dough holds together and all the flour is mixed in, plop the dough onto a clean, floured surface.

4. With a little flour on your hands, knead the dough.  After 5 min., take a break and let the dough rest.

6.  Knead the dough for a few more minutes until springy and smooth.  Put dough into bowl and cover with a clean towel.  Let the dough rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

7.Gently deflate dough and turn out onto a floured surface.  .  Divide dough in half and shape into 2 loaves.

8.Grease baking sheet and put loaves on it.  Cover the dough with a clean towel and let the dough rise for 30 min.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

9.  Remove towel and slash the tops of the loaves.  Bake loaves  for about 30 min, until the crust is golden brown.  Cool bread on a rack.

I saw this recipe in "Odyssey", March 2009

Piadini

You need:
   3c all-purpose flour
   1 ts salt
   1/2 ts baking powder
   3 tb olive oil
   1/2 c (generous) mixture of half milk, half water
  
Instructions

    Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.  Make a well in the center and pour in the olive oil and a little of the milk-water mixture.  Start to mix the dough with a fork, gradually  adding the rest of the liquids: you will probably need extra water, depending on the absorbancy of the flour.
    When the dough has come together and leaves the sides of the bowl clean, form it into a rough ball and put it on a very lightly floured surface.  Knead until smooth, about 10 minutes.  Let rest for 10 to 30 minutes.
    When the dough has rested, divide it into small balls, each about the size of a plum.  Roll each ball out onto a flat circle about 1/8 inch thick.  Now put the heavy pan on medium heat.  Let the pan become hot enough to make a drop of water dance.
    Put the first piadini in the pan and press down with a wooden spatula.  Let cook on one side for about 20 seconds or so that when you lift it to turn it over it should have whitened, and there will be the faint beginnings of brown scorch marks.  Repeat with the second side.
    When the bread is ready it will have puffed up and should have brown spots all over its surface.  Let cool and enjoy.
   Perfect for dinner or lunch - it can be served with a variety of toppings.

I got this recipe from a good friend.

5 Great Presents

5 great presents for any occasion - birthdays, Christmas, or other holidays.
     
1. A friendship bracelet - show somebody you care by giving him/her a handmade friendship bracelet.(instructions at http://www.how-to-make-jewelry.com/friendship-bracelet-instructions1.html)

     
     












2. A photo album filled with memories.  (You can find binding instructions at http://www.sff.net/people/brook.west/bind/bindit.html)

     

    

     
3. A hand sewn pillow.

   
   











     

4. A coupon (it can be anything from a massage to breakfast in bed).
     
     
     
5. A big hug!!!!!!!!!  :)

Multipurpose Pouch!

A multipurpose pouch (I use mine to store make-up and mini flashlights)

 You need:

      - duct tape

      -cardboard or construction paper

Instructions:

      1. Cut the cardboard/construction paper into these dimensions(dimensions are in inches and can be changed according to how big you want your pouch to be)

           - flap - 3.1 x 7.2

           - top/bottom (x2) - 2.6 x 7.2

           - back - 5.2 x 7.2

           - front - 3.2 x 7.2

     

      2. Cover one side of each piece with duct tape.

      3. Attach pieces in order shown.

      4. Place 1 longish strip of duct tape sticky side up on the table and place the cardboard pices on top, aligning the strip with the bottom of the back of the case.  Put another, smaller piece on top as wide as you want your pouch to be.

      5. Fold up box and decorate. :)

I got this idea from http://www.instructables.com/id/That-stripey-duct-tape-pencil-case/

Duct Tape Glasses

I made this easy and very fun project today. It takes about 5 - 15 minutes.

You need:
     - 1 pair of old 3-D glasses
     - duct tape(any color)

Instructions:
     1. Pop out the lenses.
     2. Cover with duct tape.

-Great assesories for Halloween costumes

Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

500 g oven toasted oats

250 g butter/margarine

250 g sugar

2-3 eggs

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

2-3 tablespoons flour

Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius.  Pour oats and butter into a warm pot.  Mix well, then let cool.  After the mixture has cooled, add the other ingredients and mix well.  Scoop a bit of dough onto the cookie sheet and form it into the preferred shape.  Do the same with the rest of the dough.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until ready.  Let cool and eat!

Yum, yum, yum!!!!!!!!!

I got this recipe from "The Secret Ingredient" by Laura Schaefer (a good book).

Plain Scones

My favorite scones recipe...

Ingredients

2 cups king Arthur all-purpose flour

I  tablespoon baking powder

½  cup sugar

½  teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons butter

1 fresh egg

2/3 cup fresh buttermilk

¼ cup whole milk

-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Mix the dry ingredients  together first, then cut in the butter and egg.  Slowly add the buttermilkto form a thick dough.  Knead the dough on a board, roll to a 1-inch thickness, and cut the dough into 2-inch triangles.  Place each triangle on a greased cookie sheet and brush the tops with milk.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.  Makes 12 scones. 

Great for snacks, and even for lunch. ;)
I got this recipe from "The Secret Ingredient" by Laura Schaefer (a good book).

Welcome

Hello, welcome to my blog - E to the Power of Three.  I will post instructions for arts and crafts, recipes for baking/cooking, links to my favorite websites, and more.