Dear Nokia,

As a 12 year vet of SXSW, here are my tips and tricks for a great SXSW experience, particularly my food recommendations.

Don't miss the Kickball game at Palm Park on Sat. March 13, 2010 at 10:30. More info at http://www.dashes.com/kick

While I already have my SXSW Interactive Badge & plane flight, I would love to win a white Nokia N86 to take lots of great photos & video at SXSW (see min 3:30 to end of video).

Less than a week away folks! It will be fun! ;o)

Ms. Jen

Happy Birthday to Julie Wanda!

Fri 02.26.10 - I would like to wish a big Happy Birthday to all the last week of February folk I know: Julie Wanda Espy, Jody Ward, Jeremy Keith, Heidi Richman, Kim Volstedt, and LJ Rich!

And Happy Birthday to you if this was your Birthday week, too!

Photos of Thurs 02.04.10 taken by Ms. Jen with a Nokia N97

Thurs 02.04.10 - Three tweets from the 5 o'clock hour this evening:

@msjen: That was *HYSTERICAL* A neighborhood 5 year old boy just showed up to show me his mom's new phone, "Look, it is a mini computer" he says. about 6 hours ago

@msjen: Me, "Does you Mom know you have her new phone?" Ely, "No!" Me, "I think you should go home." "Ok" His Mom has a new Nokia N97 mini. about 6 hours ago

@msjen: Of course, I had him stop long enough to do a video. I am now walking over there to make sure he really took it home. about 6 hours ago

I do have video of Ely standing at my door telling me about his Mom's new 'mini-laptop' as he brandished a brand new Nokia N97 Mini with no adult in sight. I need to get Carolyn's permission before I post it, though. He was so excited about the 'mini-laptop' that could take photos.

When I walked over to their house to make sure that Carolyn's new phone made it home without harm, Ely informed me that the Nokia N97 that I had was 'Too Big' and that his Mom's new phone was much better than the big N97. Carolyn and I tried to show him that the Mini is just a smaller version of the N97, but he was convinced it was MUCH BETTER. Oh, to be 5 and all boy.

I proceeded to show him how to take photos and video. He particularly liked the sports mode of the digital still camera and made his Mom run down the sidewalk to get an action shot.

In other local Seal Beach news, all the flowers are a-bloom due to last week's rain. Magnolia, aka Bird, cashed in her savings for pierced ears at the Westminster Mall. She got pink sparkly earrings. Magnolia hopefully appreciates that her Mom is super cool to let her get her ears pierced at 4, I had to wait until I was 7.

;o)

Thurs 01.28.10 - This weekend is Alex's Bar's 10th Anniversary weekend, in celebration Alex and I (Ms. Jen) did the above video to cover what the article in The District did not and for Alex to extend a big Thank You to all of the folks who have made 10 Years of Alex's Bar possible.

Alex's has a great line up of shows to say 'Thank you, Long Beach, for a great decade of Alex's Bar!':

Fri, Jan 29, 2010 - Alex's Bar 10 Year Anniversary Show - The Adolescents, Riverboat Gamblers, John Doe, Blockage - $15

Sat, Jan 30, 2010 - Alex's Bar 10 Year Anniversary Show - Riverboat Gamblers, Throw Rag, Mike Watt and the Secondmen, Werewolf - $15

See you at Alex's Bar's this weekend!

Photo of Julie Wanda and Erika taken by Ms. Jen with a Nikon D70s.

Sat 01.02.10 - A week and a half ago, Julie Wanda and I go talking about what would be fun to do for New Year's Eve, I suggested that we go to dim sum and then to the Huntington Library to visit the gardens. She reminded me that she had to work on New Year's Eve until 4pm. Julie Wanda and I have a tradition to go to dim sum for lunch on New Year's Day, as we mused our options, Erika pointed out that the Huntington would be closed on New Year's Day.

After a bit of too-ing and fro-ing with the idea, we all decided that today would be the day to go to dim sum lunch at Elite Restaurant in Monterey Park and then proceed to the Huntington for a good toddle about the gardens. I brought the Nikon D70s as well as the ever present Nokia camera phone and took over 300 photos between both cameras.

A truly delightful day in lovely gardens (the camelias are blooming!) with good friends.

The above is my favorite photo of the 300, but I have about 20 more photos that I really like, but I will post them tomorrow.

Photos taken by Ms. Jen at Dog Beach with a Nokia N97.

Fri 01.01.10 - Happy New Year one and all!

Tues 12.22.09 - Boy Mongoose is a brilliant music / animation send up of Christmas songs.

Tues 12.22.09 - Yes, the best part of the LA Times today was not just the full 99¢ Store full page ad on the back page of the Front section. It wasn't any 99¢ Store ad, it was an ad with good friend, the ever fabulous Lucky Laura as the scarf model!

;oD

Winter Solstice, where the Northern Hemisphere has the longest night and shortest day of the year, happened today at 9:47am PST / 17:47 UTC.

Today ushers in my favorite season of the year: Winter.

I love it. I love the chill. I love being outside at night while snow is falling. I love skiing. I love walking in the winter. I love wearing more clothes. I love the lack of sun and heat. Love it.

My greatest disappointment in living in Southern California is the lack of snow.

I realize that the reason that everyone else, all the other 16-19 million folks who share this metro area with me, lives here is the utter lack of the snow. Saturday's weather is the real reason they live here: 80F at the beach.

I can have my fantasies. Yes, I can. The last few days I have watching my European, British, and East Coast friends' Flickrstreams for photos of snow falling in the night.

Here are a few of the truly lovely winter scenes from various locales that are not SoCal from the last 48 or so hours:

All photos from friends on Flickr, please click on the photo for the larger version.

Photos taken with a Nokia N97.

Sun 12.13.09 - Little did a certain Mr. G.F. Handel know that one day far in the future humans would make an annual Advent season pilgrimage to the nose bleed section of concert halls worldwide to sing along under their breaths to the Hallelujah Chorus all the while fighting a case of vertigo.

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with a Nokia N900.

Thurs 12.03.09 - Belle and Scruffy, bed hogs!

Mobile blogged directly from the Nokia N900's mobile web browser.

I come from a large family on my Mom's side, she is the oldest of five and each of her siblings has had between 2 and 7 children of their own plus a few grandkids scattered here and there. We haven't all gotten together since May of 2002, and partially in May of 2007, then last week Tuesday my Mom's siblings all got together, sans issue. Thus, various aunts were in town over Thanksgiving weekend.

On Saturday, my Mom's youngest sister, Dana, who lives in Oregon, and I went to lunch at Udupi Palace for a lovely lunch and then we took Scruffy McDoget to Dog Beach for a good long walk. When we got back to my house and my aunt's car, she left pretty quickly, which I thought at the time had to do with the fact we had hung out for about 4 hours at this point and the fact that she is a strong introvert.

On Sunday, I ate the leftovers from our lunch over the course of the day, including my Aunt's leftovers. Hey, its Udupi Palace, spinach dosa is always good, even the next day.

On Monday, I got a text from my Aunt Dana that she had been officially diagnosed with H1N1 and if I got sick I should immediately go to the doctor.

Yes, it happened that fast. From what I found out today from my Aunt Anne, Dana was fine at lunch and after our walk she started to feel really bad, by the time she drove back to Anne's house about 30 miles south of my place she was really sick. By Sunday, super sick, sick enough to go to the doctor.

I texted her back to let her know that if she needed any help to let me know. The first day, I was bemused. The Pig, The Pig, it is coming.

By Tuesday, while I felt fine, I did some research and found that the infectious period for H1N1 was heatedly debated and could be anytime from when the person was first infected until the last cough and the incubation period if exposed to a person with H1N1 could be anywhere from one to seven days.

How about if you shared a dosa, uttapam, and sambar with someone with H1N1 in the infectious period?

I then decided that getting The Pig would be a forced Staycation with a real good excuse for missing work. I twitter this. Yes, yes, I know, Hanen Black Humor Alert. Funny, ha ha.

All week, I have felt normal. Well, as normal as I ever feel. Ok, so I lie... Really, I have had a bit of a sore throat and swollen glands, I did cough up a big cough up yesterday on to my steering wheel while driving. Surprise!

BUT IT ISNT THE PIG, I swear. Today I have felt a little off, but not much. Really, I promise. I just stayed in all day and had the heater on. I never run my heater. It is SoCal, no need for a heater on when it is 72F, right?

This evening, my aunt Anne called to give me the report on how Aunt Dana was faring, to ask how I was feeling, and to give me instructions on how to get into my Grandma's storage tomorrow so I can get & put up her Christmas decorations.

Aunt Anne: "How are you feeling?"
Me: "Fine."
Anne: "You don't sound good, your voice is weak and you have been coughing as we have been talking."
Me: ".....uh....((cough))"
Anne: "Are you feeling sick? If so, go to the doctor..."

Conversation about immediate doctor visit and Tamilflu ensues, all the while I remain in DENIAL. I am fine. I swear.

No Pig here. The only Pig I can see is the one in the freezer. Maybe I should turn down the heater before it melts the apartment.

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with a Nokia N97.

Sun 11.29.09 - While it is still Sunday the 29th here in the greater LA area, it is early evening Monday the 30th in Australia and I am done. Thankfully.

This is the second to the last day of NaBloPoMo and various folks have done a wonderful job of blog posting, vlogging, and novel writing. Congrats to everyone who participating in one of the NaCreativeSomethingMo this month!

Photos taken by Ms. Jen with a Nokia N97.

Mon 11.23.09 - Who knew that the Nokia N97 would take such great clear high contrast photos without asking on Auto mode? No fiddling, just snapping.

Very happy. The Nokia N97 firmware 20 really does make a difference with photos. The N97 still struggles with a sharp focus in low light with no flash, but the daytime and close-ups have made quite an improvement since July.

Blackburnian Warbler, May 2009, Magee Marsh, Ohio. Taken in the wild by g-graphic.

For years I have told friends and family that I really want to visit Central Asia, climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, and eat Chinese food in Greenland. I didn't know that this activity was called a 'Life List' or a 'Bucket List', but I had one in my head and most of it revolves around the intersection of my love for nature/mountains, history, culture, and travel.

Given that it is now meme-able to post your life list on your blog, I thought I would write down the list items that have lived in my head for years and will add to this list as I think of more.

Ms. Jen's Life List, in no particular order:

1. Travel to Greenland, eat at the Chinese restaurant.

2. Sit under a wild apple tree in bloom on the foothills of the Tien Shan mountains.

3. Go into space.

4. Travel around the world in less than 4 hours, stopping in London, Mumbai, Sydney, Tokyo, and LA.

5. Hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro before the glacier melts.

6. Travel the Silk Road.

7. Visit Tuvalu

8. Visit Tuva and Mongolia, go see some of the Mongolian carved megaliths.

9. Spot a Blackburnian Warbler in the wild.

10. Learn to fly a plane.

11. Learn to fence properly.

12. Spot a Vermillion Flycatcher in the wild - Fulfilled on March 1, 2009 at Buckskin State Park in Arizona.

13. Live in central London for a couple of years at some point.

14. Live in a loft at some point and actually paint in it.

Oh The Glorious or Infamous Internet Black Holes, we have all fallen down one. If you are lucky they only last for 15 - 30 minutes, if you are unlucky or lucky depending on the situation, one can get sucked in for HOURS.

The problem with the internet (or InnerToobz) is that one can start in one place, legitimately, and click on a link or get curious about something mentioned on the original page and then, and then, And Then, AND THEN.... One is many, many, many clicks away from the place you started.

One can see an internet black hole as a voyage of discovery, or surfing the waves of curiosity, or just plain fallen down a hole that not even Alice could have fallen down.

Now, I try to limit my internet black holes to the evening after I have finished work. And I love a good Internet Black Hole*******.

Tonight's Black Hole started by my daily reading of my friends who are participating in NaBloPoMo or NaVloPoMo:

All day today, as I wrapped up working in the PHP Salt Mines, I had tons of ideas for good and scintillating blog posts, but soon as I sat down to blog all of the ideas fled to someone else's brain.

Instead, I will tell you about the new dog religion or ritual practice I have observed lately. For over a month now, whenever I take Scruffy out for a walk, I have noticed that Scruffy always wants to do his dog-ly business in front of someone's door or at the entrance of their walkway. If I drag him off to find another spot, like a lawn, before he makes his deposit he will hold it until we are in front of another doorway or walkway.

I have decided that Scruffy must be participating in some obscure dog cult of the Portal Poopers.

Fast forward to this last week when Belle was visiting, several mornings in a row as we went to leave for our walk a pile of dog poop would be blocking our way. Cold dog poop. Not Belle's. Not Scruffys. Not fresh, but cold.

What other dog had entered the breezeway to participate in the Portal Pooping ritual?

Tonight, I found out who, as he was portal pooping in front of Earl & Sharon's doorway before he came over to visit with Mr. McDoglet...

Yes, Magnus & Scruffy must both belong to the PP dog cult!

Photo taken by Ms. Jen on 10.31.09 with her Nokia N95.

Sat. 10.31.09 - My photos from Alex & Paige's Halloween Party are up at the Alex's Bar Blog.

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Fri 10.30.09 - Please note the black blur on Belle's head is a skull & crossbones Halloween dog hair bow. Belle no longer looks like a Polar Belle and Scruffy is no longer Grizzly McDoglet the unshorn mountain dog. Thanks to Blue Ribbon Grooming in Tustin!

Photo by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Sat 10.24.09 - The best part of today was hearing the rumor from Terri Callis and Bird that a PIG has moved into the neighborhood and then walking over to meet him. Bubba is amazing. His family is also super cool and talked to us for about 20 minutes answering all of Terri and I's questions about Bubba living at the beach in an apartment with a small yard. Both Terri and I were completely smitten and I think her next pet is a micro-pig*.

Apparently, Bubba's family got him before then moved into their apartment, which is less than a block from the beach, and when they told their future landlord that they had a 120 lb Alastian Shepherd dog and a pig, the landlord was thrilled about a pig.

Bubba is cute, smart, charming, and well-trained. He was apparently very easy to train to a leash & harness, he takes regular baths, sleeps in bed with his family, and came potty trained (has his own spot in the yard). Bubba is a vegetarian and eats sparingly so that he does not get fat or slows down. He also no longer needs his leash and harness but follows his family around town as they walk the dog.

I am also smitten with Bubba.

I love the idea of a pig as a pet and not just a farm animal. I love the idea of nature in the city. I love the fact that we have raccoons, rabbits, and coyotes in our neighborhood, not a neighborhood on the verge of the hills or wild lands, but a neighborhood bounded by a big city to the north (Long Beach and then LA), a big ocean to the west (the Pacific), and a big Naval Station with wetlands and open space to the east and south (Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station). It reminds me of the band that named themselves, "I See Hawks in LA."

If you are also smitten and your landlord doesn't mind a cute, smart, clean small pet, the nice folk at Ham and Eggs Ranch in Norco can possibly help you out with one of Bubba's brothers or sisters.

* Micro pot bellied pigs are less than 35 lbs at full, adult growth.

Photo by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Fri 10.23.09 - At Alex's for the Manic Hispanic.

Photo by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Last week while standing in front of the mushrooms in the local Whole Foods produce section trying to determine if I should buy standard white button mushrooms or the brown crimini mushrooms for the pasta I was planning on making, a 60s something gentleman standing next to me said, "Where are the psilocybins?"

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with a Nokia N86.

Fri 10.02.09 - Just because you go to tapas at a place named after a pirate and eat nearly a whole plate of very tasty roasted peppers that were ever so slightly really hot doesn't mean those peppers in your tummy will let you sleep. Danged tasty little evil peppers.

Photo by Ms. Jen with the Nokia N86's panorama mode.

Wed 09.30.09 - Once a month, the folks at 3 and 3 Mobile Buzz host a Pop quiz. Tonight I found myself joining James Whatley, Ben Smith, et al, at the Alphabet Bar in Soho. Lots of good laughs, much whispering of answers, and general good fun was had by all, but the best part is that all the teams were using their mobile phones to find the answers to the pop quiz!

Click on the photo to see the large version of the panorama.

First off, let's start with the good news, via Facebook, of Mikey & Eliese's wedding on Sat. Sept. 26, 2009. Congratulations to M&E, may your marriage be doubly blessed:

Photo by Kathia Esquiverra.

Second off, Paige & Alex have Babified! Yes, the famed Diego Hernandez decided to grace the world with his presence on Sun Sept 27, 2009 around 4:45pm. He was a considerate grandson and decide to wait until after Joe & Vivian finished cleaning up from Mikey & Eliese's reception before making his grand entrance. Congratulations to Family Hernandez!

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Wed 09.23.09 - This morning, I woke up refreshed and not jet lagged at all after a good night's sleep. My first full day in London, started by meeting up with Steve Marshall and a group of Yahoo! web devs for a dim sum lunch at the Jade Garden on Wardour St. in Chinatown.

After a delicious and delightful lunch with the gentlemen, I ambled up the street to the 1000 Heads office to meet up with Donna and Katie. We walked down to Covent Garden for tea and a good chat. The best part about the walk back to Holburn was the apricot tree I spotted on a street corner near Neal's Yard! Donna and Katie had to return to work and off I went down Oxford Street.

This evening I treated myself to dinner at my favorite local restaurant, Taverna Aphrodite on Heresford St. in Bayswater. Delicious. Now I am finishing up a wee bit of blogging before turning in for the evening.

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Tues 9.22.09 - A big Happy 3rd Birthday to Moo.com. Big thanks to Richard Moross and all the lovely folks at Moo for the great photo cards they make and the lovely party.

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with a Nokia N95.

Wed 09.16.09 - I wonder if Frankie would trade me?

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Wed 09.09.09 - Photo of Billy Burke's barber station taken at Salon Pop and Barber Shop in Long Beach.

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Fri 09.04.09 - Brought back from Tokyo by Julie Wanda. Super Cute.

This week has had a surrealist, absurd flavor to it, thus I will add one more tidbit:

In case you were wondering, it is turtles all the way down.

All photos taken by Ms. Jen with a Nikon D70s.

Fri. 08.28.09 - Magnolia, aka Bird, aged 3.8 years old, decided yesterday that she was going to organize her first ever party on the behalf of her sister Grace's three month birthday party this evening. Magnolia and Tammy made cupcakes, Magnolia & Gracie were all dressed up, and Magnolia passed out Mardi Gras beads and other fun jewellery to all party attendees.

Upon arrival, I ran back to my apartment to get the Nikon D70s that Thomas lent me so that I could take photos. I had a fun time testing the D70s in a high ISO with no flash and a Nikkor 50mm 1.8F portrait lens. I am quite happy with the above photos.

All photos above were batch resized in Fireworks but no other processing as applied.

As a side note, Dan Callis and I are going to take over hosting the bi-month Seal Beach Salon along with poet Chris Davidson.

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Mon 08.24.09 - Black cat watching Scruffy and Belle walking.

James (@whatleydude) significantly ups the ante for the rest of us, particularly those of us with a fear of heights, on extending the photo and video capabilities of the Nokia N86.

Really extending how one can video one's self. I do believe that Nokia should be including bungee tested wrist straps in all of the Nokia N86 boxes.

Photo taken with Ms. Jen's Nokia N95.

Thurs 08.06.09 - The Callis' are currently awash in home grown tomatoes, as evinced by Bird's Tomato Stand. I suggested last week that we make some homemade tomato sauce with a bunch of the tomatoes and then can / preserve it for later use.

Today, Bird, Tammy and I made a big pot of tomato sauce, simmered it for over 4 hours, and then this evening I canned them. Right now the jars of tomato sauce are in the hot water boil/bath to process them.

This is a first run to see if the experiment is successful, if so, then next week when more tomatoes ripen we will can a second batch of homemade tomato sauce.

In case you haven't been following the most uncelebrated, unnoticed holiday in the Western World, this upcoming Saturday will be Llew's Day or Lammas or Loaf-Mass. If you are old school celto-pagan, then you will be celebrating Llew's Day/Lughnasadh. If you are Christian of the old school variety or pagan of the new school, then you will be celebrating Lammas - The Harvest of the First Fruits or the First Wheat Harvest - on August 1st or August 7th or sometime between August 3-10th if you are rigorously following the astronomical calendar.

The first of August is one of the Cross-Quarter Days, the most unnoticed one at that, unless you live in Switzerland, then it is a National Holiday. The other Cross-Quarter Days (i.e. half way between a Solstice and an Equinox or vice versa) are Halloween/All Saints Day, Candlemas/St. Bridget's Day/Groundhog's Day, and May Day/Walpurgis Night. For whatever reason, we don't give the same sort of secular-Hallmark-Holiday-love to old Lugh.

Poor old Lugh, you get associated with the Sun God & the First Fruits and everyone in the modern world forgets you because they are on holiday in the sun and the peaches & grapes come year-around at the supermarket and quite a bit of wheat is now grown in the winter.

Even if you won't be celebrating the first fruits or the high sun or astronomical high summer, we here at Black Phoebe will be. Starting with a Peach Jam-a-thon to preserve the First Fruits of the Helms Ave. Peach tree, to Tammy Callis' 30th Birthday on the 1st, to me committing to daily blog about Tomorrow/Future for NaBloPoMo.com for the whole month of August.

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with a Nokia N97.

Tues 07.21.09 - Mom and sister Allison, the birthday girl, on the Tram from the Daisy Duck parking level to Disneyland. Note that Mom is wearing her new|gently-used Nokia N82 (Thanks, Cecily, you rock!) around her neck and Allison is already addicted to her Nokia N97 birthday present.

Disneyland was fun.

A friend, who will remain unnamed, recently went on a fascinating camping trip to Zion with a group o' folks. The folks in question were a motley crew worthy of their very own adventure horror comedy movie. And I heard the whole sordid tale.

It was the kind of tale that made one say, "OMG! Oh, dear. Oh, Wow! I am so sorry! ZOMG! How horrifying!" etc etc etc. As a side note, I was invited to this Zion trip, but I instead went to Germany for the Carl Zeiss Factory Tour. After hearing the first 10 minutes of the Zion trip story, I was really really really glad I went to visit with the lovely folks at Carl Zeiss in Aalen.

But after the friend in question related the tale of the Subway Slot Canyon hike at Zion, while the hike they went on in June was hellish to say the least due to the other party members, I would love to go on this hike as it sounds amazing and beautiful and a true test of one's abilities:

Climb Utah on "Subway - Zion National Park - Canyoneering"

Zion National Park on "The Subway"

Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide on "The Subway Canyoneering Route" with Maps and the Famed Log and Slot.

My friend recommends that one does quite a bit of bouldering, rappeling, and stamina training before attempting the The Subway at Zion. Regardless, from the descriptions and photos from the web sites above, The Subway is lovely.

Wed 07.15.09 - Photo by Sue Hahn (aka My Mom) with my Nokia N95. It was dreadfully hot in Bishop (97F/36C) and so we went up to about 8,000ft/2,438m to the DWP's Bishop Creek Intake #1 Pond which is used to store water for the hydropower dam. The pond is stocked with trout and there were quite a few fishermen wandering around the lake in their blow up fishing intertubes. We were the only non-fisherfolk enjoying the lake.

Scruffy enjoyed his kayak ride. I was afraid he was going to try and jump out and I would have to capsize the kayak to get him back, but instead he was very calm and seemed to have fun.

Tomorrow starts the Bishop Livestock Fair & Auction, which is why I came. My Mom and I hope to come away with two pigs (organic), 1/2 a grass fed steer, and 2 grass fed lambs to deep freeze and have as our meat for the year. I also plan to make one more prosciutto, some pancetta, and a bit of sausage.

This week has been the start of the time of year that everyone else loves but I minor-ly dread - Sun, sun, sun, sun!

The sun starts shining nice and bright and strong into my bedroom windows starting sometime in the 6am hour and by 8am, there is no sleeping even with curtains and a night eyemask on. I am the kind of sleeper that gets my deep REM restorative sleep from 5 - 8am and if I am woken up during that time period, I don't feel as if I got enough sleep.

Thus summer is a time that I never feel really rested and a bit sleep deprived.

Hello, sunshine!

Photos taken by Ms. Jen with a Nokia N97.

Sat 07.04.09 - Happy Fourth of July to one and all!

Fri 07.03.09 - Sprouted half of coconuts turning into coconut trees are a sight better than than Trader Joe's usual botanical fare of evil borchids (aka birthday orchids).

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Sun 06.28.09 - Much fun was had by all at the post-birthday BBQ for Ms. Vikki Chowney that Camilla Blackett held at her fabulous loft flat at the Church in Camden. This photo was taken after a flat of Kinder Eggs and a fifth of Jose Cuervo tequila was procured. The chocolate exterior's of the kinder eggs were used as shot chocolates for the tequila. It was later determined by the testers that rum worked better in the kinder eggs than tequila, as rum is more favorable to milk and white chocolate. Tequila would do better in a dark chocolate egg.

Allix formed the internal plastic kinder egg cases into jewellery for Cam.

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Sun 06.28.09 - Vikki Chowney and James Whatley display the best of English summer BBQing weather...

;oD

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Sat 06.27.09 - Saturday was a big delight. I took the train from London Paddington out to Oxfordshire to hang out with Family Hicks. We had a nice lunch in their backyard, I got to meet Tufts and Tom Tom the new guinea pigs, and then we went out to Chipping Norton for Mantha's 8th birthday musical theatre adventure.

Upon return to Chez Hicks, the little ones had tea then went to bed. Leigh and I procured beverages and very good Chinese to go food, friends dropped in, and then karaoke was sung on Sing-Song (?). Unfortunately for me, I had to get to the train station to catch a the last train back into London before I could sing my Darkness song.

Even more unfortunately, my train was 1.5 hours late (o.O). But it was all worth it for the gloriousness that is Oxfordshire in the summer.

Big thanks to Leigh and Jon for hosting me.

Photo taken by Ms. Jen with her Nokia N95.

Fri 06.26.09 - After dinner at Busaba Eathai on Wardour St, we walked over to Broadwick St. to get a photo in front of the cholera water pump (see "Ghost Map") and then to have drinks at the John Snow Pub. It was good fun and Dan Rubin brought his bag of camera fun, which included a Fuji polaroid style camera that at the very end of the night, we took lots of photos with. More like all the ladies took photos with Jason Santa Maria (in the red shirt) and Jeremy Keith (white shirt with stripes & crosses).

All in all, it was a completely delightful evening. Many thanks to all.

Tues 06.23.09 - Since I am having video upload FAIL due to my London hotel's bad BTInternet connection, I am uploading this rather amusing video that Rita Khoury (aka Dotsisx) has posted of the two of us giving a Nokia N86 review as we were on the bus from Aalen to Stuttgart after our 1.5 days of Carl Zeiss lens factory tour happiness.

My video of Phil Campbell doing his off the cuff review of the N86's video recording will be coming as soon as I can get the dang thing uploaded.... (grrr...)

I will be on an airplane flying from Los Angeles to Stuttgart, Germany, most likely somewhere over northern Canada when the official summer solstice occurs tonight 10:45pm PDT (5:45am UTC), which is highly appropriate to be in a northern clime during the actually time of "sun-standing".

Here is a cool chart from the US Navy on the relative length of longest day and longest night depending on your latitude: If you live just a bit north of Los Angeles at 35N, then today/tomorrow will have 14 hours and 31 minutes of sun, but if you live in Helsinki or Anchorage at 60N, then you will have 18 hours and 53 minutes of sun (providing it is not cloudy, so I should say daylight)!

If you belong to a good old fashioned Sun based religion, enjoy your day and evening... Happy Midsummer!

This is all Erin Gieschen's fault! She showed me this video back in the beginning of May and I have been signing the song ever since...