Staple food

I've been writing some stuff about staple foods.

Today I just happened to be reading a (completely unconnected) book, and came across this quote:

Jesus ... is the staple of eternal life; without him and his death, we die.

D.A. Carson

Google it

Today I have had occasion, in the course of my work, to use Google to find:

• pictures of an octopus
• pictures of a shark's fins
• pictures of flip-flops
• pictures of flippers
• what a 500ml juice bottle looks like
• when John Newton stopped being involved in the slave trade
• whether they have Captain Birdseye in America
• the size of a Tunnocks teacake
• whether a duck's quack echoes

What did we do without it?

On the downside, these legitimate areas of research somehow ended up with me reading in Wikipedia about fish cakes, crab cakes, Jamaican cuisine, jerked chicken, beef jerky...  Deep fried Mars bars and Cornish pasties came in somehow, too. Ooops!

Airline Limerick

The captain has turned on the signs
So stow away bags of all kinds
Then make sure your tray
is folded away
and your seat back no longer reclines

Cabin Pressure:Limerick (BBC Radio 4)

Other people's eyes

(I wrote this ages ago and never posted it for some reason) 

I was looking on the site of an illustrator and she had attached a video of some martial arts championships she had attended.

It meant nothing to me.

Occasionally, yes, there were some things I could see were impressive - backflips and one-handed cartwheels and leaping to their feet from lying down. But most of the time, it looked random. I didn't know what I was looking at. I could hear impressed murmurs from the crowd, but I didn't know why. I couldn't see what they were seeing. I didn't understand.

It helped me realise how something that is obvious to me may genuinely not be to other people. They can't see if something is good design. They can't see that something's just a rough, not finished drawing.

Face Painting

This week I had three apprentices. I was teaching three young teenagers how to face paint, as they have been asked to do it for a children's party. So we spent a fun evening painting each other's faces. They chose three designs and we concentrated on them - better be able to do a few designs well, than have a huge selection on offer, and no idea where to start. I think they'll do OK.

Here are the instructions I printed out for them. One day they may be part of a book - in which case I would put a photo in the blank bit. They're deliberately simple - no complicated shading or anything. So often you need to be a skilled artist (and have a lot of time) to do the designs in facepainting books. I've gone for quick and relatively foolproof. Though painting on a non-flat surface that moves is never easy!

Butterflies are very popular with wee girls. Pink, preferably. Is this a natural tendency, or because they have been indoctrinated?

Now, one of my favourites! It's a good one to do, because it doesn't matter if it's a bit rough. And it looks like a real tiger.

And a couple of really simple ones:

 

Feel free to use these designs for personal use, or for a charity event. Please do not publish.