The X-Files: 3x01, House M.D, Harry Potter: GoF (Part 10)
WELCOME TO SEASON 3 ICONS
This is certainly very exciting. After working on season 2 for more than a year, I was ecstatic to start working on season 3. Unfortunately, the beginning of season 3 came at a very dark time, and my muse had hightailed out of me while I was left scrambling with an odd assortment of textures that I was determined to ( Read more... )
This is certainly very exciting. After working on season 2 for more than a year, I was ecstatic to start working on season 3. Unfortunately, the beginning of season 3 came at a very dark time, and my muse had hightailed out of me while I was left scrambling with an odd assortment of textures that I was determined to ( Read more... )
I can only imagine how redundant certain caps must seem, going through episode-by-episode this way. I mean sure, there will always be unique aspects in everything, but there are a ton of "standard" shots as well, so it makes sense that cropping and textures are going to be your biggest ways to influence how something might look unique. Anyway, like I said, I think you're doing a great job. I honestly don't think I'd have the patience to do the same. With my photographer's eye, I'm so insanely picky about caps; while I may be capping the entire series, in order to make an icon of anything, I have to be very inspired by each source image.
Hee, I was sure you wouldn't be at all surprised by what my answer to question 1 turned out to be. I feel the same way about nature and biology, though. I had to study all the sciences pretty extensively over the years -- biology, chemistry and physics, mainly; with special emphasis on forensics on the first two, in more recent years -- but I remember the subject I was always most enthusiastic about and fascinated by was the cell. I don't think I'll ever be any less amazed by how much activity takes place inside a single, microscopic cell; how much information is contained in each one, and then applying that knowledge to the fact that we are composed entirely of billions of them. It boggles the mind.
I actually didn't know that chimerism was that common; I so rarely heard about it, and it's often cited as a rare genetic condition, that 30% (though I'm sure that's just an estimate) strikes me as surprisingly high. I also didn't know that sports stars were discovering that genetic anomaly as a convenient excuse for dodging accusations of steroid abuse though, lol. I suppose they should get some points for being more creative than most.
I'm so glad to hear you've been to -- and come to love -- Switzerland! I don't know that many people at all online who have ever been, as it's a very tiny country surrounded by the more popular tourist destinations of Europe, but I've been to its border countries as well, and nothing tops the country of my heritage, for me. It may be smaller than the smallest states here, but I think there's more beauty packed in that small amount of land and lakes than places much larger.
I love the cleanliness as well; I remember the first time I visited, in 1999, and when we stepped out of the airport, I couldn't believe how different even breathing that air felt; it's so much fresher there. Add to that the beautiful countrysides, the small and large towns that contain both new and old buildings that look quaint and unique, the wonderfully streamlined transport system, the narrow, winding mountain roads, the Alps and glaciers... it's paradise there, for me.
And you're right, the people there are wonderful. Something I've always loved about Europe is that people, on the whole, are so much more open-minded than the average American, and it's so much easier to have an intelligent discussion with someone. Also, there's the lacking of that standoffish personal space bubble most Americans have; over there, perfect strangers have no problem sharing a table with you, let alone striking up a conversation. I like that very much; it makes it much easier to just relax and enjoy yourself.
I'm horrible with the names of the mountains (aside from the biggies, such as the Matterhorn and the Dents du Midi), but I do definitely know Lucerne very well, as that's where my Uncle lives. I hope you do get to visit again! I'm hoping (*crosses fingers*) that I can schedule another visit for next summer. It's been far too long since I was there last, and I actually get homesick for it (despite being born and raised here).
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I am so excited about your caps. I really have no idea what's going on with them, so do keep me up to date with what's going on. I would love to use your caps for my work in the future! There is seriously a lack of great capping sites for the XF.
I know exactly what you mean about microcellular studies. I hated studying the cell in microbiology, but recently I took some classes in microcellular biology, and it was utterly fascinating. The human body, life, everything, is just so amazing. How these cell signals go on to create much more complex movements and interactions that make up life is just...I'm speechless. I studied so hard, though, for these classes, and I never do well grade-wise. For that microcellular biology class? I had to drop out of it, because I wasn't doing very well, even though I spent all of my time studying for it. I was truly passionate about it, but really, I just don't measure up when it comes to being creative in answering questions. The professors at UCLA expect a lot out of you. It's not enough just to know the material, but they also throw new situations at you during the exams, and they expect the truly brilliant to come up with some intelligent way of designing an experiment using information they already know.
I really suck at that. I know I will never be a researcher because intuitively I'm not a natural at it. I really have to think hard when I'm designing experiments to test for things, and for others, it's so easy. But I really regret, and it's one of my biggest regrets actually, that because of that, I can never do well in my science classes. It's really a huge source of personal disappointment.
I'm really skeptical about the 30% claim of chimerism. I would think it would be rare too, but one researcher claims 30%. Or at the very least, more common than researchers previously thought.
I admit, I'm one of those Americans who really like my personal space. I like to have dinner with people I know, I don't particularly like to have strangers by me. But my friends are a lot more open than I am. They're very accepting, very trusting, and able to have fun with strangers. I think it's my personal quirk, because I have trouble dealing with people I don't know, and I'm not very outgoing. I'm your standard antisocial, and I think it's not just an American thing but perhaps a cultural thing. I know Asians are generally the same way. Microculturally of course, a lot of Americans are easy to get along with, and a lot aren't.
I hope I can visit Switzerland again too! In fact, if I go back to Europe, there are two places out of all of the countries I most would like to go again, and that is Rome (for the Vatican) and Switzerland. I would like to really spend more time in Switzerland, visit more of the Alps, and just really relax. Switzerland is just really relaxing, and I fell in love with the cows there. As we were riding the tram up to one of the mountains, there were all these brown cows in the field below, wearing cow bells, and it is just one of the most beautiful spectacles. I finally understood why, for the Greeks, the term "cow eyes" is a compliment, because these cows certainly had gorgeous, full, deep brown eyes. In the U.S. we have fat steering bulls and Longhorns. They're a different breed altogether from the European bulls and cows, so it's a much different image.
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I am so excited about your caps. I really have no idea what's going on with them, so do keep me up to date with what's going on. I would love to use your caps for my work in the future! There is seriously a lack of great capping sites for the XF.
You have no idea how much it means that an icon maker such as yourself is going to put them to good use, seriously. It makes it so much more worthwhile, because this project is a rather... lengthy endeavor, lol. I got abducted (har har) by work and school for a bit and had to stop for about a week, but I'm basically planning to cap the first four episodes of all the seasons (at least, if I don't get paranoid and make myself do more) before I release the site publicly. At the moment, I'm only done with 9x01-9x04, 8x01 and 8x02, but I'm really trying to speed up. I decided to do the Mulder-less seasons first because... they're just more of a chore to get through, let's not pretend here, lol.
The professors at UCLA expect a lot out of you. It's not enough just to know the material, but they also throw new situations at you during the exams, and they expect the truly brilliant to come up with some intelligent way of designing an experiment using information they already know.
Eek, that sounds tough! I'm great with science, but I'm not sure how well I'd come out of a class structured in such a manner. I flourish in a lab, but exams for sciences are another thing altogether. I'm gifted in all three areas (Biology, Chemistry and Physics), but the latter two have always been a struggle, grade-wise, no matter how well I understand the material. There's just something about the sciences that make them very tricky to write good exams for, I think.
I think personal space is all about how your boundaries are built up as you're raised, which of course no one has any real control over. Being raised by my European father, I tend to not have an issue with people in my bubble, if that makes sense. Still, it always surprises me a bit when I encounter a person who's similar in that way. Once I was riding the train to downtown San Diego, and a complete stranger engaged me in a very lengthy and somewhat personal conversation out of nowhere. I didn't mind at all, but the entire time I was thinking, in the back of my mind, "There's no way this guy is American." Sure enough, later on I found out he was Swiss-German, lol.
Oh, the cows are amazing. They have a festival every year, called la des-alpes (not positive on the spelling anymore) where the farmers bring the cows down from the Alps at the end of the season. They have the huge bells on, and the farmers dress up in their native costumes to their cantons (which are like counties in America, I suppose). There's a photo of one of them on one of my boxes of Caran D'ache pencils, and it's really lovely.
I hope you're able to visit Switzerland again someday, too! You're very right about the relaxing feel of the place. I think it's a combination of how laid-back most of the people are, and how beautiful the landscape is. You just breathe easier there (and not just because the air is fresher).
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