My Photos are to be Featured!

So I attempted a new technique the other day called shift-tilt photography. It basically focuses one part of the photo while unfocusing the rest of it giving it a "miniature" feeling. It can make large buildings look like little models of those buildings. My third attempt at this technique was my favorite and I posted it on my twitter account so that others could see. On Twitter I am following a group called MyEugene. They loved my photo and asked to feature it and four others from my art website! Here are the five photos side by side:







Photos will be found at MyEugene.org

Enjoy!

~Ky

My First Year at the Oregon Country Fair

Oregon Country Fair

My first year at the Oregon Country Fair filled me with the whimsical feeling of being at Disneyland for the first time when you are five. There were interactive performers juggling bowling pins and Hindu Gods painted blue from head to toe. There were large colorful tents and stages; and tall pirates on stilts with raised benches for their raised bodies. There were little, tiny mushrooms and trees carved into tables and signs. Women dressed as fairies and men dressed as tigers waltzed by in character. There was people absolutely everywhere. Two year old princesses and 60 year old grandfathers were wondering the Oregon Country Fair.

It’s too large to even wrap your head around. In miles of thick forest the Oregon Country Fair is made up of little tunnels surrounded by trees that lead you to wide clearings occupied by stages. Food smells waft through the air along with the sound of music stimulating all your senses separately and yet all together. All of this excitement and unique scenes can only be found here at the Oregon Country Fair, and yet all around you is nature; trees, tall grass, and dirt. In the winter I imagine the magic is gone. Packed up like the tents and tables, booths and leftover food. Flooded with rain waters and dotted with bare trees, the fields filled with laughter would seem more like a lost memory.

After hearing about it for a few years I was so happy to be wondering the booths and natural aisles but so so sad to be missing some of my friends. To the ones I saw and spoke to; thank you. I was thinking about you throughout the weekend and I hope you had a wonderful time. Perhaps I will see you there next year.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

High Fructose Corn Syrup is a term we have all been hearing a lot of lately but what is it and why is it discussed so much? I'm going to tell you...

High Fructose Corn Syrup or HFCS is an alternative sweetener that is used in most foods to replace sugar. Now this doesn't sound too bad since people often cut sugar out of their diet to live healthier lives hence the reason we have Splenda and Sweet n Low. However, HFCS is obviously made from corn which is an iffy subject as far as American foods go.

Most corn that Americans eat and buy is grown buy large corporations who have bought land in other countries. The corn that these companies typically grow is genetically modified. Not sure what that means? I'll briefly explain. Scientists who work for these large companies such as Monsanto or Del Monte have been genetically modifying food so that it repels insects and they don't have to use as much pesticides. This is simply another way around the "We need to eat healthier" lifestyles that many Americans are trying to adopt. Something that is genetically modified but not sprayed with pesticides could be considered "organic" by some standards even though it's obviously not. Genetically modified foods and HFCS are mainly used in America and aren't seen elsewhere.

Another reason to avoid HFCS is it contains reactive carbonyls which are linked to tissue and cell damage that lead to diabetes even though there is no direct evidence that leads HFCS to diabetes. But hey! There is also no direct evidence that leads smoking cigarettes to lung cancer and we all know that many lifelong smokers get Emphysema!

Also, because so many large companies produce high amounts of corn for corn products that go into every other product it has a large impact on our poor environment.

The last and final reason that I researched to avoid HFCS is there is no significant metabolic difference between sugar and HFCS.

Hopefully by now you are saying, "Get that crap outta my cupboards and outta my life!" Sadly it is not that easy...because Americans are hypnotized by corporations advertising or lack thereof people don't have much control over the foods that are being sold on our grocery shelves. Where other countries are protesting mass-produced and mechanically separated beef or genetically modified corn we simply sit back and let million dollar companies give it to us. Almost %80 of grocery store foods contain HFCS. Lucky for you I am including a list of foods that do not contain HFCS...if you don't see a food on here that DOES NOT contain HFCS let me know and I will add it.

Sources for this list and information are at the bottom of the blog.

Foods that do NOT contain High Fructose Corn Syrup:

Baking and Cooking ingredients

Kellogg's Corn Flake Crumbs
Nabisco Oreo Cookie Crumbs
Shake n Bake - Tangy Honey Glaze
Shake n Bake - Honey Mustard Glaze
Stove Top Stuffing
Beverages:

A&W Root Beer
Capri-Sun Iced Tea
Capri-Sun Juice Drink
Capri-Sun Refreshers
Capri-Sun Sport Drink
Darigold Chocolate Milk
Hanson's All-Natural Soda (all flavors)
Hanson's Tonic Water
Jones Soda
Newman's Own Pink Lemonade
Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice
Orangenia
PowerAde
Snapple -Cranberry Raspberry Juice Drink
Sprite
Starbucks' Frappuccino
Thomas Kemper Soda's
Tropicana OrangeAde
Tropicana Smoothies
Village Lemonade

Breads:

Brownberry Breads
Pepperidge Farm's line of 100% whole grain breads
Sara Lee Heart Healthy Whole Grain Bread.
Thomas English Muffins
Wonderbread
Amana Multi Grain Bread
Aunt Millie’s Old Fashioned Butter-Top Wheat
Brownberry’s Arnold Natural Health Nut Bread
Country Hearth 12-Grain Bread
Earth Grains 100% Natural 7-Grain Bread
Milton’s Bread (most, if not all)
Natures Own 100% Whole Wheat bread (note, other varieties do contain HFCS, but not this one)
Oroweat Mult-Grain Bread (but watch out for HFCS in their other varietes)
Martin’s Breads & Rolls (including hot dog buns/rolls and such)
Pepperidge Farms 100% Natural Breads
Pepperidge Farms Whole Grain Wheat Bread
Rudi’s Organic Bakery Buns
Vermont Bread Company breads

Breakfast Cereals

Cheerios
Most Kellogs products
Giant brand Instant Oatmeal - most flavors
Kashi (most, if not all)
Kix
Life ceral (regular and cinnamon)
Nature’s Pride Organic (most, if not all, varieties)
Kellogg’s Reduced Sugar Froot Loops
Trader Joe’s Graham Bites Cereal
Kellogg's Cran-Vanilla Crunch
Post Blueberry Morning Cereal

Breakfast Pastries

Eggo Pancakes Buttermilk
Eggo Waf-Fulls Blueberry
Eggo Waf-Fulls Strawberry

Candy Bars:

Hershey's Watchamacallit
Most lifesavers
Optimum Opti-Pro Meal Lite Bar
PowerBar
Cadbury - Most Varieties
Hershey’s Symphony
Hershey’s 100 Calorie Wafer Bar
Hershey Skor Candy Bar
Hershey Special Dark Candy Bar
Dove - Most varieties

Condiments:

Heinz 57 Sauce
Heinz Ketchup
Hunt's Catsup
Miracle Whip
Annie’s Naturals Organic Ketchup
Annie’s Naturals Organic Honey Mustard
Annie’s Naturals Smokey Maple BBQ Sauce
Cascadian Farms Sweet Pickle Relish
Frenchs Honey Dijon Mustard (I don’t think most regular mustard contains hfcs, but a lot of the “honey” mustard does, which is why I’m listing some honey mustards here that don’t.)
Frontera BBQ (Barbecue) Sauce
Gates BBQ Sauce (a barbecue sauce mainly found in the Kansas City area)
Heinz Organic Ketchup
Hellman’s Mayonaise
Meijer Organic Sweet Relish
Nature’s Best Organic Tomato Ketchup
Vlasic Sweet Gherkins
Woeber Sweet And Spicy Mustard
Consorzio Bbq Sauce Organic Original
Trader Joe’s Hot and Sweet Mustard

Cookies and Cakes:

Mos Kellogs products
Nabisco
Nutri-Grain
Grandma's Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies

Cough Syrups:

Delsym
Children's Dimetapp Decongestant Infant Drops
Children's Dimetapp Decongestant Plus Cough Infant Drops
Robitussin
Vicks
Pediatric Vicks 44E Cough & Congestion
Pediatric Vicks 44M Cough & Cold
Vicks Casero

Crackers:

Kraft Cheese Nips
Nabisco
Dare Vinta Crackers
Milton’s (most, if not all)
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish

Dairy:

Breakstones Cottage Cheese & Toppings - Peach
Breakstones Cottage Cheese & Toppings - Pineapple
Breyer's Yogurt -Fruit on the Bottom - Strawberry Lowfat
Cool Whip
Knudsen


Drink Mixers:
Saratoga Salsa Bloody Mare Mix (spelling is correct)
El Paso Chili Key Lime Margarita Mix

Frozen Foods:
Ben & Jerry’s (most, if not all, varieties, but watch for the kinds that add bits of candy bars and cookies)
Breyer’s All Natural Ice Cream
Dreyers/Edys Strawberry Fruit Ice Cream Bars
Haagen Dazs Dark Chocolate Ice Cream Bars
Breyers Pure Fruit Strawberry Fruit Bars
Stoneyfield Farms

Fruits and Vegetables:

B&M Original Baked Beans
Contadina Tomato Paste
Claussen Pickles
Del Monte canned petite diced tomatoes with italian seasonings
Del Monte Fruit Naturals Red Grapefruit
Heinz Pickle Relish
Mott's Applesauce
Mt. Olive Sweet Relish
Mt. Olive Bread and Butter Pickles
Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce

Jams, Jellies, and Syrups

Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
Knott's Boysenberry preserves
Smucker's Grape Jelly

Meats

Oscar Meyers

Pastries

Nabisco Nilla Wafer Pie Crust
Nabisco Oreo Pie Crust
Jello No-Bake - Chips Ahoy
Jello No-Bake - Oreo
Pepperidge Farm's Puff Pastry sheets

Salad Dressings:

Emeril's Italian Vinegrette
Kraft Salad Dressing
Maple Grove Farms Caesar Fat Free
Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
Wishbone Ranch Dressing
Wish-Bone Classic Caesar
Annie’s Naturals Goddess Dressing
Annie’s Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette
Blanchard & Blanchard (Country Italian & Caeser Parmesan)
Brianna’s Blush Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
Drew’s Salad Dressings
Olde Cape Cod Traditional Caeser Lite

Sauces:

A1 Steak Sauce Marinade
Bull's Eye BBQ Sauce
Crazy Jerry's Alotta Bull BBQ Sauce - Torrid Toro (Hot
Holy Smoke - Sticky Wings Glaze
Holy Smoke - Bar B Q Glaze
Jim Beam Steak Sauce
Jim Beam Herb & Garlic Gourmet Marinade
Jim Beam Lemon & Herb Gourmet Marinade
Kraft Barbecue Sauce
Penn State Nittany Lions Lime Grilling Sauce
Pork Rubbers Original Competition BBQ Sauce
Tuttorosso
Virginia Gentleman Bourbon BBQ Sauce

Snacks:

Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese Strawberry Cheesecake Bar
Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese Chocolate covered Strawberry Cheesecake Bar
Oscar Mayer Lunchables
Soda Pop
Bawls Guarana Soda (most varieties)
Boylan’s Sodas
Cheerwine (the glass bottle varieties)
Jones Pure Cane Soda
Goose Island
Dublin Dr. Pepper (Dr. Pepper from a bottling plant in Dublin, Texas)
Nantucket Nectars
Virgil’s Sodas (the cream, cherry and root beer varieties)

Soups
Campbells Vegatable soup (in microwaveable bowl)

Yogurt
Breyer’s
Brown Cow
Dannon All Natural Vanilla Yogurt
Dannon All Natural Coffee Yogurt
Dannon Lite & Fit Vanilla Yogurt
Great Value Light Nonfat Yogurt (most varieties, if not all)
Horizon Organic Fat Free Yogurt
Nancys Reduced Fat Plain
Nancy’s Whole Milk Honey Yogurt
Stoneyfield Farm Yogurt
Stoneyfield Farm Yobaby Yogurt
Tillamook yogurt

~http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-High-Fructose-Corn-Syrup
~http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2005/06/09/foods_and_products_containing_high_fruct
~http://cookingschmooking.blogspot.com/2008/05/food-beverages-without-high-fructose.html

Grapevine Fires

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmpMQA0qfuM

I love this song! It's on Death Cabs New Album and the video just won an award at the L.A. Music Festival! It's called Grapevine Fires and it's based on a true story. For funsies I included the lyrics...

Grapevine Fires

The wind picked up, the fire spread.
The grapevine singing, left for dead.
The northern sky looked like the end of days, end of days.

The wake up call to a rented room.
Sounded like an alarm of impending doom.
To warn us it's only a matter of time.

Before we all burn...
Before we all burn...
Before we all burn...
Before we all burn.

Bought some wine and some paper cups,
Near your daughters school and we picked her up.
Drove to the cemetary on a hill, on a hill.

Watched the bullets paint the sky grey.
She laughed and danced through the field of graves.
There I knew we'd be alright.

Everything will be alright...
Will be alright...
Will be alright...
Will be alright.

News reports on the radio said it was getting worse.
As the ocean air fanned the flames.
But I couldn't think of anywhere I would've rather been.
To watch it all burn away.

To burn away...

The firemen worked in double shifts.
With prayers for rain on their lips.
They knew it was only a matter of time

Things That Make Me See Red

#1~People who complain about the music in MY car...that's why they call it MY car, don't like Shiny Toy Guns, Korn, or AFI? Feel free to walk:)

#2~Bristol Palin having the freaking nerve to tell a bunch of high school students to "learn from her mistakes and abstain from having sex." Newsflash: KIDS ARE GOING TO HAVE SEX. Sex is at the very core of human nature and it is our own responsibility to protect ourselves. Unfortunately kids under 18 don't have the option to learn about sex if they have uptight parents and a public education system. The VERY LEAST we can do is give them some condoms and beg them to be safe if they DO have sex. Bristol probly just made 50 mothers with her little "inspirational" speech.

#3~Those who "feel bad" for Michael Vic. Would you feel bad if he dropkicked babies? They are just as helpless as dogs. Vic should NEVER be allowed to play football AGAIN...

#4~People who will not shut the hell up about the economy, Obama's faupauxs and money. Wonder why it's a huge problem for Americans? It's because the media feeds it to us and people won't stop talking about it!

#5~Eugene drivers

#6~Eugene police

#7~People who judge me for having tattoos. Guess what? I don't have a kid I didn't plan for, I don't have an STD, I am not an alcoholic or addicted to drugs, and I am a successful adult/student. If I want to get a tattoo that is NONE of your business. So unless you are going to say, "That looks great!" Please don't bother.

#8~People from high school who treated me like shit and now try to be buddy buddy with me. It's really unnecessary to do the same ol, "Hey how are you?" If I want friends who will treat me like crap I would have contacted you by now.

#9~People who think squirrels are cute. They are rats with big fluffy tails people!

And finally...

#10~People who feel that men and women must be completely EQUAL. Not sure if you noticed but...MEN AND WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT. Ladies if you want to be treated exactly like men then you can forget about being a stay at home mom, maternity leave, women and children evacuating first, and not signing up for the selective service. You can kiss goodbye getting into a club for free, having men hold a door for you or pulling out your chair, and you will work hard for your keep. If this doesn't sound appealing then please stop telling me that I deserve more rights. I am very comfortable with my freedom and my rights...

On the other end of this I am a woman who likes football, playing video games and being one of the guys. I am blonde, thin and like to get gussied up every once in a while. Guys if you even think about judging me before you know me then I will kick your ass so quickly you'll think it was a bouncer on steroids who laid you out.

As an end note: I hope no one was offended by this but if you were...tell me! I won't retract a single thing I have said but that's why we are all different and that's why we all have opinions...to share! Hope everyone is safe and happy:) Th

Local Commercials!!

I can afford seven channels, seven channels of basic, run-of-the-mill television. One of those channels tells me what’s one every other channel that I don’t get. Half of the other channels are local and stop playing shows after a certain ungodly hour of the night. So it’s safe to say that choices are typically slim to none and the “not it” game is always in effect. No one wants to be stuck picking between TV Guide, Everybody Loves Raymond, and the newest reality/celebrity television show(oxymoron?) that less-than-large actors are plugging to make a little extra fame.

I don’t watch much television myself, partially because of the poor choices, and partially because I am a student, employee, girlfriend and part-time house-keeper(of my house). However, when I do watch TV the thing that really gets to me and makes me think things like throwing a remote through our gorgeous TV is local commercials.
First on my list is the short man with bleached hair, a lot of energy, and an oversized ego whom we all know as Mr. Appliance. With commercials of him marrying a refrigerator, rapping about appliances, or flying through the air to rescue a broken washer, I find myself not only shunned away from the idea of buying appliances but completely annoyed by the fact that Mr. Appliance has now taken up permanent residence in my brain. That’s space that I should be saving for college classes, things I will be tested on. The funny thing is while his commercials work(in that they make me remember who he is just because of how irritating I find him), even if I were in the market to buy a new range that is the last place I would go simply because I feel like my head would explode after a few minutes of listening to him. He came into Café Yumm where I worked one time saying things like, “I know, my head is bigger than it is on TV,” and when I handed him #61 he asked for eight more. Please, stop molesting our eyes/ears and make a decent commercial that doesn’t make us all want to take a bunch of Tylonel PM so we don’t have to wake up and ever see another one of your commercials again!

The only thing more frustrating than a guy with too much time, money and energy on his hands is that special lady with the loud voice that we see more often than we ever wanted to, that’s right, I’m talking about the Kiefer Kia Princess. Now side-by-side the Kiefer Kia Princess isn’t necessarily as annoying as Mr. Appliance but the sheer volume that they play her commercials in is enough to make me swear off television for good. Why do we all have to watch your same commercial 80 times a day for six months straight? Couldn’t you at least make a new commercial a little more frequently and not be so completely pompous and in-your-face? I know I wouldn’t deal with the Kiefer Kia Princess if I went there but let’s be honest…who the hell wants a Kia anyway?

Last on my rather short list is a hypocrite by the name of Robert Saks. Sure his tagline is semi-irritating but it’s not nearly as constant as the first two examples. No, what truly frustrates me about Robert Saks is the fact that he boasts about having good prices and friendly service even topping it off with his tagline, “come SEE me!” Yet he is one of the rudest people I have ever had the pleasure of serving. He was another Café Yumm customer and let me tell ya, he was a picky one. He would come in, ask to taste things, order his meal with seven or eight modifications, leave his dishes on the table(you are supposed to bus your own table at Café Yumm) and he never once left a single tip! Never said please, never said thank you, only what he wanted and what he didn't want. Robert Saks we all appreciate that you don’t wear the ridiculous toupee anymore, but I wouldn’t buy a mattress from you if it would make the difference between sleeping on its pillowy softness or on a park bench under a newspaper. That is all!!

Re-Model and Your Opinion Please!

~I have remodeled my blog and will most likely continue to work on it in the future.

~I am tweeting! It's a great source of information and networking:) So add me if you feel like it.

***

Three things I found beautiful today:

~The mist that sat in the trees on the way to Lane Community College. I realized it will be one of the last times I ever drive there.

~A stormy, summer morning.

~The flowers my sister planted in my planter that I haven't killed yet:)


Your Opinion Please!

Which book should be my first read of the summer(once finals are over of course:)??
~B is for Beer by: Tom Robbins
~Skinny Legs and All by: Tom Robbins
~Wicked by: Gregory MacGuire
~The Golden Compass by: Phillip Pullman
~Other: comment pwease!