Empower Your Self Actualized Princess

Saw this at GeekDad.

I ordered it for my self-actualized Princess from ThinkGeek. (My favorite Internet shopping site!) It's more Buffy & Kim Possible than Buttercup or Snow White.

Random Christmasy Things

I'm enjoying watching Grant’s Advent Calendar Video Podcast. They are short, funny, witty and he opens each door with a magical, child-like enthusiasm. Thanks to @Tabs for the heads up on that.

If you want to spruce up your computer's desktop for Christmas try browsing 60 Beautiful Christmas Wallpapers For Your Desktop.

Just for fun, a selection of cats and dogs with Christmas trees on Flickr. (suggested by the Flickr blog)

A Flickr Mosaic Meme

I'd been meaning to do this for a while, but never got around to it. I really liked the concept, so here it is.

To play:
a.) Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b.) Using only the first page, pick an image.
c.) Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's Mosaic Maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

1. David Hobby & Chase Jarvis, 2. Pizza Porn, 3. Waldron High School Gym, 4. When I'm sleeping, I slow down my breathing...Living in dreams, dreams that come true...thinking of the color blue... ZZZzzzzzz..., 5. Rachel Weisz hace gala de su belleza, 6. Honey Brown, 7. Scottish Castle, 8. Raspberry - Swirl Cheesecake, 9. The Algonquin, 10. Autumn walk, 11. e, 12. Me
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

friday travels - taliesin west

This Friday's tour takes us to Taliesin West, in Scottsdale, AZ. This is one of the places I would love to visit. I've only been to Arizona twice, both times as a flight layover in Phoenix.
Taliesin literally means "shining brow" in Welsh, the nationality of Wright's ancestors. Taliesin, Wright's Summer home in Wisconsin sits on the "brow" of a hill overlooking the valley below while Taliesin West is located on a broad mesa. Taliesin West was selected by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) as one of 17 buildings nation-wide that exemplify Wright's contribution to American architecture.
Master architect and urban designer, Frank Lloyd Wright established his winter residence at Taliesin West, Wright designed it as a Winter home and school for his students. It was built entirely by his students.
It's Walls are concrete, but of a special kind: native boulders, red, yellow and gray, were laid in rough wooden forms and cement poured over. Above these colorful, variously tapered walls are the great redwood trusses which support canvas-covered roof flaps. Glass is unnecessary, as the canvas admits a softly diffused light. This structure seems to grow organically from the rough soil around it.
Wright and his students kept getting interrupted by visitors, so Wright told his apprentices to start charging them $5. He thought that would discourage them. It didn't. Gawkers kept appearing at his distinctive Scottsdale retreat. They just showed up brandishing $5 bills.
Fifty years after Wright's death, Taliesin West is still something wonderful. Nestled at the foot of the McDowell Mountains, some of its edges are a little frayed now as it looks out on a sea of cookie-cutter homes. But Wright's innovate retreat retains its distinct identity even as it blends with the wild desert around it. Follow its rough-hewn breezeways into open spaces of gently diffused light, and you'll sense the work of a man who understood both the power of nature and the potential of man-made space.
Taliesin West isn't for everybody. But if you enjoy the subtle ways architecture can modulate your feelings - or if you like building backwards from a home's personal touches into the lives of those who once lived here.
Taliesin West is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week, with nighttime tours Thursdays and Fridays that begin 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at 12621 Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd., Scottsdale. Tours range from $27 to $43 per person, with discounts for students, seniors and active military personnel. For more information, call (480) 860-2700 or visit www.franklloydwright.org.
Click the photo above for a great Flickr set of Taliesin West. Click HERE for a Taliesin Cluster on Flickr. For a visual tour try Architecture: Archinect Travels Episode 3 . Taliesin West info begins about three minutes in.

Related articles

• A Visit to America's Most Beautiful House (Pictures) (cbsnews.com)
• Visit The Work of Frank Lloyd Wright (chicagoist.com)
• Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust moves into Rookery (timeoutny.com)

the birdman of alcatraz

The Birdman of Alcatraz, originally uploaded by thescatteredimage.

Peaceful image of the day.

I know, it's highly ironic to use a picture with Alcatraz in the background as a peaceful image, but I do love some irony.