I visited a luminarium this past weekend. What's a luminarium you ask? It's basically an air-filled sculpture made of colored plastic that lights up inside via the sunlight shining through it. It's actually quite relaxing and beautiful. This one, Mirazozo, had a couple small domes with winding passages, was made by hand in Nottinghamm, England, and (according to the little handout they gave us) was "inspired by repetitious forms found in the bazaars of Iran". Below is a shot of the exterior and one of the passageways.


You couldn't jump off the walls in it since the material was thin like a t-shirt and therefore delicate, but you could lean against it or gently push against it to watch the movement ripple through the structure up to the roof tops. There were little nooks scattered around that you could sit in while enjoying the relaxing music created by David Bickley.


Here's a video by the Sydney Opera House of Architects of Air's Mirazozo:


The exhibit will be in Austin until Friday, January 20. It's $8 to enter (I think children under 2 years of age can enter for free). I suggest going early because the lines were long (we arrived at 10AM on Sunday and waited about 45-60 minutes). Visit http://www.thelongcenter.org/architects_of_air.aspx for more information.

Both of the Snow White movies coming out next year look visually compelling although SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN is obviously darker than MIRROR MIRROR.


I think I'm going to enjoy SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN more though (even with Kristin Stewart, the actress of one look, playing Snow White). I like the darker look of the movie and Charlize Theron looks to be a much more eviler queen then Julia Roberts.





And hello, Chris Hemsworth as the huntsman!

I'm spending the Thanksgiving weekend with the family. The drive to my parents' house was surprisingly smoother than expected on the busiest travel day of the year but that might have been due to our much later than expected start out of town (my sister decided to get some major work done on her car the day we were leaving - really?!?). So, we somehow missed most of the traffic and the cooperative weather (it's usually raining or drizzling) made for a smooth trip.




We had our Thanksgiving turkey at lunch Thanksgiving day. Our lunch was a mix of a standard Thanksgiving meal (brined turkey, dressing, and potatoes) and a Chinese style meal (Chinese broccoli and steamed rice). Dessert consisted of buttermilk pie (which most of my sisters did not like - yay, more for me) and pumpkin pie.

After lunch, we watched the Cowboys play the Dolphins. It was a close one with a last minute field goal by Dallas to win. That game ended just in time for dinner (yeah, we're total sloths on Thanksgiving). My mom made Asian flavored chicken wings and potato wedges. Then it was time for more football - (possibly) the last UT-A&M football game. I'm glad the game wasn't a blow out and that UT was able to pull a win out at the last minute  - another game won by a field goal (a win is a win, right?).




I just wish my dad was a better sportsman. He tends to make loud comments at the TV when watching sports. And who doesn't when the game is close or a call is questionable? But exclamations of enjoyment when the opposing team's player is down with an injury or suggestions at the coach that the team would do better putting my dad in to play (when he's never played on the field) makes me want to kick him. Sometimes my dad is not a nice person.

No late night/early morning Black Friday shopping for us this year. I'm trying to limit my spending this year and have less clutter in the house. Temptation was averted by the lack of sale items calling out my name. That could change though since the weekend's not over and there are still all the ongoing online sales. I'm not a big shopper and all the sales overwhelm me slightly so it may turn out to be a non-shopping weekend for me in the end.

I went to get my bi-annual hair cut yesterday (yeah, my hair would be tons better if I went more often but I'm lazy and hate change). Anyways, when I entered the hair salon I realized they now offered tinseling. I've been wanting to try it. I thought it would be a nice temporary way of getting some color (e.g. blue or red) into my hair without being too obvious. There were so many pretty colors to choose from. I settled for a beautiful turquoise that my stylist said was really popular right now with the holiday season and a dark blue.

Since it was my first time with these tinsel extensions I decided to just go with 15 strands that were scattered throughout my hair. My stylist attached the tinsel by knotting it into small strands of my hair near my scalp, but I understand there are some places that attach them differently (I guess with glue?). As long as I'm careful when combing my hair, the tinsel should last me about 6-8 weeks. I can curl/flatiron my hair as normal with the tinsel in it.


I'm liking it so far though they aren't as visible in the front when I put my hair up. And since I can't see what it looks like from the back I'm not sure if it's really noticeable or just a small pop of color (I need to get some opinions next time I'm out). And of course, the dark blue blends a bit with my dark hair so it just makes my hair seem sparkly in places when the light hits. Still, not bad for a $10-$15 treatment.