Parisa's Blog

For those nearing the bottom of their Netflix queue, I shall supply two recommended documentaries:

1. Jesus Camp: Follows a Pentecostal summer camp for children who spend their summers learning and practicing how to "take back America for Christ." There is no strong hidden bias in this film (unlike your typical Michael Moore flick), and the main characters depicted in the film were generally pleased with the resulting film. Amusingly, the only character displeased with his depiction was Ted Haggard. Then again, he was probably just bitter because of some incidents that were exposed months after this film was released. This was quite disturbing, at least for someone who is otherwise unfamiliar with religious extremism. Still, a worthwhile watch.

2. Grizzly Man: Follows the adventures and not too unexpected death of Timothy Treadwell as he lived among Grizzly bears for 13 years in the Alaskan wilderness. I know what you're thinking... "Bet all those trees and bears would look really nice on a big screen... Yawn." And yes, there is some nice bear footage, but the more entertaining part of this documentary is watching the eccentric, bipolar, yet at times charismatic main character spread his controversial Grizzly gospel.

And remember, even if the documentary is bad, you sound that much smarter for watching it over some crappy romantic comedy.

I took a glass blowing class about a month ago and thought I'd post some of my finished products. There are a few places in the bay area that offer glass classes, typically for lampworking and typically for around $400 for a weekend workshop -- pricey! I really wanted to try out glassblowing (think glory hole and big vat of molten glass) over flame working (think little blow torch and rods of glass), and I finally found a dude in Santa Cruz that offered to teach me out of his rented garage. Hooray for hippie art dudes on Craigslist! So we set up a time to do it, I paid him some money, and he taught me the basics of glassblowing while helping me make some paper weights, some pumpkins, and a drinking glass. I'd love to continue doing this, but it's a pretty expensive hobby, requires a lot of equipment or studio rental and you really need a partner to work with. Until I figure out those details, I'll just have a much greater appreciation for glass work.