Kristin’s Playground

I just watched the premeire of Life is for the Living, a documentary about embryonic stem cells and the hope they could provide for people with debilitating diseases. It featured individuals and families affected by juvenile diabetes, Parkinson’s, and spinal cord injuries, as well as discussion of the science and the politics surrounding the issue. It was quite emotional and powerful to see people’s lives devastated by these diseases: young girls learning how to repeatedly prick their fingers to check their blood sugar, people whose lives were changed in an instant from a spinal cord injury, people slowly losing control over their bodies because of Parkinson’s.

The documentary discusses the basic science of embryonic stem cells - just what exactly makes them so powerful. They also discuss stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood and adult stem cells. While these latter types of stem cells are useful in their own right, neither of them have the potential of the embryonic cells, which can become any type of cell. The film points out that embryos that would be used for stem cell research are embryos that would otherwise be discarded, for instance, those embryos that are left over from in vitro fertilization treatments or are unfit for implantation. Advocates of embryonic stem cell research do not promote the creation of embryos solely for research; rather, they fight for federal funding for research on embryos donated for medical research by couples who have completed IVF treatment and no longer wish to keep the excess embryos.

The federal government currently allows federal funding on 21 embryonic stem cell lines - those that were created before August 9, 2001. These cells will never be able to be used for human treatment, however, as they became contaminated with animal cells during the cell-growth process. Public support for embryonic stem cells is high, and Congress has passed (more than once, in fact) bills that would expand federal funding for embryonic stem cells. Unfortunately, these bills have been consistently vetoed by President Bush, and the bills do not enough congressional support needed to override the vetos. The next president will hopefully understand these issues well enough to realize the potential that embryonic stem cells hold, but in the meantime, we will continue to waste valuable time, and our research will be years behind.

The film was engaging, urgent, sad and yet hopeful all at once. There is much work to be done in the area, and the sooner we allow it to continue, the better. Michael Rubyan, the film’s creator hopes to bring it to more theaters across the country, and I hope he does. Currently, the only other scheduled showing is in East Lansing, MI, but there are already requests for it in nearby states, so keep an eye out for it.

• Italy! That’s right - in June I’ll be heading off to Italy for a conference. We’re going to a resort town on a lake in Northern Italy and I’m really looking forward to it. We’re also going to spend a day or two in Milan after the conference, since we’re there and all. Just got my plane ticket yesterday, so I’m quite excited about it. Unfortunately, the lab won’t pay for hubby to come, but that just means we’ll have to take a different vacation this year, right?
• Two Green Checkmarks! Yesterday was the first day in quite some time that I managed to earn both of my green checkmarks in my Nutrition and Exercise Manager. You get one checkmark for exercising for 30 minutes or more, and another for having your net caloric intake (calories eaten - calories burned in exercise) be less than your goal for the day. Since I’d gotten to my original goal weight a little ways back, I’ve needed a mental break from working so hard on everything, so I focused on maintaining instead of losing, and that meant that my calorie intake was higher than the goal for awhile. Anyway, I still have a little ways to go before my new goal, so I’m going to try to cut back again, and I like it when I get two green checkmarks.
• On a related note, I was down a pound in my weigh-in this morning. We’ll see if it lasts until next week, or if I end up back where I was the last few weeks. Hopefully it lasts and I can slowly take off these last few pounds.
• On an unrelated note, I think I’m becoming addicted to Flickr. It’s fun to explore and find some amazing photos, and plus, I’ve found a bunch of communities that are fun - the 100 strangers group for example, and games such as Tenuous Links and Photo Dominoes.

In an effort to improve my “studio” lighting, I started reading the Strobist blog. I learned some of the basics of off-camera lighting and a bunch of the terminology. Seriously - if you’re interested in off-camera lighting, take some time to read through the Lighting 101 series. Since I just found out about it, I missed going through all of his assignments and boot camp at the time, but now he’s in the process of Lighting 102, and has assignments for various techniques and concepts associated with that. The first one I tried, just after I got my umbrella, was the assignment on using one off-camera strobe (convenient - I only have one flash!) and using reflections of that flash to light up your image. He also gave us 3 different concepts to create an image based on - either financial planning, physical fitness, or going green. There were some really creative entries, and I see that I have a lot of learning to do. However, I thought I’d play along, and I tried to do a photo for the physical fitness concept. I had the image in my head, and after many, many takes (my arms/chest hurt for awhile) here’s what I came up with. The setup and explanation of it are under the cut.

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7 March 2008

I was waiting for a bus when Katie walked up to wait. I mentioned that I liked her earrings and we got into a brief conversation about shops and the budgets of students. Sooner or later I got up the nerve to ask if I could take her photo (I’m glad I did - I would’ve been upset had I missed this opportunity). She seemed a bit surprised and told me she wasn’t photogenic, although she agreed. When I explained the project, she told me she’d had to do something similar for a photography class she was in, and we lamented together about how awkward it could be to ask strangers for a photo. She’s an Art and Design student, and I’m quite happy that she’s my stranger #5. I love the combination of her hair, glasses, eyes, and earrings. Thanks, Katie!

For more information about the 100 strangers project, check out www.100strangers.com or the 100 Strangers Flickr group.

The theme for this week’s FFA-Creativity meme is centered. Yoga is one of the things in my life that can help center me. After a long day, it can really be useful to come to my yoga mat and gather myself. So, today you get to see my yoga-based interpretation of “centered”:

Namaste.

Oh, and check out last week’s entries for the theme “leap” - all two of us.
Kristin’s Playground
Raven’s Range

So, in addition to photography (and the requisite physics), one of my other loves is music. I was always in the music groups in high school - band, choir, symphony, and I loved them all. During my undergrad, my participation in music groups largely declined. Sure, I was in the non-audition band one semester, and one of the choirs another semester, but for the most part, I left the music-making up to the music majors.

Since being in grad school, (and having finished all my required classes), I decided that I wanted to participate again. So, I auditioned for most of the a capella groups on campus (and there are a lot of them) as well as for the Women’s Glee Club. Lo and behold, last semester I became a member of the Glee Club, and joy of joys, I could participate in an actual music group again. This semester I’m still a member, and I’m still enjoying it.

Anyway, all this brings me to the point of this post. One of the songs we’re singing this semester is a Canadian folk song called “The Log Driver’s Waltz”. This song has been immortalized in an animated short by the National Film Board of Canada, and it really is something to see:

And, if you’re interested, here’s the version of the song we’ll be singing in our concert:

Well, that was interesting! I just got back home from my first ever game of inner tube water polo. Now, before today, I’d barely heard of it, but our glee club formed a team for this season and was still a few people short. So, since they were scrambling to have a full team, I decided to try it out tonight. I went a little early to watch the game ahead of us, and I brought my camera too. Unfortunately, this particular pool isn’t terribly well lit, so I don’t have anything to show for it.

The game is essentially the same as regular water polo, but your butts are stuck inside an inner tube, and if you fall out of your tube, you can’t touch the ball. The basic idea is to pass the ball to your teammates and try to get it in your opponent’s goal (like a soccer goal) on the other side of the pool. It’s hard to maneuver terribly quickly when your inside an inner tube; you have to paddle a lot with your arms, since your legs are less useful. I learned that it’s much easier to get speed when you’re paddling backwards. The games are only a half-hour long, but I found myself quite tired at the end of it. My arms are definitely unhappy with how much I used them tonight, and they’ll probably protest a bit more tomorrow, but it was fun, and I’ll probably go again next week.

Oh, and we won. 11-8 or something. Go Glee Club!

1 March 2008 -

After I left Melon, I headed over to one of my favorite coffeeshops, and I noticed this woman just outside, smoking by the rack of vintage clothing. I had to ask her for her photo. She agreed and thought that the 100 strangers project was interesting. She was just relaxing outside during her break - she works at the vintage shop. Her photos are the first ones in this project that I’m really pleased with. She has beautiful eyes and a great face. Plus, she was in the shade, so these have the best lighting of the others I’ve taken. Doesn’t she look great in black and white?

For more information about the 100 strangers project, check out www.100strangers.com or the 100 Strangers Flickr group.

1 Mar. 2008 -

After doing some errands on Saturday (the sunniest, nicest day in quite some time), I walked out of a shop and noticed a woman across the street - leaning against a wall and writing in a notebook. That’s not something you see everyday, and she didn’t look like she was going anywhere soon, I approached her and asked her if she’d help me out with my photography project. She agreed; I told her to keep doing what she was doing and I snapped some photos from a number of different angles in the harsh sunlight. It turns out that we were both helping each other out - she was observing the street and writing about what she saw for a class assignment. Now, I’m in her report, and she’s my stranger #3! I wish I knew if I had her name right, though.

For more information about the 100 strangers project, check out www.100strangers.com or the 100 Strangers Flickr group.