dolari

OK. For once I might have overdone it.

After receiving Indulgence #2, I did more research into portrait lighting, and I figured I needed a small light I could use for rim lighting. Just a point light. I figured someone would have a small LED light. Nothing obvious showed up. And then I fell into monolights. And this Studio Essentials 100W LED Monolight seemed like a great deal. Also, B&H indicated that a Godox Barndoor Kit was compatible. And since I was getting yet another studio light, I knew I needed a third Light Stand. The package arrived here on Valentine’s Day.

I opened the box for the monolight... and... it was huge. I’ve worked with monolights before; I just didn’t remember them being quite so bulky. But thinking back, I guess they were. The light quickly mounted on the light stand... and then... the barn doors could not possibly mount on the light. What was the deal?

I figured out that the monolight needed a Standard Reflector, not included. 12 bucks. And assessing the size of the monolight and the barn doors, I thought I should play it safe and also get a Snoot. This would give me the best chance for fully controlling a precise area of light. The snoot and the reflector arrived today. The snoot fits fine. The reflector fits fine. With the reflector, I was able to mount the barn doors.

Interfit monolight with reflector and barn doors iPhone 8 photo

The variable power LED is really nice. And the "100W LED" puts out like a 500W light. Way, way too bright! At 10% brightness the light was scary, and you wouldn’t want to look directly at it. There’s a quiet fan to keep the light cool.

Really, the monolight was a bargain at the price, as lights go for $500, $1000, $1500 and more. Also, to my surprise, it came with a popup softbox! (I actually had to go find a Video to tell me how to get it folded into the super compact circle it travelled as. I had been wondering what that tiny blob was. The softbox will come in handy, I think.

Anyway, I got way too much light, and it’s a big puppy that I have to figure out storage for. It will be interesting if my experiments work out next week. This could all be a big bust. We’ll see.

Chika Fujiwara Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Ren’ai Zunousen, Episode 6

I’ve been so taken by the spunky Chika Fujiwara in Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Ren’ai Zunousen (Kaguya-sama: Love is War) this season that I thought I should do some investigation into the character’s seiyuu. And, frankly, I’m stunned.

The voice actress that plays Chika has been in the business for only three years. She is Konomi Kohara. Her first bit parts were in 2016, but she won leading roles in 2017 – Kukuri in Mahōjin Guru Guru and Akane in Tsuki ga Kirei. Last year she was Kasumi in Asobi Asobase, Erena in Hanebado!, Mina in Karakai Jōzu no Takagi-san, Kirin in Gakuen Babysitters, and Koyomi in Yagate Kimi ni Naru. And of course this season she is the unpredictable Chika Fujiwara. That’s an amazing portfolio for someone who’s been in the business for only three years. And I’ll note that I’ve loved all these shows she’s appeared in – save Yagate Kimi ni Naru, which I haven’t been able to watch (but I’m sure I’ll love because I’m reading the manga). All of Konomin’s characters are great.

It appears Konomi started in the business when she was 23 – which is a little later in life than many contemporary voice actresses. But she’s risen very quickly. It probably helps that she’s represented by Office Osawa – a venerable agency that is also the home of Kana Hanazawa, Ai Kayano, Mamiko Noto, and Ayako Kawasumi.

Chika Fujiwara Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Ren’ai Zunousen, Episode 4

Levolor Custom Shade iPhone 8 photo

I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to do this.

Not included in the original kitchen remodel quote was replacing the Venetian blinds with a newer shade. The contractor had planned to simply remount the original blinds. Mid-remodel we had a conversation about a change order, but window blinds aren’t something they normally do. I did some research and decided I could replace the blinds myself.

Regardless of who did the work, nothing could be done until the countertop had been installed, followed by installation of the custom cherry window casing. Once that was complete, I could take formal measurements. My schedule was a mess, though, and I didn’t get to take measurements until after the kitchen was fully completed. That's not right. I obviously placed the order before the kitchen was completed on December 14.

I had decided on a Levolor Custom Cellular Shade. In keeping with the Japanese theme of the kitchen, I chose the whitest, light filtering option. And given that the kitchen window (which someday needs to be replaced with an energy-efficient pane) is the single, large, south-facing window that gets really hot in the summer, I chose the Energy Shield Liner. For a 6-foot by 4-foot shade, that option doubles the cost from $200 to $400.

I very carefully took (and retook, and took again) measurements as per the Levolor instructions and placed the order on December 11. The custom shade shipped on December 14. I didn’t track when it arrived – but probably less than a week from shipment. Didn’t matter. The box sat in my living room until the start of February.

Two weeks ago I did the initial work to install the mounting brackets for the shade. It was a real pain trying to maneuver in tight spaces at the header of the window casing. And then when I finally started to mount the brackets, I stripped a screw head with the power drill bit. That stopped everything dead.

The following weekend I got replacement screws (with better heads) at Ace Hardware. Today, I did smarter screw driving (using the hex head driver instead of the slot driver) and finished installing the brackets. Mounting the blinds was a five minute job after that.

So, finally, I’ve got the custom shade installed. It’s really nice!

Levolor Custom Shade iPhone 8 photo

(Sooooo many things still to do on my task list. 😑)

One Monday a month I take a day off from work. I call it my Mental Health Monday. I’ve been doing this for years. I rarely take more than a couple of days off from work a month.

My Mental Health Monday was last Monday. It was part of a three-day weekend connected to photographing the three-day Portland Winter Light Festival. I need the extra time to sort and process photos. I brought back a lot of photos, and I can tell this is going to take three solid weekends to get the processing done. I won’t do my Winter Light Festival posts until then.

After working on photos last Monday, I felt like I didn’t get a weekend at all – it was mostly work. And my task backlog hadn’t gotten addressed. In fact, it was worse. So I took the unprecedented (for me) step of requesting the following Monday off. Two three-day weekends in a row is remarkable. Even so, the weekend was saddled with a huge tasklist – including more photo processing for the Winter Light Festival. It feels like another working weekend. Some items on my tasklist are approaching critical deadlines.

But a Monday off from work, even a very busy Monday, is a treat and an indulgence.

Princess Rona Endro! Episode 6

Here are the shows that I watched last week:

Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime): Episode 19
Well, that was surprisingly tidy. The warm up act was all the allies taking down the Megalodons. Lots of opportunities for fun and teamwork. Charybdis itself was much tougher – maybe too tough for Rimuru. Fortunately, One Punch Milim is on our side. Once again, Rimuru comes out smelling like a rose – and gains allies.

Dororo (Amazon Prime): Episode 6
Conclusion of the Moriko Song arc. Consistent with the nature of this series, this arc is a tragedy. The choreography and animation continue to be a sharp compliment to the excellent writing and direction.

Mob Psycho 100 II: Episode 6
It’s been a while since there was focus on Reigen, and this arc is digging in deep. Reigen has always been a contradictory mix of con man and practical advisor – and he’s kind of a difficult character to watch or like. This look at what makes him tick is repugnantly fascinating.

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru (Run with the Wind): Episode 17
After the high from last week, it makes sense there has to be a down episode. Thankfully it wasn’t too depressing nor long-lasting. The important thing was to work through the problem.

Yakusoku no Neverland (The Promised Neverland): Episode 6
This show never fails to give me the creeps. It’s pretty hard to watch. I can’t ever say I’m looking forward to seeing the next installment. But somehow I have to. I generally put off watching the week’s terrifying episode until the end of the week... and immediately afterwards I can follow with the new Endro! episode, as a Unicorn Chaser.

Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari (The Rising of the Shield Hero): Episode 6
Filo officially becomes the third member of the party. And an incident brought valuables and knowledge and connections to Naofumi, so he’s moving up. A mini quest added some action. And finally Filo has magic clothes. Maybe not the most exciting thing – but necessary. I’m not crazy about the jealousy between Raphtalia and Filo. Whatever.

Girly Air Force: Episode 6
Still a clunky, lumbering, somewhat annoying show. The trope is that something will happen that will allow these three incompatible Anima to work as a team. I’m betting the change will be a clunky, heavy-handed thing. For now, though, it’s just a mess.

Boogiepop wa Warawanai: Episode 8
Things are finally starting to heat up, and the Imaginator is on the move. Masaki got into a mess in his continuing masquerade as Boogiepop – but was bailed out by his stepsister, Nagi. I really like Nagi, and it was nice seeing her in action. The faceoff between the Imaginator and Spooky E was talky and lopsided; I didn’t expect the conclusion of the battle. The arc remains quite interesting.

Mahou Shoujo Tokushusen Asuka (Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka): Episode 6
This show is weakest when it focuses on school life. The writing is unconvincing, and the direction is stiff. On top of that, Kurumi is annoying with her smothering possessiveness of Asuka. I dislike that trait, so Kurumi needs to get her act together. Even the matsuri trope wasn’t enough to make civilian life interesting. The show threw us a bone, though, with a battle between Mia and Crescent Moon Sandino.

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Ren’ai Zunousen (Kaguya-sama: Love is War): Episode 6
The mysterious fourth member of the student council, treasurer Yu Ishigami, finally made his appearance. The foursome is complete. I haven’t read the manga, but I’m hoping there’s a Yu x Chika relationship cooking in there somewhere. Ai made an appearance, and I still like her a lot. This was not the best episode, but there were many good moments nonetheless.

Sword Art Online: Alicization: Episode 18.5
Recap episode. I didn’t even fire it up.

Endro!: Episode 6
A Mao-centric episode, showing what happened when Mao was sent back in time when Yusha’s party defeated the Demon Lord at the first endroll (Endro!) It wasn’t a great or funny episode, but it wasn’t completely dull, either.

This season’s new series backlog is getting worse. The shows I need to check out are: Fight League: Gear Gadget Generators, Pastel Memories, Bang Dream! Season 2, The Magnificent Kotobuki, How Clumsy You Are, Miss Ueno, W’z, Domestic na Kanojo, and Dimension High School.

Demon Lord Milim Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken, Episode 19

Time Permitting
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (caught up through episode 93)
Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue (a.k.a: My Roommate is a Cat)(caught up through episode 2)
Go-Toubon no Hanayome (The Quintessential Quintuplets)(caught up through episode 3)
Watashi ni Tenshi ga Maiorita! (a.k.a: Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me)(caught up through episode 6)
Egao no Daika (The Price of Smiles)(caught up through episode 6)

Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai - Tensai-tachi no Ren'ai Zunōsen, Episode 4

The day for couples was today, and I like to highlight the best couple in the current anime season. By far and away the honor goes to Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane in Kaguya-sama: Love is War. They’re the best couple, even if they’re not yet a couple. Just like Takagi and Nishikata Last Year.

For single me, I’m more than content with a valentine from my best friend. 😊

Valentine from Jenni