Posts: amusement
My Friend Went to the Philippines and Lost All Her Money and All I Got Was This Lousy Email
The following are all actual emails; only the names have been changed. Thus spake “Jane Doe” <jane_doe@gmail.com> on 9/26/13 5:31 AM: I really hope you get this fast, I could not inform anyone about my trip, because it was impromptu. I had to be in Manila, Philippines for a program. The program was successful, but […]
Continue ReadingFolding on the Water
I recently had the pleasure of going on a Lindblad Expeditions cruise in Southeast Alaska where I saw more amazing wildlife that I could have ever imagined. During lulls between bubble-netting humpbacks and beachcombing brown bears, National Geographic photographer Rich Reid was giving tips, techniques, and demonstrations, and at one point he set up a […]
Continue ReadingThis Doesn’t Taste Right
Photo taken by Mary Jane Kettler of my “Morpho Flight” butterfly at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center last year. I picture the conversation between the two harvestmen as going something like this: “Billy! We got one! and he’s not even moving!” “Wait…something’s wrong…What sort of cruel hoax is this?” (*) (*) Yes, I know […]
Continue ReadingSo That’s What’s Inside
The traditional Japanese origami crane is such an unusual shape, it makes one wonder why whoever first folded decided on calling it a crane, and also, why they gave it that particular shape. Well, now we know the answer: it’s shaped that way because that’s its skeleton, as the photo below shows. This fantastic model […]
Continue ReadingI Get Swag
You know when you’ve really made it in a field when people start sending you free stuff in hopes, I suppose, that your famousosity rubs off on the freebies. My moment of made-it-ness happened a few weeks ago, when I was contacted by the good folks at the X-acto (TM) Precision Instruments company, who were […]
Continue ReadingInside the Origami-D’oh! Studio
Origami-D’oh! (J): What you say when the paper rips after 6 hours of precreasing. It’s fall here in Alamo, and the massive oak tree outside is doing its annual best at burying the Origami-D’oh! Studio in leaves: I sometimes get questions about what goes on inside the forbidden city here. I think people might imagine […]
Continue ReadingThe Truth that even Truthers Deny! Part 3
The shocking revelation of responsibility Yes: the perpetrator of 9/11 was, indeed: And if that doesn’t convince you this was all planned, well, then nothing will. ← Previous: the horrifying story!
Continue ReadingThe Truth that even Truthers Deny! Part 2
The horrifying story encoded in our currency! Our story begins with the $5 bill. It was a clear day, and two towers rose into the sky… But there was a cloud gathering…it was a shadow of foreboding. And suddenly, one of the towers was struck near the top! An explosion and cascade of debris! Then, […]
Continue ReadingThe Truth that even Truthers Deny! Part 1
How origami and American currency proves that the U.S. government orchestrated 9/11 I know, you read that headline and say, “Whoa. That is some serious qhat you’ve been chewing.” But all I can say is this: if you look beyond the “facts,” and the “evidence,” and the “physics,” and the “rationality,” and the “reason,” it […]
Continue ReadingBugaboo Spire, Northeast Ridge
As we have done for several years, Larry Sverdrup and I set out to do a new climb this July. Larry is quite an avid outdoorsman and his pet project for many years has been to climb as many as possible of the climbs in the book 50 Classic Climbs (which is affectionately, and nowadays […]
Continue ReadingHow to Teach a Fold
This article originally appeared in British Origami Magazine, August, 1985. Those who don’t invent (the “unwashed heathen” to the creative folder) are usually quite disgusted by the inventor’s smug posturing, and look forward to their moment of revenge—the teaching session. Creative folders who also teach their own folds are utterly insufferable—they make use of “only”s, […]
Continue ReadingRules for the Creative Folder
This article originally appeared in British Origami Magazine, June, 1985. If you ask a paperfolder, he will tell you that the reason he goes to the annual origami convention in Britain (or New York, or Pago Pago, wherever) is to share the fellowship of other folders; to improve his own craftsmanship; to boldly go where […]
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