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It’s been a little over four months since B arrived. These are some of my experiences or things I’ve learned so far, plucked at random.
I’d say that the books, conversations, and classes prepared me pretty decently in theory, but the physical and emotional reality is almost impossible to prepare for. Being a parent has been much more visceral than I expected.
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I’m working on a site with a complex entanglement of blend modes, SVG backgrounds, gradient backgrounds, positioning, and transitions. I’ve run in to a bunch of issues with mix-blend-mode not working as expected, and it almost always has to do with an inappropriate stacking context.
For posterity, this StackOverflow answer is a really good run-down of CSS combos that create new stacking contexts.
Now to see what I can do about browsers rendering color profiles slightly differently… 💀
Edit: UGHHHHHH it’s different in different browsers. Check out this CodePen in Chrome and Firefox vs Safari. This is why we can’t have nice things.
Edit 2: See the answer to the cross-browser problem from the previous CodePen, via Gregory Cadars (view thread). So Safari is actually behaving correctly, but it’s still a stacking context issue.
To recap: I’m trying to display a “fixed” gradient background with content that scrolls over the top of it. Within this content, only the images have mix-blend-mode: overlay. In the original CodePen, I’m achieving this via a fixed position, 100% width + 100% height element with a linear gradient. This is within the same wrapper as the content.
My example is working in Chrome and Firefox. In Safari, it is effectively as if the blend mode hasn’t been applied. Though I’m not sure why the difference between browsers, it does make sense that a fixed position element would still create a new stacking context regardless of its parent.
In Gregory’s example, he’s removed the fixed position element with the gradient and instead applied the gradient background to the wrapper, as well as background-attachment: fixed via the background shorthand. This achieves the exact same effect, without stacking context issues.
The only thing that gives me pause is performance… I remember running in to some issues when I considered using background-attachment: fixed for Elizabeth Peyton’s Eternal Return. I can’t remember what it was exactly but it had to do with repainting on every scroll event (so, a lot!). I think that this article may give some context, but I’ll have to dig in to it further.
Related: See this CSS gradients resampling tool by Rutherford Craze for smoother gradients, shared by Gregory in the thread.
Twitter is a crappy place a lot of the time, but I love it for things like this.
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Four years ago today, in the V&A’s porcelain courtyard expansion not long after it opened. Was getting ready for an evening rehearsal outside, very chilly.
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Dried mango (amchoor) powder is a sneaky all-star ingredient.
It adds a tangy-ness to food without being sour. Instead of lemon or lime’s brightness, it adds depth. And unlike sumac, it changes almost nothing about the food visually since it’s such a fine powder.
Obviously it’s super in curries, but I’ve also added it to non-West Asian food like chili and smoothies with great effect. I imagine it would also work well in marinades, salad dressing, all sorts of things.
Another sleeper ingredient (at least to my palate!) is black salt. It’s got a pink tinge, confusingly. It has a distinct sulfurous smell which makes it super useful in vegan egg salad recipes, but I imagine it would be great in other stuff as well.
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We’re moving to NYC! 🎉 Cross-country with a 3 month old! 😬 Wish us luck! 💫
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When you get home, unbundle your herbs, wash immediately, and shake off excess water.
If you’re storing cilantro/coriander: Cut the bottoms so you have a fresh edge on all stems. Fill a glass with an inch or two of water. The glass should be large enough to hold the stems comfortably, don’t pack it in. Place the stems in the glass, and then place a plastic bag over the top to create a little “dome” over the leaves. I tend to use a quart bag, but you might need a bigger one depending on how long the stems are. Be sure to replace the water every once in a while.
For pretty much any other herb as far as I can tell: Lightly wrap the herbs in a slightly damp paper towel, then place in a large, open ziptop bag. Every once in a while, replace the damp paper towel or redampen it if it feels dry.
Finally figured out how to keep cut herbs fresh in the fridge for more than a few days. No more green slime. 👍
Cilantro, parsley, thyme, sage, and rosemary have all done well in my fridge with this technique. The cilantro has lasted weeks, which is shocking.
Mint did really well too, but I feel it might last slightly longer if treated like cilantro. Will experiment.
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Diaper changing in the middle of the night.
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A bunch of the songs I’ve been singing or would like to sing to B. From friends, family, Musarc, etc. Some are lullabies, many are not, but they all have a lullaby feel to me.
Links are to YouTube.
Would love to collect more.
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Need to listen to A Secret Code by Pamela Z from Neuma Records.
Came across her via the article “Social Codebreaker” by Emily Pothast in the July issue of The Wire, shown to me by Sam. See also her 1988 self-issued cassette Echolocation, due to be reissued later this year on Freedom to Spend.
From the article:
I ask her about the obvious current of humour running through many of her works. “A lot of people ask me about that. I think it’s because they expect experimental and contemporary music to be this very serious thing.” […an extended description of John Cage’s 1960 performance of Water Walk on CBS comedy game show I’ve Got A Secret and the audience’s laughter…]
“When people ask me that question, they often phrase it like, ‘Why do you inject humour into your work?’ and I don’t think of it as injecting humour,” she continues. “I think of it as allowing humour. Because I think that life is weird, and my work is very much influenced by and inspired by the world around me.
What happened to the formerly flourishing experimental music scene in San Francisco? I’ve looked for it. Some of the musicians may still be present, but the gigs aren’t, unless I’m missing something.
Might be worth keeping an eye out for Volti performances, Pamela Z has collaborated with them in the past.
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We took B on his first walk on August 20th, in the hills above Montara beach. It was his first time in the carrier, we thought he’d resist but he loved it. The hills are a lot drier than the last time we walked through here, but there were thistles and nasturtiums out. We saw a coyote on our way back down.
We took him to see the sea too. Thought about dipping his toes in the water, but the beach was too steep and the waves too high. Another time.