{Five for Friday} 5 Oscar-Nominated Short Animated Films

One of our favorite things to do when we visit NYC during awards season, is catch the Oscar-nominated short films. Short films are powerful stories packed into small, bite-size bits (that have a maximum running time of 40 minutes). For the animation category, techniques include cel animation, computer animation, stop-motion, clay-mation, cut-outs, and a whole lot of other styles. I scoured the web and found 5 full versions of some Oscar-nominated short animated films from years past. If you have some time to spare, check them out!




2003 Nominee: Destino



2006 Nominee (and winner): The Danish Poet



2011 Nominee: Let's Pollute



2010 Nominee (and winner): The Lost Thing



2012 Nominee: Dimanche



And if you want to be prepared for this Sunday's Academy Awards, here are trailers/info for some of the nominated animated shorts for this year:

Mr. Hublot:



Room on the Broom:



Get a Horse!



Feral:

from the studio: 2.26.14

I used the stamps Zach cut me last fall and printed some cheery wildflower cards today. I'm looking forward to spring, can you tell?

Hope you're keeping toasty and thinking warm thoughts!

from the studio: 2.24.14

The cat has been super needy since we got back from our trip to NYC. He wouldn't leave Zach alone when he was trying to carve a new block, so this had to happen for a bit ...

before the cat finally agreed to leave him alone ...

When the block was done, Zach went on to draw and cut an almost 8-foot tall stencil of the same image.

Recipe of the Week: Indian-inspired Shrimp with Yogurt Rice

this dish is pretty simple and quick to put together.  it has that spicy indian flavor profile, but the yogurt makes it creamy and delicious.  it's not a biryani, but it also doesn't take all day to make. 

shrimp marinade:

1 lb de-veined shrimp

1/2 tsp minced ginger

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp chili

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 c yogurt

mix everything in a bag and marinate for 1 hour+ (up to a day).  this helps keep the shrimp from getting dry and chewy, and will make the sauce creamier at the end.

sauce:

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 cardamon pods

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 cloves

1 bay leaf

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 finely chopped onion

1 cup crushed tomatoes

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 a serrano pepper

1 clove of garlic

1/2 tsp minced ginger

handful chopped cilantro

handful chopped mint

salt and pepper

heat oil in a sauce pan.  add onion, cinnamon, cardamon, turmeric, and cloves.  cook for 5 minutes.  add garlic and ginger.  cook an additional 5 minutes.  add tomatoes and bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste.  bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover.  cook until tomatoes have disintegrated.  add the shrimp and re-heat slowly so as not to curdle the yogurt.

rice:

3 cups cooked rice

small handful of curry leaves

1/2 tsp mustard seed

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp coconut oil

heat oil in a sauce pan.  once oil is hot, add all spices, saving out the curry leaves.  once the mustard seeds begin to pop, throw in the curry leaves.

add the rice and mix gently.  add the sauce/shrimp mixture to the rice and gently mix together.

NYC: Graffiti Photo Dump

If you like street art, here are some of the rest of the graffiti photos from our trip that never made the previous NYC posts ...