Just this weekend I was demonstrating the wonders of the Photoshop clone tool to my mom and Jenil and they were in awe of it’s effect. But if you think that’s cool, check out the I/O Brush, created by the smart folks at MIT. It’s a brush that picks up color, texture, and movement from any surface. And then you draw with it. Be sure to check out the video at the bottom. Crazy.
Archive for January, 2006
The clone tool gets one-upped
Wednesday, January 25th, 2006Portland!
Tuesday, January 24th, 2006JenO’s got a lot going on this year. Between traveling all over the world for her job and developing plans for the land she and Anil purchased, she’s training for the Ironman Wisconsin in September. And then getting married in Oregon two weeks later.
So, when we realized she had two free weekends in between January and May to try on wedding dresses and that last weekend was one of them, my mom and I hopped on a plane to Portland (yay for frequent flyer miles!). We arrived early Thursday and spent a little time checking out her home, since neither of us had been there in a few years. Great wall colors… yellow, purple, and deep red. Then we headed to Anil’s house for tour #2 – he’s made some great improvements inside but I was so taken with his backyard, I forgot to take any pictures inside. His square-foot gardens are fantastic, the chicken coop is great and the coolest part is that some of the gardens he’s lined with wine bottles have little ferns growing in the bottles. Love it. From there, we went to Friends of Trees, Anil’s workplace, picked him up and drove east to the land they just bought near Snowden, WA. Mt. Adams wasn’t in view due to the clouds but even without the view it’s a great space. Yurt, bee hives and more trees forthcoming. Hood River, wedding location, was next and I’m happy to report the town, the hotels and Stonehedge where the wedding and reception will be are all respectively cute, unique, beautiful and serve wonderful food.
Friday was wedding dress shopping day and I’ve been forbidden from posting photos but suffice it to say we had a hard time finding one we didn’t like on her. The bridesmaids dresses were a different story but we’re still looking. It was an exhausting day but a lot of fun.
Saturday took us south to plant 400 trees with Friends of Trees. In charge of the whole operation was Anil, and Jen was one of several crew chiefs who oversaw about 15 volunteers, including Nicholas who immediately declared my mom his new best friend for life. Four hours later we were really dirty and all the trees were planted. Our reward was a long-awaited scrumptious breakfast with Jenil’s friends/volunteers around 3 pm at a place called Gravy. Really good food. Warm showers and a quick trip to a wine bar with Jenil and Jenny Welnick followed and then it was time to head back. Thanks to Jen and Anil and all their great friends for the hospitality – it was a wonderful weekend!
The first unofficial pizza-making experiment at Widgeon Way
Monday, January 16th, 2006One of the things my new breadmaker can do is make pizza dough, so Sunday night Stacy and I decided to give homemade pizza a whirl. It may have been a disaster – we were all set to punch down the dough but didn’t know the dough had to rise for six hours first, among other things. Much to our good fortune though, Schroeder arrived with beer, and Dress and Les showed up bearing all the leftovers from their pizza party the night before: dough, sauce, pesto – all homemade. Thus the dough was tossed, Dresley created the first pepperoni & pepper pizza, I came up with the seasoned triple cheese pepperoni concoction and Schroeder impressed us all with a delicious calzone. I think Stace won the prize though with a garlic and black olive pizza. It was the last of 5-6 pizzas and I think I still managed to eat a large portion of it. Moral of the story – if you’re going to make pizza, invite Dressler.
At the movies
Sunday, January 15th, 2006I’ve seen two movies this month in the theatre which is somewhat unusual for me. First was Walk the Line, the story of Johnny Cash, which had great acting but the story line was a little dull. There’s trauma and success and then more trauma and more success. Hope I’m not giving anything away….
The second movie was Brokeback Mountain, the story of two cowboys who meet in 1963 and become more than friends. Which one might find a little less predictable if one were in the 1% of the population who hasn’t been deluged by the hype surrounding this film. Even so it was an interesting film, very well done, and the Wyoming scenery was beautiful. It cracks me up that theatres in Utah and Washington have actually banned this film due to it’s homosexual content — hitting some people a little too close to home perhaps? — but judging by the line out the door before and after the film it looks like, at least from a monetary perspective, the joke’s on them.
So I was entertained by both films, but both left me thinking that the true love stories and subsequent tragedies should have been about Johnny’s first wife and the wives of the cowboys. All are hard-working women, devoted to their families who eventually get betrayed but continue on, raising their kids and even caring for their husbands. How much would that suck? In the event that I ever get my career in cinematography off the ground I’ll start with their stories.
The birthday challenge
Friday, January 13th, 2006My little baby brother turned 23 yesterday and he decided to make it a little more memorable by getting in on that whole birthday challenge thing. As one might expect, he chose unicycling, and spent the morning documenting his 23-mile ride. You can see the whole deal on Flickr — just click on the first thumbnail and go from there.
The power of images
Wednesday, January 4th, 2006Every January various sites feature outstanding photos taken
throughout the previous year and this year the content is exceptional. Try
to find an hour or two to look through these, it’s time well spent. Some have
audio.
MSNBC editor’s choice, readers’
choice and register your own viewer’s choice
New York Times 2005 The Year in Pictures
Time Best Photos of the Year 2005
National Geographic’s Top Ten Photo Gallery
Also not to be missed are the New
Year’s Eve panoramas from around the world. Again, some have audio.
Thanks to my friend Jeff for sending
these links my way.
Top 10 lessons learned in 2005
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006- The cool pose where you’re bent in half arching over the trapeze is
not worth it. - When you breed a squash with a pumpkin their offspring last forever.
- Jingly noises are particularly appealing after taking Vikoden.
- When party planning do not write bad things about the caterer and then accidentally send him the email.
- Freshly picked strawberries are not to be missed.
- When launching the redesign of a major website, do not immediately ask for feedback.
- The best way to partake in the Ironman Wisconsin is to watch the competitors run by on State St. while drinking beer at Frida’s.
- Excess appreciation for the boyfriend may lead him to temporarily morph into the devil incarnate.
- Six Feet Under is quite possibly the best TV series ever.
- Don’t plan too far ahead because the only thing constant is change.
Eric & Gail’s wedding
Sunday, January 1st, 2006When Bryan’s friend Eric Koppa announced that he was getting married in Naples, FL in December and Bryan was to be the best man, we were pretty excited. Finding plane tickets proved to be a bit of a challenge (i.e. the beginning of the end) but as it turned out the wedding experience was worth it. =] Naples, soon dubbed Perfectlandia, was beautiful.
Both Eric and Gail are musicians so Tuesday night lent itself to an informal jam session near the pool area. After a fantastic greasy-spoon breakfast the next morning, we spent Wednesday wandering the downtown and beach area and then were treated to a trolley ride to nearby Marco Island for a fantastic feast following the rehearsal dinner. Yet another unbelievable jam session followed in Uncle Wayne’s condo.
Thursday, the wedding day, was spent in preparation… running last minute errands for the groom (we were literally in Walmart an hour before the wedding) and getting ready. I arrived at the beautiful Royal Poinciana Country Club around 3:30 just in time to take a cute photo, was handed a mojito, posed for a few photos with new-found friends Amy and Adam and then was seated for the ceremony. The wedding party looked stunning, and after a quick but meaningful ceremony the bride and groom said I do. More drinks and a dinner beyond description followed.
All of which was impressive, but it was the talent that stole the show. The swing band was great, but it was the look on their faces when the groom, the bride, and friends Laith Al-Saadi and Johnny Rodgers (among others) sat in, that was priceless. Topmost respect. There was brief pause for an excellent toast by Bryan and then the dance floor was in full swing again.
After yet another near-sleepless night there was an incredible brunch at the marina and then B and I opted to go for a bike tour of the area homes and a quick nap on the beach. Small biting insects aside, it was wonderful to just lay in the sand, enjoy the 78° temperature, and listen to the waves come into the shore. And then after a casual dinner at a local pub it was time to go. It was a great break from the cold and reality and Naples and the happy times there will both be remembered fondly.
