| and this little piggy went 'wee wee wee' all the way home....
|
|
last night in monterey |
02.25.08 | Personal
|
Well....after many weeks of fun.... its time to say goodbye to Monterey. My parents were so cool to visit. I planned to stay 2 weeks for Christmas and it turned into 2 months! They nicknamed me 'the tenant."
Sunday was my last night in Monterey. The car is packed, but its really hard to leave. I don't want to go home. I had so much fun with them. My dad constantly makes me laugh so hard I can't breathe and my mom doesn't have to try hard to put us in stitches. They were parents when I was young, but now they're more like friends. Loved spending girl-time with my mom. She's an adventurous lady with a pretty smile and a big heart.
|
| Double hard to say goodbye to my little beach bums. We spent almost everyday at the beach running around. They're so precious & sweet.
|
How in the world can I say goodbye to these beautiful faces?
|
| Dad was MIA at a training course all weekend but we're going for lunch today to see him before I go. He's the ultimate chill-meister. Love him!!! I will miss his stories & saucy attitude. He's a champ-
|
Before hitting the road, I'm going to take the dive for an XM radio & GPS (finally!). I am not all that good with roads & directions.
I won't have access to email or web until Thursday when I get home. That is, unless I turn around and drive back to Monterey........ I could knock on the door and say 'mom, dad, I'm ba-ack.......... '
|
|
ALCATRAZ - San Francisco |
02.22.08 | Personal
|
| This is a 5-star, 2-thumbs up interesting place to tour! Not your typical action-packed experience, its more like an eerie place with lots to observe & absorb.
|
| Inmates are reduced to numbers for the ultimate lesson in humility.
|
| I wonder what kinds of things were spoken through this microphone.
|
| Many attempts were made to escape. If you made it outside the walls, the cold water & sweeping tides could do you in.
|
| The prison shut down due to lack of funding. It cost the government too much lettuce to keep up. Salt water & rusting steel unraveled the island.
|
| We actually met a woman who used to LIVE on the island with her family. She wrote books about her upbringing on Alcatraz while her dad served as assistant Warden. She autographed our books, too.
|
Alcatraz facts:
*The average age for inmates was 24.
*Al Capone had neuro-syphallis. Al was half crazy when he arrived. He was incarcerated for "tax evasion."
*His photos resemble bozo the clown in the late-goofy stages of the disease.
*There were only TWO keys to open cells.
*If you break the laws you go to jail. If you break the jail's laws, you go to Alcatraz.....
|
I miss the look of film more and more as I shoot digitally. Specifically the cool colors of Fuji and the rounded corners from the 70's were some of my faves. Just as the fashionistas revived the 80's look this year (spandex go away!) is the photo world reviving the 70's film colors? A better question: is anyone ready for it?
|
What's your impression of this color swatch? Like it? LOVE it? Impartial?
I'm ready to assume the task of remodeling our 1920's home, beginning with the cornerstone of all things great & small: a color pallet. Either we start with the basics or be forced to meet people at coffee shops for ever and ever. Worst case scenario: ditch home renovating completely and move to a furnished condo decorated by flamboyant interior designers who will charge us millions. For now, Ray's choice of blue for the walls doesn't scream Martha Stewart Apprentice, but its a leap ahead from the initial molasses brown interiors chosen by the previous owner.
After hesistating 2.893 seconds Ray agreed to end the blue/brown saga that we began in August without strife, because like most men, he doesn't really care, and menial things like 'matching' don't irk him in the slightest. Although, in his opinion, tropical blue looks ravishing because he picked it out and it looks like the sky. In conclusioin, we still need a respectable color pallet as demonstrated by this scientific formula
men + blue walls = the sky
Specifically for the living/dining room, the atmosphere should feel classic, lively, refreshing. I used the words: asian, grass, green, bamboo, spring while searching Kuler on Adobe's website *see below*
To try some of your own color combinations google " kuler + adobe" [ i tried linking the site here, didn't work ] Type in adjectives or nouns to describe the mood the colors should evoke.
|
Last week a special lady agreed to meet me for lunch in San Fran. Not special as in yellow bus special, special as in celebrity status (in my book). Leah McCormick, super-rad & humble fine art photographer dined Italian with me over Gnocchi di Fungi on Gough street. I'm a long time fan of hers, initially saw her work in PDN's Top Knots contest. Leah ROCKS. I admire her shooting style, humility, and unassuming character. She showed me that kindness should not be mistaken for weakness and shared lots of funny stories to illustrate. Irish Catholic & completely organic in character, (could've been a New Yorker) Leah's the nicest, sweetest, and most honest person I've met in a long time. She belongs to San Fran and I think San Fran belongs to her. I never imagined I'd meet her, on a whim I picked up the phone and called. She called back 5 minutes later. Sweeeeet
In October 2007, I attended the Portland Joe Buissink workshop. A slightly feminist streak made me want to seek out the ladies of the industry instead of focusing on the men. No offense guys. Truth be told there are enough men leading us in the world. I'm interested in the meeting the fearless women in leadership roles. In January, I asked to have lunch with Susie Hamidi, Seattle's rockin' photojournalist. A fabulous experience, it made me want to repeat. In case you're not a photographer, just like any other business, there are plenty of hatorade pools, lots of ripping off secrets among artists. But I don't want any part of it.Enough already with that redunkulous stuff. Instead of kissing up to photographers to leech their mojo, why not invite them for dinner and do the opposite?
Having met with Leah & Susie made me feel good inside. These chicks are hard workers and shy away from fads in the arts. I feel SO lucky to live on the West Coast, filled with unique people from all walks of life.
Turns out last Wednesday was Chinese New Year's Eve, fireworks went off, people frenzied the grocery stands. It was awesome!!!! Love San Fran. I'm going again Monday.
|
| GPS lost satellite downtown, within a few minutes I was completely lost and frustrated trying to find US 101 in the dark. I wound up here by accident, what a sweet surprise! Parked next to a fire hydrant, fired off about 8 shots and booked it back to the car just in time.
|
|
you better have chocolates for her.... |
02.14.08 | Personal
|
Happy Valentine's!
Today happens to be my parent's wedding anniversary! Years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and caveman did not have cave insurance, Denise Douglass and James Greer tied the knot in a small church deep in South Carolina. Only a truly loving woman could put up with my dad's antics and enjoy being dragged around the globe and back. On a motorcycle. 3 times. Gypsies in their past lives, they both can't stay in any one place too long. They have a unique spark between them. My mom has managed all these years to keep my dad in line. My dad keeps still keeps her guessing after all these years. Its a beautiful thing to have parents as cool as mine. Nearing 3 decades of marriage could make anyone crazy, but they make it look easy and TONS of fun. I just LOVE THEM!
My biggest kudos to all the newlyweds, the newlytogether's, the freshly-parted (sorry!) and the longtimer old-salts, HAPPY LOVE DAY! Go out and get some chocolates, there's still time to surprise her....or him...
|
Page
1
of 3
|
|
 |
|
