Bit of the ordinary

Weekly Twitter Update From 2010-11-15 – 2010-11-21 #tw

Geekiness

On Set: Empire Strikes Back @ Vanity Fair

This looks like a great book, looking at the article now.

Out this month, the slick coffee-table tome The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back chronicles the complete tale—from pre-release to blockbuster success—of what’s become the fan favorite of the Star Wars series. Released in 1980, George Lucas’s Episode V pushed the boundaries of special effects and left audiences with one of cinema’s most epic cliffhangers.

via On Set: Empire Strikes Back | Vanity Fair.

Bit of the ordinary

Weekly Twitter Update From 2010-10-11 – 2010-10-17 #tw

Family biz, Life in Lex

Life in Lex – Saturdays in October

One thing is true for Saturday mornings in October in Lexington when you have children, have a lawn chair. October Saturdays mean soccer games. Which means usually no sleeping in. Now that we have two kids playing in different teams it makes the mornings even more hectic. They are having a great time, they don’t keep track of which teams win and just encourage fun. Different than when I was a kid.

Arden’s team was invited to play on the Washington and Lee soccer field during the halftime of a game. So I guess she was part of the halftime show for the crowd. Another father recorded it with his iPhone. Look for Arden as #7 and her friend Braden who is #22.

Bit of the ordinary

Obligatory passage of time birthday post

Today is my birthday, and of course in many ways it feels like just another day. Which of course it is. But of course it has the job of marking your time in increments. And when you are younger it is a very momentous occasion. McKelvey in particular loves having her birthday be a holiday that ranks with Easter and christmas. You get so much attention, presents, cake and you get to choose what we have for dinner, it’s pretty awesome. And getting older was important when you’re a kid. You always want to be older when you’re younger and younger when you’re older. McKelvey is looking forward to turning ten and being in double digits. But that is not that big of a deal when you get older. Especially once you get past those important years, like turning 18 or 21.

And as for marking the passage of time, I don’t really think about birthdays as what marks the year. I don’t even think of January 1st either. For me it is about summers, meaning summer theater gigs and not being in school (whether as a student or teacher). Or marking the years by august and school starting again. That is the rhythm of the year, not birthdays.

As far noticing the passage of time, I have noticed some more grey hairs today, mostly in my beard. My hair on the top of my head is a little thinner I guess. And I did notice a new wrinkle on my face, but it only shows up when I’m smiling. But I don’t actually pay attention to the passage of time that much. This was the first time in a while that I actually looked at the face in the mirror, mostly it is a quick check of hair or appearance to make sure I am not a complete slob.

In case you were wondering, I did have a great birthday. My family rocks, I got some touching thoughtful gifts, and Ann made an amazing dinner. The birthday cake is so chocolatey you will have to brush your teeth after just looking at it, it is so decadent. I said ‘is’ because there is still more than half left. It was so rich that no one could finish their piece. That of course means cake for breakfast with a big glass of milk…

All in all a great day, a good year that had it’s ups and downs. And I am Avery lucky man to have the family I have and a job that I find meaningful and enjoyable, even if I don’t get to be as creative as I would like.

Bit of the ordinary

Tilt-Shift Van Gogh

Tilt shift photography is:

the use of tilt for selective focus, often for simulating a miniature scene. Sometimes the term is used when the shallow depth of field is simulated with digital postprocessing; the name may derive from the tilt-shift lens normally required when the effect is produced optically.

It is a neat way of making an image. Someone applied it to a bunch of Vincent Van Gogh paintings:Tilt-Shift Van Gogh. Fun.

the Blog of Owen Collins