our underwater anniversary extravaganza

(we're not in extreme pain here, just trying to smile big.)

well, it was partly underwater. but i suppose for the most part, it was not. either way, we had a great time. we needed more time, but it was still good fun. jesse wrote about it better than i will, so go here for her take. my role will be to display the pictures of interest (to me) (although i do enjoy the one of me sitting on the floor in IKEA).

i came across this underwater camera (non-disposable, mind you) in one of the stores down there. it was actually the only one in town, so we felt lucky to have gotten one at all after the apparent mexico beach underwater camera rush of '06.


this portion of beach was obviously not used by humans very much because the fish were everywhere. it was a little scary at times because there were so many of them everywhere. i think i saw a sting ray and i'm pretty sure i kicked a crab. this little guy below wouldn't leave me alone. so i took a picture of him... with my UNDERWATER CAMERA!

(now, this is a pretty simple camera, focus free, no zoom, so as you can see these fish are right up in there. course, i think those are tiny fish, so they arent so bad.)

(jesse took this one. she did a good job.)

(i took this through the tunnel in our castle wall)

(this one turned out pretty much just like i wanted, except my hair looks stupid from the goggles.)

it was some mighty clear water. however, on the 2nd day it was a bit darker outside so i could only see about 5' in front of me under water. this scared me. had something come out of the watery shadows, i would've crapped myself. so i did less underwatering that day and more sand castling.

i do recommend mexico beach though. it was a very relaxing place.

the trip went great

(this was our beach. notice the complete lack of people (180° shown).)

i'll post about that soon, but right now, you need to go here and download this song Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap. it's an awesome song. for me personally, the musical aspect of it is gorgeous. it just is. it's a fairly simple song, but so layered. if you don't like it, well, i'd be curious to hear why. so please, check it out.

(is it a copyright violation even if you still give credit to the artist? hopefully the link will work long enough for you to get it.)

(this is the place we stayed: the Driftwood)

bye, woxy

well, it just ended. and now the place i thought music would never cease to come from is silent. it is pretty sad and disheartening, just listening to the silence. i'm almost afraid to hit stop; like something might still be coming up. i guess not though. granted, i have enough music saved up to last a lifetime, but what's the fun in that? i'm going to miss not only the music, but the DJs too. i felt like i knew them. i'm not sure what to do now (not in life, mind you. i'm not THAT melodramatic. but rather for music. i dont know yet.)

it's safe to say i owe them the gratitude and credit for the past 2 year's worth of bringing new music into my life. i'd say 90% of everything in that time period has come from them. (plus, they gave me tickets to Bonnaroo.) it was without a doubt the greatest, most progressive, and most true to the music radio station i've ever had the priviledge of listening too. thank you, guys.

i recorded the entire day's stream from the station. if anybody wants it i've got it where i can burn it mp3 style in chronological order. just let me know.

i thought this was a great synopsis of the radio station, WOXY.com... (taken from insidepulse.com)

The pop culture media trifecta (Radio, TV, Internet) allows imagination only in the world given by Radio. This is why when radio stations die, it's diehard listeners cry and mourn. This doesn't happen with television. While people will lament the losses of certain programs, nobody really stops their watch when networks go under. It's pretty impossible to love a network, but a radio station, well, that can become part of the family.

This week, I was hit with the blunt foreclosure of WOXY, an independent radio station that's been under operation for more than twenty years. I've been an avid listener for the last four years. To me, WOXY was the pulse of music. I trusted the taste of their four DJ's more than any other person or organization. They are, quite simply, wholly responsible for my current taste and attitude for music.

WOXY did three things that kept me listening. First, they were abrasively independent. After 97X¬-the Cincinnati radio station that WOXY inhabited-was bought out by a syndicate, they went web-only so they wouldn't have to buckle under corporate pressure. I have a t-shirt from WOXY that reads "Corporate Radio Sucks" and I wear it proudly. It was this attitude that gave me the crimson to write about music in the first place.

Secondly, they were constantly introducing me to something new. Listening to WOXY is akin to walking into an indie record shop and being curious about what's on the speakers every single time. From Ryan Adams to The Ass Ponys to TV On The Radio to Tom Waits and The Jesus & Mary Chain, WOXY always had something interesting. Their add rate was ten times higher than any corporate station. While local stations add a half dozen songs a week to the roster, WOXY would add several dozen albums. You know how some stations will say "And here's the brand new Red Hot Chili Peppers track", even though the album came out six months ago? WOXY never does that. They'll put out three or four songs off an album and play them all in the same week, so listeners never get sick of singles.

Lastly, I trusted the DJ's. Mike, Shiv, Bryan and Barb are absolutely the most honest DJ's I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. If they don't like a song, they'll say so. If they really dig something, they'll sing its praises. Listening to WOXY feels like being given your older brother's record collection with an appended map for the road. It's raw, real, and oh yeah, commercial free, too.

Do yourself a favor and head on over to www.woxy.com right now and listen for a while. They will be shutting down for good on September 15th, so that two weeks will offer you a glimpse of what radio really can be like. Browse their studio acts, where you can stream essentially live and unplugged concerts from Editors, Forget Cassettes, Gomez, Murder By Death, Neko Case, The Crimea, Fiery Furnaces, The Kills, and a ton more. Browse their lists of top songs and records from years' past. You simply won't find a better collective taste in modern rock. Click on WOXY Vintage, a classic/retro station that won't make you cringe for once, because they don't play "Black Betty" every three hours.

Also, if you happen to have a few million dollars around, save them. You'll be saving all of us, too. I don't think people realize what will happen when consistently good independent radio finally dies. For your own good, listen to the final broadcast on September 15th and cry with the rest of us. At the very least, give yourself one evening to be joined with a great community by the one medium that can really get the job done.

that about sums it up.

Autostitch: It's a kick in the photographical pants

these are all photographs i put together for a brochure my company is putting out in the next month. i went out (because i dont have a wide angle lens) and took a ton of pictures of each site/building. then with the help of Photoshop CS2 and Autostitch, i was able to create all of the following. these all range anywhere from 10 to 28 pictures a piece.
























here is the preliminary brochure.

this is a 30 min video someone took on 9/11

i posted.

here are some more pictures. i kind of went picture crazy these last couple weeks. it happens. that first one is a combination of about 15 pictures "autostitched" together and then equalized and whatnot. it's one of many i've been doing for a brochure we're putting together for my company. looks pretty sweet. i hope the brochure comes out well.

(this was the giraffe i got to pet on friday. he was nice.)

(this is a lorikeet. i didn't pet him. but a bunch of his friends almost flew into me multiple times.)

(this is not a terd. it's a "4 nut." i didn't know if anyone had ever gotten one of these. seemed pretty special to me.)

(this was taken with a 15" shutter speed on Massman Dr. over I-40)

i went on a men's retreat this weekend. it was really great. so seldom (nowadays) do you get to spend a full weekend joking around and learning and getting to really know people. it was definitely time well spent. (and i climbed that thing) (i did take the "easy" route, however).

and i put some videos up.

be back sunday

a week ago?

let's see. that's the Schermerhorn theater above (and below). jess and i went to a free opening thing the other day. my friend managed to get some of the free tickets (for season ticket holders and donaters only)(niether of which he is) and he couldn't go, so we went. it was fantastic. the Mahler piece was way long and the Bela Fleck piece was a bit bizarre, but the all in all, it was fun. the acoustics in that place are incredible. from the balcony you can hear absolutely everything.

(thank you autostitch)

we also went to knowxville last weekend for sarah ryg's wedding. it was fun. we had a good time and it was nice to see some old faces. i wish i had some pictures but i forgot my camera in the car during the ceremony and the lighting was too low during the reception. i suck. i got a few pictures, but they werent flattering for anyone. sorry sarah.

(this is a giant warehouse on one of our jobs)

AND we celebrated our 1 year anniversary (sort of). it didn't go as either one of us planned. it was just nice to go back out to the spot where we got married. we hadnt been out there in a year, so that was cool. everything else? well, i'm just glad we're going to FL this weekend.