Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Playing for Change

every now and then you come across something amazing and realize it needs to be shared. this is one of those moments.

playing for change is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. the playing for change community is a group of artist and inspired people who have come together to connect the world through music. for now, i can only wish i could be a part of something this wonderful.

this video, by playing for change, was sent to me by Michael LaNoue. watch. listen. enjoy.



oh, while, i'm at it, here is another video i find quite remarkable. matt also goes down in my book as amazing.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

fun waiting


even while waiting around to talk to an instructor, we like to have fun with photos. it wasn't long until craig finally got to talk to cliff.

no more boring art


every now and then jerry burchfield likes to do something to keep things interesting. i have no idea how long he spent doing this, but he wrote "i will make no more boring art" all over the white board and left it there for the next instructor and class to enjoy.



cliff
and the photo 203 class were the lucky recipients.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Table go crack - crash - boom


earlier today somebody (who shall remain nameless) decided they wanted to pose some models on our product table. it was not a good idea.

i was in the stock room when i heard a loud crack, followed by a crash, then a small child wailing. I looked at ron and greg who were near me and we all gave each other that "it doesn't sound good" look. I volunteered to check out what happened. When the door opened I saw a woman with her butt on the floor in the middle of the product table, her legs up in the air, and shards of plexiglass all around her. I assume the model was sitting on it and then fell through.

people, don't use things just because you THINK you know how to use it. you might screw things up for more people than just yourself. this person's friend could have been seriously hurt and now other students who need it to complete assignments won't be able to because someone to took it upon themselves to disregard our rules about not using things unless they had orientation.


the rest of the night was pretty uneventful. jerry was cheerful as always and greg apparently thought his student was a vampire since he was making the sign of the cross trying to keep him away. of course, greg eventually broke down seconds later and helped his student with his black and white printing assignment.


we like to have fun here.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

birthday dim sum

today is my birthday. i'm now 31. funny, i don't feel old.

i had planned to do nothing today except stay in bed and watch the entire lord of the rings trilogy, but alas my plans would be foiled by a wake up call from my sister. she wanted to take me out to dim sum at great seafood harbor for my birthday. who am i to say no to a gift of food? so off i went to eat dim sum for my birthday. pretty yummy!


the rest of the day was perfect, except for a few trips to the computer to check my e-mail i managed to spend the day in bed watching TV. i can't wait to do this again next year.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Better Than Sex Cake

several years ago my friend Michael Long brought in a cake called "better than sex cake". it isn't really better than sex, but it comes damn close.

tomorrow is my birthday and krista has offered to bake this special cake for me for my birthday. krista bakes cakes and other treats for us all the time and i can't wait to eat this special cake again.

the following is roughly the recipe that mike gave to me all those years ago. i hope you enjoy it as much as i do.

Better Than Sex Cake

1 pkg. German chocolate cake mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 jar caramel topping
1 Cool Whip Tub
2 Heath candy bar, grated

1. Bake cake as directed on package (9 x 13 inch pan) and let cool.
2. With a wooden spoon handle, punch holes about one inch apart over entire cake (while still in pan).
3. In a sauce pan over low heat combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping until smooth and blended.
4. Slowly pour the warm topping mixture over cake, letting it sink into the holes (while still in pan)
4. Pour entire container of Cool Whip over cake. (with cake still in pan).
5. Spread grated Heath bar over cool whip (with cake still in the pan).

Friday, March 20, 2009

He'Brew Beer


while prepping for the cypress college photography department photo shoot craig, vergil, and i got hungry went out to eat at a little mexican place down the street from greg fulton's studio in santa ana. near the restaurant is a liquor store called nadys liquor. it was there that we discovered he'brew - the chosen beer, the best named beer ever! we thought it was a hoot and vergil suggested we buy some for cliff, a photo instructor at cypress college, since he's jewish. it turns out he'brew is a pretty tasty beer which makes it even better. to top it all off, the beer is kosher as well!

we like messiah bold but the genesis ale is yummy as well. next time you see he'brew, give it a try, at least laugh at the name. it's rather clever.

l'chaim!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

"In the Mood" in class exercise


tonight, cliff had one of his famous in class exercises. the assignment was called "in the mood" in which the students in his photo 203 class needed to shoot an image in which lighting created a certain mood.

the class was split into two groups, one worked in the studio to create a stressed studio executive shot while the other group worked in the lobby to create a pool table scene. each student in the group was given a role to perform such as photographer, or first assistant, or digital tech.

for more on this check out john's blog (he took more pictures).

Bat signal


Cypress college now has it's own bat signal. Wow that's bright!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Grace fall down and go boom


This morning I slipped in the shower and hit my head pretty hard. I think I'm okay. I feel a bit dizzy and my head still hurts, but so far, so good.

When I came home randy's mom had bought those non slip flower thingies and stuck them all over our bath tub for me. Apparently she slipped last week too.

When I used to see those in people's bathrooms I used to think they looked tacky, but after today they are pretty beautiful to me.

It's kinda funny the way this stuff works. From the second my foot slid out from under me and I realized I was going to fall, everything went in slow motion, just like in the movies. I hit my head hard enough to see stars. I also thought that was just something that happened in road runner cartoons. What do you know? It isn't. There was that fleeting thought, "what if I black out? I hope they don't find me lying here naked." it just hurt like crazy.

Be careful out there people. Your avacado green bathtub could kill you.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Girl scout cookies


Scored my first few boxes of girl scout cookies for the season from Robert Mercer. Get cookies from him in the Cypress College newsroom.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Buiz & Econ club


I have walked by this sign for most of the semester. Can someone tell me what a "buiz" club is? :)

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Life's for Sharing

some time in 2006 someone sent me a link to a video involving a group of about 80 people dressed similarly to best buy employees (blue polo shirt. short sleeved. any brand. preferably with no logo. as close to royal blue as possible) all walking into a best buy. it was hilarious.


that was my first introduction to flash mobs and to improve everywhere (they cause scenes). the "missions" they do are pretty impressive and absolutely funny.

flash mobs are reported to have been first created in 2003 by bill wasik, senior editor of harper's magazine. wasik claimed that he created flash mobs as a social experiment designed to poke fun at hipsters and to highlight the cultural atmosphere of conformity and of wanting to be an insider or part of "the next big thing".

anyhow, i just got sent another flash mob video, this time sponsored by t-mobile. friday jan 16, 2009, t-mobile launched their new commercial. it was shot at Liverpool station in london. they used 400 dancers and 10 hidden cameras. no one but the station employees and dancers knew what was going on. it was aired on youtube and TV. you can see the number of passers-by who shot what they could with their cell phones. I can't imagine what they told their callers what they had just seen. a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

enjoy the video.

Friday, March 06, 2009

Dummy only


i'm at red ribbon. they make some of the best cakes. my favorite is the mango cake. today i'm here for the empanadas: 4 chicken, 2 beef. vergil got the halo halo. i'm jealous.

i'm also trying to expand john's culinary pallet beyond pasta, burgers, and tacos. i'm trying to slip some of the asian stuff in his diet. Panda express doesn't count. i'm talking about getting him to eat duck, sushi, pho, and other typical Asian fare.

As I was waiting for my order, I checked out the other stuff they had. Ohh siopao! Wait... What the.... Dummy only? Hhahahahahahah!

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Moving James


I'm helping James move into his new place. It sucks that he's moved farther away, but at least he moved to a place I'm more comfortable driving to than his last place (better parking).

The place is pretty big and quite nice. There is more than enough room for him and his plush toys. I wouldn't mind living here and much to James's dismay I'll problably be here just as much as if I lived here. There goes your privacy James.

I know the area pretty well since I used to work around here. We're going to eat and one of my favorite Peruvian places after we're all done. Yeah green stuff. I know what it's called, but it's beyond me to spell it right now. Waka- tai (that totally isn't right).

Better go help James move stuff now.