how to:(esday) give the perfect man-hug

weekend project: make a wallet from duct tape

creative license: take as much as you want

It finally came! I now have the new Creative Suite 3 Master Collection which includes ALL of the following: InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat 8, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Contribute, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Soundbooth, Encore, Adobe Bridge, Version Cue and Device Central (all CS3). *Phew. Check out the demo here.

It’s time to do some damage.

desktopography

Designers spend 90% of their time staring computer screens. So the cool folks over at Desktopography have opened exhibits of cutting edge designs that are tailored made for computer wallpaper. Great idea. And great designs. Check them out here.

How Tu(esday): dance the disco

running update

Ok. It’s offical. I AM WAY OUT OF SHAPE!! The first day of my couch-to-5-k training kicked my butt. The routine was this: 5 minute warm up walk, then run for 90 seconds, walk for 60. Run for 90, walk for 60. Repeat for 20 minutes. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. At least for me, anyway. But tomorrow I give it another go so we’ll see what happens. I can only get better at it.

Here’s a list of yesterday’s playlist. This will change from run to run. Some selections seemed right at the time, but didn’t really deliver when it came time for the run. Good tunes are essential when you’re getting your ass kicked. Click on the link to have a listen. Enjoy!

“What Time Is It” - High School Musical 2 (yes, seriously..more on this later)

” Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” - Daft Punk

“Destination Calabria” - Alex Gaudino

“Somebody Told Me” - The Killers

“The Fox” - Nickel Creek

“Mo Ghile Mear” - Celtic Woman (see the second sentence in the previous paragraph)

“The Ascent of Stan” - Ben Folds

“Warmer Climate” - Snow Patro

“The Wings” - Gustavo Santaolallo (cool down lap)

couch to 5-K running plan

I hate running. Hate it. Always have. But there’s part of me that wants to want to run. You know what I mean? Right now I don’t want to run, but I really want to want it.

I don’t do any cardio and I know that’s bad. Everything I do is weightlifting and that’s all. I know, I know…I have to work out my heart too. And believe me, I want to. But I hate running.

Enter couch to 5-k: a beginner’s running schedule that’s helped thousands of new runners get off the couch and onto the roads, running 3 miles at a time in just two months.

It seems easy enough. I start it this morning…I’ll let you know how I do. I even went out and bought a new pair of running shoes to get me motivated.

For more info on the couch to 5-k and a break down of the running schedule click here.

beautiful day

Ok…isn’t it July? How, then is the weather so wonderful? It’s 80 degrees with low humidity and not a cloud in the sky. I’m currently set up to do some major work at Spring Hill’s very own Saxby’s Coffee shop, but I’m not sure how productive I’m going to be.

The outdoors are calling me. To run, to play.

I’ll see you outside.

(photocredit: Goro Fujita of Chapter 56)

newest Utobians!

Rend the Heavens has just been added to the Citizen’s List of Utobia2.0 They’re a rockin band (I used to be in it) with a kick-ass new album coming August 20th. They’re taking pre-orders now so check out their new site and order the new CD. It’s called, The Bright Side and will also be available on iTunes in the fall.

Welcome Pied Piper…piping? to the citizen list of Utobia2.0. A blog by my buddy Nathan Gaddis a worship leader down in Southwest Florida doing what he loves to do: be creative, arrange music, write music, all while balancing pastoral duties on staff at a rather large church. Check him out when you get a chance.

Welcome Two Blonde Boys to the citizen list as well. A blog by Patrick Callahan over in Fresno California. A pastor at New Covenant Community Church, everything on this blog should be considered his personal opinion. He’s into reading, camping, fishing, church, and playing with his two blonde boys.

Two great blogs. Be sure to add them to your blogroll for some link love.

new musical out in September!

I’m so happy to be seeing more musicals these days. Seems they were on hiatus throughout the 90s. I was brought up on them: The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, A Chorus Line, RENT, Phantom of the Opera, Annie, Newsies, Les Miserables, The Music Man, Beauty and the Beast, Alladin, The Lion King, and yes The Little Mermaid just to name a few.

Since the 1960s, musicals in their truest form–film adaptations of already highly successful stage productions (The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, Hello Dolly–although I’m sure this was filmed much later) were on the decline. Mostly due to the change in pop culture and the introduction to Rock n’ Roll. The exception has been the Disney films of the early 90s, but they’re written off as “children’s films.”

It hasn’t been since the earlys 00’s that musicals were welcomed back on the big screen. I think Moulin Rouge played a big role in that. They made an original film but used music from the culture and that made it more palletable for the masses. This opened the door to others: Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera (was this a musical? I never did see it), RENT and Dreamgirls. Now opening on Friday we’ve got Hairspray and in September we’ll have Across the Universe.

An original musical film, Across The Universe is a fictional love story set in the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, the struggle for free speech and civil rights, mind exploration and rock and roll. At once gritty, whimsical and highly theatrical, the story moves from high schools and universities in Massachusetts, Princeton and Ohio to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Detroit riots, Vietnam and the dockyards of Liverpool. A combination of live action, painted and three-dimensional animation, the film is paired with many Beatles songs that defined the time.

Take a look at the trailer. Looks promising.