Photography

100 Photographs that changed the world - Brought to you by Life Magazine. Enjoy.

Superheroes

As some of you know, a while back we made a conscious decision to stop going to theaters to watch movies. The transition period was tough, especially since that's one of my favorite forms of entertainment. Now, as Karen and I look back at the decision it seems like a no brainer. Movies = $30 for us to attend and have a snack or two. Waiting, and buying the DVD if we so choose = $17 (Best Buy release week special). So, for roughly half the cost, we own the movie and I save the headache of sticky floors, rude people, cel phone obsession and commercials... of course, it helps that we have a pretty good home theater setup and a Netflix subscription, but I digress...

So, we make exceptions - I mean, some things have to be experienced and not just seen right? Well, we did our bit and contributed to the weekend total intake for X-Men III. Though, it was better than the first, I didn't think it was better than the second installment and it certainly didn't live up to its potential. Now, I'm not saying it was a bad movie, but with a storyline with such potential and characters that near unlimited abilities you'd think it would have been more of an armageddon than a brawl.

If you're a fan, I'd recommend a matinee or quite possibly your local dollar theater. Just make sure it has a decent audio setup and you should be gold.

Dura-Ace

Due to a stroke of luck I got the chance to upgrade the last component on my bike to good ol' Shimano parts. The new parts are a doozy too - Dura-Ace wheels. As the story goes around here, a friend got a deal and then I got a deal - I'm not kicking it out of bed either. After spending some minor funds on new tubes and some new meats to go on the wheels I'm all set to get my riding schedule on track. Since Bike-to-Work week I'm back up to my 130 miles a week - needless to say, I'm still at the stage where my body is wondering what I'm doing and if I'm seriously going to continue...

The wheels are a dream - now I know why we charge so much for 'em. If I get a chance I'll get a pic of my trusty steed posted for your perusal...

Happy Anniversary to us

Well, we're up to our fourth anniversary. What item are we on now? Leather? Wood? Precious Gems? In any case, we have pretty much spent the last decade together. Sometimes its hard to believe that we are now each other's longest relationship - but its cool nonetheless.

So, celebrations begin this weekend - hopefully I can come up with something un-traditional and thoughtful...

Erasure and ABC

Wouldn't you know, when I booked these two concerts I didn't realize that the dates were back to back. Thankfully, ABC was moved to Friday night so it wasn't so bad. For those of you who have been to the John Anson Ford Theater I can now say that it has become one of my favorite venues. Erasure took the stage there this past Wednesday night and performed well into the night. It was a great 2 hour concert and though I prefer their digital sounds the acoustic session was really good. It was a treat to hear Andy's voice take the lead instead of having him try to overpower Vince's keys.



As for ABC, I haven't seen them since their 8 piece, gold lame', "Look of Love Tour" back in their '80s hey-day. It was a solid performance from Martin and they did manage to cater to his fans and play all of their classic hits along with some of their new material.



Karen and I went to the Galaxy Theater with our friend Shari and her sister Karen. It was nice to be nostalgic for one night and remember some of the crazy adventures we've been through both here in the OC and LA. Ending on "Look of Love" was a perfect way to close out the evening and we all had a great time.

Davinci didn't do it...

So I hear that the church (and I mean mostly, the Catholic church) would like to have a disclaimer put on the Davinci Code claiming that its a work of fiction. Now, I have read the book as well as previous efforts by other authors that have written about the same theories. I for one, am always looking for more information when it comes to organized religion and spirituality so a lot of this material doesn't come as a "revelation" to me, but I digress... I just can't believe that the church feels that its parishioners are so misinformed or, let's just say it, dumb. Do we really need to have a disclaimer? Moreoever, do we really need to be afraid that a movie will "shake the very foundations" of any body of organized religion?

This is just another example of why I chose to take a less regimented approach to my personal spirituality. Though I still have my roots in Judaeo Christianity, more specifically, Seventh Day Adventism I just don't understand why organized religion fears questioning your faith. I mean, I can see that even from its very roots - its nothing that we've chosen - right? The majority of all of us are what we are due in part to our parents and growing up not having a choice at all. Add two parts indoctrination via a church system that reinforces a lifestyle based on your religious/political views and there you have it - your faith.

I remember having arguments with the so called faithful and having them just shut down in lieu of entertaining anything other than the gospel they have been fed since birth... Which is the reason I don't believe that a movie can disrupt blind, uninformed faith - and these are the church's biggest numbers. I mean if you're not willing to entertain ideas without getting flustered then I think you better rethink your plan. Coming from such a young church, in the scheme of things, I am always amazed at the outright intolerance we as SDAs have towards other faiths and heaven forbid you be a heathen; a watcher of movies, reader of books, and listener of devil music...

I think the church needs to grow up and have "faith" that their system has done its job well enough to stop attrition among its parishioners. Christ didn't walk around putting disclaimer stickers on everything he felt was wrong in fear of losing his viewership - Think about it.

Don't call us, we'll call you...

Ever think that some companies don't want you to contact them? Well, here's a website that endeavors to put you in touch with some of the shadier vendors on-line. Most of the numbers listed are valid and will eventually connect you to a warm body.

Googling the past...

So what can you do while using the internet to locate lost classmates? Well, you can look for more lost classmates... While most people have found some way to squat on the web the majority of people I've known in my life still live in the anonymity that is "real life" - hehe. Go figure.

Is this a sign that I spend too much time on the internet? Maybe... I'm willing to entertain the idea. But for the sake of argument, it keeps pace with my curiosity and it never ceases to get tired of my questions. Plus, I'm pretty good at it. Too bad you can't get paid for data mining. Maybe you can? I guess I should look that up too and find out for myself.

Well, a challenge lends itself to digression, digression lends itself to boredom... Then, curiosity gets the best of you and you start wondering what people in your past are up to. Yeah, I know - cliche' Well, maybe just a little? You be the judge.

After a bit of work I have managed to find a handful of people - yes people, mixed sexes. I don't have time or inclination to start a stalking phase in my life. Besides, I don't have any illusions about my self importance. What I have done in my past will have to speak for itself; its not like I can change things right? So if you've managed to track-back here drop me a line tell me how you're doing. Or not, lurking is approved past time in these parts, we're all entitled.

New Music Monday

Vienna Teng

Vienna Teng has a special place in my heart, probably due to our connection in the IT field. Given that, she can't be all that bad, can she? A former software engineer at Cisco Vienna left a world of cubes and monotonous meetings to provide the world a glimpse into her more creative side.

History

By the time San Francisco-based singer/songwriter/pianist Vienna Teng quit her full-time software engineering job at Cisco Systems in the summer of 2002, she had signed with independent label Virt Records and was preparing for her debut release, Waking Hour. Just a few short months later, she was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, made her network television debut on the Late show with David Letterman, and was followed around by a camera crew from CNN for a prime-time profile. She was soon opening for artists such as Shawn Colvin & Joan Osborne and had her song, "The Tower," used in the NBC prime-time series "Ed." Her days are now filled with interviews and sold-out performances. Needless to say, it has been an abrupt shift from her cubicle days.

But in truth, the jump from code warrior to full-time musician had been a long time coming. Vienna began taking piano lessons at age 5, studying classical composers like Bach and Chopin. Far from being pressured into studying music, however, Vienna asked for piano lessons on her own. While she delved fully into classical works, leading her to even take on the name of Vienna after the Austrian city of composers, she was drawn more to the act of improvisation, and in expressing the ideas that were emerging in her own imagination. She wrote her first song at age 6, and had an album’s worth of instrumentals composed by age 16.

The evolution from hobby to full-time job happened gradually, as an appreciative audience began forming around the music she created while attending Stanford University, where she graduated in 2000 with a degree in Computer Science. "I realized how much my songs could affect people - that they had some value. People wanted to hear them and wanted to make them a part of their lives." Her first "concerts" were impromptu events, consisting of curious students gathering around the dorm lounge piano as she played and sang. They started to recognize her songs - and to request them. Bootleg tapes and MP3s of rough recordings circulated around campus. People started asking when the CD was coming out, which led Vienna to record Waking Hour when she wasn’t attending class or studying.

With her graceful melodies and evocative lyrics, Vienna, 26, has garnered critical acclaim and a rapidly growing legion of fans throughout the world. Vienna returned in 2004 with her stunning sophomore release, Warm Strangers. The album is a diverse collection of lush, melodic songs, incorporating Vienna's classical background and folk sensibilities within a contemporary pop framework. The album was produced by David Henry (REM, Cowboy Junkies, Josh Rouse) and mixed by Roger Moutenot (Guster, Joseph Arthur). Whereas Waking Hour, written during the high school and college years, was mostly autobiographical, Warm Strangers marks Vienna's bold leap into fiction. Orchestral and acoustic landscapes, using everything from string quartets to slide guitars, provide an inviting sonic backdrop for her short stories of love, death, struggle and hope. In describing Warm Strangers, Vienna notes, "We pass through each other's lives so briefly that it's easy to think of the people around us as mere objects, cold and removed. Writing songs is my way of breathing warmth into them. Attempting to tell their stories, however fictitious the results, reminds me of our common humanity."