The Longbored Surfer

G2 20091001

2009-10-02T21:21:12Z

We closed on our first home yesterday. We're thrilled. Due to an upcoming anniversary, the new home, and because I think Maria is wonderful, I made another G2 album. I know. I should post less about projects and more about my kids.

Cecilia went on her first sleep-over the other night. I wasn't really ready for it. I missed her. Becky talks constantly. One of our favorite words to have her say is “Moist.” It's cute, along with several other words, as long as she's not screaming. She loves to talk and sing… and purses.

I'll move on to the details of this thing. Read on to be fascinated. There isn't really a theme to this album. I recently re-discovered something called the radio, which plays music free of charge. I had forgotten that something like that existed. With that in mind, here's the track list:

01	The Gambler - Fun.	4:04
02	1, 2, 3, 4 - Plain White T's	3:18
03	I'm Yours - Jason Mraz	4:02
04	Bubbly - Colbie Caillat	3:16
05	Till There Was You - The Beatles	2:14
06	If I Had Eyes - Jack Johnson	3:59
07	Our House - Madness	3:23
08	Rome - Phoenix	4:38
09	So Insane - Discovery	3:13
10	The World Has Turned And Left Me Here - Bit Shifter	3:48
11	They Say You Grow - Butterfly Boucher	3:48
12	Absolutely Still - Better Than Ezra	3:58
13	(Coffee's for Closers) - Fall Out Boy	4:35
14	Misery Business (Acoustic) - Paramore	3:16
15	Failure's Not Flattering - New Found Glory	3:52
16	La Di Da - Jet	2:53
17	Black Betty - Ram Jam	3:58
18	I Can't Stay - The Killers	3:07
19	Monotov's Private Opera - Third Eye Blind	4:13
20	The Wind Cries Mary - Jimi Hendrix	3:18
21	Tipitina - Professor Longhair	3:38
22	Guadalajara (En Vivo) - Vicente Fernández	3:19

I'm probably more pleased, yet more displeased with the album artwork than with almost any other album. I spent more time on it than it appears. In some ways I'd consider it a failure, but you can't love everything you make. Let's get on with the details:

The tracks are, for the first time, each represented on the cover of the album, and even in order. My policy when first presenting an album is that she can look at the cover, but not the back (track listing). It was a concession I made this time around.
This was one of the first ablums that didn't originally fit on an 80 minute CD. I ended up editing some of the tracks to cut it down (like cutting/fading out applause at the end, or unnecessary introductions). It finally fit.
One of these days The Beatles will finally be on iTunes. Their remastered Stereo Box Set was worth every penny.
Each track has a piece of the song's original album artwork re-rendered with the track title (resized and rotated). Because I wasn't sure how large each piece would be when I finally used it, I drew each piece as a vector so it could be scaled/resized without losing any quality. For your viewing pleasure, be sure to check out the insanely oversized version of the artwork to see any details. Some liberties were taken on my part. Each piece is also represented as the title/artist divider on the reverse. If I were super nice, I'd share the EPS. Oh well.
I've tried to make each of the links above lead to the correct album artwork. If you're feeling bored, you can try and identify from where I pulled each piece.
The style of Track Title/Artwork was inspired by Jack Johnson's Sleep Through the Static:Remixed album. There are additional pieces of flare to fill in gaps on that album's cover. I couldn't convince myself to do that on this one (though I did reuse one bit on the side).
My favorite pieces are the Parlophone logo, the Nintendo control pad, the bear head and the little palm tree scene in the lower-left.
The piece that probably took the most time was actually the extra tiny illustration of Ursa Major (not the shading on your upper lip (Napoleon Dynamite reference)). You didn't notice it? I'm not surprised. The original album artwork is based on an illustration of Ursa Major by the 17th century Polish astromer Johannes Hevelius, as if being viewed from outside the celestial sphere. Huh? Think of a globe, and instead of continents, puts stars on there. Instead of those stars being in the right order (like we'd view them from earth), put them backwards (as if all the stars were just dots on the outside of earth, and we're viewing those stars from somewhere in space). That's how he illustrated The Big Dipper, and more completely, The Great Bear (Ursa Major). I didn't want to draw it backwards, so I tried to get it forwards. As one might discover on their own, illustrations of constellations on the interwebs are hard to come by without getting all sorts of extra lines, labels and stars. Enter PP3, MikTeX, and Ghostscript, Ghostview, GSview… and more steps than most of you would care about. If you want to generate your own images of constellations, with a myriad of options (either selected, or deselected (like I did)), go for it. If you want to know what settings I used in PP3, I've uploaded that file here. Knock yourself out.
The typeface I used was Phaeton. I've linked to a variety of things related to the typeface. You should subscribe to my link blog feed. I utilized it here, but refrained from using any of the OpenType features, of which I'm mildly ashamed. What a beautiful typeface.

I went with the Pistachio color scheme from Kuler. It fit with Phaeton, and with the piece-meal approach to the album artwork.

I'm pleased with the album as a whole, and am willing to the admit that the first song on the album inspired me to start it. As no surprise to anyone, Maria I love you and think you're wonderful and hope you enjoy the album.

Houndstooth

2009-09-07T21:13:38Z

Possibly due to an article I recently linked to (you should subscribe to my links feed), I felt like making a houndstooth pattern for the computer. I would caution you against using on your whole screen, since it'll probably hurt your eyes. If you're a rebel with a cause (of using dangerously named patterns), go ahead and grab a copy of the larger pattern (pictured here), or its smaller cousin (available here), tile it on your desktop, and get ready to lose sight of your desktop.

Maria's Party Invitations

2009-08-31T15:37:11Z

A while back I created an invitation for Maria's birthday party. Inspired by a birthday card created by the incredibly talented Ben Schlitter, I wanted to add a personal touch to the invitations. I wanted something beyond the usual hand-lettering which let people know an invitation was hand-made, but didn't want it to look too amateurish. Granted, this invitation was technically computer-made, but you know what I mean. With a Mexican theme to the party, I went to work. Here's the (slightly modified) finished invitation:

Kuler came to the rescue again with the color theme. I picked out two alternate schemes, but chose one I felt was more workable considering the elements of the card. I made some adjustments to work in some of the more subtle elements. Of the three listed here, the middle option was my final choice (called “Aloha” by the creator). The rest of the details to this work:

Chunk was the winning typeface again. I promise not to use it for my next piece, but it was just what I needed.
I got the texture from one of BittBox's Free Texture Tuesday postings. It gave a weathered feel to the piece, without ruining some of the detail I needed. I wanted it to play heavier in certain parts than in others (it was vital to have the party details clear, but the background, or candle could be as beat-up as anything).
I ended up double-layering the type behind and in front of the texture. I put them all behind the texture, then put a copy of the same type in front, and adjusted their opacity so some of the texture would come through, yet not be dominating.
The background pattern is from… BGPatterns.com. Who would have thought you could get something like a background pattern from that site. Go figure. I wanted the unaltered version of a pattern, and as large as possible so I could use it in print (as opposed to the web, which doesn't require such high fidelity).
I drew the candle. I don't think it's anything special, but I didn't need it to be. It communicated the nature of the party (or the vigil) very easily.
I printed the invitations on some decent card stock (ideally they would have been super-heavy stock, but I couldn't justify the cost), and bundled them with an equally-heavy piece of brown kraft paper, in an envelope of the same material.

Add a mariachi band, piñata, pin the tail on the donkey, trivia, tasty food (and super-simple catering), people we love, and the guest of honor… and it was a party to remember.

4 Going on 14

2009-07-01T05:08:42Z

Cecilia recently complained about an earache. She's been swimming almost daily for a month, and I imagine she might just have some mild swimmer's ear… or maybe one of her dozens of dead rollie polies/pillbugs got out of its jar and climbed in there. Who knows? As I was thinking about my options of how to take care of her, I picked up and started looking at the newest Lego catalog. Noticing my diversion, she pointed out that “Looking at Lego's isn't going to help my ear.” You're right. My bad. Back to you.

G2 20090612

2009-06-13T22:27:01Z

It's the Year of MMIX, and you need to be making a mix. We've already talked about this. I don't just want say you need to make a mix, but I've now spun up the first disc to get this party started… or jam session. It's just shy of six months since I created the previous G2 album, but I'm back with another. Breaking from the norm, this album has less to do with my love for my wife, but more to do with a theme of music. I really aimed for music one could just chill out, lounge around, put this album on, sip a drink, enjoy some conversation and good company… and be perfect. Additionally, it'd be something that I think I could play if/when Maria and I sit out on the deck in the evenings together. There were a couple exceptions to that calmer approach, but for the most part these songs are right up that line of thought:

1	Juarez	Better Than Ezra	4:27
2	Cedars Of Lebanon	U2	4:13
3	Dirty Little Secret (Thievery Corporation Mix)	Sarah McLachlan	3:58
4	Something About Us	Daft Punk	2:14
5	(Bonus Track)	Cornershop	3:16
6	Edit	Regina Spektor	4:54
7	Put It Back Together	Fatboy Slim	4:37
8	Seven Nation Army	The White Stripes	3:50
9	Wish Coin (Go It Alone) [Diplo Remix]	Beck	3:46
10	Nothing Fails	Madonna	4:49
11	Clint Eastwood (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix)	Gorillaz	4:28
12	Stoop Kid	Soul Hooligan	3:28
13	Whatever Lola Wants (Gotan Project Remix)	Sarah Vaughan	4:40
14	Candlebum	Dishwalla	4:02
15	Back At Your Door	Maroon 5	3:47
16	Angels	Norah Jones & Wax Poetic	4:06
17	Angel	Jack Johnson	3:31
18	Matches (Acoustic)	The Format	2:04
19	If I Fell	Evan Rachel Wood	2:37
20	Selfless, Cold and Composed	The Sacramento State Jazz Singers	6:24

(the unfolded front cover)

Since this album was more theme-centric than amorous, I'm happy to explain a bit about the music. When I think of a lounge, in my mind I see a 60's or early 80's scene, with washed out colors and design typical of the era. I tried, but don't know if I nailed that quite perfectly with this approach. The folded front of the album up top obviously lets the letters bleed quite a bit.

The entire album was based on the first track, which is unfortunately not available on any online store I can find. It is, however, available on YouTube to listen to. I originally had this song, followed by Drugs or Me (Styrofoam Remix) by Jimmy Eat World, but remembered that song was actually on the G2 20070323 album (so not a candidate for this G2).

A lot of the tracks are songs that I enjoy, but other people might not. Some are clearly not in the same style as the rest of the album, and others are questionable in taste. The refix/remix of Clint Eastwood (track 11) is easily the standout tempo-wise, but somehow I think it works. I'm pleased with the overall combination of songs.

(the back cover)

The album's artwork came together really well.

Chunk was the typeface this go-around. Not only did it serve as the typeface, but as some of the inspiration to the layout.
I actually got the colors off of a layout for the Amputa Bangiz typeface - not a typeface I'm likely to use today, but the colors worked well (I found both this, and Chunk referenced in a recent Smashing Magazine article).
No, the giant dots don't perfectly flow around the bottom of the album. You'll just have to deal with that, since I wasn't trying.
A little bonus bit: instead of the usual song/artist separator of - I went for :. Lots of circles and dots on this one.

No matter the reasoning, or excessive design babble, I hope you enjoy it, but I hope Maria enjoys it more. You still need to make a mix. Start.

The Junk Food Junkie

2009-05-30T23:13:58Z

While one of them frequently opts not to finish her desserts (and today said she was done chewing a piece of gum after no more than 2 minutes), the other is a pure junk food junkie. Unlike the song, Becky has no intentions of pretending that she likes anything else. She'll finish her meal (meaning she'll finish eating the parts that she wants, mashing around the parts she doesn't want, and looking at disgust at anything in between), then in her sweetest, nicest voice request cookies, cake, jellybeans, candy, juice, strawberries, bread and cheese.

She'll get quieter and keep smiling as her requests proceed. Don't be deceived by those requests for strawberries, bread and cheese, since she'll probably make her way back to the cookies, jellybeans, cake and candy… and probably some fruitsnacks. The other day I got a text message from Maria with the following:

Becky snuck a chunk of cake this morning. “Cake, num num!” is a nice give-away that you're eating some.

Turns out Becky had inched the cake platter closer to the edge of the counter, broke through the plastic wrap on the plate, and grabbed herself a fistful of cake. She might have gotten away with it had she not advertised her actions (though the Mini-Mayor, Cecilia, would have ratted her out in another .001 seconds).

Just this morning she got busted rifling through Maria's purse and shoving as many Altoids into her mouth as she could (the spearmint kind). I'm going out on my own here and saying that although Becky's self-soothing as a baby made her a much easier baby, she's so much more mischievous, audacious and selectively hard of hearing that her toddler tendencies are far more difficult to deal with than Cecilia. She's still incredibly lovable and fun to be around… as long as you're willing to bribe her with some candy.

Lots of Money and Tic Tacs

2009-05-06T02:51:53Z

Two quick stories. The girls were headed to the dollar theater today for a cheap activity. It happened to be near lunchtime when they were supposed to go. After Cecilia was told the plan, she opined that she would like to eat lunch at the theater itself. Only too aware of the utter waste of money that would be, Maria told her it costs too much money to eat there. Cecilia, in her obvious state of being a spoiled child, informed her, “It will be okay, Mom. Dad has a lot of money.” Right. A lot of money. And you're going to the dollar theater, on a gift card. Rollin' in the dough.

Becky is talking quite a bit. She doesn't necessarily make a lot of sense, but she's talking a lot. She'll tell you all about her fancy toenails and how Grammy painted them. And if that's not enough, she'll tell you again before you leave. And once more as you're leaving.

We have a little container of orange Tic Tacs in the car. The girls really like them, but Becky can't pronounce the name of them. When she asks for one, it sounds more like she's saying (pardon the language) “I wanna kick ass!” Because Maria and I both find it humorous, we'll deny the initial request, only to make her repeat it – which any child her age will do… over and over and over again, until satisfied. “Kick @ss! Kick a$$! Kick @$$!” Nice.

Cecilia may think I have so much money I can use $100 bills as tissues… but I have Becky trained to be a warrior, willing to do whatever it takes to get the goods.

The Year of the MMix

2009-05-05T07:04:21Z

You need to make a mix. It's that simple. I've wasted four whole months of one of the best years for the next thousand years. While looking at the artwork for (one of my recently linked-to items) Ben Folds Presents: University a Cappaella! I noticed the roman numerals for 2009 are MMIX. It struck me… The Year of the MMix. Your elementary school brain may have suppressed roman numerals along with other bad memories, but this isn't the year to let that get you down. I just can't let this year go by (nor the mention of school) – I'm giving you homework.

When's the last time you made a mix? Seriously. I'm not talking about firing up iTunes and letting it make you a playlist via iTunes DJ or Genius. I'm talking about a heartfelt “This song actually means something to me/us or I want to share it.” type of mix. Whenever it was, it's time to make another one. Honestly now. Don't think I'm just bringing this up once. I'll be harping on this for the rest of the year.

You're 20-something? 30-something? 40-something? 50-something? 60-something? I don't care. It's time. It's time to take advantage of the MMix year. Find a theme, start picking out songs, keep it to CD-length, burn a disc, print a track list, and for extra credit, give it to somebody. Here are some ideas for you:

The Soundtrack of Your Life – Very few of you were actually reading my site over four years ago when I posted this. I can't give a higher recommendation for a musical activity than this one. It really is very cool to make.
G2 mixes – More of you may have read my exhaustive documentation about these mixes which I continue to make for Maria. You probably shouldn't make a mix for her, but you could make one for somebody else in your life. I could almost guarantee you they would appreciate it.
Other themes – I just started making another mix just last week (right before this revelation hit me). I'm aiming for more low-key songs—one might even say chill-out music. It's gonna be slick.

You could do any of these (or all of these), or something totally different. The point here is to make a mix this year. I'd LOVE to hear back from you on this. Post a comment here. Put the track list here if you don't want to post it somewhere else. Get your friends to make a mix this year.

Making mixes isn't just for teenagers and bloggers still in love with their spouse.

Just What you Wanted - More Posts

2009-04-28T05:40:58Z

You didn't even need to ask. I could just tell by the way you looked at my site that you wanted more material from me. Sure, my kids are awesome, my wife is amazing, and you love reading my entries about other topics, but what you really want are links to other sites, so you don't have to read my original material. I read a number of things on the interweb, both through feeds as well as random surfing. I like to keep track of some of that stuff – stuff that is either of interest to me, or which I think others might enjoy (or both).

Previously, I used a service called ma.gnolia to keep track this stuff. Unfortunately, ma.gnolia went down in a flaming fire (they suffered massive data loss and nobody was keeping backups (me included)). Instead of using another third party, I decided to let Movable Type's awesomenessocity track my awesome links, right here on this site.

You may like the material, you may not. Subscribe to the feed and see what you think of it. The title leads you to the material, and you can see my own comments and sources where applicable. Additionally, I've incorporated the links into the site, and you may notice some changes as I work to further accomplish that. (P.S. Thanks to Andy Baio for answering some question about how his links work)

The Rains Came Down...

2009-04-16T02:05:30Z

…and they raised the roof – at least that's what you might believe if you observed Cecilia.

For those of you unfamiliar with the reference, there is a children's bible song about two men of variable wisdom levels, and the stability of their homes during inclement weather. At a point in the song the lyrics say, “The rains came down and the floods came up.” These words are accompanied by hand motions of sparkly-like fingers going downward (rain coming down), then your hands in front of you, with your palms upward, and raising (the floods coming up).

Instead of the usual gestures that accompany the floods coming up, Cecilia prefers to raise the roof. Not only does she still communicate the rising floods, but somehow the music gets louder, everybody in her vicinity starts to cheer, dance more with the beat, and make comments such as “w00t! w00t!” and “awwww ye-uh!”

(Unrelated, but related. While typing this up, I was reminded of one of my favorite intros to a fake commercial I've ever seen (albeit from Family Guy, a show of questionable content). Be sure to watch the first half of the ad for wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man and try to remember the opening line for all future sightings. You can/should skip the second half. If that link no longer works, I've saved the clip for posterity here. You'll need Quicktime to play it, which you probably already have.)

Adding & Subtracting

2009-04-14T03:42:12Z

No need to adjust your set. You're on the right site/feed. I can understand why you might be perplexed. It could be due to the fact I'm posting for the third time in as many days (when I went almost 2 months without posting previously). It could also be caused by Cecilia completing two pages of subtraction and another of addition in a kids workbook today. She's 4. That's weird.

Maria was giving her a quiet activity to do during Becky's nap, and showed her how she can do math with jelly beans. First, Cecilia did two pages of subtraction by herself (sorry, that's the best photo I could get of it). After Cecilia announced she was done, Maria decided to give addition a whirl. Admittedly Cecilia could use some work on actually writing her numbers… but I think it's time to sit her in front of the TV for a few weeks, and turn on the most mind-numbing garbage I can think of… Yo Gabba Gabba, or Teletubbies. If we keep going she's not going to have anything to do in pre-school or kindergarten… or first grade. <sigh>

Polar Bear Victimized in Headline

2009-04-13T05:58:15Z

Currently the headline here reads “Polar bear attacks woman at Berlin Zoo” but let's take a look at the very first paragraph…

A polar bear attacked a woman at Berlin Zoo Friday afternoon after she climbed a fence and jumped into its habitat during feeding time…

The woman did what? The bears are actively feeding, and the woman climbs a fence then jumps into their habitat, and we're blaming the polar bears for attacking her? Pay no attention to the pure stupidity of the woman, and her brave attempts to remove her genes from the gene pool… let's focus on the bears and the crazy ways they follow their animal instincts.

Easter Eggs

2009-04-11T19:16:38Z

I think it's an obligation to put an egg in every dye available, and make sure it turns into some sort of putrid color. I was pleased to see that today's version leaned more in the direction of purplish-slate, as opposed to poo-brown, like it usually does. The girls had a good time. Becky ate ”jaibeens“ while the rest of us went nuts with the dye. She likes jellybeans. A lot.

I wish we had twice as many eggs to dye, since I have trouble sharing with others. I'm looking forward to deviled eggs, or egg salad, or both. Happy Easter.

Update: My apologies for not posting a photo of the eggs. I didn't realize that it would be desired. Here you can see them. Unfortunately, the purplish-slate egg has gone the way of all the earth. Although I originally did the egg in the upper-right as a slightly patriotic egg, I was reminded of the review and mockery of Pepsi's new logo, and remembered how much I enjoyed this interpretation of their new logo. Off topic, but important. ;)

Photos, "Fi" and a side of... HIYA!

2009-02-11T02:48:18Z

I'm a bit overdue on posting about the girls. This time, I'll just focus on Becky.

Although I don't have anything very significant to share, here are a few items:

Becky is always busy. She's non-stop action as she runs around doing various things. It could be pushing her shopping cart, playing with a baby (and bottle), using the cash register, carrying purses, speaking gibberish, or all of the above… at the same time.
Becky initiated a high-five the other day, for what I believe to be the first time. She was a little wired, and was running around showing us how she can kick. After demonstrating that ability, she stuck out her hand (palm down) and asked for a “fi.” Close enough for baby talk.
Becky continues to be all about purses, shoes, babies, shopping – I think she's ready to be a teenager, except she's not a brat, and I have no desires to drop-kick her.
Becky is talking more and more. She doesn't make much sense usually, but she makes more and more intentional sounds/words as the days go by. My favorite thing to get her to say is “HIYA!” My next goal is to teach her to say “Go Spurs!”, ”Manuuu!” or "Toro, Toro, Torres!” (if I'm in a soccer/football mood).
Becky got her hair cut to a slightly paige boy style. This was a while ago, but I haven't posted pictures of her for even longer. I snapped the shots above earlier today.
Becky remains the master of destruction, yet she likes to put things away, throw things away, put things in the sink, the toilet, or various other places.
She loves to dance to A-Punk (which she calls "Aye Aye") and some other songs. This goes well with her dancing, or simple hand motions she'll do to Skidamarink, or wearing a blanket over her head (which she finds humorous).

I think she's wonderful. Her energy and happiness are infectious, if she takes the time to finally open up to you. Too bad they can't stay like that forever. :)

Rediscovering Lego's

2009-02-01T05:03:53Z

Fine. I admit it. I've been playing with Lego's, as an adult, for a full two months. This posting is my final step in saying that I shouldn't be, nor have anything for which to be ashamed. Back in the day I really liked building Lego's. I stopped, for whatever reason, but at some point last year, I started noticing them again. I took the plunge and by the grace of my parents (and brother) reacquired my old Lego's. With a little help, I re-built all my former sets. From the best I can tell, out of the 26+ sets of Lego's I own (which total some 7,000+ pieces), I'm roughly missing about 40 pieces. I'd say that's not too bad for toys that have been in use for so many years. Although all pieces were originally in one bin, all mixed together, Maria was kind enough to help me separate them into colors, which made building the individual sets easier. Not only did I build all previous sets, but some kind souls have humored me, and given me even newer sets of Lego's, and I admit I'm in love. I knew there had to be some real Lego nuts out there, who would take this whole Lego thing to another level, and internet-ify Lego's, and I wasn't mistaken:

Peeron.com - Basically, a giant inventory system where people have logged the types and number of pieces in any given set.

PISCL - Peeron Instruction and Catalog Scans Library. Just what the name might lead you to believe. Can't find the set of instructions to an old set you know you own? They probably have the instructions on here, and you can print to your heart's desire.

BrickLink - Buy and sell Lego parts and sets. This site is especially useful for completing your old sets of Lego's (and getting those 40 pieces I'm missing).

Of all the new sets out there, I'm the most impressed with the Creator Lego's. The standard practice here is two-fold: first, use standard pieces - pieces that aren't going to go out of production once the current big-ticket film leaves the box office. They use the pieces in new ways, and really make some things I never would have thought possible back in the day. Second, provide instructions for people to build 3 completely different models with the same set of Lego's. Previously, they'd give you just one set of instructions, and show pictures of other stuff they had built. Usually this made me jealous, since I couldn't figure out how to build those other things. This way, I can keep building, and the new set of Lego's doesn't get old. I'll gladly take old Lego's off your hands. If you have some you don't want, just let me know, and I'll happily accept them. I'll either add them to my collection, or meld them into Cecilia's little bucket of Lego's. Who knows if this is just a fad, or if it'll be a a re-found obsession. Either way, I still think they're really cool. (check out some photos of a set of Lego's Maria bought me for Christmas - The Green Grocer )