Kes-fren

I met Kes while hanging out at a friend's house when I was 16. The first time she came over to his house, she had her hair in a ton of tiny little braids. Up to this point in my life, I'd never really connected with another human being quite the way I connected with Kes. She was (and is) creative and fun and would make mix tapes that we would play in my Oldsmobile as we drove around town. We saw a LOT of movies together. We would research far away places that we wanted to visit together. We buried a time capsule together in my mom's backyard which included a tape where we interviewed each other with important questions like: "Who do you have a crush on?". We went on our first serious road trip together "A Trip to Fripp" (Island) where we drove halfway across the United States to the east coast.

She moved to California when I turned 18 and soon after that, I went to live in New Zealand. We've seen each other once in the last 12 years.

But Kes is back in Ohio this week!

Being with her is as if no time (or maturing) has passed since we were friends long ago :)

Here are a few pictures so far...

Before bringing her over to the apartment to meet Rob, we stopped at Giant Eagle to get some bread, cheese, pears, wine, and jelly bellies (for extra class).

She was impressed by all the giant cheeses on display:



And at very reasonable prices:

(this taken right before the cheese was confiscated from her by a grocer)

But, that didn't stop her from picking up more giant cheese:


And cradling it like a baby:


After the cheese adventure at Giant Eagle. We went back to the apartment and hung out. Caught up about all the crazy things that have been going on in each other lives since we last caught up. She is working as a sound engineer in San Diego and has done some sound design for a few shorts. She also does recording for various artists around town.

I knew she'd appreciate the dream lounge so I took her up there and we had an impromptu photoshoot.


I love this girl.






There's no way I'm letting 6 years get in between now and the next time I see her.

Roadtrip

Ryan and me and my bronica



Went on a little road trip towards western Ohio today to see what we could see. I shot mostly with the Bronica.
Pacific Pride gas station

Tonquas sign in Troy

On the way back we listened to the album that Ryan recently sang/played violin on by Time & Temperature. It is a really pretty album that you should listen to and perhaps even buy.

http://timeandtemperature.bandcamp.com/

Singing with Super Desserts at Comfest, Part 2

I finally have time to post the photos from Super Desserts related fun at Comfest last weekend. It was an incredible experience and I think I know now at least one of the reasons why musicians do it. It is fantastically exhilarating and even though my role up on stage as part of the guest choir was quite insignificant compared to the rest of the band, I still got to feel the rush of people smiling and dancing and bopping their heads to what you're producing for them on stage.

In a way it brings the past 2 years of my life full circle. I got to participate in the back end of seeing what it takes to record, mix, master, create album artwork for and release a record. I got to see what the touring process looks like - booking the venues, trying to publicize shows, trying to get people to review the music, sending music out to radio stations and building a fan-base. But, I never really had any idea what it was like to be on stage actually performing (again, terribly insignificant role with the Super Desserts, but still a small taste of what it's like).

Here are a few photos from the second practice at the Conservatory of Music at Capital University with the Super Desserts and a few of the first photos taken with the new Bronica ETRS at the actual Performance.


Here are the Obviouslies, they recruited some members of the Super Desserts to sing with them during their performance on Friday of Comfest.



Here are most of the Super Desserts and some of the guest choir practicing.


Here the Super Desserts are performing at Comfest


Here we are, the guest choir.. Eric, Curtis, Lisa, me, Joe and Cory


Eve and the some of the ladies of Super Desserts


The guest choir


More updates soon including Columbus' first Dance Dance Party Party and my trip to Birmingham (which is happening right now, actually and has been super fun so far!).

My Grandpa

My Grandpa passed away a year ago today. He was a really cool dude and I miss him a lot. My aunt recently found this post written about him in February. It appeared in the proceedings of The Board of Trustees at Ohio State. He rode his horse 200 miles to go to college!

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE

ONE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY-NINTH

MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Columbus, Ohio, February 4 and 5, 2010

Fairfax E. Watkins

The Board of Trustees of The Ohio State University expresses its sorrow upon the death on June 25, 2009, of Fairfax E. Watkins, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science.

In 1930 Fairfax Watkins rode his horse some 200 miles westward to the mountain town of Blacksburg, Virginia, where he began his studies of mechanical engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. After graduating with a M.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 1937, he received an offer from Professor Thomas French for a faculty position at The Ohio State University. Professor Watkins taught at Ohio State from 1937-42.

In 1942 Professor Watkins took leave from OSU to serve in the United States Army during World War II. While serving in the military, he managed engineering operations of the barrage balloon protection of the Panama Canal, for which he was decorated with the Legion of Merit Medal of Honor.

Professor Watkins was transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1943, where he served as a professor of military science. A year later, while still in the U.S. Army, he served his country by investigating the background of scientists working on the Manhattan Project.

When WW II ended, Professor Watkins took a civilian job with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation where he designed traffic interchanges for the Pennsylvania Turnpike. These interchanges, then called clover leafs, were among the first to be built in the world.

Professor Watkins returned to Ohio State in 1946, joining the former Department of Engineering Graphics where he taught courses in engineering graphics and engineering mechanics. He retired from OSU in 1974.

On behalf of the University community, the Board of Trustees expresses to the family of Professor Emeritus Fairfax E. Watkins its deepest sympathy and sense of understanding of their loss. It is directed that this resolution be inscribed upon the minutes of the Board of Trustees and that a copy be tendered to his family as an expression of the Board’s heartfelt sympathy.

My maternal grandparents, Fairfax and Olga.

Urban Gardening

I have built the second tier to the Urban Planter. Only one more tier to go until it's complete.

I should have my vegetable plants, which have nearly outgrown their current containers, into their new homes by the end of the weekend.

Today I listened into an NPR program on Urban Gardening which featured a guest called The Cheap Vegetable Gardener. After investigating this chap on the internets, I found out about a nifty little contest he's got going on to win a responsible gardening kit from Garden Safe. I'm all about it. The buggies have got to go!

The cutest thing about the NPR interview was the tip regarding how to deal with bunnies, squirrels and birds. You just gotta grow enough to feed yourself and all the little critters as they have as much right to the land as you do!

Lepidopterology

This weekend I got a brand new (to me) camera that I'm very excited about. More on that later...

In the mean time, here are some iphone photos from my trip to the conservatory of a few butterflies that were around. There weren't as many as were out in years past, but I think that's due to the fact that I have not ever gone this late in the conservatory butterfly season.



One landed on my hand