MY BABY LOVE

My little nephew is here, and I had to take some baby photos for his announcement. William Richard Hughes is a whopping 22 inches long and weighing in at 9 lbs 4 oz. If he were a boxer, I'm sure he'd weigh in as a heavy weight contender.

I'm currently designing the announcements-so they'll be a related posting soon. I'm not usually baby-crazy but he's quite an adorable little guy.

You Suck at Photoshop!

On June 27 Donnie Hoyle and his bitter Photoshop tutorials will return to YouTube with new tutorials. I tried to get my students to use the tutorials (with tongue in cheek)--because I am that sardonic, nice and sweet on the outside but devilishly cruel teacher on the inside. One of my students said the techniques were too hard and he didn't get the humor. Well, not everyone can embrace genius...and these tutorials are genius...MAD-TWISTED GENIUS.

The co-creators, Matt Bledsoe and Troy Hitch also have a uber-sweet,pimpin' ad agency that I would love to work for or just have a smaltzy cocktail with them. Check out Big Fat Institute Ad Agency.

Here is a taste:

IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR

Every June my family has a reunion of it's stubborn, proud and loving Slovenian members. The Turks and the Zores. This was my mother, Evelyn's idea and well, I had to help out the woman who gave me life by turning it into a marketing campaign. It's a labor of love really...

I've started a blog (which has very little activity), I've mailed out postcards and I've had t-shirts made. Even if it's only for my Slovenian family, I'm proud to make this happen. I'm in my third year of helping my mother motivate the 100 or so Slovenian American family members to come and join us every year at the NASH picnic grounds. If you want to know more about the NASH check it out here.

The NASH plays host to Slovenefest or "Sausagefest" every year...and well all I can say is I'm a vege-quarian(only vegetables and fish) and the homemade sausage that my godmother and her husband (and the rest of the Jaggers men's club) make from real venison, beef and pork make me and any other vegetarian-friendly person salivate with lust and a hunger that cannot die. I digress...

Well, I've been working on my family's reunion for the last six months and I believe the word is getting out. We have Turks and Zore's coming in from Michigan, Florida, California and Ohio--as well as the hoosiers who live locally around these parts.

I love doing the advertising for this cause I get to use photos like this one:



This photo is of my hot Slovenian number of a grandma, Louise Zore Collins. My Irish grandpa was not kidding when he said he would only marry the prettiest girl in his Haughville neighborhood. Can you believe their marriage in 1947 caused a scandal because it was thought that an Irishman marrying a Slovene was considered interracial by my grandparent's Catholic archdioceses?

My grandfather was a member of St.Anthony's parish (mainly Irish and Italian) and grandma was a member of Holy Trinity (mainly Slovenian), and well even my grandmother's parents almost boycotted the ceremony. It's crazy how times have changed but still society has some weird hang-ups about marriage--like now with same sex marriage--if two people love each other, leave them alone and let them be happy.

Well the reunion is next Saturday (6.21.08) and if my brother/sista in law have their baby by then it will be a very interesting and rejoiceful event!

Na Zdravje! (may god give you life!)

TIM RUSSERT DEAD AT 58....

Why must the good anchormen be the ones to go before someone like Nancy Grace or Wolf Blitzer?

I'm pouring my forty on the floor right now as I type this. My Sunday mornings will be sad and empty without Mr. Russert to fire away intelligent, ballsy and beautifully crafted questions to politicians and media moguls.

His shoes will be incredibly hard to fill.

ART DIRECTION-DAILY CANDY STYLE

Yesterday it was Twenty minutes of art direction and creating an InDesign rebate postcard template for a co-worker to use for the assemblage and now Philedelphia Daily Candy subscribers get to enjoy the perks of possibly owning a keypad deadbolt or keypad lever (kpd or kpl as we lock linquists call them.) Fast, branding affective and ON TIME.

THE WORLD'S TINIEST VIOLIN

I've been pretty depressed and restless lately due to the focus of my recent work. It's not bad work...I'm proud of the recent corporate collateral and merchandise materials I've been creating, my only regret has been the lack of time or the lack of energy to focus on my own business.

So I inadvertently enlisted signed up for the help of the Franklin Covey people. When the representative for the time management seminar I registered for mentioned that I can also sign up for other FC services, I signed up for one of those life coach-7 habits of highly effective people programs. I didn't realized that I signed up for several awkward phone calls that keep occurring in front of my bosses and inappropriate times of work.

Twice today I've had the Franklin Covey lady -"Linda" call and ask me to right down on paper some rather personal answers about, "my weaknesses,""my in-ability to say no to work requests" and "difficulty in compromising my personal priorities with the constant requests from others." Supposedly, the answers I submit to "Linda" will determine if whether or not I make the admission to this "life coach" program thru Franklin Covey.

So far I feel like I might be exposing myself to some sort of Scientology cult for time management and leadership skills. The pessimist in my thinks I'll wind up with Tom Cruise as my life coach.

Harold Lee Miller and tales of the County Fair.

This guy just rawks. Back in January, I was having trouble lighting some brushed metal for a product photography shoot and he was the only photographer who responded to my e-mail, gave me some encouraging words and made my day. If I could have a mentor I'd seek out this guy. He's all class and he has a book coming out later this year about County Fair culture.

Keep an eye on this guy, he may wind up taking over the world of photography.