How cool is this?…  Artist assistants stand next to cups of coffee which have been made
into a giant “Mona Lisa” in Sydney, Australia. The 3,604 cups of coffee were each filled
with different amounts of milk to create the different shades.
Good thing I don’t drink coffee… because it looks like they needed every cup possible!
Now that’s a real coffee break!!! Incredible.

Last night is was lucky enough to see Eddie Izzard in Concert at The United Center.
It was the first night of the kick-off to his American Tour. And what a kick-off it was!

I must admit that I had heard of Eddie Izzard, but didn’t really know all that much
about him or his comedy. I had seen a few clips. I had seen him on a few talk shows.
Okay… here’s a visual for you… picture him as the Kenneth Branagh of comedy.
I had seen him on “The Riches” with Minnie Driver. So when the opportunity presented
itself to go see him in concert… main floor, 5th row… I was in!!!

He was incredible! Very smart. Very intellectual. With a few punny groaners along the way!
His concert is basically “his take” on the History Of The World. Hysterical. Starting millions
of years ago, explaining the Stone Age, the invention of language, Greeks, Romans, Noah’s
Ark… and God’s presumed “participation” in events. Plus his fascination with Wikipedia
and how it has the answer for EVERYTHING!!! I loved his energy, his style and the way
he tells his stories with characters, voices, movement & sound effects. He’s quite animated!
If you ever have a chance to see Eddie in concert… by all means, go!

And oh, but wait there’s more… as if he weren’t already impressive enough…
At the end of the show, as most people were fleeing the United Center to race to their cars
to wait in the long lines to get out of the parking lot… a video popped up on the screens.
Apparently, over this past summer, Eddie Izzard participated in  charity event and ran
an impressive 43 marathons in 51 days!!! Can you even imagine?…. The video showed
pictures from the event as he ran all over Britain’s countryside in an impressive
1,105-mile journey to raise money for Sports Relief.

And for those who still can’t quite picture Eddie Izzard…
maybe seeing him as Mr. Kite in my favorite “Across The Universe” will help?!

So Christmas is officially over, and my gifts have been given with proper surprise.
So now I can share my good news with the rest of you. I didn’t want to share too soon
and ruin the surprise for those who were getting a copy of the book for Christmas!!!
If you run into my friends Gerry & Rosene, don’t tell them… they haven’t gotten their gift yet.
Shhh… keep it quiet… but only from them!

So it’s official – the Chicago photography book published by CBS2 Chicago
has finally been published and distribution has begun. And I made the cut… twice!
Two of my photos were chosen to be published in the book.
I’m very excited!!!

For those who may not remember, sometime last Fall, CBS2 Chicago announced this special
project on their news broadcasts. My dad turned me on to it and I started submitting photos.
The deal was that they were accepting photographs that depicted life in the City.
Photographers from all over submitted images to the website – which were then put up to an
online popularity poll. The more votes your images received, the more likely your image was
to be published in the book. So I submitted several photos, many from my morning biking
sunrise series, and hoped for the best. It wasn’t until early December that we found out
if we had been chosen by the book’s editors for the publication. And I was excited to
make it into the book twice – against a LOT of stiff competition!!!

2,480 photographers

28,144 photos submitted

2,388,443 votes cast

So… after all of that, one of my images found a place on Page 68 in the “Scapes Of All Sorts”
section of the book. It was one of my favorite biking moments of the summer. A surreal
biking moment when the morning fog was literally “illuminated” by the rising sun.

“Misty Morning Glow”

My second image chosen was used on Page 24 in the title page montage (top row, fourth
from the left) for the “Arts, Culture & Food” section of the book. Again, it’s of of my favorites –
this time, it’s my favorite “hidden gem” inside the Chicago Cultural Center…
a beautiful Tiffany stained glass dome in the rotunda.

So that’s it… another great experience… and another great chance to be published!
I hope you all get a chance to find a copy of the book and enjoy the many beautiful images
that capture the essence of Chicago…  and have you heard?… two of them are mine!!!

So I just watched one of the most visually stunning movies I’ve ever seen.
It was recommended by two of my friends – whose opinions I trust. So I finally
placed it on my Netflix queue.. and boy am I glad I did. They were right.

With every scene well crafted. Every shot perfectly composed. It is a beautiful film.
Director Tarsem Singh does it once again with this visual masterpiece. So the plot
may not be the best ever, and I wasn’t a fan of the ending… but you’ve got to appreciate
the creativity & craftsmanship in this film. It’s visually stunning.

And yes, that is indeed Lee Pace in the lead role… the storyteller who befriends one
of the cutest youngsters ever. Lee Pace… you know, from the gone-but-not-forgotten-
and I’m-still-holding-out-for-it-to-come-back favorite new series in the past couple years…
the cancelled far too quickly show I loved… “Pushing Daisies.”

So take my word for it… and go rent it today!!!  You’ll be glad you did.

It’s been a wonderful season of biking. With over a hundred mornings of sunrise photos!
However, the forecast isn’t so good… it’s supposed to snow tomorrow! I’m okay with cold…
I’m okay with wind… but I’m not a big fan of riding through snow& frozen puddles –
especially since the first half of the ride is in complete darkness!! Not too safe. So…
sadly, this may be the last sunrise photo of the season? Although I’m still hoping for another
“warm spell” so I can get back out just a few more times!

Another night of stamping in the studio. More pots… more stamps… more fun!
Still working to get some new work ready for the holidays. I have three glaze kilns lined up
in the coming weeks… gotta get the pieces thrown, stamped & trimmed…
and dried in time to get them bisqued & glazed for the kiln firings! Busy, busy…

Stampin’ round & round… quite literally!