Happy birthday to the man we love and adore.
You mean the world, moon and universe to us!!
You mean the world, moon and universe to us!!
Photo: Air and Space Center
Hampton, VA
2009
Hampton, VA
2009
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Saturday, August 1, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Apricot Pork
This meal is something I threw together as a way to condense the amount of things in my fridge and freezer (some pork chops and an almost-empty jar of jam). I've seen this combination of flavors all over the place, in magazines and restaurants, but I've never tried it before. I'm kind of paranoid about cooking pork, so I usually just cook it in the crock pot so I can shred it and be sure it's done. But I decided to give these a go in the oven instead. It seriously took me like no time at all to prep. I kept wondering if a meal that easy to prepare would really end up being tasty, but it was! No measurements. Just sprinkle, spread, bake and voila! Yummy-ness. The jam on top might seem too thick and weird at first. But as the chops cook, they release a lot of juices, which thin out the jam and form a really tasty sauce.
Ingredients:
4 bone-in pork chops, thawed
oregano, dried
garlic powder
salt
apricot jam
Let meat come to room temperature for a few minutes. Preheat oven to 325. Place chops in a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with oregano, garlic powder and salt. Flip over and season other side. Spread jam over the top (I think I used about 1/4 cup) and bake for 15 minutes. Flip chops over, baste with sauce, return to oven and bake another 15 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Drizzle sauce over the top before serving.
Anyone doing anything fun this weekend?
Digital Inspiration - Technology Blog - For MasterCard & Visa Card holders in India
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Thursday, July 30, 2009
Beauty, Gratitude, and the Open Heart
“…beauty on your earth is a shadow of the beauty of our heaven, and it’s a bitter thing to have a blindness for beauty on earth, for it makes a longer teaching to see the beauties of heaven.” Spoken by an Irish spirit in the book The Boy who Saw True (anonymous author).
I have been counseling individuals, couples, families and business partners for the last 35 years, and am the author of eight published books. Since my work is spiritually based, I have developed many ways of helping people open their hearts to love. Opening to beauty is one of those ways.
I have always appreciated beauty. Since I’ve been a small child, I’ve collect beautiful things - shells, rocks, wood, as well as works of art, and there are always lots of plants around. There is nowhere in my environment where there is not something beautiful to look at, both inside and outside in nature. When I walk through my home and the land around it, my heart fills with awe and love as I appreciate the beauty around me. I’ve done this so automatically throughout my life that it never occurred to me that many people do not open to beauty nor create beauty around them.
In working with some of my clients struggling to keep their heart open, I’ve mentioned focusing on an object of beauty, and have been surprised to find that many of them have no beauty around them - no plants, flowers, works of art or objects of nature. When they look around they see walls, appliances, computers and other buildings. Their left brain functions just fine in this environment, but what about the right - the creative, intuitive, spiritually-connected aspect?
I want to encourage everyone who reads this to consider feeding your soul with beauty. There is nothing like awe and gratitude for something beautiful to open the heart to gratitude in general. If you can love the intricate design in the bark of a tree, or the vibrancy of a flower, or the balance of a beautifully thrown piece of pottery - that might lead you into loving and appreciating the beauty of you and your own soul. It might open you to feeling gratitude for your life and the sacred privilege of experiencing your journey on this planet.
How much of your thinking time is spent being upset or unhappy about something? What if all that time was spent in gratitude for what you have and for the beauty around you? What if you were present enough in this moment to revel in the fact that you can turn on a faucet and have hot water come out? That you have food to eat and a bed to sleep on? If you are reading this, it is likely that you have a computer, which means you have more than most of the people on this planet.
Try this little experiment: find something of beauty - it can be as simple as a leaf, a flower, a photograph, a small work of art or the top of a tree out your window. Now let yourself completely open to the thing of beauty. Let yourself feel the beauty in your body - in your heart, your solar plexus, in your stomach, arms and legs, in your forehead. Let the beauty enliven your body and fill it with vitality. Breathe in the beauty and feel your body’s reaction to it. Open to gratitude, thanking God for this experience of beauty.
Notice the peace and joy it gives you to be in this moment with this simple object of beauty. What would life be like if you spent more moments like this, in the present with beauty and with all you have? How much of your waking time is spent in this way?
Beauty and gratitude are soul foods. When you choose to open to them, you extend an invitation to love, peace and joy. This raises your frequency and opens the door to your spiritual Guidance. Your Guidance is always here for you, helping you on your soul’s journey. Opening to beauty and gratitude, with a deep intent to learn about what is loving to you and others, will open you to your spiritual Guidance.
I have been counseling individuals, couples, families and business partners for the last 35 years, and am the author of eight published books. Since my work is spiritually based, I have developed many ways of helping people open their hearts to love. Opening to beauty is one of those ways.
I have always appreciated beauty. Since I’ve been a small child, I’ve collect beautiful things - shells, rocks, wood, as well as works of art, and there are always lots of plants around. There is nowhere in my environment where there is not something beautiful to look at, both inside and outside in nature. When I walk through my home and the land around it, my heart fills with awe and love as I appreciate the beauty around me. I’ve done this so automatically throughout my life that it never occurred to me that many people do not open to beauty nor create beauty around them.
In working with some of my clients struggling to keep their heart open, I’ve mentioned focusing on an object of beauty, and have been surprised to find that many of them have no beauty around them - no plants, flowers, works of art or objects of nature. When they look around they see walls, appliances, computers and other buildings. Their left brain functions just fine in this environment, but what about the right - the creative, intuitive, spiritually-connected aspect?
I want to encourage everyone who reads this to consider feeding your soul with beauty. There is nothing like awe and gratitude for something beautiful to open the heart to gratitude in general. If you can love the intricate design in the bark of a tree, or the vibrancy of a flower, or the balance of a beautifully thrown piece of pottery - that might lead you into loving and appreciating the beauty of you and your own soul. It might open you to feeling gratitude for your life and the sacred privilege of experiencing your journey on this planet.
How much of your thinking time is spent being upset or unhappy about something? What if all that time was spent in gratitude for what you have and for the beauty around you? What if you were present enough in this moment to revel in the fact that you can turn on a faucet and have hot water come out? That you have food to eat and a bed to sleep on? If you are reading this, it is likely that you have a computer, which means you have more than most of the people on this planet.
Try this little experiment: find something of beauty - it can be as simple as a leaf, a flower, a photograph, a small work of art or the top of a tree out your window. Now let yourself completely open to the thing of beauty. Let yourself feel the beauty in your body - in your heart, your solar plexus, in your stomach, arms and legs, in your forehead. Let the beauty enliven your body and fill it with vitality. Breathe in the beauty and feel your body’s reaction to it. Open to gratitude, thanking God for this experience of beauty.
Notice the peace and joy it gives you to be in this moment with this simple object of beauty. What would life be like if you spent more moments like this, in the present with beauty and with all you have? How much of your waking time is spent in this way?
Beauty and gratitude are soul foods. When you choose to open to them, you extend an invitation to love, peace and joy. This raises your frequency and opens the door to your spiritual Guidance. Your Guidance is always here for you, helping you on your soul’s journey. Opening to beauty and gratitude, with a deep intent to learn about what is loving to you and others, will open you to your spiritual Guidance.
Admiring...
Today I am admiring this cafe/bakery by Terence Conran called Albion Caff in Shoreditch, London. I have watched Terence Conran's work for some time and he just pulls off the great combination of simplicity, classic and recycled. The overall effect is harmonious and with great details, including the red outdoor Tolix chairs, vintage hanging pendants and golden syrup containers holding the nakins and cutlery.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
New Work - Joinery
Here is a joinery unit that we custom designed for my client's living room and it was installed about 8 months ago. It really has come up well. The white keeps it simple and classic, meanwhile the timber edge on the shelves ties in with the existing timber details and floor. I like how my clients have inserted their little knick knacks in with the books - especially since they have little hands and mouths to keep them away from...
Photos by Charlotte Minty
Digital Inspiration - Technology Blog - 3 new articles
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Blueberry Muffins
I got a pretty good deal for blueberries at the store last week, so we've been eating lots of them the past few days. After a few days of blueberry buttermilk pancakes, the fam was getting a bit tired of them, so I decided to make some into muffins. You know, to change things up a bit. I'm daring like that.
Making muffins is super easy! Okay, not quite as easy as opening a box of Jiffy, but it's definitely easy. And it tastes way better. And you can actually tell there are blueberries in these muffins, and not just some weird, tiny blue dots that are supposedly blueberries.
STEP AWAY FROM THE JIFFY BOXES!!!!!
I got this recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. There are all kinds of variations to this basic recipe listed in here. You can do banana muffins, cheese muffins, cranberry muffins, oatmeal muffins, poppy seed muffins......just to give you a few ideas. ;)
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Grease your muffin tins with butter or cooking spray, or line with baking cups. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture. In another mixing bowl, combine egg, milk and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy and very thick).
Gently fold in blueberries.
Pour batter into muffin tins, filling each one about 2/3 of the way full (makes 10-12 muffins).
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool in muffin tin on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and serve. With honey butter is best.
Making muffins is super easy! Okay, not quite as easy as opening a box of Jiffy, but it's definitely easy. And it tastes way better. And you can actually tell there are blueberries in these muffins, and not just some weird, tiny blue dots that are supposedly blueberries.
STEP AWAY FROM THE JIFFY BOXES!!!!!
I got this recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. There are all kinds of variations to this basic recipe listed in here. You can do banana muffins, cheese muffins, cranberry muffins, oatmeal muffins, poppy seed muffins......just to give you a few ideas. ;)
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Grease your muffin tins with butter or cooking spray, or line with baking cups. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture. In another mixing bowl, combine egg, milk and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy and very thick).
Gently fold in blueberries.
Pour batter into muffin tins, filling each one about 2/3 of the way full (makes 10-12 muffins).
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool in muffin tin on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and serve. With honey butter is best.
Do you tend to use pre-measured box mixes, like Jiffy? Or are you a cook-it-from-scratch kind of person?
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Looking for Inspiration
Here's one way that I research for inspiration - if I like particular photos or interiors in a magazine, I look up the photographer's portfolio on the internet. These photographers capture some fantastic houses and usually there are more images of the same house, which didn't make the cut for the magazine, on their website. The photos above are by a photographer called Melanie Acevedo. Have a look at her work here.ERIC MERCED
My name is Eric Merced. I'm an Illustrator and Comic Book Artist based in Worcester MA. (as we pronounce it around here: Woos'ta) . I've been illustrating and drawing comics for a few years now and I cannot think of a better job then this one.
http://www.ericmerced.com
When did you first decide to become an illustrator? Was there a pivotal moment?
I've been into comics, I would say, all my life. That's basically my main thing. But a good friend of mines who happens to be an awesome illustrator just kept pushing me in that direction. I guess, you can say, he saw the potential of going beyond comics into another field. It's been just recently where I've decided to take him at his word and I've been shaping my style into a more illustrative friendly look versus the comic book look. What has resulted, I think, is a combination of both. A very stylized look that fits easily into both fields.
Who or what inspires you?
I have a lot of artists whose work I like. Both in Comics and Illustration. But Drew Pocza, Sherwin Shwartzrock, Von Glitschka, Jerry Shamblin, those guys are the ones that come out on top when I think of illustration. Comics, two guys are responsible for shaping my art hands down. Mike Mignola and Arthur Adams. Those guys were ahead of their time.
Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?
I am self-taught, with helping hands along the way of course. When I started Adobe Illustrator I must have hackled Drew Pocza to death with my questions. But as far as drawing, that's all self taught from books and studying and constant practice.
How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?
That's one of the hardest parts I guess. I mean, you can do something and get so accustomed to it that you become stale. In other words, there is no growth. I had a point in my career where I got that way and it felt depressing. I felt I wasn't really getting anywhere. So a part of remaining fresh is doing what I love. Not trying to be like anyone else, or draw or illustrate like anyone else. Just basically doing what I love, how I love to do it. I love cartoons. In fact, I started drawing because of Disney cartoons. So, I try to bring that to my illustrations. I used to take jobs that required me to draw realistic. How did that make me feel? Depressed. So now if someone calls and says, I need this photorealistic drawing, I say, sorry, thanks for contacting me but unfortunately I'm not your man. LOL. It's a hard thing to do when you're pressed for money but, why do something that's going to get you down in the end? I know tons of illustrators who can go back and forth. But I have decided that's not me.
What are some of your current projects?
I have found love in doing work for charities. There's no actual pay in it. You do it for free. You do it because it's an opportunity to do something helpful with your art. So I just wrapped up two sketch card sets for March of Dimes. One based on Archie comics characters and the other on the old Greatest American Hero TV series. Those were just so much fun to do and so fulfilling.
Along side of that, I'm just wrapping up a children's comic book for a small publisher, and I have a huge job to illustrate a huge project, and another project to illustrate for a DVD documentary which, unfortunately, I'm not allowed to talk about any of them. Isn't that wonderful how that works? LOL. I get these jobs and I'm told "don't say anything. Keep it a secret!". So I'm bursting inside to open my mouth and yell it out by I can't LOL. And apart from those the usual jobs that come by.
Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?
I love all of the projects I've had the wonderful opportunities to work on. I mean, what better job then doing what you love and getting paid to do so. But as far as pride, I guess it would have to be the charity work. I mean, I love to get a call back or an email from a client who's grateful and happy for the job I've turned in. And that's fulfilling in it's own sense because as an illustrator you're main job is to bring the clients vision in and make it alive, give it flesh basically. So when a client is thankful I know I've done my job. But the charity work is something you're doing for little ones, to be specific the March of Dimes charity work, who can't really do anything for themselves. It's fulfilling to know that your work, your art, is being put to good use to help the needy. That is an awesome and rewarding feeling.
Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field that you have yet to try?
I like oil painting. And digital painting. Never tried oil painting. I have tried digital painting and, so far, I have failed at it. But I admire digital and traditional painters. That's an area I would love to expand and get good at some day.
Any advice to the novice illustrator?
Advice. Let's see. What can I say. I think the most important thing is truthfulness. Being true to yourself. Going out there and doing what you like as opposed to becoming a mold or stamp or carbon copy. Being true to yourself will bring you fulfillment. Take for example Von Glitschka's work. This guy is unique. Different. Why? Because he's true to himself and his art. And that has caught on. And when you're true to yourself and you try your best, the world takes notice.
Another thing is practice. You really need to put in time to grow and expand your skills. Experiment with it. Don't settle for less. Challenge yourself and don't be lazy.
What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?
As a professional visual artist, whether you're an illustrator, designer, or even a comic book artist, your job is to communicate, visually, a given idea or ideas. When you're hired by someone to communicate an idea, you're hired to flesh that idea out. To give it form, shape, life if you will. That illustration, design, piece of art or what have you, has to clearly communicate that given idea. If it doesn't, you've failed. If it does, you've succeeded. A successful illustration then communicates, in a clear format, an idea that most everyone can understand at first glance. That idea can be geared towards a specific audience or group of people. If the illustration manages to "talk" to that group, then you've succeeded. But take my word for it, it's much easier to describe what makes a successful illustration or design then to actually do one! LOL.
What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?
I had a project, a graphic novel to be exact, that was very long. The longest body of work I have ever done in comics so far. In the middle of the project I started to get burnt-out. It was horrible. I wanted so much to work at full force but I couldn't. I did finish the project, thankfully. But I learned a huge lesson from that. And it comes back to my early comment about being true to yourself and doing what you love, and how you love to do it. So I keep myself motivated by not taking on projects that I know off hand will burn me out. Also, looking at other artist's work. I have a Deviant Art account and, man, I'll tell you, that place is an attraction for some wicked crazy artists. I look at their work and instantly I'm motivated to do more. To push myself. It's a humbling experience because you get the rude awakening that, you're not as good as you'd like to think you are and you have a lot of room for growth.
Finish this sentence. "If I weren't an illustrator I would have been a..."
Photographer. Or maybe a detective. Or a Navy Seal. LOL
And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?
Prime-time TV You're going to look at me like I'm an Alien for saying this, but I don't watch prime-time TV. It's true. I don't have time for, well, for that kind of stuff. I know everyone raves about Lost, but I don't get into that kind of stuff. I do however enjoy watching movies. Either at the theaters or on DVD. That's my entertainment. That, music, and comics. But not many comics. Just a small handful.
And this is the part where I lift my hand up, part my fingers in the middle and say, Live long and prosper! LOL
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