tucker's tv debut

A couple weeks ago, I told you about the great work that the Oregon Humane Society does for abused and neglected animals in Oregon and beyond. Well, here's a clip of one of my personal favorite stories – you guessed it: it's our little boy Tucker, live, right there on TV during their annual telethon.



Isn't he a cutie?! Yes, I'm a little biased but you've got to admit, he's adjusted wonderfully to his new, normal, food- and love-filled home! Thank you, OHS, and thanks also to Brian the Volunteer/Tivo Guru who provided me this clip!

random bits

As I was surfing the Net while watching TV these last few days, several things caught my eye and I thought I'd share them with you. Although they may seem a bit random, they all served as visual inspiration to me.

F L I C K R - F U N
Over the years I've built up a paper file filled with various images ripped from the many magazines and catalogs that hit my mail box. Whenever I need to come up with a fresh color palette and need a bit of help, I flip through those pages for inspiration. Now I can simply go here, click on one or a few colors, and voila – a visual library of images in those exact colors pops up. I love doing the single-color searches. The results are pretty enough to frame as art!


P O S T E R - F U N
I came across the Poster List where you can buy some very fun posters, all at very reasonable prices:


D E S I G N - P O L I C E
As a graphic designer, I've often been tempted to play logo cop or to issue a bad type ticket. Thankfully, I discovered the Design Police, whose mission is to "bring bad design to justice." Now we can all let our fellow citizens know when they've committed a design faux pas with these print-it-yourself stickers:

picture perfect?

Raise your hand if you like your driver's license photo. How about your passport photo? Yeah, didn't think so. But it could be worse: you could be trying to renew your Dutch passport and have to subject yourself to the Dutch government's idea of an acceptable passport photo.

Case in point: I thought I'd pop into Kinko's to get my picture taken before my appointment with the Dutch Consulate next week. Hah, wish life were so easy! After intently studying a four-page (!) document describing the do's and don'ts of passport photography, it quickly became apparent that the blue-shirted fellow with the instamatic wasn't going to cut it. I needed to bring in some heavier guns if I was to avoid being in violation of Dutch passport code umpteen-thousand-and-six.

Think I'm joking? Well, let's play a little game, shall we? See if you can guess what's wrong with the 15 photos below. I've listed the answers under the photos so if you don't want to cheat, don't scroll down too far.

1 - black and white (okay, that one's easy)
2 - optical distortion (how would you know, maybe she's just got high cheek bones?!)
3 - unnatural representation (huh?! is it because he looks like a Smurf?)
4 - visible support (it's a baby, for cryin' out loud!)
5 - reflection (the lesson here: don't forget to powder your nose!)
6 - background not uniformly lit (words escape me...)
7 - more than one background color (sorry, no mall portraits, folks)
8 - merging background colors (see above)
9 - insufficient background contrast
10 - insufficient background contrast
11 - face not entirely visible
12 - eyes not entirely visible
13 - eyeglasses reflection (this was the downfall of Mr. Blueshirt)
14 - eyeglasses shadow
15 - not centered in frame (missed it by that much!)

I don't have a visual aid for it, but the one that gets me the most is this one: under no circumstances may you have your mouth open. What?! I can't show off my pearly whites and say cheeeeze? How un-American! Oh, wait, I'm renewing my Dutch passport...

To be fair, although "applicants may not smile broadly or open their mouths," they did add that this "does not mean that they have to look surly or sullen." After all, we Dutchies are a merry people, full of joy and zest!

Well, the kind and expert folks at Ritz Camera downtown Portland did an excellent job of following all the rules and regulations – I hope! Guess I'll find out in a few weeks...

I know you're all dying to see my final passport photo, so here it is: (don't laugh, it's worse than my driver's license picture!)

Hope they don't notice that sheen on the tip of my nose!

change is in the air...

Everyone is getting very excited about this year's historic Inauguration Day. Like me, you've probably been invited to at least one viewing party, and what better hostess gift for this momentous occasion than an Obama Paper Doll set? Have a little fun dressing up our new First Family in some fabulous frocks:

You can buy your very own set from Dover Publications (yes, the little girls are included as well, although I did not see a puppy). And a big thanks to my friend Michele for passing along this fun tip!

instant vintage

I love all things vintage, especially old family photographs. Now thanks to a link I discovered on Little Brown Pen's blog, I can make any of my present-day photos appear vintage with just the click of a button! Check out this site to see how (there's a button in the top right that will change the language from Japanese to English!)

Look at this "before" photo I took in the Netherlands:


And wow, instant vintage in the "after":


Here are a couple more – now go play with your own photos, it's so much fun!

time travel

Want to spend a few minutes traveling back in time – or at least see what you might have looked like had you lived in a different era? Then check out this site and get ready to laugh! Here's a little taste of what to expect: (go ahead and laugh at me – I did!)

Here I look like old photos of my paternal grandmother!

Silly as it may look in 2008, back in 1990 I would have done anything for a mane of hair like this!

Via How About Orange's blog.