After the TdF

Some folks may not realise, but Le Tour does not change its starting times just to make it convenient for anyone except the French to watch the coverage. In the US this means that it is on starting at around 6am, finishing before lunch - however in Australia it means coverage starts around 11pm and finishes before breakfast. Not the best if you actually want to sleep at night, have a day job, or want to be remotely coherent for morning meetings. We actually did stay up to watch quite a few of the stages, mainly the mountains but also the finishing time trial. We hated ourselves in the morning, but it was worth it to watch the Schlecks, Contador, Wiggins and Lance battle it out. Our plans include a trip to France at some point to watch it in person, who knows maybe we'll make it before too long.

I will say though, that the tour coverage in Australia is really quite good and the local commentary team does a great job. Full marks to SBS for their work and production style - particularly the Taste of the Tour, worth watching just for the suggestions of food and wine pairings. I'll be checking in to SBS for my coverage fix next year though for sure!

Bad Monkee!

Again I come to you with praise for my brother's talents, this time with a twist. Tim has entered a couple videos in a Bicycling Magazine competition and has one in the top-10 that I'm sending around asking people to vote for. You do have to create a login (which requires an e-mail address) in order to vote but it is worth it to put Tim's work on top! Watch the clip here, just beware of the monkees, they are cruel!

Dollah Pants

Alright. So, it's been out for a little while, and I've had some people asking about it, so here goes. I created this video in honor of a sweet pair of Easter Yellow Sans-A-Belt polyester slacks that I found at the thrift store for a buck. I've always been a big proponent of funky pants, so these fit right in. My feeling was that owning the pants meant that their glory needed to be shared, so a short music video was produced. I was a one man show on this one, wrote and performed the music (if you can call it that) and did all of the stunts. So, this is what you get with a wild pair of elastic waist pants, a video camera, a free Sunday afternoon and a completely un-planned dance routine. Enjoy.

Bravestarr

It's time to head back into childhood for a taste of "the good ole days". Just recently I was alerted to the fact that Hulu.com has posted the entire first season of the cartoon "Bravestarr". Needless to say, I was thrilled. Until I actually started watching. Then I began to realize that everything I thought was awesome about the show was seen through the eyes of a 7-year old. It's actually a terrible cartoon. From the chunky animation, to the horribly cheesy effects and music, to the "moral teachings" at the end. But I love it. In all of it's joyful day-glo cowboy spaceship awkwardness. They don't make 'em like they used to.

Footy is back

In the spirit of education for the world (and to highlight a great concept) I present to you the newest Footy commercial playing on Australian television. Just watching this one-minute clip makes me excited for the start of the season on Thursday. The action, the athleticism, the drama - WOOO, there goes my heart rate again! Whenever anyone asks you what Aussie Rules Football is like, THIS is the best definition I've ever seen.

Riding the Line

Many times in life I think you can make a choice about how far to go, whether to hold back or push ahead, take risks or slow things down. The real challenge isn't making the decision, it is dealing with what comes next. If you take the current stock market as an illustration - at some point, the traders and mortgage lenders made a choice to be more risky and see how far they could take it. Now we find out that they went too far and we're now paying the price. I found the same thing in a triathlon this weekend, there is a point at which you can push farther, but the price you pay later is much much higher. If you don't push as hard you'll actually end up with a better overall time. (Pace on the bike is generally the factor - go out too hard and your run will SUCK!) For me, being slightly out of breath is the indicator in triathlon - once that hits I know I have to back down. I don't yet have a financial indicator though, so at this point I just keep putting more money away and hoping that I haven't pushed too far and am too risky. I guess I won't really find out for another 40yrs so that gives me a little buffer to cover any small screw ups. Do you think that the bankers, lenders, traders that are now being blamed for the "economic downturn" know when they've pushed too far? Do they get slightly out of breath and know that last trade was too much and they need to slow down? Maybe what we need on the stock market floor are a few treadmills so that people could discover their redline, and know how to ride it without going over.

I love Lance

Though this post does confirm which side of the 'Lance' fence I sit on personally, I'm not a fanboy-to-the-end that is going to study his every move and discuss ad-nauseum his personal choices and decisions. With Lance in Australia for the Tour Down Under, the increase in cycling news stories across the board has been very interesting. We've now gotten so far past anything actually newsworthy that the papers are discussing 'what-ifs' and ancient history. To set the record straight, I will not be flying to Adelaide just to catch a 2-second glimpse of the great LA. I may try to catch some of the race on TV and will at least read the daily summaries online. I wish all the cyclists in the tour the best, especially considering the recent string of blazing hot weather in South Australia.

The reason I'm posting today though, is due to one of those 'what-if' stories found recently in The Age discussing Lance and Ironman triathlon. Turns out that at some point we're going to see Mr. Armstrong hitting the long course and going "as fast as I can." Personally I can't wait for that - it would actually be a chance to see Lance for more than 2 seconds and should make for some really good competition considering the age group he is in. There are some other wicked-fast guys in his group and battling it out with them will be fantastic. I'm just glad that I'm not in the same group!

Tour of Missouri 2008

The Tour of Missouri came back through the Show Me State for its second year. This year's lineup had a pretty impressive showing by Pro Tour teams, featuring (among others) Team Columbia, Liquigas, and Garmin-Chipotle. Thought I would share a few pics from the festivities down at the Branson time trial. We had a killer opportunity to meet Jonathan Vaughters, director of Garmin Chipotle and hang a bit with Mike Tamayo, director of HealthNet/Maxxis. We were at the start for the team warm-ups and then made our way to the finish where we caught George Hincapie and Mark Cavendish. The bike photo is Cavendish's TT bike. Cuh-razy.

So, a good time was had by all. That is, except for the guys riding the Branson "hills". It was stupid steep.  See pics at my Flickr page.

Hitting the big time

Since it probably isn't in his character to trumpet achievements in the blog-o-sphere, it is my pleasure to introduce one of the most-recent examples of Tim's awesome work in the graphics world. The crew at his office have worked for quite a while pulling things together and the result is pretty darn cool. I'm just chuffed (Aussie for 'pleased/proud/excited') that my brother works on music videos - watch out MTV!

Ha Ha Tonka "Caney Mountain" from Barkley MDFX on Vimeo.

Life Zero

I'm a big fan of listening to podcasts while I work. For the most part, a lot of the work that I do is technical animation and video stuff that doesn't require my full attention. That may sound a bit odd and counter-productive, but it's a lot like listening to music while working around the house. I have a task and it's just a matter of executing.

So, while listening last week I came across a podcast called "Life Zero". Started by a guy named John Flowers, it is a "lifestyle design concept" based on simplifying your life. He has 10 "rules" that apply to living "Life Zero", and for the most part, I think they're great rules of thumb.

1. Only what you need (living free from excess)
2. Eliminate Baggage (don't hang onto negative emotional stuff)
3. 6 months, lose it (if you haven't used something in 6 months, donate it)
4. New in = old out (get something new, something old goes away)
5. Share things (experience, property, point of view)
6. No debt (bad stuff like credit card debt)(he even says no to home loans)
7. Travel more (always prepared to travel)
8. Make friends (reach out and be social)
9. Choose your environment (be conscious of how you design your surroundings)
10. Find your joy (find what you love to do and do it)

He tends to get extreme in some cases and it's not for everyone, but it's a great place to start. Rachel and I have recently been discussing the stuff that we collect and with Josh talking about it too, this podcast has made for interesting listening.

Life Zero site

Balance

One of my favorite topics over the past years has always been balance - my instant messenger icon is usually a yin-yang, I've done ballet, and pulled a double-major through undergrad....balance is a key. This was highlighted during one of my recent photography classes where we discussed White Balancing. The new digital cameras all get create their own reality of what color 'white' actually is, which then sets off a whole chain of events on the rest of the color spectrum. The balance part though still comes through because as you change the definition of 'white' you also compromise on other colors. Set your white balance to 'flourescent' to minimize the tint of interior lights and you'll end up emphasizing the greens of the same picture. This can be useful in some situations, harmful in others and just 'interesting' for some portion of the time. Using the balance to your favor is the skill I'm supposed to be working on - so check out these shots of the coastline and see where your balance finds you.
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Baggage

We have just completed moving yet again, and each time I end up surprised at the amount of baggage that we collect. This time we were in the place only 6 months and yet somehow we accumulated all sorts of stuff we didn't have the last time - a grill, shoes, jackets, movies, computer gear, a printer....individually it never seems like much but all together it is multiple loads in the little Holden Astra hatch! Each time we move we swear that we're not going to collect as much stuff, that we'll 'graduate' items more frequently rather than being packrats. This however is too much to promise, as already by day 3 in the new place we've already got new scuba gear to fit in somewhere along with shelving units and a planned coat rack. Perhaps someday we'll get it under control, it just won't be this time apparently.

On a sidenote, if you haven't listened to the new Sneaky Sound System single I would recommend it - mainly for the chorus. The reason should be painfully obvious.

The List

C'mon, everyone has one. Whether its written down or just in your mind, you know its out there. The list of "Things I want to experience before ________". For some folks it is before they retire, before they die, before they get married, before they have kids, before they turn 20-30-40-50......hundreds of variations but the same basic concept. There are a number of goals/targets and they are a way to measure your accomplishments in life.

Since I'm nearing one of these landmark events (Hooray for July 27!) it is time to consider my list. I think my list mainly includes travel and skills improvements. Travel list includes France, Norway, Italy, China, India, Belize….you get the picture. Skills improvements: I would like to learn more about photography, improve my Spanish, try to learn another language like Chinese or French, and maybe throw in some broader cooking knowledge. I know my PB&J skills are top-notch, but beyond that I probably could do with some instruction.

The thing I’m more interested at this point is my other list, the one of “Things that I’ve already experienced”. This list is longer than I thought it would be – but I think that most people would have the same realization when they go through their own list. Most of us have accomplished more than we think we have – we just don’t look back that often. My list includes graduating college, actually getting a job and holding it for 7yrs, getting married, buying a house, selling a house, buying another house, traveling with family (including hiking 14,000 ft mountains, exploring Chile, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Luxumbourg, New Zealand and Australia), living outside of the US (including driving on the left side of the road), completing 4 marathons with my wife, completing an Ironman triathlon, snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef and even riding an elephant. Heck, that list is ridiculous and I’ve left things off the list like all the states visited in the US, the number of car accidents, all the shorter running events completed, the various injuries and surgeries, number of friends I’ve lost touch with, and the family funerals attended.

In the day and age of digital everything and having the world at your fingertips, understanding your own life story is an important. It keeps you grounded but also highlights why you are special. Unless you and your twin have done EVERYTHING together (doubt it) your experience list is completely unique. Sure its intertwined with others as Tim mentioned, but you can’t just see yourself as an insignificant piece of a massive puzzle. So go out and make your future list to keep building your individual experiences and links with the rest of the world – as your history list gets longer, the world gets smaller but the future list continues to expand!

Dinosaurs. Big Ones.

On Friday we had the opportunity to head down to the Sprint Center to see "Walking With Dinosaurs" a "live" experience brought to us courtesy of The Creature Production Company and the BBC. It has to have been one of the wildest things I have ever seen. Incredibly animated, life-sized dinosaurs roaming around the arena. Roaring, running, hunting and eating. If you have a chance to check it out, I highly recommend it. Even if you're not necessarily into dinos, go to see the mechanics of these giant lizards and how the artists who created them managed to capture life that existed hundreds of millions of years ago. I could have sworn the T-Rex was breathing. There's a moment where you have to remind your instincts that you are looking at sculptures of foam rubber and not a giant Allosaurus who will rip you limb from limb. Our other favorite part was the inflatable plants. They would pop up during specific moments in the show and made for the coolest effect. Unfortunately the photos were shot with my phone because we were told that "flash photography makes the dinos angry", but you can still get the idea.

Pink is the new...pink

Over the weekend, one of my favorite Spanish cyclists Alberto "Conquista" Contador (my own unofficial nickname for him) won the Giro di Italia (Tour of Italy) cycling race. Originally his Astana team was not invited to participate so he took a lovely vacation with his girlfriend to the beaches of Spain. Next thing you know he receives a phone call from his Team Director and hops on a plane to Italy. I don't know about you, but to go from, "Gosh these beaches are lovely and this Pina Colada is splendid", to "I'm riding 3,424 km over the next 23 days over some of the most insane mountain climbs in all of Italy while wearing a pink spandex suit"... yikes. That's a little bit of "crazy". The man has some ridiculous skills. And some serious making up to do with his girlfriend for ditching her during their vacation. The 90,000 euros he won could help.

A bit of perspective

Brother Josh here again with a dose from Oz:
Tonight in WSET Level 3 Class, we were starting to tie up the loose ends, pick up the parts of the world we hadn't gotten to and be ready for our final test coming up in 3 weeks. Tonight focused on the minor wine "high quality" regions such as Greece, Israel, Jordan, and the US. Yup, we summarized the entire wine production of the US in half of a two-hour class. Grouped with such heavy hitters as kosher wine from Israel, it really made for some strange tasting notes.

In this class we've seen detailed maps of Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Greece all showing multiple wine regions, areas, climates, and cities. For the US, we got a broad view of the country, and then a detail of California - mainly focused on the bulk wine area of the Central Valley (think Paul Mason, old Earnest and Julio Gallo). Luckily the wines really proved themselves when up against the big wines of Greece. A great Chardonnay from Russian River, an absolutely MASSIVE Pinot Noir from Oregon, a Merlot and a fairly understated Zin (surprised me actually). Most of the class was impressed and surprised but I think it'll be a long time before they'd put some of the wines on the same par as first growth chateau from Bordeaux.

Somehow though, my formative wine years (aka - first years in a "real" job) were spent mainly in California and US wine and its my basis of comparison. I appreciate the structure of the "old world" wines, but there is something nice about the fruit and approachability of the US wines. Tonight it was a reminder of home and how there are so many wines available and many are quite good. It was also a reminder that to the rest of the world (ok, maybe just the UK), the US still has a ways to go before we get our own 2hr section of the WSET course.

KC Representin', YO!

So, thanks to American Idol, we have a fellow Kansas Citian in the news. Mr. David Cook, from good old Blue Springs, MO (a suburb of Kansas City) won American Idol last night. I have to say that even though I have a tough time watching American Idol even when there's nothing else on, the guy can sing and isn't your standard pop diva. So, congrats to hometown guy David Cook. I'm really hoping that he fares better than past winners. With the success of Daughtry, I think he has a chance with his style and voice. He has a mean version of "Billie Jean" that is definitely worth hearing.

Thoughts from Oz

Tim graciously provided me with 'contributor' status to his blog and thus I feel it necessary to actually contribute something to the space. I'll likely not be as prolific, but every once in a while when things get interesting I'll pipe in - and I just couldn't resist the title this go-around. So for part one, the discussion is tattoo's.

I've thought about getting a tattoo for quite a while - probably ever since seeing the celtic knot skin-art that Flea had on his chest. I've thought a couple designs would be cool, like a compass rose on the pointy vertebrae of your neck (the one that sticks out if you look down) but mainly just a bass clef of some sort. So thinking about this I ventured into the realm of "what do other people do" and boy oh boy was I surprised. Knowing that tattoo-ing involves lots of needles and permanence, what these folks go through is downright scary. I've found some great stories and illustrations on Dynamic Tattoo (just check out their 'Profiles' - 6 straight days of tattooing? Are you kidding me?) which happens to be on the Lonely Planet Blue List.

Overall, no ink for me (you can stop worrying Mom and Dad.....for now!) but the idea of a permanent and immediate reminder of an action, event, accomplishment or sorrow is one I'll likely not forget. I've already got the scars from bike wrecks, a knee surgery, an appendectomy, lawn shears incidents, and one on my thumb that I've had for so long I don't remember what happened. I do remember when and where Dad got the cross on his arm from and the frightening energy of the fire that day - and I can't forget Tim's scar from when I hit him in the head with a wooden stool...sorry bro. All of these reminders serve nearly the same result, they maybe just don't look as intricate, clean and colorful as some of Sara's work like this one. Have to say it looks pretty 'bass'-ic (Full credit to Sara Bowyer for the artwork - nice job!)

Wicked Cool

On Thursday night, Rachel and I decided to get out for a bit of culture and went to see the touring production of "Wicked". I had no clue what I was getting into other than it was about the witches from the Wizard of Oz and that there was some song in it about "defying gravity". Beyond that, I was blank. Needless to say, I wasn't prepared for my jaw to be on the floor the entire evening. First off, the show is led by two insanely powerful female leads, which, in the realm of your standard musical is pretty different (and AWESOME). And second, I love the idea of the "story behind the story". Just like in the "True Story of the 3 Little Pigs", we learn that there is a very different explanation for a very traditional story we're used to hearing. In the Kansas City production, Katie Rose Clarke was hilarious as Glinda and Carmen Cusack was stunning as Elphaba (the green gal). If you have an opportunity to see this show, run quickly. Do not hesitate. Even if the thought of singing witches doesn't trip your trigger, you'll want to see the mechanics of the Wizard in action. And between the emerald lines there is a pretty solid message about peace, tolerance and the power of fear that we could all do well to hear.

2009: The Year of the Spielberg

I was just reading a couple articles in my weekly email animation newsletter and saw a small feature on Steven Spielberg's upcoming projects. Plain and simple, 2009 is going to be ridiculous. He finishes off his summer 2008 with the 4th Indiana Jones. In and of itself - amazing. In the fall, he jumps into the first in a trilogy of films featuring the character Tintin (an absolute favorite series of mine growing up). Not to mention that series will be directed in part by Peter Jackson and star Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock. Crazy. Follow that with a biopic of Lincoln starring Liam Neeson as the title character. I uncovered an exclusive pre-production photo and I think he looks pretty convincing. So, expect some mind-blowing coverage of the Civil War from gritty hand-held cameras. Then Steven takes a turn at executive producing with "Jurassic Park IV" which may or may not be alternately titled "Steven Gets a Fat Paycheck or National Lampoon's Exotic Dino People-Eating Vacation!" Either way, there will be cool dinos. And after that, another executive producer role for Mr. Spielberg with "Transformers 2: The Kingdom of the Chrome Hood Ornament" where, I've heard, Michael Bay might blow something up.

No matter what, it's going to be an "awesome" year for Spielberg. And I am certain, a need for an increase in Tim's entertainment budget for 2009.