The Brobecks

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Ben Kweller Concert which, to be honest, was quite amazing.  I am always impressed with an artist when they sound just as good (or better) live when performing live as they do on their CDs.  Not only did he sound amazing, but he was just a fun guy to watch.  You can tell that he’s not some egotistical diva who is all caught up in the vanity of the music world.  He just loves (and is good at) what he does.

The most surprising thing about the concert was not, however, Ben’s incredible musical genius.  One of the opening acts took me by surprise.  As they took the stage I thought The Brobecks looked like a bunch of self absorbed, preppy metrosexuals who’s rich parents had bought them all guitars only a week earlier, along with a spot to open for a great musician.  I was pleasantly surprised.  They were the most cordial, gracious and possibly one of the most talented bands I’ve ever seen perform live.  The coolest thing of all is that they are local!  If you haven’t heard of them, they have their first CD available on their website to download for FREE! They also have a link to stream their new album in all of it’s glory.  They will be back here in Utah at the beginning of March at In The Venue.  They will also be playing here in Provo in mid-April.  They are definately worth taking a look at.

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The Office

I just finished my Photoshop final. I tried to fit as many of the cast from the first season into this image as I could. I thought it would be cool to have the Dunder Mifflin logo in the background, but from there I had no clue as to how I was going to fit anyone else in the picture. I was pondering on this quandry when a friend recommended that I just delete the letters and stick the cast members’ faces in them. I tried it and thought it looked pretty cool. It’s definately a unique image as far as I can tell. My favorite part is the ‘I’ and ‘F’ in ‘Mifflin’ where Angela and Dwight are looking at each other. I’m excited for their relationship to become public. In a nutshell, I’m fairly proud of this puppy, especially considering it’s really my first attempt at doing something worthwile with Photoshop. I will keep it here, yet again, for public scrutiny. Please give me feedback. I am going to keep making changes until I deem it perfect (and by perfect I mean as good as I can get it.) Enjoy, and feel free to use it as your desktop background. If you are planning on featuring it on your website, please let me know… and link back!

Due to popular demand, I spent a few minutes and added Creed to the wallpaper.

Now I added Toby… hope you like it!

Check out this page to see all of the wallpapers I’ve done.

49 comments.

Photoshop

I recently started into the photoshop section in my multimedia class.  I am loving it.  It is so much fun.  I would love to be able to incorporate any skills I may have in this field into a future job.  I’m going to post my first finished photoshop project ever up here, and hopefully it passes the scrutiny of all of my judgmental readers out there.  Feel free to give me any feedback.  (By the way, for those of you who don’t know, I put my head on Zinedine Zidane’s head… he is a legendary French soccer player.)

Click here to view larger image. 

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The ‘Helen Keller Date’

This weekend I went on a blind date with a deaf girl.  I jokingly call it my ‘Helen Keller Date’.  A friend from one of my classes asked me if it would be ok if he set me up on a blind date for the institute dance this weekend.  It was a unique institute dance where a date was required.  I thought it would be a worthwhile adventure and provide a blog-worthy story, so I consented.  Only after giving him the ‘OK’ did he tell me that my date was hearing impaired.  I spent the next week wondering what the heck I was going to be doing on this date.  I didn’t know if it was going to be a long 5 hour game of Charades, if we would have an interpreter or if she was just a master at reading lips.  I tried putting myself in her shoes to think of how I could help her be comfortable and enjoy herself.  Let me just say that I have limited experience with the deaf culture, so it was fairly difficult to see the world through her eyes (or hear it through her ears).  I wondered how stupid I would look to her when she saw me dance like a skinny white Mormon boy to music she could only feel… not hear.  I wondered how we were supposed to talk at dinner with our mouths full and our hands occupied.  I worried about alot of things.

To my surprise my ‘Helen Keller Date’ was quite possibly the most unique and fun date that I’ve been on in quite some time.  It started off on an awkward foot with a timid greeting and prolonged silence, but after pleasantries were exchanged (and I realized that she could read lips very well and had some hearing) it went uphill.  We had a great dinner at a nice Thai restaurant, went to a music store to check out some CD’s and then headed over to the dance.  This is where the real shock hit me.  My deaf date (Jae) was a better dancer than I was!  She put me to shame.   Apparently she has placed in ballroom dance competitions and has danced for quite a few years.  She also plays the guitar and the piano (probably better than I do as well) and has taken voice lessons.  She wants to record an album one day.  In a way, it was a sad day for me.  Even people who can’t hear have better rhythm than I do. 

This experience with Jae this weekend has opened my eyes and heart to a culture that has otherwise been invisible to me.  I have a new respect for people who can and DO overcome such physical, mental and emotional trials as Jae has faced in her life.  Not only has she overcome her weaknesses but she has made them her strengths.  In a way I am jealous.  Part of me wishes that I had to work at something that I loved to achieve that which I wanted in the same manner that Jae does.  Here’s to fulfilling your dreams.

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