Corona brought me the new album and a box full of sticker packets. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but expect the progress report, just like before, soon. Friends and family (and strangers), start saving those repeats. It’s hard to find people collecting these things in Austin, TX.
More and more I’m disgusted by the excessive photograph retouching that goes on on a daily basis (also known as “photoshopping”) in all sorts of advertisement. The idea is to turn the already attractive models into beings with biologically impossibly long legs and small waists, while promoting a large dose of eating disorders, self-image problems, and impossible expectations from real people. And all just to sell a little more. I also hate the fact that I am basically being lied to.
A few notes of interest in this front.
1. Kudos to singer Britney Spears, who released the before and after photos of her recent photo shoot for a Candie’s campaign. Here’s a cool animated gif comparing the photos:
2. Kudos to France, who are mulling a law that would make it a requirement to add a warning on any retouched photo, indicating that it was, indeed retouched.
3. Kudos to French magazine Marie Claire, whose April edition was “Photoshop-free”. And the girls still look attractive! They also featured Jessica Simpson both Photoshop and makeup-free in their cover.
4. Part of the problem is that nowadays any idiot has access to a computer powerful enough and software powerful enough to do some serious retouching. Exhibit A: Funny yet sad blog dedicated to retouching gone bad is worth a visit: PhotoshopDisasters.
5. Part of the problem is that nowadays any idiot has access to a computer powerful enough and software powerful enough to do some serious retouching. Exhibit B: The MKX® Photo Central | Digital Magic.
Live right now. And no, I’m not there. Looks like I’ll be kissing this tour alltogether. Sad.
Thanks to everyone who showed up for the surprise lunch on Sunday and especially to Shlomit who not only flew to Austin for the weekend, but stealthily organized it without me having even the sightliest clue. I am not worthy.
Also, thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. I got A LOT of phone calls, emails, and Facebook wall posts. And as everyone knows, number of Facebook wall posts is the ultimate and most precise measure of how much one is loved… looks like I’m doing OK.
Someone by the nickname explodingrabbit put together a little Flash game (that’s right, it won’t run on your iPad) in which you can play the original Super Mario Bros as any of the following characters:
Awesome. Twenty years ago, this would have given me a heart attack. As far as I can tell, the Konami Code does not work.
This is the official song for the upcoming World Cup, titled “Waka Waka”. It’s not a joke, and it’s not performed by Fozzie Bear. It’s sung by Colombian hottie Shakira. On the video you can see Osvaldo Sánchez, Omar Bravo, David Beckham, and some other players that are not attending the World Cup. This is appropriate, because Colombia is not attending either.
The song didn’t quite do it for me. When I want to get into World Cup mood, this is what I listen to. And this. And this. And this. Wow, now I am in World Cup mood. I wonder if I can still find tickets…
Here’s a fun little piece of family history that was recently unearthed by my great-uncle Jacobo:
This is an undated driver’s license that belonged to my great-grandfather Marcos Sandler. He must have received it not too long after moving to Mexico. It is for driving a bogué. According to my mom, that’s the word they used for wagons back in the day. I had never heard it and my search in the all-knowing Royal Academy of the Spanish Language was fruitless. I did find the similar words bogie and boje, which are synonyms whose definition I translate:
A set of two pairs of wheels mounted on adjacent, solid parallel axis, used in both sides of the vehicles of great length destined to circulate over lanes.
Yeah, that doesn’t make any sense in Spanish either. Perhaps an enlightened reader can help? (Eva, ask your dad).
It was a busy Saturday. After a cultural morning at Art City Austin, I headed over to Pease Park for Eeyore’s 47th birthday party. This year it seemed even more crowded than the years before. The usual assortment of colorful costumes, drum circles, dancing, beer, topless hippies, and family vibe was present again.
I have posted some higher-than-usual quality photos in The MKX® Photo Central of this awesome Austin tradition. They were taken with Jaramillo’s big manly camera, not my tiny puny pocket toy.
Art City Austin is an event organized by Art Alliance Austin. I had heard of it but attended this year for the first time on April 24th. They close off about five blocks in Austin’s 2nd Street District downtown and 190 artists, many local, but most (all?) national set up a booth where they show off their goods. Lots of very good painting, some very impressive metal work, sculpture, glass, etc.
Read more for more details, photos, and the ever important description of the food available.
I went to support my friends in the Green Team, Jill and Jamie, who made it to the final of the world renowned National Karaoke League. Sadly they lost to the Black Team, which was semi-pro and put together a Broadway-level Super Mario Bros show. I guess my support doesn’t carry the weight I thought it carried. Maybe next year. Congratulations!
