Don't you just love it?

© Joselito Briones

It's brag time!

Don't you just love it when you see something that is very similar to something you've thought of first a long time ago? Six years ago, when the Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash) animation technology was still relatively new, I did this animation, simply called "Portraits", to show my work in portrait photography. A year later I did another one, "Portraits 2". It was something new then, and obviously not done before, that I had plenty of email inquiry about it. I did a search of the topic in Google groups and this came up. Trust Google to find proof that you're not just writing BS.



Screen capture from DG website

I was going through my email subscriptions when this popped up from the Dolce & Gabbana newsletter (and don't even ask me why I'm subscribing to D&G, they should just keep me informed automatically, considering the money I spend buying their stuff). The technology obviously has advanced since then, because it's so much more interactive, but still...

What do you think?

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Theme

CD cover of "Kick, Push"

I've been thinking of a song to go with my letters to you, a theme, if you must. I've considered plenty of songs which I really like, but none seem to describe perfectly the state of mind I'm in the past few months, until I saw this video on TV.

The title of the song is "Kick... Push", by Lupe Fiasco. It's about something else altogether, skateboarding, in fact. But after listening to it a few times, I find that this is exactly the mood that I've been in for much of this year (and maybe last year, too). Sometimes I think it's a bit too late in life to be feeling like this, but at the end of the day, it is how it is. The only reservation I have for this song is that it might be just a bit too cool for these letters.

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P.S.
The very close second choice, which I decided not to go for because it's a bit too obvious, was a song by The Beastie Boys.

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Designing stuff

© Joselito Briones

Finally I've thought of something to do with Ernst.

Last night I thought of a way to do a folding stool/side table, that, if I may say so myself, is ingenious. HA! I know, modesty has never been my best trait. As in any clear ideas, it was finished almost as soon as I thought of it. I sketched it in my little notebook, and as even it was too late, I couldn't sleep until I've drawn it up properly, I got up and did the drawings in CAD. So now it's just a matter of refining it, and explaining to Ernst how to do it.

Now the question is, will it work? I'll keep you posted.

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Roxy

© Joselito Briones

I finally got to see "The Da Vinci Code", courtesy of the only theater in the vicinity that shows films in their original language, "Roxy" (most films shown here are, obviously, dubbed in German).

Frankly, I don't see what the hoopla is all about. Unless you're a religious fanatic, you'd see quite easily that this is just a slightly above average hollywood movie (above average because of the polish with which the movie was made). Okay, Tom Hanks is obviously miscast (sigh of relief when he walked away at the end of the movie, instead of locking arms with and kissing Audrey Tautou), but that is balanced enough by Ian McKellen's eager performance. And yes, another waste of Jean Reno's talent, but then again, he seems to be very willing of late in wasting such talent, so nothing new in this one.

In the end, the movie is exactly what the book was about. I'd guess that the people who had a problem with the movie were the same ones who had a problem with the book to begin with. In which case that's another matter altogether. The subject matter has been exhausted that adding anymore will only add to confusion, or feed the propagandists' work (yes, both sides).

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Doll Hospital

CD cover of "Doll Hospital"

Warning! This is a blatant promotion. For one of your better neighbors, of course. Heather Eatman. Remember her? She's the bestest! She's got her band's CD out already, also called "Doll Hospital".

Jane and I heard the band perform the numbers in the CD in the East Village, in New York, late last year. They're all excellent!. The best tracks are "My Ex-Wife" and "Bluebird Ballroom" (these tracks can be downloaded for free from their website). They're like twisted swing tunes with an edge, and fun! Great lyrics. Cabaret-ish and Burlesque-ish and all that. And yeah, check out her other releases too!

There. I think I've done my duty as a big fan.


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P.S.

Send my regards when you see her.

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Spice Store (This is a test)

© Joselito Briones

I was looking at Erwin Olaf's works yesterday, and, as is usual when I see something I like, I try to see if I can do it myself. (Remember when I did a sorta kinda Pierre et Gille somewhatta?)

This time I deliberated on how to achieve his signature desaturated colors, digitally. It's his colors, after all, that he is most famous for.

The photo on top is the finished product. I guess it wouldn't be worth showing anyway if I thought I didn't succeed in emulating his colors. It's not exactly perfect yet, but I think I've got the principle.

© Joselito Briones

I guess I'll just have to make it a little bit less reddish, and still a bit less saturated. Oh well.

The photo below is the original. The photo was taken using my Canon powershot digital camera. Boring picture. It's a spice shop, close to the center of city, in the pedestrian zone.

Next step: How do I achieve the same effect using film and traditional darkroom printing? I have an idea, of course, but whether or not I'll have enough interest to actually test that idea remains to be seen.

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P.S.
I started storing some of my blog photos in Flickr. Here's the link.

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Eishaus

© Joselito Briones

It's such a welcome respite from the heat. It's become a routine for me to, right after German class, go to the Zentrum, binge on heart-attack food (Bauch Brötchen - roasted pork belly with crispy skin, in bread) and ice cream afterwards.

I've tried several ice cream vendors, and they all seem to be generic, taste-wise. Good, but nothing to write home to mom about. What they differ in, though, is the size of the serving. Eishaus, for 70 €uro cents, gives you the equivalent of at least 3 scoops of ice cream from the other stores. And as if you won't think that's a lot already, they put it in a tiny crispy cone which makes it look like an enormous amount of ice cream. The first time I had it, I was stressed. How does one eat this without making a mess? You end up trying to gobble up as much as you can in as little time, or you'll have to deal with the stuff dripping all over your hand. Try and lick your hand in public.

For a grown man, eating this amount of ice cream from a small cone (or for that matter, any amount of ice cream, in any size of cone) ranks up there with eating bananas or deep-throating wieners in public. There's just no dignified way of doing it.

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Pet peeves

© Joselito Briones

It's whine time!

I guess by now you already know, no matter how satisfied I am with something, I'd always find a part of it to complain about. Take this apartment for example. As much as I've learned to really like it here, there are still things that annoy me whenever I come into contact with it..

First is the front door lock. Simple - check. Clean - check. Very nice to look at - check. Secure - check. What pisses me off, though, is that the darned thing can't be opened by one hand. Normally, one can use a hand to fish out the key from a pocket, unlock the door, put back the key to the pocket, and then turn the knob with the same hand. This one's different. You'll have to turn the knob with one hand while turning the key with the other. Whenever I come home carrying bags upon bags of grocery, I always end up putting everything down to open the door, pick the things back up, carry them to the kitchen and then go back to the front door to close it. (To put them down again in the entrance hall while closing the door is just too stupid already). So much for German efficiency.

© Joselito Briones

Another one is the shower control. It's nice and simple, fine. Looks clean, perfect. Easy to turn on, check. Problem is, it's just as easy to shut off. Imagine yourself taking a shower in a not-so-spacious cubicle. You spend some time adjusting the water temperature, until you get it perfect, exactly the way you want it (it's very important for me, I'm very sensitive to temperature). Then you shower, soap yourself, wiggle, wiggle. Then invariably, a part of your body bumps into the control and shuts it off, or worse, turns it so that the water becomes freezing cold. Then you end up fumbling for the controls to adjust it again, while soap gets in your eyes. Really annoying.

Okay, that's it for now, I'm sure there'd be more in the future.


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More Fillers

© Joselito Briones

As yesterday, I still don't have anything new to tell you, so here's another flower picture, taken in an empty lot while I was walking about two days ago.

On that same day there was a pottery festival or something, all round the church there were temporary stalls selling all kinds of ceramic things, from useful to kitchy to downright ugly. Too bad the weather wasn't very good, it was raining a bit, there wasn't much people looking around. I saw among the sellers the girl from whom I bought a small pot sometime ago.

© Joselito Briones


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