PKND extreme makeover

I just finished updating the PechaKucha Night Denver website, oh, about an hour ago. It might not look like much, but it took some major time messing around with CSS and style sheets and FTP, etc. I basically know about 5% about each of those things, which made for some interesting all-nighters. I do love Indexhibit, the interface used to build the site, but I wish I knew more about customizing it all special-like. So here's what happened...

I added presenter backgrounds:

and a fancy About page with pictures of audiences from around the world:

and some video: Charles Carpenter's awesome video from PKND2:

and my stop-motion video of Jennifer Thies' aerial fabric dancing:

and the most exciting feature: a fancy contact form!

There's also a new facebook group to join our twitter feed.

It was a fun project; I learned a lot; I'm really glad it's over with.

PKN Denver vol SIX!

PechaKucha Night volume 6 is coming up - July 21 - and the presenter line-up is insane. I am pretty much giddy with excitement.

the deets:

PechaKucha Night Denver vol. 6

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Buntport Theater

717 Lipan St. / Denver

doors 8 / starts 8:20

OUTSIDE - bring a blanket or chair!

the presenters:

Lawrence Argent (who doesn't love the big blue bear downtown?)

cypher13 (rad design team in Boulder)

Charles Carpenter (awesome videographer)

DoubleButter (local furniture makers)

Scott Lary (responsible for ADCD paper fashion show)
Bruce Mau (BRUCE MAU! Denver Biennial, designer, and author)
Ted Schultz (architect, sweet restaurant designs!)
Brandi Shigley (she runs Fashion Denver AND is extra awesome b/c she's in a band!)
Ravi Zupa (Westword Mastermind class of 2009!)

You may have noticed that I wrote Bruce Mau in bold and caps. He's our special out-of-town celebrity guest presenter. Go read his Incomplete Manifesto for Growth and then watch the In Good We Trust video. This is super exciting shit, people.

Also exciting is that we'll be projecting on the outside wall of the theater from Buntport's parking lot, so space shouldn't be a problem this time. Unless it rains, in which case we'll all be stuffed inside for another sweaty summer show :( Since we'll be outside be sure to bring a blanket or chair so you can get comfy!

If you're in Denver come check it out!! And please circulate the awesome flier (designed by rad Neil Sittler of stickflower design):

What do cats and knives have in common?

They both need to keep their edges sharp!*

Now that the life update is out of the way, here are two little projects I did last month...

For the cat: I made a scratching post out of 1/2 of a flor tile, a piece of plywood, and some zip-ties.

He Sniffs!


He Scores!


He Smokes and Snores...

For the knives: I made a magnetic knife strip out of a piece of wood and some magnets, cork, and epoxy.

And then I extra nerded-out and documented the steps in a tutorial over on flickr :)

*(yikes. Did that really just happen?)

Six Week Summary

The last few weeks have been a bit of a time warp. Good, but blurry.

1. I ran a half marathon!



2. Z and I took the dogs to Durango. Great trip, great ride, great destination.



3. Z and I flew to Tucson to visit good friends and we had an amazing (simpler) time checking out bike shops and going camping. I am now inspired to learn to weld, make piñatas, build pedal-powered appliances, organize, and have babies.



4. In-between events 1-3, we sold belongings and moved across town. It was awful. Out of a half-dozen trips across town we only managed to lose one chair when we forgot to shut the truck gate. Overall? A miserable success.



5. I started a non-internship / volunteering gig in an architecture office. I love it love it love it there. The office is beautifully built with old and new materials and there are old tools and machinery scattered around. It's fantastic.



6. Summer school started, I checked out a million books from the library, and now I read all day.

Things are good.

One Final Left...

My last final project is due in a few hours. That's why I'm up at 1:30 am, posting things to craigslist and putting the finishing touches on the stoop sale website (I'll add more stuff tomorrow).

Here is part of my final rendering project for my colored pencil drawing class. The assignment was to take a previous project and render it in colored pencil, using a painting as inspiration for colors and composition. I started with my benta plate prototypes from 2007:
Referenced Wary Meyers' Painting, "Lobsters Playing," for color and composition:

and ended up with this:

As a bonus, I accidentally dressed to match my assignment, something that the jurors did not let go unnoticed:


I really loved this drawing class. Working with colored pencils was challenging and humbling, and my favorite part (and what I'm hoping to continue doing) was keeping a sketchbook of drawings and color exercises.

My final Revit project is due tomorrow. After that, the fun starts - stoop sale on Saturday, 1/2 marathon on Sunday, then in the following two weeks we'll pack up the house, move across town, have dinner with friends, road-trip to Durango, and take a quick trip to Tucson to visit some friends. All before the end of May!

Oh! Tonight I won a $100 loaded credit card in a raffle at the Modern in Denver party at DWR! So now I'm debating what to splurge on. Suggestions?

procrastinating 2.0

I have two projects due this week. Two huge projects. So, just like last time, I'm taking plenty of breaks to partake in non-productive activities. Like french-braiding my bangs. And combining random ingredients from the fridge. And, again, making videos of the dogs. This time they're playing with each other, though, and it's all sorts of cute. I recorded this last week by putting my laptop on the floor, and figured today was the perfect day to edit it. It's not like I have anything else to do.

When Puppies Attack

This is Pearson, puppy #4 that we will raise for Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. We picked him up last Sunday:



showed him off to our friends on Monday:





and by Wednesday morning I was over it:



I try to keep this blog "professional" to showcase my "projects" and "sophisticated endeavors," but it looks like it just took a nose-dive into "puppy cuteness" and "unnecessary quotation marks."


In other news, PechaKucha Night volume 5 was a complete success, with a solid group of presenters and another packed house at Buntport Theater. Photos from the event are here and here.

PechaKucha Night volume 5

Denver's 5th PechaKucha Night is on Tuesday!

If you're in the Denver area, we hope you'll be in the crowd!

"PechaKucha," which means chit-chat in Japanese, is a world-wide venue for creatives to share their work in 20 images for 20 seconds each. This edition will feature the work of local museum folk, bike guys, architects, artists, actors, and a food guru!

Seats have been filling up quickly, so get there by 8 to secure a chair. As always, the lovely Buntport theater will be hosting the event.

More info is available on PechaKucha Night's Global site

You can see previous presenters at the PechaKucha Night Denver site

And find photos of the event on flickr

Next Up: Alphabet Blocks

Speaking of boners, I had so much fun making the Denver Building Blocks that I've got major wood on my mind.



Spoiler Alert: If you are one of my friends who has just had a baby, or is about to have a baby, this will blow the surprise.

1. Buy 1 1/2" cube blocks from Benny's Woodworks & Tools, LLC. Check.

2. Browse dafont.com for favorite fonts; download. Check.

3. Order more gocco bulbs and screens. Ugh.

4. Print patterned alphabet letters and cute wingdings on blocks.

5. Give (much overdue) gifts to my friends' children.

Results to follow. Eventually.

Blog Love

I'm so flattered by the love that the design boner ladies sent me yesterday. I think I've read the post at least a dozen times now; don't worry, my ego hasn't become too inflated. :)

I'm also somewhat perplexed and extremely grateful for the online community that I've become a part of during the last several years. I now spend countless hours on the internet in virtual communication with people I've never (or barely) met; twitter is a party-line for texting conversations between friends and strangers; facebook has turned us all into stalkers; and mini-conversations occur in the depths of blog comment threads. But the friendships and connections I've made are very real, and I just want to say, 'Thank you, internet!"

Also, I just found myself on the Encyclopaedia Britannica Blog. Being associated with a million-page (well, in print) über reference guide is strangely satisfying.

I think that makes this the weekend of Boners and Britannica.