Me Oh My, Mercy Me!

I helped out running TV camera at church today for a Mercy Me concert. We go to a big church in Austin so there are actually four TV cameras, a director, a graphics person, a iris person and a whole pile of other people who do audio and lights who I don't know. I also abused the 'crew credentials' and walked up to the stage for some fun pictures with my still cameras during the show. I had quite a pounding headache but got a few images in a very short period of time. The opening act was Bebo Norman and he's the first couple of pictures. I'd never heard of him before. He was kind of dull. Mercy Me put on a good show though.

Engage: Katherine and Ed!

Katherine brought ginger bread cookies. Tasty soft ones. Katherine is a library science student and claims that she cooks when she is stressed. Gosh if all of us could just cook when we are stressed instead of eat. The world would be filled with cookies and pies stacked to the top of every roof, in every street and it would worldwide over population of pastries. It would destroy the fabric of reality as we know it so it is good that only Katherine was the stress baker and the rest of us were happy to digest her little ginger bread men.

Now, not to tear you too far away from cookies but Ed, a non-cookie making programmer guy, was also there to complete the couple and provide us with entertainment as he tried to find the patterns in the way my brain works. I don't know if he succeeded. The shoot was a lot of fun with Ed trying to figure out the randomness that makes me get up in the morning. From the limited amount of programming and math that I studied in college, I am pretty sure that there is an algorithm to recreating the process it takes to be me. Ed may be reverse engineering me as we speak. But beyond all of that the pictures looked nice.

Two Rings Bind Them: Angela and Corey!

Angela and Corey had their wedding at the Inn At the Wild Rose Hall in South Austin. They lived in the Dallas area and had decided some time ago that they wanted to eventually move to Austin and the first step was to have their wedding here. I've heard stories about Dallas and kind of understand why people would want to move. I looked at houses up there when I was shopping Texas for a place to live and got kind of a strange vibe upon doing that. Austin is for me too.








This is Angela and Corey with Johnny Cash. Very unusual.

Engage! Marni and Darrell!

I didn't know who Megan Fox was. I suppose I was among a small number of guys who did not know who she was. I guess she's the hot new thing? I found out she was in the Transformers though I only found out about a couple of weeks ago. I think Marni looks a little like her though a lot classier.

We had a good time at the capital then down to the Amtrak Station where we were lucky enough to have a freight train steam passed us which created a fabulous effect after the sun set the with blur of the train behind Darrell and Marni. I love what I do!




This one really looks like a frame of a classic B&W movie. I love the feel of this.

Eat, eat and eat on a Caribbean Cruise Vacation

Everybody needs time away from their kids. Only Nazis think otherwise. I decided to take a week long vacation with my wife and chose a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on the Crown Princess as my way of escaping from the children. We flew into Ft Lauderdale, popped onto the boat, shut off the internet and the phone and started doing what everyone does on a cruise ship: eat! We aren't really big on the live music or stage shows, but we certainly love food prepared with care and presented beautifully. We stopped at four ports of call: Princess Cays in the Bahamas, St Marteen, St Thomas and Grand Turk.

It was a blast and a wonderful quiet voyage and I look forward to going on another one again when we have some time.

One really cool thing that they had on the top of the ship was a giant TV screen where movies would play every night and serve fresh made popcorn made with real butter.


Christina looking over Port Everglades in Ft Lauderdale.

On the tender to Princess Cays.

I love bread.

I'm pretty sure that all of the palm trees were planted on all of the islands we visited. Apparently an island isn't tropical without a palm tree.

My beautiful wife on St Marteen

I think I drank too much at this place in St Marteen. My head was pounding and I was really thirsty, but ran out of water.

Christina and an escaped gorilla. Or maybe it was Christina and her dad. I sometimes get confused by that.

Christina in the ocean in front of the Crown Princess at Grand Turk.

Just about the last people on the boat, we got my father-in-law to snap a picture of us before it left without us. We had some much fun on this trip and stopped at such wonderful places that I think we'll go on the same exact cruise again, but take the kids. Should be fun!