Meeting Leo Laporte

Today is Friday, and I made it back from MacWorld last night around ten. The trip to SF from Calistoga usually takes around two hours comfortably.Veda and I got to the Moscone Center around noon and parked at the Mission street garage.We arrived on the showroom floor and began collecting schwag and chatting up the vendors to learn all their was that was new this year. It only took two seconds to lose Veda, and luckily we had our cell phones because even though we planned to meet by the first aid station at 2pm, that did not work out as well as we had planned. I walked up near the front of Moscone West to look for Veda and found Leo Laporte holding court with a bunch of geeks in black open collar shirts. It looked like the staff from Macbreak Weekly which is Leo’s show that is video-podcasted every Monday.I have been a fan of Leo’s show for around five years or so. He really is very knowledgeable about all things computer related… not just Macs. He graciously posed for this photo which really shows off my belly (not so much his) but I guess I will have to start doing sit ups to counteract all this good food I have learned to enjoy.He is a bright likable guy, who should run for president.Just because.

Monday Again

Well as you might have guessed, the Niners have not been picked to be the team to go to the Superbowl this year. It was a game that ended exactly the way I thought it was going to end.I am not disappointed. They had a great season. I ended up going to Newman Hall in Berkeley after the game to the Holy Spirit chapel for mass. I got home around 12:30pm . It was worth it.Today I worked on several posters for my upcoming show.The poster shown below is one that am very proud of as It showcases the real beauty of these rocks.

Moonshot

This is another picture of one of the posters I will be featuring at the one man show coming to the St. Helena Library on February 1st. This is a modification of a picture I have drawn in the past, along with the painted rocks, which sometimes take on a figurative images such as the smiling man in the moon shown in the upper left portion of this picture. All I am doing here is showcasing the rocks which are the real stars of these pictures.

Stags Leap 2

It was cold and foggy at the start but after about an hour the sun broke through. This was the second time exploring the trail that led to the top of the Vacas mountains lining the east end of the Napa Valley. The Stags leap district is a designated appellation on the Napa Valley Viticultural map. The area has a lot of Manzanita and Madrone trees and bushes with craggy rocks to walk over getting up to the top. We traversed two large hills getting to our destination where we stopped after three hours to have lunch. The return trip went pretty quickly as it was mostly down hill. The views from the top were spectacular.

All this walking was far better for me than sitting in front of a TV set watching football. Next week however, is when the Forty-Niners face off against the New York Giants.You can bet that I will be watching that one. It will be great if our Niners make it to the Super Bowl this year. Incidentally, when we were over looking the Napa Valley, we could see a large group of people watching the Giants vs. Green Bay game on a jumbotron at a local winery down below. They were screaming and yelling every few seconds as their team performed. We yelled back at them from above on the mountainside. I think they heard us because they kept yelling back.

Upcoming Show

Today I went to purchase some frames at Michael’s Art Supply in Santa Rosa. What a store that is! It made me realize how much the Chinese people have contributed to glut of available merchandise in this country. Everything from the smallest sticker to the largest frames have been produced in China. I bought six frames , some high gloss acrylic spray and some mylar stickers for future rock creations. I have about five more 18X24” prints to frame to complete the show. I also need to purchase some sparkling cider, water and juice for the reception that will take place on the first of February at the St. Helena Library. I want to display my Spirit Rocks under a plexiglass case if possible, so that people will know that the rocks have been scanned on my flatbed scanner and subsequently modified in Photoshop. The excitement is building.

Getting Ready

I will be showing my work on the walls at the St. Helena Library for the month of February. I will be featuring a collection of imagery from works that I have collected throughout the years. The image above is of a rock I painted , scanned and modified in Photoshop. I like how I can take something as mundane as a river rock and build it up to be an object of interest. The picture above is of a rock that I had made into a 18” X 24” poster. I am thrilled that I was able to frame this piece and keep the cost down. I hope to continue painting and making these rocks special for everyone to enjoy.