Blanket

We are working in Manhattan on a commercial with a small set and some big lights..... On that box truss are two Blanket Lights and each one has 16 6' fluorescent bulbs. Our actress tomorrow will look bright and beautiful.

Misc. Ohio Pictures

Oscars and Coke

The Diet Coke ad we did last December for the 2012 Oscars premiered last night and can be seen here.
The NYT's has an article about Oscar ads here

Some More

A few more pictures of last week's sweet job. The view from the stage was impressive along with the waist expanding fringe benefits of tasting the product.

The Perfect Scoop

I'm in NYC this week doing an ice cream commercial. We were shooting one of the prop guys with an antique spoon creating the perfect cascading scoop..... sure to make all of you run out and buy something frozen. Hugo's shirt is covered in muslin so his dark shirt doesn't reflect in the polished spoon.

Tropical Paella

Before I left for NYC, we broke in the new copper clad paella dish. WL wanted to experiment a little so I put some pineapple rings on top to sweeten the traditional dish.

Weekend Garden

After a good rain last week and a few sunny days, things are ramping up in the front garden.

Weekend Garden

A little rain, a little sun and things are looking good.

Aloe in Bloom

I never thought the Aloe Vera plants would take but one is actually blooming.

Big

We were on our walk this morning and near the park there was a huge bird sitting passively in a tree. Half a dozen crows did not like the intrusion and were flying around him squawking. The big bird just sat there throughout. Five minutes later when I got back with a real camera, the commotion was over. These phone pics are crappy but I think it's a big hawk..... any thoughts?

30 Years

Mark Sumner has a terrific column about the last thirty years. Couldn't agree more. Excerpts below.


The economy didn't just crash under a Republican president, it crashed under Republican policies. It crashed with low taxes. It crashed with deregulated markets. It crashed with huge restrictions on union activity. It crashed with massive cuts in environmental regulations. It crashed with lowered trade barriers. It crashed with big fat Pentagon spending.

They got what they wanted. They got CEOs with no limits on their wealth. They got banks with no limits on their "creativity." They got trade agreements that guaranteed manufacturing could be moved to the dirtiest, cheapest, most desperate source available. They got massive cuts in capital gains taxes and equally large boosts in the wealth they could pass along in estates. They got everything they said would make us all wealthy. They got record oil and gas drilling. They got record giveaways of public land. They got everything they said would create jobs. They got the middle class to shoulder more, more, more of the burden so that those beautiful job creators would be free to work their magic.

They can't say the economy crashed because taxes went up, because they didn't. They can't say that the economy crashed because there was a raft of new regulation, because there wasn't. They can't blame it on "union thugs" or Saul Alinsky or the guy who writes Happy Holidays cards at Hallmark. They can't blame it on a president who was elected when the world was already in free fall. Only, of course they do. They say it because they have no choice.

When Chunky's Not Bad

I've been in love with Mark and Spencer's sweaters ever since I bought one in Prague. Until now, I've been able to get some on eBay and such but now..... M&S is delivering internationally. I even have WL using the British vernacular..... "Chunky Jumper".

New Work

I went back to NYC this week to attend the opening of dear friend/painter Jane Swavely's new work and new gallery. The AIR Gallery in DUMBO is presenting Jane's work this month. It was a fantastic night with tons of people and great paintings to look at/contemplate. Cheers!