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IU / photo / television / Thursday / video — Comments Off on Almost saw the sun set
11
Nov 21

Almost saw the sun set

I woke up on Sunday — or Monday, I forget which — thinking that I was going to take Friday off this week. It was my first thought. Not ‘Where am I?’ or ‘Wow, my arm hurts and I regret sleeping like that,’ but ‘I’m taking Friday off.’

I’ve had late nights at the office three or four nights a week for five out of the last six weeks. And that other week was truly exhausting.

So I forgot almost immediately the when of that thought of taking Friday off, but I remember it clearly, and the rightness of it. Which is to say I have a three-day weekend. Which is to say I’ve been looking forward to that all day. Which is really saying something, probably.

I took this photo for the Instagram sky study before my last little chore of the day, which took place at 5:45.

It isn’t hard, but definitely accumulative.

I stopped on the top of the parking deck to watch the birds and the sunset for a moment. And I shot this in black and white because that’s the setting I was using at the time I decided to try to catch a bird in flight.

And here’s the last of the sunlight playing on the bottom of the clouds, from the top of a parking deck in the middle of town.

Though I recorded this last week and published it on Monday and have been circulating it on social media all week, I haven’t put it here. Dr. Sanya Carley does research on energy, and she and her colleagues have a new study that shines light on the crisis of something called energy insecurity, households at risk of not being able to pay their power bills, or under the real threat of having their utilities disconnected. A lot of people, a lot of people, are in that position this year.

This will be an eye-opening conversation for most of us. And it’s a great interview, at least from the interviewee. Give it a listen. You’re going to learn a thing or two if you do. I know I did!

And you can learn the latest about IU sports right here, from one of the programs the IUSTV people produced last night. There’s even a bit on the playoff soccer game that took place today, as the men’s soccer team is vying for their fifth straight appearance in the conference finals. It was incredible, and you’ll hear all about it right here.

After I watched that I went for a little run, and then a walk, and now this, which ends the work week for me. Three-day weekend!

IU / photo / television / video / Wednesday — Comments Off on Pushing right on through
10
Nov 21

Pushing right on through

I showed off the famous fall foliage parking deck shot last Tuesday. So it seems only fitting to revisit that for a close-up shot. Here is our close-up.

That’s not too bad, is it?

Here’s the view from inside the building. I like to tell prospective students and their parents about our brand new 114-year-old building. Some of the things in it are original. And they added some things in the renovation before we opened it up again as the Media School in 2016. This skylight, I tell them, is original.

It is not. And that’s my first laugh of a mini-tour. Hahah! Modern skylight fits right in with the older design! And also the elevator beneath it, too!

Those panes of glass are about two-and-a-half inches thick. And we can control their tint, though we seldom take it off the auto settings. That’s fun, sometimes, too, when the clouds are really blowing by. You can be standing there under all of that glass and sudden the whole room changes. You wonder if it’s neurological or technological, every time.

All of that glass weighs the same as about nine Volkswagen Beetles. So I don’t stand under it for too long, I tell visitors. Hahah! Another joke! This is going to be a great tour!

And that’s about where I stop telling jokes.

There might be another joke in there somewhere, I’m not sure. I haven’t given a tour in ages. Not that I miss them. I was never quite sure why I got asked to do them from time-to-time. I only had the two jokes.

Today’s look, an old Thomas Pink shirt, an old V&C tie and a new pocket square.

All of that under my 2009 Canadian poppy, for Remembrance Day and Veteran’s Day.

Back int he studio tonight, with the sports gang. We’ll have some of their shows to enjoy later this week. For now, we can take in the news shows, which were produced last night. See the pattern?

This is the news show, and that’s another freshman on the desk. They’re building for the future and the future is now. Pretty cool to see that happening.

Here’s the pop culture show. They shoot these two shows back-to-back. To their credit, they’ve turned that into a smooth operation lately.

And here’s a sports show that got posted online today. It’s produced in another studio, and out in the field. This show is full of underclassmen, just taking the ball and running with it, so to speak.

That’s part of the tour, too, when I give it. Enroll here, show up, get involved right away. It’s amazing what you can do right away. Right away is the only way.

bespoke / IU / photo / running / television / Tuesday / video — Comments Off on It’s a Tuesday, is what I’m saying
9
Nov 21

It’s a Tuesday, is what I’m saying

Late start to the day, but I had a nice little run late in the morning, just to get things moving. I didn’t even feel tired or sore later. Which means I’ll have to do it again, I guess. That’s something to look forward to.

Also had a late night on campus last night. There was a speaker that we streamed online, a young journalist from Afghanistan who only just barely got out of her home country when Kabul fell. Fatema Hosseini literally got out under the lash of the Taliban.

It was a compelling conversation. We streamed it to Zoom. Maybe someone will put it online one day. The school’s Facebook page, or on their YouTube account would be great places. It’d be nice to have people see that program after the fact, to refer back to it, to share it with other interested parties.

I’d like to be able to show it to you, after all, is what I’m saying.

Perhaps one day. But, today, the sky!

And we should check in on the cats. Phoebe has adjusted nicely to the milder weather and she likes being cozy under blankets.

Poseidon likes blankets, too, but he’s an even bigger fan of the ambient heat radiating away from the oven.

Goofy cat. Smart, goofy cat.

While I can’t show you what we produced last night, I can show you this video, which some of the TV students produced for the morning show.

The daily duds: Pictures of clothes I put here to, hopefully, help avoid embarrassing scheme repeats.

Today’s look, my 2009 Canadian poppy for Veteran’s Day and Remembrance Day and a very loud pocket square I made last summer.

That’s rapidly becoming one of my favorite jackets. It’s soft and supple, and pairs well with wild pocket squares and simple shirts.

And here are the cufflinks I paired it all with. Also accessories I made over the summer.

They’d look fairly dapper if anyone could see them. I need shorter arms, and longer sleeves!

It was another night in the studio, this evening. News and nothing but the news — and some sort of coffee sampler demo thing? — and that’ll all be online for you tomorrow. The IUSTV people really understand how to turn around video is what I’m saying.

adventures / memories / Monday / photo — Comments Off on Catching up through the mirror
8
Nov 21

Catching up through the mirror

Back to that maple tree I found at the entrance to the neighborhood on Friday. It’s still lovely, for now.

I’m just a big fan of that little batch of red right in the middle of the tree. This guy has character, and I should pay more attention to it through all seasons.

Because I like the smudge of colors in blurry photographs, this is how I’ll wind up remembering the tree:

And because this is my site — my name’s right there on the top, and everything! — here are a few more pictures of that tree.

It has a lot of character.

How can you not love that punk rock red?

Back to my backyard. I’m thinking of making a custom jigsaw puzzle. Would anyone like a copy of this one?

All of those leaves fell out of this maple. Like it sneezed, or brushed some crumbs from its coat.

The evening light on an evening walk. The Yankee has started running in her post-surgical recovery. Next Tuesday is four weeks, and we did an easy mile on Sunday evening.

I spent the rest of the weekend on the sideview mirror right project.

You see, our garage is shrinking, and for the second time my lovely bride has clipped the side with her mirror. The first time, eight years ago this month in our old house, she just shattered the glass, which, it turns out, was easy enough to replace.

Recently, she tore up the plastic mirror assembly. It hasn’t sat correctly since and the power mirror function was ruined. To use the mirror you had to hunch down from your normal driving posture. I wanted to fix this, because I like vehicle safety.

Buying the mirror was the easy part. I found a perfectly matched after-market mirror assembly for $39. It was black. (Her car is not black.) She did not want to drive around with a mismatched mirror. And neither of us wanted to pay a body shop for even a small job.

So I … got to paint the mirror. It started as shiny black plastic. I had to hit two stores on Saturday to find the can eight-ounce can of the matching stuff. I sanded the plastic. I applied three coats of primer.

Then I put on three coats of paint — lunar mist, is what the manufacturer calls it — and too much top coat.

Somehow, this is the first thing I’ve painted since childhood.

I found a seven-minute video on YouTube teaching me how to replace the driver’s side mirror. The length of the video encouraged me, because of course the actual process is much easier after the helpful mechanic over-explains it all. The process requires a flathead screwdriver, a socket wrench and three nuts and bolts.

Now it’s time for the two respective moments of truth. They came at me quick, almost too fast to process, let alone celebrate. First, I kept the glass clean from all of that paint. (I’d also only painted my thumb once, and made three small errors throughout the application process. We’re calling this a win.)

The next big victory was seeing the power mirror action working again. When she hit the garage it severed the cables inside the old assembly. The new assembly, of course, has its own wiring, which is in great shape. All I had to do was plug it into the car. And the mirror moves just as it should.

The paint job, for someone who never paints, isn’t bad. Maybe I’ll try to buff it down next weekend. Right now, it’s safe, and that’s what counts.

And that it matches.

I told The Yankee that I’m saving the old mirror for next time. But, hey, if you have to whack a mirror in this car, now I know how to do it. I built up a great deal of confidence in my ability to do the job.

Which makes me dangerous.

Like her backing up.

I also told her I’m cutting a notch out of the garage wall, like the old cartoons leaving a body silhouette when they went through a wall, so the mirror can pass right through.

Friday / IU / photo / television / video — Comments Off on Best way to end a fine Friday: lasagna
5
Nov 21

Best way to end a fine Friday: lasagna

In the studio this morning with the morning show crew. They produce two shows there, normally. But the guest for the second show stood them up. So they shot promos.

This is audio and video taken from my phone. The studio quality shot will, of course, be better.

Also, things are moving so fast at IUSTV right now I’m not sure if it is the newest show any more. And it certainly won’t be in another few days. The sports gang is about to launch their second new show of the semester. They’ll be running four when the new project gets underway.

Anyway, Erik started doing a bit of physical comedy which, of course, was a big hit.

He’s tripping over the lower third, you see. Not sure how I managed to hold the phone almost-still while shooting the monitor there. I knew it was coming, and was already giggling.

And then this one, it’s avant garde, and perfect for a Friday morning.

Student media needs to be fun sometimes, that’s all. And I always want to make sure they have fun around all the very real work they do.

This afternoon the Media School put a classic on the big screen.

I don’t think I’d ever noticed how the first two things Norman Dale says in the movie are basically “Everyone here is rude.”

Here’s the last sports show the sports division shot Wednesday night. They’re new show should be released in the next few days — it’s another collaboration with the campus radio station, a good and productive habit they’ve been in for years.

I’m going to have to create a flow chart to monitor all of the releases. The student-run television station is now producing … nine weekly shows and a small handful of podcasts every week, and live hits from almost every home game the university’s 26 varsity sports play.

There’s a lot of great quality in there.

Saw this on the drive to the house. I made a detour to try to get a clear shot. It was a lovely evening for a hot air balloon ride. If you were wearing a light jacket.

We’re enjoying a nice few days of beautifully mild weather. It’s supposed to hold through the middle of next week, at least. May it ever be so.

I also made that this evening’s contribution to the running Indiana Sky Study series which you can find on Instagram.

And here’s part of the fall foliage festival. We’re in the peak moments now.

And it’s lovely to enjoy it on a calm, slow Friday evening.

The biggest problem is the shortening day. I need more evening daylight to soak up views like this.

And like this.

This tree is right at the entrance to our neighborhood, and the sun was at the perfect angle to make that shock of red really stand out at precisely the moment I drove through. By the time I’d parked and walked back up there, it was already a bit muted.

I’ll have to catch it again this weekend or sometime in the daytime next week. Because, of course, after we fall back an hour I won’t see a lot of daylight after work until … January or something.

So I better go outside in the mornings. But that’s a worry for next week. Until then, enjoy the weekend, and the weather, and the trees!

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