Thursday, January 23, 2014

Soft Kitty, Bad Kitty, Grumpy Kitty

Dova soft kitty

We don't actually watch The Big Bang Theory, but we are still huge fans of Soft Kitty.  It all began with this T-shirt from Think Geek.

Think Geek Soft Kitty Babydoll shirtSoft kitty,
warm kitty
little ball of fur
Happy kitty,
sleepy kitty,
purr, purr, purr.

Dova's awesome pink kid-sized shirt came from Amazon:
Big Bang Theory Soft Kitty Warm Kitty Light Pink Girls T-shirt

How cute! Then we dug in to see the clip from the show:


We became obsessed with the song after hearing this awesome 10x acapella version by Charlie Marsden:


Now we have a new kitty, Dimitri, who is sometimes (when he is sleeping) a wonderful example of Soft Kitty, but other times (when he is awake) not so soft and happy.  We created a new version of the song "Bad Kitty".
Bad kitty,
mean kitty,
little ball of claws.
Scratchy kitty,
bitey kitty,
claw, claw, claw. 
Soft kitty:
Dimitri cat window


Bad kitty (he thinks he can bite a soccer ball!):
Dimitri cat soccer

Little did we know that Think Geek also has a Grumpy Kitty!

Annoyed kitty,
touchy kitty,
grouchy ball of fur
Moody kitty,
grumpy kitty,
grrr, grrr, grrr.

What kind of kitty do you have?

Monday, January 20, 2014

Google Auto Awesome Gallery

Here's some Auto Awesome Google applied to my Auto Backup photos.  Some are super cool, and some just a bit strange...  You can find your own magic photos in your Google+ photos by selecting Auto Awesome under Type from the Search pulldown menu or by typing #AutoAwesome in the search box.

Mix: If you've taken a series of portraits sharing similar background elements, Auto Awesome will compile these photos together into a photobooth style grid. Mix is meant to showcase portrait photos taken with similar backgrounds in time, so it works best with close-ups of faces.
Auto Awesome Mix

I barely remember when Adam was so small!

Motion:  If you've taken a series of photos in succession (at least 5), Auto Awesome will stitch these photos together into a short animation.
Auto Awesome Motion

The majority of the my Auto Awesome is Motion since my camera trigger finger is always snapping away. Vote for this photo for BlogHer '14 Photos of the Year (you must be logged into BlogHer to vote).

Smile: If you've taken a few group photos, Auto Awesome will choose the best shots of each person in your image and merge them into one great looking photo.
Auto Awesome Smile
I found a new smile on my mom for this one.

Action: Take a series of photos of someone moving (dancing, running, jumping) and Auto Awesome will merge them together into one action shot where you can see the full range of movements in a single image, capturing the movement in one captivating still.
Auto Awesome Action


OK, Adam with three legs is just not cool!

Pano: If you've taken a series of photos with overlapping landscape views, Auto Awesome will stitch these photos together into a panoramic image.
Auto Awesome Pano

Apparently Pano works to clone people as well!

Snow:
Auto Awesome Snow


The snow is magical on this photo of Norman Rockwell's Main Street (Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas).

Twinkle:
Auto Awesome Twinkle


Auto Awesome Twinkle

No where will you find more lights at Christmas time than at Walt Disney World!  Including The Great Christmas Light Fight.  The added twinkles are really like being there!

Friday, January 17, 2014

The Colors of Mexico

I was recently in San Diego for work, and it reminded me of BlogHer '11 in San Diego two years ago. One of the most memorable events was the half day tour that I took with my mom to Tijuana. I had never been to Mexico and decided to take a "three hour tour" against Doug's judgement. We hopped on board a little bus which took us from the beautiful confines of the Marriott Marquis and Marina, dressed in our very American tie-dye shirts.

Before the Tijuana tour

The border crossing looked just like the movies. Just hope it doesn't turn out like Babel.

Mexican Border

After that, there was an explosion of color when we arrived.

Ah yes, this draft was started 7 months ago, but never completed because it was looking like it was going to become one of those "monolithic" posts.  In an effort to get it published, here are the photos, speaking for themselves.

Brightly colored bags

Rope hammocks

Mexican dresses

Sombrero and ukelele

Melted Viagra bottle

Necklaces and bracelets

Paper flowers


Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Happy New Year, New Cat, New Job, New Blog

Shh, under the cover of dormancy, I've gotten a new job, cleaned up my house (or at least 20% of it), and redesigned the blog under 5S principles (not the iPhone kind).  More on everything in subsequent posts, but here are a few snapshots from recent months.


Love him and hate him, our new kitty Dimitri.

Motion Holiday Portrait
Holiday photo madness magically animated with Google Photo's Auto Awesome photo effects.

Dova's back handspring at her latest gymnastics meet (photo courtesy of Team Photo, I wish I could take such awesomeness!).

See you again soon!