no [photo] no cry

some good friends of mine asked if i would take pictures of their son to capture him now being one year old. as much as i love taking pictures, i did warn them; i am not a professional photographer, i am not a portrait photographer, and i have never taken pictures of a one year old. all of this would added up to me having no idea how good or bad the pictures might turn out...this didn't phase them, and we made an early morning appointment.

by far, it was the most interesting photo shoot i've been a part of. it was the most active and vocal i've ever been behind the camera making funny noises  and waving my arms around. it actually was a lot of fun, and the little guy did great.  there were a few moments that didn't go as planned, but in an odd way i think they were some of my favorite pictures.  kind of like life a bit.  it's the unplanned moments that are often more memorable.

[public]art

my good friends over at public, which just so happens to be one of my favorite establishments in town, hosted a "brush bash" last weekend.

now if you've never been to a "brush bash", which i hadn't, it's an event where artists spend a few hours painting, then auction their creations off for charity.  as if that weren't wonderful enough, judges awarded one local artist $1,000, courtesy of pabst blue ribbon, to paint a mural on the patio!  wanting to get out and enjoy some late summer weather i headed to the event, although the brilliant combination of art and pbr might have also had something to do with my attendance.  overall it was a great event, and i hope it becomes an annual event for public as well as oldtown.

i would do anything for [loaf]

 

if you've followed this blog for a a while, you are well aware i participate in the dark, underground, and highly elusive sport known as competitive meatloaf-ing...meatloaf club if you will.  the first rule of meatloaf club is you do not talk about meatloaf club, the second rule; you do not talk about meatloaf club!

that being said, i really have to tell you about this year!

over the past four years i've become somewhat of a grizzled veteran in the whole wichita underground meatloaf scene.  i laugh when i look back at how young and naive i was in 2010, a fresh loaf fighter right of of the kitchen with a traditional style loaf, never having tasted the oven baked goodness of a victory.  then came 2011, i was older, wiser...hungrier for a win, and i found myself starting to experiment with performance enhancing spices and ingredients.  it's still under investigation how much the "dill" had to do with it, but that "experimental" year found me taking home my first win, "peoples choice."  however the "top loaf" prize still escaped me.  i don't want to talk about 2012.  i had a big ego, i thought i was too good, i thought i no longer needed to train or prepare, i thought i could waltz in and win the hearts of the judges with the same loaf as 2011.  i was sorely mistaken, not only did i not win any prize, i had serious thoughts of throwing in the dish towel.

after a few months away from the game, my head cleared.  i had learned my lesson, and the utter defeat i had felt last year now only fueled my oven fires hotter.  the last 12 months were spent thinking, tasting, suggesting, reading, learning, training, and google-ing trying to find the perfect combination of flavors that would melt the hearts of the judges and public alike.  after a few recipes and one very excellent trial run, i had it, a brand new meatloaf never before seen at this competition...maybe even america. i, along with my trusty companion, my mom, had something new, something different, something america never new it always wanted; a blue cheese and peppercorn meatloaf.

the competition was grueling, forks flung, spatulas sparred and tongs tussled but i knew i had a chance.  why you ask, because i saw the look on the peoples face when i told them the sample i had just dished them was a blue cheese and peppercorn meatloaf.  their eyes sparkled and their mouths watered. one old man starting crying.  granted, i'm not sure if it was from my description or if he had his own things going on, but there was crying.  none the less it proved my theory had been correct.  over the course of the year, i  had noticed millions upon millions of menus across this country featured dishes covered with blue cheese. why? because people love it, they crave it. they want it on everything, but until today there had been one thing they had never had it on, meatloaf.  as i handed them the sample, it was easy to see, they realized their blue cheese ship had finally come in to meatloaf harbor.

the hours passed by and the plates slowly emptied and before i knew it the judges were ready to announce their decision.  the reading of the results were a bit of a blur, but in the end, out of 12 teams, mostly consisting of local restaurants, i came in third.  although it wasn't first place, i was very honored.  if that wasn't enough, when the people's votes were tallied, 2013 would also find me me reclaiming my title as "people's choice" which i was very thankful for as well.  as always, i couldn't have accomplished this without the support and help of my family and friends.  thank you all.

now, with the coveted "top loaf" prize well within striking distance, i want it even more.  i don't know exactly what it'll be but expect something new and exciting for 2014.

[cue rocky theme]

what is [architecture]?

last week i had the opportunity to do something i’ve wanted to do for a while, host a trivia night.

now this wasn’t your normal trivia night, one of my friends who is in charge of the aia emerging professionals, wanted to put together a trivia night for all the young architects in town.  as an added bonus we invited the local graphic designers to participate as well.  not only did this keep our group from “geeking” out the entire night over architecture, but it mixed in some new and interesting facts.

talking with everyone who attend, the night was a huge success.  a good time was had by all and several new friendships were made.  thinking most people who follow this blog are into architecture or design, i thought i’d share a few of the questions, and see if anyone new the answers.

- who said, "less is more"

-what famous los angeles building is featured in the last scene of "500 days of summer."

-how many pica in 1 inch

-what is the name given to carved, full length female figures used like columns in classical architecture.

-name the four colors in process printing.

-how many square feet are in one acre.

congratulations to the winning team picture above in the first annual archi-design-trivia night.

s[no]w bird

yesterday the wichita area received it's second largest snowfall on record, 14.2 inches.  although i was able to make it out of my apartment and slowly trudge to the office, most of the city felt the same way as this bird did and decided to stay in.  this picture taken yesterday on my way to work under the douglas street bridge, home to many fair weather pigeons.

shake and [break]

if you surround yourself with optimistic and creative people, your life will never be boring.

so far, this year has been somewhat dull. studying for architecture exams isn’t the adrenaline rush one might imagine. i have however been able to enjoy a few wonderful moments with friends and acquaintances at my newly appointed “home-away-from-home” public. enjoying dinner there last friday some very optimistic and creative people who work there asked if i would like to participate in a “harlem shake” video they were filming the next day. knowing i’d be spending most of saturday reading, i felt an hour off for a mental, social, and creative release would be fine, so i agreed. just like watching the videos, the filming was quick, easy, and provided a bit of humor.

now, i’m well aware everyone and their dog has made a “harlem shake” video. it’s a meme, and at this point maybe even a fad, and fads are supposed to be fun. they spread fast because they have the ability to spur the imagination of optimistic and creative people. fads have a quick and interesting cycle. they should be enjoyed, expanded upon, ridiculed, and eventually mocked. enjoyed and expanded upon because they’re a break from the mundane, and ridiculed and mocked because the novelty runs out and they become stale. however you can’t deny what fads do for us. they’re flashy mile markers on the monotonous highway of life giving us a sense of time and place. moments helping us recall when and where we were when something happened. bookmarks in our autobiographies allowing us to look back at our past and say, “crap, I can’t believe there’s video of me dancing around to a stupid song dressed in a teen wolf costume.”

here’s one of my bookmarks, brought to you by optimistic and creative people.

unexpected cool[ness]

the other week, some good friends came to visit me in wichita.  as excited as i was to have them down in "ta" town, i was a bit nervous.  these friends are not only recent transplants from new york, but have also lived in a handful of other larger cities.  i love my town but was worried it might come off a bit "cowtown-ish" when compared to the lower east side of nyc.  none the less, these friends had always been wonderful hosts when i visited the big apple and i was excited to return the favor.

i should have realized i had nothing to worry about.  not only is this couple always up for anything but wichita's downtown really is starting to have something going for it.  with my apartment being centered between oldtown and downtown the weekend was spent roaming and walking a radius of five blocks.  within which we were able to enjoy some amazing meals, hit up a few local bars, have coffee, and go antique shopping.  within that territory we also ran into several local natives, a tribe of people other wise known as my friends.  a group of individuals who also love wichita, downtown and are some of the best local tour guides you could ask for.

the weekend was a blast.  my friends enjoyed themselves and i was really proud of my hometown.  even with new york city being exponentially larger, i've found what makes it great is the quality of neighborhoods and the walkability of within those areas.  a quality wichita is doing a great job developing.  at the end of the weekend, one of my friends said, "wichita is a lot cooler than i thought it would be."

i think that's a great compliment for the people working hard to develop downtown, and a wonderful observation about the people who inhabit, work, occupy and enjoy the area.

[chili] weather

i'm not sure if it's a "mid-west" thing, or if it was just my school, but when i was younger, chili and cinnamon roll day was by far the best lunch day on the calender.  hardly anyone brought their lunch and most of the trays were returned to the lunch lady completely cleaned, and it didn't stop at school.  throughout the fall, our little town would host large community chili dinners before football games. believe me, these events were where you wanted to be on a friday night, as it seemed the whole town would be there.

chili is just one of those meals.  a meal for a group. a meal to be enjoyed among friends, and really, it makes sense, you can't cook just a "little" chili.  the ingredients, preparation, and time needed to make a decent batch makes it worthy of a large group.  also, who wants to waste that wonderful room filling aroma on just a single nose.  a beautiful bouquet like that just beckons to be breathed in by a whole bevy of buddies.  in autumn, the scent of chili cooking is the perfume every home should be wearing.

secondly, chili in my mind signals the true start of fall.  a time when the temperature starts to drop, and you find yourself ditching the flip-flops and looking for a your favorite hoodie instead.  a time where the adventures of the spring and summer start to be stories told around the dinner table.

with all of these wonderful qualities chili possesses, it's no surprise wichita's downtown chili cook-off is one of my favorite days of the year.  the streets of downtown are filled with the sweet scent of chili cooking, and people venture out to enjoy one of the last weekends of perfect weather.  it has become a bit of a tradition amongst my friends to partake in this event, and this year was no different.  chili was sampled and enjoyed by all, and a few of us even entered the mr and miss chili pepper contest.  after sampling spoonful after spoonful of this september stew, it's also now a tradition to sit on our favorite patio and wash it all down with long island ice tea's.

good times, chili cook-offs.

[trivia] pursuit

wednesday's have become my favorite day of the week.

a little over a year ago one of our friends suggested we find a trivia night.  searching the internet we found a great little dive bar which hosts a trivia game every wednesday.  it was only a dollar to play, and with the special being two dollar beers we decided to try it out.

we discovered quickly our group had infiltrated a bar full of teams who knew each other rather well.  that night, and the weeks that followed, found our team getting "slammed" often.  a feature in the game where a team can force another team to answer a question, ideally one you they won't know.  being the youngest team by a decade, any question dealing with topics prior to 1985 would usually be "slammed" our direction.  we did stick with it however, and have attended almost every week since.  eventually the other teams started to realize what topics were in our [wheelhouse], and the "slamming" lessened.

fast forward 60 some weeks later and i  believe we can officially be considered regulars now; knowing the bartenders by name, and the weakness of the other teams.  on occasion the host will even cater a few questions to us, featuring a [pop music] category instead of the seemingly standard [seventies rock].

although we've lost a few of the original team members over the past year, we've added several as well.  you'd think this would have changed the knowledge base of our team, but it still seems to solidly rooted in 90's and 2000's pop culture, with sports and science not far behind.  our team also changes weekly depending on who can make it.  we've held our own as a booth of four, and have annoyed other teams with upwards of 12 people crowded around a table.  naturally a little bickering always breaks out, but they enjoyment wednesday night trivia holds far exceeds any arguments that happen.  if you ever find yourself bored on a wednesday night, hit us up, as we're always happy to have more people, especially if you're knowledgeable in literature...or anything from the 1970's.

 

 

catch me if you can [sir]

[sometimes] the best way to escape the stress of adulthood is by acting like a kid again.

[sometimes] it's fun to put on a costume and roam the streets like a bunch of gadabouts.

[sometimes] photographs aren't about art or rules, but rather capturing the moment and feeling at the time.

[always] you're friends are the best to do these things with.

enjoy a few pics from last weekends [crawl for cancer] depicting all the above statements perfectly. 

 

 

 

 

a [folk] band of brothers

you have to love a band whose opening song starts with the lyrics:

"salina, i'm as nowhere as i can be, 
could you add some somewhere to me,
ah kansas i'm kneeling, ah kansas please."

the avett brothers put on an amazing show sunday night. i've never seen a crowd more energized or excited to see a band.  a big "thank you" goes out to the oprheum theater for bringing them to wichita.

a la [cart]

wichita just got a lot more urban, hipper, and tastier. we've moved up from hot dog carts to taco trailers. now, although we have a long long way to go before catching up with portland or austin, i love seeing more carts like this showing up around downtown.

if you're able to find this trailer, i recommend the carne asada taco's.