Project Hotdog Halfway Complete

About a year ago, I casually sent a friend a picture of me eating a hot dog (as one does). Trying to be clever, I titled said photo "Project Hotdog #1/100" only later realizing this obligated me to repeat the task 99 more times. Being that July is National Hot Dog Month, I thought it a good time to unveil my progress to the world; I recently passed the halfway point!

My self-imposed rules stipulate that corndogs and some sausages count. Hot dogs consumed without photographic evidence don't.

(Note: Not all photos are contained below, mostly because they are just boring shots of me having "manitenance dogs" at Costco.)



Tuesday July 4 2023File under: pics, food

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AI Portraits

For a hot second there, AI image creation was all the rage. I saw a few of my circus peers generating some pretty amazing photos so I thought I would give it a try. Finding a couple of new promo pics to sprinkle in to my @wrenthejuggler feed would more than justify the $3.50 price tag*. I used the Lensa app, where you upload 8-10 photos of yourself and then pick a couple styles you want generated. The results were...less than spectacular. I really liked the style, etc. but of the 105 images, it didn't feel like that many looked like me. It was always something about the eyes. Needless to say, nothing much in the way of promo pictures generated. Alas.

Anyway, here are a collection of the 10 shots that felt like the closest match. All in all, it was a pretty fun experiment. (And for the record, I wasn't depriving any starving artist of money by doing this*. It was just a fun lark.)








Thursday March 2 2023File under: pics

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2019 Summer Juggling Recap

If you're not following @wrenanddella over at instagram, what are you waiting for!?! In this new day and age of social this and insta that, Della and I finally got around to having a place to put pictures up on a slightly faster timeline than this blog. But since we all know how traditions die hard with me, I offer up some photos from our 2019 juggling summer season. Enjoy.





Tuesday November 19 2019File under: juggling, pics

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Summer Performance Recap 2017

By my rough count, Della and I had approximately 40 shows during our busy time, July and August. While it felt like we barely had time to catch our breath or do laundry, it rarely felt like we had time to capture it in words or pictures. But now that things have calmed down, I thought it might be fun to consolidate some of the photos, videos, and observations into an end of the season wrap-up (like I did last year!) Info and photo credits in the captions.



Sunday October 8 2017File under: pics, juggling

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Zombie-tastic!

I recently had the opportunity to be an extra (or "background talent") for a TV show called

Being a film/tv extra has been my latest quest, an item on my life goal list that I hope to be able to check off soon.* Getting a chance to go on set for a TV show and participate in a few scenes was a big step in that direction.

And while I'm stoked to be moving in the direction of my goal, in reality, being an extra has its ups and downs. On the one hand, it is super interesting seeing how a set works, all the people around*, different jargon, number of takes to get a shot, the make-up process, famous people all around*, the food arrangement, talking to other extras and crew about experiences they've had, hearing how a director directs, stunts and stunt doubles*, and so much more. Really, with so much magic surrounding TV and movies in my eyes, seeing its inner-workings in person was really really interesting.

On the other hand, being an extra, esp. a zombie extra, has its downsides. Pay is minimum wage (8-hours guaranteed). The make-up takes forever to get off*. The outcome of your day on set is very random*. In my 2 very long days, I might be in 5 seconds of film (which mostly just shows my back). Kind of lame. And above all, it is super boring. Hours upon hours pass just waiting in the waiting tent (while totally covered in make-up, including your hands, so you can't even dinkle with your phone). Occasionally crew will chat, but mostly, they've got jobs to do. You never know when anything is going to happen or what it will be.

Despite the ups and downs, I'm really stoked to have had the opportunity. I put a few bucks in my pocket, got to see a behind the scenes look, got a really neat story to share, and snapped a few interesting pictures along the way.


If my footage doesn't get left on the cutting room floor, look for the back of my zombified head in Season 3, Episode 14, probably airing sometime in the spring. (My hands might make a guest appearance in episode 11 or 12 too!). However it pans out, I'm sure I'll post about it here, so stay tuned.
Wednesday September 21 2016File under: extra, pics

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Summer Performing 2016

This past summer has been a whirlwind of performing for Della and me. This weekend is the first in months we haven't had a gig*. And looking forward, there's at least one per weekend for the next month. So much for me "not being a performer." :-)

Although it's been busy, it's been super fun. Going to festivals and parties ain't a bad way to make a buck or two. And Della and I have been honing in our acts and are getting ready to debut our first show this weekend at the Sh'Bang at the Lookout Arts Quarry. It should be a blast.

The photos below hardly do justice to all the running around we've been doing. We're usually just so busy we forget about taking photos. Luckily, folks are kind enough to share theirs with us (which are way better than ours would be anyway).

So here are a few photos from Summer 2016. I hope you enjoy having a look as much as I enjoyed putting them together! (Photo captions give some context.)

Give'er
by the
River
Anacortes
Busker
Fest
 
Weddings
 
New Old
Time
Chautauqua
Skagit
County
Fair
 
Birthday
Parties
 
Lots of
Other
Fun Stuff

Sunday September 4 2016File under: pics, juggling

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The Jumping Pics Project


A long term project of mine, that I've feature here a number of times, is a series of jumping photos all around the world. I often find myself wishing I had these photos collected in a place so as to be able to scroll through them and remind myself of how cool this project will be when completed*. Well, as they say, there's no time like the present. Here is the beginning of the compilation of the jumping photos I have so far. Some I need to track down the hi-res versions of, and I know I will forget a few on the initial pass, but each journey begins with a jump.

Plaza de España * Eiffel Tower * Arc De Triomphe * Excalibur Hotel * Great Wall of China * Angkor Wat * U.S. Capitol * Saraha Desert * My First Cruise * Parthenon * Old Bridge of Mostar Bosnia * Chichen Itza

(in looking back over this blog, I'm seeing all sorts of missed opportunities (not a single jumping picture in London!?!). Hopefully this post will serve as a reminder to always jump at the opportunity!)
Thursday October 29 2015File under: jump, pics

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Throw Back Thursday

My dad recently celebrated his 75th birthday. By all measures, that's quite a cause for celebration. Us kids tried to come up with a special gift to fit the occasion. What we came up with was this—a reenactment of some goofy picture of us as children. And we may not have nailed it well as we might have, I think it turned out pretty dang neat. Hopefully he thought so as well.

The process behind re-staging a photo was more involved than I originally thought. The hardest part, it turned out, was finding the right photo. When selecting a photo, we looked for criteria such as background, distinction, accessories, and more. And so many of the photos to be considered seemed to have either distinct backgrounds or accessories/costumes that would be quite hard to duplicate (there were lots of good Halloween costume photos, for example).

Once the photo was chosen, the rest was easy-ish. A trip to the Goodwill to look for costumes, scouting shoot locations, and then post processing (to give it that 1985 fade).

I look forward to trying this out again, and will actively keep an eye out for any photos that might totally fit the bill. But in the meantime, I'm stoked with how this one turned out and was happy to have the opportunity to do it.
Thursday January 29 2015File under: pics, family

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Leftover Pictures of Cruise Europe Morocco etc

While the best photos from any trip I take usually makes it into a blog post, inevitably some slip through the cracks. So, just like so many times before (SE Asia, East Coast, Grenada, Taiwan/Japan, Mexico, etc., NYC, etc.), I threw a bunch of the better leftovers together with a word or two of explanation and am calling it a slideshow. Enjoy!

Sunday June 2 2013File under: travel, pics

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New Years Eve Costume Fun

For the past 2 years, Della and I have gone to an awesome New Year's Eve party at Pandaland* in Bellingham. Besides great food (pies!), great music, and great people, the party invites folks to come in costume. While most people interpret this as fancy-dressed-to-the-nines type costume, we always seem to take a different approach.

I particularly like this year's costume because of the juxtaposition of obviousness and subtlety. My costume (which I've worn before) is totally covered in personal ads of men seeking women. Wearing something like this leads to people staring at you all night, which is unsettling until you realize they are just reading the ads. Della's costume is just as you see it, as subtle as can be.

There is a photo booth* upstairs which feeds images to a projector downstairs, so the party can see the fun. It's really a great time. Here's our photo from last year.

Anyway, I hope you had a happy (or restful or exciting or ecstatic) New Year. Here's to 2013 being as awesome as 2012!
Saturday January 5 2013File under: holidays, pics

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Recent Content:
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