Random Trivia

And now it's time for some useless, but interesting trivia...



Pisa, Italy is six miles from the coast of the Mediterranean now, but that sea rises and falls over the ages and Pisa was a port city in the 5th century B.C. A couple of years ago excavators found 15 ships with antique cargoes intact buried in the clay under Pisa where it was left by withdrawing waters.

• The most populated city in the world is Shangai in China.

• In Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, it is customary for the streets to be blocked off on Christmas eve so that the people can rollerskate to church.

• Using satellite-surveying techniques, scientists have determined that Los Angeles, California is moving east. At a rate estimated to be about one-fifth on an inch per year, the city is moving closer to the San Gabriel Mountains.

• The Vatican city, as well as being the smallest city in the world, is also one of the only countries within another country (it is inside Italy) The other is San Marino, also inside Italy.

• A building in Belgium was taxed if there was a street light on it...unless a statue of the Virgin Mary were placed above it. Hence, there are no buildings in the city without a statue of the Virgin Mary.

• The longest official city name in the world is: Krungthep Mahanakhon Amorn Rattanakosin Mahintara Yudthaya Mahadilok Pohp Noparat Rajathanee Bureerom Udomrajniwes Mahasatarn Amorn Pimarn Avaltarnsatit Sakatattiya Visanukram Prasit. It is the official name of Bangkok, Thailand.

• In Chester, England, you can only legally shoot a Welsh person with a bow and arrow inside the city walls and after midnight. The only trouble is finding one ;o)

• The first city in modern history to reach 1 million people was London in 1811.

• We usually think of Montreal, Canada as a cold weather city, and Paris, France as a much warmer city than Montreal, but the fact is that Montreal is south of Paris.

Superbowl Shuffle

The Bears are going to the Superbowl! I didn't think they would get there because of how inconsistent they have been lately. But they stepped up in the second half and pulled through. As soon as they won today, I was instantly taken back to my childhood when they went to the superbowl in 1986. And of course the superbowl shuffle popped into my head also. Here's some fun trivia I found out on the shuffle.


Bears defensive end Dan Hampton declined involvement in the shuffle because he felt it was too cocky

Payton and McMahon were unable to attend the original filming of the song's music video, so they were spliced in later with help of a chroma key.

The music video for the song was filmed at the Park West, a venue in Lincoln Park, in Chicago.

A female referee, played by Julia Kallish, Richard E. Meyer's wife, was also on hand for the radio and television edit of the song. She whistled and threw a penalty flag to censor the word "ass" in the lyrics.

I've been accepted into The WPJA!

Wow. The new year has been very busy so far! Work is busy and planning out some of the last minute details of our wedding continues to suck up a lot of time. This past week I learned that I was officially accepted into the WPJA (Wedding Photojournalist Association). I'm really excited about being accepted. Here's some additional information on what the organization stands for.

THE WEDDING PHOTOJOURNALIST ASSOCIATION
Leading the way in Wedding Photojournalism, WPJA represents the most discriminating talent around the world technically, creatively and visually. Qualified members hold industry-leading standards, skills and business integrity. The WPJA sponsors educational programs including seminars, conventions and workshops geared toward wedding photojournalism. We also host wedding photojournalism contests, judged by top working photojournalists and news photo editors actively in the photojournalism industry. The purpose of these contests is to celebrate the photographers who document and record the found moment.

WPJA MISSION STATEMENT
The Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA), an International, membership-based organization, represents professional photographers skilled in the documentation of weddings and events in a candid, unobtrusive style. The WPJA was founded to uphold excellence in the area of wedding photojournalism.

Happy New Year!

Carolyn and I had a great time celebrating new years. We drove down to visit some friends in Indianapolis along with a bunch of other folks from Chicago. When we got back today, I noticed there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so I thought it was a a perfect time to go out for soms sunset pictures. Plus, it was in the high 40's, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Here's a couple of the pictures I took which I will upload to my new website. They will all be available for purchase in multiple sizes. If you haven't already seen the new website, make sure to check it out. Click on the link on the homepage which says Chicago prints.

Steve.

picture of the week

some pictures from earlier today...

I hope everyone has had a great Christmas break so far. I always celebrate it in Chicago, which is great becuase the city will get really quite, and it loses that chaotic feel. A couple days will go by, and then it's back to the normal hussle and bussle. I went out this afternoon and took some pictures around town. Here are some highlights. I've posted some of the other pictures on my website (click on the link for "architecture and more" to find then)

picture of the week

Zero Liability Season's Greetings

Here's something for all you lawyers out there. It's pretty fun.

Enjoy.

Steve

______________

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

We wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great, (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "AMERICA" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.

(By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.)

Photoshop CS3 Announced

Adobe just released a BETA version of Photoshop CS3. I plan to download the upgrade later this week. Here are some details from their site...

"For the first time ever, Adobe is delivering a widely available Photoshop CS3 beta to enable customers to more easily transition to the latest hardware platforms, particularly Apple's new Intel based systems. The beta is available as a Universal Binary for the Macintosh platform as well for Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista computers, with the final shipping release of Adobe Photoshop CS3 planned for spring 2007.

Adobe has a long-standing commitment to the Mac community and this release is Adobe's way of delivering native performance on Intel based systems many months earlier than we otherwise could have done. We have no doubt, however, that all of our customers will enjoy exploring the new Photoshop CS3 beta and seeing some of the new features we have in store. The full application is not yet complete; but, many of the additions to the product are fully implemented and ready for you to try and discuss.

image of the week

It's time for the picture of the day...

Slideshow from Thanksgiving

I know it's been over a week since I took these pictures, but I'm finally getting around to posting them. Here's a slideshow from my thanksgiving break down in Naples

|| CLICK HERE FOR THE SLIDESHOW ||

Pinnacle Holiday Party

This past weekend we had our condo association's holiday party. I only took pictures for about 30 minutes, but here's a slideshow for the night. The event was held in our party room on the 43rd floor. The views are amazing up there, so it's always nice to party up there.

|| CLICK HERE FOR THE SLIDESHOW ||

Le Meredian on Mauritius

As you know, Carolyn and I are going on a 2 week honeymoon after we get married in Grand Cayman. The last week of the honeymoon will be at Le Meridien on the island of Mauritius and our reservation is in one of their Nirvana Luxury rooms. Here's an overview of the room. After reading this description, it helps me get over all the cold weather we've been having in Chicago.


Built around the calm, heavenly lagoon of the hotel, the Nirvana rooms of Le Meridien Ile Maurice have been created to a whole new dimension of hospitality, combining luxurious living and contemporary freshness with the flora and fauna of the Mauritian panorama.

This is a place where life unfolds at a pace of your choosing. A midnight dip requires no contemplation - just step into your exclusive, heated swimming pool…

Bright, airy, and well appointed our Nirvana rooms overlook a private, infinity pool, and embody the best of indoor and outdoor living. Rooms are 46 square meters and are equipped with an open plan, marbled bathroom, luxury bathroom amenities, mini bar, tea & fresh coffee facilities, 42" wall-mounted plasmas with interactive television system, complimentary unlimited high-speed internet, and private outdoor balcony, terrace or garden.

La Faya, our speciality restaurant, is now open for breakfast, exclusively for our Nirvana room guests, and continues its usual elegance for lunch and dinner, presenting Mediterranean fine dining with a kiss of the local Creole flavours. The restaurant overlooks the vast Indian Ocean and offers an air-conditioned interior as well as an open terrace and beach area for a relaxed outdoor dining experience.

The value adds for the Nirvana rooms include private outdoor heated swimming pool, private beach area, complimentary welcome bottle of wine, complimentary daily fruit plate, complimentary in-room breakfast, complimentary all day tea/coffee/soft drinks and canapé service in the exclusive luxury lounge, and daily complimentary sunset cocktail.

Celebrity

So what celebrities do I look like... or maybe I should say, what celebrities look like me? Here's a fun little tool that I found on a site called Myheritage.com. It lets you upload a picture of yourself and then it tells you what matches come back (what's with all the girl matches for me??? kinda scarry!). Try it when you have a second. It takes about 2-3 minutes to register and it's free.

Jenny and Pete's Wedding - Naples, Florida

Here are the highlights from the wedding I shot this past weekend for Jenny and Pete. I had such a good time at their wedding! Everything was located at La Playa which is a hotel/club down in Naples Florida. Everyone at the wedding was fun to be around and very entertaining. Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the day. I've also included a slideshow of my other favorite pictures.

|| CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE SLIDESHOW ||

More pictures of the day

O.k. I had to post some more pictures of the day.

Some tulips in a conservatory with some pattern effects I created in photoshop.



Shot outside the sears tower.


biker guy waiting for someone to pick flowers up.

Picture of the Day: Chicago L

It's time for the picture of the week. This one was taken at the Chicago stop of the brown line.

Sneak Peak at Black Friday Deals

I just found this awesome resource if you're looking for what the deals will be available on black Friday. I looked at a couple of the ads and they're some pretty good offers on electronics.

http://bfads.net

Headed down to Naples, Florida for the week

This is going to be a very fun week! On Tuesday, Carolyn and I fly down to Naples to visit my family for Thanksgiving. We've got a lot of activities planned for the week - a full day fishing trip, numerous home cooked meals by one of the most talented chefs that I know of (my dad) and one or two trips to The Royal Scoop (the local ice cream hangout). On Saturday, I'm going to be photographing a wedding at La Playa. It supposed to be beautfiul down there so I can't wait. I'll make sure to post pictures on the blog after the event. And the whole time we'll get to spend some time with my nephew Joshua. It's his first time flying on a plane and David and Catherine (his parents) and he actually landed in Naples this evening. That's it for now. What are you doing for Thanksgiving. Ayone going to any interesting places?

Carolyn goes to Oprah and Comes back with a FREE iPod

Carolyn was lucky enough to go to the Oprah Winfrey show today. She got to invite 6 other friends to go with her as part of a last minute ticket thing that Oprah does every so often. The show was about Grey's Anatomy and it aired earlier today. She called me up around noon really excited and told me they gave everyone in the studio a free Video iPod courtesy of Best Buy. We opened it up tonight and it was very cool.