Spring Hopes Eternal

Today a friend tweeted the link to this fan-produced video for Trader Joe's. It – and a hint of Summer heat today – made me want to hear the Brazilian classic that inspired the parody. And while I'm about a month late, I thought I'd share before Spring comes and goes.

Also, If Hol and I have a song, Águas de Março is it. Specifically Susannah McCorkle's Waters of March. We even took private dance lessons to learn how to waltz in a square to it without embarrassing ourselves at our wedding reception.

A tout a l’heure!

We’re off!

[This is actually another from our Self-Portrait Series. Which is just what it sounds like – photos we take of ourselves out and about or, in this case, standing in the kitchen getting ready to go out to dinner this past winter – I think we were going to King Louie’s. It just felt like a ‘leaving for Paris’ photo. – Ed.]

[Some notes on the art you can barely see: To the left is an art brut chicken on wallpaper covered plywood that my mom bought on the street in New York. Peeking over the kiss is a silkscreen done of me by family friend Ralph Maradíaga in ’74. And, to the right is the ubiquitous Maurin Quina ‘green demon’ poster. – Ed.]

hfta+cla

After a long, yet whirlwind, day (week!) we finally collapsed onto the nuptial bed and... snapped a few shots for our ever growing Self-Portrait Series. [More on the S-PS in future posts. – Ed.]

Next stop: Hôtel Villa d’Estrees, Paris.
[Our hotel is on rue Gît-le-Coeur – translation: Here lies the heart. I hadn’t really registered this until today and I think it probably could go without saying that I found it quite fitting. Anyway, I found this an interesting read with quite a bit of history on the street and its name. – Ed.]

Raised By Hippies!

It’s like being raised by wolves... only mel-low-er. [Jokes, people! – Ed.]

Here’s a glimpse into the past. From left, me and two of my siblings, Diego and Kelly, circa 1973. Just received by email, it's a nice look back before a big step forward.

In other WTF news:
Not to harsh your mellow but SUEB(AED) is on hiatus. [Why not take another look at last week’s to get you through? – Ed.] I'm hoping to be back with a post-wedding-back-from-Paris power-posting sometime around the 24th and a new SUEB(AED) on the 29th. There is, however, a new Tuesday Track over there on the left – Heart of Hearts by !!! (Chk Chk Chk). It’s been running on a loop in my head as I've been staring at our crest (below) for hours on end while designing all the final pieces of wedding collateral.

Tuckered Out

It was crazy to think I’d get anything posted until the wedding has past. Hol and I had been sitting at the kitchen counter chipping away at the final details – I, the program and invite menu [Of course the invite was done long ago. That's what happens when you post tired. – Ed.], she, seating, ceremony, etc – when she decided to step outside for a break. After about a half an hour, I got up to go out to join her and have a smoke. I found her like this – passed out on the patio table. Planning a wedding is fookin’ hard!

[I’ve never been much of a photographer, if for no other reason than I’ve never really liked carrying a camera. However, I’ve recently started getting into taking photos with my phone cam – it takes surprisingly good photos. – Ed.]

Dirty Dancing

Hol and I were greeted by the above poster posted all over the agency this morning. The brain bastard of Travis (Sr. Copy Writer) and Toby (Sr. Art Director), the idea was that people would phone in their ‘love song’ requests to DJ Travis who would then page them to the agency. But we all know what can happen when you put your brand (and a good idea) in the hands of the consumer – it can go viral. And viral it went. Everyone has been getting in on the act and paging their own requests. We've heard it all; from the requisite nod to the source material to some that are taking the ‘dirty’ seriously.

And contrary to the poster, this isn't how we're crafting the playlist for the wedding.

A Toast!

Posts may get sporadic and/or lacking in any real depth from here through the 14th as we're in the final run up to the wedding. [But don’t let that stop you from checking in. – Ed.] From the 14th through the 22nd there won't be any posts – I'll fill you in on the honeymoon when I get back. [UPDATE: Okay, that turned out to be a big, fat lie. – Ed.]

And we won’t let this happen to you. It’s on!

And watch The Office tonight! [And 30 Rock. – Ed.]

Cheers!

A Convenient Truth

Not to make light of the very real problem of global warming but I'm getting married in an outdoor ceremony on May 11. So, the above forecast is a very welcome sight. [Click on the image for a larger view. – Ed.]

And, while we're on the subject, TreeHugger.com (30 Global Writers Bring You the Latest in Modern Green.) is a fantastic, nicely written and designed, Green resource. [As is TheClimateProject.org linked to ‘global warming‘ above. – Ed.] The site has great ‘Green Guides‘ with easily implementable ways to go Green in various aspects of your life – including one on How to Green Your Wedding. We didn't hit all of the ‘Top 10 Tips’ but we did hit a few. You gotta start somewhere, right?

hft+cla

Okay, last post for Day 1 of WTF. But it's well-worth noting.

I'm thrilled to be getting married on May 11 to a woman without whom I'd just be a grumpy old bastard of 40 but with whom I'll be a grumpy old bastard of 40 with a wonderful wife.

We're honeymooning in Paris.

And that's all I'll say about that. [Apparently, this does not prove to be true... in the future. – Ed.]