Hey folks. Anybody who reads this blog probably already knows what the Gibsons have been up to this year, but in case anyone out there is interested, here is the Gibson 08 Holiday Newsletter that will bring you up to speed. Click the image above for a larger view. Merry Christmas everybody.
This may become a little running series, but I wish I'd thought of this. I saw this card online today and it literally made me laugh out loud. The copy is so simple, but so perfect. This is my style of humor, and how can you deny the awesomeness of letterpress. Check 'em out.
via.
I'm not sure how I haven't posted this yet. Actually, it may be because I'm forgetful and lazy.
But anyway, my pal, and go-to guru for all things Flash, Jason Lefton at GYLo has launched a new site. This cat knows his way around Flash, so be sure to check out his work, especially the site he did for the movie Border Town, which was honored with the Adobe Site of the Day on Nov. 24.
helloGYLo.com
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The guys at PharrOut unveiled the new RVANews this past Monday. I had the opportunity to work with them on the redesign and I think it turned out pretty nice, if I do say so myself. While we're still nailing down a few of the smaller things, overall it's seemed like a pretty smooth transition. But Ross at PO would know better than me.
And while it's still got a little ways to go, it's gotten some pretty nice feedback lately. So, what are you still reading this for? Go check it out.
Forgive me for not blogging recently. Also forgive me for not posting this earlier because I wanted to get it up Sunday (that’s what she said). Or, don’t forgive me at all and be a jerk and hold a grudge just because a guy got a little busy and couldn’t post meaningless crap.
Moving on, Amanda’s Holiday Work Part for the Fed was this past Saturday at the Valentine Richmond History Center. Here’s a pic of us in front of a big tree:
Note my tie. This marks the first occasion since I decided to make the Half Windsor my tie tying method of choice. It beats the crap out of the Four in Hand knot that I used to do.
Anyway, we drank, ate, toured the Wickam house, and even learned a little bit of Valentine family history. For instance, did you know that the Valentine family made their fortune by selling…
Meat Juice!?
It was supposedly a health tonic made from pure beef juice. I’ve heard they just pressed carcasses and bottled the juice that came out, but I didn’t see anything online to substantiate that (but I didn’t look very hard). Although, there's probably only so many ways to make Meat Juice. But check out the sweet old bottle and label design:
But it was a fun night and I actually learned something. Plus, now I know what to get everybody for stocking stuffers.
Our first Halloween in the city. We bought 300 pieces of candy. That's 11 pounds. Two gi-normous bags from Costco. We had zero trick-or-treaters. None.
This may be partly due to the fact that we left during prime trick-or-treating time with Daisy to walk around The Fan and see the costumes and decorated houses. (Probably not, though. Our block was pretty dead even before that.) We went to the blocks that were closed off so people could just walk everywhere. I think it was called the Haunted Hanover Mansion or something like that. It was pretty insane to see. I should have taken the camera but my favorite costume was the guy dressed up like a Facebook friend invitation (complete with functional 'Confirm' and 'Ignore' buttons that lit up when pressed). And my favorite house decoration were the guys that re-created the scene from Dark Knight with the Joker on top of a huge pile of flaming cash.
It was really fun, but for heaven's sake, help us eat this leftover candy.
NotCot posted a link today to download (via iTunes) a video of Chip Kidd's "A Number of People."
This is the same talk that I saw Mr. Kidd deliver at the 2007 HOW Design Conference in Atlanta. I thought it was immensely entertaining, and recommend taking the time to download and watch it. Plus IT'S FREE!
Check it out.
As the temperature starts to drop and the leaves start to turn, I begin to ask myself if it's once again time to start growing my annual beard. I actually thought about skipping this year. But then I saw this web site and, well, it's hard to argue with what they have to say.
Especially #9.
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Southside Virginia Community College hosted the Brunswick Festival this past weekend in Alberta, Virginia. The weather was really nice and the turnout was really great. EmporiaNews.com has more coverage of the overall event, and you can see some more pics on my Flickr page.
I really just want to touch on one thing though, and that's daddy winning the Brunswick Stew cook-off. There were 20 stewmasters from all over the state competing, and a panel of judges from surrounding counties declared daddy's stew to be the best. This was the first time daddy's won the top prize, which in my opinion, is way overdue. For a man who could hardly walk without getting out a breath a year ago, and underwent a lung transplant earlier this year, it was great to see him go out there and whoop up on the other stewmasters.
If you missed out this past weekend, he's fixing another stew in about a week for the Lawrenceville United Church's Apple Festival. (Don't worry, it won't be an apple stew.)
I am waaaay behind in this recap, but better late than never, I guess. Amanda and I spent a week in Italy last month. Here’s a quick recap of the trip:
Day 1 (&2):
We leave Richmond and embark on our trip that involved us being awake for roughly 24 hours over the course of the flights to Italy. Our first layover was in Michigan, then Amsterdam, then finally we got to Italy. I’m sure we were a sight to behold.
We head to our room after stumbling out of the vaporetto that brought us to Venice. After wandering around Venice for a while (how hard could it be to find the room?), we miraculously find our room and pile in for a nap. Several hours later we awake reenergized and ready to join a bustling nightlife. We had a very romantic dinner outdoors, then wandered leisurely around the city.
Day 3:
Once we’re up and fed, we make our way to the famous St. Mark’s Square. We find solace from the crowds in the Correr Museum at the square. After a quick lunch, it’s back to the room for another nap to recharge. The afternoon included a tour of the Doge’s Palace. That place was ridiculous. The size of the place was simply unreal. And it was covered in amazing art. As night fell, our courage grew and we decided to just wander around Venice at night and get lost. It was really fun to have nowhere to be and simply submit to the city’s unique landscape and layout.
Day 4:
The weather wasn’t quite as cooperative today as we woke up to rain. But we still got out and ascended the Campanile (the bell tower in San Marco’s square). We also toured Saint Mark’s Basilica, which houses relics believed to be the body of Saint Mark. After our usual afternoon rest it was off to Ca' Rezzonico in the rain.
Day 5:
We decided to take a day trip and get out of Venice for the day. After making our way to the train station, it was just a short ride to Verona. We did a Rick Steve’s tour of Verona and saw everything from the supposed balcony of Juliet to castles and unfinished churches.
Day 6:
Today we took trips out to the islands of Burano and Murano that are right off of Venice. Burano is famous for its lacework while Murano has world-famous glasswork. The islands were very interesting because we got to experience all the best things of Venice (architecture, food, art) without some of the not so great stuff, like the tourists and crazy complicated streets and alleys.
Once we got back to Venice, we took a 40 minute vaporetto tour that was guided by iPod commentary by Rick Steves. It was pretty educational and really interesting.
Day 7:
Our last full day in Venice consisted of a trip through a museum of 18th Century costumes, a stroll through the main market area, shopping in the shops at the Rialto bridge, a visit to the original Jewish Ghetto, and a long walk toward Frari Church (we never actually made it). Later in the evening we went to eat at place called 9 (we think) that had the coolest little flyer as a business card. I also almost fell in the canal before supper too, but that’s a long story for another day.
Day 8:
We headed to the airport only to find out that some European airline workers were STRIKING! Only for that one day though! So all the flights that day were cancelled. This led us to hop on a bus and head to Maestra for the night. We were worried that Maestra was going to be the bunghole of Italy, but it was super charming. We strolled around the downtown area then through a park where we saw old guys playing bocce ball, folks with remote control sailboats on a little pond, kids riding bikes and practicing soccer. It was really charming.
Day 9:
We wake up extraordinarily early to hop on our flight home. And we finally did. We finally got back home and we were so happy to be there. But it was a great trip. Check out the Flickr collection for more photos.
Dear Olga,
I don't know who you are. You probably don't know me either. But I really wish you would stop giving people my cell phone number and telling them it's yours. It's totally not.
Thanks,
Aaron
Amanda and I just made an offer on a house in Richmond. With our Venice trip right around the corner, things are being pushed to happen fast. Hopefully we'll know soon if we'll have an new house to call home.
Exciting things are around the corner, folks. I'm about to wrap up the wedding invites for Sarah & Mat. Plus, I should have my new 903 Creative business cards printed and delivered in the next couple of weeks. For anybody that doesn't know yet, SlickPixel is on it's last leg and as soon as I get a solid new site put together, everything will officially switch over to 903 Creative:
Thanks to everybody that sent well wishes today. It turned out to be a great birthday. I had a monster feast with the Gibsons for lunch followed up by a monster feast with the Whites for supper. Both meals were at dining establishments so I received complimentary dessert at both, a birthday candle in said dessert at one, and a very loud, embarrassing rendition of Happy Birthday at the other.
All this fun plus my new copy of Guitar Hero 3 thrown into the mix. But thanks again to everybody that made today great.
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