Chaos Love: love, life, design and more.

Last weekend, Christine and I headed on out to Homedale, Idaho to attend Water on the Ditch, the annual party/jam session thrown by some of our good friends each year. As always when travelling, I took my camera with me, but I wanted to make sure I tried some new things out. Because always taking the same kind of shot gets boring, y'know?

The one type of photography you simply can't do in Portland is star trails; the light pollution from the city simply outshines the faint imprints left by the stars. I did try some when Christine and I camped out in Central Oregon (now forever known as "The Ankle Trip"), but I obviously wasn't thinking straight and shot at ISO400, adding so much noise to the shot as to render it useless.

So I tried a shot on both nights. The first one was okay, but nothing special. However, the second night's shot turned out perfectly:



This is an hour long exposure facing almost directly north. The camera settings were ISO100 at ƒ/8, 17mm focal length. A lot of people suggest opening the aperture all the way up, but I was concerned that doing this would totally blow out the foreground detail (which I was hoping would be the best part of the shot), so I closed it up a few stops. Of course, the camera was mounted on a sturdy tripod and the exposure was started and ended with a cable release. I had the long exposure noise reduction option in the camera set to "On", but I have since read that you shouldn't really bother with this, as post-production noise-reduction in Photoshop or via a plug-in like Noise Ninja will always produce a better effect.

I really am amazed this turned out so well. The foreground is everything I could have hoped for and then more. The light from the stage on the trees surrounding the house is quite magical, and there are lots of little details from lights that went on and off during the exposure as well: someone walking with a flashlight, headlights from a car turning into the property, camera flashes and so on.

Post-production was limited to noise reduction (it still needed it, although not to a huge degree), cloning out some dead or hot pixels in the image and then adding some extra saturation/brightness to the colors. It prints beautifully at 13"x19" on our Canon Pixma Pro 9000 and we plan on giving one to our friends who host the Ditch each year as a token of our appreciation for this most excellent of parties!

The more we get out of the city, the more of these I'm going to take... I can only get better with experience!

Posted in: chaosboy, oregon, party time, photography on July 4, 2009 at at 2:56:00 PM 0 comments    

Well, we've actually got a few seconds to spare and can finally post an article about our big Late Wedding/First Anniversary bash that we recently held in Boston, MA. Certain persons have been clamouring for a review of events, and we just love to share, so here we are!

Ever since our humble little space wedding atop Rocky Butte just over a year ago, we had wanted to throw a bigger and better party for all our extended families (Booth, Moore and Garcia!) to attend. As things turned out (mainly because of my parents' travel itinerary), Boston presented itself as the perfect venue and plans were set in motion. Our spies in the area (Ann Elise) searched high and low for the ideal party spot, accommodations were found, airline tickets were booked and we soon found ourselves on the Atlantic side of the USA (via Minneapolis and New York airports!).

After settling in at our comfy hotel, we ventured out into Boston in search of a restaurant to celebrate Christine's birthday. With the help of her swanky new iPhone, we located a wonderful restaurant in the North End, just off the main drag, Hanover Street. The difference this 100 feet or so made was incredible: every trattoria, ristorante and cafe on Hanover Street was spilling out onto the sidewalk, while our restaurant was only about two-thirds full and quite relaxed and romantic. The food was exceptional, and the wait staff knowledgeable and friendly. Here's a pic of us about to enjoy some delicious desserts:

Early the next day, Keener picked us up at our hotel and whizzed us off to catch the ferry from Wood's Hole to Martha's Vineyard, a small and somewhat exclusive island just off the coast of southern Massachusetts (next to Nantucket, if that helps any). Christine's Aunt Alison and Uncle Peter were to be our hosts for the this day and the next, and they made sure to show us all the sights of their island. Peter took us out on his boat and we took full advantage:

After enjoying the warm sun and water for a while, we tried our hands at waterskiing. Keener, as you can see, is obviously a salty seadog and had no problems whatsoever.

... while the less said about my attempts the better. Needless to say, I never actually stood up. All too soon, it was time to return to Boston, where we met up with my friend John who had flown in all the way from Sydney via Yosemite and San Fran for the party. As my "guest of honour", we spent as much time as we could with him and even managed to walk the entire length of Boston's famed Freedom Trail... on a day where the temperatures climbed into the 90s!

Finally, the night of the party rolled around and all our hard work and planning finally came to fruition. After some early doubts about the size and suitability of the area that he hotel had set aside for us, everything turned out perfectly and a fantastic time was has by all. In honour of our first anniversary, the theme was paper and everyone turned up wearing paper hats of all shapes and size. Some people even commissioned artists to make a hat for them! Here's a rogues' gallery for posterity's sake:

The happy couple: me in my Aussie cork hat and Christine in her amazing papier mache chicken creation.

The two mothers. Karen and Keener made hats for my parents, as they probably wouldn't have had time to do it themselves, having just flown in from France.

King Nick. Or is it a court jester? He seems to have a mischievous grin either way...

And finally, here's Peter proving that a hat doesn't have to be an enormous production number to be a winner... the happiest dang pirate I ever did see!

We finally rolled out of the hotel at around 12:30am, quite a bit later than our original booking was for! Quite a few people had been incredibly sensible and had booked rooms in the same hotel the party was in, smart thinking! The party was an incredible success and it was wonderful to see so many members of our extended family. A big thank you to all who attended and to all those who couldn't make it but passed on their best wishes - it means a lot!

Posted in: boston, chaosboy, party time, travel on August 5, 2008 at at 8:49:00 PM 2 comments    

I really wanted Cam to do this post. But since I am the one home today and HE is at WORK, well I guess we know who's in who's place!

Last weekend we went to the Ditch! which should always be spelled with an exclamation point on the end. A friend through Kim whose family owns a large plot of land in Idaho, has a tradition of throwing a party on their property every year which is dubbed "Water in the Ditch" due to the ditch in the back of the house which has water in it. This tradition has been celebrated for 25 years and the generations that have attended keep coming back and bring their next generation with them. I would love to go into great depth of the great times we had but first.. here are some pictures so you can get the main idea :)

First of all, Kevin shaved his beard off which no one, including Kim, had ever witnessed before. He sported instead a giant walrus mustache.
Some people arrived days ahead of us to set up and when we arrived Friday night after midnight, lawn real estate was hard to come by. It was a very cozy community with plenty of utilities and easy to meet your neighbors.

Yay for sunshine! We had a lot of it!
Overlooking the fire pit to the stage.
Among just camping, we tried many new fun things... like acupuncture! Beth Hazzard, a girl I met through Kim, has been studying Chinese medicine for the last 5 years or so. She is skilled in the philosophy of Chinese medicine as well as the science of the practices in the Western world. She had brought on the trip a few needles which she then proceeded to poke into me in stragic places in my legs, wrists and my head! I had told her that I had told her I had specific pains in my back and my dreams had been been very vivid lately. This was enough for her to find the exact spots on me to plant her pins. I can't say I'm completely sold on the idea of acupuncture although I'm sure it can be helpful in certain circumstances. Being pinned down in a chair listening to loud rock right next to me from the stage certainly had a certain calming effect on me.
Looking a bit ramshackle, Kim and I both get visions of grandeur of owning something just like it someday.

The band list for the evening. I regret not being able to get a picture of its creation. Damon created the type with nothing but a magnifying glass in which he burned the titles in.. even in cursive!!
Cam succumbing to the joys of the pool. I had sadly forgotten my suit.
The main house and everyone clear of the area in order not to get too sunburned!

Saturday afternoon brought hot clear blue skies and then suddenly with his Aussie sixth sense, Cam sensed a storm coming in and in an hour and half the sky was gone. Dust rose over the horizon and wind pumped up to a near 40mph. Everyone ran to rescue their poor tents which the wind picking up fron the ground. The bands continued to rock out on the stage and everyone was in a frenzied chaotic state. Cam took a cute picture of me protecting my eyes with my bonnet from the flying dust. I for the most part went and laid in the tent and watched the tent violently shake and shift. It was so soothing to me I was able to take a sound nap.
The storm evaporated as quickly as it had formed about 2 hours later and everything was back to normal.






Nothing like a weekend of crazy people, crazy rock, crazy wind out in the middle of nowhere to regain your senses!!

Posted in: chaosgurl, party time, photography on June 25, 2008 at at 2:13:00 PM 0 comments    

Drunken People Crossing, originally uploaded by Senex Prime.

The photo above is a sign at the entrance of a brewpub's car park in Missoula, Montana. It vividly and visually portrays the huge difference between Portland and Missoula when it comes to drinking alcohol.

The sale, distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages in Portland (and all of Oregon) is controlled by the OLCC (Oregon Liquor Control Commission), who rule with something of an iron fist. Venues are regularly tested to see if they are checking the ID of patrons or letting underage drinkers in; so much so that most bars will ask everyone for ID, even if they're way above 21. And once they've asked you for ID, no one will turn a blind eye if you've forgotten it. No card, no drink.

Whereas, as this picture shows, Missoula almost seems proud of its hard drinking reputation. As I mentioned in my previous post, the Top Hat Club has a "$5 Tap Beer" promotion on Wednesday nights. What this means is that for $5, you get as many pints as you can drink between 10:30pm and 1:00am! Guidelines for bar owners in Montana suggest that encouraging binge drinking isn't such a great idea, but it doesn't seem like that message has quite sunk in yet for some bars. Missoula is a university town, so I would expect that a large proportion of the drinkers who would want to take advantage of a $5 beer night would be college kids. Spencer (who grew up in Montana) told me that bars would do "Quarter Beers" - 25 cent pints!!! and "cheap drinks until the first person goes to the toilet" nights.

As a final demonstration of the differences between the two cities, Spencer's sister - who is 23 - forgot her ID when she came to the Top Hat, but was allowed entry anyway. It just wouldn't happen in Portland.

Posted in: chaosboy, party time, travel, united states on April 16, 2008 at at 11:25:00 AM 0 comments    

I turned 35 yesterday! Scary, huh? Here's Christine and me enjoying our joint Valentine's Day/birthday dinner at the wonderful Lovely Hula Hands on Mississippi Ave last night. The food was gorgeous, one of the best meals we have had together. Afterwards, we met up with all of our friends and headed off to the Doug Fir Lounge to see The Gourds, a great all-American party band if there ever was one. Needless to say, I had quite a few drinks bought for me and I'm feeling a little under the weather today... maybe I'm gettin' too old for all this nightlife!

Posted in: chaosboy, music, party time, portland, shows on February 16, 2008 at at 1:54:00 PM 1 comments    

Because our awesome space wedding was at such short notice, we weren't able to have a big family/clan celebration - there simply wasn't enough time to draw everyone together into a big cohesive mass. Our notice to family before the wedding indicated that we would try to have a larger event somewhere near our first anniversary... and the time is already upon us to start organising!

My parents had already planned to be in Portland for the actual anniversary before we could pitch the idea of moving the whole shindig to the East Coast to them. The reason for moving to the other side of the country simply stems from the fact that most of Christine's family lives over there – New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan and so on – and we figured we would get better attendance if we brought the party to them, rather than getting them to all descend upon Oregon.

After to talking to my parents, we determined that they would be flying into Boston from Europe and would be there for three days... just the right amount of time for a party! Once the festivities are done, we can then fly on to Portland with them and show them a good time without having to worry about another party... sounds like a plan, eh?

So now we have our spies in Boston searching for the perfect location for us, while we try to think of a theme for the party and what exactly it is we want to do. It's early days yet, but there's a lot to plan!

Posted in: anniversary, boston, chaosboy, party time on January 29, 2008 at at 8:41:00 PM 0 comments    

Yesterday was Australia Day... yes, the day we celebrate a bunch of convicts arriving in some god-forsaken land half a world away from their home some 220 years ago. When I was still back at home, it amounted to little more than a public holiday - a guaranteed day off work. But being so far from home seems to have awakened my patriotic pride, so Christine and I planned a fitting party!

We planned to organise a cricket match with our friends, followed by a good old fashioned Aussie BBQ. First though, we had to find a cricket bat... not an easy task in the US! We left things too late to order one off the internet, and phone calls to all the sports stores in Portland came to nothing. They all knew what cricket was, but thought we were crazy for thinking they had any equipment. One store used to have lots of them, but they were all bought for Shaun Of The Dead Halloween costumes and they haven't bothered to restock since. (If you've never seen Shaun Of The Dead, you really should! In it, our English hero – the eponymous Shaun – uses a cricket bat to ward off attacking zombie hordes... true!) In the end, Kevin's brother-in-law came to the rescue as he had a cricket bat in his office at Nike.

However, after five days of glorious sunshine throughout the week, Australia Day dawned raining and icy. We walked down to the shops to get last minute supplies in the morning and almost slipped on black ice on the pavement several times. We had a temperature of 33°F, rather than Sydney's more usual 33°C. The rain didn't let up all day, so – unfortunately after all our efforts to acquire the equipment – our cricket game had to be cancelled.

However, the BBQ still went ahead and we had a good gathering of friends to help us celebrate the day. I tried explaining cricket to everyone and was probably partially successful... they were definitely all impressed by the rock hard red ball! Most people made an effort to be "Australian"... Kim wore her summer clothes that she used most of the time while she was in Australia (under her rain gear!), Ryan and Spencer turned up in rugby jerseys from a high school in Perth that they had bought at a Salvo's in Perth years ago, while Lindsey had a strange shirt that proudly proclaimed "Tulips Down Under" in English and French!!!

Here's a couple of pix: Colin wielding the cricket bat in a most unorthodox fashion, and Ryan and Spencer doing their "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" impression. Fun times!

Posted in: australia, chaosboy, party time, portland on January 27, 2008 at at 12:54:00 PM 1 comments    

Wow, it's the last day of 2007 already - and what a year it's been!! There's a lot of stuff to blog about, but let's keep things in order, shall we? First things first, let's talk about our Christmas...

With a little help, we were able to get to Idaho Falls to celebrate Christmas with Karen, Keener, Chuck, Kim and Kevin. It was Christine's first family Christmas for quite some time, as she'd either been in Australia or working in Portland for the previous few years, so she was very excited. Props here to Ben at the Mac Store who swapped a work day with her so we could fly out (very) early on the morning of Christmas Eve.

The flight was uneventful, with just a short stop in Boise (State capital of Idaho, for those who want to know) along the way. The ground throughout Idaho was covered in thick, white snow and looked stunningly beautiful from the skies. Our landing at Idaho Falls was delayed slightly as they had to plough (plow) the runway! We were met by Karen and we all piled into the truck for the short ride down the highway to the house. Conditions were treacherous on the road - we almost skidded into the back end of a truck and another driver behind us slid into the median of the divided highway (he was okay, though!) - and we were all very glad that we hadn't tried to drive all the way from Portland, as was our original plan!

We were made very welcome and had a lot of fun: running through the snow in the paddock behind the house and relaxing in the hot tub with a drink as snow flakes fell lightly from above. Dinner was a delicious feast before we retired to bed to await Santa's arrival! Here's a pic of us in the snow... sorry, it's still a huge novelty for this Aussie boy more used to blue skies and scorching summer temperatures on Christmas Day!

We awoke early on Christmas morning and spent the day as you should - in the company of family and friends. Present opening occupied most of the morning, and we went for a walk along the frozen banks of the Snake River in the early afternoon. More relaxation followed: the hot tub was utilised again, and some of us took the opportunity of a short nap. I was able to call home to Australia to talk to my parents, which was wonderful, although we were all very concerned about the health of my grandmother, who had recently been admitted to hospital. I was also able to call her later in the day to give her my best wishes.

Christmas dinner took the form of a Murder Mystery Party, which everyone got right into the spirit of. The "murder" had taken place in a California winery and we all had specific characters to play. I was Otto Von Schnapps, an unscrupulous wine merchant from Germany, while Christine was Marilyn Merlot (love the names!), a B-Grade Hollywood actress who was once crowned Miss Napa Valley Wine Festival. Great fun was had by all, and I eventually won the game by correctly guessing the killer's identity, although we all missed the Really Obvious Clue™ that was presented during the course of the game! It was Papa Vito, by the way: in the basement with the ring knife.

May I present Miss Marilyn Merlot... or should I call you by your real name: Daisy Drinkwater!!! **dramatic chords and lightning flashes**

Our flight back to Portland left fairly early the next day, but it took us until 8:00pm to get back through our front door as Salt Lake City airport (our connecting hub) was snowed in: every flight in and out was substantially delayed, leading to a distinct lack of Christmas cheer from many passengers. We also had a taxi driver who seemed to know nothing of the layout of Portland: I had to guide him every step of the way... and I don't even drive!

Posted in: chaosboy, idaho falls, party time, united states on December 31, 2007 at at 3:22:00 PM 0 comments    

Whew!

So we have come through Thanksgiving weekend and Black Friday and the following weekend unscathed!

Of course Cam was quite impressed with the intensity of seriousness we give these holidays. We noticed quite a few establishments offering themselves up for those who had nowhere to go or people to see on Turkey night. It's a night, almost as much as Christmas, where it is imperative that you be SOMEWHERE and with other people. It doesn't really matter where, just as long as you can report later that you were indeed doing something.

Cam and I were graciously invited to Kevin's sister's house along with about 18 other people to their beautiful house in Mt. Tabor. While the Marcotte brothers worked on getting the turkeys perfectly basted, the crowd mingled in order to distract ourselves from our hunger. We went on a short hike up the hill to an old volcano mound that a nice park had been built upon. The neighborhood was very cute and kitsch and on our way back we snagged a house-for-sale flyer with modest asking price of 1.3 mil.

When we returned, dinner was almost ready and we admired the pretty table that Julie and the kids had helped lay out.

Now Cam knows how to make a turkey out of tracing your hand on paper.

Our Thanksgiving meal, I could say was very traditional and at the same time not. We all ate our delicious food and then afterwards stayed at the table and played a charades game. From there, some people drifted away to tend to children or cleaning up. Most of us stayed and drank wine and gossiped about this and that. Most of the Thanksgiving meals I have attended have usually involved football or at least a TV blasting the Macy Day parade, but there was never a hint of either during the evening. Sitting at the table, one can only take for so long so I went and helped 6 year old Grace color a picture of the Little Mermaid, while Cam drew Optimus Prime for 7 year old Ben (who now worships Cam as well as OP).

Afterwards, I gave up trying to be formal and passed out in a chair. I was upset on our way home that I had done so, but I really had no other choice. Sometimes, you just want to be tranquil mood instead of making conversation after gorging yourself.

The next day was Black Friday. It's a bit of a ridiculous American tradition created on its own accord, where the masses immediately give up on one holiday and dive head first into the next. It's recorded every year as being the biggest shopping day and people start around 4am in order to get the best sales (Yes, the mall opens around then.) The Mac Store was madness but people there wanted the best deals mostly for themselves, perhaps wanting to save a buck on that iPod before they have to start spending money on everyone else. It's a day that is just as gluttonous as Turkey Day.

And so here comes Christmas! Cam and I have to put up our lights now!

Posted in: chaosgurl, party time, united states on November 27, 2007 at at 1:43:00 PM 0 comments    

So Halloween has now been and gone... and we had a blast! As you can see from the picture above, our night of pumpkin carving was a great success. Christine and I bought a cheap book of templates and carving tools from Fred Meyer to aid us in our endeavours - a great investment! This is my Scary Tree, which would certainly terrify me if I was five years old. Christine did a Black Cat, but in her inimitable way, added some sweet wings to personalise it more. However, once we brought our jack-o-lanterns home, they rapidly disintegrated into disgusting piles of goo and mould as Portland's humidity and our warm house took their effect. Kim reckons that the big chain stores freeze their pumpkins and, because of that, they have a very high water content. Whatever the reason, they didn't live to see Halloween.

Our next seasonal activity was heading out to Suavie Island to the northwest of Portland to experience the Corn Maize (geddit?). Every year, a new maze is cut into a large corn field and people come from miles around to get lost in it. However, in mid-October, the ground has been rained on and trodden on so many times that it has turned into thick, gooey, icky mud that gets almost ankle-deep in parts. We slurped and sucked our way through the maze dutifully before signing up for the real attraction: a ride in the Cow Train! Wheeee!!!!!

Finally, it was onto the main events: costume parties! Christine spent ages on her costume: Tank Girl, one of her favourite cult comic book characters. For the first party, I decided to repurpose my astronaut outfit, paint my face a horrid shade of green and call myself a Space Zombie. Why not?

The Saturday night party was great fun, although the Witches' Brew was 90% vodka and incredibly potent. There were lots of amazing costumes, so I decided to lift my game for the Wednesday Night Actual Halloween party. A quick trip to a thrift store and Fred Meyer's gave me everything I needed to create my Australian masterpiece costume: Dead Steve Irwin, complete with stingray tail piercing my heart. Here's Steve and Tank Girl together:

The blonde wig was cut down from Christine's Tammy Faye Bakker costume from last year and felt every bit as hideous as it looks. The party was down at the White Eagle pub and they had an impromptu costume show. At Christine's insistence, I got up on stage. The compere asked me who I was and I explained: "Crikey! I'm the Croc Hunter and this is me mate, Stingy!" As I said this, at least half a dozen people in the audience were visibly shocked, which I just find hilarious. Is more than a year after his death still too soon? Anna Nicole Smith was already fair game for some people, but the Croc Hunter seems to be revered in these parts! Still, great fun was had by all!

And for the record, we tried Burgerville's Pumpkin Milkshakes. Blame Gene... he insisted that we did. They're actually very good, although they're sweetened with spices and whipped cream, so it's actually pretty hard to detect any real "pumpkin-ness" in them.

Posted in: chaosboy, party time, portland, united states on November 5, 2007 at at 11:16:00 AM 0 comments    

Last Saturday evening was Widmer Brother's big Oktoberfest party and Christine and I - along with around 3,000 other Portlanders - went along for fun, food and music. We turned up a little late to see our good friend Colin Lake (Widmer's own!) strut his stuff, but the other bands were a lot of fun. We had lots of free food and beer coupons thanks to Kim and Kevin (who both work at Widmer's), so it was a very inexpensive night out for us impoverished types. In the photo above, Christine is holding our commemorative glasses (only 500mL, half the size of a German Maßkrug) as Curtis Salgado gets the crowd dancing. And yes, the band is performing on the brewery delivery dock!

Posted in: chaosboy, party time, portland on September 14, 2007 at at 9:51:00 AM 0 comments    

I have had a couple of birthdays on Friday the 13th before but I had never really done anything with that novelty. This year had to be taken advantage of. Who knows how long it will be before my birthday falls on a Friday again?

Luckily, I had the day off so Cam and I were able to out to breakfast and prepare the house a bit for the bash. It was a small gathering but black streamers and fake ravens sitting here and there always add more effect.

Cam and I discovered much more about Portland, and we are talking about the important things here, like the costume shop and the party store. They are hidden deep within the industry district like a buried urban secret. We stocked up on face paint and christmas-like lights with skulls on them. Maybe no one would show up, but at least the flat would look like an awesome haunted house.

And for a bit more effect we hung up Cam's chest x-ray in the front window.


I was the ecstatic zombie party girl:


Cam and I were the only ones dressed as zombies and I suppose thats the way it is when you're celebrating being in your later 20's. It seems like there is a gap with this trend. You can be aged below double digits or you can be over 40 and people will come to your party dressed to theme.
But anyway!

Kim gave me a sweet espresso machine, which I have tested and need to learn it's particular ways, and Cam gave me hand-made hippy skirt that I am wearing in the pic... which has to be my most favorite piece of clothing ever.

So all and all, it was a wonderful birthday, and Cam spoiled me sufficiently. The party went really well and we drank a lot of margaritas. Kim made chocolate cake and I feel like I'm 10 again, sneaking off to the fridge for another piece with a glass of milk. The best snack in the world. Thanks to everyone for your cards, wishes and/or cash! Love ya!

Posted in: chaosgurl, party time on July 14, 2007 at at 5:39:00 PM 2 comments    

OMG I pray the Great Spaghetti Monster does not strike me down with a downpour of thunderbolts but I have posted these pics in the forbidden iWeb format!! I'm sorry I'm a sinner! I'm just too damn lazy!! click here!

There was a lot of chest hair, a lot of booze, and a lot of Steely = Good Times

Posted in: chaosgurl, party time, portland on February 13, 2007 at at 8:37:00 PM 0 comments