Andy Lien http://andylien.com Writing About the World from Ramsey Hill Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:27:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Day 30 of 30 Days of Creativity: That’s All Folks http://andylien.com/2011/06/30/day-30-of-30-days-of-creativity-thats-all-folks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=day-30-of-30-days-of-creativity-thats-all-folks http://andylien.com/2011/06/30/day-30-of-30-days-of-creativity-thats-all-folks/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:27:45 +0000 Andy http://andylien.com/2011/06/30/day-30-of-30-days-of-creativity-thats-all-folks/ 20110630-102725.jpg

]]> http://andylien.com/2011/06/30/day-30-of-30-days-of-creativity-thats-all-folks/feed/ 0 Day 29 – 30 Days of Creativity – Stampede http://andylien.com/2011/06/29/day-29-30-days-of-creativity-stampede/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=day-29-30-days-of-creativity-stampede http://andylien.com/2011/06/29/day-29-30-days-of-creativity-stampede/#comments Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:09:19 +0000 Andy http://andylien.com/2011/06/29/day-29-30-days-of-creativity-stampede/ 20110629-110850.jpg

]]> http://andylien.com/2011/06/29/day-29-30-days-of-creativity-stampede/feed/ 0 Day 28 – 30 Days of Creativity – Jules http://andylien.com/2011/06/29/day-28-30-days-of-creativity-jules/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=day-28-30-days-of-creativity-jules http://andylien.com/2011/06/29/day-28-30-days-of-creativity-jules/#comments Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:28:55 +0000 Andy http://andylien.com/?p=4802 Yesterday, I created the program for a memorial service for a friend, Julie.  She passed away on Friday at the age of 29.  It was something that I had been very sad and upset about, but had been so busy that it kind of worked into a rotation for when my emotions would actually register that she was gone.  Go to work, get busy, have a moment to think about Julie and Joy and Cathy, feel sad, get back to work, etc.  I was designing the program for the memorial service yesterday morning, early, and even then was thinking more detachedly about the whole situation–which font?  Oh, Julie would think she’s badass like this one or would maybe like the skulls…but she was a big softy, too.  I ended up using a font called Pupcat, which made me laugh.  Not only did she have pups and a cat (who just passed and was kind of haggard toward the end) but she kind of was a Pupcat, being the younger sister of a friend who always came to the party with claws.

I went to Kinko’s yesterday to print the programs and it wasn’t until I reached the parking lot and pulled out one of the finished versions that I completely lost my shit.  Somehow, I’d been able to keep a distance from the sadness of losing Julie and thinking too much about how we were so similar in so many ways…until I held that program in my hand.  I saw her name and the years of her life–1981-2011–and sat in the Jeep and mourned.

For privacy purposes, I’m posting only the cover of the program.

Jules.

]]> http://andylien.com/2011/06/29/day-28-30-days-of-creativity-jules/feed/ 1 Day 27 – 30 Days of Creativity – Grendel With Wings http://andylien.com/2011/06/27/day-27-30-days-of-creativity-grendel-with-wings/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=day-27-30-days-of-creativity-grendel-with-wings http://andylien.com/2011/06/27/day-27-30-days-of-creativity-grendel-with-wings/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 02:43:27 +0000 Andy http://andylien.com/?p=4799 I had to.  I couldn’t not.  I’ve still got Pride on the brain with Grendel as a willing test subject.

Grendel With Wings.

]]> http://andylien.com/2011/06/27/day-27-30-days-of-creativity-grendel-with-wings/feed/ 0 Day 26 – 30 Days of Creativity – Pride http://andylien.com/2011/06/27/day-26-30-days-of-creativity-pride/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=day-26-30-days-of-creativity-pride http://andylien.com/2011/06/27/day-26-30-days-of-creativity-pride/#comments Mon, 27 Jun 2011 05:57:40 +0000 Andy http://andylien.com/?p=4794  

My new job had me Live Tweeting the Pride Parade today for @lavmag.

I had to take the photos and tweet them as the parade progressed, relentlessly.  In two hours of parade, I tweeted 86 pictures.  I had to get creative with my short tweets…enough to get people to click, but not enough to bog down my progress.

The Twitter feed can be found here.

]]> http://andylien.com/2011/06/27/day-26-30-days-of-creativity-pride/feed/ 0 Day 25 – 30 Days of Creativity – The Irony http://andylien.com/2011/06/25/day-25-30-days-of-creativity-the-irony/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=day-25-30-days-of-creativity-the-irony http://andylien.com/2011/06/25/day-25-30-days-of-creativity-the-irony/#comments Sun, 26 Jun 2011 04:55:58 +0000 Andy http://andylien.com/?p=4789 My business cards for my freelancing business that I’ve put off designing and ordering for TWO YEARS?

Yeah.  They arrived today.

Three days after I started my sweet new job.

The unexpected one.

Oh, the Irony.

]]> http://andylien.com/2011/06/25/day-25-30-days-of-creativity-the-irony/feed/ 0 Day 24 – 30 Days of Creativity “Gramma’s Mints” http://andylien.com/2011/06/24/day-24-30-days-of-creativity-grammas-mints/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=day-24-30-days-of-creativity-grammas-mints http://andylien.com/2011/06/24/day-24-30-days-of-creativity-grammas-mints/#comments Sat, 25 Jun 2011 04:32:52 +0000 Andy http://andylien.com/2011/06/24/day-24-30-days-of-creativity-grammas-mints/ Gramma always made the best cream cheese mints only for the special of the special occasions. Tomorrow, we’re celebrating her 90th birthday. Her turn. Her special of the special occasions.

My spin, instead of pushing into a floral candy mold, I rolled them out and cut with a fondant cutter.

 

]]> http://andylien.com/2011/06/24/day-24-30-days-of-creativity-grammas-mints/feed/ 0 Day 23 – 30 Days of Creativity – Plaid Day http://andylien.com/2011/06/24/day-23-30-days-of-creativity-plaid-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=day-23-30-days-of-creativity-plaid-day http://andylien.com/2011/06/24/day-23-30-days-of-creativity-plaid-day/#comments Fri, 24 Jun 2011 06:18:25 +0000 Andy http://andylien.com/?p=4780 I started my new job today. It  just so happened to coincide with wrapping up a week of minding my 8-year old nephew in the afternoons.  I started it at 8:30, left to fetch him at 11:30, spent the afternoon at the Science Museum of Minnesota rapidly losing my marbles, and ended the day at a (new) work function until late.

Plaid?

Sorry.  I tried to come up with a few things to no avail.  The creativity was there, the execution was not.

So, I came to this conclusion.

]]> http://andylien.com/2011/06/24/day-23-30-days-of-creativity-plaid-day/feed/ 2 Day 22 – 30 Days of Creativity – On the Cusp http://andylien.com/2011/06/22/day-22-30-days-of-creativity-on-the-cusp/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=day-22-30-days-of-creativity-on-the-cusp http://andylien.com/2011/06/22/day-22-30-days-of-creativity-on-the-cusp/#comments Thu, 23 Jun 2011 03:33:57 +0000 Andy http://andylien.com/?p=4776 This is all I could muster today.

]]> http://andylien.com/2011/06/22/day-22-30-days-of-creativity-on-the-cusp/feed/ 0 Day 21 – 30 Days of Creativity – “Gild the Lily II” http://andylien.com/2011/06/21/day-21-30-days-of-creativity-gild-the-lily-ii/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=day-21-30-days-of-creativity-gild-the-lily-ii http://andylien.com/2011/06/21/day-21-30-days-of-creativity-gild-the-lily-ii/#comments Wed, 22 Jun 2011 04:16:28 +0000 Andy http://andylien.com/?p=4770 Sometimes you just have to mortify the dog.

I thought it’d be a good idea to see if Grendel would wear head ornamentation.  I figured I’d use a paper plate and see how big it’d need to be to fit snugly on his noggin.  Turns out, it doesn’t matter.  Sure, it fits…but it lasts only about .3 seconds on his head.  That’s how fast my shutter speed is.  Faster than .3 seconds.

I give you a variation on a theme.

Gild the Lily II.

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