shawn avery

this year for xmas, alison and i went to my mom's farmhouse in rogersville, in north alabama, and fairhope, which is alison's hometown. we drove 750 miles... finally breaking in my saab, which worked quite well, even with our two large dogs. before xmas, we also went to a few xmas parties. here's some photos from the past few weeks. the full set is here .

here's some of the poster, promo & dvd/cd cover comps i designed in 2009. 'twas the year of distressed paper background layers. meh.

here's 2009 in the rearview mirror of my blog postings. i'm summarizing various events and developments strictly based on this year's blog postings, with a few exceptions. here's the 2008 recap . i'll flesh out these links as i get time. i started the new year by playing a short set of stones covers with john strohm and jody nelson / greg slamen of through the sparks, with special guest, wayne perkins, who played on the rolling stones' black & blue album. one rehearsal and it was flawless. here's the blog post . hannah's pretty in pink birthday prom blog posting . obama sworn in as president. downsizing social networking pages. too much spending by the government . i'm perceived as being fiscally conservative, lose friends. lily allen record gets overplayed in my car. i begin transferring thousands of photos & graphics to flickr . mercedes marathon 2009 . the february snow storm . we rescue & adopt a golden retriever & name her annie ...

This past weekend at Bottletree, Brian Teasley organized a re-enactment of the Band-Aid group, who performed a live Karaoke version of the song at the conclusion of their Xmas show. At the last minute, I was invited up to sing as part of the chorus. It was a trainwreck in the best possible way. The only thing that sucked was some dude went to jump up on stage and slipped, and fell on the concrete floor. He was ok, but apparently it looked scary. Obviously its been 25 years since the single was release, and this time, 25 years ago, the single was at it's sales peak. I remember when this song came out. U2 had just released Pride (In the Name of Love), I was going to superskates to listen to all of the awesome mid 80's rock/pop music that was coming out... I had just started 5th grade? Even at age 10, I was aware that this grouping of brit-poppers was both interesting and laughable. Anyhoo... Thanks to Youtube, there's now a ton of outtakes and documetary footage from the ...

not my best poster, but probably the most trippy.

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world : I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations — that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice. And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. (Laughter.) In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who’ve received this prize — Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela — my accomplishments are slight. And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized mill...

Despite appearing to be an action film, Blade Runner has many dramatic, narrative levels, greatly indebted to film noir conventions, such as the femme fatale , protagonist-narration (removed in later versions), dark and shadowy cinematography , and the questionable moral outlook of the hero , extended to include his humanity. It is a literate science fiction film, thematically enfolding the philosophy of religion and moral implications of human mastery of genetic engineering in the context of classical Greek drama and hubris , and draws on Biblical images, such as Noah's flood , and literary sources, such as Frankenstein . Linguistically, the theme of mortality is subtly reiterated in the chess game between Roy and Tyrell based on the famous Immortal game of 1851, though Scott has said that was coincidental. Blade Runner delves into the implications of technology on the environment and society by reaching to the past, using literature, religious symbolism , classical ...