We're on a mission to 'take back the weekend'.  It's so hard to balance it all.  Ambition and checklists often take over.  In this life, where the goal is not to enjoy the destination but the journey to it, we sometimes forget to explore the goodness in our own backyard.

This weekend we drove over to one of the gems of Dallas, the Bishop Arts District.  The entire area is just a few blocks total, but they have managed to squeeze in mad taste in a small spot.  Here are some pics from our fieldtrip. Enjoy...

We all have our ramen stories.  For many of us, the setting is a university.  I ate more ramen than I should probably admit.  I had a wok that I used several times a week.  Nearly all of my stir frys included ramen.  I still have that (beautifully seasoned) wok today, although my cooking style has changed over the years.

Recently the folks from Hack College contacted me and asked me to have a look at their most recent info graphic.  I loved it the second I saw it.  I hope you will, too.  enjoy...

Created by: Hack College

This week the Sundance Film Festival is in full swing in Park City, Utah.  The festival continues to grow in popularity and importance each year.  The award ceremony will be held on Sunday at 7pm MT time.  You can see it with live steamed at www.sundance.org/live.

This year there was a record number of short film entries.  The entries were narrowed down to 64.  Today we are spotlighting clips from a few of the winners.  Enjoy.

The first is the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking, Fishing Without Nets.  This is the story of Somaili pirates told from the perspective of the pirates themselves.

The Return, winner of Jury Prize in Short Film, International Fiction, tells the tale of a man locked away in a Serb prison and his return to his family 4 years later after being declared missing. 

This picturesque film, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, won the Jury Prize in Short Film, Non-Fiction.  Here we see the beauty of Japan's most revered flower inspiring its people to persevere amid a sea of destruction.

Jury Prize in Animated Short Film, A Morning Stroll, is pure fun.

For more information about these films and the other films of Sundance be sure to visit their site at www.sundance.org.

Just a subtle reminder of a great man and the power of words...

Fall is all around (even here in Dallas).  As the weather cools and sunset occurs earlier, the grackles seem to gather together even more than the rest of the year.  I must admit that (unlike many I know) I am fascinated by them.  I have been honked at many times for not moving at a green light because I am mesmerized by the hundreds of grackles delicately perched on the wires at the intersection.

The grackles are the inspiration for our Art You Can Do project today.  This technique is a form of reverse painting and couldn’t be easier.  The results are modern and fun.   We have included the grackle templates that we used so you can make one just like ours or draw your own.

savour... social gathering

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Spring has officially bloomed and despite some nasty weather around the US, the air is filled with twittering birds and floral fragrance.  It won’t be long before spring gives way to summer.  We thought this might be the right time to celebrate a bit of what spring has to offer in terms of color.

We have chosen 5 spring themed pictures from around the web and pulled some color combinations directly from the images.  This first table setting photograph is from www.stylemepretty.com.  What a nice place to sit for a meal.  The colors are so sunny.  How might you use them?

Beyond the subtle muted palette of this art from www.freya-art.com, the message is sweet and completely spring.  Spring colors do not necessarily mean pastels.  This is a wonderful example.

savour... a colorful life

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What is it that makes things so appealing to the eyes?  Somehow, instinctively, we see something and know that the proportions are just right.  It may be human nature or our experiences throughout our life that form these decisions.  Some of it we learn through our environment and what we are told is beautiful.

For those who have studied art or design, you may likely be familiar with Fibonacci, the golden ratio, and the golden spiral.  This ratio is the backbone of much of what we see in our world that appears to be in the ‘right’ proportion.  In mathematics, the ratio is often symbolized with the Phi symbol shown here.

Fibonacci was an Italian mathematician who is credited for spreading the Hindu-Arabic number system throughout Europe.  He is also known for his work with the golden ratio or golden mean.  The Fibonacci numbers, as they are known, start with 0 and 1 and increase by adding the last two numbers in the sequence together to create the next number in the sequence.  For example: 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144.

I’ll try to keep this simple.  When dividing one number in the sequence by the one just before it you will roughly end up with the golden ratio – 1.618.  The mathematical equation is a bit more complicated than that, but that’s a good base to start.

When you stack tiles with these numbers as the square dimensions in a spiral form they fit together perfectly.  By drawing an arc from one corner to the opposite of each tile  and continuing around the tiles you get a perfectly formed spiral – the golden spiral.

So where do we find the golden ratio and golden spiral?  The ratio 1:1.618 shows up in all aspects of our life from nature to music to architecture. 

savour… mathemagics

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