notan

2010-02-09T12:31:11Z

Notes: Apple iPhone 3G I was in LA last week for 24 hours, caught in a whirlwind while casting for a television commercial and planning production. The vortex got more intense on my way home when I left an attaché on a shuttle bus at LAX. I realized my lapse moments later, did a pirouette, then sprinted to the next concourse, which was about 300 yards away. I got about halfway there before the shuttle pulled away toward the next stop. I stopped, sighed and started calculating the value of the things in my missing bag, which added up to a lot of heartache and financial hardship. Two cameras, an iPod, my journals, sunglasses, eyeglasses, a jacket ... But I vowed to give my best effort toward retrieving it and immediately contacted the shuttle dispatcher. She alerted the drivers but none reported a stray bag. I received another call from a number I didn’t recognize, so I ignored it and stayed on the line with dispatch trying to craft another plan. When we hung up, I noticed a voicemail and played it. It was a traveler who said he had my bag and wanted to make every attempt to get it to me. I couldn’t dial his German mobile and was typing a text message to him when he called again. He was across the airport but said he would come to me. I couldn’t believe his generosity and assured him that he didn’t have to do that, but he insisted. Fifteen minutes later, he picked me out of a crowd of hundreds of people in front of my terminal and handed it to me. I tried to give him $20 for his trouble, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He said the same thing happened to him once, and he was happy to do this for me. We shook hands, he turned, then walked away. I was dumbfounded and relieved all at once. Who does this today? Who goes out of their way to help a stranger? When I returned home, I found out that he had called my office and arranged two other plans to return my bag if he could not do so directly. He also told my office manager that the same thing happened to him once, but that he did not get his bag back. Then I understood his determination. It was such a heroic gesture, and I thanked him today via email promising to perform random acts of kindness in his honor. I started last week by paying the toll of the car behind me, and I plan to make that a habit each time I’m on the highway. It’s the least I can do.

2010-02-06T23:26:42Z

Notes: Apple iPhone 3G Nick breathes in LA for the first time.

2010-02-06T12:58:10Z

Notes: Apple iPhone 3G

2010-01-21T21:17:48Z

Notes: Nikon D70s // Nikkor 18-70 I post this only because I don't want to forget what Tuesday—or this week—was like. That's me on the left, trying to keep the cold wind from penetrating my layers of down and wool. I'm directing the most elaborate photoshoots of my career (mulitple locations, talent, etc.), and Day One was a frigid Tuesday afternoon. We had to stage from the driveway the last three hours, which turned my truck and the photographer's van into mini-makeup and wardrobe tents. We also had two dogs, and they were shivering as much as we were. I invited the four interns I'm mentoring and laughed at the lessons they had to learn the hard way, like wearing sensible shoes on an outdoor shoot. I learned a ton, too, and hope those lessons come in handy tomorrow, which involves two locations and multiple props, talent, etc. Oh, I'm the AD on a huge television shoot, too, and that's all beginning next week! There's never a dull day in advertising.

2010-01-16T00:28:41Z

Notes: Nikon D300 // Nikkor 17-55/2.8 Nearly three months ago, I went to John Porcellino’s book signing in an art gallery beneath a small market near my apartment. The tiny space seemed to swallow Porcellino’s fragile frame, and his voice was like a whisper. The man has lived through an incredible amount of pain and misfortune, and he channels all of it in the simplest of hand-drawn lines in his comics and graphic novels. Yet, he communicates a deeply human and optimistic connection. I found his King Cat ’zines several years ago on a rack in a record store, and I couldn’t believe how such simple drawings could say so much. We shared a few words afterward about similar struggles, and I sensed that it wasn’t the first time he had the conversation. The small strokes he makes on a page have a much bigger impact in the world. Although the circumstances may differ, we all struggle. And Porcellino captures it beautifully on paper.

2010-01-12T13:38:21Z

Notes: Apple iPhone 3G There's just enough thawing and freezing each day to radically alter the landscape between my apartment and my office.

2010-01-12T10:13:52Z

Notes: Apple iPhone 3G

2010-01-07T09:59:30Z

Notes: Happy New Year! I'm making good on a few resolutions early, including launching two companion blogs to *notan*. The heaving surface launched last night on tumblr, and I'll have another on blogspot soon. *notan* will continue to be a place for my photography and musings about time, space and place. *The heaving surface* will be a blog version of my Moleskine notebooks, which house words and images that I find on the web and elsewhere that move me. The other, yet unnamed, blog, will be a more streamlined, images-only look book of inspiration that will cut across art, design, fashion, architecture, furniture, photography and craft. Why? I've discovered a rich vein of incredibly like-minded people on the web in the past year, and I wanted a way to remix it into something that I can access and share each day. My own creativity is all the better for it. Enjoy.

2009-12-26T13:41:21Z

Notes: Apple iPhone 3G A blizzard of work the past three weeks buried much of my life and left me lifeless going into Christmas week. I didn't even have the energy to brave the real blizzard when it hit on Christmas Eve, and I wisely skipped the annual family soup dinner in favor of complete hibernation. I've slept much the past few days, but still am not completely rested. That will come, though. The thick quilt of snow that still covers the streets beneath my window has muffled distraction and brought a much-needed measure of peace. I've scheduled nothing but reading between bursts of writing and movie-watching. It's better than any planned vacation, really. I've walked quite a path the past year, particularly the past few months. And despite the work-related fatigue at the end, I'm satisfied at my progress. This period of rest is both celebration of that success and preparation for the year ahead. Bring it on.

2009-12-09T15:31:45Z

Notes: Apple iPhone 3G Winter finally arrived this week, which effectively shut down my road rides for the year. Boo. This year was my best ever, though, and I’ve vowed to not to lose my hard-earned fitness. I sense that just maintaining this vow will require significant calorie burn. And maybe some mental muscle buildup, too. I weakly succumbed to ordering a hamburger and fries two of the past five evenings. With gain comes pain, and the only way to reverse it is to hop on my indoor trainer and spin like a stupid hamster. If only pedaling inside was as exciting as navigating a Habitrail. I did my best to distract myself the other day, however. Vintage cycling videos, episodes of 30 Rock and a shuffling iPod seemed to do the trick, and I hardly noticed the resistance of the trainer. Could it be that I’ve made training indoors irresistible? Not quite. I hope to try it with friends soon to see if there is strength to be gained by spinning in numbers. After months of rolling through miles of county backroads, it will seem surreal to spend the same energy and never leave the living room. But it’s only a few months until spring, right?