Buzz Blog

This really doesn’t pertain to the Chico Christmas card theme, but I had one last idea for a Christmas card. I wanted a simple photo of a Christmas tree with a twist — it would be presented in the same graphical style as the Obama HOPE poster. Here’s a refresher if you need it.

I was wondering how to recreate the effect. Thanks to the internets, I quickly found a tutorial. This step-by-step guide by Zach Wentz on Vectortuts makes it look relatively straightforward if you have the right software (namely Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator).

Instead of red and blue hues, my card would have green and red tones. The caption could say “TREE,” but it seems kinda lame. (Did the original poster say “OBAMA”? I think not.) I guess “HOPE” applies to Christmas too.

I guess I could do it next year, but it might be a little passe at that point. Perhaps I can produce it in a couple of year when it will seem retro, like old “Nixon for President” T-shirts.

As diehard readers know — I’ve been working on a Chico-themed Christmas card for 2008. A lot of people, myself included, wanted me to create the Sierra Nevada Santa. However, logistics and time constraints made that really difficult to do. The good news is that I’m on course to do it next year.

With Sierra Nevada Santa out of the picture (no pun intended), I was scrambling for another idea. At the last minute, inspiration struck me and I went with a toy theme. Chico is home to the National Yo-Yo Museum and that is where I took this year’s card photo. I went to the Bird-in-Hand store and photographed a yo-yo — with a twist.

Here’s the front of the card (click to see the inside):

I wanted to give this to you for Christmas …

Click more to see the inside of the card.

Continue reading “Presenting my 2008 Chico Christmas card” »

I recently purchased a DTV converter box for my secondary TV (using the $40 coupon from the guv’ment). Unlike my larger, living-room TV which uses cable, I have a smaller TV that still uses an antenna.

I plugged everything in — antenna to the converter box to the TV. To my dismay, I only reliably got two DTV stations (and two subchannels for total of four channels). The results were worse than my earlier test (which you can watch the video of here).

Odds are, I’ll probably need to get an outdoor antenna to pull in a decent number of digital TV channels. There is one thing that I would like to try — make my own antenna (PDF link). The instructions are from “Make,” a new public TV program. The directions look cool and pretty straightforward — well, I guess if some old metal clothes hangers, some wood and a freakin’ transformer are straightforward.

Still, it sounds like it’s worth a try. The antenna is designed to pull in the UHF channels that most local stations are going to.

Here’s more about “Make” from the public-broadcasting publication, Current.

On the jump is my earlier video story about the DTV switch and what local viewers might encounter:

Continue reading “Do-it-yourself TV antenna” »

Perhaps I have bitten off more than I can chew. In an earlier post, I asked you — the reader — to help me pick my Chico-themed Christmas card. In what amounts to overwhelming response for both me and my blog, the following has become clear:

• No one liked my object d’arte idea. Especially when I used a creepy holiday decoration at a nearby restaurant as the prop.
• The Senator ornament idea got a lukewarm response. Some noted that the Senator was an unusual object for holiday decoration while others liked the idea.
• The City Plaza Christmas Tree idea was greeted by only chirping crickets.
• But, hands down, people liked the Sierra Nevada Santa.

The Santa idea was hugely popular with people saying I should definitely do it. Now it is my responsibility to carry this off in a tasteful fashion. I think that will be the key for success.

Part of my problem is finding the right “look” for Santa. As I said before, I want to depict the fun and warmth of the earlier campaign involving the cola-flavored sugar water.

Some people have suggested giving a bottle to a mall Santa. A mall Santa. Regardless of what one may think about mall Santas, I just think there are too many variables in play there.

I also want to be a part of the photo, so I don’t think a mall Santa can play the role of Santa for my card. Someone suggested the idea of my posing with mall Santa and a bottle of Sierra Nevada, but that just disconcerts me.

I think the best person for the role of Santa for my Christmas card is me. So, now all I have to do is find a Santa suit.

Ah, the holidays. It’s the time of year when we turn our thoughts to Christmas, the overwrought and overfought War on the War Against Christmas, the other holidays and stuff. This also means Christmas cards, gifts and more.

While there are a lot of different people and publications will encourage you to shop local for the holidays, I will refrain from discussing that subject until later. (Besides, I prefer to shop loco).

No, the most important thing for me now is to get cards out to friends and family. I haven’t sent the cards out in a few years and I feel like a heel.

At the same time, I don’t want to send the same old boring card — no stale winter themes or dramatic newsletters of my accomplishments for me. I want to add a local flavor. For example, when I lived in Michigan I used stamps that were launched in the town where I lived.

So, how do I kick it up, Chico-style? I could try to get the musical group Yule Logs to pose for a picture, but I don’t know if friends back east would get it.

I’ve been pondering some ideas, but I wanted to give you all a chance to weigh in. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

• A – Remember that great Coca-Cola ad campaign with the portraits of Santa holding the iconic soda bottle? OK, picture this — me dressed as Santa holding the Chico-equivalent, a big bottle of Sierra Nevada ale. I’ll try to make it look classy and less like a poorly dressed nerfherder with booze.
• B – I took a photo of the Senator Theatre through an ornamental metal fence in Chico City Plaza. For this, I would try to recreate it with a holiday theme — a wreath and some ornaments.
• C – An image of the holiday tree in City Plaza. I’ll try to jazz it up somehow.
• D – A photo of me in some holiday garb holding a local object d’arte.

What do you think? Help me decide and you might win the grand prize — a Christmas card from yours truly.

Here are some illustrations to help with your decision:
B – The Senator Theatre concept

D – Me, holding an object d’arte