The past few days have been quite enjoyable and filled with an interesting array of activities. Erik and Lauren drove down from Alexandria, Virginia on Thursday so he could attend the Southeast Regional Society for Photographic Education conference. Staying with me along with them is Duchamp, possibly the world's most relaxed dog.

I worked on Friday but we met up for lunch at Essence of India. After work, we got together with Erik's brother Thomas and his girlfriend Alice to check out the opening reception for HyperReal world: landscape as commodity at the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts.

The exhibition featured some nice photographs and as an added bonus, we arrived early enough for the wine. It also gave Erik and Lauren a chance to chat with some art school professors they know. Afterward, we went to Wells Brothers Bar and Grill (formerly Monk's) and enjoyed beer and dinner on their back patio.

Saturday morning, we all met up again for breakfast at The Lunchbox (formerly Jenny's Lunchbox) before driving to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL or Mag Lab) for our private tour. I have twice attended and enjoyed the annual open house the Mag Lab holds. However, the popular event draws large crowds and decent photography is near impossible.

Since Thomas works at the Mag Lab, he was able to provide us with a customized walk-through highlighting his own workspaces and some of the laboratory's more interesting equipment. There were no other people at the Shaw Building, our first stop and home to the NHMFL Applied Superconductivity Center (ASC).

The ASC conducts focused research in the areas of bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide (BSCCO) high-temperature superconductors, coated conductors, grain boundaries, low temperature superconductivity and the recently discovered magnesium diboride superconductor. It was interesting to see the work Thomas and the ASC are doing, even if much of it is over my head.

We then drove to the main Mag Lab building, a 370,000-square-foot complex housing the 45 Tesla Hybrid, 900 MHz NMR and four other large-scale magnets. Passing through offices and pipe-filled corridors along the way, we encountered a few scientists working on projects as we surveyed the site. It was a lot of fun to be able to shoot the laboratories, equipment, signs and control panels with hardly anyone around.

In the evening, we went downtown to the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science and the opening reception for APPETITE: Expressions of the Politics Encircling Food. There were many more pieces than the MFA show but like it, this exhibition featured some cool work. Although there was no wine, there were 50 pizzas plus salad and vegetable trays on hand for the event.

Before visiting with Claire, Ashleigh, Scott, Amanda and Drew, Lauren, Erik and I took Duchamp to San Luis Mission Park just north of the Mission. I have always enjoyed this place and the wooded trails available right in the middle of the west side. We were surprised to see the extremely low water level of the nearby lake, over which you can walk on a wooden boardwalk. Right now the boardwalk is over dry land, the edge of the water some twenty feet away.

In the end, the past four days can be summarized thusly: great friends, fun activities and perfect weather—what more can you ask for?

In one twenty-four hour session over the Fourth of July holiday weekend in 2008, fueled by the excitement of watching Bender's Big Score, I made a music video for 30 Century Man by The Jigsaw Seen (see original article).

The DVD movie was the first of four and their popularity eventually lead to the return of the series to episodic television, an occasion which I recently marked by making the Planet Express Fail Whale.

I am not sure why Futurama seems to bring out my creative side but the music video, despite being my first attempt at such a thing, turned out quite well and received positive feedback from many people including The Jigsaw Seen's co-founder and lead guitarist Jonathan Lea.

Unfortunately after 231 days, 13,515 views, 56 likes, 53 comments and 2 favorites, the automated forces at YouTube that scan for and block potentially copyright infringing material silenced the video on 21 February 2009.

I did not go through the dispute process, but I thought I had a decent case for fair use: the character of the use was personal and non-profit; only a small amount of the work was used; and if widespread, the copyright owner would not lose money. In fact, I think the video promoted their product, if anything.

Therefore by popular demand and in celebration of creative fans worldwide, I am proud to present the 2010 re-release of "30 Century Man." The video has been slightly updated and re-rendered in high quality. I hope you enjoy it!

30 Century Man Performed by The Jigsaw Seen Written by Scott Walker Directed by David July

Download WMV 43 MB Download FLV 34 MB Download MOV 28 MB Problems? Try VLC Media Player

Between the reincarnation of Futurama and seeing Billy West, Phil LaMarr and John DiMaggio at DragonCon 2010 (see pictures from the panel), I was compelled to create this celebratory image to comment on the cancellation and subsequent return of the show.

→ Planet Express Ship from "Transit Authority" by Gedeon Maheux.
© Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp
→ Birds and Waves from "Fail Whale" by Yiying Lu.

I have collected several pieces of Sutro Tower art in the past several months. It was bound to happen as I regularly seek out new and interesting information and links for sutrotower.org, including popular culture items and artwork.

The first acquisition was Green Sutro Tower, the third limited edition Gocco print by A Minor Thread artist Charlie Wright. I had seen the earlier editions of this print but never got one before they sold out. Green Sutro Tower is hand cut 5.5 by 4.25 inches and printed on 80 pound Mr. French stock in green ink. I love the simplicity of this work and the peaceful scene it portrays, reminding me of my time spent in the city.

For my birthday, Pam and Omar thought it would be fun to get something Sutro Tower related and did so perfectly with SFCA Sutro Dark, a t-shirt designed by PremiumPop. It is not quite Local but I really like this design and the pseudo-retro styling. SFCA Sutro Dark is color art screened on 100% cotton.

The most recent purchase was of Sutro Tower 2 (6 of 12), a limited edition color linoleum block print by 3 Fish Studios artist Eric Rewitzer. 3 Fish Studios is no stranger to Sutro Tower art, but I was particularly fascinated and impressed by the manual production process documented by Eric on his blog. Sutro Tower 2 is hand pulled 9 by 12 inches and tricolor linocut. I am drawn to the texture of this piece, the detail of the lines and the framing; a true hero portrait of the tower.

I am sure this collection is only beginning, however I must get frames and display these pieces before acquiring more. Future additions will be documented in the Sutro Tower Art photo set on Flickr and in the list below.

2010-10-17: Sutro Tower Tee by Jamai Lowell, Animal Instincts Apparel
2011-01-22: The Space Claw by Britta Gustafson
2011-08-25: Sutro Tower 1/1000th Scale Model by Aidan Dysart