This past weekend was really nice!  My high school inducted me into its sports hall of fame! It certainly came as a surprise, but it meant a lot to me to be recognized.I mentioned at the banquet that the most wonderful thing about receiving an honor like this is that it’s not really my award … in my opinion, awards such as this are simply a reflection of the many wonderful mentors (teachers, coaches, family, teammates) we’ve been so fortunate and blessed to have had while growing in our respective sports.It was fun to see lots of people I haven’t seen since high school – and to share some fun memories from that time. It was especially meaningful because I was introduced by one of my closest friends, Charles, and he brought his entire family – including his son, Parker who also happens to be my godson.Here are a couple of pictures from the banquet … the first is a picture of me with the other honorees (that’s me on the far right) and the other is me with my stud godson, Parker.

This Christmas I received a wonderful gift – a credit to be used on Kiva (check out the site here!).

Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. By choosing a loan on Kiva, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the entrepreneur you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.

I absolutely love this idea!

Kiva partners with existing microfinance institutions. In doing so, Kiva gains access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Their partners are experts in choosing qualified entrepreneurs. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva, their partners upload their entrepreneur profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them.

I’ve made three (3) donations/loans, so far!

I can’t wait to see how it goes! Just another way to make a difference . . .

As I continue to work on several “human” photography projects (which I will be sharing very soon), I just had to post some pic’s I took this week of my friends’ family’s newest addition.

Her name is “Ellie.” She’s a French Bulldog and she’s even cuter in person, if you can believe it. And she’s a comedian, too. Ellie tried to act brave with Marley, but all it took was a look from Mar and she would head for the hills. She would bark … occasionally … and from afar. We’ll get them together again soon – I think they’ll be buds soon.

Is she a cutie or is she cutie?

So, I’m in my kitchen this morning, making my daily coffee . . . and I hear a shrill squealing coming from my back patio. I look outside and a baby squirrel had apparently been knocked from its nest and was clinging onto my back porch screen for dear life.

At first I let him/her be, but after I didn’t hear from him/her for a while I admit I became a little concerned (what can I say, I’m an animal lover – to a fault, probably). I eventually headed outside to see if he/she was still around. Sure enough, the little thing was hanging on for dear life as before, but was falling asleep at the top of the screen from the exhaustion of the big morning it had just experienced. The squirrel kind of reminded me of myself – sometimes nodding off in front of my computer screen after editing photography jobs for hours on end . . . . . . . I felt an immediate bond with this little rodent.

To make a long story short (I’m trying), I ended up putting the squirrel in a shoe box, did my good deed for the day and took him/her to the veterinarian. I was pretty amazed to learn that a veterinarian would actually accept the squirrel as a “patient” and nurse it until it was healthy enough to be released. Pretty awesome of them, don’t you think?

Here’s a picture of the little guy/girl:

The weather’s been really weird down here in Florida for the past week, or so! The summer heat and humidity is upon us and with it comes our daily afternoon thunderstorms. Yippee!

Orlando is the “Lightning Capital of the World” but last week as far as I’m concerned it was the hail capital of the world, too! Check out these pictures from a hailstorm we had on Sunday!  It’s probably too small to see but it looked like it had snowed!

All of the hail you see in this picture fell in about five minutes! It was pretty amazing to watch . . . and some of the chunks were as big as golf balls!  (I suppose that’s fitting being that I live on a golf course)

One of the cool things about being in Central Florida is seeing the Space Shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral! Night launches are amazing to watch but this one was pretty spectacular, too!

This is the view from my back yard . . . Kennedy Space Center is 55 miles from the house I’m renting in Orlando!

Being that today is Mother’s Day I would like to send a special Mother’s Day “shout out” to my mom, Betty!

She and my father are in the car, headed up north for a summer vacation. Unfortunately, we’ll be spending this Mother’s Day apart but I’ll be thinking of her.

I hope you and your family have a great Mother’s Day!

Love you, mom!

I’m back from Vegas!

I arrived this morning on the red-eye and I think having only three hours of sleep in the last 72 hours is starting to catch up to me! But, without a doubt it was worth it!

I don’t really get into the Vegas gambling scene so much (although I did win enough to pay for my entire trip and then some – YIPPEE!) but Las Vegas is home to some of the world’s top entertainment and restaurants! In my last post I mentioned there was a guy strolling through Las Vegas airport in nothing but a Speedo . . . and, of course you say, “but, Brian, it can’t possibly get any better than that!” . . . oh, but I’m here to tell you it does!

I’ll save you the gory details of this outrageously cool trip but over the last couple of nights I had the opportunity to catch two uber-imaginative shows, “O” (link) and “Le Reve” (link), and I also had the chance to experience a few of the finest culinary experiences Vegas has to offer!

One of the restaurants, Tao (link) even landed itself firmly in my Top 5 Global Restaurants list! Check out the picture (above) from Tao – the ambiance alone was worth the trip! And they’ve got a killer nightclub on the third floor, too! Oh, and also check out Picasso (link) at the Bellagio Hotel (link) . . . if you’re an art lover you’ll think you’ve died and gone to overpriced painting heaven! The restaurant has eleven (11) original Picasso works totaling $70 Million! It’s a very lavish restaurant – I’m a bit surprised they let me in, in fact (ha ha!) – so I only stopped in for drinks, but it’s a cool little Vegas trivia spot since a scene from Oceans 11 was filmed there (table 27) and they do in fact serve pigeon (I know you were wondering).

As for the shows, in Las Vegas the options are obviously pretty endless. One recommendation from me, though – if you do see Le Reve splurge for the VIP Indulgence Package (link)! You sit in a reclining chair, you have your own private monitor to watch all that’s going on backstage during the show, and you have your own personal hostess complete with a bottle of chilled champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries! Now, that’s the way to watch a show!

I could go on and on, but I won’t!  Some things that happened in Vegas will just have to stay in Vegas!  It was fun!  I’m ready to go back!  For now, I’m going to bed . . .

I’m in Las Vegas for a little mini-vacation and having a BLAST!

Naturally, there’s only so much I’ll be able to recount after this weekend (because again, what happens in Vegas . . .), but I’ll do my best to remember what has transpired over this 72-hour period once I get back into town on Sunday. I’m not making any promises, though . . .

What I can tell you is that the trip started out on an en’gross‘ing note! How is one supposed to react if the very first thing you see at the airport terminal upon disembarking your plane is a 6′8″ man wearing a Speedo? Naturally, my first thought was, “he must have had a really easy time getting through the metal detector at security.“

. . . and then things got really crazy! . . .

Have a great weekend! I know I will!

I recently realized that I’ve (accidentally) been keeping one of my favorite things under wraps and it’s due time I share this incredible piece of creative magic with you! You’re gonna love it . . . !

While I was living in Italy a good friend and fellow photographer (thanks, Nicoletta!) shared with me this link to one of the best advertisements I’ve ever seen (link). Check out the 180-second extended version if your computer can handle it! It’s worth it!

To the best of my knowledge this commercial was never run here in the States but it was a very high-profile campaign in Europe.

I love this ad! Not to mention it was filmed in one of my favorite cities on the planet, San Francisco! The music is by an amazing performer named Jose Gonzalez (link). If you ever need a little pick-me-up for whatever reason watch this commercial! An almost-guaranteed mood enhancer!