Yoyo has taken piano lessons for 2.5 years and here is a quick progress report. And he has matured so much. We still vividly remember the first recital, video below, when he wouldn’t step onto stage, probably out of stage fright. (We made a second attempt after more than an hour, and he made it and people were wowed.)
Now he can play something as complicated as Sonatina, although this time, I put my video fixing skills to good use to make the whole piece just slightly more perfect;)
With a baby too young to enjoy extended, multi-hour trips, we will sadly miss this year’s TD Celebrate America Fourth of July fireworks/concert show at Eisenhower Park in Long Island on June 30. But I can still vividly remember all the fun my boy had with his buddy Brian and family on the beautiful evening and Grucci’s spectacular presentation. This year it will feature live music by 45 RPM, starting 7:30pm. (TD customers and veterans get to enter starting 4:30pm for better seating, one hour before general ticket holders.)
Below is the finale of the fireworks show from last year.
My previous work significantly touched upon climate change and environment. It’s a painfully complicated subject and the harsh reality is, it’s even harder to get people to pay attention continuously and engage in constructive conversations.
Tip of my hat to amazing work by groups like Climate Central, whose Surging Seas has really stood out with criminally simple visualization of the consequences and nifty tools (such as Mapping Choices) for average Joes to look up whether their communities are safe from rising seas.
[Above: Two scenarios of how rising seas will engulf the lower Manhattan area around the Charging Bull. Credits go to Climate Central, and be sure to check out Google Earth videos of more global cities here.]
Now that Yoyo has become a real tennis fan, mostly of Roger Federer of course, the US Open Kids Day will be more about watching the game rather than just hanging out with family and picking up some goodies from sponsors. Here are some shots showing how serious he’s about the game:
Last year this time, I was busy working on this video story, one that exemplifies the culture of TD. Every year, employees across the footprint join forces to pay respect to those veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice. There was a good problem we had: having too many story candidates to choose from. And I wish we had space for more characters. On the other hand, though, less is more!
Six years feels like 6 seconds. Time for another level of parenting challenges.
[Thanks for the $3 iPhone app Motato, a must-have for me.]
About
Having worked with images for over ten years, I feel even stronger that telling a good story with imagery is no easy job, even though technology is getting cheaper and more readily available. The world is, indeed, noisier, and people’s attention is one of the most precious resources of our time. Capturing that attention takes hard work and craftsmanship.
