James Blunt isn't such a pansy after all

A goon he may be; a pansy he is not. James Blunt gave a lively concert last week in Mannheim. He didn't deliver the overly sentimental gushing falsetto we expected. Mr. Blunt rocked out for us.

Kate had scored great seats and VIP parking - thanks to her elaborate connections in the local entertainment industry (she taught the whole arena staff English, even down to the guy who drives the zamboni).

So, aside from keeping our lunch down during "You're Beautiful" and "1973," we thoroughly enjoyed his performance. I would even recommend it.

Deac and Jane in Europe

Dad and Jane came over for their honeymoon last month. We got to catch the start of their trip and accompany them to Switzerland. On the way, we swung by Auggen to visit Laurie and Ernie. Here are some shots and the link to their site

Adobe Elements meets Final Cut

Following is a slight experiment in combining still shots with video software. It comprises about 120 still shots adapted with Adobe Photoshop Elements with graduated stylizing of four effects.

Fall in full effect

Kate, wielding her D80, snapped some peak-fall photos of the town. Although no Vermont "fruity-pebbles-poured-on-mountains" landscape, the ruddy foliage, the terra-cotta-tile roofs, and the ubiquitous maroon sandstone in these parts pleasantly dominate the autumn spectrum. We'd enjoy the season even more if we knew winter wasn't so close behind.

Birthday monkeys

Perry took me down to see monkeys near Lake Constance. I got to feed monkeys popcorn right from my palm the whole day. They were pleasantly fuzzy macaques - chubby, playful, shivering, mutually grooming monkeys. They sat on the posts and awaited their snack.

The monkey mountain, or Affenberg as it is called, also hosted other creatures, including deer, leviathan-sized carp, storks, ducks, geese, and elusive frogs.

We then went on to a town on the banks of Lake Constance for a Greek meal and a stroll along the promenade. Below you'll find a slide show and video of the day. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday - everybody loves monkeys.

Heidelberger Herbst

Every year, Heidelberg holds an autumn festival, to which Germans (and other nationalities) flock. Come 11:00 a.m., the streets are chock-a-block, shoulder-to-shoulder packed. Kate and I snuck down around 8:30 to beat the crowd and get a look at the preparations. The medieval theme is obvious from these shots - but there were also some unexpected sights and sounds.

Graduating from iMovie to Final Cut

Special is not the video; rather how it was made. Final Cut has a pretty steep learning curve, but I finally can do with it what I can do with iMovie - and then some. Thus I'm retiring the latter.

What you may notice this time already:

• Audio editing and audio transitions


• Dissolve video transitions


• Multitrack audio (three in this case)

No worries if you didn't notice - there will be some more drastic enhancements in the posts to come (I hope).

Hike it

A five-hour hike through sleepy lion park in the Rockies. A few photos.

Converting one family member at a time...

Mom got a Mac!

Ivy the mountain dog

Ivy was my roommate for a few months during my last year of college. She's now nine years old, but still has her same slobbering habits. And she still likes to hike - here she chases prairie dogs in front of the flatirons backdrop.

Three cities in two days

It's humbling how fast you can overcome time and space - and then scramble to prove it in a multimedia story. In less than two days, I dropped off the folks in Grindelwald, Switzerland, landed in Denver, and sped on to Las Vegas. Although it was fun to compare and contrast the Alps and the Rockies while both fresh in the head, traversing time zones and climates that fast takes its toll on body and mind. Luckily, I dropped in on friends and family during the tour (with intermittent work commitments), which kept me going. Off to Frankfurt tomorrow.

Rumble in the Rockies

Tomas hustles like a hare. What he lacks in skill he makes up for in sheer tongue-sticking-out-the-corner-of-the-mouth determination. Here's a look at his Pele-caliber soccer moves. Way to scrap, T!

Again to Auggen...

One of the last stops on Kris's itinerary was a (too) quick visit to Laurie and Ernie in Auggen. It was a mini-reunion with sauerkraut and Ernie's constant consultations on marriage.

Konrad Ernst Soennecken has arrived...


OK, usually babies this young aren't what I would call cute. But little Konrad here is a special case. This one is acutely cute. The dude's got the disposition of a boy beyond his, well...months. Just try to avert his piercing gaze. He's already got the world figured out and is ruminating on his conclusions.

This precocious tot is the son of my cousins Brendan and Corey. He joined the planet about two weeks ago. He'll be heading over to Germany end of October. Kate and I hope he'll be staying a while. Congrats Corey and Bren - you've definitely got a little corner of the sun now!

Visit from Portland

I hadn't seen Ivan in about six years. He's an Edinboro, PA native who showed me and the high-school crew around the panhandle back in the day. We met his wife Tara and their one-year-old daughter Adha for the first time. The three of them are doing a tour of Europe, with four weeks to do it in. We were fortunate enough to see them twice during their ramble. The sights of Heidelberg were a given on the agenda.

Flirting with high dynamic range (HDR)

This is my first go at HDR images. If any of you Tramps Abroad viewers have worked with HDR before, I would very much appreciate some tips.

The first example was taken by Kate at St. Antimo in Tuscany. The second was taken outside Interlaken. The third was at Omaha Beach. Sorry for the watermark - it's still a trial version of the software.

Normal (click to enlarge)	HDR (click to enlarge)
Normal (click to enlarge)	HDR (click to enlarge)
Normal (click to enlarge)	HDR (click to enlarge)

It's pronounced like "Favre"


So what do Paris, France and Green Bay, Wisconsin have in common? They both celebrate icons whose names end in the utterly unutterable "vre". Yes, although Brett FaVRE has himself probably never been to the LouVRE, he does share with the museum this linguistic peculiarity.

So either the star quarterback has French forefathers, or a trapper from Wisconsin found serious favor in Louis the XV's court.

Anyway, here are a few shots and videos of our visit to this art trove. Kris enjoyed the variety of sculptures, paintings, and artifacts. Although nice to get the lowdown on prehistoric Mesopotamia, I think I would have rather seen a Packers game.

l'Alsace

The last Sunday before work starts again in full swing. Kate and I headed West to the Alsace region of France, where we visited the towns of Wissenbourg, Seebach, Hoffen, Hunspach, and even a bit of the Maginot Line. This region is only an hour from Heidelberg, it is the true birth place of Amish patchwork and was home to those who decided to call the New World "America." Who'd a thunk it? Below are some pics of these still mediaeval looking hamlets.

A frist go at Maki

Tired of putting down the cash for plates full of raw fish, Kate and I decided to try our luck with the salmonella gods and prepare our own maki and sushi. The verdict is still out, as we are still digesting, but I think we had a respectable premier. Foogoo, here we come.

Swedjin...as if one weren't enough

Given Kate and I put in longer hours than we'd like to, we thought it would be fair to the cat that she get a roomie. The name of the Beast is Swedjin. She is evil.