Tag: video

Categories
uncategorized

‘United We Love’

Last week our friend (and fellow marriage-equality advocate) Sean Chapin asked Thom and me if we would like to be featured in a music video he was making for a new version of his original song “United We Love.” We gladly said yes, and met up with him yesterday morning at Crissy Field in San Francisco to do the filming.

We walked around looking for good vantage points with the Golden Gate Bridge and finally came to Fort Point, which turned out to be a perfect spot. There were few people around and the fog was still hanging along the bridge, so it helped the dreamy mood that Sean was going for. We ran through a few takes and it was a lot of fun. Thom and I improvised our “conversation” — which you don’t hear of course — and it kept changing and getting more silly and absurd with each take. The final video uses our last take, and so we’re laughing so much.

Many thanks go to Sean for having created such a lovely song with its message of love and unity and for thinking of us to be a part of this video:

Last year in advance of our commitment ceremony, Thom and I mutually proposed to each other over Valentine’s Day dinner in Carmel. But now if people ask how we proposed, I think I’m going to whip out this video and say it happened like this. Haha. (Aside: How perfect is that pigeon that comes flying through the shot? I think it wants screen credit now.)

After the shoot as we walked back to the car, we saw Brian Wilson (San Francisco Giants closing pitcher, need I tell you) out for a run. Fear the beard! Sean, Thom, and I then wrapped up with brunch nearby at La Terrasse. A great day out in the City!

Categories
uncategorized

Arlington, fo’ shizzle

I came across this Remy video today about Arlington, Virginia, and had to laugh:

Thom and I lived off Columbia Pike, so our closest Metro station was Pentagon City, but I totally remember all those places in Clarendon (“Clizzle dizzle”?) and Ballston. Funny stuff.

Speaking of Arlington, a few months ago a Flickr photo of mine (of an “I Voted in Arlington” sticker, from about four years ago) was used as part of the cover of this year’s Arlington County Profile, an annual publication of the county planning department. A staff demographer had contacted me about using the photo, and I said sure. She recently sent me a copy in the mail (PDF available). Neat!

Categories
uncategorized

Easter Sunday in Half Moon Bay

We had a nice Easter Sunday afternoon in Half Moon Bay with my mom, and my aunt and her family. For lunch we ate at It’s Italia, a (you guessed it) Italian restaurant. It was pretty good for the most part, but the major thing was that their oven (or something like that) wasn’t working, so we basically couldn’t have any pizza or pasta dishes. Eep. It turned out OK, since there were still panini, which we all enjoyed. (See my Yelp review.)

Afterwards we got some hot drinks at Half Moon Bay Coffee Company and went to the beach. The coffee definitely helped counter the brisk, windy weather. There was a fair number of people out picnicking and enjoying the park and beach. Here’s a short video I made, with my cousin’s son at the end; pardon the cheesy slo-mo, but I just had to try it out since variable speed is new in iMovie ’09:

The drive down Highway 1 is so pretty and Half Moon Bay has a bunch of cool little restaurants, but I often forget how close it is, only about twenty miles from Daly City. We definitely need to go down there more often (in addition to the pumpkin festival!).

Categories
uncategorized

Prius preview

On Sunday we went to Fort Mason in San Francisco for a preview of the next-generation Toyota Prius. The event was a nice little shindig, where we had a light brunch and got to take a look at the redesigned 2010 model, which the Toyota folks tentatively said would be available this May.

We also got to take a test drive but were asked not to share any “driving impressions” until after March 25. Photos and video were otherwise allowed; I have a few photos up on Flickr, and I put together a video showing a demo of one of the new features, “Intelligent Parking Assist”:

I’m lukewarm over the new exterior, but it does look sportier and sleeker. The new features like parking guidance and the redesigned interior information displays make this model very tempting! We’re thinking we may get one eventually. (I say quietly so as not to make Thom’s current Prius nervous.)

It was a gorgeous day out, so afterward we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and parked at the vista point on the Marin side. We walked partway onto the bridge and took in the sights.

More photos from the Golden Gate Bridge here.

Categories
uncategorized

Chick-flick clichés

OK, I just might end up seeing that movie He’s Just Not That Into You when it comes out … only if they do in fact avoid these chick-flick clichés:

Hmm, somehow I don’t mind the clichés when Kevin Connolly, Justin Long, and Bradley Cooper do them. Go figure. They can be very convincing. (Hat tip to AfterElton.)

Categories
uncategorized

Park Chalet

Last Sunday Thom and I ended up having an impromptu afternoon at a few westside San Francisco spots. We were looking for a place to have brunch, and we decided on the Park Chalet, which is just behind its more visible sibling, the Beach Chalet, on Great Highway. They have a buffet brunch on Sundays; I think my favorite thing was the crème brûlée french toast, yum.

Afterward we went across the street to Ocean Beach and walked around for a bit, then drove up to the Legion of Honor museum, where we happened to arrive just as the weekly organ concert was starting. All great sights, so that means another video! And a few additional photos (map) are up on Flickr.

When I tested the video with my focus group, i.e., Thom, he said the music for the Ocean Beach segment was “very 90210.” Ha!

Categories
uncategorized

Coyote Point

A couple of weekends ago we had some gorgeous weather, so Thom and I decided to go out in the afternoon. We had brunch at Nini’s, which was recommended to us by Espie. It’s a old-school coffee shop tucked away in a residential area of San Mateo. We’d heard good things, and Nini’s didn’t disappoint. I had an omelette and especially liked the home fries.

Here’s a quick video from the counter.

I love Thom’s expression. He’s like, “Are you recording?!” Oh, I kid. He’s such a ham. (Mmm, ham.) And apparently I cannot put together a video without adding stock music.

Afterward we went to Coyote Point, the park in San Mateo that faces the bay and has a scenic vantage point for planes approaching SFO. Here’s another video, but first, a production note. I totally replaced the sound in the last few shots with sound effects from iMovie: jet flybys (because we had been talking inadvertently during that shot), and seagulls and waves (since the original sound was pretty weak). Though, it’s kind of funny; you see one seagull, but the sound effect is a whole flock. Ah, the birds! The invisible birds!

Other photos are up on Flickr.

We wrapped up the day with a trip to the nearby Peninsula Humane Society (which is where we adopted Tiki and Mojo over a year ago now) and had a nice time visiting with the animals. So cute.