Wed - March 21, 2007

Sun - March 11, 2007

Let's Dance!

The 65 teams were selected this afternoon to play in this years NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament and low and behold, the Texas A&M Corpus Christi beat Northwestern State to win their first ever trip to the "Big Dance"!

My brother in law Matt, whose "little" brother... who is 6'8"... Seth Engelken plays for TAMU-CC and we will be cheering him on. They are a 15th seed, and will be playing #2 Wisconsin at the United Center in Chicago later this week.

So if you are the kind of person who likes rooting for the underdogs... you need to get yourself on the Islanders band wagon!

Here's how the bracket looks now, you can download a printable PDF from ESPN here.



Although my heart will be with the Islanders, my head says go UCLA!

Posted at 05:33 PM     Read More  

Sat - March 10, 2007

300

A few of my photo buddies and I played hooky yesterday afternoon and went to a matinee screening of 300 the movie. When I first saw the trailer a while back, I thought, wow... it is going to be visually stunning, but the plot looks a little weak so I think I'll pass.

But my friend Vic organized the whole thing, bought the tickets online to the showing on the IMAX screen, so I decided to go and be social. I am sure glad I did. I was actually out running errands near the theater before the show, and saw a huge line forming so I just jumped in, and it was a good thing. I can't remember the last time I went to the movies and the line was around the block (I know a lot of movies sell out and have big lines, I just normally go on monday or wednesday nights to avoid the crowds). I heard that it was already sold out for the day (and it was only just past noon at that point). I predict it could be the largest non holiday weekend movie opening of all time. We'll know on Monday.

Anywho... The movie was shot and digitally created so beautifully, and the story was actually pretty interesting and not as predictable as I feared it would be. It is a total guys movies, but there is lots of eye candy for the ladies too... all 300 of the Spartan have like 14 packs and are wearing leather Speedos. It was great watching it on the huge IMAX screen as well and you could just feel the soundtrack. It was intense!

There is a great "Making of" section on the website.

Guys... go see this movie! Try not to spear anyone or get road rage on the way home.

Posted at 10:54 AM     Read More  

Wed - March 7, 2007

Sun - February 18, 2007

Honeymoon Review - The Czech Republic/Prague

A while back I thought it would be a good idea to ask my friends and clients to submit stories and pictures from their honeymoons in order to serve as a little review of their trip that may help other couples as they plan for their honeymoons.

My friend Trevor and his wife Katie went to Europe for their honeymoon back in November and here's what he wrote (he's quite an expressive writer):

The last thing I recall was saying the words “I do” because when I mentally came-to the next day I was on a plane to the Czech Republic. I looked to my right and there was this really unfortunate looking women oozing over into my seat and I thought to myself, “My God man, what have you done?” Luckily I looked to my left and there was my beautiful, way out of my league, wife fast asleep on my shoulder. Getting married is a paradox of time; let me explain. The whole planning portion of the wedding…well it’s a relentless life-sucking monster from Dante’s seventh ring of hell that you hope to soon forget. The ceremony and receptions aspect of a wedding is saturated with celebration, dancing, toasts, drinking, which perpetuates more toasts, dancing, cake cutting, cigars, more drinking and lastly, the traditional pelting of the couple with handfuls of rice…or so I’ve heard. Apparently Katie and I had all of this, except for the barbaric rice fiasco, at our wedding. Like most couples, we remember virtually nothing from the reception; we were on sensory overload. There in lies the paradox. What you want to remember you can’t and what you want to forget still haunts your dreams. Because of this quark in time, honeymoons came to be.

The honeymoon is a time to decompress, to get away from all of the crazy relatives that came in town and to spend time with that you have missed so much, room service. Katie and I choose destinations that matched our personality and a place that we would really never take kids. We honeymooned in Prague and Budapest.

We spent the first part of our honeymoon in Prague. Prague is absolutely amazing. We stayed at the 5-star Boscolo Hotel Carlo IV, which is about a 5-minute walk from Old Town Square, the heart of Prague. Most of the higher end hotels in the area have underground pools associated with some sort of Spa. For food though, you need to get out of the hotels. It is way over priced. The restaurants in and around Old Town Square are brilliant, most only having 10-15 tables and the better ones requiring reservations. All the food there is outstanding. Italian food seems to be the main theme throughout the town. STAY AWAY from the local wines, unless you prefer wine in a box quality spirits. Stick with the wines from Italy and France. Beer is dirt-cheap and it alcohol content is double that of the beers in the US. We founds a small pub near the hotel and ended each of our days their with a pint and some foreign guy that wanted to be best friends…esss-scuzzy, I sorry. Because the Czech Republic is so close to England and other English speaking countries, there really is no language barrier.

As far as the main attractions go, see all of the churches and art museums that you can. The works there are unbelievable; fine art is a mainstay of the Czech life. We went to the State Opera House and watched William Shakespeare’s, “A Mid-Summer Nights Dream”. It was an amazing experience to be in such an extravagant setting witnessing the national ballet performing. Once again, art is ensconced in their lives, culture and heritage. After indulging in 5-days of art, food and wine, we were on a train headed to Budapest.

If you are going to travel by train in Europe, go first class. It is not the same first class service that you have on a plan, rather in ensures that you get your own seat, access to the dining car and that person sitting across from you has showered with in the last couple of months. Trains are a big part of Budapest because it is much larger and spread over a larger area than Prague. In Prague you walk; in Budapest you take the train/subway.

We stayed at the Corinthea Grand Royal Hotel, Budapest. It was another 5-star hotel, but it was not as warm or inviting as the Boscolo Hotel Carlo IV, Prague. We had that same feeling in regards to Budapest as a whole, it was much more modern and not a charming or quaint as Prague. Regardless, it is still an incredible place to honeymoon or vacation. The big draw of the city, other than the greatest sport on earth (water polo), are the thermal bathes. These are found throughout the city and are comprised of natural hot springs that have been around for hundreds of thousands of years. The most captivating part of the city can be found on the Pest side of the Danube River. It is referred to as the castle district and is filled with amazing modern art museums, 200 year old churches and the Royal Palace, which mammoth size and opulence can only be truly appreciated when experienced in person. The view of the city from the castle heights at night is unimaginable. Our 4-night stay in Budapest ended with Katie and I walking across the Elizabeth Bridge from the Pest side of the Danube to the Buda side of the river with towers of the Palace reaching towards the heavens. Words cannot express the grandeur of the moment nor the magnitude of our honeymoon together.

Katie and I feel in love with Prague, and regrettably I do not think I did Budapest justice with my writing. Put it this way, Katie and I looked into buying a flat in Prague because we felt so at home their. We enjoyed both cities, but if we had to choose one over the other, Prague wins hands down. Stealing a line from Ferris Bueller, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend you visit.”

Here are a few images from their trip:
















If you'd like to tell us about your honeymoon, write up a little review and send me a few images.

Posted at 10:38 PM     Read More  

Sun - February 11, 2007

The Last King of Scotland

Last night Jess & I went and saw The Last King of Scotland and I have to say, what a great movie! Forrest Whitaker portrays Idi Amin and he was outstanding! (Forest not Amin). He already won the Golden Globe & The Screen Actors Guild award for best actor and I am sure he'll win the Oscar that he has been nominated for. The movie is a bit violent, and graphic, but it is based on a true story. It was good to see Gillian Anderson in a film again, I loved watching her in the X-Files back in the day. James McAvoy also turned in an outstanding performance as Amin's doctor and most trusted advisor. I don't want to give anything away, I just want to recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of quality film making and story telling.





Other movies that I am really looking forward to this year are:

Ocean's 13




The Kingdom




Live Free or Die Hard




Shooter





Reno 911 Miami

Perfect Stranger

And you can always see the latest movie trailers on Apple's website

Posted at 08:33 AM     Read More  

Mon - January 15, 2007

Fri - January 12, 2007

We need to talk!

This was my view Thursday morning around 9:00AM:




And this is what I saw around 11:30AM:




Every year since '97, I have headed out to Las Vegas for the WPPI convention for wedding and portrait photographers because I am a professional photographer and a big time camera geek. Yesterday, I went to San Francisco to the Macworld Expo because I am a computer geek as well. (it was my first Macworld)

As I am sure you've all heard, Apple announced it's long awaited iPhone with built in widescreen iPod on Tuesday, and I just had to see it for myself. This post is in the rave section because the thing is glorious! Truly a work of art and science. I can't wait to get my hands on one. I may even camp out in front of the Apple store in June when it is due to be released. Check it out:




And here are some photos from the trade show floor. There were only 2 of them on display, and there were tons of people crowding around taking photos and just gawking. You'd think it was one of those faberge eggs:












The phone looks to be just as tall as my Blackberry 8700c, but thinner in both of the other dimensions. And I do like my Blackberry, but you'll see it on eBay come June.

I even ran into a few of my friends from SoCal Sara France and Lauren Hillary:




I also thought it was very interesting that they changed their name from Apple Computers, Inc. to just Apple, Inc. Either way, Apple is such an amazing brand because they just keep raising the bar and setting the trends in the computer, and now consumer electronics industry. In 1984, when the Mac's were first introduced, it changed the way people bought computers, the iMac was an original that made it easier and less expensive for people to buy a nice computer and inspired the rest of the industry to copy. When the iPod came out in 2001, it changed the music industry and they way we buy music. Now, I am very excited about the iPhone/iPod and I think Apple is about to become a major player in the telecommunications industry. My favorite line from Steve Job's keynote address the other day was "suddenly those other smart phones don't seem so smart anymore" (paraphrased)

Does anyone want to camp out with me in June?

Posted at 11:00 AM     Read More  

Thu - January 4, 2007

Wed - December 27, 2006

Sun - December 10, 2006

U2 Vertigo Tour Finale

I just got back from the last U2 concert on the Vertigo Tour and as per usual, they did not disappoint! I went to shows 4 and 6 on this tour back in April of 2005 at the Pond in Anaheim and at Staples Center in Los Angeles, but tonight's performance at the Aloha Bowl in Honolulu was extra special. I've been to over 20 U2 concerts in my life and I can't remember seeing a better show.

First off, I want to thank Jessica for the fabulous Christmas gift... a trip to Hawaii to see my favorite band. That is awesome! I truly feel like a jet setter.






Pearl Jam was the opening act and the started out strong, getting everyone going. I have never seen them live before, but they were worth the price of admission alone.

While we were waiting for U2 to come out, we noticed a few actors from the TV show Lost were in the house and we were only about 20 feet behind them. Our friends were about 20 feet in front of them.




Even though these photos aren't up to my usual standards, the show was incredible. I really wish someone would let me in their with my real camera. I shot the first show of the Popmart tour back in 1997 in Las Vegas and got some cool shots.

The Edge:




Adam Clayton:




Bono:




Bono and The Edge "abstract":




One.org:




Coexist:




I kept telling Jess that if Bono got a sore throat, I could just hop up on stage and fill in for him. She was very sweet to humor me:




The boys got to the stadium at 7:30am, waited all day, and we just a few feet from the walkway part of the stage. I can't wait to see their photos. From left to right, Tim & Eric (the guys from Red Door LA - the [ b ] logo creators), Nathan and Boo). Boo Arnold is a former groom of mine and was just on the TV show Justice the other night and had a pretty big role! Yay Boo!




It was the last show of the tour and it seemed like the guys saved a little extra and gave it their all tonight. During the second encore, I thought Bono said they were going to play a Billy Joel song and I was like huh? Don't tell me U2 is going to cover "We Didn't Start the Fire". No such luck, Billy Joe from Greenday came out and the rocked their new song "The Saints Are Coming" and the crowd went wild. Then, just to make things kick a little more ass, Eddie Vedder and the guitar player from Pearl Jam came out and covered Neil Young's "Rocking the Free World" with U2. It seemed to go on for 10 or 12 minutes and they just jammed as the crowd sang along.

After about 2 hours and 45 minutes, the show ended with "All I Want is You" as Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton exited the stage while the masses sang the chorus to Larry Mullen Jr's drum beat. Larry finally stopped, thanked the crowd and we'll have to wait for a couple years to see U2 on tour again. So much fun. Thanks Jess... you are the best!

Here's a little clip from the intro to Elevation:

Posted at 04:58 AM     Read More  

Sat - November 18, 2006

Six Feet Under on DVD and Dexter on Showtime

Rave: I love good packaging. I love quality television. When the two come together, you can imagine how excited I get. Yesterday the Amazon.com fairy brought me another little treat. It is the complete series on Six Feet Under on DVD with it's tombstone packaging complete with fake grass on the top. So clever!:





It has all 5 Seasons on DVD as well as a booklet "In Memoriam" :





SFU, was an amazing show on HBO. The writing, acting and directing were superb. The subject matter was a little disturbing, but always interesting. It received very much critical acclaim and even though I saw every episode, I still bought the DVD's because I like to collect quality television shows and movies.

Actor Michael C. Hall from Six Feet Under, is also on my new favorite show Dexter, which air's on Showtime Sunday evenings. This show is also very well done. Hall is amazing. It is shot beautifully. The subject matter is also a tad disturbing but it is amazingly interesting and produced very well. Tonight starting at 8pm, they are airing the past 4 episodes of you want to set your Tivo to catch up.





Is anyone else watching Dexter?

Posted at 09:51 AM     Read More  

Tue - November 14, 2006

Rant - Zune is lame

Zune launches today. Yawn. Normally I am all about the latest gadget and electronic toys, but not so much about this one.

If you don't know what Zune is, don't worry about it... it's nothing to get excited about. I hate to even mention it here and give it any additional press at all, but I just felt the urge to rant about Microsoft knocking off another Apple product. It only took them 5 years to knock off the iPod. Talk about a day late and a dollar short.

It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode (the Merv Griffin Show) when Jerry complains about not getting a GI Joe when he was a kid and his parents got him an "Army Pete" instead. Knock offs suck.

iPods make up 3/4 of the MP3 players sold today and the iTunes music store accounts for 80% of the legal music downloads on the web and analysts don't think the Zune will cut into iPod sales at all. The other amazing this the Microsoft doesn't get, is that people want to own their music. Subscription based music services are not a good idea, just ask Napster (are they still around?). I also love how a band called "The Secret Machines" played the Zune launch party in Seattle. Who? Apple at least hooks up with a band who we've heard of.




So parents, if you hate your kids and want them to get beat up at school, buy your kids Zune. You may as well make them wear a bow tie to school.

Ok, rant over.

Posted at 12:42 AM     Read More  

Mon - November 13, 2006

Rave: Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005

I hated doing book reports in school because I am not much of a reader, but I do want to share my book report on the latest addition to my coffee table book collection. The amazon.com fairy sent me the latest from Annie Leibovitz, A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005 and it's absolutely amazing. Not only does it include some of the most iconic images of our time, but also tons of images from her personal life, which are equally as compelling even though the subjects aren't famous. And for under $50, this belongs on every photography lovers coffee table.








File this fact under "I did not know that" but I just found out that the famous image that she shot of John Lennon and Yoko Ono was taken the day before Lennon was shot and killed in 1980.

Posted at 12:22 AM     Read More  

Fri - November 10, 2006

Tripmates

I am shooting a wonderful wedding next years for a cool couple that I just hit it off with when we first met. There was just something about these two that made me think they'd be cool people to hang out with or go on a trip with. So when they told me about the new website they started, Tripmates.com I had to check it out.





It's basically a social website kinda like myspace combined with travelocity or expedia. I am not sure if that is a great explanation, but it just seems like a great idea for people who like to travel. You can get real reviews of locations, vacations, restaurants and all kinds of travel related stuff from real people, not just professional critics. You can also find friends to travel with and at least meet up with while in a foreign country.

You can log on and become my tripmate, just search for Becker. I plan on posting more photos soon and even to post my review of Casa de los Suenos and other places I've traveled. I just think it's a cool idea because often when I've traveled, I've always thought it would be cool to hang with another couple or two just to mix it up and meet new people who have similar interests.

Posted at 10:35 AM     Read More