Journal

Renaissance

by

It’s difficult to realize historic moments when you might be in the middle of one but I believe we are witnessing a modern renaissance with art, technology, media, and minimalism.

The 1st Annual Denbow Awards 2021

by

It’s that time of year when publishers, artists and generally most in the media like to focus on the “Best Of” for that calendar year. So, I thought it would be a good time to roll out the first ever Denbow Awards.

Books

Cloud Cuckoo Land

Project Hail Mary

The Plot

Strange Beasts of China

Apps

Obsidian

Feedbin

Geocache

Hipstamatic

Games

Asphalt 8

Alto’s Odyssey

Both games are from Apple Arcade and, for me, the only games I really play. If it wasn’t a part of the Apple One subscription, I wouldn’t play them, but they are both excellent ways to enjoy some downtime.

Film

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is the only movie I have seen in theaters this year. A nice continuity from the original actors’ story line and to the next generation.

Matrix: Resurrections- I haven’t seen this yet, but I am eagerly anticipating this, so we’ll call that a win.

TV

WandaVision- Disney Plus

Foundation- Apple TV

Tech

iPad Pro M1 2021

Music

I tried to break the Apple Music algorithms by listening to different genres. You can click here for the Audio Denbow radio station and Apple has set up their annual review of most played songs for me on Replay 2021.

Podcasts

My podcast listening has been limited, but I’ll note my two favorites here anyway. Smartless and Camp Monsters.

“SmartLess” with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, & Will Arnett is a podcast that connects and unites people from all walks of life to learn about shared experiences through thoughtful dialogue and organic hilarity. A nice surprise: in each episode of SmartLess, one of the hosts reveals his mystery guest to the other two. What ensues is a genuinely improvised and authentic conversation filled with laughter and newfound knowledge to feed the SmartLess mind.”

“These are the stories of impossible encounters with impossible creatures in the wildest corners of North America. We’ll travel the country, sit around campfires and talk about that thing that ran across the trail in the middle of the night, just beyond the beam of your flashlight. Come closer to the fire. Let’s hear the next legend.”

Blog Post of the Year

My Updated iPad-Only Photography Workflow, as nominated by all of the views, comments and shares. Thank you!

And that’s it! The first annual Denbow Awards show has come to a close. It’s been a good year for entertainment and technology, and I cannot wait to see what is in store for 2022.

More or Less

by

Regarding my previous post about consumerism and the idea that we have to have more and more, I believe that less is actually more. The more you have, the less productive you can become.

I’ve learned this the hard way and spent a lot of money trying to find the best devices for myself over the years. In doing so, I’ve acquired more than I needed. Why is our mindset programmed to think that more is better?

This has led to my embrace of minimalism, or “essentialism.” Only buy and use what you need. More things leads to more distractions and makes us less productive.

My digital toolbox includes the MacBook Pro, the iPad Pro, the iPhone Pro Max and all the essential software I want and need to produce the work I want to. If I could, with confidence, manage my photo archive on the iPad alone, then I would not own the MacBook. Yes, it is possible, but I do not want to find workarounds. I’ll get there someday, hopefully soon, and then Mac & I will part ways.

The iPad for me is both a creative and consumption device and has quickly taken over as my primary tool. It has been upgraded with outstanding cameras but do I really want to carry Paddy around everywhere to snap photos? Nope, that is what Max the iPhone is for.

I do not need most of the things that others want. I need what is essential to me at the moment. But if we really want to become more productive and happy, then we will continue to work with less, not more.

From left to right: Paddy, Max and Mac

Dirty Santa

by

Material possessions have ruined what used to be known as the most wonderful time of the year. Why are we so miserable and feel pressured to find that gift that someone had put on a long list of “wants?” Ol’ Saint Nick went corporate and then we see how holiday season morphed into holiday shopping season.

A long time ago I chose to resume control and choose to celebrate people and joy instead.

Photographic Memories

by

After organizing decades and terabytes worth of images recently, I realized that I rarely take time to appreciate these images. I have thousands of images of my daughter, but I never look at them. They are stored in the dark, collecting digital dust. I want the best camera I can afford, so I can create photos that are forgotten. That doesn’t make sense.

Some of these photos will come in handy when old age catches up and my memories fail me. I prefer not to wait that long.

Despite their neglect, these digital memories mean everything to me and to anyone else, they would mean nothing. Sure, they represent my photography skills that grew along as much as my daughter has grown, but they are not award-winning compositions either. But they mean the world to me. If my home catches fire, the iPad and the hard drives are coming with me. Everything else can be replaced.

These precious digital files captured moments that will never happen again. They tell stories of where we were, how we were doing, and remind us of how blessed we are.

Despite all this realization, I will still take photos, knowing they may never again be viewed unless I re-organize them. I will continue to purchase external hard drives and upgrade my iCloud storage to fill them up.

One of these days, I will have them displayed out in the open in a paper format, be it in a book or a frame. They mean everything to me.

Minimal & Maximal Design 

by

I’ve always been fascinated with design, especially design that invokes an audible “ooh.” My first, impressionable experience was watching a Lamborghini Countach rocket past a highway patrol car in the movie “Cannonball Run.”

Here are some examples of next-level design, engineering, aerodynamics, technology, magnificent and minimalism: Apple, Tesla, Lamborghini, Nike, Ferrari. All these brands represent the best in the industry by utilizing great design and materials.

Electric engines that go from 0-60 in 1.9 seconds? A superconductor hybrid V-12 engine? Autonomous driving? 32-Core GPU, & 32GB Unified Memory? Hell yes.

Monotone, grey, silver, black, navy, chrome, white are my signature colors. Clean, goes with everything and minimal.

I cannot afford the best in all situations. But I do when and where I can. It makes me appreciate what I have just as well as I can appreciate the best from afar. And yes, I used “maximal” in the header.