Redesigning a portfolio site can be quite a pain in the behind. I’m to the building stage on my 3rd concept and I think I’m finally happy with the direction. The only problem is in having the patience to work through the bugs and not want to scrap it and start all over yet again.

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{Pandora} “Freedom Hangs Like Heaven” by Iron & Wine
{where.i.am} in my office

I found a cool site to keep your photoshop skills fresh.

PSDtuts.com

Just about every day they have a tutorial for you to walk through. You can usually learn something new or brush up on something you already know. The other day I went through their iPod Remote tutorial in about 15 minutes and was pretty pleased with the results.

It’s always fun recreating a real object with some shapes, color and layer styling.

Some tutorials are more intense and time consuming than others but I’ve found it to be a good resource to get me out of a creative rut throughout the day. I just search through their tutorials to find something I like or have never done and go to town. They seem to cover a lot of areas within photoshop so it’s kind of hard to get bored there. They also take current trends and show you how to recreate that same look and feel which can be a time saver when you’re trying something new.

{Pandora} “Winter” by Joshua Radin
{where.i.am} lunching in my office

This weekend after more than 20 months of thinking about it and a hand full of false starts I went out and adopted a puppy. While Laila (the puppy) is cute (as most puppies are) that wears off within a few hours and it’s time to face the reality that you have another mouth to feed and a lot of work ahead of you over the next couple months.

This wasn’t a surprise to me. In fact, though I won’t deny feelings of being annoyed at times I was looking forward to this. I won’t compare it to taking care of a child but there are some similar things such as feeding, making sure they’re going to the bathroom where they’re supposed to and of course putting them in a kennel at night.

Even though it’s barely been 48 hours since I’ve adopted Laila I’ve already started seeing the results I was hoping for.

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{TV} Green Street Hooligans
{where.i.am} at home watching a movie

Today I found something cool. Even though the days of mix tapes are long gone and it seems that mix cd’s aren’t going to last so we needed something easier. Introduce muxtape.com.

Though I just discovered it this afternoon and haven’t looked into it too much is does look to be pretty cool. For instance, if you need a last minute Valentines day gift (though you have 13 months so hopefully that isn’t a problem) this would be a solid option.

Just like a mix tape, you take a number of songs you already have and mix them to your liking, only with muxtape it’s all digital.

For example, if I found a girl I fancied I could make a muxtape at ilikeyou.muxtape.com. It sounds like they’re going to be doing a bunch of additions and adding options as the site grows but I already think it’s a pretty rad idea.

Also, I can’t forget to mention how simple they made it. You create an account with an email address, password and mix tape name and then you’re ready to upload songs.

{iTunes}
{where.i.am} lunching in my office

Anyone who is remotely involved in or interested in music, movies or the future of the web has probably heard of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival. The interactive portion is relatively new to the festival.

I ran across this video of iJustine interviewing people obviously there for the music portion. She quizzes them on their knowledge of and interest in different common terms and names around the web community. Most people think the people or things she is talking about are bands or musicians which makes for a little entertainment.

My favorite part is near the end when she’s asking a guy about Mark Zuckerberg (creator of facebook).

{tv} How I Met Your Mother
{where.i.am} in my big blue chair

I’m watching How I Met Your Mother’s return to new episodes and I notice that Vanessa Minnillo is guest starring. This is after I hear that Britney Spears is guest starring next week. As I went googling for a picture to add to this post I find that Sarah Chalke (Elliot from Scrubs) is also guest starring next week.

My initial reaction is “really? Britney Spears?” but as I think a little deeper it makes perfect sense. What could a high risk well placed guest star get you? Better ratings and an increased viewership for starters.

Even someone like myself who does his best to avoid tabloids and celebrity news couldn’t help but notice all the hoopla surrounding Miss Spears over the past year. At the risk of a bad pun, to me Brit would be nothing less than toxic for any guest appearance on anything mainstream whatsoever.

So while others might scoff, before I even see the episode I am predicting a risk well taken with a high reward for the creators of HIMYM.

I got a message from a gal at schmap.com via flickr that they wanted to include a photo of mine I took in Memphis on their site. Schmap.com is an interactive tour guide for cities all over the world.

I don’t really think the photo they used of mine is the coolest ever, as it’s just a random pic from when I was in Memphis, but it’s always fun to have something of yours appreciated.

You can see it in use on the Memphis, TN section of Schmap.com here.

Play a little “where’s waldo?” and find my dad in this picture… (click on it for a little bit bigger version)

{iTunes} “Jukebox Blues” by Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line Soundtrack)
{where.i.am} for your protection I can not disclose that

I just returned from the great state of Texas and I was able to sneak a few things across state lines. Mainly, Pineapple Fanta. I through half a 12 pack in my suitcase, checked my luggage and hoped for the best. When I got home yesterday All of the cans were intact and I enjoyed one with a burrito last night.

I’m working with my distribution resources to meet me in Kansas in a week or so to get me some more.

In the mean time shed a tear for this waste of a life (of a can of Pineapple Fanta)

{iTunes} “Peace” by Weezer
{where.i.am} sitting in bed

As I set in bed feeling oddly unsettled on the eve of heading down to Texas for a little vaca and not sure what to do about it I figured I’d share this video with you.

If you’ve ever wondered what “Alt-Country” is, here is a great 1-minute summarization

via Spinner.com

{iTunes} “I Know You Well” by Face to Face
{where.i.am} lunchtime at the office

About a week ago I launched a website/blog to track my music. Right now the 2 big things are going on is getting a few tracks together for Sunny Sweeney to listen to and writing for the demo EP that I’m working on with Casey.

Check it out at music.bentipler.com

I’ll post rough tracks of stuff I’m working on, updates on the progress of different projects and my thoughts on the process of creating music.

Tell your friends.