Hanging with the "Alties" in Evanston, IL

Though I've only known about them for the past year, an interesting sub-culture of folks in the weekly newspaper biz are quickly becoming my favorite people to hang out with. Affectionately dubbed "Alties" they are the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and this past weekend I had the honor of teaching their writers and designers a 2.5 hour class on Photoshop and graphic design. I also taught for these folks back in February in Washington DC, and in Portland, OR in July.

They are rebels, they are progressive, and they tackle news as they see fit. They also drink copious amounts at their gloriously frequent conferences and are some of the most enjoyable people to spend time on the conference circuit. At the most recent conference in Evanston, IL (near Chicago) we visited Ethel's Chocolate Lounge. It was amazing to say the least (shivers at the thought). Ever the fun-loving crowd, some quotes from the weekend include:

"Go tell chocolate boy."
"I looked down and I was lactating bourbon."
"Look at the size of those balls!"
"I had him last night."

Again, I really love this group :) Click either picture for a link to the photo gallery. On the right, Mike Kaylan is pictured enjoying the treats at the chocolate lounge (if the place had served drinks, we might never have left!).

I was also lucky enough to visit photographer friend George Papadakis and his lovely wife Debra and their two beautiful daughters, Stefani and Christy. We took the architectural boat tour through the city and had an amazing dinner at Morton's Steakhouse. I didn't want to leave! (Click the photo to the left to view the photo gallery.) He taught me more about how to shoot on manual mode and hopefully you'll see the fruits of those lessons in photos to come.

1st Annual YML BBQ

What do you get when you mix Mac geeks, Your Mac Life radio fans, and grill lovers? You get the 1st Annual Your Mac Life BBQ hosted at the home of Shawn and Lesa King in Westport, CT. (Click the photo to see more pictures.)

We had fish, steak, corn, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, carrot salad and the most artistic fruit salad I've ever seen (compliments of Lesh--see picture above).

An amazingly relaxing time was had by all and somehow Lesa and Lesh managed to plow through several bottles of wine.
We were even joined by a surprise guests halfway through the evening--David Pogue! What a treat it was to spend private time with friendly folks of like minds. Thanks to all who attended! I can't wait until the next one :)