JANUARY 2025
|
|
|
| VOL 20 ISSUE 1 | JANUARY 2025 |
Happy New Year everyone! It looks like it's going to be a wild ride in 2025. I just dipped my toe in the ChatGPT world and entered into the realm of virtual reality with Meta Quest 3 goggles. Mind blown, but still trying to roll with the changes. Tonight I got my 10,000 steps of exercise while watching Rick Beato interviews on a virtual YouTube screen that traveled ahead of me...so cool. I've also "walked into" a Sketchup model of a restaurant project that has yet to be built. One other fun thing was watching my own music videos on virtual movie theater screens with wonderful stereo sound. ChatGPT has already helped me with an outline for a book on Photography that I have been toying with for years. Maybe this technology will be the spark I needed.
I made my list of resolutions on New Years Day, like I always do. As I reflected on last year, I realized that I really just want to keep that level of momentum and accomplishment rolling into the coming year. I know a lot of people on social media are saying that they are glad to leave 2024 behind, but it was a pretty stellar year for me and I'm glad that I have the aptitude for gratitude to realize it. Just to name a few of the highlights - traveled to 10 states (including 2 trips to Hawaii), got a new labradoodle puppy, opened a store and sold more prints than ever before, won two lighting awards, licensed and published several photographs (including a Playboy article), had a song placed in an award winning independent film, performed live as a bodypainter and musician, photographed a total solar eclipse, a comet, and the Aurora Borealis, became a licensed drone pilot, and attended dozens of concerts and breweries with my lovely wife. That will be a tough act to follow, but here's to making 2025 even better if that is even possible.
December 7th was a very busy day this year. The morning started off at the Mesa Book Festival where I was thrilled to play an acoustic set on the big stage. I played mostly originals but did include two classic covers (Don't Mess Around With Jim and Sister Golden Hair). It is interesting to have amassed such a big catalog of original songs to pull from and I actually had to spend some time re-learning them and remembering the lyrics. After my set, I did a little interview with ConAir Radio which is on-line here (starting at time 10:36) and also signed some copies of Sharon Skinner's book, Blood From A Rose, that features a photoshoot I did with model Lindsey Lockwood.
Then I spent a part of the afternoon in my makeup chair to once again apply the Grinch prosthetic makeup to myself for the Chandler Parade of Lights. This was the third year I've had the opportunity to ride the float for Junk Brothers. The float is literally made out of a dumpster, which is so apropros, but it is decked out with a flurry of lights (mostly green) that we've actually placed twice so far as the best lights in the parade. After the parade I went home to remove the makeup, which takes a little effort, and then headed out to celebrate Ed Clapper's birthday. What a day!
London Bridge was falling down...falling down...falling down. But they moved it from the Thames River in London, England to Lake Havasu in Arizona and reassembled it, block by block. I felt blessed to close out 2024 with this epic view of the sunset over the illuminated bridge. The timing was right to visit over the holiday break to get the festive wreaths and green and red lighting. My DJI Air 2S drone rose as the sun set to get to this vantage point. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity! Thanks go out to my brother and his wife who invited me to spend a night with them at their timeshare. While there I also hiked to several of their scaled down lighthouses that emulate famous lighthouses throughout the Americas.
June 7th (8 pm Saturday) - Phoenix Fan Fusion Bodypainting Extravaganza is back. This year's them is Gothic Glam.
E-ya later,
Mark Greenawalt
Mark@MarkGreenawalt.com
My gift to you is my music. Please kindly accept by going to these fine streaming services to download and stream! I hope you like some and consider them for your favorite playlists!
copyright Mark Greenawalt, Future-Class X Publishing - Phoenix, AZ 85044
Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions
To Read the Archived Green Pages, Click
Here
