Conquering Clutter

One thing Rob and I want to get a hold on is the overwhelming clutter that fills our apartment. There isn't much closet space, and there isn't much room to put things. There are stacks of bills paid, paperwork, magazine articles torn out, and more that cover the desks. I even have a feng shui book that implied it could help us. The solution? Throw everything you own out or give it away. That not being a feasible option, that book is now in the bin for the used bookstore.

But it's not just our apartment that needs help. We have two storage units, one larger than the other. The second larger one is not filled to capacity, and was rented when my dad sent some of my mother's things and my grandfather's furniture for me to keep for our future home. One of our goals is to wittle down the first storage unit and only have one. But in order to do that, we also need to find a home for the boxes of research we gathered for our Master thesis papers.

Then, for Christmas, Rob saved up and got me a ScanSnap S300. This nifty little device is a color image scanner that can take double-sided documents and turn them into PDF files. It accepts the paperwork like a fax machine would, so the process is very quick. We've already been able to throw out three bags of old paperwork (shredded, of course) that was laying around and had no home. Now we have a digital version, easy to back up as well.

We feel a step closer to managing the clutter. Now, to get started on those storage units...

Britney a ringleader of her own Circus - finally

At risk of offending my regular readership, I have a confession to make:

I am a Britney Spears fan.

And I like her new album.

The tracks on Circus - with the exception of the repackaged Radar from her Blackout album - are current, catchy and marketable to the club scene and Top 40 radio.

I've heard Circus at least a half dozen times since I purchased the standard edition on Thursday. (The deluxe edition is on its way.) Womanizer, Kill the Lights, and Unusual You stood out as the highlights to me. The first track, Womanizer, is pure Britney, complete with scandalous music video; Kill the Lights seems reminiscent of her current opening act, The Pussycat Dolls; and Unusual You has a new-age feel that is unique to Britney's recent offerings.

Two tracks on the album -- Out from Under and If You Seek Amy -- appear to allude to previous relationships, the former with Justin Timberlake and the latter with Kevin Federline. The lyrics from Out from Under read as an attempt at closure while If You Seek Amy broadcasts as an angst-filled breakup song.

I might be in the minority, but the song Circus seems like a miss. It's likely to show up in concert though, because early reports on the upcoming tour show a center-ring configuration. Circus fits the bill in that case. Mmm Papi and Blur are the weaker tracks. I wouldn't miss either of these if they weren't played live.

For the record, Blackout was a solid offering last year. Unfortunately, Britney was in no shape to promote it. It is encouraging to see that she is planning a full tour in support of Circus.

'Mack the Knife' a fitting tribute

It is somewhat remarkable that 35 years after the death of Bobby Darin, that someone else -- namely one Chaz Esposito and his nine-piece band -- playing his music and singing his songs could fill a room in eastern Connecticut. But Esposito did just that on Friday night, and again on Saturday, with his show Mack the Knife - The Life and Music of Bobby Darin.

The performance itself resembled something that of a play, complete with a narrator and video clips from Darin's former manager and Wayne Newton (his protégé) setting up the songs. Esposito delivered a faithful tribute to many of Darin's greatest hits. Highlights from the set included Splish Splash, Beyond the Sea, Mack the Knife (twice), Simple Song of Freedom, If I Were a Carpenter, Clementine, and That's All.

The set was approximately 90 minutes, including a surprising 15 minute intermission. Esposito does a true-to-life impression of Darin, down the schtick from his comeback run in Las Vegas. If the show hits your area, it's definitely worth checking out.

And we won -- by far -- the award for youngest couple in attendance, which our table mates made sure to point out.

CameraBag is a sure bet

I've been playing with an application for the iPhone for the past month called CameraBag.

This nifty little program allows you to take photos using your camera phone in various classic camera and film simulations. It also allows you to access saved photos on your phone and apply the template to them. (In my case, I've mostly gone back and applied the settings to photos I've taken over the past few months on the phone.)

It's very simple to use. You're able to scroll through and apply the filter to each image. If you like it, you hit the diskette icon to save.

What do you get? I've offered samples below! (Quoted items are direct from the vendor.)

Helga: "A square-format toy camera feel with washed-out highlights and old-school vignetting." It desaturates and crops your photo and adds a faded border.


Instant: Think polariod. Oh yeah!

Ansel: This adds a white border and grayscales the image.
(Well, it would be wrong to apply this filter to something that wasn't a tree, correct?)

1962: "Dynamic black and whites from the photojournalists of a bygone era." Converts to black and white and bumps the contrast way up.


Fisheye: For the bubbled look.


Infrared: Makes everything "alive" into shades of white (hey, that's how I learned it in school- it's the best I can explain it!)

Lolo: "Offers vibrant, colorful shots."
* This is the filter applied to the photo at the top of today's entry as well.

(Notice anything peculiar on that gas pump above, by the way?)

Cinema: Gives a widescreen look.

1974: "This is your father's camera. Faded, tinted and hip." Adds a white border and sepia tone to your image.
As you can see, I'm having way too much fun with it! The only glitch I've found so far is that the infrared, 1962, 1974 and cinema filters make the image extremely small, but hopefully there will be a patch that will correct that in the future.

In addition to applying filters, you can control what resolution you wish to use (400-1200). I have mine set to 800. (The higher the resolution, the slower the saving time.)

For $2.99 in the App Store, it's a fun feature to add to the phone. To learn more, visit this site.