Lots of new stuff...

First new hair, now a new website! I've revamped my photo gallery: robinbauerphoto.com and the new domain might be working by the time you read this: robinmcnallyphotography.com

I basically wanted to add more info rather than just have a gallery because I've had some offers recently to do work outside the Reds. So I'm hoping this will help encourage more outside offers (hence the availability calendar - seriously, how awesome is google?). I also wanted to change from Bauer to McNally. Even though I officially haven't changed my name because it'll be such a pain to do from here in England, everyone in England knows me as McNally, not Bauer. So it just makes sense to call my business name McNally.

I know that linking to the Picasa galleries isn't the most professional looking but it's the quickest and easiest way to upload new photos. I'd say I'm lazy but I honestly spent several hours redoing the rest of the website! Oh, and the first gallery (not the sports gallery) isn't up yet but that's all I have left to do - it'll be up soon.

And now I'm off to see Angels and Demons! Ewan McGregor - yum!

Robin Gets A Haircut

Bangs are shorter than I expected and there's that one little piece that won't stick with the rest! But I love it - a little different from the usual but not too drastic. I don't know why I'm incapable of standing in the middle of the frame though, sorry. And yeah, I wear that sweater a lot.

I'm concerned about how degraded my photos are on blogspot. This photo should be much sharper and with more contrast. I hate, hate, hate services that make your image smaller and lower quality without your permission. Major pet peeve.

Star Trek

Tonight, Steve and I went to see a "Mystery Movie" - it's a screening of a movie not yet out but they don't tell you what it is. If you're not happy with what it turns out to be, you can leave within 20 minutes and get a refund.

Steve thought for sure it was going to be Angels and Demons so he suggested going because he knows I really like Dan Brown books. So he was really pleased when it turned out to be Star Trek. But it does mean we now have no plans for Friday because we planned to see it then, lol.

It was a really good movie with some really good comic relief moments and classic Star Trek jokes. The Romulans looked different though, they're obviously trying to make them look more evil and scary.

Definitely go see it!

Liverpool ONE sucks...

We're definitely never going to the Liverpool ONE shopping center again! For starters, we didn't realize it was an outdoor shopping center and the whole reason we decided not to take a day trip to someplace like Chester was because the weather was forecast for rain today. I know what you're thinking: "Rain? In England?" Who would have thought, right? Well, it did rain and it was below 50 degrees! And I stupidly didn't wear my coat because I thought it was indoors and it's always warm inside malls. I was freezing the whole time.

On top of that, the shops were all the same as you'd find at the Trafford Centre (the big indoor shopping mall in Manchester) but not as many - the Trafford Centre is much bigger and more elaborately designed and decorated. If Liverpool ONE is really what they are calling "Liverpool's answer to Manchester's Trafford Centre" they have failed, big time.

I think Steve secretly enjoys going to Liverpool though - only because he gets to take punches at the scousers every chance he gets, lol. As we were leaving, he said "Once again, Liverpool never fails to disappoint!"

But we did eat at a restaurant themed as an American diner, which Steve loves. I got a new bikini for Jamaica which was only £16 ($24) and Steve picked up a book and a Derren Brown DVD at HMV. So it wasn't a total failure - but then again, we could have saved the 40 minute drive and walking in the cold rain and gotten the same stuff at the Trafford Centre! Hence why we won't be going back to Liverpool ONE.

Reactions

Just wanted to mention that I've added "reactions" so if you don't have time to leave a comment or don't know what to say, you can just click a "reaction" (right now, there's "funny", "interesting" and "cool" - default options) as a response instead.

Derren Brown

Just got back from seeing Derren Brown, it was amazing! It's hard to describe what the show is like but there's a lot of things such as getting a member of the audience to write something down, put it in an envelope and then he manages to correctly guess what it is. There's a lot more showmanship to it than that (he's also very funny so the show is part comedy) and some more elaborate methods, that's a very simple example. They get more elaborate and complicated as the show goes on.

But again, he makes it clear he doesn't claim to be a psychic or mind reader, he admits it's all tricks of the trade. He also admits that he relies heavily on subliminal messages and cold reading. I never put much weight in subliminal messages before but I certainly do now. Although having said that, neither Steve or I picked the things we were "supposed" to pick so it's a good thing we didn't catch any of frisbees (to help prove the members of the audience who participate are not plants, he randomly throws frisbees out to the crowd - naturally, he can't control who exactly catches them unless he's also an expert frisbee throwing, lol). I'm pleased I'm not quite as suggestible as some people but seeing how well it works on others really was amazing.

One of his shows was aired on TV a while ago and I remember at the end, he revealed some of his methods. With some of them, there were images of subliminal messages placed purposely in the theater or just outside and with others, the messages were sent during the show as he spoke. He would slip odd words into his sentences here and there and you wouldn't even notice it until they pointed it out afterwards. It would sound so obvious when they played it back but you honestly didn't notice it at the time.

I wish I could show you an example video but since they've cracked down on youtube, there's not much available. I also wish I could better explain, in detail, what some of the tricks were but the most impressive ones are complicated to explain and the wow-factor probably wouldn't come across as strongly as actually seeing it. All I can say is if Derren Brown ever comes to town, GO SEE HIM! It's hugely entertaining.

Books

Finally! I recently finished reading "Memoirs of Cleopatra" by Margaret George, a historical fiction about Cleopatra VII. It wasn't a bad book but it was very long (about 1130 pages of small text) and wound up taking me over a year to read! I go through phases where I'm not in the mood to read for a while so that didn't help. Usually those phases occur inbetween books but this novel was so long, it occurred during it.

Anyway, since finally finishing "Cleopatra" I have taken up David Starkey's "Henry, Virtuous Prince", a history of Henry VIII early life. I was a little tentative about reading a history book rather than a historical novel. I was worried it would be dry and boring or that it would be written in some snobby intellectual way that I could not keep up with. But it's neither. It gives great insight into who and what from Henry's childhood and early life helped shaped the man and king and David Starkey is known for making history interesting, not boring. Let's just say it's going much faster than Margaret George's lengthy historical fictions, lol.

Of course I'm writing all this while watching a documentary on Helen of Troy in the background too - how obsessed with history am I? lol

Now for some hopefully less boring updates: tonight Steve and I are off to see Derren Brown, a performer who uses psychological tricks like subliminal messages on his audience to do "magic" and "mind reading". But he doesn't claim to be psychic, he's quite clear that they are all tricks and often reveals how he did them. It's very interesting to see how suggestive we all are to such psychological trickery. I just hope I'm not picked to take part!

On Sunday, we're going to the Didsbury Inn (yes, again!) but this time with some friends of Steve's.

We have off work on Monday for a bank holiday (May Day) so we're going to the new Liverpool shopping center - Liverpool One. I need to look for a dress and bathing suit for Jamaica!