#tbt Spring Break: Around the US in 34 Days #MBsociallydriven

SPONSORED/ UNPAID 

Quick: 5 images that sum up a circumnavigation of the US. Is that even possible?

I chose the four EDGE corners of the contiguous 48 states.

On 3/26/2014, I embarked on a road trip art project to drive around the perimeter of the US. I planned to document it by time-lapse captures out the passenger side. [Which I did, but the footage makes me nauseous, and I still can't deal with it]. There were 34 days of actual driving the route, and an additional 28 days of social detours, including my 40th high school reunion:

We are all almost 60 in 2014, and we are looking good!

Along the way, I met up with some blogging friends:

Meet my good friend Blueberry Pie!
This was the evidence of my meet-up with Connie at Pannikin Coffee & Tea in Encinitas, CA.
She wrote about it better than I ever did!

Patti is represented by a sunset of her home town on the Florida coast.
Again, Patti said it better!

With Joyatri at Veggie Galaxy in Cambridge, MA.
Joyatri's writeup.
Linking up with Shelbee's On the Edge of the Week

Here I am after meeting up with Citizen Rosebud.
I'm wearing a purple scarf that she gave me and I'm posing with Seattle lilacs
(which I had been pursuing since the stay with my mom back in early May -- her's hadn't bloomed yet).
I'm sure Bella wrote about the meet-up, but I can't find it.

You can see my adventures in driving on my On the Edge blog (because why have one blog when you can have seven?)

In 2019, I'll have another school reunion to drive to.
(My high school is Emma Willard, in Troy, NY, a private girls' prep school).
This time, I plan to circumnavigate Canada (plus Alaska)!

(Just roughly plotted this. OMG, what am I thinking!!!!)

Do you take a vacation to see places or people or a combination of the two?
Link and tell!

#tbt Spring Break: Austin, Texas #MBsociallydriven

SPONSORED/ UNPAID 

SXSW, Austin's mega-festival of Interactive, Film, Music, and Comedy runs March 10-19.
How convenient that it coincides with some Spring Breaks! 
St. Patrick's Day is always during the festival, so you can imagine the zoo that is 6th Street (where there are lots of clubs and bars). They block off the street, open containers are allowed, and it's mayhem.

My first foray to SXSW was with Severo in 1997. Here we are with Beatle Bob.
Beatle Bob for the win in pattern clashing. I look sedate in comparison. 

I could prattle on and on about my love for Austin.
Instead, here are some links to posts I've already written: on SpyGirl, on The Glutton's Progress, on Dessert Safari.

Austin was on the list of official Socially Driven cities, so here's the 9 second mini movie (don't blink):

(The components, also mini).

Legacy text about the #MBsociallydriven campaign:
So, what's YOUR version of [insert city name]?
If you live in or plan on visiting NYC, LA, Chicago, Austin, Miami, or Denver, Mercedes-Benz is inviting you to share your city in a simple and artistic way on Instagram. It's easy—you create a quick (but beautiful) animated album of 5 of your best geotagged photos and upload it to Instagram. Then, you share your album on your feed with the hashtag #MBsociallydriven—and your photos might be featured on the Mercedes-Benz website! Get busy, the deadline is March 5.
[OOPS. MISSED THE DEADLINE -- the app still works, though. Access it here from your smartphone].
MB suggests these guidelines:
Because this is a Mercedes-Benz brand initiative, please avoid posting the following types of photos (as much as we love them): competing car brands, celebrities, outdoor murals and graffiti, images that primarily focus on tattoos, advertising, and profanity.

I still have the link open for YOUR neighborhood slideshow over on my Los Angeles post.

If you don't have a smart device, a GIF builder is a good way to create a DIY slideshow.

I recently used Imgflip, it was easy.

The link-up here is for this month's #tbt: SPRING BREAK

Sketching the Oscars!

The Oscars! The LA Times calls it "The Cinema Super Bowl".
This year, there was a crazy plot twist at the end, and Moonlight got lots of love.

I sketched!

Let's start from the beginning, on Sunday, February 26, 1:45pm:

[Argh! I rearranged the living room clutter to look less cluttered. Glad you can hardly see it!]

Control Central:
 iPad on Twitter (intel on gowns)
TV remote for muting and pausing
old iPhone on Instagram
laptop for name checking, IMDB, and other research
sketching equipment (I trace a croquis figure)

My first sketch was at 2:07, of the KTLA Red Carpet host Jessica Holmes.

Sparkly!

My last was of Meryl Streep at 8:10:

In-between, I made 23-1/2 sketches (one is unfinished).

[Made with Imgflip]

I did my scanning on a nice big scanner at Otis:

Did rough cleanup Sunday of all the finished images (to make the gif slideshow above),
and painted up Viola to include in my #MBsociallydriven 5-image video.
[The video was a Big Fail! I misspelled "Oscar", for starters. The overlaying text is white, and three of my sketches have white backgrounds. I wasted a lot of time on that, grrrrrrrr].

Anyhow, Viola still is pretty:

About that last Oscar Award plot twist involving Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty --
my pal Wendie had the best Facebook comment on it:

A big CONGRATULATIONS to the Moonlight team for winning best picture.

For your consideration, here's my #MBsociallydriven My Oscars 2017 [Fail]

Did you have a favorite Oscar gown? Which one should I color in next?