Around Town
P hotos by; Chris Adams Old Wettermark Bank Building. A Diedrich Rulfs designed/built structure in Nacogdoches. Built downtown in 1896, and the story goes, Wettermark soon thereafter disappeared with everyone’s money overnight and has to this day remained elusive. h t t p : / / w w w. f l i c k r. c o m / p h o t o s / exquisitelyboredinnacogdoches
The Fredonia Hotel at dusk. Built in 1955, the Fredonia retains the aura of that period. The hotel has recently appeared on a couple of “Mad Men inspired� vacation destinations (http:// www.mainstreet.com/article/lifestyle/mad-men-inspiredmad-vacations).
SFA Theater with all neon blazing. The circular neon tubing around the pine cone is usually not working, thus making this shot rare (at least in my collection).
Judge Stephen Blount House in Nacogdoches Blount had local architect (and newly immigrated American) Diedrich Rulfs design and build this Queen Anne/Eastlake style house in 1895. It remains one the architect’s best works.
Bottom of the Glass By April Barbe
Hearing my words and emotions coming from someone else on screen is an amazing feeling. And my most recent short film “Bottom of the Glass” definitely makes me feel accomplished ... but making it was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done.
needed props or locations.
If I wasn’t physically doing something for the movie, I was thinking about it. Is there a hole in the script? Does it flow right? Did I get my extra notes to the actors? What do I want the actors to wear? What angle do From pre-production through post- I want to shoot this scene from? What mic production, every single day I felt like I do I want to purchase? What music should was jumping through hoops. There always I use? seemed to be an obstacle. Several times I wanted to quit. It was too One day I was wrestling with a shooting hard. I was emotionally and physically schedule that worked for everyone (20 exhausted! people on my cast and crew, not counting extras). The next day I was looking for However, spiritually, I was growing.
“Bottom of the Glass” was written while I was dealing with the passing of my Mom in 2010. I took all of the emotions during that first year, and I distributed them among the characters in this story. Writing has always been my therapy, and this time in my life was no exception. Therefore, the film is very personal to me. It isn’t a happy film, but it has a positive message. It’s a religious drama. The outpouring of support I received from friends and family on this film was really overwhelming. So when the days got the roughest, I thought about them. I thought about how hard it would be to tell them I failed. I knew I couldn’t do that. One night I even slept in my truck in a parking lot in 32-degree weather. I had a two-day film commitment and couldn’t afford a hotel room. And during one shoot, I passed out from heat exhaustion. This didn’t stop me from filming though. I took a 10-minute break, found a hat, and kept going.
Lead actor Derek Wayne Johnson takes a break in the shade with Director April Barbe at Lake Naconiche
Cast and crew of “Bottom of the Glass” prepare to shoot a scene at the lake.
“Bottom of the Glass” was filmed in Nacogdoches, Pollok, Wells and Longview. And I could never express my gratitude to those who let me film at their homes and businesses! We were also allowed access to Lake Naconiche in the summer of 2012 before it opened to the public. Former Sheriff Thomas Kerss set that up, and he even loaned us a few props, and an officer! This movie literally took a village to create,
Courtney Toburen, Barbe’s niece who appears in the film, Barbe and crew member Kimberly Foli at the Nacogdoches showing.
Derek Wayne Johnson “Danny Marlowe” pulls his drowned brother from the lake in a dramatic scene from “Bottom of the Glass.”
and I am super thankful for everyone who helped me tell this story. Making a movie is so much harder than people realize. So, what’s next? Well, we will be showing the film in private showings throughout the year. Since we are entering film festivals, we cannot have a public showing. We had almost two dozen people at our VIP showing in Nacogdoches. Sitting in front of that huge screen, with everyone behind me watching, it was like I had finally come full circle with this project. There was applause, and when I flipped the lights on, I saw tears ... that’s a powerful feeling.
Veteran actor Brad Maule portrays a preacher in the film.
And I have already began pre-production on another short called “Family Bonds.” Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Officer Justin Pierce I’m co-writer, assistant director and casting appears in “Bottom of the Glass.” director on it. I’m also working on the second draft of a feature script with my writing partner Donald M. Molloy and discussing another short with a friend. The film business is a chaotic place to be, but it is also addictive! Check out “Bottom Donald Molloy, Brenda Crawford, Derek Wayne of the Glass” and “Family Bonds” on Johnson and Courtney Toburen in Pollok filming a scene. Facebook!
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Nacogdoches Blueberry Festival
Photos on this page submitted by our readers
Photos by: DDH Media https://www.facebook.com/pages/DDH-Media/354207521350963
In the Kitchen
Hair and makeup by Antonia Garcia
MOM’S NACOGDOCHES CHOCOLATE CAKE By: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com
I’m not sure why….but I have had this recipe on my mind for over a month now! I hardly ever make it…but growing up I remember my Mom making it a LOT…to rave reviews.
that’s how often I have made it! Hardly ever. But for some reason, I couldn’t get it out of my head…I just had to have some! Which meant I had to MAKE it…because I have never seen a Nacogdoches Cake in a bakery before (at least not around here.)
When I was mixing it up the other night… my kids were asking me what it was… As a matter of fact, I’ve never heard of
anyone else, besides my Mom, ever making it. I also had no clue as to why it was called Nacogdoches Cake until I did a little internet sleuthing. I thought it was some exotic German delicacy, or something like that….turns out it’s just another name for Texas Sheet Cake. Named after NACOGDOCHES, Texas to be exact. And here I thought I’d never had Texas Sheet Cake before. :-)
differ from REGULAR chocolate cake? The main difference is you cook the icing and ice the cake while it is still hot. This makes for a fudge-like cake that is VERY soft and tender, and melts-in-your-mouth! I don’t think it’s a common practice, but my Mom always put chopped walnuts in her icing. I like walnuts…but they don’t like me! Give me sores in my mouth. So in keeping with the “nuts” tradition, I chopped up some of my Roasted Almonds and used those So how does Nacogdoches Chocolate Cake instead. mmm…mmm…mmm.
Warm, gooey chocolate + a salty crunch of almonds = happy mouth!
Ingredients: Cake: 2 cubes butter (sticks) 1/2 c shortening 4 T cocoa 1 c water 1 t vanilla 1 t baking soda 1/2 c buttermilk 2 c flour 2 c sugar 2 eggs Frosting: 1/2 c butter 4 T cocoa 6 T milk 1 box powdered sugar 1 t vanilla
Mix together flour, sugar and baking soda in large bowl. Set aside.
Whisk 2 eggs in small bowl and set aside.
Melt and bring to a boil all other cake ingredients. (butter, shortening, cocoa, water, vanilla, baking soda, and buttermilk
Pour dry ingredients in the bowl over the melted ingredients and stir together, then add the 2 eggs and stir til combined.
Pour into greased and floured sheet cake pan. Bake at 400ยบ for 12-20 minutes (depending on the depth of your cake pan).
While cake is baking, bring butter, cocoa and milk to a boil. Turn heat down to low. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, beat til very smooth.
Pour onto hot cake, spread quickly and gently, let cool. Cut up and SERVE!
Strawberry Shortcake Skewers
by Karen in the Kitchen P hotos by Lilly Childers http://kareninthekitchen.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/strawberry-shortcake-skewers/
Roll out one piece of refrigerated biscuit dough to about a 5 inch circle and cut into 1 1/2 inch circles. Each one should give you 7 circles.
Place the biscuit circles on parchment paper and brush with an egg wash and sprinkle each one with sugar. They are done when they’re a nice golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Now prepare the strawberries. First wash and dry all the berries. Cut the tops off. Then the small end. Then slice in half, giving you two strawberry circles.
I stacked them together and the kept each of the two pieces together, so it would look more uniform on one skewer.
Now just start layering with the biscuit, whipped cream and strawberries. Start and end with a biscuit. Easy peasy.
Love & Romance
Congratulations on
C l if &
n Your Engagement
& Jamie
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DIY
How To Watermark Instagram P hotos
by: ajperspective.com
So many people have asked me in the last few weeks how I include a watermark signature on my Instagram photos that I decided to write up a “How-to” of sorts to help you guys set it up for your own photos. First, why watermark? In December Facebook finalized its purchase of Instagram and released a new version of Instagram’s End User License Agreement, similar in wording to that of Facebook’s own, claiming all publicly posted Instgram photos as the “Intellectual Property” of Instagram... not the person who posted it! (it should also be noted that Instagram has since promised to reverse that portion of the agreement to leave ownership with the user) I heard (who knows if it’s true) that if you included your own watermark over your images, Instagram could not legally use them without your consent. Whether true or not, that sparked my search for a watermarking system I could use ON MY iPHONE! Because I am budget-conscious (read cheap) I wanted a free way of watermarking, so although this isn’t completely simple, it’s a one-time set-up process and then it works perfectly! Ready? Here we go! Note: I am using an iMac with Mac OS X 10.7.4 for this tutorial. If you’re computer has different specs, some of these instructions won’t be exact. Look around for something similar or post a comment with questions!
What You Need:
Desktop computer with Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, or access to the Internet Email account accessible on both the desktop and your iPhone
1. Creating the Watermark Image Open Microsoft Word or similar program (Alternatively you could use a free online image editor such as Pixlr). Create a blank document. Add a text box and type whatever you want your watermark to say. For this example I used “Copyright Ashley Jackson.” Set the color of the text to 100% White. Set the background of the text box to 100% black. (The location of these settings will differ depending on your program, so I won’t attempt to give specific instructions. If you have problems, just leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to help sort it out!)
Once it’s set up the way you want, you need to save the file. If you’re using an image editor to create the watermark, just save the file as a JPG or PNG - see note below for further requirements! If you’re using Word or a similar program, capture the screen. On Mac you can simply push CMD - Shift - 3 at the same time and it will place a picture of the whole screen on your desktop. On Windows, the most common method is to push the PrtScn button on your keyboard and then paste that image into the program Paint and save it. You could also use Paint to create the image in the first place if you’re familiar enough with it.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In order for the iPhone app to be able to use your custom watermark image, it must meet a few requirements: It MUST have a solid black background. It MUST be in RGB color format. It MUST be a flattened image (no alpha / transparency channel)
Continued
2. Cropping the Watermark Image (optional)
If you performed a screen capture to save your file, you’ll need to use an image editing program such as Preview, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Paint, or Pixlr to open your screen capture and select the text from your watermark with just a little black space around the edges. Crop to that selection. Save the final file.
3. Transferring the Watermark Image to Your iP hone
Now open your preferred email program on your desktop and email the final watermark file to yourself. Switch to your iPhone and check your email. Click on the email to open it. Click on the name or preview of the attached watermark file to load it.
4. Save to Your iP hone
Touch and hold on top of the photo to bring up the Save menu and choose Save Image.
5. Get the App
Open the App Store and navigate to the search screen. Search for PhotoMarkr. Download the app. You may need to input your Apple ID password to complete the download.
6. Setup the app
6. Setup the app
Once downloaded, open the app and click the small gear icon in the bottom right corner. Change the default settings to the ones shown in the picture. Click the white copyright symbol to select your custom watermark image. Click Done.
Click the icon in the bottom left to select the your picture . Click the copyright symbol icon to place the watermark image. Use two fingers to resize, rotate and place your watermark. Adjust the transparency at the top. Then click to the disk icon to save.
http://www.ajperspective.com/blog/tutorials/watermark-instagram-photos.html
DIY Monster Knee By: http://bymiek.blogspot.com/
You need • Scrap fabric • Fleece Line • White Felt • Black embroidery thread & needle • If necessary sewing machine Step 1: take a piece of fabric large enough to cover the hole, plus about 3 cm extra for the seams. Iron fusible web to the back. Cut a piece of felt in the shape of teeth, make sure you add 1 cm seam allowance at the top op the teeth. The width of the teeth should be the same as the width of the hole in your pants.
Step 2: sew the teeth to the piece of cotton at a few mm from the top of the fabric Step 3: pin the fabric with the teeth to the back of the hole and sew it in place by hand, using embroidery floss. Sew a straight stitch at about 5 mm from the hole Step 4: cut 2 little circles from felt and sew them above the teeth, these are the eyes of the monster. Your Monster Knee is now done!