Martini Hour

It seems like just a year ago I was tracing around my hand to make a Kindergarter-inspired Colleen-O-Vision image for the Thanksgiving dekeLand newsletter. Well, come to think of it, it was a year ago. This year, I put Deke in charge of drawing the hand-turkey. Is he making fun of me?

In the last year, we've consumed a veritable cornocopia of tasty treats here at dekeVille, USA. Read more » 

Welcome, martini swillers of all persuasions. It's time for another installment of Martini Hour recorded at Photoshop World live from the Eyecandy Lounge in the Mandalay Bay. In this second live installment, we sit down with a couple of amazing instructors who not only teach Photoshop, but also InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, and more. Namely, Terry White and Rafael "RC" Concepcion--both of whom, by the way, are man enough to enjoy a stiff appletini.

Here's what we discovered over our strangely glowing drinks: Read more » 

We had so much fun holding live Martini Hours in Las Vegas. And the audience full of dekeOphiles who came to spend time with us were so cool and supportive! (Some of them even took their shoes off before being asked.) But it gives us a huge thrill this week to start sharing the first of several podcast episodes that we recorded during Photoshop World, live from the Eyecandy Sound Lounge in the Mandalay Bay Casino. Because, finally, we can share our frolicking with those of you who could only be there in spirit. (And revisit the fun with those of you who made it to our lounge-away-from-'Lounge in person.)

This week's show features the first of our live guests, Adobe's own Julianne Kost and Russell Brown (captured above by our chief olive wrangler Toby Malina). Russell has appeared on three previous Martini Hours. But for scheduling reasons--or so she claims!--this is Julianne's first time. Like Deke, these two Photoshop Hall of Famers are steeped in imaging wisdom. But unlike Deke, they have direct access to Photoshop's key programmers. Plus, they're slim, tall, and good looking. While looks don't mean a damn thing in an audio-only podcast, we figured it was only fitting that our guests' appearance fit the mood of the Eyecandy lounge.

Want to hear some actual live lounge love? Read more » 

Do me a favor will you, friend? Get in my skin for a moment. A few moments, really. Specifically, last week in Las Vegas.

Imagine that you're speaking at Photoshop World, the biggest gathering of Photoshop users on the planet. You're responsible for a total of four sessions, amounting to a total of seven hours in front of several hundred attendees at a time. Meanwhile, you and your online sidekick, Colleen, have (as if on crack) decided to pack in a micro-event called Martini Hour Live, replete with 15 renowned guests and 200 attendees. Plus, at the last possible minute, when everything seemed safely at rest, you're called upon to close the event with a 5-minute demo in front of 3,000 people. And instead of doing something safe, you elect to try out a performance piece--the equivalent of a live dekePod, only entirely unscripted.

And then, just for larfs, picture your laptop covered in beer.

All of which happened. The net result is an argument in favor of temperance. But not in the way you might think. Read more »