Author: Tendenci Open Source Software

Hello,

My name is Ben Gillin, I am what they would call one of the “Schipul New Guys”.

To be called “Schipul New Guy” is to be something that is desired by many but only obtained by few. In essence “New Guy” is a status symbol in itself. This is best compared to wearing a custom diamond encrusted grill handcrafted at Sharpstown Mall, not everyone has one but everyone wants one. You get the point. Since becoming a Schipulite (Schipul vernacular for being one with the tribe) I have learned that Ed loves Click Pens and LolCats and that everyone at Schipul goes out of their way to nurture his love for these two guilty pleasures.

Enough about those people. Who is this Ben Gillin Character?

Some might say that I am Awesome, that I like the Ninja Turtles or that I listen to gangster rap and while all of those things are true, they barely scrape the surface of who I am as a human. A few characteristics that people describe me as would be as follows; Handsome, Bearded, Childlike, Manly, Funny, Married, Entertaining, Talented and some would venture to say Huggable.

On a serious note I am a new graphic designer at Schipul and am really excited to be here. As of November 1, 2009 I celebrated my one-monthary as a Schipulite and look forward to a few more of those, at least a couple hundred of them. I thoroughly enjoy all things creative and try to dabble in as many activities as I can get my hands into. My most recent creative outlet is a little project called Twetches, where Twitter meets Sketching you should go check it out and hopefully get a chuckle out of it. I love shooting photos, design, sketching and the occasional video project. I also like to give my two cents worth about a world of randomness on Twitter and occasionally on my blog. You can also be my friend on Facebook if that would float your boat.

To wrap up this stream of consciousness, I just want to give a big shout out to Schipul and say THANKS FOR HAVING ME!

Love,

Ben

Growing up did you ever get that one gift that made you realize your ultimate dream in life? This may be a sentimental exaggeration, but ‘Yello” by Jem is currently spinning on my headphones and that is partially to blame.

The gift could have been a book about becoming a world renowned ventriloquist. [I won’t name names.]

Maybe it was a Superman cape and tights…

Or, it could have simply been the pencil and notepad you got on your first day of school.

Now I ask, how many of you have taken that gift and created a livelihood. I’m aware the notion is a bit extreme but for a little lady named Bethany Quillin, it all started with a small point-and-shoot camera.

Bethany is a local Texas talent who I recently had the pleasure to speak with after a little birdie pointed me to her web site.   I am not a photographer, nor am I a critic, but I do know when I see something special…and Bethany’s photography is something to marvel at.

“My favorite subject to shoot is children. They are so uninhibited and don’t care that there is a camera around. You will never capture the same thing twice.”

So basically, children aren’t worried if the camera is catching them on their ‘good side” or not. Oh to be young again…

Along with intimate shoots, Bethany has also found a passion for live music photography.

“You set up to shoot the concert, but you will always come out with something completely unexpected. The end product is like listening to music in a picture…I really can’t describe the feeling.“

Bethany will be showcasing her first exhibit this Wednesday, October 28th at Three Oaks Wine Bar from 7:00 p.m.’ 11:00 p.m. You will be able to purchase prints, drink wine and of course meet the lovely artist in person.

Find out more information on the Facebook event page!
Connect with Bethany on Twitter!
Listen to Bethany’s playlist while scrolling through her galleries!

FYI – The man that says he owes all of his success to his Superman cape and tights must contact me a.s.a.p…because you sir, are awesome.

When you put the words “fun” and “luncheon” together, you most likely don’t envision those things paired with “listening to the yammerings of a former Secretary of State.”   But according to Condoleezza Rice, “I have never been a former anything,” and I’d have to agree that she was pretty much nothing short of current awesomesauce.

This afternoon, a few of us lucky Schipulites had both the privilege and the opportunity to see the accomplished and unabashedly brilliant Condoleezza Rice speak, thanks to the wheeling and dealing of the World Affairs Council of Houston.   It really doesn’t matter if you’d vote for the woman if she ever ran for public office – a question posited to her, to which she answered, “I don’t really have the passion for it,” more or less.   Politics aside, Condy (yeah, we’re friendly like that) is an expletive-ing phenomenal human being.   Let’s be honest – are you fluent in French?   Have you played piano with Yo-Yo Ma or with the Denver Symphony or for the Queen of England?   Do you have a Ph.D. in Political Science?   Were you born in Birmingham, AL?   Okay, yeah, that’s so what I thought.

Anyway, Condy brought down the roof of a house filled with about 1,500 people at the Hilton Americas in downtown Houston, and man, was she on fiiiiii-yiiiiiiire!   Given her stoic, yawn-inducing appearances throughout the Bush administration’s tenure, first as National Security Advisor and then as Secretary of State, you wouldn’t believe what a sense of humor this seasoned scholar has up her sleeve.   But lo and behold, we were chuckling all the way to…um, all the way to the parking garage.

For as much as she was entertaining, Condy was also highly inspirational.   Since we Schipulites love to share, I shall delay no further in spreading the Condy brain candy to your gray matter.

Top 10 Condy-isms From Her Visit to Houston
(As Fast As We Could Feasibly Write Them Down,
Meaning They’re Probably Not Exact,
But More Likely a Really Good Gist)

1. “I spent eight years in Washington.   Washington is a lot of things, but creative, innovative, and risk-taking aren’t among them.”
2. “Thomas Jefferson may have had better press than he deserved as a founding father.”
3. “Modern threats come from failed states instead of global players.”
4. “Russia went from chaos to authoritarianism, and swung right through organized chaos – which is democracy.”
5. “It doesn’t matter your race, religion…what’s important is finding people who fit in this extraordinary experiment called America.”
6. “I would rather be naive than cynical.”
7. “What was once seen as impossible is now seen as inevitable.”
8. “It’s too tempting to plan every phase of your life.”
9. “If America does not stand for the rights of everyone, no one will.”
10. “Myth doesn’t mean it’s not true.   It is just something outside our realm of thinking.”