things I've tried to convince my wife of lately

Steven Seagal starred in a smash Bollywood hit, Kung Fu Vishnu, about a hard boiled cop how tracks a murderous gang to the colorful streets of Mumbay.  

It was such a success that they immediately made Kung Fu Vishnu Tu--Black Belt Sari.  

misc biz

1.  I am abandoning my annual themed book tour, since I am on track to finish like 4 books this year.  

I think I'll switch to trashy crime novels.  We are about to hit the oregon coast for a vacation so I should be able to plow through about 14. 

2.  I finished my tests for architecture licensing and am close to getting that stamp.  

3.  April has been nonstop guests:  brother in law and his girlfriend, other friends, and then my parents for almost a week.  We need some time to entertain ourselves rather than others. 

4. how did we get so far in debt? 

5. I think I've forgotten how to ride a bike. 

24 trees

We've just spent a ridiculous amount of time building a display for the AIA's storefront--every month a different architecture firm has a chance to feature their work.  We took a different take--creating a commentary on use of resources in residential construction.  

It's called "24 trees"--the number of trees in a 2000 square foot house (about 20,000 board feet of lumber and plywood).

The tree trunk sections have an amazing physical presence--especially since they take up the entire storefront and float on a lightweight steel frame.  

We just installed it after 4 days of building the framework, custom fitting each section so the entire sidewalk face is perfectly flush and designing graphics (inside the office, on the back of the steel posts).  On top of everything else going on, this was a marathon, but hopefully it makes a strong case for creative, sustainable design as an alternative to the soulless schlock that is consuming our natural resources.