Rainy Weather

Today the sky is filled with big dark fluffy clouds, portentous of rain.  I am working on tax returns but this coming Tuesday I will be able to sit on my couch and watch YouTube videos while cuddling with my dog and cat. 

I can hardly wait.

Rainy Day Musings: Big Band Music Class Tonight; The Glenn Miller Story

Glenn Miller, Band Leader

Rain!  In California
This morning when I went to let the dog out to do his business, I noticed the patio was all shiny.  The air smelled cool and fresh.  Then it dawned on me:  it is raining!

There isn't enough rain in this gentle precipitation to cure our drought, but it is nice to reminisce.  I love rain, passionate for all things pluvial.

Big Band Class
My second big band music class is tonight.  We will be practicing "Greensleeves" and "Pennsylvania 6-5000."  I have practiced all my songs faithfully, every day this week.  I should do okay.

"Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song from the late 16th century.  The original lyrics are a bit strange, but new lyrics are often substituted.  The tune is also used as a Christmas song, and renamed "What Child Is This?"  I love Vince Guaraldi's version.

"Pennsylvania 6-5000" is a 1940's style telephone number, the number of the Pennsylvania Hotel in New York City, where Glenn Miller and many other bands performed.  It is a famous Glenn Miller hit song.  Hear the New Glenn Miller orchestra play it here.

The Glenn Miller Story

Glenn Miller, Officer,
U.S. Army

In 1954, James Stewart starred in the film "The Glenn Miller Story."  It's all about the life and career of Glenn Miller, trombonist, big band leader and music arranger extraordinaire.  You can watch this movie in its entirety on YouTube, for only 99 cents.  It's worth it.

During World War II, Glenn Miller was given a commission as a Captain in the U.S. Army (later promoted to Major), and applied his musical talents to army bands.  He organized his own swing band for entertaining troops at the front.  His band was scheduled to play for a Christmas radio program, broadcast from newly liberated Paris, France.  Miller decided to fly from England to France in advance of his band, to arrange quarters and other matters for the band.  On December 15, 1944, he boarded an army plane for the trip.  His plane disappeared over the English Channel in bad weather, and Miller was later listed as "missing in action."  His remains were never recovered.

Rainy Friday in California

We've had a pouring rain for the past three days.  A nap on a rainy day is utterly glorious. 

It stormed all night.  The howling wind woke me up a few times.  This morning, however my lawn was very green and looked quite enthusiastic.  I was afraid to walk on it lest I be eaten like that monster in "The Little Shop of Horrors."  Mr. Lawn didn't actually say anything, but I could infer from his facial expression that the water had better damn not stop, or a RICO lawsuit could be in the offing.

It's Raining in California!

We're having a strong rain this morning in Northern California.  Wet staccato on the roof, streets shiny and wet, WATER.  We'll take it.

A Red Sports Car in the Rain (Photoshop)

I found the best raindrops-on-glass tutorial here, and my application of it is below.

There are a lot of "raindrops" tutorials on the web, and at least half of them are just awful.  This one was therefore a pleasant surprise.

Raindrops on Roses....(Photoshopped, of Course)

I am still experimenting on adding water drops to images.

I like that line in the song "My Favorite Things" that goes:

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

It inspired me to Photoshop a rose with raindrops on it.  Here it is:

The tutorial I used to do this first attempt is at this link.

Here is a different technique that is far easier to use, and I think it looks better too.

The tutorial for this second technique can be found here.

Here's the original without the raindrops:

Raindrops on a Window - My Latest Photoshop

My latest desired Photoshop technique is to put realistic raindrops on a window pane.   I worked on this over the past three days in an attempt to learn some ways to do this.

UPDATE:  I didn't like the odd shapes of the raindrops in my first attempt, directly below.  So I changed the way I created the random shapes, by using a simple hard round brush to create a defined brush set, then turned on the shape dynamics, scattering and smoothing brush presets, to create the rounder shapes.  I also filled the window pane with tiny droplets as well as the scattering of larger droplets.  This makes the pane look wetter and more realistic.

Here is the update: