Trigger Happy » IRL

Fate of Carmine Raised $150,000!

Eric "smurph" Murphy — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 02:34:20 +0000

Epic announced some great news this morning. The Fate of Carmine campaign raised an astonishing $150,000 for Child's Play Charity. As for actual the fate of Carmine, we'll have to wait to play the game! Either way, I'm just happy that the campaign was so successful. Very well done Epic!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEfAeSKQzsA

Photo of the Week - 9/5/2010

Eric "smurph" Murphy — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:26:04 +0000

Erika took this fantastic photo of a monarch last week. It's so hard to catch these little guys sitting still so to get such a sharp close-up is pretty amazing. Very nice shot!

See Untitled at Flickr.

Photo of the Week - 8/29/10

Eric "smurph" Murphy — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:32:42 +0000

Yesterday, we drove up to Green Bay to the Green Bay Botanical Garden. The gardens are gorgeous! There's so much to see and there's even a section for kids. Payton had a lot of fun filling up her watering can and watering the animals sculpted out of moss. I think Emma's favorite part was finding huge melons hanging from a lattice overhead. They made for a very warm and interesting photo (below). On they way home we stopped at Gilly's Frozen Custard. Their custard was absolutely delicious and I highly recommend them if you're ever in Green Bay, Fond du Lac, or Sheboygan.

See Untitled at Flickr.

Photo of the Week - 8/22/10

Eric "smurph" Murphy — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:55:07 +0000

This week's photo wasn't exactly taken by Erika because it IS Erika. She got a new haircut last week so she wanted to show off her new do. She set everything up and made the finishing touches, I just snapped the picture. I really like this photo of her because she looks great and she looks so natural. Of course, I may be biased.

See Untitled at Flickr.

Two Weeks Left to Save Carmine

Eric "smurph" Murphy — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:17:48 +0000

Have you bought your Save Carmine shirt yet? The voting ends in two weeks, so if you haven't yet, treat your avatar to a charitable shirt!

Currently "Save Carmine" is in the lead, so if this keeps up, Carmine will finally survive a Gears of War game. Head on over to the official Gears of War page for more info. Remember, all proceeds go to Child's Play, so this is a great way to donate, AND have a voice in what happens to Carmine in the upcoming Gears of War 3 game.

Photo of the Week - 8/15/10

Eric "smurph" Murphy — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:57:44 +0000

Erika went on her first photoshoot with someone other than our kids last weekend. Erin was the subject, and Erika took some great photos of her. This one is one of my favorites of the group.

See Erin at Flickr

Photo of the Week - 8/8/10

Eric "smurph" Murphy — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 02:43:47 +0000

We visited Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac yesterday and were amazed by the scenery, wildlife, and all the activities for kids. One of the highlights was this adorable bridge. Erika snapped a very nice photo of it. The colors look great and all the details make this a very interesting shot.

See A Gentle Crossing at Flickr.

Photo of the Week - 8/1/10

Eric "smurph" Murphy — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:11:48 +0000

The sun sets every evening but how often do you get a chance to enjoy it? During our vacation in Door County, we took advantage of our kidless freedom and arrived at Murphy County Park just in time to see this beautiful sunset. We were standing out on a long dock overlooking Green Bay of Lake Michigan. I can't say I've ever witnessed a sunset this beautiful before. The picture is stunning but it was even more beautiful in person.

See Drifting Sunset at Flickr.

Save Carmine! Donate to Child's Play!

Eric "smurph" Murphy — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:28:59 +0000

Haven't we seen enough COG soldiers die already? Carmine 3.0 deserves to avenge his brothers' deaths, and kick some major ass. I've sent my 80 spacebucks to Microsoft which will then be converted back to cash and some amount of it sent to Child's Play. In return my vote to "Save Carmine" has been cast and my avatar received a cool t-shirt (shown above) to show his support for Carmine as well. Do your part! Grab this t-shirt for your avatar, and/or this t-shirt for yourself, and keep our fearless Carmine alive through Gears of War 3!

All proceeds go to Child's Play, a charity set up by gamers, to help support children's hospitals around the world. This is really a great way to engage a gaming community. It gives gamers the ability to choose a plot point in a popular game, makes them feel good about donating, raises money for children's hospitals, and also raises awareness of Child's Play. As the father of two preemies, I know how it feels to see babies and children fight for their lives. Children's hospitals are incredible places, and they need everyone's support. Lives, young and old, are touched forever in these hospitals, and even the little things, like a furry bedside companion or cozy knit hat, make a huge difference. So the least you can do is buy your avatar a t-shirt for 80 MSP, but please consider making an extra donation to Child's Play as well.

Photo of the Week - 7/25/10

Eric "smurph" Murphy — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:21:23 +0000

We just got back from a weekend vacation away from the kids. We went to Door County, WI. which is famous for their wine. One of our stops was Lautenbach's Orchard Country Winery & Market where we tasted wines and picked cherries. Erika took some great photos of our buckets of cherries. I'm sure she'll post more this week but I really like the one she posted already. The colors are so rich and vibrant.

See Untitled at Flickr.