Photoshop Phriday

Borrowing the idea of Photoshop Phriday from achewood seems only fitting, as the entire idea of this blog was partially inspired by the blogs of the fictional achewood cast. True to form, mine is lower-tech and has 1/10,000th the readership. But, I submit, the potential for hilarity is at least equal, and quite possibly greater. I've been saving up for a good one.

Last month I was insanely busy. I was teaching a class, which I may expound on later, and the world of coaxing 12-year-old inner-city kids to be creative pretty much devoured a solid month of my life. At the end, I wanted to do something fun, something personally creative, something social that would tell the world "I am a man who is in charge of his own life again."

I present to you John E. Mack, 1972, versus John P. Mack, 2007.

(click to enlarge)

What you are looking at is my father's ID card from his first post-doctoral position at NASA in Houston next to a picture of me taken only a few days ago. The shirt, hair, and mustache are all real. Previous to this incarnation I was sporting a smartly-trimmed goatee (see to the right). People have been asking what prompted the change, and I'm pleased to leave them with "It was about that time."

The reactions have been great, particularly from my father himself who (in the words of my mother) "was quite tickled that I would go to such lengths to mimic him." My dad definitely has a distinct style. He has never paid much attention to his "look," which is what makes it so legit. He is unmistakably a college professor and scientist from toe to tip. The 70's were an era of outrageous clothing and hair (facial and otherwise), and my dad basically cruised through with a handsome, (relatively) conservative, nerdy style that helped him land a wonderful wife, a great job, and (come 1977) a beautiful daughter. Thanks to heredity, here I am 35 years later, similarly nerdy, similarly handsome, and only slightly more educated about the subtleties of looks. People have always said I look like him. I figured now was an opportunity to see how close it could get. Answer: mighty close.

It seems that Mendel may have been on to something. Or, as my friend Aron put it, I "truly [am] the fruit of his loins."

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Editor's note: Regardless of this being a digital picture posted on a blog, this was a pretty low-tech operation, notably because I don't have a scanner, digital camera, or Photoshop. The picture of me was taken with a cell phone, the ID image was a picture of a picture also taken with a cell phone, and the whole thing was pieced together in iPhoto and Microsoft Word. A slight elongation of my face is due to the tiny round lens of the cell phone camera, and I tried to blur out the shadows of my glasses on my cheeks, but other than that I assure you there is no digital magic happening here. I wouldn't know how to do digital magic if it was waiting on the couch behind me. But I can't deny genetics.