thepigbear's big give

So. Does anyone watch Oprah? What about Oprah's Big Give? I've watched it once and then seen clips here or there. I'm not thrilled about the million dollar prize at the end but I do think the concept is pretty cool. I also like how they're encouraging using what you have to make a difference in creative ways.

Quick change of subject. Last summer I was made aware of a horrific situation facing a former student and family. It's heart-wrenching and painful and not a day goes by that I don't think about what they're going through. I've been keeping in touch with the mom but have felt so powerless to help. The details are much too painful and personal to share here especially considering that many in their community frequent our blog but suffice it to say that they are in dire straits emotionally but most pressingly, financially Last night I was feeling particularly down about their situation. And increasingly helpless. This morning I woke up still struggling with the question that I know so many of us have when we hear of horrible things in the world, "what can I do?" And then I think my Big Give light bulb went on.

Here's the deal.

My actions are free. They've always been free. They always will be free. I hope you like them. I hope they work for you. If you've downloaded them in the past and have enjoyed them I'd like for you to consider contributing to thepigbear's big give. I won't even make a number suggestion because that might suggest that they're not free. MY ACTIONS ARE STILL FREE. Period. Take, use, give if you want, don't if you can't. 100% of the money deposited into my paypal account in the next two weeks will be bundled up and sent via check to this family in need. I hope you feel you know me well enough by now to trust that I won't be sporting new 7 For All Mankind jeans next week.

To kick off this campaign Jeanelle has again generously agreed to host a few new actions for me. For now these only work with full photoshop but I promise to work in the coming days to figure out something for you elements users. These actions resize and sharpen your photos beautifully for display on the web. There are three in the set: a horizontal action, a vertical action, and a third resize and sharpen action that the other two will call...you shouldn't ever have to touch this one yourself unless you just want to play.

So your web-posted photos will go from this...

To this... (click on the images to get the full effect)

Again, please feel free to download even if you can't or don't want to contribute. This is a sharing place and will continue to be so.

For contributions to this family in need log in to paypal and send donations to

erkatco at yahoo.com.