Ah…feels so good to be in the dekeLounge, knowing that the first book in Deke’s CS5 One-on-One series is going off to the printer Monday. (It will feel even better Monday.) But now that Photoshop is done, it’s time to turn our attention to Illustrator. And what better way to kick off the next phase of the madness around here (that madness being the creation of the new, long-awaited Illustrator CS5 One-on-One book), than to invite the guru’s guru, Mordy Golding, to haul himself off the golf course and have a cocktail with us. And talk Illustrator CS5, of course. Which is what we do. (Do I sound punchy? I feel punchy. Let’s have some punch.)

Actually, it’s Pimm’s and Ginger this week, as we consider the following awesomeness of Adobe’s Vector Wrangler Extraordinaire.

Both Deke and Mordy are impressed with the CS5 update for Illustrator, which quite the feat for a seasoned veteran workhorse app like AI. And you’d think fact they’ve both been using it for a while (and Mordy was once the Illustrator Project Manager at Adobe), would leave them jaded. But, no. Here are the highlights:

• Fixed little annoyances that, as Mordy points out, once they stop being annoying fifteen times a day, add up to a big benefit.
• Bristle brushes and perspective drawing. Of course this is the kind of thing Deke can’t wait to construct something bizzare and over the top with. Or steal a project from Mordy and take it to the next level (with proper attribution.)
• Big changes that make you think about old concepts in a new way, like, Paste Inside, Shape Builder, et all. For instance, the Variable Width tool, which completely “takes the concept of a stroke out of your head, rearrange it, and put it back in your head.” (That Mordy and his metaphors.)

All this, and the fun of thinking about Mordy as the Bob Ross of Illustrator, effortlessly making happy little men with yellow hats everywhere. Don’t miss this gathering of the Illustratorati. Here’s the regular-quality (128kbps) audio file. You can stream, or for best results, right-click and choose Download or Save. For you audiophiles out there, here’s the high-quality (320Kbps) version. Be sure to download, don’t stream. And don’t forget the usual suggestion to subscribe via iTunes.

And don’t miss Fridays with Mordy, our guest’s weekly webinar/chat show. Tomorrow, it just so happens, Mordy’s show will feature current Adobe Illustrator Product Manager, Dave Macy. Thanks, to Mordy for giving up his golfable afternoon to be with us. Cheers!