So yeah watched Across the Universe last night. It was… well, it was… like an art school project gone horribly wrong. Yes, remind me next time to avoid like the plague any and all arthouse flicks. Wow what a horrible movie. Dammit I cannot stand musicals!

I’m not sure what they were thinking. I mean, it takes a lot of effort to ruin a story like they did. The actual plot wasn’t that bad, but then they incorporate all these damn singing sequences that really detract from the point of everything else, because it’s so damn corny. Sorry, I’m not a West Side Story kinda guy; groups of people break out spontaneously into song and dance and I break into a wild frenzy in which someone – perhaps multiple retarded singers/dancers – must die, that’s just the way it is.

And they damn near ruined the entire Beatles Catalogue as well. Few if any of the voices and performances were worth listening to. I would have preferred just listening to a CD of it all and being done with it.

Do not watch this movie. Do not believe the hype that it’s “visually stunning” or “a storytelling masterpiece;” it’s absolute crap I can attest. A real, honest-to-goodness F-minus.



This is why Republicans suck
Mccain has been busy in the campaign trail simplifying the issues in such a way as to prey on the fears of the constituents to get elected. This is not right. It is not right to say that if we withdraw “Al Queda will have won,” because you’re implying that we are fighting Al Queda, and that they are the reason we got involved.

Little-known fact (read the above-linked article), but there was no Al Queda presence in Iraq until after we invaded in 2003. So in all reality, if “Al Queda wins” it’s because we went there in the first place; the republicans don’t want to admit this of course, because it was their idea and they're wholly responsible for the threats they have created there.

So they continue to frame it in such a way as to imply that we’re the heroes doing god’s work. Oh yeah, it’s the modern-day Crusades folks, don’t be fooled by the smoke and mirrors.


Safe to say that I hate republicans like I hate musicals…

Peace.


Across the universe review - Worst Movie Ever?

Tags: Politics, hate

After years of telling us things were as was opposed to common sense, they’re finally catching up with the reality of things. Like for instance, did you know that inhaling smokey substances filled with chemicals – such as cigarettes – is bad for you?

Today’s wisdom came to me in the form of one of those brain-dead morning “news” shows on ABC or one of the other 3-letter channels I never actually watch. They were talking about how you can tell things about a person by their face. At issue was whether or not a woman could tell a man looking for sex from a man more likely to commit to a relationship from his facial features. Turns out, they could!

Like we needed science to tell us this, right? Because even though it’s not politically correct to say it, we already know the answers I’m about to reveal, right? The more handsome guys were less likely to settle down, and the ones with softer, less “masculine” and “sexy” features were more likely to commit to a relationship. Well no freaking duh, dudes. I mean, let’s look at the reality of it, huh?

A handsome guy that girls swoon over is going to be less likely to settle down, because he can go out and get any other good-looking female he comes across to do what he wants for him. Why settle down? He needs nothing he can’t just get at any stop, you know? The softer guy, the one that can’t attract the women as well? He’s going to be more likely to commit, because commitment means having the means available to him. If he’s in a committed relationship, he does not have to worry about going out and competing with the Fabios of the world and coming home empy-handed, as was a likely outcome. He bagged one! He can go home and be pretty much assured!

Yes, we’re talking about sex here. Yes it’s crude, but when they talk about “one-nighters,” as they were here, they don’t mean book readings; they mean sex. I’m just actually saying it.

Then they turned the tables and started asking questions of the women in the study. What do women find most attractive? Well they tried to be “PC” about it at first, saying that women like commitment, so they’re drawn to the men with the “softer features” (read: less attractive) because they like commitment. Well we all laughed, but the question was pressed, and it turns out that… women prefer the good-looking guys, and when they’re ovulating – when they’re the horniest – they chase after the best-looking guys. You know, those same ones from above that didn’t have to worry about going home empty-handed? Yeah those guys. Then when they want a man around to take care of committal things, they latch onto… the guys who weren’t good enough to get them riled up. Sweet. So there's still a place for guys like me, so women can be comforted and cry about how Mr. Universe broke their hearts after all the wild, unforgettable and absolutely unequaled sex. Just great!

So it turns out… that good looks are quite the draw, and people – women & men alike – are prone to chase after what they find attractive physically. WOW! You mean guys don’t often go out to bars and say things like “Wow check out that girl over there… She looks homely. Like she’s very sweet, with just the right hints of humor and political discourse to really make me open up to my true inner self.” Is that it? That’s the epiphany science has for us? Yeah. Yeah right, that’s what we think when we go out, sure...

What do we think? “Wow, look at that girl over there. She’s f*cking HOT. I’d like to…”

And what do the girls think? “Wow, check out that guy; He’s f*cking HOT. I’d like him to…”

Nice. I knew this already guys, thanks. Thanks for finally catching up with reality and this little thing we call Common Sense.



Other recent Common-Sense Findings in Science
A few months ago I saw a news spot about how they did a different study. In this one, they sat people down and then filmed them as they talked. They then had other people view the footage, with no sound, just watching the people’s motions and mannerisms. What did they want to know?

If people could pick out “gay” people just by their physical mannerisms. And what was the outcome? Sure enough, after years of “PC” telling us that that’s just stereotypical thinking and patently false, it turns out that “gaydar” really does exist; you CAN pick people’s sexual preferences out just by studying their mannerisms.

Geebus. I mean, we all knew this. If we would just be open enough to admit it, and separate the idea of knowing from being stereotypical… There’s this connotation that if you think or say you can tell a homosexual by their mannerisms, that you’re on the lookout because you’re a homophobe. No, maybe it’s just that you can tell a homosexual by their mannerisms – maybe the two aren’t necessarily linked.

Like if I were to say I could tell a black man from a white man by the color of his skin I’d be labelled a racist. You know, because I focused on the difference instead of the similarities. And that I think is what it is – in our society, you’re not allowed to mention the differences, because we’re “all equal" or some bullsh!t, which we tend to forget is not the same as "identical."

We’re all different too. Black is black. Just because someone’s black and I noticed does not mean that I think they are or that actually they are somehow less X or Y, just that they are in fact black. It’s OK to be black, right? So why so touchy? Seriously, making more of it than there is with that sort of behavior.

Any way, back to the gaydar thing. Yeah it’s real. Yes I can tell you apart. Calm down, folks. Hi, I’m just the average white guy. Oh no! You noticed I’m white! Now you think I’m KKK! SH!T.

Peace.

Another thing is that Hilary strikes me as someone who is willing to look at a problem and try to figure out the best solution, maybe even put the best people on the job. When people instantly start out with “I have a plan” speak, I get kinda turned off. Why? Well if you have a plan, you could, oh I don’t know, maybe submit it to the floor for debate in the Senate or Congress? You could do that if you had a plan. Look, our problems are complex, and to say that they “have a plan” for each and every tick is a failure of character, and kind of insulting to me, that you think I’ll buy that you’re plan is somehow a magical band-aid. Though Clinton has begun to take on that rhetoric as of late, when the campaigns were getting under way, I remember a debate focusing on education in which everyone “had a plan,” but Hilary was aware that there was a problem, and admitted she didn’t know the exact answer, but said something to the effect that it’d really have to be studied by the experts, and a plan devised. That’s true leadership, whereas “I have a plan” is more posturing than anything.

Another thing that strikes me about Obama, is something I read recently on another distant internet friend’s website. He linked to an article here, where they spoke of his affiliation with a “Black” church. But he’s black, right? So what’s wrong, you ask? Well it’s not that it’s a black church, it’s that they put black above all else. How is a leader of many people going to be for me when you belong to an organization that’s in a way against me? And against my middle-class values? How can you be a uniter, when you are so immersed in an organization that rejects most of the values you say you’re for?

And the ace up Hilary’s sleeve, for me, is that her Hubby will be first lady – er, man. I mean, regardless of what you think of his personal hi-jinx in office (I think it was scummy to do it and lie about it, though I would bet he’s not the first – the repubs hated him and I’m sure they did whatever they could to dredge up some kind of dirt on him), the fact of the matter is that he and his policies really helped bring America out of the economic drought we were fading into, and helped bring about the boom years we took for granted. He and Hilary are of the same mind, and I think having that team back in office would be so great for us.

To me, it’s of little surprise that during the 1980’s, under control of the repubs, the market and the US’s stature in the world began to crumble. Taking over from bushie #1, Clinton led off and began the US revolution. And we had our first balanced budget and budget surplus in some 20+ years. Then as bushie #2 took office, we suddenly ran back to deficit and a flagging economy. Coincidence? Hardly, I think.

Hey, I’ll support either dem that gets the nod, but in all honesty, I hope that when people vote, they’re taking a look beyond the rhetoric. Who’s more qualified? Who has done this before? Is now the time to take chances?

Hilary for President, 2008. Get it straight.

Peace.

Tags: Politics, earth conditions

My sleep routine has been all but f*cked for the last few weeks. It seems almost every night, the wind comes, and its sole aim is to keep me awake. A task I might add that it has been very good at marking complete.

It’s not that I mind rain hitting my window. It’s that I mind rain being thrown into my window – a mere 2 feet from my head – at a speed that makes it sound as though an army of young whipper-snappers is outside my bedroom walls armed with Red Rider BB guns or something.

The other night it got so bad, and I was so tired from previous nights, that I decided I’d go and try to sleep on the couch. Bad move, as when I got out there I realized that in all actuality, the bedroom was the quietest room in the house. How’s this? Our front door was knocking back & forth, the gate on the other side of the house was rattling in the wind, and chimneys & vents everywhere were howling something good. So I reluctantly retreated back to my bed. I have to come up with a solution. And I think I have, too. I think I have a way to fix the wind & the rain. How? Earplugs.

Yes, earplugs.



Democrats confused; can’t decide between girl, black guy
Clinton makes a comeback. Whoop-Dee-Do.

See here’s the thing: if you’re going to win the presidency, you need to win some states in the south. You know, that bible-thumping place, filled with rednecks and lots of people that know how to tie up a good noose…

And I really think the dems are not putting forth an “electable” candidate. Don’t get me wrong; I love both Clinton & Obama, but you have to understand… the south ain’t going to vote for no nigger, and they ain’t gonna let no damn woman be in charge of no man, neither.

Yes it seems ass-backwards to the rest of us, but this is The South. You know, the ‘incest is OK as long as you keep in the family’ bunch. Yeah I know I’m being a little harsh, but… these are the states that “voted with their morals” in 2004, and decided that homos suffering through marriage was more wrong than sending their children to die in foreign countries for reasons that don’t benefit anyone here. Yes, these same people.

And the dems are going to give them… a black man or a woman? This will not go over well.



But if there was ever an election to lose…
This would be it. I mean, think about it. I think that the republicans deserve this win. Do you have any idea how bad the fallout from the last 8 years of the bushie-regime is going to be? Someone’s going to get blamed, rightly so or not. And the way I figure it, let the repubs take the fall for it, since he was their guy, and they saw fit to stand behind his dumb ass most all the time. Now they want to distance themselves? Man, I say don’t let the public forget: let the fallout lie on their shoulders. Republicans did this to you.

And besides, no matter who wins, it’s going to be an improvement. All those guys running? Well, they’re going to try and avoid any connections to bush and his policies for fear of a less-than-25%-approval rating. And any one of them is better than the current monkey, right?

So I guess if the dems need to get this out of their system, this is the safest time to do it. I mean hell, if you reckon you want to elect a damn black man or dang-nab woman, I think you need to fix education first. Educate the south. Let them in on these little secrets we call education, civil rights, equality, evolution, electricity, and philosophy. Once they have an education, maybe they’ll consider a girl or even – gasp – a black man!

But c’mon, now? Yeah right. We’re barely 50-years-removed from the Civil Rights Movement. And there it was more a slow push than a ‘movement,’ anyway.

Go Republicans for 2008. Hope you enjoy the ride that the bushies built for ya. And hey, you helped too. You should have done something when you had the chance. Suckers.

Peace.

Tags: women, Politics

Why is it a dog that will go swimming in cold-ass ocean water will still fear the hose and more specifically a bath from said hose? I can’t understand it. Yes, I know that it’s a dog, not a qualified human, but still: it’s water, just the same. You get wet about the same. Hell, less actually from the hose. So what’s the big deal? You're less wet. I don’t get it.

And just so we’re clear, I’m talking about the Dumb One. The Smart One does not fear anything. He still don’t particularly like baths, but he puts up with it. Mostly because he absolutely LOVES the toweling-off afterwards.



And while we’re talking about dogs…
You may or may not recall a post many months back about Miles being rudely attacked by the neighbor’s mutt. Well shortly after, I noticed a wart on my Miles. Then a month or so after that, another was discovered.

Not long ago, Miles began having an excessively weepy Right Eye. He’s always had some measure of weepy eye, but this was kinda goopy instead of just teary, so I figured I’d try to clean it up and out and make it recover a bit faster. I noticed whilst doing this that at the back corner of his eye, he has developed… another wart. On his eyelid. Right there. Can’t miss it.

I’m beginning to think that these things aren’t old-age related as I had thought previously, but may in fact be linked to the dog bite he suffered. Maybe that mangy excuse for a family pet contaminated my Miles? Man, if he wasn’t dead already I’d kill ‘im. Frickin’ Frack, dammit! Sigh. I may have to get the venerable Miles into the vet to have a good ol’ look-see. I don't want him to become merely a collection of ugly bumps, you know?



And while we’re talking about dogs…
Michael Vick was sentenced to Death recently. OK no he wasn’t, he was sentenced to 23 months in Prison. I told the girl about it, and she wasn’t happy with that sentence herself; she feels it should be much more harsh.

But… I think it’s an adequate term. They are dogs, not people. Yes what he did was morally tragic & equally deplorable, but he’s going to be in prison for two years as punishment. Couple that with the public defacing of his image, and the lost job & also the ability to garner positive press which’ll lead to few – if any –endorsements, and I think he’ll have suffered a due amount.

I mean sure, I could demand more time, but I’m not cruel to animals myself now, c’mon.

Peace.

Tags: Animals

What can I say about Ocean’s 13? How about: MAN, I sure liked Ocean’s 11. And that about sums it up.

The Girl said something equally accurate. Namely, that it’s sort of been-there, done-that stuff. Not only that, but where the first two (first ONE in particular) was measured and conceived – the plot, that is – the 3rd just sort of throws stuff at you, then tries to explain it away later. Which I hate.

It’s too fantastic and not well-enough designed to be worth watching. Guess I’ll have to remove the Trilogy from my wish list.



Wind & Rain & Bears, Oh my!
The last couple of days it’s actually been windy here. I was curious so I looked to see what the wind speeds were that everyone around here is so apt to complain about. 20mph. 20mph. OK, so again, I come from a land where they name the winds they’re so strong, right? So, uh, 20mph.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s still windy. But we’re talking between ⅓ to ⅛ the strength of the Gale-Force, 100mph-+ Santa Anas.

Here, you lay awake in bed, thinking man it’s hard to sleep with all that noise. Down South, you think Man. I hope my home is still standing in the morning.

I think I’ll survive is what I’m sayin’.



No Really, not Mad
Hey for those of you taking it personally that I’m rewiring myself in regards to the website? Calm down. Like I said, I’m not mad, just a little disappointed. I was stating facts and explaining how I’m going to be taking care of things considering. You’re not being singled-out, you’re being en massed out.

Yes, you rarely visit. Yes, I’m disappointed in that fact. No, I’m not mad, it just is that way and that’s fine, so long as I bring my expectations in line with the reality of it. So stop sending violent emails and throwing things at me on the street.

And uh, my pages save a history of the last 500 visits, including time, IP location, etc. So yeah, I know when you’ve visited, it’s not just a guess on my part. :-)



JLH mad at her body
Yes, I know she’s been telling everyone that she’s mad at Hollywood for giving young women a sense of beauty that’s unrealistic. You know, all those beautiful size 0 women.

I think she’s focusing her distaste for her own appearance on the media on this one, however. Look, I agree that hollywood DOES give people an unreal sense of beauty when they touch up people’s photos and do this & that to make such & such person look a way they don’t really look. BUT, to say that a level of beauty is unattainable is hogwash. I see girls every day that are FAR more perfect than the famous faces we see on TV. Perfect bodies. They just didn’t make it in hollywood. I mean, there’s only so much room, and once you have an established act, you stick with it, right? It sells. You have a following. So JLH gains 120 pounds, you try to slim that down on film because everyone loved her in I Know What your Beautiful Big Breasts did 3 Summers Ago at that One Place with the Boats & the fishermen & that one hunky guy; You know the one I’m talkin’ about. But that’s not to say there’s no women out there who look a certain way or are beautiful. That’s what we call a reach.

Because you see, I believe Art imitates Life, not the other way around. Hollywood shows me things that turn me on, because that sells. They don’t tell me what arouses me, because Willy Knows best, OK? You try to dress up the ham, I’m sorry, but I’ll call BS and point out that it IS just a pig in lipstick. I have a built-in beauty pointer, and it never fails, OK? And it ain’t pointing at you, honey.

But even IF she was dead-on in her estimation (she’s not), that doesn’t detract from the fact that she appears to be a cellulite-ridden size 22. And you don’t get that way from decent diet and exercise. You get that way from laying around and eating bon-bons. Fudge-covered Bon-Bons. She can yell all she wants. But she’s wrong in her focus point. I can show her pics of beautiful women that aren’t touched up at all. Because they DO exist.

But yelling at the media is easier than taking repsonsibility for one’s condition, right? So of course she says the media makes beauty unattainable. She’s mad at that she says, when really she’s mad they got a good look at her and burst the bubble. Because, I sure as hell didn’t see her turning down Hanes endorsements, flaunting those big fun bags that everyone thought were cute & perky.

Yeah, pissed that she got caught is what it looks like to me.

So, uh, ladies? Don’t listen to this line. You best be taking care of yourselves. It can be done. I do it daily. You just have to show up, that’s the hard part. Really

Peace.

Tags: Entertainment, Gym, women

I tinkered with digital photography beginning in 2001. I got my hands on a decent camera and started to explore. I liked it, but I wanted to perfect it; I wanted to make the pictures what I saw in my mind. I’m a perfectionist, I admit it, OK?

Well a few years go by, and next thing I know I have purchased a DSLR, and I’m a step away from professional quality equipment, teaching myself to take photos that I see in my mind. And I actually do this for the better part of 5 years. Yay me! It’s been fun for that time, but truth be told, if I pour over my portfolio, certain things stand out to me.

Namely, “I’ve seen that flower before…” Yes indeed, I took a picture of that same photo last year. And probably the year before that. You see, I think what’s happened is I’ve hit that point where it’s like “I’ve taken that picture already.” And some that don’t read this might think “Well take different pictures,” and while that would alleviate the issue, I don’t want to take different pictures. I wanted to take the pictures I took. That’s my style. That’s what I find beauty in.

But now, my photography has become that old guy that tells you the same story about when he was a boy your age… Yeah. It gets old. We’ve heard it. We’ve seen it.



What I’ll probably be doing
Something similar to what The Girl is doing right now. Namely, carry around a point & shoot, and shoot the moment simply to share it. I’ll go to photography as a storytelling medium now. Sure there’ll be some beauty in some of the shots, but mostly it’ll give a sense of feeling to where I’m at and what I’m doing. Because honestly, it’s not as though I’m printing up posters or anything; I’m posting them on the web for friends and family – like you – to not look at on the web!



Came to this decision fast, did you?
Yes & no. I have contemplated it, but today was sort of the last example I needed to experience. We both took our cameras out on the same walk, but I didn’t see much worth pulling out my camera for, because I had shot that already, and the thing’s just big and a pain to carry around and pull out for that one shot that I already got.

She, however, got some decent ones today. Because her camera is small enough to be there at the ready when she sees something and wants to try it out on film (er, digital media card). I can’t do that. It’s too bothersome to pull out the biggie, get the right lens on, get all the settings good, then shoot and hope that all the conditions were right to get a shot that may look good.

Basically, if I want to continue on the path I have started and be happy with my output, I’d need to dive deep into it, with better camera, lenses, bags to carry them around in (and make them more accessible), and I’d need to do this all at once. Because getting the bag to make my equipment more accessible won’t cut it; my equipment won’t take the shot quite right anyway. But having just the right camera & lens? Well if they’re not readily available, then I won’t even be able to get it out in time to take the shot.

By the time all is said & done, I’d have to shell out thousands upon thousands of $$ just to take photos that are so good, no one will ever look at them.

Or I could get a nice point & shoot like The Girl’s for a couple hundred $$, and take pictures that aren’t quite as good, and no one will still look at them.

Yeah, seems much cheaper & easier to go with the latter. Sold.


Peace.

Tags: women

OK, so who’s itching to buy me presents? Anyone? I have a wish list over on amazon, if you’re interested.

Anyone? Hello? Somebody?



Yeah, me too
Hey I love the holidays, but the presents? Not so much. See, here’s how I figure it: If I buy you a present, and you buy me a present, then we both spent money but didn’t get what we wanted. Wow that sorta sucks, huh? I’d much rather have spent money and gotten what I wanted to get. Which is actually why I created my wish list; not for others, but for me! I keep things there as my list of things to get myself, a reminder of the particular things I want.

But hey, if you feel really inclined, go ahead and buy me things off my list until you’re just silly. Just don’t expect much in return. Bah-humbug. (btw, “bah-humbug” is perfectly acceptable according to spell-check. Who’d have thunk, huh?)

But honestly, it just seems like too much importance is put on the gifts. Look, if you're over 18, don't expect presents, that's the way it should be. If you're an adult, you can get a job and work for the things you want. If someone happens to get you a small something? Well fine, but if you are expecting things, you suck. Because you're ruining X-mas, dammit! And my bottom line!

This is why I think Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday. No gifts, no pressure, no nothing but a moist, juicy turkey or savory, honey-baked ham. Unless you're at my mother's house. Where it's either dry turkey or undercooked ham. Love you, mom!


And the Winner is… CHILD!
So you know the answer, but you’re probably wondering the contestants, right? Well, this particular case was a race/battle between parent & child. Yesterday at work, there was this middle-aged, dim-witted woman with a child who I guess was about 4-5 years old. I found them on the toy aisle as I was heading to the back, and as I walked down the aisle towards them, I see the child make a mess all over the floor, pulling out toys off the wall.

I made sure to walk by and make my presence known, sort of a silent “Hey I saw that, uh, maybe you should police your child and pick up this mess?”

But being the Manager on Duty, I couldn’t stand and watch them as calls come frequent, and soon I was off to help in the Photo Department. I got stuck over there for longer than I had wanted to be, and after a while I hear a loud screech, followed by the pitter-patter of little feet scurrying past me at double-time, running across the front of the store, then down the back aisle towards the back of the store. This was followed in short order by the clump-clump of a dim-witted spectacle of a mom trying to catch a runaway child. Ho-Hum, I think to myself, hopefully they’re leaving after this is over.

I was right on that count, it was just a matter of it actually getting to over. Because not 40 seconds later, the same screech, the same pitter-patter, the same hellion running across the front, down the stretch, and around the back. Followed again by the clump-clump of the dim-witted. Yeah, this is getting old already as you can imagine.

I finally break away from the Photo Department to take care of a refund elsewhere. On my way across the store, I come across the dim-witted mother (I’m going to call her that every time), and she asks me if I can tell her child – who’s now laying in the middle of the candy aisle, 20 feet from her mom – that she can’t have the ball she’s clutching. Sure thing. Can I teach her some manners, too? Maybe balance your budget? Go to her next recital? WTF?! Isn’t that your job!? *sigh.* Fine.

So I get up to the child slowly – think Crocodile Hunter sneaking up on a large lizard – and explain that she can’t have the ball. She tells me it’s only a couple bucks and she wants it for her birthday. I distract her with talk and grab the ball, then her hand, then walk her to her mom while she’s concentrating on what I’m saying (“you’re a pox on humanity! Yes you are! Yes you are! Oh, you’re so cute! You little pox on humanity, you…”).

I don’t need kids, I’m raising enough of them at work.



“Insert Typical Follow-up Question Here”
That question being “Where’s the parents?” Unfortunately, mom was right there with her child. That was running laps around my store and screaming. Right. There. In. The. Store.

I told the relieving manager about the incident, to which she replied that if her granddaughter ever tried to pull something like that, she’d beat the tar out of her.

“Yeah, but your granddaughter would never do that. Because she probably knows that you’d beat the tar out of her.” Which was the problem. In the horse race above, between the 35 year-old and the 4 year-old, the 4 y/o should not have the power. But that’s how it was. She had no fear of her creator; She was the jockey in that relationship.

And just that fast, corporal punishment in schools looks very appealing. We shouldn’t let kids bring guns to school, we need to let the teachers & administrators bring them instead.

Oh and the toys all over the floor? Still there after they left. Sweet.



Patriots almost lose
Hopefully last night’s close call is as close as it gets this season. Because one loss is not history. Horseshoes & hand grenades, right?

Peace.

Tags: Entertainment

Yesterday me & The Girl went up to Trinidad (view album over here). It’s supposed to be pretty cool, and I guess it is pretty & all, but it’s just not my style. For those of you from So Cal not familiar with Trinidad, it’s kinda sorta like Laguna Beach. And if you’re not from So Cal and therefore don’t know Laguna Beach or Trinidad, just think pretty place on a beach with cliffs & such.

It’s pretty, don’t get me wrong, but it’s like a quaint little retirement community. And there’s no land to really be had. I like where I am is I guess what I’m saying. The beaches are prettier there for sure, but – and this is the real thing for me – beaches are a place to visit, even if it’s daily, not a place to live at. I want land, cows, horses, birds, and penguins (yes I’m still on that kick). Cows & horses don’t do too well eating sand I reckon, and I want to tend my home & gardens & prairies. I just want them surrounded by Redwoods & flanked by the beach.

We’re probably going to trek back up there soon, take the dogs so they can have some fun. The beach there is a little calmer, so Miles will be able to swim out farther than he can where we are now. He likes the waves & all, but it’ll be a nice change of pace. Maybe he can swim out to one of the islands or something! That’d be cool as hell.



Crescent City’s next
We’ve yet to make it up to Crescent City, though we intend to. Trinidad isn’t an all-day affair, and we didn’t have all day yesterday. Next time we’re both off for a day or so, we’ll try to plan a trip to all-day Crescent City. And this time, we’ll bring hiking boots.

Yeah, we both took shoes that weren’t really cut out for what we ended up doing in Trinidad, namely hiking the small trail head they have. We decided that next time we go anywhwere, we take 3 pairs of shoes: flip-flops, hiking boots, and comfy shoes, so we’re prepared for anything. And quite honestly, I think that the beaches @ Crescent City will have us switching from flip-flops to hiking boots as we go, so they’re going to be a must.



Questioning my photography
I LOVE photography. And it’s weird that now that I live in one of the most picturesque locales imaginable, I’m questioning whether I want to continue the endeavor. Well, let me clarify that: I’m questioning whether I want to continue trying to get really good with good equipment any longer. I may just invest in a pocketable do-it-all style digital camera and leave it at that.

It’s hard, because I realize more & more that I’m NOT going to make myself into a successful photographer & make any money at it. What I do is done over & over 100 times better by people who’ve been doing it forever with background & training & everything else I don’t have. No one’s going to go “oh wow, you’re a photographic genius; please let me pay you BUKU bucks for some prints.” It’s just not going to happen. And in a sense, I’m in over my head already in this regard. I have a camera I paid $700 for, plus two lenses, paid another $149 for specialty software to process the images, had to buy a larger card to store the larger RAW images on, etc. I like taking photos, but at what cost?

I spend a lot of time & effort making the most of what I have. I find I really need a faster computer to process the images I take with my equipment, but for what? They are most likely just going to sit cataloged on my Hard Drive, never having a viewing. And those that do get viewed will most likely get shown on galleries like these online – and I don’t need the capability to print 2-ft by 3-ft prints to do that. Part of me wants more power, more pixels, so I can have the ability to blow it up to 4-ft by 6-ft, but I have no real need to do that. Those newer, bigger files will just sit on my hard drive still, doing the same thing the other 4.000-odd photos are doing – namely, sitting pretty without an audience, because as pretty as they are, there’s prettier out there, and no matter what I can’t afford to play with the Big Dogs at that kind of level.

And it’s not that I think I’m bad. I actually think I’m pretty good, and have a natural “eye” for good shots. It’s just that what I prefer to shoot – candid photos, abstract artistic stuff, nature shots – is so overdone by so many people that there’s really just no space to compete. I don’t shoot models; I have no formal training in it, nor do I want any. My skills will not net me a photo assignment with National Geographic; I will not be shooting Bikini-clads for Sports Illustrated, nor have my name next to any copyright symbols for Nike ads. So what’s the point of having a $1,300 camera with a $900 lens that can capture with wicked clarity a fantastic shot that I could print almost 6-ft tall and hang on a wall? It’s NOT going to be hanging on a wall, unless I hang it on mine & I’m already out of walls. It’s probably only ever going to be displayed here on this website, and quite honestly a decent quality all-in-one prosumer camera would do just fine for how my work will actually be put to use.

I guess in some sense it’s just that I want to be a great photographer. I love doing it, but I can’t justify the expense to do what I want when chances are I can’t even really do it, and will never get a return on it. Ansel Adams isn’t going to be replaced by random bob, a.r.c. anytime soon, know what I’m sayin’?

Hey I’m just ranting. Maybe it won’t matter because soon I’ll have enough money to blow on it anyways. Probably not. But maybe I’ll make use of it somehow. I mean, I enjoy it, right? So if I could do something with it, say local shows or even just small things for friends it may make it worth it in some sense, if not monetarily. Time will tell. Until then, I already have a camera, the software, and I’ll probably get the computer anyways (because I’m a slight techie), so it’ll be a back-burner kind of question going into the future. What do you guys think? Honest opinions only.

Oh, by the way, that photo at the top is me at work ☺

Peace.

Tags: Technology

Tags: earth conditions, Animals

Tags: Entertainment, hate, Technology

dear god, stop believing the hype you see on tv. stop chanting to oprah, the god of over-dramatic and women's misinformation. yes, your looks do matter. i swear it. anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. and furthermore, i can tell you what those lies are in this short segment, as there are only 4.33 categories they fall into:

Tags: women, Gym