I won a photo contest yesterday... well not entirely by myself. It was a collaborative effort with Aryn. The winning photo is not really one of my favourites. In fact out of all of the photos I/we submitted the winning photo was my least favourite. But I'm not complaining... we won $500 at McBain Camera.
This afternoon was the second part of the school talent show. It stretched for a monstrous two hours... which can seem like a really long time on a Friday afternoon. Some of the acts were, as can be expected, substandard or really terrible. But there were a few little gems here and there. One chubby little girl got stage fright, but came back later to try to redo her act. She asked her a few volunteers to come up and dance with her and ended up having nearly the entire school up and dancing. It was quite hilarious, even more so since the kids were busting moves to LFO's "Summer Girls". You know the one I'm talking about, if you don't, here's a little refresher.
New kids on the block had a bunch of hits
Chinese food makes me sick
And I think it’s fly when girls stop by for the
Summer, for the summer
I like girls that wear abercrombie and fitch
I’d take her if I had one wish
But she’s been gone since that summer,
Since that summer
Hip-hop mama layed spic & span
Met you one summer and it all began
You’re the best girl that I ever did see
The great larry bird, jersey 33
When you take a sip, you buzz like a hornet billy
Shakespeare wrote a whole bunch of sonnets
Call me willy whistle cause I can’t speak baby
Somethin’ in your eyes went and drove me crazy
Now I can’t forget you and it makes me mad left one
Day and never came back
Stayed all summer then went back home
Mccaullay culkin wasn’t home alone
Fell deep in love, but now we ain’t speakin’
Michael j. fox was alex p. keaton
When I met you I said my name was rich
You look like a girl from abercrombie and fitch
...what powerful lyrics.
Yesterday I made my photography wishlist (again. I'm not finished yet, but the list is fairly comprehensive. I cried silently and tearlessly when I saw the total.
In response to this newfound faux stress I've decided that I need to knit a new toque. I haven't knit anything in a while. My attempt at knitting a garment was only partly successful... I made it to the sleeves and then quit. So I planning to try knitting lace patterns. Not doilies or collars mind you. I found a nice pattern online for a scarf so I'm going to try that and then move on to headwear.
It's Friday, I have photo editing to complete this weekend, portfolios to plan, and XMen to watch (finally, months after I saw it being filmed).
Something's wrong with the main page of my blog template. The sidebar is showing up at the bottom and I don't know why since I didn't make any changes to it.
hmm... how annoying.
hmm... how annoying.
This morning I came across this poem...
You begin this way:
this is your hand,
this is your eye,
this is a fish, blue and flat
on the paper, almost
the shape of an eye
This is your mouth, this is an O
or a moon, whichever
you like. This is yellow.
Outside the window
is the rain, green
because it is summer, and beyond that
the trees and then the world,
which is round and has only
the colors of these nine crayons.
This is the world, which is fuller
and more difficult to learn than I have said.
You are right to smudge it that way
with the red and then
the orange: the world burns.
Once you have learned these words
you will learn that there are more
words than you can ever learn.
The word hand floats above your hand
like a small cloud over a lake.
The word hand anchors
your hand to this table
your hand is a warm stone
I hold between two words.
This is your hand, these are my hands, this is the world,
which is round but not flat and has more colors
than we can see.
It begins, it has an end,
this is what you will
come back to, this is your hand.
-- Margaret Atwood
Totally unrelated: but XMen will be opening on Friday and I am going to see it.
with the sound of wedding bells no less...
(dramatic pause)
On my wish list are several items, but most prominently is a quality wide angle lens. I have two that I'm trying to decide between, both expensive, but one considerably more so than the other. Making investments in such things is a difficult thing, especially when I am trying to take my photography seriously. Obviously the better lens is the more expensive one, it would work better in lower light conditions because it has a larger aperture and slightly wider angle. Add to that my newest wish list item, the Sekonic L-558 Light Meter and a more powerful flash like the Metz Mecablitz 76 MZ-5 digital for walk around wedding photography... and my desire to one day have studio lights... well, it all just becomes way too overwhelming. Even more so when I wish that I had a Macbook so that I could run Aperture.
Why does everything have to cost so much money? Sometimes (like now) I wish that I could just pursue photography full-time. But that's just not practical. I need to have the "back-up" plan to make sure that I can survive. As some might say, I have too many mistresses.
But back to my dream of prime lenses (the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM in particular)... I've always liked the look of wide angles in architectural and travel photography. Perhaps it's the cimeatic scope... but I just like to see the sweeping vistas and towering buildings. Like so many other paupers I get a lot of my kicks out of magazine travel, looking at the shots in various magazines of far off and exotic places. Today I chose my newest ideal vacation spot, the Algarve. The Algarve is the southernmost region of Portugal and is well known for glorious year round sunshine and excellent sandy beaches.
Lonely Planet has this to say about Portugal:
Portugal has a rich seafaring past, superb beach resorts, wistful towns and a landscape wreathed in olive groves, vineyards and wheat fields. Littered with UNESCO World Heritage sites and graced by one of Europe's most relaxed and attractive capitals, it also remains refreshingly affordable.
Savouring life slowly is a Portuguese passion, and much of the best is humble - traditional folk festivals; simple, honest food drowning in olive oil; music that pulls at the heart strings, recalling past love and glories; and markets overflowing with fish, fruit and flowers.
Who knows, maybe one day I'll be flying off to Portugal for photography assignments... with my faithful Sherpa of course, who will help me carry my equipment.
The long weekend has come and gone so quickly. I had a wonderful time with my beau and my best friend... Aryn having the chance to meet some of my family and Wade's. A rather amusing note, Aryn met more of Wade's relatives than mine. The weekend was a bit of whirlwind... fitting, since several of the days were quite blustery. I did not get a chance to give Aryn the walking tour of the town... however, he did get a chance to see most of the exciting sites of the area, including a look at the inner workings of the Peace Canyon Dam and the W.A.C. Bennett Dam. We ate, drank and were merry. Wade and I took some photos but I haven't downloaded them yet. All in due time, this afternoon I had more important things to do... I needed a nap.
June is fast approaching and I need to start to do more than mentally prepare myself for the big move. I actually have to start packing (or rather repack some of the boxes that are still somewhat packed from my last attempted move two years ago). I think I'm ready for a return to the city life.
I'm sure I'll write more about the weekend in the next coming days. Photos will also be forthcoming. For now I'm planning to go to sleep.
June is fast approaching and I need to start to do more than mentally prepare myself for the big move. I actually have to start packing (or rather repack some of the boxes that are still somewhat packed from my last attempted move two years ago). I think I'm ready for a return to the city life.
I'm sure I'll write more about the weekend in the next coming days. Photos will also be forthcoming. For now I'm planning to go to sleep.
I will admit that in the past I have not been what anyone could call a diligent flosser. However, my bad habits have been cured somewhat and I am now a faithful flosser.
Here's my secret...
Just imagine that you are about to meet your significant other's parents for the first time and one of them is a dentist.
This strategy (based in fact not fiction) has worked like a charm for me, and if you try this technique for 30 days it will for you too.
I am cautious in recommending such strategy for improving of eyesight.
Here's my secret...
Just imagine that you are about to meet your significant other's parents for the first time and one of them is a dentist.
This strategy (based in fact not fiction) has worked like a charm for me, and if you try this technique for 30 days it will for you too.
I am cautious in recommending such strategy for improving of eyesight.
I'm in the midst of organizing my vast clothing collection in my room in preparation of letting some people view my inner sanctum... but I'm exhausted from my day at work which consisted of an ok morning paired with a rather tiring afternoon as a TOC, or UTOC as I like to say. I have no patience tonight for organizing this room. I don't want to show it to anyone. It's a jumble of boxes and books and all sorts of things that exemplify my state of constant nomadism. I am at fault for the continuation of this state of temporary living, but I don't think I've ever wanted to unpack and organize things properly... because it would mean that I'm settling and I don't want to do that here. Besides, I'm moving in just over a month. What's the point?
From time to time I am shocked by the way that the students treat each other. They are truly horrible and show almost no remorse for what they do or say. This afternoon I had to play peacemaker between a set of waring students, each one acting without thinking resulting in them doing and saying really stupid things. But they just don't seem to care. I don't think I was ever like that.
I seem to have left myself in a bit of a dismal mood. I should be excited and happy though, since the long weekend is only a short work day away... In an effort to make things a bit more cheerful I will share with you a funny article that my brother emailed me today about a new DaVinci Code conspiracy... or more specifically, as the article states, "We're talking about a vast real-life global conspiracy, possibly involving the Vatican and perpetuated by some of the most powerful people in the world."
That is... "Why is Tom Hanks' character wearing a mullet?"
The article as a whole is quite funny and the full text can be found here. However, I'm including a small excerpt in case the link ever disappears.
With that I bid you adieu for the evening. I'm done with organizing for the night, perhaps I might continue tomorrow when I wake up at the crack of dawn because I'm anticipating the start of the weekend.
From time to time I am shocked by the way that the students treat each other. They are truly horrible and show almost no remorse for what they do or say. This afternoon I had to play peacemaker between a set of waring students, each one acting without thinking resulting in them doing and saying really stupid things. But they just don't seem to care. I don't think I was ever like that.
I seem to have left myself in a bit of a dismal mood. I should be excited and happy though, since the long weekend is only a short work day away... In an effort to make things a bit more cheerful I will share with you a funny article that my brother emailed me today about a new DaVinci Code conspiracy... or more specifically, as the article states, "We're talking about a vast real-life global conspiracy, possibly involving the Vatican and perpetuated by some of the most powerful people in the world."
That is... "Why is Tom Hanks' character wearing a mullet?"
The article as a whole is quite funny and the full text can be found here. However, I'm including a small excerpt in case the link ever disappears.
To prove there's a conspiracy afoot, one needs to look no further than Brown's book for the physical description of the Langdon character. It reads as follows:
"The past year had taken a heavy toll on him, but he didn't appreciate seeing proof in the mirror. His usually sharp blue eyes looked hazy and drawn tonight. A dark stubble was shrouding his strong jaw and dimpled chin. Around his temples, the grey highlights were advancing, making their way deeper into his thicket of coarse black hair." (Italics added for emphasis.)
Notice that Brown didn't write " ... making their way deeper into his thicket of coarse black hair that appeared to be shorter on the sides and longer on the back." Or " ... his thicket of coarse black hair that looked exactly like Wayne Gretzky's right after the Edmonton Oilers traded him to the Los Angeles Kings."
With no other explanation, Hanks' haircut can mean only one thing -- a covert attempt by the biggest players in Hollywood to return the mullet to prominence, quite possibly at the behest of the Catholic Church.
Still confused? Follow this logic:
Where do a lot of people with mullets end up? In prison.
What was the only movie where Hanks played a prison guard? "The Green Mile."
Who did Hanks' "The Green Mile" co-star Michael Jeter play in "Sister Act II: Back in the Habit"? Father Ignatius.
And who, ultimately, gave Father Ignatius his orders? The Vatican.
Could it be any clearer what is behind this? The Vatican, after hiding for centuries the true story that Jesus had a mullet, conspired with hundreds of celebrities in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s to make the haircut popular so they could reveal the truth.
When the Beastie Boys thwarted this plan, the Roman Catholic Church forced Ron Howard to direct "The Da Vinci Code," knowing that it would become a hit movie, where the much-loved Hanks could bring the haircut to new heights of popularity.
(And if it's really not all that clear, is the above explanation any more outlandish than the content of any of Brown's books?)
I still haven't figured out where Mary Magdalene fits into all of this. But I'm pretty sure she had hair like Nancy McKeon in the seventh season of "The Facts of Life."
--
Peter Hartlaub 2006 (phartlaub@sfchronicle.com).
With that I bid you adieu for the evening. I'm done with organizing for the night, perhaps I might continue tomorrow when I wake up at the crack of dawn because I'm anticipating the start of the weekend.
something I read this morning...
From neuro-biologist Susan Greenfield who asked this question in the House of Lords, "Is technology changing our brains?"
From neuro-biologist Susan Greenfield who asked this question in the House of Lords, "Is technology changing our brains?"
" In just a couple of decades, we have slipped away from a culture based essentially on words to one based essentially on images, or pictures. This is probably one of the great shifts in the story of modern humans but we take it almost for granted.
There can be little doubt that the structures, never mind the surface form, of the English language are changing fast.
The process of traditional book-reading, which involves following an author through a series of interconnected steps in a logical fashion. We read other narratives and compare them, and so build up a conceptual framework that enables us to evaluate further journeys... One might argue that this is the basis of education ... Traditional education enables us to turn information into knowledge.
