Desultory Cerebrations of Michael

Saint Patty's Day

2009-03-15T16:37:00.001-05:00

Hello, I'm writing from bed on my phone, not from my laptop, or desktop compter, both of which are 5 ft away. I've been in bed all day, it's 4:27pm now, I awoke at 1:40pm. I drank a bit yesterday, and during the middle of the night I had to throw up, there was an empty nalgene on the floor, it's not empty anymore. I didn't feel sick or hung over, maybe a little quesy, but I did feel like staying in bed and napping. It's been wonderful, I rarely sleep in this late, and even more rarely do I go back to bed after waking up. But thanks to St Pattys Day, my bed has been a devine retreat. Around 4, I was tired of my stomach feeling quesy so I had some Ginger Ale, and finally took my green medicine, my stomach felt better instantly, and everything was pleasing.

So St Pattys Day, is on Tuesday but yesterday was the closest Saturday so the celebrations and festivities took place yesterday. My Saturday started like most others, I awoke, read the news, caught up on some rss feeds, facebook, and twitter, and played some games, all on my iPhone. Then Brian texted me, wondering if I wanted to go to the St. Pattys parade. I did, so I got outta bed, and got a beer. Then I took a shower, got ready, and bee came over. Had another beer, and took two for the parade. The parade was decent, and i took some pictures of the festivities and wierdo's, by mostly of the wierdo's. After the parade we went to Sobelmann's cause Bee had never been, and their burgers are amazing. We had two beers with our burgers and then they gave us two free beers because they had us move tables. Then bee went to go work out, and went home and relaxed and tried to sober up for the evening. Bee came back over when he was do e and we went to the liquor store to get some Irish Whiskey and Ginger Ale. We drank a few of those, then met up with John at Mo's for a bit, then went to Fat Abbey to met up with Christian, Angie, and her friends, and to have delicous Belgian beer. They had Delirium Noel on tap, and this proved to be a great end to the night and sufficiently put me over the edge. And I'm really tired of typing in the iPhone now so . . . The End

Integrity

2009-01-22T17:42:00.002-06:00

The other day we had our Annual Company Meeting. We had this off-site at a Marriott, and it began at 8 am. Right off the bat I was running late, but eventually started the 45 minute commute with my breakfast: two Heineken and a bowl of green. It was a delightful drive and I eventually arrived 15 min late, stood in the back of the room, smiling, taking photos of the event.

Around lunch time we took a break to have some sandwiches provided by the Marriott that were utterly disgusting. They just randomly handed out the sandwiches, so whichever one you got you were stuck with. I was stuck with a raw roast beef sandwich, on day (or two day) old wheat bread, two small thin strips of heavily-marbled red raw roast beef, the core of iceberg lettuce, and a soup ladle sized scoop of mayonnaise. The sandwich was also server with a pickle (which was good), and a mustard potato salad(which was bad). Needless to say it was horrible and I was still hungry. So I decided to leave to go out to get lunch, even though no one else left, I wasn’t too worried and didn’t think anyone would notice my absence. I went to Arby’s to replace the taste of the disgusting roast beef with delicious roast beef. On the way back my dessert was another bowl of green.

I got back to the hotel about 10 min after the meeting had resumed, happy as could be, grinning from ear to ear. But my boss was in the hall waiting for me when I returned, he was upset and embarrassed because they had been looking for me because they were handing out the employee awards and I was supposed to be taking pictures of this. But even worse, they had called out my name to come up and receive an award I won. Once back in the big meeting room, the owner and president, who were giving out the awards, noticed I had returned and called me up to the front to receive the award.

The awards are voted on by fellow employees and then the executive team meet and decide which of those employees nominated should receive an award. There are 6 different awards; for Collaboration, Continuous Learning, Courage, Fun, Integrity, and Quality.

I won the award for Integrity, the description of which is –

Candidates must demonstrate a commitment to ******** by consistently showing business excellence, while maintaining the highest standards of business ethics and portraying respectful, responsible behaviors and attitudes while making positive and sincere choices on the path to integrity.

Here’s another definition of integrity - comprises perceived consistency of actions, values, methods, measures and principles. Integrity may be seen as the quality of having a sense of honesty and truthfulness in regard to the motivations for one's actions. The term hypocrisy is used in contrast to integrity for asserting that one part of a value system is demonstrably at odds with another, and to demand that the parties holding apparently conflicting values account for the discrepancy or change their beliefs to improve internal consistency.

A pretty sweet award, made all the more special given the circumstances, and the fact that my work self is in some ways far different than my true self. It makes me proud that I can be who I am and enjoy what I like, yet still be able to go to work and act in a professional and ethical manner and make others believe that is truly who I am.

what's up and enjoyable these days?

2008-01-12T15:56:00.000-06:00

hi
so i've been gone a while,
which unfortunately is how many of my entries start,
and so in predictable manner,
things are good, life is peachy, and all that,
im still working at an accounting software company,
learning more about my most hated subject in school than i ever thought possible,

things are delightful on the female front as well,
the source of delight is jenny,
many of you may have meet or heard of her previously over the years,
she's a friend of my friend matt,
we've dated briefly twice before,
but i guess the third times the charm,
rachel don't groan,

this fall i dated Yulia,
i was set up with her through a woman at work,
she was a 29 year old from russia,
it was fine for a bit but a pretty face only goes so far,
personality wise we were too different,
ironically many of jenny and my mutual friends would argue jenny and i are too similar,

Aaron to answer your question about socialized health care,
absolutely not,
i can't wait to discuss this with you after you cover it in a finance class,
basically i think that no one deserves health care for free,
it seems many people view it as a given birth right that everyone has,
i don't think people deserve to be taken care of for free,
there is a cost that comes from taking care of people,
i don't understand why people shouldn't be at least partially responsible for this cost,
i feel that if people are not at least partially responsible it leads to abuse of the system,
if people get a service for free they will be abusive and wasteful of the use of that service,
But if people are a little bit responsible for the cost of their health care,
they will invariably be more invested in their health,
surprisingly people aren't more concerned about their health,
since it can lead to so many problems and ultimately a shorter life,
But most importantly of all, financially it is by far more cost effective to have people partially responsible, and in essence insurance,
yes there are obvious problems with insurance companies, and the american insurance system,
but the basic underlying rules and laws of insurance are brilliant and logical and ridiculously financially effective, it keeps cost so much lower,
and i think that should be an important factor in any government program,
but especially any social program,
grouping people into so many subsets and categories allows everyone to pay the lowest possible cost for heath care than they would if they paid for only them self,
or most expensive of all, for everyone but the sickest, a universal health care system,

Originally i planned this entry to be solely about Saul,
Saul Williams,
i mentioned him to you over christmas aaron,
he is a poet, who starred in this movie slam that i think you would love,
his flow and delivery are amazing, but his use and structure of words is simply breathtaking

Someone posted the whole movie slam on you tube, here the the first of 12,

a clip from slam where he is in jail and being taunted and harassed by some other inmates and this is how he retaliates

Another clip from slam

Here he is from a radio interview that i thought was pretty interesting and he made some amazing points,

here is another amazing poem, this one about his father and religion

here is reciting a poem at an art and spirituality festival

and yet another one, but at least it's the last one,

<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^

Another recent enjoyment has been peep show, its a british TV comedy,
that's very unique, different and executed hilariously,
one defining difference is that it is often shot from each charters exact point of view, and this allows the viewer to hear the thoughts of each character as they are showing that characters view point,
to view more peep show, and lots of other TV shows try
http://www14.alluc.org/alluc/

Oh also i don't think i ever mentioned that i stopped putting my photos on here and instead refer to my flickr page to view my some of my photography

yaohong

2007-09-10T21:44:00.000-05:00

hi

I was just inspired to write a comment on some Asian Photography blog, i have included it here below. I write alot each day, often in computer/accounting jargon, i like it more than i would've thought, and i am better at it than Mrs. Nelson would have thought(she was my high school English teacher, i had her 3.5 out of 4 years, she challenged me and was my nemesis for quite some time but she somehow invigorated my interest in English and writing).

Things are grand, last weekend i was in San Fran, Berkeley, Oakland with my friends Marf and
E-Lease. I have wanted to visit them forever, and a few days before it worked out. On 8/24 i saw that none of my coworkers had asked for off over labor day weekend. On 8/25 my boss was on vacation so i couldn't ask him if i could have off. On 8/27 i asked my boss he said yes, i asked Mark, he said yes as well, i bought my tickets. On 8/30 i flew out, and arrived in san fran.

It was a fabulous trip~ biking around Berkeley, eating the best sushi i have ever had, playing video games with mark, walking san fran, eating at an old school German restaurant, searching for a photography bookstore in Japan Town (after the word in red is the letters "an" in white, for the Japanese colors), drinking in Buddha bar in china town, and eating Thai for dinner, wandering Napa Valley drinking our way though amazing vineyards, fighting a freeway of miniature ants, making cyanotypes, meeting a burning man, biking around Berkeley some more, and eating the best spaghetti and veal meatballs @ chez panisse.

Thanks again,

Mark & Elissa

Marf & E-Lease

M & E

,~o'~'o,~,o'~'o,~,o'~'o,~,o'~'o,~,o'~'o,~,o'~'o,~,o'~'o,~,o'~'o,~,o'~'o,~,o'~'o,~,o'~'o,~,o'~'o,~,o'~'

Creative Job vs. Professional Job

There are many things to consider, and everyone considers different things. i had a similar choice and these are some of the things i considered.

Which is easier?

~there are many benefits of having a job that you don't Hate, and i job that is less Grueling.

Which is more lucrative?

~Like it or not, Money is important. Money affects almost everything, and it is a source of major Worry, for everyone.

Which do you Enjoy more?

~Obviously important, but I think most people don’t consider enjoyment enough.

What job will be more Challenging?

~Significantly more important than people realize, if you can be great at your job in less than 5 years it probably isn’t challenging enough.

Which job has longer hours?

~The longer you spend working for someone else the less time you can be doing what you love.

Which job inspires more creativity?

~a tough question, because I have found my non-creative job often inspires much more desire and inspiration for creation than some job using creativity. I feel that being surround by an environment of logic and lack of creativity 8 hours a day invigorates my joy of creation.

For me, I choose to go the business route doing software support for some accounting software. It sounds horrible, i admit, but it has been a great choice for me. A day spent at a desk is easy, more lucrative, likely more challenging, shorter hours, and may likely inspire your creativity more than many of the other jobs you would have to do to supplement your creativity.

i’ll admit you may not enjoy it more than doing photography all day, but I don’t think that’s the only question to ask.

http://chngyaohong.com/blog/uncategorized/art-education/#comments

well

2007-07-10T21:39:00.000-05:00

hi
how are you
i hope well
i am
in hi fi cafe
a block from my new place in bay view
also a block away is my new vehicle
a honda cr-v
it's wonderful
a bit nicer than my 94 explorer
everything has been a bit nicer lately
last weekend i was in DC
with a bunch of friends from lax
the weekend was perfect
as was copious amounts of libation
the beaches
the beach house
the skinny dipping
and most importantly the company
ta ta
for now

whimsically practical, abundantly repetitive, listening to the abscence of listening

2007-06-11T19:23:00.000-05:00

hi, how are you?
i'm good,
Life is delightful,
things are finally moving, being, becoming,
job is wonderful,
my car and residence are soon the same,
simple things, practical things,
after being so fanciful for so long i feel the need for practicality,
i am bothered by the absence of it,

i don't mean to bemoan,
that was one of the many reasons i've been quiet,
as well as being 'putered out,
insufficient time,
interest,
desire,
disgust with the state of blogs,
specifically the lack of personal insight and abundance of repetition,
and antipathy for the current state of listening around me.

Here is an email we got today from a client, an extreme example, but an example nonetheless~
................................................................................................................................
Question:Hi this question is for my Client Dorner Inc.

She has used all of her elements and assigned the accounts to them now they need to add the need to be able to add for lack of better word a new element so that when they need to post the expense of an insurance deductible or other expense that they need to charge the job due to damage to on the job they want to be able to Split the insurance expense to the GL account for insurance and the out of pocket expenses To another account currently in Whensoft you only get to assign 1 GL account How can we do this so that we can track the expense on the job as well as to the correct GL accounts?
...............................................................................................................

I loved the opening, i'm glad she made sure we knew this was a question, since we only get questions. The lack of punctuation is a bold choice, the random capitalization, "they need to add the need to be able to add for lack of better word"= brilliant. The crystal clear explanation of her problem, and the fact that this came from a CPA(ccountant).

~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~
Another recent love, Karl Pilkington

He is on the Ricky Gervais Podcast, they are downloadable from iTunes, or free if you aren't a moron. They are basically 30 min radio shows with Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington. There are also free ones on iTunes. Ricky and Steve are funny, quick, and witty~ but Karl is unknowingly hilarious~ the way he views things is very simplistic, annoyed, and curious. Here are some quotes:
;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:

Don't chuck stuff about because you'll break it.
- Karl's interpretation of the 'People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones' proverb.

People who live in glass houses have to answer the door.

Karl updates the famous proverb from above

Were those presents the three kings brought Jesus for Christmas or his birthday?

Don't be chucking that out you might need it later.
- Karl's interpretation of Benjamin Franklin's "Waste not, want not."

You don't have to do it straight away, but just do it before it gets really bad.
- Another interpretation of a proverb, based on Franklin's "A stitch in time saves nine."

I scored once, and that's only because I was being chased by a bee." Karl's most vivid memory of playing football at school.

A little story told quickly.
- Karl's definition of an analogy

They go from building to building, just building.

On builders

You never see a black ghost, do you?

Why didn't evolution give them genes to make them good at carpentry then, so they could build a ladder instead of growing long necks?
- On the the evolution of the giraffe.

Who's it for, at the end of the day?
- Karl on marriage.

Knowledge is almost annoying.

Karl: "Even the bit that was important, right, when they were getting married, right, there wasn't enough chairs cos it was, y'know, all the family gets the chairs, don't they (Ricky: 'selfish...') so I was sort of stood at the back and that, watching, and er, I couldn't hear what was going on, cos a woman was breastfeeding her baby."

Steve: 'But- what- How loud was this baby guzzling away that you couldn't hear what was going on?'

Karl: 'It was slurping, and all that....'
-On a friend's wedding.

Check it out please! )
I'll be disappointed if you don't~(

As i mentioned earlier i have been put off by the many blogs simply repeating things from other blogs. Whether it be photo blogs, news blogs, gossip blogs, even psychology blogs they are all doing less creating more copying. Annoying yet easier. Here are some things copied from psychology blogs;
-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Voters’ personality traits in presidential elections

Abstract

Personality measures of more than 6000 US electors on the Big Five Factors have been collected on the Web through a Web site designed to assess their personality. By means of structural equation modeling the impact of personality factors as well as of demographic variables, such as age and sex, on voting intentions on the forthcoming US presidential elections was investigated. Personality variables accounted for 16% of variance of voting intentions, while gender and age accounted for no more than 3%. High Agreeableness and Openness were predictive of intention to vote for Kerry, while all high Energy, Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability were predictive of intention to vote for Bush. Results are consistent with previous research conducted in a different country, using a different language.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

Action-Video-Game Experience Alters the Spatial Resolution of Vision

ABSTRACT—Playing action video games enhances several different aspects of visual processing; however, the mechanisms underlying this improvement remain unclear. Here we show that playing action video games can alter fundamental characteristics of the visual system, such as the spatial resolution of visual processing across the visual field. To determine the spatial resolution of visual processing, we measured the smallest distance a distractor could be from a target without compromising target identification. This approach exploits the fact that visual processing is hindered as distractors are brought close to the target, a phenomenon known as crowding. Compared with nonplayers, action-video-game players could tolerate smaller target-distractor distances. Thus, the spatial resolution of visual processing is enhanced in this population. Critically, similar effects were observed in non-video-game players who were trained on an action video game; this result verifies a causative relationship between video-game play and augmented spatial resolution.

'''''''''''''Mark - think this helps our photography?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

26 Reasons What You Think is Right is Wrong

A cognitive bias is something that our minds commonly do to distort our own view of reality. Here are the 26 most studied and widely accepted cognitive biases.

Bandwagon effect - the tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. Related to groupthink, herd behaviour, and manias. Carl Jung pioneered the idea of the collective unconscious which is considered by Jungian psychologists to be responsible for this cognitive bias.
Bias blind spot - the tendency not to compensate for one’s own cognitive biases.
Choice-supportive bias - the tendency to remember one’s choices as better than they actually were.
Confirmation bias - the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one’s preconceptions.
Congruence bias - the tendency to test hypotheses exclusively through direct testing.
Contrast effect - the enhancement or diminishment of a weight or other measurement when compared with recently observed contrasting object.
Déformation professionnelle - the tendency to look at things according to the conventions of one’s own profession, forgetting any broader point of view.
Disconfirmation bias - the tendency for people to extend critical scrutiny to information which contradicts their prior beliefs and uncritically accept information that is congruent with their prior beliefs.
Endowment effect - the tendency for people to value something more as soon as they own it.
Focusing effect - prediction bias occurring when people place too much importance on one aspect of an event; causes error in accurately predicting the utility of a future outcome.
Hyperbolic discounting - the tendency for people to have a stronger preference for more immediate payoffs relative to later payoffs, the closer to the present both payoffs are.
Illusion of control - the tendency for human beings to believe they can control or at least influence outcomes which they clearly cannot.
Impact bias - the tendency for people to overestimate the length or the intensity of the impact of future feeling states.
Information bias - the tendency to seek information even when it cannot affect action.
Loss aversion - the tendency for people to strongly prefer avoiding losses over acquiring gains (see also sunk cost effects)
Neglect of probability - the tendency to completely disregard probability when making a decision under uncertainty.
Mere exposure effect - the tendency for people to express undue liking for things merely because they are familiar with them.
Omission bias - The tendency to judge harmful actions as worse, or less moral, than equally harmful omissions (inactions).
Outcome bias - the tendency to judge a decision by its eventual outcome instead of based on the quality of the decision at the time it was made.
Planning fallacy - the tendency to underestimate task-completion times.
Post-purchase rationalization - the tendency to persuade oneself through rational argument that a purchase was a good value.
Pseudocertainty effect - the tendency to make risk-averse choices if the expected outcome is positive, but make risk-seeking choices to avoid negative outcomes.
Selective perception - the tendency for expectations to affect perception.
Status quo bias - the tendency for people to like things to stay relatively the same.
Von Restorff effect - the tendency for an item that “stands out like a sore thumb” to be more likely to be remembered than other items.
Zero-risk bias - preference for reducing a small risk to zero over a greater reduction in a larger risk.

Complete list of cognitive biases - Wikipedia

2 reasons to celebreate the impending holiday

2007-04-19T01:42:00.000-05:00

i've not been busy blogging. sorry, truthfully, kinda. Work has been good, it's fun and interesting, i enjoy all the people i work with, and it seems to be working out well. Today i got my first set of business cards, and they interviewed me for a video they will show at our companies user conference next week here in Milwaukee. There will be 160 clients from 12 countries, the oddest place will be Qatar, and the farthest would be from Australia. i volunteered to be the company photographer, so i get to be down at the conference at the Pfister for most of next week taking pictures. Speaking of photography i have 4 photos in a show this weekend for the spring gallery night. i am pretty excited to finally be showing some work, but i know why i didn't do anything sooner ~ cause it is a surprising amount of work to get everything ready. i am actually surprisingly busy lately, my nights are filled with shit i need to do, and i'm actually having to start planning my time and scheduling things for various nights, which as you may know is quite foreign to me and goes against my nature and beliefs. All while maintaining my viewership for all the shitty shows i watch, Allah bless DVR. Oh yeah, back to the show my mind wanders so severely while writing these post you have no idea, my mind just races with things i think to write, then i contemplate whether i should write it down, then i do, then i fiddle with the grammar and syntax a bit, then i delete it because it is out of place, or usually because it seems arrogant and uninteresting, for example several times in this post i have written about then deleted some comments my boss made, she said i was extremely courteous, i say thank you after everything, in my emails and conversations with customers and coworkers i am are very formal and well-written and well-spoken. Previously it was just out-of-place and self-congratulatory but in this context of explaining my process i think it fits better. And i just realized this is very similar to my internal process when i am in a group and waiting to speak, i hem and haw whether i should say it, then i think about how to say it, then i wait for a good opportunity to say it, but those good opportunities rarely come, and i am left quiet. i feel rejuvenated writing, it is 2:45 now, and i desperately need to go to bed, but it feels better than i thought it would to write again, i was actually kinda procrastinating cause there is so much to write and so little time to write it. But next time, hopefully shortly, i can tell you about my recent night partying with two 40 year old married women.

Anyway, the exhibit runs during the Third Ward’s Gallery Night and Day, April 20-21, and is located in the Third Ward at the P&H Dye House, 320 E. Buffalo Street (2nd Floor, above VP Gallery). Opening reception: 5-9pm.

a gun

2007-03-25T23:35:00.000-05:00

Hello again. Sorry i have been away. i have been busy, or at least busier than i was previously. My new job is still delightful, it is fun and interesting, in a nerdy sort of way. Some funny things have happened so far, but they all involve either computer nerd humor, accountant humor, or both. Such things as this woman who adamantly thought she could add a salesperson id to a purchase order entry, i know pretty ridiculous, how can people be that dumb, err maybe you had to be there. But anyway i am still getting into a rhythm, and not surprisingly after sitting in front of a computer monitor for 8 hours i have some difficulty sitting in front of a computer once i get home. i am also starting to formalize plans to move within the next 2 months, i've been a tanguy(a French term for a twentysomething child that still lives at home, it comes from a hilarious French film about a 28 year old son who still lives at home with his parents and his parents want him to move out so they begin messing with him miserable and force him to move out) for long enough, and Wauwatosa is a wee bit boring, i'm looking for places in Bayview. i also turned a quarter century recently, surprisingly, or actually not surprisingly, all of my female friends remembered, and none of my male friends did, but that has been a tradition for years. i also recently saw zach galifianakis for the seconds time in a few months, he was hilarious again, and has easily become my favorite comedian. This time i went to see him at the Barrymore in Madison, here are some jokes i wrote down from the opening comedian, i didn't catch his name, and i only saw the last 5 minutes of his set~
~a condom is really just a stain protector~
~i'm so skinny i receive 30 cents a day from a family in Africa
here are some from zach~
~i want to jihad your vagina~
~Rahmaddah makes me horny~
~a maternity store called, "We're Fucked"~
~a deaf person signing, "talk to the hand"~
in hindsight i realize these jokes aren't as funny written out, i think you had to be there.
The ride home though wasn't as funny cause it was extremely foggy and wet, kinda dangerous yet beautiful. While driving i frequently wanted to stop and take some pictures because of the dense fog and sporadic lights from the few other cars out on the road, but i was more eager to get home safely. Once i got back to tosa and got off the freeway i decided to drive around a bit and maybe take some pictures of the night,the lights, and the fog. i headed down north 109th st past the new Mo's Irish Pub, i got to the intersection 2 blocks north of Mo's on Bluemound rd., i parked and got out and took a few pictures. Suddenly, the door to this nearby building flew open, the buildings bottom half was commercial and the top half residential, this guy ran out, and ran up to me yelling
Him ~ "What the Fuck are you doing? What the Fuck are you taking pictures of?"
me ~ nothing.
Him ~ "I'll say it again, what the Fuck are you taking pictures of?"
me ~ Dude, nothing i'm just taking pictures of the fog and lights at night.
Him ~ He pulls a gun from the back of his pants and points it at me. "Fuck you. Who the Fuck are you? And what are you taking pictures of?
me ~ my head goes down immediately as i try not to look at him and be as submissive as possible, i try to again explain that i am not taking pictures of his building or him or anything, i am just taking pictures of the suburbs at night when it's very foggy
Him ~ He is still surprisingly angry, still dropping numerous f-bombs, and still doesn't believe me. He seems convinced that i am with some enemy of his and i am taking photos of his property for either this enemy or for the police, whatever it is the guy is pretty spooked by me standing in the street taking pictures.
me ~ i show him some of the pictures i took, and try to calm him down, and explain that i don't know who he is or what he does or what he is into. (in hindsight i wish i would have taken a picture or asked to take a picture of him pointing the gun or just holding it, it probably wouldn't have been a smart idea, but it would have been a good picture)
Him ~ He slowly begins to believe me, he tells me to get the Fuck out of here, and don't ever come back.
me ~ i briskly walk to my car and leave. i am done taking pictures for the night.

The Job, and Vista

2007-03-08T00:08:00.000-06:00

Well it's been 3 days, so far so good, lots of new things to learn, i am continually told that it will take me about one year to learn and become comfortable with the software i am to provide support for. i am starting to believe that, but at least it's interesting, interesting in the way that school was frustrating, you see i was interested in the subject matter but the information and examples i was taught felt academic and not like real world business, now it is all real world business. My coworkers are all older than me, the next youngest is at least 5 years older than me, possibly 10, the average age of my coworkers is late 30's to 40's, but i don't mind i am actually glad, being an only child it is weird how much better you get along with older(i simply mean older, not elderly, don't be so sensitive older people) people rather than my 20-something peers. Anyway, another nice thing is that the dress code is casual, meaning jeans and a t-shirt causal, and shorts in the summer. For my PC they gave me a brand new notebook with Vista installed on it, i had previously used Vista a bit to just check it out, i wasn't impressed, but working with it for 3 days i have become slightly more impressed. As with anything it takes some time getting comfortable with the new format and design, but i must admit it is significantly prettier, but only if your have a fast new PC with lots of memory. However, the one annoying problem is the new security in Vista, you know the Mac commercial with the security guy behind the windows guy asking if he would like to allow or deny everything? That is surprisingly accurate. Literally just about every program or action you click on then asks if you would like to deny or allow the program you just manually opened, even when clicking on the date and time in the lower corner it asks if you would like to deny or allow, or if you try to create a new folder if asks if you would like to deny or allow the action you just initiated. Furthermore, today we had a woman fly in to interview for a position who currently works for Microsoft, we were talking with her about Vista and surprisingly they all still use Windows XP and have not started using Vista at Microsoft Corporate of all places. Nonetheless, i still hate the mac commercials and read a fantastic article about those new mac commercials, here is a good summary, "when you see the ads, you think, 'PCs are a bit rubbish yet ultimately lovable, whereas Macs are just smug, preening tossers.' In other words, it is a devastatingly accurate campaign." You can find the article here, or just read it here~~~

I Hate Macs
by Charlie Brooker
Unless you have been walking around with your eyes closed, and your head encased in a block of concrete, with a blindfold tied round it, in the dark - unless you have been doing that, you surely can't have failed to notice the current Apple Macintosh campaign starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, which has taken over magazines, newspapers and the internet in a series of brutal coordinated attacks aimed at causing massive loss of resistance. While I don't have anything against shameless promotion per se (after all, within these very brackets I'm promoting my own BBC4 show, which starts tonight at 10pm), there is something infuriating about this particular blitz. In the ads, Webb plays a Mac while Mitchell adopts the mantle of a PC. We know this because they say so right at the start of the ad.

"Hello, I'm a Mac," says Webb.

"And I'm a PC," adds Mitchell.

They then perform a small comic vignette aimed at highlighting the differences between the two computers. So in one, the PC has a "nasty virus" that makes him sneeze like a plague victim; in another, he keeps freezing up and having to reboot. This is a subtle way of saying PCs are unreliable. Mitchell, incidentally, is wearing a nerdy, conservative suit throughout, while Webb is dressed in laid-back contemporary casual wear. This is a subtle way of saying Macs are cool.

The ads are adapted from a near-identical American campaign - the only difference is the use of Mitchell and Webb. They are a logical choice in one sense (everyone likes them), but a curious choice in another, since they are best known for the television series Peep Show - probably the best sitcom of the past five years - in which Mitchell plays a repressed, neurotic underdog, and Webb plays a selfish, self-regarding poseur. So when you see the ads, you think, "PCs are a bit rubbish yet ultimately lovable, whereas Macs are just smug, preening tossers." In other words, it is a devastatingly accurate campaign.

I hate Macs. I have always hated Macs. I hate people who use Macs. I even hate people who don't use Macs but sometimes wish they did. Macs are glorified Fisher-Price activity centres for adults; computers for scaredy cats too nervous to learn how proper computers work; computers for people who earnestly believe in feng shui.

PCs are the ramshackle computers of the people. You can build your own from scratch, then customise it into oblivion. Sometimes you have to slap it to make it work properly, just like the Tardis (Doctor Who, incidentally, would definitely use a PC). PCs have charm; Macs ooze pretension. When I sit down to use a Mac, the first thing I think is, "I hate Macs", and then I think, "Why has this rubbish aspirational ornament only got one mouse button?" Losing that second mouse button feels like losing a limb. If the ads were really honest, Webb would be standing there with one arm, struggling to open a packet of peanuts while Mitchell effortlessly tore his apart with both hands. But then, if the ads were really honest, Webb would be dressed in unbelievably po-faced avant-garde clothing with a gigantic glowing apple on his back. And instead of conducting a proper conversation, he would be repeatedly congratulating himself for looking so cool, and banging on about how he was going to use his new laptop to write a novel, without ever getting round to doing it, like a mediocre idiot.

Cue 10 years of nasal bleating from Mac-likers who profess to like Macs not because they are fashionable, but because "they are just better". Mac owners often sneer that kind of defence back at you when you mock their silly, posturing contraptions, because in doing so, you have inadvertently put your finger on the dark fear haunting their feeble, quivering soul - that in some sense, they are a superficial semi-person assembled from packaging; an infinitely sad, second-rate replicant who doesn't really know what they are doing here, but feels vaguely significant and creative each time they gaze at their sleek designer machine. And the more deftly constructed and wittily argued their defence, the more terrified and wounded they secretly are.

Aside from crowing about sartorial differences, the adverts also make a big deal about PCs being associated with "work stuff" (Boo! Offices! Boo!), as opposed to Macs, which are apparently better at "fun stuff". How insecure is that? And how inaccurate? Better at "fun stuff", my arse. The only way to have fun with a Mac is to poke its insufferable owner in the eye. For proof, stroll into any decent games shop and cast your eye over the exhaustive range of cutting-edge computer games available exclusively for the PC, then compare that with the sort of rubbish you get on the Mac. Myst, the most pompous and boring videogame of all time, a plodding, dismal "adventure" in which you wandered around solving tedious puzzles in a rubbish magic kingdom apparently modelled on pretentious album covers, originated on the Mac in 1993. That same year, the first shoot-'em-up game, Doom, was released on the PC. This tells you all you will ever need to know about the Mac's relationship with "fun".

Ultimately the campaign's biggest flaw is that it perpetuates the notion that consumers somehow "define themselves" with the technology they choose. If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. Of course, that hasn't stopped me slagging off Mac owners, with a series of sweeping generalisations, for the past 900 words, but that is what the ads do to PCs. Besides, that's what we PC owners are like - unreliable, idiosyncratic and gleefully unfair. And if you'll excuse me now, I feel an unexpected crash coming.

Finally

2007-03-05T00:13:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow, or rather today, i guess i need to get to bed, i start my new job as a software support associate. As you can imagine i am excited, very excited, as well as nervous, but not very nervous. i haven't had a post recently because i finally started adding all my photos to flickr, i have meant to for eons but alas i frequently feel under pressure to edit photos and post them on here since i am so far behind, and subsequently don't add photos to flickr. i also needed a place to put my photos so people other than you can see them, this blog just isn't efficient for people who just want to see photos and not read my desultory cerebrations (in 3 days i have had 270 people look at my photos on Flickr, a few more hits than my blog gets), and for people who i haven't told about this blog because of my personal cerebrations and possibly questionable subject matter at times, namely family. One of my biggest problems i have with my photography is determining what photos are good, and how my photos should be sorted or grouped, and flickr helps with that. i have also recently joined COPA, Coalition of Photographic Arts, a Milwaukee photography group, as well as the name of Casey's cat. i'm going to bed now but i will (make a hollow promise &) try to update more often since hopefully i will have more to discuss at least more than what's new on TV. So in short, things are happening, things are changing, things are moving forward, finally.

Jin Kyung Kim and some photographs

2007-02-26T15:09:00.000-06:00

Food at ESL party
variety of foods from foreign students
green punch
streamers 1
streamers 2

ESL students mingling, and i guy wondering why i am here
the dj's laptop
Did you know that the country with the most foreign students in the United States is Saudi Arabia, because the government pays for most of the students to come here? i just did a search to find the approximate total of Saudi Arabian students in the USA, i found a source that said 5,000 in 1999, a source that said 15,000 in 2006, and a source that said 30,000 students but did not state a year. Whatever the amount that's a lot.
cutlery

balloons

Lesli being photographed by Jin being photographed by me

more balloons

some sort of weird foreign delicacy

Jin & Lesli 1
Jin & Lesli 2

clear lights
blurry lights

streamers 3
a skit that was performed
Jin playing a pianist

Jin kept/hid survivors and mementos in this economist magazine

the least blasphemous thing i did in this confessional,
the most blasphemous thing was ***

My God,

I am sorry for my sins with all my hearts.
In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good.
I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more,
and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us.
In his name, my God, have mercy.
Amen.

Three thoughts about the Oscars~ pissed that Pan's Labyrinth didn't win best foreign film even though it won every other category it was in, of course they gave it to a German film about evil Nazi's, how typical and jewish. Fucking Ennio Morricone, been working on American English language films since the 1970's and yet he gives his speech entirely in italian. i understand he is italian, i am sure he is more comfortable speaking italian, but this is an American award, to an English speaking audience and jury who is giving you this award, and rewarding your work in English language films. To speak for 3 minutes all in italian with Clint Eastwood standing next to him being fed the translation, and not even mutter a simple thank you in English. And it was so much more offensive that this was done by someone who is able to speak English and knows the language. He has previously said, in English, that he didn't not want to win an Oscar(which he bitterly said after he's been nominated 5 times and lost every time), and he was disappointed to be nominated for an honorary achievement, well than don't accept it, he's basically selling out but still trying to act tough like he isn't selling out. Lord knows i think the Oscars are the worst awards possible, and i have very little respect for them, but you can't accept the award, say thank you, and then say fuck you to the people who gave it to you. Ennio Morricone is just a bitter disrespectful pussy who was too scarred to make a stand for what he believes, so he pulled this lame stunt to be disrespectful. Lastly the best joke i heard last night was, surprisingly, from Joan Rivers who said, the autopsy and toxicology are done on Anna Nicole Smith and they didn't find any illegal drugs in her system, just lots and lots of sperm.

Random photos between election day and the first bigger winter snow storm

2007-02-13T11:26:00.000-06:00

my elementary school and voting site

Fears of second graders

actual or subconscious fear of being in the closet?
my favorite
wow, from a second grader, either he is very smart or very danerous
gym drapes 1
gym drapes 2
(i don't know which i like better)
gym drapes 3
gym drapes 4
gym drapes 5

made from the class 1 year older than me, i always liked this painting,
and was always jealous

10 ways to handle stress
Everyone belongs
Teasing hurts
(i noticed you have the same one katy)

the enormous playground
autumn
i have disliked and not trusted girls like the one in white since elementary school
(because of a girl named angela widenhof, she was a classmate at underwood, but i never talked or socialized with her, she was very arrogant and unfriendly, she was always dressed in big frilly dresses with lace, she even wore makeup and lots of blush at that age. When we went to lunch, or recess, or gym we had to walk in a single file line, she was always directly in front of me. One day out of the blue, i was summoned to the principals office, angela had told the teachers and principal that i had been throwing her down the stairs everyday for a month. The teachers had never seen anything but they were still very upset with me and i had to beg and plead and probably cry, and eventually our parents got involved. Nothing ever happened and i didn't get in trouble but i remember being so confused as to why she would tell them i had been throwing her down the stairs for a month.
pigeon
typical elementary school roof

same world books i learned from

inadequate barb wire
?

my niece, Cameron

sleeping/dreaming
from my roof facing east
from my roof facing west

i sometimes put ice cubes on people/animals who are sleeping
a few years ago my dad fell asleep while watching a movie, so i put an ice cube on his stomach, eventually he woke up; cold, wet, and upset

mmm, pabst

comfortable plastic pillow
wisconsin baby chic
camo section at gander mountain

more baby chicness
wisconsin women chic

an epiphany(when snowblowing a large square area the best way is to start in the middle and go out in a circle)

rusty's pee hole
my treehouse stairs

the squirrel i found a month ago in our yard

birdhouse i built in cub scouts

i HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE you all

2007-02-07T23:30:00.000-06:00

unless you watch LOST. i know these are bold words, and that i also find it easier to hate than most, But nonetheless, LOST just had if first new episode in about 8 weeks and it was unbelievable. i know (and you probably do to) that i have mentioned LOST numerous times on this blog, unfortunately for you i will mention it many more times, and now is one of those times. i watch alot of TV, for 1~ because i like TV, for 2~ because i have DVR to record as much TV as i am possibly interested in (and i have a very high interest level), and 3~ because i am often home when TV is on. DVR (as well as other certain life situations) has allowed me to watch numerous more shows that i ever watched before, i am able to watch them, see if i like them, find out they are absolute crap, and keep watching them week after week anyway, but thats beside the point. The point is i know whats out there, and LOST is ridiculously better than EVERYTHING ELSE. The level of thought, intrigue, and suspense during an hour of LOST is so mush higher than any other show on TV it's simply mind boggling. i realize that many of you have not seen all the episodes, and to start watching now would cause you to miss and misunderstand many aspects of the show, nevertheless, i implore you to start watching, ideally you will start from the beginning and catch up quickly, or just read about LOST online for a bit to catch up and them start watching. Unfortunately, 99% of you that don't watch currently still won't watch, but hopefully i have gotten through to that 1% and they will start watching. At least that is My dream Mr. King (you are not a Dr. to me, a degree from B.U. in Systematic Theology does not make anyone a doctor to me, happy month, sorry for the rambling tangent, and if you didn't smile or even worse frowned during this parenthesis than i hate you too :) ) Again i apologize for the tangent, as you know my mind wanders, and most of my evening was spent drinking with my father in various bars around tosa cause my mother was having a get-together with friends from church at our house. But alas, don't doubt the veracity of these statements due to the nights proceedings, while i may blame it on that, and tell you that i actually don't HATE you if you didn't and don't watch LOST, i am lying.

"Extras" and my choice for president

2007-02-01T23:57:00.000-06:00

Recently, i watched an episode of "Extras" on HBO, it was very funny. Subsequently, i have watched more episodes and i found this clip from a recent episode that provides a good glimpse of the show and its humor. The basic premise of the show is that Andy, played by Ricky Gervais, is a 40-something actor, in the first season he was on various sets as an extra trying to get his big break delivering one-liners, or simply being an extra in movies. This year he got an offer to do a shitty sitcom and took it. In the clip you will also meet his inept manager, Darren, and his secretary, Barry who is also an actor that only works as an extra.

Next we have my choice for the presidential election, Nicolas Sarkozy. You probably don't know him, here is a interview he did on Wednesday, on The Charlie Rose Show.

Did i mention it was the French Presidential Election. Anyway, i hadn't heard of him either, but i watched the show on Wednesday night, yeah i'm a nerd, even my parents find Charlie Rose boring. With the choices Charlie Rose on PBS, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan, or Craig Ferguson, i often choose in this order depending on who guest's are for each show. So Wednesday i started watching and thought it was a great interview and longed for an American candidate like him, and for our presidential election to be similar to France's, for example they are not allowed to have any political ads on television. It was also very refreshing because the questions were not softball questions that were preselected and told to the candidate before hand, and because Sarkozy's answers sounded very atypical from the types of answers politicians in America give. If you are curious about my thoughts about America's upcoming presidential election you might be surprised to learn that if i had to vote today i would probably select Barack Obama. Stop smiling. I know what you're thinking, but the Republicans just don't have any good candidates they only have "bob dole" type candidates, and while i disagree with Barack on numerous issues, well actually most issues, such as universal health care, social security, Iraq, global warming, etc. He does support one of the issues that is closest to my heart. More than anything i like how different he is from the typical American politician, and how much he would spice things up in this country for better and for worse. What i hate most about him is that while he is obviously very articulate and charismatic, he doesn't have a plan or idea about a single issue. He is great at making things sound good but there is a big difference between saying how great and beneficial something would be and actually making it happen and be at all feasible. Universal Health Care, have the government take care of all your health care costs sounds great in theory, not so much in reality once you are paying higher heath care costs to cover others. Social Security, he wants to give more benefits to seniors and not privatize, that would work well for at least 8 years than Social Security would go bankrupt from giving seniors more money and from the enormous influx of baby-boomers collecting these increased benefits. It's easy to make no more health care costs and increased benefits to our grandparents and parents sounds good, but it doesn't sounds as nice once taxes are increased 5, 10, 15% to pay for all these heartwarming programs. Anyway, i hope you enjoyed the "extras" clip and the 30 seconds you probably watched of the Sarkozy interview.

Twentynine Palms

2007-01-30T15:14:00.000-06:00

One night i was up late watching TV, i checked to see what was on the sundance channel. Twentynine Palms was playing, i originally heard about this film in 2003 when it came out, it is a french film by Bruno Dumont (i later learned he is a french philosopher), i had originally heard about it because it was considered "extreme cinema" a genre that i often enjoy, and it was compared to many films i had previously enjoyed; such as "i stand alone", "man bites dog", "audition", "ichii the killer", park chan-wook's revenge trilogy, "trouble every day", and it was frequently compared to "brown bunny" since they both came out in 2003, were both road films, and had explicit sex.

When i turned to the channel it was in the last half hour of the 2 hour movie. The first scene i saw is shown with the first photo and i decided to take some photos of it because the screen was very digitally pixellated and it seemed interesting and ironic for some reason cause it was blurring the explicit real sex. The reason it was so digitally pixellated was discovered a few days later when a cable guy came to solve the problem and discovered that we had a total of 9 splitters on the single cable signal coming into the house, we only have 5 televisions, so he removed several of the splitters and the signal improved. i took the photos of the first pixellated scene then the couple in the film drove around a bit, i switched the channel but set the movie to record. A few days later i got around to fast forwarding through the movie to see what else happens in the film and found that the basic plot was the couple have sex, drive around Joshua Tree National Park, have more sex, then drive around some more, which made me glad i missed the first hour and a half. Then i got to the last 5 min. i then decided to take photos of the rest of the film, cause it will be better to see it rather then i just tell you about it, and i am trying to do more photographic series rather than just random photos of things.

Here is the plot summary of the film from imdb: David, an independent photographer, and Katia, an unemployed woman, leave Los Angeles, en route to the southern California desert, where they search a natural set to use as a backdrop for a magazine photo shoot. They find a motel in the town of Twentynine Palms and spend their days in their sport-utility vehicle, discovering the Joshua Tree Desert, and losing themselves on nameless roads and trails. Frantically making love all the time and almost everywhere, they regularly fight, then kiss and make up, with little else going on in their empty relationship and quite ordinary daily life--until something horrible and hideous brutally puts an end to their trip.

then they drive around, and not talk
they eventually stop, walk around, then katia drives for a bit
then they go back to the hotel,

the next day they drive around some more
a view out the window, they continue driving around all day, sometimes they stop and walk around but i never see David with a camera or take any pictures, apparently when he scouts out locations for his photo shoot he doesn't need to take pictures or notes he can just remember where he wants to come back too.
later that night they start fighting i am not sure about what,
then he chases her onto the street in front of their hotel,
and they have sex in the middle of the road.
the next day they are driving around again,
all of a sudden a white pickup truck rams their hummer from behind,
and force them off the road.
3 guys get out, and pull David and Katia from the truck.
one of them rips katia's clothes off
then he goes over to david and starts hitting him with a baseball bat
the assailant as he hits david with bat
katia struggling to get free
Katia being held and made to watch
after the guy stops hitting david in the head with the bat the other guy pulls down david's pants,
and starts raping him. Katia helplessly watches
David's pixellated face mid rape
David's non-pixellated face mid rape
the raper
the raper finishes,
the 3 guys leave,
and katia crawls over to david
they go back to their hotel and snuggle
the next morning
the first thing katia says to david
the second thing katia says to david,
and the last line of the film

katia walking back to their room with a pizza
katia sits down on the bed
David runs out of the bathroom, his hair is all cut off, with his face and scalp bleeding, he has a knife
he jumps on her, and begins stabbing her
over and over
he sits on her dead body
a police officer finds David's body in the desert
the end.

i then researched the film a bit to see what i missed in the first hour and a half, and to find out what david and katia could possibly have done to these 3 guys to make them want to rape david. To my surprise, nothing, they never met before that scene, the 3 guys are in no other scenes, and apparently these 3 guys just randomly ran david and katia off the rode, and raped him for no reason. So there you have it, now hopefully you don't have to put yourself through watching this, i hope this was a better way to see this film. Ohh and just so you know there are some spoilers in this post, so don't read if you still want to watch the film.

^_^

2007-01-25T14:38:00.000-06:00

i regrettably haven't posted in a while, Sorry. Most of my time recently has been spent either with Jin, searching for a job, taking photographs but not editing any, finishing my christmas gift to myself, watching shitty TV, keeping up to date on news(whether it be national, international, local, or celebrity gossip, i love it all), or playing Fear multiplayer online(mostly CTF(capture the flag)). Unfortunately, Jin left today to go back to South Korea :( Rachel, Mark you were both right, i was wrong, i am definitely very melancholy and saddened that Jin has gone back to Korea. i thought or hoped or hypothesized that i wouldn't be that upset or saddened that Jin was leaving because i thought it would make it easier that i knew it was coming and i knew our time together was finite. i was wrong. While in some ways it is easier because there is no painful breakup and our relationship didn't end because one or both of us didn't want to be together any more, but it is also subsequently harder because we would still be together if it weren't for her moving back to Korea. Everything was going very well and we were still having a great time together and a lot of fun.

We were surprisingly similar in many ways, most importantly, our silly sense of humor and sarcasm(in my last post Jin was the one who left the post " i am a long time reader of your blog but i hate your photos especially the confused rusty picture."), our creativity(thankfully she didn't mind that i take a lot of pictures and she actually enjoyed taking a lot of pictures as well), our randomness(i greatly enjoy random thoughts that come out of nowhere, i often have weird random thoughts that don't fit in to the current topic or situation and Jin does as well, and it is nice and refreshing to be able to share and hear these type of thoughts), and our spontaneity( she actually wasn't spontaneous before we met but about 95% of dates had no initial plan, i would pick her up and we would figure out what to do once we got together).

Today, i planned to edit and post some of the many pictures i have of Jin and the time we spent together, but it quickly became too sad and upsetting so i will do that some day soon. i also have another post that i am working on but haven't finished yet, i was trying to think of a different type of post(i didn't want to simply do another post of photos, and yes i still have many many more photos from Europe to go through, i still have Prague, Munich, Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Rome, Nice, and Paris to go through) and came up with an idea but had to do more research to finish it properly, you'll see. Andy, you work in Iola, WoW, small world, who do you work for there? As far as the photo thing don't worry about choosing just one, you don't need to limit your choices, and it's been too long, we should talk more efficiently soon, but i don't have your number, what is it?

photos from 12/27 - 1/05

2007-01-10T14:21:00.000-06:00

ridiculous shoes
ridiculous shoes and her man's
Pat Focusing
Bob Releasing
Mark Shooting
i liked the layers of pat and mark
Bob Shooting
Bob, Pat and Mark
last piece
tentacles
Pure joy
falling down
washer 1
washer 2my first load of laundry in over a year
rusty confused,
thinking why are you doing laundry,
mom always does that
refreshing sea breeze
discarded pumpkin that surprisingly hasn't rotted in 2 months
Rachel and Ryan's staircase
berries
pipe
pipes & shadows

Taco dip, tortilla chips, bloody mary, wheatables, port wine cheese spread, Asian salad, beer
new years ballon
happy new year
disco ball spun
on New Years Jin wanted to stop by the Newman Center(catholic church for students by UWM) New Years party, so we stopped by, laughed and giggled, felt awkward, and left. this was their cake
tree shot through my breath and fog
foggy afternoon
foggy dusk
puddle fog field
these next foggy shots are from a drive up to iola, wi.
the previous are at the lakefront around veteran's park
sheep herd
small town church nativity scene
we went to Iola to visit my half sister and her family, this is Garrettthis is Owen

Garrett wanted a picture that looked like he was boarding down the hill,
since i had so many of him falling down the hill,
i coaxed him to lean back a little bit and pull the board up like you are about to jump in the air
more! more! you have to pull the board up much higher, i coaxed
perfect, that moment right as he pulled it too high and he is falling backwards and realizes it. it may be mean but it's also hilarious, and
he's not angry, it's all in good fun, and photography
snowball
leafy green moss
fox hole, literally
christmas saplingaesthetically displeasing
Garrett didn't want to trespass, and his dad told him not to, but i convinced him it was ok to trespass if you don't do any damage later on he felt very guilty and bad about trespassing
pouty
and tired of being photographed

Julia
She got some kids lipstick for christmas, she kept putting it on and her mom kept telling her to wipe it off after she put too much lipstick on
Julia, Owen, Lucas, Garrett
look at the camera

11/25-12/10

2007-01-05T16:52:00.000-06:00

inept deer surgeon

mmmmmmmmmmm

leglessskinless

soon to be tripod
peers
(my dad got a deer,
i went with him to the butcher to get the deer cut up,
i love photography field trips)

luggage rack

dirty eye
red tummy

Crockett's hat?
squirrelly
cold squirrelly
Neckless Squirrel
Neckless Squirrell
Neckless Squirrelll
(saw a squirrel tale sticking out of the snow, found dead squirrel, dug up, photographed)

making dinner

nude snow angel

Courtesy of...
(i went to a lunch at my grandparents Croatian church,
average age = 75, give or take a year,
i found the church's leading advertiser and sponsor to be a little distasteful)

miller park ing lot

a letter i wrote to my nephew, Garrett

Pretzelmaker vs. Auntie Anne's
Tough Decision
(i was tempted,
but couldn't decide,
the Winnie with more frosting,
but unappetizing yellow frosting,
or Piglet with less frosting,
but delicious pink frosting,
even though i know both taste the same,
i decided on neither)

Some of the photos i took from 11/25 through 12/10, yes, not surprisingly i am still inevitably very behind editing photos. In other news, i have a job interview next week for baird, finally some good job news, otherwise not much else is new. Ohh, i just thought of a resolution for the future, to post entries more frequently. But don't get too excited i have made this resolution in the past.

Merry Christmas Friends

2006-12-25T23:57:00.000-06:00

The day is almost over, and as always the anticipation is greater than the actuality. Now i don't want to be to sour, but leading up to the holidays i always have so many plans and thoughts and hopes and wishes, and well unfortunately they rarely go as planned. Not that it has been a horrible day, or even a worse christmas than most, but i generally find myself unfulfilled at the end. Even leading up to the holidays several events have been eating away and greatly upsetting me, especially an argument with a friend, albeit a friend that i often get in little spats with, but still it has been bothering me for days and left me feeling very disrespected.

As far as presents go my best presents this christmas, ironically, have both been books. The first is "A Photographer's Life 1990-2005" by Annie Leibovitz, my cousin Karalyn and Mark got it for me, it is the first photography book anyone has ever gotten me, i was so touched i even teared up a bit, but i don't think anyone noticed, i was so touched because i am often branded as "tough-to-by-for", and subsequently receive things i could never like or have ever remotely liked. I often simply get offended when i receive a gift that is just a stereotypical gift for a male in my age group without any regard for me personally, and this obviously makes it a little tough to fake delight and appreciation. The second book i got was "I'm Just Here For the Food" by Alton Brown, which is also ironic because i don't cook, but it is definitely something i am interested in, i don't really care about a book full of recipes, but i really like Alton Brown(from the "Good Eats" program on the Food Network) because he tells why you are supposed to do all the little steps of cooking, the science behind it. I don't like a cookbook full of recipes because i know what foods i like and what foods i don't like and a surprising amount of recipes contain things i don't like, some may say i'm picky, but i can easily figure out what to put in a recipe if only i know the "why" behind the steps and am thus able to create unique recipes without crap like onions or mushrooms.

The worst present i got was also the most expensive, a $275 gift card for Sam's Club, why $275? and why Sam's Club? Well, because i need 2 new tires for the back of my truck, one is so bad it has a slow leak i have to fill it up every few days, but still, come on, Tires! Call me ungrateful but that is not a present, and there are several other more gift worthy things that i also need, and have more importantly wanted, much more importantly, such as a new iPod, or a new camera lens. Some may be reading this and think, well if your tire is so bad that you have to refill it every few days than i have much more need for new tires, but i have dealt with it for about 2 months and in that time i have still wanted and needed a new iPod and a new lens so much more that i would be willing to keep using and refilling the tire indefinitely. i also don't think you realize how painful it is only listening to the radio.

Well i apologize for all this bitching, obviously i haven't had any one to bitch to in a while or rather have just kept everything bottled up inside. Also i do feel bad that so many of my posts have just been photos recently, but i am still remarkably behind editing photos, since i have almost 10,000 to go through from the trip, and i still take quite a lot of photos in my day to day life that it seems like i will never catch up. Furthermore, as more people read this i second guess what i should talk about and then generally write nothing personal. Obviously tonight i haven't cared, and just wrote.

But anyway the real reason i decided to write tonight was because i had this idea a while ago, and i was hemming and hawing all night and finally decided to just post it and say fuck it. Basically the idea was that on christmas i would offer all you friends and readers who had seen a few photos on here that you liked to let me know which ones and i can print them out for you(my printer can print up to 8 x 10, or smaller if you so desire,but i think 8x10 is a great size it's big enough to show detail but not too overpowering, but it's possible to go a little larger if you want to take it somewhere else to print it on a little larger size paper), or if it's easier and you live far away send it in the mail or just send you the large file and you could take it to Walgreen's or something and have them print it for you if you desired or whatever you want to do with them. i thought of this as a christmas gift to friends since i don't really have the funds to buy you all gifts, and some friends have expressed interest before, but i never really responded properly or been proactive in doing anything about it, thus this offer on christmas, also i am always very interested in which specific photos people like and enjoy. i was and am very apprehensive about posting this because it seems very arrogant to assume any of you want any of my photos on your wall or anything, but if by chance you do let me know. And yeah, i realize i probably have some sort of weird phobia about arrogance, and seeming or feeling arrogant. But yeah I'll quite rambling, if you are interested let me know either with a comment, or send me an email.

Berlin

2006-12-21T11:57:00.000-06:00

These first few are from a building that was abandoned in the 80's, taken over by squatters, and eventually purchased by said squatters after they opened successful bars and galleries in the building along with artist studio's

a gallery in the building
a restaurant on the first floor

awesome graffiti
pebbles & stones
lots of amazing graffiti in germany

close up of skin billboard for diesel
some famous bonbon maker
who knew bonbons were made like this, the confectionery gave me a warm one right out of the oven that was delicious, and the inside was still gooey and warm, mmmmmmmmmmmm
They were all deliscous

fountain
these were for some private party i stumbled upon in a courtyard,
they wouldn't give me a piece
chair backrest
i'm not sure why i like this, but i do

mouse pad
Kleenex box

Berlin sewer
a Native American music group playing in Berlin in front of some museum

typical German statue
Berlin needle

Book Burning Memorial

tour boat
river stairs
an exhibit at the Guggenheim in Berlin
it was a large pack of fake wolves, running, flying in the air, and then crashing into a glass wall yeah, i don't get it either,
it's stuff like this, that in my opinion, makes many people think less of art

Brandenburg gate during the day
pretzel bicycle vendor
i like red trees

ducky
museum
gangrene foot
atlas

gay nude section of a park
(in hindsight, i wish i waited for some children to walk on the path to show the surprising proximity of nude men to children)
fierce dog's playing
(oh, by the way, i knew that it was a nude section of the park for gay guys from talking to the owners of these dogs who were a gay couple, but they were thankfully clothed)
dog's still playing fiercely (kinda reminds me of some photos by Alessandra Sanguinetti, from her book "On the Sixth Day", she's amazing check her out if you haven't seen her stuff)
horny
balloons
McDonald's menu in Germany, surprisingly few options
Helmut Newton Museum
bombed out church
water fountain
german youths
more balloons
sculpture fountain
gelb
self portrait with base of rainbow pole
rainbow pole eins
rainbow pole zwei(sans trees)
rotund
looks like a fun festival
one way to make your dog look tougher
spongeworthy
peeker
Potsdamer Platz
Brandenburg Gate
another comfortable bum
Maggots
Europe does not have many free bathrooms, but i didn't mind
Russian Souvenirs
Russian Dolls

more Russian DollsRussian Pins
a lonely balloon
i have the right to learn

some wall
some other wall
from a surprisingly large Ping-Pong store, they even had ping-pong jerseys of famous ping-pongers, and special shoes for ping pong
photo series from 1987-2004 showing the development of Potsdamer Platz
click to enlarge (which can be done for any picture on here that you want to see larger, just so you know)
Memorial for the Murdered Jews 1
Memorial for the Murdered Jews 2
Memorial for the Murdered Jews 3
Memorial for the Murdered Jews 4
Berlin had lots of outdoor dining and bars

that abandoned building at night
Typical German Breakfast

Hamburg und Hamburgers

2006-12-11T15:57:00.000-06:00

Philosopher Stones
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof

Todlich Ad
red light 4 square
chair and wall in laundry room at hostel
My least favorite/most hated photographer
Hamburg S-Bahn
slant
slanted shadow
brick edge
brick edge from a farther away
self shadow portrait
hell
hellII
yet another bum resting comfortably
beggar in silver paint
Hamburger Spider

not to shit on anyone's religion
but if you think your god wants you to wear a blanket covering your entire head,
than i think you're pretty dumb

a bitch and bum
self mirror portrait
lord knows i'm not very religious,
but even i have a problem with a huge billboard over a church being renovated,
and a madonna ad at that
another look at the small madonna billboard on a church
more swan photos
swan stretch
swan kiss
red, purple, white
Hund und Bum
raise the red lantern
a foo dog
a hamburg chinese festival

a lake in the middle of hamburg,
with a dragon for the festival,
and the rectangle thing is a goal for the World Cup,
throughout Germany at night they displayed blue goals like in the next picture

a subway stop and some of the blue goals at night

buddha and a hamburger
blue goldfish
Bavarian
newspaper
flower saturation
head in the sun
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
gggggggggggggoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooddddddddddddd
adorable
pinkoncrete
curiosity
Herbert Herbst
looks fun
it works surprisingly well, after a running start you will glide from one end to the other and back and forth at least 5 times before you have to push yourself again, i played on here quite a while with this young boy, who found it hilarious to see a grown man using the glider, we both couldn't stop laughing for quite some time, it was definitely one of the best, most fun moments in Europe

surprisingly, his shirt is Oshkosh B'Gosh
Reeperbahn~ Hamburgs version of the red light district with strip clubs, and whores
zig zag i saw after i had a zig zag
stage talk
a stage set up on the Reeperbahn, why? beats me
Franziskaner Weissbier~ Delicious, if you ever get a chance Try It,
delicious German munchies
other delicious munchies that i mysteriously ate alot of
typical Hamburg S-Bahn
which surprisingly is free, or in other words doesn't have anyone checking tickets
a Hamburg Hamburger
maybe it's just me but i assumed the hamburger originated from Hamburg,
but i looked and looked and looked,
and this was one of the only hamburgers that i found on a menu,
it was pretty bad
a bunch of trees with branches that are completely vertical, i had never seen trees like this, maybe it's just interesting to me, and other Arbortechs out their, namely Casey
another bum resting comfortably, yet this time in a sleeping bag

while i was here she woke up, had a cigarette,
i surprisingly learned it was an Asian women,
then she proceeded to masturbate for a few minutes,
then she went back to bed, it was around 3 pm

i was here long enough to witness all this because it was a secluded spot
and i was enjoying some souvenirs from my travels

another bum or maybe poor traveler i found close by,
also resting in a sleeping bag, this time they had a suitcase next to them
swan rug
i came to this restaurant for a refreshing bier and the view,
while there a swan wandered up to the door,
they tried to shoo it away but it kept coming back
typical German bread
German sandwiches
blind in the room in the hostel
on the train heading to berlin
Typical rail car
Germany apparently gets a lot of their power from wind,
i saw numerous wind farms like this all across Germany

I shoot cause it’s quicker than drawing. ~ Henri Cartier-Bresson

2006-12-06T13:51:00.000-06:00

Well it been a little while, especially since i wrote. what have i been up too? well i am still looking for work, still sending out resumes, still rarely hearing back or getting interviews, but i am still not worried, i know it'll happen eventually, and me worrying about it doesn't help. Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes which i've learned to apply to life, which comes from the movie "Bad Santa" of all places is, "Shit is one hand, wish in the other, see which fills up first." It is simple and silly, but it's true, and wishing and worrying are much the same.

Which reminds me, my friend Ed, was curious of any recent movies i had seen that i recommended, so here is a list for Ed and any others:
District B13~ and amazing martial arts movie, from France, yeah French martial artists, you got to see it to believe it.
Brick~ a film noir styled mystery set in a California high school and suburb.
13 Tzameti~ best thriller i have seen in a long time, its french and in black and white, the less you know going into it the better.
The Descent~ amazing, amazing horror film, best i have seen in maybe ever.
Little Miss Sunshine~ i am sure you've all already seen it, but if not, do.
Talladega Nights~ obviously.
Borat~ even more obvious.
Fearless~ Jet Li's supposed final martial arts film, and its directed by Ronny Yu, Ed you may remember him from directing The Bride with White Hair.
The Ax~ a french film about a guy who losses his job, and spends two years looking for a new job, then he gets the bright idea to put out a job ad for a position similar to the one he is looking for, collect the resumes that his competitors send in, and then kill them all.
Wristcutters- a love story~ the best titled film of the year, its about people stuck in a purgatory only for suicide victims.
Half Nelson~ a crack-addicted teacher, and a young female student become friends.
Lady Vengence~ the final film in Chan-Wook Park's vengeance trilogy, his other films are Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, & Oldboy.
Dead Man's Shoes~ a British revenge film.
The Science of Sleep~ Michel Gondry's new film, it's beautiful, and a very realistic film about people meeting and liking each other, but then both act weird and awkward as they both try to become a couple, it would have been significantly better with out the Gael Garcia Bernal(who i think is a Mexican version of Colin Farrell, simply cause he ruins every movie he is in, simply unwatchable, Gondry was able to make the rest of the film very watchable)
Beerfest~it was funny in the theaters, but it is the ideal movie to watch at home while you drink, drink, drink some delicious golden nectar.
Crank~ a constant action film with Jason Stratham, the idea is he was poisoned with a drug that will kill him if his testosterone levels fall, so he must keep his testosterone very high while he enacts revenge on those who poisoned him.
Jackass 2~ even better that the first jackass movie, more outrageous and hilarious.
Hard Candy~ a child predator meets a teenage girl, they meet, she agrees to go back to his place, and things do not go as he planned, similar to the film Audition.
and Inconvenient Truth~ Just kidding, that would be ridiculous, i haven't seen and won't, i don't want to laugh as hard or frequently as i did during Passion Of The christ.

A lot of my time is spent on photography lately, currently i am watching a Charlie Rose(by far my favorite interviewer, and one of my favorite shows cause of the amazing, interesting, intellectual interviews he gets with lots of interesting important people, and cause he doesn't ask basic stock questions. For example, he interviewed Donald Rumsfeld a few years ago, i had only heard bad things about him, and never really heard him speak, well after the interview i was impressed and surprised by his intellect, and thoughts on a variety of issues, anyways i'll get back to the point) with Henri Cartier-Bresson(my costume for Halloween this year) while writing this, i have seen it before on TV as a rerun, but i hadn't seen it in a while, here's a link. i originally found the link from another photography blog that i read, Conscientious, i read several other photography blogs as well, i will add those links in my list as well. And here are some other links to 2 essays by Bertrand Russell that i enjoyed greatly, Why I am not a Christian, and In Praise of Idleness.

While i still want to work in the corporate world, and do something with IT and/or finance, its not something i want to do forever. i have thought this for a little while, but i came to the conclusion recently, while with my father, we were talking and he told me that when starting out after he graduated college he had the mind frame and desire to be the best computer programmer, and that was his goal. This made me think that "what you want to be the best at" is a good determinate for what you want and should do with your life. Do i want to be the best IT, computer, finance guy? NO, definitely not. What do i want to be the best at, or at least want to try and be the best at, or simply what would i enjoy the most on the way to trying to be the bast at? Simple ~ Photography.

So i ask you, What do you want to be the best at? Please post your answers.

Giving Thanks

2006-11-27T00:04:00.000-06:00

Measurements cheat sheet

Soul Kiss

hang loose

chicken wing

(Bob you're going to have to title this one)

(with a light purple tint added,
i can't decide which i like better)

Thirsty

sans Flash

Beer Feet

Does it Satisfies?

Quotation Marks or Nixon Impression?

Nixon Impression

Hugging or Wrestling or both

Sheba wants to play too

a Gusting Puff

Interesting Lighting

(no Manipulation)

Too much Turkey

the Beautiful Red light source

a Wafting Puff

Why the grin?

almost

Sheba watching John

Sheba watching me

Thanksgiving with Grandparents

Test photo

(before i took actual family photo with me included,

not my idea,
i had planned to take more interesting photos from Thanksgiving at my Grandparents house,
but after i took a few shots, my parents both gave me glaring looks,
i put my camera away,
and gave them a glaring look, and cussed then out,
silently of course, but they could surely read my lips,
it was a pretty quiet meal, i was visibly upset the whole time,
so later my father suggested we take a family photo,
his attempt to make amends, i didn't work,
but at least i got this happy family photo,
and once we got home i continued bitching them out,
They apologized)

The other photos are from a party that evening at my friend John's house

Beautiful Moments in Europe that included People

2006-11-17T19:18:00.000-06:00

Oshkosh b'Gosh

(I also really really love this one,
i kinda wish i submitted this one)

Herbert Herbst
(Rachel i hope you got it,
for everyone else Herbst means Fall,
as in the season)

Nice!

Smear the Smusen
(Smusen means Queer or Odd in Croatian,
and the photo was taken in Dubrovnik, Croatia)

Here are some of the portraits i took in Europe, or rather photos i took that included people, or rather beautiful moments in Europe that included people. Previously i was going through all my photos from Europe by city, but i found out about a Photo contest, Hey Hot Shot, and decided to submit, so i than began to try and find a coherent theme in some of my photos, and choose portraiture. Even though i don't often take portraits i did take some in Europe, i realized i took more photos of people, because in Europe i felt anonymous, and i was a tourist, and able to take photos without people posing for the camera. I really hate that fake smile posing, but i hate the portraits where everyone has a pouty/serious expression even more. i find it much more interesting and beautiful to catch the person acting naturally in a situation. Anyway the last three photos are the ones i submitted, i like the last one the best, but it was really hard trying to pick two others from the other 40 something. Of course, i am second guessing myself, but i just hope they are decent enough to be selected. I do want to thank all my faithful friends and readers for all your support and prodding to enter or submit my photos somewhere.

Photos from before Europe, and a few from after

2006-11-14T16:13:00.000-06:00

My Back
Leaf
Croatian Sausage
Colin, Casey, Jin, and Mark
Simon Smoking
Classy
Simon
a friend helping clean a spill
me too
Halloween Mask
Nose Hole
uuuggghhh, That's my ball
Ant(s) Drowning
Under Bean
Saturated Death
grassy
Purple Tower
Blanc Bushy
Monarcha Lewinsky
Splinter
Orange Drapes
Fern Berry
Caught
Mouse Trap
Sunny Potter
Strike Out
Monkey Bar
Green Screen
Wet Green Screen
Wheatable Hat
i stole it from an old folks home
Mr. Lif and Aesop Rock
LOVEFOXXX of CSS surfing
LOVEFOXXX of CSS
LOVEFOXXX of CSS surfing again
Camera at Pitchfork Music Festival
Hands at Pitchfork Music Festival
Calfs at Pitchfork Film Festival