What's on YOUR Desktop?

so, todd's sending me his cornucopia of fonts reminded me that i'd been meaning to change my "appearance" and revert back to the Windows 2000 look. this is what i happened on:



i like it a lot. the window font is "reznor" because it's like nine inch nails, but i like it because it's all lower case and some n's are backwards (that's a bonus). and i like the 2000 format because it sucks up less memory than XP. plus it just looks classic and clean. no "beveling" or scrolling menus for me.

More from Sunday

My Wallet from PerpetualKid.com

so jess totally helped me find a new wallet. i'd been using the clip on a knife and it was really getting old to sit on (plus it was bending up all my cards). so jess showed me these and i got the envelope one. really cool. i just couldnt find a leather one i liked so this is great.

what's really funny is what i found when i first opened the box...



they had actually taken the time to put this little guy in there and put a foam peanut in his mouth...



how awesome is that?? i've never seen that before. that little gesture just really impressed me. too funny.


so here's the actual wallet. it's made out of a single sheet of Tyvek (it's the material they use in those USPS envelopes that you just absolutely cannot tear). it was a tough choice between this one and the dot matrix one.






and currently it's POURing down rain. that is a beautiful sound.

I REALLY Like These

jess and i went out to watch the sunset downtown (which is so great from the walking bridge) and hung around till dark. i havent had a lot of time to go through them all, but these were 2 that really stood out to me. i just... i really like them.






it's also come up recently that i might should "protect" my pictures better (mostly because i don't trust any of you leeches). nah i'm just kidding (about the leeches part). but it's an odd feeling doing that (like putting my name on it) because it makes this statement that "i think my pictures are good enough that you might steal them," but being a relatively humble person (relatively, mind you), i don't like saying that. so i have to weigh the 2 outcomes i could have: a) i feel stupid for putting my name on it and maybe someone out there see it and says, "don't bother, buddy" OR b) i dont put my name on it and someone DOES steal it and i feel like an idiot when i see someone else taking credit for my photo. so, i'm leaning more towards the first one.

what do you think?

winners.

Gypsy Caravan

Jess and I went to see Gypsy Caravan last night at the Belcourt.



From the opening scene to the credits, it was beautiful. I was talking to Jess afterwards and it help me put a lot of thoughts into words. Other than salvation (of course), I believe music has to be my most favorite gift from God (and there are a LOT of things that I really appreciate). I think music has the most direct route to my heart and soul out of everything in life. It doesn’t pass through any of my brain’s filters or thoughts or rationales; it just goes straight to my heart. There’s something about it that just fills me up instantly and completely; like I’m about to explode… like if I have one more ounce of whatever this is in me, I’m going to explode… into something… and I don’t know of many other things that do that. That sounds weird, but it’s the best way I can describe it. And from the beginning of the movie to the end, that’s how I felt. It was… remarkable.

It’s a beautiful thing to see someone doing something with abandon and music is no exception. To watch these people play with just every ounce of who they are is incredibly uplifting and inspiring. They travel around and tour and send the money back home to support their families and villages. And they’re from all over the world. This one “race” came from India and spread out all over the place. So the movie documents 4 groups on tour together in the US. They’re from Romania, Macedonia, Spain, and India. And even though each of their’s music is very different from one another, they all have this underlying commonality in their life and past. It’s awesome.

The whole film is very inspiring and beautiful to see, however, there is one scene in it that just absolutely broke my heart. The oldest member of the Romanian group dies towards the end. (He was sort of the cornerstone of the group and had been playing his whole life. And you have to understand how close these people are to each other.) So as he lies inside this small house (like 3 rooms), family and friends are gathered for the viewing and mourning. And while all of this is going on, the rest of the band is standing outside his window playing their music. And they just keep playing. And they play all night and they never leave the window. They just stand there through the morning playing for their friend. And it’s… it’s beautiful. It’s absolutely beautiful.

Seeing this movie, I'm overwhelmed with joy at the thought of what God will use you for if you just get out of His way and let Him.

You probably wont be able to see this in a theater, but you should definitely Netflix it.

Return of the Film

jess and i went to Panama City beach with my parents, brother, and grandmother this past weekend. a few years back that wouldn't have sounded very appealing, but nowadays, it's pretty fun. i especially enjoy spending time with my grandmother now. she's quite funny and it makes me wish i'd had the chance to get to know the rest of my grandparents.

so we had a good time. i like messing with underwater pictures, so i brought the little 35mm underwater camera. the underwater case for my dSLR looks like this:



...and costs $1200, so i thought i'd just stick to the $20 film one... for the time being. it's (the 35mm) fun to mess with because it really puts you to the test letting you prove whether or not it's you that makes the picture and not the equipment. (i also took my HOLGA, but have yet to finish the roll.)





i like these 2-for pictures. they're called diptychs (i guess pronounced like it looks). they're cool because you can take 2 not so special pictures and put them together to make a scene that says so much more. i enjoy them. they give your photoshop creative side something to tackle.



(jess took these on her parasailing adventure with my mom. she made her photo obsessive husband proud.)





so yeah, great vacation. much needed. here are a few more that came out good.







there's more news, but that's all for this post.

okay okay, two more things:

1. i won one 1st place, five 2nd places, and one 3rd place in the wilson co fair (photography). 7 out of 10 entries ain't bad at all.
2. we've been accepted into the Peace Corps and we think we're going to be stationed in the Caribbean. how do YOU like THEM apples?

Our Preliminary 2007 Flyer

i was out last week taking pictures like a madman trying to finish them up for this flyer. with the few i got, i think they came out pretty sweet. everything on there is mine except the renderings (of course). (and this is just the first draft. i dont like the "headlines" really. i just like seeing my pictures in print :) )





(and once again, the fisheye brings home the bacon!) (well... not really, but look at it perform!)

The Good and the Mattoid

this weekend was pretty fun. busy, but fun. friday night we went to the worst concert ever, luckily Daniel Johnston was there to make it a little better. the first band to open to was Glossary. they were good. the second band was the Mattoid. they were a piece of crap and almost made the whole show not worth it. it was the first time i can recall that i actually contemplated throwing my beer bottle (it was plastic) at the band. (it's the kind of band you expect a famous musician to refer to like "yeah back when i was 13 i fronted the Mattoid. man, that's embarrassing.") anyway, it was neat to see Johnston. he just seems like such a friendly sincere guy; very much like an adult with a child's demeanor (in a good way). you have to respect someone who doesn't try to be anything but themself, and i that's what i get from him.





then saturday, jess and i went to a friend of her's pool party and totally broke off nurtisystem (most of the weekend this happened). i had a hamburger and part of a bratwurst. they were spectacular. oh course, immediately afterwards my reflux was back in full swing. the diet really helps that.

later on we went out with todd and his new Estonian friends, Toomas and Marit. they were very friendly and i hope they enjoyed our "tour" of nashville. we went over to the Basement to see a secret Maria Taylor show. it sucked for her because there were only like 30 people there, but it was awesome for us because only like 30 people were there. she sounded fantastic. you just can beat seeing someone play 7ft in front of you for $5 in that place. you can't.






then we had pizza and beer last night. like i said, we're pretty much writing off this past weekend. i hope we can do better in florida this next week.

From the Lake

this was Jordan right before he turned into the Hulk and threw a Buick 500ft.

(i think that needs to be his facebook picture)







too funny. i still can't get over how much fun it is taking pictures of people jumping.

F it's Hot Out There.

Okay Here's What I Got So Far

any suggestions? there are a few i can't decide between...

People

Lot 1 - Child




Lot 2 - Male

(can't decide if i actually want to go through with this one or not. seems... wrong.)

Nature

Lot 11 - Animals/Farm or Pet

(i'll remove that film frame border)


Miscellaneous

Lot 18 - City (Capture the flavor of a city; photograph must be recognizable as being in a city)




Lot 21 - Transportation

(i'll make the whole thing in color)


Lot 22 - Special Effects

i dont know if maybe all the color isolation ones from below should go in Color Special effects section or the B&W Special Effects section. Maybe the Planet Roo one below in the "Open" should go in the B&W special effects. dang. what do you think?


Lot 23 - Candid (unposed - photos that capture people being themselves)




Lot 25 - Open (photos that do not fit one of the above categories)





B&W

Lot 1 - People

or


Lot 7 - Photojournalism



(this was also a good choice but it's hard to crop it down to the right size and not lose important aspects

Lot 8 - Special Effects



or

or


Lot 9 - Open (none of the above only)

(i'll remove the film frame border)

or

Hey Everybody. I Need Your Help.

If you have a few extra minutes, could you help me pick out pictures for the Wilson County Fair? I've listed the categories below and I'm mostly going to pick from mine on Flickr. Here are those. (and of course, any can be made to B&W or vice versa.) And I can only enter 1 in each category and 10 total. Anywho, thanks for the help. (Picking the right category is the hardest part.)

Division I - Color

PEOPLE SCENIC
Lot 1 - Child
Lot 2 - Male
Lot 3 - Female
Lot 4 – Multiple (2 or more)
Lot 5 - Landscape
Lot 6 - Waterscape
Lot 7 – Skyscape (sunsets, clouds, etc.)
Lot 8 – Weather (snow scene, etc.)

NATURE
Lot 9 - Plants/Flowers
Lot 10 - Animals/Wildlife
Lot 11 - Animals/Farm or Pet
Lot 12 - Insects
Lot 13 - Birdlife
Lot 14 - Other Nature

MISCELLANEOUS
Lot 15 - Sports/Action
Lot 16 - Architecture (building or close-up of part of building, bridges, other structures)
Lot 17 - Landmark/Monument
Lot 18 - City (Capture the flavor of a city; photo must be recognizable as being in a city. Examples: skyline, rush-hour traffic, sidewalk crowd, etc.)
Lot 19 - Country (Capture the flavor of a country setting. Examples: country store, farm, field of hay bales, barn, etc.)
Lot 20 - Still Life (A set-up shot of non-living objects only: fruits, vegetables, cut flowers are permitted; people, animals are NOT permitted as subject of photo)
Lot 21 - Transportation (Past or present)
Lot 22 - Special Effects (produced naturally, such as multiple exposures, time-lapse, infrared film, flash effects, special use of filters, etc.,OR special processing, dark room techniques or computer manipulated which changes the initial photographic content or composition, such as superimposing, hand coloring, vignettes, etc.)
Lot 23 - Candid (Unposed - photos that capture people being themselves)
Lot 24 - Photojournalism (Photos that tell a story)
Lot 25 - Open (photos that do not fit one of the above categories)

Division II - Black & White

Lot 1 - People
Lot 2 - Landscape, waterscape or skyscape
Lot 3 - Animal (Wildlife, insects, pets, birdlife)
Lot 4 - Plants/Flowers
Lot 5 - Architecture
Lot 6 - Still Life
Lot 7 - Photojournalism
Lot 8 - Special Effects
Lot 9 - Open (None of the above only)

But Will It Fit on My Keychain?

Yes! It will!

What a steal!


Finally, and a cigar cutter I can TAKE places...

Soooo Busy at Work

...that i had to make these caller ID pictures for billy's iPhone. seriously. how funny will that be when one of these pops up when i call? TOO funny. THAT'S how funny it'll be.





i got the idea somewhere but i can't remember where it was.