Day 180: Gotta Work On Photoshop!

Gerard's got his hand on my girl, and for that alone I should end his entire family. 'Nuff Said....

Day 179: If only there were three of 'em...

My lil' friend was much closer to me at one point, but proved to be a very camera shy birdie that Saturday afternoon.

Speaking of Saturday afternoons: if you win free tickets to a massively mega multi-concert (Rockapalooza in this case), pick them up on a weekday. No matter how tired you may be; no matter how simple picking them up the next day will be; no matter how fucking dead or paralyzed you may be that Friday afternoon, do NOT wait until the next day. Because I did not pick my free tickets up that Friday, I got screwed out of tickets for what looks like - according to the kick ass photos - a great damn time. $30 wouldn't have been that steep a price either, had I the dough to pay for the tickets. God Damn I wished I'd been there.....

Day 178: Yes...that early too...

I don't even really want to expand upon this subject. The only "good" thing about this is, that I get out at 2pm.

Day 177: Yes, that's PM.

...but I did fall asleep much faster than the night before. After two work days - first two full days in three years - falling asleep wasn't a problem. Several more days into it, I'm happy to report it's getting easier, but still a shock. At least I'll be used to being on my feet that much come graduation.

Day 176: Another Day...

That little door just above the PT Cruiser is where I slang my skills for the man. Not that there are really that intense skills necessary for what I've been doing, but it's what I'm doing. A paraplegic monkey with one eye could probably be trained to do what I do in there, but hey, I'm probably cheaper to train and less law mandating how I'm to be treated.

Funny, how I didn't think I'd need a job during my time in school. Even with the initial set-back experienced late last year, I'd have been okay had Murphy's Law not rung true - yet again. Eight months of unfortunate events; some avoidable and others not.

Just catching up now, but expect a great deal to be said 'bout this place.

Day 175: Rain Keeps Falling...

A cool shot of the rain falling off the eaves.

Day 174: Made You Look

How many of you have noticed these little guys adorning various businesses across town? I'm not sure if it's actually art, or even funny at all. On one hand I get a kick out of seeing them; on the other hand, I find it a crock of shit that the businesses have to fork over the dough to have them removed. To that end, I'd like to see the artist apprehended, however, that would mean either the end of the sightings or that a copy cat would have to step up.

Day 173: The Landscape Changes

Just outside the Ground Round I took this shot after, for a few seconds, reflecting on the change in landscapes throughout my years. I can only imagine the changes my parents must have witnessed throughout their lives. An apothecary gives way to an office building, woodland gives way to a mall, or a classic business gives way to a parking lot.

You can see vestiges of the older businesses here and there. Faded writing on the sides of buildings downtown are good indicators. Go into Jaxon Pizza Factory and take a gander at the vast number of photos that are a sort of museum for Jackson. Crack open those old family albums or turn on the ole' slide shows most people gagged at having to see back in the good old days.

I'll probably touch on this again in the near future, but I'm moving on for now. Stay tuned....

Day 172: Fast Response Clothing Pile

It's not a coat hook or rack, but it's within feet of the front door of the house. Now....ask yourself, just why would I keep a pile of clothing so near the front door? :D

Day 171: Such a goober....I blinked.

Friday nights at JCo are always a cool thing, unless the music either sucks or tries to preach to the crowd; thankfully, it isn't often either happens.

Every once in a while, there's an act worth buying their album or giving a decent tip. Though no tip will ever be as great as the tip I give to the gal or guy that belts out "Freebird" upon request. Getting an autograph is cool, but it's not something I often think of when I have the opportunity for which to ask.

This pretty young lady, Rebecca Ann Henry for those interested, was one such talented act that I decided just before leaving to take one of the photos JCo had posted around the place and run up to ask for her autograph. Her voice and show are stellar enough that even her knowledgeable lacking of the music I, and others, threw at her. Tom Petty did Freebird? C'mon! I mean, I could think of situations where I'd want to slap her (heh heh), but this was of the less titillating manner of which I speak.

Forgive me, I digress. Back to the autograph business.

Her reaction to being asked for an autograph was total coolness. I was privileged to see a ridiculously wide smile, which warmed the very cockles of my heart (cockles mind you, cockles). She professed so much appreciation at the gesture, that I will forever be a fan of this girl. Her voice alone is worth listening to, but her attitude made me love this girl.

Now...to help her expand her knowledge of the musical greats ;)

Day 170: Imperial Geek

Yes, that's a grand caravan. Yes, a grand caravan is a mini van. Yes, that's also an Imperial logo. Does the fact that it's a Star Wars shout out negate the fact that this person is rolling around town in a minivan? Or might this potentially kill any action the person might be getting by having one major geek factor, but rolling around with a soccer mom-mobile? Interesting thought....

What do people really think of minivans these days? And how does it influence the geek status of a person driving a minivan with a Star Wars sticker on the back window?

Day 169: 169/636

Having a conversation every so often with a friend doing a very similar thing to my own project - in fact the very same thing - I wonder if I'm cheating by changing the parameters every so often. Initially, my only focus was the photography. Many use self portraits, but I thought that oddly boring, though I may start focusing on self shots with other people to help show the passage of time from a more personal view. Instead of self portraits I embraced a different take of shooting things, people, places or whatever sight struck me as photo worthy or story worthy, which touches on the next parameter of my variation on the project.

Instead of just taking and posting photos, I decided to post a short anecdote to go along with the photo; to that end, you see the visual results of the project but also a glimpse of what thoughts the photo evoked. Even though the writing aspect of the project has hindered me in some ways, it's become one of my favorite parts of the project. I say "hindered" but I'm not sure if that's the best word. Committing to writing for each photo puts an increased amount of time necessary for each entry and often I find myself pushing the project off 'til later and next thing you know, as in recent days/weeks, I'm nearly two weeks behind and I begin skipping the writing in favor of just getting shit posted.

Would that be cheating? Or am I still holding true to the original spirit of the project? I have my own thoughts on it, but I'm also curious as to what others think. Mostly Jamie, as her project is running parallel to my own.

I tried to snap the shot with my camera, but I couldn't get a good shot indicating the number of photos in that album; the album consisting of the photos I have taken, but didn't make the cut into the project. Acknowledging that it's a screen shot brings up another alteration to the original. In several cases, I've opted to use a screenshot from my 'puter versus a photo taken with my camera. How does that play into the mindset of it being a photo project?

Day 168: Reminds Me of My Days on Mustafar...

And if you get the joke, give yourself a high five and rock out with your nerd-ness :)

Day 167: Whip Cream 'Splosions!

Actually, it would be better said "The Leaning Tower of Whip!"

Day 166: Lovely View

Sometimes it's A-OKAY to watch life just exist while you enjoy sights like this.

Day 165: Kids & Their Games

This is close to one of those "when I was your age...." tirades, but I'm going ahead with it. Look at all the fuckin' Nintendo DSs in the pic. Back in the day, my cousins and I would be play around a place no matter how confined the place was. It wasn't odd to get our asses whipped, be thrown in time out, and then be back at it within minutes. Most times, you probably couldn't see us in a flurry of children that ran this way and that; playing hide and seek and other such games.

*sigh*

I might come back to this later and build more on it.

Day 164: PB & Me

You think it's creepy to see this in your bed, you should have seen the toys he had hidden under the blankets ;)

Day 163: Sticker Love

Many thanks to the Funny Guy for hookin' these up, but what bugged the hell out of me the most was that I couldn't get a decent photo to take advantage of the reflective nature of the shot. Might have to stick one on the car and see.....Hm....

Day 162: Still Catching Up...

So there I was, draining the main vein, and on the wall of the stall written so eloquently was this ig'nant dialogue. Can you make it out?

Day 161: Need to catch up!!

"Family Vacay"......dysfunctional though it may be.

Day 160: Quite A Drop Off....

Nothing special....just a cool damn view on the way to the rustic cabin in the deep woods.

Day 159: Up Nort' Shenanigans

What makes this shot better, is that seconds after taking it a couple of teenage girls ran over asking if I'd mind them copying my idea of doing wilder poses with the sculptures. Of course I told them by all means, but it made it even more awesome that my stupidity was looked upon with a mild bit of admiration. Even better was that they sought to emulate the same behavior.

Day 158: SG Land

Part FB, part porn, and I don't care. Going on 6 years as a member of the site, and I see no sign of stopping. Playboy be damned. $49 a year and I can get more than a few models to check out a day (versus a month). There also exists the potential to correspond with them, albeit in a superficial sort of way, but it has in several cases led to a more real friendship, at least in my case.

Day 157: My Sistuhs and I

Went to a splendid wedding Saturday night, and got my 4 beautiful sisters together for a pic. True, having a brother would have been kind of fun growing up, but that were cool enough. Well....the one with the glass eye sucks.

Day 156: Whip Cream Nipples

Yes, every time I see this I think of whip cream covered nipples, and yes, I relish licking the cream off there as if it were a real nip.

Giggity :D

Day 155: Sticker Replace/Cover-up

I love sportin' my JCo sticker wherever my Mac goes. After a short while, it starts looking sort of beat up and pathetic. Instead of removal of the first, I'm just going to stick the new right on there.

Day 154: My Beloved....

Often, I have this sight to contend with whenever I leave the house. She'll follow me up and down the length of the window crying the whole time. Cute and heart wrenching at the same time.

Day 153: e-Readers Be Damned

Now....for the record, I love my Kindle; absolutely love it! Not in the same way I love my Vernie, my Mother, Father, myself, Bareman's or my friends, but I love it all the same. Costing varying amounts of money, from free to way too damn much (fuck you Penguin publishing), I can load up my Kindle for a good weekend, week, month or longer. I can load it up with as many books as I want to read and it takes up less room than the standard paperback book, weighs less than a standard paperback book, and is much easier to handle in awkward positions than a standard book. Trying to sound eco-friendly, it removes tree killing from the equation, though it does require energy to run; where you exactly get that energy is your problem, but even then the energy stamp is very minimal.

All the gloriousness of the Kindle aside, it will never actually be as good, as comforting, as a good book can be. Sitting down to read with a good book - a physical book - is as comforting to me as Grandma's cookies (though I don't really remember her cookies anymore). It's as rewarding as winning a few bucks from the lottery. As relaxing as a day on the beach enjoying the crashing of waves and the warm sun invigorating your skin with cancer (sorry, had to say it). Frankly...you can do both at the same time ;) AND YOU CAN DO IT NAKED!! Jus' Sayin'...

Reminder to self: make a list of things to do naked, if only to make eyes roll.

Books are everything and more. Even if it does come in e-form, but reading an actual book is like holding hands with an old friend. The touch, the smell (of cotton.....the fabric of our lives....sorry) of a good book is a very time bending thing. It can take you back to the days of King Arthur. A book can help you think of what it's like to not be allowed to read books. Can help you feel like you can fly or help you imagine what it might feel like to spew fire from your fingertips. It can help prepare you for the eventual loss of loved ones. It can educate you on new ways to look at life; new ways to look at people and change yourself accordingly.

Consider also the journey the book takes, though this assumes you borrow from your library, buy used, and trade/sell your own books back. Think how many hands a book has been handled by. How many places a book has visited. Perhaps a book has seen Paris. Think about the feel of the paper between your fingers. Is it an aged feeling, or a very new feeling? The smell alone can take you places.

Day 152: The Matrix has you...

Okay, not really. I've been watching the films the past couple days and decided to snap a screen shot of my screen saver.

And just in case Darius wants to rag on the time being on screen, that's how I have it set up. heh...

Day 151: The Storm Rages On...

but not so much in Jackson. Battle Creek was hit pretty hard, as I've learned through a friend's photos from her blog. Now, I'm not one to read as many newspapers as I should nor do I often sit to watch the news on the "tube," but I feel a bit ashamed that I didn't hear more about this sooner.

I don't think this is anywhere near the level of Joplin, but it still is a sad thing. More so considering the oil spill that happened last year in Battle Creek. In both situations, oil spill and recent tornado, were both eclipsed by a little spill in the Gulf (thanks BP) and by (more recently) the 'nados that ripped through Joplin, Missouri.

Media spin is interesting. What decides to make the cut and what doesn't is interesting. In recent weeks, there has been much buzz about Ah-nold's infidelity, of which I'm aware because I regularly peruse IMDB for movie updates and news. There's always plenty of political news to go through, which slays me. Plenty of drama to read, but what to trust and/or give all my focus? Were I to focus on every story that came my way, I doubt I'd have any time available for anything else.

On a final thought: I hate, I hate, I HATE reading a story that seems like a reflective and informative story only to reach the end and find some line point fingers at a political figure. The minute I know a person is taking a side in their article I lose faith in the writer. Not that the person can't possess their own opinion, but damn.

Opinions are like assholes. Everyone's got one, but not everyone needs to see or hear it.

Day 150: Retro stuff is the best...

...or is it? I mean, we all cling to what we see as "the good ole' days," but are they really that great? I love the 80s, and will swear up and down that 80s' films are better than most of the rotten shit come that hits the silver screen nowadays (ticket prices were better too). Music definitely was better in the 80s than what we've been spoon fed the past decade and a half.

Video games are no exception to this rule, but as I go back and replay classic video games, I wonder even more intensely if the games themselves are better, or was it the memory of playing the first time that we hold onto so dearly? Often times I think it's the latter that dictates our decision to judge the new nowhere near as awesome as the old.

Not that all these reboots and remakes aren't total shit sometimes. With so much product placement in most movies, you can hardly call them art. Oddly enough, I like the scene in Wayne's World where they poke fun at blatant product placement.

On the other side of the coin, sometimes a reboot is what is called for to bring back a positive feeling in regards to a film franchise. Batman Begins & The Dark Knight did just that when compared to the two pieces of shit following the Michael Keaton versions of Batman. And as much as I love the OG Karate Kid films, I really think Daniel-San can suck it. Frankly, the movies aren't that awesome to watch, and the only reason I like to watch them at all is for Miyagi's scenes, but Jackie Chan's "Mr. Han" did a more than okay job in my book in the recent remake/reboot.

Remaking music really isn't an option, so no harm there. For the most part, it's the same with video games. The games themselves can be rehashed and re-released with all sorts of upgrades, but it's still the same exact game down to the most minute details. It's squeezing the tit a bit harder to get a bit more milk; a few more bucks out of the game, and sadly a few junkies eat it right up.

As one of those junkies, I've purchased no less than seven versions of "Final Fantasy" since it came out on the Nintendo in the late 80's, the latest version being on the iPod touch. I have paid for several alternate versions of the Megaman games, Dragon Warrior games, Metroid games and several others. Wii Virtual Console be damned too! Remake a movie and I'm not immediately sold, but remake Final Fantasy 6, and I'll buy it before it even comes out.

*sigh*