You Can Really See How My Writing Has Improved

you know how i feel about reflections

Soundtrack: Alanis Morissette - Uninvited
Cat: Eating

PA pt.2

ben walking while sam sashays sexily down the sidewalk

will and jen

mom and ben explore the art of drinking from a juice box
taken by sam

uncle marty as mizaru, uncle ted as kikazaru, dad as iwazaru, while grandma lotte looks on
taken by sam

The wedding was around 200 people, the largest gathering family in my life, and the first time the three brothers and all their children gathered since I was in elementary school. Baby Ben was popular with all but the other grandchildren. It was overwhelming at first, but as the day wound down I grew more comfortable with everyone. I spoke some with Hilla, Grandma Lotte's cousin, and the only member of the German side of the family I had met before. It was good. I had planned to write more about it, but I'm crazy tired.



Soundtrack: Splender - But, anyway
Cat: Snoring on the back of the couch

PA

sam took this in the airport

We went to a wedding last weekend in Pennsylvania. We flew into the Harrisburg International Airport, which must be near Hershey, because the in airport store was filled to the brim with Hershey merchandise. It's intense when you're on a diet.

From there my parents drove us to the Marriott in Lancaster. While the wedding was somewhere to the west, we spent most of our PA time in Lancaster.

the view from our hotel room

just some bird chillin' on a bridge by an awesome ivy wall

We forgot to take the camera to the wedding, which is a bit of a bummer, because it was family filled and beautiful; At the same time, we had a ton to do, and it's probably ok that we took a camera break. Walking around Lancaster gave me some time to think about urban photography, and now I'm spending a lot of time thinking about how I edit.

a neat little public parking shack

a neat little public parking shack next to a hole in the ground

a sign that feels intensely about where you park

a sign that feels intensely about where you park guarding an abyss

I normally try not to post pictures taken by Sam, but she did most of the shooting on our trip. I've done the editing on all the pictures I've posted so far. The next two continue the theme of two edits of one photo, this time taken by Sam.

a random face on a wall

a face on a wall guarding a door

Soundtrack(start): Tuscadero - Just my size
Soundtrack(end): MC Frontalot - Goth girls
Cat(start): ?
Cat(end): Holding me down so I don't fall off the couch

Wow.

I just saw Transformers 2. It was everything I ever wanted in a movie when I was twelve. It was four movies made into a huge movie. It was a crappy John Turturro buddy movie, plus a terrible Megan Fox love story, added to a mediocre military movie, and then blended into an average robot action movie. It was surreal. The best review is probably from io9.



Soundtrack: The Used - Burning down the house
Cat: ?

Beavercreek For Wisconsinites

my beer barn

rob's beer barn: fine wine, beer, and lottery ticket drive thru

behold the wasteland!

Scenes from Beavercreek. I thought it important not only to illustrate what a beer barn is, but that I have one named after me. This, of course, is not a true beer barn, because it is of the drive up to variety, not the drive into variety.



Soundtrack: Nick
Cat: Smashing his face into my arm

In Ohio

Sadly without Wifi, so no posting of pictures. All my documenting is on the laptop. Still, I'll throw some stuff up if there is time Thursday night or Friday morning.

Recently added under Things I Think About: Camera Labs, a site of excellent camera reviews and comparisons, and B&H Photo, a trusted purveyor of photographic equipment.


Soundtrack: Whir of computer fan
Cat: Far, far away

Here In Kentucky pt.3

sam feeding ben

pappaw, ben, and skeeter

skeeter

bobo

Everyone's at church while I pack and do laundry. I just downloaded these from the camera onto the laptop and then shot them on up to the blogosphere.



Soundtrack: Washingmachine
Cat: Probably sleeping

Here In Kentucky pt.2

bobo chillaxin'

some sketchin' i've done on the road

Sam bought me a children's decorate-your-own cup for shaking my shakes in while we're on the road. It came with several blanks to to draw on, so I might do some sketching while we're on the road. And what does alamost every artist have the most experience drawing? Themselves!

Soundtrack: Whiny dogs
Cat: ?

Here In Kentucky

a livingroom built for chillaxin'

Travel entries may be short entries, but they're picturiffic.

sickly rob

We're in Kentucky, first full day of vacation, and Ben and I are sick. Lame! Still, I slept in, and Sam's had two naps, so it's still vacation-y. The diet does not help. I've granted myself an extra bar a day, even though I probably won't get any exercise. I don't want a cold to take advantage of me because I'm running on empty.


Soundtrack: Ben's screams
Cat: In a different state

Fearless

ben is so hardcore he goes hippo baiting

Soundtrack: Baby snoring
Cat: ?

Our Town

where i come from

things seem prettier from far away

Aaron asked me about Dayton's skyline once. Skylines are not part of a rated system in my head. They are given the next size up from absolutely never thought of.



Soundtrack: Siouxsie & The Banshees - The Killing Jar
Cat: Eating

I Hate Poop

Seriously. I hate poop. Seeing makes me uneasy. Smelling it makes me nauseous. Cleaning it up is an exercise in will power to keep myself from plunging my hands into bleach.

I just had to dump cat litter out of my shoe for the second time, and I really want to set it on fire. Sweet cleansing fire.

Just had to get that out there.



Soundtrack: Mary Prankster - New Tricks
Cat: Leaning on my left leg

Just Do It OR Boing Boing

Time to start talking about the Things I Think about section of my blog. Since I think about them, I should write about them. Or at least that's my story since I'm trying to get the blog rolling again.

Boing Boing, my interwebs news filter.
Boing Boing is a link based blog, covering news, gadgets, projects, movies, books, events, and other geekery. They have a definite liberalness to what they cover, but not in a way that freaks me out. They're willing to correct posts with updates and corrections. I keep saying they because there are five main bloggers, and normally a weekly guest blogger. They had constant in depth coverage of Iran, including links to websites to help anonymize internet users in Iran to protect them from the government. Boing Boing has at various times linked to Instructables, Make Magazine, io9, Curious Expeditions, and TED, all of which are in my Things I Think About Section.

While not staggering in its scope, my political activeness is largely inspired by Boing Boing articles. Laws on copyright and laws on technology are of great concern to me and a frequent feature on Boing Boing. Thru their posts I have sent emails to our senators on multiple occasions. It's a geeky thing to do, but I feel like I've done more than nothing by voicing my views to senator.

My email signature is from a Boing Boing post:

READ CAREFULLY. By accepting this email you agree, on behalf of your
employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from
any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service,
shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure,
non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I
have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents
and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and
privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to
release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.

Geeky, but if you've ever actually read a EULA, they can just be crammed full of bulls**t. A common EULA boils down to "if you use this you agree that anything bad that happens is your fault, you don't own this software you're just borrowing it and so you can only do with it what we intended you to, don't share this with anyone, and we can use this program to spy on you." Is hasn't been as much of an issue lately, but Boing Boing is good for pointing out unusually abusive EULAs so more people can be informed on what they're getting themselves into. Bad DRM is another popular target.

Boing Boing is not the end all be all of news, but it is a good place to keep an eye on things and be amused while you're there.

Two recent posts:

Scientists tour the Creationism Museum

"Recently, a group of paleontologists were in town for the North American Paleontological Convention at the University of Cincinnati, and decided to take a field trip to the Creation Museum just across the river, in Kentucky. My aunt went to cover it for AFP, and I had the doubly good fortune of living just a stone's throw away, so I tagged along to see what these guys were up to. It was an eyeful, to say the least."

CIA's former Bin Laden expert
A grand piece of thinking from ex-CIA Michael Scheuer who told Glenn Beck: "The only chance we have as a country right now is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States." Scheuer is the former head of the Bin Laden unit at the CIA under Clinton and Bush.

Soundtrack(start): Splender - But, Anyway
Soundtrack(end): Tuscadero - Just My Size
Cat(start): Post vomit gorging
Cat(end): Stretched out on the floor

Madison = Capitol

Sam and I are considering our next show, and I was thinking maybe pictures of Madison. It led me to dig up this, one of my favorite pictures I've taken.

pretty sweet, eh?

Soundtrack: Rustling on the monitor
Cat: Just sittin' on the floor