31 Photos

I'd like to invite all of you to participate in an experiment cooked up by my friend, Josh Kring. During the month of August, you'll take a photo each day, and post it at 31 Photos (directions on posting are on the site). Hopefully we'll have a bunch of folks participating.

You do not have to be a professional photographer to do this, you basically just have to know how to turn the flash off on your camera! Yes, there are rules, so read them below and remember...Art is born of constraint, and dies of freedom!

The Rules:

-no cropping

-only use available light, (no flash or extra lights)

-no Photoshop or color correcting what so ever

-no in camera color effects, (as in selective color on the Canons)

-no more than 4 self portraits

-each photo must be taken that day

-only post one photo a day

 

I know the economy's not great, but this is ridiculous.

Neil Young

One of the few people I would have loved to meet when I was working in New York was Neil Young. Looks like I migrated south about a year too early. Neil sat down with Charlie last week. You can watch it here.


Also, if you like Neil but don't have a lot of his music, hurry to Amazon now, because their MP3 deal of the day is his "greatest hits" for just $3.99. I know, I know, don't get me started on how this compilation doesn't even begin to cover the best of Young's career. If you're new to the music, this is actually a nice place to start because you get a lot of great songs from both Rockin' Neil and Contemplative Neil.

...whoa

Watchmen Trailer in HD

(thanks Josh)

Some Recent Photos

Hunter Museum's William Morris exhibition

We had a chance to see the impressive William Morris special exhibition at the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga today. I wasn't familiar with his work, but I'm taken with these intricately detailed glass sculptures that compose an amazing collection very diverse in size, color, and style. Myth, Object and the Animal will be shown through September 29th. Be sure to check it out for free on the first Sunday of each month from noon to 5pm.

Photo Credit: Rob Vinnedge

This could possibly be the coolest shoe-related story of the decade. Remember those awesome shoes that Marty McFly wore in 2015 in Back to the Future 2? Well, Nike's making 'em. Well, a version of them anyway. No power laces...yet.

Halcyon Days

I took this photo on my phone this morning from the car window. Needless to say, the gas station isn't open anymore.

 

Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'?

My mother emailed me this awesome photo of me on the first day of 2nd grade.
It's kind of tough to make out in the photo, but note the sweet, sweet Michael Jackson t-shirt (detailed at right). You know how you always wanted to wear your very best clothes on the first day of school? Apparently, at age seven, this was it.

Volt

Great article on The Atlantic.com about the current state of General Motors and the company's huge bet on the Volt.

 

Came across a mantis today in the parking lot at work.

Matthew and Erin and I went to the park for a picnic today and a tiny visitor landed on Erin's shoe for a while. He was kind enough to let me snap a few pictures before he went on his way. Click the photo to zoom in more.

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Just finished the Wilco documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. It was on Sundance channel so I TiVo'd it and have to say I thought it was pretty good. Made me wanna go back and listen to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot again. If you're not familiar with Wilco's music, check this out. On their site, you can listen to a few complete live performances and even select the songs within the set. I'm partial to Impossible Germany, Either Way, and Hate It Here from their latest, Sky Blue Sky.

Lovins for Energy Czar

Chris McGowan, writing for the The Huffington Post, suggests Amory Lovins as Energy Czar for either McCain or Obama. Lovins is founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute and is unbelievably smart when it comes to practical solutions to energy problems. Of course, I suggested Al Gore would be a great Secretary of Energy in a previous post, but Lovins may be an even better choice. His non-partisan status is definitely a plus and there's no denying he's got the chops necessary to steer our energy policies in the right direction.

Paintball

Played paintball for the first time with some friends this weekend. We had a blast but I think we all realized we should have done this 10 years ago when we were a bit more nimble and when we had more disposable income. We are old.
(p.s. here's a tip...wear long sleeves)

Classic

Best line from the finale of How I Met Your Mother:
Robin: Oh, I love Springsteen! He's like the American Bryan Adams.

Here's a quick blog post about Tom Waits, one of the artists I most admire. First of all, you need to read this blog post at his record label, Anti. Mr. Waits interviews himself and the results are quite entertaining.

Secondly, he's playing at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta in July and I pray I'll be there to see it. So close, yet so far away.

And lastly, there's a lot of chatter online about the new record from actress Scarlett Johansson. She's teamed up with Dave Sitek from TV on the Radio (a band I like and respect) to make a record consisting almost entirely of Tom Waits covers. A) This seems like a horrible idea. B) I've heard pieces of the record (not the whole thing) and it will take some convincing to persuade me that this is not a horrible idea based on what I've heard. C) The samples that I did hear made me want to stop listening to what I was hearing and go put on original Tom Waits recordings. So, I guess that's a good thing.

This is the first time I've ever seen this and once I get a four-hour block to myself, I'm gonna figure out exactly what it actually means:
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
(Thanks Scott)