Once Upon A Time In The (mid) West

Photo Friday - 'Winter'

2009-12-11T08:47:00.001-05:00

SPC - 'Red' - #2

2009-12-07T22:43:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I'm still having trouble moving on from 'tiny words.' Instead of getting smaller, my words are getting bigger! Somebody STOP me!

As much as I am enjoying seeing the group pool fill up with glorious 'Red,' I'm always up for some visual juxtaposition, so I wanted to do a shot that officially fit the theme, but contained little or no actual red color. It's a shame that the brick wall that I found is 'red' brick.

Photo Friday - 'Homemade'

2009-12-04T01:10:00.000-05:00

Good Night or Good Luck?

2009-12-01T23:30:00.001-05:00

"Good Night or Good Luck?"

That's it.

That's the final poll over at This or That, the online poll site with the tagline: "Two Choices. Zero Context. Infinite Fun."

Well, the infinite fun lasted three years, and while not "infinite" in the strictest sense of the word, it was a pretty good run.

A buddy of mine from college started the site and it attracted quite the eclectic community, well beyond the group of college friends who knew about it from the beginning. Over these three years, it has been fun to get to know one another. Some (who only knew each other from ToT) have even arranged to meet in person!

Many of us are on Facebook and will continue contact that way. There is a Google Group that is intended to continue with daily polls.

Nonetheless, an era is coming to an end.

Good night, and good luck!

Films Recently Watched:

Gaslight (1944) dir. by George Cukor
Watched this on the recommendation of a friend. A decent psychological thriller along the lines of many films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Worth seeing for Ingrid Bergman's performance, alone. Also note the appearance of a very young Angela Lansbury.

Léon (1994) dir. by Luc Besson
Reviewing a favorite.

Man on Wire (2008) dir. by James Marsh
Fascinating documentary about French tightrope performer, Philippe Petit's quest to walk on a wire suspended between the two towers of the newly constructed (in 1974) World Trade Center. On the documentary, Petit's mannerisms and delivery got a bit over the top at times, but it was worth it for the story he was telling. Such an incredible achievement mostly for the sake of the beauty of the thing. Time Magazine called the stunt the "Artistic Crime of the Century." And rightly so.

Moulin Rouge! (2001) dir. by Baz Luhrmann
It's funny the things that can prompt me to watch a film. This time, one of my 'This or That' friends on Facebook simply mentioned a song from Moulin Rouge, so I put in the DVD to hear that performance. Ended up watching the whole thing.

Revolutionary Road (2008) dir. by Sam Mendes
Hardly the "feel good" movie of the year, but wonderfully directed and acted. Amazing sets and natural lighting throughout.

Rushmore (1998) dir. by Wes Anderson
I'd seen it before, but I borrowed this from a friend to watch again. Quirky and fun.

Same Time, Next Year (1978) dir. by Robert Mulligan
Recommended by a friend. The brief description made me think that maybe it would be similar to Brief Encounter. It isn't. At all. Strangers meet on a weekend retreat and proceed to carry on an adulterous affair annually. It's interesting to see the passage of time (about 25 years; mid-fifties through late seventies), and there are moments where the writing is solid, but something makes be believe this story works better on stage (for which it was written) than on film.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) dir. by Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
Interesting story. Not sure it was worthy of the 'Best Picture' Oscar it was awarded, though.

The Big Chill (1983) dir. by Lawrence Kasdan
Recommended by a friend, same friend who recommended "Same Time, Next Year." :-)

This one didn't do anything for me. Quite the ensemble cast (Kevin Kline, William Hurt, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Berenger, Glenn Close), some good moments, but again, I think that this might work better on stage than on film.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) dir. by David Fincher
Another Interesting story. Also nominated for 'Best Picture' Oscar by the Academy. Solid CG work.

The Iron Giant (1999) dir. by Brad Bird
Once again, a Facebook posting forced me to watch a movie, too late at night. Another fan of The Iron Giant mentioned that it was the 10th Anniversary of the day on which it opened in theaters. So I watched it in celebration.

SPC - 'Hats' - #4

2009-10-26T21:41:00.004-04:00

This is the Jack O'Lantern I carved for Harrison. He said he wanted it to be "grumpy." I wasn't sure how to pull off "grumpy" so this is what I did. He says it's "angry" and he's probably right. Oh well.

More Jack O'Lantern and Halloween photos later this week (hopefully!)

SPC - 'Red' - #1

2009-11-30T23:06:00.001-05:00

December's challenge theme is a repeat from December, 2006 (can't believe it's been three years ago!)

Red

Well, I wasn't quite ready to give up on 'tiny words' yet, so here's my transition shot.

The mug was a gift -- purchased second-hand by a friend. Clearly, it was intended for a school teacher, but it's quirky and it keeps my coffee warm at work.

SPC - 'tiny words' - #4

2009-11-24T02:20:00.000-05:00

This week, as we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the U.S., I can't help thinking about family. Both Christy and I have been blessed with generations of strong, healthy, God-fearing families. Over this holiday weekend, we will celebrate with not only our parents and siblings, but many Aunts, Uncles and Cousins, as well. They love us and we love them.

Of all things, this is something I should not take for granted, but all too often, I do.

Beyond the parades; beyond the football and certainly beyond the inevitable preparations for "Black Friday" -- may we remember to celebrate the bounty that we experience all around us everyday. Yes, a bounty of food, to be sure, but also a bounty of family and friends; a bounty of wealth; a bounty of freedom; a bounty in all of God's many blessings.

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
--Psalm 23

-------------------------------

Alternate Photo:

Photo Friday - 'Vehicle'

2009-11-20T01:11:00.000-05:00

SPC - 'tiny words' - #3

2009-11-16T23:01:00.002-05:00

For Self Portrait Challenge -- 'tiny words'

It occurred to me that any large word or group of words could be reduced to a small font size and be considered a "tiny word," but what about tiny words that aren't tiny because of their font, but rather because of their length?

"Yo" was the word that popped into my mind and yo-yoing happens to be another old hobby of mine.

It took a few tries (ahem), but I am quite happy with how this one turned out, and it is very nearly straight out of the camera -- uncropped -- untouched. The only problem was where would I put my 'tiny word?' The background was a little busy and I couldn't find a location with which I was pleased. I finally decided to remove the Duncan - Mosquito emblem and put it right on the yo-yo.

The subtle yin-yang pattern began to appear on the yo-yo face without my realizing it in the emblem-removal process, but once I realized it, I went with it. A nice little touch, I thought. :-)

Here's the actual Straight Out of the Camera shot:

Photo Friday - 'Three'

2009-11-13T08:48:00.000-05:00

'Tangent'

SPC - 'tiny words' - #2

2009-11-10T01:13:00.001-05:00

Photo Friday - 'Softness'

2009-11-06T17:04:00.001-05:00

SPC - 'tiny words' - #1

2009-11-02T23:17:00.001-05:00

For the month of November, Self Portrait Challenge is borrowing the concept of the Flickr group, tiny words.

Beyond that, the theme is nearly a free-for-all. I'm looking forward to a wide variety of ideas from this creative bunch of folks!

Halloween 2009

2009-10-30T17:31:00.005-04:00

Hannah's is on the left -- Harrison's is on the right.

Hannah drew her face on the pumpkin and I didn't follow the drawing. The eyes and nose are in the right places, but increased in size slightly. You might be able to see her Sharpie mark for the mouth between the carved mouth and nose. I have been admonished by Hannah for stretching it out a bit and adding teeth. The teeth have since been removed.

Harrison did not draw on his pumpkin as his drawings still lean towards the abstract which is difficult to carve into a pumpkin. He said he wanted his pumpkin to be "grumpy." We have all agreed that my render of "grumpy" leans a bit too far into "angry" territory. Nonetheless, I have not been admonished by the Boy, so I'm calling it a victory! :-)

"May we help you?"

Fireman Harrison

Nurse Hannah

We had a 'Trunk or Treat' event at our church last Sunday night and Hannah and Harrison's cousin, Katherine, came too. She was a veterinarian, so we had three service-oriented little people in our family this year!

Photo Friday - 'Autumn 2009'

2009-10-23T12:22:00.000-04:00

Since they only accept one, this top one was my pick for Photo Friday this week:

Since it's my blog and I can do whatever I want to, here are a few more photos from Autumn 2009:

SPC - 'Hats' - #3

2009-10-19T19:50:00.003-04:00

Photo Friday - '...is in the details'

2009-10-16T17:15:00.001-04:00

A mysterious theme over at Photo Friday: '...is in the details'

Not sure what they were going for, but it looks like they're getting a lot of macro shots.

Here's mine:

SPC - 'Hats' - #2

2009-10-12T21:30:00.000-04:00

Photo Friday - 'Dawn'

2009-10-09T17:23:00.000-04:00

SPC - 'Hats' - #1

2009-10-06T01:28:00.003-04:00

The challenge theme for October over at Self Portrait Challenge is: 'Hats."

So, you may ask yourself, why am I not wearing a hat in this photo?

Well, the theme is a little broader than just hats. Wigs/Masks are allowed in honor of the Halloween holiday coming up. I'm counting this as a "mask" of sorts.

This is going to be a tough challenge for me as I think I only own one hat. We'll see how it goes.

Photo Friday - 'Fast Food'

2009-10-02T17:19:00.000-04:00

How does this relate to 'Fast Food?' Well, that's a fair question.

This is a building detail from a fast food restaurant (Popeyes Chicken) here in Anderson. I was attracted to the color and pattern.

SPC - 'Portals' - #5

2009-09-29T08:23:00.000-04:00

"The Cellar Door"

Photo Friday - 'The Face'

2009-09-25T17:09:00.000-04:00

SPC - 'Portals' - #4

2009-09-21T23:10:00.003-04:00

The 'Portals' challenge continues at Self Portrait Challenge.

This is a recreation of another "The Far Side" cartoon.

Slightly less faithful to the original cartoon this time, but still crediting Larson for the inspiration.

Decided to stick with a similar 'comic book' visual style like last week.

Here's the original edit:

...and here's the original Larson frame:

I considered trying to add the Satan character in, but Christy wouldn't cooperate, that little devil! :-)

Photo Friday - 'Plants'

2009-09-18T17:05:00.000-04:00

What does a tractor do?