st jude in grey...

like water through a seive...

The Simple Life?...

I want to propose an industrial revolution � or maybe we should call it an un-revolution. We need a return to simpler values, simpler times. There was a time when the carriage was about as fancy as you got. These days, things have gotten so complicated with gadgetry and technological advances that I can�t keep up. Does anyone else find their day slipping away because they spend too much time in front of a computer screen? Get annoyed by beeping and blipping technology? I say we start a revolt! Throw it all out the window and start anew.

Perhaps, as my mother has often told me, I belong to another time. I love reading Jane Austen and Henry James and the like. They didn�t have computers and cell phones and Blackberries and (insert your favorite new-fangled wizardry here,) but there was a fullness of mind and creativity that escapes the sheep, the herded masses of our consumer-driven culture. I was a stalwart to the bitter end when it came to getting a cell phone. I had no need of one, though some of my relatives gasped in horror at the thought of me traipsing between home and school without one. Wonder what they did when they just had carriages, carts and horses? I finally relented my senior year and got one of the horrid things when I started working at the college newspaper; I was never home, so it was better just to have a phone with me. Now I can�t get rid of the darn thing. In fact, I don�t even have a home phone anymore.

Though I malign and loathe the lumbering giant of progress, I will give a bit and admit that technology does have its advantages. Without it, none of you could read this. Those Jane Austen novels would be a little expensive if they were hand-written. We might still be listening to *shudder* eight-tracks. So we must compromise as we revolutionize: take the time to unplug, get out, reconnect with a loved one (or a good book,) and figure out where technology will take its place in your life.

two'fer tuesday: motorless transportation...

[ Voting has closed... ]

this is only a test...

i love macro shots...

By the way... I've been a very bad boy... My new toy should arrive today...

just a swangin'...

Love is strange.

Teen love is stranger still. Maybe it's just a result of how unbalanced we are as teenagers. The very concept of teenager we have is decidedly American and is a fairly recent social phenomenon. A 100 years prior, a boy, upon achieving a certain age (or by rafting the Mississippi river with an escaped slave) became a man. Today, boys and girls leave childhood and are locked in a social purgatory. Just like Tantalus, they see the fruit of adulthood dangled before their eyes, just out of grasp. And the branch keeps moving. It seems the line moves every year. Once, you were expected to start acting responsible at 12. Now, at 22, irresponsibility is routinely excused as youthfulness. Truthfully, I can see a new group forming. The early twenties is increasingly viewed as a second adolescence. A do-over for the teens. Somewhere near 30 is where adult actions and behaviors are routinely expected. The line keeps moving.

Sure, there's a possibility my perceptions are skewed by my age. Could be. Probably is, to some degree. It gets harder to remember back to the early days of our relationship, back in the days when I would search the road for the wheel and reflectors that marked her driveway. Sometimes I remember moments but don't recognize us. It's like knowing the script and the dialog, but not recognizing the faces. Same play, same stage, different actors. The girl I first kissed good-night on the porch thirteen years ago is not the same as the woman I kissed before I walked out the door this morning. But the love is the same.

two'fer tuesday: old metal...

[ Voting has ended. ]

In order to begin selling prints, I test the print quality from my camera at the higher resolutions. So, the first person to email me { freephoto at my name .com } the title of their favorite photo from the Autochrome gallery gets a free signed 8x10. Second person to email a different photo gets a free 5x7. Be quick...

[ We have our two winners... ]

this is not a metaphor...

I've been a horrible host here lately. I could give the excuse that I'm still searching for a new routine after the move, but as excuses go, it's wearing a bit thin. I could tell you it's because the air conditioner is broken, and it is, but only since Thursday. I've been inconsistent in my writing and posting for awhile now.

Whatever it is, I'm sure it's temporary. I do have some good shots for tomorrow's two'fer... Maybe I'll actually post a story with the winning photo this week?

I ain't making no promises..

today is jennifer's birthday...

shave and a shower...

two'fer tuesday: horse power...

[ Voting is closed... ]

When you finish voting for one of these, go here and vote for Rupert. The man's all heart...

on hiatus...

Gone to Alabama to see Jennifer's family.

See you on Monday...


oh... and happy mother's day...

go play a game...

safe on the inside...

{ btw... the month five gallery is up over at coleman's website... }

it's springtime in the southland...

Took a small shortcut on the way in to work this morning. It doesn't remove much time from the commute, but it's a short winding road through a lovely tree-tunnel. It's a small patch of forest that proved too hilly to clear-cut for farm land at the turn of the century.

As I turned left of the main road, I was struck by a familiar and welcome sight this morning. There to the side of the road, crawling up a power pole was a fresh green vine of kudzu. A sure sign spring is here to stay. Finally, the rough, grey-brown of the kudzu patches are starting to green. Summer is slowly waking from her slumber. Persephone returns, released by her husband Hades, to wander among the mortals for another season.

I set my desktop wallpaper here at work to the first photo (Spring Rain) in the new Autochrome photos. It only serves to remind me that the purple irises in my front yard started blooming within days of us leaving for Tennessee. To add to the insult, there are no flowers or gardens around the apartment complex where we live. Just plain, stark, and boring brick walls. A sea of terminally dull tan brick walls.

It's springtime in the southland and I miss my garden.

autochrome updated...

I added 10 new photos to the Autochrome gallery. A better version of yesterday's winning photo can be found here. Just keep clicking the .{ next >> }. button to see them all...

Update : It has been suggested to me no less than twice today, that I should begin selling signed prints. What do you think? Would you be willing to pay $15 for a signed 8x10 of a high quality print of one of these lovely photos? Maybe a little less for a 5x7? What say ye? Proceeds would be used to pay for a new camera...

two'fer tuesday: change of perspective...

[ Polls are closed. You voted. Now watch the forest as it burns... ]

some random observations...

Things that I've learned while moving to Memphis:

• The air filter in your truck should be changed before 50% of its surface is caked completely solid with road dust.


• Orange juice, while good for human consumption, is quite destructive when poured into the fan port of your laptop computer.


• Every IT department in the world has a project management tool that few know how to use and no one likes. Its only purpose is to make sure the Upper Level knows the Middle Level is using the Lower Level.


• Leaving my guitar in its case for a solid week has a detrimental effect on my mental/emotional welfare.


• There are two kinds of commercials: National and Regional. National commercials give you a sense of familiarity and comfort in foreign surroundings. While the names of the business change, the Regional commercials are just as annoying and/or corny as the old ones you'd grown to love. Somehow, this is even more comforting.


• Whatever your current available balance on your credit card, you will max it out in the process of moving.


• No matter how much furniture you unload from the truck, you will buy at least one more piece after the move, even if your new home is considerably smaller than the last.


• None of my new coworkers know the depths or limitations of my experience. Those who may have skimmed over my resume before my interview have certainly forgotten it all in the last month. Educating others on what you know (or don't) is a delicate and arduous task.


• The new employer blocks the port required to use MSN Messenger, so I can't say 'hi' to certain friends during the work day. Sorry.

bliss is a happy baby...

photo update...

I've updated the photos section on Coleman's site and added galleries for months three and four. Month five will be added in a couple of days...

I've also got some new photos for Autochrome that I intend to post here soon...