And so do Mr. & Mrs. Peterson from Union Grove, WI.

I need to STOP HAVING DREAMS ABOUT EATING BROCCOLI WITH BOYS FROM WORK.

Uh, if any of you SCI folk has come across my blog via facebook... uh... I'm not talking about you......?

(language is not safe for work. or children. or grandmothers.)

It's hard to watch a person mentally crumble. It's hard to watch them dissolve into a robotic, vapid version of themselves. She's become someone who repeats the standard answers, whether or not they are the truth. Common sense eludes her completely. There's nothing in her life aside from playing solitaire and doing crossword puzzles and staring blankly at a television she doesn't pay attention to. She doesn't even try to remember things anymore. When someone asks her a question, she makes an innocuous excuse and looks to me with glassy eyes, expecting me to fill in the blank in her mind. She throws tantrums. She talks baby talk. She is a child in every sense of the word, except for the fact that she is eighty-seven years old and her body is failing.

It's the weirdest thing.

I love Top Ten lists and "Best ever!" comments. I also love when my dearest friends call me up and say "I have a blog idea for you!"

So here is my current Top Ten list: my favorite pictures.


#10: Picture it: you're at a park. A family park. With families. You're playing an innocuous game of Koob... throwing blocks and batons, laughing with your friends, basking in the sunshine. All of a sudden, one of your friends starts chuckling and says, "Hey... that spells 'Tit.'" The games disintegrate as everyone clamors for their cameras and takes a whopping five minutes to frame the best shot like they've found some sort of exotic frog or something. This picture represents the funny little things in life that happen quite by accident... and the glorious sun-filled day I spent with some amazing people once upon a time.



#9: This was lovely, and I believe the origin of the Fucking Fab Femme Five (although I don't think Renee was present). We spent the evening bitching about a certain shitty roommate, had Caribou, Perkins, and a lovely time. The colors in this picture turned out wonderfully.


#8: The pumpkin. This shit had some intense staying power. It stuck around until well after the spring thaw. And Colby is one of the suavest motherfuckers I've ever met.


#7: Look at Kecia's beautiful face. Joy. Sheer joy, caught in a candid moment.


#6: (Photo credit: Samantha Scott) I don't think I have ever seen anything like this. Ever. What a fucking fantastic photograph. James Brown.


#5: Dan Sarles and I met one morning at the Amazing Grace cafe for breakfast to discuss some business. What ended up happening was the most glorious breakfast experience I have ever had. "Even the water is amazing!" he cried. He took a moment out to describe how fantastic it was, and I snapped this picture. The sun came in through the window behind him, bathing the cafe in a grand light. Glory.


#4: Not only was this picture taken on one of the most fun days ever, it was the first picture that I really took the time to play with colors and lighting and composure in Photoshop, sending me down the path that I have ended up on now. And come on, how can you not love Samantha Scott's sass?


#3: Eric Buegler is fantastic. I laugh every time I see this photo.


#2: (Photo credit: Amanda Davey) So there was this one time that Samantha Scott and I got 86ed from Pizza Luce. This picture was taken mere moments beforehand.


#1: (Photo credit: Samantha Scott) I was not even present when this photo was taken. I'm laughing so hard at it right now that I don't even know what to say. Thank you, Ann Perkins, for making this face, and thank you, Samantha Scott, for capturing it for future generations to know exactly what it looks like when you take a shot of tequila.

Because I'm taking photos with an actual camera now. It's actually really cool, except for all the money for film and development (which, once I learn, I'll be doing myself).

Behold:





The only photoshopping done to these photos was a touch of color correction. (Apparently Kodak film comes back super blue/green and yellow.)

I'll post a real entry sometime soon... The Musings, Part One. Until then...

Like many of the geeks on the internet, I've been sucked into the mysterious vortex that is J.J. Abrams' newest project -- officially unnamed, going by the code name "Cloverfield," and referred to as simply 1.18.08 (for January 18, 2008, the movie's release date). The teaser trailer is attached to "Transformers," which of course I have not seen, but the buzz about this trailer is, in a word, ridiculous.

Now, I have not and will not take the time to frame-by-frame inspect the trailer (a crappy version recorded from someone's phone -- Paramount has apparently been right on top of all YouTube copies), but I've watched it thrice (that's probably a grossly smaller number than the actual number), and I become more and more intrigued with every viewing. And then the HD version of the teaser hit this afternoon, and it is awesome.

Here's the synopsis: Shot from a handheld camera, it begins with a surprise going-away party for a dude named Rob. All of a sudden, the lights go out and there are creepy sounds. The partygoers watch the news reporting a possible earthquake, and they go to the roof to see an enormous explosion in the city. A fireball hurtles itself at the group and they dissolve into panic. The group is now down in the street, trying to figure out what happened. Panic ensues. Someone yells something (something disputed on every message board) that sounds like, "I saw it! It's alive! It's huge!" All of a sudden, something large comes flying through the sky, hits a building, and skids through the streets -- it's the Statue of Liberty's head. And that's it.

The marketing for this movie is god damn ridiculous. The official site (1-18-08.com) currently contains two pictures, and that's all. Forums are bursting at their seems with people dissecting every part of these photos, from the timestamps (I'm convinced they mean something) to their tendency to rotate (which I think is just a Flash tic). They are even closely examining the source codes and WhoIs records on the websites that are registered with any possible connection to this movie. But then again, everything J.J. Abrams does is a puzzle -- everything is littered with clues, everything is done meticulously.

So what the hell is this movie about? There are theories from Godzilla to Cthulhu to parasitic bugs (apparently the "monster" or whatever is codenamed The Parasite) to connections with Ethan Haas Was Right - an ARG on ethanhaaswasright.com, which is a marketing gimmick for something but it's never once been confirmed that there is a connection. There's even apocalyptic theories.

This kind of marketing for movies is pretty new. Actually, the only time I've ever heard anything remotely like this being used is for the upcoming Batman movie, "The Dark Knight" (the only thing readily available is the official website, which links to a fake campaign poster for Harvey Dent). Everything shrouded in secrecy, everything is tiny little clues, and speculating fans spin the hype into an out-of-control marketing machine. It's brilliant, really. Without the Internet, this movie would be nothing, but overnight, this is already the most hyped movie of the year, with knowledge of the movie itself being just five days old. Seriously. The project was secretly given the green light back in February, the cast auditioned with scripts from "Alias," not given any information about the movie. And then the trailer debuted with "Transformers" on the fourth and, with no explanation for the destruction and panic in the city and no title for the movie, everyone is instantly curious, some obsessed, with finding the answers.

All this secrecy, all these possibilities, and all of a sudden, god, god god god, I want to see this movie so badly. Is it because the movie looks sheerly awesome (which, in fact, it does), or is it because I have no damn clue what is going on, and my insatiable appetite for knowing the unknown and my curiosity are overtaking me?

Well played, Abrams. Yes, I'm in. Yes, I will probably see "Transformers," not solely, but partially for this splendid two minutes of sheer awesomeness on the big screen. Yes, I've checked the site three times today, and yes, I noticed the glowing 2 in the photo of the party, you son of a bitch. I'm hooked.

Ahoy:



















I have a metaphorical hard-on for black and white photos these days, and I am currently revisiting my (our?) old photoshoot, trying some new techniques. What do you think?

I also have an insatiable itch to do Round Two. I'm coming to Duluth in August and I'm hoping to do it then. Drop me a line if you are interested in participating in any way, be it modeling or be it drunken antics.