Random Stuff

Here is a list of found music that I have come across (click for mp3, don't worry, they're legal to download)

Eagle-Eye Cherry: To Love Somebody

Nick DeMayo: Look Away

Sigur Rós: Starálfur

And click here for a Venture Brothers desktop (1024 x 768) I made using elements from venturebros.com

The art of the self portrait

"Yet Another Self Portrait"

When there is nothing to take pictures of, turn the camera on yourself. When my friend John told me about doing this (probably shortly after I met him in sixth grade), I thought it was really weird. Now I often hold my camera at arms length and point it at myself. Maybe one day I will combine this with my other hobby of making faces at my self in the mirror. I bet you didn't know I did that :-)

Yes

I have finally finished listening to The Ultimate Yes: 35th Anniversary Collection (almost 3 hours of music). The verdict: okay I suppose. I would say that unless Yes is your favorite band, stick with Highlights - The Very Best of Yes or the actual albums.

Guess what?

I'M BORED

Aren't you happy you read this post? That is two seconds of your life that you will never get back.

"My Limited Edition Steve Zissou Impreza"

Click here to hear a song from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Plague

I'm officially sick. Am I going to the doctor? Wasn't planning on it. Why? I don't know. Maybe because I'm thinking it will go away. I will probably wake up sicker tomorrow morning. I'll hold off going to the doctor until I'm delirious ("If I don't make pants for the toasters, who will?").

On a brighter note, my DGIM 759 class seems like its going to be fun. There are a lot of fun people in the class and it seems like many of them will be in the Friday night class as well. It looks like we will be learning programming (actionscript). I nearly got a dose of trigonometry tonight, but our professor realized he might be going to far on the first class. I think it will be cool though.

Of course we all know the best thing for a sore throat is McDonald's Vanilla Milkshakes!

You Ain't Goin' Nowhere

Okay, I'm not going crazy, there are two versions of this song. I have The Byrds doing the version that is on bobdylan.com and I have Bob Dylan himself doing the "Genghis Khan and his brother Don" version. So there...

version 1:
Clouds so swift
Rain won't lift
Gate won't close
Railings froze
Get your mind off wintertime
You ain't goin' nowhere
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!

I don't care
How many letters they sent
Morning came and morning went
Pick up your money
And pack up your tent
You ain't goin' nowhere
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!

Buy me a flute
And a gun that shoots
Tailgates and substitutes
Strap yourself
To the tree with roots
You ain't goin' nowhere
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!

Genghis Khan
He could not keep
All his kings
Supplied with sleep
We'll climb that hill no matter how steep
When we get up to it
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!

Copyright © 1967; renewed 1995 Dwarf Music

Version 2:
Clouds so swift and rain fallin' in
Gonna see a movie called "Gunga Din"
Pack up your money, put up your tent McGuinn
You ain't a-goin' nowhere

Ooh-whee -- ride me high
Tomorrow's the day that my bride's-a-gonna come
Ooh-whee -- we gonna fly
Down into the easy chair

Genghis Khan and his brother Don
Couldn't keep on keepin' on
We'll climb that bridge after it's gone
After we're way past it

Ooh-whee -- ride me high
Tomorrow's the day that my bride's-a-gonna come
Ooh-whee -- we gonna fly
Down into the easy chair

Buy me some rings and a gun that sings
A flute that toots and a bee that stings
A sky that cries and a bird that flies
A fish that walks and a dog that talks

Ooh-whee -- ride me high
Tomorrow's the day that my bride's-a-gonna come
Ooh-whee -- we gonna fly
Down into the easy chair

Ooh-whee -- ride me high
Tomorrow's the day that my bride's-a-gonna come
Ooh-whee -- we gonna fly
Down into the easy chair

Horse in the Troit

I'm getting sick :( My throat is sore. I would say I was loosing my voice but I didn't really have one to begin with. And now school is starting, I'm going there after I finish complaining in this post.

Philadelphia

Well, my cousin's wedding is one or two months from now, and being the bored person that I am, I scouted out the Wendy's, Taco Bell, McDonalds, 7-Eleven, Subway shop, and various cheese-steak places in relation to my hotel (on South 17th street and Chestnut street). I made maps and everything. Does anyone else have suggestions for places to go and things to do or see there?

Yes, I am bored...

Savoy Truffle

"Garage Roof No.1"


"House Roof"


"My Holga"

I must say, the sky is very agreeable to being photographed today. The main downside to the snow is the leaky part of our roof. I don't understand why it can't be fixed in this modern age of technological achievement.

I predict Eagles and Steelers for the Superbowl, not that I actually follow football in the least.

I'm mentioned in Sarah S's audio blog post. I'm famous!

{i couldn't think up a name for this post}

Various snow related photos

"Go Team Zissou!"

Wearing my official team Zissou hat and ready to hunt the Jaguar Shark


"Styx"


"Auto-graph"


"Happy Garden"

Nothing like driving to a Chinese food place in a blizzard (okay, it wasn't snowing that hard yet).


"Helmet Blow"

Dave finally gets to use the new snow blower. Note that he is wearing his ambulance corps. helmet.

"The Snow, It Begins"

"Le Sink"

Why do I have nothing to do for a month and then 47,687 things to do in 2 days? And school hasn't even started yet!

Anyway, I shot my first roll of 120 today. I got worried when I was winding to the first frame and for some brain-malfunctioning reason I switched to 6x6 for the first 2 shots, even though the 645 adaptor piece was on. Then I switched back. This fiasco will have only cost about $15 when it is finished being processed, so we will see how it goes.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to go be four places at once.

"Snow En Macro"

"Mystery Meat"

My mom found this piece of metal on our driveway. I hope it didn't fall off my car. I was trying to take photos of the falling snow with the flash on, but they mostly just look like there is dust on the lens. Maybe it is not snowing hard enough. I hope it doesn't snow so much that I can't go to Pennsylvania this weekend.

I really should update the pages on sakraft.com. There are some templates on this site by Sarah (with an 'h' on the end) that look pretty neat, and I may use them for inspiration. I also wanted to break away from the template for this blog and design something during the break, but school starts up again next week. Hmmmmmm.............

A rather short walk

Leave it to me to decide to go for a walk when it is 16° F outside. I need to walk for my knees and back. I hate the treadmill and walking outside gives me the opportunity to take photos. It seemed like the wind was blowing in my face regardless of the direction I took. Luckily I at least had a hood and gloves, but my Mavi jeans are really too thin for this weather. I had my hood pulled so tight that all I could see was five feet of sideway ahead of me (and I was almost taken out by a low tree branch). I think I did my knees more bad than good. My right quadricep is numb. I think I will go on the treadmill until I thaw out. My ears are killing me. Stupid weather.

Everything old is new again

Yesterday my friend Lawrence told me about The Mirror Project, so I submitted this photo that I had previously posted on this blog:


"Reflection In Pot Lid"

Their size limitations for uploads are kind of frustrating, but I got mine up there. Click here to see my post on the Mirror Project site. I have a lot of photos with reflections of myself, but this is the first one that popped into my head.

Now here is something you have not seen before:


"Random Reflections"

This was taken through the window of a former car dealership. There is all kinds of weird stuff inside, from overhead projectors to kayaks (or are the crew boats?). Very strange. The reflections in the window show the Cornerstone (in the upper right corner), an AAMCO, utility poles, and what might be me on the left side, but I am not sure.

Photographic Boredom

"My Car"

Don't worry, I'm sure I will take some good photos when I go down to Pennsylvania to visit my brother (and the Yuengling Brewery!) Plus I just ordered a Holga and some film. I also ordered some prepaid processing mailers. I still long for a darkroom. It feels strange shooting film, I think I like digital better in terms of shooting. The 110 project continues unabated, and thus far unprocessed.

{now playing: The Edgar Winter Group - They Only Come Out At Night}

... or in this case, the evening :-)

I attended my first Solar Decathlon meeting today. The architecture and engineering students seem pretty excited. I'd like to participate but I'm not sure where I would fit in to it yet, and the meetings might conflict with the Slate meetings, which I also wanted to do this semester. Of course, there is a free t-shirt involved, so that may sway my judgment :-)

Vote on which is better:
:-) Smiley face with nose
:) Smiley face without nose

Vote by leaving a comment!

"Quiche"

Now Playing

Abbey Road, the B side



If you do not own this album, do yourself a favor and pick one up!

"Oh, look out !..."

{playing the A side and the songs that are not part of the medley afterwards}

Permanent Night

I'm so bored. I haven't taken any photos in the lst few days because the weather has been so bad. I think it is supposed to be sunier on Sunday. {} .At least I have had an opportunity to catch up on my Netflix subscription.

{now playing: The Cream of Clapton}

OneTenography

I finished a roll of 110 today but I have not had it processed yet. So I dug up my most recent 110 photos. I wanted to find the ones I have of some California Sea Lions at the Central Park Zoo, but I was too lazy to dig very deep into my drawer of photos. The first photo here is from my 110 pinhole camera. They did not print all of the negatives and they put a Fuji Film picture taking guide in because they came out so... lets say unconventional. The rest of the photos are from my 110 Micro Cam that were taken in August of 2003. One guy actually stopped on the street and asked me about the camera while I was in front of Maxilla and Mandible.


"110 Pinhole Photo No.3"


"NYC Apartment Building No.1"


"NYC Building, August of 2003"


"Bert And Ernie Rescue"


"Columbus Circle"


"FDNY Ladder 25"


"My Parents in front of Maxilla and Mandible"


"NYC Apartment Building No.2"

I found an unused roll of 110 sealed in its package. I'm not sure if it will be any good because it is Kodak ISO 200, which I do not think has been manufactured for some time. I will shoot it, of course. It just has to be sunny enough because I plan on using the Micro Cam, which has no flash. I can't wait to see if the 200 ISO will work....

"I Feel Weird"

{blasting Three Dog Night makes me feel slightly better}

"110 Work In Progress"

In keeping with my New Years Resolution, I am shooting film again, albeit 110, without a pressure plate and whatnot, but I suppose it is a look unto itself. Incidentally, the photo above is digital. It is a shot of my mini 110 camera that is not much more than a lens, winding knob, and crude aiming sights that strap onto the film cartridge. I don't use this aiming device. As a matter of fact, I actually stare at the back of the camera while tripping the shutter, I have been conditioned by the digital age. I still have 4 exposures left but it is too dark to shoot today. Plus, wherever I bring it to be processed will probably have to send it out, so it may be a while before there are any 110 photos in this site (unless I dig up some old ones). I'm thinking of getting a Holga. I will have to use mail order processing for 120. So far the A & I prepaid processing mailers from B&H seem like the most attractive option. It is $12.95 per roll for processing, printing, and return shipping. Pricey when you consider that you get 12 exposures in 6 x 6 format, but again, that's the digital side of me. I'd still like to get into a darkroom, especially with medium format. If only....

David Bowie in Portuguese

Now playing: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Soundtrack

Portuguese is a cool language. It is especially cool in the Seu Jorge covers of David Bowie songs on this soundtrack. Most unfortunately, not all of the covers that were in the movie are on the soundtrack, it would be really cool to hear the other ones.

I was going to post a like to the Portuguese song Aguas de Marco (or something like that) but they appeared to have removed it from the Adult Swim website. It seemed coincidental that they had featured a song in Portuguese song on Sealab recently.

Go team Zissou..

Birthday Present

Don't bother giving me anything if you have not already. Instead, or even if you have, please consider giving to an organization providing disaster relief:

Click here to make a contribution to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund via Amazon.com or Click here to make a contribution directly to the Red Cross International Response Fund to help those affected by the earthquakes and tsunamis.

My Wiki Entry

I'm rather bored, so I decided to make an entry in the Wikipedia.

Click Here to see my entry.

UPDATE: The jerks at Wiki have nominated my entry for deletion. Thanks a lot, you joy killing ********, and on my birthday too!

Another Year Shot To Hell

"The Tubes of Ed Hall"

What day is today? Its Nibbler's birthday. What a day for a birthday, lets all have some cake.

I can't get iTunes to look at my music collection on my new hard drive, it keeps looking into the music folder of my master drive no matter what I do. iPhoto is also giving me grief, it is seriously slow, although I wouldn't move to fast if you asked me to organize and display 3,500 digital photos.

I'm seeking an answer to the oldest question since the dawn of the universe: When, if even, do you use an apostrophe with the word "it", and what does it mean? its, it's, it possesses, it is, what is the difference?

There's nothing to take pictures of today (except me). I want to go to Pennsylvania, or better yet, California, or better still, New Zealand or Japan. If you feel like buying me some plane tickets, drop me a line.

{now playing: James Booker - Gonzo}

I'd like to visit that 'Long Island', if only it were real...

"At The Cornerstone On My 23rd Birthday" by Dave

This photo taken by Dave accurately reflects my perception of reality at the moment it was taken. I had a vodka and tonic (why I keep ordering this, I have no idea) followed by two long island iced teas. It was fun. Thanks to everyone that showed up. I woke up at 8 this morning and assumed I was sober, but then realized I wasn't and went back to sleep until about 1. I had some very strange and seemingly real dreams in this period, which I will not recount :) I'm fine now and my stomach stopped hurting after I ate some leftover chinese food. My favorite jeans stink like cigarette smoke. Damn Cornerstone, although it didn't seem like many people were smoking last night, but what would I know :) ????

Party Tonight

One of my brother's won't be there, nor will his friend who is usually a bartender, but I will be at the cornerstone for my birthday (which is actually Sunday). I did get in to the lab today and slapped the graduation project onto my demo reel. I have not posted it though, because the "small" version is over 100 megs. I did take some photos on the way to, from, and at the lab. Here are some of those:


"Underwood No.6"


"Ed Hallway in January"


"Empty Architecture Lab"

This is one of the architecture labs that we stole many stools (as in the chair without a back) from over the course of last semester. Don't tell the architecture students!


"The Cornstone"

In case you don't know, this is what the Cornerstone looks like.

Browsing through Yummy Wakame's blog and I found a post referring to Thomas Beach, a musician. He has some very interesting music on his site. The Site itself is also very neat. He was mentioned on the Wakame blog because he composed some music for Jump London, a documentary on a sport I had never heard of called Parkour, or Free Running. It looks really amazing. Its funny that they say that anyone can do it. Yeah right, I'm sure my bad knees and thin spinal disks would be very thankful if I tried even a single move. If you want to get some idea of what it is all about go to http://www.urbanfreeflow.co.uk/. You should definitely check out the videos, although only a few of them are quicktimes :( I originally checked Netflix to see if they had Jump London, which they did not, but then I found that it will be airing on TLC on Sunday at 5:00 PM, I just hope I don't miss it due to it being my birthday.

Grill Power

"New Grill Closeup No.1"


"New Grill Closeup No.2"

{now playing: John Lennon - Legend}

Disaster Relief Contributions

Click here to make a contribution to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund via Amazon.com or Click here to make a contribution directly to the Red Cross International Response Fund to help those affected by the earthquakes and tsunamis.


"Seedwalk"

{I have recovered from my Victory Golden Monkey Ale}

Victory Golden Monkey Ale!

I have just returned from Croxley's Ale House in Franklin Square, with over 50 beers on tap! They "proudly announce" that they don't carry Bud, Coors, or Miller, but the Stella Artois that I tried is their Belgian equivalent. Luckily, the next beer I tried was Victory Golden Monkey Ale, which I must recommend due to it's fruity flavor and 9.5% alcohol volume (with an emphasis on the later). Needless to say, I'm operating on a slight delay, and it is not even 7:30! I'm not sure how many wings I had, but they are 10¢ each at Croxley's on some nights. We ordered 30 BBQ and 20 mild. The mild were a little too mild and required that you rub them around in the sauce at the bottom of the plate to get any hotness. If the HTML that I wrote for this post works after having consumed Victory Golden Monkey Ale, I will be impressed with myself...

"Toy VW"

James Booker's "More Than All The 45s" arrived today, so I can finally hear Gonzo. I think Gonzo might just be the new music for my demo reel. I really have to get into the lab to work on my reel. I finally moved all 9.5 gigabytes of my itunes music library onto my new hard drive. It seems to be working okay so far...

{now playing: James Booker - More Than All The 45s}

"Kodak Duaflex"

This is picture is scanner art, a scanner I consider being a form of camera to some extent.

New Year's Resolution

I think I believed new year's resolutions were lame because I could never think of one I would actually follow. But I finally came up with one that might work. I resolve to use film again. I have taken all of 12 photos on film since getting my digital camera and I have not even processed them. My Nikon FM10 is collecting dust (or rather, the case is). I've always wanted to get a Holga, I've never used medium format. I kind of like the idea of a TLR like a Seagull or a Lubitel 166B. I also like the idea of a SMENA 8M. The main problem I have with film is the expense compared to digital. If I had my own darkroom or access to one at all I'd probably shoot film every day. I missed the process of the dark room. It is very relaxing. I have to figure out how to get back to film. Someone please make suggestions..........

Change

I made the lady at the bank mad today by depositing $80 worth of change. I had cleaned it out of my night table. She said she would take it this time but next time to only bring a few rolls at a time. She said she had no where to put it. ??? You are a bank, you have no room for money? I was laughing all the way from the bank :)

{now playing - John Lennon - Legend}

A Cloudy Day Constitutional

It is so mild today and it is nicely overcast, so I decided to take a walk. I like taking pictures on cloudy days (it diffuses the light, for those of you who don't know, meaning that the light is very evenly cast). Being constricted to suburbia, I mainly took pictures of side walks, tree bark, fire hydrants, and these neat little tin numbers and plaques nailed to utility poles. The walk took slightly over an hour and covered what was probably just under two miles. I took 97 photos in all and I like the way most of them came out. Here are some.


"Utility Plaque No.1"


"January Sidewalk No.2"


"Constitutional Self Portrait"


"Fire Hydrant No.2"

Some of the utility poles have their information branded (burned) onto to them. I decided not to post the photo of one of these because it is not as interesting as the tin numbers and plaques.


"January Sidewalk No.4"


"Utility Plaque No.2"


"Stop Sign No.1"


"Utility Plaque No.3"

This plaque bears the initials of one of my honor societies.


"Fire Hydrant No.4"


"Footprint Captured In Cement"


"Stop Sign No.2"


"Utility Plaque No.4"


"Utility Plaque No.5"


"Fire Hydrant No.5"


"Storage Basin 292 Sign"


"Utility Plaque No.6"


"Utility Plaque No.9"


"Paw Prints Captured In Cement"


"Split Rail Fence No.2"

I'm not sure if that is the kind of fence it is.


"Garbage Radiator"

Well, that group is the edited down batch. I didn't put up many of the sidewalks. The walk was definitely good for my old knees.

{now playing: The Kinks - The Kinks}