Monthly Archives: March 2004

Just Another Personality Quiz

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Sarah did this quiz over on her Live Journal, and I was in the right mood, so I took the bait. According to the How to be a Hero website I am a Palladin. My profile looks like this:

You’re compassionate, forward-thinking, and devoted to doing the right thing. If you’re still in school, your teachers probably adore you, even if your grades aren’t very strong. If you work, you’re more concerned with doing your job well than climbing the corporate ladder. When it comes to leisure, you’d rather pursue the arts, spend time in nature, or enjoy quiet time with a close friend than spend all night at a raucous party. You seek out peace, beauty, and harmony wherever you can find it.

Above all, you love helping others and bringing a little light to the world wherever you can. You have strong artistic talent, even if you haven’t discovered it yet. You aren’t a social butterfly, but the friendships you have tend to be long-lasting and devoted. You feel a deep sense of contentment when you have the opportunity to show someone how much you care.

A Warning:

Try to remember: sometimes you need to fight for what you believe in. When someone steps on your rights, or the rights of others, you have to forget being "the nice guy/girl" and set things the way they should be. If necessary, befriend a Warrior and enlist him or her in your cause. Then just turn your Warrior loose and watch the fireworks.

Sometimes you’re just going to have to face reality. Because you yourself are trustworthy, you tend to be too trusting. But not everyone is as kind and honest as you are. You may need a Rogue on your side to let you know when you’re being hoodwinked, swindled, or made a fool of.

Personal Notes: I was actually surprised by how close it comes to who I am. According to the test scores were spread out like this: Rogue (6), Warrior (11), Wizard (10), Paladin (25).

Remnants of Life Around Chernobyl

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A young lady on a motorcycle drove through Chernobyl taking pictures and recording her thoughts and feelings. Some of the pages don’t link correctly so I offer all 26 chapters linked here for you.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25, Chapter 26.

Photo Sightings

  • Synster has a couple photos of a very cute kid listening to to some tune.
  • Joe Cunningham’s midwestern milkweed photo reminds me of home spent in and around farmland.
  • Chromogenic has a couple of good photos, the first of someones feet brings spring to mind, and the happy antenna ball punctuates the carefree feeling of spring.
  • Meccapixel has london underground photos with that cyan saturated lomolog color that identifyies the urban culture so well.
  • Infrangible has some of the best people pictures, and he captures them so consistently. I’d like to know his post production process and how he captures many of his low lighting compositions with such clarity and sharpness.
  • Sara over at Jocund has been putting up some fantastic studio poses of late.
  • Food4Eyes is perhaps the most consistenly pleasing photoblogger I know. His latest is a studio shot of a daisy. I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for flower shots. They are absurdly easy to capture, and in the spring everyone is overflowing with them, but I don’t ever get tired of it.
  • Deceptive media has been putting up some wonderfully ethereal prints. This one of a stair case and this one of Brookwood Cemetary inspire me. Also, this train station capture is nicely appealing.
  • Chromasia’s effusion of red is soothing to me. I don’t know what it is, but I love the effect red has on a photo.

An Open Request to Photobloggers

I love you guys. But I’d like to see some consistency in the permalink implimentations. I sometimes spend way to much time looking for a way to find the archived link so I can put you in my list each day. The most frustrating one is when I have to hit the previous link then the next link to get to the right photo. And when you link the photo to the previous photo, that is also confusing.

Just to review here are the various implementations I’ve found while perusing.

  • Linking the photo date. I like this implementation because it is has a long history and follows the convention used predominantly on normal blogs.
  • A permalink text near the photo. This one is also very good, as it’ hard to miss and also often used on normal blogs.
  • Linking the actual photo to its archive. This ones is trickier. I know the photoblogger is probably trying to limit the amount of text cluttering up the screen, but its not always intuitive where the link is and I went months before I noticed its use on many blogs.
  • Linking the actual photo to the previous entry. This isn’t technically a permalink practice, but I put it in here because there is no way to distinguish between this one and the practice above. This method is particularly confusing. If you use it, you should make it plain what the functionality is. I know it make for easy perusing of the archive, but I would bet most of your users would prefer an obvious permalink.
  • Using a set of the last five photos on the page as the archive links for the current photo. This one works but requires I spend a bit of time searching. The practice isn’t common, although its gaining some popularity. I’d still prefer an obvious permalink text.
  • Not having a permalink on the page at all, but including a previous link. I have to go to the previous then the next to get the right url. I’ll many times go the extra mile to get a permalink, but sometimes I’ll simply skip it because its too much work. Web users are a lazy lot, don’t make it hard on us.
  • No permalink, no nothing. 9 times out of 10 will cause me to simply not link your photo. I’ll see comments but no permalink. Irritating.

Just in closing, I want every one to know I love your photos. I get precious little time to spend on my own photography and I know how much effort goes into maintaining a photoblog. You guys are an inspiration. Keep it up.

A Compilation of Images and Ideas

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Today I’m going to copy the things magazine style of blogging and link presentation. Michael McDonough’s Top Ten Things They Didn’t Teach Me at Design School offers some sage advice. // Another step in the right direction, a judge allows the testimony of a doctor with years of research into prenatal pain in unborn children. Mayhap soon this abominable practice will be outlawed. // The Defective Yeti needs to rearrange his office because of women. I can understand his predicament. // This article on how difficulties in recognizing ones own incompetence can lead to inflated self-assessments looks interesting enough to read. // The Fishbowl gives us the rules of argument. Take note, they’re good. // Like Murphies laws, Wiio’s laws of Communication describe in pessimistic detail certain truths about society.

Top Left Pixels photo about sugar grabs my attention, but I can’t figure out why. // Chromogenic’s composition reminds me of a swiss army knife or the Red Cross. That red of white motif is striking. // Orbit 1 has a really cool cityscape on display with an ethereal quality that lends itself to an empty and disconnected feeling. // Mike Golding has a nice shot of The London Eye, a ferris wheel like structure that stands 135 meters high. nice. // Food 4 Eyes luxuriates in verduous saturation. // Deceptive Media’s composition of a trash collector is poignant and well done in black and white.

Personal Verbiage

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I got sick two days ago. *mutters* I wanted to note three things, first, the photos on the photoblogs I link to have, almost to the last one, have all been posting some fantastic shots lately even though I’ve not been posting links of the particulars over the last couple days.

Second, I had a great birthday, and thanks to all who sent emails and did stuff, it was much appreciated.

And lastly, I’ve been real busy lately. I found myself a bit short of cash so I picked up a second job. Its a fun job, bout 20-25 hours a week, but its taking up a lot of my time. It’s only for four months, and I may drop it sooner if it starts to interfere with my day job. We’ll see. Updates may become more sporadic than usual, or I may get inspired and post many cool things. Who knows, I get unpredictable when I’m worn out. Thought you might be curious to know.

Practice

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I used to tell people that a person studies and imitates the masters work in order to understand the techniques used to create them. Only after we understand the tools and methods of whatever craft we pursue are we able to let out the creativity we hold within ourselves.

Michael Reichmann iterates that principle in his latest article Practice Mutha, Practice. The truly great are seperated from the mediocre often only by the amount of effort they put into their work. Take note.

Personal Notes

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My roomate is off in Rome traipsing around the Italian countryside, and my little brother is at home for spring break which leaves me at home all by myself. … Its kinda weird, as I haven’t been alone for any extended period of time for nearly two years. Who knew I would dislike it this much.

I watched Looney Toones, Back in Action last night. It was pretty good. The dialoge among the real actors was pretty campy, but the cartoons were great. The gags were just like the ones you remember growing up with. Awesome.

The Birth of a Shy Mans Dream

A New York Times article on the creator of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow delves into the dreams of a shy creative.

Oh the Irony! HA!

After all that ranting, it appears that The Passion is actually reducing anti-semitism. Thats gotta hurt.

Cool… How Much Is Your Info Worth?

How much is your information worth? Find out.

Photo Links

Cornucopia of Good Prints

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An unusually large number of really good shots on the photoblog list today.

Appropriation: The Ethics of Creative Inspiration

Gail from openbrackets.com wrote about the problems found when creatives borrow from other peoples grief or intimate memories for inspiration. I’m with her, the issue raises more questions than answers…

Marshall Sokoloff: Sugar

The Morning News features a gallery called Sugar by Marshall Sokoloff. It is a series of photographic prints taken of some old freighter. Excellent.

A Humourus Gaffe & A Lovely Find

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I updated my bio, and an observant viewer pointed out the last line in the "What Do You Do" section. The double meaning was unintentional, btw. *grin*

Since Lore (pronounced like Lori) had dropped me an email to point it out, I visited her website. I was pleased to find a delicate and comfortable writing style, characterized by earnest candor. Captivated, I was intrigued by the intimacy of it, and felt it worth pointing out.

Photos of Note

Photos of Note

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I’m feeling full at the moment… the kind of warm golden feeling you expect during early fall, when thoughts turn to family and loved ones. Its a strange feeling, in that it comes at a time when life isn’t full of roses. :) Many of my friends are struggling emotionally and physically. The world is a complicated place full of questions with no easy answers. But such is life. I’m grateful. Just a note… enjoy todays selection of photos…