Courtney in the Reflected Specular of the sun in Chicago

Courtney in the Reflected Specular of the sun in Chicago, originally uploaded by Wizwow.

Chicago workshop was amazing. Had so much fun and the talent there was exceptional. What a rockin' weekend!!!

This is Courtney. She is a model and will be at our Florida workshop later this year.

Woohoo, Courtney! See you there.

Courtney...looking 'smoking'

Courtney...looking 'smoking', originally uploaded by when I grow up.

From the Chicago workshop. Excellent work, Jay.

Emerging Trends in Web Design - Website Magazine - Website Magazine

Some interesting info here. Some new, some really quite old. But all require content. Content is still the most difficult challenges of people wanting to be on the web. Content. Without it carousels and modal boxes and flash movies are useless. We can do all of these things - but clients must focus on content. And that is NOT what most clients do. They have other business models. Content creation is not a part of it.

Hence... the challenge of the 800# gorilla. "I want a cool, interactive website with a lot of stuff, but, I ain't got no stuff. How do I do that."

Well...

Emerging Trends in Web Design - Website Magazine - Website Magazine:

"Web design neither stands still nor waits for technical innovations before evolving new approaches. The best Web designers observe how people interact with the interfaces they create in order to find what design approaches work best. And from several recent redesigns of sites, several design trends appear to be emerging."

One Big Ass Mistake...

Amerika.

This is funny, huh press corps?

You friggin' idiots don't have a clue what's coming. You think middle class amerika and the syncophantic morons who chirp like this sputtering, dwindling excuse for a mouthpiece are gonna sit by and let you continue lying without recourse?

You may actually be as stupid as the people you serve. Lie, lie, lie, lie.

You attacked Bush relentlessly... this moron you laugh at. To say I hold your profession in low regard is to dramatically understate the real loathing. Phools.

LBOI Design Blog » The Biggest Design Trend Predictions For 2010

LBOI Design Blog » The Biggest Design Trend Predictions For 2010:

"A few weeks ago a bunch of designers shared their insights and thoughts on Design Trends for 2010. What was clearly evident at the end of that community post was that 2010 would see more personalization of websites, grids would become even more popular with the standard grid size possibly shifting to a higher resolution, the lines between web and print designs would blur with designers bringing more realistic and organic print styles into the world wide web and retro would continue to rule."

The Bean "Cloud Gate"

The Bean "Cloud Gate", originally uploaded by Once Upon a Click.

Nicely done. Woo hoo. I was just there yesterday... uh, so was OUAC... nice shot!

French Photo Hoax « Horses Think

Well, I stopped entering award shows long ago. For very similar reasons. Syncophantic worship of tired cliches... yeah - get 'em a Gold.

This is simply priceless.

French Photo Hoax « Horses Think:
"When the two winners, Guillaume Chauvin and Remi Hubert, both art students at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs of Strasbourg, stood up at the Sorbonne to claim their trophy and prize money, they announced the true nature of their work. The images were not photojournalism but staged images featuring many of their peers."

"we don’t know”

Ahhh... well, there ya go. I guess the attorney should check with all the insightful wisdom of the internets and the forums. They seem to be pretty clear. For kitty shooters....

Are Flickr Photos Fair Game for Home Printing? - Gadgetwise Blog - NYTimes.com:

"“The real core question is, is this a fair use or not?” said Corynne McSherry, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group. “Frankly the answer is, we don’t know.” Ms. McSherry suggests playing it safe and always asking."

"He Touched Me First"

Maxine Waters, posterchild for IDIOT gets in an altercation with David Obey over funding a school named for her. I mean, seriously, can you imagine something any more important than a school named for Maxine Waters? North Korea? Iran? Cap and Tax? Healthcare? Nawwwww... vanity for a bubble brained imbecile takes time away from those useless events.

We are doomed. Seriously doomed.

TheHill.com - Obey, Waters in noisy floor fight:

"After the House floor had largely cleared following a series of votes, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) split apart from a heated conversation and began yelling at one another.

“You’re out of line,” Waters shot while walking down toward the well.

“You’re out of line,” Obey shot back before turning and walking away.

But then Obey stopped, turned back toward Waters, and shouted: “I’m not going to approve that earmark!”

Obey turned away, but Waters went to go huddle with members of the Congressional Black Caucus. She could be over heard telling them: “He touched me first.”"

Spring Cleaning in Washington - Philip K. Howard

You should read this. You really should.

Spring Cleaning in Washington - Philip K. Howard:

"All this accumulated law--about 300,000 pages of federal statutes and regulations--operates as a form of central planning. It bogs people down in bureaucracy. In healthcare, the labyrinthian requirements of Medicare, Medicaid, HIPAA, plus the equally dense, and often conflicting requirements of 50 states, plus the insurance company red tape, make it impossible for people to deliver care efficiently. Add to that bureaucratic nightmare the ever-present fear of being hauled into court whenever a sick person gets sicker, and you have a system that looks like it was designed for frustration and waste. (See here for principles needed to climb out of this rut.)

The inertial forces that make it hard to achieve change in Washington, in the best of circumstances, become a kind of invincible fortress when reinforced by thousands upon thousands of pages of binding law. Each of those provisions is zealously guarded by special interest groups, and changing any word of a statute requires the votes of 218 members of the House and (generally) 60 senators.

Faced with legions of special interests, Congress is trying to fix healthcare by piling new requirements on top of the old ones. But this won't address the underlying problems of efficiency, any more than it could in Detroit. To restore focus and efficiency,"

36 Fresh and Beautiful Free Blogger Templates | Dzine Blog

Cool!

36 Fresh and Beautiful Free Blogger Templates | Dzine Blog:

"Blogger is probably one of the earliest service providers for blogging,so this time i concentrated on collecting fresh and beautiful blogger templates, Free Themes don’t have to be ugly, cluttered,and boring, Some Designers offer high quality Blogger Templates for free you can use them for your personal blogs without any restrictions. Here Dzineblog Presents 30 Best Stylish Free Blogger templates"

Blozard: Revolution Elements Blogger Template

I may be moving to this one soon.

Blozard: Revolution Elements Blogger Template:

"I'm announcing the launch of Revolution Elements theme for Blogger. This extremely cool theme was originally created by Jason Schuller [View WP Demo] for Wordpress. Copyrights are owned by Brian Gardner of Studio Press under the GNU Creative Commons License or whatever (I don't really know the stuffs. :D) What matters though is that Brian has given me the permission to 'go for it'. And walla, here it is the Revolution Elements Blogger theme available for free download!"

Miton Glaser on Professionalism

Really excellent writing by Milton Glaser on art, professionalism and what it means to work in the creative fields. Take time to read it all.

5
LESS IS NOT NECESSARILY MORE.
"Being a child of modernism I have heard this mantra all my life. Less is more. One morning upon awakening I realised that it was total nonsense, it is an absurd proposition and also fairly meaningless. But it sounds great because it contains within it a paradox that is resistant to understanding. But it simply does not obtain when you think about the visual of the history of the world. If you look at a Persian rug, you cannot say that less is more because you realise that every part of that rug, every change of colour, every shift in form is absolutely essential for its aesthetic success. You cannot prove to me that a solid blue rug is in any way superior. That also goes for the work of Gaudi, Persian miniatures, art nouveau and everything else. However, I have an alternative to the proposition that I believe is more appropriate. ‘Just enough is more.’"

Farrah Fawcett Dies | Jacksonville, FL | Entertainment

I had her poster. I always thought her beauty got in the way of her roles, but she did get some wonderful parts over the years. Be with peace, Ms Fawcett.

Farrah Fawcett Dies | Jacksonville, FL | Entertainment:

"LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Farrah Fawcett, the 'Charlie's Angels' star whose feathered blond hair and dazzling smile made her one of the biggest sex symbols of the 1970s, died Thursday after battling cancer. She was 62."

You can't make this stuff up...

We have elected the most despicable people in the world. Liars, cheaters, frauds and misfits. Say whatever you want... then do what you slammed others for. Top down, we are represented by 'feel-good' do-nothing elitists.

So Obama and Biden... a question.

Now that you are proposing the exact same thing, when you did this ad were you:

A. Stupid
B. Lying



There is no C...

Friggin country is in the hand of morons...

Why No One is Linking to Your Photos - A Picture's Worth

Why No One is Linking to Your Photos - A Picture's Worth:

"We talk a lot about Search Engine Optimization and how it can benefit photographer websites by bringing unsolicited visitors and expanding your marketing reach. There's not a photographer in the world who couldn't benefit by having more eyeballs on their work."

All the Small Icons You’ll Ever Need | Web Design Ledger

All the Small Icons You’ll Ever Need | Web Design Ledger: "Big highly detailed icons make great eye candy, but small icons can be very useful when designing websites. They are great for styling lists and giving links visual flair that is eye catching and meaningful. It’s amazing what can be said visually in a 16 x 16 pixel area. In this post, you will find a large collection of small icons that should fit most of your design needs."

Wrighting; On being a cash cow to everyone else...

Read this. Now. All of it.

Wrighting:

"So apart from the efficiency aspect of being able to deliver 200 (? I have no idea the size of this cattle call) culled photographers to 50 editors for example-because, we really are doing them a favour-the magazines, getting their editors all on site on two days for a blitzkreig portfolio review-they are going to come away with something don’t forget-I just don’t get it. Yes, it is highly efficient to be able to see 14 editors in two days, literally, something that would take weeks or months to do conventionally-now. But do you really have a portfolio that is suitable for Business Week, ESPN, Field and Stream, Popular Mechanics, NYTimes Style, Lucky, Prevention and Redbook? Does it make any sense? So right there, out of 32 publications represented, just how many are you really suited for? And if you respond, ‘all of them’, then I think your portfolio needs some cutting…"

27 Must-Have Starter Kits For Web Designers | Graphics

This is really a cool post. If you are a designer, this will be a time saver for sure.

27 Must-Have Starter Kits For Web Designers | Graphics:

"Starter kits are great timesavers for web designers and they are particularly useful for those who often create mock-ups for project pitching on daily basis. If you are a designer-cum-programmer think of it as your code snippets"

Add Dynamic Lighting to a Flat Photograph - Psdtuts+

Nice list of Photographic modifications.

Add Dynamic Lighting to a Flat Photograph - Psdtuts+:
"In this tutorial, I will show you how to spice up a fairly dull and flat photograph. It's very easy and fast! Go from flat photo to a uniquely lit style"

Seth's Blog: Too much free

Seth's Blog: Too much free:

"Free online has two distinct elements, then. Breakthrough free, like the first free ebook or the first free email service, and sample-this free, which decreases the cost of trial and lowers boundaries of the spread of an idea."

Twitter bath death

Look for the Social Network haters to show how dangerous twittering can be. I look for legislation banning twittering while bathing, and texting around water. How about we ban leaving the house.

Clearly a ban on being stupid would not help the stupid. This girl was playing with electricity in the bath. At 17? WTF? I thought them Europeans were smarter than us dumbshit Americans. Note that the headline seems to blame Twitter instead of the dipshit user. Yeah, it must have been a social network that caused the terminally stupid girl to put a plug into the wall while in the friggin' bath.

Note to congress. Investigations and laws should emerge. Morons all.

Austrian Times – Home > Around the World > Twitter bath death:

"Twitter bath death

A teenage girl was electrocuted after dropping her laptop into the bath as she twittered in the tub."

Seagate 1.5TB SATA Barracuda 7200.11 Internal Hard Drive - 2-Pack for $200

Only $269. (Apply coupon code "QSRDBGRSGP7MFG" to chop them to $199.99 ($0.07/GB). Expi

Dell : Seagate 1.5TB SATA Barracuda 7200.11 Internal Hard Drive - 2-Pack : System Drives : Home & Home Office:

"The Seagate Barracuda® 7200.11 SATA Internal Hard Drive boasts a high storage capacity of 1.5TB, enabling users to store large amounts of data."

Feedback. The Creativity Killer.

This is great. Whether photography or design. That's why you don't put your work on a sharing site and expect to get good feedback. You just wont.

Feedback. The Creativity Killer.:

"Know your feedback

Feedback falls into two silos: Propels Creativity and Kills Creativity. Ok, fairly obvious. What’s more important are the motivations of the people offering it. The motivations of people can overlap, so it’s not always a black and white situation."

25 of the Best Photographer Portfolio Websites - Part Two | Vandelay Design Blog

Nice.

25 of the Best Photographer Portfolio Websites - Part Two | Vandelay Design Blog:

"Last year I published 25 of the Best Photographer Portfolio Websites. Today I’d like to follow up with another set of 25 sites for your design inspiration.

In this collection you’ll see a good deal of variety between the sites. Some use a minimal layout that showcases the photos without distraction, and others are a bit more flashy."

Colorburned | 46 Stunning High Resolution Photoshop Light Effect Brushes

Colorburned | 46 Stunning High Resolution Photoshop Light Effect Brushes:
"This set of brushes can be summed up with only 2 words “really” and “awesome”, but since this post would look rather silly if I only wrote “Really Awesome” as the headline I will tell you a bit more. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with lots of new Photoshop brush-making techniques. I’ve found that the inspiration for these new techniques always comes at the strangest times so lately I’ve been keeping some odd hours."

Why Photographers Hate Creative Commons | Black Star Rising

An excellent look at Creative Commons from a photographer who has dealt with it. Other than the tired reference to eeeeevil corporations, there is a lot to digest here. But the fun happens in the comments. People LIKE taking other peoples work. They make no secret of it. Sharing, even that sharing that doesn't happen with consent, is the way of the world now. And while you may be astounding at the naivite and lack of common sense of some of the commenters, it is a very common look into the thought process of lots of young people today. Frightening how they have been left in the dark when it comes to classical critical thinking. Mushy logic rules.

Personally I am no fan of CC either. The slippery slope has become evident and after listening to the last big speeches by the CC gurus, it is evident to me that they are indeed wanting to get to FREE on all creative work.

Why Photographers Hate Creative Commons | Black Star Rising:

"Now, I don’t want to piss on CC’s birthday cake just for the fun of it. But it does seem clear that an increasing number of photographers — not just professionals but high-end hobbyists also — have become disenchanted with the Creative Commons system.

Why? Depending on who you ask, it’s because:

1. It’s taking money out of the pockets of working photographers;
2. It’s putting money into the coffers of large corporations, whose executives like CC-enabled crowdsourcing even better than Third World child labor;
3. It’s supposed to make sharing your work easier, but it often just makes it more confusing — creating the kind of misunderstandings that lead to lawsuits.

Since the first two complaints are related, let’s address them together. Creative Commons is a system that enables you to renounce some or all of your copyright protections — in the name of sharing. This raises a question that doesn’t get enough serious consideration: Who actually benefits from this?"

Get Tgethr: A Simple Email Collaboration Tool

This looks very very cool. Simplicity is the key. Some solutions that were very easy and simple have become rather clunky and overdone.

Get Tgethr: A Simple Email Collaboration Tool:
"Email is still the most prominent form of communication we have. Do you really need that fancy collaboration tool or do you just need to get tgethr?
Easy + secure group collaboration over email
with a handy web archive."

Omnivoracious: There and Back Again: Five Reasons Tolkien Rocks (Guest Blogger China Mieville)

Yes. I'm down with this. Great read. Read it all.

Omnivoracious: There and Back Again: Five Reasons Tolkien Rocks (Guest Blogger China Mieville):

"This is a debate that needs to be had. These are stories contingent to a world the reader inhabits--full of 'ideal creations' that the writer has given, in Tolkien's words, 'the inner consistency of reality'. Whatever else it is, that is a strange and unique kind of reading. Tolkien not only performs the trick, indeed arguably inaugurates it, but considers and theorises this process that he calls 'subcreation', in his extraordinary essay 'On Fairy Stories'. It is astounding, and testimony to him, that his ruminations on what is probably now the default 'fantasy' mode remain not only seminal but lonely. Whether one celebrates or laments the fact, it is an incredibly powerful literary approach, and the lack of systematic, philosophical and critical attention paid not to this or that example but to 'subcreation', world-building, overall, as a technique, is amazing. To my knowledge--and I would be grateful for correction--there is not one book-length theoretical critical work, or collection, investigating the fantastic technique of secondary-world-building--subcreation. This is astounding. In Tolkien, fully 70 years ago, by contrast, we have not only the method's great vanguard, but still one of its most important and pioneering scholars."

The Essentials Lightingness of being, well, me

Lightness Essentials, originally uploaded by Meester Steve.

We float like butterflies. but the images sting like bees.

Heh.

Steve either
A. had us jump on the count of three.
B. Caught us levitating without a permit
C. Faked it with mad P-Shop skills
D. What the hell are you even talking about?

PDNPulse: Forecast: Magazine Industry to Recover By 2013

Posted without comment.

PDNPulse: Forecast: Magazine Industry to Recover By 2013:
"Between 2008 and 2010, print advertising will plummet 22.8 percent to $9.8 billion before rising 14.3 percent to $11.2 billion by 2013, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2009-2013.

The weakened economy also will continue to take its toll on circulation as consumers forego magazines and more titles shut down. The forecast calls for circulation spending to decline a sharp 8.3 percent in 2009 as shoppers buy fewer copies at the newsstand and cut back on subscriptions to save money.

By 2013, the improved economy will boost newsstand and subscription sales. But for the five-year period, circulation spending will decline to $8.4 billion in 2013 from $9.7 billion in 2008, a 2.8 percent decrease compounded annually, per the forecast."

Use Their Work Free? Artists Say No to Google - NYTimes.com

When "new media" socialist billionaires decide to not pay people for their work, people are surprised. Google has no ethics when it comes to this stuff. It wants what it wants. And... it gets it most of the time. The concern is not whether the artwork is given freely, it is in the expectation of freely supplied works that is so troubling.

Use Their Work Free? Artists Say No to Google - NYTimes.com: "

“There’s a lot of concern that newspapers and all of print is becoming a bit of an endangered species,” said Brian Stauffer, an illustrator based in Miami whose work has appeared in publications including Rolling Stone, Esquire and Entertainment Weekly, and who also rejected Google’s offer. “When a company like Google comes out very publicly and expects that the market would just give them free artwork, it sets a very dangerous precedent.”

Google, though rebuffed by more than a dozen illustrators, said in its statement that it had plenty of takers."

Interview with Justin Ouellette of Chromogenic

A really good interview worth reading and thinking about. Mistakes, I've made a few too...

Interview with Justin Ouellette of Chromogenic:

"PP: What has been your biggest mistake so far in your photographic journey?

JO: I always feel like I could devote more time to it. Missed opportunities are the biggest mistakes. Overall though, photography for me is a lot about trial and error and that means making lots of little mistakes over time."

Do You Matter?

Seth's Blog: You matter:

"You matter

• When you love the work you do and the people you do it with, you matter.
• When you are so gracious and generous and aware that you think of other people before yourself, you matter
• When you leave the world a better place than you found it, you matter."

20x200: 20% Off Today. Wow!

If you would like to get some work for your walls, check out Bekman's 20x200 where you can get 20% off until end of day today.

20x200: Our Story:
"As we see it, there are a lot of people out there who want to sell their art and a lot of people who'd like to buy it. They just have a hard time finding each other. The internet is the perfect place to bring those people together, and we're exactly the right people to make it happen. We're passionate about art and the internet at 20x200. We're really excited about creating a place where almost any art lover can be an art collector."

Employed see tough times, too - USATODAY.com

Guess that "Stimulus Package" just ain't, you know. stimulatin'.

Just imagine the incredible outrage that this kind of news would have been met with if the election had gone the other way. Breathtaking double standard.

And, you know, fuck the double standard. There is a real problem out there that will be so much worse than any political posturing will bring. Being loyal while watching your neighbors have their homes bulldozed may seem all the rage, but rage is what it will foster.

At that point it may be a little late to blame Bush.

Employed see tough times, too - USATODAY.com:
"People who still have jobs are faring worse than at any time since the Great Depression, a USA TODAY analysis of employment data found. Furloughs, pay cuts and reduced hours are taking a toll on workers who so far have escaped job cuts.

The employed worked fewer hours in May — an average of just 33.1 hours a week — than at any time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began counting in 1964. Part-time work is at a record high. Overtime is at a record low.

The magnitude of job losses — 6 million jobs gone, a 9.4% unemployment rate — has overshadowed the groundbreaking nature of the nation's employment troubles, especially the financial decline of those still working.

'You can rip a whole chapter out of your Economics 101 textbook because the job market isn't behaving the way we were taught,' says David Rosenberg, chief economist at money manager Gluskin Sheff and Associates."

Jesse added a new Video from the Girls of Rocky Point Calendar shoot

The calendars are ready for sale. Hit the Girls of Rocky Point site for more information. Very high quality work and the models are gorgeous.

Here's Jesse's new video:

Actually I think they are all losers...

... but that's just me. When you read this you have to remember that they are liars. Morning to night, speaking with this scum is one lie after another. So we are going to accept anything they say now? Of course not.

Hit & Run; Everyone's a Winner in Iran! - Reason Magazine:
"Everyone's a Winner in Iran!"

Reclusive Leftist » Blog Archive » David Letterman, the voice of dude nation

Nicely written Reclusive One. I personally have little appreciation of pop culture.

Reclusive Leftist » Blog Archive » David Letterman, the voice of dude nation:
"Emphasis mine. That’s how it works. Sexism isn’t selective, and misogyny isn’t something that only applies to certain women. The dudes can’t tell the difference.

Every joke about raping Sarah Palin or her daughter is a joke about raping you."

Strobist: Dustin Diaz's Daily Dose

David has a great interview with Dustin Diaz who is working on quite a project. Take a look...

Strobist: Dustin Diaz's Daily Dose:

"Light and Steady

First of all, Dustin is using much of his photo marathon to explore what he can do with flash. And while that sounds all laudable and romantic and stuff, I can tell you from experience that there is nothing like a long-term project to expose your 'camera expertise' as nothing more than a bag of tricks -- and a shallow bag of tricks at that.

At least that's been my experience when doing long-term projects. Which is exactly why you do them, of course -- to grow, practice, discover your limits and then expand them out of sheer necessity.

But Dustin has added another Strobist-friendly aspect to his daily grind: Lighting diagrams for many of his photos. That's right, not only is he shooting a lit photo a day, but he is also spelling out his techniques for anyone following along."

Complex and Sophisticated Lettering Designs Photoshop Tutorials

Complex and Sophisticated Lettering Designs Photoshop Tutorials:
"Lettering design is probably the area in which artists have most noticeable pushed Photoshop to the limits. Designers such as Tony Ariawan, Alex Beltechi, or Nik Ainley have been contributing lately to the Photoshop community with tutorials explaining how they create their excellent work of art.

This is a compilation of the best of lettering design tutorials created using Photoshop with the assistance, in some cases, of other illustration and 3d software."

How I Scared the Wits Out of a Copyright Infringer — and Why You Should, Too | Black Star Rising

I couldn't agree more.

How I Scared the Wits Out of a Copyright Infringer — and Why You Should, Too |Black Star Rising:

"In the 4th Century, Flavius Vegetius wrote: “If you want peace, you must prepare for war.” I couldn’t agree more."

It is no longer an option to sit idly by and have people take what is yours. It is not 'heavyhanded' to protect what is yours.

4 Nice way to Convert HTML to PDF Online | TutorialFeed

Very helpful information here.

4 Nice way to Convert HTML to PDF Online | TutorialFeed:
"Today I would like to share a some free online tools to convert HTML document into PDF. Using these free online tools you can publish your Web page as PDF instantly. All tools I have shared here do conversions online. You also don’t need to worry about the compatibility issues. Here's the following:"

So your bank account’s wiped out - Mark Steyn Opinion Top05 - Macleans.ca

So your bank account’s wiped out - Mark Steyn Opinion Top05 - Macleans.ca:

"Besides, in a society that’s all but eliminated the concept of moral hazard, who isn’t entitled to government largesse? The North American auto industry pays its workers so much that it’s unable to make a car at a price anyone’s prepared to pay for it. So naturally it’s been delivered into the corporate control of the very same unions who demanded those salaries. Under the hilarious Canadian bailout, “social justice” requires that auto workers who make $70 per hour be subsidized by taxpayers making less than a third thereof. If it’s unreasonable to expect a guy on 70 bucks an hour to make provision for lean times, why should anyone else?"

Free Hi-Res Old Grunge Paper Textures | fudgegraphics | for lovers

These are great for photographers.

Free Hi-Res Old Grunge Paper Textures | fudgegraphics | for lovers

Daily Show lets NYT tell us why they are irrelevant in their own words

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
End Times
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Newt Gingrich Unedited Interview

Raw Video: Cop Tasers 72 Year-Old Granny | Danger Room | Wired.com

Un-Fuking-Believable! This SOB tasers a little old lady. Fat fucker should be fired, then sued. Then sue the county. Then sue anyone who even looks like they would support this tub of glue. I hope he gets so sued that he eats his... sonofabitch. I used to respect these people. Friggin' hate them now. Gotta badge... kick some ass.

Raw Video: Cop Tasers 72 Year-Old Granny | Danger Room | Wired.com:
"But then you watch the video of what went down on that strip of Texas highway. And suddenly, the claims of the driver “refusing to move” and getting “violent” suddenly seem ridiculous. Because the driver is a 72 year-old great grandmother who barely makes it up to the cop’s chest. Take a look:"

From the "You can't make this stuff up" category.

Seriously. Kills the narrative, huh.

The Other McCain: Holocaust Museum shooter:<br>A journalism major?:

"The shooter has been unofficially identified James W. von Brunn, of Annapolis, Md.
The gun-battle occurred in the museum lobby and started when the attacker began shooting with a 'long gun,' said Sgt. David Schlosser.
Mr. von Brunn has a Web site holywesternempire.org that includes anti-Semitic and racial statements.
The site also states Mr. von Brunn has a journalism degree from a mid-Western university . . ."

Zen Photography Practice | New Horse Photography

Nice read. Read it all.

Zen Photography Practice | New Horse Photography:
"So, some days I choose not be lock-on, and other days it sneaks up on me. I forget this is my behavior, my nature until I see it happen within my relationships. I suppose we’re all capable of this behavior, to be too sensitive, or too intense… Something. My most inner climate is intense, full of rich colors, amazing shapes and contrast, juxtapositions and paradoxical ideas. Only when my guard is down do I see this manifest in my relationships… Maybe that too is becoming more authentic, which is my personal goal in life.

That is my goal in photography. To bring about my understanding of that most authentic and sincere moment, or characteristic in a person. That deep authenticity can be so fleeting that it is only a ripple under the skin, a passing emotion on the face. If I lose my vigilance I miss that moment. The thing is, I don’t try to be vigilant. I try NOT to be. Vigilance is my nature."

Salon Editor calls for an end to Free Speech which is strange because she is an editor and that means... well.. she's stupid?

Can right-wing hate talk lead to murder? - Joan Walsh

That is a good question. Does being utterly and most brutally stupid lead to an editor position? Does being a liar just come naturally to journalists? Do people like Joan Walsh feel guilty by taking up the space that could go to others with more abilities? Just wonderin'.

This hate-filled windbag certainly brings a whole new meaning to the word hypocriticalmoron... if that is indeed a word.

And by the way, we already know that left-wing hate kills. But they don't really care about anything but power. Stupid people with power. Just makes ya shudder, ya know.

Can right-wing hate talk lead to murder? - Joan Walsh - Salon.com:
"I was on 'Hardball' today talking about the climate of extreme right-wing rhetoric today, and whether it had anything to do with Wednesday's tragic shooting at Washington's Holocaust Museum, or the May 31 murder of Dr. George Tiller by an antiabortion crackpot."

WordPress › Blog » 2.8 Release Jazzes Themes and Widgets

Named for Chet Baker, the new release looks pretty cool. WordPress is becoming a real workhorse.

WordPress › Blog » 2.8 Release Jazzes Themes and Widgets:
"I’m very excited to announce to everyone that the latest and greatest version of WordPress, version 2.8 “Baker,” is immediately available for download. 2.8 represents a nice fit and finish release for WordPress with improvements to themes, widgets, taxonomies, and overall speed. We also fixed over 790 bugs. This release is named in honor of noted trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker. Here’s a quick video overview of everything in the new release:"

Plea to Sarah Palin

Please please do not go on this sonofabitches show. I am surprised that any women go on this hateful piece of shit's show, but then hating and abusing women is a staple of the Hollywood crowd.

Aging man, 62, jokes about girl, 14 (Letterman on Willow Palin) updated | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times: "Maybe it's just the tempting ratings window of no longer going up against NBC's Juggernaut Jay and being the also-ran of late-night television.

But CBS' David Letterman told a real howler on nationwide TV Monday night that drew gasps from some parents and now a scathing rebuttal from the nation's most famous pitbull hockey mom -- and dad."

Is Obama Crazy? Facts About Barack Obama - Esquire

You would be hard pressed to find a more stupid, ignorant, untruthful, lying piece of shit than Charles P. Pierce's tome. This spasm of writing makes a mockery of the entire thought process we call logic, coherence, and most of all truth. The fallacious thinking that is abundant in this tripe is testament to why we are starting to think of journalists as about even with car salesmen - and that is unfair to car salesmen. Go away moron, let someone who actually knows how to research and write try a shot at it.

Is Obama Crazy? Maybe... maybe not. But Pierce is most assuredly nuts.

Is Obama Crazy? Facts About Barack Obama - Esquire:
"What if he's crazy? Do we trust him, even though he's not talking amiably to the empty air? Are we comfortable having him around, even though he's the only one not playing with his toes in the punch bowl?"

The Top 10 Most Absurd Time Covers of The Past 40 Years: Mr. Luce's mag does satanism, porn, crack, Pokemon, and more! - Reason Magazine

Well, they left out the Ice Age one and the one about there not being a single square foot of space by 2005, but, yeah... they got a lot of them. Time Magazine... morons of the world unite.

The Top 10 Most Absurd Time Covers of The Past 40 Years: Mr. Luce's mag does satanism, porn, crack, Pokemon, and more! - Reason Magazine:
"As a service to future historians of the long, slow death of the newsweekly, Reason offers this Top 10 list of the most horrifying, silly, irresponsible, or downright ridiculous Time cover panics from the past 40 years."

Gotta Love Stock, man. And it is probably royalty free.

Heh. I mean, does this make Heofler a liar, or the people making the Expedition cheapasses? Who knows, maybe the guy makes all that money from selling BBQ shit.

I Caught Kevin Heoffer Barbecuing at Costco:
"Hey! Guess who I saw barbecuing at Costco? Kevin Heoffer!

Yeah, you know him. He pops up all the time, all over Facebook and SurftheChannel among other places, sharing his secret to magical internet riches working part time from home."

60+ Awesome Grunge Font That Every Designer Should Collect

Nice.

60+ Awesome Grunge Font That Every Designer Should Collect:
"Grunge and Dirty designs are probably the most popular design trends. Although grunge may means dirty to some people, but it is designer’s favorites. Today, we are going to share 65 Awesome Grunge Font that you probably want to collect."

What a day. Concept to Design to Shoot to Production... then dinner, late. but still - we got it out.

What a day. Concept to Design to Shoot to Production... then dinner, late. but still - we got it out., originally uploaded by Wizwow.

This was one of those days. From frantically finding props (sand volleyballs are everywhere, but this software is for court volleyball and they are a little harder to find), to design, copy, Photoshopping and Production. 8:30am to 8pm - now that's what I call gettin' 'er done.

I had a conference call and a lunch meeting to fit in... LOL. We are working on an editorial schedule so we don't have too many more of these days.

Barack Obama invokes Jesus more than George W. Bush - Eamon Javers - POLITICO.com

And yet... the people who attacked Bush for his "Radical Religious Fervor" are strangely silent. What's up with that. It's almost like they don't really have any core values, just go with 'their guy' no matter what. Nawww... couldn't be that... could it?

Barack Obama invokes Jesus more than George W. Bush - Eamon Javers - POLITICO.com:
"Obama’s invocation of the Christian Messiah is more overt than Americans heard in the public rhetoric of Bush in his time in the White House — even though Bush’s victories were powered in part by evangelical voters.

“I don’t recall a single example of Bush as president ever saying, ‘Jesus’ or ‘Christ,’” said Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Christian group Family Research Council. “This is different.”

To Perkins, Obama’s overtly Christian rhetoric is a welcome development from an administration that he largely disagrees with on the issues, though Perkins sees a political motive behind it, as well."

Retro-Styled Olympus Camera Photos Leaked | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

Well, this is the kind of stuff that is getting tweeted lately. One month old press releases.

Retro-Styled Olympus Camera Photos Leaked | Gadget Lab | Wired.com:
"That it follows the Pen’s stylings is significant, if only in nerdy kind of way. The MFT sensor is one half the size of a 35mm frame (and a slightly different shape, too). The Pen eked 72 shots out of a 36 exposure roll of 135 film by using the same trick. I’m pretty excited about this camera. If it can bring DSLR handling and image quality to a tiny package, it could be the Leica M of the 21st century, and as Olympus has a special event in London scheduled for June 25th, we may not have long to wait."

Another Young Wonderkind

17-Year-Old Thinks She's Getting Into Photography | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:
"EUGENE, OR—After wasting an afternoon taking pictures of a broken tricycle, moss on trees, and the shadow of a wrought-iron fence, Churchill Alternative High School senior Jessica Ivers falsely informed family and friends Saturday that she was getting into photography."

Yeah, the bailouts working fine.

Rasmussen Reports™: The Most Comprehensive Public Opinion Data Anywhere:
"The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 43% of current GM owners are not likely to buy another GM car, while 16% are not sure."

C-Ville: Features - Sylvia Plachy describes the photographer's art of imposing on her subjects

Steve Korn and I were discussing the difference between making and taking and this article came to mind.

C-Ville: Features - Sylvia Plachy describes the photographer's art of imposing on her subjects:

"Right. So that’s what this show is about. (Laughter) About how much photography is about waiting, and how much our lives are about waiting for the moment, or anything. You have to wait and wait and wait until something happens. And it is also, in a way, pushing yourself into the present, or pushing yourself into the texture of the room that you’re in, to understand the ghosts that speak to you from within. And that’s what I’m looking for."

I TAKE PHOTEES

Nice Work Indeed!

I TAKE PHOTEES:

Shot Laura earlier on today and I think she is so gorgeous!
Make Up by Kate O’Reilly
Hair by Aimee Murphy
Styled by Angela Scanlon

I was judging Miss Bondi on Friday which was fun.. was a bit wrecked as I hardly had any sleep the night before due to covering the Dan Deacon show which finished at 2.30am and then I couldn’t sleep cuz my ears were ringing so loud. Then I had to wake up at 7am for the Stellar beach shoot which was amazing and then back into town to judge Miss Bondi."

How to Stay Ahead of the Curve as a Designer

How to Stay Ahead of the Curve as a Designer:
"If you are anything like me, you can’t just stop at being a career designer. I want more… I am going to get more. I want to influence the design community as much as possible, I want to learn, and I want to change things. I want something more than just 9-5 until it is time to power down and retire. I have goals, I want to write, design, speak, help others get started, and I want to live fulfilled. So for those of us with drive, and passion staying ahead of the curve is very crucial to our success. It is not going to be easy, it is not going to come without failure."

Hardware Review: Sigma 18-250 | Canon Blogger

Hardware Review: Sigma 18-250 | Canon Blogger:
"The Sigma 18-250mm lens review! You read that right - Sigma has a lens that covers the range of 18-250. This allows you to go from relatively wide angle shots at the 18mm end to zooming pretty far in at 250mm on the opposite end. But, is the quality really there? I took the lens through its paces over the weekend and here’s what I found out about the Sigma 18-250!"

Oooh... the Government Shure Knoes how to handul stuff...

Just can't wait till they run the health system as well as they run, well, you know... prisons.

Prisoners Run Gangs, Plan Escapes and Even Order Hits With Smuggled Cellphones: "'I know your daughters' names,' said a nasal voice. 'I know how old they are. I know where they live.' Then the caller recited the young women's names, ages, and addresses. The senator, sitting at an antique rolltop desk in his Houston office, gripped the handset tighter."

The Visual Science Lab: More Stuff and Observations from the Hot Light Shoots

Check in with Kirk Tuck in Austin...

The Visual Science Lab: More Stuff and Observations from the Hot Light Shoots:

"...since the days of digital dug in and made life less profitable and more like working in a cubicle for most photographers."

Well, yeah Kirk, there is that.

Today is the Day! Girls of Rocky Point Calendar Now on Sale!

Today is the Day! Girls of Rocky Point Calendar Now on Sale!, originally uploaded by Alex Bussa Photography.

PHOTO BY ALEX BUSSA

The calendars are in. Wonderful photography all through it. You can see them at www.girlsofrockypoint.com. I did initial page design and Alex stepped up to work the calendar pages to a nice feel.

Thanks, Alex.

This is the lovely Jazmin. Alex's fiancey, a wonderful model and hopefully my interpreter on a trip to Spain we are working on. LE in Seville... yeah, baby.

Vanessa on the Beach: A Photoshop Tutorial on adding texture to a portrait

Vanessa on the Beach: A Photoshop Tutorial on adding texture to a portrait, originally uploaded by Wizwow.

A Photoshop Tutorial on adding textures to a portrait. The final image on Flickr. The Tutorial is here.

How To Light in Akron

How To Light, originally uploaded by TuttleImages.Com.

From the workshop there. Pretty fun, eh?

Gary Crabbe / Enlightened Images » Blog Archive » Thud; the sound a body makes…

Gary Crabbe / Enlightened Images » Blog Archive » Thud; the sound a body makes…:
"In a quote from the story, Fotolia’s North American President states, “There’s a lot of people out there where even $1 is too much for images.” Yep, that’s just the kind of market I want to target for the sales of my photogaphy. (read with: sarcasm) Are these people even called “customers” if they don’t ever have to buy from you?"

Proof of Concept - Applying what I learned

Proof of Concept - Applying what I learned, originally uploaded by TuttleImages.Com.

Frank took my workshop and had this to say...

It’s Not the Recession, You Just Suck

YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!! Here it is! Simply wonderful and dead freaking on. Yepperoo.

It’s Not the Recession, You Just Suck:

"Entrepreneurs are ruling this recession.

Why? Because they’re hungry and they’re motivated. That means they can’t spend their whole day getting caught in the fame game or in office politics. It means when they go to a conference or a networking event, they’re not there for the booze. They’re grabbing handfuls of business cards, talking to people, and then following up. And they don’t just say they’ll email you after the show. They really do. Actually, they email you as soon as they get home. They’re nurturing leads and finding clients and creating opportunities. They’re marketing themselves. They’re not tuning in to Oprah this afternoon to get Twitter tips from Ashton Kutcher."

Read the whole thing. The WHOLE thing.

30 Days to Become a Freelancer

Well this is very nice. Thanks for this well done post.

Skelliewag.org » Posts » 30 Days to Become a Freelancer:
"The format for this challenge was inspired by the excellent 31 Days to Build a Better Blog program, which concluded recently. I really like this approach because it offers concrete, practical steps with a measurable result. Sometimes ‘do this, do that’ advice is more useful than theory. My hope is that you can follow the steps here, putting one foot ahead of the other, and find yourself with a little freelance business at the end of the process!"

ProPhotoResource.com - Photography Websites: Myths and Truths about SEO

Nicely done article on the myths that cost photographers money. Lots of money. The SEO myths and the marketer's scams and the inability of designers to grasp the reality of the web.

ProPhotoResource.com - Photography Websites: Myths and Truths about SEO:

"What is it?
Searching for your name and finding your website is not SEO. Why? Because if someone already knows your name, they probably know how to find you. The point of SEO is unsolicited web traffic. For example, you might want your website to be the first result for “Chicago wedding photographer” or “grand canyon aerial image.”

SEO is a technique for ranking higher in web searches, and there are many different factors that go into improving your SEO. There are “on-page” factors like ensuring that you have unique and descriptive page titles, or relevant keywords in your content and website meta data. There are also “off-page” factors like the number of people that link to your website. You can work towards building these factors over time to increase your visibility and ranking in search engines."

ProPhotoResource.com - Maximizing A Minimalist Approach

Wow. I got a featured slot on ProPhotoResource. That's pretty cool.

ProPhotoResource.com - Maximizing A Minimalist Approach:
"I start each shot with decisions based on what I want to say about the subject. What do I want the image to convey? What will the result be. And at this stage of shooting, many of my post decisions are made before the setup begins. I see the image presentation in my head. What it looks like as a print. This pre visualization starts the process of deciding what the light will be. If I have limited myself to minimal gear, I will find the ways to make it work.

BTW, one of the things I see that hampers young photographers is the 'Can't do that' of forced stagnation. You know what I mean... 'I cain't do that because I only have one light.' 'I cain't do that because I only have 6 lights, and I need 7.' 'I don't have the newest camera and it has this thing that I need, so I cain't do that.' There are so many difficulties in the creative process. Placing arbitrary complications just slows us down. Of course you can't do everything you may want to do, but with minimal gear you can make photographs. And capture portraits. And have fun."