Without Comment

American Thinker Blog: Obama's revealing body language (updated and expanded)):

"In my own dealings with the wealthy and powerful, I have always found that the way to quickly capture the moral essence of a person is to watch how they treat those who are less powerful. Do they understand that the others are also human beings with feelings? Especially when they think nobody is looking."

Mysteriously High Tides on East Coast Perplex Scientists | Wired Science | Wired.com

Wow... they don't know why the tides are high, but they are damned certain that the globe is warming... or not.

Face it... the planet does a lot of things we mere mortals don't understand.

Mysteriously High Tides on East Coast Perplex Scientists | Wired Science | Wired.com:

"“The ocean is dynamic. It’s not uncommon to have anomalies like this but the breadth and the intensity and duration were unique,” said Mike Szabados, director of the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s tide and current program.

The unexpected tidal surge is subsiding, has reduced its reach from the entire coast, and is now concentrated just in the mid-Atlantic states.

NOAA is rushing to study the data in an effort to understand what happened. Szabados’ office is already putting the finishing touches on a report that will be released next month on the wind and current patterns that appear to be correlated with the tidal surge.

Szabados said that two main factors appear to have contributed to the extra high tides. First, there were steady winds out of the northeast throughout this anomaly. Second, the ocean current running from Florida up along the coast weakened. While the associations between these phenomena and the tides are provocactive, it’s too early to tell how fully they explain this unexpected tidal event."

LE Pick of the Day: 7:31:09

PHOTOGRAPHER: CHRIS BOHNHOFF

Chris Bohnhoff
http://www.chrisbohnhoff.com/

Chris will be featured on Lighting Essentials, Monday, August 3.
Watch for it. Very talented photographer and a very good interview.

Don Giannatti: Designer / Photographer / Writer
 www.lighting-essentials.com / www.learntolight.com

Posted via email from Lighting Essentials Pick of the Day

Mexican Cigar Store

I love the patina of this hand-painted wall and the carved wood. Knick-knacks are on a handcarved table.

Don Giannatti: Designer / Photographer / Writer
www.dongiannatti.com / www.lighting-essentials.com / www.learntolight.com / 602 434 1765

Posted via email from Now This is Cool...

White House reviewing 'cash for clunkers' program - Yahoo! Finance

Uh, couple of questions...

1. How could something you planned on running to November take only 3 days to wipe it out? Was the 'planning' something that someone actually did? What will happen to those who 'planned' so poorly. Unbelievably poorly. Understanding the market and possibilities for challenges from a variety of circumstances is marketing 101, folks. So... how does this happen. Ignorance? Stupidity? Mismanagement? Simple Incompetence?

2. What about all the car manufacturers who were promised this thing would last for a duration of time? They are spending millions of dollars in ad buys to help you and your program. The one you just canceled... because you can. They, however, cannot cancel their ad buys - did you even consider that? - and now ads will continue to play as the program has been suspended or not suspended or sort-of suspended...

3. Can we expect any of this incredible dysfunction to be visible in the Health Care debacle? Whether it is suspended or not (just heard that they de-suspended it on the radio... Seems they cannot figure out how the booorokrats can keep going without fucking it up totally...) So now we do not really know if it is or is not suspended. In CA, they are having people sign IOU's in case the Gubment defaults on the program that may or may not be suspended.

OMG, people, the massive incompetence of this gang is remarkable and frightening.

White House reviewing 'cash for clunkers' program - Yahoo! Finance:

"WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House said Thursday it was reviewing what has turned out to be a wildly popular 'cash for clunkers' program amid concerns the $1 billion budget for rebates for new auto purchases may have been exhausted in only a week.

Transportation Department officials called lawmakers' offices earlier Thursday to alert them of plans to suspend the program as early as Friday. But a White House official said later the program had not been suspended and officials there were assessing their options.

'We are working tonight to assess the situation facing what is obviously an incredibly popular program,' White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said of the Car Allowance Rebate System. 'Auto dealers and consumers should have confidence that all valid CARS transactions that have taken place to date will be honored.'

Gibbs said the administration was 'evaluating all options' to keep the program funded."

Now Why In the World Would They Do That?

Bush's 'Culture of Corruption' is gone, so shedding some light on these records - easily gotten, mind you - shouldn't reveal any wrong doing. Should it? I mean... transparency and the most ethical congress ever and such... ya know.

I just don't get it... (walks away shaking head...) Oh, and if you are a supporter of the Democrats, just tell me why a little nosing around wouldn't be a good thing... or even a neutral thing? If there's, uh, nothing to hide....

Democrat resists subpoenaing VIP mortgage records:

"WASHINGTON (AP) - House Democrats have declined to subpoena available records that might reveal whether other members of Congress got discounted VIP mortgages from subprime lender Countrywide Financial Corp. similar to the sweetheart deals given Democratic Sens. Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad.

Republicans say they are willing to risk that the records now held by Bank of America may show that GOP lawmakers were also 'friends of Angelo' who got preferential terms on personal mortgages at the behest of then-Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo.

Countrywide, after losing billions of dollars on defaulted subprime loans that triggered last year's financial crisis and the consequent recession, was taken over by Bank of America a year ago."

Portrait from Chicago Workshop

I used a shower curtain to camera right and a fill reflector to camera right. Shower curtain was lit with a speedlight, and there is a speedlight behind her aiming at the wall about 18" from the wall.

This one with the damn picture... sheesh.

Don Giannatti: Designer / Photographer / Writer
www.dongiannatti.com / www.lighting-essentials.com / www.learntolight.com / 602 434 1765

Posted via email from Now This is Cool...

PDNPulse: Another Big Get For Demotix: Henry Louis Gates Arrest Photo

So it isn't microstock. And it isn't a photoservice. More like a gateway between citizen journalists and the MSM? This is really interesting.

PDNPulse: Another Big Get For Demotix: Henry Louis Gates Arrest Photo:

"We were skeptical when Demotix launched last December. Trying to profit from citizen journalism seemed like a lost cause. Most amateur shooters lucky enough to get a hot news photo were more interested in sharing it as broadly as possible than licensing it, and turned to services like Flickr and Twitpic. Getty Images' citizen photojournalism service Scoopt shut down two months after Demotix launched."

Check out the Update there. Photographer has earned $2K so far.

Forget the comments. Those folks are far too friggin' stupid to be believed.

Demotix is here.

5 Ways to Market Your Blog With Twitter | Self-Promotion | Tutorial Blog

5 Ways to Market Your Blog With Twitter | Self-Promotion | Tutorial Blog:

"It’s no surprise that Twitter has quickly risen in popularity among social networks. Few national and local newscasts can go an episode without mentioning the powerful tool. It’s almost become a competition to see who can gain the most followers or who can follow the most celebrities."

Movie/record industry rep says that you shouldn't expect to be able to play your media for as long as you own it - Boing Boing

Oh Goodie. This will fly well.

My books will self destruct? My albums will die?
We let them move off of vinyl and now this?
Talk about rewriting the history of my right to own an album or CD or book or magazine?

I really gotta say, this is the kind of stupid that just makes you laugh. Right after you throw up on your shoes. You know, maybe these people should worry about making content people would want to keep longer than a year. Movies suck. Pop music sucks. TV sucks... This asswipe sucks.

I need some happy banjo music now...

Movie/record industry rep says that you shouldn't expect to be able to play your media for as long as you own it - Boing Boing:

"'We reject the view,' he writes in a letter to the top legal advisor at the Copyright Office, 'that copyright owners and their licensees are required to provide consumers with perpetual access to creative works. No other product or service providers are held to such lofty standards. No one expects computers or other electronics devices to work properly in perpetuity, and there is no reason that any particular mode of distributing copyrighted works should be required to do so.'"

9 Ways to Pump Up You, the Brand

This is pretty cool. Nice short post with lots of good ideas.

9 Ways to Pump Up You, the Brand:

"Personal branding reflects how you represent yourself in the digital world from both a personal and business view. I believe that in this social media age everyone — from high school graduates to established professionals — needs to pay attention to his or her personal brand. Here are some tips for pumping up your image and improving your branding online."

LE Pick of the Day: 7:30:09

Gregory Heisler
http://www.gregoryheisler.com/

I have been such a fan of Greg's work for years. His miner shots were one of the most memorable set of images I have ever seen.

Take a look at Heisler's work and see how he creates more than a portrait, more than a picture. From lighting to composition, Heisler's images are sublime.

www.lighting-essentials.com

Don Giannatti: Designer / Photographer / Writer
www.dongiannatti.com / www.lighting-essentials.com / www.learntolight.com / 602 434 1765

Posted via email from Lighting Essentials Pick of the Day

Well... I am shocked. Shocked I tell you!

Hmmmm... Well so far it has been a calamity enough that two of my Bush hating friends were wishing W was back. Yeah... it's getting that bad.

Obama and Race - Is Obama Black Enough? - Esquire:

"Nobody wants to hear it, but this fact is too important to ignore: So far, the first African-American presidency has been one of the worst ever for African-Americans. The economic crisis has predominantly hit non-white working class men; the collapse of the auto industry is threatening to destroy the basis of the Midwestern black middle class. Key matters for African-Americans languish — the overincarceration of young black men that makes a mockery of American justice being the number one example. Government aid? That goes to bankers in Connecticut. If the President were white, there would be riots. In this contradictory atmosphere — pregnant with the tension between symbolism and reality — the Henry Louis Gates Jr. scandal has landed with a force out of all proportion to what may or may not have happened in Cambridge. While the bizarre story of his arrest in his own home may seem like an anomaly, it has emerged from a deep national confusion evident everywhere in popular culture. Call it the Obama Discrepancy: Race is much less prominent as a subject while its effects are no less toxic."

Shoe Bomber Richard Reid Sues to Resume Jihad from Prison - WSJ.com

Oh Goodie...

Burlingame: Shoe Bomber Richard Reid Sues to Resume Jihad from Prison - WSJ.com:

"What drove the Obama administration’s decision to cave in to Reid’s demands? The president after all has repeatedly pitched supermax and the federal prison system as a secure alternative to Guantanamo, citing the fact that it handles “all manner of violent and dangerous criminals.” Yet the last thing he needs, as his administration engages in its hasty effort to shut Gitmo down by a fast-approaching deadline, is for lawyers and human-rights activists to use a hunger-striking, near-death prisoner to launch a propaganda campaign fashioned right out of the Gitmo detainees’ playbook. Lawyers who shamelessly compared Gitmo to Nazi concentration camps would think nothing of casting supermax as the next “symbol of America’s shame” and a “rallying cry for our enemies.”"

Doing the Math

It was released yesterday that Arizona spends $7000 per student per year.

So let's run some numbers:

30 kids X $7k = $210,000 per classroom.

Let's back out $40K for the teacher.

New total: $170K

$10K per classroom for maintenance.

New total: $160K

Let's back out $20K for utilities per classroom.

That leaves $140K.

Let's take $20K for each classroom for bureaucratic whatever.

That leaves $120K for the balance.

Say I am a little light above, so we will take another $50K for the incidentals.

That leaves $70K per classroom in funding.

Seventy Thousand Dollars. $70,000.

Where is all the money? The schools want the parents to buy pencils and paper for the classroom. Teachers have to buy their own supplies.

Hell... let's say that I am still too high and cut my $70K in half.

That still leaves $35K per classroom for pencils and paper and paperclips.

So again I ask... Where is the money going. If it takes that much to barely run a school... $210K per classroom becomes barely enough to cover costs, then we have a huge, fat problem people.

That is insane.

I would love for somebody to tell me why in hell it costs that much for the bureaucracy instead of the kids.

I am waiting....

Polaroid Photographers Plead Their Case - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

Heh... NYT doesn't want me to blog this, but I think it is pretty cool.

Polaroid Photographers Plead Their Case - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

Why Email Marketing is Dead (And How to Bring it Back to Life) | Copyblogger

Yeah... and read the whole thing folks.

Why Email Marketing is Dead (And How to Bring it Back to Life) | Copyblogger:

"Most bulk email is selfish

Most marketing is self-centered, bragging about how terrific the business is instead of focusing obsessively on what the customer feels, wants, and needs.

My email content (like my blog content, my Twitter content, and any white papers, special reports, or autoresponders I create) is all about the reader. I give lots of advice, links (and not only to my own stuff), and useful information. Once I sent my readers a recipe for chocolate cream pie.

Do I promote? Absolutely. And when I do, it’s effective. But promotion is about 5% of what I do. The other 95% of the time, I’m giving value and solid information."

Pick of the Day: 7:29:09

Thomas Spiessens
http://www.opcd.net/

I love this guy! Great work.
Fresh and fun.
This capture I would love to hang on my wall.

Visit his site and see some great stuff.

Don Giannatti: Designer / Photographer / Writer
www.dongiannatti.com / www.lighting-essentials.com / www.learntolight.com / 602 434 1765

Posted via email from Lighting Essentials Pick of the Day

Rep. Richardson's Sacramento home is focus of House ethics probe - Los Angeles Times

What? Took it back? What? Still in default? What?

Rep. Richardson's Sacramento home is focus of House ethics probe - Los Angeles Times:

"The Office of Congressional Ethics contacted real estate investor James York, who bought Richardson's house at a foreclosure auction last year, only to have Washington Mutual take it back after he had recorded the deed and return the house to the congresswoman."

45 Cool Vintage Collages | Designfeed.me (Beta)

Collage has always interested me. These are pretty cool.

45 Cool Vintage Collages | Designfeed.me (Beta):

"I really love vintage styled images and I love it when people do unconventional things with it, like cut out animal heads and put it on human bodies and just experiment with cut outs in general."

Kassi in the studio.

Kassi in the studio., originally uploaded by Wizwow.

Black and white glossy look.

MORON!!!! Well, here is another reason that news is having problems...

Totally clueless, elitist newsperson who believes she is ever so much better than the people she is covering. A profanity laced blog about how the people she works with are so below her amazingly east coast breeding. Of course, below the thin veneer of class is a POS of monumental proportions. Hey, pig, NPR will pick you up.

Blogger ignites firestorm in Dillingham, leaves her job: Western Alaska | adn.com:

"Partly out of boredom, she started blogging last year. Unlike many bloggers, Goode didn't write daily updates. She took long breaks from writing, and when she did write, the posts were lengthy, profane and often bizarre stream-of-consciousness essays. Topics ranged from 'Battlestar Galactica' to the misery of early morning radio shifts to a surreal 5,000-word rant about whether she should cut her toe off."

Assholes in Training. Lawyers who are too sensitive to hear opposing ideas.

I guess their little, fragile minds would be challenged by someone who thinks something different. They just want their Starbucks and their partnerships. Screw the concept of freedom of speech. That seems so lame when you go to, you know, law skool.

I wonder if these cretins will cry academic freedom about someone else? And before anyone thinks I support this woman's thoughts about Homosexuality, you are wrong. I am against not hearing what people have to say. Those are called ideas. Right ones and wrong ones. How do we discern what right ones are if we are not aware of the wrong ones. You think a fucking law school would understand that.

Hey, skidmarks, how will you successfully defeat this thinking if you don't know what it is? Huh? Can't hear you, moron.

And these people think they are so amazingly smart.

Asswipes on the toiletbowl of freedom.

Law Students Flunk Academic Freedom 101 - Wendy Kaminer:

"The refusal of law students even to hear opposing views, reflecting opposing moral codes, is particularly worrisome. I wouldn't want one of these future lawyers ever advocating for me. They're unlikely to learn how to argue effectively if they limit their law school debates to matters about which only presumptively reasonable people disagree. Uniformity of opinion breeds complacency, close-mindedness, and a tendency to mistake attitudes for arguments."

Lots of people talking about MicroStock these days...

... and some are thinking that MS and its payout of pennies and dollars will somehow play itself into some kind of income, I offer this. Selling your own work to buyers is the best way go. Back to one-to-one marketing.

NOTE:
In the comments there are red-herring cautions about 'spending hours a day on SEO". Sorry. That is a red herring for sure. It doesn't take hours a day to do it. Takes minutes, if that, An hour a week would be fine for a photographer. To create a giant monster (SEO) in one's mind, then run from it as a potential problem is definitely not going to help anyone.

A Photo Editor - Selling Stock Independently:

"The big hurdle of course is figuring out how to get your material in front of buyers if you’re not 3 of the most famous wildlife photographers in the world. PS has a Q&A with photographer Randy Santos, who now makes a living independently licensing his images as stock (here). He uses SEO and direct marketing to reach potential buyers. Here’s his tips from the piece on how to sell stock independently:"

Tests Indicate Ogilvy’s Old-School Layout Still a Winner | FutureNow's GrokDotCom / Marketing Optimization Blog

YESSSSS! For the Win! This is my way of doing ads. I have always done it. It is REAL, and it works.

Tests Indicate Ogilvy’s Old-School Layout Still a Winner | FutureNow's GrokDotCom / Marketing Optimization Blog:

"Human nature hasn’t changed and neither have the priorities required for successfully conveying your message.

Ogilvy on Advertising-1Contrary to common opinion, David Ogilvy didn’t have a preference for long copy.

What he had was an overwhelming bias towards anything that had been proven to work (which included long copy). Ogilvy’s real, professed preferences were for consumer testing, research-driven techniques, and performance-based advertising in the truest sense of the term."

Pick of the Day: 7:28:09

http://danzoubek.de/
Dan Zoubek

Dan's work knocks me out. Interesting website design, even though it is the dreaded Flash interface.
I like how the images are shown is sets, or projects, or jobs. I can see how he approaches multiple shot jobs.

His lighting is wonderful. Lots of action in the model work. I love how the models seem to be so free, with the camera as an afterthought.

Nice work.

Don Giannatti: Designer / Photographer / Writer
www.dongiannatti.com / www.lighting-essentials.com / www.learntolight.com / 602 434 1765

Posted via email from Lighting Essentials Pick of the Day

Massive Compilation of Designer Tools | Webdesigner Depot

This is way, way too cool. You will want to bookmark this site.

Massive Compilation of Designer Tools | Webdesigner Depot:

"Web designers have a wealth of tools available to them, for doing everything from organizing their thoughts about a particular design to debugging the final design.

But with so many tools out there, how do you ever determine which ones are really useful and which ones are just going to waste your time?

We’ve compiled a massive list of some of the best and most useful tools out there for web designers."

A Photoshop Tutorial on Creating an Antique Look for Digital Images

I have a full tutorial at the LE site on how to create an Antique Look for your images.
There are many ways to do it. This way is mine. Every layer can be tweaked for additional changes to the final image.

http://www.lighting-essentials.com/create-an-antique-camera-look-for-your-images-photoshop-tutorial/

I hope you enjoy the Tutorial.

Image was taken in Mexico last April during an LE workshop.

Don Giannatti: Designer / Photographer / Writer
www.dongiannatti.com / www.lighting-essentials.com / www.learntolight.com / 602 434 1765

Posted via email from Now This is Cool...

Sigh... well, words fail me now...

Riehl World View: Gates Revises Tax Return Based On Blog Post

Pic of the Day

http://www.kallegustafsson.com/

This is very fresh work. The lighting runs from subtle to strong, but the vision is organized and exciting.

This shot has so many great things in it. The reflection on the glass, the gestures of the models, the natural feel of the light as it plays on hair and faces.
Each girl seems to be in her own world, and yet they are totally in sync with each other.

Nicely done.

Lighting Essentials is a place to learn photography and lighting.
We choose an image each day for fun.

Don Giannatti: Designer / Photographer / Writer
www.dongiannatti.com / www.lighting-essentials.com / www.learntolight.com / 602 434 1765

Posted via email from Lighting Essentials Pick of the Day

Yeay. this is cool!

Cape photographer scratches for $1G — then for $1M! - BostonHerald.com:

"A sleepy Fall River man went out for a Red Bull at a local shop early yesterday morning for a little pick-me-up and came back pumped up by a million bucks."

73 Ways to Become a Better Writer | Copyblogger

This is a great little article for those of us who are using words, to... uh, say... stuff.

73 Ways to Become a Better Writer | Copyblogger:

"I think there is one guaranteed winner among the seventy-two suggestions - blogging. Writing a blog is an amazing way to sharpen one’s skills. As bloggers we have to produce words daily - even when we don’t feel like it. And we get instant feed-back through comments. As Leo Babauta points out in his inspiring story How I got 100,000 Subscribers: Lessons from Zen Habits, it’s the readers that help us improve."

Gotta read the whole thing!

Richelle with Beauty Dish

Richelle was my subject for some testing with the Kacey Beauty Dish and a speedlight. The dish is so well constructed and light efficient that it amazed me. Not only with the quality of light, but the power as well. I will have some more to share about this wonderful light modifier soon. I used some "antique" Photoshop manipulations to create the old-time look to the image.

Don Giannatti: Designer / Photographer / Writer
www.dongiannatti.com / www.lighting-essentials.com / www.learntolight.com / 602 434 1765

Chat Y! messenger: dgiannatti Skype: wizwow AIM: wizwow Google Talk: don.giannatti

Contact Me LinkedinFacebookFlickrTwitter

--- @ WiseStamp Signature. Get it now

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gallery sale $400, stock photo sale 30 cents. Why? because they can !

When one has no historical perspective... no context in which to consider his own work, we have this. To find the flaws in this photographer's thought process one would have to go way back. This is not what "Stock Photographers" ever did? They charged real money for their work. Because it is worth real money. Some folks, like this photographer, have no historical perspective on what the pricing has been, or the context in which a single image can be used to sell millions of dollars of product... he just doesn't.

gallery sale $400, stock photo sale 30 cents. Why? because they can !:

"This profound answer made me think about our 'career' as stock photographers."

Profound? Dude, that isn't profound, that is business. And as for a "career" shooting images for Thirtyfriggincents... well, as I said. It's business. Cost factors. Cash flow. Value of the product. Market valuation. Perceived versus real value. Sheesh... Business!

"We have heard that during this recession, no one has the money to pay us the highest price of stock photography. Yet, someone just paid this lady $400 for her photograph. There is a recession here in my city as well, and the couple I am sure is not an alien who is immuned to the recession."

The "highest prices of stock photography"? What? Like a dollar? I never made a sale under $400 with a little known stock agency. As a designer I have paid thousands, and in one case $11,000 for an image as a buyout for a company's advertisement. They spent $3 million in advertising placement, so the image itself was a tiny part of that cost.

Thirty fuckin' cents? To cover the cost of a cheapass lens you gotta sell 2000 images. WTF?

I really am not right for this stuff. Foolish people and foolish endeavors leave me speechless sometimes,

How to ruin a professional agitation group’s day. - Moe_Lane’s blog - RedState

Heh.

How to ruin a professional agitation group’s day. - Moe_Lane’s blog - RedState

But... This is Hope and Change

We will have none of this constitutional crap that gets in the way of power. The constitution is an old document written by old people a long time ago. this is the New America... We do things different in these parts, stranger.

Just seems like good old Chicago politics come down home to Baton Rouge.

The Old River Road:

"But this is America -- the right to freedom of speech doesn't diminish as the size of the crowd increases."

Next Time Someone Says "Could We..."

Well, yes. You can.


Hologram. Took about $100K to produce.

Initial Designs for Jeanne's CD

These are looking good.
I will have to do some tweaking with size issues, but Jeanne liked them.

Album (CD) is due to be released very soon.

Not my photography. Photographer is credited.

--don

Don Giannatti: Designer / Photographer / Writer
www.dongiannatti.com / www.lighting-essentials.com / www.learntolight.com / 602 434 1765

Chat Y! messenger: dgiannatti Skype: wizwow AIM: wizwow Google Talk: don.giannatti

Contact Me LinkedinFacebookFlickrTwitter

--- @ WiseStamp Signature. Get it now

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Richelle in the Studio.

Richelle in the Studio., originally uploaded by Wizwow.

OMG. We're Screwed!

The Associated Press: Lobbyists the silver lining in health care storm?:

"This time, the health care industry groups see a strategic opportunity. As lawmakers squabble, the groups are focused on how to come out ahead in the end game."

"... come out ahead in the end game."

Uh... what's that mean? Who? Ahead of What?

Game? Now it's a GAME?

I'm shocked... Shocked I Tell You

I thought lobbyists were, you know, bad. So now they're not bad? Or only partially bad? Or bad only when they are on the other side? Or bad because they do stuff?

Man... this 'nuance' thing is getting tough to follow.

TheHill.com - White House eases stimulus lobbyist restrictions:

"In a significant change, the Obama administration will now allow lobbyists to meet and have telephonic discussions with government officials regarding economic recovery projects.

The lifting of the ban comes after K Street has cried foul for months and has challenged the White House on its restrictions.

In March, President Obama announced that government officials would not be allowed to consider the views of lobbyists regarding specific stimulus projects unless the requests are put in writing. The materials also had to be posted on an agency’s website within three business days of receipt. Lobbyists have said that the policy was one more example of the administration's disdain for their industry."

40+ Beautiful Examples of Paper Websites Design | Naldz Graphics

This is a nice list. Well done.

Naldz Designs

"A Paper Web Design concept is also one of the hottest trend right now on the net. In Continuation of showcasing some of the most inspiring web designs, here is a collection of 40+ Beautiful Examples of Paper Websites Design. This list are some of the coolest websites using paper as a part of the design."

Oh, that compassionate left.

So Germaine Greer wants them dead. And since when is it not OK to be gay? Talk about a fuckin' homophobe. Hey, Waldemar, we have moved way past that archaic, hate-filled, bullshit of worrying about people's sexuality. Haven't we, you dim witted twit? Art critics? These two (Greer and Januswhatthefuckever) sound like homophobic, neurotic, purveyors of hate speech.

Won't anyone do anything about such loathesome hate? Anybody?

Hellooooo?

Eccentric duo wear their obsessive art on patriotic sleeves - Arts - smh.com.au:

"But both feel underappreciated by the critical establishment and what George describes as 'the Left-leaning broadsheet press'. They were wounded greatly when Germaine Greer concluded a savage attack on their work by writing that the only way they could complete their oeuvre satisfactorily was 'by dying - in unison'. Then the British art critic Waldemar Januszczak offended them by describing them not as living sculptures but 'two fruity gays in suits'."

I guess some things are simply allowed when you are on the 'correct' side of the aisle. Hate filled wishing of death on someone else because they are gay. Yeah... got it.

Fuck You homophobic haters.

Someone had to say it... even if they aren't on the left.

Get Creative With Your Domain Name | How-To | Smashing Magazine

Get Creative With Your Domain Name | How-To | Smashing Magazine:

"Choosing a domain name for a new client is a difficult task. Domain names are the crux of a website’s existence. A bad name can create a negative impact on branding and the ability to strengthen the domain value. A good domain name is essentially priceless (tacky but true) in name, branding, ease of understanding, and catchiness."

Time Magazine Must Be Low On Funds

They got an image off of iStock for $12 and ran it on the cover of their rag. Hey, next time someone tells you that Time Magazine's art department thinks this, or we are gonna listen to this guy because he is the Time Magazine Art Director... just remember this. Now... he coulda got this shot for a few hundred bucks... but he decided to go with RF, not just RF, though... micro stock.

Oh, I'm sure we could hear about how sophisticated he is and how the image was a perfect match and how it doesn't really matter who shot it if it tells the story.

Yeah. I'll shoot the next Man of the Year for you guys... Free. I'm sure there are hundreds of others who would do it as well. But.... Well, we'll see.

Maybe there will be a free shot over at StockXchange or iStock that'll work for you.

Personally, I stopped buying the magazine when it stopped being a source of news. Now, I will actively campaign for others to stop buying it because it has become a joke.

color correction for images in Firefox 3.5 at hacks.mozilla.org

color correction for images in Firefox 3.5 at hacks.mozilla.org:

"Most images on the web are untagged. If you don’t know the difference between tagged images and untagged images the odds are good are you won’t notice this change. However, we suggest that you read on to learn about what it might mean for you if you want to include them and how future Firefox releases might change the interactions between CSS colors and images."

I Encourage Photographers to Photograph Projects

Now this is a project. Someone we never knew bec0mes someone we feel we know. Through photographs. Only photographs. How's that for powerful?

mental_floss Blog » He Took a Polaroid Every Day, Until the Day He Died:

"Yesterday I came across a slightly mysterious website — a collection of Polaroids, one per day, from March 31, 1979 through October 25, 1997. There’s no author listed, no contact info, and no other indication as to where these came from. So, naturally, I started looking through the photos. I was stunned by what I found."

Twitter 101 for Business — A Special Guide

Very darn cool. Nicely written and explained guide to Twitter.

Twitter 101 for Business — A Special Guide:

"When people working in the Empire State Building twittered that they were craving ice cream delivery, New York local chain Tasti D Lite was there to listen and meet their need. When electronics buyers look for good deals, the Dell Outlet Twitter account helps them save money with exclusive coupons. When Houston's coffee drinkers decide where to get their daily dose, many choose Coffee Groundz, which lets them order via Twitter. Read on to learn what Twitter is and to get detailed examples of how companies are using it. On these pages, we’ll also reveal how Twitter can help your business right now."

USA TODAY columnist raises some hackles with Erin Andrews tweet - Game on - USATODAY.com

Cool. Liberal columnist blames woman who was harassed and sexually exploited. "She was askin' fer it. Gettin' all fancied up and tryin' to look good. Them boys jes actin' nachul. Dat bitch done got whut fer. It's her damn spot, the whore."

Thanks for clearing up how far the women's movement has come, Christine.

Pig.

USA TODAY columnist raises some hackles with Erin Andrews tweet - Game on - USATODAY.com: "The controversy over the videotaping of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews in her hotel room, has ricocheted around the internet in every form.

ESPN has banned anyone from the New York Post from appearing on the network after the paper ran Andrews photos.

USA TODAY columnist Christine Brennan has gotten a strong reaction to her postings on her Twitter account with the tweets linked to Facebook.

Tweeted Brennan:

"Women sports journalists need to be smart and not play to the frat house. There are tons of nuts out there.

Erin Andrews incident is bad, but to add perspective: there are 100s of women sports journalists who have never had this happen to them." "

POS Op-Ed Columnist - Just Do It - NYTimes.com

Thomas Friedman, Really Really Really Rich White Guy... doesn't want anyone to ever equal his way of life. He wants his opulence to himself. Do as I say, Not as I do.

"Control those costs, peons. I, Thomas Friedman, have declared that really rich people cause too much carbon. This shall not stand. I care about the land. The world. I am a sensitive, really really really rich white guy and the thought that anyone of - well - lesser upbringing than I would ever be able to live like I do... is - damn it - repulsive to me."

Op-Ed Columnist - Just Do It - NYTimes.com:

"Why? Because, for all its flaws, this bill is the first comprehensive attempt by America to mitigate climate change by putting a price on carbon emissions. Rejecting this bill would have been read in the world as America voting against the reality and urgency of climate change and would have undermined clean energy initiatives everywhere.

More important, my gut tells me that if the U.S. government puts a price on carbon, even a weak one, it will usher in a new mind-set among consumers, investors, farmers, innovators and entrepreneurs that in time will make a big difference — much like the first warnings that cigarettes could cause cancer. The morning after that warning no one ever looked at smoking the same again."

Otherwise... how would you explain this?

POS Thomas "Really Really Really Rich White Guy" Friedman lives here.

On an OP-Ed writer's salary? Particularly one who can't, well, write all that good.

;-)

Sigh: Another Reason I Do No Support Universities

The simple intellectual crap that is being taught in the Universities is amazing. However, I have seen it most of my life. This Gates guy is no genius, no heavy thinker. Just a hater living on the pains of the past. People like him will NEVER let the problems of the past go. Ever. They make money out of it, they get power from it. Money and power... yes, that is something that crosses all boundaries. Even racial ones.

Question:
Women's Groups; If the man of the house is screaming for the cops to get out of the house, everything is alright... is that alright with you?
Children's Advocates; The man of the house tells the cops and the social workers that everything is fine... get the hell out. They should leave?
Do you really think it would make any difference what color the skin was of the 'man of the house'?
What if a white man had told a black police officer to get out of his house, everything was fine and after all, he knew what "you people" do and think? That OK with you too?

Or is it just because the guy teaches at Harvard that he should get a pass? Would a white professor yelling racial stereotypes at a black police officer cool now... cause, you know, he is a Harvard professor?

Of course not.

Patterico’s Pontifications » The Officer Didn’t Stereotype Henry Louis Gates — Henry Louis Gates Stereotyped the Officer: "

And in apologizing for Gates, black firebrands and white liberals patronizingly excuse techniques of stereotyping that they would condemn in a racist.

Form an image of a racist in your mind: someone who watches a TV report about a crime committed by a black person, and says: “I’m not surprised. That’s how black people are: they’re all criminals.” Is this racist attitude justified if the racist says:

I’m sorry I have this bad attitude about black people, but I have seen and heard bad things about black people all my life. I know they commit a lot of crimes, and in fact, I have been robbed by three separate black people in my life.

Now, form an image in your mind of a black person who watches a TV report about police brutality, and says: “I’m not surprised. That’s how those white cops are: they’re all racists.” Is this attitude justified if the black person says:

I’m sorry I have this bad attitude about white cops, but I have seen and heard bad things about white cops all my life. I know they hassle black people, and in fact, I have been mistreated by three separate white people in my life"

AP Fights Hard for Extinction - or at Least Irrelvance

Unlike the AP itself, you can't make this stuff up. Striving to make themselves disappear, the AP simply has no clue. Just remember that when you read articles about anything they write. They aren't even aware of their own stupidity.

A.P. Cracks Down on Unpaid Use of Articles on Web - NYTimes.com:

"Taking a new hard line that news articles should not turn up on search engines and Web sites without permission, The Associated Press said Thursday that it would add software to each article that shows what limits apply to the rights to use it, and that notifies The A.P. about how the article is used.

Tom Curley, The A.P.’s president and chief executive, said the company’s position was that even minimal use of a news article online required a licensing agreement with the news organization that produced it. In an interview, he specifically cited references that include a headline and a link to an article, a standard practice of search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo, news aggregators and blogs.

Asked if that stance went further than The A.P. had gone before, he said, “That’s right.” The company envisions a campaign that goes far beyond The A.P., a nonprofit corporation. It wants the 1,400 American newspapers that own the company to join the effort and use its software."

This is Cool

Very nice little widget. Get it here.

Get this widget at roytanck.com

Wait... He's the Smaurtest President Ever...

Except, of course, that he isn't. Bush would have been ridiculed by the rubes on late night TV for something this basic. This is not a small part of history, folks. Hirohito did NOT come out to surrender... he sent the Japanese envoy. My God... next we'll get a financial lesson that tells us to go further into debt to get out of debt. Wait, - oh, sorry.

Gateway Pundit: "Student Of History" Obama Fumbles Japanese Surrender

Don't Worry, They Will Handle Your Health Care Better 'n This

Or, you know, maybe not. Sounds like the Government can't even manage apartments. Sure, let's let them take care of your kid with Leukemia. Sure... what could go wrong?

Oceanic may cut TV service at Kuhio Park Terrace over assaults | HonoluluAdvertiser.com | The Honolulu Advertiser:

"Taniguchi said Oceanic workers will be escorted to apartments at KPT by staff at the housing project from now on. He also said that any residents witnessed assaulting an Oceanic worker would be evicted. KPT residents will meet with public housing officials on the issue.

The Oceanic concerns represent another black eye to the housing authority over its management of Kuhio Park Terrace, the largest public housing project in the Islands with 614 units in two 16-story high-rises. Residents of the project, along with their neighbors have long raised concerns about security, vandalism and backlogged repairs.

In December, a federal class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of its tenants, alleging unsanitary and substandard conditions at KPT. The suit was one of the reasons lawmakers in the last legislative session asked for an audit of the authority and the state of its projects."

PayPal X: Prepare for the New PayPal

This looks pretty exciting. Wow, PayPal guys.

PayPal X: Prepare for the New PayPal:

"However, Paypal is taking a swing back at the competition today, revealing PayPal X and Adaptive Payments, a new initiative that allow third party developers to utilize PayPal in completely new ways. Prepare yourself for split payments, payment aggregation, and PayPal on other websites."

70 Inspirational Single Page Website Designs | Showcases | instantShift

Very cool. Nice Inspration on a hot Thursday afternoon.

70 Inspirational Single Page Website Designs | Showcases | instantShift:

"In this presentation, you’ll find a variety of highly-creative, beautiful and most importantly inspirational designs which is following the same trend of single page designs. The main purpose here is to stimulate your creativity and to inspire your imagination to create your own design trend because your website represents you and your brand."

A Photo Editor - Carol LeFlufy, Getting Started As A Photographers Agent

I think these work well for being a photographer as well.

A Photo Editor - Carol LeFlufy, Getting Started As A Photographers Agent:

"APE: For aspiring agents out there what are the essential skills to have? What things should they be working on?

The skills I think you need are in no particular order:

-A knowledge and love of photography – the history of etc. (seems obvious but you would be surprised…)
-Be an organized person
-An ability to multi-task
-An ability to solve problems and think outside of the box
-Good people skills and good communication skills
-Be a good listener and not just to the clients but to your artists (Some times you may feel like you are a therapist)
-Be an effective negotiator
-You have to be a pro-active person not a passive person
-You have to be willing to work hard.
-You have to really want to do it."

50 New Beautiful Blog Designs | Design Showcase | Smashing Magazine

I would show you an image here to get more click throughs to the site, but they wont let me cause, well... who the hell knows. I don't give a shit. There are some nice things there.

"All blogs listed below have an original, unique design. They aren’t based upon some ready-to-be-used WordPress templates, but are the result of a hard, time-consuming work – therefore they deserve respect and admiration. Yes, many of these design are quite “heavy” on graphcs, not only because they look impressive on a tiny 550px-width-screenshot."

America Moves Forward on Becoming a Third World Country

At this point I am waiting with bated breath to hear from Child Activists and Women's Activists and Anti-Rape Activists and ... (crickets making cricket noises...). But, well I guess I can hope for some change on that front. And I will dutifully inform you on this blog when I hear of any outcry.

For the record, I would deport the 'parents', lock up the little rapists forever, and let the little girl be adopted by someone who actually, you know, cares about kids.

Still waiting NOW. Still waiting....

8-Year-Old Gang-Raped by 4 Boys:

"The child is currently in Child Protective Services having been disowned by her parents after the assault. Detectives say her parents blame her for being victimized and bringing shame to their family."

Seth's Blog: Death spiral!

Pure Gold.

Seth's Blog: Death spiral!:

"The newspaper has fewer advertisers, so they can't invest as much in running stories, so people stop reading it, which means advertisers have less reason to advertise which leaves less money for stories..."

REPORT: French workers vote against blowing up plant as long as their demands are met

So let me see if I can understand this. If someone blows up a building for political reasons, it is called terrorism. If thugs want the government to pay them for not working or they will blow up a building, that is a negotiation tactic? "Bossnappings" WTF?

Get some balls, french guys. Plant a few snipers and take the friggin bastards out. If you had any balls when they started 'bossnappings' maybe it wouldn't have come to this.

But, hey... these guys are so comfortable in their terrorism that they aren't even hiding. France, you are nuckingfuts to put up with this crap. Shoot them, arrest anyone who helped them and charge them with domestic terrorism. Put their asses away for a couple of decades and, well since it's France, tax their offspring for their keep.

Grow a pair!

REPORT: French workers vote against blowing up plant as long as their demands are met:

"The threats to blow up factories is a relatively new tactic for French workers – employees used to vent frustration by taking their managers hostage (aka 'bossnappings') until their demands were met. Union representatives are due to meet with the factory workers on Thursday... assuming nobody blows their lid in the meantime."

Tsunami Risk for West Coast Higher Than Expected | Wired Science | Wired.com

Geeeez... Another thing to fear. Something devastating is coming our way. Sorta... well, maybe. Don't they ever give it a rest? Worry about this, worry about that. Fear, fear, fear. It's like scientist wonks can't get published unless they line up yet another very scary scenario, that COULD happen if all goes as considered.

It's like scientist wonks can't get any attention unless they try to scare people. Think about it... what do they expect to have happen in response to this article.

Friggin' morons.

Tsunami Risk for West Coast Higher Than Expected | Wired Science | Wired.com:

"Tsunamis form when a major earthquake causes a sudden rise or fall in the sea floor which rapidly displaces a large amount of water. A simultaneous rupture of the faults could lead to a far larger earthquake — and more devastating tsunami — than the one in 1964. Because the Yakutat microplate lies beneath a very shallow section of the Pacific Ocean, an earthquake in this region would create a particularly massive wave."

Innovation in Print: The Answer to Print Suicide… Create a Necessary and Sufficient Print Product « Mr. Magazine

Well... there is that.

Innovation in Print: The Answer to Print Suicide… Create a Necessary and Sufficient Print Product « Mr. Magazine: "So before you blame the internet, or advertisers or anyone else but yourself for the demise of your newspaper or any other print product, examine yourself first and see if that printed product you are creating is necessary and sufficient, or it is just a vehicle that is used to transport to the world wide web. It is time for us to wake up and take a good critical look at our printed products and stop the mass suicide. Take a look at your printed product and tell why are you relevant, why are you needed, and are you sufficient? The problem is not with the printed messenger, the problem, the whole problem, is with the message."

Awash with images..... but customers?

Being such a libertarian on people creating their own realities, I really don't have anything to say about MicroStock. Other than I don't get it. It makes no sense within the reality of markets and goods and services and the ability to profit from one another. RF disks I got, but MicroStock is way different to me. The valuation of the single image is now in a few dollars.

And to refer to the people who buy images as art buyers with some sort of reverence... wow, sorry, I just don't get that at all. I wonder if the designers who are paying $8 bucks for the brochure photography are charging $12 for design?

I'm thinking no...

Awash with images..... but customers?

Choices...

I have no idea if this is true or not. But it is touching, and it seems like the right thing to do sometimes, to bring something touching to the light.

I received this in an email, so I will post it here. Some of you may have already seen it. That's cool.

This makes you think harder about choices..

Two Choices

What would you do?....you make the choice.. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.

Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.

Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact...

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!

Run to first!'

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball .. the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!

Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third,the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:

Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

May your day, be a Shay Day.

CBO Chief Criticizes Democrats' Health Reform Measures - washingtonpost.com

Well... he ought to just shut up then. He is obviously not a team player and is some crazy rightwing nutcase. There is only one way, folks. It is not open for interpretation from some "nonpartisan" hack.

CBO Chief Criticizes Democrats' Health Reform Measures - washingtonpost.com

Instead of saving the federal government from fiscal catastrophe, the health reform measures being drafted by congressional Democrats would increase rather than reduce public spending on health care, potentially worsening an already bleak budget outlook, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said this morning.

Under questioning by members of the Senate Budget Committee, CBO director Douglas Elmendorf said bills crafted by House leaders and the Senate health committee do not propose "the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount."

From the Washington Post even. Hmmmmm.... traitors amongst them?

Strobist Winner for Food Shots

chili, originally uploaded by ...esther....

Congrats... beautiful shot!

Could we be wrong about global warming? - Science Fair - USATODAY.com

Duh... Yeah.

Could we be wrong about global warming? - Science Fair - USATODAY.com:

"The conclusion, Dickens said, is that something other than carbon dioxide caused much of this ancient warming. 'Some feedback loop or other processes that aren't accounted for in these models -- the same ones used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for current best estimates of 21st century warming -- caused a substantial portion of the warming that occurred during the PETM.'"

25 Large Photo Background Websites | Designfeed.me (Beta)

Cool. Check them out.

25 Large Photo Background Websites | Designfeed.me (Beta):

"With internet speeds being faster then ever, more and more websites are pushing the limits with HD videos, animations and huge beautiful images. These websites showcase websites that use large photos to portray their message. The web content, and functions lay over top, and in some cases the photo brings a really great sense of contrast. I really enjoy viewing these websites, the message is so clear, enjoy!"

Is Seth Talking about Commercial Photography too?

Of course. Just think about it. Read the whole thing, but the money is here.

Seth's Blog: The confusion:

"Products are remarkably similar, yet we use their marketing stories as an extension of our self-image and self-esteem. Should a new phone really make you that happy?

Colleagues are almost always trying to work with us, yet it's easy to blame them when anxiety about other events triggers time-honored patterns in our behavior.

Hang out at the mall two weeks before the prom. Can those items on the rack really pacify the raging anxieties of the teenagers waiting to buy them (or is the social triggers that do it)? Watch McKinsey doing a multimillion dollar consulting gig for a Fortune 500 company. Are they really telling the board something that couldn't have been discovered by a few talented folks in the finance department? Or are they paying for peace of mind?"

Does a high-priced shooter extend the self-esteem of the editor or AD? Are there social triggers that are in place when a photographer's brand and portfolio sync with the needs of the buyer? Does it matter at all, for commercial photographers, to be different and unique so to present a more qualifying shooter?

I think it does,

Armchair Commentary: For All Mankind

My buddy Ernie and I and our girlfriends... I can't remember her name, were in a swimming pool drinking some sort of concoctions that night. We had a full moon that night and we all lay around on floating things staring at the sky and getting stoned, while listening to the radio report of the landing. It was amazing.

Yeah... some things you remember forever.

Armchair Commentary: For All Mankind:

"This week marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 space mission and humankind's first steps on the moon. From the first words, to first images, to the first Presidential phone call- this event would forever be cemented in history and popular culture. No one who saw the event, would ever forget it. One such person was director, Al Reinert, whose award winning documentary, For All Mankind, includes 80 minutes of real NASA footage, taken on the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s all the while focusing on the human aspects, views, and emotions of the space flights."

Selling Stock Independently

A good article at A Photo Editor on selling stock individually.

A Photo Editor - Selling Stock Independently:

"I think for many photographers the ability to license their images as stock without paying a huge commission to some middle man is the ultimate dream. And, to be honest I don’t think it matters a bit to buyers whether they get the image from Corbis/Getty or directly from the photographer as long as the transaction is fairly seamless (e.g. prices are fixed, high res download available, images are captioned). Photoshelter has a solution with a new feature that allows photographers to form virtual agencies. Art Wolfe, David Doubilet, and Thomas Mangelsen formed a new agency called Wild (here). Art thinks the big agency model is dead and you can read more on that in a story he wrote for Outdoor Photographer (here)."

A Degree in Blacksmithing or Bloodletting?

Maybe Steamship Design? - Dude has a point. Sad for journalism, but good riddance to the "schools" who for the last 30 years have created the whole in which they find themselves standing.

Say goodnight.

Richard Sine: Close the J-Schools:

"Shocking news from the halls of academia: Forbes reported earlier this year that enrollment in graduate journalism schools is booming. These kids are paying upwards of $70,000 (the cost of Columbia's J-School, including living expenses) for a ghost's chance of landing a job, at pitiful pay, in an industry that is rapidly collapsing. What's going to be the next hot field in graduate study? Blacksmithing? Bloodletting? Steamship design?

I don't meant to offend anyone from the noble field of steamship design, where there is actually a lot to learn. Journalism is not a profession like engineering, medicine or even law. You can pick up most media skills on the job, or with a few hours of instruction. If you screw up, nobody dies, and nothing collapses. This is why so many — perhaps most — journalism pros have built successful careers without touching J-school, and why many of them considered a J-degree a dubious credential even in the field's heyday.

Most J-school enrollees know this already: They go for the 'contacts' thought to be essential in a competitive field. This made sense a few years ago. These days, it's like boarding the Titanic in hopes of meeting the captain. Many of these 'contacts' are old-media refugees who made the desperate leap onto J-school faculties in response to buyouts or layoffs. . . ."

I love this graph... (emphasis mine).

Do not fill up two years of anyone's time with bush-league "news services" (Oh boy! A clip in The Daily Supplement!) or mandatory classes in media history, communications theory or journalism philosophy. Do not charge so much money to walk through the door that the program is open only to the rich, the idle, or the financially illiterate. That's not a journalism school; that's a gold-plated welfare program for your old newsroom buddies, built on the backs of starry-eyed naïfs.

theblogprof: Michigan unemployment hits 15.2%!!! Number of unemployed highest since 1976! Obama says jobs NOT COMING BACK!

Yeah. This is working out really fine. My favorite Orwellian Speak is "Jobless Recovery" as though it has some sort of meaning. Jobless Recovery is an oxymoron - like - government intelligence or smartest administration ever... ya know.

theblogprof: Michigan unemployment hits 15.2%!!! Number of unemployed highest since 1976! Obama says jobs NOT COMING BACK!:

"I'm going to step out on a limb here and say that this will be tops amongst the 50 states. Not the distinction I would wish on this great state of mine. This follows the previous month rate of 14.1%. We're on a bad trajectory as you can see on the right. Keep in mind that unemployment is 20% higher in Democrat strongholds. Worse yet is that Michigan is staring at a $2 billion hole this fiscal year ending in September, and what will probably be staring at a $3 billion deficit for the 2009-2010 budget year. What is being done regarding the budget deficit? I'll give you a clue - go to a very quiet place and stick your fingers in your ears."

I love this graph... emphasis mine.

"Do not fill up two years of anyone's time with bush-league "news services" (Oh boy! A clip in The Daily Supplement!) or mandatory classes in media history, communications theory or journalism philosophy. Do not charge so much money to walk through the door that the program is open only to the rich, the idle, or the financially illiterate. That's not a journalism school; that's a gold-plated welfare program for your old newsroom buddies, built on the backs of starry-eyed naïfs."

Revisiting the Death of Photojournalism, Ten Years Later - The Digital Journalist

Sad... but true. I still think that the hunger is there, the medium is changing.

Revisiting the Death of Photojournalism, Ten Years Later - The Digital Journalist:

"Way back in 1999, I wrote an editorial lamenting how difficult it was becoming to pursue a life in photojournalism. Budgets were being slashed at the newsmagazines for photography, entry-level jobs at newspapers were becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, and once such an internship was secured, it was hard to move up the ladder. Compared to the glory days of photojournalism in the 1970s, the situation was looking bleak.

As I reread that article recently, I realized that what I was talking about then were some cracks in the dam. Today, the whole damned dam is gone. It is difficult not to be concerned by the changes in the industry over the past year. Newsmagazines are not exempt from these changes. Time and Newsweek once had an extremely heated and competitive battle each week to get the very best photographers on the big stories of the week. During the 1982 siege of Beirut, I headed a 'delta team' for Time magazine of no less than 10 photographers covering that struggle day in and day out for more than a month. On a major presidential international trip, there would be at least three or four contract photographers flying with the president, with stringers picked up along the way. Radio repeaters were set up to coordinate the photographers' movements. Advance trips"