Time well wasted

Top 10 albums of 2011

2012-01-14T11:45:00.012-06:00

2011 was a fantastic year for music. Some years I have trouble coming up with 10 albums (I think I had 7 in 2009), but this year was no problem. I'll even list some at the bottom that I liked but didn't make the top 10 cut. This year I'm back to having a desk job, so I've had plenty of time to listen to lots of fantastic albums, lots of not fantastic albums, and lots of albums people swear are fantastic but I just don't see it. I even listened to every (or at least part of every) album on Paste magazine's top 50 albums of the year. You'll find some albums here that you'll find on nearly every other top list, but there are quite a few differences as well. Personal preference I suppose. Anyway, here goes:

10. Ten out of Tenn Vol 4.
I don't normally put compilation albums on my tops lists, but this one is just too good to not list. Ten out of Tenn is a group of friends/musicians who release music individually, but compile a best-of of sorts from each of their individual albums. I'm not sure that I could describe the sound without going into each artist individually, but suffice it to say that you should just listen to it. It sounds like you'd expect music coming out of Nashville to sound - not folk, but not rock, just lots of acoustic guitar, piano, and great singing. Just trust me on this one.
Favorite Track - The Ladder by Andrew Belle

9. Gym Class Heroes - The Papercut Chronicles II
Probably the most unexpected on the list. Hip-hop is a guilty pleasure, in fact, despite the number of times I've listened to this album, you'd have never seen it on my spotify feed because I always go into private listening mode. But I'll admit it here. Not every track is good (which is why it's at #9) but it has quite a few really good tracks, including one (Holy Horse**** Batman) that features Nate Ruess (of the Format and currently Fun.) whose very unique voice is a personal favorite. Speaking of Fun., their new album comes out in February and if the few tracks I've heard off it are any indication, it'll be on my list next year. Check it out. Anyway, back to Gym Class Heroes. You've definitely heard the Stereo Hearts song if you listed to pop radio, and if you liked that you'd be well served to listen to the rest of the album.
Favorite Track: The Fighter

8. Leeland - The Great Awakening
Hip-hop then Christian? I don't understand it anymore than you do. Leeland's albums always make my top lists, so I don't know that I have much new to say about the band. Their sound in the contemporary Christian genre is completely unique, but despite this each album has a unique feel. I don't dislike other contemporary Christian music, but much of it is watered down and tries too hard to be pop music. Leeland's albums seem like honest, authentic prayers put to music. I wish my Church would play their songs.
Favorite Track: I Can See Your Love

7. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
Poison and Wine is such a good song that I'd have considered including this album even if I hated every other track, but luckily the rest are great as well. It's a beautifully haunting song about the impossibility of easy love - the love/hate that characterizes most relationships. It's actually the theme of the entire album with the "civil wars" not referring to our country's past military conflict, but the civil war that rages within relationships. Or at least that's what I assume. Maybe they are just history buffs...
Favorite Track - Poison and Wine

6. Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
I'd say there's at least a 50% chance I'll eventually see this as far better than number 7 of this list, but for some reason, for three of my favorite bands (Coldplay, Snow Patrol, and Death Cab) it takes me a little while to get into their albums. Eventually I end up loving them, but it's not love at first listen. I've had this album a month or so, which really isn't enough time yet. It's already started to grow on me, but it's still one of my least favorite Coldplay albums. I think part of it is they're trying some new things mixed with classic Coldplay and I'm just not sure how I feel about it. Princess of China for example is a good song, but it doesn't feel anything like Coldplay. They've thrown in some hip-hop elements into a number of songs, and while it's good, it's not why I love Coldplay. There are still a few very Coldplay-ish songs on the album like Don't Let it Break Your Heart and Charlie Brown, so I've got those at least, but I'm not sure if I'll ever embrace the newer sounds.
Favorite Track: Charlie Brown

5. The Head and the Heart (self titled)
This one came out of nowhere. I had never heard of this band until a few weeks ago. I'm not positive if I found them on Spotify or saw them on someone else's top list, but it is fantastic folk music - heavy on the piano, upright bass and bass drum with a bit of acoustic guitar strumming, tambourine and cymbal thrown in for good measure. The fantastic sound of the male/female duo closes the deal. It's no Mumford and Sons, but it's probably my favorite folk album since. Paste Magazine obviously loves folk music, so I listened to a number of folk albums, and this was by far my favorite this year.
Favorite Track: Down in the Valley

4. Bon Iver (self titled)
For Emma, Forever Ago was a fantastic album, but in my opinion, this album is even better. In contrast to the other albums, I'm not even positive why I like this album so much. It's very different. The songs aren't sing-in-your-head catchy, but his vocals and the instrumentation just blend together in an indescribable way. This makes it very difficult to pick a favorite song because again, unlike any of the other albums, I never listen to a single track off this album - I listen to it the whole way through every time.
Favorite Track: Perth (but really all of them)

3. William Fitzsimmons - Gold in the Shadow
In 2008 William Fitzsimmon's The Sparrow and the Crow was my favorite album, and probably remains as one of my favorite albums of all time. The album, written as an apology to his ex-wife, is depressingly sad, but beautiful and amazing at the same time. He took a few years off of writing and then came back with Gold in the Shadow which chronicles his resurrection from the darkness that surrounded his divorce. The sound is noticeably more upbeat and positive, but maintains a distinct element of sadness that characterizes his works. It's no Sparrow and the Crow, but it's still very good.
Favorite Track: Fade and Then Return

1. (Tie) Needtobreathe - The Reckoning
You're not likely to find this album on any other top lists - especially not at number 1. I think this is partially because the band has heavy Christian undertones, although is not what you would call a Christian band. If not for this, I think they would be more well known and more critically acclaimed, but that's just an opinion. I've listened to this band for a number of years now and have enjoyed all their albums, but this one is by far their best. It's southern rock at its best in my opinion. Think Kid Rock style music - only good. I was lucky enough to catch this band in concert literally in my back yard this year (probably 200 yards from my apartment). They're even better in concert, check them out if you can.
Favorite Track: White Fences

1. (Tie) Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys
This is another album that you won't see on most people's top lists, but it really should be. I think 2008's Narrow Stairs (which is better than people give it credit for but is admittedly my least favorite Death Cab album) left people thinking the band had peaked. Nothing will live up to Transatlanticism (which is one of my favorite albums of all time) but Death Cab is far from being done making good music. It took me a little while to get into it (pretty normal for this band) but I like it so much now it's in the running for second favorite Death Cab album. It's that good. I was able to see these guys in concert this summer and if anything they didn't play enough of this album (they did however play nearly all of Transatlanticism which was amazing). For a few months over the summer I spent about 4-5 hours a day most days studying for my comprehensive exams, and I listened to this album at least once for each of those days. If it's good enough to make studying statistics tolerable, it's at least worth listening to.
Favorite Track: St. Peters Cathedral

#1 Album that didn't actually come out in 2011. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
So most years I include these sorts of albums in my top 10 list, but I thought I'd do it differently this year. This was my favorite album of the year - even though it came out 4 years ago. It's Scottish, a little bit folksy, and a little bit Brit Rock, and all good. It's a breakup album, so it's a bit sad, but the fast tempo will keeps it from being depressing. It's no William Fitzsimmons in other words. But it is fantastic, I honestly can't stop listening to it. It was another staple in the studying routine.
Favorite Track: The Twist

Other artists that released albums this year that weren't my favorite, but that I enjoy:
Ben Rector
Jack's Mannequin
Mayday Parade
Parachute
Deas Vail
Mutemath

Family

2011-12-03T12:21:00.003-06:00

Owning a nice camera means that you're often asked by family to take pictures. I imagine if I took family portraits for a living this would annoy me, but luckily I don't - so it's actually a lot of fun. Plus my aunt pays me in cheesecake.

I have no professional lighting equipment, so I used a combination of unshaded lamps and a huge work shop light held by my mom. It wasn't perfect, but the cost to effectiveness ratio was very high.

Stone House

2011-11-21T20:22:00.002-06:00

It's fall in Arkansas, which means two things: fantastic foliage, and Razorback football. I've tried taking pictures of the stadium during a game, but I just haven't figured out a good way to do it. Until then, here's more foliage.

This house is so old it has a name and a sign out front. I remember reading the sign and seeing that it was called Stone House, but can't really remember anything else about it. I've never lived in a house that had a name, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to.

Eleven

2011-11-15T11:46:00.002-06:00

I got detention once in my life, and it was probably the only trip I made to the principal's office as well.

So what was my crime? Drugs? Swearing? Skipping class? Back talking teachers? Parking in the teachers parking lot on a Saturday since there was no one there and we had an early morning soccer match?

If you guessed the last one, you are correct. Rules are rules I suppose - even if it doesn't matter.

I've just never been much of a trouble maker, or maybe the modicum of trouble I did cause went unnoticed. Either way, it's always a bit startling now days to be reprimanded. My crime this time? The camera.

I doubt people with little point and shoot cameras or iphones get much scorn from security, but when you haul around a large camera (especially if you have a tripod) you're automatically seen as someone up to no good. I'm not sure why this is, but I've been told to stop taking pictures on a number of occasions by security guards. No police yet, but I'm sure my day is coming.

So this is the restaurant (called Eleven) at the new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR. That's right, there's a world-class art museum in Arkansas - thanks to Walmart of course. Cameras are allowed inside, but apparently you're only suppose to photograph the art (who would want to do that anyway?) not the structure of the building. Luckily only one guard cared enough to stop me, the rest either didn't notice me breaking the rules or realized that I was not in fact trying to destroy the museum.

Yellow Rock Sunrise

2011-10-12T21:08:00.002-06:00

8pm decided to go camping
9:30pm made it to campgrounds
10pm convinced a group of hippies to let us share their campsite because all the others were full and then spend the rest of the evening trying to get them to keep the noise down for the sake of all the families at the campgrounds
2:30am bedtime
5:30am alarm then 1.5 mi hike in the pitch black scary woods

I'm far to old for any of this, but when it comes to hiking to see sunrises I can be convinced that pretty much anything is a good idea.

In hindsight, it was.

The Hills of Malibu

2011-09-06T20:07:00.002-06:00

Malibu was nothing like what I expected. Knowing celebrities lived there I expected it took look very commercialized with nothing but malls and Starbucks, streets lined with palm trees and the other things you see in movies. Turns out it looks nothing like that (or at least not what I saw). It actually looked more like this, even in the "city" (it's only 11,000 people so city probably isn't the best word for it).

Possibly even better than the scenery was that the entire weekend the temperature was in the mid 70's, while Arkansas was a blazing 100+. So like many others, I find myself dreaming of living in southern California - although likely for vastly different reasons.

Hawksbill Crag

2011-08-26T16:22:00.002-06:00

Well, summer is officially over. Fall classes have started, and it's back to working 40 hours per week. My goal at the beginning of summer was to spend at least as much time outside as working. I'm not quite sure I achieved it, but I got close enough - especially considering I injured my knee playing softball in late May and wasn't able to run again until last week.

I spent about half the weekends of the summer either hiking or at the lake, made trips to CA, MO, and TX, and I managed to see three bands that have been in my top albums of the year list. Before this summer I had seen 1. I plan on adding two more to that list before it gets cold out.

So all in all, I consider it time very well spent. Between those activities and studying for my comprehensive exams (time not as well spent), it left very little time for photo editing. But now that summer is over, I'll probably spend a little more time on it.

This one is from one of my hikes this summer to the Buffalo River. It was also the trip where we finally got to eat deep fried hamburgers.

Light Trails

2011-08-07T22:53:00.003-06:00

I wish I could say that this type of shot is unique or that I came up with the concept, but in all honesty I've seen it done many times but just had never attempted it until now. Of course the one time I do think to attempt it, the only light source I had were a friend and I's cell phones. My friend also temporarily questioned my sanity as I told him we were just going to wave our phones in the air as we walked down toward the water while the shutter was open. In his defense I did explain what we were doing as if it were an everyday occurrence and didn't elaborate on why.

Chroma Cave

2011-06-25T17:41:00.002-06:00

I love deep fried anything. If I'm at a carnival or state fair and they deep fry something, I'm having one - or two. This trip was born out of a conversation about how a local restaurant's "deep fried hamburger" is not actually deep fried, but topped with an onion ring that is deep fried. Within a few days a friend had located a place a few hours away in Jenkins, AR that actually does deep fry a hamburger and the decision to drive there was made.

The timing was impeccable because today is the tiny town of Jenkins' 14th annual Elk Festival which included the state championship elk calling contest, a miss elk pageant, a dutch oven cook off, and who knows what else. If that isn't your idea of a good Saturday then I don't know that we would get along.

It was also very close to some very good hiking, so we took off early in the morning to get a hike in before the deep-fried lunch. Editing wise I actually did very little to this picture. All the colors were present in the original but the HDR process really brought them out. A little unexpected, but I like it.

The one flaw in the otherwise perfect Saturday plan was that the restaurant that usually serves deep-fried hamburgers is right by the Elk Festival and was serving a limited menu due to the rush. The regular hamburger just wasn't the same.

The Outdoors

2011-06-03T16:58:00.003-06:00

My goal for the next 3 months is to spend more time running, biking, bbqing, hiking, camping, picture taking, attending outdoor concerts and baseball games, and doing anything else outside than I do working. It's a lofty goal, but I'm pretty sure I've got it in me.

I've hiked out to this spot I have no idea how many times. It feels like it's in the middle of nowhere even though you can actually see the mall from this very spot during the winter. The brief hike requires a trek through lots of thorn bushes and a quick balancing act on a tree over a creek, so I always end up debating myself on how good I think the sunset is going to be. Since I'm still terrible at predicting these things, I generally end up giving in and hiking anyway. This has been the best sunset I've seen out there so far, but I'm still hoping for better.

Powerscourt Mansion

2011-05-25T17:03:00.002-06:00

Chances are I'll never own a old Irish castle, but if I did, it would definitely have a gravel drive and awesome gardens like this place. I'd probably skip the garden of poisonous bushes though. Sure they're rare and semi-interesting, but you've got to imagine that at some point you're going to realize that poison bushes are the lower back tattoo of landscape design.

Lure

2011-04-24T20:33:00.003-06:00

When it comes to being scared of living creatures most people pick potentially deadly creatures to be scared of - things like scorpions, spiders and snakes. I on the other hand, have a completely irrational fear of fish. Not so much when they're in a tank, more when they're sharing a swimming spot with me or when I'm asked to touch them. Which is why you're very unlikely to find me fishing. However, if you do, chances are you'll find me with my lure caught in a tree like this one below because, in my attempt to catch no fish while fishing, I just cast, reel, and repeat until I tire. Some people say golf is a good walk spoiled; I would argue that fishing is a relaxing day by the lake spoiled.

The Picture Show

2011-03-28T23:17:00.002-06:00

Ever since I was a kid I've always enjoyed taking pictures. I remember getting my first camera (a Polaroid advantix that could take 3 different sizes of pictures!) for a school trip to D.C. From there I moved up(?) to digital, playing around with my dad's 0.3 megapixel Sony Mavica. It finally become an actual hobby in grad school as a means of decorating the bare walls of my home and office. I never planned on, or ever wanted to, become a professional photographer. I've spoken to far too many who no longer even take pictures for fun - only for the job. Every shot I've taken has been a scene I wanted to capture for one reason or another, but never considering selling it in those reasons. I enjoy photography, and I hope to keep it that way.

I still have no desire to be a professional photographer, and I still only take pictures for my own enjoyment. However, for the first time my photographs are on display and available to purchase. Honestly I don't care much about selling them (although selling a few to break even on the cost of the frames might be nice) I really just thought it would be pretty cool to have my pictures up somewhere. So today's shot is a little different in that it's not just one of my pictures - it's a picture of my pictures.

Break Open the Sky

2011-03-22T10:29:00.003-06:00

It's not often that I post about my faith (or really anything personal) since this blog is mainly about pictures, but today it directly relates to the picture.

If you've been a regular reader for really any length of time you know that I'm a huge fan of sunrises and sunsets. Mainly because they create a scene you've seen before, but with a new twist that you can't control, predict or ever see again. My personal belief is that God created everything and that includes crafting sunrises and sunsets. Sure, you can reduce a sunset to the science of weather and light reflection, but what's the fun in that?

I like taking pictures not only because I like photography, but because it gives me an excuse to get away from everything and just enjoy God's creation. I set up my camera, grab my remote trigger, and from then on the photography requires very little thought, so I'm left with plenty of time to listen to music and pray. On this particular day I was listening to Tenth Avenue North and as I was watching this scene unfold, I started thinking about how it looked like the sun was trying to break through the clouds. At first there were just a few rays of light that escaped, but as the sun rose higher it just shattered through clouds shining sun rays everywhere. You can't tell from the picture, but the center where the sun is was so bright it was hard to look at.

I began to think that this is what my relationship with God is like, him always trying to break through to me and me doing my best to block the light. As I started to leave the song Strong Enough to Save came on, which I've heard before, but never really listened to the lyrics until this day. Here's the chorus:

And He'll break
open the skies to save
those who cry out his name
throwing the wind and waves at bay
He's strong enough to save you

I suppose it could have been a coincidence, but I just don't think so.

Closing in

2011-03-07T22:05:00.002-06:00

I often complain about sunrise shots - and today is no different. Not only because I woke up early over the weekend to try for a good shot and came up with nothing, but because the day the shot below was taken was the worst of them all.

I woke up before 5am for the first time in likely a decade or more, then drove 45 minutes and hiked 45 minutes to this spot - all before the sky even started to light up. I hadn't really thought through how freggin scary it is hiking miles from civilization by yourself when it's pitch black outside. I'm pretty sure some animal growled at me (which I pretended didn't happen) and then I came within about 10 feet of a deer which spooked both him and I when I heard a crunch, looked up, and blinded him with my headlamp.

Once I finally made it to this spot, I set up my camera and relaxed for a bit. I waited and waited as the sky started to light up, hoping the clouds would light up with color - no such luck. Then, as my luck continued, it started to rain. There was only a 10% chance, but I suppose it wasn't 0%. I covered my camera and myself and waited for it to let up, took a few more shots, and then it started raining again and I called it a day.

All in all, out of the 2.5 hours I spent out there (including the hiking) there was only one short redeeming part. The shot below was taken right before the rain started, and the fog - which had covered the entire valley - had started to slip away. It wasn't anything like what I was hoping for, but I suppose its better than nothing.

Connor Pass

2011-02-27T21:43:00.003-06:00

I was amazingly lucky on this trip in regards to weather. Most days I couldn't have asked for better, and it only rained for an hour or so on one day. On this day it alternated between overcast and partly cloudy - which I'll still take over a boring blue sky any day. But the clouds so darkened the landscape that I just don't love any of the shots. Digital editing can do a lot, but it doesn't change the fact that a dark skied picture would look quite odd if the landscape wasn't proportionally dark.

This is from Connor Pass which is the highest mountain pass in Ireland. They seem to love ranking things in this country - the highest pass, the oldest this, the farthest west that, and so on. I guess it's mildly interesting, but honestly, if this was the 2nd highest mountain pass, I can't say that I'd have thought any less of it.

Jacob's Barn

2011-02-16T22:15:00.002-06:00

In my part of the country you don't have to drive too far to see some great run down, picturesque barns. But generally there's very little place to park other than in someone's driveway and I'm always worried about someone getting upset that I'm trespassing on their land. So despite the proximity to these gems I have yet to stop and take a picture of one. Back in Kentucky where my family is from however, the town is so small that I figure if anyone ever does approach me they'll either be family, or know my family. There's probably a greater chance they'll have no idea what I'm doing and not care anyway. This a place where I've been stopped more than once while jogging and asked if I needed a ride.

This barn belonged to my late uncle Jacob. It doesn't house anything more than rusty old farm equipment these days, but it still stands, and hopefully it will continue to for years ahead.

The Dotted Lake

2011-02-09T16:42:00.002-06:00

So I just spent an hour digging my car out of the snow and I have to say, I'm over winter. It's beautiful and all, but I'm ready to be able to walk out to my car and just drive it at more than 5 mph. And I live in Arkansas! This is supposed to happen in Wisconsin, in Michigan, not in Arkansas. I didn't measure how much snow we got, but it's closer to two feet deep than it is one.

This picture was actually from the last snow we had, right as things were just starting to thaw out. The little white dots on the lake were these crazy little ice crystals that looked like fur. It was very cool and made me wish I had a macro-lens. Unfortunately those are expensive and I spent my money on wide-angle. The grass is always greener. Anyway, you can just take my word for it.

Powerscourt Estate

2011-02-01T17:12:00.002-06:00

This picture is the polar opposite of whats going on outside my window right now.

For one, the green grass has been replaced by a few inches of ice and snow. Two, there's no awesome mountain (which would actually be a welcome addition to the snow - at least I could snowboard). And three, I don't know what the opposite of sprawling gardens outside a mansion is, but I'm pretty sure it's what I've got going on outside my tiny apartment.

This was taken at Powerscourt Estate which I think is a little southwest of Dublin. Its a beautiful place but it's been redesigned to milk tourists for as much as possible while retaining as little of the original charm as possible. It now has a hotel next door, two golf courses, and a number of shops (a mattress store if I remember correctly) and restaurants. You can't even see most of the inside of the house because it's only available to be rented out for weddings. But I suppose you've got to pay the bills somehow.

Soybean Sunrise

2011-01-19T17:32:00.002-06:00

My ratio of sunrise picture attempts vs sunrise picture successes is quite low. I look at the weather forecast, check radar maps, and look up the exact time of dawn, but still most days I get nothing. I don't do this often - mainly because I hate waking up early, and partially because sunsets are just way easier. Usually I just have to wait until I forget how cold/wet/tired I was the last time I tried to feel like giving it another shot.

This one was taken back in July in Kentucky. It's not my favorite sunrise picture, but it's all right.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you

2011-01-18T20:37:00.003-06:00

The good thing about college campuses is that there's usually some interesting architecture around. The bad thing is all the students - always loitering around.

Sometimes you can wait around for a time between classes when few are around, but other times you've got the persistent student who just wants to enjoy reading outside and you don't feel like waiting because there are other pictures you want to take and the leaves aren't going to stay this way forever. I'm sure I'm not alone here...

This is the Fulbright Peace Fountain on campus. I took this one the same day as the "It's fall ya'll" picture below.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year

2011-01-05T21:40:00.003-06:00

I am very fortunate to have a job that requires very little work between Thanksgiving and new years, which is great for traveling to visit family and friends, but generally means a lack of posting. Hopefully I'll be back to posting a new picture per week from here on out.

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and a great new year's eve. 2011 is going to be a big one, I can just feel it. See you there.

(Kinda hard to tell this one is a Christmas shot, but I promise it was. Just look at the wreaths!)

Top 10 albums of 2010

2010-12-29T21:08:00.005-06:00

For the first time in a long time I have a job where I don't sit at a computer all day. This, along with the unfortunate demise of lala.com, has severely limited my time spent finding and listening to new music. Despite this setback, I've still managed to spend a decent amount of time listening to music, and have once again compiled a list of my favorite albums of the year.

10. B.O.B. - The Adventures of Bobby Ray
If you were expecting this list to be completely lacking in pop/hip-hop music, you're sorely mistaken. For the longest time I had no respect for the genre, but as time has gone by I've come to enjoy good pop music, and B.O.B. had a number of hits in 2010 worth listening to. It didn't hurt that he teamed up with some other very talented artists, Bruno Mars (see below), Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) and Hayley Williams (Paramore) for this album. It's what a summer blockbuster is to movies - entertaining, but probably not something that will stand the test of time.
Favorite Track: Airplanes

9. Bruno Mars - Doo-Wops & Hooligans
So far this album has produced two radio hits, and while it may not score any more, it doesn't make the rest of the album any less worth listening. There really aren't two tracks on the album that are similar enough to categorize the sound. Just the way you are, his biggest hit so far, is poppy while channeling a bit of 50's Mo-town. Count on Me is an acoustic love song, The Other Side is hip-hop, and the others are all over the board. It's more of a mix and match song collection than a traditional album, but it still works. I don't enjoy every track, but there's enough good material to check it out.
Favorite Track: Marry You

8. Glee - Volume 4
If you've read previous years lists you know I'm a big fan of covers (Across the Universe Soundtrack and Ben Folds University A Capella for starters). As much as some people may scoff - I often like them better than the original versions. Glee itself is a decent show, but it's the music that keeps me coming back every week (that and Brittany, that girl cracks me up). All of the songs are well done, even if I don't particularly love the song itself. This particular volume includes covers of Jay Z, Brittany Spears, Bruno Mars (x2), Paramore, the Beatles, and many others. It's good fun, even if you don't like the show.
Favorite Track: The Only Exception

7. Sherwood - Qu
As with previous years, I'm not up to date enough with music to catch everything by years end. So there are a few 2009 albums mixed in. This one however, I knew about in 2009, and didn't like it enough to put on my top 2009 list. Who knows why I didn't like it the first time around, but after a few more listens I found there are quite a few tracks that I like a lot. It's not as good as a whole as their other albums, but it is quite good. As far as their sound goes, they're Sherwood - I'm not sure I can describe it any other way. It's a very unique sound, check it out.
Favorite Track: Ground Beneath My Feet

6. Ben Rector - Into the Morning
I often wonder if this kid will ever make it big. His music is original, well performed and very catchy. But maybe it's something in that originality that just doesn't sell. Regardless, his third album is no disappointment after his first two. Itunes suggests the genre is folk, and while I'm not sure I agree, I'm not sure how else to describe it either other than maybe pop, but that categorization is just far to broad. Once again he's put out an album that's pretty strong all the way through. There's a few stronger tracks, but it's worth listening to all the way through.
Favorite Track: Moving Backwards

5. Needtobreathe - The Outsiders
Another 2009 album I didn't discover until 2010. I honestly don't remember how I found this band, but was immediately glad I had. A basic description is that it's alternative rock, but lead singer Bear Rinehart's voice has a sound you'd expect to hear in a bluegrass band, which gives the group a very unique sound. I actually think I like their earlier album Daylight a little better than Outsiders, but both are solid albums all the way through.
Favorite Track: Valley of Tomorrow

4. A Fine Frenzy - Bomb in a Birdcage
Yet another 2009 album. This one was discovered on my Needtobreathe Pandora station - I liked it immediately. Lead singer Alison Sudol has a voice and sound that resembles Feist, but slightly more folksy and a little less indie. The entire album is worth listening to, as is her earlier album One Cell in the Sea.
Favorite Track: Blow Away

3. The Rocket Summer - Of Men and Angels
I have friends whose musical tastes I respect very much that absolutely despise The Rocket Summer. And honestly I can understand, Bryce Avary (who plays every instrument, sings and produces every song on the album) has a slightly effeminate, slightly whiny voice (think 2000's emo whiny) that some just don't like. This has become much less pronounced as his music has matured from Calendar Days, however, it's never bothered me. Of Men and Angels is his best album to date - which says a lot considering how much I liked Do You Feel. The album is slightly poppy rock for the most part but has a few slower songs - much like his other albums. There's a song or two I don't like as much as the others, but overall it's a good album.
Favorite Track: Hills and Valleys

Number one spot is a tie, I just can't choose a favorite. These albums are both fantastic.

1. Jónsi - Go
Go is the solo project of Jónsi Birgisson who also serves as the lead singer of the Icelandic group Sigur Rós. As opposed to Sigur Rós albums this one is in English - although honestly I can barely understand his English anyway. If you're not familiar with Sigur Rós you should check them out as well. My favorite song of theirs, Starálfur, is played at the end of The Life Aquatic and makes for one of my favorite moments in all of film. But I digress. While there are certain Sigur Rós songs I like a lot, I don't ever listen to an entire album. Go is worth listening to all the way through, again and again. I have no idea how to even describe it, so you'll just have to listen to it yourself to find out.
Favorite Track: Go Do

1. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
Never before have I associated England with good folk music, and to be quite honest I didn't really know I enjoyed folk music until I listened to this album. So if you're hesitant to give the album a shot based on its genre, don't be. I assure you it's worth the listen. One of the most amazing things about this album is that I have yet to find someone who doesn't like it, yet it's also on nearly every (or maybe every?) top albums list I've read this year. It's very rare that the general populous and music critics agree so much. Do yourself a favor and buy this one. No questions, just get it.
Favorite Track: Little Lion Man

The Way to Nowhere

2010-11-22T22:47:00.003-06:00

Or the middle of nowhere at least - that's where I'm headed. It's that time of year where I get in the car and drive 9 hours to the middle of nowhere Kentucky to spend time with family. It's nothing but farmland, but it's always felt like home. Time to go eat some pie, watch some football, and maybe take a few more pictures (like the one below). Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving as well.

It's fall ya'll

2010-11-15T21:07:00.002-06:00

This picture makes me happy. I've taken over 8000 pictures in the past year (which works out to nearly a picture an hour for those that aren't math teachers) and only about 4 of them make me this happy. There's something about the color of the hills in Arkansas during the fall that just amazes me year after year.

Dunmore Head

2010-11-07T17:29:00.002-06:00

For some reason having a large camera set up on a tripod makes strangers more likely to come up and talk to you. Maybe it's because you're standing still for an extended period of time while others around you are moving. Maybe that makes you an easy target for people who love to talk.

On one particular day I was outside Trinity University in the Temple Bar district of Dublin. The street where I was standing was closed to traffic, so I set up a tripod in the middle of the street to take pictures. An older Irishmen walked by and started talking - mostly about American politics. But he also mentioned he owned a bed and breakfast out on Dingle peninsula on the westernmost point of Europe. He said they'd take Americans out at night and tell them they could see the Statue of Liberty on clear nights. When they said they couldn't see it he said he'd tell them to hold on a minute while he went and made a call to have them turn it on. He found this hilarious. Maybe I just don't get it.

A few days later we drove out to the westernmost point of Ireland. It's called Dunmore Head, and I'll be the first to admit that I'm bad enough at geography that I had no idea Ireland was even close to having the westernmost point in Europe.

The Champions

2010-10-23T13:23:00.003-06:00

Well we weren't really the champions, nor is this banner for us, but my kickball team did place third on Sunday and, considering past performance, I consider that a victory. Apparently I take kickball far to seriously as I've managed to incur a shin injury that causes my ankle to swell after standing on it. I don't remember having these sorts of troubles when playing kickball as a kid...

And congrats to Fayetteville High for being state champions at something. Your victory was praiseworthy enough for a sign, but not quite good enough to deserve a unique sign commemorating the event. I hope you at least got orange slices and capri-sun after the game.

King of the Mountain

2010-10-11T22:26:00.003-06:00

I don't often post pictures of people, and even less often of family, but I just like this shot that much.

I had kind of forgotten about this picture - mainly because it wasn't planned and I was firing off shots like there was no tomorrow. I had other pictures of family from the trip but they were all staged.

Really it's the candidness (is that a word?) of the shot that I like so much. In fact, I'm pretty sure this my favorite picture of my family (although I can't decide if I like the HDR version or the original version better). This was shot on our first day in Ireland in a city just north of Dublin. We had all been hiking around in different areas and for some reason met on this hill. Unplanned, unsynchronized, and better because of it.

I'm pretty sure there was an impromptu game of king of the mountain right after...

St. Patrick's Cathedral

2010-09-30T23:10:00.002-06:00

Interesting fact: St. Patrick, the patron Saint of getting drunk on a holiday that has nothing to do with your own country, was English, not Irish. Although he is credited with converting the island to Christianity - so he's got that going for him.

If you were hoping for something other than another picture of Ireland, you're out of luck this time. And if you're wondering who reads this blog enough to hope for a certain type of picture, you're right to do so.

This was taken at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. It was one of many stops on our hop-on-hop-off buss tour of the city which we modified into a hop-off, grab a pint, see a sight, hop-on tour. Beginning that sort of a tour before noon is a dangerous strategy...

Glendalough

2010-09-06T21:39:00.004-06:00

I'd say at least 90% of the time when I take a picture it comes out quite a bit differently than planned. This is because with HDR there are many more factors to consider along with the fact that it combines separate exposures that I can only look at one at a time in the camera. Sometimes it turns out better than expected, sometimes worse. But occasionally I can picture something in my head, and that's exactly how it turns out. This was one of those shots.

It was taken at Glendalough in Ireland, just a bit South of Dublin. I actually had a crazy idea that I would wake up insanely early and drive down here to catch a sunrise and make it back before the family got up. It certainly would have made a cool picture, but the 3am wake up time just didn't happen. Maybe next time.

Tonight the stars speak

2010-08-18T21:37:00.002-06:00

There's nothing like watching a flaming chunk of space dust disintegrate in our atmosphere to pass the time. And I figure, if it's worth watching, it's probably worth trying to take a picture of. The problem is, even during the better meteor showers you usually only get a meteor or two per minute, and it's a big darn sky.

Regardless, I spent the wee morning hours of a few days last week driving out to the middle of nowhere to try to photograph a shooting star. I'll go ahead and disappoint you now - I didn't catch one. I saw quite a few, but never quite got the camera aimed at the right place at the right time. But all was not lost, I got a few good star trails and some shots of the milky way while out there.

And honestly, you can't ever call a night spent watching a meteor shower a failure.

View from the Beehive

2010-08-11T21:06:00.002-06:00

The coasts of Ireland were by far the prettiest parts of the country that we saw. This particular day we drove around the Dingle peninsula out to the westernmost part of Europe (who knew part of Ireland was farther west than Portugal? Not me.)

I really tried to limit my demands that we stop the car in the middle of the road so I could take a picture, but we still ended up stopping at least every 15 or 20 minutes. But, this one actually wasn't my idea. There was a sign pointing to "ancient beehives" that others wanted to see (they turned out to be tiny old stone houses that looked like beehives). I didn't even bother paying the 2 Euros to see them, I just wanted pictures. So I jumped a fence and headed over to the edge of a dirt mound to grab this one.

Out on the Farm

2010-07-30T10:10:00.002-06:00

If I had been born just a few generations ago my occupation would have been decided at birth - and likely my name would have been Rufus as that was the family name back then.

In Sacremento, KY you farm, it's just what people do there. Mostly corn, soy beans, and, although much less popular now than it used to be, tobacco. There are crops in every direction, no matter where you are, and rickety old barns dot the landscape.

So if you're visiting family in Sacremento, like I was earlier this week, you'll likely find little to do - other than drive around and take pictures. My original goal was just to find some old bars, but while driving by one of the family farms I saw this truck. I didn't even know we had a truck.

Big Bluff

2010-07-14T21:13:00.002-06:00

Sometimes names don't have to be original, sometimes all they need to do is serve their purpose - to describe. And describe it does, Big Bluff is literally that, and provides one of my favorite views in Arkansas. Callan and I hiked out here a few years ago, but I decided to head back and get some good pictures. A mere 60 miles outside of Fayetteville and includes a drive by a gas station that has no less than 20 deep fried options on its menu. Nature and fried food - these are a few of my favorite things.

Not even the widest angle lens available can get all of nature's glory into one shot here, so I took 7 and stitched them together. If you're willing to drive an hour and hike an hour, you can see it for yourself. I highly recommend it.

Monastery

2010-06-30T10:58:00.002-06:00

This was one of my favorite places in Ireland for no reason other than the beautiful scenery. It was the site of an old monastery (which you can see in the background if you look very closely) and had lots of hiking trails, a few lakes, this stream, and a waterfall. I don't know if they organized this place on purpose, but one of the most amazing things was that no matter where I took a picture there were no people in the shot - and this place was crowded.

Slane Castle

2010-06-23T08:47:00.002-06:00

People in Ireland are strange. They enjoy sunlight until around 10pm in the summer but it's nearly impossible to find food past 9 and most attractions close no later than 6 (many as early as 4:30!). So getting in all the sights was difficult. We would want to go all day, but places would be closed, and then we'd try to find something to eat, while it was still light outside mind you, and were turned away (but not without a Guiness). However, early closings were not always a bad thing. This particular castle closed fairly early, but there was no gate which allowed us to hang around as long as we wanted without another tourist in sight. The sky was very dramatic this day which works well for a castle and neighboring church/graveyard, so you'll see plenty of pictures from this place in the near future.

Cola Falls

2010-06-16T10:02:00.003-06:00

This was our second day in Ireland and we were hanging around Dublin waiting for the rest of the family to get in (13 of us in total), so we decided to head about 20 miles south to a place called Glendalough. In what became the norm of the trip, we put the location in to my Dad's GPS and away we went blindly trusting this little computer programmed by people that likely don't live in Ireland. Despite my attempts to reason with "this road looks thinner on the map, maybe we should take the larger looking road" we stuck with the GPS winding our way through the countryside. It ended up working out fine, but was nowhere near the quickest way to get to our destination. And, had we taken the quicker way, we would have missed the valley with this bright cola colored waterfall. Dublin was cool enough, but honestly I could have just driven around the countryside away from civilization the whole trip and been just fine.

More Ireland pictures to come. I've put a number of hours into photo editing already and I'm not even through day 2 of the 8 day trip.

America... heck yeah

2010-05-28T14:32:00.004-06:00

For those of you who know what my hometown is, you probably also know what it is not - classy. When you enter town from the South you're greeted with an old Air Force jet and an American flag. I'm not sure how you can show your patriotism better, other than pretty much, you know, anything else. A nice statue or memorial or something of the sort would be nice. And I've got nothing against the flag, the jet is just way out of place in a park. Erasing the stand holding it up and making it look like it's (sort of) flying is a little better, but honestly it just looks like this:

So veterans, thank you for serving our country, and Monett, thank you for reminding me why I'm glad I no longer pay taxes to you. I'm guessing jets aren't cheap.

Mirror

2010-05-26T12:54:00.003-06:00

I spent most of this day (as in about 45 minutes), unsuccessfully, trying to find a spot around lake Fayetteville where I could be close enough to the water to not have trees in the picture. This was about as close as I could come. However, as I was standing there I saw a dock across the lake that I had no idea existed. You can barely see it on the right side of the shot. Thanks to my iphone I figured out how to get there and went out the next day. It's still a little odd to be somewhere where you can't see civilization but still have internet access.

The Concrete Jungle

2010-05-17T08:20:00.002-06:00

So it's not quite the same Concrete Jungle that Jay-Z sings about (where dreams are made of) but it's about the closest thing we've got here in Fayetteville Arkansas. It's about the only open-air place I can think of where you can go and not see sprawling hills or even a single tree. I kinda like that about Fayetteville.

Throw in a manhole cover and you've got the perfect setting for a ninja turtles movie.

Speaking of turtles. I spent a good portion of the weekend randomly roaming about taking pictures, and while trekking around lake Fayetteville I found this little guy.

The elephant in the room

2010-05-13T09:20:00.004-06:00

I was talking with someone the other day about cake decorating (cooking is one of my other favorite hobbies) and I mentioned how terrible I am at decorating. I'm just not very artistic. I can't draw, I have terrible handwriting, I'm not good with graphic design and architecture and interior design aren't really my fortes either - although I do appreciate good work when I see it.

Which is why I find photography to be such a peculiar art form. I'm not creating anything really - I just position myself in the right place and time to steal someone else's work.

Such is the case below with Fayettville's new elephant Nomkhubulwane. It's made of old tires and is one of twelve such recycled elephants circling the globe. I didn't weave the thing, I didn't design the town center or the condo unit in the picture. I didn't pick out the clouds or the blueish gray of the sky. I'm not the artist, I'm just an amateur art thief.

*As an aside, do not try to figure out the correct spelling of amateur by googling the word. It brings up a lot of things you'd probably be very embarrassed to have show up on your work computer.

Colors of Spring

2010-04-29T12:13:00.002-06:00

So my picture for this week was somewhat inspired by this shot (which I did not take):

Stuck in Customs

I know right? Way better than mine. But in my defense, I don't often make it to Kyoto, I don't have a $10,000 camera, and my bamboo were only 2ft tall.

I've been sitting here thinking about re-writing this post as not not include the above picture. It goes against my high school English teacher's "fat guy on the beach" theory which states if you find the largest, palest guy on the beach and hang out near him, you'll look better in comparison. It's the motto of my life... well that and everybody wang chung tonight.

The Duckfro

2010-04-20T12:19:00.003-06:00

I completely forgot to post last week. Not really sure how that happened but this week there might be two pictures - maybe.

Life has been busy lately. End of the semester projects will be due soon and at work I've got to hire a new batch of tutors before everyone leaves for the semester. Much to do in the next two weeks.

This has unfortunately left little time for picture taking, but luckily I still have a stash of unused shots that can hold me over until summer.

This shot was taken at the same lake in Little Rock as the one a few weeks ago. You'll notice that the 3rd duck from the left does not have a normal rounded head. No sir, this duck has an afro, and a pretty sweet one at that.

Party at the Park

2010-04-08T08:28:00.002-06:00

Well thank you to all who voted for me to win season tickets to the Walton Arts Center. I got 11 votes. The winner got 89. But that's ok, at least 11 of you and my mom love me.

This was shot on an incredibly windy day. The people down in the gazebo were having a party and I can only imagine clutching to their plates of potato salad while trying to keep their napkin from flying away. I admit it's not a terribly interesting picture, but it was a good day for clouds so I decided to get out and shoot, even if it was just at the park down the street.

Theatre or Theater?

2010-03-31T08:25:00.008-06:00

A quick google search doesn't really help with the spelling of the word. Some sites say 'theater' is the building whereas 'theatre' is the art. But then you've got the Broadway Theatre in NYC which refers to the building. Who knows. Point is, I did not see a show at the above theater last night, although the weather would have been perfect for it. I imagine the raising and lowering of sets is difficult in an open outdoor theater. (I've decided to stick with theater since I feel it most accurately reflects my status as someone not fancy enough to use the word theatre)

However, I did see a play last night courtesy of the Walton Arts Center and their blogging contest. If enough people vote my review best I win a Broadway season package. Score. (follow this link http://bit.ly/bNKlKP and click "like" on my comment if you'd like to help me win!) Since cameras are not allowed in the theater I thought I'd include a shot of a different theater - the Greek Theater at the University of Arkansas.

But I digress, the real reason for this post is to review South Pacific, the musical I saw at the WAC last night. If you know me well you probably would wager that I've never heard of South Pacific before. You'd be right. But I went, and I enjoyed. The story follows a group of marines in the South Pacific during WW2. A nurse has fallen in love with a French plantation owner and the Lieutenant has fallen in love with a young islander girl. On the side you've got a rowdy group of sailors who operate a laundry business, make grass skirts, and serve as the comedic relief of the show. The singing, dancing, and acting was top-notch. I'm still amazed at people that have the talent to do all three simultaneously live. It was funny, it was sad, and you see a bit of unexpected male behind - which is cool if that's your thing. And if you were expecting a intelligent review, you obviously don't come here often. I take pictures folks.

If you'd like to see the show, the WAC may have some seats left, but from the looks of the theater last night the show looks to have sold out. However, even if you can't catch it at the WAC, you can always find a copy of the DVD which stars Reba McEntire and Alec Baldin. Want.

Stupid powerlines

2010-03-23T09:31:00.002-06:00

I mean I understand why they're necessary, but it'd be nice if we could just bury them. They're quite the eyesore.

It's been a pretty interesting week. On Friday we had beautiful weather, I went out to Lake Fayetteville for a jog after work wearing shorts and a t-shirt and was quite comfortable. It then proceeded to snow 12" the next day - the first day of spring. Two days later and we're supposed to hit 69 degrees. I can't help but think this fluctuation is the culprit behind my current cold.

Speaking of sickness, we got health insurance reform passed this week. While I'm honestly pretty disappointed with much of the bill, I'm very happy with the protections that citizens will now have with regards to pre-existing conditions and the fact that those with serious health conditions will be able to get insurance and will not have it canceled. No one should go bankrupt to pay hospital bills, and no one should be denied care. Seems like it should be pretty simple. Unfortunately there are way too many selfish people in this country.

Lake 6

2010-03-18T08:00:00.002-06:00

Can you imagine having this in your back yard? I don't know about you, but I think I'd get a lot less accomplished. Of course when you're 89 like Jess's grandma - you don't have to get a lot accomplished. Just relax and watch the ducks.

Speaking of ducks, you probably can't see it but the duck in the front has this crazy afro. I'll post a picture of it sometime soon.

My Sundown

2010-03-08T15:53:00.003-06:00

For the longest time I never named any of my pictures, just put them up as img_1034 or whatever they happened to be. But lately I've been trying to do more quality work and less quantity. Gone are the days of uploading every shot from a trip or from a party (I don't even remember the last time I uploaded a picture to facebook). The unfortunate thing is that I'm terrible at naming things. I think I participated in the naming of Wes and I's fish Frijol (it means bean). But that was probably mainly Wes. I always hope that something in the shot will inspire the name, but usually it's just whatever pops into my head first - which is sometimes (most times) pretty lame. Maybe one day I'll get better at it... or just find someone else to name them. This one I stole from a Jimmy Eat World song. Woo for originality!

The Snow Remains

2010-03-01T10:32:00.002-06:00

Seemed like for a while there we always had snow on the ground here in Fayetteville. Not that the ground was covered, but the piles where the snow had been shoveled remained for weeks. It's no DC, but still.

It looks like those days have come to an end and if the precipitation trend continues, we're looking at a really wet spring. Good news for farmers, bad news for the rest of us (stormy skies = good pictures, water + camera = very bad).

One of these days I'll get out there and re-shoot the WAC without the snow, but I haven't been taking enough pictures lately and my post-per-week goal sometimes necessitates posting some backups.

Front row for the sunset

2010-02-24T09:30:00.003-06:00

Opposite view from the Lights of Knowledge shot from a few weeks ago. I have a list of about 20 places to take pictures around Fayetteville but a) it's cold outside and b) I'm lazy and the library is close to work. Eventually I'm going to run out of things to shoot near home/work and I'll have to branch out. Hopefully it'll be warm by then.

Sunrise Road

2010-02-19T10:10:00.002-06:00

With the weather finally starting to warm up it's time to get all of these cold weather pictures out of my system. I'm ready to take pictures without gloves and of trees with green leaves. Who's with me?

Taken out at Lake Fayetteville the same morning as the other icy lake shot. If you look on the left you can see the dock the other shot was taken from.

A Fire So Big The Heavens Can See It

2010-02-08T09:53:00.004-06:00

I love long exposure photography. Leave the shutter open long enough and it just soaks in all the colors of the night. I took a couple dozen pictures this night (and then a couple dozen more once I realized I had forgotten to reset my f-stop after shooting a portrait the day before) and with most of them at 30 seconds - it took a while. Lots of standing around in the cold.

And why the heck is the sky orange? I have no idea. It did look orange to the naked eye, but the long exposure really kicked it up a notch. I actually had to tone down the orange so it wouldn't actually look like the sky was on fire.

Top 7 albums of 2009

2010-02-05T15:50:00.004-06:00

Well it's February, so I've had time to reflect on all the new music from 2009 and narrow it down to my favorite albums of the year. I'm not sure if I'm becoming more and more out of the music loop or if it was just an off year for music. Either way, I'm down from 12 favorite albums of the year last year to just 7 this year. There were more than 7 albums I liked this year, but only these 7 stood out. So, without further ado, here they are:

7. Losing Sleep - Parachute
It barely feels like an album. The songs contained within vary from from a slow guitar serenade to pop to rock and everything in between. But the songs are good, and while none are awe-inspiring, the entire album is pretty darn surprisingly good.
Favorite track: She is Love

6. Up to Now - Snow Patrol
More of a "best hits" album than a new album, but Up to Now has some tracks that are previously unreleased under the Snow Patrol name including You Are My Joy, Just Say Yes, and On/Off. It also includes most of my other Snow Patrol favorites. All in all it's a 30 track, 2-disk album and worth getting if you're a big Snow Patrol fan.
Favorite (new) track: You are my Joy

5. Cycles - Cartel
I've always had a soft spot for punk (or probably more accurately "pop-punk" in this case) so it should come as no surprise that Cartel makes this list. The first time I heard these guys was when they opened for Copeland in a show in Springfield MO and I've liked them ever since. It's not music to relax to, but I dare you to put on Faster Ride, go for a run, and not get pumped.
Favorite track: Faster Ride, Only you (tie)

4. Ocean Eyes - Owl City
Don't like Owl City? Too bad for you. I've heard more complaints than compliments about this band, but sometimes I think people just think they have to hate bands that become popular with the non music snobs (I also doubt most have heard anything but Fireflies before making that judgment). Fact is, this album gave us what we've been missing since Postal Service. Now, they're nowhere as good as Postal Service, but still very good in their own right. It's synthy, popy, and catchy. Gotta love it. You definitely don't have to always love Matthew Thiessen's (of Relient K) corny lyrics. But the melodies are good, so slow your judging roll and enjoy some good music.
Favorite track: On the Wing

3. Love is on the Move - Leeland
These guys continue to impress, coming up with Christan music that doesn't sound like your typical Christian music. I said it in last years list but I'll say it again, they're truly unique in their genre.
Favorite track - Via Dolorosa

2. Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!
This album made me fall in love with a cappella. Ben Folds, after seeing videos of university a cappella groups performing his songs, decided to make an album of them. I like Ben Folds, but I like nearly every track on this album better than his version.
Favorite track: Not the Same

1. Three Flights from Alto Nido - Greg Laswell
Ok so technically this one came out in 2008, but I didn't find it until 2009, and I liked it so much I've got to include it on the list anyway. He released Covers in 2009, but I didn't like it as well. I'm not even sure why I like it so much, but I've been listening to it for almost a year and I have yet to tire of it - which is rare with even music I like.
Favorite track: Not Out (also check out his cover of Girls Just Want to Have Fun - thanks Blake!)

Lights of Knowledge

2010-02-02T09:49:00.003-06:00

I love that we have public libraries, and I love that people use them. I mostly use them for pictures, but I did checkout a few audio books for my drive to Texas over the weekend. It's like reading without reading.

Up in the valley

2010-01-27T09:03:00.002-06:00

With a potential ice storm looming on the horizon I am most thankful for one thing... that I'll be in Texas for the whole darn thing.

The last time I visited my girlfriend's family was also a trip to warmer weather - Colorado. I would never have thought Co would be warmer than Arkansas in November but wrong I was. The nice weather made for a perfect hike in the Rockies, somewhere near Boulder I think. Snow covered many parts of the trail but even high in the mountains it stayed in the upper 50's or so.

Knowing I was already going to have to lug around my camera I decided to go sans tripod, which in hindsight was a bad idea. It's also a little embarrassing hauling around a tripod with people you barely know (although slightly less embarrassing than when I had a tiny point and shoot camera). Lesson learned, next time I'll bring the tripod regardless. Luckily a few pictures ended up ok, so it wasn't a complete loss.

Dawn on the Frozen Lake

2010-01-19T10:23:00.004-06:00

So you know that nice weather we've been having lately? The nice deviation from the frigid single digits? Yeah, that apparently has no effect on the weather pre-7am. 50's in the afternoon can still mean upper 20's at dawn.

This picture was taken yesterday morning at Lake Fayetteville. Who knew it would still be frozen with this weather? In some other photos I took you can see rocks out on the lake, presumably thrown out there by bratty kids who like to ruin photos (and by runners like myself who threw rocks on it last weekend). Which I can only assume means it's safe to walk on...

There were some amazing pink clouds pre-sunrise, unfortunately the docks don't open until exactly sunrise, so those were gone by the time I got out there. But I did get a few from the shore which will be posted at some point in the future.

But enough of my rambling, that's not why you came here.

Lucky 16

2010-01-11T10:07:00.003-06:00

This is my 16th semester in college and I'm fairly certain if I ever work outside of academia it'll take a few years to get off the mindset of living on a semester schedule. I have to make a conscious effort to say things like "last fall" instead of "last semester."

With any luck I've only (only?) got about 5 semesters left (including this one) which will round out my college career at a nice even 20 semesters, or 10 years for those of you counting at home.

In honor of classes starting today, here is a sunset from Old Main lawn.

Desolate Field

2010-01-07T13:44:00.002-06:00

My grandfathers farm is literally surrounded by corn fields. In the summer it's green and beautiful, and in winter it just looks like a barren wasteland. I got up early this morning so I could take pictures of the sunrise, unfortunately the weather had different plans. Ended up driving 9 hours home from Kentucky in rainy gray weather. But, angry gray clouds make for good pictures too, so here ya go.

Hey guys! It's Christmastime!

2010-01-02T11:12:00.002-06:00

A little late on the Christmas post, but it's the holidays and I haven't spend a lot of time on the computer. I did however spend a decent amount of time taking pictures over the past two weeks - which is how I would prefer it.

It was a great Christmas. I got to spend Christmas eve and Christmas day with Jess's family and then we went to Kentucky to spend some time with my family. Aside from the fact that Jess had to have her gallbladder taken out a week ago, it was a great holiday season! She's still a bit sore, but steadily improving. I on the other hand pulled a muscle in my neck and have had trouble looking left for the past 3 days. So we make quite the pair.

Hopefully at some point in the next few weeks I'll do a couple best of 2009 posts (pictures and music), but I have a feeling 2010 will blow it away. It's gonna be a good year folks, I can feel it...

In the meantime, merry Christmas from the Fayetteville Public Library. I miss living by this place, it always makes for a good picture.

From Library and Square 12.15.09

Merry Christmas

2009-12-16T09:49:00.002-06:00

Now that I'm done teaching, studying, and writing papers for the semester, I've finally got some free time. So here's a picture from roommate Christmas tree decoration night. If went sent out Christmas cards with our "family" photo - this would be it.

From Christmas 09

Information Retention

2009-11-24T09:36:00.002-06:00

Last night I went to the library to work on my statistics homework and sat down at a computer where there was a book sitting on the desk. It was the only computer open but was logged out so I went for it anyway. The book was Modern Techniques for Information Retention.

From 11.20.09

After working for a bit and spreading out all my work I needed to move the book, at which time I realized that it was not, in fact, a real book - it was too light for its size. So I opened the cover to find

From 11.20.09

After googling the book title I found that this is a Red Bull promotion - they're leaving these books in libraries for students to find. They were cold so I'm guessing it hadn't been there long. As I left I swiped the book and drank the RB with Cola. I'm not a huge Red Bull fan, so I was actually more excited about the secret compartment book.

If you live with me there's a Red Bull in the fridge with your name on it.

Sun v. Clouds

2009-11-23T09:41:00.003-06:00

This wasn't really how I intended the picture to turn out. This was my first shot of the morning and the shutter speed was a little slow (which is why you can't see any detail around the sun). But it ended up being the only shot with the awesome sun rays, so what can you do.

Anyway I kinda like it. It looks like the morning sun is driving back the clouds from the sky.

On an unrelated note, I made it to work in record time today. Apparently all the traffic near my house is related to parents dropping off their kids at one of the many schools near us. Campus is also a little dead, but that's to be expected. I'm hoping for at least 5 out of 24 students in class tomorrow (last day of class before break and it's a 3:30pm class - I'm not holding out a lot of hope).

I'm off to Denver for Thanksgiving, so hopefully I'll get some good shots to share. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

From Sunrise 11.20.09

(click on picture to see larger version)

Friendsgiving

2009-11-19T10:59:00.003-06:00

It's almost better than Thanksgiving - almost. For the past few years we've had a thanksgiving feast a bit before the actual holiday so that we can celebrate with friends. I love Thanksgiving, it's one of my favorite holidays. There's football, time with family, and a ton of good food. The only downside is you can't spend it with more of the people you love - unless you celebrate twice (I would also not be opposed to a third celebration).

I'm still getting used to the camera (shooting on auto is for pansies and people who don't know what they're doing - and I refuse to acknowledge that I am either) so bear with me through the fuzzy, poorly lit, and/or noisy pictures for now, I'll get it down one of these days...

The amazing turkey chef himself

From Friendsgiving 09

There was a bit of a bottle neck in the food line

From Friendsgiving 09

Presentation of the pie

From Friendsgiving 09

The age old battle of fork v. spoon

From Friendsgiving 09

Ice is back with a brand new invention

2009-11-17T09:33:00.003-06:00

As Justin Timberlake brought sexy back, I am here to bring blogging back. I had grown tired of my old camera and had all but stopped taking pictures, but with the addition of my new favorite toy, I hope to bring the blog back to its long lost glory (yes, it was at one time glorious). Soon to come will be pictures of last week's Friendsgiving...

From Friendsgiving 09

Really? Another Sunset?

2009-07-28T08:23:00.003-06:00

Yes, really. Probably half my posts are of sunsets, I realize this, but they still look cool.

From Florida 09

2009 marked the reinstatement of the semi-long standing tradition of a roommate FL trip. We started the tradition in 2005 with Wes, Taylor and I and expanded the trip the next few years to include lots of good friends. After a one year hiatus we were back thanks to the generosity of Cal's parents. They let us crash in the guest house of their beach house for a few days and, aside from the fact that we got stuck in Montgomery Alabama for 24 hours due to a freak incident involving a pvc pipe, it was a pretty sweet trip. More to come on the pipe story later.

Happy 'merica ya'll

2009-07-06T08:05:00.004-06:00

If there are any readers left, I apologize for the 2 month hiatus. I had been unmotivated to take pictures lately, but i think I'm ready to get back into it. We'll see.

4th of July this year included about 11 min of stuff exploding out at the Naturals stadium (and a few fireworks shot of in the parking lot behind us). I spent about half of that time trying to get this picture right - which is fine by me. I love fireworks, but a good picture is much more fun.

From 4th of July 2009

On a side note, tripods are very handy, and make for great pictures. But sometimes I love how pictures come out when I have to improvise (like my sandaltripod I used for this picture). I like the angle and the effect of the grass way more than if the picture had been taken from a tripod a few feet off the ground.

Signs of the times

2009-05-05T07:42:00.002-06:00

On our last night in Raleigh we wandered around South Glenstone, a street a few blocks off of downtown that has enough houses to make it look like a neighborhood but enough bars and restaurants to make it a pretty cool hang out. We came here a few nights for dinner, drinks, desert and of course, people watching. Apparently this restaurant had recently hit by the economy and closed. As we walked up the steps to its patio anyway, a couple stopped and asked us if it had closed. After replying that I wasn't from around there she said it was too bad, they had great soup. They also had a great patio overlooking the street, which Jess and I took advantage of regardless of the lack of patrons.

From Raleigh

How to get a job

2009-04-09T08:40:00.002-06:00

From Random

I've been there. The job searching. The filling out of application after application. The stress of the interview. It's enough to drive a man mad. And in an economy such as this one work is ever harder to come by. So, to aid my fellow blog readers who are looking for jobs, I've compiled a list of things not to do if you're applying for a job. For those of you not too familiar with what I do, I coordinate tutoring and mentoring at the U of A. I also aid in coordination of Supplemental Instruction and am in charge of hiring for all three. My staff consists of probably between 60 and 80 people a semester. For the last week I have been accepting applications for positions for the fall semester and have been jotting down my favorite questions I've received via email and my favorite quotes from applications that have been submitted.

So without further ado, here are my suggestions for when you are job hunting:

1) Spell the hiring guy's name correctly. I realize Mr. Richard is probably a more common name than Mr. Rickard - but it's probably best to copy paste the name from the application.

2) If you don't know your previous employer's phone number, don't write "I don't know" in the box. Look it up. It's called a phone book. Even leaving it blank would have been better, I probably wouldn't have even noticed.

3) If the job advertisement lists a website and instructs you to apply online, do not email a resume to the email that is listed for questions.

4) If something is listed under "Job Responsibilities" it's probably not the best idea to email the prospective employer telling them that you are "not interested" in some of the responsibilities - even if you follow it up by saying you are willing to do some of the other responsibilities.

5) Carefully read the entire job advertisement. If it specifically states that the job is for fall 2009, chances are it is not a summer position.

6) If the minimum cumulative and major GPA is 3.0, and you list 3.0 for both, I'm going to check your GPA immediately. Do you really think I'm not going to notice that your GPA is really 1.4?

7) Speaking of major GPA (which is the GPA of one's major) it's fine if you don't know what that means, but it's probably a good question to ask a teacher, advisor or friend - not the guy that is sizing up how smart you are.

8) If you write that you are "Consideering" the position in the subject of an email, you will likely not be "consideered" for the position. Spelling errors happen, I make some myself. But for Pete's sake, at least proofread the subject line.

9) If you receive a response to a question you have asked, it is not ok to write back and say that you will take the job unless there was a clear offer of a job (there wasn't).

10) References for a position should come from previous employers, or in the case of tutoring, in the form of a professor. Using a fellow student as a reference is pretty much the dumbest thing I can think of.

Another rainy day in Fayetteville

2009-04-02T08:11:00.002-06:00

From March Thunderstorm

I've got clouds... on a cloudy day

2009-03-31T08:14:00.002-06:00

I really need to get a new place to take pictures, or at least find a way on to the roof to get pictures in different directions. But such is life. It's been very rainy here lately, which always makes for some good cloudy pictures. If only I had a view out the north side of the building! The clouds were even better there.

From March Thunderstorm

Time - you ain't no friend of mine

2009-03-18T12:16:00.003-06:00

As anyone who has visited my office knows, the walls here are pretty bare. There's a few plaques (Highest team score and most lost balls at the U of A staff golf tourney - score!), a crooked cork board, and a clock.

From Womack Wedding

Well the clock has been broken pretty much since I got here. I've replaced the batteries twice trying to get it to work, but it just never keeps accurate time. However, I don't want to take it down as to remove 1/4 of the decor on my walls. Nor do I want the ELC to buy me a new clock as really, who uses clocks anymore.

Anyway people have always commented on it and the other day I randomly looked at it and noticed it was correct. I began to wonder how often this happens. I was talking to Chas, our computer kid (probably not his actual title) and told him I'd give him a dollar if he could figure it out. What I didn't consider was, that once he gave me an answer I'd have to confirm the result.

Once he figured out his answer, I hatched a plan involving Microsoft access and excel, and literally 1 million lines of data. This plan failed. I was reduced to finding the answer algebraically. Which took much shorter than the excel method anyway (if you've ever put 1,000,000 lines of data into excel, it makes my fancy schmancy work computer respond like my vintage desktop circa 2001).

So anyway, long story short. If you're bored and feel like solving a riddle, here goes. My clock is 4 seconds slow, meaning that when a normal clock has finished its rotation for a minute and the second hand is at 12, mine is at 56 seconds. The next minute it would be at 52 seconds, and so on. How often is my clock right? (disregarding AM/PM)

To start the day

2009-03-12T10:00:00.005-06:00

It's about a 7 min walk from my car to my office. On some days - like the ones later in last week and earlier this week - I love the walk. On other days, like today, I loathe it. Cold and windy, uphill all the way. But there's a stretch between the HPER and the Lewis center where it's concrete on both sides, and a stairway up - only a small patch of sky is visible. Days like today it's just gray and depressing. But days like the one below always give me a positive outlook on the day. It's like my daily groundhog day.

From Starred Photos

The North Tower

2009-02-20T11:49:00.002-06:00

Apparently sometime soon the U of A will have a new logo. Somehow incorporating the North tower of Old Main.

How that will be different from the current logo (which is one of the old main towers) I have no idea.

From Fayetteville Ice storm 2009

Mt. Sequoyah

2009-02-19T09:00:00.004-06:00

I didn't really realize that the hardest part of this goal (posting once every weekday) would be coming up with something to say in each post. I've still got plenty of ice storm pictures, but nothing really more to say about the storm other than I'm over weather in which ice is a possibility. Bring on the spring.

From Fayetteville Ice storm 2009

Before the rain

2009-02-18T09:10:00.002-06:00

It's things like this that make me thankful I take my camera to work every day. I had never seen a full rainbow before last week, but it's a pretty amazing sight. All I have to say now is... I wanna know where da gold at

From Rainbow

Do the Hustle

2009-02-12T11:22:00.004-06:00

Well I didn't have time to do more HDR's for today, but I am still posting! So I'm still on par for the goal. Last night was a busy night. Jess and I started our Latin Dance class last night which was quite fun. I have a feeling once we start getting into more than the basic box step I'm going to have real problems. Even with it being the first day with the simplest dances I had problems trying to talk while dancing.

West Ave

2009-02-11T09:03:00.002-06:00

It wasn't until looking at this picture that I realized that at one point we had a tree leaning on our house. How did I miss that?

Regardless, this was a good day on West Ave - the day we got our power back.

From Fayetteville Ice storm 2009

The Ice Path

2009-02-10T09:17:00.002-06:00

There was nothing about this walk to Old Main that looked familiar. In fact if you asked exactly where I took this picture I'd have to stop and think about it - it normally looks nothing like this.

From Fayetteville Ice storm 2009

It's just a little water ya'll

2009-02-09T09:54:00.002-06:00

As much of a pain as the ice storm was, it was definitely more good than bad (for me). I got out of 4 days of work, got to build a fire and have s'mores (indoors), got to go visit family, hang out with Jess, go sledding, play with a chainsaw, and spend the good portion of an afternoon walking around taking pictures of the ice. I took enough pictures to fill the next many, many posts with ice storm HDR's. But they're time consuming so I probably won't. But I'm going to try to do at least 5 of them to make it through this week. The first is from the aforementioned Hillcrest Towers. (As always, click the picture to see a larger version)

From Fayetteville Ice storm 2009

The Glorious Hillcrest

2009-02-06T08:48:00.002-06:00

I've posted pictures from the top story of this building numerous times, but you have yet to see the Hillcrest in all it's magnificent glory. I'm still not sure what it is, but I'm fairly sure it's a place where sick and/or poor people live. A quick google search reveals that during the late 90's someone would push people out of their windows there - which kinda creeps me out.

From 2.3

But it's still my favorite place to take pictures.

The lonely street

2009-02-05T08:52:00.002-06:00

Since we've lived in West Ave it's been a tradition that if we get enough ice/snow that we think school will be canceled we head down to Dickson St for a few drinks and more importantly, to watch people slipping and sliding all over the place. Last Monday night was just such a night, only it was just Taylor and I that braved the icy rain.

From Sunset

We stopped by Brewski's to grab a drink and for once the music wasn't turned up so loud you couldn't talk. No doubt due to the fact that there were only 4 of us in the bar.

The Goal

2009-02-04T09:17:00.002-06:00

I've been pretty terrible at updating this blog - especially lately. So I have made a goal for myself of posting once every weekday for the rest of February. What this means is you'll probably be getting some mediocre pictures, but that's my goal and I'm sticking with it. This week's theme will be long-exposure pictures. Next week will be ice-storm HDR's. So stay tuned, and update you own blogs for pete's sake, I'm getting bored over here!

From Work Sunset 1.7.09

This was taken outside my office on a day I had to stay at work late. I always get a few funny looks when I pull out a tripod and set a $150 point and shoot camera on it that even a child can use, but I've gotten more and more used to that.

On a lighter note, it was actually at this very spot where I saw a student carrying a boom box blasting the song "Listen to your heart" at full volume (the classic version, not the new techno one). It made my day.

Top 12 Albums of 2008

2009-01-04T13:17:00.006-06:00

Well folks, 2008 has come to and end. It was definitely a good year in many ways. Last year I did a "favorite moments of 2007" and will do the same this year, but I also decided to do a top albums of the year to get warmed up for reflecting on the best of the year. So without further ado - my favorite albums of 2008

1. William Fitzsimmons - The Sparrow and the Crow
William Fitzsimmons is one sad, sad man. This album, written about his recent divorce, is so amazingly sad that I got a little depressed because it was so good I couldn't take it out of my car cd player for a week.
Favorite Song: After Afterall

2. Ben Rector - Songs That Duke Wrote
Seriously? Yes seriously. This album is good - very good. I hadn't heard but one song when I went to see him play a few months ago (he's a local artist) but it was so good that I bought (yes bought) both of his albums this year.
Favorite Song: When She Comes Around

3. Anberlin - New Surrender
I still can't decide if I like New Surrender or last years Cities better, but both are fantastic albums by a band that has now retained the #6 slot in my car cd canger almost continuously since I bought the car a year and a half ago.
Favorite Song: Burn Out Brighter

4.Coldplay - Vida La Vida
Coldplay is one of those bands that I'm always slightly apprehensive about new albums. They're all so good that it seems hard to believe they can compete with previous works, but they never disappoint.
Favorite Song: Death and All His Friends

5. Leeland - Opposite Way
It was definitely the title track of this album that drew me in. I've listened to it I don't know how many times. It's not an album I generally listen to all the way through, but it has some fantastic songs. These guys have such a unique sound that I can't compare them to any group I know. Their lyrics are definitely worshipful, but they don't have the sound of any other worship group.
Favorite Song: Opposite Way

6. Run Kid Run - Love at the Core
I had never heard of this band before this year. Then they came on my last.fm station and I liked them immediately. I don't listen to a lot of punk/rock anymore (not nearly the amount I did in high school) but I still enjoy a good punk/rock group every once in a while. And these guys are very good. Someone likened them to a Christian Fall Out Boy, which seems fairly accurate. Like Relient K you really have to pay attention to the lyrics to catch the Christian undertones.
Favorite Song: My Sweet Escape

7. Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns
I had this album for quite a while before I ever gave it a chance. Then on a trip with some friends I put it in and let it play all the way through. I don't know that it's better than their previous albums, but it's very good.
Favorite Song: If There's a Rocket Tie Me to It.

8. Augustana - Can't Love, Can't Hurt
I really don't know where these guys came from on this one. I have All The Stars And Boulevards, and there were really only two tracks I really liked. They definitely set the bar much higher for their albums. I can, and have, listened to the album through many many times.
Favorite Song: Sweet and Low

9. Ben Rector - Twenty Tomorrow
Seriously? This guy again? Yes. He released two albums this year - his only two. He's a wiz on the piano and writes a mean lyric. Great recipe for catchy music. I actually remade my top albums list after buying these two albums about a month ago.
Favorite Song: Disarm

10. Bon Iver - For Emma, For Ever
Probably the most unique sound of any album on this list. When I first heard it I didn't think I was going to like it. Then I was sitting in a bar one day and they played the first three tracks off the album and I realized how good it was. It's not the type of music I generally get into. But this guy is good.
Favorite Song: Skinny Love

11. Death Cab - Narrow Stairs
I've had two music-loving friends put this on their most disappointing albums of the year list and I just can't see how. It's classic Death Cab as far as I'm concerned. If you like Death Cab and don't like this album I think you should give it another try.
Favorite Song: Your New Twin Sized Bed

12. The Weepies - Hideaway
The Weepies are very hit and miss for me, they have some songs that are simply amazing, and others that are so so. But the amazing ones are enough to keep the album at the top of the list. The guy/girl singing duo is just a match made in heaven in my book.
Favorite Song: Can't Go Back Now

Albums I wish had made the list:

Copeland - You Are My Sunshine
Out of 4 Copeland albums I like 2, but I like those two so much that I keep hoping they'll come out with another good one. But I just can't get into their last two albums. Here's to hoping there's better to come.

Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger
Andrew McMahon has been the lead singer of 3 of some of my favorite albums - Something Corporate's North and Leaving Through the Window, as well as Jack's Mannequin's Everything In Transit. But sadly this album just isn't very good. I'm hoping this is a fluke.

Sunrise Sunset

2008-12-30T12:11:00.002-06:00

Since taking up the photography hobby I tend to watch the sky a lot more - watching for a good cloud day that will make for a good sunset. Sunrises are also quite amazing - I just don't make it up that early very often. But over the past couple weeks I've gotten to see some of both.

From Thanksgiving

This was actually a few minutes before sunset, but I liked the sun in the dilapidated barn window.

From Sunset and Christmas Cookies

Jess and I stayed up all night to watch a sunrise - it was a great day. I was a little worried it would be too cloudy, but it was perfect.

From Sunset 12.15

Winter is great for sunsets, unfortunately they generally happen right around 5pm - right as I'm getting off work. I happened to notice this one starting at about 4:30, so I left work early ran like a crazy man over to my favorite photo spot to get a few pictures.

From KY Christmas 08

My mom actually took this one. It was Christmas eve, I had taken some pictures of the clouds earlier that day and missed the sunset. I stitched together a few of her pictures to get a panoramic shot.

The Places We've Been

2008-12-03T08:53:00.004-06:00

So my roommate Taylor was joking around about the picture from my last post being a terrible photoshop job - I had "forgotten to put in a background." So to appease Taylor (and to stave off boredom while in the middle-of-nowhere Kentucky for Thanksgiving) I had a little fun with photoshop and the picture of Jess, Taylor, Terra and I from the Womack's wedding.

So here's what our group has been up to lately:

Taylor's dad (who just happens to be Rick Moranis) built a miniaturizing machine and forgot to mention that it now works. Thanks Rick.

From JB/TT

We visited Mexico's famous Chechen Itza - it was smaller than we expected.

From JB/TT

When those crazy Chinese guys popped out of the boxes during the opening ceremony I almost had a heart attack.

From JB/TT

I mean, it's just a bunch of rocks in a field.

From JB/TT

Sometimes you only have to venture across the street to see amazing things...
... amazing is used a little too loosely these days

From JB/TT

The Chinese live in the largest gated community in the world.

From JB/TT

We all wanted to pet the duckies at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

From JB/TT

Suited up and ready to rock the Big Apple? Check

From JB/TT

How we found ourselves trying to escape a black hole we'll never know. Those big bastards are scary as hell.

From JB/TT

More rocks in a field - didn't people have better things to do back then?

From JB/TT

Calling it "Grand" really seems like an understatement

From JB/TT

Space walk it out.

From JB/TT

Black Suit - not the proper attire for a desert excursion.

From JB/TT

We've had some good times.

The Night Starts Here

2008-11-19T14:14:00.003-06:00

I'm a huge fan of weddings.

I take that back - I'm huge fan of wedding receptions. Weddings are good, and a necessary part of the process, but the reception is the fun part. There's dancing, cake, good friends, people acting crazy, and fun photography. A good portion of my favorite things in life all rolled into an evening.

From Womack Wedding

These are from the wedding I went to over the weekend of my good friend and old roommate Jesse and his now wife Haleigh. If either of you read this, congratulations! You guys are awesome.

And since these are his pictures, I'll put a plug in for the photographer. His name is Jeremy Cavness, he's a friend of Callan's and does some really good work for pretty stinkin cheap. To see more of the fun wedding pictures visit his blog at http://www.thecavness.blogspot.com/

And his website (which has Jesse and Haleigh's engagement photos) is http://jeremycavness.com/

If you're in the market for a photographer I'd check him out.

Oh and the title is from a song by the band Stars who I'm currently listening to. It seemed (somewhat) relevant.

A Good Thing

2008-11-05T09:00:00.002-06:00

I've never been good at picking favorites. I don't have a favorite food, favorite color, favorite musician, or favorite book. I like so many things it's hard to choose. But I do have a favorite movie - Shawshank Redemption - I even remember the first time I watched it, it was at my friend Ian's house in probably 7th or 8th grade, and I've probably watched it on TNT every time it's been on since then.

I like the movie for a few reasons. For starters I can watch it over and over again and never get bored with it. But even more than that, I love the reoccurring theme of the movie - hope.

The beginning of the movie introduces Red, a man in his 50's who has been in jail since 19, when he was "a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime." He made a mistake, as all of us have, and he's paid for that mistake with all he has, and then some. He's been turned down for a second chance so many times he's lost hope of ever getting out.

"Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane."

I think a lot of people are scared of hope, scared if they hope then they will be let down. That hoping for something is just one more way to be disappointed. Because, in different ways, we've all been let down in the past - some of us more than others - and each time it kills a little bit of us inside until you're so jaded that hope just seems like a silly word on a billboard.

But I for one refuse to give up hope. I will be let down in the future, without a doubt. I'll hope in something that won't come to pass, and I'll have been wrong. It may even be something that I have hope in right now. But I won't give up because without hope what do we have? If you can't hope for a better tomorrow then it won't be.

Andy later writes in a letter to Red that "hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

I hope that my hope never dies. I hope for a better tomorrow. I hope for the best for my friends and my family. I hope that my childrens' generation lives in world that's better than the one I live in. I hope that their lives are blessed, as impossible as it may seem, more than mine has been.

"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope."

It's possible I could have gotten this one wrong, maybe I picked the wrong guy, maybe I'll look back and realize I should have chosen differently. But I have hope, and I'll never regret the decision I made based on this hope.

Fall

2008-10-28T10:15:00.003-06:00

As much as I love the warm weather, you just can't help but love fall in Arkansas. I only wish it could last a while longer. I realize by definition it lasts just as long as summer or spring, but to me it starts when the air starts to get cool, and it ends when the leaves have fallen off the trees - which is really just a few weeks.

It seems at this time every year I have something keeping me inside. This year it's been a couple tests and a looming research paper. Luckily I have been able to get out some. These are from the camping trip over the weekend.

From CG Camping 08

The Fog

2008-10-15T20:41:00.003-06:00

I already posted these on Facebook so probably most of you have seen them, but I haven't been out to take pictures lately so I'm running out of things to post. Hopefully I'll get a chance to fix that this weekend. Until then, this is me and Taylor having fun on a bluff with a blank background due to a surprising amount of fog.

C&H

2008-10-08T09:10:00.002-06:00

I love Calvin and Hobbes

You have to believe that life is more than the sum of its parts, kiddo.

2008-09-21T00:44:00.002-06:00

From Hillcrest Sunset

I love HDR photography. Some people dislike it because it's so surreal, but I honestly believe it's a closer representation of what we see than a normal photograph, and to me that's the point of photography - to relive the moment. Which is why I'm glad I'm not a photographer, because I don't have to care what anyone else thinks. All I have to care about is what I like.

It's amazing all the good times I've had within the scope of this one picture, and I really didn't think about that while taking it. The late night stops at grubs, Bikes Blues and BBQ in the WAC parking lot, the jogs to Wilson park, nights on the Hog Haus balcony, the walk home from Dickson street, the tree branch that supported Blake on the night of 7 mugs, on the rocks, speak easy, Georges, running back to the house on snow nights, and so many more. West Ave has been good to me.

The title had nothing to do with the post. Its just a great quote from a movie I watched with Taylor the other day.

West Ave and something about sand

2008-09-16T19:10:00.002-06:00

From Hillcrest Sunset

I've lived at 7 West Ave for about 3 years now, and in that time there have been scores of great times (which Blake told me to write a book about, and the title had something about sand, but I can't remember it). From the Halloween parties to BBQ's, wine and cheese to just hanging out with the roommates. But I'd say at least half the stories that surround West Ave were not events that happened, but events that happened to us. I know I've told some of you this story but for the rest of the fans this is a new one.

It was sometimes last week, I think Tuesday maybe, 1 or 2am (days a times are a little fuzzy - it was all really a blur) and I was out like the 26 year old I am. I'm jarred awake by a banging on my door, I sit straight up. My first thought, of course, is that there has been another car wreck outside (it would make 3 for 7 West Ave so it wouldn't have been surprising). Instead the follow conversation ensues:

Billy: Hey... could you come help me with this?
Me(still half asleep): uh... .... .... do I need pants?

That's actually as far as the conversation went. I'm pretty sure Billy either didn't hear me or decided the question wasn't worth answering. I'm not 100% on why my first thought was the necessity of pants but my second thought was definitely "What the hell would he ask me to help him with that wouldn't necessitate pants?"

I went with pants.

I got outside to find Billy talking to one of the neighbors (who had woken him up), there were no wrecked cars so I was about as confused as I was 5 min previously. Billy yells over "we're taking Gray to the hospital." Gray is our neighbor, the house next door has been turned into apartments and Gray and his girlfriend live in one. We're not close, but they're definitely the friendliest neighbors we've had... and pretty much the only ones we've talked to (naked old dude and topless Dance Dance Revolution girl were just a bit too odd to go over and start a convo with). Apparently he has overdosed on something. Billy goes in to check it out.

I decided not to go into the house. I'm not good with these sorts of things, those who saw me the night of the piece of glass in the foot a few weeks ago can attest to my nauseous, pale as a ghost reaction to such things. Very soon after Billy comes out.

Billy(running): "We're going!"
Me: I'll lock the door (still not fully awake)

I hear the 'burban roar to life down the street and I run over to the neighbors. Three or four people come out with a limp, colorless body and put it in the back seat. I'm awake now.

I jump into shotgun seat and yell at the girl who won't let us close the door because she thinks he's going to be fine and if we take him somebody will get arrested. I yell to get back and grab the door behind me and we speed off into the night. The girls behind me (Gray's GF and the girl from the other apartment) are freaking out. They know what he ODed on but are talking about what they should tell the paramedics so he won't go to jail. I, in a voice that was probably too loud and harsh for the situation, tell them to "tell the people EXACTLY what he took. I don't want him to die!" While this is going on Billy is on the phone with, I'm assuming, 911. He's trying to get patched through to Washington Regional so they can know we're coming - all the while I'm watching out the right side yelling "Clear!" as we speed through red lights. The people on the phone are apparently attempting to send an ambulance. Billy's statement that we are, in fact, on our way, is apparently lost. It was only at this point that I questioned why we hadn't called an ambulance, but it was a little late for that sort of thinking. He finally convinces them to patch him through the hospital... at 70mph down Greg street.

We fly up to the Emergency Room entrance and of course no one is waiting for us. I get out and wave frantically at the staff sitting behind a desk. They send out a solitary nurse with a wheelchair - apparently Billy's warning had no impact. When she saw Gray's condition she hit the emergency button and more nurses and a bed showed up pretty quickly.

That was the last I saw of Gray that night. We sat in the cold bright waiting room for a while. I sat and stared into the wall. I didn't know if he was alive, I didn't know if he was going to be ok. I didn't know him well and I didn't know his girlfriend enough to be very comforting - but amazingly time flew.

After maybe an hour or so the staff told us to take the girls home. They weren't family so they couldn't tell us what was going on until Gray's dad got in from Little Rock.

Greg street at 40 mph seemed to go by slowly, at least until the red and blue lights started flashing behind us - Billy had not used his turn signal... and the cops knew who we were. I assume the hospital had called or 911 had. Either way they knew we were the ones who took Gray to the ER and apparently they thought we were on something too. They pulled everyone in the car out by me. I like to assume that it was the I've-definitely-been-asleep-for-a-while hair that told them I had been doing nothing this evening and that it wasn't that I was the least interesting person in the car, but who knows. We eventually got it sorted out and went home.

I talked to Gray a few days later, he was back at home and doing well. He later brought us over a huge bottle of Jager to say thanks for saving his life. All I could think to say was "all I did was ride shotgun..."

Morning Glow

2008-08-31T08:45:00.003-06:00

Mornings are the best time for pictures. I wish I had the motivation to get out of bed and take pictures more often.

This mornings motivation to stay in bed stemmed from a desire to keep my foot elevated due to the piece of glass it took last night out on Dickson street. It seems to hurt less in this position. I don't know that I've ever bled that much, and the warm chills (similar to a cold chill, only a burning sensation) I got when Jonathan was bandaging my foot was definitely a new experience. Apparently I took on the shade of an albino. Me no me gusta blood.

For me this is heaven

2008-08-26T12:02:00.002-06:00

I tend to joke about everything. If you know me, you probably know this. I got it from my dad and like him, half the time it's only funny to me. I've always found it hard to be a serious person unless there is an absolute need to be. So when joking goes serious it's always a bit odd. Last night I was on the phone with my mom and just in passing she mentioned that they put me as beneficiary on my dad's new truck. Being the not serious person I am I proceeded to make jokes about the fact that if I die they get a nice car, and if they die all I get is a crappy truck (sure it's nice, but what the heck am I going to do with a truck?). We stayed on the subject probably a bit too long for comfort. It was just a little odd having a conversation about death with my mother. If I had thought about it I'd have just let it slide but there we were discussing our ultimate end. It's one thing to think about but another to actually discuss. I ended the subject by saying I really hoped the truck died before they did.

I took this a week or so ago from the Hillcrest towers across the street from my house. It was a very foggy morning and I actually had to wait a while before I could actually see Old Main. It reminded me of what I thought heaven looked like as a kid - buildings in the sky up with the clouds.

Professional photographer?

2008-08-13T15:47:00.004-06:00

Ok, not really. But, a while back I got an email from an online tourist map company called schmap (I've never heard of it) asking if I would be willing to allow one of my pictures to be used on their map. Here's the link (It's under Camelback mountain and should come up when you click the link, if not you may have to cycle through the other pictures) And here's the full size

No, I did not get paid for the picture.

Witness something truly majestic

2008-07-31T09:04:00.008-06:00

This was number one on Morgan Freeman's list of things to do before dying from the movie the Bucket List. I'm pretty sure that so far, Machu Picchu is probably the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life. And not just the city, but the surrounding mountains, and getting to see the sun rise over them. I took a fairly ridiculous number of pictures here.

Cal and I's first day there we hiked Mt. Putukusi. It's a nearby mountain that overlooks MP - and you don't see the city until you get to the very top. My first view of it is the black and white picture at the bottom of my last post. It was amazing.

Cal and I on Putukusi

The next day we left for MP before dawn and got up to the city in time to see the sun rise over the Andes.

We then climbed Huayna Picchu.

Apparently I figured my legs could take another hike, so I went up Machu Picchu.

It was a long freggin hike. I had no idea when I started how long it was, but I certainly didn't expect it to be that long. Compare it with the view from Huayna Picchu to see the differences in altitude - and Huayna was a difficult hike. My legs hurt for days afterward, but it was completely worth it. Certainly the most majestic view I've seen to date.

Cuzcotopia - oh yeah!

2008-07-25T08:17:00.004-06:00

Country 2 – Peru

It’s going to be really hard to choose which pictures to post of Peru, it was such an amazing country. So this will probably end up being a few different posts.
We got to Cuzco and I liked it immediately. It has so much character. Our first day was spent exploring. We had an early flight in and our train to Machu Picchu left early the next morning. The weather in Cuzco is crazy. Early mornings it’s freezing – literally. It could be 30 or 40 degrees when we got up. But in the afternoon it could easily be in the 70’s. The fluctuations made it very difficult to dress – but the lack of clothing options due to no luggage made it easy. However, I knew I’d need a stocking cap. There are crappy little shops selling “alpaca” wares all over the city. We found one hidden out of the way that had some of the nicest people working there. I’m not sure if the hat really is 100% alpaca, but I don’t really care. It was soft and warm. We came back later in the trip to buy more stuff, and these were the only people I didn’t haggle with. They were too nice. When I asked Berta if I could get a picture with her and my hat she was more than happy to, even grabbing some more stuff around the store for me and some for her to make a good picture. She gave me her card and asked if I’d send her a copy of the picture. So now I’ve got to figure out how to send something to Peru.

The Plaza de Armas (which is like a downtown or central square to us) was very interesting. With some really old churches and original Incan walls as well as some great restaurants and bars.

The food in Cuzco was fantastic - and cheap! I think our most expensive meal was probably $26 (for the two of us) as compared with probably $50 in Costa Rica. Most meals were around $15 or less for both of us and a beer was rarely ever more than $2. Jack’s (an American place) had one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. We ate a bit of Peruvian food as well, including alpaca steak and cuy (guinea pig).

Mountain biking was kind of a random decision - it wasn't something we had planned on, but it was definitely well worth it. Some of the best views of the trip were on this excursion.

Amazingly this picture is unaltered - in any way. A lot of pictures I adjust the shadow level to give the pictures a more realistic, less washed-out-by-the-sun look. Not this one, the sky really was that blue.

We also visited some ruins other than Machu Picchu. The name of these sounds remarkably like "sexy woman" which everyone makes the joke about.

And of course there was Machu Picchu, but that will wait for another day. But as a preview of what's to come, this was my first view of the city.

What am I, an astronaut?

2008-07-21T10:11:00.003-06:00

Occasionally I randomly (or not so randomly) choose a college and look at job openings to see what I'll be qualified for once I eventually leave the U of A. I found this gem at Belmont University. It's a Student Services Coordinator (which is just vague enough to involve almost anything. Here's the description of the working conditions (with comments added)

Sedentary work (sweet). Occasionally requires standing (well f), lifting(sedentary my ass), pulling(tug of war?), pushing(I hope it's small children), carrying and climbing(climbing? seriously? Hot), reaching both high and low(how high?). Frequently requires walking(done) and balancing(wait, at the same time?). Constantly requires sitting(I'm a fantastic sitter), repetitious finger and wrist movement(crocheting?), speaking clearly(I tend to mumble), hearing conversations(does this job involve spying?), hearing with acuity(my hearing is more obtuse - bad math joke), seeing near and far with depth perception and color vision (my vision, much like my sense of humor, is off-color).

I think I'll have to cross this one off my list sadly.

Oh man, it's tired in here...

2008-07-17T08:03:00.002-06:00

So I wrote this post on the plane ride back, but I just keep forgetting to post it, so here goes.

In the first 25 years of my life I left the country once – to Canada. On Friday I set foot in 4 countries in one day (of course 2 of them were just airports, but the point remains). It feels like I’ve been gone forever, but it’s only been two weeks. It was an amazing trip, and I’m also so glad to be home. Traveling to countries like we did really opens your eyes to the blessings we have in the US. Little things you don’t think of like drinking tap water or having signs on the highway to tell you where to turn.

Anyway, the trip. Every time I pack for somewhere it takes me forever. And people tell me to hurry up and that if I forget something then I can get it wherever I’m going. Not true in SA. Cal and I were left without luggage for 3 days, and I forgot my camera battery charger (which for someone who loves to take pictures as much as I do – it’s heart wrenching when the first of your 2 batteries dies 2 days into the trip and you realize you have no way to recharge it). Sure I was able to buy some clothing so I didn’t smell all the time. But it’s remarkably hard to find underwear and socks.

The camera situation turned out to be not too bad. I used Cal’s some, and eventually just said screw it and took as many pictures as I wanted. My camera’s low battery light started to flash as I was taking the last pictures I wanted to take of the Plaza on the last night of the trip. All in all I took nearly 800 pictures over the course of 2 weeks, Cal took a few hundred as well. I’ve narrowed them down to my favorite 100 or so pictures which you can see on my picasa site http://picasaweb.google.com/bsrickard/CostaRicaAndPeru and a few will follow in blogs about the trip.

Country #1 – Costa Rica
Cal and I decided for a summer vacation going only somewhere with no beaches where its winter is just silly. And after many words of praise from Wes and an amazing flight deal, we decided on Costa Rica. Almost everyone in this country spoke at least some English. I was amazed. We got of the plane and headed for Dollar Rent A Car. Having a car in this country was very nice, and at the same time scary as hell. The drivers here are mad men – but not as bad as Peru actually. Anyway, the drive from San Jose to Quepos is very cool – either driving through the hilly rain forest or along the Pacific Coast line. We stayed in a town near Costa Rica’s smallest national park. But although small it was very cool. Walking through the park toward the first of many beaches we came along this little guy

I have no idea what it is, but he was not scared of us.
We hiked to a beach our last day before our flight out and where the only people there when we arrived. A few more came later, but probably no more than 5 or 6 people.

It was here we saw the most monkeys. They were all over a tree right near us and didn’t seem to mind me getting close enough for some pictures.

Hiking away from the beach we stumbled upon some more monkeys.

We also saw a few big lizards.

And some amazing views while hiking.

All in all it was a quick few days in Costa Rica, but they were definitely fun. We drank lots of Imperial beer and had some of the best nachos ever at a restaurant that’s made out of an old army plane.

I wrote a Peru post on the plane ride as well, so I'll be posting that one soon.

Tour de Florida

2008-06-10T10:00:00.002-06:00

Just some random shots from my trip to Florida. (And practicing some Spanish)

dónde yo dormí

dónde yo nadé

¿Ningún correr? ¿Es esta Alemania nazi?

El Hard Rock de noche

City Walk de Universal Studios