get neat colors by taking your pictures at the right time

The place I work:



It is so boring that they installed a small pond so people could have something interesting to look at while they eat:



One of 100s of cathedral shots I have:



All pictures courtesy of my Motorola RAZR

Camera>phones

Some sweet photographers have been getting a lot of attention for putting down their manly cameras and shooting whole exhibitions with only an iPhone. I don't have a godphone, but I do like to take pictures with my 2+ year old Motorola RAZR. 1.3 megapixels turns out to be more than enough to take sweet photos. It feels a lot like a Holga camera. Several severe technical flaws notwithstanding, the images work.

First three are from the 2009 Superbowl riots:







Last three are from my bike ride through the Southside on 7/19/09:







*Career note*: I'm about a week away from finishing a draft of my first real research paper.

Dear Sam Cooke's "Baby",

After he taught you to cha cha cha (I don't know why you didn't already know this dance because everyone loves to do it)


and shake it like a bowl of soup


and twist the night away


all you could do was hire a bunch of nurses and cook him lots of meat


AND THEN LEAVE HIM FOR SOME BRO WHO COULD TENNESSEE WALTZ BETTER THAN HIM!?!?


absurd

turn your head and scroll down

My Blog Has Gone Public!!!

Thanks for visiting my blog. I hadn't distributed the url until now because I wanted to build some content (if you can even call it that). I just wanted a place to share some happenings with my life. Feel free to read or comment or both. I never thought I would have a blog. That changed when I realized we can all be our own publishers and have it cost absolutely nothing.

Here are some things I have planned for the summer and for my blog:
1. Trip back to the the Lost Turkey Trail. This was the site of an epic 20k snowshoe trip in the freezing cold in 2007 and the trip that got me involved with Pitt's Outdoors Club. I've been meaning to go back in warm weather and camp along the stream.
2. Startrails and waterfalls of the Allegheny National Forrest. I've always wanted to do some star trail pictures and this area of PA is sparsely populated. That means no light pollution. There are also some crazy waterfalls I want to camp near. I hope this will be epic.
3. Ultralight hiking on the laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. This is one of my favorite places in western PA. There are some really nice shalters along the trail, so I don't need a tent. I want to do a large portion of the trail with only a fanny pack (so stylish) full of trail mix and my camera. Maybe a knife? Let me know if you want to join me on this one.

Last thing. Most new content will be published on the weekend, so check in then for fresh posts. Thanks!

Insubordination Fest 2009

This article is about one of the best concerts I couldn't go to. In 2007 I attended my first Insubordination Fest (IF) in Baltimore. This is basically the best pop punk festival anywhere and a great way to see all of my favorite bands in one place. The fest goes from Thursday night to Saturday night. In recent years there have been reunions of all kinds at IF and sadly has been the final show for many great bands. This years, I wasn't able to attend because I recently started a new job and couldn't get off.

2009 was a crazy year for pop punk. For Science (above) disbanded because a member went crazy. The Steinways (below)also called it quits. IF was their last show, so missing that was a major bummer.

Last year I got to see the crazy reunion of Sweet Baby (above). These guys are a pretty ramones-esqu band from the late 80s. They are a bit older now (sidenote: the lead singer, who is now a Ph.D, flew in from CA for the show), but they still rock pretty hard. Definitely recommended. This years headlines included Dillinger Four (D4), who I saw with the Bouncing Souls in Pittsburgh earlier this year, Teen Idols, Dear Landlord (pictured below), and Squirtgun. D4 is killer. My roommate and friends who made it down this year confirmed that they are amazing live and are really playing with their hearts.

Three of my personal favorite bands player this year too. Teenage Bottlerocket is my favorite pop punk act ever. They played Thursday, so there was no chance of me seeing them. Teenage Bottlerocket's album Total is one of the most solid records I've ever listened too. Check out the tracks: So Cool, Lost in Space, Stupid Games, and Bloodbath at Burger King. The other two bands feature lady-singers who are both intense and cute. The trio Lemuria (Sheena pictured below) has a mellower sound but is great live. Check out their myspace as they were one of my most anticipated bands for this year's fest. Lastly is The Unlovables. The lead singer is just plain cute (bonus andy-circa-2007 fanboy shot at very bottom). The music is just as nice.

Pictures all from 2008 Insub Fest except last one from 2007. Picture quality isn't the best because I had just got my new camera and really had no idea how to sue it. Whatever. Enjoy.