I have made a conscious decision to not focus so much on “artistic” photos and lean towards scenes that make me think.  Often that can include how people live and interact with others in this strange world we live in. I also want to delve into black and white photography a little more to see how it feels.

 

With that said I was out running an errand this morning and saw the following scene outside of a restaurant.  It is Easter Sunday and I saw this lady waiting all by herself.  At first, I just saw her looking around expectantly.  Then she started texting.  That’s when I took the pic.  I truly hope she was not stood up on Easter.  That would be crushing.  I had to move on so I could not wait around to see if she ever met up with anyone.  I will never know the truth, but I sincerely hope all works out for her.

 

I also hope everyone has a wonderful Easter.

 I was bored the other day so I grabbed my camera and headed out the front door to see if I could find something to shoot.  I made it about 30 feet.  It all happened so quick that I didn't really have time to even check my camera settings.  Luckily, everything seemed to work out just right.

I am really beginning to enjoy night photography but I also want to explore more street photography in general.

Back with a vengeance!

Hi all,

It has been a long time since I have written.  I am hoping to change that and get back to my original blog, Rusted Pipes!

I do love writing but mostly do it for my favorite hobby, gaming.  I have been running 3 different games lately and just about every weekend is filled with gleeful shouts of “I killed it!” or Nat 20!  Take that! Such fun!

But now it is time to return to the digital world that I love so much.  As a techie at heart the internet is where I live. I read the news; I read my books; I read magazines, comic books, watch movies, etc.  This is of course on top of emails, calendar, texts and even phone calls at times. My phone, tablet and/or laptop are always with me.

But enough of that.  Those that know me well know all this so, onto what I saw today.

It is currently August 5th and I went grocery shopping this morning like I always do on Sunday mornings.  I was shopping happily until I saw this…

Really?  It is August and it is 112 degrees out.  It’s not even close to Halloween yet much less Christmas! I am not even CLOSE to getting into the holiday spirit.  At least wait until the middle of September. And that should only be for Halloween stuff not Christmas decorations!

Oh well.  Whatever. I am very happy with my life right now and no marketing faux pas can ruin that.

Hope to see you all again soon!

I am leaving now

because the time is right...

Late night at the breakfast table

I was looking around today while eating breakfast at Dessi’s Cafe and was really seeing the people around me.  I usually see the people but from a photographers viewpoint.  I only see light, color and gesture.  Today, without really realizing it, I was looking at style.  When it sank in what I was doing I really began to look and noticed something interesting.  There seems to be a slow degradation of style as we grow older.  It was very clear to me looking around that small cafe.  I could see the drift.  The younger people were so much...  Cooler.  They had a way of expressing themselves both verbally and physically that really spoke in volumes.  They didn’t care about comfort or convenience, they cared about...  I don’t even know.  Maybe they don’t either.  Maybe style is subconscious.  But why does it erode as we age?  Is it because we don’t care anymore?  We prefer comfort and convenience in our clothing?  Is it because we  want to speak clearly and in doing so avoid the cool slang terms that we know will make us sound ridiculous?  Does style elude us because we are unable to keep up?  I honestly don’t know.  But now that I have discovered it I plan to keep my eye out for it.  Maybe turn it into a photographic series.  Whatever the case may be I will sit here watching - on the curb.

I didn't take this picture but I really felt it fit the post.  I hope you do too.

Once more down the rabbit hole

It’s been a long strange trip, to quote the Grateful Dead, and I don’t see it ending anytime soon. Craziness, chaos and the curb. But then I look at Onyx, my little dog and one of my best friends, and think that she has got life dialed. I mean look at her in this picture. She is the soul of serenity. I really need to take some lessons from her. Try to emulate her (minus the whole eat bird poop part) and learn to relax even when life is once again showing you to the curb.

When we watch TV together she is so content to just curl up in my lap.
When someone comes to the door she just wiggles with joy even if she just saw them 20 minutes ago.
When I put food out for her she is ecstatic, even if she has had the same thing day after day.
She doesn’t want a new toy; she loves the ratty one she has always played with
She is happy.

I know there have been numerous things like this in the past but this, to me, is a real life comparison. When I read those things like “All I need to know I learned in kindergarten” it just doesn’t sink in as well, I can’t relate. I am sorry if this posting isn’t to your taste, I really am, but, you can’t kick me to the curb, I am already there.

Just thrashing on the surface

The modern age of computing and technology is disconcerting. I’m not sure if it is good or bad. It is what it is but it certainly has affected our society. It moves so fast. Don’t get me wrong, I like fast, but this is getting a little out of hand. Data is needed at supersonic speeds. We need instant gratification on a level never dreamed of 20 years ago. The problem is we can no longer really focus. Data is being pumped into our brains so fast its frying our brain cells like popcorn. We need short bursts of data or we can’t function. Anything longer than 7 seconds and we lose interest. Vast seas of data with no depth.

Spinning on the loom of time

Friday.  Again.  My brain is filled with cotton nightmares.  Soft and warm, beguiling and dangerous.  Autopilot seems like the best plan right now.  Just run and run until you hear metal grinding on metal and pieces start flying off.  Then lay down in the bright moonlight and ponder the deeper questions.  The questions to which there really is no answer.  Sometimes I think the great philosophers where merely spinning time.  Nothing better to do.  Stringing words together in a somewhat coherent fashion.  The lucky ones actually turned out something that sounded cool and made people stop and look.  Not really even understanding it themselves they could look back and stare blankly, making them look humble and smart.  That’s all it is, a colossal misunderstanding combined with stupid luck.  Random occurrence is the true god.  No rhyme or reason.  Just luck.

Powerful, Majestic, Slow and Smooth

We just got back from southern California (Redondo Beach to be precise) and had a blast. My mom lives there and my sister came down to visit from northern California.

The first thing the kids wanted to do was go to the beach. We have gone to California many times but always around the holidays when it is far to cold to really ENJOY the beach. Sure it is still beautiful and majestic and calming to the soul but the water is darn COLD for a fun romp in the ocean. Thus the eagerness of the kids for a visit since it was SUMMER and the water was sure to be warm. So they thought. Keep in mind they are used to Arizona where, during the summer, pools are as warm as bathwater since the outside temperature is usually above 100 degrees in the summer and often above 110 degrees. It was in the 70's when we went to visit which is warm to Californians but cold to us. But the boys were not to be deterred. They went in the water with all the aplomb they could muster. Soon they were shivering and my youngest finally got out and told me, with chattering teeth, that he could no longer feel his feet. I smiled and gave him a thick towel to wrap around himself. He was very grateful. Once my other son saw that his brother had gotten out first he scrambled out stating (also with chattering teeth) that if Jimmy wanted to go home he might as well get out too. I smiled at his good natured acceptance of having to leave so soon!

And, of course, what summer vacation is complete without a barbecue! We went back to mom’s house and had good old fashioned barbecued chicken with fruit and sodas. Then we watched a good movie and then mom and Leesa retired while my boys and I went back to the hotel for a late night romp in the hotel pool. We sacked out and slept well only to repeat this with slight variations the next day.

Big Eyes Small Mouth

This weekend me and my kids had fun playing a rollicking game of Big Eyes, Small Mouth. In it they were investigating the mysterious death of several UFC fighters. They eventually figured out that an alien bracelet was involved. They finally tracked it down to a Chinese restaurant but the bracelet leaped into the crowd which quickly dispersed in panic. Yes, the alien bracelet turned out to be sentient! They finally tracked it down again to an old apartment building and had the fight of their lives as they tried to contain it! It was great time for all.

Cheap Blues song

Twisted and wasted in a cheap blues song.
Too much spinning in my head.
I will never understand how things work.
Reminders all around you.
Constantly in your head.
Spinning.
Echoes go on forever.

What was and what shall never be

Okay I just got back... Wow... Just, wow.
I can't even begin to describe the agony of this evening. I was caught in a vortex of all that is wrong. Thoughts of how it used to be filtered through my brain all evening. When I was content, happy, when the angels used to sing. I may never leave the house again.

Zombie Jamboree

If you like zombies I am reading a great book right now.  It is called "Feed" by Mira Grant.  It is a pretty straight forward zombie book but I really like the main characters so far.  I am not far into it but I like the way they have developed and I like the fact that they are bloggers in a zombie world.  It's kind of cool that they mix tech with zombies in the apocalypse.  I also like the way the zombies evolve and they way they operate when their numbers increase.  I don’t like spoilers so I will not say anymore here.  I am only in a few chapters so I will let you know if my opinion changes.  As an added bonus there is a sequel called “Deadline” if the first one is good.

Side of the pool

Okay, I am feeling better today.  My head is still swimming but I feel that I can at least SEE the side of the pool today.  Still a lot of chaos in my head but the din is diminishing.  I would say that I am rough and tough like alligator baggies but, lately, I have been told that I am not.  So be it.  I will yield to no GM.

My boys will be at their moms house this week.  I hate that.  My house is way too quiet.  I need the shrill of childrens laughter and the constant cry of "Dad!  I'm hungry!" or "Hey Dad, check out this new video game I'm playing" or "Dad, this cartoon is great, come watch it with me!"  That is heaven.  I love to do things for people and my kids make me feel needed.  I am a simple person and I enjoy a simple life.  Still, I would like a little more in my life...  Thought I had that dialed in but I guess I was wrong.  Oh well.  My brain is still active and hasn't quit on me yet.  I will go back to what I do best.  Creating, learing and looking.  Endless travel.

Remainder

No, I did not misspell reminder. Remainder is what is left over after everything is said and done. That is how I feel today. The remainder. Lots of things have changed for me lately. Not all of them have been for the good. Right now I am sitting at my dining room table staring out my sliding door into my backyard. It needs work. But not today. It is 9:00M and I am waiting for my Nicky to wake up so I can enjoy his laughter and good spirits. Jimmy is at a sleepover with his friend Marcus. He will be home in an hour. Once they are both with me everything will be right again. Still, right now I feel like a remainder...

5:40pm update

I read a quote in a book today that said "stay the path". It is a really good book and I have really learned a lot from it, philosophically speaking. I thought about the quote. I always try to stay the path. I am all about staying the path. My entire life I have dreamed about being able to stay the path. Biggest problem is the path keeps dropping me off at the curb. So what happens when you are on the path and it is a wonderful path, you can hear angels sing on the path and then, the next thing you know, the path ends at the curb again...

I know this is not my usual post but I am feeling a bit down and I seriously doubt anyone reads these anyway. Never any comments. So, I am posting about paths. You can't kick me to the curb for writing this, I'm already there.

A mind forever drifting

Today is… Another day. My mind is totally drifting. I have been trying to think of something to write today for my blog and everything felt forced so I decided to just let it write itself. Sometimes it is good to just let your mind wander, just let it go where it feels… Actually that can be a good thing to do in life occasionally as well.


I really don’t feel grounded lately. I have always had a hobby. One thing that drove me. Originally, when I was very young, it was photography. Then it was games. And then it became art. And then music. And then chess. Then I added a small dose of journaling. Then back to photography. Now it is chess, journaling AND photography. That feels wrong to me. I can’t split my time so but I can’t seem to focus on any one of them. Okay, maybe it is not a bad thing but I steel feel ungrounded. I play chess for a month and then feel burned out and pick up my camera. I take some decent pictures and then I pull out my journal and write about it. My atoms are being pulled apart. I feel the last few brain cells in my head holding hands and shrieking out nursery rhymes. Now throw two “highly enthusiastic about life” boys and it gets wilder. MUCH wilder. Nothing can drive you to a wonderful distraction better than the innocent insight and drive of a young child. Life is always new when you look, even briefly, through their eyes. And I try to do it every day. They are brilliant, creative, unencumbered, fresh and alive. Nothing is more spectacular than the giggle of a child and nothing is as heartwarming as the smile they give you when you join in their activities and really enjoy yourself. Not just sitting and watching but really getting INTO what they are doing. Running your lego figurine after the bad guy and shouting “I’LL GET YOU EVIL ZARGON SCUM” and then making all the sounds your darnelian blaster should make. They will scream in joy and you will have created a warm memory in both your minds forever.


Well, that was a little all over the board but it felt good to just type what my hands felt like typing and not my head.

This is Nicky and I playing chess.  Both the kids play a game with me about 3 or 4 times a week.  We almost always play blitz.

This video needs a bit of a back story.  We are in Las Vegas.  Jimmy had just been telling me he didn't like clowns and was, in fact, totally scared of them.  While he was telling me this I was pulling out my video camera.  I really wish I had filmed him telling me...

Never do anything that you wouldn't want to explain to the paramedics.

He is like a child on a sugar rush!

And another month has gone by since my last post. This has definitely been a crazy time. March and April are what I call “birthday season” since so many people I know have birthdays in these 2 months including my golden boys. Both my boys had sleepover parties at my house and each had huge amounts of cookies delivered by my angel, Nedda. For Nicky it was 4 tubs of cookies and for Jimmy it was 1 huge cookie. Both were in sugar heaven!!!



The boys and I also went to two chess tournaments. The first was in Tucson where Jimmy (in his first tournament I might add) won 3 out of 4 of his games and just missed winning a trophy. Nicky and I also scored 3 out of 4 of our games. Next was a blitz tournament in Gilbert where we all won medals.

We also went to the local renaissance faire with Nedda and her daughters and had a blast there too. All of us but Brandi went on the bungee jump and it was great fun. We also had honey sticks, fresh lemonade, watched the bird show, got trinkets, etc. It was really fun and we all plan to go again next year.

School is also beginning to wrap up and my boys are very eager to have it DONE. They are doing all kinds of testing at school and are getting burned out. I remember how I felt when I was their age so I can totally relate.


That’s all for now! Hopefully I will post before another month is up!

I am not knowing!!!

Cookies and chaos!

Wow, a whole month has gone by since my last post! I was so hoping to post more regularly but this has been a doozy of a month! Major upheaval at work, cookies, birthdays galore, glorious times in paradise, more cookies, a Las Vegas Trip (with cookies! – Thank you Nedda!!!), a party/sleepover with many kids whacked on sugar, and spring break for the kids. Whew!



Where to start… Las Vegas was one of the major highlights so let’s start there. We packed up Sunday, March 13th and hit the road the next morning. I was hoping for a 5am start time but we actually left around 6am. But what the heck, right? It’s a vacation with no time factors so who really cares when we leave!

This is us all packed and ready to go!

We had gassed up the night before so our only stop was to hit a post office box to send a thank you card off to Nedda for the delicious cookies we had for the trip.

This is where we mailed it! (yes, I know I am getting carried away with the pictures but once you get started on a serious photo journal it is kind of hard to stop the sugar fueled, chaotic momentum!)


Next it was onto the freeway for a 5 hour drive through the desert. The kids did pretty well staying awake. They started to squabble a bit until I asked for help with things like road signs and speed limits. At one point Jimmy shouted out a speed limit sign and I told him he had earned a perk. Nicky yelled “HEY! WHAT ABOUT ME!?!?! DO I GET PERKS??” I told him he could earn perks too if he helped with the trip. They were ecstatic! They spotted a few more road signs that helped on the trip and I told them they were racking up more perks. They both looked at each other with big smiles and Jimmy said “Cool! Were getting perks!!” They never did bother to ask what the perks were for! PML (For the layman PML is the new LOL – it stands for “peed myself laughing) Our first stop was in Wikieup for gas and munchies.

This is Max at the tanks.


Then it was on to Vegas. We made good time and got there around 11am.

This is us in our hotel room.


We hadn’t eaten anything but cookies and water so we were in serious need of real food. We went to the hotel diner and I got my usual club sandwich, as did Nicky. Jimmy got a waffle with fruit and mom got a reuben sandwich.

Then it was on to the casino to show the boys what one looked like and then out to check out the pool. The pool was so awesome the boys pleaded to go there immediately. We went up to change and in they went! It was a very cool pool that had a 3 story slide that went right through a fish tank (that included sharks!) The boys spent most of the rest of the day in the pool while mom and I stayed out and chatted.

The next day we wandered about and enjoyed the Freemont Experience and also went to several casinos where Nicky and I collected a few poker chips for our collection. Jimmy ended up getting a cool necklace from Treasure Island. We then did a zip line that went above and along the length of the Freemont Experience which was very cool! No pictures though since I had to ride that one myself!! Then we headed back to the hotel where the kids played in the arcade while mom and I watched and had a cocktail. We went souvenir shopping and then headed back to our rooms. That’s pretty much the cliff note version. It was a grand trip which we plan to do again real soon.

We have 200 jello shots – lines will be crossed

Walking on sunshine

The last few days were the president’s day three day weekend in which my boys and I celebrated hard and fast! We played games, we watched movies, we ate junk food, we went to Jump Street, we slept late and they had a sleep over with their friend Jeff to top off the weekend!

Lets see – more details


Friday… Friday… Yeah, to long ago, I totally don’t remember what we did. (that’s age for ya!)

Saturday - We went to the closing of a local Borders book Store. Very sad. I LIKE Borders. They were having great sale prices so the kids and I went to go check it out. Jimmy got a box set of all things that fly. The rest of the day things were whirring and spinning and flying all over my house. Needless to say Onyx spent the next several hours switching between barking and hiding in her crate. Poor dog. New toys always seem to gravitate towards her. Anyway, Nicky got a box set of gags which he inflicted on us for the next several practical joke packed hours. Once again poor Onyx hid in her crate for most of it. I got a very cool book called “Caffeine for the Creative Soul” or something like that. I also got the “Tao of Photography” and one called “Quotationary (I love quote books!). Yes, chess books are conspicuously absent from this list. Borders has never had a good chess section. Oh well. We did make up for this oversight though! We played LOTS of chess! Nicky and I played several games of blitz and I even gave him rooks and queen odds and sweetened it by offering to give him a dollar if he beat me. Apparently cash is a good motivator since he beat me several games! He was very happy indeed. Then Jimmy got motivated and we played several similar games without the clock. (Jimmy has a real aversion to chess clocks, no idea why) He also managed to beat me in a few games and also earned himself a few dollars. It was SO worth the money to see the gleaming smiles on their beautiful faces! Gleeful fun was had by all!

Sunday – We watched “UP”. Nicky insisted that it was a great movie. It started off with the main characters wife dying. I couldn’t believe it! I was already to turn it off but Nicky said he forgot about that and that it would get better. It did but in the end it got kind of sad all over again. Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know. We also ate at Arbys – Nicky and Jimmy always get the Jr. Roast Beef and I always get the Jr Club Sandwich. (Please note that these are all in multiple quantities! They are after all growing boys!

Then we went to Jump Street. We paid for 2 hours and they spent most of the time in the dodge ball room. It started off fairly empty since we got there soon after it opened but it quickly grew packed considering the weather we were having. Still, we enjoyed ourselves. I even remembered to use the video function in my camera to record some video. I will try to post it to this blog entry. Then, to top off the weekend they had Jeff come over for a sleep over. Since I had outlawed video games for the rest of the weekend they had a blast using Nicky’s video camera to make their own zombie movies. (I will have to remember to get one of those off of his camera so I can post it here.) Then, of course, they played with Lego. (see earlier blog)


Monday was a little quieter. They slept late due to the sleep over and then I cooked hamburgers for all of us. They played for the next several hours while I read and did household shores. Nice quiet way to wind down.


A candlelit room
Uncovered a paradise.
Smiles forever.

Jimmy after a serious hit in dodge ball!

Nicky mocking people by sitting down while playing dodge ball - supreme confidence!

Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject.

I just ate lava and my heads on fire

The other day I heard quite the commotion outside my house. I heard sirens, the blaring horn of fire trucks, the howl of dogs responding to said sirens etc. Naturally, being the intrepid (read – stupid) person that I am I immediately got up to go investigate. My boys were with me and wanted to go outside with me. I told them to stay inside. They asked why with that ever so innocent look that only kids can pull off. (I seriously wish I could still pull off that look. It would be soooooo handy in so many situations!) Trying to look important and fearless I puffed out my chest (STOP LAUGHING) and told them “it might be dangerous”. They of course replied “then why are you going out there” with the same look. “Because I ‘m curious” I cleverly replied. A soon as I said it I realized how dumb it was. I looked at the kids to see if they bought it… Nope. They both had huge smiles on their faces like someone who was just about to scream out “CHECKMATE” and then do the mocking jig. What followed was a short staring contest. They knew they had me, I knew they had me. They just stared at me as if to say “do we really need to shoot down that lest feeble comment dad, I mean, really?”


I caved first. “let’s go” I said with a sigh. That’s when things got weird.


Outside there was a fire truck just parked outside my house looking in our direction. I looked at the houses on either side of me. Nothing. No fire, no bodies, no commotion, no nothing. I looked back at the fire truck. They were still looking in my direction. That was about the time that the hair on the back of my neck started to stand up. I mean, what were they waiting for? Was my house about to burst into flame? Did they know something I didn’t know but REALLY NEEDED to know? I stared. They stared. I whipped around and looked at my house. No flames. That’s good, right? So what where they waiting for? I swear if I was a cat right then my tail would have been all bushy. They remained there for about five minutes. Five long minutes. Now five minutes may not seem like a long time to you but when you think your house is about to go all fireball on you five minutes is a LIFETIME. After five minutes they slowly pulled away and left. No sirens, no horns, no loud radio sending them somewhere else. Total weirdness. My kids asked what happened. I told them I didn’t know. They gave me that look. I think I lost a few points that day.

But I still have my house.

Some mornings, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps.