You gotta stop it with the instagram pictures people.

Ok people. Here’s the deal. Your instagram pictures suck. I know you think it’s cool to put a ton of shitty filters over your picture of spaghetti that you took at some restaurant you are bragging about being able to eat at but all you are doing is taking a shitty, poorly composed picture. I classify this type of photography under the “Lomography’ movement which in and of itself was an annoying fad. I get it that holga cameras make weird and unpredictable photographs. I own one. For a while it was all the rage for your pictures to look like you didn’t care and that talent was no factor in fine art but in the end that shit was stupid. The instagram fad is no different. It’s “Cool” to make it seem like you are using an old kodak brownie or polaroid land camera (both of which i own the real versions of) but you’re not taking pictures with those cameras, you are taking pictures with your expensive state of the art phone. The worst offenders of the instagram style photographs are iphone users. The iphone is one of the most expensive cell phones on the market. People religiously get rid of their old ones to get the brand new one when it comes out for all the new features even though it’s only marginally better than the one they had. What are you paying so much money for if you don’t care how good the camera on your phone is? They spend several hundred dollars for a phone with an 8 megapixel camera that is perfectly capable of taking stunning photographs and then they use it to take pictures of weeds or their toes. That’s all well and good. it’s fun to pass the time taking stupid pictures but if you were to base your decision to post those photo’s based upon the photo itself most people would never dare share them with the rest of the world. If you took these picture with all of the retro bullshit filters and took the filters off guess what you will be left with? You will be left with shitty photos. Photo’s that dont need to be shared or posted to facebook. I don’t need to see two dozen grainy, lens flared, polaroid bordered pictures of your dog’s taking a nap on the couch. Those pictures suck in every way but because you fancied it up with all that shit you think it’s worth me seeing it. It’s not. Now a lot of people take pictures with their cell phone’s to show off something they either just bought or made. that’s great. I post pictures of my woodworking and home remodeling projects all the time. The only problem is when they use the instagram filters to make the photo so blurry and eroded that i can’t tell what the fuck it is that they are trying to show me. That’s great that you bought something cool but how abotu you just show me a clear picture of it so I can properly tell how cool it is. Stop using those filters as the reason for your pictures being cool and stop using those filters on pictures that don’t need them and in fact are hindered by your using them. Just take better pictures. This will either cause you to either up your game and take better pictures which i would enjoy seeing or stop taking so many pictures. Either way i win.

Also here’s another blog by a dude who clarified my frustrations in a far more eloquent manner than I am capable of. http://backpackingdad.com/2011/03/i-finally-figured-out-why-you-like-instagram-so-much/

laundromats are weird, sad, wonderful places.

pThats pretty much it./p

I don’t hate your dog’s. I hate that you talk about your dog’s too damn much.

A friend of mine on facebook posted the other day asking a simple question “If you don’t like dog’s, what the heck is wrong with you?”. At first I simply ignored the post and carried on with my life but for some reason it stuck in my mind and I felt I needed to find an appropriate answer but first, a bit of prefacing. I don’t hate dog’s. I like a lot of dog’s and I find that dog’s can be fun companions. i have nothing against dog’s in general but I don’t have dog’s simply because I don’t want to own one and have all of the responsibility. I just wanted to clarify that i am in no way a dog hater before i get into this topic.

I have alot of friend’s on facebook that have dog’s. I also know that I have alot of friend’s on facebook that have cat’s too. The owner’s of cat’s rarely ever mention said cats. They go about their lives enjoying their pet’s in the comfort of their own home and do not feel the need to talk ad nauseum about them or post countless photo’s of them sleeping on the couch or doing something “silly”. While people do post pics of their cat’s it is in no way near the volume of dog pic’s I see on a daily basis. The owner’s of dog’s do the exact opposite. i would wager that not a single day has gone by over the past few months where someone did not either post a picture of their dog, make a post talking about their dog or post something about a dog that need’s a good home. I get it. You like your pet. That’s great and I am happy for you. I really, truly am but you’ll excuse me if I don’t give a shit. Your dog’s sleeping on the couch is not worthy of clogging up my information stream, your dog doing something silly is not worth me reading about and while It’s never good to see an animal be put down because they didn’t get a home you have to realize that you cannot save every dog on the planet. Someone posted a picture of a stray dog that’s been walking around westport for the past year or so saying that it needed a good home. i say that it probably doesn’t. Think about it. Dog’s are territorial and love to dig through trash. Living in westport is probably the best place for a dog! Why would he want to be tamed? He’s a wild dog! Let him be wild!

Another point of contention is people who feel the need to constantly post about “dog rights’ and how they feel their dog’s are getting a bad rap for being a certain breed. All I have to say to that is that stereotype’s and commonly held belief’s about pitbull’s and rotweiler’s did not come from nowhere. Countless people throughout history have been attacked and mauled by these and other breed’s of dog’s. Every one of those dog’s has the instinct’s to be a killer deep down inside. You can train them to be nice but ultimately they can, and have been known to, snap when given the right scenario. How many time’s have you heard the phrase “Oh he’s never bitten anyone before. I don’t know why he did that” on the news when you hear about a pitbull ripping a kid’s face off. The reason he did it is because they still know how to kill. Now does this mean that you shouldn’t own them as pets? No. You can own whatever you desire as long as it’s legal to do so but you have to accept the fact that you own a dog that is a killer in potentia and will have to live with all that come’s with that. Parent’s will keep their children away from your dog’s BECAUSE IT IS THEIR JOB TO KEEP THEIR KIDS SAFE! They aren’t being rude to make their kid’s walk far away from your dog. they don’t know your dog. They don’t know if it’s safe around children or if it is a killing machine. Don’t get butt hurt when this happens, just move on and go about your day. If a mailman is scared of your dog when he comes to deliver the mail just ignore it. he’s probably been bitten by dog’s before and has every right to be scared of them. Ever heard of the phrase ‘Once bitten twice shy” before?

Basically what I am trying to say is this. Dog owner’s. while I value your love of your pet’s you gotta tone it down a bit. We get it. We just don’t give a shit.

It’s not your computer’s fault you look at porn.

Hello all. It’s been a while since i posted anything on here. Not that anyone reads this thing anyways but regardless. Over the past few years i have seen more and more of my friends switch from windows PC’s to mac’s. Now this is all well and good. you can spend your money on whatever you want, this being a free country and such. The only reason that this bother’s me is that just like every friend I’ve ever had who has turned vegan has to tell me that what I am eating is bad for me every mac owner has to try and tell me how much better their mac is than your pc. They try to throw out arguments like “it just works” or “i don’t have to know what I’m doing to use it” or “I work with media and I need a mac to do that” or “It doesn’t get viruses” or “I’m an elitist trend follower”. Ok I made up that last one but it’s true (you know it is). Now I am not opposed to mac’s because of their operating system (although it is rather limiting for power user’s.) but I am opposed to Apple’s business practice’s. Apple’s business model is solely based upon peer pressure and trendsetting. This is again all well and good, free country and such, but the level at which they use these tactics are appalling. Take for example the iPod. The iPod started a revolution in that it was the first commercially viable mp3 player that could hold more than 20 songs. It also was trendy. The white earbud’s became a trademark and even though they were really shitty earbud’s people still used them because they wanted people to know that they were hip and with it. Now there are several iPod rival’s out there that are just as good if not better than the iPod for considerably less money but you rarely ever hear about them. Why is this? It’s because A: Apple floods the market with advertisements on a scale that their competitors simply cannot match and B: social stigma. The commercial says to buy an Ipod so you buy one so you don’t look like a dumb-ass. All your friends buy one so that they don’t look like a dumb-ass around you and so on and so forth. Now this may sound like I am saying that the general population are idiots who will do whatever someone says….wait a minute. That’s EXACTLY what I am saying. anyways enough about Apple’s peer pressure campaigning. Let’s talk about why people buy mac’s for all the wrong reasons (which after all is what i was intending to write about here)

Let’s break down the reasons that are listed above as reasons why mac’s are so much better than windows PC’s.

**Sidebar. PC is an acronym for “Personal Computer” which is a term that can be applied to any computer that is sold to the general public. This includes MACS. Anyways back to the show.

reason #1 “it just works”

This is the most common reason i hear for people to make the switch. They like their pc’s to be like duplo blocks. They have some of the functionality of Lego blocks but they have all the corner’s rounded off so you can’t poke your eye out or choke on them. Mac OSX is a swell operating system. It has a lot of eye candy and it really won’t let you break it but you really can’t do much with it beyond the things that you can do on any OS (windows, linux, commodore 64 etc etc). This argument is of course silly because the majority of the world’s computer’s are running various versions of Windows and I would wager to say that the majority of them “just work” as well. if they didn’t, Microsoft would be bankrupt and would be the laughing stock of the tech world. The fact that they are still the leader is testament that they do in fact make a viable and successful product. A lot of people say that they don’t have to do anything to keep their mac’s running properly but I have used mac’s and do not find this at all to be the case. When you buy a car you are required to change the oil, change the tire’s, get it tuned up from time to time and do general maintenance on it. If you do not the car breaks down and you have to pay far more to get it repaired. This is the exact same as with a pc. If you do not take care of it and do not do proper maintenance on it then you will run into serious problems whether it is window’s or a Mac.

Reason #2 “i don’t have to know what I’m doing to use it”.

Ahh yes. The classic argument that a computer should be able to be used by anyone regardless of their intelligence level or education on the subject of computing. I am all for technology for the masses. I think that the leaps that our society has made over the past decade alone can only be truly appreciated in the future as we get some distance on the subject. I do however have a problem with people who by their own admission have no clue how to use a computer telling me that I am wrong for not using a MAC. I’m sorry but I’ve spent year’s learning how computer’s work. i build computer’s, i play on them, I repair them, I support them, I do more than just use them. I also know how to use a computer (regardless of the operating system) properly. i know that when you go to porn site’s without having a good browser, ad blocking software and anti-virus software you run the risk of getting something nasty. I take care of my pc and it take’s care of me. By saying that your computer is so simple even a mentally handicapped chipmunk could use it should IN NO WAY BE A SELLING POINT! A computer is a tool for doing math, running businesses, editing and viewing different media and in general a tool for doing whatever you desire to do. The more power you have the easier it is to do these things and by POWER I mean knowledge.

Reason #3 “I work with media and I need a mac to do that”

I honestly have no idea where this one came from other than Apple’s tricky marketing. There is absolutely nothing that a Mac can do with regards to editing media (video, audio, photography etc) that a window’s pc cannot do. Nothing. Take for example the Adobe creative suite. This fine collection of software is available for both windows and Mac. I have used both versions over the years (I owned a power mac G4 for a year or so before it died.) and I have found the Photoshop experience on both to be IDENTICAL! There is not a single tool, option or filter that the mac version has that the windows version does not. “What about Audio recording” you say. I have been recording music digitally for over a decade now and never once have i wanted or needed a Mac to do so. Pro tools runs on windows as does several other recording program’s that are just as good if not better than pro tools. I personally use Cubase and not only love it but have never found a single reason to use any other recording software. In the video editing world you also have numerous options that are either the exact same program or a competitive software that does the exact same thing.

Reason #4 “It doesn’t get viruses”

People use this one a lot as a way to show their Apple superiority. It is true that you are less likely to get a virus on a mac than a windows PC but this is not for the reasons that people think. The real reason for this is that the customer base that uses Mac’s is far smaller than the portion that uses windows. Now if you were a hacker who wanted to write a virus that is intended on wreaking havoc upon the masses would you write it for a small group of people or for the majority of the world? Now you may be thinking “Yeah but that’s even more of a reason to be exclusive and to use a Mac” but I’m afraid you would be wrong again. The reason why you are no safer on a Mac than you are on a pc is that people take for granted that they are safe from viruses. If you believe that you will never need anti-virus software you will never install it and when a virus does come around (and they do. trust me) you are totally unprotected and have no chance. Basically a Mac without anti-virus software is just as vulnerable as a window’s machine without anti-virus software. the only difference is that the windows machine has numerous anti-virus software options to choose from (including very good free one’s such as AVG anti-virus) while Mac has very few options and almost none of them are free. You really are no safer on a Mac and after working in the IT support field for years I can tell you that when a nasty Mac virus come’s around it is devastating. A lot of my friend’s who have switched from windows to mac buy a windows pc, never remove any of the junkware that comes with it and then never install any anti-virus software. They then proceed to use internet explorer (which is the worst browser to ever be coded) to look at porn sites and then guess what happens? THEY GET A VIRUS! It’s not your computer’s fault that you looked at virus infested porn site’s without protection. It’s also not your computer’s fault that you did not take the time to do routine maintenance on it.

In closing I would like to say that I am no Window’s fanboy. I use windows 7 on my home pc because it offer’s the best platform for what I use my home pc for. I do everything from photo editing, hardcore gaming, movie watching and other things all without issue. I do however use Linux on my laptop’s and netbook as it simply run’s faster and works great for what I use those devices to do (web browsing, email, listening to music etc). I did not write this post as a defense for windows. A lot of people don’t like windows and i do understand why but every reason that I have been presented as to why they prefer Mac to Windows has simply not been valid to me. Basically all I’m saying is that you can use whatever the hell you want to use just don’t try to tell me that it is better because it really truly is not.

forgetfulness. I has it.

I havent updated this in a while so I suppose I should probably type something here. I’m currently stuck at the DMV on the most gorgeous friday in recent history. Oh well. They have wifi and I have my netbook so let’s do this!!

I’M IN A BAND!! Faster Than hell! I’m so grateful to be in this band as it is full of seasoned pro’s of the KC rock scene. So far I haven’t fucked up too badly so I guess I should be doing ok.
ho I wo
I’m also abut to get a promotion/raise at work which is fantastic! I really enjoy where I work and with/for. Good times!!

Wow that girl over there is gorgeous!

Sorry. Got sidetracked. Anyways. Things are good. will type more later. this netbook kinda sucks to type on.

UPDATE!

So quite a few thing’s have happened in the past couple of week’s and I guess I should write about them. Let’s start with the first friday’s show at Midwestern Music. The place was packed and the Von Hodad’s were killer! I sold a few photo’s and the raffle was a success. Thank’s to everyone who came out as it made it a great night.

The next day I started recording federation of horsepower at my studio (aka my parent’s house). So far it’s going incredibly smoothly and have knocked out all the drum track’s most of the bass tracks and almost all rhythm guitar track’s. It’s looking like tentatively there is going to be 9 song’s on the album but thing’s can always change.

Lastly I shot a few show’s last week and got some great photo’s. I shot the Bulletboys at aftershock bar and while I wont go into my critique of the performance I can at least say that the photo’s are good. On St. Patty’s day i went to the Riot Room and shot Trainwreck which is Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass’s side project band. They were amazing and put on a truly memorable show. As a long time Tenacious D fan it was an honor to meet KG and Lee. I sent my photo’s to them and they should be posting them to their website here soon which is an awesome thing. So basically I have been crazy busy but overall very happy. Later!

FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY!!!

My first solo photo show is this friday at Midwestern Music at 19th & Locust in KCMO. Starts at 7 and goes til 10-ish. COME OUT AND BUY SOMETHING!!!

mpix.com true black & white review.

So I’m getting ready to have my first solo photo show in 2 weeks and I’ve been a bit stressed out about it. Up until now I haven’t had to print out any of my digital photo file’s and have been dreading the day when i would have to. the reason for this dread is that I know that the print’s will never be as good as I want them to be. this is because digital print’s are all done on ink based photo paper which is fine for color print’s but for black and white it just doesn’t work. I got some print’s done at a local lab (won’t name name’s. they are nice) and I was just furious at how completely off the print’s turned out. yellow color cast, soft contrast, just all around nasty. I was beginnning to think all hope was lost until i found MPIX.COM. They claim on their website to print on real silver based photo paper on their “true black & white” photo paper products. A quick peak around the web backs up this claim and it appears that the reviews are fairly good so i decide to throw caution to the wind and give them a try.

First thing I noticed about mpix.com was the pricing. It’s super cheap. it’s so cheap that it seemed TOO cheap to be real but I pushed those feeling’s aside and uploaded my photo’s. Uploading was easy once I figured out that you cannot upload grayscale jpg’s. Images have to be in rgb to be able to be printed. A quick batch edit in photohop was all that was needed and the photo’s were uploaded. Ordering was simple as well. they have an option to order a specific amount of print’s for each file in a folder so it’s easy to say “I need an 8×10 of all photos” and it’s done. I placed my order on thursday evening at 6:00pm and kept an eye on the tracking number.

Print’s arrived saturday and I was amazed at how fast they got here. 2 day’s from odering to arriving at my doorstep. So i open up the packaging and look at the prints and I am immediately happy. I am extremely picky when it comes to prints. I am a darkroom junkie. i can spend an entire day trying to get a single picture printed the way i want it to be and still not be happy with the end result. I want the black’s to be pitch black not some sort of off black that you get with digital prints. These print’s from mpix.com are what I have been wanting to find and have made me feel that going digital isn’t the end of the world. I will say this about the print’s though. The contrast is ever so slightly softer than what the photo’s look like on the pc screen so if you plan on getting some prints you might want to boost up the contrast just a touch to account for that. My images are already super contrasty so it worked out just fine for me.

i cannot express how happy I am to know that mpix.com is providing this product to the world as it fill’s the gap between traditional black and white print’s and digital workflow. I am a happy man.

EXCITEMENT!

So I was approached by Midwestern Music a few weeks ago to see if I would be interested in showing some of my photo’s at their first friday event for the month of march. I was kind of blown away by this as First Friday’s is the lifeblood of the Kansas City art community and Midwestern Music is fast becoming one of the top attractions each month. It’s a bit of a big deal and I am so honored to be asked to do it. I am getting my photo’s ready and framed for the show which will be Friday March 5th at Midwestern Music which is located at 1830 Locust. Kansas City, Mo. I’m super excited about it and I hope you all come down and have a good time. SEE YOU THERE!!

WELCOME TO CANADA!

So I’m here n miramichi canada and I can say 2 things about it so far. They have strong beer and good food so I could stay here forever. I am super drunk right now due to molson canadian sub zero beer which is 7% ABV and tastes like PBR. Oh I guess I should remind myself that this is a business trip………….yeah.