Snow Fatigue

The local daily, the Post Star, reported not more than 2 weeks ago how the local snow-mobilers & skiers were unhappy about the lack of snow.

Considering that the area is expecting its 4th major storm in 11 days, I hope this demographic is happy. I know the crappy weather comes w/ the territory of living in Northern NY but I'm kinda getting tired of shoveling it.


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This is Bree, yet another gracious participant to my ongoing abandonment series.



Feel free & comment away if you dare.

Whackos, Nutjobs, and Racists

In 2000 Newsweek interview, the modern descendants of Franz Ferdinand (the Austrian arch-duke whose assassination) triggered the First World War remarked, "Our family had been involved in politics for over 500 years. Violence is simply a job hazard."

I'm obviously bringing this up in reference to the Tuscon, AZ shootings.

Did the rhetoric have something to do w/ it? Yes & no. Yes because its been proven that inflammatory rhetoric does have an influence on the listening/viewing audience. No because saying incendiary things alone is not enough in our justice system to attach ones guilt. Individuals are responsible for their own actions unless it can be proven that an outside party is making a documented conscience effort to effect behavior otherwise (think the Tobacco Industry).

Lord knows Manson tried blaming the Beatles for his killings. Mark David Chapman tried blaming "Catcher in the Rye" for killing Lennon. Hinkley was convinced killing Reagan would impress Jodi Foster, a person he'd never met before. Hell, Berkowitz took orders from his dog!

Yes, these shootings are tragic. Yes, they probably could've been preventable. But I don't see this as a grand conspiracy to shut certain people up. Its just one of those bizarre but meaningless acts of violence.

Will we learn anything from this? I haven't a clue.

W/ all the whackos, nutjobs, & racists out there, I'm a little surprised that violence like this isn't more prevalent...not that I'm advocating that.


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One of my lovable headcases Meagan persuaded to go back into the archives & take a fresh look at the material from our first shoot, shot during Aug 2005. It entailed promises of doing multiple "pretty pleases" & future promises of dirty things to come. Little does she know I would've settled for far less in the form of an Italian smack upside the head. =)

All kidding aside, that shoot felt like ages ago & at the same time just yesterday. Seeing these pictures again makes me wince in a way. Think of it like seeing at ones own baby pictures when you're an adult. You know that's you but at the same time its a completely different person.

Anyway, this is one of the shots that recaptured my attention.



Feel free & comment on any part of this if you so desire.

Enjoy.

When Writing Nonfiction

I'm a visual arts person & not a copy editor, so please forgive if I weaken my case w/ bad grammar or what have you.

Its no secret I read a lot of nonfiction (among many other things). Nor is it a secret I've suffered writing many a research paper during my undergrad that quite frankly, I cared nothing about (it comes w/ the territory sometimes). I'd like to think I've picked up on a few helpful tips along the way.

If you're writing about a real event (as opposed to "historical fiction" which is a fictional narrative revolving around real event(s))...

1. Don't create dialogue between two players out of thin air. If there's enough to create a conversation, there's enough to discuss the matter in the 3rd person.

2. Constantly using words like "probably", "may have", "likely" does not inspire reader confidence.

3. If you make a claim, state why you think it & then back it up w/ something. So you think William the Conqueror black-balled Prince Harold when the latter visited the Continent. What are you basing this belief on?

4. Get your dang facts straight! If you're topic is the American Revolution and you consistently write of Charles II sitting on the English throne (as opposed to George III), then you've got problems.

5. Cite your dang sources in some way, especially when referencing documents like letters or diaries.


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This here is Jenifer.

I was pleasantly surprised w/ the dirth of material I got when working w/ her. She's so down to earth & easy to work w/.

*sigh*



Feel free & comment on any part of this if you so desire.