hobbies

i’ve been struggling since last night with what i should write about today. now it’s 2:30pm and i still haven’t settled on anything.

this is partly because when i think about it, my mind races with too many topics. and this is partly because most of the topics that come to mind would require some background reading. don’t get me wrong, i’m not opposed to doing the necessary reading and google searches. i just haven’t done them to this point.

also, i’m having to give larger amounts of time to an ongoing project or two.

all this is the long way of saying that there won’t be a substantive post today.

in the meantime, here’s a list of potential topics for the next several days. if there’s enough feedback from my relatively small audience on one or two, maybe i’ll know where to go from here.

  • a follow-up on my previous electoral college post
  • 3 questions from my therapist to contemplate
  • how the hell did we end up with trump
  • my photography aspirations (and how to get there, maybe)
  • what do we do next

of course, i’m also open to requests.

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last week was a rough one. i didn’t more than a couple of posts completed, but i didn’t want to miss a music monday video. luckily, i recorded two last week, which made it a bit easier today. and the editing went smoother this week.

so, the temper trap is a band that was suggested to me by one of my music geek friends. some of the songs are hit and miss, but this one i really like.

i think my lip sync is pretty good and hopefully you’ll find it entertaining. it’s not nearly as entertaining as the “official” music video, which i think is great.

particularly great is the puddle-splashing and fireworks.

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i have a terrible memory for names, dates, events…. this, sadly, includes important birthdays and anniversaries. thankfully in this age of smartphones and facebook, i’m pretty well covered.

and so it is today. scanning my facebook thread while walking from the parking lot to my office this morning, i was reminded that nine years ago today one of my old high school friends married a wonderful woman who is absolutely perfect for him.

i traveled to my place of my childhood to attend the wedding, bachelor party, and other gatherings. plus spend quality time with so many friends i don’t see nearly enough.

matching their style, the wedding and the reception and fun that followed was a well-tuned balance of elegant and goofy fun.

i had dinner with danny and lindsey and their two adorable daughters this past august while on my extended post-convention vacation.

i can’t believe it’s already been nine years. but so it goes.

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no music monday video today…. i’ve been in a bit of a funk the last few days and couldn’t bring myself to sit and do a video this weekend.

still, i think this picture will more than make up for it.


this was not a halloween costume. in 2000 (i think) i went to oberlin’s famous drag ball. i have pictures of other friends who attended (and dressed in drag), but thought best not to embarrass them without prior permission.

the dress, hat, necklace, and clip-on earrings were acquired at a make-shift thrift store on oberlin’s campus just for the occasion. unlike others in our group, i refused to don make-up or shave anyplace that i didn’t normally shave.

i may still have the dress… somewhere, but seriously doubt the thing still fits.

anyway, happy halloween!

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digging through stacks of photographs my mother sent me, i came across a handful of printed black and white photos i had taken and printed, myself, in high school.

i loved photography. my very first camera was a canon ae-1 and i carried it everywhere with me the last couple years of high school. that’s the only time i’ve had pretty much unfettered access to a dark room.

the darkroom at shawnee mission south was one of my favorite places and i spent countless hours there.

in these days of lightroom, photoshop, and cameras built in to our smartphones, film photography is all but dead. for a time, i refused to give up my film cameras as a protest to a transforming art form. i got over it.


taken during an excursion to downtown kansas city in high school. while no big deal now, it felt exciting when i was 17.


taken in the open lawn behind shawnee mission south high school. this is becky, who was helping me with some random shots (rotary phone outside). at the time i thought it was a cool idea.

now i mostly just like it as a nice portrait of her.


for a long time, this staged photo (that’s me) was one of my favorite works. i still like it, but like the one of becky and the phone i wonder now why i thought it was such a great concept. that’s high school for you, i guess.

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