Pessimistic thought of the day.

Arguing government with a friend:

"We're never going to agree on any of this. The government makes mistakes, but so do I. You can't expect perfection because it's not going to happen. If you expect perfection from a government then you're living in the wrong reality. All you have (Name) is idealistic philosophy which isn't congruent with a society that's rough. People aren't innately good or bad, they are simply people. And they behave according to themselves and what they think is right. Those opinions will never match up. And to expect these opinions on what is right to align perfectly is to expect every star in the universe to suddenly align themselves in a single file line and do a dance." - Me

(I reccomend checking out the comments on this post for more light on the subject)

Underpass photography

Driving around Las Vegas and Henderson reveals to the trained eye that there is much hidden beauty in this valley. Beauty that some might think belongs only in wilderness. But to me, and a few others, the valley is riddled with beauty in every corner.

Steven and I discovered a set of three (possibly more) bridges. The most beautiful being a red brick one. Under the first we discovered two homeless men who cackled quietly in the dark while we took photos. At the second we discovered beautiful water and toads. The third was plain and we turned back.

The first:





The second:

Alystra: Mourning

I visited The Alystra Site a couple of days ago. Few things remain. scraps of wood painted sky blue. Glass shards. Tile. And a foundation. A foundation that once supported the majestic casino. The space where the building once stood is like a massive grave site. The only remaining structure is the stage that was once within the walls. Beneath it was once a vault. Now it is exposed to open air and filled in with dirt. The marquee still stands, a depressing sight without it's partner. The marquee is now a massive marker, a tombstone for the the fallen Alystra. I walked atop the foundation and tried to imagine what once was. 'Here was the front entrance' I told myself 'And over here was the main gambling hall'. It all started to break down when I tried to continue. At least we have the memories, an a few pretty rectangles of frozen time.

Okay, next year.

Next year I will not be returning to The Nevada Sagebrush. I may or may not still shoot for them on some basis. I don't want the paper to die, but I also value my own sanity. So, we'll see.

Also I plan to join a fraternity. That's right. Pi Kappa Phi. If I do not make it, I will not join a frat.

I will be getting a job dirung the school year.

I will be passing all my classes next year.

I will be politically active again next year. A return to my calling, heh.

And that's the news. I think some of you already knew most of that, lol. Alright. I'll be sure to update you guys on things more often, lol.

Wow, big omission. Oops.

I totally forgot to inform the world, in the only repository for all news Daniel, about my intentions for next year. Well. Stay tuned, because this one's gonna blow you away.

No, it had to be said.

I was going to Twit, tweet, twitt, (whatever the action of updating to twitter is), this but I thought it deserved at least a short rant. I'm sure you've heard it all before, so I'll keep it short.

YouTube video comments reveal just how much rot is in the heart of this world. Seriously. Who the fuck gave these people a computer. And who taught them how to use it? I'm not usually a fan of this sort of thing, but my god. Make them all impotent. They'll probably wake up the next morning and think it was just a drunken adventure. Don't agree with me?

"scott blonkin shoulda man up and whoop some ass"

WHAT?! I don't even now what that means! Still don't agree? Well look at this little dialogue. I kept the names because they're important.

"sxychick1234
hey bud! im a 15 yr old, and i know how kids and adults think! grow up cos a little girl reads this stuff and u possibly upset her! your not high and mighty, your an equal, and you cant insult these people cos they did a great job! well done cast and crew, and ollivia, ignore this person, they are very silly!"

It hurts me not to fix grammar, but whatever. This response was fine if a bit naive. But then came this:
"peeenisss
trust me, you don't know how adults think, "sxychick1234." i'm not saying i do, but you DEFINITELY don't. get an appropriate name for a 15-year-old, you stupid skank, that's disgusting. use your brain. oh and before you say it, ha ha my name's penis i'm soooooo mature."

His fucking name is PENIS. What the FUCK?! "Your name sucks, but don't make fun of my shitty immature name."

Alright. Sorry. Okay I was going to post a comment from the list under a political video but I just can't read any more. Reading the political comments is like watching gorillas do ballet. These people misquote, cite fake history, make shit up, bicker, and basically make a mockery of Democracy. I give up.

The band of our generation.

The best band of our generation can be decided now. Because quite frankly any music made after this point is going to be "that confounded new noise those kids listen to!". The criteria was simple. "What band has made the most significant impact on not only music but also the hearts and minds of our generation". So, I have decided (no need to fret and worry) that the two bands that will hold a joint show to determine who will take home the crudely constructed trophy made of Popsicle sticks and glue are:

The Killers and The Goo Goo Dolls

Thank you to everyone who auditioned, we regret that you all cannot be the band to define our generation. Some runner ups in no particular order include:

The Postal Service, Linkin Park, Blink 182, New Found Glory, Green Day, and so on.

Three photos.

Not a lot tonight, but I'm pretty proud of what I have for you.


First, a cute kitty. Because I said I'd do it.


Second is a "sketch". I call it a sketch because it's a practice shot. The final picture is going to be more close up and have a lot more detail in the figure. Plus there will be a costume.
It's based on this amazing moment that's been burned into my mind as one of the most stirring images I have ever seen. My best friend Gabriel was in a play, or was it a dance. No matter. The whole thing was spectacular, and I fear I'll never see it again. In fact I probably won't. I think that was part of the point. Anyhow. In this play (Shadowland) there was a character. He was a man among fools it seemed. He stood apart. And the world itself seemed to me falling apart. he could see this. And in one moment as all the characters did various actions without dialogue, he walked to the back where a gate seemed to hold the world back. He put his hand up to the gate and gripped it. I know I inferred a lot of this. But I don't care. I will make this shot, immortalize it. Because as of right now the image only exists in my head and maybe a couple of others.


Last we have a composite shot of lightning in the Las Vegas valley. It's not something you see very often. This is the first time I've ever been able to photograph it. It has been one of my goals in life and I'm glad to have done it. Now I'll just have to perfect it.

Some changes needed to be made.

In honor of breaching the 200 post marker, (this is post 202) I have changed the color scheme of my blog drastically in order to perhaps point it in a different direction.

The blog has mostly resided in the dark and brooding realm of which I am quite fond. Dark studies, old buildings, ancient practices, hidden worlds and the like. But as I once put it one must sometimes "suffer the light" to make any sort of real change. So We'll see what happens. Maybe I'll post some writing. Perhaps a cute picture of a puppy (or a kitten if that's your thing). Point being. Look for some change. Or if there isn't change complain to the management.

Mini-Vacation.

So I'm back from my mini-vacation on the Las Vegas strip. I brought my camera thinking I'd be inundated with things to take pictures of. And in one sense I kind of was. But I ended up just leaving it in the hotel room and enjoying everything without thinking about pictures and such. It was nice.

However, when I went out alone that night for the express purpose of getting photos, I found it ridiculously hard to actually take any. I have this belief about photography. (And other photographers disagree with me deeply. And indeed other photographers are very good at this very thing.) But I despise the building and architecture shot. There is an exception to every rule however. And I'll probably break this rule hundreds of times in my lifetime, but a building is like a giant sculpture. Taking pictures of it and claiming it as your own seems cheap to me. It'd be like walking into a gallery and taking a picture of a painting. So I was pretty much at a loss on the strip. A line of buildings so beautiful it's crazy. Lights flashing, glowing, dancing. I found myself unable to document most of it. What I got was about three shots on the strip that I liked.





Walking back to the hotel room I repeated to myself that it was okay. Not every outing had to be a success. And then I walked back into the hotel room. And right before me was the subject of the last five shots you'll see.







The hotel room was amazing. Lit almost entirely by the green lights aimed at the MGM building I found myself working with contrast in entirely different ways. I feel the results are pretty pleasing. I could have shot the room all night, documenting how we used it. But I grew tired and eventually fell asleep on the windowsill.