Ploafmaster General

Just don't call it a retreat :-)

This past weekend I had the pleasure of joining fifteen other gentlemen out in King and Queen county for what I believe was the first Men's Weekend for City Church of Richmond. We all chilled out on the grounds of an 18th century home while enjoying the likes of a bonfire, impromptu music, and the fresh air so alien to us city-dwellers. I played the part of a Pork Roll salesman, an ATV was stuck hub-deep in some mud, and, of course, there was some mighty fellowship time.

Oh yeah, and I took some pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

Talk about a letdown:

After surviving several storms during its 10-month voyage, the junk broke in two and sank after it was rammed by a freighter just off Taiwan's coast.

I disagree, though, with the captain's proclamation of failure. I consider Taiwan easily close enough to maintain the plausibility of the historical claim, and it's not as if the ship sank because of its design. I doubt many contemporary vessels would survive that kind of collision.

You can find more information about the ship's construction and history on the project's website. The English is a little spotty but clear enough, and the details are fascinating.

Valerie and I went on a little date night last night and, at her request, watched earth at the movie theater. This G-rated US release of the 2007 BBC documentary was geared toward children, but I'd wager 75% of those in attendance were adults.

I fell asleep about two-thirds in.

It's not that I hate nature or children's films, but if you're familiar with the brilliant Planet Earth series, you'll experience deja vu. That's because much of the footage in the feature is re-cut from the television program. It's gorgeous footage, of course, but I've seen most of it before. My guess is that that show is probably a bit too gritty for little kids, so a sanitized, 90-minute version was produced for the big screen. Wrap it all up in some soothing narration from James Earl Jones (or Patrick Stewart in the UK) and you're all set...if you're a child. For me, well, I'm only glad I wasn't snoring when I dozed off in the theater.

2/5

Oh yeah, side note - I wonder whether James Earl Jones could've gotten away with narrating a kid's movie after the Star Wars movies. I could just picture some little tykes freaking out in their seats as soon as Darth Vader starts talking about cute, fuzzy animals.

I eagerly await new concepts and processes. I believe that the electronic image will be the next major advance. Such systems will have their own inherent and inescapable structural characteristics, and the artist and functional practitioner will again strive to comprehend and control them.

Ansel Adams in his 1981 introduction to The Negative

I started reading The Negative recently and this excerpt has really stuck with me. I'd like to think that were Adams alive today he'd be happy to play with the latest methods of photography that technology has to offer. I'm encouraged that somebody so influential to the art and craft of photography seemed unafraid of the ever-changing face of his medium.

Feast your ears on this tasty new Deepspace5 track, and your eyes on this cool video:

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2921479&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ffffff&fullscreen=1
"Raps" from the Stuff on Vimeo.

(via Patrick, who really oughtta put this on tasty hip hip treats)

Tonight Valerie and I went to Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Church Hill to attend the Nehemiah Action for an interdenominational/interfaith group called Richmonders Involved to Strengthen our Communities, or RISC. It's called a Nehemiah Action based on the story of Jerusalem's rebuilding in the book of Nehemiah from the Old Testament of the Bible, and the focus is on bringing issues of social justice before those in the city of Richmond with the power to change policies. Last year they voted on issues to pursue and study, and tonight a committee ranging from a priest to a rabbi presented findings and requests related to three topics: drugs/crime, education, and healthcare.

The first section addressed the affects of drug addicts in the city jail and included a plan to use treatment programs to help reduce recidivism. Mayor Jones was present to face questions of commitment and gave reassuring responses. RISC's next step involves lobbying the city council to fund a pilot program that's expected to help up to 120 inmates per year.

The discussion of education was eye-opening. The focus was on reducing the rates of drop-outs and out-of-school suspensions, and some of the findings were a little shocking - particularly that a serious chunk of out-of-school suspensions were for being out of school in the first place (truancy, etc.). There was a recommendation to adopt a city-wide disciplinary program, but I got the impression this was a more recently adopted issue with earlier-stage research.

The final issue was health care, and specifically the provision of primary care for the poor and uninsured. The organization has been working with VCU's health system to improve primary care for those in need by more efficiently disseminating information about care centers and and hours for the Virginia Coordinated Care program. The requests included conducting setting real benchmarks to measure improvement in the program and follow-up meetings with RISC.

I'm a sucker for numbers so I kinda want to see the actual research they collected in their studies, but I'd say it was a pretty good night over all. It's good to see congregations joining together to help the city this way, and I intend to follow the suggestions presented tonight. I'll be praying for them as well.

The New York Times' David Carr has a pretty damning editorial concerning the three major cable news networks and their handling of the tax day tea parties. It's a little cranky, and I'm certain the NYT isn't without its own over-hyped stories, but it's reassuring to see major media outlet holding the three-ring circus of CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News up to the light.

This weekend I finally got around to seeing 2008's Best Picture winner, Slumdog Millionaire. This was Valerie's Netflix selection, and while I wasn't against watching it, I wasn't exactly giddy with anticipation either. I think I was wary of the movie's near-universal plaudits, but I was none-the-less willing to give it a chance.

My conclusion? I thought it was entertaining but far undeserving of the Academy's accolades. Many of the shots were effective at eliciting feelings of wonder, revulsion, or sympathy. I also found the main story-telling device - revealing character background and life history through each game show question - to be both clever and engaging. But all of ultimately served to deliver a predictable and far-fetched love story. I think the unbelievable nature of Slumdog amplifies the warm fuzzies I find inherent in rags-to-riches stories, but it doesn't make for good cinema.

3/5

This is one of the biggest myths with the law of taking photographs,” explains Bert Krages, a Portland, OR-based copyright attorney who has written books on photographers' rights and techniques. “There is no general prohibition against photographing federal buildings. There are statutes that prohibit photographing areas of military and nuclear facilities. But there are no laws against photographing other federal facilities, other than the right of all property owners to restrict activities that take place on their property. A federal office building manager cannot restrict photography when the photographer is situated outside the federal property boundary.

from "The War on Photographers" found on PopPhoto.com (published July 19th, 2006)

On Sunday evening Jake and I went downtown to take some night photographs (as evidenced by my previous post) and had a little run-in with a Federal Reserve police officer. We were standing on a public sidewalk at the river-bank side of the footbridge to Brown's Island, and I set down my tripod with my camera pointing up 7th street. Within a minute or so, a Federal Reserve police car came out of the gate, circled the fountain, and stopped with his lights on.

He stepped out of the car and asked us (politely) what we were doing. We indicated, essentially, that we were amateur photographers just taking pictures. My reminder that we were on public property was met by a stone wall, and we were told that we couldn't take pictures that included the building. You know, the building that's visible around the entire city of Richmond. Jake offered to show the officer what he'd already photographed, and I did the same. When Jake asked for a reason why we couldn't take pictures, the officer (still polite) said, simply, "Ben Bernanke." Wow.

I tried to calm Jake and myself down after leaving the scene because I thought there might be some justification in what the officer said. After all, the Richmond branch of the Fed is pretty important, and you never know whether the chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States might be on site. But this has been nagging at me since that night.

Now I feel feeble and ashamed at giving in so easily. Jake and I were basically intimidated into taking our cameras elsewhere. Our Constitutional rights were violated by an overeager security staff that didn't understand the law. Part of me wants to go back there and take pictures directly of the building from the public sidewalk, just to make a point. Maybe I can even get pictures of the officer who comes out to politely harass and terrorize me.

And the other part of me doesn't want to cause Valerie the trouble and risk losing/damaging our new camera. But the truth is that I'm sitting here in my cubicle wanting nothing more than to go to some place where I can scream in anger at the top of my lungs.

UPDATE:
It seems a Flickr user recently wrote to the Fed and received a vindicating response.

I went out for some night photography with Jake this evening and snagged several keepers...

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:12-21

Happy Easter.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person - though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die - but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8, ESV

Earlier today Trey wondered why Readernaut didn't get more props. It happens that I've been working through some thoughts on said website and others.

I consider Readernaut, along with Cork'd and 97 Bottles, to fit into a category of websites that I'll call (for want of a simple and short descriptor) "activity trackers". These web apps represent social networks built around common consumption, be it reading books or drinking wine. Members discuss, rate, and list what they have individually consumed. There may be a few extra bells and whistles specific to each activity (a "cellar" for Cork'd, for example), but the basic structure is the same.

The three websites I've specified are all pretty sweet - most everything seems to work as described and there are detailed methods for sharing the specifics of your intake without overwhelming the user. The problem I have with each of them, however, is that they all seem to make clerical work out of my leisure time. If I want to make good use of these websites, I can't simply read my book. I have to pull up Readernaut and enter the last page number when I'm finished. And when I'm done, there's the compulsion to render an opinion, or at least remember to rate the book. And no longer can I just try a new beer at Capital Ale House (heaven help my taste buds' memory if it's the first of a few). I have to recall the name, taste, aroma, color, and so on. Should I whip out my Moleskine and jot down tasting notes for later? How reliable will my notes be after beer number three?

Maybe some iPhone apps would help, but then I'm still that guy pulling out my doodad to take notes or post a rating. And I still have to add routine to my leisure time.

All of this probably indicates little other than me not being the target audience of these web apps. But maybe the reason Readernaut doesn't get much attention is because I'm in the majority. That doesn't make these web apps bad; I'm simply suggesting that they're likely to be relegated to a niche market.

And now, on a lighter note (or a series of lighter notes), here's Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond performing a sweetly simple version of "The Gentlest Gentleman":

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3744221&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ffffff&fullscreen=1
My Brightest Diamond - The Gentlest Gentleman from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

So I'm sitting up late at night on a Wednesday trying to kill time while my first attempt at duck confit to finish. I figured I'd check out Jimmy Fallon's take on Late Night, and...well, ugh.

Yeah, he's still kinda wet behind the ears when it comes to this talk show gig, but it's pretty telling that the majority of the audience isn't laughing. I mean, he just spent 10 minutes on this too-long bit that involved feeding 300 lbs of baked beans into the "volcano under the stairs." I would have felt bad for him if I didn't already have trouble laughing at Fallon from his SNL days. The timing was off, the gags were cheap, and the audience seemed to be waiting as long as I was for the sketch to end.

Dang, and I thought Carson Daly was lame.

I'm a nerd and a snob rolled into one unfortunate clump, so it should come as no surprise that I have strong feelings about something so trivial as April Fools Day.

I think it's the result of one too many lame April Fools gags...I can remember in high school one year that I was getting ready to drive off in the car on an errand for my parents, and it wouldn't start. After asking for help, my step-dad came outside with the ignition fuse in his hand, and happily declared, "April Fools!" It was a great practical joke. But was I fooled? They set up a situation over which I had no control, and my only conclusion was that the car wouldn't start. It's not like I was lead to believe it wouldn't start when it was really okay. The car actually couldn't start because it had been tampered with.

There was also a prank in college where several girls from Intervarsity Christian Fellowship decided to raid the medicine cabinets of a number of guys' apartments, purloining our toothbrushes. They left notes behind, or something similar, to indicate that it was some big April Fools gag. Harmless, clever, and fun, but I still don't think anybody was fooled here. Maybe a bunch of guys felt as if they'd lost their toothbrushes, but they weren't really fooled in the sense that they believed a lie told to them.

When did April Fools day become a day for general pranks? Or has it always been that way? Maybe I need to get some history on this...I think I just miss people actually trying to trick one another in good-natured ways. Only when you convince somebody that some absurd story is true should you be able to declare, triumphantly, "April Fools!"

So I don't mean to spoil anybody's fun - by all means, joke away. Try to fool me. Play tricks on me. I try to trick people as well. Just don't do something to me that's a practical joke and try to claim that you fooled me. That's just bad form.

Today was rough.

From the moment I sat down at my desk, feet still aching from the 10k, I was busy. Request after request seemed to pile up with seemingly little time to dig myself from the fast-growing pile of work in my queue. There were deadlines, questions, confusion from co-workers, and a general sense that today's pressure greatly out-paced that of my day-to-day. As 4:30 loomed I started to feel like I needed a dramatic break from the mentally cramped environment of the day but I wasn't sure how I'd accomplish that without going straight-away to bed. Not one to call it a night early, I recalled that Can Can has a weekly cocktail tasting that I had yet to attend.

I'm not going to say that I needed a drink but the prospect of good mixology lifted my spirits, so Val and I headed to Carytown for some light fare, cocktails, and atmosphere.

Can Can's cocktail tastings work thusly: from 6-7 on Tuesday nights they mix up free (!) tasting portions of the evenings tipple while the full size is a special price all night. Tonight's sampler was a Gin Rickey (theirs had Bombay, lime, soda, and simple syrup on the rocks) mixed up right, and weighed in at $6.50 if you went for a full dose. Pair that with the Fontina Fondue (which we had at our first dinner there) at $4 bucks and you have a reasonably inexpensive night out with a cocktail and a fancy snack in a classy atmosphere. This evening, however, we had a few other drinks - London Pride on tap, for example - and couldn't resist dessert.

I also crossed a gustatory threshold; I tried, for the first time, oysters on the half shell.



I chose to have my first oyster at Can Can for two reasons. First of all, I'm pretty comfortable with the freshness and quality of this restaurant's food. More importantly, I was able to snag oysters one-at-a-time for $2.50. Steep? I don't know yet. But I do know that I didn't have to commit to a plate of bivalves with the possibility of hating them.

It turned out, however, that raw oysters aren't scary or slimy. They taste...well, they taste like the sea. Nether fishy nor smelly, the oysters and their liquor (the briny liquid in the shell) went down the hatch easily with a quick burst of flavor. The bartender, hearing it was my first experience with oysters, helped me out. I was first served a little guy which was a bit more intense in flavor. I ate this small serving unadulterated since it was my maiden voyage, and the experience was good enough for me to order a second. My next oyster was considerably larger and I spiked him with a squeeze of lemon for a touch more brightness that worked well against the ocean flavor.

All told we were in and out of Can Can in about an hour with some quality eats in between. It was the perfect week night diversion to take my mind off a brutal day in the cubicle farm.

The engine may be a little anemic, but the Bullet 500 Military from Royal Enfield is a purely beautiful motorcycle.
(via uncrate)

One of my favorite bands, Sigur Rós, performing "Við spilum endalaust" off of their latest studio album, Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (put together by the always excellent La Blogotheque):

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3814849&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ffffff&fullscreen=1
Sigur Ros - Við spilum endalaust - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Today Valerie and I participated in the Monument Avenue 10k Run/Walk. Those familiar with my portly physique can probably guess that I walked. Val walked with me and that made all the difference, I believe. I managed to finish the whole thing in less than two hours, averaging just over 3 mph, and now I think I'll relax for the remainder of the weekend :-)

Pints at Penny Lane this evening sound about right!

Okay - so there's this new company, Boxed Water Is Better LLC, and their product is...Boxed Water. Coming in a pleasantly designed milk-carton-style container, it sounds nice enough on the surface: Flat packed empty packaging is easier to transport, made of 90% renewable and recyclable materials, and the whole operation is focused on sustainability. I could see how it would be perceived as a better choice than plastic bottles...

But they're still selling packaged water.

Once the containers are filled they still have to be transported, and with every 1,000 gallons weighing over 4 tons (when you include the weight of packaging) that's a lot of fuel to burn. And recyclable or not, all those containers must be manufactured. The only major advantage I see here, in fact, is that Boxed Water may break down more easily in a landfill when non-recycling types just toss them in the trash - except they're probably coated in wax since they have to hold liquid, so scratch that idea.

I'm not an advocate for bottling companies but I think there are advantages to bottles over boxes, the first of which is strength. I can't see a paper-based container holding up to the rigors of a mostly-filled backpack, for example. Based on the pictures of Boxed Water, I also don't see a cap (which makes sense if they cartons start out flat-packed) which means once it's open, it's open until it's done. Make sure you keep it upright!

Look, just buy a few good reusable bottles, and a filter pitcher or something. Boxed Water sounds like mild greenwashing to me.