Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Snap! Crackle! Click! Expression

I haven't posted a photo of mine in quite some time since I haven't been doing any weddings since Labor Day. I have done some photoshoots though and this is a shot which I think really shows off the girl's personality quite well.


It's usually all in the eyes, but in this case, I think it's in her smile too. You can always tell in a photo when a person isn't comfortable or is elsewhere in mind. In this instance, the girl is posing for me, but I feel like she was really "there" and having a good time with her fiance while I took photos of them. When I look at this photo, I somehow end up thinking serenity every time. At some point, I'll post another bride-to-be that makes me think "zen"

Funny, but I tend to apply descriptive words to my clients without even thinking about it. They're not usually insightful, but the terms are the first things that come to mind when I think of them and their photos.


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Strategery Watch

Lo and behold, we're 14 days away from an election and we're magically able to start defining timelines and metrics for Iraq?

If you've been stuck in last week's news, catch up: U.S. general: Iraqi security can take reins in 12-18 months


This coming after months and years of hearing that no timetable could be set because it would embolden the enemy! Heck, just 8 days ago, Tony Snow said, "We're making progress. I don't know. How do you define 'winning'?" And now we're being told definitively that the US can have just a minimal supporting force in Iraq. 14 days before a mid-term election which could re-draw the political lines and shape things for the presidential election 2 years from now.

Huh.

Is it any surprise? Of course not.

Some things to think about...we should be delighted that we're getting some semblance of "truth" from some of the people in charge. But given the willful ignorance (or outright lies) we've been seeing from the admin, we should be outraged that it has taken so long to come to this point. We should be even more outraged at the politically timed messaging we're getting.

And most concerning of all, we shouldn't be surprised if we get more of the same BS once the election is over. Afterall, the current political environment is one where policy serves politics, not the other way around. So 15 days from now, I fully expect to hear about "progress" and "staying the course" and "islamofacists" and stop hearing about a well-thought out plan to help Iraq become a peaceful nation.

I don't care of that plan takes 2 years, 5, years, 10 years, or 100 years. The problem here is not the amount of time it would take to provide some semblance of peace to the region. The problem is the continued ineptitude which our leaders show at every step of the Iraq puzzle. We went in there for purely poltical reasons. Now we're showing a way out for purely politcal reasons.


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Monday, October 23, 2006

It's Strategery, Stupid

And wouldn't you know it...the admin is at it again. Trying to re-write history by claiming things that are completely wrong. What is it this time? W is trying to convince us that "Stay the Course" was NEVER part of the strategy for Iraq?

Huh?

WHAT?

Up until last week, "Stay the Course" was used so often by the admin that it was the butt of a joke on the Colbert Report where Stephen Colbert said there have always been two options on Iraq: "Stay" and "the Course"

And now we're being told that the administration is "constantly adjusting the tactics, constantly" and that "It's never been a stay the course strategy."

Listen, I'm happy as fuck if there is some actual rethinking about how to turn Iraq into a safe and thriving democracy. But seriously, we don't need lies heading into the final weeks of mid-term elections.

You know that the term "when the shit hits the fan"? Well, obviously, this admin is the one throwing up the bullshit left and right. Too bad that the fan spatters the crap across all of America and what it stands for.

Stay the fucking course, my ass.

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Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Product Placement

It's pretty commonplace to see products placed in TV shows and movies. It's no surprise to see a character crack open a cold one while we're reminded that he likes Bud Light. It's no surprise to see the same type of Cisco phone on almost every show you watch.

I find it really odd then, when product placements are so blatant like it makes you gag ...or worse laugh. Case in point, I finally saw The Island last night (sort of dumb movie BTW, expect for the eye candy that is Scarlett Johansson). At one point, Ewan McGregor goes for a drink and we're zoomed into a shot of an aluminum bottle of Michelob which stays on screen for at least 3 seconds. Ewan then proceeds to take a small swig and we never hear from the bottle again. That doesn't sound like much screen time for the brand, but the way it was done was really odd. Seriously, it was a fast zoom into just the bottle with nothing else on screen. I get the feeling that the director, Michael Bay, was told to place the bottle into the movie and he didn't like that. So he directed this ridiculous spot in. But hey, I guess I remember the brand so in some sense it worked.

Compare that placement with Puma's placement of their shoes at the beginning of the same movie. There was a rack of the same cool looking pair of shoes which Ewan McGregor looks through. Not a huge deal and the puma logo itself is a bit blury since the focus is not on the shoes themselves. In this case, I still remember the brand, but it definitely didn't feel odd to see the shoes in this context.

The most ridiculous, contrtive product placement in recent memory has got to be Oreo cookie placement on 7th Heaven. It might just be because I think 7th Heaven is the most contrived drama on TV, but the way they "weave" the story of Oreos into the plot itself. At a few points in this episodes, the characters specifically mention Oreos and talk to each other about whether they like to twist open their cookies and lick the cream or if they just bite right into them. Actual plot lines to ensure we remember the product!

Got any other ridiculous, contrived product placements you recall?


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Friday, October 13, 2006

Old News

I get a lot of random magazines for free - not free trials, I just continually get them without ever getting asked to pay for them. I signed up for a free magazine once and now I get emails for even more magazines. Most of them are useless, some are interesting. The latest one I got is MacWorld.

The magazine itself is fine and a good flip. Except for the fact that it's all old news. I just looked through the October issue and ever bit of news on there seems like it tired stuff back in August.

There is quite a bit of space devote to the Mac Pro, which is the high-end desktop Apple produces. This was a desktop announced during the Mac Worldwide Developers Conference during the week of August 7th.

And I'm reading about it in the Octover issue of MacWorld. Their website has obviously moved onto other things, but the print publication just seems out of it.

Now I totally understand the nature of publishing and deadlines. I used to manage a small monthly news magazine and we had to plan way ahead for anything that was date oriented (thus we usually just stayed away from time-sensitive stuff).

I also understand that I, along with tons of other web-savvy people, get the latest news from various blogs, news sites, and friends. For the people who care, details about the Mac Pro (or any tech item) become old news so quickly.

So why is MacWorld bothering to devote so much space to this a full two months after the product is announced? They already know most of their audience must be web-savvy and on the news. And they know their publishing cycle. If they're going to miss a hot topic like a big product announcement, they should deal with it by focusing on something more useful (which is what the latter part of the mag is devoted to) and not seem totally out of it by talking about something like it was just released the day before.

It's a new world and magazine production staffs should come to grips with this. It's no wonder that these types of publications are having trouble staying afloat. The lastest breaking news is rarely news to someone when they're reading it in a magazine. Even daily newspapers sometimes feel old depending on when an event occured. But a monthly mag? Stay away from "introducing products" to your readers. And gravitate to how the product is going to impact your readers.

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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Do the Most Good

Public Radio International's "The World" program had a report today on the Beirut Film Festival which is going on despite the recent bombings in Lebanon. This year's festival was in doubt for obvious reasons, but the organizers strove to make it happen no matter what. Despite the organizers' will, they still had various challenges to overcome including funding. The usual sponsors diverted funds to help rebuild the country. However an American institure (not sure which) came through with necessary funds. This got me to thinking about what should be done and by whom.

While it's great this film festival went on despite the troubles in Lebanon, I wonder if the money spent on it could have been better used to rebuild some portion of the city. One of the organizers commented about the need for entertainment and inspiration and there's no doubt that such things help to keep the human spirit chugging along. But in times of acute need, I just feel like this money could have improved the lives of people in much more important ways.

Of course, I'm not privy to all of the details and I don't even know the reality of the situation in Beirut right now. And I know full well that bread and water do not feed the human soul. Film and art are important to the being of people everywhere. But the cynic in me tells me that charity for humanitarian purposes is much more important than giving to the arts.

How does one make a decision? For me, I tend to donate to causes where not too many people seem to recognize a need. After the US invaded Afghanistan, I donated the the UN Refugee Agnecy (UNHCR). I did this not because I was against the invansion of Afghanistan. In fact, I think W did the right thing with that one. But I saw a need for the people who would inevitably have to flee from all the stuff going on around them. It was also a bit of a contrarian viewpoint to all the people donating to fund helping 9/11 victims. I felt that the US government would help those victims out in the end (which, as far as I know, it has) and so I sent money where I thought it was seriously needed.

I think for most people, this sort of decision comes down to interest and personal meaning. If someone you know has a disease, you're more likely donate for research into erradication of that disease.

But I still feel a bit odd about donating to a film festival in a time of great humanitarian need. I wouldn't have done it. Would you?


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Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Rules of War

It was 5 years ago this week that we went into Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime. While they are no longer officially in power, the Taliban is apparently gaining strength in many localities. Essentially, the Karzai led government only has control over big cities. The rest is left up to the Taliban and other local war lords.

Who would have thought Afghanistan would be in this situation 5 yrs after the most powerful nation in the world resolved to oust the mastermind behind 9/11 and the regime that gave him protection.

And who would have thought our leaders would purposely continue to restrict our freedoms and curtail our Constitutional Rights in the name of a war on terror. If you read my maddened and dazed state the other day, you know I'm in complete disbelief about where this nation is headed. Not only are we stuck in Iraq in a misguided attempt to...um...actually I don't know why we're there.

But anyways, while we're stuck there, we're seemingly losing the war on terror left, right, and center. How's that? There hasn't been another attack on US Soil since 9/11 so how could we be losing. Well, keep in mind that terrorism isn't necessarily killing innocent civilians. It can striking fear in the hearts and minds of innocents. And to be honest, I'm scared of where we're headed as a free nation.

The latest Detainee bill that passed through Congress (before the ridiculous Foley shit) should really make us stand up and shout "No!" "Fuck No!" "Not in the name of America!" Instead we have calmly argued cases for why it should be possible to hold a US Citizen in Guatanamo as an enemy combatant. We're told that as citizens we could still contest our detentions from jail. We're told that the system will ensure that innocent Americans will still have due process. Just lke Jose Padilla, a US citizen who has been in prision since 2002 and STILL HASN'T BEEN CHARGED with a crime. Now, Padilla may well be out to kill, but what's the reasoning behind not charging him with a crime. For 4 years!

And now, we have people like John Yoo telling us that a valid reason for not allowing detainees to contest their arrests is the expense to the country if every detainee were to file in court. Read up on this nonsense. And if you have the time, you should really listen to the interview (link right under the title of the article). Steve Inskeep has this sort of incredulous thing going on in his voice like he's ready to blurt out "Are you fucking kidding me?!". I can't imagine that a valid reason for limiting Habeus Corpus is that it costs too much money and time to deal with each of these guys.

Give me a fucking break.

At least tell us that these people, if let out, could proceed with planning the next attack and kill us all. Oh that's right, so many of the people detained are eventually let go without ever being charged. Keep track here.

So instead of our government taking reasoned responses to terror, we get bullshit about the expense of Habeua Corpus and continued conflation of 9/11 terrorism with Iraq.

So these are the Rules of War.

Confuse.

Scare.

Lie.

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