Been Some Time!

Wow!

First of all, let me just apologize for the horrible display of blogmanship I've shown over the past few months (meaning... none at all). I'm only updating now to tell you I have a better update coming in a while. Hang tight! Haha

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What It Do...

I know I haven't updated in a few days, but there really hasn't been much to update about. Well, that's somewhat of a lie. There's actually a lot to update on, but I'm not necessarily going to update a public blog about all of it. Let me just say that I had set up an ultimatum in my life as I reached a fork in my road to adventure. If one thing happened, I would be traveling down one road a bit longer, if another happened, I would be traveling down the opposite.

Well that one thing didn't happen. I should have known, as that one thing never seems to happen (but that's a whole other story and I'm trying to remain vague...) So anyhow, now I'm more aware of a broader picture for my life. I have more possibilities and options than I allow myself credit for.

Once you've reached bottom, it truly is a slow, long climb back uphill.

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I Want To Be A Ghost Hunter When I Grow Up

So... I've spent the entire day watching ghost hunting shows like Destination Truth, Paranormal State, Ghost Hunters, and Ghost Hunters International. I literally fell asleep watching them, woke up, and started watching them again. After discussing it with my boyfriend, I've officially decided I'm going to make my own show.

If anyone would like to get me a late birthday present, just know that this wonderful kit is on my wishlist.

Welp... time to get back to my shows!

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They Rapin' Everyone Up In Here...

Today... I just leave you with this...

And oh wait... there's already more, here...

..BAAHAHAHAHA!!!

Super Mario World and Slight Hangovers

Last night was a lot of fun. My boyfriend's sister's fiancé had his birthday get-together at a place called Firkin and Kegler. It was a lot of fun. The place had bars, a bowling alley, a dance floor, an arcade, a restaurant... it was pretty cool. I took a bunch of photos (the majority of them were taken the more I had to drink).

So anyhow, my baby and I spent the rest of the night and into the morning, and basically all day today, taking care of each other (damage control... if you will :p). Our day basically consisted of sleeping, Dunkin' Donuts breakfast croissants at 7p, Super Mario World on the SNES, and we're probably going to curl up on the couch to watch Alfred Hitchock's Rear Window on demand right now. Yep. A pretty lazy day. One of my favorites to have. Anyway, here's some of the funny shots from last night. Enjoy.

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Local Music Scene: The Kidney Stones

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I met up with some of my friends at the Peacock Room on Mills Ave. They have a lot of local art on display, and the general decor is pretty impressive. The stage, however, wasn't. It was pretty small, and seemingly stuffed into a back room as if to keep the filth of live music away from the rest of the patrons. Anyhow, The Kidney Stones played that evening, and what a delight it was.

If you are looking for a great time, great Irish music along the lines of Dropkick Murphy's or Flogging Molly, and accordion (my personal favorite), then these guys are just about the best in all of Central Florida (if not the only). I won't waste time blowing their glory horn, but I definitely recommend checking them out. I would offer their Myspace page so you could hear a sample, but I would much rather recommend going out to see them live, instead. There's nothing quite like seeing them live. Here's a few photos from the show. Enjoy.

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RANT: Urban Outfitters Should Be Ashamed...

Okay, before I begin... take a look at this photo essay entitled "America" by Clara Balzary, please. (If you don't, there's a chance you might not understand the rest of this post.)

Did you look at all of it?

Okay...

Now...

What the hell is the problem with this picture? It's Urban Outfitters- one of my favorite stores, despite the extremely ridiculous prices for things I could make myself... But did you see the photographs?!

This is what really pisses me off. The quality of those photographs is absolutely hideous. Now, I understand, maybe the style of photography she was- maybe- trying to go for. It's called Hipster Photography, in some circles (It's that sort of "I don't give a shit, it's art, it's photography" sort of style)... but this seriously looks like my four-year-old niece picked up a camera and took these photos. Actually, I take that back. My four-year-old niece would have taken better photos than these. And did she not have time to do post-edit work on them? Hell, I go out on the town with my friends, and I still find time to post-edit the photos I take before posting them to something as simple as Facebook.

This is why it is upsetting to me: I don't claim to be the best photographer in the world, but I will be so bold as to claim that I am good at what I do. I could have shot those 10x better, and made them more pleasing to the eye. But alas... either they were short-handed in the photographer department, Balzary was somehow related to the Director of the Urban Outfitters website, thus getting "special treatment", or she just plain doesn't care about the "American Spirit". Last I checked... America was about being "all that you can be"... but seriously... come on now... That may have been all that Balzary could be, but I know that isn't all Urban Outfitters can be...

The models aren't even trying to pose (and once again, I can understand the "style" Balzary -might- have been going for...) but it looks like these models were forcefully trying to look bad. Over half of the photos are under-exposed, and most are covered in so many shadows, you can't even tell what they're trying to sell because the viewer is severely distracted by them.

If Balzary is, in fact, trying to go for the Hipster style (which I'm fairly positive she is), she needs to do a little more research on the technique of said style. Look at photographers like Jonny Bird, Terry Richardson, or Bella Howard.

In short, they need to hire me for their next photo assignment... because viewing those photos has made me vomit a little in my mouth. I'm completely disgusted with the quality of work released under the Urban Outfitter's name...

Bella Howard

Jonny Bird

Terry Richardson

Clara Balzary

...

In the words of the Great Will Ferrell... "Am I the only one who sees this? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"

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