Don’t feel too bad for the little guys on the right; they actually got fed first (I have photos of that too).
Someone’s at the wrong end of the line
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Broken connection #6
Here’s one for you: even those these lines have clearly been in place long enough to perform their intended service to the point of becoming obsolete, there are still federal subsidy programs in place from the 1930s to provide telephone and electric connections to rural areas. Once a federal program like that comes to life, look out: you’re probably going to pay for it forever.
Does waddling around in a hoodie exude an air of competent leadership?
That’s how senate candidate Heidi Heitkamp took to the street to push the same duplicitous campaign strategy North Dakota Democrats have employed for decades: class envy, campy talk of a nebulous “North Dakota Way”, and saying one thing here while acting like good little leftist lap dogs back in Washington, DC.
I feel compelled to clarify that no, I’m not mocking Heidi’s looks. This is about attire. I think anyone pursuing a position of leadership should dress for public appearances like they’re applying for the job…every time.
For instance: despite their poor performance as representatives of North Dakota, you could count on Dorgan, Conrad, and Pomeroy to put on a nice flannel or farmer-ish shirt and a new set of jeans or khakis when they came back to North Dakota to act all “local.” Whichever handler allowed Heidi to go parade walkin’ with the Unabomber get-up, however, should be given a different assignment.
One other item in this photo speaks volumes about the Democrat candidate for senate: trying to distribute treats from an empty bucket. I can’t think of a better way to portray the bloated federal bureaucracy with Democrats in charge. Maybe there’s a float from China nearby waiting to loan her some candy to distribute to the hoi polloi in an effort to buy votes.
My two new favorite windmill photos
I’m sure glad I did. The photo above, which I’d dismissed at the time due to the waning sun and lack of available preparation time, is actually the first one I snapped and pretty much my favorite. The colors and detail I drew from this shot were a pleasant surprise once I got home and fired up the computer. There’s plenty more, too.
There have been times where I’ve rolled up to a location and given in to frustration because the conditions weren’t what I wanted or expected. This is a great example of why a person should always continue clicking away on that shutter, because there’s a good chance some unexpected photos like this may result. Kind of like the phrase, “you go to war with the army you’ve got,” you’ve got to shoot in the conditions you’re given. Do what you’ve trained to do, and come home to discover what you may not have seen through the viewfinder at the time.
Independence Day at our beloved capitol
I love the Independence Day celebration at the capitol, and hope to partake next year as well. I have something a little different in mind photographically, so we’ll see how that turns out. Have a good weekend!
Happy Independence Day, you extremists
Point of order, though: I do appreciate all the salutations and greetings today, but rather than saying, “Happy 4th!” I would delight in hearing, “Happy Independence Day!” After all, that’s what today is about, regardless of where it happens to have landed on the calendar.
By the way, on this day which rings true the message of individual liberty in the heart of all red-blooded Americans, it caught my attention that people who are “fiercely nationalistic” or “reverent of individual liberty” are labeled as terrorists by a new study on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security (link opens as PDF in new window).
Well, USA and liberty, if lovin’ you is wrong…I don’t wanna be right. The report above tries to mask its claims against such people by qualifying them as accompanied by preparing to retaliate violently. That brings me back to one of Clint’s Rules of Reality (heretofore unpublished, lest be it labeled a “manifesto”:
regardless of size, location, or construction, it becomes a compound.”
My point is that, if you satisfy the requirements of *gasp* thinking the wrong sort of thoughts, it won’t be too hard for someone to make the short leap to branding you as dangerous…as long as you’re on the wrong side of the ideological spectrum.
This isn’t the first time people who oppose abortion, people who put stickers on the back of their trucks, people who attend Tea Party rallies (but not Occupy Wall Street), or people who support Ron Paul (among whom I am not one) have been branded as dangerous and possible terrorists…and it won’t be the last. I just wanted to inform you that if this day has brought to mind a swell of national pride and love of liberty, look out: you may have just become an enemy of the state…at least while Hope™ and Change™ are the bywords of the day.
Lightning crashes…and curiosity pays off yet again
A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it! –Charles Dickens
As I sat in the chair reading Dickens this evening I was reminded of a conversation with a friend earlier in the week. He remarked that I’m one of the most curious people he’s met, and that it was meant as a compliment. It’s true, I’m notoriously curious…and that’s one major reason I started this Blog way back when. That’s why the passage quoted above struck a chord within me as I read it tonight.
As a boy growing up in the Rocky Mountains (if at all) I remember looking out over the city below one night and realizing exactly what Dickens describes; each light in the city represents a home, full of people, doing whatever they’re doing, feeling whatever they’re feeling, and so on. It was an epiphany upon which I dwelled some time ago as I stood atop U-Mary hill with my camera, taking a wide-angle photo of Bismarck-Mandan. In fond remembrance I decided to take another such photo tonight.
As I reached the top of the hill I realized that a storm was approaching. I’ve taken almost 80,000 photos in my lifetime, but never really chased lightning; however, in this case it was a target of opportunity. As luck would have it, I was in the right place at the right time as a few giant lightning bolts danced across the frame. I may have to try this more often!
(Yes, the post title is a hat tip to the song title by the band Live)
Nice ride…do you mind?
This one somehow found a way to perch on my boy’s Hot Wheels bike, and I think he really liked the feel of the tire on his toes. He spent a great deal of time there before flying off toward the wood pile in search of his mommy. She was hovering about but reluctant to swoop in with dinner since my two little guys and I were there watching, so we decided to head into the house for their bath time and let the robins have their dinner.
Lesson learned on vacation
For me, photography is a storytelling tool. I thought it very interesting that this guy had utilized the very shallow water over a sandbar to set up shop, complete with a chair and a pair of rodholders, to enjoy a little fishing. While in the middle of the Big Muddy, and technically still in the water, he’d used the sandbar to find a nice parking spot out in the middle of it all. But there was more to the story:
When I went back to camp with my camera, I thought I’d made the bare minimum of one interesting photo. What I found was, although I only shot one setting, I had captured details which only made themselves apparent later when I had the opportunity to look at them full-size. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, my photo trip had been far more successful than I could have known simply looking through the viewfinder.
A photographer’s favorite street sign
That got me thinking…if I was a developer and wanted to plat out a neighborhood, it’d be great to put together Adobe CS product names like Illustrator Avenue, Premiere Lane…or something double geeky like Flash Drive!
Of course, there are naming conventions for streets in Bismarck that would disallow that, but it’s still fun to think about.