Blog Archives
Overweight? Moi?
Yeah, I could take about 3 pounds of fat off my belly, but it irks me to be called “overweight” by my new Wii Fit. I’m 5’10 1/2″ and the Wii Fit only let me enter either 5’10″ or 5’11″ when I set it up over a week ago. I entered 5’10″ and it kept telling me I was “overweight” in its robotic little child’s voice and fattening up my Mii until it looked like a barrel on sticks. After more than a week of that, I finally said, “Damn it!” and changed my height to 5’11″. Why not round up instead of down? Now, it tells me I’m “normal”– at the very heaviest end of normal. Can you believe that? Urgh!
Counting the Omer, Growing the Beard…
…maybe. I’m thinking about it. I’m thinking and feeling about a lot of things, really– too much to tell you.
But what is the omer? The omer is a period of counting that is a mitzvah or “commandment” in the Jewish Bible. Jews are supposed to count the days from Pesach to Shavuot to mark the journey from Exodus (freedom from bondage) to Mount Sinai (communally experiencing the presence of God in a deep and miraculous way and receiving the Torah). It is traditionally a period of semi-mourning, reflection, and, among other things, not shaving or getting a haircut.
To tell the truth, I have never counted the days between Pesach and Shavuot; in fact, now I would have to think… ah, yes, today is the ninth day of Omer. But something the rabbi said, half in jest, about having “rabbinical permission to grow a beard over the next seven weeks” got me to thinking not only about growing a beard, but also about how I might seize upon an opportunity to have a religious experience. Or at least enhance the spirituality of my life for a while.
I’m at the point where I hate my beard. It itches, and I think it makes me look old, mean, and ugly. I took this photo now in case I can’t stand it anymore and I shave it all off. But maybe I’m also taking this photo as a way of reflecting more deeply on having some patience with this process.
It is difficult to sit with that which itches at one and makes one feel old, mean, and ugly. Like my kvetching. I complain. I do it several times a day, often without even thinking. Sometimes my first words in the morning are a form of complaint. This is something I would like to tackle during the next six weeks.
Even if I don’t keep the beard.
Man to Man
This is one in a series of four shots I took experimenting with the “digital multiple exposure” technique. This was my longest and, I think, most effective exposure of the series; that is, my ghostly images are the most apparent in this exposure.
How did I do it? I set the camera to its lowest ISO speed and its smallest aperture. I put the camera on a tripod. I set the shooting mode to remote/timer and the shutter speed to bulb. I walked into frame, aimed my remote shutter control at the camera, pressed the button to start a bulb exposure, and held a position for 30-45 seconds, then quickly moved to another position and held that for another 30-45 seconds, then pressed the button on my remote to close the shutter.
It was fun being creative. It reminded me of an improvisational acting class.
