Here I am singing and signing the song “Pure Imagination” from the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (more…)
Author: Daniel Greene
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Synchronicity?
This morning, Andy asked me if I was making coffee (which I was), and I responded sarcastically, “No, I thought we’d have hot chocolate instead.” After saying that, I decided to have hot mocha instead of just coffee. I’ve never made that decision before. It was just a “wild hair.” I got the can of hot cocoa powder out of the pantry and used the remaining product to make my mocha. As I was about to throw out the container, guess what I saw on the bottom? “Best before April 19, 2007”! Well, did I get that wild hair just in time, or what?
Then Andy asked me to check the calendar and see whether it was his step-mother’s birthday tomorrow. Well, I found out that her birthday wasn’t until next Thursday, but it reminded me that today was my own dad’s birthday!
And what’s also really weird is that this morning the dogs were so excited they just couldn’t wait for us to get out of bed. I got up and said to Andy, “You’d think it was some kind of special doggie holiday we don’t know about!” Did they know it was their “grandfather’s” birthday? I don’t know. It’s been a freaky morning!
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Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles
Erneesha & Antwanelle flanking Trey (back to camera). And Antwanelle (frame right) knows some ASL!
These girls were so sweet and so smart. Between them and the boys who came to wait on us, we couldn’t have possibly asked for better service (I say “girls” and “boys” because they were all so young– teenagers, even). They were totally hip to the Sidekick and Flickr; in fact, they both have Sidekicks (they said practically everyone in the restaurant had one) and one of them told me she was on PhotoBucket. Right after I took the picture, and they saw me thumbing away at the keyboard, they said, “So, you putting that on Flickr now?” At the end of the night, I said, “Miracle of modern technology; you’re already on Flickr,” and I brought Flickr up for them on the Sidekick’s Web browser. They said, “Yeah, we know! We’re college students.” It’s great to meet people who “get” the whole techie world I live in. Thanks, Erneesha, Trey, and Antwanelle for being such good sports and posing for this photo!
In case you can’t read the back of Trey’s t-shirt, the restaurant’s address is 10 W Yuma St, Phoenix AZ 85003 (just west of Central Ave 2 blocks south of Buckeye) and their phone number is 602-340-1304. I’m not sure if their website is up and running, though.
P.S. I found Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles through a Google search for “soul food” in Phoenix.
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Antiwar Candlelight Vigil
I’m posting this photo to commemorate the efforts made four years ago by American citizens to show the U.S. government that its people were against going to war with Iraq. This vigil was sponsored by MoveOn.org, and it took place in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. Sadly, it’s been over four years since then, and so many thousands have died, so many billions have been squandered, and so many people worldwide have been turned off by Americans. But, “It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness,” eh?
I submitted this to a photo contest after the protest. I never heard anything about it that I recall. I do think it captures a moment well, though.
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Glorious Blossoming of Cactus Blooms
The cactus buds I’ve had my eye on the last few days finally blossomed this morning, and boy did they gloriously unfurl! It’s a good thing I captured them when I did, too, because only a couple of hours later they had wilted. These are truly ephemeral beauties. I’m lucky I was there to shoot them and proud that I did.
As I write this, however, I am struck at the similarities between photographers and hunters. Both talking about “shooting” and “capturing.” Both involve the conflict between Man and Nature. Both involve going into Nature and bringing it back to share with Man. A hunter shoots a deer and puts its head and antlers up on the wall. A photographer shoots a deer (or cactus flowers, as the case may be), and puts its image up on the wall (or the Internet, as the case may be). Both hunters and photographers take pride in, and gain social recognition by, what they capture for the delectation of their fellow Men (people).
Of course, nothing is destroyed when one shoots a photograph– (more…)
Daniel Greene 