Category Archives: Becky

Alexis, Becky, Dawn, Vest, WPC - Submissions

RWPE #17 – Feet

May 3, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 6 Comments

Here are the submissions for last week’s theme, feet. Included is a new first time contributor – Alexis. That is good, because there seemed to be fewer contributors this week. Perhaps the subject matter scared some people away. I know not everybody likes feet. After all, most feet are kind of gross, but some feet are funny. Hopefully most people find these feet to be to their liking. (At least the pictures of the feet.)

Alexis Stensland

Michael Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

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Becky Perkovich

The random theme generator has spit out the following theme for this week:

Wild

As always, I will be interested to see what people do with this theme.

A couple of late submissions:

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Dawn Krause

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Justin Whitaker

Becky, Dawn, Flowers, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions, Writing

RWPE #16 – Rule of Thirds

April 27, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Teresa is a first time contributor this week. The contributions for last week’s theme – Rule of Thirds:

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Teresa Kahler

Christopher D. Bennett

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Becky Perkovich

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Dawn Krause

Mike Vest

Dawn’s Weekly Poem

Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds

It’s just us three
Same as always
Even with four

We talk we laugh
We cry we smile
We always share

Someday she will
Grow up and leave
Down to two-thirds

Some time with him
And he will fly
One-third alone

Two thirds always
Have one-third watch
Throughout their lives

This week’s theme is an easy one:

Feet

After all, almost everybody has at least one foot and everybody at least knows somebody with a foot.

Becky, Dawn, Formal Portrait, Julie, Nader, Photoshop, Vest, WPC - Submissions, Writing

RWPE #14 – Symmetry and Patterns

April 12, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

The submissions for last week’s theme: Symmetry and Patterns.

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Becky Perkovich

Michael Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

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Dawn Krause

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Julie Johnson

Dawn’s Weekly Poem

Symmetry and Patterns

See the parallels in our lives
Lines drawn in to the sands of time
Running forever side by side
Just like a perfect worded rhyme
From pain to sad to glad and joy
We’re all alike more than we think
Foundations in stone bind our hearts
Just open our minds to that link

The theme for this week is:

Long Exposure

I don’t know if there is a good way to define “long exposure”. This is how I’m going to define it and while it most likely isn’t technically correct, it is good enough for me. The human hand can only remain steady for 1/15 of a second. Therefore a long exposure could be defined as a picture with a shutter speed longer than 1/15 of second.

Of course you can define “Long Exposure” however you want. Maybe you have a pasty friend with a sunburn. Maybe you have a friend that keeps chili in the fridge well past a time when it should have been thrown away.

It will be interesting to see what people decided to do with this theme.

Baier, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Dawn, Derrick, Faust, Frank, Jesse, Linda, Nader, Robert, Russell, Schmidt, Toby

3Peat

April 6, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett

“This is the end,

Beautiful friend,

This is the end,

Of our elaborate plans, the end,

Of everything that stands, the end,

No safety or surprise, the end.”

– The Doors (The End)

Another college basketball season has come to an end. It is a sad, sad day. At least it is only 11 days to Iowa State’s Spring Football Game. 11 long days!

The end of another college basketball season means it is time to crown the champion of year 6 of the Roundball Oracles tournament pool.

This is beginning to sound like a broken record, but a few years back Pat Riley was man enough to patent the word 3peat. What he wasn’t man enough to do is actually 3peat. He came up woefully short in his attempt to win a 3rd straight championship.

Mark Wolfram is not Pat Riley. Mark Wolfram was man enough to be crowned the Roundball Oracles Champion for the 3rd straight year. It was a little embarrassing when a guy living in Taiwan won the first time. Even more embarrassing when he repeated last year. I’m not sure if there are words to express how embarrassing it is that he won for a third straight year.

Hopefully next year somebody will step up and snatch that crown off of his head. Could be you! Could be me! Although I’ll have to rebound from an extremely pathetic performance this year. At least I finished third and won ten bucks in the pool at work.

The Final Standings

1. Mark Wolfram (Taiwan Hoops) – 81 points

2. Nader Parsaei (Charlie Chaplin) – 79 points

3. Dawn Krause (Dawn’s Dunkin’ Dribblers) – 75 points

4. Frank Meiners (Frank’s Picks) – 73 points

4. Corey Faust (Always Go Top Shelf) – 73 points

6. Dan Dill (dan) – 71 points

7. Jason Baier (JLB) – 70 points

8. Robert Henning (Shot In The Dark) – 67 points

9. Nate Buckingham (Wade Lookingbill Allstars) – 65 points

9. Tim Peterson (Dominate Monkey) – 65 points

9. Linda Toot (JWB) – 65 points

12 – Derrick Gorshe (Derrick) – 63 points

13 – Jesse Howard (ISU Yes McDermott No) – 62 points

14 – Becky Perkovich (A169032477) – 61 points

15 – Corey Schmidt (TakeIt2ThaHole) – 58 points

15. Toby Sebring (Lickliter Is Out!) – 58 points

17. Russell Kennerly (i’m also transferring greg) 57 points

18. Christopher D. Bennett (I See Things) – 56 points

19. Jon DeWaard (Lono’s bracket) – 54 points

20. Bill Wentworth (Bill’s Bracket) – 53 points

21. Carrie Baier (Couragers) – 52 points

21 competitors was a new Roundball Oracles record for participants. 4 female competitors was a record for female competitors!

I am hopeful that next year, both of those records will be broken.

Becky, Carla, Dawn, Jesse, Julie, Music, Steph, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

RWPE #11 – Motion

March 22, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

This week we have a first time contributor in my sister Carla. She did break the one and only rule of RWPE (the picture has to be taken the week of the project) but I’ll let it slide since it was her birthday last week.

This week’s submissions:

Michael Vest

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Carla Stensland

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Dawn Krause

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Becky Perkovich

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Julie Johnson (In Flight)

Christopher D. Bennett

Although as a general rule I don’t like to comment on my RWPE, I will point out this time that this picture is completely motivated by the fact that Stephanie Kasper would be abnormally freaked out by it.

Julie has started a blog and I wanted to include a link to her blog so you can enjoy much more of her photography, writing and just general Julieness. For those of you that are like me and can’t get enough Julie Johnson (despite being treated for the medical condition) click on the link below:

The Joy is in the Journey

Dawn’s Weekly Poem

Motion

The tenderness you want to convey
Revealed itself in your words today
It beckons me to come out to play
But lingers for you to lead the way

Why don’t you put your plan in motion
And show me your secure devotion
Seduce my mind with romantic notion
Your signal is that magic potion

The theme for this week is:

SIGNS

Hopefully we continue to get lots of contributors. This is a fairly accessible subject, but of course there is no reason to be literal. There are all sorts of different kinds of signs in the world. Maybe the CEO of the William McAlpine Excuse Factory will even grace us with a contribution.

For those who had the same idea that I had, I looked it up. Tesla isn’t touring right now. Darn the luck. I guess I’ll have to look for another subject that will be “blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind. Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign.”

Basketball, Becky, Dawn, History, Sara, Vest, WPC - Submissions, Writing

RWPE #10 – Explore

March 15, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett

Last week’s theme was EXPLORE. Here are the submissions:

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Dawn Krause

Christopher D. Bennett

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Becky Perkovich

Michael Vest

Dawn’s Weekly Poem

Explore Ourselves

An escape from complacency let’s explore our world
unseen corners, hidden pulses, and wild streams un-purled

Discover riches in ourselves let our impulse flow
And share the depths of our hearts that seldom do we show

Venture a path not oft taken freedom be our way
Open recesses of our minds and let come what may

In case you were wondering what the Random Generator looks like, it looked something like the picture below this morning:

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Next week’s theme is MOTION.

As many of you know, it is nearly NCAA Tournament time. Once again, my beloved Cyclones will be sitting at home or doing whatever it is that they do. It seems that they look at other schools to transfer to, but regardless, I didn’t come here to wax philosophical on yet another McDermott debacle.

I came here to invite everybody within the radius of these words to join the 6th Annual Roundball Oracles NCAA Tournament Pool. There is no money to enter. The only thing that is put on the line is pride. Of course where I come from, pride is no small thing. I do provide a trophy to the person that is able see into the future the best. The winner also gets their name proudly displayed next to our past champions:

2004 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine
2007 – Tim Peterson
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram

If you think you have what it takes to take down Mark Wolfram or even if you think it would be a little bit of fun to take the UNI Panthers to the Final Four (after they humiliate Kansas in the 2nd Round) or you are just looking for a new experience, just send an email to bennett@photography139.com and I will provide you with all the necessary information to enter into this most noble of competitions.

I look forward to some new competition this year.

Becky, Dawn, Shannon, Vest, WPC - Submissions

RWPE #9 – Wet

March 8, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

This week’s submissions for WET:

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Becky Perkovich

Michael Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

Shannon Bardole’s Artistic Appreciation Pick of the Week:

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Dawn Krause’s Poem of the Week:

Springtime Haiku

Melting snow forms pools
Warmer days cause happy thought
Green grass from wet ground

The theme for this week is EXPLORE.

Seems like I will actually have to leave my house to take a picture this week.

Becky, Dawn, Julie, Monica, Vest, WPC - Submissions, Writing

RWPE #8 – Self-Portrait

March 1, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett

Final Reminder

This is the last blog that will be posted to:

http://www.photography139.com/index_files/artistsnotebook.htm

Don’t forget to update your links, bookmarks and RSS Feeds to the new URL:

http://www.photography139.com/notebook/

Last week’s theme was SELF-PORTRAIT. Although there wasn’t any new people to submit pictures, there were still several submissions. I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was hoping that more men would submit pictures now and again, but we aren’t very far into this project, so maybe a few more guys will ante up in the future.

This week’s submissions:

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Monica Henning (Fairweather Friend)

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Julie Johnson

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Dawn Krause

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Becky Perkovich

Michael Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

Dawn’s Weekly Poem includes an Artistic Adaptation.

Self Portrait

A rose
yearning to be a daisy
vulnerable and
open for the world to see

Glass
shattered into pieces
broken, mended
brought together in new form

Steel
smooth and resistant
with scars
damaged but still strong

Sunlight
full of hope
warming souls
joy with simple pleasure

The theme for this week is:

WET

That is a theme that would have probably been more fun to do in the summer, but what can you do? The Random Generator has spoken!

Basketball, Becky, Dawn, Iowa State, Jesse, Shannon, Vest, WPC - Submissions, Writing

RWPE #3 – People

January 25, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett

Last weeks Random Weekly Photo Experiment Theme was PEOPLE. Here are the submissions:

Christopher D. Bennett

Michael Vest

Jesse Howard

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Becky Perkovich

There were also a couple of different types of submissions. The first of the different types of submissions came from Shannon Bardole. Her submission breaks the one and only rule of the Random Weekly Photo Experiment. That rule is that the picture has to be taken the week of the theme.

However, I’m going to allow her submission because her take on this experiment is art appreciation and not creating new art. The picture she submitted I actually took.

Shannon Bardole

Dawn Krause also had an interesting take on this RWPE. She has elected to participate this week via her medium of choice – poetry.

People
The world wants lovers never pain
To dance in sunshine without rain
Our very nature will cause a rift
Away from Eden we slowly drift

Human nature a cunning score
Breaks the heart whom we adore
For want of love unconditioned
Search the world for our rendition

Young love will often never last
For inner tensions we are cast
Still we search for a kindred soul
A companionship to make us whole

Dawn Krause

I hope at least a few people are in suspense about the theme for RWPE this week. The Random Generator spit out the following theme:

PLANTS

That should be interesting considering most of the vegetation is covered in a thick blanket of snow and ice, but I have faith that a few people will be able to come up with something of interest.

Becky, Jesse, Shannon

Confabulation

October 30, 2009 Christopher D. Bennett 5 Comments

Entry #4 of 5 of the Group Shirts Series.

I may or may not be a member of a group known as “The Girls”. It seems to be somewhat dependent on the day, but for a long time, I was clearly on the outside of The Girls and then I was more or less told that I was in The Girls.

I had some objections to being placed in The Girls. Not because The Girls are bad people. On the contrary, they are all wonderful people. But the organization seemed to be sexist to its core.

It is possible that I operate under certain gender stereotypes, (girls should smell nice, guys should not drink wine coolers) but I wouldn’t consider myself to be a sexist person. At least not on a meaningful level.

It is for this reason that I can not condone sexist behavior.

Now some of this stuff happened several months ago, so there are gaps in the memories. I will do the best I can.

Before I joined the group, the group consisted of 5 people. Becky, Peggy, Shannon, Terra and Todd.

The Girls plus some outsider at Ames on the Half Shell

Shannon

Becky

Terra

Peggy

Todd

For reasons that I cannot recall, when I was told that I was “now in the group”, I approached them with a rather simple request.

By my joining the group, the demographic would switch from a group that was at one time a “girls only club” to being 33.3% dudes. For that reason, I felt that a different moniker should be applied to the group.

I did not mind joining a group call “The Girls”, but it did seem to diminish the contributions made to the group by its male member(s). I wanted to know who got to decide the name.

Becky responded for the group by indicating that She, Shannon, Becky and Peggy got to make such decisions.

It seemed to me it was rather obvious that Todd was being singled out and only given half rights (if any rights at all) because he was a dude.

When I pointed this out, I was fed some hogwash about it not having anything to do with Todd’s gender, but about him not being a “Founding Member”.

Regardless of their “reasons” for persecuting Todd, I told them that I didn’t want to join a group that treated me like a halfling. I already had a group for that. I was willing to join the group (since they are wonderful people) and work on fixing the rotten core of sexism from the inside, if they made one, very simple conciliatory gesture towards me.

Change the name to: The Super Badass Action Squad

This would serve two purposes. First, I’ve always wanted to be a member of a group called The Super Badass Action Squad. Second, it would show that the group was willing to confront the demon of sexism that is threatening to destroy their group from the inside. Rather than just sticking their head in the sand and acting like nothing was wrong.

My initial proposal was received somewhat coolly. There was the usual recrimination that comes when people are at first forced to look at the light.

Shannon told me that I shouldn’t fear joining a group known as “The Girls” because nobody would consider me to be less of a man. Of course she is right about that. My levels of manliness are unquestioned. They have been unquestioned since the first Marathon of Manliness all those years ago. (Red car. Good point!)

But after the initial waves of resentment receded, the coolest thing happened.

A group float trip down the Iowa River was proposed. Reservations were made. Name on the reservation… The Super Badass Action Squad.

I was in.

Then the day before the float trip came and the weather was a little bit cold. Some emails were exchanged. Discussions were held. Float Trip canceled.

I don’t hesitate to note that if a squad of people were truly super and badass, a little dip in the mercury wouldn’t have stopped them from taking on that river.

A camping trip was proposed to take the place of the float trip.

I was back in.

Ledges was suggested. I left work early on that Friday to try to secure a campsite. This was the middle of the Summer. Every campsite in Ledges was booked for the weekend except for a couple of hike-in sites. I called Todd to clear this with him.

He asked, “How far do we have to hike?”

“A couple hundred yards.”

“I will call Peggy and then call you back.”

I waited.

The phone rang.

I answered.

“That is kind of far. We are just going to camp in our yard.”

Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago.

I get an email from Shannon. She wanted to know what size of shirt I wear. This was a strange request.

I wrote her back: I wear an XXL. I can wear an XL, but nobody seems to like it. Including me. Why?

She wrote back that she would be getting me a shirt on that weekend. She doubted that I would ever wear it, but I would laugh when I saw it.

It was the weekend of the ISU-Baylor football game. It was a weekend where I was invited to 3 birthday parties. Being only 1 person, I could not make it to all of them.

I dropped by Shannon’s on the way to the game to give her Becky’s birthday present.

She gave me the shirt.

Boys are dumb…

… that’s redundant So it’s a good thing I’m one of the girls

I did laugh. Will I ever wear this shirt? Well clearly I wore it for these pictures. I will also wear it if there is ever a group photo of “The Girls” organized.

But that doesn’t mean that I have thrown in the towel on The Super Badass Action Squad. It is still a dream of mine. After all, I am Super Badass. For example…

I can take a punch.

I can deliver a punch.

I am not remotely ticklish.

My vertical leap is 36 inches.

That is only to name a handful of my Super Badass attributes. So I will continue to carry on and maybe some day I will convert this group of The Girls into The Super Badass Action Squad that I know is in them.