This is a tradition that I have gotten away from for awhile, but I do wish to start it up again.
This photo tribute is my way of saying Happy birthday to Shannon.
I believe Jen Gorshe is up next for the birthday photo tribute.
Last week I removed and disassembled the Friend Wall. It is no longer in existence. No longer do I have friends on my wall.
I replaced the Friend Wall with the 9 Emotions Project Wall. The centerpiece of this new “exhibit” is a 24×36 print of the picture below. A picture that was the ultimate goal of the whole 9 Emotions Project.
I picked 1 person for each emotion. I like to think that there are reasons why each person was able to best represent each emotion.
Joy and Cousin Amy
Cousin Amy lives the joy of a life where she was told a diagnosis of her child by their doctor and told the doctor, “I don’t think so.” Then she went out and proved the doctor wrong.
Sadness and Willy
After the events of the last couple weeks, there isn’t a reason to cover this one.
Anger and Derrick
As hard as it is to believe, Derrick was the single angriest man I ever worked with when we were employed at the Boone Outpost of the Evil Clown Empire. I have numerous stories of him in my mind throwing searing tools across the room and punching things and telling the Store Manager to do unbecoming things to his anatomy that most people simply wouldn’t believe happened. Although once he was off the clock, he was the Derrick that everybody else knows.
Amusement and Shannon
When I think of Shannon I think of somebody that is amused by the simple things in life. Of course, that is the best way to be.
Fear and Jesse
Back in the days of Saturday morning basketball, I saw this look on Jesse’s face quite frequently. Pretty much any time he stood between me and the basket this look crept upon his face as he knew he was about to get embarrassed.
Jealousy and Jen
This one doesn’t really fit. Jen isn’t a jealous person and has very little to be jealous about. She has a great husband, a great kid, a great family and great friends. Basically she has all the right ingredients for the recipe to a happy life. I’m guessing that perhaps this is Jen showing off some long dormant acting skills. Perhaps she should pursue a role in one of the area community theaters. I know Jen LOVES community theater.
Surprise and Sara
While Sara is one of the most intelligent and best educated people I know, she lives life in a manner where whatever comes down the chute next is a gift and she seems genuinely surprised by it. While that might now seem like it is a compliment, I think that this is one of the best compliments I’ve ever given anybody. To live life with such unabandoned joy is a great life.
Sympathy and Jill
Jill fits sympathy so well as she has one of the best hearts of anybody I’ve ever known. She would tell you (yes we’ve had this conversation) that it isn’t that her heart is better than most people, but it is the fact that artists (Jill is an amazing flutist) are lead through life with their heart. While this is true, it doesn’t alter the fact that the first thing you notice about Jill when you meet her is her heart.
Boredom and Jay
I’ve always felt that people that are “bored” are boring people. Jay is a lot of things, but he is not a boring person. However, that doesn’t mean that I’ve never seen Jay bored. Being the closest of friends with Jesse, Willy, and I he has been subjected to more sporting events than many wives and girlfriends. Usually this is the look that glosses over his face right before he taps out and goes home to do things that interest Jay.
I also asked all of my models to pick out who they thought did the best job with each of the emotions. I gave extra credit to the people who were able to pick 9 different people for the 9 different emotions.
Here is the feedback I got fed back. In the order it came back to me.
Jill’s Pick
Sara’s Pick
Jen’s Pick
Jay’s Pick
Willy’s Pick
Jesse’s Pick
Derrick’s Pick
Amy’s Picks
Next week’s Personal Photo Project with involve that most magnificent of creatures… the turkey.
It is time once again for me to to do a random look at some of the statistics on the website.
First up is what are the 10 Most Popular Images in the Artistic Galler.
This one is actually somewhat of a shocker. A picture of Brandon has went from nowhere to be the most popular picture and the long time reigning champ Outburst of the Soul has fallen all the way to a tie for 6th Place. Although admittedly, I think spammers might have something to do with the rather large shakeup in the standings.
2. Johnathan Senior Picture
3. Battered School Bus – Hamlin, Iowa
4. Self-Portrait
5. Jen Between Sets of an UnHingd Show
6. UnHingd Publicity Still
6. Outburst of the Soul
>
8. 1900
8. Becca – Senior Picture
10. Abandoned Piano – McCallsburg, Iowa
There has also been quite a shakeup in the Snapshots Gallery Top Ten.
Here are the 10 Most Popular Pictures in the Snapshots Gallery:
2. ISUCFVMB
3. Alexis Cheerleading
4. Shannon and I at an Inebriated Saints Show
5. Jesse and I with the World’s Largest Cheeto
6. Logan’s Tree-man
7. Jesse and I at the Surf Ball Room
8. Jesse Endorsing the Bob’s Dog
8. 2009 ISU Spring Game
10. Shannon Reading Map at Backbone
10. Jesse and I in Clinton
Finally, a look at the Top Ten People to either contribute or be written about in An Artist’s Notebook.
1. Jesse – 163 – (+20)
2. Jay – 151 – (+7)
3. Shannon – 146 – (+6)
4. Derrick – 123 – (+6)
5. Teresa – 109 – (+13)
6. Jen – 107 – (+6)
7. Willy – 101 – (+8)
8. Sara – 96 – (+8)
9. Vest – 80 – (+19)
10. Dawn – 73 – (+9)
Wondering who the biggest movers were outside of the Top Ten?
1. Dad (+19)
2. Carla (+14)
3. Jill (+10)
In case you were interested in what the standings looked like 100 posts ago:
These pictures come from backup/Old My Pictures/Deg-Porter Wedding
These pictures were taken at Scott and Melissa’s wedding. The last wedding I was in until Jen & Derrick’s wedding.
IMAGE LOST
Scottie D. all tuxed up!
IMAGE LOST
Scottie D. in black and white.
IMAGE LOST
Scottie D in glorious color.
IMAGE LOST
Setting up chairs.
IMAGE LOST
Posing for George
IMAGE LOST
Future Mrs. Porter
IMAGE LOST
Nate
Next week’s folder will be: backup/Old My Pictures/Egg Toss
Derrick’s take on the 9 emotions. If you have forgotten, these are the 9 emotions. Left to right; top to bottom.
1. Joy
2. Sadness
3. Anger
4. Amusement
5. Fear
6. Jealousy
7. Surprise
8. Sympathy
9. Boredom
A closer look at Derrick’s interpretation of these 9 emotions:
Sadness
Anger
Amusement
Fear
Jealousy
Surprise
Sympathy
Boredom
Since I have about 10 weeks worth of Personal Photo Projects in the pipe ready to be unleashed on the world, I am going to publish two people at a time for the 9 Emotions Project.
The next person to pose for these pictures was Jen.
I don’t usually reveal much about what goes on during this process, but when Jen was making her interpretations, she wanted to make sure she could see Evie, whom she described as her “muse”.
A closer look at Jen’s interpretations:
Sadness
Anger
Amusement
Fear
Jealousy
Surprise
Sympathy
Boredom
I think next week’s Personal Photo Project of the Week will involve a roll of film and a hammer, but I might go in a different direction. I guess we’ll see.
EDITOR’S NOTE: SINCE THE ORIGINAL PUBLICATION OF THIS BLOG IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT MONICA AND JEFF WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DELICIOUS FRUIT PIZZA. MY APOLOGIES FOR GIVING THE CREDIT TO DERRICK.
Movie – Hall Pass
Director: Bobby and Peter Farrelly (Dumb & Dumber, Kingpin, There’s Something About Mary)
Writer: Pete Jones, Peter Farrelly, Kevin Barnett, Bobby Farrelly
Starring: Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers, The Royal Tenenbaums, Marley & Me), Jason Sudeikis (Going the Distance, What Happens in Vegas), Jenna Fischer (The Office, Blades of Glory, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), Christina Applegate (Anchorman, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, Married with Children)
Theater – Cinemark Movies 12 – Ames, Iowa
Companion – Nader
Food – Okoboji Grill
Intellectual Honesty
I like Jenna Fischer. I thought that the trailer looked funny.
Baggage
Owen Wilson is pretty much always terrible unless he is in a Wes Anderson movie. The Farrelly brothers movies have been pretty blah since There’s Something About Mary.
Synopsis from IMDB
A married man is granted the opportunity to have an affair by his wife. Joined in the fun by his best pal, things get a little out of control when both wives start engaging in extramarital activities as well.
Review
Let’s face it, there really isn’t much to say about this movie. If you take out the Kathy Griffin jokes at the end of the movie, almost all the funniest parts are in the trailer.
Save the money and the time and watch the trailer.
Rating
1.5/5.0 Caramels
Buy on DVD
Nope.
2011 Ranking
I’ve seen two 2011 movies. It is the 2nd best. The other one I saw (The Dilemna) was nothing special either.
Bonus Information
I saw previews for several movies. They all look terrible. Thor. Cowboys & Aliens. The Hangover Part II. I wonder if Hollywood is even trying this year.
I got an email from Russell referring to me as Movie Man and asking kindly if he could get my opinions on the Oscars or if he would have to wait for a journal entry.
Since most people don’t possess the bravery of Russell, I’ll just paraphrase the email I sent to him about my Oscar experience.
I can’t complain about most categories besides Best Picture and Best Director.
Some of the people I was rooting for didn’t win (Michelle Williams and James Franco), but I can’t really argue with giving the Oscar to Natalie Portman and Colin Firth.
I was sad to see Randy Newman get an Oscar, but this was a pretty weak year for Original Song.
I prefer How to Train Your Dragon over Toy Story 3, but I knew that was a lost cause.
The King’s Speech is kind of a glorified made for TV movie with two exceptional performances.
It is a good movie, but not the best movie of the year. That was clearly The Social Network, but what I think happened is that the older members of the Academy just didn’t get The Social Network and they swung the vote for the much safer The King’s Speech.
Because of the type of movie he makes, I hope this wasn’t David Fincher’s last chance at an Oscar. But if it was, he’ll be in good company. Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick and Orson Welles never won an Oscar (for director). However, one Alfred Hitchcock movie did win Best Picture. Rebecca if you really must know.
I was glad that The Kids are All Right didn’t win anything, but now I’m also having to re-watch it to figure out if I think the daughter in the movie is a lesbian or not. I was glad that Jeff Bridges didn’t win. Mumbling is not acting.
I would have been happy to see Amy Adams win, but I freely confess that Melissa Leo was better than her.
The Oscar Party I attended was successful and I had lots and lots of very tasty food. Derrick made some kind of shrimp and cream cheese dip kind of thing that was phenomenal. Plus he made fruit pizza, which is one of my all-time favorite foods. Plus Derrick also made a mean batch of little smokies. There was soup there as well, but I forgot to sample its undoubtable goodness.
I got to give Nader a ride in Jill’s Solstice and this seemed to be one of the biggest thrills of his life, so that was a bonus as well.
I don’t know that I really have an opinion on any of the speeches because truthfully I didn’t really pay much attention to any of them.
Everybody at the gathering seemed to agree that Kirk Douglas’ presentation was painful to sit through. I love you Spartacus, but that was almost as bad as watching Dick Clark on New Year’s.
I don’t have much of an opinion on the hosts. They weren’t so terrible that I noticed them, but they weren’t so funny that I’m dying to have them back. Jay seemed to like them. He said it was the best Oscars he had ever seen. I definitely wouldn’t go that far.
As far as fashion goes, I don’t really have opinions on fashion. So I will relay to you what the fashion expert Jill liked. She liked some of Anne Hathaway’s outfits. I can’t really remember which ones. She didn’t like the Black Swan looking one or the one blue one that looked like it was made of vinyl or the one that she was wearing at the end that made her look borderline naked. She did like Amy Adams’ bluish-sparkly dress. That is all I can recall of fashion conversations.
On an unrelated fashion note, Evie wore pajamas with guitars on them. They were clearly the fashion hit of the evening.
We also watched a little bit of Freakonomics afterward. I wanted Jen to watch it so I could show her the part on whether or not what you name your children has any effect on whether or not they are successful in life. It reminded me of her job.
More Bonus Information
I’ve been messing around with the website and I have added a few little dodads that you should checkout. For example all the pages except the home page have sidebars now. I’m still tinkering with the sidebars, but they currently include links to the last 5 Journal entries and the last 5 pictures I’ve uploaded to the Artistic Gallery. The header now changes as well. Although at this time, there are only two headers. There will be more in the future. I’ve also widened the website so that it looks better on widescreen monitors. I’ve also changed the menu system, but you probably won’t notice any changes in that respect. I’m sure I’m not done tinkering, but those are the recent changes.
Movie – 127 Hours
Director: Danny Boyle (Slum Dog Millionaire, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later…)
Writer: Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Slumdog Millionaire)
Starring: James Franco (Spider-Man, Milk, Howl), Kate Mara (Shooter, Iron Man 2, We Are Marshall), and Amber Tamblyn (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Ring, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt)
Theater – Cinemark Movies 12 – Ames, Iowa
Companion – Nader
Food – King Buffet
Intellectual Honesty
I am a big fan of Danny Boyle. I think he is one of the most innovative filmmakers currently working and his movies are always interesting. 28 Days Later… is about the only straight zombie movie I can stomach. Slumdog Millionaire is one of the best and most inspiring movies of the last 10 years. The scene in Trainspotting with the baby (if you’ve seen Trainspotting you know what I’m talking about) haunts me to this day.
I’m not overly familiar with Simon Beaufoy, but after seeing his credits, I’m going to have to keep an eye on him.
I like James Franco, but he never seems to get a big enough role in his movies.
I’ve been a big fan of Amber Tamblyn ever since Joan of Arcadia. That is one of my all-time favorite shows that nobody else has ever seen, from when I used to watch television. Although bringing her up in the context of this movie is fairly pointless. Nobody but Franco is in this movie for more than a couple minutes.
Baggage
I think the only negative I brought into this movie was that I knew how it ended already. Thanks Willy! Thanks for nothing that is…
I guess considering there was a blizzard going on outside, I had some worries that I would make it out of the parking lot after the movie. If I was able to get out of the parking lot, would I be able to get home. If I was able to get home, would I be able to get home in time for my scheduled phone conversation with Jill.
Synopsis from IMDB
127 Hours is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston’s remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Over the next five days Ralston examines his life and survives the elements to finally discover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, scale a 65 foot wall and hike over eight miles before he is finally rescued. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers, family, and the two hikers he met before his accident. Will they be the last two people he ever had the chance to meet?
Review
Two things.
Number one, this is a really, really good movie.
Number two, I’m not sure if I could ever watch it again.
Although I was impressed with Colin Firth’s portrayal of an inbred loser with a stammering problem in The King’s Speech and I’m pretty sure he will win the Oscar, I will now be rooting for Franco and his portrayal of a rock climber/adventurer (Aron Ralston) who gets trapped when a boulder falls on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.
Franco essentially is this movie. After he parts company with two other hikers (Mara and Tamblyn) the rest of the movie is essentially him. For most of the movie he is essentially trapped by a rock and can’t even move. Despite this fact, the movie is never remotely boring. The movie bounces between Ralston’s attempts to free himself from the rock and his thoughts about his life and the mistakes he made that led him to this position and fantasies about partying with the two hikers that were the last people to see him, possibly alive.
Ralston carries a video camera with him and some of the best scenes in the film are when he is filming his goodbye to his parents and his sisters.
Although I’m sure most people know how this movie ends, I don’t want to give it away to the few people that don’t know. The reason why I’m not sure I could ever watch this movie again is because of the brutality in the scene where he does get himself free.
I don’t consider myself to be a squeamish person, but I could barely force myself to watch the movie screen during this scene.
On a less grotesque point of the movie, the canyons of Utah are filmed absolutely beautifully. It is an absolutely beautiful movie to look at.
It is a great movie with a great performance, so my only real complaint would be that sometimes the style of the movie overwhelms the story and I fear that at some point in the future will make this film feel dated.
Rating
4.0/5.0 Caramels
Buy on DVD
Honestly, I don’t know. I write now that I don’t know if I could ever watch this film again, but when this movie comes out on DVD, I’ll probably be buying it in the 2-Disc Special Edition, if there is a 2-Disc Special Edition.
2010 Ranking
I rank it as #3.
Here is my current Top Ten of 2010 (Subject to change on a whim)
1. The Social Network
2. Inception
3. 127 Hours
4. The Fighter
5. Hereafter
6. How to Train Your Dragon
7. Black Swan
8. Winter’s Bone
9. The King’s Speech
10. True Grit
Bonus Information
When we ate at King Buffet, we were the only people in the restaurant. The theater was mostly empty. If you eliminated the Oklahoma State Woman’s Basketball Team, the theater was practically vacant.
After get outside into the weather, I decided it was prudent to just stay in Ames, so I crashed at Jen and Derrick’s. Thanks to them for having an extremely comfortable guest bed!
I saw the trailer to Cedar Rapids. It looks pretty funny.
Up Next
Looks like Ames in only bringing in garbage next week, so a trip down to Jordan Creek to see Biutiful might be in order.
I’ve had a goal of sending a secret to PostSecret for quite some time now. Perhaps ever since Sara introduced Jen and I to PostSecret those many years ago. It has been difficult for me because I don’t really have any secrets. It is one of the drawbacks of being an open book. So I sucked it up and sent in somebody else’s secret. Sorry Willy.
Since I can’t show the secret that I sent in, I’ll just show some of my favorite secrets over the years. Admittedly this is heavily slanted towards this week’s secrets.
Maybe I’ll mail another secret in another 4 or 5 years.
It is hard to believe that this journal has reached entry 1,000.
Since I enjoy rather meaningless statistics, I’m going to go over a few right now.
According to how many times they have been viewed, these are the 10 Most Popular Pictures in the Artistic Gallery:
2. Outburst of the Soul
3. Jen Between UnHingd Sets
3. UnHingd Publicity Still
5. US30 East of Ogden
6. 1900
6. Abandoned Piano – McCallsburg
6. Becca Senior Picture
9. Grizzly McAlpine
10. Obama Political Rally
10. Campanile Self-Portrait
These are the 10 Most Popular Snapshots Gallery Pictures:
2. Jesse and I Backstage at the Surf Ballroom
3. Jesse Eating a Bob’s Dog
4. Shannon Reading a Map at Backbone State Park
5. Jesse and I at Eagle Point Park
5. Cousin Amy, Sara and Jen at Bonne Finken Concert
5. Jesse Kissing the Blarney Stone in Emmetsburg
8. Jesse Onstage at the Surf Ballroom
8. Jesse and I Resting at the Sargent Floyd Monument
10. Some Kind of Deal Going Down at a Bonne Finken Concert
10. Sara and Jen at Bonne Finken Concert
The Top Ten People I Write About, Photograph or Contribute in Some Way (Tagged in Journal Entries):
1. Jay (144)
2. Jesse (143)
3. Shannon (140)
4. Derrick (117)
5. Jen (101)
6. Teresa (96)
7. Willy (93)
8. Sara (88)
9. Baier (65)
10. Dawn (64)
Of course, we will revisit these numbers and pictures in about 100 or so journal entries. Of course, it will be interesting to see what has changed!
I’ve finally distributed almost every last 2011 Photography 139 Calendar. Allow me to explain what images were used and I will include the briefest of notes on the pictures.
This year, the calendar was a little bit more of an adventure than usual. The printer from the last two years baled on me. I couldn’t find the kind of paper that I have used the last couple of years. The paper I used was too thick to duplex. In the end though, it all came together and a perfectly acceptable calendar has been produced.
Here are the pictures:
This picture was taken at the Iowa State Fair. I like to photograph one of the flower gardens at the Iowa State Fair every year. I have to confess to being a little disappointed with the garden this year, but I have no doubt it will be back to its full glory in 2011.
This picture was taken in my backyard. It is actually connected to the August picture. I purchased a bouquet of flowers for the August photo. Then I waited for the flowers to die and photographed them for the January picture.
I found this frog in my favorite frog finding spot – Lost Lake in Ledges. He was surprisingly brave for coming from a race of creatures that are notorious cowards.
Sara was with me when I took this picture down in the Papajohn Sculpture Garden. This is the only picture in the calendar that was taken with the aid of a photo assistant.
This lonely farm scene can be found between Boone and Ames on US30. There is a secret to how this picture was produced, but Photoshop isn’t that secret.
Even though I drove to Pella in a rainstorm to photograph their tulips, I found my best tulip picture in my Grandma’s front yard.
On a road trip with Mom and Teresa to State Center, I must have taken at least 300 pictures of roses, but it was this picture of a rose leaf that stood out as the most memorable image of the day.
I visited a couple different wild daisy patches, but the daisy image that made the calendar was found in my Mom’s yard. It was my belief that after “The Solace of Ordinary Humanity”, I couldn’t possibly take a better daisy picture, but I took camera in hand to photograph daisies to figure out a birthday present for Jill.
This is the only image from the Random Weekly Photo Experiment to make the calendar. This picture was taken in the middle of the Winter with a daisy bouquet. This image is hanging in Kelly’s salon – Salon 908.
This picture is meant to be parody. Nobody else in the world will understand that, but believe me, it is meant to be parody. This is also the only picture in the calendar that is manipulated by Photoshop in a meaningful way. This hibiscus grows in my Mom’s yard.
In retrospect, I’m not sure this picture belongs in October, but it is too late now. This picture was taken near the sewage treatment center in Boone. I hope that doesn’t take some of the romance away from it.
I photographed this lily in my Grandma’s flower garden. She planted so many lilies that she wasn’t sure what colors were even going to come up.
This is a picture of my Grandma Bennett’s Bible.
I have only 1 stated goal for the 2012 calendar. There will be a picture of an iris in it. Jen’s favorite flower is the iris and it is the one flower that I can’t figure out how to photograph. I will meet my adversary head on this year and 1 of us will fall.
