Photos

There are not a lot of photos of me out there. I don't really like to pose in front of things with people and smile. I find it rather fake. I did a lot of that when I was a kid. My mom has lots of pictures with me standing in front of things with various relatives and smiling. This has effected the way I shoot pictures. I don't give people time to pose. I shoot candid pictures. Rarely do I let people stop, and settle, and smile in a picture. Guess I'm a news photographer.

I rebelled after high school. It was a ego thing. I was skinny and gawky and didn't want to see photos of myself looking so skinny and gawky. So I would avoid the camera a bit or not stop and pose and smile. This tendency became a thing that I still do though it's now just what I do.

This tendency impacted me when I was at a Bar Mitzfah for someone I've known since he was 3 days old. There was a slide show presentation showing Reno from the time he was a baby until now. They showed him with relatives and close friends. But as it went along, I noticed there was none of me with Reno. And I was hurt. It's stupid, but there it is. I've been there for so much of his life, and in pictures I was a ghost. Not there...

I mentioned it to Howard later. He said, "We looked." I'm sure they did. I have a number of photos with Reno I got from them. But it's funny how photos are so deletable now days. There is no negatives. If your hard drive crashes you may have nothing saved. It's just gone. They are not printed on paper like they were, there are no negatives if the paper picture is lost. Poof, gone.

I think that happened a bit with me in this instance. So what the fuck to do?

Stop, and pose, and smile. Time to be seen.

Tucson Nutjob

It's a week later and we know sooooo much more about the gunman in the Tucson shooting.

I'm not going to give specifics. We've been inundated with a constant stream of information about this guy. He scared the shit out of a lot of people and was kicked out of college for being a nutbag. Rarely do you hear people being interviewed say, "I knew he was going to shoot people sometime."

I don't think he's that nuts. He shut up as soon as he was arrested. He knew enough not to say anything to the police after being arrested. Makes me think he's not too crazy.

He's not a member of the Tea Party. A map with bullseyes may not have been in his radar at all.

He still killed a bunch of people. The reasons why are not simple...

Guns, Guns, Guns, Guns, Guns, and Politics

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head today in Tucson at an event. As of right now, she is in surgery. I hope she makes it.

This senseless event seems to illustrate the wide disconnect in politics. The guy who shot her and 11 or 12 other people is in custody. I'm not going to call him the "Alleged Gunman". He's the only one at the event who was taken down with a gun in his hand as he fired into the crowd. Nothing alleged there. He fucking did it.

I am willing to lay odds (though I have no information as I type this.) that the 21 year old gunman is a Republican, probably part of the Tea Party, and I will also bet he loves Sarah Palin. Remember her comment in March of 2010? "Dont' Retreat, Instead -- RELOAD!" This kind of rhetoric is what is wrong in politics. The disagreements are not civil. They are so deeply felt that some nut job with a gun goes out to kill a member of Congress. And then fires into a crowd of people. A child was shot, for fuck's sake. So this Congresswoman won a tight election in Tucson, beating her Tea Party opponent, and she gets shot in the head.

The anger in politics, about politics, held by the voters is ripe for some nutbag to do something senseless like this. When this guy lawyers up, I'm sure they are going to go with a insanity defense. "He was crazy!" No, he was a member of the Tea Party. (This is my guess, I don't know his political affiliation.) And if he is a member of the Tea Party, Wow, they are going to have some PR problems...

For disclosure sake, I do have a gun. But it's not loaded and tucked safely away. I go shoot at ranges because it's fun. But I have respect for the weapon, the damage it can do and I think not everyone should own a weapon. There are some batshit crazy people out there with too many weapons.

This guy was there as an assassin. He meant to kill her.

"Planetology"

Every year I work a certain job at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. During the year I forget just how odd the group having the event is. It's a group based here in LA, kind of notorious in their own way, with connections to many in the entertainment industry. I will change the name to protect... uh.. something. Let's call them... Planetologists. Of the group Planetology. Get it? Some organizations would call them a cult. Then they would sue you and take over your organization.

This party is a big New Years Eve party. Being that it's in Hollywood you might think you'd get a lot of celebrities one might associate with this group. And you'd be wrong. I've heard no one famous is there. The part of this I see is the set up and strike. It's not like other jobs because most of the crew are members of the group. There are maybe 25-30 of them. Many are teenagers, and they all have a gleam in their eye that is vacuous and needy. There is generally one or two people who knows what is going on and the crew comes to that person seeking instruction constantly. They don't think for themselves. I heard someone who didn't know how to do something say, "I don't know the tech for this."

They have a spookiness to them all the non Planetologists notice and comment on to each other after discerning you are not one of the group. In fact, some make a point to say, "I'm not with the group." I do find them fascinating. I find religion and belief fascinating, but this is so beyond belief.

During the event a friend of mine was working. At the doors to the backstage area there were 2 large guys. "Are you with the hotel, or are you one of us?" They asked each of the dozen times he walked by them. Did they not recognize him, or are they supposed to ask everyone that no matter how many times they saw him? No independent thought seemed to be happening.

Everyone needs to figure out how to make it thru this strange universe. I don't care what people believe as long as they aren't blowing themselves up in a market place or sacrificing puppies to a demon in some arcane ritual. People figure out a way to make sense of it all. Some use religion, some use drugs, some use alcohol. In moderation 2 out of the 3 aren't bad. But this group preys on those looking for something and gullible enough to buy the line of shit they are selling.

Fearless?

When I was in Phoenix I went up Camelback mountain. (Read two blogs ago.) When I was getting ready to leave the house my mom said I was the "fearless" one between me and my brother. My mom brought up an example of me being fearless and it not having a great outcome. I didn't protest at the time, but the incident she was referring to was because of a mechanical failure, and nothing due to me being "fearless"

I thought about this comment and mentioned it to my friend Terry who was hiking up the mountain with me. Actually, he was in the lead the whole time and not breathing hard during any part of the hike. The guy is a fucking machine with a cardio-vascular system that is astonishing. (His at rest heart rate is around 44 beats per minute. Not bad for a 47 year old.) (And I got to say that it always makes me crazy to do stuff with him. He kinda can't be beat.)

Anyway, Terry thought about the comment for a moment and said it was a calculated risk. It really wasn't being "fearless". My mom was concerned I might fall of the mountain or need a helicopter rescue. It apparently happened in the past month or two. She made it sound like it was happening daily.

Life is kind of a calculated risk. Depending on who you are, there's different level of risks. I walk on I-beams when rigging. My risk level is markedly different than most people. I drove to Phoenix in the rain to get home before Christmas. My brother waited a day until the crazy weather had cleared. But I have also been a PA and driven pass vans, cube trucks, 20' trucks, 24' trucks, a 5 ton stake bed. I have a different experience driving than he does. Or most people. I have driven in rain and snow and dust storms. I just drive carefully and pay close attention to the other drivers on the road. I got to admit the drive over to AZ was sketchy.

So am I fearless? Not really. I do like jumping off of things though...

1/1/11 Happy New Decade

I got to admit the last year was trying. It was tough economically; it was tough career wise; it was tough romantically. And worst of all, I didn't get to travel.

So good riddance to 2010. Slink out the back door like a dog that shit on the carpet. You know you were wrong. Get the fuck out.

Hello 2011. So far you are a world of possibilities better.

Yay!