Pet Peeve #42,014 - iPod Genius

Generally speaking, I like Apple's Genius Mixes function.  Except for when I hate it.  There are a few hugely irritating thing sit does.  Besides the occasional really bad fits.  For example:

• When creating a genius playlist, it changes the seed song.  Even when the song is playing.  Most often, it will substitute a live version of the same song, but every once in a while it will select some other song by  the same artist.  Drives me crazy
• Related:  Genius frequently selects "non-normal" versions of songs.  Most frequently live versions, but also those "toss in" CD extras; rehearsal versions, demo versions, etc...  
• When starting a playlist with a Jazz song, the genius frequently drops a couple of Christmas song.  Really?  I pretty much quite using genius on Jazz.

/rant

4/365 - Selfie.....

 

I'm not real big on self portraits.  Or, for that matter, any photos of myself.  But I made an exception this morning, getting ready to drive to work.  Figured it would be a good addition for my 365project.

 

Comparatively balmy this morning, I think it was 15 degrees, with the wind chill above 0 degrees.  Warm enough for my son to go to school, after 2 days of cancelled classes.  (Grumble....  back in my day we'd never have school cancelled just because of a little cold....  and Get Off My Lawn!).  Anyway, here's "me", rocking my winter garb.  The hat was a Christmas gift from my younger daughter (2013), The scarf from my son (2014).  Thanks kids!

 

Still working the iPhone. 

Edge Of Winter, Part 2

A companion to yesterday's post over at Happenstance.  Both images taken on last Monday's  lunchtime walk at St. Ellen Mine Park.   I played around with "painterly" effects on this one, and I'm rather happy with the result.  Rather quite happy...

I sure do likes trees reflected in water.  

Click for larger size:

3/365 - Early Morning, Winter Day

Today's post for 365project.  3 down, 362 to go!

Happy Birthday Elvis!

That's right, folks.  Today (1/8/15) is Elvis' Presley's 80th birthday.  Or would be his 80th birthday, if he were alive.  Elvis, of course, is King.  the first huge rock star, and a cultural icon of 20th century America.

 

No matter which era of Elvis you prefer, or even if you (somehow) don't prefer Elvis, you can't deny his impact. 

I don't have to tell y'all what's been on the iPod today....

Throwback Thursday #42012 - BP Revisited

From sometime in 2002 through the early 2008, I was pretty active at BetterPhoto.com.   It was a fun site, it inspired my "rejuvination" in photography, and I met a lot of cool people.  But, for me at least, it kind of ran its course.  Now, in the spirit of throwback, I figured to post some of my favorite images from those days.

Here's another one from September 2002:

 

 

 

Taken at the same time/place as last week's image.  A quick stop on the way to the Jacksonville ariport, after a business trip.   This is notable as my first "recognized" photo at BP, winning a "Finalist" badge.  If I Recall Correctly.....

Still with the humble Kodak DC210.   Many of my photos from this camera ended up with some significant use of effects.  As an early generation digital, it just didn't have much sharpness. 

Another One Bites The Dust...

a sad day.... My trusty compact digital died today, after 4.8 years of faithful service (and quite a bit of abuse).  I've gone through a lot of cameras over the past 40 years or so, but it still makes me sad when one gives out...

I'm a big believer in the adage: "The best camera is the one you have with you", and I love having a knock-about that fits in a pocket or briefcase. Oh well, fortunately it is not my only choice for taking photos.  And I had already started researching for a replacement.
I also posted this one on my projec365 site...

1/365

I decided (today) to try a "Project 365", post a picture a day for a year.  It will be interesting to see how it goes!  This is my first post, a quick snap out my office window, with my iPhone.

Not sure if I'll post every photo here, but probably just periodic updates.  Any wagers on how long I'll last?

Various One (circa 1981)

This shouldn't surprise anyone who knows me:  in my youth, I used to make "mix" tapes,  Starting back in my pre-teen days, recording songs off the radio on a handheld cassette deck.  Kinda like this:

Those tapes were life-savers trips to visit relatives, my lifeline through the mono earpieces.  It's a habit I still have, and longtime readers of this blog will have seen several playlists published here.  ANYWAY:  I was cleaning the basement over the weekend, and found one of the mix tapes from my college days.  Based on the tunes, it is around 1981.  Labeled "Various One", the tunes are:

Side A

Don't Ever Say Goodbye - Rick Derringer / Baltimore - Randy Newman / Seagull - Bad Company / Sitting Here In Limbo - Jimmy Cliff / Toulouse Street - Doobie Brothers / Autumn - Edgar Winter Group / Pinball - Brian Protheroe / Time Table - Genesis / 1967 - Tom Robinson / Forever Autumn - Justin Hayward / Lovebird - John Entwistle / I Feel Good Today - The dB's

Side B

I Never Dreamed - Lynyrd Skynyrd / Wish I Had Not Said That - J.J. Cale / Tenderness On The Block - Warren Zevon / It's Different for Girls - Joe Jackson / All Mixed Up - The Cars / Casa Dega - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers / Snowblind Friend / Steppenwolf / Early In The Morning - Harry Nilsson / I Laughed - The Hank Band / The Porpoise Song - The Monkees / Dream Weaver - Gary Wright / Dance (While The Music Still Goes On) - ABBA / Right Between the Eyes - Crosby Stills and Nash

Predictably, I have recreated the playlist on my iPod.  But I also made a version on Spotify, with all but 4 of the songs.  Check it out if you're a Spotify type person:

http://open.spotify.com/user/lsqrd42/playlist/5PfNp7zJuyj8k1qBHHLtmF

The Birds

It has been many years since I've seen the Alfred Hitchcock classic The Birds.  Probably not Hitchcock's best, but certainly up there.  And I am still reminded of it when I see these large gatherings of our flying "friends"...

Larger (900x600) version here:

Affected, #1667

Playing around with a photo from last year (12/26/14).  Experimenting with a watercolor effect using a tutorial found in youtube.  Probably not the best image to have used, but I like the process...  And I learned a bit about PSE, even though I've been using it for years.

I'll have to play some more with this process...

900x600 pixel version here:

January 1975 In Music

Continuing the "tradition" started last year, here's what was happening in music in January 1975.  At least some of what was happening, from my perspective.

 Notable Albums:

• Blood On The Tracks - Bob Dylan.  Ranked #16 in Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums of All Time, this is an undeniable classic.  I've had this one since '75 (on vinyl), but it is the only album released in january 1975 that I currently own.
• Modern Times - Al Stewart.  Allmusic calls this album "an exquisite pop-prog gem" and "the beginning of Stewart's classic period".  But I only own the song Carol (via the Greatest Hits CD).  It sits between the better known (by me at leat) albums Past Present and Future and Year Of The Cat.
• Forever, Michael - Michael Jackson.  Mostly notable as MJ's last album for Motown. Allmusic notes:  "there was little here to hint that, four years hence ... Jackson  would emerge as a major star."

Notable Singles:

Only three songs topped the charts in January, 1975:

•   Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - Elton John.  Elton's remake of the Beatles song (from 1967) topped the charts for the 1st 2 weeks of 1975 (1/4/75 and 1/11/75).  Personally, I've never been a fan of this "cover band" version, which Richie Unterberger called "far less exotic and more ordinary".  But, as always, YMMV.
• Mandy - Barry Manilow (1/18/75).  Manilow's first chart hit, and first #1.  And my favorite  Barry Manilow song (one of only 2 on my iPod, extra credit if you can guess the other).  Oh, and it is NOT written about a dog.
• Please Mr. Postman - The Carpenters.  Another remake, from the Marvelettes' #1 hit from 1961.  Also covered by the Beatles.  This would be the last #1 for the Carpenters (excluding the Easy Listening charts where they continued strong until after Karen's death in 1983).

The Tangent - 346

Regular readers may remember a post from last August, Dabney Drive - Green.  Described as: "CD Cover. Well, mock CD cover. For a mock album by an imagined band".

Well, I did it again.  Another mock CD cover, for another mock band.  Backstory:  I used to play w/ a drummer who often taraved about "Tangent" as a band name..  I figured it needed the "the".  Seems that the name's been used, but hopefully no one will be offended.

 

So, what kind of album would this be?  I was pondering, and playing around, and made a playlist.  Based on the image as much as the name:

• Flashback - Rough Shop
• The Long Cut - Uncle Tupelo
• Down to Memphis - J.J. Cale
• Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown - Neil Young
• Enough - Hymn River Suite
• Salome - Old '97's
• James River Bules - Old Crow Medicine Show
• Six O'Clock News - Katheleen Edwards
• Time On My Hands - Butcher Holler
• Southbound Train - Westward Sons
• Anchor - Alejandro Escovedo
• The Right Mistake - Robbie Robertson

What'd'ya think?  Suggestions?

Throwback Thursday #42005 - BP Revisited

From sometime in 2002 through the early 2008, I was pretty active at BetterPhoto.com.   It was a fun site, it inspired my "rejuvination" in photography, and I met a lot of cool people.  But, for me at least, it kind of ran its course.  Now, in the spirit of throwback, I figured to post some of my favorite images from those days.

Here's one from September 2002:

I was on a business trip to Ponte Verde, FL.  A group of us stopped at a roadside beach-front on the way to the Jacksonville airport for a quick glimpse at the ocean.  Taken with my very humble Kodak DC210 compact digital.  This was before I had my first DSLR.

This is my favorite image from that trip, but one that never garnered much attention at BP.  While some of my photos can still be found at BP (here and here), most have been purged (or at least hidden).  Including this one. C'est La Vie...

2014 - The Year In (My) Photos

Ansel Adams said "Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop."

Each of the last 2 years (2012 and 2013), I've used this quote as an inspiration to pick my 12 favorites from the previous year.  So, as we step into 2015, I'm repeating the exercise.  So, looking back, how's my crop?

Well, here's 12 of my favorites, looking at this blog, and my Black and White focused Happenstance Photography.  Arranged oldest to newest.  Click on the text to go to the original post (and larger image)

Snow Storm, Glen Carbon, IL

Ice Tracks, O'Fallon, IL

Winter Relapse, Pontiac, IL

Still Waters, Waterloo, IL

Reflections On Fountain Creek, Waterloo, IL

Yo Down Fiddler, Maryville, TN

Mission Trip 2014 - Joplin Promise, Joplin, MO

untitled, O'Fallon, IL

Me And My Mountains...  Golden, CO

Abandoned Speedramp, St. Louis, MO

Aerial View, St. Louis, MO

God's Acre, Winston-Salem, NC

Verdict??  I'd love to hear your thoughts...  But from my standpoint, it's a perhaps not a strong a crop as last year.  I actually had some trouble picking 12 though.  Maybe 2014's crop is not as deep, but is was wider...   Nothing "significant" from an Ansel Adams point of view. 

New year's resolution for 2015??  MORE PHOTOGRAPY!