Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride...

I've always loved this song...it's one of my guilty pleasure '80s jams.

This is what I love to see...

Learn to Love Fat by Richard Wilkinson

Fifteen thousand words

Last summer, I was asked a favor that nearly made me cry. I felt so honored.

My dear friends, the Davis family, asked me to take their son JJ's senior pictures during the week that we counseled together at Camp Lake Louise.

I was so incredibly flattered and simultaneously terrified.
I am not a professional.
I honestly have no real idea of what I'm doing.
I just take shots that I think will look good, and I take hundreds of them so as to increase the probability that a few will end up looking decent.

Anyway.
Here are some of my favorite shots from our session:




















(being silly with a Borat pose)












He and his family were so pleased, which made me feel even more flattered, as I was - of course - afraid I'd performed miserably.

I cannot wait to see the prints.

Fred Phelps is at it again...

So, Westboro Baptist Church has announced plans to picket at Heath Ledger's funeral.

I wish I could laugh at how outrageously ridiculous they are.
I'm just too furious.

it hurts but it may be the only way...

Today is one of those when I could barely scrape together the motivation to arise from bed.
My pervasive sinus headaches are no help.
And sometimes all the little daily stresses that I like to think I am so adept at managing can sometimes congregate with an intent to crush. And sometimes they succeed.

I try to stay realistic, equally considering both negative and positive outlooks, but the negativity seems to have more brute strength sometimes.
It's also odd how cloudy, slushy, extreme cold can be so bleak and mood-altering. It shoves you inside, holds you hostage, pushes you toward sloth and inaction. Inertia. Isolation.

Listening to melancholy songs like this one is helpful. Cathartic. Necessary.

Requiem

Wow.

Heath Ledger.

Once again, I am at a loss.

speechless

Last night, Chris and I drove to Birmingham to see There Will Be Blood.
Powerful, to say the least.
After it ended, neither of us said a word for 15 minutes.
On the drive home, he proclaimed it "The greatest film I have ever seen."

Today I am charged with the task of writing a review of it for the paper.
I am at a loss for words.

=======

In other news, what do you do when the business for which you work is slipping rapidly into oblivion?
There are no paychecks, no working bathroom facilities, no phone service, no money whatsoever, no indication of any impending improvement or even continuation?
Well, if you're me, you keep showing up for work.
Because apparently you're a raging lunatic.

Stop asking me the question

Back to the Future is one of my all-time favorite movies.

Imagine my joy when I discovered this...