anonymous

The Westboro Baptist Church announced that it was going to picket the funerals of Sandy Hook Elementary shooting victims. Not only does this make my skin crawl, but the very thought of their twisted hatred coming within miles of the families who lost innocent, sweet and pure children to a brutal and heinous crime makes me physically ill. Their corrupt and disgusting nature is disturbing, even more so that they call themselves Christians, and I can't fathom the thought of them being allowed to protest these deaths. (Side note: The more I think about the them, the more sad I am for them. How did they let themselves become so misled that they could even begin to think that what they were doing was right, let alone God's work? It's a tragedy...)

In walks the group Anonymous. If you don't know who they are, check them out here. I'm not saying that I agree with everything that they've done or are doing, however.... when I found out about their declared war against the Westboro Baptist Church, I couldn't help but smile a tiny bit. So far, they've hacked their website and posted all the personal information about all their members. They've also been strongly petitioning the US to formally recognize the church as a hate group and have all the required signatures for a response from the White House. And it's only been two days. I wonder how far it's going to go...

Here's a clip from the video if you don't feel like listening to the whole thing.

"Since your one-dimensional thought protocol will conform not to any modern logic, we will not debate, argue, or attempt to reason with you. Instead, we have unanimously deemed your organization to be harmful to the population of The United States of America, and have therefore decided to execute an agenda of action which will progressively dismantle your institution of deceitful pretext and extreme bias, and cease when your zealotry runs dry. We recognize you as serious opponents, and do not expect our campaign to terminate in a short period of time. Attrition is our weapon, and we will waste no time, money, effort, and enjoyment, in tearing your resolve into pieces, as with exposing the incongruity of your distorted faith...We will not allow you to corrupt the minds of America with your seeds of hatred. We will not allow you to inspire aggression to the social factions which you deem inferior. We will render you obsolete. We will destroy you. We are coming."

Intense? I'd be scared.

making up

I feel like the last post was kind of mean. I try really hard to not photographer bash, a lot of people do it in my world and it makes me sad. Everyone likes their own thing and everyone is at a different level. So forgive me for photo bashing in that last post... I will now make it up by posting 3 positive things. (Which is kind of my rule, every negative thing said results in 3 positive follow ups)

#1- Watch this clip, it'll make you laugh. My favorite guy is the one who sells both kidneys, ha!



#2- My renters just brought me warm cookies. How wonderful is that? I have no idea what kind of cookies they are, all I know is that they are divine. Wow.

#3- And lastly, here is a quote that I really like...

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
-James Keller

personal opinion

In my own personal opinion (not to offend anyone's work or anything like that)...
I think adding excessive amounts of photoshopped dust onto a photo to make it look like film is kind of ridiculous... especially when it's the same dust in every photo and you can tell just by looking at the dust pattern.
I could maybe understand a little dust.... but this much? And all over? And so clearly digital?
I don't get it.
Again, just a personal opinion :)

thoughts

#1- My car has reached a whole new level of low.
I drove home from family dinner last night, parked my car in my carport and went to lock my door only to find that the lock was gone.... there is now a hole in my car door and I can only unlock from my passenger side, ha!
Congratulations Angelina, you are really earning the title of toy car.

#2- There have been many times in my life when I've been grateful that I can hold my tongue. Other times, I'm not so grateful because it would be great if I could say something witty and clever. But I think I'd rather be silent than say something that I'd later regret.

#3- Sometimes I feel like a barnacle when it comes to relationships. It's really quite the nuisance. I would love to be independent and unaffected by being single and alone... but I'm not. I'm currently rolling my eyes at myself and my inner 15 year old girl.

#4- I love nice people. People who are genuinely concerned about your well being and try to make sure that they are loving and kind to you. I try to be that person, I'm usually unsuccessful but at least I try.

#5- Lastly, I'm in the middle of finals right now. Yee-haw. Here are some photos from my final for my sports photography class... Alexia is an incredibly talented dancer, she blows my mind.

Happy Monday everyone :)

blessed

I am incredibly blessed to have such amazing parents. Words can't describe how much they mean to me.

living

I have a very long bucket list. And everyday I get older, I realize more and more that there aren't enough hours in the day or a lifetime to do everything that I want to do... it depresses me at times. I want to do it all and it's sad knowing that it's not possible.
Want to know a portion of my bucket list?

- I want to learn to sing.
- I want to learn to dance.
- I want to learn to...
          play the cello.
          play the piano.
          play the guitar.
- I want to be brilliant at graphic design.
- I want to be a moving writer.
- I want to...
          travel the world with film cameras and meet people from different cultures.
          be an incredible rock climber and climb amazing mountains.
          learn to swim.
          compete in an Iron Man contest and perform well.
          be an incredible fine art photographer that exhibits in well known galleries.
          master every historic process in photography.
          get my MFA in photography and teach at a university.
          learn how to weave.
          learn how to make lace.
          learn how to beatbox.
- I want to read every classic book and every book that has ever interested me.
- I want to learn calligraphy and letterpress and do both well.
- I want to make enough money that I can...
          own a home that is used as a safe haven to let battered women to take shelter.
          aid an organization in educating the public on the importance of spay and neutering their animals                   and provide those services for free.
          leave $100 tips for waiters/waitresses that are especially sweet to me or look like they need it.
          leave money in vending machines for people to stumble upon.
          give anonymous equipment donations to photography students in need.

- I want to raise a family....

If I had to pick one thing, I would obviously choose the last one.
Have you ever heard the joke that when a couple gets married, the "baby switch" turns on for the wife? It was very much true for me. Except I got divorced and that switch never turned off. I would love for a family more than anything but I have no opportunity for that anymore (or at least hopefully just right now). I guess I'll just have to wait and see where my life goes. Patience you say? Psh. Ya right. There's no time for patience ;)

“It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly…. Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” -Teddy Roosevelt


“Do not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations. For if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live.” — Henry David Thoreau

tintype

This is a tintype of me. Awesomely cool? Why of course!

nature

Trees, mountains, rivers....
It's all sacred to me.

"Nature is too thin a screen; the glory of the omnipresent God bursts through everywhere."
             -Ralph Waldo Emerson