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 nother of my favorite entries of all time. I posted the following entry on February 25, 2004
"The San Rafael Swell: Claiming Soopageek Peak"My trip across Utah this weekend took me over a lot of new road. Of particular interest was the stretch of I-70 between Green River and Salina, Utah known as the San Rafael Swell. Geologic processes pushed the mantle of th Earth up into the crust, breaking the brittle sandstone and creating a huge rock dome in the middle of the desert. Over the millenia, wind and water has whittled the rock away one grain of quartz at a time, leaving behind stark monoliths and deep canyons. Approaching from the east, the swell is a dramatic site, with huge slabs of rock turned on its end pointing at the sky. This area, known as the San Rafael Reef has been nicknamed "The Silent City" because of its city-scape-like view against the horizon. Trucks coming out of the pass are dwarfed by the massive layers of vertical rock.  ( Tons more pictures of my hiking adventures ) | |
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  spent the entire day shooting abandoned properties in New Orleans today. I am wore right the fuck out. I spent the evening going through my final edit and resizing them for my online gallery and uploaded them all. There's some really strange and beautiful stuff in there. Spending so much time with my camera, I began trying different approaches to shooting and I'm thrilled with the results. I definitely hit a new height technically and creatively. For the first time, I felt like I was doing things intentionally to achieve something I was pleased with rather than just getting lucky, which is the way I've always felt.
In total, I explored eight separate abandoned properties: a marina, a strip mall, a middle school, an indoor mall, a medical plaza, and three apartment complexes. This was in addition to random street shots of burned-out car frames and the shots I took downtown. In all, 551 photographs made the cut for one reason or another from a total of about 1,500. I'll be writing about them in more depth over the weeks to come. Tomorrow, I plan to write about the French Quarter.
I did something else today while I was in New Orleans. I made a virtual driving tour of the area I was exploring. It's nearly 30 minutes long and is not particularly entertaining in any way but it gives a more interactive view of the area than still pictures. At the end of the driving tour, I actually walk into a couple of abandoned apartment units while the video is still rolling. I highly recommend giving it a watch, but it is big. It's a 102 Mb .wmv file. Yeah, I know it's huge. But if you're interested, it's there.
keep getting LEGS pictures and I love it so much. If you haven't sent me one yet, DO IT!!!! I'm going to start posting one every other day or so until I run out. Today's legs come to us courtesy of ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) sexywitch.
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   y goober of a girlfriend has lampooned me! Not only did she completely mock my entry about my new truck, but she did a parody of the video.
My only two "creative" video endeavors have been the subject of parody, now; ed_aims having apparently set a precedent last summer.
ovies
 The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
A deft blend of court-room drama with horror. Even if you're not typically a fan of the horror genre, you can appreciate this film. It isn't gory, nor does it utilize mind-boggling CG effects. The scariness lies in the story and in the performance by Jennifer Carpenter. It is beautifully shot, well-directed, and full of strong performances.
Saw (2004) & Saw II (2005)
I watched these two movies back to back this week. The first film is awesome for a variety of reasons, the two principal ones being the relative talent and what I call the "wtf? factor". The first film features the acting talents of Cary Elwes and Danny Glover, while the second film relies on a brooding and boring Donnie Whalberg. But that's not the real problem. The real problem is that in the first film, you have no idea what is going-on from the opening sequence, and you're immediately drawn in and kept constantly guessing as the story unfolds, even until the very end. In the second movie, the magic is gone because you know the trick. While there are still some surprises in the second movie, it doesn't have that edge-of-your-seat quality like the first. That said, these are very much genre films. Whereas The Exorcism of Emily Rose has the capacity to appeal to a broader audience, these movies will only be of interest to you if you're a fan of the genre, especially the highly-stylized horror films of the last decade.
 Benny and Joon (1993)
This has been a movie I've wanted to see for a long time but never had the opportunity until now. Seeing it now is probably more interesting because it is chock-full of people whose stars were just starting to rise but were virtual unknowns at the time, like William H. Macy and Julianne Moore. It also features good lead and character work from the likes of Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masternson, Aidan Quinn, CCH Pounder, Dan Hedaya, and Oliver Platt. It's a multi-faceted love story, all centered around Joon (Masterson), a mentally-ill woman who is the sister of Benny (Quinn). Depp is Sam, a quirky and loveable outsider who falls in love with Joon much to dismay of her brother. The various plot-lines resolve themselves neatly and predictably as you would expect in any date-movie, which is all this is. It's better than most, but not great.
 Boogie Nights (1997)
Julianne Moore and William H. Macy would team-up with the other Whalberg kid, Mark, for Paul Thomas Anderson's astonishing film about the golden era of the porn industry. From the first sequence of this movie, you know you're in for a treat, with its amazing, continuous opening shot. With an ensemble cast which also features strong performances from Heather Graham, Don Cheadle, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Burt Reynolds, Boogie Nights is simultaneously heart-wrenching and hilarious.
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
This movie tries too hard to be a Tim Burton knock-off at times, but is entertaining and fun none-the-less. The voice-over narration is often clever but, while the larger-than-life character of self-important actor Count Olaf deserves a certain amount of over-the-top acting, Jim Carrey's scenery chewing antics become a bit tedious after a while.
Corpse Bride (2005)
Burton's latest stop-animation endeavor is commendable on many artistic levels. The set and models are gorgeous and the dark humor is great, but ultimately it's lacking in character development. You just don't care or become attached to anyone because you're not given enough to sympathize or relate to them in any way.
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  got my new truck on Friday. Since then I've been wrangling with Werner to get my truck "online" in their system. Things finally came together this morning and after sitting here for the past three days, I finally have a load to Michigan. So here's my truck. For the auto/truck enthusiasts among you, here are the specs:
2001 Freightliner Century
Cummins engine, governed at 70mph
Meritor straight 10-speed transmission
630,000 miles
Aside from a rather shoddy windshield replacement that left a bunch of the sealant goop sticking out around the glass and some minor scruffs in the paint job, the exterior is in pretty decent shape. I've driven her a little around Omaha in the past few days and she runs great. There are some things I don't like about the truck (like unpowered windows/mirrors), but they're minor and I can live without them.
In the past, I've driven company trucks. Now that I have one that will eventually become my own, I think she should have a name. Hopefully one will materialize which suits her. I suppose I need to get to know her first.
As an accompaniment to this entry, I made a movie. It's a narrated, virtual tour of my truck: inside and out. I've been meaning to make one of these for a long time and I figured now was as good a time as any.
Truck tour (8.2MB, wmv)
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