Too Many Videos Lately

I've been posting too many videos lately for my taste, but hey. I love watching BMX and trials videos, because... well, mostly because they're just plain entertaining. But also because these dudes are simultaneously totally nuts, super talented, focused and driven. Pushing the boundaries of human physical capabilities just to push them... I will never do anything close to what Danny Macaskill does on his bike, and so I'll live vicariously through youtube. I'm here to do something else, and that's fine by me, as long as I can watch him and his cohorts play, and be amazed by the way creation works. When this guy shows his grandkids this video they'll stop making mean comments about him behind his back. They will probably keep making fun of his music though. I ought to stop here and mention that a while ago I was strongly considering buying those same Five Ten Freerider shoes, albeit in a more respectable colorway.


When I'm out of school, I'm going to do a few things. One of them is buy a motorcycle. Another one is start doing motion work. I definitely believe a still image is more potent in most situations, but short films like this, with their thoughtful camerawork and creativity, strongly dispel the loathing I feel for mankind when I see clips like E! or whatever that celebrity gossip TV show is. Plus, I think trained photographers shoot motion video in a funky way, when compared to trained videographers, and I like that. I should go to bed, but I'm going to eat pretzels instead.

Senior Exhibition Mailer Idea...

Redid it, adding back in "photographs by James Rice," which I'd canned earlier. I think it needs to move left a few tics, though. More importantly, a border with cut corners mirroring both the width and style of the font... that might be a problem with commercial printing and trimming, but we'll look into it later, won't we? I really like the main typeface; it ties in with the ideas of the series pretty well. Too bad this isn't due for weeks... in fact it hasn't even been assigned yet!

Canis Lupus and Two Songs

Old news: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeekquel outsold Fantastic Mr. Fox in the box office.


Got this song in a free sampler from Amazon. Diggin' Darondo's grooves in general.


Fantastic video of fantastic old-time music––this is one of my favorite tunes by Clarence Ashley. I'm learning general clawhammer banjo, in part inspired by Ashley, and making what I consider great headway.

Life in the Box, and a Good Verse

Four more months of this...  I'm living on the edge of campus, below front-of-the-building ground level, facing west– away from school and into the woods. I can ride the bicycle up to my front door. I can't wait until I get my Metallica poster on the wall and mountain bike on the top rack; Then things will be pretty OK. Not pictured: Awesome fish-themed shower curtain and grungy kitchen.

One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: 

That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD
And to meditate in His temple. 

Psalm 27:4

What more do we need?

Final Semester Rules of Engagement

–No movies during the week

–No television, ever

–No Facebook, unless premeditated personal communication is to take place

–Meat must be eaten at most once a day, and all food must be nutritionally wise, unless courtesy or other situational factors take precedence

–Cash all checks promptly

–If spare time is miraculously present, it must be spent

a. Spiritually

b. Working ahead on assignments

c. Reading about or experiencing something new

d. Exercising, esp. riding bicycle

e. Practicing guitar or banjo, writing music, etc.

f. Cleaning living space

–All living space is to be kept tidy, ready to entertain company at a moments notice

–Coffee must be fresh

–Waste must be minimized

–Manliness levels must never waver, except when kittens or bulbous spiders are present

–Sleep, while pleasant, must not exceed 8 hours at a time. There is no minimum

–Windows should be open if possible

–Lights should be off if possible

–If at all possible, do not spend a single cent

–No impulse buys when shopping

–Try to lose less pens

–Mornings are to be spent wisely. Less sleep, more living

–Recreation should not open the wallet. Cheap thrills only, and when appropriate

–Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without

*This list may be amended at any time

Bill Monroe's Mule Skinner Blues

This song got me through a few eight-hour late-night/early-morning sessions in the darkroom last semester. This song on cassette, my Mere Christianity audio book, and knowing that I could sleep for a few minutes on the couch in the next room over before class started. Here's to one more semester of absurd sleep patterns and hermitic living.

Old Dry Stone Wall, Laughery Creek Valley

The remainder of a 19th-century stone wall, deep in the woods.  I love history more than I usually acknowledge, and abandoned structures like this always make me curious...