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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Went to the Dayton Celtic festival last night at the Riverscape. It was nice. We showed up, looked at the vendors' booths, got airbrush tattoos, drank a beer ($4 apiece. yikes!), ate a meat pie, and left. All and all, a decent evening.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Nannie's flowers. We stopped by on the way down, and the last of the late afternoon sunlight was peeking over the next door neighbor's roof, so I thought I'd pop off a few rounds.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Nannie's flowers

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Nannie's flowers

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Utilikilts booth at the Dayton Celtic Festival last night. I was sporting my Olive Green Utilikilt, and was greeted warmly. If only they weren't, like, $140 apiece, I'd own like, fifty of them.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Wall of Utilikilts.

Heaven... I'm in heaven...

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Cute saleslady from the Utilikilts booth.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Random festival-goer.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

[happy caption] I really liked the many complex designs all smooshed together in one photo

[cynical caption] Because (as we all know) people in Ireland and Scotland wear shirts like this all the time while drinking Killian's.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Fooling with the aperture to adjust the whole "depth of focus" thing.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

No, we don't!

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

This was on a British food vendor's trailer. Burst out laughing.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Seriously, how could I not have taken a photo of this to share with all of you? It would've been horribly selfish of me not to share this moment with you guys. :-)

Inspired by Steff's photo post of the same subject matter. Of course, there is no traceback to link to it. Scroll down... you'll find it.

I saw a bumper sticker today that read "Vote the Bible". Government by the church. Theocracy. Wow... I don't know about you, but it horrifies me to think that living amongst us right now are people who think the only bad thing about the Taliban was that the wrong religion was running it.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Ok, folks, the results are in!

[drumroll]

100 speed film does not take good night shots. Lesson learned. Anyways...

Save the best for last? Phooey! I'm putting the best photos here at the front. And now, at long last (and with her permission, of course)... the one, the only, the rare and radient maiden whom the angels named Angela.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

A little bit wider angle.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

She's such a flirt!

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Armand, a bit underexposed, but I can't help but post.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Armand being irresistably cute.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Armand again.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

This is a little whimsical 'monster' bottle that my dad's artist friend Kim made for me a few Christmas' ago. Actually, for some reason this is my favorite photo from this roll.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

One of two cat sculptures we bought that were made out of spare hardware.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Another of the cat sculptures.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Adams St. Bridge, Troy. The print came out much better, but I'm still proud of the jpeg nonetheless. This is one of two that I took from the same position, but left the shutter open longer on the other one, and it waaay overexposed. I've learned that it's best to set the shutter open for the shortest period the meter allows.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Miami County courthouse, Troy. Taken from the levee floodplane across the river.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Troy Square, shutter open 30 seconds.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Troy Square, shutter open 8 seconds.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Lonely looking alley off the square here in Troy. The self portrait a few entries down was taken at the front of this.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Another one from Charleston Falls. Also thinking of entering this. It was raining off and on that day, which cast these great circular ripples in the water.

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Originally uploaded by groverflanagan.

Kinda proud of this one. There are these waist-high post lights around the square, and I set the tripod next to one and used that as the main light with the flash as a fill. There was another one of myself, but it waaay overexposed.

Is it just me...

...or does this guy give you the heebie-jeebies too?

Hi all. After a long photo hiatus, I have at least a few to show you. These were taken at Charleston Falls Preserve, a part of the Miami County Park District. I just found out that they are running a photo contest for pictures taken within any of the park district's parks, to be judged in December. I'm thinking of submitting this photo. Too bad the web between the upper and lower leaves doesn't show very well.

Thinking of entering this one too. Whatch'all think?

Of course, just about every damned roll I take has at least one cute cat picture. Here is Armand loungin on a cardboard box on the kitchen table.

Charleston Falls... somewhat dry. Does this picture throw the perspective off? At first, if I didn't know different, I thought it looked like a little puddle until you see the stairs at the top left.

David Letterman's Top Ten List

Top Ten George W. Bush Solutions For Global Warming -- July 25, 2005

10. NASA mission to turn down the sun's thermostat

9. Federal subsidies to boost production of Cool Ranch Doritos

8. Fast track Rumsfeld's "Colonize Neptune" proposal

7. Convene Blue-Ribbon Committee to explore innovative ways of ignoring the problem

6. Let Hillary worry about it when she takes over

5. I dunno---tax cuts for the rich?

4. Give the boys at Halliburton 90-billion dollar contract to patch hole in ozone

3. Switch to celsius so scorching 98 becomes frosty 37

2. Keep plenty of Bud on ice

1. Invade Antartica

"Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;--"

Why not just say "caramel" and be done with it...

How the hell do you pronounce "dulce de leche"? The top ways I've heard are: "dulss-day-lesh", "dull-say-deh-leh-shay", "dull-chay-deh-leh-chay", or any combination of the three.

And of course, the title of the post begs the question ofwhether it's "car-mull" or "care-uh-mel"...

Called Texas Gurl on the phone today. I was waffling over it for an hour and a half wondering if I'd have the privacy, and once I finally decide to, (naturally) 30 seconds into the conversation the other occupants of the apartment walked in the door. Oh well, she was at work anyway and couldn't talk.

Today I was listening to some old music that was fresh and new to me back when I was in junior high school. At first, I was thinking about how it took me back to that time, and for a moment I felt all excited and full of future as I did then. Then I thought about how I spent that period doing what all kids do. Watch lots of TV, hang out with friends, and play Super Mario Brothers.

Where that wonderful warm tingly feeling came from was my imagination back then, and all the fantastic things I thought about, not what was really happening to me. I was going to be a hacker like Matthew Broderick in "Wargames". I was going to write techno dance music that would move the world, like my Finnish heroes Future Crew. I was going to be an electronics engineer creating pirate devices that would be used solely for mischevious purposes, a la Christian Slater in "Pump Up The Volume".

Imaginings and fantasies change over the years, don't they? I have pretty much given up on the idea of sitting down and teaching myself to program a computer. I still write snippets of music, but all I want now is for at least one person at acoustic night at the Trolley Stop to think it's not bad. Pirate devices to intercept secret messages and decode shit? Nah. Now I have my imagination aimed at putting on shows of my photography.

Makes me wonder, did my dreams and fantasies dull down over the years, or did they just become more realistic and possible to achieve? I'm feeling optimistic. I choose the latter...

I've been in a stupid phase lately... my posts over the last few weeks have been getting progressively more and more, well, dumb. Then I wrote a comment on Steff's blog that actually had a point, so I thought I'd post it here as well to give my dwindling blog a brain cell or two. This is in response to Canada's recent official legalization of same-sex marriage:

If you think about it, we as a civilization are still emerging from the dark ages. I mean, come on... a hundred years ago women still weren't considered intelligent enough to vote. Fifty years ago, civil rights protesters were getting gunned down in public in the south. I think this recent surge of hyper-conservativism is merely a last panicky gasp before the human race evolves. Canada is leading the way.

Right now we're in another 1950's. Everybody in America is being pressured to go with the flow, stop asking questions, and conform. Question askers are eyed suspiciously. "Towel heads" are the new Commies, and we're in a serious period of isolationism and neo-McCarthyism with the Department of Homeland Security being nothing more than a sequel to the House Un-American Activities Committee.

In the next few years I predict there will be a social revolt, and we'll enter another 60's. It has to happen to maintain the balance.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has the most wonderfully pleasant speaking voice. I swear, the guy could be on TV reading a phone book and I'd stop to listen for a few minutes.

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That new Hyundai Sonata is one hot looking little car. Grover is thinking "hmm... possible trade-in some time next year?"

Missing link...

What is it with photography and good looking girls? My usual haunt (but not for much longer since they moved their processing off-site), Click Camera has a couple of knock-outs working there. I just stopped into local favorite BK Photo to drop off my latest roll and inquire about professional films and digital SLR's and whatnot. And who did I talk to? You guessed it... an absolutely hot young lady who also is currently a student at the Ohio Institute of Photography and Technology. Methinks I'm going to be dropping my film off there from now on.

Oh, the serendipity of it all!

Ok, to be fair (and try not to seem like such a horn-dog frat-boy), I'd much prefer to keep my money at a hometown "mom & pop" shop rather than send it to a chain like Click. Both my parents know the people who run the place, and one of the ladies there even recognized me as Cathie's son. So... I think I'll give them my money from now on, and just use Click for uploading digital enlargements.

While cleaning Stillwater tonight, my cd player decided to die nice and early, so I had a good three hours to let my mind wander aimlessly...

I love going into the welding room. It smells like sparklers, and for a second takes me back to picnics on the 4th of July as a kid. I looked out the windows to see the sun shining in full force while it was raining cats and dogs. I love Ohio's quirky weather. They just recently bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner, which is loaded with all sorts of widgets and rocks triumphantly. I want one. It makes vacuuming fun again. Mr. Dyson's perverse obsession with his cleaners not losing suction most certainly paid off. Uncle Bill had a high to-do down in the conference room, but after it ended, there weren't any refreshments left over for me to mooch off of. I don't think they had any, evidenced by there not being any crumbs when I cleaned the room. Only fingerprints on the glass table top. I was looking at a Maxim magazine in the mens' shop restroom, and I swear I could feel my IQ dropping steadily with each page I turned. Of course, in the office restrooms, all you'll find are golf and Porsche magazines. One of the guys up in the office has all sorts of junk food wrappers in his trash... and a can of slim-fast. Go figure.

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Driving the entire 45 seconds home (why don't I just walk?), Dayton's "alternative" radio station finally picked up hometown heroes Hawthorne Heights. I drove around for a few minutes listening to their song, "Ohio is for Lovers". I did my little automotive happy-dance slapping the steering wheel. God, JT and Micah really have made it. Lucky bastards. I'm so proud of them I could puke.

Goddammit, Micah!

So tonight, in a very rare planetary alignment, not only was Viv staying in Dayton, but Caro spent the night with at a friend's house... leaving the mouse free to play. So after dropping her off, I come home, look up some porn (gotta love XNXX) took a shower, watched the Liberty Bike episode of American Chopper, and then headed out to paint the town black and white with the tripod that my stepdad gave me. Now I can take night shots that require the shutter to be open for 8, 20, or even 30 seconds. Too bad that at sunset the air went completely stagnant without a breath of a breeze, and a vague damp haze settled in. That'll either add a mysterious ambiance to the photos, or just make them muddy. We'll see in a week or two...

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Tonight is the first night of the year that the corn is mature enough to give off it's heavenly sweet scent on hot muggy nights. If you've never lived around corn fields, once the stalks grow tassles and silk, on nights when the air is heavy and sticky, the country air smells like honey. There's nothing like it... and nothing better.

I've been taking unusually long pauses between updates, but frankly, not much noteworthy has been happening. However, last night is an exception. It all started as a usual night at Avalanche...

With a pitcher of beer and Angela in company, we sat at the usual table. Long story short, after a while of unloading our worldly woes on each other, (kinda lost track of time), the usual band kicked up. Remember Stephanie Westfall, the amazing singer I talked about previously? She'd been gone for about a month, but was back tonight. Angela's man showed up and we got to talking. I mentioned that the type of woman I really want to end up with would be a hippie chick, much like the singer. Turning around and looking at her, she looks over at me (busted!). Embarrassed, I turn away, but she walks over and starts talking to us! I take a flyer listing their shows for July and August, and sign up for the email list. She can't talk long as the band's next set is about to begin, but right before, a girl walks up and asks if they know "What a Wonderful World". She says she just got married, and that's their song. While she's taking requests, I ask if she'll sing on stage the a capella song she sang to me that first night.

They play "What a Wonderful World" first. I'm watching as the girl who requested the song climbs onto her husband's lap and sings the words to him. As I'm admiring the sight, I hear smoochy noises from behind me, and turn around to discover Angela and her man lip locked. I look back to the stage and spend the rest of the song grinning like a total cheeseball from my ever-swelling crush on the singer. Never underestimate the power of that song. The whole room felt like love, if only for those few minutes.

Second song, she starts out with "This one's for Andy." (teehee!) And there, you could hear a pin drop as she cast the same spell on the audience as she did on me that first night. As I applaud, I have the urge to grab a fork and make a heart-stabbing gesture, (i.e. "I'm done, stick a fork in me"), but decide not to be such a dork.

After that set, she grabs her glass of water and heads straight over to our table. (!!!) As she walks up I push out the chair next to me, and she sits down. The entire length of the break, we have the most wonderful conversation about music, movies, being involved in theatre productions, how I'd rather watch paint dry than sit through a Shakespeare play (despite my upbringing in the theatre), and other stuff. The band finishes their last set and we leave.

Outside, I mention to Angela that I have my camera with me, and the back wall of the Shell station with its soffit lights shining down would make a perfect back drop. We walk over and I take four or five mostly candid shots. I hope they turn out.

I spend all day today telling everybody who'll listen (and a few who didn't, but I told them anyway) about flirting with Stephanie. Despite my feet hurting and a new wisdom tooth aching like a motherfucker, I buzz all day.

:-)

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At work, on a cardboard box in back that's been sitting there a while, there appeared the following messages:

handwriting 1: Eat at Joe's
handwriting 2: We've got crabs
handwriting 3: Stop writing on me!

So I add my little contribution:

It tickles.

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The b&w jpegs that I uploaded to Click printed out absolutely gorgeous. My monitor is only a hair darker than the prints, so I pretty much see what I get. I'm going to upload my first 8x10 for pickup next thursday. Any suggestions? I'm kinda leaning toward the church dome and branch.

Went through and photoshopped a small handful of my favs. Via the miracle of modern technology, I uploaded these (the full-size versions) to Click Camera to be printed as proofs. Thinking of entering a few in the County Fair photography contest. I've seen some of the entries in years past... believe me, I'm pretty sure I've got a shot at winning a ribbon.

More than anything, I like how the sky turned out in this one.

Really makes the geometry pop out.

I altered the brightness and contrast on this one probably the most.

Me likee!

Orb's architectural "twiddly bit" :-)

I super-dee-duper like this one.

This one too

I like this one

Is it too much sun reflecting off the top to make the rest so dark?

.

Again, converted to b&w, toned down the brightness and bumped up the contrast. I'm liking this!

Upon Steff's recommendation, I Photoshopped Armand's picture to Black and White, and then futzed with the brightness and contrast until I arrived at a very pleasing balance.

Armand, my ever-patient model and bestest-estest buddy. Pardon that this is ever so slightly out of focus, but it's such a great shot I couldn't not show it off. This is the first and last time that I get my photos processed at Kroger. The negs and prints came out fine, but their scanner fucked up the jpegs, leaving these horrible purple streaks. Jackasses.

Wolfe

Post with symbols outside Kutulu Rising, an occult store on Wayne Street in Dayton.