That's it. I'm Done.

Obviously the brain dead sacks of shit who write the program for blogger need to go back to work at McDonalds (actually, that's putting down the people who work at McDonalds, sorry). I can't deal with the ineptitude any longer so instead of getting pissed on an almost daily basis, I'm just going to close up shop.

I was going to post this right before the inauguration but as this is my last post...

We can soon close the book (The Pet Goat of political history?) on the worst presidency that mankind has ever known or, hopefully, will ever know. One that will reign supreme as the pinnacle of ignorance, bigotry, greed and corruption. One who presided over the darkest hours in American history... well, unless his brother Jeb ever gets elected that is.

The little rat bastard that is George W. Bush. The dick that is Cheney and all the rest of the weasly little gerbils, some living, some dead, but all immensely richer, will go down in the annals of history as the anals of history. I wish Hunter Thompson had stuck around long enough to write a fitting tribute to the eight years of this administration bending Ms. America over the conference table and nailing her for all she was worth (and then some), then, later, having some inbred intern use a crumpled copy of the Constitution to clean up.

There is nothing in America that wasn’t harmed by this presidency other than ignorance and hate. They both seem to have thrived under this administration. I would hope that Bush and his minions would all be tried for crimes against humanity but the opposite will most likely take place. Years from now their many crimes will be forgiven, or forgotten, much like earlier crooks of their ilk and some nitwit will want to put Bush’s face on the dollar bill.

As the end of his reign draws near, the little rat bastard is scurrying to cause as much harm as he can before they ship him back to Texas and his faux ranch. Auctioning off pristine lands adjacent to National Parks for oil and gas exploration, relaxing Endangered Species regulations, planting republican buffoons in lifetime civil service positions, the list goes on and on and on.

I wish them all nothing but the worst and hope that karma really does exist.

selah|mm

Erin Anyway You'd Like Her

I've been trying out Nik software's Silver Efex and Color Efex. Silver Efex is pretty strong and looks like a probable purchase. Color Efex on the other hand just doesn't make the cut.

Images ©2008 Michael Morris

Erin Dark

Playing around with a new conversion technique. I like the actual print, but don't care for the way it comes across online.

Image ©2008 Michael Morris

Online vs Print

I quite like the physical print of this image. I am less than enthralled with it on the internet (click on the image for the full view as blogger is too ignorant a site to show the entire image - warning: unsafe for work, small children or fertile farm animals).

©2008 Michael Morris

Platon Lecture

While visuals would certainly help this presentation, the audio alone is well worth listening to.

http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2008/11/26/platon-audio/

Via Vincent Laforet's blog

Happy Thanksgiving

I was going to post the Sarah Palin/turkey killing video but decided to stay away from politics and humor. The above image is by Debbie Caffery. Her work, along with numerous books, can be found here.

Image ©2008 Debbie Caffery

Vic Muniz

Vic Muniz is a Brazilian artist who, among other things, creates stunning art out of strategically placed debris, etc.. They really need to be seen in person to be appreciated (there are two, that I know of, at 21c in Louisville).

His website can be found here.

Images ©2008 Vic Muniz

Audio Annie Leibovitz

Via Chase Jarvis' blog, here's an hour long interview she did with NPR in Seattle.

http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2008/11/annie-leibovitz-talks-again-this-time.html

Image ©2008 Annie Leibovitz

I Think I Would Have Liked This Guy

"Tivoli is my home town, Flavius Agricola is my name... Friends who read this, do my bidding. Mix the wine, drink deep, wreathed in flowers, and do not refuse to pleasure pretty girls. When death comes, earth and fire devour all."

On a recent trip to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, I came across a Funerary Monument for one Flavius Agricola. The above is the epitaph on his monument. Sounds like a guy I would have gotten on with. Obviously, the Pope felt otherwise.

Found in 1624 when the foundation was dug for Bernini's bronze canopy over the high altar of St. Peter's in Rome, Flavius' earthy epitaph and the presence of this pagan effigy near the tomb of St. Peter so incensed the pope that he ordered the inscription effaced (after it was recorded) and the monument thrown into the Tiber. It was rescued by the pope's nephew, Cardinal Franceso Barberini, an avid collector of Roman antiquities.

Image ©2008 Indianapolis Museum of Art

Graphic Exchange

Graphic Exchange is an excellent site (if you have an interest in design that is). Fabien Barral takes the time to scour the world (wide web), and elsewhere, in search of great design. He also has a graphic-exchange program which nets him actual samples. I still remember the long-gone paper shows for all of the great samples one could collect (and not just at the free booze bars).

The site is a great place to be inspired. Find it here.

Images © their respective authors/producers

Annie Leibovitz at Work

Got the book yesterday, read it, and was quite pleasantly surprised. Ms. Leibovitz discusses in detail her thoughts and preparation on a wide range of shoots and subjects (the shoot of the Queen is especially interesting), from her long and storied career. It includes a number of photographs that are rather small and really don't do justice to many of the images (most especially the aforementioned Queen photographs).

I highly recommend it. You can get it here.

I Have a Way With Models

This is Steve Baldwin's daughter Eleanor. As you can see, she was quite immune to my witty chatter and photographic cajoling.

Image ©2008 Michael Morris

Not Sure This is Worth the Effort

I've realized that wordpress sucks as much as blogger (possibly more so). I'll give this a try again and if it doesn't work out, the world will be a better place with one less blog.