Could You Hold This For Me, Please?

I've been looking for a photo hosting site. You'd think this would be pretty easy, but it's not.

Here's what I want:

• a place that doesn't limit my storage space, especially by month (because sometimes I take a lot of pictures)
• a place that makes it easy for people to see my pictures, either by theme or by new ones uploaded
• a place with user forums where I can get some feedback from experienced photographers... yeah, it'll sting for a while, but it's the only way to get better, so bring it on
• a place that will allow me to sell prints
• a place with a clean interface and quick servers
• it would be great if it interfaced with slide and blogger so that I didn't have to have my pictures on multiple sites
  

I don't think it's a lot to ask, but there are not many that seem up to the task. So, I'm trying zenfolio. Has anyone else used it? Any other suggestions?

Bryan Adams

I'm facing a bit of a dilemma.

I have been enjoying blogging, and I really appreciate my friends who are reading regularly. And I want to tell you all about the show last night. I really do.

On the other hand, if I put everything here, it's going to reduce the impact of my annual concert review (ACR). And I hate to do that.

So I'll give you a bit here, but for the full story, you're going to have to wait. Here are the highlights:

1. This show was a little more ballad-heavy and acoustic than the others I've seen him do. That clearly suited a lot of people who were there, but, honestly, I was in the mood to rock. When I saw him last in Montreux, it was a really amazing, party kind of atmosphere, and I didn't have the same sense this time... fewer people around me were dancing, there was a lot more swaying... it was okay, but not the best I've seen him do. Still, when he rocked, he really rocked.



2. I got some pictures. Crap pictures, as is to be expected with a compact camera in a dark place, but proof, nonetheless, that I was there.



3. They played "Big Bottom" in the music before the show. I think it's the first time I've heard that.

4. The opening band was really, really good. The best opener I've heard since Maroon5, and maybe the best I've ever seen outside of Ted Nugent. ("Are you ready to rock? 'Cause Uncle Ted's got a little something called.... CAT SCRATCH FEVER!"). They were a Swiss band called Lovebugs, which, I think you will agree, may be the worst name ever in the history of music that wasn't proceeded by "the". But they could play, and they could sing... man, can they sing... and their songs were strong. I'm even go as far as to say that, in terms of tempo, they made BA look a bit weak. And that takes some doing.

5. Operation Blonde Canadian was a complete and dismal failure. "Baby, Since You're Gone" was performed by Lisa, a charismatic and apparently not at all shy Swiss-German who could not sing to save her life. A+ for effort, but it was a bit of a let-down. And that's all I have to say about that until the ACR.

6. I made a friend in the bathroom, playing the "hey, you're from Canada - do you know..." game (and I'm proud to say that I scored a direct hit on the first try, simply by the province he's from and the company he works for). I know what you're thinking... "yeah, Darryl, you're always making friends in bathrooms and stuff" but, you'll be surprised to know, that this is the first time this has happened to me, and since it occurred while we were washing, it was not nearly as creepy as I would have expected.

7. He still looks like Olli.

Next up is Lionel Richie (yeah, I know) if I can find the ticket...

Geneva Street

I went out and took a few shots at lunchtime yesterday. This is what you missed:

Yesterday Was Grafitti Day

Whoops. Missed it.

He was WAY cooler before someone put gum on his nose, but still, I like it.

Geneva Lakeside

Some pictures from tonight. The light was fantastic, I had some great tunes playing... it feels like summer is on the way.

Crazy Man Builds Pile Outside Of McDonalds

My first attempt at photojournalism. It does not bode well for my Pulitzer aspirations, I'm afraid.

When I was out a couple days ago, I saw this guy coming up to a tree outside a McDonald's in Geneva. He gathered up all the trash in the tree well, and then started to use a pair of scissors to dig through the grate to pull up branches, maybe some roots, and the garbage that was there.

He was frantic, and intense, digging like crazy. And it was cold - everyone around was in a winter coat, and my hands were cold taking these shots, but he was in shorts, a t-shirt, and dress shoes. In the end, he built his pile of trash and sticks, and found a straw to stick in the top like a flag. He then went into the restaurant, was there for about 3 minutes, and came out with a little more garbage. He put that with the rest, and then walked off.

I waited a while for him to come back, but either he didn't or it was after I got too cold to wait any longer. I figured maybe he was going to light it on fire, which is what I would have done, had I taken the trouble of collecting all that stuff on a cold day when I was so inappropriately dressed, but he didn't. I almost lit it on fire for him, but then decided that perhaps one questionable guy hanging around the McD's entrance was enough.

Performance art? Protest? Crazy guy? I have no idea. Pretty interesting, though.

She was pretty much unrelated to the digging-with-scissors guy. But I like the shot, and it was on the same day.

[EDIT] Troy has pointed out that, in fact, my crazy man appears to be a crazy woman. Does that make it better or worse? I don't know, but it goes a long ways towards explaining the lack of fire.

Roger Rabbit

I couldn't believe it when I came home and saw this in my mailbox. This is an actual flyer for a grocery store. Rabbit, however you like it.

"Daddy, is that the Easter Bunny?"

One Of Those Days

I'm having one of those days when my mind (and maybe more) is not working like I want it to... I feel like something inside has shut down, given up, taken the ball and gone home. And the rest of me wouldn't mind following.

I had a lot of years of living that way - living more internally than externally - and it would be easy to slide back into it. It's easy, it's safe, and it's predictable. But it's a funny thing... since getting a good taste of what truth is like, the comfort that can come from living in even a well-meant fantasy has lost its sheen. I remember how good it felt when I was lost in the middle of it, but I can see now that it's like the numbness that sets in on a cold, cold day... it's not a sign that I'm getting warmer and better. It's a sign that I just don't feel the cold anymore, and if I stay there for too long it will kill me.

It's a funny thing about hypothermia - eventually, you just don't care. You let it kill you because you don't have the strength or will left to do otherwise. I've heard stories of people taking off their clothes and walking naked into a blizzard to their death. By the end, the lie has such a hold on them that they don't even know what the truth is.

But I know better, now.

So I'm choosing to face the cold head-on. To feel it and let it buffet me and mark me, to chill me to the bone but not to numb me. The storms that I've lived through have not made me weak or sad or frightened to carry on; they've given me muscle where I had fat, sight where I had nothing but confusion, and faith and hope where I could not see any reason for hope. And this one won't be any different. So bring on the wind, the cold, the pain and the confusion. I'm ready.

In The News - ANS and Market Trends

So, Anna Nicole Smith's death is confirmed as a drug overdose and the markets in North America take a dive. Coincidence? I think not. I just need to wait for Jon Stewart to be sure.

Shopping After Hours

Geneva is a good place to window-shop, since they usually display the prices and the shops are closed most of the time. I saw these two checking out watches a couple evenings ago.

Walking Home

I got these shots walking home from church this afternoon and then down by the lake this evening.

The View From Here

The fountain in front of my bank in Lugano. Makes it feel like time for a weekend, doesn't it?

Socks

For me, this is the epitome of the wisdom found in that old saying, "don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today."

I usually try to match my socks after each load of laundry so there are fewer to deal with. But sometimes I'm in a rush - I need to get them out of the way and I don't have time to put them together. That's a bad idea.

Today, I used my last matched pair of black socks. And was faced - taunted, even - by about 3000 individual black socks sitting in my drawer. Of those 1500 possible pairs, I have about 1480 different styles. These styles share about 99.98% of their sock DNA in common. Generally thin, with very few distinguishing features... there's one pair with pinstripes, a couple with a distinctive band around the top, but most are just.... black.

And to make it worse, there are some blue ones in there - very dark blue that have an identical style to some of the black ones, and completely indistinguishable under incandescent lighting, but, once in natural light, show their true colors.

And so I am faced with a choice. I could spend most of Sunday surrounded by a pile of socks, or I can hope for sunshine and the start of sandal season. Looking at the forecast, I don't like the direction this seems to be going. Or how about this - if anybody is free on Sunday, maybe we can have something like an old-fashioned barn-raising party. You know, lemonade, pound cake, and good friends in a circle, sharing stories, laughing and matching up socks. We could even do like a "go fish" kind of game or something. They're all clean, after all.

Any takers?

Words To Enter The Weekend By

I've been posting a lot of pictures. And I love pictures. But I also love words, and music, and I've discovered that I am much happier if I have all three in my life. So while I was coming home from the airport today, here's what I was listening to - words and music by Starfield. If you don't know the tune, you can't hear it from there, but this section starts off quietly and then builds into an absolutely pounding crescendo a là Beautiful Day.

If You should speak
Or should remain in silence
Should give me light, or lead me through the dark

Whatever cost
Whatever joy or sorrow
I'll worship still
Because of who You are

When death becomes
The end of all my labors
And Christ alone my rest and reward

May all I've done
Be one enduring echo
Resounding on to shout
Great is the Lord

Chairs, In Groups Of Three

Because everything is 3x better if you can do it while sitting.

Milano - The Movie

Chris made a fun video of our trip to Milan - check it out:



Also, you can check out his blog here. Enjoy!

And More Pictures From Lugano

Did I mention that I really like this camera? I managed to get a few more after work. My goal is to have the first page of my blog completely inaccessible for anyone with a slow internet connection. And I think it's going right according to plan.

They were doing construction on the front of this store for ages (it's between my hotel and office). I love the new look... nice in the day, but even better by night.





I KNOW I'm not the only one who finds this amusing.


Cleaning up at the end of the market day.






Here it is again, at night - it makes the whole square glow, which may turn out to be kind of hideous in the long run, but since this is the first time I'm seeing it, I like it.

Wednesday Is Graffiti Day

No throwing out Nazis. Or something.

Lunch In Lugano

The fun with the new camera continues. Still a little cold, but some better light today...

My New Camera

Well, I got the camera, and decided to take it for a spin tonight... cold wind, encroaching darkness and lack of knowledge or not. Here are some of the my first shots.

Stubby trees along the lake.



Some flowers with the lake, the city, and the Jura behind them.



Public toilets. Inviting, eh?



The stubby trees again, but in the hood of a Merc.



In the park across from the lake.



I like the texture.



LOVE the design of this window. Gorgeous.



A garage.



Nothing says "we only sell heirloom-quality jewelry" quite like a clown with a drum.



Watches and bars.



More watches and bars.



In a cafe near my home.



By the little dog statue, as my little chick knows.



My street.