Daily Photos

< December 2007 >

December 1, 2007
J.S. Park should be ashamed: approving this VCR, when only 15 short years later it would stop working. I have no idea how to fix a VCR, but that didn`t prevent me from opening it up anyway. Maybe I should have unplugged it first before unscrewing the cover. A clockwork orange, yellow and white. Details, details.

December 2, 2007
No time to buy a card, but will a paper plate do? Get me some more paper plates. It`s good luck to touch the birthday girl. After the birthday party, a serious concert by candlelight. It was my first Christmas concert of the season, but there will be more to come.

December 3, 2007
It gives me a special kind of pride to see a sign I designed hung in the restroom. I suppose I should also be proud people have STOLEN two copies of my elevator sign (see September 18, 2007). When you`re board, write on the board. Each night before you go to bed, my baby, whisper a little prayer for me, my baby. THE SHIRELLES Hmm, that`s weird.

December 4, 2007
This is genuine too, just like June 6, 2005 (and in fact they`re both in the same room). The halls have been decked. Needless to say, there`s stained glass opposite this wall. Did you bring the chestnuts? Another interpretation of the window from June 18, 2004.

December 5, 2007
You can`t outrun winter. Shot out the window, of course. In case you didn`t know, your camera will photograph snow as gray instead of white, unless you tell it not to. What must the Chinese think of us when we pay them to manufacture millions of things like this? Holiday horror.

December 6, 2007
Homage to Wilson `Snowflake` Bentley. O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree, how lovely are thy branches. When light strikes snow the red photons are filtered out, leaving the violet photons to give the snow a blue tint. Angels we have heard on low, sweetly singing. In every good Shakespeare play, there`s a letter scene.

December 7, 2007
Between the smokers, the coffee-drinkers and the fast-food-eaters, the Earth is running out of room for trash. Purely ornamental, but effectively so. Only 104 days until spring. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck? Fallen leaves under a rushing stream.

December 8, 2007
Just like Silas Marner. `I`m having fun.` `Let`s rub noses like the Eskimoses.` There are no two of these alike. Zamboni, Zamboni.

December 9, 2007
Let`s go Krogering. Always bananas, sometimes oranges, never apples. Campbell`s Soup may be mmm-mmm-good, but the house brand is che-che-cheap. I`m more of a one-cheese Mexican myself. `Nice camera,` said the bagger boy (actually an older man with gray hair).

December 10, 2007
Things are looking up. Make of our lives one life, day after day, one life. Now it begins, now we start. One hand, one heart. STEPHEN SONDHEIM George and I are on a first name basis. Have you ever photographed a memory? After other people labor hard to decorate, I just stand there and press a button on my camera.

December 11, 2007
The library stays open 24 hours during exam week so students can study. The library stays open 24 hours during exam week so students can study. When taking a photo of something, put it into context. Don`t just show the thing all by itself. Recognize anything from November 15, 2007? That would be nice.

December 12, 2007
It`s changed a lot since June 15, 2004. Sunset is taking place over my left shoulder. Things you can see from an eleven-story parking garage. Flag over Fifth. Afraid of heights?

December 13, 2007
It`s always so sunny here in Dayton that people have to use parasols. The ceiling in the library is leaking AGAIN. On days like today I am just so proud to work in this building. The elevator in the library is broken AGAIN. On days like today I am just so proud to work in this building. The library building may be falling apart, but the people who work there are nice. How much I care about taking five pictures today.

December 14, 2007
Red and yellow, black and white, they are photogenic in my sight. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. LUKE 2:7 Ready for what? Wispy curls. Fake tree, fake candles, fake presents underneath.

December 15, 2007
`STOP! In the name of love!` Lindsay and Lynsee react in horror to see their friend Lenzie NOT wearing pink. All the things I was told I wasn`t supposed to do, these kids are being given prizes for. She`s the shy one of the family. There`s snow and sleet outside, but plenty of good pictures to be had inside.

December 16, 2007
If you think `Messiah` is a Christmas work, you need to pay closer attention to the words. Handel`s `Messiah` was presented in this little church in the wildwood. Due to bad weather and overall running-behindedness, this is what I wore to the concert. Even though I was in jeans, the roof didn`t collapse. Two bottlesa Jones.

December 17, 2007
We`ll have lots of fun with Mister Snowman, until the other kiddies knock `im down. You know that phrase `in the hot seat`? Well, this isn`t it. Near this building lives an unpleasant person who thinks nobody but him should park in front of his house. At the ice skating rink. Sometimes I feel like life is just passing me by.

December 18, 2007
Where did I put my glasses? I took fifty-two pictures of this melting snow. This is presumably the best one. Just you and me against the wind. Here`s one that lost the battle against the wind. Using a camera every days gives me literally a photographic memory. I took this and immediately recalled January 8, 2005.

December 19, 2007
It was only about 4:30, but by adjusting certain camera controls I can make it look darker. Fossil records reveal that prehistoric snowmen were shorter and slightly bent over. They`re heading west, maybe to catch a connecting flight. Ludwig looks better in it than I did (see November 15, 2007). Contrary to what you may have been told, yellow snow indicates an underground gas pipeline.

December 20, 2007
The light at the end of the car wash. Not everything out there is dead. Onward and upward. One leaf above the ice, the rest below. Remember the broken VCR from December 1? This is my Christmas present to myself. I need to go wrap it.

December 21, 2007
This little light isn`t mine. I told you on November 28 that the birds would start eating these once winter came. Today is the first day of winter. A university is a pretty nice place to work, especially when all the students are gone. Fortunately I only have to do this about once a month. Have you been naughty or nice?

December 22, 2007
Slivers of the sky. Over the river and over the woods to grandmother`s house we go. Reed anything interesting lately? It was a warm day, so I spent it hanging around Cox Arboretum. Real trees, real clouds, fake bird.

December 23, 2007
I got an early start on picture-taking today. A bird would have to be pretty hungry to eat these. After that year he saved Christmas, Rudolph became really vane. My new video deck handles VHS, VHS-C, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW . . . and sometimes Y. Have yourself a you-know-what.

December 24, 2007
Archipelago. Holiday cheer. Beneath the ice, canals are made by traveling air bubbles. Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow. `And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed . . . `

December 25, 2007
That says it all. Star of wonder, star of light. I guess I was a good boy this year after all. Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow. The must-have gift this year.

December 26, 2007
One berry will probably fill its stomach. I saw the balloons and suddenly had the irresistible urge to buy a used car. Sunny and pleasant. `It was broken when I got here.` Disappointment.

December 27, 2007
People walk past two large signs saying the lab is closed, then ask me `How come this computer doesn`t work?` Scenes from a chapel. The ribbons help you keep your place in the book. The book helps you keep your place in the world. Fewer and fewer people choose to take up the cloth. Is it a federal crime to deface a senator?

December 28, 2007
Staples on the desk -- indoors. Network cable and toner cartridge -- indoors. Mindless television -- indoors. Staircase -- indoors. Why all of today`s pictures are indoors.

December 29, 2007
Missed her by one day. For when you REALLY gotta go. I`m such a conservationist, I didn`t even leave footprints. I put them in a bag and took them home for recycling. Trust me, it`s not worth the climb. There`s a road up there. Oh great, NOW I notice the sign.

December 30, 2007
Lunch. One of the great musicians of our time: Dan Fogelberg, 1951 - 2007. Corner of Brown and Hess, in case your`re looking for it. Looks like a trap to me. Traces of prehistoric cats.

December 31, 2007
Neighborhood watch. Whenever a member of the royal family makes a blunder, there are always photographers on hand to publicize it. Bring a torch, Jeanette Isabella. Outside the museum. Inside the museum.

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