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The Black Laser

I have returned from Eugene, OR

I have returned from my trip in the wild, wooly western frontier. I was privvy to some of the best of what Northern California and Southern Oregon have to offer. Here are some highlights of the trip.

The Beer Stein, Eugene OR – Any serious beer fan owes it to themselves to check out this place if they are anywhere near Eugene, OR. They have precisely 1 million beers for sale from all over the world. Oh, did I mention their prices? Rock bottom. Charlie and I were dancing back and forth along their massive refrigerator walls trying to decide just how we were going to punish our livers next. This place is fucking amazing. It puts my beloved Brouwerij Lane here in Brooklyn to total shame. I even called stupid Jesse to tell him how awesome The Beer Stein was, but he didn’t pick up. Sucker.

Wolf Creek, OR – Though we only stopped in Wolf Creek for a few minutes to stretch our legs and get coffee on the long drive between home and Portola Valley, I was fortunate enough to see not one, but TWO men with knives on their belts. Wolf Creek is the kind of town that can be found anywhere across our great nation where the city fades out and people are left to fend for themselves. We could have been in Alaska or Alabama and Wolf Creek would have been exactly the same. The United States is not its New Yorks and San Franciscos; the United States is the Wolf Creeks across our land.

Black Bear Diner – You can find Black Bear Diners up and down I-5, between Washington state and the southwest states. I put it here not because the food is good (it isn’t), but because no where else have I seen so many awful puns in one place. I kid you not, I saw a waitress with a nametag that read, “Ambear”.

The maybe 3 good photos I took – They’re not ready yet. Be patient.

Amazing roadtrip games – These include, but are not limited to “3 People You Would Take On A Roadtrip”, “10 People You Would Invited To A Pool Party”, “I Like My Women Like I Like My…”, and “If You Had To Get A Phrase Other Than ‘Exit Only’ Tattooed On Your Lower Back Right Above Your Ass, What Would It Be?” One of my favorite answers for the 3 people on a roadtrip game was Charlie’s “Helen Keller”.

Troy pouring himself a beer in the closed hotel bar – That’s it.

Andy Stearns – Yes.

That the whole trip to Oregon can be summed up in these three photos –

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All in all, I would say that it was a successful trip and that a good time was had by all. Keep your eyes peeled for some photos I took while up there.

On singing in metal 5 – Attack Attack’s “Stick Stickly”

This has to be the most insipid, idiotic bullshit I’ve had the misfortune to endure since Avenged Sevenfold’s first record. If you cannot sing, DON’T THEN GO AND AUTOTUNE THE FUCK OUT OF YOUR PLAYGROUND POETRY WHINING TO MAKE IT SOUND “COOL”. I don’t want you to watch this. Really. You should, because you won’t understand what I’m talking about without doing so, but I sincerely apologize for forcing you to rot your ears with this trash. It’s cruel of me to subject you to this garbage.

And the bullshit Euro dance breakdown? It’s not even good dance music. It’s just more trash. These fucking idiots have gone and combined all these different styles—metal, hardcore, electro, crunk—into something that is far less than its parts. Instead of using those styles to make something fresh or smart or informed, they slapped everything together, not doing any of the bits particularly well. Just terrible.

The only good part of this is how funny the chubby lead singer looks as he bounces up and down like a fucking bobblehead on a dashboard.

Filmcore NY, RIP.

Today is my last day at work. Well, tomorrow I have to come in and do my exit interview, but that doesn’t really count. Today is really the last day. I started here in 2005 after a month of unemployment. I had quit my job at Whole Foods Union Square and spent a month doing a bunch of random shit when I fell into this job. It’s been a good place to grow and learn. I’ve definitely made good progress here.

And now it’s over.

You know what? Fuck it.

I’m going to go freelance as an assistant (resume available upon request) and I think that, ultimately, it will be better for me, just like last time when I quit Whole Foods because it was a dead-end shit hole. At least, if I keep telling myself that I feel better.

An era ends today, and another begins. Rock and roll. Goodbye, Filmcore.

03 – Philip is Hung Over

The alarm clock blared from across the room and Philip got up without opening his eyes, turned the goddamned thing off and collapsed back onto the bed.  Then he realized he was still drunk.  It was one of those pleasant post-drinking mornings where he didn’t wake up directly into a hang over, but rather that blissful middle ground where the tiredness of a late night out carousing with friends and not-friends was gone, yet the bleary minded bravado and casual sense of indestructibility remained, a calm, warm glow cast on the morning.  

The Year of 50 Short Stories and 5000 Photos – 6 months on

Today is June 1st which means it’s time for an update on my progress toward the Year of 50 Short Stories and 5000 Photos. Astute readers will have noticed that I continually update the box on the right side of this page with my current progress as I make photos or write, whether or not I post them here. What you will not know is that I have been keeping a log since January 14th of the progress I make per update. Here is the breakdown for my photographs.

Jan 14 23/5000 (0.460%)
Jan 17 152/5000 (3.040%)
Jan 19 230/5000 (4.600%)
Feb 16 354/5000 (7.080%)
Feb 21 659/5000 (13.180%)
Feb 24 1104/5000 (22.080%)
Feb 26 1202/5000 (24.040%)
Feb 28 1318/5000 (26.360%)
Mar 06 1834/5000 (36.680%)
Mar 07 1904/5000 (38.080%)
Mar 22 2013/5000 (40.260%)
Mar 23 2131/5000 (42.620%)
Mar 28 2206/5000 (44.120%)
Apr 20 2276/5000 (45.520%)
Apr 26 2400/5000 (48.000%)
May 08 2821/5000 (56.420%)
May 09 2919/5000 (58.380%)

You can see that not only has my progress been consistent, but that even early in May, I was beyond the 50% mark before half the year had elapsed. All in all, I think my progress has been appropriate and, frankly, pretty impressive. I’m surprised and pleased that I’ve stayed on track with this. Good job, Joe. Even better is that merely half way through my quota for the year, I can see and feel my photography improving. That is really encouraging and makes me want to get out there and keep making photos. The remaining 2000 (I have some on my camera waiting to be offloaded) should be a piece of cake. I will be interested to see what the final tally will be for the year.

Ok, thats great and all, but what about the other half? Let’s look at the breakdown.

Jan 14 0/50 (0.000%)
Mar 31 1/50 (2%)
Apr 07 2/50 (4%)

Ooooh. Not so good. 4% at the halfway point? Pretty fucking pathetic actually. So what’s my problem? I think I’m being my own worst enemy here. I’m getting caught in creative webs, constantly trying to write brilliant material so that when what’s coming out isn’t sparkling, I get dismayed and stop. BAD JOE! I need to learn from the photos—not every photo I take is brilliant, but every one counts. I just need to put the words down and then worry about them later. Luckily I have 6 months left, which averages out to about 2 stories every week. Totally doable. I just need not to be so fucking hard on myself with the writing and just let it be loose and creative and dark and funny and whatever. Not everything needs to be perfect. I need to remember that.

And with my impending unemployment, I will need to learn to schedule better and make time to be creative for the remaining 48. I can do it.

I will update on my progress when I hit 3/4s on September 1.