LG and FFC

10 January 2008
If you followed last year's posts, or know anything about me, you've realised that I'm a football fan. A died-in-the-head footy fan with my love resting squarely on the shoulders of the great Arsenal Football Club in North London. Recently (last October), I had cause to go to London on a business trip. Getting tickets to an English Premier League match can be a real nightmare for anyone who doesn't already have a "buying history" with a club. And touting (scalping) is seriously illegal carrying extremely heavy fines, bans and jail time. So, I was thrilled to receive news upon our arrival in London that a co-worker had arranged tickets for us to an EPL match. It wasn't Arsenal, but that didn't matter so much, as it was an English Premier Football match - that's all that really mattered to me at the moment. After years of yearning and pining from afar, I had the opportunity to witness in person that which I'd only ever seen on the telly. So we went to see Derby play Fulham at Craven Cottage with one of our vendors. Great fun. But, this photo is about none of that. It's instead of the laniard that the Fulham Football Club gifted me on the way in the door. I immediately attached it to my camera, so now it goes with me everywhere my camera goes. One of the more interesting things about English Football is the level of sponsorship that goes on. In fact, my friend Terrill didn't know for years that JVC wasn't the name of Arsenal because that JVC was considerably larger than the clubs own name and crest on the strip. Thanks to Manchester United's money-spinning methods in the 80's, this sponsorship has become almost comically common-place. So it is with Fulham FC, too. Their sponsor is LG (Life's Good) and adorns nearly every bit of club gear, & souvenirs...like my laniard.

Unfortunately, the photo is blurry. Even more unfortunately I only took two photos on the 10th and this is the better of the two.
Cheers.

~KR (Written on 11 January 2008)

Listening to:
Change is on the Wind by Temple Scene

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 1 sec (1)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 1 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

Tags: EPL, FOOTBALL, ARSENAL, FULHAM, DERBY, SOUVENIR, LONDON, ENGLISH+PREMIER+LEAGUE, SOCCER, PHOTOBLOG, LANIARD

Sun Glare Preventer Thing

10 January 2008
So, I'm sitting at a stoplight on my way home from work and I'm looking around the car for no particular reason. I noticed, for the first time, that above my rear-view mirror there is a small layer of what looks like perforated vinyl stuck on the glass. Ostensibly it's to prevent the sun glare from coming through the gap between the top of the mirror and the roof and blinding me. I appreciate it's usefulness, because I've never yet been blinded by glare coming through that spot. Those auto-designers, they're a right smart lot.

Cheers.

~KR (Written on: 11 January 2008)

Listening to:
Don't Rock Me by The Mofos

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 80
Exposure Bias: 1 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

Tags: SUNSHIELD, GLARE, CAR, AUTO, PHOTOBLOG

The Coffee Cup

6 January 2008
The coffee cup from which I have my morning vice each and every day (when I'm at home). Some years back, Marita Beth and I were skiing with a batch of friends in Santa Fe, New Mexico. During the required shopping portion of the trip, we stumbled into a Southwestern-flavoured knick-knack & curio shop. They also had coffee cups. Cool, coffee cups. Handmade and decorated, I just liked it too much not to take it home with me. Mine is decorated with stylized Southwestern(y) Saguargo cacti:

Marita Beth's is decorated with Goddess figures dancing under a moon. They're both lovely, insofar as coffee cups can be lovely.
Cheers.

~KR (Written on: 8 January 2008)

Listening to:
Don't Take a Step by sma

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.6 sec (3/5)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 1 EV Flash: Flash did not fire

Tags: COFFEE, CUP, HANDMADE, PHOTOBLOG

Contrail Patterns

8 January 2008
On Sunday my wife told me of a documentary she had watched on the History Channel. Always eager to learn, I perked up. But, I don't think I perked up quite as much as my BS meter did. The documentary centered itself on contrails and a particular theory surrounding their creation. It seems, according to this show (which I've not seen, I hasten to add, making this 2nd hand theory-rousing), that the wide, flat contrails that maintain themselves sufficiently long enough to become cirrus clouds are in fact put there on purpose. See, our government is loading military jets full of toxic chemicals and creating these massive contrails in an effort to control or reduce Global Warming. Unh-huh.

Whether you subscribe to this theory (which apparently has been around since early 2001 or so) or not, you have to admit they do make pretty patterns in the sky.
Cheers.

~KR (Written on: 9 January 2008)

Listening to:
It's Time They Knew by The Swimmers

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 80
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

Tags: CONSPIRACY+THEORY, CONTRAILS, SUNSET, SKY, BLUE, PHOTOBLOG, TEXAS

Self-Portrait

7 January 2008
So, the mini-challenge this week is "self-portrait." I did a couple last year, but wasn't happy with the result. I suppose some things never change. Mayhaps I shall try again later in the week; but, until then, here's my most recent self-portrait:

My wife says the composition speaks volumes about me. I'm not sure what that means. :-)
Cheers.

~KR (Written on 8 January 2008)

Listening to:
Party Girl Hallelujah by John Holiday

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.3 sec (3/10)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 1 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

Tags: SELF-PORTRAIT, ME, RINGS, FINGER, EYES, FACE, HAND, PHOTOBLOG

Graffitti

5 January 2008
Emerging from a local establishment on this Saturday, I espied the sign. It entreats, due to City Ordinance, people to not Rollerblade or Skateboard on the sidewalk. One presumes, at least this one presumes, that the Ordinance was enacted due to either abuse or accident. Either way, someone apparently took umbrage at the sign recently as it sports a new coat of paint:
.
As if covering up the words someone invalidates the ordinance.
Cheers.

~KR (Posted on: 7 January 2008)

Listening to:
You Injured Me by HTRK

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 80
Exposure Bias: 1 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

Tags: GRAFFITTI, PAINT, BRICK, ARCHITECTURE, SIGN, PHOTOBLOG

Petrol Thingamajiggy

4 January 2008
Still trying to make the mundane pretty, or at least interesting. On my way home from work, I had to stop for petrol. While standing outside the vehicle, I thought, "there's lots of opportunities for cool photos here. I just have to find them." So, I got out the camera and snapped a series of photos: of the pump, the nozzle, the credit card reader, the digital counter and this one.

This is the thingamajig that holds the pump handle up so your hand doesn't cramp while you throw money into your gas tank.
Cheers.

~KR (Posted on: 7 January 2008)

Listening to:
Y Gwydr Glas by 9Bach

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.6 sec (3/5)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 1 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

Tags: GASOLINE, PETROL, PUMP, CLOSE-UP, PHOTOBLOG