I enjoyed watching the Fort Payne Fireworks celebration Thursday evening. Due to the need for social distancing, the city skipped the usual on-site entertainment, which I think was the right call considering how rapidly the coronavirus is spreading right now.
I went with my daughter and watched from the parking lot of the Wills Valley Recreation Center.
I love America with all of my heart. That’s why I am very concerned (and angry) about foreign interference in our elections and our way of life.
Currently, the Russian government led by Vladimir Putin is meddling in our society, having weaponized social media in 2016 to affect the outcome of that year’s presidential election.
I feel bad for the Russian people, who’ve been victimized by their own sham election this week. Election officials there confirmed almost 78 percent of the voters supposedly backed constitutional amendments, one of which will see presidential term limits reset, allowing Putin to run for the job again in 2024 and in 2030 if he so chooses. Independent observers have cried foul, claiming the results are obviously rigged. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who urged citizens to boycott the referendum and not take part in legitimizing the outcome, called the results “a fake and huge lie.”
Read More
I did a new fashion photoshoot Tuesday with a new model, Bonnie W. It was loosely inspired by Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910 – May 23, 1934) who, along with Clyde Barrow, traveled the Central United States with a criminal gang during the Great Depression, known for bank robberies.
Since the international protests over the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, white people have gone out of our way to demonstrate that we aren’t racist.
This was perhaps best demonstrated by a cringe-worthy public service announcement in which white celebrities like Kristen Bell, Aaron Paul, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sarah Paulson, Stanley Tucci, and a slate of other A-list celebrities appeared on black and white video staring dramatically at the camera and saying correct but pretentious-sounding things about snuffing out racism. It felt like virtue signaling, inserting themselves into a legitimate and important discussion with an air of self-importance.
I haven’t really publicized it before, but it’s worth noting that I am serving on a couple of boards for local organizations that are near and dear to my heart. It is my hope that by mentioning them to anyone following this blog, our membership ranks can grow as we set out to do some pretty amazing stuff.
Read More
Not sure if an opportunity is legit. These tips will hopefully give you more information to sort out scams from real gigs.
My model and photographer friends, please be wary of people who claim to be art directors, photographers, or international modeling agents for publications such as major men’s lifestyle brands such as Maxim or Playboy. I know the excitement this can generate as we instantly get stars in our eyes and feel as if our big break is happening. Well, it’s too good to be true and may actually be a scam.
I’m writing this blog because the majority of casting scams are for modeling gigs. Although there are lots of real model casting calls as well, be extra cautious when considering modeling opportunities. The key to avoiding disappointment is recognizing how these scammers work. That’s the point of this blog…Read More
Here are some fresh edits from my shoot with the lovely Destin. She has a great eye for art, so it was easy to communicate what I wanted to her. She really is a remarkable young woman, beautiful, fit, and wicked smart.
I met her at a wedding at the Mentone Springs Hotel in the spring of 2013. She was a guest of the couple, and I was immediately struck by her beauty, physical fitness, and charisma. She had an unmistakable presence. I knew I wanted to know her better and photograph her. Luckily, she didn’t dismiss me as some old weirdo.
This was my third shoot with Destin. Our first collaboration was in June 2013 at Sylvania Lake, our second happened in September 2013 at the fairgrounds during fall carnival week.
Tonight is my only child’s high school graduation. I am so very proud of my girl.
We learned a week ago that Fort Payne High School would be having an in-person graduation commencement ceremony after all. This seemed unlikely just a week ago as we remained on lock-down to contain the community spread of COVID-19 novel coronavirus. But then Gov. Kay Ivey said “Open ‘er up” and the floodgates exploded under the accumulated pressure of thousands of people eager to leave their houses.
Tonight, I hope you’ll indulge me as I gush about my favorite person in the whole wide world: my daughter Miranda.
I’m not getting to parade her around as the best of my creations, so I am indulging myself a bit in trumpeting how wonderful she is here in this space.
I’ve become an avid reader of history. It occurred to me that, from historical accountings, the tragedy of the RMS Titanic is a near-perfect metaphor for the catastrophic pandemic we are experiencing 108 years later.
When the doomed ocean liner struck an iceberg on April 15, 1912, the crew faced a difficult reality: The vessel they arrogantly deemed so safe that “even God can’t sink her” was going to fill up with water and plummet to the bottom of the ocean.
There weren’t enough lifeboats because they presumed they’d never need them. Ships that size could carry up to 48 lifeboats, but Titanic only left port carrying a total of 20. This was only enough capacity for 1,178 – about half the number of 2,224 passengers and crew on board.
Employees of the White Star Line faced the inescapable inevitability that thousands of people who had entrusted them for safe passage from Ireland to New York City were going to die horrible deaths suffocating in the icy waters of the North Atlantic.
As you might recall from watching the classic Academy Award-winning film about it, the crew feared a rush on those lifeboats if word got out about it, so they LIED to the passengers in second- and third-class while the first-class passengers leisurely made their way onto the lifeboats. Many of the lifeboats were only partially loaded, with a disproportionate number of men left aboard because of a “women and children first” protocol.
The Titanic disaster was met with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life, as well as the regulatory and operational failures that led to it. Public inquiries in Britain and the United States led to major improvements in maritime safety.
Similarly, there are sure to be Congressional hearings into the failures that have led to the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands of Americans and the overwhelming of our health care system’s supply of Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE.
Just consider all of the parallels…
Read More
