Something bad happened....

Something real bad.

Don, my brother-in-law's (the not so ugly one) website.

AMA: Anna Nicole Smith meltdown

I finally found a copy of Anna Nicole Smith's meltdown on the very cool blog milk and cookies. The short QuickTime movie is worth watching. Smith looks drunk, stoned, or stupid (or all three).

Enjoy

Trumpy Brandy butter-Fairy

BBC - What is your secret Christmas name

Mine is at best way off the mark, I mean butter-fairy! oh come on! Why not Big Christmas Pine. Trumpy Brandy Butter-Fairy is just wrong. No wonder I got lousy gifts as a child.

Nutball - Do you really expect me to believe...

Guadalupe Feng Shui Flags

ok - somebody is going to buy these things. Then I'm going to sneak up and take a picture while yelling NUTBALL.

This is just freaken weird

The Bran Flakes - Closer!

But work safe and yummy fun too!

Long Beach Art Project #2

I took a brief walk around the "East Village" in downtown Long Beach today and shot a couple of the public art pieces. As I said in my previous post, I will be posting these images as I come across them. This first piece is quite colorful and impressionistic. I am not sure what aspect of Long Beach it represents, but I do like it.


© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

The piece below is clearly depicting the starlings that inhabit much of downtown Long Beach. I love the colors, they are very bold.


© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

This piece is depicting the Queen Mary and local palm trees. I am not sure if it qualifies as art, but it is much better than graffiti.


© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I am very interested in this project. I hope that it will spread beyond the downtown area because much of Long Beach has a distinct "inner city" look to it. Still, Long Beach has come a long way since the bad old days of the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's. Well... maybe not such a long way, but there is hope.

Sometimes I feel stupid

Chapter 11 © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I was walking around on my way to dinner tonight when I passed this bumper sticker on the window of an old building. I thought to myself, "…but from what book?" Well, then I realized the sticker was about bankruptcy. Like I said, sometimes I feel stupid.

Nutball - Cleanliness

Cleanliness:

I hope this guy is not serious. His website talks about how to keep clean. Chapter headings:

Keeping Clean
Digging a Latrine
Poem: What if Jesus Came
Biblical Cleaness of Teeth.

I mean - WTF?

Prehistoric Pets

© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I made a quick trip to Prehistoric Pets in Fountain Valley Friday. The store is reptile heaven. My son and I spent time feeding the turtles and fish. For about three dollars, you can buy a couple dozen mealworms, then feed the monster fish (30lbs and over), and turtles (several dozen large ones!). If you are lucky, a 6-foot Nile Monitor lizard will be in the water. I've seen little girls and boys pee their pants when this big lizard rises up out of the water instead of a fish.

Prehistoric Pets has in shop parties, and does birthdays. I've had them out for a my son's birthday, it was a blast. They brought a snake so big I had trouble holding it. Visiting the store is quite an experience. It is unlike any other pet store I've ever been in. They sold me an albino king snake a few years ago. It's been a great pet ever since I bought it, except that it bites me a lot.

Kids with tude

© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Every now and then you are lucky enough to caputure attitude in a photo. These kids have enough of attitude to keep me happy for awhile.

Thanksgiving at the Sello's

Thanksgiving by the fire © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

It was a slightly chilly last night, 65 degrees or so, during this years Thanksgiving party at the Sello’s. I spent most of the night outside by the fires eating and drinking, and eating and drinking, and eating and drinking. It was great. I look forward to this party all year, the food is always outstanding. We had two fires going most of the night. The fireside conversation was great. My “keen” observation of the night (after having attended 25 of these events), we all seem to be getting a little older.


Imogen & Omar © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Imogen played host to the evening's outside activities. Imogen is an outstanding baker (her carrot cake is a 10), and mixes a mean drink. Imogen and her longtime boyfriend Omar are a couple of the nicest non-relative/relatives that I know. It’s always a pleasure seeing them again. --- Thanks for a great party!


Bowlegged © Copyright 2004 Mojoey
We have a few interesting characters in the family. Take my brother-in-law Steve, besides being downright ugly, Steve also has the nicest pair of bowlegs on the planet. For this picture, Steve posed with feet together looking strait at me. You could toast a marshmellow through the gap.

Long Beach Art Project

I've noticed that the City of Long Beach has started converting utility boxes, bus stops, and various other pieces of public property to public art installations. the only thing is that some of it is bad, like this "stay in school" utility box off of Long Beach Blvd by the main post office,



and some of it is kind of good, like this hot mama serving food off second street.



I'm a big supporter of public art. I will spend some time shooting the various installations located in and around downtown Long Beach and then posting them to my blog as part of a new project. I think the project is limited to downtown Long Beach, but I’m not sure. Please let me know of any installations that you know of.

Carson Ugly # 16 - Gray and Bleak

© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Carson is involved in endless redevelopment. Carson has some of the last large patches of open land in Los Angeles. However, no amount of redevelopment can make something this industrial-ugly look better; it is gray and bleak of the sunniest days.

Why Nutballs?

ABC News: 5 Killed, 3 Hurt in Wis. Hunting Dispute

I am asked this question over and over by people who read my blog. What is it about nutballs that fascinates you? I think it is best to start with a definition of nutball. A nutball is a person, or group of people, who act in a way that a rational person would intuitively understand to be well… NUTS! Take the case of Chai Vang, a deer hunter who killed five other hunters on November 21. His actions are clearly outside of the bounds of normal behavior. At most, Vang should have yelled at the other hunters, then realized he was wrong and walked to a new place to hunt. Instead he opens fire on his fellow hunters, killing 5. Vang is a nutball. I do not mean he is insane. I am not a doctor and do nut even pretend to understand physiology. I mean, what he did was so wrong that any rational person would instantly know it to be wrong.

Another example is the Diana Duyser, who is trying to sell her “Virgin Mary” toast on eBay. It only takes a few minutes for any rational person to realize that anybody who keeps a piece of toast in a sealed Lucite container for 10 years in hopes that it is a holy relic, is well… a nutball. (Which reminds me, my son used to collect french fries…)

So, why do I pick on religious nutballs so much? The answer is easy, they give me so much to choose from, especially the Christian fundamentalists, and those misguided souls in a cult, or one of those “made up” religions, like Wicca. I was just reading the other day about a group wanting to convene their coven in a local school. Stories like this stick out as potential nutballs, and often they are so much more. Take the holy toast lady, Diana Duyser, she spawned a group of copy cats that are selling everything from “I ate the holy toast t-shirts”, to holy cheese burgers, holy onion rings, and holy replica Virgin Mary toasts.

Of all the groups that I watch, Fundamentalist Christians give me the most material. Their “the end is near” machinations and endless harping on tedious public issues, brings them to my reading list almost daily. In every case, the positions they take are so outside the mainstream that they tend to be comedy acts rather than something that is taken seriously. Take the Texas school science book warning about “Evolution being a controversial theory”. A rational person sees through the crap and says nutball. Fundamentalist pushed to put it in place to give credence to their asinine view that the world was created ten thousand years ago and that God’s hand was to guide our evolution as an “intelligent design”. Any rational person knows that the Theory of Evolution is a scientific fact and does not attempt to explain the origin of life on earth, but only how species evolved over time.

I can go on and on, don’t get me started.

Newcastle Beer Message

© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I had my first Newcastle on Saturday. I'm hooked. oh, I can also see that I will be collecting beer caps too!

The Group Mind

© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

This is what remains of the Group Mind (less me of course). We started Pepperdine's MBA program as five, then one of had a melt down, leaving four. On the left, is Mike, middle is Cezar, and on the right is Pete. I could not have gone this far through the program without them.

foj - Pete Bresne

© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Pete is a classmate of mine at Pepperdine. He's smart, funny, and very low key. If I did not know for a fact that his roots are in New York, I would have sworn he was a socal local.

Poker?

© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

What the hell does this ad have to do with Poker?

oh, oh, cool site alert

World-Mysteries.com

I don't know how I missed this one, but it is too cool for words! Sections look at the mysteries of the bible, nostradamus, fuente Magna, Phaistos Disk, the Catalan Atlas, Sacred Symbols... I could waste a whole day here.

Enjoy

A little offbeat

I came across this site in an art mag a few months ago, and then forgot it. Then I heard it mentioned on KROQ (of all places), and went back for another go. It's still a hoot.

*** WARNING *** Not Work Safe

The site is called Naked, it undresses normal people as they spin around in a circle. The site's intro, which is work safe, reads:

"Naked. Something that every single one of us experiences in varying degress of pride, shame, audacity and reserve. What's the big deal? We see naked bodies all the time. At least, we see well-crafted, smooth, Airburshed bodies all the time. The fascination with these images lies in the fact they are ordinary people who have decided to take off their clothes in front of the camera. They are not supermodels. They are not famous actors. The are you. The are me. They are us."

Let me tell you, if people think this is porn, they are out of thier minds. If this were porn, the porn business would be out of business. The people shown are ordinary in every respect. I found myself exploring every picture. Did I mention it comes with sound too? The sound clips are better than the pictures.

enjoy if you dare.

Kerry Al Qaeda

© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

This is the second hand drawn anti-Kerry sign (the first is here) I've seen on Redondo in Long Beach. I stopped this time and got out to take pictures up close, a local shopkeeper asked me if I was FBI. Go figure.

I looked around but could not find any more. Oh well.

King of Bikes

© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I saw this building today on Long Beach Blvd. When I first looked at it, I thought, "Wow, why would somebody name a business King of Dikes?". Then I realized it was the sun reflecting off the "B".

Crayons at TGIF

© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

This picture is for Theme Thursday category “Everyday Things”. We eat at TGIF a lot because it is my son’s favorite restaurant. These are the crayons that are given to each child as they sit down. They seem pretty"everyday" to me.

Lowrider Bike

© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I saw this kid on a his bike at the corner of Del Amo and Norwalk in Cerritos/East Lakewood. He was just sitting there showing the world his prized ride.

foj - Mike Barber

© Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Mike is a funny and fun loving guy who cannot hold his alcohol, and is a great guy to be around. I have been in a study group with Mike, Pete, and Cesar (both to be pictured here soon) for the last 15 months while pursuing my MBA at Pepperdine. I am still learning how to use my new Nikon D70, so I took this opportunity to shoot with it while in portrait mode, which shallows the depth of field to blur the background while focusing on the subject. I shot a few pictures using this setting today, I like the results.

Oh, one other thing, I had two pictures of Mike I could have put up. This is the nice one. It does not get much better, poor guy.

Fun Fundie Quiz

Are you a Fundy? find out by taking this quiz. I think passthebread is a fundy, what about you?

btw - Fundy is short for right wing christian fundamentalist.

*** Update ***

I touched a nerve with this one, passthebread seems pissed.

Susan Mernit's Blog

Susan Mernit's Blog

Susan's blog is interesting, I'm going to add it to my daily read list.

Nutball alert - holy toast

Woman 'blessed by the holy toast'

I had no idea the Virgin Mary could appear on food. I understand Diana Duyser is trying to sell it on Ebay, which makes the story even better. I did a quick search on eBay and found dozens of entries for vision-inspired toast, the jokes are running rampant.

Yum, Virgin Mary on Toasted cheese sandwich, I bid $10.

Kevin Sites (spit) Blog

Kevin Sites Blog

I was intrigued by the motivation behind the release the video of a marine shooting an terrorist in a mosque in Fallujah. Did a video of this incident really need to be shown on Al-Jazeera? Is it not adding fuel to the fire of hatred? Whose team is Kevin Sites on? We are at war, giving the enemy the tools to fight us is wrong.

My gut tells me to look closely at the source. It could be a case of self-aggrandizing, or even worse, a reporter with an anti-war bias. It turns out to be both. Kevin Sites is both a self-promoter and against the war. Great, Sites has a blog, which constantly seeks to humanize the enemy, and has posted to ImagesAgainstWar.com, a site that is very much against the war.

I ask this question: If the storyteller is biased, can the story be trusted?

Turning to the Marine, did he do something wrong? I don’t know. But, putting myself in his place, I would have to say I would be more inclined to shoot booby trapped holy warrior terrorists, than to offer aid. When you shoot from a holy place, blow up innocent people, cut the heads off non-combatants, and execute aid workers, a bullet in the head is well… fitting and just.

Kevin Sites, in your own words "you are either with us, or against us", it looks like you are against us.

World Sunlight Map

World Sunlight Map - die.net

This is another cool link. It is a map showing cloud cover and sunlight across the world on a rectangular proejction map. Too cool for words. Check it out.

Theo Van Gogh's murder left a message pinned to his chest

Read the letter translated into English care of FaithFreedom.org here.

Margaret Hassan Murdered

Relief worker feared slain

Damn, every week it is something new. Every week it seems more senseless, there murders are not part of the human race. There is no justification for this crime; no rational stretch of any agenda would authorize it. Margaret Hassan was murdered by men who deserve no better that they gave.

Here we have a woman show has served the deserving men, woman, and children of Iraq for nearly 30 years. Her thanks, a bullet in the head.. It sickens me. Just when I think there may be opportunities for peace, something like this happens and my heart hardens again. All I want is vengeance. Make those responsible for this, and the many other crimes already committed, pay with their lives

LGF has a good discussion going on this one: I call it 'Allah must be proud'.
Jihad Watch has a good discussion going here.


R.I.P. Margaret Hassan

Sponge Bob for Mike

Sponge Bob © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

My son insisted I take this shot, then he insisted I post it here.

For Michael.

Kerry BOTOX

Kerry BOTOX © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Did he really use BOTOX? Damn...

Location: Redondo North of 3rd Street in Long Beach Ca.

Billboard Graffiti - Impeach Bush

Impeach Bush © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Another angry democrat strikes on 2rd Street in Long Beach Ca, just east of Kennebec Ave.

What did Bush do besides win an election?

*** Update ***
I drove by this again on Thursday the 18th. It was gone.

Carson Ugly # 15 - No Trespassing

Carson Ugly © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I can just hear the thinking behind this one, I'm 100 yards away from Carson City Hall, I've got a can of white paint and a piece of old tin, I think I'm going to paint me a no trespassing sign. Yep, that’s what I'm going to do. Oh, and then I'm going to leave it up for two years, yep, that's what I'm going to do.

Carson Ugly # 14 - The Mobile Home Gate

Carson Ugly © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Carson is busy with urban renewal. This project replaces 50-year-old mobile homes with new high-density homes. It is supposed to make the area look better. We shall see in a year or two.

Nutball of the week - Whip me please

Principal who was voluntarily wipped is fired

Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner! Steve Unfreid looked to God for guidance when trying to determine the best way to discipline two high school seniors who were caught kissing girls at his Christian high school. These boys need discipline, principal Unfried's solution to the problem was self inflicted corporal punishment! After praying on the matter, Unfried awoke from a dream an remembered another incident involving disciplining young boys, excited by the memory, he rushed to school for anther go. He asked a teacher to spank him with a belt, until the boys had had enough. The spanking session lasted 10 minutes

Let’s see, two teenaged boys, one principle, his teacher "helper", a dark secluded downstairs room (read dungeon), ten minutes of privacy, no mention of discipline for the girl, and a nutball’s career goes down the toilet. I am surprised that the local community did not assume the worst, and run this guy out of town on a rail. Who, in their right mind, would ever consider this rational?

I am not Sorry, just laughing my ass off.

I have seen two websites, and several long blog posts, regarding Democrats who put up a website to tell the world Sorry Everybody, because Bush was elected. I ran through the images and could not help but think big "L" loser after reading each picture. I can appreciate losing a presidential election, as a libertarian, the only way I win is if I vote out of party (like I did this time), however, I would not stoop to apologizing to the world if my candidate lost. The world would have criticized us if Bush had won or lost. I really does not matter. Screw what the rest of the world thinks, it is an American matter.

Having said that, I was equally disgusted when Republicans put up a website that said “We're not Sorry”. This is just another tit for tat battle in a long standing war. I had not intended on even following the link, but then I saw a picture of a gun toting redneck, and I was hooked. This site is a gold mine of dysfunction. GUYS! You are not helping the cause. My favorite shot is the one of two crazy looking teenagers, flashing gang signs, while sitting in front of an old-school picture of Jesus. It was sweet. (Gallery one)

Enjoy

Public Sculpture, Cerritos Ca

Sculpture © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Cerritos has always done a nice job filling public spaces with sculpture, fountains, and gardens. This sculpture went up in the Cerritos town center a few months ago. I am drawn to the golden glow ot the dancers cape each time I pass. I don't know the name of peice or the artist. I looked for a plague while I was shooting but did not see anything. It's located in the office complex in front of the main entrance to the town center near TGIF and Mimi's restaurant.

foj - Thor Dog, my minpin

foj - Thor Dog © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Thor is my baby. He is a 2.5-year-old Min Pin. Thor barks at shadows and runs from cats, but I love him all the same. My son Mike recently took 250 pictures of Thor, with my Fuji 602z, for a project at his school. Only a few of his pictures were in focus. The focusing difference between my old Fuji and the Nikon D70 are quite significant. Focusing with the Fuji was always hit or miss, the delay on the Fuji was almost half a second. The Nikon’s focusing system is on a completely different level. I used the speed light for this shot, and was impressed by its responsiveness. Plus, I am not quite use to pressing the mechanical shutter and taking a picture. Because of how the Fuji operated, I am use to anticipating action shots; I was not very good at it.

Sidewalk graffiti

Sidwalk Graffiti © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Crackhead sidewalk graffiti from Buena Park California. I know TERESX was a crackhead becuase I actually met her in 94. Yep, a big fat crackhead that could not spell her own name.

First Shot with Nikon D70

First Shot © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

It aint much, just a late season Camilia from my garden, but it felt good to hear the solid thunk of mechanical shutter again. The D70 is a pleasure to work with, I had forgotten the difference between being able to fine tune a shot before you shoot it, and playing with it after the fact. This is going to be fun.

New Camera Today!

I am the proud owner of a new Nikon D70. It is on the charger right now, with new pictures to follow very soon I'm sure! it has been a long time since I've had a good SLR to play with. I can't wait to go out shooting.

Yasir Arafat's Timeline of Terror

Camera.org article - Yasir Arafat's Timeline of Terror

This is a great article forwarded to me by email from my friend in Nebraska. It shows how slanted in favor of Arafat the media has been with regard to his terrorists activities. They paint him as a saint, when actually he is the father of modern terrorism. The bottom of the article is a listing of Arafat's terrorist accomplishments, including killing 11 Olympic athletes at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972.

In this sentimental and nostalgic time, when Arafat is held aloft by his followers and the media paint him as a saint, it is important to remember that we are talking about a cold-blooded murder of innocents, and a crook who has hurt his people by withholding peace and squandering millions and millions of dollars. History will judge Arafat harshly. He will viewed in the same light as a Hitler and a Stalin.

I am reminded of an NRP story from earlier in the week. NPR was interviewing an older Palestinian woman with severe medial problems. She was upset because Arafat was not going to be around to pay her medical bills. NPR reported on how magnanimous a leader Arafat was because he would routinely take the time to pay for the health care of one of his poor Palestinian people out of his own pocket. I was struck dumb by the story. Do they (NPR) really think it is a good thing that Arafat ties his people to him in such a way that they are dependent on him for lifesaving medicine, when what he should have been doing is investing in the Palestinian economy, so that the health care system could function at a level the would support the populous? This kind of story is not news, it is propaganda.

**** Update *****

Here is a link to a 1 minute video on Arafat's legacy from honestreporting.com.

My son in a Mirror

My son in a mirror © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

This is my Photo Friday sumbission under the catagory "family"

Carson Ugly # 13 - The Couch

Carson Ugly © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Everyday, E V E R Y D A Y, I pass the neighborhood couch in Carson. Somedays it is on 222 Ave, some days it is on Avalon Blvd, but everyday I drive the streets of Carson I see the ubiquitious Carson couch. Why?

Del Taco tile graffiti

Del Taco © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

This is my Photo Friday submission under Pattern

21st Century Reformation breaks his political silence

21st Century Reformation: Yasser Arafat is Dead - A Great Opportunity for All of Us in the GWOT

My friend, passthebread, has broken his "no politics" rule on his 21stcenturyreformation hyper religious, and hard to understand for the uninitiated blog. This time I understand what he says. Yasser Arafat is Dead - yippy! Now we have an opportunity for peace.

btw - I called the 11th as the day he would die. I hear he had aids.

Theo van Gogh is a secular martyr

Dutch find the strength to take on their 'new Nazis'

I'm not trying to harp on this subject, but the death of Theo van Gogh has really pissed me off. This editorial is a good look at the coming war in Holland. I think the Muslims have screwed up this time, who in their right mind would poke their finger in the eye of a big blond Viking?

10 x 10

10x10 / 100 Words and Pictures that Define the Time / by Jonathan J. Harris

Oh my god, this site rocks. A 10 x 10 grid of the latest news photos ranked by importance and linked to their stories. Jonathan Harris is a genius. I love it.

Labyrinth, Cathedral Notre-Dame in Charte

Labyrinth © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

The Cathedral Notre-Dame in Charte is one of the most peacefull places I've ever visited. I've been to this very spot and walked the labyrinth perhaps 6 or 7 times. You can walk the original inside the Cathedral if you visit during the week.

I have another picture on my blog here. I'll post a few more Choice shots when I have the time.

Hmm, why does an atheist like a church so much?

Wow - A man died for this

Submission

I was reading LGF when I came across a link to Submission. Theo van Gogh died becuase of a few nutball Muslims who were offended by the content of his movie. Submission is a powerful anti-Muslim statement, but not something a man should die for. What is this world coming to?

Watch it. Post on it. More rational people need to see this movie.

F--- You And Your H2

FUH2

Wow, a photoblog dedicated to flipping the bird to Hummers. Who would have thought....

I'm going to have to submit a few.

Face in an old truck, Cerritos

Face in a old truck © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I shot this a few weeks ago, the face got my attention.

No pictures today

Well, I've fell off the wagon. I did not take pictures today. It is the first time in the last six months. I was stunned, photography had become such a habit, and then I just missed. Damn. Maybe I'll post something old.

This American Life - Voter Intimidation

My son gave me a link to a great radio show on voter intimidation. The show is in four acts, the second act is the voter intimidation story. I loved it. Republicans can be so... creative?

The first part of the story looks into what John Kerry actually offered during the election. Nobody believed John Kerry. It's kind of funny.

Enjoy.

Islam, Christianity, and sex with animals

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Nutball Alert: KPFK and the mystery of the Rigged Election

I heard a nutball idea today on Pacifica radio station in Los Angeles, KPFK. A caller to a talk show running during the 2:00 to 3:00 hour suggested that listeners join him in calling the news desks of all the major news media outlets to suggest story ideas supporting the fringe left position that the presidential election was rigged. The radio host ( I don’t know his name yet!) responded that the idea was a good one, andthen encouraged the caller to give his email address out over the airwavesn so that people could help out. I plan to write a few nutball love notes to Matt (the caller) when I get a chance.

There are two things about the KPFK program that bother me: First, they seem to think that the election was rigged, and second, they think the news media supported Bush and trashed Kerry. Both ideas sound absurd to me. The idea that the election was rigged is based on the worst type of fringe hysteria thinking (they actually claimed Bush was in Ohio on election day planning the deception). The "news media supports Bush" theory is based on the fact that the media will nott cover KPFK's NUTBALL election rigging theories. This kind of thinking is unsound by any stretch of the imagination, and just plan NUTBALL too. KPFK actually referred to the election as "the end of the Republic and the start of the Empire!" Nutballs, but very entertaining!

The view in LA

The view in LA © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I should title this the view in LBC, but then most of you would have no idea what I'm talking about. Anyway, it has been a busy week with the election and all, so my posting has been pretty spotty. I have been holding on to my daily shots until I get some quite time in which to post. The last four pictures are all from last week, I have been too busy to post them.

This shot is from an nice area of Long Beach California. One is typically surrounded by this kind of visual trash each day, yet sometimes it can be interesting. I like the difference between the old liquor store sigh, and the new Verizon sign. One other thing, California used to have drive through liquor stores. I used to work at one in Lakewood, it was called the Dutch Mill Dairy (it’s still there I think), and you could by any alcohol you wanted as long as one foot was on the pavement and you had valid ID. It is somewhat stupid by today’s standards.

I still carry my camera with me everywhere I go. I am not interested in capturing a big news story or anything like that; I just want to record interesting things that I see each day. It is a good way to take my mind off the pressures of work and school. I need some relief, graduate school takes a little more work than I ever thought possible, and work is no picnic.

When it comes to my photography, I am my own worst critic, so most of the unkind comments other people say to me have no negative impact. So, if you like what you see, tell me, if you don't, tell me that too.

Oh, and you nutballs who keep sending me hate mail, please stop. My spam filter sends it right to the trash anyway. All I have to do is filter for Allah.

What Good News?

What good news? © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I pass this kind of Church all the time in the poorer parts of Los Angeles and Long Beach. They look so universally depressing it is hard to imagine there is anything "good news" about them. This one certainly does not invite visitors. I wonder if it actually a church or maybe just a billboard.

foj - Karen Ffolkes

Karen © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I had a great lunch at the Yard House in Long Beach with Karen the other day. She sells me talented people. She is very good at it.

I've watched Karen grow from a tentative newcomer, to a full on professional. It is nice to see people succeed. It almost restores one's faith in humanity... Almost.

Found Art

Sign on Beach Blvd © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I love this kind of thing, random markings from a previous advertisment signed by some random tagger (of course ClearChannel will probably sell it). I was driving home tonight after yet another long study group meeting when I notice this on Beach near the 405 FWY. It's nice to find things like this for time to time; It brightens my day.

Monty Python's Life of Brian vrs Theo van Gogh

Muslim Teens Spit on Portrate of Theo van Gogh

I was watching a DVD of Monty Python’s Life of Brian last night while doing yet another grad school paper on developing markets in China. My mind kept wondering back to the good old days of high school (which I don’t really remember to well) and how much controversy was stirred up by the release of this movie. People boycotted movie theaters, the Pope called for believers to boycott the movie. My church advised us we would all be going to hell if we dared watch this sacrilegious concoction. Of course it was the position of my church that rock and roll was evil, dancing was a sin, and teenagers were inherently evil, so nothing we ever wanted to do was officially approved by the church, but the Life of Brian was the ultimate sin, the hype went on for weeks and lasted the whole time the movie was in the theaters.

I snuck out and watched it with my friends at a drive-in theater in Buena Park. It was, and is, a total laugh fest. I can understand how people would be offended by the movie, but I can never understand how people would be motivated to commit and act of violence because of a movie. There were fears of violence when Life of Brian was released, just as there were fears of violence when Theo van Gogh release his short film critical of Islam. The only difference is the Christians are not noted for their violence (except maybe the anti-abortion nutballs) and Muslims are noted for violence and for intolerance of criticism.

It’s hard to believe somebody would try to take out Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Terry Jones, or Eric Idle for poking fun at Jesus. At one time it would have been hard believe that any nutball would do something as vicious as murdering Theo van Gogh, but today all bets are off. If Monte Python were to tackle Mohammad, with say a Life of Ammed parody, they would have to live the remader of their lives in protective custody. What a shame.

Btw – Monty Python if you are listening, do the Mohammad parody, I understand there are sheep involved.

Jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Jellyfish © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

This photo is my photofriday submission under the category radiant. I know it's a stretch but.... (btw, this is where people make fun of me because I'm color blind, this photos looks good to me, but I'm sure it's going to make somebody with normal color vision puke)

Arafat's Legacy of death

Casualties of War

Every time somebody tries to tell me what a great man Arafat is (or was), I point them to this website. I know it only tells half the story, but god it is a bloody story.

Euro Graffiti

Euro graffiti © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Ants from my garden

Ants © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

Something Different - Suburban Fetish

AK47.tv - October/November 2004, Fifth Issue - Sandy Nicholson : Suburban Fetish

I came across this site while following up on Finn Manford, a favorite photographer of mine. His picture "Bagdad Cafe" is one of my very favorite photos.

Another photographer, Sandy Nicholson, spent some time documenting the private worlds of sexual fetishism in suburban Melbourne. The results are well... pretty freaken weird. The pictures are kind of work safe, I mean there is no overt nudity, but any corporate security type is going to think you are a complete nutball, so it might be better if you viewed this one from the privacy of your own home.

My favorite picture is of Bob, who just seems really weird. And, I mean weird in a really strange sort of have him registered as a sex offender kind of way. The others depicted are just your everyday average sexual deviant nutballs and, are very entertaining.

Carson Ugly # 12 - Mullet Man

Carson Ugly # 12 © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

I hit paydirt in Carson California again. A mullet sporting trucker was stuck on a traffic island for over five minutes while trying to figure out how to push the pedestrian button. I snapped away. I have a few shots of the front, but... it is not pretty, besides, we would miss the full beauty of his mullet!

Michael Moore is History

On Tuesday, Michael moore was in South Florida looking for election fraud. He found nothing. On Tuesday afternoon, Michael Moore was in Ohio looking for election fraud, he found nothing. On Wednesday, Michael Moore chokes on a chili dog when he realizes America has seen through his crap. Moore then throws a temper tantrum and posts a derisive picture of President Bush on his website. Way to go Mikey! We all knew you were a classless loser. Now, fade into history like a good loser!

Palestinian officials say Arafat's condition has deteriorated

Israeli television says he is intensive care in Paris hospital

A million Israelis received an answer to their prayers today. It seems Yasser Arafat is going to die a slow painful death from some unnamed aliment. It could be cancer, a viral infection, leukemia, or it could even be aids. In any case, Arafat’s days are numbered and the world seems pretty upbeat concerning the news of his pending death.

The Aids question brings up speculation that Arafat is gay or perhaps even bisexual. I’ve seen the rumor before, it centers on claims made by Ion Pacepa, who was deputy chief of Romanian foreign intelligence under the Ceaucescu regime, he claims to have taped Arafat in orgies with his male body guards. Could Arafat be gay? Time will tell.

There are various pools floating around where one can choose the day Arafat dies. LFG has a pool and a very entertaining discussion group where the various twists and turns of Arafat’s march toward death are discussed.

BTW - My money is on November 11th.

Nutball Alert: Christian tries to "save" lions

Lion attacks Christian who jumped into enclosure

Ah, need I say more? Princess Kimberley does.

Election Babylon

Election Babylon © Copyright 2004 Mojoey

On every corner, election signs are on display. They will last until they disintegrate in the winter rains. Babylon is around the corner.

Election Prediction

My election prediction is Bush will win and carry 40 states. Anybody else want to venture a guess?