The painful truth of the internet age
Every time that you come up with some sort of idea that you think is really unique, the internet is right there to tell you that there are thousands of other people doing it, they've already come up with their own name for it, and that their work is much, much better than yours.

I've been taking streaked-light long-exposure photos since 2003 at this point, having initially experimented with my digital camera, and liked my results. Since then, I've found the technique better suited to film, since long exposures quickly kill digital camera batteries, there's no 16-second maximum length on my Nikon, and hey, color on film just looks better than digital, what can I say?

A couple of years ago, I'd come upon this guy Rick Doble's website, but that was about the extent of similar work I found online. As of the last year or so, there now seems to be a giant community on Flickr and particularly on this blog engaging in "camera tossing." Now, I've always thought that holding onto the camera for control in moving it in these long exposure shots is sort of the point, but these people are actually throwing their cameras in the air, and the results are often stunning. The blog has apparently been getting a good deal of press, while I'm just left wondering how they could risk ruining expensive photo equipment. With the results that people have been getting, I could kind of see throwing my camera around myself, but if I was never any good at catching baseballs growing up, what logic is there in trying to catch a Nikon F-series? For now, I'll stick to waving, shaking, and twisting my camera around by hand and looking like a complete idiot, thanks.

On the plus side, the internet has also made whining about it that much easier.
- posted by Eric @ 6:28 PM
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St. Louis Cardinals slugger Pujols gets Babe Ruth test at Washington University
http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/7535.html
- posted by Eric @ 2:23 PM
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No more Hi-Pointe?

I just saw this on my list of (shut up) MySpace bulletins:

Hi folks,
We're sorry to report that the Hi-Pointe Cafe will be closing its doors forever after Labor Day weekend due to the recent sale of the building. Unless something changes, the last night we will be open will be Sunday September 3rd.

From Lisa Andris:

When I fell into the crazy world of the Hi-Pointe (just four months after its inception and transformation from an "old school" old man bookie joint, to a late '80s post-new wave hangout) my beloved son Brian had just gotten his first tooth. It is a bittersweet irony that I bid the Hi-Pointe adieu the same week that I dropped that amazing young man off at college. Both journeys (raising my boy and being fortunate enough to have been the matron of madness at the Hi-Pointe for just shy of two decades) have transformed and enriched my life more than I could ever express. Where in the world does one begin where saying goodbye to the Hi-Pointe is concerned?! To all of the thousands of bands that have graced our stage both local and national we thank you and feel honored to have been a part of your sojourn through the sometimes frustrating but always impassioned rock and roll experience. From the fried chicken-flinging Southern Culture on the Skids (my personal fave) to the moving, angst-ridden beauty of Queens of the Stone Age, to the oftentimes once-reheased "barely out of the garage" eighth grade four piece band, we thank and salute you. To the Monday Night Hip Hop crew who livened up the night of the week most likely to be mundane and humdrum (tell a friend to tell a friend), we thank you. Bonnie and Phil will surely miss serving up those 22 oz. Coronas! To the thousands of colorful characters that have drifted through the front door, whether just once to see a friend's band or those of you that were family, that came in night after night, you will be missed more than you will ever be able to imagine. Much love and thanks to the happy hour coots who held down the fort and kept it real night after night and put me in my place when I DARED to replace a clock, change a wall color or do anything that could've changed that funky, divey vibe everyone grew to love. To those of you who fell in love at the bar, met your lifelong soul mate at the bar, got engaged at the bar, had your wedding party at the bar, thank you and keep us in your hearts always. To Beatle Bob, love him or hate him, thanks for the memories and for the hundreds of shows you attended. For those of you that tracked through snow, rain, or power outages just to share a laugh and a brew with us, thank you. To a few regulars and one former employee who left this world way too early were glad you shared your time in the universe with us. To Brian Henneman for 7 or 8 (we've all lost track) consecutive Christmas nights that will hold a special place in my heart forever, thank you. To all of the music agents and independent promoters who took a leap of faith in our less-than-perfect venue, thank you. For all of the soundmen who have surely lost hearing and or mental stability trying to mix that abominable concrete echo chamber, we thank you. To the ghosts and spirits that have scared and delighted us with their hauntings and antics we will miss you too (no, I'm not kidding!). And now here comes the hard part, the employees. I will never ever be able to express how much you've all enriched my life. From 1987 to the present, I have met some of the most amazing and interesting people imaginable. The amount of talent, humor, intellect, spirit, courage, charm and individuality of the couple of hundred people I've been lucky enough to employ over the years is something I will never be able to fully describe or duplicate in this lifetime. Thank you for your talents, passion and commitment to the time you spent at the Hi-Pointe. I am honored to have been in your company. Where my present staff is concerned, I love you and always will and for what it's worth you'll always be my family (a bit dysfunctional perhaps, but what the hell!). So it is with great sadness and gratitude that I wish you all a very heartfelt goodbye, it's been the most amazing ride ever and one that I don't expect to duplicate in this lifetime. Oh and by the way, "WE STILL DON'T CARE WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR!"

Love and Kisses forever,
Lisa Andris

Well, there goes another great little local music venue.  I enjoyed playing there years ago...  So what's going to happen to Monday night hip-hop?

- posted by Eric @ 7:51 PM
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What's up with the oxygen masks deploying?!

- posted by Eric @ 1:06 PM
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Rock Star Rags' final dates, and this time they really mean it
Received this in meine inbox:

"Well the building is sold again and we have to be out by Oct 1, so here come the final Final sales dates at Rock Star Rags:
August: August 12th and 13th, Sat and Sun
August 19th and 20th, Sat and Sun
August 26th and 27th, Sat and Sun
September: Sept 9th and 10th, Sat and Sun
Sept 16th and 17th, Sat and Sun
Sept 23rd and 24th, Sat and Sun(this date may be cancelled)
On all these dates we will be open from 10am to 3pm
The price is $1.50 per pound, we accept CASH only
No CHILDREN under 12 are permitted as per our insurance carrier, thanks.
You can make individual appointments with Deb during the week by calling either 772-5448 or 621-0318 (leave message and she will get back to you).
Rock Star Rags
2820 North Ninth Street
Corner of Ninth and St. Louis Ave.
St. Louis MO 63147

rockstarrags@sbcglobal.net
314-621-0318
As always, thanks for all the LOVE---Deb"

So getcher super-super cheap clothes while you can!
- posted by Eric @ 12:55 PM
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I'm really happy that this page exists.
I insist that you look.
- posted by Eric @ 8:04 PM
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Blargh aggregators
Recently, I've discovered the wonders of the RSS feed aggregator. For the uninitiated, these wonderful little pieces of software take information from "subscribed" blogs and such, and notify you when there are unread posts, putting them all in one place. Now, it seems to me, the Internet Explorer 7 beta's take on RSS feeds is all wrong. Sure, it tells you when a blog has something new, but you can't really read anything without just going to one specific site's feed. Why? Why not just stick everything in one place, with each post from each blog arranged by time/date posted? I mean really, who would go out of their way specifically to, say, read my blog in this form? Blah.

So that's why I'm glad there are programs like SharpReader out. All you St. Louis cats' blogs in one place - no-brainer, right? And yet, SharpReader still could use improvement, and it crashes all the time. So, I ask, does anyone know of a better aggregator program for PC?
- posted by Eric @ 7:30 PM
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Arrested Development in reruns
Okay, so it's coming back as reruns online on MSN, through some sort of hi-def-specific cable channel, and on regular cable/satellite on G4. Yeah, that G4. The one that was originally about video games, but the only reasonably decent video game show that it ever had was one acquired from the buyout of another channel. The one that's trying to appeal to a Spike TV-ish macho male audience, and runs internet-interactive reruns of Star Trek. That's where Arrested Development is landing. Interesting...
- posted by Eric @ 5:17 PM
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