Keith's 30th

This post would've been a lot more interesting if Keith(seen below doing a shot in the hallway in order to escape his girlfriend's watchful eye) would have just trusted a dude...











...kidding dude. Happy birfday.

Crystal

Now THIS is what a label should read like! Its so simple. Its easy to pronounce everything. Your grandparents would recognize everything on it. And, its made in America goddamnit!

Can it be that it was all so simple...

Tonight, I attended a short happy hour with 2 friends that I've been lucky to know for about 8 years. We worked together for the last 3 days, and any gripes I've had in that time were definitely not because of them.

We differ, though, in that both of them are devout religious folk. They both have their reasons, and I never challenge them on their views(not that I couldn't/shouldn't). We have a happy, cordial stasis on that topic when working together.

Today was the first time that they found out that I REALLY WAS donating a kidney to a stranger. Because both of them are good people, they thought it was a beautiful thing. What irked me, though, was their personal insertion of their religion into my situation...my decision. They told me forthright that there was no possible way that I could be an Atheist/Agnostic and still do what I am doing. I had to be a spiritual person. A religious person.

See, like so many religious folk, they hold their version of morality as the archetype by which all others should be held accountable to. For so many, any act undertaken with pure benevolence has to be the result of a direct relationship with their god. Its just too difficult for them to comprehend good for Good's sake.

It was a long day, so I stayed quiet. I listened to them. I nodded my head. Not forward, in agreement, but sideways, in acceptance. It got me thinking, though, and thinking enough that I wanted to blog about something that I've been wanting to get off my chest for some time. Its not too heavy, not even my idea(I think), but I maintain that its worthy of writing about.

Here are some figures...

According to the Hartford Institute, there are roughly 335,000 religious congregations in the U.S., with an average size of 75 members. The vast majority of these follow the teachings of Jesus Christ(love thy neighbor and good will towards man and whatnot). There are approximately 70,000 people currently 'living' on dialysis for kidney failure/disease. Because of how humans have changed lifestyles in the last few thousand years, we only need one kidney to live a perfectly healthy life. Kidney transplant surgery is exceptionally safe and effective, and takes on average 6 weeks to fully recover from.

The only real drawback is that it costs the donor a lot of time and money thanks to our current health care system(best system in the world, right?). What if, though, those who think so highly of their religion's inherent compassion actually put actions to their venerable readings, to their incessant chanting? What if every congregation looked for one member who was willing to donate to a non-friend or a non-family member? Upon finding the willing participant, what if the congregation came together to emotionally and financially support the donor and their family? How quickly would that dialysis waiting-list be eradicated? How much better would the whole goddamn world be?

Of course, this would be a more plausible scenario if people were better educated on the subject(i.e. just because you have a daughter, dude, doesn't mean she matches your blood type). It would also be more realistic if religions taught people to REALLY care about each other instead of just doing, well, whatever the fuck it is that they are doing...

The Continentals

I don't know what the deal is at this residence, but it seems that someone has a deep appreciation for Continentals. There is perpetually at least 2 of these cars, in this vintage, sitting outside on the street. Most likely, they are using the parts from the lot of them to make one super-Continental. I can imagine the neighbors consider it quite the pain in their ass. If so, fuck 'em. They're beautiful.

Audrey Marie

One of my best friends in the world had a baby girl today. Audrey Marie... what a fucking knock-out.



Anyone who knows me at all also knows the way I feel about the sheer number of people in the world, and how I think population is possibly the only problem that humanity faces that could trump even religion. The real problem, though, is ignorant, ill-prepared adults who have think that because they are capable of producing litters, that they should.

This man, folks, is an example of what an adult SHOULD be before they get involved with something as serious as having a child. The mother is no different. The little girl will probably be the same.

I'd wish the happy couple 'good luck', but they won't need it...

The tourist thing.

I've been to San Fran maybe 10 times in my life, and I've never once made it down to this part of the Golden Gate. In fact, I've never been to anywhere below street level near the bridge.



Shame on you, friends in SF.

Josephyne is NOT a tour guide.

The woman is great, but we actually drove 40 minutes out of San Francisco on Wednesday for a "beautiful walk through a garden and farmland, ending on a beach". No shit, those were her words.







Oh, and we didn't even make it to the beach. I guess if nothing else, it was memorable.

Almost forgot, I'm famous!

This is from last month's MN Monthly. Thats my fucking mug!



Here is the article...

Who's Making Money Now ... - Minnesota Monthly - January 2010 - Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota

Also, when you've reach nearly unobtainable levels of stardom as I obviously have in this photo, you even get to keep the gold grill!

The Great Uban Shootout.

While standing in a sea of outdoor man-jamas, Tiff and I made a last minute decision to join Aaron and Jenny in a trip up to Aaron's family cabin. Its a 10 acre area about 40 miles east of Superior, WI... perfect for dispatching a shit-ton of bullets into nature. Giving nature a lead salad, if you will.



Shoot guns, drink beer, walk around... kind of the way a trip to a real cabin should be. And a real cabin this is. No electricity, no indoor plumbing, no worries. Just keep the wood burning stove going and watch out for bears.

Springers

I went over to the Spring Street about a week ago to take pictures of the aftermath of the employee party.





I've spent an incalculable about of time in this bar over the years. To be entirely honest, there are a TON of things that I don't even really like about it. The beer isn't the most pristine, the lighting sucks, I hate the jukebox... I could go on.

What it DOES have in spades, though, is good people. And its not just the employees, but most the regulars as well. Sometime it is perhaps the most integrated and engaged room full of people that I've been in outside of a college classroom or a hot game of dice. Normal barriers that people hold tend to fall when there. Obviously, it isn't always like this. Sometimes, its just a regular, foul-smelling bar with people minding their own and putting off going home with another drink. Other times, it just organically becomes the kind of place that so many others try to mimic these days. The newest incarnation of that forgery is Northeast Social Club. Their schtick is to set up a bar, and encourage people to talk to the guy next to you. Thats just fucking brilliant. Are they running a goddamn kindergarten? I wish I could say they were joking, as if people at bars down the street from them haven't been doing that for decades.

Sorry about that rant. Here is BJ. He's the hero, as he volunteered to be the only employee to work in order to keep the bar open on party night. Way to take one for the team dude.

The up side to editing.

I don't want to rehash old crap, but I felt like doing something productive with my photos today so I started plowing through old folders. Editing, organizing, and discovering. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather be out taking something new with the camera that I paid way too much for, but the thought of going outside on a day like this is just not that appealing. I think it hit -14 last night.

So, here are a couple things I found.





I love my Diana cameras. I love the complete lack of technical anything. Granted, mine takes 10 minutes to load, because I have to apply a liberal amount of gaff tape to the entire body to both keep it together and keep it almost light-tight. It also has a broken aperture ring, so I'm forced to shoot it wide open. This is fine with me as well, as it ensures an extra-terrible image quality.

I made room for it in my digital case today...

Loaf 'O Puke

This is head cheese from Kramarczek's. If you don't know what head cheese is, its something that Eastern Europeans invented a long time ago in the very admirable quest to get everything possible out of their pigs.



The list of ingredients is short, and includes tongue, snout, and of course gelatin(how else would a guy make meat jelly?).

Gelatinous slices of meat jelly made from the left over parts of the pigs head. I had plans to try it as well as photograph it, but upon retouching the photo at 100%, I think thats going to have to be indefinitely postponed. I decided to include a nice close-up, so anyone unfortunate enough to read this post doesn't think I'm a complete patsy.

Another day in Paradise.

A trip to the Knight Cap's Saturday meat raffle can be so very rewarding. Obviously, there is the opportunity to win quality products from a local butcher. Or, if your luck is like mine has been the last month, you're just donating cash to a good cause.



Or, if you keep your eyes open... REALLY open... you might be lucky enough to get a true grasp on some of the little idiosyncrasies that make a community what it is. I mean, what it REALLY is.





I guess I've been fortunate in that way as of late. Thats fucking splendid, cause I've been getting my ass kicked lately in the meat raffle.

Obento-YES!

Yeah, I haven't rapped about food in a while. Its not that I've stopped eating or anything, nor have I stopped taking pictures. I'm just handling some other shit and a man has to have priorities.

This, actually, was from a couple of weeks ago. I've just been involved, so I kind of forgot to post it. When I stumbled across the photos today, I pretty much said "Fuck me that looks good!"... so I figured I might as well post them.





I guess I'm doing something right if my own photos can surprise me and make me hungry. That just never happens with squirrels and guns and whatnot...

This is not a chess piece.

A large majority of my 3 readers are aware that I now live with 3 women. Jack Tripper ain't got shit on me. Overall, its a very genial living situation... very fucking spiffy.

As it were, though, all things are not without their failings. I found this occupying the space designated G4.



I didn't know what this was at first. Of course, with the disposition of mine as it is, and my priorities lying where they do, I thought it was a bullet. Maybe a new, awesome, street-legal squirrel annihilating motherfucker that can be shot out of something that my roommates bought me as an early christmas present. Something badass. Something that resembles this shit-canon.



Nope. It was a tampon...

Black Friday

I guess I'm just satisfied that I got to put money towards something that I'll actually remember on this, the biggest shopping day of the year.

You: Shitty plastic Chinese electronic noise-making crap fucker.

Me: Parking, Pocket Wizard rental, four drinks, and the best goddamn right hand man that a guy with little money could ask for.




The painted women were just a bonus.

To do, or not to do.

I'm not exactly in a financial position to be running out and dropping $200+ on an air rifle right now, but look at this fucking thing!



It may be an early x-mas for me. My gift would be a German-made, rodent killing machine par excellence. I could go into the specifics of this weapon, but that would be dorky. Also, it would distract from the real meaning of such a purchase. That meaning, of course, is not about killing squirrels or satisfying some sort of deranged blood-lust. Oh no. Its about community. Its about keeping our children safe. Its about a more prosperous future. We should consider it an investment into our commonwealth. An investment... in mankind.

The High Ground

What do you see when you see this picture?



A large, sprawling tree? A typical NE alley yard in fall? Just a standard-ass neighborhood... nothing stands out?

Well, I see a neighborhood that, an hour ago, was made that much safer for it's residents.



If you look back at the first photo, you might also see an advantageous sniper position. Its actually taken from a screenless mini-window in my closet! From here on out, I'm referring to it as Mount Olympus. I shall stand upon it, alone if I must.

The Physical

On Monday the 16th, I had my physical to see if I'm healthy enough to donate a kidney, and sane enough to know what I'm doing and what is involved. Its an involved process that they put non-directed donors through. When I say non-directed, I mean people like myself who want to donate a kidney but have no specified recipient of which they want to donate it to. The physical lasts 9 fucking hours.

Except for one last heart test, I passed.

I was going to see a lot of this over the corse of the day...



Blood tests up the arse.







Here are two of the many professionals that I established a relationship over the day. I haven't a bad thing to say about one of them.



Hiding my fear and pain behind a smile is one of my specialties. As is peeing into a cup.