I will find the droids I’m looking for…


Star Wars meets Toy Story (via HeatherBlog)

I WILL FIND THE DROIDS I'M LOOKING FOR

I WILL FIND THE DROIDS I'M LOOKING FOR

So awesome…

Star Wars meets Toy Story Have you ever had one of those Six Degrees of Separation moments, in which the cosmos aligns itself around a common theme? That happened to me today. Early this morning, I awoke to a comment from fellow blogger Aaron Graham. He liked my post about shopping for bras, and I loved his diatribe about Star Wars Episode I enough to return the favor. I hadn’t thought about Star Wars in a long time. I saw the first movie with my dad when I was 10, and I … Read More

via HeatherBlog

Pittsburgh Zoo Photos


Got some cool shots from the Pittsburgh Zoo on Sunday, thought I’d share some of my favorites.  Just click on the thumb to see the full-size image:



You can check ’em all out here: Grid / Slideshow

31st Street Pub Photos – Ernie and the Berts / the Shutouts / the Undercover Saints


Got some cool photos the other night from Ernie and the Berts‘ first official show at the 31st Street PubBethany took all the ones of Ernie and the Berts, I took the ones of the Shutouts and the Undercover Saints.


To see the whole album, you have these options…

I had a good time taking the photos, hope you enjoy ’em.  It’s good to be out & about and watching vital punk bands still playing.

You should definitely check out the Shutouts and the Undercover Saints some time soon if you’re into Pittsburgh punk rock.  I found some free music online too…

You can’t afford not to check ’em out now.  (Or would that be… You can’t afford to not check ’em out now?)

Women in rock?


While on Tumblr, I found an interesting post that I just couldn’t shut up about…

It’s about women in rock.  I dug the sentiment, but I dunno if I agree with the premise.  So, check out the original

The girls onstage. The ones who might never play a major tour, the ones trying to grab some attention in a shitty bar, the ones who hear “show us your tits,” the ones who had better be traditionally attractive or no one wants to hear what they have to say, the ones who scream lyrics to a crowd…

(read entire post)

and my thoughts:

I enjoyed this post, but is it really still unfair for women in rock n’ roll?  Some of my favorite bands are The Eyeliners, The Donnas, The Teen Idols, and Dance Hall Crashers… all successful women in rock.  Even locally, we have the Motorpsychos… I certainly wouldn’t mess with them.  And, one of my favorite locals was Sing the Evens, Play the Odds.  I never once thought “Oh, there’s girls in this band, so I’m not going to take them seriously.”

I think all musicians are objectified to some level, no matter their gender.  My wife would jump Bret Michaels in a second if we weren’t married and he wasn’t a giant walking STD.  A guy screaming “show us your tits” is pretty much on par with a teenage girl yelling “I love you” to Justin Beiber… just slightly more vulgar.

A female friend of ours once asked my wife about me “Doesn’t it get you hot to see him up there with a guitar?”  Her answer was a resounding no… but apparently it got our friend excited.  Ha ha ha.  Should I be insulted?

What do you think?

Aviary Photos


Bethany & I went to the National Aviary on Sunday, & I had the opportunity to photograph some really beautiful colorful birds.  We also walked through the park afterward, and found a squirrel who apparently had aspirations of a career in modeling.

You can check out all the photos at Photobucket as a grid or slide show, or you can see them all here:

Blowin’ in the wind.


If you live in the ‘Burgh, you know we got some serious storm winds & some damage on Friday afternoon.  The storm hit one of my favorite places to take photos, Dormont Park.  So, of course I got some pictures of some trees knocked over and a utility pole down.

To see the whole album, check it out in slideshow or grid form.  We were without power for about a day and a half… and no damage was done to our place, so it could have been a lot worse.  I just thought the twisted broken trees made for some good photo subjects.

I reported the downed utility pole to Duquesne Light on Saturday right after I saw it… went back to look around today, it was still down… no caution tape or anything up, so I called the Dormont police.  Hopefully they send someone in to clean up, there’s usually a decent amount of people in the park, hope no one would come across the stuff & get hurt.

Also, in the same set of photos… nothing really to do with the storm, we hit up Chick-fil-A for breakfast & the use of a power outlet to charge our phones on Saturday morning as our power was out, I happened to have my camera in the car… I saw some kind of hawk or falcon on a light pole near the Chick-fil-A in South Hills.  At first I thought it was an owl, upon a second glance I really wasn’t sure at all.

Anyone know what it is?

Some kind of bird of prey outside Chick-fil-A in the South Hills...

3 shots of the Chick-fil-A Bird...

Clemente Bridge @ Night


Clemente BridgeI recently submitted a photo to the Only In Pittsburgh blog, and they posted it today (Thanks Brett!).  So, this is nothing more than shameless self-promotion.  The photo featured is my current desktop @ work, and was part of a set that I took last year at PNC Park.

I find the bridge more visually interesting than anything actually in the park. I need to go back down & get some more views of the city this summer.  I have no idea how I managed to get a night photo that wasn’t blurry without the use of a tripod.

Only In Pittsburgh is a cool blog to check out if you like photography & if you like the ‘Burgh.  I follow them on Twitter to get my daily dose of Yinzer pride.

R2-D2 Hat


He seems to have found the droid he was looking for

I saw this a while ago thanks to DBSW (who apparently got it here), and I instantly commented on twitter or tumblr that I wanted one of those hats.

Thanks to newageamazon who posted the link to the pattern!

I thought I was going to have to learn to knit, but my wife Bethany has volunteered to step in and take over the knitting.  Not that I’d mind learning to knit if I could turn out awesome hats like this…

Carissa Knits: R2-D2 Beanie

How freakin’ awesome is that hat?  Seriously.  It’ll have to go into rotation with the Misfits, Flogging Molly, & Pens ones that I’m always sporting in cold weather.

Dethlehem Photos – Hard Rock Cafe (X Winter Rock Showcase) Thu. Feb. 18th, 2010


Got some cool photos of Dethlehem last night during the X Winter Rock Showcase IV at the Hard Rock Cafe.  If you haven’t checked these cats out, you need to drop whatever you’re doing and get to their next show.  I’m serious.  They’ll blow you away, and maybe even slay that troll that’s been living under your bridge.

They rocked the house last night, and the place was packed for a Thursday night.  The crowd was really digging them.  Sadly… they didn’t go on to the next round, but I really don’t think that’s a big deal to them.

I hate all of them for their respective “mad skillz”… Playing crazy fast beats in a giant metal helmet, fretboard acrobatics at lightning speed, and growling like the demons that they have sworn to battle.  Yet, I watch & listen in awe each time… and it helps that they’re cool guys while they’re not slaying dragons, rescuing maidens in distress, or wandering aimlessly around the halls of madness.

And, thanks to the guys for the warrior swag!

If you just want to check out the album on Photobucket, you can do that too… normal view or slideshow.

DETHLEHEM LOGO

Weird Natural Ice Formation


Bethany pointed this out to me yesterday while she was preparing a nice Valentine’s Day dinner.  It prompted me to grab some more Snopocalypse photos, and upload the ones that have been in my camera since the big storm.  I’m not sure if I captured it quite right, given my limited angle (out the kitchen window) & minimal photography skills.  It’s a crazy ice formation that appears to have formed to the bricks of our neighbor’s house, then fallen forward to rest on another icicle… leaving a really interesting free-standing brick-pattern sculpture.

Crazy Ice Sculpture | DSC_0229.jpg
Crazy Ice Sculpture | DSC_0224.jpg
Crazy Ice Sculpture | DSC_0223.jpg