But Wait, There is More

That's right. We're too cool to be the marching band. We're the marchin' band. (Tho' we're on the verge of becoming a bazd.) The tower does not lie.

More, I say- marching band is not yet over. Today we had terrific fun playing at the last home football game, but this time it really is the last. The weather was spectacular- not freezing or raining, for a change. A video will be posted as soon as I can force it to upload. Meanwhile:

Instrument sharing abounds; playing in the stands.

Edit: At long last, I've uploaded a fight song during the game.

Here is also a three-minute recording (batteries were running out) of a run-through during our rehearsal (this one known affectionately as the shirtless run-through). It's not a terribly good video, I'm afraid, it doesn't include the best parts of the show, and the angle is quite limited. The camera was sitting on my keyboard, so at least one of my instruments is audible, for a change.

Click here for another great video of the Friday performance. It's the best recording I've seen yet.

At the End of the Day

For the past several months marching band has been devouring all my time. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, because despite all the exhaustion, they've been some of the best I've experienced. How I wished I had joined earlier. (We rehearse in all weathers, don't use flashy visual props, are consisted entirely of voluntary members, and we get to play rock music. Of course we're awesome.) Unfortunately, the end of the season is in sight, as state finals are this upcoming weekend. It's been a spectacular year.

Here are some snapshots from the past few weeks:

Playing at the last(?) football game.

Happy band members after a competition; marching back to the bus.

Lifesavers; an armful of trophies.

We've also scored quite well as of late; at this point we're ranked fourth in the state for our flight. As for finals, we're on last this year. It's a good feeling, I tell you.

Belding 54.85

Atwood-Flushing 63.60

Clarkston 71.05

West Bloomfield 74.00

Plymouth-Canton 70.35

Huron Valley 74.70

And finally, a video of a game several weeks ago- the only thing I did not take. For some reason it focuses more on the pit than everyone else (will you look at that- my section is sadly lacking in discipline- though that's no surprise, is it ...?). But then again, I'm not complaining, because I'm in pit.

Elections (Are You Serious?)

Really. I'm voting-underage by one year. One. And subsequently missing what possibly might be the most important election of our lifetimes. As if that weren't enough, some people who are voting understand even less of the issues involved than some of the people who can't.

[/end non-partisan portion]

The following is merely an expression of personal opinion. I am in no way attempting to persuade anyone. Kindly do not take personal offense.

Let's face it. Getting any side to view an issue without bias is impossible. But there are some things, that no matter how much they're distorted, must be true. Typically I try to be non-judgmental when it comes to politics, but sometimes, enough is enough. Even a child could have noticed that the Republican party has been in general more likely to issue more negative ads, more scathing personal attacks, more opponents' innocent remarks blown out of proportion, and just a greater number of, well, dirty tricks. It's not that democrats are completely blameless, or that I have something against republican supporters in general, but isn't it slightly ironic that those who advocate morals and values are the same ones being especially nasty to their opposition? This is not a phenomenon restricted to this year. Comb over past political disputes, and just look it all over for a minute. Please, people. Play fair, and everything will be fine.

Star-Spangled

First attempt at photographing the night sky:

30-second exposure, using a Nikon D40 and tripod. Now that is cool.

It was 11:30 and the temperature hovering barely above freezing, but the sky was clear. This was the best shot out of the two or three taken. (Focusing in the dark can be difficult.) Trying longer exposures would be amazing, but at the moment I haven't been able to set any past 30 seconds, not to mention the amount of noise involved...

Of Scarlet, Tangerine, and Gold

Ah, October.

It seems as if autumn has rather snuck up behind me. In previous years I've always gone out with a camera to capture the feel of the season, but I don't think I've done much of that yet this year.

And This is Why...

I know, I know. No posts for weeks, and none with good content when there are. I apologize for this lack of updates; for the past month I have not had any free time whatsoever, unless you count a few hours of sleep here and there- so I've made nothing new, and there is little to say about the little I've done. Exhaustion would be an appropiate adjective here. Once these few hectic months are over, I'll be back with some substance.

This is what has been eating up my time:

Top to bottom: endless homework; sectionals at marching band; college applications.

Free Shipping!

Because who doesn't love free shipping? I'm offering an end-of-summer savings in my Etsy shop- buying any two or more items together equals free shipping for your whole order! Cool, eh?

It lasts only as long as summer though; free shipping is good until September 21.

I've added some new and old prints. Look out for more to come.

Still Alive and Kicking

Despite the lack of new posts recently, I'm still hovering around here. There are some things I'd like to put up on this blog, but you won't be seeing anything until I: a) get some pictures taken, b) get something interesting done, or c) actually have time to do A or B.


EDIT: It looks like the first of the autumn foliage is here at last. That means many things, the start of term not the least. It hasn't yet begun, of course, but I'm already mired up to my head in my schedule- not a particularly accomodating schedule at that.

Okay, folks. Sorry, but I'm out.

Into the Dark

Who can resist a labyrinth of low twisting passageways that open into cathedral-like spaces, stone draperies, underground waterfalls rushing away into the dark, and seemingly bottomless shafts?

I can offer no tales of international travels this year either, I'm afraid, but for the past several days I have with family visited the Mammoth Caves area, not just the national park but also other cave systems. My friend also has a snippet about Mammoth in her blog, here.

After taking all the typical touristy walking tours, I can ensure you that the novelty wears off after the third or fourth time. Then there is the following around slow-moving packs of fellow tourists and the listening to repetitive explanations about formations. Usually half the information offered is well-enough known to the general public. The depth of the explanations given by tour guides also seems to be inversely proportional to the number of people present. It is therefore quite worth a drive out to see lesser known caves.

Obtaining good photographic results in these low-light areas takes additional effort. Moving with a group makes anything but snapshots impossible, and minimal time to adjust camera settings. Without a tripod, shutter speeds need to be faster, but that also cuts out much of whatever light is available. I did not end up with very many decent shots. Eventually I had to resort to using flash, which I generally avoid for its ugly, flat white balance.

All a well-spent few days, nonetheless.

First Sale (and Other Things)

It's been only a little over a month since I've set up shop, and today-well, not anymore; yesterday- I made my first sale on Etsy! If that in itself isn't enough, it was an international customer. That simply made my day (I was bouncing off the walls for an hour). Thanks so much!

In similar news, I'm considering putting up a couple of new prints in my shop in the next few days. Color, anyone? Let me know what you think of the above, for instance.