Take this hot shield to block the cold wind.

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The winter is not cold and shapeless. Find the warm where the cold lies and you will never freeze.
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Song of the second: Ruby, My Dear by Thelonious Monk
Book of the moment: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
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Location: Bloomington, Indiana
Date: Summer 2005
Notes: In Bloomington, the trees out number the people. In Chicago, this does not happen. Trees we are lacking, people we are not. Bring the trees back, at least for a little while, or else, I think we might all forget about them.



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Location: South Bend, Indiana
Date: Christmas 2005
Notes: He is right behind the Christmas tree. Over near the edge, getting ready to jump out. His big white beard hiding in the needles and pins of light. Crack wide your eyes or else you'll miss him.



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Location: Key West, Florida
Date: March 2006
Notes: Little things really can make movements tip and worlds change.



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Location: Bloomington, Indiana
Date: Fall 2005
Notes: At certain times the only way to see what you're looking at is to find its reflection, otherwise, you could miss everything.

"We followed her up the stairway down a hall painted blue and red that smelled of murder"
-taken from the book, Hot Water Music by Charles Bukowski



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The day the camera died.

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I shook the rust off. I did it. I took new pictures. Then, my camera died.

Song of the second: No Name #2 by Elliott Smith
Book of the moment: Hot Water Music by Charles Bukowski
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Location: Niles, Michigan
Date: Thanksgiving Night 2007
Notes: Parking lot. K-mart. Snowstorm. Bright light.



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Location: Nashville, Indiana
Date: Summer 2005
Notes: The country really is a beautiful place.

"It's like, how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black."
-Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap



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Location: Niles, Michigan
Date: Thanksgiving Night 2007
Notes: The snow had fallen, actually, still was falling. Everything seemed alive, held still by a cold shift. Limbs, leaves, flowers and bushes all in accompaniment said nothing. It was the first night that winter waved hello.

Softly spoken decibels.

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I want to keep this simple. Let the breeze carry these words. Catch them if you can.
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Location: South Bend, Indiana
Date: Thanksgiving 2005
Notes: It has taken me a while to realize, and perhaps see, that art lives within peoples faces. Whether it be perfectly crisp or crushed and blurred. It lives here, in these wrinkles and prickly beards.



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Location: Chicago, Illinois
Date: Summer 2007
Notes: With each spoke I follow a different path. This photo paints a picture made possible by Harry Nilsson's quote, which I will simply type and leave open for interpretation...

"A point in every direction is the same as no point at all" -taken from the book, The Point!

I'm getting into a habit.

Briefly, when the camera becomes slow and nothing moves smoothly. While the broken bolt of light that surrounds every line disappears. My theme of repetition slowly slips out of everything that isn't sealed. Such is this moment that must be remembered. Everything is there for a reason, for a glimpse of eyes to find it.

This feeling is what I have. It is what I need.

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Location: Bloomington, Indiana
Date: Fall 2005
Notes: I pulled into a lot, parked, stepped out. From the highway all I could see was a white building in a field. As I moved around the corner I saw this barrel and my camera and hands did the rest to capture it.



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Location: Chicago, Illinois
Date: Summer 2006
Notes: In Millennium Park there are two pillars with faces. These faces smile and laugh, yet make no sound. Below you can see what these children left behind without ever knowing it. These footprints lasted only minutes, but remain forever.



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Location: Key West, Florida
Date: March 2005
Notes: The best part about this guy, he was standing on top of an 11-foot ladder while juggling.



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Location: Lollapalooza 2006
Date: Summer 2006
Notes: Honestly, as I said before, I am not advertising Budweiser. For some reason it really enjoys being in my pictures, and who am I to say no?

Day two.

With today, comes three more pictures, and sadly, they are not new. My camera batteries are still charging, and my fingers need more yoga stretches before they will be ready to press down on that button that freezes time.

It's getting colder, and with the changing season comes an escape to music that I have forgotten about. The feelings of wintertime bring with them the need for repetition. I become more homebound during these days. Time passes a little slower. Sentences become shorter. I need less.

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Location: Chicago, Illinois
Date: Summer 2006
Notes: I live in Lakeview (for those not familiar with Chicago it is about a 15 minute train ride north of downtown) and this building, now being turned into upscale expensive condos, seems radiantly bright during this cloudless summer day.



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Location: Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois
Date: Jazzfest - Summer 2006
Notes: There is an amazing outdoor amphitheater, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, located in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago. I have seen incredible bands there and spent amazing days sitting in the landscape, fingers wrapped in grass, admiring the skyline. The picure below shows no grass, but what it lacks in grass it makes up for in shadows.


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Location: Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois
Date: Jazzfest - Summer 2006
Notes: This final picture is not an advertisement for Budweiser, there are so many better beers to drink. However, I did like the simple color scheme that resulted from this, quite American, image. The red, white, and green (I know, I almost said blue too) offset each other well, at least in my opinion.

Complexity does not equal genius, while simplicity does not equal idleness. Take each for what they are and take them as nothing.