Friday, February 27, 2009

new pictures

i have added lots of new pictures onto my flickr account. it is easier for me to add them their than add them onto blogger so go to the link if you'd like to see what i have been up to recently: http://flickr.com/photos/talltale/>

enjoy

80,000 miles

tomorrow i will have logged 80,000 miles on my car. he is the little engine that could. i don't take as good of care of him as i should but he knows that i love him anyway. he's a champ. reminds me of when we were in leo's car with mike and we broke something like 100,000 miles or something historic. good times.

wrote 2 songs

band update:

ha. so i wrote two songs: housemates (inspired by andrew bird and monsters) and Dixieland (inspired by non-true events). hope to record them somehow and put them up here. might be awhile. i am working on two other songs at the moment and am playing i think this wednesday night with Two Girls and the Collective. so there you go.

p.s. saw andrew bird the other night and it was amazing. he can rock that violin and whistle like a madman. things to aspire too.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

David After Dentist

very funny video. i imagine ian recording waylon someday like this.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

a new endeavor

tonight i visited my friends at the brick house and expected a time to hangout and catch up but instead i not only got the first, but also nate, joey, and i jammed. i've been playing by myself lately but it just felt so awesome to come together and rock. and boy did we. i have been thinking about writing some music and now i am just super inspired to, not guaranteeing anything great or even good, but i am going to try and get out of my regular box of when i write. explore some new things.

i am super excited. i hope to utilize the many instruments i semi-play. expect to hear more news about this in the NEAR future. but for now i'll leave you with my band name:

I am I
&
You are You

Sunday, February 15, 2009

important day

president's day...some great and not so great men will be "honored" today and that's all fine and dandy to me. today i will be honoring someone who has been more influential and inspiring than all forty-four presidents combined. it never gets old talking about how wonderful a person my mother was; i think that says something about her and her character. of course we all have our faults, but mom was all about overcoming those faults and helping others overcome theirs. i have learned so many life lessons from her, i am sad to say i won't be learning any more from her. i am glad to say though that i will be learning from my family members and friends.

i went out hiking on sunday and this thought came to mind: mom's death was the best and worst thing to happen to me in my life as of right now. it made me grow up faster and become the man that i am today which is good/bad. i am also closer to my dad than i was before; i never really felt like i had a strong relationship with my dad, just an average one, but now i am happy to say that we are much closer now mainly because we were forced to be.

onward. there are two pictures that i plan on reflecting on for today: one when i was in middle school and the other when i started college. both transitional periods in my life and my mom was right there with me. i knew that i could call her up and ask her if i was doing my laundry correctly or come home and unload on her about a crappy day. she's the person i would go to for everything. i miss this, i hope to have this someday with my spouse (if that ever happens). i know i have friends and family but sorry it's just not the same, being apart isn't the same as being together all the time. i want to remember these two times and reflect on the happiness that is brought with these pictures. a good president is nice to have, but it will never ever come close to how important a mom is on a kids life and even a grown-ups life.





"i miss you dearly mom. i ask God to tell you hello and i love you every time i pray, which needs to be more often. i hope to make it to heaven to see you. one day at a time i suppose." - me

Saturday, February 14, 2009

step of faith

this is such an inspiring video. i think this is a great thing Chris is doing. i think to a certain extent that it is great to respect and recognize other religions as well as truly care for their prayer requests. i think this is a great statement of faith, allowing God to provide and keep him safe on his journey as well as a spiritual journey for Chris and for the prayer requests. i think this is the kind of statement that needs to be shown to the world. plus it's dang awesome!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

humbled

two things have humbled me this week. two very personal instances (you have been warned):

1. saw a lady sitting on the side of the road with a sign that said "anything would help" and then another sign that had a smiley face. no one would acknowledge her, like she wasn't even there. i read a quote in a book, "under the overpass", by a homeless man, Peter, and he said this: "A smile is such an easy thing to give away, don’t you think?" that really hit me and i try and show people love through acknowledgment and a friendly smile and whatever else i feel prompted to do. so in this instance i was in my car headed to work after a shoot and i don't carry cash so i had nothing to give other than my smile. we locked eyes and i saw her light up from my measly little smile. not many instance have brought me to breaking out in tears, but this was one. God humbled me that Tuesday afternoon.

2. i stepped out of my comfort zone and played a couple songs at an open mic night at nnu at the brick house, mainly filled with friends. i knew the songs in and out, but nervousness and my ego got to me; i felt like i butchered the songs and was embarrassed for myself. coming home, i reflected on this and noticed it was a way for God to humble me and show me that i need to rely on Him and not on myself and my own talents. i have been saying a certain phrase whenever i feel pain or discomfort or embarrassment and that is "it only makes me stronger" and i feel like this is another instance that has made me stronger.

more grace please.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

we are not the same as we used to be, if we are, we are doing something wrong

mewithoutyou

i've been listening to mewithoutyou a lot lately; they have some great songs and such awesome lyrics. here are some lines that i really enjoy. mainly from "catch for us the foxes".

- Why tear out single pages when you can throw away the book? Why pluck one string when you can strum the guitar?
- We'll be like torches! Torches together!
- My life is a cup of sugar I’ve borrowed before time began and forgot to return.
- I need more grace than I thought.
- Brother, I'm far; brother im far way; brother away from everything good!
- But you untied me - didn't you untie me, Lord?
- The trap I set for you seems to have caught my leg instead.
- In a sweater poorly knit...
- I do not exist, only YOU exist.
- If I come without a thing, I come with all I need.
- God is love and love is real
- A glass can only spill what it contains.
- Jonah where's that boat goin? Your ship set with eager sails?
- Oh, pretenders, let's go down. Lets go down- won't you come on down? Oh, pretenders Lets go down-Down to the river and pray?
- Daniel broke the king's decree, Peter stepped from the ship to the sea; there was hope for Job like a cut down tree, I hope that there's such hope for me.
- If I didn't have You as my guide I'd still wander lost in Sinai
- So I'll ask Your forgiveness with every breath, If there was no way into God, I would never have laid in this grave of a body for so long, dear.
- I'll ring your doorbell, until you let me in and I can no longer tell where 'You' end and 'I' begin.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

the people speak, and they are heard

Blink 182 is back. the best news i have heard in a long time. I can't wait to see them. get ready folks, they're coming!

Monday, February 2, 2009

i am an adult

walking into my house tonight right around midnight, something just clicked. i am an adult. i am self-sufficient, i have no one asking me where i'm going or when i'll be back, i am not asking people for money or paying people back, i get my own food, i pay my own bills, i control my schedule, no one telling me to not buy something. it is a very weird thinking; something i've always realized, but never really clicked until tonight.

i also realized tonight, that i am a child. i am still holding onto youthful ways. i'm not saying that it is a good or bad thing; i will say that it's both. it's funny how and when certain things become realized to us. ironic.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

not movie critics

i truly feel that i am my worst critic. i say this a lot when referring to my own work whether it be working with videos, pictures, or playing music. i feel like i am such a perfectionist and have that ideal look or sound in my mind and somewhere in the transfer from mind to material (so to speak) bits and pieces get lost, thus tainting it. i think this drives me to try and obtain this perfection which i know in the back of my mind that i will never get to that point but i can make little increments towards it.

i may be my worst critic, but i feel like i have become my best motivation too.

frozen hike

yesterday i had the opportunity to enjoy God's great creation. a few friends and i went out to one of our favorite spots, jump creek. every time i am out there, i am reminded of God's uniqueness, beauty, and love. i feel right now God has been really speaking to me through all sorts of His creation and sadly, not so much through His word. funny how that happens but then other times it's the reverse.

it has been super cloudy the past couple weeks and yesterday was no different but i had hope that the sun would poke it's head out for us and when we reached the top of the canyon, the sun, as phil said, "was just lovin on us." it was truly a peaceful experience; i did bring my cameras with me, but sometimes pictures can't capture the entire feeling and beauty. also i keep forgetting to switch from my telephoto lens to a wider lens so i didn't get the pictures i really wanted. o-well, means i have to go out there again. it was at first a little chilly, but once we got moving, we did warm up. enjoy.