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4617 Alabama Ave

You may remember a month or so ago I mentioned that I was trying to buy a house in St. Elmo. Well, after a great deal of negotiating and hurdle-jumping we finally managed to close yesterday and now I am the proud owner of 4617 Alabama Avenue. Monique Lea (of the Lea Group) was my realtor and did a stellar job sorting out all the details and juggling the ups and downs of the negotiation process. I couldn't have asked for a better representative.

So now begins a new phase in my life, that of "homeowner". I'm sure you'll see many a post about my experiences in that sphere along with questions for tips and advice on home repairs. Feel free to throw in your two cents.

First question: For anyone who's had heating and air work done on their house, who would you recommend for installation of a new system? I'll be getting estimates next week I hope.

iPod Shuffle

I just completed an offer on freeipodshuffle.com to help a friend get his free Shuffle. So, if you want to help me get one, and then help yourself get one, you can sign up under me at http://www.FreeiPodShuffle.com/?r=17761584. Thanks. (Remember, don't user your primary email address because you'll probably get loads of spam.)

Papa M video

Some of you will remember that I shot a short film about 6 months ago with Jim Burer. It was a 4 minute music video of a Papa M song called Krusty. I got to see the final product a few months ago after Jim finished editing it, but I never got around to getting my own copy of the DVD. Jim recently contacted Papa M (David Pajo) about the video and sent him a copy of it. Turns out David loved it and wanted to post it on his own website. I still haven't gotten my own copy, but you can view (a very small version) of it on Papa M's site and a larger version on Jim's site.

"You're a good man..."

For the last week or two, the Drama Association at Covenant has been performing "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown." I haven't seen it yet, but evidently it's been quite a hit and they're doing an encore performance of it this Wednesday night at 7:30. Beck and I are going to go, and if you're interested, you should reserve tickets now because supposedly they've been selling out fast.

Mayoral Photos

Last Tuesday night I helped the Chattanooga Pulse cover the mayoral election runoff. Along with Aaron Mesh I was assigned to cover the party as Ann Coulter's constituents anxiously awaited the election results. Unfortunately Coulter didn't win, but we did get some good shots. The Pulse is running two photo essays side-by-side, mine and David Andrews, their staff photographer. If you'd like to check out the images you can see them all here.

Frozen Dixon

Thanks for the reminder Totten. I did get some great pictures from this weekend, particularly from the Quiet Ones show -- a lot of long-exposure shots of people dancing and jamming. This one really caught my attention because of how perfectly still Dixon is while everything around him is in motion. It's almost creepy how sharp his face is compared to the blur that John is behind him. Guess that Dixon's one focused dude...

macSold

FYI, I sold the iBook last week. Thanks to everyone who expressed interest...

On Maurice Sendak

...In the Sendak world, stories unfold like dreams, where images connect emotionally and serendipitously, not by the logic imposed by grown-ups when they are awake. In much of his work, beauty and sorrow walk hand in hand.

That's a line from an article in today's New York Times about the Maurice Sendak exhibit at the Jewish Museum. For me, and for many of you I'm sure, Sendak always creates a incredible feeling of nostalgia for my childhood. Books like Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen are inextricably linked to evenings curled up with a book before falling asleep at night. If I were in New York, you know where I'd be this weekend...

Teddy Cross, Photographer

On Monday night my boss at Coptix, Jeffrey Cross invited me over for dinner. Initially he had just mentioned that his wisteria vines were blooming and thought I might like to photograph them, but then asked me to stay for dinner. I did take some pictures of the wisteria, but those pictures weren't nearly as interesting as the ones that 9 year-old Teddy Cross shot when I let him play with my camera. I just finished looking over the 50+ photographs that he took over the period of about a half-hour that night, and he looks to be a promising little photographer. This series he shot of his little sister Lexi are some of the better ones, but they're nearly all interesting, from the photos of his snakes, Slithery and Slitherie, to the close-ups of the crystals he's growing in the kitchen. I have a feeling he'll be asking to borrow the camera most every time i see him now.

More Rome Photos

I love this tree, and I love where it sits on this hill on Hwy 100 just outside of Rome. The last couple times I've been through there I've taken pictures of it. The way it's silhouetted on the crest of the hill is striking and forces me to stop every time. These are two more shots from that afternoon with my Dad a couple weekends ago.

Montgomery Country

Last weekend my Dad and I met in Rome, Georgia to spend the day with my cousins, Monty and Pat Montgomery. Dad had been up in Atlanta for a PCA committee meeting and Rome is a good meeting place in the middle. Monty and Pat took us to a little restaurant over the border in Alabama called Fibbers that has some of the best fried catfish I've ever had. They also have one of the largest all-you-can-eat buffets I've ever seen. There's a scale at the entrance to the restaurant noting that certain customers can "pay-by-the-pound," and they weren't kidding.

After lunch we returned to Buck's Mountain where Monty and Pat live and spent a lazy afternoon watching the various wildlife that inhabit their property. Afterwards Dad and drove around the area for a while taking pictures - hence the self-portrait. As I've mentioned before, Rome, Georgia is Montgomery country and there's still a good bit of land there considered the Montgomery homestead. On top of that, it's always a bit sobering to wander the cemetaries there and find them full of Montgomery headstones. But something about that place is always very refreshing for me. Even though I've never lived there, in a strange way it feels like home.

On a side note, you may have noticed that comments are currently broken. Hopefully I'll have them up and running again shortly.

mac4sale

Speaking of macs, i'm selling my old iBook. When my mac became my primary development box at work I decided to upgrade to a PowerBook. so, now I have a perfectly good iBook G4 that I'm planning on selling on eBay, unless someone wants to buy it directly from me before then. The specs are listed below, and the only request that I have is that I know you personally, or know someone who can vouch for you as legit, or that you be willing to let me receive full payment before sending the laptop to you.

Specs:
Price: $800 (plus shipping if necessary ~$25)
Product: iBook G4
Processor: 800MHz
HD: 30GB
CD-RW (Combo) Drive
Memory: 640MB
Screen: 12"
OS: Mac OS X 10.3+

Extras: Airport Extreme Wireless card is installed and I'm throwing in a little USB Bluetooth hub that allows you to connect to the laptop with a wireless keyboard/mouse/etc.

This price is about the average asking price on eBay for an equivalent model.

If you're interested and in Chattanooga, you can swing by Coptix anytime and check it out. If you're out of town, I can email pictures. Feel free to email me.

UPDATE: Sold the iBook last week. Thanks everyone!

New BDF Trailer

The barking dog film boys have a new trailer up. Praise/criticism/etc. welcome by way of comment.

C.S. Lewis lecture

Tonight is the annual UTC C.S. Lewis Lecture. There's information online here and the details are below you're interested. Stephen Beck and Jonathan Lee and I are all going if anyone wants to meet up before or afterwards.

Monday April 4, 2005 7:30p.m.
Genes as Resources: A New Image of Humanity
Gilbert Mielaender
Admission Free
Benwood Auditorium
New Engineering Building
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga