Monday, January 5, 2015

Life Itself

I watched a documentary on CNN last night that reflected on the life of Roger Ebert called "Life Itself". Roger was a really smart guy, a prolific writer, and created a tremendous amount of content during his life and career -- both written as well as on television. The last few years he struggled with the effects of cancer yet he continued to review movies, write in his blog, and on social media up to literally his last day alive. He was an amazing writer (even won a Pulitzer for his movie reviews), and maintained what was described in the documentary as a pretty jolly demeanor despite his health problems. He didn't let his setbacks slow him down much.

I like learning about people like Roger. One of the things mentioned in the documentary was that he had a "Midwestern" style of writing, which was simple to understand yet he wrote intelligently at the same time. My writing style tends to mirror how I speak, and I always look for a funny angle even when the subject matter isn't necessarily funny. I really have nearly nothing in common with Mr. Ebert and his career path except we both have been on TV talking about movies, and we've both written a blog. Maybe that's more in common with him then I thought, now that I consider it.

Of course, one of the other passion projects in my life is taking photos.... and one of my newer cameras is the Polaroid Cube. It's small and has a specific purpose for me -- taking candid shots. I think most people use it to shoot videos with the Cube, but it also takes pictures, like these for example: (no, this is not an endorsement for the Cube -- I just think it's a fun little gadget and I paid full price for it, $99 - and talking about it was an excuse to transition into why there are photos in this post).

Poloroid Cube flashback --
October 2014 on the Morning Blend set
with Tina and Alex before a show.

Poloroid Cube at Walmart Neighborhood Market.
I shot this yesterday... it's only
a few days after the New Year
and Valentine's Day candy
is already stocked and ready.

Jimmy Dean blueberry pancakes
and sausage on a stick.
Food on a stick is the greatest
invention of the last 100+ years.

Poloroid Cube photo of my shopping cart
with Golden Oreo Mega Stuf cookies
and iced honey buns.
The Ken Carr diet.
I should write a book.