Cameras Galore!

My school's photography club is all old-school, film, dark-room. Which is great! Except I didn't have a film camera. Notice, the past tense. :)

Yesterday I bought a Pintax MEsuper for $25. Amazing, I know. Especially after I cruised $200 ones on Ebay.

Pintax's birthday: somewhere between 1977-1984, aka older than me.

Also, I have decided to name my cameras, because I'm a girl and we like to name things. So I went to babynames.com. I decided the Pintax should be a boy, and the Canon should be a girl.

Lovely pictures that Clover took of Plato (no, I would not do that to my own children).

I would post the picture that Plato took of Clover, but it may take a few more minutes to process... :P

The funniest part: It has no battary. I took 15 pictures, trying to figure out how to adjust the shutter speed before consulting the manual (yes, I'm slow). Once there, it said that it was adjusted in the screen, through up and down arrows. I pushed, but nothing happened. So I read on, and apparently it works at a 1/125 speed on default without battery. I opened it up, and alas! I had just assumed it was working because it took pictures! Which kind of stinks, because I don't think any of my pictures were bright enough for that speed, but THAT'S SO COOL!

I Plan Like a Communist

In social we're doing economic systems right now, and learning about the different techniques of Lenin and Stalin. As you know, the government has the responsibility of planning the economy in communist countries. They would have these long range goals, and then shorter ones with structured priorities and more detail. Then they would weigh the different resources at hand and edit the goals accordingly.

While I really disagree with the communist principle, I respect the amount of organization that goes into that. However, as Stalin, Lenin, and myself have found out, life rarely goes according to plan. Stuff happens. Things fall through while opportunities spring up. There are some days that I wish each minute could be prioritized and completed with a neat check box.

However, I think you'd miss a lot of the beauty of life. While it's true, our God is organized and structured, the universe is not linear. Each minute is so complex. For instance, Fibonacci spirals in nature, positive feedback loops in birth, and the structure in languages. Today I realised how much the pi blows my mind. The best plans in life are ones that humans can't create.

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out
- "Beautiful Day", U2

Photo by Dunechaser, http://www.flickr.com/photos/dunechaser/104969712/ . Attribution, noncommercial, share alike creative commons license.

100 Snapshots

A Work in Progress: Right-side link again

1. Safety

2. Stale

3. Feathered: Seagull that was investigating a McDonald's bag on Prince's Street in Edinburgh, Scotland

4. Hot


5. Open


6. Forever


7. Love

8. Touch


9. Colorless


10. Blue


11. Smell


12. Growth


13. Irony: Bacon for supper in St. Monas, Scotland.

14. Wrong

15. More

16. Feel

17. Muse

18. Child


19. Within

20. Pale

21. Earth

22. Torn

23. Scars

24. Stray


25. Drops

26. Against

27. Dry

28. Fresh

29. Covered

30. Bold

31. High

32. Shadow

33. Concrete

34. Vein

35. Rush

36. Yellow

37. Empty


38. Cliché

39. Central

40. Loss

41. Wonder

42. Sweet

43. Poetry

44. Heavy

45. Fall

46. Chair

47. Statue

48. Kool-Aid

49. Dark

50. Breath

51. Garbage

52. Silk

53. Teacher

54. Cream

55. Wash

56. Corner

57. Rose

58. Field

59. Two

60. Red

61. Music

62. Rope

63. Decrepit

64. Chase

65. Dream

66. Dance


67. Smile

68. Smirk

69. Reflection

70. Soul

71. Lock: Entry to Roswell Chappel in Roswel, Scotland.

72. Key


73. Rust

74. Find

75. Lose


76. Drag

77. Wind: My kite on a September day

78. Rest

79. Swing

80. Meeting

81. Vacant

82. Hazy

83. Release

84. Gather

85. Swarm

86. Road

87. Wait


88. Stand

89. Distance

90. Trapped

91. Desk

92. Detach

93. Shatter

94. Home

95. Shy

96. Tackle


97. Begin

98. End

99. Time


100. Life

The Lessons of Vanity Fair Part 1: Blood and Water

I am still reading Vanity Fair, and a part stood out:

"And so I am tempted to think that to be dispised by her sex is a very great compliment to a woman." (p. 124)

Why? Jealousy. The Writer continues:

"How is it that Amelia, who had such a number of friends at school, and was so beloved there, comes out into the world and is spurned by her discriminating sex! My dear sir, there were no men at Miss Pinkerton's establishment... When George, their handsme brother, ran off directly after breakfast, and dined from home half-a-dozen times a week, no wonder the neglected sisters felt a little veaxation." (p. 125)

This quote makes you angry when you know of the fate of George and Amelia (watch the movie, then read the book).

I may be moralizing, but it appears the lesson here is that blood ought to run thicker than water till that water becomes blood (and I'm not referring to Moses), as hard as it may be at times. What do you guys think the balance should be between friends and family?

Purity

Purity is something that people generally try to achieve, but find hard to define. There are some things that are impure, and some things that are pure. Then there's the blurr in the middle, with a faint but definite line separating the pure fuzz from the impure fuzz. Furthermore, different situations may be more or less tempting to others, that may or may not result in a compromise of mental purity. Basically, it's a personal level.

God makes it clear that "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Phil 4:8).

I've been doing a lot of thinking on what purity means in the last two weeks. I have come to a conclusion: that ring there (points to her ring above) is not a promise to my friends. It's not a promise to my parents or even my future husband. It's a promise to God, and He holds me to account for everything I've done. I think a major stumbler in the whole purity social sector is the emphasis on the motive. True Love Waits talks about the joy in being able to tell your spouse that you came to your marriage pure, but what about God? He has higher standards than your physical purity- He cares about the state of your soul and mind as well.

I have had some deep struggles with this in my past, and they continue today. These last two months have been like riding a bike uphill steadily, but now that [I think] I've gotten to the top, the view is amazing. I'm reminded of God's faithfulness and find joy again in spending time with Him. Our God is good. :)

Did You Know That....

I have freaking amazing friends. I can't even start to describe them. They're such an encouragment through life's struggles and temptations (MC and CS) and amazing laughs (CH and BZ). They're fun to catch up with (SC) and sad to say goodbye to (RL, AF, and KL). In fear of sounding corny, I don't know where I'd be without all of you. I miss each of you (since everyone I've mentioned in this blog is {not, no longer} in Calgary) and hope to see you soon. You guys are awesome.