Destruction of Craft

From a somewhat embarrassing misfortune, I discovered a large disappointment. I've known about the desperate situation art forms are in as society becomes streamlines everything and only the select few still appreciate art. I of course have taken part in the simplified art created by modern technology but it disappoints me more so when reduces his career based on a form of art into sufficient and quicker ways to make money.
Well, simply put, I made a huge mistake when I decided to trust habit as I made my way outside in the morning. Suffice to say, I grabbed the wrong set of car keys, the one without a house key on it while naturally locking the door knob lock before shutting it. Without a house key, I was stranded outside with no way back inside for a very long time. My only option required calling a locksmith to open the door.
For much of my life, I've enjoyed figuring out how things work. This fascination has fueled both a high amount of informational reading and hands on experience. Somewhere within my readings I found an article on the internet about lock picking. The basic actions are simple enough yet to successfully pick a lock, one must know the inner workings of the tumbler and the grace to unlock in correctly.
What disappointed me the most about this locksmith was the destruction of his craft. Rather than walk up and rather than pick the lock he pulled out two square inflatable bags similar to those used to check blood pressure. After placing the bags above and below the lock, the smith simply used a paint scraper like a credit card and opened the door. At first this might seem as a simpler way to do his job rather than pick the lock but the first thing the smith said when he arrived on the scene was a long the lines of lets see if we can at least save the lock, as if he was gonna break the lock if unable to open it with the paint scraper.
In the end, I was disappointed by the absence of the lock picking, the one thing I was looking forward to during the three hour wait. As the world continues its journey into a world of pure efficiency, it seems art forms will be sacrificed as a result.

Cut Into Little Pieces

I decided that today, considering how sunny the weather has been lately, that I would go out and take advantage of it by practicing my photography skills. Another activity that I do occasionally enjoy alongside scenery photography, is photo editing. So using Picnik.com, here comes a set of my photos.

This a sweet Mustang I found upon my photographic journey, especially since its a black GT. I originally was gonna make the tree in the background that was pink be the only think in color, but I felt the blue tint of the Mustang looked a whole lot cooler.

This shot I barely got, I was looking at something else when I heard the two birds collide, and I turned fast enough with my finger on the shutter button before they landed, didn't even see either fly afterwards. I like the medium pencil sketch effect, plus the invert makes it look like a grainy film reel.

I was sitting in the car when I got the idea to take a picture of the side view mirror which in its view had two trucks as well as the house. I've always loved the neon effect, especially when coupled with the black and white layer before, but with the red door, garage door and window panels, the red seems to fit well.

This was one of the two birds in the flying picture beforehand when he was crossing the street. I used two different effects for this one, the first was called posterize which simply used a set number of colors and removes the rest. The second was 1960s which when coupled together with posterize makes the picture seem like something sort of out of a old magazine with an article about the Vietnam war.
Overall, although this may not be considered true art, I feel that the more I practice, the better I become at photography, even maybe one day I'll be really good at it, but for now, all I can do is practice. And in the end, I think practicing my skills was a good way to spend the day.

The Clap

Today, in my AP English class, after the final test was complete, I decided to try and start a slow clap. Although I had a near perfect progression, it did not catch on. Following some discussion about a friend's issue, a romantic one, a fellow participant and I decided that the problem would be resolved simply by a kiss at the end of the day which make the "issued" one's romantic issue leave their partner and go for our friend. As if stolen from my head, the fellow discussion participant who agreed with me said that they will be there at the location, and would start a slow clap but even then, could it be possible to complete such a feat. And would I just be Kyle and fail to rise to the occasion while letting Erick steal my thunder (Not Another Teen Movie reference)?
The slow clap has such a powerful effect, yet it has one fatal flaw, it only truly works in moves and television, locations where the perfect situation for a slow clap ever occur. The moment in teenage oriented films where the opportunity for a slow clap arises requires an action out of the ordinary that most high school students are too fearful to do. Even in a typical high school, generally no one has any clue as to what exactly is happening and it is highly unlikely a slow clap will start or even catch on. The moment itself is too short and therefore requires a keen to catch it and start a clap correctly or it would seem messed up and be ignored. Possibly the only way to have a successful slow clap would be to have a predetermined starter along with a dispersed group of people knowledgeable of the upcoming moment, in fact, the moment would have to have both people knowing what is about to happen to prevent any sort of variable or rejection. If a rejection occurs, the slow clap would fail and the clapper may appear to be an idiot of sorts. With the slow clap having way to many fallible components, it shall forever be left in the realm of film and television.
In the end, after a long day of anticipation, nothing came of the discussion. As luck would have it, the friend's romantic interest seemed to be in better terms with their relationship partner. Therefore the friend lost the courage to act and has been pushed back a step in their quest. As it seems, the moment for the slow clap is elusive and even if found, it requires a midas touch of sorts to make it work right. And to my friend, if you're reading, your day will come.

Officially Unofficial

I decided that if I was gonna write about my life to graduation, that I should make a list of things to do before then. Mind you, the list is tentative, as time goes by, things will be added and others will scratched off. But the goal remains the same, to make this year the great, to live it to the fullest, to be successful in all my endeavors, and maybe, here and there, make some girls swoon at the sight of me all the while changing the world.

Some of the items are more difficult than others, and some seem to be broken up. When it comes to difficulty or length, it won't matter. What will matter is that I've see myself out to do something meaningful with my life.

From Here on Out

It seems to be that the more I think about it, the more it freaks me out. I am approximately 443 days away from my graduation. That means I have 5 more quarters, a summer, a winter and spring break to do all that I wanted to do in high school career my before I do take the walk across the stage and receive that piece of paper. There hasn't ever been an official list of what I've wanted to complete before I graduate but there have been a lot of stuff that I've been either too afraid to do, or just haven't ever had a chance to do yet. All in all, it may be questionable as to why I'm starting this now and not at the beginning of summer vacation or at the start of my senior year. I guess I want to start now because this coming quarter may be the most important of my educational career so far and in the coming months before school lets out, I may do some pretty important stuff. Whatever happens, all I know is that from here on out, I have a ton of stuff I want to do, and 443 days to complete it.