Well its good to see that Fond of Snape is back up and running...and to celebrate, I have stolen one of her posts for my own gain:-) Part of my new outlook for 2008 is to post more and to open the door a little wider to give a peek of what is like to be Uzz. Read, learn, love.
8 Things I'm Passionate About
1. My son...aka Mini-Uzz. He really has no idea how much he enriches my soul and how he changed my life for the better...but he does know exactly how much I love him. He gave me a purpose and I never have to question his love for me. As I have said before, I am humbled that God grants me the privilege of being his father.
2. Friends. Some people are blessed with many friends, but I am blessed to have a number of incredible friends who are more like individual soul mates! They know who they are and there is nothing I would not do for them...well maybe a few things.
3. Music. I can track the best and worst moments of my life through the music I have listened to. I cannot even remember a time when music was not important to me. It started with a love for the Beatles years after the broke up and continues with all the incredible independent produced music that is out there waiting for you to discover. Music drives my creative side...I can see the colors and movements in every song I hear and the emotional impact is incalculable.
4. Photography. Mainly its what I do for a living and there are days that I feel nothing creative at all...but when things are going well, its a wonderful organic process that starts over every time to get a new subject. My goal is to learn to light better and create images that I can use in stock photography. I love the fact that photography allows me the chance to not work a 9-5 job!!
5. Coffee...you have no idea how much I love it:-)
6. Film. One of my goals in life is to direct my own film...actually...I would like to direct the screenplay that a buddy and I wrote awhile ago. My brain visualizes things in movement, which is odd for a still photographer, and when a song moves me, I can see how it should look on film. I'm quite the film snob that my buddy is, but I am pretty bad:-)
7. Reading and learning. Whether you realize it or not, we are always learning...then there are people like me who have a natural curiosity about the world around us. Reading is only one mode of learning, but its one that I thoroughly enjoy!
8. God. Last, but not remotely least, my faith in Christ is the cornerstone of my life. He has helped me through some horrible times and He has seen me through the best of times. I don't deserve the Grace that is provided to me, but its something I am quite thankful for.
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8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die
1. Find her and love again
2. Travel to the U.K. and Europe
3. Direct a film
4. Write a book
5. Take the perfect photo
6. Learn to play an instrument well
7. Own a house
8. Sing in a band!
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8 Things I Say Often
1. "its phenomenal"
2. "Excellent"
3. "trust me...I'm incredibly uninteresting"...I say that to people when I am trying to shoot a candid shot of them and their tendency is to look at me.
4. "you want to stick with that?"
5. "life's to short for bad music and bad film"
6. "awesome!!"
7. "dude"
8. "I love you"
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8 Books Have Read Recently
1. Currently reading "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
2. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"
3. "Running with Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs
4. "Assassination Vacation" by Sarah Vowell
5. "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers
6. "You Shall Know Our Velocity!" by Dave Eggers
7. "The Great Divorce" C.S. Lewis (again)
8. an old Edgar Allan Poe retrospective
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8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over
A quick random sampling without a lot of effort
1. "Blood On The Motorway" - DJ Shadow
2. "In My Life" - The Beatles
3. "Don't Bang The Drum" - The Waterboys
4. "She's The One" - World Party
5. "Tomorrow Never Knows" - The Beatles
6. "New Year's Day" - U2
7. "The Bleeding Heart Show" - The New Pornographers
8. "Heroes" - David Bowie
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8 Things That Attract Me To My Best Friends
1. A strong intellect
2. The ability to be goofy and make me laugh
3. People who challenge me to be better
4. Truthful and honesty...no matter if it hurts
5. Their acceptance of my oddness
6. Those who help me try new things
7. a mutual love of music and film
8. Trust