Photos of needy children in some developing countries are so often cliché. Sad face, wide eyes, and even emaciation. Self-titled “Life Through the Eyes of the Orphan” takes the Day for being something more. You […]
Author: Joe Wilcox
Sunday Haiku
I never could understand the idea of Haiku, and really still don’t, but I heard something about the Japanese poetry on the radio last week that made me wonder about writing some. Just as an experiment. I don’t get the whole syllable thing, and don’t even try, instead focusing on juxtaposition—a concept core to my prose style.
Any coaching would be appreciated. As a writing experiment, I work fast, banging out the would-be Haiku rapid-gunfire like. I put together this lot in less than 10 minutes.
Friday paycheck
Sunday best
Church tax
Taste of blood
Torturer smiles
Water drips
Flickr a Day 165: ‘Let Me Ride–West Village’
As an artform, iPhonography is more than just about the camera or the shooter. Post-processing matters, too. That my friends is justification for picking the fifth subway pic featured in this series (see Days 24, 45, 72, and 155 for the others). Ryan Vaarsi captured self-titled “Let Me Ride—West Village” one week ago using iPhone 6 Plus. Vitals: f/2.2, ISO 100, 1/15 sec, 4.2mm.
The photo takes the Day for composition, color, and contrast that looks more like film than digital. Ryan got the classic look in part by applying the VSCO Cam app‘s A1 “analog” preset. The app is free, but most presets cost something. A1 is among a collection of 12 for $2.99. iPhone users can shoot straight from the app or edit existing pics.
Responsible Reporting Section 2 ‘The New Journalisms’: Chapter IV
Today’s excerpt from Responsible Reporting: Field Guide for Bloggers, Journalists, and Other Online News Gatherers spotlights the fourth type of journalism. The other three: Contextual, process, and conversational. Advocacy journalism is the most provocative of the five that the ebook identifies. Many people working in traditional news media outlets would scoff at the idea.
They would be wrong. Advocacy journalism has a long history—centuries old—but the Internet magnifies its reach and the soapbox upon which its proponents stand.
Flickr a Day 164: ‘Helicopter Flight over New York City’
GoPro cameras are pure fun for catching dramatic videos. But they also grab stills as the motion goes. That’s what Anthony Quintano did on March 21, 2015. He captured today’s section, which offers great perspective and […]
Flickr a Day 163: ‘Royal Parking Lot’
Today’s selection is meant as a teaser for album/set “Ladakh“, which compiles photos Prabhu B Doss shot on two different motorcycle trips. Self-titled “Royal Parking Lot” takes the Day for composition and drama. The motorcycles […]
WWDC 2015: My Story in Tweets
As the week closes, I reflect on Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference, which commenced on June 8, 2015. I watched the keynote on Apple TV and live-tweeted from my comfy couch. Fittingly from Chromebook Pixel LS.
I find iOS 9 interesting enough to test. Today, I signed up for an Apple Developer account; my old one expired years ago. The process took a phone call, because Apple claimed my bank declined to pay. How strange. So I tried another card. Then a third. Hey, my accounts are good! I called the bitten-fruit for assistance, and someone senior in developer support manually processed the $99 fee, because of the glitch. How fraked is that?
Flickr a Day 162: ‘The Difficult Way to the Top’
The photostream of Georgie Pauwels just kills me. Picking a single pic is burdensome because her smartly composed street photography captures character and evokes emotion. I debated between today’s selection and self-titled “Finally Spring“, both […]
Siri Says: ‘Google is Big Brother’
I have some advice for the European Union Competition Commission: Lay off. You don’t need to reign in the Google monopoly. Apple will correct the market around search and mobile. That’s one of two related takeaways from Monday’s WWDC 2015 keynote. iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan up Apple’s push into search and proactively-delivered information in big ways. That is if delivery is as good as the company promises.
The other takeaway harkens back to what I told you last week about Tim Cook’s piracy rant against unnamed Facebook and Google alongside the friggin U.S. government—plural if thinking beyond the Feds: It’s BS marketing. Apple prepares a major competitive assault against Big G, hitting where damage can be severe: Perception and profits. I cannot overstate Google’s vulnerability, which ironically is where the search and information giant exploited Microsoft during this Century.
Flickr a Day 161: ‘McDonald’s #1 Store Museum’
American fast food is perhaps best known by the iconic hamburger, which Frank Kehren captures with self-titled “McDonald’s #1 Store Museum”. The recreated restaurant represents the ninth opened but first official in the chain; Des […]
Flickr a Day 160: ‘Every Little Piece of My Heart’
I came across the photostream of Lotus Carroll about a month ago. There was never a doubt that she would be featured but more question: “Which piece of art?” For weeks, I kept her Flickr open in a browser tab as reminder. Had intellect triumphed over intuition—post immediately rather than wait—I would have missed delightful self-titled “Every Little Piece of My Heart”, which she shot on May 18, 2015.
Lotus used Canon EOS 5D Mark III and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens (gotta love Canon L) to capture today’s selection. Vitals: f/4, ISO 640, 1/200 sec, 88 mm. You might think she performed some Photoshop montage magic, but this is a clever natural shot—a backdoor selfie with focus on her eight year-old. The self-title punctuates meaning. Visual storytelling is rarely this good…unless it’s another pic from her fabulous Flickr.
Tidal fixes Android App Bug
On June 3rd, music streaming service Tidal updated its Android aop, which in my extensive testing over the weekend resolves a catastrophic bug that skips songs. The previous version jumped tracks before they finished playing on my Nexus 6 or 9. Last week, the lossless listening provider acknowledged the problem. The fix is in, and I am satisfied.
Tidal delivers HiFi streaming—1411kbps Free Lossless Audio Codec—at the premium price of $19.99 per month. For a music streaming charging more, about double other paid service competitors, the glitch was inexcusable. I first reported the erratic behavior nearly a month ago.