May 2004 Archives

©Dave Marquis 2004 Zenit ET

 This is another picture from the second Oakland cemetery series that I took over a week ago. I took this photo wondering what memories will be left of us after a generation or two. I have walked through many of the Twin Cities cemeteries and it is a sad sight to see so many long forgotten people buried there. Their grave markers get abused from young kids down to the very lawn mowers that chip and knock them over. Some just sink into the murky realm of forgotten relatives. All hope is not lost though. There are a number of restoration groups around the country trying to restore the dignity of the forgotten souls buried in cemeteries arcoss America. To me, it isn't the question of were we go when we die, but what happens to our memory when we are gone.

Not a lot going on here tonight. I am just playing around with a new server for www.japanish.org. I would like to be able to get Gallery to work like it is supposed to. It looks like I will be switchng to a different web server platform.
Here is a photo that I took at the Oakland Cemetery.

©Dave Marquis 2004 Zenit ET

 I am wondering why people seem to skimp on the flowers that they place at grave sites. I mean that these flowers that I have captured here on film are fake, plasticy things that will probably be on this planet for centuries if not millenniums to come. This is also a sign that we live in a busy world, where people do not have time to make it out to their loved ones even once every two weeks to change the flowers. It is a truly sad thing to see. I am just thinking that if people really wanted to never forget a death of someone they loved, wouldn't they choose the best flowers?  Fake flowers are really just the tip of the iceberg. In that I mean that it is not common to see forgotten people whose markers have been graffitied, knocked over, or have simply have been forgotten and sunk into the ground so little is left to even find these people by if it wasn't for a burial map.  I took this picture while on a walk with my wife, Yuko on May 10, 2004. It was taken with my Zenit ET on Fuji Superia 200 color film.

Dave Marquis Zenit ET

 Today Yuko and finished up our baby class and I have to say that it was very informative even though I did find it annoying to have to get up at 7:00 AM on a Sunday. I didn't think that the videos were that graphic, but I guess some of the men and women thought that they were. One lady started swaying in her seat as soon as the discussion on C-Sections came up. So this swooning pregnant lady stands up to recover and that was the worst thing that she could have done and down she went. Let it be said that we should have taken a break while they got her comfortable and back in the world of the conscious. I believe that Daichi will be here sometime in early June. I guess we will just have to wait and see if my prediction comes true or not.  After Yuko and I got home around 3:00 PM today, we went for a nice long walk. I should have worn my hat as I get a sun burn so easy on my almost bald head. The Oakland Cemetery ( 1, 2, 3 ) is huge, aprox. 12 city blocks long and 2 or 3 blocks across, which makes for long walks and new photographic oppurtunites.  I took this photo in the Oakland Cemetery with my trust Zenit ET that I bought new for $23.00 + shipping on Fuji Superia 200 color film bought on e-bay.com for $.50 a roll.

Dave Marquis Zenit ET

 I found this cool bottle laying in the Oakland Cemetery on Monday May 10, 2004. I just got the pictures back a couple of days ago from Walgreen's and I am just getting aroung to scanning them.  

This weekend has been a busy one for me. Last night I attended a Metro Student Senate meeting that ran from 6:00 Pm until 830 PM. Today Yuko and went to the first day of a two day birthing class to prepare us for the upcoming event. Can anything really prepare me for the "shock and awe" that is about to take place? Yuko and I got to see what it is all about sans the censoring done on TLC (The Learning Cannel). I don't really know if Yuko is ready, but I am! I am growing closer and closer to Daichi everyday.  

This picture was taken with my trusty Zenit ET and Fuji Superia 200 color film.

There is a new MT out on moveabletype's website. I have looked it over and I don't think that I am going to make the jump. I know that I am a little behind the ball compared to some other people on posting the news, but I would still like to discuss it with anyone that has the time or the gumption. It's not that I don't want to support Six Apart or MoveableType, but I just don't see the need as of yet as I am not really ultilizing 2.651 to it's fullest.

Mere weeks after beginning the public beta, there seems to be an exodus away from MT in the works, or at least a loud vocalization from the blogosphere in contest of Six Apart's latest offering of their standard-like blog application Movable Type.¹

Well I don't think I will be making a change any time soon, unless there is a need to. I guess that I am not the bandwagon jumper type.... I have put in way too many hours or work and frustration to change things as they are.

To many, this feels like a slap in the face. The major complaints seem to be nicely summed up by Lisa and revolve around "distorted communication model, their absolutely deranged licensing, and their featureless MT 3."¹

To sum up my positition I beleive what we have in MT 2.651 works and why fix it if it isn't broken.

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¹Patchwoork Progression: The Sting of MT 3.0

Updated Thoughts on the New MT 3.0

I saw this over at MT-Blacklist/Comment Spam Clearinghouse (by the way, Jay has done a great service to me as my site would be clogged with comment spam if it wasn't for him.) Jay has got his head on striaght, so to speak. We should wait and see what happens with MT.

An arguement for MT and their new upgrade:

What those of you who feel this way have to understand is that, it’s not Six Apart’s job to stay compatible with plugins. In moving a platform drastically forward, things sometimes have to break. Now, it is up to the authors to move forward and catch up with MT 3.0.²

The voic of reason to the masses:

Lastly, there is absolutely no reason for me to rush anything out the door, because this is a Developer’s release. It is not a feature release.

That’s right. You should not upgrade.

MT 2.661 is working fine for you, no? You have MT-Blacklist and all of your plugins work, no? No major bugs giving you the blues? Excellent! Stick with it and let us developers (both internal and external to MT) do our jobs to make the next version of MT the version that you want.

This release is for us developers and for us, it is seriously heavy on features. If you think for a moment, you will understand what that will mean for the next version of MT. ²

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²MT-Blacklist/Comment Spam Clearinghouse : The Collective Deep Breath

 I saw this picture over at hmmn: musings from the far east(erwood) and I was amazed. Not just at this one picture but from all of Kurt's photos. I am sorta jealous and I hope some day to be able to catch the same moods in my photography that he does. I beleive This picture is so outstanding because of the way that the encircling cherry blossoms pull the eye towards the subject of the picture, a couple enjoying the flowers in the park.

 I made a conscious decision this year to try to capture the ephemeral blossoms in black and white. Not sure how successful this attempt was, but you be the judge. -Kurt Easterwood

 I beleive it works and it is great. Why? Because I feel that a color image would have let the stark color differences between the sakura (cherry blossoms) and the grass would have distracted from the centeral point of the photo, the couple.

This of couse is just my opinion......

 Well I am back again. I know that it has been awhile and I did promise to get back into the grove of posting again. In fact I just took time on monday to go out and photography the downed trees from last Sunday's storm over at the local cemetery. This house/baby thing sure eats up most of my free time.... It is raining today and it is sure depressing. I wish the sun would come out and cheer things up a bit.

 Nils over at Alive in Kyoto posted this cute picture of his little boy, Gregory. Man is he cute!!!!!  I am soooo excitted about our baby, Daichi birth. Now the panick has started to settle in, I am left wondering what to do. Where is that baby manual all new babies are supposed to come with?

Well I made it through another semester. Well not quite... I need to finish a large paper over the summer as I couldn't get it done on time.... Tomorrow is my last day of working this week. Yippieee!

Jillian

Man have I been busy this past week. I think it is just about to slow down and wham. I get hit again with another "surprise." Well I have been finishing up a couple of last minute projects that I should have been working on a few months ago. What was I thinking? Well it is nearing an end and I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, or is that heavan? I hope I can survive this week and all should be well. In other news, Yuko and I have another early AM visits to the docotr's office. I am certainly not happy about that. Since Yuko can't drive, why doesn't the doctor come to her? Here is a photo of my cute niece.