On Route 66...
Road Trip!
Leaving for the week on a road trip to Northern Arizona to shoot photography and video as well as do some historical and geographical research. Taking state highways to Paulden, the back road from Drake to Flagstaff. Then west to Williams on I-40 through to Ash Fork and at Seligman picking up Route 66 to Kingman. Return trip on the infamous "Highway of Death" US 93 back to Phoenix. See you later!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCYApJtsyd0
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
10/23/11
9/10/11
Road Trip
I am on a road trip through Arizona and New Mexico through next week. Follow me on Google+ as I post pictures along the way.
In the mean time consider following this blog in one of two ways. On the left center on my blog under Follow either choose to click the RSS button for your RSS Reader of choice or right below enter your email for email updates. Look forward to posts of Arizona and New Mexico in the Great Southwest of the United States on my return! See you then.
2/14/11
Geography of the Mind
The real estate of my moods...
Some call it "writer's block" but that seems to me a term more for professional writers who must create some work on a deadline. I have no deadline except the inevitable one that we all face. Besides, it's not just about writing for me either, it's about everything, the panoramic landscape of living.
Over the years I have come to understand intellectually that a lull in my creative self has value but the knowledge makes it no easier nonetheless. It is because I tend to view life itself as a creative endeavor. I'm usually figuring out new ways to do things, see situations in another way, ponder different points of view, read something stimulating, engaging in interesting conversation. It also means acts of creativity, snapping a picture here or there as it strikes me, writing something, creating a video and occasionally a piece of art. I used to do music until I lost my singing voice, an adjustment that caused a real crisis, a story for another time. I do believe though that event helped me understand the terrain a creative soul deals with much better, teaching me a lot about coping with a dry spell. I've never quite understood how some people repeat every day in much the same way and never give it a thought, I see that as incredibly boring, although evidently they do not. To each his own.
When I'm experiencing a lull in creativity, such as I am now, life seems flat, dull, sometimes melancholy and at its worst, fortunately rarely, depressingly black. My field of vision is narrowed and not by choice. It is a good thing I have a strong sense of self (some would argue, especially my sister, far too strong) and I recognize that it will pass and usually when it does, I burst with a maniacal creativity which would leave some (especially my sister) to believe I'm manic depressive. That's an incorrect diagnosis, it is much more mood swings, going from a lull to being charged up with ideas. I tend to think that is not unique among creative thinkers.
The real estate of my mind crosses this Saharan desert condition, with meager oasis scattered in between, every once in awhile and if I wanted to I could map the path it takes. It's enough that I know it is usually seasonal and occurs around this time every year, briefly in the very dead of summer, again somewhere around the beginning of winter. I can't be bothered to survey it except with fundamental navigational tools to get out of the terrain. Road maps to steer myself away have proved useless to me since every time I've tried to avoid it, it's actually made it worse, steering me towards believing it's a natural occurrence to recharge myself. Easier to consider it like a cactus absorbing stored water for lean times, since by the time I'm past it, I'm too engaged again to chart it. I'm busy moving on in the lush Sonoran desert, marveling at how the minimalist landscape maximizes what it has, utilizing it as inspiration while recharging from the taproot for more water.
The best anecdote to this vista of plodding mind and parched brain is doing exactly this...writing about it. It is an effort, sometimes more so than others. Thankfully I've learned from being in rougher territory, the aforementioned losing my singing voice, that this pause too will pass and my inherent nature is to be always learning and creating something.
Some call it "writer's block" but that seems to me a term more for professional writers who must create some work on a deadline. I have no deadline except the inevitable one that we all face. Besides, it's not just about writing for me either, it's about everything, the panoramic landscape of living.
Over the years I have come to understand intellectually that a lull in my creative self has value but the knowledge makes it no easier nonetheless. It is because I tend to view life itself as a creative endeavor. I'm usually figuring out new ways to do things, see situations in another way, ponder different points of view, read something stimulating, engaging in interesting conversation. It also means acts of creativity, snapping a picture here or there as it strikes me, writing something, creating a video and occasionally a piece of art. I used to do music until I lost my singing voice, an adjustment that caused a real crisis, a story for another time. I do believe though that event helped me understand the terrain a creative soul deals with much better, teaching me a lot about coping with a dry spell. I've never quite understood how some people repeat every day in much the same way and never give it a thought, I see that as incredibly boring, although evidently they do not. To each his own.
When I'm experiencing a lull in creativity, such as I am now, life seems flat, dull, sometimes melancholy and at its worst, fortunately rarely, depressingly black. My field of vision is narrowed and not by choice. It is a good thing I have a strong sense of self (some would argue, especially my sister, far too strong) and I recognize that it will pass and usually when it does, I burst with a maniacal creativity which would leave some (especially my sister) to believe I'm manic depressive. That's an incorrect diagnosis, it is much more mood swings, going from a lull to being charged up with ideas. I tend to think that is not unique among creative thinkers.
The real estate of my mind crosses this Saharan desert condition, with meager oasis scattered in between, every once in awhile and if I wanted to I could map the path it takes. It's enough that I know it is usually seasonal and occurs around this time every year, briefly in the very dead of summer, again somewhere around the beginning of winter. I can't be bothered to survey it except with fundamental navigational tools to get out of the terrain. Road maps to steer myself away have proved useless to me since every time I've tried to avoid it, it's actually made it worse, steering me towards believing it's a natural occurrence to recharge myself. Easier to consider it like a cactus absorbing stored water for lean times, since by the time I'm past it, I'm too engaged again to chart it. I'm busy moving on in the lush Sonoran desert, marveling at how the minimalist landscape maximizes what it has, utilizing it as inspiration while recharging from the taproot for more water.
The best anecdote to this vista of plodding mind and parched brain is doing exactly this...writing about it. It is an effort, sometimes more so than others. Thankfully I've learned from being in rougher territory, the aforementioned losing my singing voice, that this pause too will pass and my inherent nature is to be always learning and creating something.
1/12/11
Thinking Out Loud
Real Life is like fiction...
So why not write about it?
It is time, actually overdue, to recharge my creative batteries, set a new aspiration to challenge myself with. I do not remember a time that I was not writing something, even as a small child I scribbled in childish scrawl little stories and made notes my father proudly called his "five year olds diary." I was a very early voracious reader and to the chagrin of my siblings and later my classmates I had a vocabulary and ability to spell grades above the one I was currently in. My aunt would show me off to adult friends when I was a kindergartener and say to me "Spell Czechoslovakia!" to be followed by "Spell encyclopedia! hypothetical! observatory!" and her favorite: "Mississippi," which she had taught me as M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-in-your-I" to my mother's annoyance.
Naturally as a youngster I wrote fantastical stories where my mind wandered into far-fetched situations I imagined myself as the hero. Pure Fiction. My notes were observations of things I saw, thought about, lists of things I wanted to do, devised out of boredom when I was riding in the car with my parents or waiting for something or someone. All Non-fiction. As I grew older, around eight or nine, I started becoming more interested in history and started reading some good quality history books. Although I still read fiction, it was mostly historical and political things I was interested in reading.
As an overactive child, both in mind and physical activities, my parents had a lot to deal with in keeping me occupied. My father had the idea I start writing a history of where we lived, to keep me engaged during certain times, when my parents, sister, aunt and uncle and cousin, needed a break from me. He figured it accomplished two things, kept me quietly preoccupied and out of others hair, as well as develop my writing abilities. Due to my reading interests, the result in the long term was that by the time I was 13, my interest was focused solely on writing non-fiction.
It was a pattern set for life. Through undergraduate and post-graduate degrees and beyond I have taken classes in Journalism, Non-Fiction Writing, Technical Writing, Historical Writing, Policies and Procedures Writing and Legal Writing. I have also written and published, in their medium, in each of these categories. I'm not being modest when I state that a lot of it wasn't very good, since much of it wasn't. My first website in the late nineties was topically political, modeled after Andrew Sullivan's pioneering website blog, where I first got the idea to start blogging. It was far better in my imagination than I'm sure it was in actuality. The same could be said for my writing for a website in the early part of this past decade.
The upshot of it all is in spite of a lot of bad writing, I've learned to write non-fiction, particularly policies and procedures, history and political articles, essays and blogs fairly well. There is truth in the axiom "writers write every day" because it does hone your skills. In times when I wasn't writing anything in particular, I wrote long letters and later email to friends who mutually returned the favor with long well written replies.
In 2005 I became enamored with video and the following year YouTube. Since then I've played around with video blogging and learned some editing and have developed a moderate skill at it. I started this blog in 2007 and for over two years played around with it but have placed back in draft mode most of the work from that time period. In 2009 I decided to get more serious with it and by the end of the year pledged to myself I would work in 2010 at it every day and develop my own style with it, which I intend on continuing.
All that just written to say this: to grow more in my writing I have decided to tackle fiction and am going back to the very junior college, now a Community College, that I began my college career at decades ago. I'm taking a freshman level class, although not a beginning one, in structuring and writing fiction. I decided to take the classroom route for a variety of reasons, primarily discipline and mostly to be around other aspiring fiction writers. This particular school is known for "robbing" the universities of good professors because of the school atmosphere and pay. Therefore the instructor is not only your standard PhD but also a published author of recognizable books and an interesting character in his own right. It also opens the door for me to be less intimidated going to writer's workshops. My mission is to stimulate and stretch my imagination to keep the creative juices that sustain me flowing.
This blog will remain what it is, a work in progress of non-fiction blogging of my personal observations of real life and social commentary about it. My ultimate intention is to learn the new world of self distributing ePublishing and if I end up writing any worthwhile fiction, I will produce it in the form of e-books, as well as non-fiction work as electronic articles. To me being creative and especially writing is something I can't imagine not doing and will continue the rest of my life, just as some people do woodworking, quilting, photography, rebuilding cars, vlogging, gardening, playing music or whatever captures their verve.
So why not write about it?
It is time, actually overdue, to recharge my creative batteries, set a new aspiration to challenge myself with. I do not remember a time that I was not writing something, even as a small child I scribbled in childish scrawl little stories and made notes my father proudly called his "five year olds diary." I was a very early voracious reader and to the chagrin of my siblings and later my classmates I had a vocabulary and ability to spell grades above the one I was currently in. My aunt would show me off to adult friends when I was a kindergartener and say to me "Spell Czechoslovakia!" to be followed by "Spell encyclopedia! hypothetical! observatory!" and her favorite: "Mississippi," which she had taught me as M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-in-your-I" to my mother's annoyance.
Naturally as a youngster I wrote fantastical stories where my mind wandered into far-fetched situations I imagined myself as the hero. Pure Fiction. My notes were observations of things I saw, thought about, lists of things I wanted to do, devised out of boredom when I was riding in the car with my parents or waiting for something or someone. All Non-fiction. As I grew older, around eight or nine, I started becoming more interested in history and started reading some good quality history books. Although I still read fiction, it was mostly historical and political things I was interested in reading.
As an overactive child, both in mind and physical activities, my parents had a lot to deal with in keeping me occupied. My father had the idea I start writing a history of where we lived, to keep me engaged during certain times, when my parents, sister, aunt and uncle and cousin, needed a break from me. He figured it accomplished two things, kept me quietly preoccupied and out of others hair, as well as develop my writing abilities. Due to my reading interests, the result in the long term was that by the time I was 13, my interest was focused solely on writing non-fiction.
It was a pattern set for life. Through undergraduate and post-graduate degrees and beyond I have taken classes in Journalism, Non-Fiction Writing, Technical Writing, Historical Writing, Policies and Procedures Writing and Legal Writing. I have also written and published, in their medium, in each of these categories. I'm not being modest when I state that a lot of it wasn't very good, since much of it wasn't. My first website in the late nineties was topically political, modeled after Andrew Sullivan's pioneering website blog, where I first got the idea to start blogging. It was far better in my imagination than I'm sure it was in actuality. The same could be said for my writing for a website in the early part of this past decade.
The upshot of it all is in spite of a lot of bad writing, I've learned to write non-fiction, particularly policies and procedures, history and political articles, essays and blogs fairly well. There is truth in the axiom "writers write every day" because it does hone your skills. In times when I wasn't writing anything in particular, I wrote long letters and later email to friends who mutually returned the favor with long well written replies.
In 2005 I became enamored with video and the following year YouTube. Since then I've played around with video blogging and learned some editing and have developed a moderate skill at it. I started this blog in 2007 and for over two years played around with it but have placed back in draft mode most of the work from that time period. In 2009 I decided to get more serious with it and by the end of the year pledged to myself I would work in 2010 at it every day and develop my own style with it, which I intend on continuing.
All that just written to say this: to grow more in my writing I have decided to tackle fiction and am going back to the very junior college, now a Community College, that I began my college career at decades ago. I'm taking a freshman level class, although not a beginning one, in structuring and writing fiction. I decided to take the classroom route for a variety of reasons, primarily discipline and mostly to be around other aspiring fiction writers. This particular school is known for "robbing" the universities of good professors because of the school atmosphere and pay. Therefore the instructor is not only your standard PhD but also a published author of recognizable books and an interesting character in his own right. It also opens the door for me to be less intimidated going to writer's workshops. My mission is to stimulate and stretch my imagination to keep the creative juices that sustain me flowing.
This blog will remain what it is, a work in progress of non-fiction blogging of my personal observations of real life and social commentary about it. My ultimate intention is to learn the new world of self distributing ePublishing and if I end up writing any worthwhile fiction, I will produce it in the form of e-books, as well as non-fiction work as electronic articles. To me being creative and especially writing is something I can't imagine not doing and will continue the rest of my life, just as some people do woodworking, quilting, photography, rebuilding cars, vlogging, gardening, playing music or whatever captures their verve.
12/14/10
Quality
List your ideas...
Every time you have an idea or a thought that strikes you, even if you think it's half-baked, it will never work or just too off the wall...write it down. Keep these ideas and thoughts in a list you carry around with you. If they're the type that fire up your imagination right away, at the first opportunity you get start doing them. In my case it's usually writing or creating a video.
If they don't spark you off right away, are not fully formed or ready-for-prime-time, let them sit awhile and when you have a moment of feeling uninspired or needing an idea, take out the list. I'm willing to bet that most of the time at least one of them will get you going. There's also probably a very good chance that you'll also discover that several of them are linked and will create a bigger project than just one of them alone.
Every time you have an idea or a thought that strikes you, even if you think it's half-baked, it will never work or just too off the wall...write it down. Keep these ideas and thoughts in a list you carry around with you. If they're the type that fire up your imagination right away, at the first opportunity you get start doing them. In my case it's usually writing or creating a video.
If they don't spark you off right away, are not fully formed or ready-for-prime-time, let them sit awhile and when you have a moment of feeling uninspired or needing an idea, take out the list. I'm willing to bet that most of the time at least one of them will get you going. There's also probably a very good chance that you'll also discover that several of them are linked and will create a bigger project than just one of them alone.
8/19/10
A Network Is A Network Is A Network
TELEPHONE ME | MK12...
http://vimeo.com/12273190
TELEPHONEME | MK12 from MK12 on Vimeo.
TELEPHONEME © 2010 MK12
TELEPHONEME.TV for additional information and downloads
http://vimeo.com/12273190
TELEPHONEME | MK12 from MK12 on Vimeo.
TELEPHONEME © 2010 MK12
TELEPHONEME.TV for additional information and downloads
3/3/10
Sunset Point Scenic View
Black Canyon Highway (I-17) Exit 252 Sunset Point Scenic View
Sunset Point is a popular overlook from the rest area on the Black Canyon Highway (Interstate 17) located at exit 252 just north of Bumble Bee and south of Badger Springs Road. It sits on a mesa ("tabletop mountain") and the rest area is on the western edge of the mesa. You can stand with your back less than one-half mile from interstate traffic and overlook a beautiful vista known for it's scenic sunsets, hence the name. A traveler passing through Arizona, unable to take the time to visit the beautiful geography of the state, for a few moments at least, can intake some of the state's charm. If they arrive at the right time, they can see a beautiful sunset fall below the mountains into Bumble Bee and Crown King.
Enjoy a short video of the mesa on the east side of the Black Canyon Highway and the vista from the overlook on the west side of the Interstate.
Arizona Sunset Point Scenic View on the Black Canyon Highway from JR Snyder Jr on Vimeo.
Sunset Point is a popular overlook from the rest area on the Black Canyon Highway (Interstate 17) located at exit 252 just north of Bumble Bee and south of Badger Springs Road. It sits on a mesa ("tabletop mountain") and the rest area is on the western edge of the mesa. You can stand with your back less than one-half mile from interstate traffic and overlook a beautiful vista known for it's scenic sunsets, hence the name. A traveler passing through Arizona, unable to take the time to visit the beautiful geography of the state, for a few moments at least, can intake some of the state's charm. If they arrive at the right time, they can see a beautiful sunset fall below the mountains into Bumble Bee and Crown King.
Enjoy a short video of the mesa on the east side of the Black Canyon Highway and the vista from the overlook on the west side of the Interstate.__________________________________________________________________
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