Not sure who to give credit to for the below article, but thought that it was worth sharing.

1. If standing, turn slightly and rest your weight on one foot. If sitting, angle to one side or the other. It may FEEL goofy, but you will LOOK better.
2. Lean slightly toward the camera – Adds interest, dimension, and a natural look. Think of creating a long neck like a gazelle, and tilt your chin down just a bit to avoid a double chin and an unwanted view of your nostrils.
3. Develop a ‘trigger’ – Models can “change state” by using “triggers.” Even if in a crummy mood, they can look ready for the shot in in a heart-beat by using a trigger or reminder to do what makes them look good. Most effective trigger: the rear cheek squeeze. It’s inconspicuous and works exactly like it sounds: squeeze rear butt cheeks together. Just ask someone to sitting on a chair to squeeze their cheeks together. Most will immediately smile and look better.
4. Learn to 3/4 smile – Most people don’t like pictures of themselves with a huge smile: it exposes the gums and causes eyes to turn into slits. A 3/4 smile solves the problem and looks more natural.
5. Look slightly ABOVE the lens – Never look directly at the lens.

Lindsey secretly took this photo while I rocked Chloe to sleep. I secretly made this photo Lindsey’s Google home page =).

. . .there’s a billboard for the witness protection program!

This quote pierced deeply, and poured a different perspective into my life. What are the inconsequences that are keeping me from the dreams I desire? Where do I find the courage to release me from these petty chains?

Credit: I found this quote on my friend’s “Life After Divorce” Blog. The image is public domain, and is the last plane Amelia ever flew in.

It may be those who do most, dream most.
~My fortune cookie today

Back in December I posted some of my images from a photo hunt I went on in the summer of 2009. I wasn’t able to post all the pictures then, so below are the rest.

…it does for this Liberal

BYU FOREVER!

So, I was trying to figure out the correct spelling of bane (not bain) in order to use the phrase: “The bane of my existence,’ when I stumbled acrossed the true meaning behind this saying.  I really have no other place to put it but here, so here you go.

To say that something or someone is “the bane of my existence” means that the person or thing is a constant irritant or source of misery. As a cliche, “bane of my existence” has lost its edge to a large degree over the years, and today is most often applied to something that may profoundly annoy us but is certainly bearable. Telemarketers, for instance, have become the “bane” of many folks’ existence, but few of us are sufficiently distressed to turn off our telephones, and while “spam” is a daily “bane,” not many of us would dream of giving up the Internet. “Bane of my existence” is now almost always used in a semi-jocular, “what are you gonna do?” sense.

But “bane” was once a very serious word. The Old English “bana” meant literally “slayer” in the sense we now use “killer” or “murderer.” Early on, the English “bane” was also used in the more general sense of “cause of death,” and by the 14th century “bane” was used in the specialized sense of “poison,” a sense which lives on in the names of various poisonous plants such as “henbane” and “wolfbane.”

From this very literal “something that kills you” usage, “bane” by the 16th century had broadened into its modern meaning of “something that makes life unpleasant, a curse.”

The below images were taking back in August. I’ve been meaning to upload them here but haven’t had a chance until this holiday break. So, here is some background:

Lindsey and I went on a “snap shot road trip.” Our snap shot road trips consist of each occupant of the car taking turns choosing different roads to adventure down, and the driver stopping when someone feels he or she has a picture perfect moment. As a child my mother would do road trips similar to this with my younger brother, sister, and me. We ended up in the most unique places. We didn’t have a camera for my childhood road trips, so it is a lot of fun finding some beautiful and random images for the scrap books.

So, this is what we did for a lazy summer day and we were not disappointed in our final destination—New Castle, Pennsylvania. We took twists and turns all around New Castle, and saw the raw beauty that is in this town. Finally, we stopped when I spotted a majestic abandoned church.

For me, old and abandoned buildings have a story just wanting to be told. Why was it abandoned? What has happened to the building since it has been tossed aside? What secrets does it hide? I am sure these questions will not find their answers, but at least these August images unlocked my imagination and allowed for my own creativity to emerge around this forgotten sanctuary.

I have some more photos of this desecrated church, but it is late and I will have to post them another day. ~Paul W.

“Every relationship – husband and wife, parent and child, best friends, colleagues – is dependent on trust. It is not possible to have a relationship with someone you cannot trust. The only thing you can have with someone you can’t trust, is a strategy.” ~Sheri Dew

Definitely smack talk from us Y fans!

Most Recent Holy War Outcome
BYU 26
UoU 23 (OT)

Le temps est un grand professeur, mais malheureusement il tue tous ses élèves (Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.)
~Hector Berlioz

“That which is learned without joy, is forgotten without regret.” ~Merlin

“Nine tenths of education is encouragement.” ~Anatole France

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” ~John Dewey

“All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” ~Pablo Picasso

“The man who can make hard things easy is the educator.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” ~William Butler Yeats

Henry Thoreau, the great American philosopher, was dying, when a priest asked him if he had made his peace with God.
“I was not aware that we had quarreled,” replied Thoreau.

“A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because he was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means–the only complete realist.” ~C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

The only journey is the journey within.
- Rainer Maria Rilke

Continuous effort is the key to unlocking our potential.
- Winston Churchill

Fall seven times, stand up eight.
- Japanese Proverb

It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.
- Albert Einstein

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.
- Walter Elliott

Don’t be discouraged. It’s often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.
- Author Unknown

If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.
- Buddhist Saying

Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.
- Charles F. Kettering

Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second.
- William James

Difficult things take a long time, impossible things a little longer.
- Author Unknown

Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.
- Earl Nightingale

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.
- Louis Pasteur

If you are going through hell, keep going.
- Winston Churchill

Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.
- William Feather

Paralyze resistance with persistence.
- Woody Hayes

All right Mister, let me tell you what winning means… you’re willing to go longer, work harder, give more than anyone else.
- Vincent Lombardi

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
- Thomas Edison

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.
- Newt Gingrich

How long should you try? Until.
- Jim Rohn

Our greatest glory lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
- Author Unknown

You can’t let go and still win.
- Author Unknown

It is perseverance which distinguishes the strong from the weak.
- Author Unknown

“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”  –Elbert Hubbard