Friday Foto - Elijah 4 months

Elijah 4 months, originally uploaded by philputnam.

Well, here you go, the bi-annual Friday Foto. I resolve to attempt to do better. Visit the flickr page for more info on the setup for the shot.

Moving?

I've been on Blogger now for a few years, although the last two years are basically not included. Recently, I started a migration to WordPress, just to try things out. It was really simple to import all of my posts over, so I figured why not give it a look?

Head on over to www.theepdoughts.com to check it out. There are a couple of negatives, one of which is the lack of ads, which I'd like to add eventually if I were really gonna give blogging a shot in a serious way, but I like a lot about it.

So we'll see. For now I'll cross post on both.

The Public is Reminded...

From a CBS2 Chicago report on the arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, the reporter helpfully gives a disclaimer, lest we believe the worst about the man.

The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Of course, this is a standard disclaimer that they use at the bottom of all stories about criminal charges against elected officials, regardless of party affiliation.

I'm back....

I'm back in the saddle again.

Flag Girl, FFF #28

Flag girl, originally uploaded by philputnam.

A late Friday Foto, but we've had a busy day. Here's a shot from last night's festivities. And a bonus photo of the fireworks. I'll have more of these types of shots on my Flickr page.

Happy Birthday USA!

Saturday Night in Texas, FFF #27

Saturday Night in Texas, originally uploaded by philputnam.

This shot was quite a challenge, very low light, but I wanted to capture a Texas evening in action. Another shot of Greune Hall, the oldest Dancehall in Texas. One of my favorite songs by Lyle Lovett is titled, "That's Right (You're not from Texas)". One of the lines says,

"At a Dancehall down in Texas
That's the finest place to be
All the women there are beautiful,
and their men will buy your beer for free."

The chorus goes on to truly define Texas hospitality:

"That's right, you're not from Texas,
That's right, you're not from Texas,
That's right, you're not from Texas,
But Texas wants you anyway."

Friday Foto Fun 26

Greune Hall, originally uploaded by philputnam.

OK, back in the saddle again. It's been too long, and I have a ton of photos to process, but I'll try to keep it up. I'll probably be posting many of them on my Flickr page and my dusty old photoblog.

Took a great trip with my lovely bride for our anniversary and went to the Hill Country of Texas, a truly beautiful part of the country. This is a shot of the exterior of Greune Hall (pronounced "green").

(From Wikipedia) Gruene Hall was built in 1878 in the town of Gruene, Texas, which is now a part of New Braunfels. Billing itself as the oldest dance hall in Texas, Gruene Hall has played host to such acts as Willie Nelson, George Strait, Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovett, James McMurtry and the Old 97's. It was also used as a set for Michael (film), starring John Travolta.

God is in control...

I was scheduled to be returning from an overseas trip today, but it was postponed two days before takeoff. I was disappointed, but not really upset. I figured there must be a good reason for it. One of the places we were supposed to visit to shoot video was Lebanon.

Beirut, specifically.

But a State Department Travel Warning put an end to that trip. Now, on the day I was supposed to be going to the Beirut Airport to begin my travels home, I see why the trip was called off.


Here's the important part:

Lebanon is in turmoil again today, but this time the turmoil is clearer than it has been in the past. As things stand right now, members of Hezbollah are thugging their way through the streets of Beirut, setting fires, fighting, and dumping piles of dirt and trash in the roads in order to shut down the city. Most importantly, Hezbollah has closed the highway that connects Beirut to Lebanon’s major airport. (emphasis mine)

So bottom line is, God is on His throne, and I'm just fine following His lead.

This Day in History, 1975

Friday Foto Fun 25

Rainbow over El Morro, originally uploaded by philputnam.

This was from a trip to Puerto Rico. We were preparing to shoot an interview overlooking El Morro (the fort in the background) when a brief morning shower came through. As we were resetting the equipment, this full rainbow appeared.

I hope you enjoy a nice weekend. The weather is finally a beautiful 70 degrees for highs and lows in the 50's. Glory.