I Still Believe...it's you and me 'til the end of time....

And Then...

...there are those days that are so delicious and perfect you don't want them to end. This morning was one of those. Hoping for many more....

i just can't write

i've forgotten all my stories about virginia.  i'm totally consumed with what's going on here.  if you know about my private blog, i'll probably be writing about it there in the next few days.  i need to get it out.  and i need to get away.

i think i will.

in the meantime, here's a snap of Cathy and me, right after her shoot.  She looks lovely; i look unruly and gross.  just how it should be :)

VA in a Nutshell...

...cuz it's full of nuts. 

So, i'm driving up a country road with my momma one day, on our way back from the proverbial "town," and we pass a house where lives the not-so-neat-and-tidy children of the long gone owner who kept it immaculate and lovely.  Mom looks disapprovingly at the property, purses her lips and says,

"If Joe could come back and see what they've done to his place, he'd RE-DIE!"

(Joe is not his real name, btw.)

So, i start HOWLING laughing.  Re-die!  Oh my gawd.  Hysterical!

And now that i'm in the midst of one of the shittiest days of my entire life (don't ask, but you can guess who's the source of the shit-storm), i imagine my mom saying that and it perks me up from the little hell in which i'm currently dwelling. 

Thanks, Mom!

That's all for now.  More on Virginia later.  I've got hundreds of photos to edit for anxious customers.  On! On!

When i Should be Packing

So, i started breaking down my lights and modifiers and thinking about the best way to pack them, but got totally distracted and had realized i hadn't made a photo for my Self-Portrait Project lately. Or have i? Who knows. Anyway:

 

I won't be blogging much for the next week or so.  Miss me, k?  I'll miss you.

Coffee at Bedtime

Ready, set, ramble:

So i've really not been sleeping well lately.  Bryce, the vampire that he is, has been sleeping days and being up nights for...i dunno...weeks now, it seems.  He wakes me up several times throughout the night demanding food, attention, help with a broken toy.  All normal vampire boy things, but man...in the middle of my fragile sleep schedule?

He is currently sleeping.  He pulled a 17-hour waking shift and managed to fall asleep around 7:30 p.m.  So, what do i do, given this platinum opportunity to catch up on sleep?


I have a cup of coffee.

Einstein had nothing on me, really.  I think i'll go jot down some quantum shit and write a few haikus.

What.

And in other news:  my boyfriend, Peter Murphy, is playing in L.A. later this month.  I haven't seen him since he played the 9:30 Club in D.C. about 400 years ago.  Can't wait, can't wait!  I'm also seeing She Wants Revenge on the 16th (ish?).  Come on, you have to admit, this is one of the best songs EVER made:



Ever.

But lately i've really been digging Bent Self.  Check him out here: http://www.bentself.com/  It's been my photo editing music this week and is beginning to stick in my head, in a happy way.  It's dark; it belongs there.  If you don't immediately go fan him on Facebook, i can no longer be your friend.

Chris H., if you're reading this, yes, lunch at Milan!  Why are you not on Facebook?  That's how i organize my life.  I'll email you my cell # though, if i haven't already.

Okay then, that's the news from the 63 moons of Jupiter.

When Atheists Seek Converts Via Door Knocking

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We're (Officially) Out! { and the cult mind/September 6 redux }

Yesterday as i pulled the mail from the mailbox, i noticed an increase in the average number of envelopes. Two envelopes from the Member and Statistical Records Division of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presented themselves in the pile. { i could almost hear carnival music }

Even though i already knew what the letters would say, i hurried back to the house and opened mine at my desk. "This letter is to notify you that, in accordance with your request, your name has been removed from the membership records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Should you desire to become a member of the Church in the future, the local bishop or branch president in your area will be happy to help you."

Todd's said exactly the same (as do they all).

The ordeal is over. We are officially looking in from the outside. But i'm glad for the experience on the inside. I've always been fascinated with cults and the cult mind. Although mostly a benign cult, it is a cult all the same. People are not allowed to think or question the word of the leaders. They are ostracized, shunned, "disciplined" or cast out when they do.

Which leads to the SHIT STORM that may be about to happen in the Morg.

Remember September 6? When six elite members of the Morg were excommunicated for bringing the truth about the church to light? No? Read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_Six 

It turns out the church does NOT, as it claims, stand up to scrutiny.

Well, it's happening all over again, but in masses.  There are many "underground" groups of mormons who have, or have started to figure out that the church was founded on lies and continues in that tradition.  Others in these groups just flat-out disagree with doctrine or teachings of the Morg (the gay issues is a huge one).  Some of the groups include:  Mormon Think, DAMU (DisAffected Mormon Underground), Sunstone, New Order Mormon...and many, many others.  People are waking up!

The group under extreme scrutiny by the Morg right now is Mormon Stories (started by someone i'm happy to call a friend, John Dehlin).  John got called in for a "meeting" with local leaders.  Here is a man who, in the most loving and kind way (he really is more like Jesus than anyone i know), began to reveal the inaccuracies and controversies within the Morg.  (Morg = Mormon Organization, in case you were wondering).  John has been instrumental in helping thousands of members (mormons) get their heads and hearts straight about the church.  Some of these people concluded that, despite the fact that the Morg isn't what it claims to be, they still want to belong and can and will, and will do so KNOWING and accepting the controversial issues and all the other bad shit that went down/goes down.  Others were relieved to find out the truth and decided to leave for their own integrity.  (I'm with those; i can't support an organization with it's past or present). 

Anyway...let's just say that John Dehlin and Mormon Stories is HUGE in the Mo world.  Needless to say, the Morg is not super happy that it's dirty laundry is being aired, despite the loving way it's been done, or the intention of this particular airer.  So now John has been called in for a "meeting."  There's talk about excommunication, and if that happens to John, will it happen to his "followers" as well?  What about the other New Order Mormons or "Uncorrelated" Mormons out there?  Will they all be ex'ed?  That would mean a HUGE loss of numbers (and hence, money) for the Morg.  For that reason (they do so love their numbers and their money), I don't think they'll do a mass ex'ing.  And i don't think they'll ex John either, because a lot of people would leave the Morg if they slayed their hero. 

Plus, it would be bad press.  Although, the Morg has a culty way of ignoring bad press so the members blindly and robotically ignore it, too.  Baaaaaaaa!  I know...i was once one of them and baaaaaa'd right along with the rest. 

It'll be interesting to see what unfolds, that's for sure. 

P.S.  Gay people don't choose to be gay; they're born that way, just like straight people are born straight. 

P.P.S.  Gay people deserve love and respect.  They deserve the right to marry and have committed relationships. 

That is all.