Nothing Really


Well, the only thing I can say is thank God it's Friday. I hope you all have a nice weekend and you check back soon for more pictures of the California desert and other wondeful places I have been fortunate to visit. This is a nice one of cactus flowers in Landers California.

Friday, February 29, 2008

The Next Generation


Here is a photo of my buddy and his oldest boy. The three-wheeler that they are sitting on is just one of the many sand toys he has out in Landers. It is an older Honda 185cc.


Perhaps it is easier to see from this second picture that some of the older bikes do not have suspension, just big ballon tires!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

So, where have I been?

We are going to be changing the look of OC_Photography a bit over the next few weeks and the first change will include the addition of my travel map. This map, provided by the folks at Travel Buddies, shows all of the countries (and in some cases states) that I have visited. My travel seems to be focused in North America and Europe but I am working on that. This map will be included in the About Us section of the website and will be updated, slowly, as I continue my adventures.

You can navigate the map using the plus and minus buttons and by using the mouse along with the left-click button.








Sunday, February 24, 2008

Ruben's Rants - Latest Polish Joke


"How do Poles change trains during rush hour?

Everyone on the platform pushes their way onto the train while those on the train wait for the platform to become clear before exiting."

Okay, that is not a very funny joke but neither is the true situation that it represents. Every day on the bus (or train or metro or tram) I have to force my way past people pushing to get onto the same bus I am leaving. For some reason very few here realize that if you let the people ON the bus get off FIRST, then there is often more room for those waiting. Strange concept but its nontheless true. I have spoken to some of my students about this and the ones who have lived abroad are suprised at their own countrymen's rudeness. One woman said that it was obvious which people were Polish at Victoria Station in London because while the Brits would queue very calmly and politely the Polish would force their way through the river of people exiting the trains. Wait, didn't we just talk about the connection between queuing and communisum?

On that note I must apologise for back to back Ruben's Rants; some people here were not to entertained by my usage of the Polish nation. I figure that I might as well get this off my chest now so as to limit future problems. Funny thing though, the locals will bitch about the very same things. I guess its "I can make fun of my people but outsiders can't" everywhere...

A photo of some the locals in Landers, California.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Ruben's Rants: Why the Polish Can't Queue


I hate to ruin two beautiful photographs of the California desert with a Ruben's Rants but I can't hold this one in any longer. It is a bit sad but some days I really understand the origin of Polish jokes. I realize that most people are iditos in this world but of all the things people can screw up how difficult is it to fucking queue? One would think that waiting in line would be pretty clear cut, but not in Poland (Note: I have heard that other countries have this problem as well - but I live here so...). Let me give you all two examples of what exactly I mean (both the Brits and Americans know how its done so this idea might sound strange to them)

Lets say I need a train ticket. Pretty simple to do actually: you wait in line until the counter is clear and then go up and buy a ticket. Simple even in a foreign language. But in Poland, where no one knows how to queue, it can be a bit more frustrating. It has happened to me more often then I care to remember that once I have purchashed my ticket the person behind me is so close that I can't even reach back to grab my wallet without elbowing him/her in the mouth. And they will continue to push forward even with my elbow in their faces. It is also common for people to begin ordering tickets as the ticket seller is counting out my change. Could every person behind me be about to miss their train?

Maybe, but lets pretend now that I receive a package in the mail and need to go to the post office to pick it up. Alas we find the problem there too; no one has any idea what a line is nor how to properly form one. Take today for example, I received a package from a friend in England and had to go pick it up. There was the typical crowd of people so I had to wait at the end of the 'line' for my turn. I was near the door so decided to wait a few steps back from the fellow in front of me so other people could at least enter the building. The next person, some old cow, came in and looked at the line, then looked at me, then stood right on the guys back pocket in front of me in line and blocking the door. The next person had to basically shove her out of the way to get in! When the line moved forward I pushed my way in front of her just to indicate I was next. I don't think she liked the idea that well because she then took out her news paper and began reading with most of the paper resting on my back/head. When we moved forward again I was in the corner of the room and decided to give myself some space so delayed a bit. This was unacceptable and she shoved me as she claimed the corner. Again she tried to read with the paper resting on my head but I knocked it off this time. Finally my turn came and the woman retrieved my package. Naturally as she tried to hand me the package the old cow was in the way and, rather then moving back, she pushed forward and began speaking to the woman at the desk about what she needed. I had to back up and walk around the cow to reach my package. I bumped her again with my shoulder and the corner of the box and she made some comment that I didn't understand. Now this was not an isolated event, it happens every time I go there. And every country has slow mail service so we know there is no need to rush while in a post office. So what the hell is the problem?


Some of my students try to explain that it is because of the Communists times. "There were no products in the shops so people had to push to ensure they got something" they say. Okay, then why is it just as often young people as old then? "Well," they say, "the old people teach them." Right...And the Communist times ended what, two years ago? "No, twenty years ago." I guess its much easier to blame the Communists then admit its a country full of idiots who can't even form a fucking line properly.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

The Weather Outside is Frightful


It is finally bright and sunny in Warsaw today but it seems that winter has returned. Right outside our window, on the sixth floor, our thermometer says that is is -9C (or 15F for you standard types) and the ground is covered in snow! Okay, at ground level it is probably only like -5C and the 'high' today should be -2C but its still really cold. This especially when Los Angeles is right around 20C (~70F), as it has been since Chirstmas.

Funny thing about the word weather is trying to explain why the word whether is pronounced exactly the same but menas something completely different. How about poor, pore, and pour too. Last week one of my female students announced in class that she had learned a new, funny word from her Irish friend. 'Kunte' she said with a smile. Her pronunciation was excellent but I obviously had to correct her spelling.

This is a photo of what the Colorado River is like in summer at the Water Wheel Resort. Boats, jet skis, wakeboarding, and warm warm sunshine.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Humm..


Well, I am not feeling very creative tonight so you'll get just a simple photo with a description. This is 'my' motorcycle, its a 1986 Suzuki 250R QuadRacer. I say 'my' motorcycle because my father bought it for me when I was about twelve years old and I have been riding it since. It is basically mine but it has been difficult to ride as I live in Europe now. And it really belongs to whoever happens to be at the River House but whatever. We have had a lot of fun riding this and the three or four other bikes we have/had had over the years. Motorcycles are really fun plus dirt bikes are much safer than street bikes, you know, not too many Semi-trucks, imports, or barriers to run into at full speed. But people tend to drink more when riding dirt bikes so I have seen my share of accidents (although minor) over the years too. Alcohol is a killer and I would like to end tonight on a bit of a somber note: I would like to say rest in peace to my brother Louie who passed away a few weeks back at the age of 45.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

A Quickie



No time to waste posting today, I have almost finished that last level of Black! Here are a few photos of the town of Blythe, California, which is near my father's vacation home along the Colorado River. Blythe is an intersting town, but something you have to experience yourself to fully understand. I have been told that had I been born a girl my name would have been Blythe.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Back to Basics


So we turn the corner from my poor vocabulary on to another important area of my life: video games! (I know Anonymous, I know, I am wasting my life away not to mention my entire education and the impressive amount of technical skills I have developed over the past 11 years. What can I say, I am just a worthless cunt.)

Anyway, video games ruled when I was ten and they rule now too. I own several consoles but only have my PS2 with me in Poland. Its chipped so I can play, er, my backups and not ruin my real games (of which I have many). I finished God of War a while back and was very impressed with this old fashioned button masher. It is a super game and if any of you are interested in some good ass kicking then pick this one up. The story is pretty solid too but it is really the gameplay that is the draw. I also have God of War 2, which is supposed to be as good as the first one, but I am going to take a break from this series and play some other games first.

Two of the games I am involved with at the moment include Resident Evil 4 and Black. RE4 is the latest (and greatest) game in a series of fantastic survival horror games (and a few terrible movies) of the same name. The gameplay is slow but quite tense and extremely dark. I have only played about four hours of the ten to twelve hour game and have read that after you finish the 'main' mission there is another twenty hours of gameplay that shadows the main plot but with two other characters. Excellent game if you like these methodical and creepy adventure games.

Black is something different. Its a First Person Shooter where you take the role of a special forces guy who is telling the story of trying to capture some terrorist. But the story is unimportant; the focus of this game is shooting and destroying everything. Buildings, cars, trucks, people, whatever, its all good. As the guys at IGN, my favorite video game site, say, "The essence of BLACK is destruction." The controls are excellent, the graphics and sound are great, and the range of weapons and level of difficulty are spot on. I am a bit stuck on the last level because I have a difficult time killing fifteen people shooting at me with assult shotguns but hey, I'll get it one of these times...

Sorry about the repost of this picture from Landers, California, I don't have any other pictures of video games. This picture will, however, take us back into our pre-Christmas focus on the California desert.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

And Finally


And finally we come to our last post about my favorite British word. This is an excerpt from an article by Martin Samuel (although I do not know from which British newspaper nor the date). It sums up my feelings about words like this nicely. This picture, of a wall just outside some church in Poland, shows somewhat childish graffiti of cats. It fits with this post nicely. So, without further ado...

"We start this morning with a joke. Not just any old joke. My favourite joke. Now some of you may find it offensive. Actually, most of you will find it offensive. In fact, if you are at all the sort of person who writes to the editors of national newspapers complaining about declining standards in the modern media, I would advise you to look away now...

...There are two guys talking. The first one says: "You know, the day I met you, I thought you were a c***. And every time we've met since I thought you were a c***. And it can't just be me, because everyone who's ever met you thinks you are a c***, and probably everyone who will ever meet you will think you're a c***. In fact, you've got to be the second-biggest c*** in the world."

The second guy thinks about this for a while. "So the day you met me you thougnt I was a c***?" "Yep." "And every day since you've thought I was a ..." "Right." "And everyone I've ever met thinks I'm a..." "You got it." "And everyone I will ever meet will think I'm a..." "Uh-huh." "So how comes," he says, triumphantly, "I'm only the second biggest c*** in the world?"

The first guy looks at him with total contempt. "Because you're a c***," he says.

Peter Cook wrote that. And if he had written that, and only that, in his entire life, I'd still think he was a genius...

...I used to collect background material and make notes and write salient points and themes and areas for debate. Now, mostly, I've got one newspaper cutting with four letters scrawled at the top of it and the rest is window-dressing. When John Reid panics the nation by telling us that it is highly likely we will be under attack from terrorists in the build-up to Christmas and absolutely nothing happens...I no longer think of a thousand words. I think of one...

...So why is it good? It has a hard "c" and a sharp "t", making it short and explosive and lending power, drama and, wielded correctly, humour. A few years ago, I was eating at one of Marco Pierre White's restaurants. There was something of a commotion. A party, and one lady in particular, appeared very unhappy with the behaviour and attitude of the maitre d'. Espying the owner dining quietly with a friend in the corner, she began assailing him loudly and forcibly ("Marco? What kind of a poofy name is that?" is remembered with special fondness.) At the end of the highly inventive foul-mouthed tirade, the customer finished with what she clearly believed to be an irrefutable allegation. "That man," she said, pointing at the maitre d', "is a complete and utter c***!"

It is the most spectacular rendition I have ever heard, each syllable given a full aerobic workout down to the resounding "tuh" at the end. And then, addressing the remaining open-mouthed (but, secretly, loving it) patrons she strode towards the door with an unlikely claim. "And that is not a word I use lightly," she said.

Nor should it be. For deep down, I hope the moral guardians of Britain get their way and continue to be made furious. I hope the politicians pontificate, and the faint-hearted reach for the smelling salts. I hope we veer from acceptance and smug writers continue to denounce its use as evidence of a limited vocabulary. Because, the way I see this, you have the entire English language at your disposal, its wonderful richness, its beautiful multifariousness. And so do I. And then I have c***. So I've got one more word than you."

Monday, February 04, 2008

A Quick One


Unfortunately I have been excpetionally busy this week and have been unable to post as often as I would like. Here is a quick one to end the week on though, another graffiti shot from Germany. Have a nice weekend everyone.

Friday, February 01, 2008