A movie review

The weather has been too crappy to get out and take pictures. Today we went to the RHS at the local dollar theater (which is up to $3 now) and saw Michael Clayton. I've wanted to see this move ever since Tilda, Who? won the best supporting actress award. Well, I don't think John Grisham could've written a better legal thriller. And while we're on that subject, why didn't Grisham write this movie? That's beside the point. I paid $3 to see it today and would have still thought I got my money's worth had I seen it at first release. Good movie; 'nuff said.

As for the actress Tilda Whatshername, she did a great job, but was it Academy-Award material? Not in my humble opinion. She needed to work more to nail down that American accent. In all fairness I do know that her name is Tilda Swinton and she is a great actress. But not "Oscar Wonderful." At least not in this role.

Of course all of this is old news.

After a few days off

IMG_0049, originally uploaded by edrahe.

After a few days off I'm back. I didn't shoot all that much over the Easter weekend other than family snapshots. The weather is nice today so I'll probably be out and about to get some hopefully interesting pictures.

Cleaning up a tree

L1010083, originally uploaded by edrahe.

In keeping with the tree chopping down theme here is today's picture of the day.

More cucumbers

Cucumbers, originally uploaded by edrahe.

A good illustration.

We're going to have cucumbers

More Cucumbers, originally uploaded by edrahe.

Last Monday I started 40 cucumber "hills" in peat pots inside. Suddenly on Saturday they sprouted and grew to this size already by mid afternoon on Sunday.

I also started 40 cabbages, 20 honeydew and 50 brussel sprouts. This is in addition to the peas already planted in the garden. Garden plans also call for green beans, tomatos, carrots, rutabegas and dill.

Still shot from yesterday's tree vid

IMG_0004 (2), originally uploaded by edrahe.

Here's a still from yesterday's tree felling.

How not to film a tree being chopped down

I worry about my Dad when he goes in the woods to chop down trees, espcially big ones. Today I was checking my maple sap (its all tapped out for this year I suppose), while Dad was in the same vicinity chopping down a really big dead tree. I decided I had better stick around in case there was a glitch and he would need to be extracted from under the tree if he didn't get out of the way quickly enough. In fact, I went back to my car to get my cell phone, just in case. Of course I had my camera.

I've watched Dad cut down several trees and 99 percent of the time he can accurately predict where it will land. So much for accuracy. As it turned out I needed to be more worried about myself than my Dad.



This one may qualify for a "Here's your sign" award.

There are non-news conferences in sports, too.

St. Louis Cardinals president Mark Lamping announced on Thursday that he was leaving the St. Louis Cardinals to take a dream job supervising the construction of the New York Giants and New York Jets new $1.4 billion stadium. So the Cardinals organized a news event to officially announce the move.

Mark Lamping

Bill DeWitt III, son of the chairman of the owners group, was introduced as the Cardinals' president-elect, so to speak. DeWitt III will take over when Lamping officially departs shortly after opening day of the 2008 season. Instead of being a farewell press event for Lamping, reporters quickly started peppering DeWitt III with questions about Centene Corporation's committment to move its headquarters to Ballpark Village. Published reports say Centene is considering backing out of the deal.

Mark Lamping, Bill DeWitt Jr., Bill DeWitt III

DeWitt III artfully dodged the questions and after a few minutes the focus was back to Lamping's departure and his new job. Mr. Lamping said he was satisfied with the work he's done for the Cardinals. When asked if he had any regrets Lamping replied that his only regret was that his father, an avid Cardinals fan, did not live to see him become president of the Cardinals.

An excellent overview of citizen journalism

While finding the link for the below "Old Skool" journalism video I ran across the exact opposite. This video explains the new trend of citizen journalism.

When newspapers were newspapers

This newly re-discovered clip is making its rounds on several journo-blogs. It's a quaint look back to say the least. And it reminds me of how things changed since I got into the business in about 1988. Back then, which isn't very long ago in the scheme of things, newsrooms resembled this 1940s version than today's "information centers."

You can always count on the cat

IMG_0012, originally uploaded by edrahe.

I'm going to stop apologizing for posting so many pictures of my cat. The truth is Pepper is very willing to help me test new equipment and lighting setups and sometimes I get priceless shots like this one.

Another one from this weekend

IMG_0078, originally uploaded by edrahe.

I'm finally getting around to taking a very close look at my shots from Saturday's seminar. This is another good one of Allie

Today's Studio Seminar

IMG_0083, originally uploaded by edrahe.

This is one of my favorite shots from today's St. Louis Strobist group's semi-regular get-together. We are a group of local amateur, semi-pro and pro photographers who met at flickr.com and who enjoy shooting using the Stobist method. Usually Strobism works best outdoors using a combination of natural light and off camera lighting to get some spectacular pictures. Lately its been too cold, dreary and gray outside to get good shots so we worked inside today. You'll find a link on this blog in the right column to more information about the strobist method.

Thanks to model Allie (pictured above) and the rest of the model crew for helping us out today.

Signs of Spring: Baby Chicks at Rural King

It looks like these just hatched today.



The all looked very robust, warm, hungry but still well fed.

When you stop to think about it...

White Haven 2, originally uploaded by edrahe.

Today's picture was taken at President U.S. and Julia Grant's St. Louis Home, White Haven.

I realized something very interesting today. Almost 90 years after his death my great-great grandfather Henry A. Moeller Sr. is, on a daily basis figuratively at least, thumbing his nose at a once well-to-do and prominent St. Louis businessman, Confederate slaveholder and father-in-law of President U.S. Grant.
There are a lot of interesting things under one’s nose if you take the time to stop and take a look. Today I took time to explore the U.S. Grant National Historic Site, not too far from my house in St. Louis County.
As a history buff I thought I know a lot about our 18th president. After spending an hour at what was his wife Julia’s home, which he eventually bought from his father-in-Law Col. Frederick Dent, I learned at lot more about President Grant and realized the irony of my great-great grandfather’s final resting place.
The future President Grant was serving as an officer in the 1840s at Jefferson Barracks when a fellow soldier by the name of Frederick Dent Jr. invited Lt. Grant out to his family’s White Haven Plantation about seven miles west of Jefferson Barracks. Grant became a regular visitor there and eventually fell in love with 17-year-old Julia Dent. Because Grant was a career solider being sent to remote posts including Mexico the couple endured a four year engagement separated almost the entire time.
According to my tour guide it was an interesting marriage in that neither Julia or Grant’s parents were thrilled at the match. Col. Dent, a proud slaveholder, and his son-in-law, a strong abolitionist, were often at odds about the subject. Grant’s parents objected to Julia because she was from a slave-holding southern family. In spite of their families’ objections the Grants had a close and loving relationship.
Even as his son-in-law was commanding the Union Army, Col. Dent remained true to the cause. By all accounts Col. Dent remained isolated at White Haven during the war. His wife died many years earlier and by 1863, with Missouri by then firmly on the side of the Union, his slaves had deserted White Haven.
It is said that Col. Dent refused to sign a loyalty oath to the Union and pointed out that his son-in-law was commander of the Union Army and that should be adequate. After that run-in he reportedly painted the White Haven house Confederate Gray. A gray or white layer of paint was actually found on the clapboards when the National Park service restored the house, which is presently painted its historically accurate dark green.
After their marriage, Julia and Ulysses lived on a section of White Haven off what is now Rock Hill Road and the present site of St. Paul’s Churchyard. Their rough log cabin built on that spot was christened “Hardscrabble.” This cabin has been moved three times and just about every St. Louis resident knows that it now sits on Anheuser Busch’s tourist attraction aptly named, Grant’s Farm.
So, it finally clicked with me today and it’s something I should’ve realized a while ago. My Great-Great Grandfather Henry A. Moeller -- U.S. Army Private Henry Moeller --a Union soldier and veteran of the Battle of Camp Jackson which saved Missouri from seceding from the Union, is buried in St. Paul’s Church Yard, land once owned by prominent St. Louis Confederate Col. Frederick Dent; land where slaves once toiled; land later owned by General U.S. Grant. I wonder what he would’ve thought of that?

The cat in action, up close.

I believe I see some movement!

I'm starting to see a trend

I've been working from home for the past week and a half and I've noticed a trend among our four-legged family associates. I never really thought about what they do while we're away. Oh, I know, they sleep a lot, but I had no idea how much. Today's video, while only 30 seconds long, shows what the cat and the dog do or don't do all day.



Aren't you glad you took the time to watch that?

Snow in the neighborhood video

If you can see this video I was successful at uploading to youtube and linking to my blog.

Thoughts of summer

2007 07 07 031, originally uploaded by edrahe.

Its fun to look at seed catalogs on a day like this. I went through my files to find a picture representative of summer. This one was shot on a very hot July 7, 2007. I'm already looking forward to the 2008 crop.

Its snowing today

L1010058, originally uploaded by edrahe.

What else is new? This winter weather creeping into March is tiresome. I think I'll call AlGore and complain.

Why maple syrup costs $9 a pint

First Maple Syrup Success, originally uploaded by edrahe.

At 11 p.m. yesterday, after collecting and boiling maple sap all day I didn't have the energy to get out my big camera and lighting equipment to record the results of my first boil of the 2008 season. So please excuse this sub-par snapshot.

I still have five gallons to boil down from yesterday's collection and will hopefully collect another 15 or more gallons of sap today. While a not a lot of syrup will result from this, it'll be more than enough for our personal use.

Maple syrup is expensive enough when you buy it in the store. Being a beginning syrup hobbyist its "only" costing me a couple of bottles of propane. But when you consider the cost of propane, the time I spend tapping trees, collecting, sap and boiling it down, I'm probably producing at the rate of $20 a pint.

But its fun, and it tastes really good on pancakes.