Author: Benjamin Bloom

Categories
Tips

Why we hate photos of ourselves

I’m guilty of it. I bet you are, too. You look at a photo of yourself and think, “God I look awkward in that photo.”

But… when you step back an think about it, it’s usually hard to figure out exactly what it is you don’t like. I mean, sure, we all have features that we’d like to change, but we’re stuck with those and have to accept them. So if we get beyond the “I want a smaller nose, more hair, better complexion” issues, why don’t we like photos of ourselves?

I look at a lot of photos of people. When I look at photos of myself, I frequently can’t figure out what I don’t like. The exposure can be right; the focus can be dead on; the moment can be perfect – mid laugh, lost in thought, determined face of concentration, or just smiling at the camera. There are very few photos of me that I like.

A few weeks ago, I came across this brief TED talk by Duncan Davidson that may provide some insight into why we feel this way.

His basic advice? When it comes to photos of yourself, trust your friends’ opinions.

What do you think? If you flip a photo of yourself, or just hold it up to a mirror, do you like it more?

 

 

Categories
Sports

USA Triathlon Nationals

On Sunday, August 19th, 2012, the USA Triathlon Sprint Nationals came to Burlington, VT. I was busy for the Olympic distance race the previous day.   Around 8am, I was able to open my front door and wander onto my porch with cup of tea to enjoy the bike leg. The wheels really hum when the riders are coming down the street at 25MPH! For about 2 hours, our road was a constant stream of cyclists on their out-and-back route. It was fun to cheer them on and see them pushing so hard. I couldn’t help but grab my camera and take a few photos.

I hadn’t seen these before. Looks like a great way to speed up transitions. How well do they pedal?

My favorite competitor, below. (No relation, however..)

These are only some of the photos, you can also visit the full gallery of Sprint Tri photos.

Categories
Music

Vermont Festival of the Arts: First Annual Community Picnic

To kick off this year’s Vermont Festival of the Arts, Haywire and The Grift were invited to Lareau Farm to play for the first annual community picnic. People showed up in droves, spreading their blankets around the great back yard of the inn. The fires were lit, the ovens were cranking out American Flatbread, and the bar had local beer. Kids were playing frisbee and badminton while the bands started.

Haywire started the evening off with a great set of music.

 

Then The Grift took the stage with a high energy mix of covers and original music.

 

 

 

Early in the evening, the dance floor was empty, but as the night went on it got crowded. I don’t think this girl was complaining in either situation – she was trying to get the party started here and continued to dance to every song until the end of the night!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As dusk arrived, the clouds got thicker and the announcement was made that the fireworks would go off a bit early.

 

Enhanced with a few flashes of lightening, Northstar Fireworks put on a good show in a slight drizzle.

 

 

 

 

 

The grand finale went off just moments before the skies opened up and drenched anyone still outside the pavilion. No matter, though,  The Grift kicked up the dance music again and the party was hopping. A little rain wasn’t going to dampen anyone’s spirits this evening.

 

Categories
Music

Burlington Discover Jazz Festival – The Necessary Means at Nectar’s

The first week of June is a great time to be in Burlington. It’s the week of the annual Burlington Discover Jazz Festival which brings together international and local musicians together to play at a variety of venues around the city. I love walking down Church Street during the festival; every block you can hear different sounds drifting out of the windows or on outdoor stages.

This year, The Necessary Means played at Nectar’s as a part of the festivities. Ray Paczkowski and Russ Lawton (Soule Monde) opened.  If you haven’t seen these two play together, you’re missing out. It’s hard to believe that two people can produce such a big, full sound. I kept looking around to see where they were hiding all the other musicians.

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After a quick stage reset (it’s gotta be hard always moving around that big Hammond organ) the Necessary Means came on and didn’t disappoint. Their Facebook page describes their sound as “70’s horn funk meets modern jam jazz” and that about nails it. Longtime Grift fans will recognize a few songs as solo riffs that have been turned into full fledged, standalone art. What strikes me every time I see these guys play is that in addition to sounding great, they’re all having fun on stage.

Enough words.  Enjoy the photos — and maybe put on a few tunes while you’re scrolling through them.

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I found the secret sauce to Daiki’s awesome percussion. Coconut Juice.

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I recommend picking up their album, “Click” from CDBaby. It’s only 6 bucks as a digital download.

 

There are still a couple more days of music. Who’re you going to see?

Categories
Landscape Nature

What a difference a year makes

Last year, Lake Champlain was dealing with historic flooding. This year, I’ve started to hear references to record low lake levels. Since I now commute along the waterfront, I’ve been witness to the lack of water. Take the photograph below. It was taken yesterday, April 25th, 2012.

One year ago, the same lighthouse looked like this.

When I compare the two images, I think the lighthouse was actually damaged enough that they had to remove some of the lower boards.

According to this chart, the lake level should be around 99′ at this time of year. Instead, we’re at about 96.5′ — more like what I would expect in June. And that’s after a pretty rainy couple of days. We were at 96.0′ on April 21st. According to the USGS, the lake level changes by about 5′ annually. If we’re at the annual high point now, what does that mean for the rest of the summer? Will September or October 2012 bring us new record lows, only 18 months after record highs?

On a somewhat related note, there’s still a lot of effort going in to repairing our broken state after last year’s flooding. There are lots of people in VT that still need homes rebuilt and businesses that are still recovering.  One of the things that’s near and dear to my heart is the Burlington Bike Path. OK, it’s somewhat selfish, it’s part of my daily commute — but it’s also a big draw for tourism. Many events like those put on by Run Vermont and Race Vermont rely on the Bike Path for their routes. It’s in rough shape right now as a result of all the flooding last year. Parts have been patched, and repairs on other sections have begun, but there’s a long way to go.  Local Motion has put together a fund to help repair the Island Line Trail. If you use this path and have a few dollars to spare, I’m sure they would appreciate any contribution.

If the Bike Path isn’t your thing, maybe consider the VT Irene Flood Relief Fund or VT Farm Disaster Relief Fund.