The Perfect Gift

This is the perfect gift for the designers in your life. (Watch the video.)

For Better or Worse

There are these moments. The ones where your brain does pretty startling things. Making connections. Sparking at just the right moment.

My team at work was having a meeting the other day, and it started out with some lighthearted talk about how I'm going to buy a cow in Bangladesh soon. (More on that later.) Anyway, one of the people on our team mentioned that she'd bought a cow as an investment as a kid, and the cow was named Blacky. She lived on a cattle ranch, so those cows weren't long for the world, and I mentioned that it would be hard for me to name my cow if it was soon to be sent off to the slaughter.

There were a number of other conversations that transpired. About e-mail marketing. About the state of the economy. About work stuff.

Toward the end of the meeting, we were given some bad news. One of the members of our team (not in attendance) was being let go. Kind of sad, but the change made sense in the context of some other changes going on with our company. The guy in question is kind of our team mascot. Quiet. Just a nice guy.

Anyway, within three seconds of having that news imparted, my brain kind of started juggling the news, the previous conversations and a million other things, and I turned to my co-worker (the one who lived on the ranch) and I said, "That's why you never name the cow."

Now, I have to say, there was a moment of silence after everyone heard that. Just a beat. A moment where the reaction could have gone either way. It might have taken a moment to register. Or maybe everyone was deciding if it was insensitive or not. But after that beat, there was just the loudest, most enthusiastic laughter in recent memory.

Maybe it was because the comment was a moment of levity in an otherwise tense discussion. But I'd rather think of it as appreciation for how my brain works sometimes. For better or worse.

Putting Portraits to Good Use

Here's my sister's holiday card for this year.



It's good to have a photographer and copywriter in the family, I guess.

Thanksgiving Jokes

I made up some jokes in honor of Thanksgiving. Please share with friends and loved ones, because, let's be honest, your gravy sucks.

Q: Why did the cranberry sauce cross the road?
A: Because it can.

Q: Why did the pumpkin pie cross the road?
A: Bad seed.

Q: Why did the pea cross the road?
A: That's there he left his iPod.

Q: Why did the tryptophan cross the road?
A: Wake me when you know the answer.

Q: Why did the mashed potatoes cross the road?
A: Seeing a new place was appealing.

Q: Why did the stuffing cross the road?
A: There was an opening it had to fill.

Q: Why did the gravy cross the road?
A: It was feeling saucy.

Q: Why did the corn cross the road?
A: If you knew, you'd be amazed.

Q: Why did the biscuit cross the road?
A: That's just the way he rolls.

Q: Why did the green bean cross the road?
A: That's just the way he casseroles.

And last but not least...

Q: Why did the pilgrim cross the road?
A: Because pilgrims would cross anything to escape an oppressive political environment, even when faced with the very real threat of bureaucracy, impatient investors, internal conflicts, sabotage, storms, disease and uncertain relations with indigenous peoples.

Blue Frosting

Now, that's something you don't see every day.

I Admit It, My Dad's Cool

You know what makes my dad so cool? I'll begin my answer with these.



About three times a week, my dad cuts wooden toys for kids. He does it for a group called The Happy Factory.

They use scrap wood and make those charming little toy cars for poor kids. They've made an incredible 25,000 toys. Just him and a small group of older guys, and the occasional volunteer (often spouses or family members) that helps put on the wheels and treat the wood with oil.

It's a remarkable project. Simple, and ultimately resulting in smiles on the faces of kids.

And my dad's part in it all always brings a smile to his kid's face, too.

What's Our Deal, Anyway?

Thanks, Brandon. This one says a lot.

Today's Kid You Don't Know

Today's Kid Pic

Because no day appears to be complete without one.

The Internet: Spark Killer?

Brandon sent over an interesting quote from Albert Brooks, apparently from the Rolling Stone comedy issue: "I think the Internet is slowly going to take down all creativity. You can take any artist in the history of the world...and if you can have widespread opinion on their first time out, you can kill the great spark that makes them who they are...Large amounts of opinion early in an artist's life is like a cancer."

I'm not sure I agree. It's an interesting thought, but in a way, every artist gets feedback about what they do, right? Whether it's in a comedy club, or in my case, people just reading my articles and jokes. I guess the Interwebs make it possible to get far more negative feedback in a much shorter time, but to me, there's also an insulation that happens on the Web.

I used to get quite a bit of hate mail about the much-neglected Dribbleglass.com, but it was easy to ignore in most cases, because it's virtual, and at arm's length.

Ultimately, if someone's spark can be extinguished by dopey, misspelled comments on a comment board, it might not be the right spark in the first place.

If anything, I'd take the opposite opinion on this one. Never before have creative people had a way to get such wide exposure and massive support for what they do. The sheer size of the audience means far more people to give positive feedback, to spark more creativity, to boost one's ego. I love the feedback I get on Flickr, and on this blog, about my photos. And I still get touching notes about the work on Dribbleglass. (Gotta love when those cancer victims write to say that my billboards are a bright spot in their day.)

I'm not sure Albert gave this one enough thought. Or maybe it's an insecure artist talking...but, in the end, nobody does their work in a bubble.

Today's Kid

I guess this is kind of starting to be the thing I do. Kids photos. Mostly because during the fall and winter, it's harder to find bugs.

Drum Roll, Please

It's about time I officially unveiled my new photography Web site, ScottRoebenPhotography.com.




Stop by. Check it out. Tell me what you think.

I figured it was about time I started paying for the seemingly endless supply of photo equipment with, of all things, money generated from photography!

Thanks to everyone who's sent kind words for the Buzz page!

Building a site isn't the same thing as operating a business, but I figure I'll give it some time to see what develops. (Pun first used in 1831.)

My Happy Place

This is one of my happiest places.



I've lived in Vegas for several years now, but I never seem to get over the fun of craps. Yes, it's fun, win or lose.

Casinos tend to have a problem with photography inside their properties. I tried to be slick at this table, at the Four Queens on Fremont Street, but the dealers pretty much crawled up my hello when they heard the shutter going. They were very aggressive about making me stop shooting, and insisted I delete the images. Yeah, that's gonna happen.

I hate, hate, hate being told what to do. Ever.

So, I fake deleted the images and just kept playing.

From the discussion that followed, it appears the casinos don't care all that much about photography for security reasons. They seem to care because they want to protect the privacy of their other customers. What a bunch of hooey.

You almost never see photos of craps tables in an actual casino. So, enjoy it. That's a lot of red.

Why Do I Like This Photo?

I have no idea.

$2 Portrait

Here's Walt!



Walt is homeless. That's gotta suck. I met Walt at the Fremont Street Experience here in Vegas. Walt wasn't feeling too talkative, and may have been in a fistfight recently (hence the cut and stitches).

Asking if I could shoot his portrait brought a smile to his face.

Learn more about the $2 Portrait Project here.

Maybe You'll Find It Funny

So, I'm at In-N-Out today. It's a restaurant. And there's this young girl behind the counter. Very friendly and chipper as many employees of In-N-Out seem to be. And, when place your order, they assign you a number and give you a receipt so you'll know when your food is ready. This girl says, "Sir, your number is 86." And in my head, I thought, "Hey, if this were a diner, you just canceled my order."

I actually started saying those words. I then realized that it was highly unlikely that this sweet, friendly young woman would have any clue what I was talking about. I don't think people "86 things" anymore. Mostly they send things back because their Wagyu beef is a tad undercooked.

It wasn't a ha-ha-funny-joke, but that's not the point. The point is that I have become my grandparents.

It's Good to Be Young

I shot some kids the other day. I do that.



This guy was a handful.



As was his brother.



Their sister was the perfect model. I guess it could be an age thing, but I suspect it was a girl thing.



I love the way kids just think about the things right in front of them. They don't seem to spend a lot of time having regrets about yesterday, nor do they tend to worry about what's coming up. It's just now. The cookies. The toys. The laughter. And even those things they don't give much thought to.

In a way, doing photography of children is the hardest and the easiest thing in the world. It's hard because it's exhausting trying to keep up. But it's easy because the pretense is nowhere to be found. It's just pure. Pure fun. Pure emotion. Pure wonder.

I Shot Me a Reception

I will probably never be a wedding photographer. Too much pressure. I could do it if it were outside, in daylight, open shade, etc.

But it's the reception that's the real killer. The one I shot (not for money, for a friend) was literally in a giant gymnasium. In virtual darkness. After all these years of doing photography, after investing in gawd-knows-how-much equipment, and after learning a nearly infinite amount of information about low-light photography, I still have no clue what I'm doing. It's all hit and miss.

Here are a few images I felt were more hit than miss.

Ever Get That Feeling?

Ever get that, well, uncomfortable feeling when you kind of think somebody's not in on the joke?

This is Cool

Thanks for sending this along, Brandon.

Here's the Dilemma

So, here's the dilemma. I have no use for God or faith or religion. Never have. I judge people who are devout. I can't help it. The stubborn part of me wants to shake people and make them understand that they're wasting big chunks of their emotional energy on superstition, no different than a belief in the Tooth Fairy or leprechauns.

But then I read a story like this one, on one of my favorite blogs.

The husband of the blogger is visiting the Dominican Republic, and he visited two homes, one where he observed a lack of faith (and hope), and another household filled with faith (and hope).

I'm not sure how nonbelievers can begrudge these people their faith, no matter how much we consider faith folly, because they have nothing else. If faith gives someone comfort in a life filled with strife, how is that destructive? If there were another option, I'd be for it, but I don't get the feeling there is.

Nonbelievers go on and on about the negative influence of religion, but we have the luxury of being free from religion and faith. We don't need it because we have abundance and prosperity. But what if faith were all we had? (And before you say the hope created by faith is "false hope," I'd say, from the looks of things, no, it's actual hope.)

I recently went to see "Religulous." It's not a good movie, but I agree with many of the sentiments put forth (especially when it comes to the loopy beliefs put forth by some of the world's largest and most successful organized religions). Bill Maher is arrogant, and condescending, and chooses only the most inarticulate people to make the case for religion, choosing to ridicule their beliefs rather than to really listen to what they're saying. In the end, the movie said a lot that needs saying, because nonbelievers don't seem to have much of a voice in America, at least not an organized one, anyway.

But what the movie completely missed was the Dominican Republic factor. Where do we get off saying these people should give up their faith because we don't agree with what they believe?

For many years, I've sponsored a child in India through an organization called Children, Inc. It's been incredibly fulfilling. This organization works through Christian schools to do their work, educating children who otherwise would have no access to education. I've never agonized over whether I want to give to a group that works with Christian schools because for the people receiving their help, faith may be the only bright spot in their lives.

So, let's cut religion some slack. Sure, we can still still slam TV evangelists who exploit the weak and vulnerable, and we should still make sure to take jabs at Xenu and Kolob and other such nonsense. But let's understand that the things we dislike about religion are just part of the picture. Faith may also give people peace. Faith may give people hope. Faith has its place. Not in the Pledge of Allegiance or the Oval Office, but maybe in a little shack in the Dominican Republic, it has its place.

Very Sad News

I think you'd agree it's very sad Michael Crichton passed away yesterday. He wrote some amazing, imaginative books.

He will be missed.

I just wish there were some way we could have him back, you know? Some way, maybe through science, a field he explored in many of his books, to make it so we could kind of have him with us again.

Hmm. Yeah, if only.

What I Did Today

Some people went to the park. Some people fed the homeless. Some people went to church. This is what I did today.



Yeah. I hear ya. Probably should have gone with the feeding the homeless thing. Besides, they probably don't get too much kiwi.