It’s Just Justin

I love Birmingham Alabama

I am here in Birmingham Alabama to do a photoshoot with the Taste of the South Magazine and the National Sweet Potato Commission.  Right now I am sitting at a two story Starbucks in their old downtown.  

As the plane made its rough, really rough, landing, and as I looked out of the window to what would surely be the city I would die in (I swear we all thought the plane was going down) and took a look at my final destination, I had a revelation.

I love Birmingham.  Right now, after spending a few hours in the old downtown and just really falling in love with the old downtown, I am just certain that I need to live here.  I even picked out an apartment for Ryan and I with it’s own Bar/Restaurant on the ground floor.  How sexy is that?  I have even planned out our lives here.  Oh my!

 
 

I had dinner at this awesome restaurant/bar that had all sorts of fun food and lots of veggie foods… Great wine selection of which I had the Bacarro Pinot Grigio.  I also passed probably 10 gay people so far, which is not what I expected for a city in Alabama.  They rank 47th in hate crimes based on sexual orientation and 50th in overall hate crimes!  Awesome (unless I’m reading the statistics backwards…

Look at that adorable fountain.  Oh this is lust at first visit.  Below is my new church… haha, well it is a Methodist church! 

 

I’m sorry that I’m stuck using my iPhone to take the pics, with it’s new broken camera.  I didn’t want to walk around town with my camera bag, but if the weather is nice tomorrow, I certainly will.  

What do you think about Birmingham?  hmm?  Can I convince Ryan to move here? haha, not likely.  Cost of living is 4.8% lower and income is 2.5% higher.  How awesome is that? 

So far Chase, Ryan and Landon think I’m crazy.

Tags: Alabama, Awesome, Birmingham, Chase, City, iPhone, Landon, Love, Move, Photography, Ryan, Travel

Vote Scouts for Lollapalooza

Check the out online at www.scoutsmusic.com

Tags: Awesome, Chase, Concert, Just My Music, Scouts Music, Shout Out

My New Lights

I made some cool photography goodness tonight.  I have the stuff to make another set, but just ran out of time.  But basically I turned <$100 in cash into >$1200 of lighting equipment.

My DIY Light Ring

My DIY Softbox

Not bad considering the price and that I did it without that whole making a plan thing, just ran to Lowes right before it closed and the wonderful people there helped me get the stuff I was going to need.  I way over bought and actually am going to be able to return stuff and get money back tomorrow.  How awesome!

Tags: Awesome, Cheap, DIY, Kit, Lighting, Money, Photography, Ring Light, Softbox, Strobist, Yay

Car Commercial that Doesn’t Suck

Normally I just can’t stand car commercials.  This one, however, is quite the exception.  It’s the new Pontiac G8 and the commercial is based on a video game I used to play any time my family went to one of those cheap pizza places like CiCi’s with the arcade.

I just loved that game and to see someone create something out of it, well, it just really touches my heart, sob sob sob.  ;-)

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Tags: Arcade, Awesome, Car, Commercial, Hot, Pontiac, Video Game

Ummm… Amazing?

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For real… that was amazing.  Did you see that shit?  She fell from the freaking ceiling into the splits as her intro.

Ok, so all you Missouri, and especially you Columbia, locals who think the drag queens at Club SoCo are worth anything.

Oh, and this is totally dedicated to Chadd.  It’s Bonnie Tyler - Waiting for a Hero, but of course, you knew that.

Tags: Amazing, Awesome, Drag, Fabulous, Gay, Performance, Queen, Video

Bill Clinton Visits MizzouRec

I met Beau and Chadd at the Hillary Clinton rally yesterday here at Mizzou. Hill’s wasn’t there but Bill went in her place. He gave a fantastic speech and just really sold Hillary. She’s got my vote come Super Tuesday!

It was is crazy to think that this guy lead us to America’s strongest years since I have been alive and that afterwards working for so many philanthropic groups.

I bumped into several friends at the even, Geoff, John, Chad… and I even saw Mark and his beau Sam.

After his wonderful speech, Bill greeted the crowd signing books and fliers and, well anything people could get autographed.

I actually got to shake his hand a few times and even got a hug! Yes, I got to hug Bill Clinton.

I can die happy now. ;-)

As we were leaving the event, KOMU took time to interview Chadd and Beau.

The full photostream is available here and a slide show with two hundred shots (I was fighting 1256 people and about 40 press…) can be viewed over here.

Tags: Awesome, Beau, Chadd, Clinton, Geoffrey, Mizzou, Politics

Barack Obama Does Religion Right!

In a speach before an Interfait forum in Des Moins Iowa, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois contended that the idea of seperation of church and state should not force American voters to “leave [their] religion at the door before entering the public square” arguing that “faith informs our values, and I think we’d all agree that our values inform our politics more than they have over the last six years”.

Obama pointed out the damages caused by religio-political machines such as Jerry Falwell “exploit what divides us” with agendas based soley on time socially divided issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

Jumping onto the recent Nobel Prize shared by Al Gore and UN Scientists, Obama pushed the bibically faithful to examine their doctrine’s regard to the earth, climate and our role in protecting what God gave us.

“The bible tells us that when God created the earth, he entrusted us with the responsibility to take care of that earth,” he said. “It is a responsibility to ensure that this planet remains clean and safe and livable for our children, and for all of God’s children.”

“Science has made it undeniably clear that our generation is not living up to this responsibility.”

An as an omage to the former vice president, Obama gave credit where it was due, “I think all of us give great thanks to him [Al Gore] for his extraordinary dedication, his extraordinary service, [and] his grace after a bitter defeat to rise up and actually transcend and do even more than one could have ever imagined to help highlight this issue.”

Well done. Absolutely the best mixing of religion in a political speach that didn’t austrosize anyone. Well, not me at anyways.

Tags: Awesome, Gay, Obama, Religion, Wow

It’s Been A While

Sorry I never post.  I’ve just been so busy with school, work, work and life.

Things are wonderful though.  School sucks but the hospital job is fantastic.  Starbucks is ok… Hmmm.  I am scheduled to work on a day off, the day of a meeting at the Hospital and of the Elton John concert that I waited in line for hours to be the third person to get tickets.   That’s bullshit if I’ve ever smelt it… which I haven’t but still.

Ummm… Ryan is amazing.

Ummm… the new FX show Damages is the best thing on TV right now.  Promise.  Followed by Saving Grace, Kyle XY, Greek, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Eureka and Mad Men.  No… I never watch TV…

Speaking of which.  Since NBC left iTunes Music Store I had to get DishNetwork.  I’ve been trying to get it installed for week but I keep having to cancel, put it off, due to work schedules.  Boo to having to pay $65/month just cause NBC dropped out but Yay! to getting full HD on my tv.

Back to work!

Tags: Apple, AppleTV, Awesome, Blogging, iTunes, Money, Ryan, Starbucks, Television, Work

Rufus and Apple

It an email from Apple Computer about my student discount. Apparently I save $200 off the Airport Extreme, which of course is only $179. Are they going to pay me to buy one?

But even more exciting, Rufus’s new album is on pre-sale with a ticketmaster ticket option.  I never really understand these Ticketmaster things but I guess you get the pre-sale ticket but no discount or anything.

Who wants to go see Rufus with me? :-)

Tags: Apple, Awesome, iTunes, Just My Music, Just My Nerdiness, Oops, Rufus Wainwright