I'm Coming Back.

I studied photography in college, primarily photojournalism. I always loved the action of real life photography. For a degree I had to shoot fashion shots, spending time in the studio working with models that were recruited from among my friends on campus. I had to shoot product shots for print advertising. I must admit I hated the studio. And working for hours trying to adjust the lights on a bowl of cereal was not that exciting.

I wanted to be among people, on the street, in a football stadium, at a press conference, following a presidential campaign. I've shot photos of Presidents Bush Sr., Ford, and Clinton. I've covered high school football games, parades, political campaigns, and other forms of everyday life. For me, art is in the reality of people and the world in which we live. I want to shoot life as it happens, and look for the beauty that is there, in its simplicity.

I can walk down the street and see expressions of our existence in various forms: the golden chain hanging from the umbrella pole at a Starbucks, cigarette butts collecting near a drain pipe, a mother caressing her infant struggling with a grocery cart, flood victims clinging to their porches while watching their neighbors homes float down a swollen creek.

Life equals art.

But my photography career ended roughly around 1993. I began to do other things. I developed other interest like real estate, writing, church, family. My photography slowly became a memory, something I "used to do" when I was younger. But the love for it was always there.

So now, as I reach the time of my life where middle age is a reality and old age approaches like an uninvited guest, I desire to spend more time with a camera. I also want to post some of the photos I've taken from another time, another life.

So I guess I'm back.

Jaalam Aiken's Photo Creations

My nephew has become an excellent photographer. Check out his work at JMAPhotoCreations. I especially like his work with photoshop enhancements and use of light and framing.

Jimmy, Jerry, Troy and Super Bowl XXVII

This picture of Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson was taken backstage after the Cowboys Super Bowl parade in February of 1993. The Cowboys won Super Bowl XXVII, beating the Buffalo Bills 52-17. I was covering the parade freelance, selling some photos to local newspapers in north Texas. The photo is not that great, but I only had one shot. Jerry and Jimmy were bouncing around backstage and I quickly got them to stand still long enough for a pose.

Earlier the same day, during the parade, I was riding with Troy Aikman and Jason Garrett in an open car. The parade route wound its way through downtown Dallas with thousands of fans encroaching on the players. Although Troy is smiling in this shot, he and I and Jason were all nervous about the crowd. It was indeed a dangerous situation. At one point, policemen on horseback were called in to seperate the crowd from the open vehicles. Other journalists were packed in around us and were saying it was like being in a war zone.

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The following year when the Cowboys won their second Super Bowl, the parade was held in downtown Dallas, but that year the players were on huge open flatbed trucks high above the crowd. Police barriers were also more established and security was increased. Troy would go on to become a member of NFL Hall of Fame and Jason Garrett is currently the Offensive Coordinator of the Cowboys.

Family Ties

I've been scanning and storing digital images from old photos of the family. This photo was taken in 1961 (or 62?) when my mother remarried. The wedding was held in my grandmother's house. What a group of misfits. I'm the small one, front right, looking up at my new stepfather's mother.

I like the expression on my older brother's face. He seems to be saying, "I can't believe I'm having to spend an entire Saturday doing this." More than likely, my sainted mother standing behind him just pinched his rear end.

CraigsList Shopping

I've spent a few hours today just looking through CraigsList at various job postings. I've been looking for work in real estate or writing and found some leads. I emailed two resumes for writing gigs, and one to The Real Deal online magazine which is expanding its coverage from New York into the Vegas market.

The job market looks pretty strong in Vegas, and I found a number of writing opportunities. The best of both worlds, I guess, would be to write about the Vegas real estate market.

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I'm beginning to sell off much of the junk I've collected over the years. I'm scaling down to just those personal items that have value for me. Much of what I own can easily be sold. Everything I sell now can be replaced later, right? When you get down to it, most of what we own is junk. I have very few things I really cherish, and most of those things will fit in a box. I like the idea of scaling down, cutting back, clearing out the storage, unloading years of stuff that I pretend gives meaning to my life. It is a silly idea: collect what we think is valuable stuff and then place it in storage (or the garage) where we never see it.

The Timing of Suck-Beats and Other Frustrations

When my KK found its way to the showdown, alas it was worthless. Man, the timing of suck-beats in poker is really amazing. Last night I was down to my last $15 or so after my second bad session in a row. I figured I had one hand to get back in the game, and I get KK. Great, I’m thinking. I’ve got a real shot here to win a nice pot. Congressman J.B, sitting on my left, raises. Three callers come to me, and I call (probably a mistake). The flop comes 8-2-x. Great flop for me! The House Rep bets out. The 4-seat calls and I call. The turn is an 8. Great! I’ve got two pair now, KK88. Will they hold up? (You know what’s coming.) The river card is a blank and doesn’t appear to help anyone. So I’ve got my eye on the nice pot, when the player in the 4-seat turns over 8-2 off-suit! OUCH! The guy calls a raise with 8-2 off-suit (only the second worst hand in Pokerdom) and flops two pair, then gets his full house on the turn. I’m toast, of course. And the Congressman turns over AK.

It’s not bad beats that rankle my nerves. It’s the timing. Most times when something happens like this you just shake it off and go on. But I really wanted to turn a bad session into something positive. If I had won that pot I might have gone home with a loss, but I would know that all was right with the world. Why did the P-gods choose this particular time to shoot another missle at me? Amazing.

Bad beats I can deal with on a regular basis. It’s the timing of those beats that really make you feel like your intestines have been ripped out and left for the buzzards to chew on.

It helps to write about it. I know what you’re saying. “Don’t tell me your bad beat stories, I’ve had my share. It’s poker. So get over it.” I understand fully. There’s nothing worse than hearing others whine about bad beats. It happens to us all. They are a big part of playing this game. And usually I can deal with it. But today, I’m on tilt. So understand if I have to get it out of my system. I rarely if ever write about bad beats, and bad beat stories bore me to tears and I try to avoid those who like to share them. Sometimes you just have to share your story. It helps. I'm reminded of the two men at the WSOP last year who set up a table and charged players $5 to hear their bad beat stories.

The issue I’m dealing with is the timing. It’s like a double knock to the system. Not only do you receive a hit by the beat itself, but the timing of the beat is a second knock to the groin. Had the same hand occurred an hour earlier, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought. But at that particular point in my day, at that precise moment, when the clock hit 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night July 8, after a nine hour session of ups and downs and beats, when you feel like something really positive is about to take place to make you feel like the day has all been worth it, you’ve been playing well and the results are not there but that’s okay because there will be days like this, the P-gods decide they are going to hurl one last salvo at the spirit of a player who was only praying for one small stack of chips to make the pain of a losing session more tolerable while driving home.

Before leaving I leaned over to the Congressman and said, “How do professionals learn to deal with this game? Playing day in and day out--the highs and lows and bad beats.”

“Well, they just learn to enjoy the game, the people, and learn to deal with it. You have to be patient in this game.” The Congressman leaned back in his chair and took a long deep breath while looking at his own small stack.

I enjoyed playing with the House Rep who serves our state in Washington. He told me he plays online for play money and likes tournaments. I told him I voted for him, but he still beat me out of a couple of pots with some nice aggressive betting. He would raise with top pair, some times having only a mediocre kicker. So when he and I were heads up with a J-x-x-x-x and I had KJ in the hole, I called his bets down. He turns over AA of course, and won a nice pot. I put him on a weak J, which of course turned out to be a poor read.

Welcome to The Seven Seat...

Can't talk now, I'm headed for the casino.