Blog migrated
This blog is moved over to jocelynbaun.com/blog. I’m still trying to tweak it, but it’s up!
Migrating Blog
Hey guys. I’m migrating my blog to my website’s host, so if it’s down that’s why. Thanks!
Dylan: From Terrorizer to Enforcer
08001_Apr04_043.JPG, originally uploaded by rockstarbaun.
Well, it’s definitely been a tiring week with a new dog in the house. But there’s good news! Friday, Dylan stopped randomly attacking Lola and now limits it to (so far) once a day, and when she has gone after food she shouldn’t have (e.g., on the street). But they are now able to be on the couch together without incident. Also, on a walk, Dylan and Adam were a block ahead of Lola and me. Dylan stopped, sat and waited for us to catch up! What?!? And even more surprisingly, he turned into the enforcer. Whenever I correct Lola for like, trying to eat food off the table, Dilly comes running up to her like, “You heard her!”. No attacks and barely a growl.
We can see Lola progress too. She’s learning to sit and happily goes into her crate for food or treats. They’re been a couple potty incidents, but it’s only because she didn’t get out in a reasonable time, not willy nilly peeing everywhere. She’s still learning to walk on lead and has shown some food aggression to me. I got my third and biggest bite from her this morning when I was putting her food in the crate. She desperately tried to get it as I was putting it in, so I tried pushing her back until the bowl hit the ground. Instead she bit me, good too, on my left index finger cutting a 1/4 inch gash. I tried a second time to put the bowl down, she got aggressive but backed down after a stern correction. She’s not like this every feeding, but I have noticed that it’s been when she’s extremely hungry. I suppose it’s a reaction from her time as a stray.
3 New Images
I added two portraits and a detail shot to my site. They are on the homepage as a slideshow. I couldn’t figure out a better way of displaying newer images without creating a separate “new images” portfolio. Well I could, but clicking on another page just seems like an extra and unnecessary step for a potential client to do.
I met the old hippie at the Santa Barbara Beach last August. He was asking for a “dollar donation” to take his photo. So I took a bunch of frames, then realized I didn’t have have a dollar, but I did have a 1 euro coin! $0.50 gain!
Don’t Blow Favors
As a favor for someone, I agreed to a last minute shoot with a rapper, whom I’ll call R, who was in town from Massachusetts until Saturday. It’s supposed to rain on Friday, so cool, today will work. I’ll hold off on what I originally planned – working on images for my portfolio and finally sorting out the stone for the shower curb. (Yes, we ARE STILL renovating the bathroom!) I had a great location at my friend’s studio in Chinatown featuring a rooftop and a stairwell a la Mark Seliger. At our scheduled time, 4p, I get a voicemail that R can’t make it until 5:30. Uh, ok. Thanks for letting me know, calling when we were going to meet. But things happen; we can reschedule. I call R back, but get his voicemail. I’m still @the location and a videographer walks in, then the second videographer walks in. They were supposed to shoot a video with R, which BTW, R didn’t bothered to tell my friend that these guys were showing up. I explained the situation to them, was totally annoyed and walked out. At least I can do some street stuff in Chinatown for the next hour or so. As if on cue, at 5:30 R calls me back tell me that he’s on the way. What? I thought you would be there @5:30, not “I’m on my way there from Bushwick”. Dude, sorry but I offered you a favor, last minute at that. If you were paying me, yea, then ok, sure I’d wait. I’d be really annoyed, but I’d wait. But considering you were trying to get your self back in the game after a bit of absence, don’t flake like this on someone who offered to help you out. What a waste of time. At least Chinatown/Lower East Side was interesting.
Cormega Show
I haven’t shot a concert in 4 years. It’s not an easy job, especially @the big venues with all their restrictions, the quickly changing lighting. Luckily, last night’s show was @the Knitting Factory, so it was cozy. I’ve realized that I’m definitely more of portrait photographer and work better in a more controlled situation. But it’s good once in a while to change it up! Here’s the pics from last night.
Day 5 with Lola
Having Lola reminds me of how much work a foster/rescue dog is. She’s finally learned that the crate is her den and more importantly, she started eating. We tried kibble alone, wet food alone, kibble + wet food, peanut butter, chicken stock, kibble + chicken stock – nada. It’s all about the beef gravy. Eventually I she will start eating kibble alone, but for now, I’m happy she’s eating after a four day fast. Next, walking on lead.
Lola just loves EVERY person she meets and tries really hard with Dylan. But Dilly still terrorizes her. He’s laid off a bit, but today, he jumped her 3 times – all when we walking. That’s it. We have to keep them separated since he just winds her up.
Our Foster Dog Lola
Adam and I volunteer with NYC Shiba Rescue and got our first foster dog Thursday nite. Her name is Lola (originally Isis), she’s 2 and all she wants to do is get love. She’s a total love bug and follows you everywhere, craves human attention and gives lots of kisses. Dylan can’t stand it though and is trying to adjust. If you’re or someone you know is interested in adopting her, please let me know.
Obama Delivers Honest Speech on America’s Race Relations
Got back from LA last night, woke up at 7a, worked for a couple hours, napped and woke up in time for Obama’s speech in Philadelphia. Using the controversy over Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s fiery sermon snippets, Obama addressed America’s complicated racial relations honestly and straight-on. What really resonated with me was his discussing his white grandmother,
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother — a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
Growing up in the South, I’ve heard my parents say many simplistic and deragatory comments about African-Americans. What boggled me, outside of the naive comments themselves, was that they had a few black friends, so did I, so did my brother. In my parents minds, they were able to separate their friends and ours as “different from the rest of the blacks.” I totally disagreed with them and even today, point out their gaffes, and hate that my parents, who grew up in the Philippines, never meeting a black person until coming to the States, had been filled with American racial stereotypes. What do I do? Disown them for that? With everything else they’ve taught me? Some would say, and the talking heads on CNN discussed it, well, you can’t get away from family, but you sure can choose your Church. Obama’s condemned the Rev. Wright’s statements, but explained his relationship with him.
Why associate myself with Rev. Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church?
And I confess that if all that I knew of Rev. Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and YouTube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way
But the truth is, that isn’t all that I know of the man. The man I met more than 20 years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor.
He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine, who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth — by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
The path is to understand the many shades of not only a person, but this country and to work together to better the situation for all.
Here’s the full transcript.
