Yo Yo Yo! Word UP! Homes....last time I seen yo mug..I woulda swore you done lived at least two lifetimes..;)...and I must say that the "Singing Detective" is probably your finest work to date...so packed with imagery and emotion that it overflows...you a "Bad Ass" alright. Like you I had a cutoff date...swore I'd never make it...it was 27...I had my midlife crisis at 30...truely believed I was old...so when I hit 50 it weren't no Big Thang Brother...muuuuuaaaaaahhhhh! manly hugz

hahahaha...jezzzz...that must be a genetic thing...up in Idaho I would have to buy a new mailbox at least once a year if not more...lol....the lane from the paved road back to my house was a half mile long...no way to keep an eye it. Sure was nice living at the end of the road though. Most folks didn't come up there without an invite. Course the no trespassing sign never did stop the Jehovas Witness....;)

In the inner city violence has become the norm and anymore the suburbs aren't immune either. I don't know how our society is going to deal with the gangs...but here in KC its quickly getting out of hand. If LA is an example of the way the authorities deal with them...the lawless brazenly go about intimidating everyone, including the police and the whole community winds up living in fear. Here in KC just going to the convience store to fill up the gas tank after dark can be dangerous to your health. The gas stations are the favorite target of random drivebys...they all have armed guards...so do the grocery stores and the Banks of course...:)...Having lived up in the mountains of Idaho for the last 25 years...its really a shock for me to come back to my home town and see whats going on. I really can't imagine what it would be like to be raised in this environment. I can understand the apathy...like the whole city is numb...violence is so commonplace that its become a way of life. Everyone just turns their head as if its not there...walking around with that 1000 yard stare the soldier has from being in combat too long...they say to themselves....well at least it wasn't me.

Hahahaha....guess not Cyn...they got a ways to go before they understand what Rebel truely means. There are those stirring the pot though...just like in the 60s...but these kids are a whole lot meaner.

Hey Cindy...The original is probably 40" wide...taped inside the window of a shop in Westport. Alot of the young homeless and dopers hang out on the sidewalk in front of this place. Haven't got any idea what is going on inside. Not the sort of place where this ole man would be welcome. Lots of attitude go'in around. I snagged this shot on a Sunday when the place was closed.

It does provoke a bit of De ja vu though.

Haven't the slightest idea Sheila...the youth of today have a language all their own...just as we did.

Your right Michelle..on closer inspection the blur does seem to be dof instead of a localized motion blur. If you were good with a Wacom pad addiek you could sharpen up the highlights and shadows fairly quickly on the puppy's head w/dodge/burn tool. Other than that I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't enough definition in the image for unsharp mask or edge sharpening to do any good.

One way that has worked well for me while capturing the shot instead of in postwork...stay back a ways from the subject and zoom in to your preference for your compo and use fill flash to freeze the subject. If your back toward the outside limit of your builtin flash it has negligible effect on the main subject.

I'll hang with LostPatrol...night shots. Social Issues might work better in warmer weather. You can bet your boots the anti-war demonstrators are going to hit the streets this spring.

You can count me in...sounds like fun.

The smartest thing I have ever done is quit drinking. Course it took me 40 years to learn that.

My Father died at 7:30pm this evening. I had been telling him that he was going to see the New Year come in...He damn near made it. May he rest in peace...now there is no more pain. For the first time in our lives my Brother and I have to admit that he now knows more than we do...:)