american society Archives

Is Digital Photography Helping Or Hindering Our Society #dadchat

June 1, 2012 by dadofdivas 47 Comments

I love taking photographs and since 2004 I have had the opportunity to own a Kodak Easyshare camera. Now I know this camera is starting to get old, but it has done a great job at capturing the important images within my families life. Prior to this, I used a Minolta 35mm camera that was a hand-me-down from my mother (A very nice hand-me-down).

Prior to 2004 my 35mm was wonderful and produced great pictures! I was however staring to have some problems with the shutter speed and getting some light seepage that was a bit frustrating. Around November 2003, J-Mom and I decided to get a new digital camera prior to the birth of Diva-J. We also were very excited about the idea of immediate gratification, seeing the pictures, being able to delete pictures immediately and re-shoot, etc.

The camera definitely lived up to its reputation, and as I said before I have been able to get some greast picture over the years.

Saying this though I return to the crux of the question I am posing today. Is digital photography helping or hindering our society?

I can say that I love the ability to tinker and fix and know what I am taking. But the quality of a 35mm is stellar….and there is still something to the anticipation of what you will get with this type of a camera and the roll of film that you are turning in. I can honestly say that I always love the wait that I have and the suspense of seeing what my eye and camera captured with my newer Canon 35mm camera that J-Mom and her parents got for me back in 2006.

Does digital picture taking cheapen the moment? I think not. Now, I will put a caveat on that in saying that I do think that it has become so easy to make an image something that it is not…making the perfect image when the original is far from it. This makes me think of the whole concept of airbrushing pictures for magazines and how reality really isn’t reality.

I am not saying that I am a purist as some are…. I do not shun digital technology. By the contrary, I find myself using my digital camera more than my 35mm…but the sad thing…I barely print off the pictures I take. I do keep them on the computer, but I fail to print them as I would with my 35mm pictures. This is one of the things I miss with digital photography…you are not forced to get pictures you have to throw out or cringe at. Instead you can pick and choose the best ones, you get to digitally enhance those that you do want making the perfect moment even better…. and you get to save money because you are only printing the pictures you want.

One final thing that comes to mind is the fact that recently Polaroid released information that they would no longer be making Polaroid Instamatic cameras…this too is a creature of a bygone age. I mean I always loved having to shake the heck out of those pictures to see what kind of image I (or whoever else was taking the photograph) had received…oh well…I guess the technology revolution continues.

So I now turn this over to you, please fill the Maniverse with your thoughts…

Good day from the Divadom….

Book Review – In the Fullness of Time

May 27, 2010 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

About the Book
In The Fullness of Time is a new, exciting novel based in historical fiction. I would be happy to send you a copy for review, and can also arrange for book excerpts or interviews with the author about his experience or about the interesting aspects of President Harding’s life that inspired the book.

On Monday, November 25, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was buried in Arlington. During the stillness of this momentous day, Tristan Tecumseh Hamilton begins a long look back at his life and times, and at the life and times of his neighbor and fellow townsman, President Warren G. Harding, who died mysteriously in San Francisco forty years before.

Throughout this final week of November 1963, the assassination and burial of President Kennedy becomes the mirror through which the now aging Tristan views the storied and long-buried past as it rises all around him.

Power and love, ambition and loyalty, war and the devotion to home these universal themes weave through the rich and intricate tapestry of this magisterial American epic that encompasses the world from the vantage of home.

About the Author
Born and raised in Marion, Ohio, in the middle decades of the twentieth century, Vincent Nicolosi grew up in an era when Harding lore, like Indian lore, was still in the air. History and legends lingered on rumors too. These he absorbed from stories told by those who knew and mixed with Warren and Florence Harding, who shook hands with Babe Ruth, dined with Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, exchanged points of view with Henry Ford, and with those who labored to build the town, run the railroads, and construct the steam shovels that dug the Panama Canal.

Nicolosi’s own life has led him to far-flung places including, years ago, the mountains of northern Nicaragua and to John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, where he has taught for many years and where he currently serves the students as coordinator of the Writing Center.

My Take on the Book
I enjoy historical fiction and the author has definitely provided a good read for anyone who also finds this genre to be engaging.

I found the intertwining of the deaths of Presidents Kennedy and Harding to be fascinating. He tkes the facts and the rumors and weaves them into a tapestry of good fiction. He also shows how these deaths impact the American way of life which for me, was interesting as I did not live through either of these deaths so reading about it (even in fiction) brings these deaths closer to real life for me.

The author does a great job at making the reader think and ponder their own beliefs as well as his style of writing is such that draws you as a reader in and makes you want to continue reading page after page.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction in general but also those interested in American History in specific as the facts and myths that the author provides will definitely entrance you!
If this book sounds like something you would like in your own library you can find it on Amazon!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Terms of Use for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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Wordless Wednesday #9 – Fireworks as Abstract Art

July 8, 2008 by dadofdivas 13 Comments

Happy 4th From the Muppets

July 5, 2008 by dadofdivas 2 Comments

Maniverse #7 – Images of Americana

July 4, 2008 by dadofdivas 4 Comments

You know I have to say that I am very happy to have been born in America (though there have been some things that have occurred in the past 8 years that I haven’t agreed with – but that is for another post).

I have had a number of friends from other countries and I tend to read quite a bit of how people live in other countries and though there may be some aspects of America that caan at times be challenging, we have it pretty darn good in the overall scheme of things.

To celebrate the 4th of July as well as my weekly Maniverse, I wanted to find some images that symbolize America to me… the first few are ones that I took myself, while the final images were ones that I idenitified through some online surfing.

You have to love fireworks, the pageant and beauty and how they brings people together

And how the innocence of our Children shows us the importance of our faith in freedom

I have always felt that lady liberty was an iconic image that truly portrayed freedom and what America was all about…I cannot even imagine what it would have been like to see her coming into New York from a long sea voyage as an immigrant to the US… talk about a site.

Now this image makes me think Americana all the way. I find it interesting to see how people show their pride in their country. This is but one of many examples.

I hope to be able to have my Divas understand why America is so great, and why it is important for us to maintain the ideals that our founding fathers started so long ago. I can only try and educate and hope that they will come to appreciate our country as I do.

Finally, in thinking about this post, I was thinking about what it meant to be an American and wondered what would happen if I Googled this…this is what I found:

USA Today – What it means to be an American

Student Essays on what it mens to be an American

Foundation for Economic Education

American by Choice

MSNBC

What it means to be an American (By a US Diplomat)

These are but a few ideas of what it means to be an American. What are your thoughts? What do you think it means to be an American? What images to you mean America or represent Americana?

I look forward to your thoughts!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Soccer Dad

May 13, 2008 by dadofdivas 2 Comments

So Diva-J has always been a physical girl and has loved to be outside and has loved playing ball with Dad ever since she was able to walk. A few months ago we got her into a soccer class within the YMCA and she just loved it and thrived in the class. So a few weeks back the class went into a new term and we went from being inside to being outside.

Now Wisconsin, at least Northeastern Wisconsin is not know for having much of a spring. So the first week we are out at soccer clss it is in the upper 30’s and the kids are freezing. The second week it is in the upper 40’s and raining. So far this is not boding well for dad who is the one bringing Diva-J to the class.

Above and beyond the weather woes…I have always tended to wonder why the term Soccer Mom came to be known as such as I see many dads who are there with their children, and not just Moms. What about the term Soccer Dads? Does the term Soccer Mom refer again to the fact that American society tends to see Mom as the primary caregiver of children in families? I did a quick Google of this and found in a defintion in Wikipedia.

It states that:

The term has been traced to Ludlow, Massachusetts, where a report came out that a man absconded with $3,150 raised for the benefit of a local soccer league. It is unclear whether a newspaper story or a television news report was the first to use the term.[1] The term came into widespread use in the 1990s, notably during the 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns and has been in use ever since.[citation needed]

In a literal definition, soccer moms have children who play soccer. The term has been extended in popular culture to include mothers anxiously running their children errands in oversized SUV vehicles while chatting on their cell phone. To some extent the phrase has begun taken on a negative stigma. Nissan, who had for several years courted the “soccer-mom” image, repositioned its Quest minivan as “stylish, sexy and desirable” [2].

Needless to say there was no wikipedia page for the term Soccer Dad…

Well… needless to say I a a Soccer Dad and spend my Saturday mornings thoroughly enjoying watching my eldest having fun on the soccer field with the other little kids… So power to the dads out there who like me are supporting there kids and are having fun in the meantime!