In a unanimously obvious vote, Señor Pujols grabbed all 32 first-place votes to secure his third National League MVP award (and second in a row). You can read about all his stats on numerous websites, but this is bigger than winning an award. It may be the most important thing to happen to baseball in its modern history.

What Pujols represents is not only a great baseball player (both offensively and defensively) but he represents excellence in purity. He gets a new nickname. The Usher. As in, the Steroid Era has been ushered out. The best player in the world is not a juicer. And not only that, he’s a great dude too.

So he represents a great hope for a sport that, in my mind, has taken a vacation in importance. Bill Simmons commented on late night TV that baseball was no longer America’s past time. He theorizes that basketball has taken that lofty perch and my extreme bias agrees. Baseball is our father’s game to a large degree, now marred with a steroid filter that has covered the game in distrust. But Pujols can change all that.

You see, baseball lost its heroes when Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco dominated any mention of the sport. I found it hard to root for anyone, fearing that in a year or two my hero would end up a cheater. Alex Rodriguez anyone? Mark McGwire? But not anymore. Sure, we don’t really know. Maybe Albert just takes the really good stuff. But nothing about him makes me question it. And that’s important. Impressions.

Now I find myself interested again. I want to see the best players play a great game, free from the restrictions that steroids have placed on our confidence as fans. If its been a while since you cared about baseball, I think now is a good time to take another look. Next spring, as teams start another season, find one to root for. Get to a game. Enjoy a day at the ballpark knowing that the odds are no longer that you’re cheering for a cheater. You may be cheering the next Albert Pujols. Unless of course, you have the distinct honor of watching the Cardinals play. Then you will be compelled to root for the real deal.

Thanks Albert,

+Joe+

Where to begin?

As the ridiculously mundane title suggests, I picked up a newspaper, the kind made of real trees and ink, and read an article. Not just the headline. Not just the headline and the hook. Nope, the whole thing. And a couple of interesting things happened because of this experience.

First. I looked way more intellectual than usual while sitting in the lobby of the Ace Hotel, sipping my Americano. Also, I looked way more “attempting to look intellectual”. It was, after all, the New York Times I had in my hands. But it was less the look I took on at this time and more about what exactly I was reading that stuck me as interesting.

Upon seeing the mess of NYT sections spread out on the enormous table in the Ace lobby, I tracked towards the “Business Day” section. Below the fold was a familiar online face, Bill Simmons. For those of you that don’t know, Bill Simmons is “The Sports Guy” at ESPN. He recently wrote a book (which may end up being another momentous print reading experience in my life) about basketball called, “The Basketball Book”. A 700-page book. Stellar.

So the Times managed to grab my attention with an article about an online personality that I enjoy. Nice work. They managed to keep my attention because the entire article was about Bill Simmons’ rise to popularity (and financial success)—a rise completely devoid of a newspaper presence. You see, something that Bill Simmons realized many years ago is that the Internet was going to be the best space for his career. And he jumped all over it.

Quote after quote of this story has Simmons painting the Doom’s Day scenario that many are realizing is fast approaching in the newspaper industry. The source of news is changing. If it’s in the Times (or any other print publication), I read about it yesterday, so why should I buy the Times? Sure, there are some opinions that are only in the paper, and nothing says “I own a dog” like having stacks of your local rag in your apartment, but seriously, where is the relevance? I haven’t looked, but I’m sure the story about Simmons is on the NYT website. And they want me to buy a paper? No thanks, I’ll use all the coupon junk mail I get to clean up my dog’s tiny poop.

So it’s fascinating right? The New York Times prints a story about an online celebrity that completely trashes the need for traditional news reporting and newspapers in general. And it brings up a great case study in how to use your talent, in combination with technology, to make a great living doing what you love. If you have a voice, write a blog. If you have an eye, take pictures or make movies. Post them online. Get people to look at them. And the kicker, the most important thing, get people to have conversations about it all. Take a stance, have an opinion, start and continue discourse.

And maybe one day, should the New York Times still be around, you’ll find yourself the subject of a neat little article in the “Business Day” section.

For a follow-up, I think I might try and find a “land line” to make a telephone call. I’m not sure where to look though.

+Joe+

So, this is pretty great. There is a humor factor to all of this, but also a point I want to make. First, the news though. It has been widely reported in the tech news circuit that an Australian hacker wrote the first worm for an iPhone. Now, before you freak out, the worm only affects iPhones that have been hacked. So, if you’re legit you have nothing to worry about.

The Funny. While there is nothing funny about the implications of what this worm has done, the implementation of it is pretty sweet. The worm infiltrates your hacked iPhone via SSH (after searching on the network for iPhones running SSH). The worm gets access because, when a user hacks their iPhone, they must enable SSH and a good amount of people do not change the default root password: alpine. Once installed, the worm then changes the user’s wallpaper to an amazing photograph of 80’s pop icon (I use “icon” loosely here), Rick Astley with a message saying, “ikee is never going to give you up.”

Now, admit it. You started singing that in your head immediately didn’t you?

The other entertaining thing about all this, from a nerd perspective, is that the source code for this worm is littered with comments about how dumb consumer hackers are (for not changing the root password). First you get hacked, with Rick Astley as the figurehead, then ridiculed in code you will never read (until media outlets report it). Busted!

The Point. So, there is a bigger issue at stake here and I alluded to it earlier. Implications. What this shows is that the iPhone is not invulnerable to security violations, especially when users have altered the software. And that’s the key. Users.

Too often people see a device, buy a device, complain about device, attempt to change device, then complain when changes to device end up worse than original complaints about device. Does that make sense? The iPhone does not allow certain programs or contain certain features that users believe it should. So they hack it. Then, their hacks get hacked. Then, they say, “iPhones are not secure.”

The problem with that is, obviously, it’s not how the iPhone was intended to be used. Arg! The disclaimer here is that I’m a huge fan of Apple and I used to work for them. So that means I had to field much of the consumer displeasure regarding these types of situations. So yes, there’s a little angst left over. But still, if a phone does not do what you want it to do, don’t buy it. Or, if you buy it, hack it, and it gets busted, live with the consequences (or at least hack it properly).

At any rate, semi-props to a hacker having a sweet sense of humor. Maybe next time though, instead of actually releasing the worm into the wild, get a few phones in a test environment, film a demo and post it on YouTube. Do everyone that favor.

+Joe+ is never going to let you down…

Is it right to send a hack out in the wild just to show how “dumb” consumer hackers are?

My name is Joe and I am an addict.

The baked, cheesy goodness stares at me from the grocery store shelf. It’s big, puppy dog eyes. It says, “you love cheese, right?”

Yes, Cheez-It box, I do.

“You love baked stuff, right?”

It’s one of my favorite cooking methods, yes.

“I am both.”

Gasp.

And so, without much hesitation (and to the dismay at the other snacks), I reach for the bright red box, more than willing to pay the recently discounted, everyday low price. And upon getting home and launching Hulu, the box is carefully popped open, one glued flap at a time, preserving the integrity of the tab slot so that I might maintain the freshness, should I not finish the entire box in one sitting.

I suppose admitting it is the first step.

+Joe+

The first shoot is in the books. Admittedly it was a rough weekend for timing. Halloween, daylight savings time, and good ole fashioned “my ride is sick” circumstances contributed to one cancelation and one rescheduling. Luckily, I was able to fit a shoot in with Crysta on Sunday afternoon.

Truth be told, this was a good thing, all the postponing and rescheduling. To be honest, my nerves were going a little bananas for some reason. All last week was like getting ready for the first game of the season. Anticipation followed by anxiety followed by excitement. Thinking of all the looks I wanted to capture, trying to figure out how to “direct” during a photo shoot. If you’re about to do your first shoot with someone you do not know and you have yet to think about these things, you definitely should. And not just because I want to you get inside your own head about it like I had to, but because once I got started shooting, I didn’t have to think about that stuff. And that’s important for the creative process.

It was definitely a good thing to get the heavy mental lifting out the way beforehand. Once we got started, everything had a very natural flow to it. Interestingly, as we reviewed our photos after the shoot, we saw a very noticeable progression of our comfort level with each other. I talked about how I look through the camera, what I try and find in expressions, and my experiences capturing moments in film and photography.

As we moved around our location, we kept focusing on the story being told and how Crysta was telling it to the camera. (Hint: it’s all in the eyes.) Her connection with the camera was more evident as her confidence and our connection grew. As it turns out, most of the shots I will be using for the magazine came from the latter part of our shoot.

So that got me thinking. At least for me, it’s better to shoot with someone you know. Or at least someone you’ve gotten to know over the last hour. I have met a couple of the other models that I will be shooting over the next couple weeks, so it will be interesting to see how those shoots go (compared to meeting just before shooting).

With the nerves out of the way and the game face on, it looks like this project is well on its way to being pretty great. If you want to see some of the photographs as I finish them, check out (and subscribe to) Criminal Minima, my photo blog. If you’re a model, photographer, creative director, or any other amazing person looking to make something cool and you would like to work together, send me a note.

Much more to come, so stay tuned…

+Joe+

There is a chance that you know where I am going with this post. If you know me. So, many of you may know that I recently got the coolest puppy on the planet, Rocket. He’s a mini wire hair Dachshund (a fuzzy wiener dog). And he weighs about three pounds. That’s what you need to know going forward (picture to follow).

The Story

This tale begins at a lovely farmer’s market in SE Portland. My good friend Molly and I were perusing the delectable deliciousness, finding ingredients to make Molly’s famous pita treats (yet to be named). Once we had picked out all the items we would need, we had to head to New Seasons to grab a few outstanding necessities. The thing is, when you walk around with a puppy like Rocket, you’re bound to get stopped and have many many comments about cuteness, which I have come to accept and somewhat enjoy.

What I do not expect, nor somewhat enjoy is harassing comments by passersby. Honestly, it has never happened. So, much to my surprise, as Molly, Rocket, and I were meandering down the SE sidewalk, it happened. Two joggers were heading our way, so we politely made space for them to sneak by (I shortened Rocket’s leash). A nice gesture from us I would think.

On this occasion, however, it was met with a different response. As they passed one of them in the most snarky, smug voice imaginable (to his friend but loud enough that we could hear it) says, “Nice cat. Heh.”

Nice.

Cat.

Heh.

In honor of one of my very best friends, Nate Smith, let me give you the Top Five Responses I Should Have Given That Guy, But Didn’t Because I Am A Nice Guy. All these responses are said with a matching smugness:

5. “Nice Hair Piece. Heh.”

4. “Nice running form. Heh.”

3. “Nice choice in running outfits. Heh.”

2. “Running won’t get rid of that beer gut. Heh.”

and the one I actually used (because I’m a nice guy):

1. “It’s a dog.” (under my breath, “Douche bag.”)

All in all, poor form by that guy. But, I suppose when you look like him, you have to project whenever you can. And that’s okay. Rocket took it in stride. I had a mild reaction and Molly just cracked up. So, all is well. And now, to cheer everyone (that isn’t like that guy) up, it’s Rocket:

Stay classy!

+Joe+

That’s right. After launching into the world of magazine development, my first three issues have hit the presses. I got the Issue One (Bank Run Behind the Scenes Photos) proof in the mail on Friday and the quality (via MagCloud) is excellent. Needless to say, that got me hooked.

So, for Issue Four (Two is behind the scenes photos from Exterior Films and Three is a portfolio book) I am designing a concept, shooting some fantastic Portland-based models, and doing a lot of design work (possibly even farming out some). The concept started this weekend with a simple ad on Craigslist, but the response was so great that it has since ballooned to its current, “big idea”, state. It’s a new role for me too, as I have become less the “do everything guy” and more of a Creative Director (a role I would love to fill some day).

I plan to keep this process blogged throughout, so check back often to see where this project is going. Right now, I have about twenty models that have expressed interest in this project, so over the course of this week I will be narrowing down who I will shoot and the looks I want to have. I’ll also be scouting locations all over town for a basic slant of “pretty faces in grungy places”—though the final ‘zine will be more edgy and much darker.

For you locals, if you have any suggestions of locations you think would be cool, do let me know!

Stay tuned!

+Joe+

So as I was watching the Virginia Tech Hokies attempt to come back from a 4th quarter deficit against Georgia Tech (the game has not ended as I write this), a commercial graced the broadcast and basically made me fall out of my chair.

A man is walking down a pleasant street when he turns the corner and hears a voice. His own voice in fact. Because his reflection has begun to talk to him. About erectile dysfunction. And away we go into the benefits of Viagra.

Okay. First of all, this guy has about the worst situation a dude can have. Second, if that wasn’t bad enough, his reflection has something to say about it? This is a major issue. Think of all the places you see your reflection throughout the course of your day. And apparently this guy’s reflection is only concerned with getting it on. Personally I like the other ads for similar products that show the couple in matching claw-foot bathtubs on a beach or that weirdly plastic guy with a Joker-esque smile bouncing around.

I guess the lesson here is that if it’s an issue for you, avoid shiny objects and surfaces.

Go Hokies!

+Joe+