Category - Digest

#Scotland: The Queraing / Isle of Skye

This is “The Queraing” – a unique geological formation at the northern end of the Isle of Skye in the Scottish Highlands.
I have been making a concerted effort over the past week or so to get some of my photos noticed on Instagram and build my ‘follow’ing there. So I’ve been downloading files from my Zenfolio Galleries on to my iPhone, doing the Instragram filter/framing thing, and then gathering #tags and copy/pasting the from Notes into the post before doing the share thing.
The effort has gathered a few new followers, and I’ve learned a few things about the inner workings of Instagram along the way. I’ll share some of that info in a future post (like when I’m sure I know what I’m talking about).
@visitscotland #brilliantmoments #queraing #scotland The Queraing on @isleoskye in @TwitterUK #scenic #travel @GreatBritain #highlands #digest

Fun w/ #GoT (Game of Thrones)

Is this all that is left of #CasterlyRock? #westeros #GameOfThrones #GoT #digest #WinOrDie #fantasy #medieval #middleages #ironthrone @acastofkings #scotland

This is one of the many photos I brought back from my trip to England and Scotland in May, 2013. It’s a ruin called Tantalon Castle, on the Midlothian coast east of Edinburgh, Scotland.

I’ve been having a little fun with Intagram and my recent fixation with the HBO show, “Game of Thrones.”

OK, “fixation” might be understating the case a bit. It’s more of a full on, clinical obsession. I need a 12-step program. I am powerless over Game of Thrones and….

So I’ve been digging through my ‘medieval fortress’ catalog, and then using an app called WordSwag to add quotations from the show, and then tag the hell out of the Instagram post to appeal to other #GoT fans – of which there seem to be many on Instagram (as there are, everywhere).

Results of the effort to date are mixed, but, then, I’ve only posted like three items, I think consistency is probably the key to getting more new followers.

 

 

 

 

Podcamp Nashville 2014 The Instagram Feed

Had the pleasure/privilege of serving as the photography sponsor yesterday for Podcamp Nashville. There were so many great, informative sessions all day long, I wish I could have stayed for many of them, but instead I had to run along to shoot the next one, and the one after that.

I managed to post a lot of what I shot to Instagram, along with many other participants who did the same. Here’s the whole day’s feed:


Sorry the feed is a bit slow, I’m still trying to find a more-configurable way to embed an Instagram hashtag stream into a blog post.
I’m not particularly pleased with this particular method for embedding an Instagram feed in a WordPress post… what I’d really like is a tiled graphic where the images change inside the tile. Haven’t found that yet… got any ideas?

New Downtown HQ

Could this be my new fave downtown office?

The coffee is just OK, but the WiFi kicks @Starbucks ass. I’m liking the vibe and the music is not obnoxiously loud – or programmed by a corporation. The staff gets to compile playlists. I actually heard Gram Parsons when I first got here. #digest

What A Fucking Racket – You’re Screwed Edition

Were you dutifully waiting for tickets for Paul McCartney to go on sale this morning at 10AM?

Overlay-McCartney-2013Tough noogies, sucker.

Yes, I already have tickets to see Paul McCartney at the Bridgestone Arena on June 25.

But, like a lot of people, I went to Ticketmaster.com this morning when the box office “opened” at 10AM to see if any seats were still available.

I entered the only options the website permitted: QTY (2), Ticket Type (Full Price, whatever that means), Price & Section (Best Available), and clicked “Search.”

And the site tells me “High demand! No matches…” Here, see for yourself:

That's right, the box office JUST OPENED and there are NO TICKETS.

As I fully suspected would be the case, the box office just opened… and there are NO TICKETS at any price other than the Premium packages which are $700 – $2,000 EACH.

I feel badly that I actually have tickets – but only because I first went off on this rant when I saw that somebody had scored tickets in a presale offer earlier in the week. That same somebody – bless her heart – took pity on my whining soul and shared the secret password with me yesterday so that I could get in and get seats while they were still available. It was $100/ea for seats near the rafters, but it’s inside the arena, which was all I really cared about. I figure the sound is gonna be awful wherever I sit (the sound at the Bridgestone Arena is always gawdawful), and I’ve got some really powerful binoculars.

So I will have my “once in a lifetime” experience.

I’m 63 years old. I’ve never seen/heard a Beatle sing Beatles songs with my own eyes (my wife has seen/heard the Beatles, in Dallas in 1965. Well, she saw them. She says she couldn’t actually hear a thing through all the screaming. And she forgot her contacts, so she didn’t really see them either…).

Now I guess I will have that opportunity, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.

But only because providence – and a kind friend – shined upon me and I found a way to ‘game the system.’ I know a lot of others were not nearly so fortunate.

– – – – – – –

Update at 11:00 AM. As of a few minutes ago there ARE in fact some seats available on the website. However, it appears that the ONLY seats that are available now are the $297.82 seats on the floor or in the lower level of seating. Less expensive seats in the mezzanine or “nosebleed” levels are indeed sold out.

McCartney2So, yeah, I suppose you can argue that the show is not entirely sold out before the box office opened. But if you thought you might be able to get inside the arena with a mate for something less than a month’s rent, well then, sorry. The show was sold out before the tickets went on sale.

 

 

 

 

 

What A Fucking Racket (Updated) Redux

I have tickets. Send me an e-mail or a private message if you want the secret handshake.

It’s a long story, and IOverlay-McCartney-2013 don’t want to go into the details now, but a little bird me told me a secret password and I managed to get into the site and score a couple of nosebleed level seats for $107 each.

But just to give you some idea how fucked up this is: the tickets are not officially “on sale” yet, but if you want a seat in, say, the first section off the floor, the $200 seats, good fucking luck: the “best available” today – 24 hours before the tickets “go on sale,” is behind the fucking stage.

That’s great if you’ve always wanted to see Paul McCartney’s ass.