"I Got a Nikon Camera..."

"I love to take a photograph. Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away."

God, I hated that Paul Simon song. But, it does provide an interesting entry into some new innovations to come on this blogsite.

Sometime in the middle of July, I will reach 500 daily posts on this sucker. That's a lot of writing, both nasty and otherwise. My goal in this daily exercise was to develop a regular regimen for my creativity. Mission accomplished. Am I running out of things to say? Well, thanks to the ever-expanding lunacy of the world around us, absolutely not. But, since my aim is to always make this blogsite as pleasing to the eye as it is to the mind, I often feel a little hamstrung in the visual department. I am relegated to photos I can find on the internet. Sometimes, they're not downloadable into .jpeg files which is what the blogsite accepts.

And then I look at a new blog started by my childhood friend, Leo, who often comments here as "15thAveBud." In one of his very first entries, he cites my little trivial rants as an inspiration for him to do the same. Entitled "Ramblings of a Fortunate Man" (http:\\www.leotalian,blogspot.com), he uses it as a place to chronicle, often in pictures, his wonderful family and his life. Of course, in contrast, my blog could be easily titled "Ramblings of An Angry Idiot Who Is Convinced the World is Falling Apart." A slightly different focus, of course. But, I digress...

My friend's blog has been populated with quite a few family photos every week. Obviously, taken via digital camera and downloaded, uploaded, or whateverloaded onto his site. Hmmmmm....

I'm not a photographer by nature. And I'm still a little old school. Take the picture with the film in the camera, drop it off at Walgren's by 9AM and pick them up at 5PM. But, even I know that the days of some jerk sitting on a stool in a hot Fotomat kiosk are over. Digital is here. Accept it. Embrace it.

And, last Saturday, at Bel Air Camera in Westwood, buy it. I laid out to the sales clerk what I wanted to do and I stressed that he needed to make it simple. And he did. So, now, I've got the camera pictured above. And it is tres simple. Even for the usually technology challenged and phobic me.

This now opens up a slew of new pictoral essays that I can include here. For instance, I plan to document via photo a day sitting in my Shea Stadium seats for a Met game. Then, I'll do the same for a game at Dodger Stadium. You will see what I see. Hopefully, the smell of the Dodger Dog will come wafting through your computer screen. You'll enjoy some of my Hollywood Bowl evenings. It will be my personal version of TMZ.

One thing you won't see pictured is me. I am very, very, very, very fussy about how I look in photos and I don't need this to turn into psychological torture on a daily basis. But, everything and everybody else will be fair game and coming your way.

As a starter and good practice for the novice cameraman that I am, here are two shots of my LA apartment living room. One includes the Bobblehead Village that occupies one corner of the room. Yes, I am nuts. You will note that there are both Dodger and Met artifacts there. The bi-coastal fandom displayed in toys.

The next shot is one of the rest of the living room with the 42 inch plasma TV prominently shown. My housekeeper needs to sweep the floor.

So, we will see where this goes. I know there are readers out there (and I know who you are) who love to visualize all aspects of my bi-coastal existence. Now you have your opportunity.

And, in two weeks, Leo, my inspiration for this innovation, and I will be taking his sons to a Dodger game. If he thinks he will be taking a picture of me there to use in his blog, he has another thing coming.

Dinner last night: English muffin sandwich.