Christmas Mishaps

I've been skateboarding for about 10 years now. I feel like it's pretty safe to say that I've got a pretty solid understanding of how durable a skateboard should be.

Today's life lesson: Toy store skateboards should not be compared to real skateboards.

My cousin got this sweet mongoose skateboard from wal-mart or somewhere like that. He pulled it out of the package and left it lying on the floor. I decided I would impress everyone with my skills and jumped on it to do a nose manual.

I've broken my fair share of skateboards, but never this quickly. Even in my heyday of skating daily, a skate would last at least a week, but typically about a month. This one didn't even pretend to last. As soon as I jumped on it, it cracked right behind the front truck.

It was a pretty satisfying crack, but it was in front of my entire extended family (about 30 people) and I felt like an idiot.

Danny Wilson, destroyer of Christmas joy.


-Daniel Wilson
megadanny@gmail.com
(email sent via blackberry)

I'm growing slightly obsessed with blogs.

Blogs are taking over my life...

I've recently discovered the merits of multiple-author blogs, so I started one for the band...




If anyone wants to follow the antics of our band, then you can do it there... Isaac, Jet, and myself will be posting there, hopefully fairly regularly. Joe however still uses stone tablets and chisels to write, so he might not venture into the realm of blog-authordom, but that's okay, he's really good at the drums, and can make sushi, so we still love him.

Thanks to you if you read it.

Public Transit Sucks

I'm sitting in my terminal to board my flight to San Diego and I can finally breathe easy. I decided to have an adventure today and use public transportation to get to the airport. I am not a fan of UTA.

I had never used public transportation in the US before, and it was a wild ride. After missing my connecting bus to salt lake (I may have been late, but I really think the bus never came) I was stressing because I didn't want to miss my flight, as it would have been very difficult to find another one the day before thanksgiving.

I was fairly certain that spending that much time on a bus meant that I would have some type of venerial disease by the time I got off. No weird rashes or anything yet, but my stomach feels kinda funny.

Let's take a second and talk about the people that ride busses. I really hope I don't come off as a jerk or a snob, but seriously, everyone on the bus and train today had those wide eyes, buck teeth, and that permanant half-smile/blank-stare thing going on. I'm actually really glad public transportation exists though, because I wouldn't ever be on the road if I knew they were going to be behind the wheel.

Okay, that was mean. I'm going to hell I know. But seriously, I had a seeing eye dog come lay on my foot on the bus. No joke.

So, part of this experiment/adventure was to make it to the airport on as little cash as possible. A round trip by car costs about $12, so I figured the $1.60 for bus fare was pretty good. I didn't really take into account the intrinsic costs of riding a bus. Filth, disease, seeing-eye dogs and the 3+ hours of travel time may not have a dollar amount attached to them, but they definately cost something. Then, to top it off, I couldn't find where I was supposed to catch the bus to the airport after I got off TRAX, so I ended up having to call a cab anyway. That cost me $18, so if we add in the $1.60 for the bus and, oh, say $25 worth of hassle, we're looking at a $45 trip to the airport.

Still, it was really fun. I got hit on by some crazy 20-something year-old on TRAX.

Worth every penny.

-Daniel Wilson

( sent via blackberry)

A Holiday.

Whoa! Where did I go? I've been sooooo busy, and because of it just have so much news, I'll have to get back on the proverbial horse and get rolling with my blog again. Sorry, all three of you that might read this.

I'm gonna be famous. I'll tell you why later.

Love love,
Danny

Blowing my mind, Phil Collins style.

Sometimes you just come across something so good, that it deserves to be seen by everyone. Please enjoy this as much as I have been lately.



Tell me that wasn't the coolest thing you've ever seen.

Photoblog

HEAR! HEAR!
This just in from the fingers of the legendary Daniel Wilson, sole proprietor of Daniel Wilson Creative!

"Ahem..."
"I have started a photoblog to document my latest happenings as a photographer,"said Daniel Wilson. "If you have any interest whatsoever of the pictures I take, well then, subscribe to my photoblog and ye shall see my work as it unfolds and develops!"
The crowd erupted into a chorus of cheers at the break of this good news. More than one conversation in the crowd went as follows:
"He's quite amazing, that Daniel," said one man to another. The other's response? "Yes, quite amazing indeed!"
Daniel went on to say, "You can find the link below, or in the list of links at the top right of the page. Thank you, my loyal citizens, for your interest and cooperation!"
Women Swooned, men applauded. Everyone was quite jovial indeed.

Okay sorry about that. I get carried away sometimes. But seriously, here's the link.
http://watchdaniel.blogspot.com
Yay for blogs!

Flashing people, more fun than I imagined.

I've got a new toy, and it's proved more useful and fun than I ever imagined that it would.

Off camera flash, what everyone else is missing.

So I got a second flash (the wallet said, "Ouch!"), a lightstand, and an umbrella. I had it rush shipped (another "Ouch!"), UPS 2-Day air. It was a good thing I did. The day it came I had some Bridal shots scheduled for that evening.

Originally the plan was to meet at 6pm. She pushed it back to 7, and then didn't end up showing up until just before 8. Translation, the sun had gone to sleep and all workable light was gone. I was mad for a couple reasons:

1. I had just sat and waited for over an hour and, as Billy Crystal said, "Mime is Money." (tell me what movie that is from, and I'll think you're pretty cool)
2. I don't like doing crappy work, and no good light makes it hard not to.

So with a scowl on my face and anger in my chest we embarked on our photo excursion. It actually turned out to be a lot of fun though, and an interesting experience to boot. I still think I would have gotten much better photos if we had started 2 hours earlier, but you've got to make the most of what you have. And besides, had we shot earlier, I never would have gotten a shot like the beauty you're about to see.

This one looks like a movie still to me, and I think it's my favorite picture
of the shoot, even though it's unusable as a bridal picture. It still blows
my mind.

I haven't really gone through the pictures in detail yet, but I think I got some decent ones that will work. The whole off camera flash was a new experiment this night, but I think that for my first time I did alright. Here's a couple more from the shoot.

Stood Up

So. Do you remember the part in Dumb and Dumber when Lloyd is in the bar waiting for Mary to show up? He gets there at 10:30am and waits for 3 hours or so, but she never shows? Yeah, that happened to me today, but I'll tell you what, I handled it in a completely different manner...

I had this date tonight with this girl. I work with her sister, and she introduced us. She's way cute, seems way fun and it looked like it was going to be a good evening.

I had to work the lunch shift today, so I gave her a call at about 5 when I got off to confirm our 7 o'clock date. No answer. A text message was sent at 6 in hopes of making some form of contact. No answer. 6:30 rolls around and I'm coming to the realization that I'm getting stood up.

Here's where I chose a different path than Lloyd. He waited. I grabbed my golf clubs and went to squeeze in a few holes before dark. I showed up at the club house and asked if I could still get on. As though she could sense my pain, the girl told me to "just go ahead" (i.e. play for free). A simple deed with wonderful results. I parred my first two holes. Bogeyed the 3rd. And on the 4th, a 150yd par 3, I got my first ever birdie. I went on to par the 5th and 6th holes before it got too dark to play. Even, after six holes. I have never played so well in the 2 months that I've been playing golf. I can't tell you how good I feel.

Which leads me to the next part...

"The Shortest Fairytale Ever Told."
Once upon a time there was a young man who was in love with a girl. One day the young man asked the girl to marry him. She said no. So he played golf for the rest of his life and lived happily ever after.

I sure am happy I picked up this game.

Fore? Four? Look Out!!!

Sooo.... I have a new addiction. It's a little game called golf. I have wanted to get into it for a few years now, but hadn't really had the chance... But last month I got my hands on a set of clubs, thanks to my Grandpa, a long time golfer (and at one point, a 7 handicap) and I've been playing a little here and there. As of today however, I'm officially hooked. I went out this morning to Cedar Hills Golf Club in American Fork, Utah and played the front 9. Up until today, I have had a super tough time with my driver. I have had a wicked slice... No, I'm not kidding, this thing would curve so hard to the right, that the ball would end up 100 yards from where I was aiming... Needless to say, I was losing a lot of balls... But a couple days ago, someone told me to change my grip on the club. It was a slight change, but it made all the difference. I was just drilling the ball today like you wouldn't believe. I found the sweet spot with my 3 wood, and I was out-driving my buddy, who was using his driver, and I was hitting it straight as an arrow. It felt sooooooo good. Well, after nine I finished with a 50, because my iron game was off today. But still... that's not bad for my 5th round of golf ever. I'm really happy right now, and I'm hooked. Goodbye extra money... Not that I ever had any anyway.

P.S. The title of this post is just a joke. I haven't hit anyone yet. I did almost hit the cart girl on the second hole today though. It was a close one.

A Scalpel, A Wii-mote, And A Steady Hand.

For those of you who know me. I've spent the last year or so with a borderline obsession with the TV show "Grey's Anatomy". This fixation has even led to serious thought about going to medical school to become a surgeon. While this is still an path that I am considering, I have found a way to appease my need to cut and suture people around me. Trauma Center "Second Opinion" lets me be the surgeon I don't want to wait 7 years to be right now. I performed some complicated procedures tonight, from saving a young girl from imminent death because she was bleeding out from several large aneurysms, to multiple abscesses of benign tumors threatening to become malignant. There were a few close calls, but my patients are all healing nicely now, and I couldn't be happier.

Home Is Where You Park It.

So, Tuesday is when I'm supposed to be out of my Apartment. Only, I haven't found a place to live yet, and I refuse to go to the GlenHOOD and live with five 19 year old guys, so I've considered buying an RV to make my residence in.

I found this gem for a measly $4000

That's less than an years worth of rent. Sounds like a steal to me. I could totally see myself living in this sweet sunset striped jewel.

Home is where you park it.

A Photographer Without Film

I just shot my 2nd solo wedding on Friday. It's an interesting experience because I learn somthing new every time.

New Lessons:

• Don't forget to bring your memory cards
• Salt Lake Traffic is like LA Traffic sometimes

So, I totally left my memory cards at home, and being that I was shooting at the Salt Lake Temple, I couldn't run home and grab them. I was able to get by with my one memory card at the temple and then I stopped at Target on the way to the reception and picked up a 2Gb card for the reception. It cut into my profit margin a bit...

As for the traffic. Yeah, I was an hour late to the reception. It should have taken me half an hour to get there, so I left half an hour before. I lost a lot of hair in that hour and a half.

All in all it went well though.

Here is one unprocessed Pic I took.
















Once I get the pictures in Photoshop and touch them up a bit, I'll post more.

New Dashboard Confessional Album - Carrabba returns to roots.

I just read this post from Dashboard Confessional's myspace page:

" This fall, critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba will return to his roots with the release of The Shade of Poison Trees, Dashboard Confessional’s fifth album for longtime label Vagrant Records. The album marks a notable return to the signature acoustic sound that Carrabba first developed on early Dashboard Confessional albums like 2000’s The Swiss Army Romance and 2001’s The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most.

Recorded over 10 days in Florida with renowned producer Don Gilmore (Pearl Jam, Linkin Park), The Shade of Poison Trees is filled with the kind of earnest acoustic laments and smart, poetic lyrics that long ago turned Carrabba into a feverishly adored artist. While he continues to evolve as a songwriter throughout, the album is a significant return to the Dashboard of old, as well as a tip of the hat to fans that have spent the past nine years by his side.

When asked why he revisited his earlier stylings he responded, “I never really left.”

Over the past year, Dusk and Summer has received universal acclaim from such publications as Rolling Stone, Blender, Spin and the LA Times. And now, Dashboard has returned with The Shade of Poison Trees, an album that is sure to reconnect with the band’s longtime fans and further proving that Carrabba has become one of the most influential songwriters of his generation. Without question, The Shade of Poison Trees is Dashboard’s most personal album yet, and, to that end, Carrabba is set this fall to embark on a North American solo tour – his first in over five years."

I'm actually really really happy about this. Dashboard's best album by far is the Swiss Army Romance, along with Places You've Come to Fear the Most, and if what it says at the end of this post is true, or at least if I understand it correctly, Chris Carrabba will be returning to his former small club atmosphere and playing more intimate shows, with just a mic and a guitar. I'll gladly spike my hair, put on my wristbands, and scream louder than the 14 year old girls I'll be surrounded by to go see Dashboard as the band deserves to be seen, and how it should be seen.

Large venues and an electric guitar are the antithesis of such a band.
I'm glad Chris is figuring that out.

I'm so glad that this has taken me so long. It's the Journey that has made me so Strong.

I've been gone. I apologize.

I sit all alone in my room in the wake of another failed relationship. It's Friday night, 10:16pm on the 26th of July, 2007, and I don't understand. This picture is my best attempt to visually express my feelings. It's a discouraging feeling to have given everything you can give, and yet, come up short.

My life the last couple of years has been, well, rather unimpressive. There hasn't been much to tell, just the aimless wanderings of a 20 something year old searching for direction in his life. Then suddenly everything came together. The job that gave me everything I wanted. The girl that was both exactly what I needed and wanted, and who seemingly was excited to be along for the ride. But fear is a cruel mistress. Despite all good reason, it didn't work. I am searching for understanding, but it just won't come. Maybe someone can explain.

The need for that "spark" is important, undoubtedly it's what makes it all exciting, but to let fear extinguish the flame? The spark fades, the flame endures. How can I be that I'm the perfect guy, what every girl dreams of, someone without an undesirable quality (words from her own mouth), and someone that she wants so badly to be with, and it still not work? She says there's something missing. What more do you need?

There is nothing I can do. I have two options. Hang on to hope or cut my losses.
I want to hope, experience tells me to go.

Someday I will say,
I'm glad that this has taken me so long. It's the Journey that has made me so STRONG.

INSPIRATION

Failed in business in 1831.

Defeated for Legislature in 1832.

Second failure in business in 1833.

Suffered nervous breakdown in 1836.

Defeated for Speaker in 1838.

Defeated for Elector in 1840.

Defeated for Congress in 1843.

Defeated for Congress in 1848.

Defeated for Senate in 1855.

Defeated for Vice President in 1856.

Defeated for Senate in 1858.

Elected President in 1860.

Thanks Abe.