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  • A Battle for the Ages

    My wife and I planned a long weekend to Boston to visit friends and celebrate her birthday. What we didn’t expect was that we were going to Boston to see the greatest children’s basketball game of all time!

    Walnut Street, Boston Shot on Fuji x100S

    Our friend was set to coach the second act of a basketball doubleheader, starring his own kid! Because he had to be at the game early we had to go to the game early and walked into the last five minutes of the first game. One team was clinging to a precious two-point lead like it was a slice of pizza at a birthday party. Considering this was under-10 basketball, the score was nothing to brag about and the moves weren’t exactly NBA highlight material, but the excitement in the gym? Easily more intense than any pro game that doesn’t involve a trophy and confetti cannons.

    Old North Church, Boston Shot on Olympus OM10 100MM F2.0 Ilford HP5

    We watched as the two teams battled up and down the court, traveling, double dribbling and carrying the whole way. Fouls on every play. There were more kids falling than shots when the team in the lead took a 4-point lead with time dying out. The way the losing team was playing they looked like they still had a chance but when the ball left their hands it looked as if it was allergic to the rim and the twine.

    Boston Shot on Olympus OM10 100MM F2.0 Phoenix 2

    The game somehow increased its frantic pace.

    Unable to extend the lead the leading team kept the pressure on but gave up a basket as the losing tam finally broke through but with time dwindling things looked hopeless. Then after a series of back and forth misses and the time winding down to nearly nothing a player on the losing team drove to the hop, hit a layup and got a foul on the play.

    With the game on the line and a chance at glory in the form of a single foul shot, the shooter missed the free throw and after a frantic skirmish down the court no final shot was taken in regulation and the game would give us at least 2 more minutes!

    Beacon Hill Shot on Olympus OM10 100MM F2.0 Ilford HP5

    What the next two minutes gave us was nothing short of spectacular futility! This was no longer basketball this was two teams playing for their seasons life but with no ability to really control the game, you know because they are kids! Instead the game is a battle of who can get the ball instead of who can shoot the ball into the basket, this leads to a hard fought but ultimately scoreless first over time period.

    Cemetery in Salem, MA

    This leads to a second overtime, and the aggressive play continues and both teams manage to score baskets but neither team is able to pull ahead before the end of the second OT period with the rules stating that after the second OT a free throw shoot out will determine the winner.

    This game should have gone on forever and instead we were forced to watch one team win and another team lose when both teams left everything on the floor and deserved the victory.

    The clincher was hit by the hero who tied the game in regulation and the last shooter from the losing team was visibly upset. The parents cheered louder than I have ever heard parents cheer at a children’s game and by next week most will have forgotten about the game but for those of us who will remember the game will be forever rewarded knowing that they have seen one of the greatest children’s basketball games of all time.

  • Who goes to another country to see the Jets?

    Who goes to another country to see the Jets?

    There’s a certain magic in the ritual of rewatching old favorites while flying miles above the earth. Maybe it’s the chaos of cramped seats, strangers pressed too close, or that stingy packet of pretzels, but there’s comfort in the familiar glow of a movie I’ve seen a dozen times. Sure, I could chase the thrill of a new release—in fact, I’ve tried (My wife didn’t know what was going on as she saw me cry through Inside Out)—but nothing soothes the turbulence of travel quite like slipping into a story I already know by heart.

    I mean, can we get more than & mini pretzels? I’m not trying to be greedy, but why are we rationing them?

    I wrote this while on a flight heading out to England. A quick weekend getaway to see the New York Jets lose. The entertainment guide showed that Sinners was available, and since I hadn’t seen it yet, I was excited to pass the time watching it. Still, a few minutes in, I found myself craving familiarity. That’s when I decided to switch to a comfort watch on my tablet—The Secret Life of Walter Mitty for the 10th time? 15th time? Who’s counting?

    If you’re unfamiliar, Walter works with negatives at Time magazine. A daydreamer, he dreams of amazing feats but never acts—until he sets off to find Time’s best photographer and a missing negative containing the quintessence of Life.

    Film Rocks! Dealing with negatives, less so.

    He’s searching for purpose, a spark, inspiration to be more. That moment arrives in Greenland, when he daydreams about a woman singing Space Oddity to him—it clicks, and his adventure, his life, truly begins.

    I think this is why I watch the movie. Not because I expect a spark, but because I’m searching for something—purpose, inspiration, though I don’t know what. I’ll never be a famous artist; I’m older, stuck in my job, but I want more. I hope to find purpose while trying my hardest to be a good husband and dog dad. Maybe I will, but I’ll keep searching until I do.

    Oh, and you should check out Walter Mitty, it’s a pretty good movie.

    All photos taken with Meta Glasses, Iphone 15, Fuji x100S

  • My Olympus XA2 doesnt see in color!

    and it was all yellow

    Photography can be very expensive. Whether its buying the latest and greatest camera, the best lenses or the cost of film and processing it. It all costs money, lots of money…lots of money I don’t have.

    To combat the costs I buy used, I sell used, I trade in cameras I want to upgrade. Basically do anything to get those costs down to continue to enjoy taking pictures without turning my credit card into molten plastic. That led me to EBAY a few weeks back to purchase this beauty an Olympus XA2:

    Top view of an Olympus camera resting on a wooden surface.
    OLYMPUS XA2, its so pretty

    I had been looking for a pocketable film camera after trading in a different Olympus a few months back to get a small digital camera. This was the model I had been looking for exclusively as it has good reviews, its stylish as hell and its small enough to fit in a pocket. Wins all around! Plus I had an EBAY coupon so bonus victory!

    The day after I got it I put in a fresh roll of Kodak pro image 100, fresh batteries and I blew that roll as quickly as possible to make sure everything was ok, and the results?

    A blurred photograph of a building with arches and a parked car in the foreground, suggesting motion due to the lack of sharpness.
    A hazy shot of a building with arched windows, showcasing an out-of-focus street scene.

    Fart noise! Yellow clouded, fart noise!

    Things like this happen when buying used. I had another used camera die mid roll and I was given one with a dead LCD screen i couldnt replace. These are old and intricate machines, they die, thats what they do. Thankfully the seller offered to refund my purchase so the stor has a happy ending and I have these yellow pictures to figure out some way to convert them into something better.