One Man's Blog

John P. on Net@Night with Amber Mac and Leo Laporte

John P. — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:30:09 +0000

About a week and a half ago Amber Mac and Leo Laporte were kind enough to have me on the net@night show to discuss Woopra.

We had a great time and they were very gracious hosts. I’m embedding the audio podcast from the show below, although we did do the show live and there was actual video demonstration taking place at the time. Needless to say Leo and Amber were very enthusiastic about Woopra, and we’ll be getting it installed on their sites very soon.

John P. on Net@Night with Amber Mac and Leo Laporte

If you skip to around the 35 minute mark you should jump in where I’m coming on the show. But you could also listen to the whole thing because Leo and Amber are actually entertaining. :-)

John P. on SocialNerdia with Esteban Contreras

John P. — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:15:32 +0000

Last week Esteban Contreras had me on the SocialNerdia show to talk about everything under the sun, including Woopra, blogging, business and personal philosophies. Below is the embedded podcast for your listening pleasure, but you can also find all of Esteban’s show notes right here.

Thanks again to Esteban for a rousing line of questioning and just a generally good time! And make sure you subscribe to SocialNerdia as he does a great job creating unique and valuable content.

Corrupting the Youth

John P. — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:06:19 +0000

You know, people often tell me that I’m a terrible influence, and frequently warn me when I’m around the kiddos to watch my mouth. But I’ll have you know that I had nothing to do with supplying this kiddo with booze and smokes!

OXI Day: How the Greeks Helped End World War II

John P. — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:01:38 +0000

Today, October 28, marks the anniversary of one of the most important days in the history of the world, yet few people remember it’s significance. But the Greeks do, and they celebrate OXI day, every year.

The day was October 28, 1940. At dawn that morning (4:00am), after a party in the German embassy in Athens, Mussolini (through Emanuele Grazzi, the Italian ambassador in Greece) issued an ultimatum to Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas to surrender, or face open war with Italy.

Metaxas, a career military officer and more importantly a proud Greek, was not inclined to acquiesce to Mussolini’s demands (surprise!), thus touching off the beginning of the Greco-Italian War and a series of unbelievable events that would eventually neutralize Italy, cripple Germany, and cost 1,000,000 Greek lives.

The Video Montage

Here is the story of Greek resistance as told through a short video. Heroic, yet sad.

For the Record

What happened next was nicely summed up by Congressman Mike Bilirakis (R-FL), Co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues, in a special order speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to commemorate the anniversary of OXI Day (pronounced “O-hee”). It comes straight from the Congressional Record in Washington, D.C., October 29, 2003.

The full text of Congressman Bilirakis’ remarks follow:

Mr. Speaker, I rise proudly to celebrate “oxi” day. The historical significance of this day and what it meant to the outcome of World War II cannot be overstated. The outcome of a decision made on a day in 1940, had a profound impact on the conducting of the war by Nazi Germany. We’re talking about a stand made by a small, battered and courageous nation, namely Greece, against the larger, more powerful aggressors Italy and Germany.

By October of 1940, World War II had begun, and the Nazi war machine was already in high gear. Along with Hitler’s ally, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the German and Italian forces were threatening the whole of Europe. European nations were bowing to tyranny and destruction as the Germans and the Italians marched through Europe.

Great Britain endured Germany’s aerial bombardment, forcing Hitler to seek another avenue to subdue the British. Hitler intended to eliminate British operations in the Mediterranean in order to weaken their ability to deter German advances.

To achieve this, Hitler needed the Axis powers to strike at British forces in Greece. By conquering Greece, Hitler would gain access to an important connecting link with Italian bases in the Dodecanese islands. This would give the Italians a strangle hold on British positions in Egypt, where British forces were already facing attack from the Italian army in north Africa. The British considered the defense of Egypt vital to allied positions in the oil rich Middle East.

On October 28, 1940, the Italian Ambassador in Athens presented an insulting ultimatum to Greek Prime Minister Metaxas, demanding the unconditional surrender of Greece or Italy would declare war and invade Greece. Mussolini had given the Greek Prime Minister Metaxas three hours to reply.

Prime Minister Metaxas responded with the now historic word “oxi”, which means “no” in Greek. His statement embodied the true spirit of the Greek people. His words of defiance echoed the same devotion and love of country that Greek patriots exhibited during their war of independence against the Ottoman empire when they shouted the defiant words “liberty or death.” Prime Minister Metaxas’ actions marked the beginning of one of the world’s most heroic efforts against tyranny and oppression. Italy then invaded.

It is important to note that in addition to Greece having a population seven times smaller than Italy, the disparity in their armed forces was even greater: Italy had close to ten times the firepower of Greece in its army and navy and seven times the troops. Italy’s large air force had total air superiority since Greece had a very small defensive air force. However, despite their lack of equipment, the Greek army proved to be well-trained and resourceful. Within a week of the invasion, it was clear that Italian forces were suffering serious setbacks despite having control of the air and fielding superior armored vehicles.

On November 14th, the Greek army launched a counter-offensive and quickly drove the Italian forces back into Albania. By the next month, the Greeks had captured the town of Pogradec in eastern Albania. The fighting continued for a few more months…it was clear that the Greeks were not going to stand for defeat. In a last ditch effort to bring the war to a close before the Italians would be forced to ask Hitler to intervene, they launched another assault on March 12, 1941. After six days of fighting, the Italians had made only insignificant gains, and it became clear that German intervention was necessary.

On April 6, 1941, Hitler ordered the German invasion of Greece. It took the Germans five weeks to finally end the conflict. This delay proved to be critical to the outcome of the war. Italy’s inability to capture Greece enabled the British to win major victories against Mussolini’s forces in north Africa. This solidified British positions in the region as well as in Cyprus. In addition, it contributed to the failure of the German Barbarossa campaign to conquer Russia.

Due to Mussolini’s humiliating defeat by the Greeks in Albania and Greece, Hitler was compelled to capture the Balkans, mainly Yugoslavia and Greece, thus, delaying his Barbarossa plan to invade and capture the Soviet Union before the winter of 1941. The Greek resistance, both in Albania, and in the other famous battle in Crete, altered, favorably for the allies, his Barbarossa time table by at least six months.

Perhaps most importantly, the Germans never gained the advantage against the British. Although Germany had conquered much of Europe, its inability to decimate British and Russian forces early in the war would eventually prove to be fatal. Thanks to the heroic Greek resistance and their countless sacrifices, the war tide had been permanently changed for Hitler due to the delay of this critical time table.

Nearly one million Hellenes died during that time. That was 14% of the population in 1940. That is equivalent to losing 39 million people in this country TODAY in the case of a war to defend our country.

The entire Western world, discouraged and fearful of the Axis powers and the growing ugly war, took hope from these incredible victories. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said of the Greeks: “Today we say that Greeks fight like heroes, from now on we will say that heroes fight like Greeks.”

A very small number of those Greeks who fought like heroes are still alive today – some now are American citizens. One of those heroes lives in my congressional district – Mr. Demetrios Palaskas who, along with others, has shared those traumatic stories of the mountain fighting by the rag-tag Greeks against such a powerfully equipped invader. We all salute you Mr. Palaskas – you and your many fellow heroes for helping to keep the world free.

Mr. Speaker, “oxi” day is an inspiration to all those who cherish democracy and freedom. It marks defiance against terrible odds. As an American of Greek descent, I am proud to honor the memory of those brave patriots who fought for freedom for themselves and ultimately for all the free world on this important day.

I’m extremely proud to say that my grandfather, Nickolas Pozadzides, was one of those Greek heroes who fought and survived in World War II. And I’m also extremely proud to say that my other grandfather Cranford W. Gordon served our country proudly in the US Air Force.

Consequences of Resistance

Greece was eventually forced to confront four different armies: Albania, Bulgaria, Germany, and Italy.
Greece resisted the Axis powers for over 185 days from Oct 28, 1940 – April 31, 1941
The Greek victory over the initial Italian offensive of October 1940 was the first Allied land victory of the Second World War, and helped raise morale in occupied Europe.
The Greek resistance influenced the course of the entire war by forcing Germany to postpone the invasion of the Soviet Union in order to assist Italy.
By one estimate 311,000 people, or 4.3% of the Greek population, were killed (reference). Among them 140,000 died from starvation during occupation.
Other estimates put the death toll much higher. For example claims that “over 300,000 civilians died from starvation, thousands more through reprisals”.
The Greek Resistance, one of the most effective resistance movements in Occupied Europe, was formed. These resistance groups launched guerrilla attacks against the occupying powers and set up large espionage networks.
Hundreds of villages were systematically torched and almost one million Greeks left homeless.

One of the most touching episodes of the early resistance took place just after the Germans reached the Acropolis on April 27. The Germans ordered the flag guard, Evzone Konstandinos Koukidis, to retire the Greek flag. The Greek soldier obeyed, but when he was done, he wrapped himself in the flag and threw himself off of the plateau where he met death.

Quotes About the Greeks in World War II

“For the sake of historical truth i must verify that only the Greeks, of all the adversaries who confronted us fought with bold courage and highest disregard of death.”
- Adolph Hitler (From speech he delieverd to Reichstagon May 4th 1941)

“I am sorry because I am getting old and I shall not live long to thank the Greek people whose resistance decided WW2.”
– Joseph Stalin (From speech broadcast over radio after victory of Stalingrad January 31 1943)

You fought unarmed and won, small against big. We owe you gratitude because you gave us time to defend ourselves. As Russians and as people we thank you.
- Joseph Stalin

“The war with Greece proved that nothing is firm in the military and that surprises always await us.”
-Benito Mussolini 10/5/1941

“Until now we used to say that Greeks fight like heroes. Now we shall say heroes fight like Greeks.”
-Winston Churchill 1941)

Greek Photos from World War II

More Resources

Military history of Greece during World War II
Flickr search for Greece WWII
Oxi Day on Wikipedia

250 Photos From the Lingerie Football League!!!

John P. — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:24:00 +0000

On Friday night my friend Mark Ramsey took me out to watch the Dallas Desire take on the Los Angeles Temptation. You might be saying, “the WHO take on the WHAT”? Yeah, I know. And no this is not a joke – those are two of the teams that make up the Lingerie Football League!

And believe me, the teams were named appropriately! Good lord! Let me see if I can describe to you what we experienced, even though who am I kidding… by now you are probably already staring at the photos below! (All taken on my Canon 5D Mark II with the 70-200mm 2.8L lens attached by the way…)

Anyway, Mark and I went out to the game, which started at 9pm on a very chilly Dallas evening. It was 50 degrees outside and windy. Those of us on the sidelines were wearing jackets, pants, etc. and were still cold. But out on the field, there were about 20 ladies wearing nothing but “uniforms” the size of bikinis and shoulderpads. And, it was obvious that they were cold…

Anyway, as soon as the game got underway, two things became clear:

The chicks were smokin hot! And I’m pretty sure the fact that they were playing football contributed to the sex appeal, because it’s like most men’s dream come true. A girl who loves football!
These ladies are tough! This was absolutely full contact football, and none of them was afraid to tackle or be taken down. They were in it to actually win the game, not just stand there and look good.

I will warn you that if you look hard enough at the photos I’ve posted, there are a few which captured an unintentional “wardrobe malfunction” that one of the girls had after scoring a touchdown. I had no idea I photographed that because it was across the field from me at the time, but such is the power of long zoom lenses combined with 21 Megapixel camera technology.

You can see all of the images and get the full resolution versions on my Lingerie Football League collection on Flickr.

Brutal “Hate Crime” Beating Caught on Video

John P. — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:56:31 +0000

Less than two weeks ago, an absolutely brutal beating was caught on video in New York when two men decided to give a gay man “a beat down”.

Daniel Rodriguez (21) and Daniel Aleman (26) pummeled Jack Price who ended up in a coma after the incident with a fractured jaw, ribs and a lacerated spleen. Why did they do it? Well, Jack “came on to them” obviously! Duh. I mean, clearly that deserves having the crap kicked out of you, right?

I mean, like Rodriguez’s friend’s tattoo says, “[Thou] shall not lie with a male as one does with a woman. It is an abomination. Leviticus 18:22″. Of course, as Jesse Galef points out:

Leviticus also forbids tattooing. In the very next chapter.

“Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:28″

Well, I’m a big fan of selectively following the bible too. By doing so, I can pretty much do anything I want and claim divine guidance for it. It’s awesome, you should look into it too.

Andrew Sullivan broke the news over on The Atlantic. And now here is the news clip that contains some of the beatdown on video. Damn. You know what kind of a coward you have to be to sit there and kick the crap out of a 49 year old gay man who is lying in the street?

So, I’ve really got nothing magical to add about this incident other than to share it so we can all be outraged together. I’d like to literally beat those punks who did this to death, if for no other reason than to simply protect the world from that kind of hatred and stupidity. But what can we do?

This starts with the parents. If you teach your kids to be intolerant, then this is what you get.

Episode #13 | The Wealth Nation Bloopers – Volume 1!

John P. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:35:03 +0000

As I wrote over on the WealthNation.FM blog…

Well, I guess they were bound to catch up to us sooner or later. Our supreme editor, Dave Moyer, has compiled the first ever set of Wealth Nation bloopers for your listening enjoyment. Now you can get a real listen “behind the scenes” to see what he has to deal with when he’s cleaning up the episodes.

This will teach us not to be taking extended periods of time off from the show in the future!

Just select the play button below and you can listen to the show right here. You can also visit iTunes and subscribe, follow Wealth Nation on Twitter, or join our Wealth Nation group on Facebook!
Listen to the Show

Photos from the BlogWorld/WordCamp LV 2009 Photowalk

John P. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:22:26 +0000

For those of you who didn’t get to join us on the BlogWorld 2009 Photowalk in Las Vegas, I’m embedding a photo slideshow here so that you can see all the pictures from the group that accompanied me on the walk.

We had a great time, and thanks to all who joined in!

If you’d like the higher resolution versions of the images just head over to the Flicker group.

Kevin Spacey Imitates Pacino, Brando, Walken, Eastwood and More!

John P. — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:18:49 +0000

Everyone who hasn’t been living under a rock knows Kevin Spacey (my apologies to those of you who have actually been living under a rock, I meant no offense), but not many people know he’s amazing at doing impressions!

Well, when he appeared on Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton, James had him rattle off a series of impressions on the fly, and luckily we’ve got the video to share with you now! I find it amazing that anyone can simply switch into character after character on the fly like that.

Now, what I would really like to see is Kevin Spacey doing an impression of Kevin Pollak doing an impression of Christopher Walken!

Think You Can Drive? This Guy Can Wheelie an Excavator!

John P. — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:57:12 +0000

Well, I’ve seen some pretty bad ass driving in my life, and I don’t think I’m all that bad myself – but here’s a guy who can take like a 10 ton piece of heavy equipment and rock it onto two wheels and drive back and forth!

I don’t know what they pay this guy to operate that thing while he’s working, but clearly he’s worth every penny!

Tutorial: Expodisc and Custom White Balance for Digital Cameras

John P. — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:05:46 +0000

Folks, one of the most important aspects of digital photography is making sure that the color on your photos is accurate. And absolutely the only way to ensure this is to take control of your camera’s white balance setting at all times. This is something that you can do by shooting a grey card (like this Ezybalance Card (Grey/White)), or you can use a fantastic tool called an ExpoDisc (make sure and get the size equal to your largest lens diameter).

Let me illustrate the point very quickly with a couple of sample images.

This first image comes straight out of the Canon 5D Mark II with a Canon 70-200mm lens. This is a $5,000 camera setup, and the camera was set on “Auto White Balance”. Basically, what I’m telling you is that your camera is definitely no better at auto white balance than this rig.

Now, if you ask me, that is a nice photo. The colors don’t look so bad, and I kind of like how the columns are a bit “rich” in color. All in all, no one would be complaining. Until they see what the image should have looked like…

Here is the same shot taken with a custom white balance set using an Expodisc:

Wow. All of a sudden, the sky looks bluer, the leaves look greener, and the stone looks… stoner? Anyway, hopefully this dramatically illustrates the point. Just imagine what happens when you take a photo of an actual person! Instead of them having a yellowish or reddish tint to their skin, you get an actual skin tone! Amazing.

So, I recommend that everyone pick up an expodisc for your photography. As long as your camera allows you to set a custom white balance, you should do it. And if your camera doesn’t – its a piece of crap and you should replace it with one that does!

Here is a little video that illustrates how to use an expodisc on a Canon. You can also see how to do it on a Nikon.

If you are not going to get an expodisc, then you should watch this video to see what your alternatives are for setting a custom white balance.

RANT: Go Away! OneMansBlog is a Waste of Time!

John P. — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:51:12 +0000

Apparently, you people can not read! So I’ll tell you once again… This blog is a piece of crap, and you are wasting your time with every word you read! Look. That’s like 10 seconds of your life that you’ll never get back according to Penelope Trunk! Just check out her article, “Blogs without topics are a waste of time“.

I want to send a special shout out to Dan Bates from Monogodo who shared this article with me on Twitter. But come on Dan! What a waste of time that was! Didn’t you know? You could have been reading something “topical” instead of my random mindless dribble.

I mean, whatever was I thinking when I started my blog simply to post… whatever I was thinking? Good thing that Penelope set me straight with her ~~opening salvo~~ first sentence:

Stop thinking that you are such an incredibly wide-ranging thinker with so many interests and insights that you cannot be pinned down to just one topic.

Oops! I better get rid of that tagline up there too! It might be offensive! I mean, perhaps it’s wrong for me to aspire to be more than one dimensional. Maybe I should stick to only one thing that I’m good at? Forever. (Please kill me.)

She goes on…

In the history of writing, everything has a focus. It’s a contract you have with the reader. You stay within the bounds of the reader’s expectations, and if you do that, you can write surprises that seem to stray from your topic, and the reader stays with you. Because surprises are fun. But if there’s no contract because there is no focus, then there are no surprises. Every great piece of writing works this way.

Yes! That… just… happened!

Here I was thinking all along that people enjoy OMB because they never know what’s coming tomorrow. But I see now that this has been holding me back! If I would just stick to the same topic every day, then you would all be surprised if I use a few different words tomorrow!

I challenge you to think of a popular blogger who lacks focus on their blog.

What the hell am I? Chopped liver? I guess I’m just a random blogging piece of crap who accidentally happens to have a higher PageRank and Alexa rank than the next guy. Or maybe I’m not actually what you would consider “popular”. Because I’m not Darren Rowse, or Donny Osmond or someone… I don’t know.

Please do not tell me that you are just going to write whatever you want and you don’t care who reads it, or if anyone reads it. You are lying to yourself. Of course you care. We each have a limited amount of time in our lives, and blogging takes some of that time. Your blog is not your journal. Believe me. I know. I‘ve been keeping a journal since I was five. I have seventy-five volumes of handwritten journals, and it is totally different than blogging because it’s not public. The nature of a blog is that you are choosing to write publicly, so it is, by definition, for other people to read.

Damn! I’m not allowed to say that I’ll write whatever I want and don’t care who reads it? Foiled again! Crikey! Penelope has thought of everything! Ok. I won’t say that then! How about this…

I don’t give a F*%K who reads my blog! If you love it… Yeah! If you think it’s crap… Boo! I figure some things will appeal to some people, and some will appeal to others. If you subscribe and see an interesting topic then maybe you’ll read it that day! If you don’t, you’ll ignore it that day. Kind of like what we do with those things that have all the thin, flat, pieces of dead trees in them… What are those called? Oh yeah. Magazines. Or newspapers. Funny how those have so many topics in them!

In fact, I’m going to set up a meeting with my friend Robert Decherd and tell him he needs to immediately have the Dallas Morning News stick to just one topic! Dammit, he’s missing the boat!

In Summary

Ok. OMB is a worthless piece of crap. I am not a popular blogger. I need to quit acting like I don’t care what other people think and start writing for them, and not me. This is not my diary.

But you know what? I bet if Penelope spent an hour or so exploring my useless, wandering, non-topical, blog. She’d find plenty of entertaining crap. So, is that really a waste of time? 20,000 people a day don’t seem to think so.

Love, John P.

Photo: Navagio Beach on Zakynthos, Greece – Simply Stunning!

John P. — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:11:46 +0000

Sometimes people ask me about what it’s like to visit Greece. And I tell them that there is really no place like it. From the crazy metropolis of Athens to the volcanic island of Santorini, it’s unique in every way. And if that isn’t enough, you’ll constantly discover gems like this one…

On the Island of Zakynthos you’ll find one of the most famous beaches in Greece. Navagio Beach, or the Shipwreck, is notable because it is home to the wreck of the alleged smuggler ship Panagiotis; thus, it is often referred to as ‘Smugglers Cove’. If you are going to try and find it, here are the coordinates: 37°51′28″N 20°37′36″E / 37.85778°N 20.62667°E / 37.85778; 20.62667.

In case you are interested in exploring the island visually, here is the Google Map to help you along.

View Larger Map

Just click and zoom in on the location marked A on the left side and you’ll be staring at the beach.

Incidentally, thanks to Rob Wallace. for the beautiful photo!

BlogWorld & WordCamp Las Vegas Photowalk – 7pm Saturday Oct 17, 2009

John P. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:52:55 +0000

Well, since I’ll be attending and speaking at BlogWorld / WordCamp in a couple of weeks in Las Vegas I thought it might be fun to organize a photowalk if anyone is interested in a get together and an evening of exploration and fun. You see, I’m a semi-professional photographer, and an amateur tattoo artist… (think Talledega Nights people.)

If you’ve never been on a photowalk before, essentially what we are going to do is all meet at one place and then walk around Las Vegas seeing the sights, talking, taking photos, and perhaps grabbing a beer here or there. Also, I’m going to take you off the strip, so you’ll see things that most people never do when they come to Vegas.

Now, there are a few good reasons to participate in an event like this:

I have been to Vegas more times than I can count. I’ve taken hundreds and hundreds of photos of the city, and I’ll take you right to where you can get some great ones.
Wandering around after dark by yourself might be a little scary for some people, so a group event is safer and more fun.
If you love taking photos, then you’ll love Vegas at night. There is simply not a better spot for night photography.
And finally, if you would like some tips and tricks, I’ll be happy to provide some instruction for anyone who needs it along the way.

As far as the details are concerned, here is what I’m thinking…

The Details

We will meet up to head out at 7pm at the Monorail station just outside the Convention Center. Don’t worry, you can not miss it. You can see it from the front door of the building, and since we’ll all be there for Blog World it’s a nice central location. Feel free to follow me on Twitter (@johnpoz) for updates as we go.

From there, we’ll take the monorail down to the Sahara, which is the last stop on the line. We’ll wander through the Sahara and walk on down to the Stratosphere. Along the way will be some fantastic spots for photo opportunities, and this time of evening will be the “golden hour” of sunlight. It’s the best possible time of the day for shots.

When we get to Stratosphere, we’ll stop off at Roxy’s for dinner. This is an old diner style restaurant where the wait staff sings to the customers. A good time will be had by all, I’m certain!

After we’ve had our fill, we will catch cabs and head down to Fremont Street. This is “old” Las Vegas at it’s finest and home to the Fremont Street Experience. If you’ve never been, here is a preview of what you can expect to see. You do NOT want to miss this on your trip to Vegas.

In addition to seeing the incredible laser and light show, I’ll show you around the casinos, the old Neon signs, and we’ll probably even end up at a little pub to wind up the evening with a celebratory beer. I know Aaron Brazell would go for that if he joins in!

I anticipate that we’ll wrap things up by 11pm, and coincidentally this means that anyone who wants to stick around and do a little gambling could head into the Fremont Street casinos where the odds are decidedly more in your favor than over on the strip at the big hotels.

What You Need

Really, the only things you need to bring are:

Some comfortable shoes and the ability to do a little leisurely walking.
About $30 to cover the monorail ($5 each way), taxi ($12 each way divide by the number of people sharing), and snacks, etc.
The desire to hang out and have fun with some fellow bloggers! You’ll probably even pick up some material for your blog!

Other things you may want to bring:

A camera. But this is not necessary! Just join in if you aren’t a photo buff! It’s like a walking party.
A tripod. After the sun goes down you will want to disable your flash and use a long exposure. A tripod is a must, even if it’s just a Mini Tripod. Trust me, I’ll teach you how to do it!
A jacket. I know its the desert, but it can get a little chilly in the evening after the sun goes down and the breeze picks up.

Who’s Coming?

So, here are the folks that have confirmed that they will be joining in. Drop a comment if you’re going to be there and I’ll add you to the list, then be looking forward to meeting everyone!

PS.

I also learned that Victor Cajiao is holding a completely different photowalk on Thursday evening over on the Strip, beginning in front of the Bellagio at 10pm. Unfortunately I won’t be in town until Friday morning so I’ll miss it. But if you were to go with Victor on Thursday and with us on Saturday you’ll come away with a well rounded view of Las Vegas and a ton of photos that you’ll never forget!

My “Top 5″ Photoshop World Photo (Shown During the Keynote!)

John P. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:47:19 +0000

For those of you who haven’t figured it out yet, I’m at Photoshop World in Las Vegas this week learning as much as I possibly can. On Tuesday I was in an all day seminar, put on by Canon and taught by Eddie Tapp and Jack Reznicki, in which we studied lighting and composition theory, actually had a photo shoot with real models, and then came back to the classroom for editing and retouching instruction.

Being completely new to portrait photography, this was a day of firsts for me. I had never worked with remote strobes before (fixed lights that act like flashes which are triggered wirelessly), I had never worked with a professional model, and I had never edited a portrait in photoshop.

Having said all that, I was extremely delighted and honored tonight when I found out from one of my fellow attendees that my image had made it into the Top 5 this morning during the keynote speech to kick off the Photoshop World convention (which I missed from being up too late working on Woopra last night).

After presenting the photos they had the crowd vote by clapping, and I’m told it was actually a pretty close call. I didn’t win, but heck – I’m honored just to have been nominated!

Anyway, here is my top 5 finishing photograph. My models name was Lynn, but unfortunately I don’t know her last name or how to give her credit. Nonetheless she was very pleasant to work with and it was a long hard day for her and the other models because there were about 50 of us photographing them for hours non-stop.

You can select this image to view progressively larger versions.

This image was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon 70-200mm IS 2.8 lens. I used a custom white balance thanks to my trusty expodisc, and the model was staring up into a single whitebox with a strobe in it triggered by a pocket wizard. I edited the image fairly aggressively in Photoshop.

The Photos That Got Me Banned From Excalibur Las Vegas (You Know, ‘Homeland Security’!)

John P. — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:24:47 +0000

As I mentioned in my blog post yesterday, this week is the Photoshop World convention in Las Vegas and I’m here for a week of fun and learning! But after only a few hours in town, I’ve already got a whopper of a story to tell! Screw the whole “what happens in Vegas…” crap.

So Photoshop World is at the Mandalay Bay and thousands of photographers will be converging there from all over the world. In fact they’re sold out. So I had to stay next door at Luxor.

Well, I checked in and dropped off my stuff in my room, then grabbed my camera to go walk and take some photos on the strip. Of course, the Excalibur is the first hotel on the way down the strip, and I’ve taken photos of it literally every time I’ve been in Las Vegas. But this time I took some photos OUTSIDE the hotel, and as I was going to walk through the hotel to get something to eat, a security guard stopped me before I could enter.

He wanted to know my name, where I was staying, and my room number! He told me it was because I was taking photos of the outside of the building! And claimed it was for “homeland security”.

As you might imaging, I thought this was absurd and appalling. But I figured, what the hell… if they don’t want my money!

By this time there were no fewer than 4 “security guards” right on top of me, attempting to intimidate me. Meanwhile, I’m trying to peacefully leave the property, but they keep harassing me. If that’s not bad enough, one little guy starts following me, and begins reading to me from a card!

Yep, you guessed it! He gave me a “do not trespass” and told me he’ll have me arrested if I come back on their property! :-)

Oh, I should mention that other people were of course taking photos of the hotel at the same time. As I’m sure millions of people have.

What I find most interesting is, how are they going to deal with the hoards of Photoshop attendees? I even tried explaining it to them, but they were not interested in listening. So, officially I’m never allowed in that property again because I took the following 13 photos of it from the outside while walking by! I figure that makes these the most dangerous and valuable photos on Earth!

Now, if there is any good news, it’s that when I got back to the Luxor in the evening I went down to the front desk to address the issue. After talking to the service manager, he called over the security manager. After talking to the security manager, he thought it was ridiculous and he called the Excalibur security manager (thanks for the help Kevin!). We both met the Exclibur manger in a neutral walkway that connects the two casinos.

After telling the story again, Excalibur’s security manager also couldn’t believe it. He was very apologetic and asked if I would come over and write a statement for him so that he could address it with the people on the other shift (thanks Michael!), which I did.

As of this moment, I’m still banned, and will not ever set foot in Excalibur, Luxor or Mandalay Bay after this trip. However, I’ve given them all of my information so we’ll see if they contact me as I’ve requested. I asked for a written apology that specifically states that I am NOT banned from the property. Otherwise I will not risk being thrown in jail.

I will tell you, it was one of the most insulting things ever in my life. Being treated like a bloody criminal for taking a few photos, which is standard practice for anyone in Vegas, simply sucks. That doesn’t take into account the anger, or all my wasted time trying to later resolve the matter. There is nothing they can do to make it up to me, so now I’m going to tell this story every chance I get to as many people as possible. And I think you should too!

The Luxor’s “High Speed Internet” is a JOKE!

John P. — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:16:20 +0000

Unbelievable as it may seem, the Luxor in Las Vegas offers high-speed internet access – but there’s a catch! In order to get it, you need to stretch a wire all the way across the room, and it won’t even reach the desk for you to actually work at it.

The cost for this little act of fire-hazard creation? $15 per day. FML.

John P. Updates for All!

John P. — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:38:26 +0000

Howdy gang!

I’ve been a little slow in updating the blog lately. Sorry for my lack of entertaining everyone as usual. Hope to get back to the fun stuff soon. However, in the meantime here are some updates:

Alex Terehoff, a Russian blogger, interviewed me recently, and posted the whole thing in both English and Russian. I think it’s the most thorough interview I’ve ever done. So if you want to know anything about me, he probably asked!
The big news is that Woopra is coming out of beta. Here is a blog post and a video of me explaining what is going on. We’re taking all feedback into consideration, so feel free to share your opinion.
Tomorrow I’m leaving for Photoshop world in Las Vegas. I hope to come back a dramatically improved photographer. If any of you are going please let me know as I’d love to meet you. Just drop a comment below. Heck, maybe we could even put together a little meetup.
In a couple of weeks, I’ll be speaking at the Blog World / WordCamp Las Vegas event. My speech will be unlike anything I’ve ever given. So, I suppose if you enjoy my previous lectures, you might not want to miss this one.

But I wonder… what the heck are YOU guys up to? I’m dying to know! So please leave a comment and tell me! Seriously. I’m serious about this. Do it! That is all… :-)

My Entry for Kyle Cease’s Stand Up Comedy Bootcamp

John P. — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:05:37 +0000

So, one of my favorite comedians, Kyle Cease, is having a course where they teach standup comedy to new and aspiring… um, comedians. Make no mistake about it, I NEVER want to be a comedian. Ever.

But I would like to go hang with Kyle and the rest of the folks and just experience what is going on there? Who knows? I might even do some stupid shit and give a few comedians some free material. One can never tell.

Anyway, Kyle asked people to answer a few questions so that he could choose to give one person a free pass to bootcamp. And I decided to answer just for fun! But since there are like 100+ entries (plus who knows if mine actually gets approved!) I figured I’d share my submission here for you guys to tell me how I did. :-)

Yeah! A Quiz! I love quizzes! Psych. I hate them. But for YOU, I’ll take one. So here goes:

* How would you get the most use out of the bootcamp?
I would use bootcamp the same way I used Marine Corps bootcamp. To bring great death and destruction on unsuspecting small nations!

Oh, wait… How would I get the most USE OUT of bootcamp? Hmmm. Personally, I’d use it to make new friends. And perhaps learn how to be a better speaker, because God knows I’m not EVER going to be a stand up comedian! I’m just not that funny…

* What would be the most you can do with the information you will learn?

The most I could do with it? Well, I could video tape every word of it, have them transcribed by underaged $.50 per hour workers in India. Post them to a public blog. Write an e-book about it, then spam 80 million inboxes asking them to download the information. After I get 1 Million downloads I can then publish an actual book and claim to have a book that was read OVER ONE MILLION TIMES! I can then get richer than I already am, and be a famous comedic genius. Bonus!

* What would be the way you would maximize your connections there?

Well, I would start out by having sex with all the women. Cause once you do that, you’ve got em hooked. I would not have sex with the men. Well, maybe Louie Anderson. But that’s where I draw the line.

After the sex part, I guess I might ruthlessly beg people to follow me on Twitter @johnpoz, and on Facebook @johnpoz, and I might even invite a few folks to tag along with me and head over to the Playboy Mansion to hang with Hef.

But I think the Sex thing is the best way. Definitely.

* How would you use your new experience to make a lot of money?

I already have a lot of money. I don’t need any more. :-) BUT, if you want to give me some, I’ll donate it to a worthy charity.

* How could you impact other people with this experience?

Well, don’t forget about my best selling book! I mean, that alone is going to reach like 80 million people!

I suppose if you really wanted me to, I could also drive around and reenact the Charles Manson killings while telling jokes? But I mean, could you further define the word “impact”?

* What would you do with the new 3 camera shoot tape you would get of yourself performing, after you were coached by the best?

Well, it depends. You know the chicks I was going to have sex with? Can we film that?

If not, then I would want to take the 3 camera crew OUT of the studio… Go bar hopping with you, the crew, and the other students. Get everyone hammered drunk. And film the whole thing! THEN I would post it on my blog at OneMansBlog.com to entertain my mother, who reads my blog every single morning before she goes to work (true story).

* How would you make bootcamp apply to you having the most successful future possible?
Listen. What kind of a question is that? I already had sex with a bunch of hot chicks… I wrote a best selling novel… I made a viral video… Damn Kyle! You are a relentless slave driver!!! What more do you want from me?

Psyche. I love that about you man.

Love,

John P.

SOLVED: 10 Hot Dogs to a Package vs. 8 Hot Dog Buns to a Package!

John P. — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:30:08 +0000

MUCH thanks to Terry G for forwarding this video on to me. Before I saw this, my stomach was all tied up in knots and I was just an anxious mess. I mean the fact that there are always too many hot dogs, and not enough buns, has been clearly unacceptable!

Come on people! Why can’t Oscar Meyer and Wonder just call a truce and negotiate a settlement on what the proper number of dogs and buns to a package should be! As the person from Kraft said in this video by John Hargrave, “…sir we don’t work together with Wonder….” Well, that’s obvious! But maybe you should my friend! Maybe you should.