Mother’s Day Advertising

Before you rip me to shreds, hear my out.  I listen to commercials on the radio, see them on TV, look at store advertisements, and Mother’s Day is being pounded into the ground.  My question is, is there a marketing blitz like this for Father’s Day?  There will be some advertisements, but nothing like for Mother’s Day.  It almost make me feel we are to value our mothers more than our fathers due to how much advertising their respective days get.

I know that is silly.  It’s all advertising and Mother’s Day is probably more marketable, and that rankles me, too.

Mother’s and Father’s Days are to be used as a way to honor our parents, no matter how much media advertising gets over the other.

This is just something I’ve been noticing more and more and it bugs me a little bit.  I love both of my parents equally!  Mom will get a hanging basket and a card, and Dad will get a visit.  That’s about all I can do because he has since passed on, but I still will honor his memory by visiting his grave.  I will also honor aunts, uncles, my mother-in-law and father-in-law on both Mother’s and Father’s Days.

Sometimes I wish advertisers would treat both day’s the same.

High up view of the destruction

High up view of the destruction, by Jenn Dixon, 2010

We had a little excitement in the city where I work today. And it paid off to have a digital camera on hand. I got a ton of photos from a building collapse that happened across the street where I work. I uploaded a lot to our local NBC affiliate and even has MSNBC Local News pick up one of my photos! It’s my fifteen minutes of fame, I guess. Still, it’s been a pretty crazy day.

You can read about the incident here.

Pokemon Obsession

If being 32 and playing the Pokemon game is wrong, I don’t want to be right!

I am playing Pokemon HeartGold right now, in addition to my on going adventures with World of Warcraft.  Hey, two grindy games here!

But, this is about Pokemon.  I am, yes, obsessed.  I have the Pokewalker in my pocket.  I have the player’s  guide.  I am chomping at the bit to go home and play.  Geez, I haven’t felt this crazy about a game since Harvest Moon:  Magical Melody.  Hey, another grindy game!

I don’t care if this is a kid’s game, but I know a lot of adults who play it.  I know a few people who have the SoulSilver version, and I bought the other version, HeartGold, just so I can trade with them.  I love leveling those little buggers up, the Pokemon, that is, and having a relaxing evening with my Nintendo DS.

This is rambling, but I don’t care.

“Bamboo”

“Bamboo”, originally uploaded by jennabee25.

I took this photo with my Holga camera loaded black and white Agfa Silver Tone film. It got a little grainy because I accidentally had the camera go through an x-ray machine twice. Oops.

Jenn’s Desert Island Discs

This is something I have been thinking about a lot right now, as weird as it seems.  If I were stranded today on a desert island and could only take ten CD’s with me, what would they be?  An why?  Coming up with the list was harder than I thought, but here goes…..ten CD’s in no particular order.

1.  The Killers “Hot Fuss”:  Why must The Killers be so catchy?  So good?  A bundle of outstanding tracks, this album is one of my favorites and officially got me hooked on this band.

2.  The Birthday Massacre “Walking With Strangers”:  Electro-synth pop goth.  Not usually words that go together, but it works for the Canadian band.  With songs ranging from young love to a student/teacher romance gone horribly wrong, I love blasting this CD in my car.

3.  Skillet “Alien Youth”:  I have loved Skillet for years, and I think this album is my favorite of theirs.  Plus, they rock in concert! Also, this is overtly Christian album with some very industrial-ish tracks mixed in with some very cool praise and worship.

4.  Massivivid “Brightblur”:  First off, good luck finding this one.  I had to grab it from a company that specializes in music that isn’t in print anymore.  It’s a shame that this one is so hard to get, too.  Pure industrial.  Christian music without being preachy.

5.  Pink Floyd “Dark Side of the Moon”: This one gets a special note because A.  It’s a must for anyone who like classic rock and B.  I have my dad’s master copy of the original vinyl album. And I love every track.

6.  Maroon5 “It Won’t Be Soon Before To Long”:  I cannot sit still listening to the album.  Or play it on a low volume.  And this is another band that rocks in concert.

7.  The Moody Blues “Long Distance Traveler”:  So hard to pick a single Moody’s album.  This one gets props because it fascinated me in high school and has the dopey track “Veteran Cosmic Rocker,” which I absolutely love.

8.  Queen “A Night at the Opera”:  Yeah, I know it’s the one with “Bohemian Rhapsody” on it, but other good tracks on it…hmm, let’s see… ” ’49,” “Death on Two Legs,” and all of Freddy Mercury’s fun piano songs.

9.  The Beatles “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”:  If you never listened to this album, you have never heard the Beatles a their finest.  Another album that I’ve loved since high school, I know every word.

10.  The Killers “Day And Age”:  Yeah, I’ll end how I started off.  More catchy goodness, and another one that sounds great blasting loud.

So, there we have it!  There are a few others that I would have loved to include, but this is what I came up with.  Comment with your desert island discs!  I would love to hear what your favorites are.

Back After A Break

Yeah, so I know I haven’t blogged in ages, so I’d figure I would write an update as to WHY it’s taken me so long.

As I had often wrote in my entries, I have horrible back problems, which are hopefully solved right now, since the reason I was gone for so long was that I had surgery on my back.  I was laid up for about four weeks and am now back at work part-time.

I had back surgery on February 9, and was glad I did.  The surgeon said if I hadn’t had the surgery, I would be in worse shape and would have had more problems down the road.  He fixed all the problems he found, including a nerve that was so pinched he actually saw it relax when he released it from the bones.  I was in the hospital for a day and was sent home early in the morning during a blizzard.  That was an adventure in of itself.

So, I am in recovery and probably will be for a while, but I am back at work for a couple of hours a day.  That’s basically the story.  Other details, I had fourteen staples in my back, have a scar that is healing well, played a lot of World of Warcraft, and got cable ( I know…behind the times) so I could watch TV…and get a better Internet connection.  That’s another story, too.

The Challenger

Twenty-four years ago today, something horrible happened;  the space shuttle Challenger disintegrated before millions of viewers, including myself as a third grader.

I loved watching shuttle take offs, and still do.  I wish they still got as much publicity as they once did.  I want our space program to grow and flourish.  This is one mission I won’t forget.

I think the Challenger hit me so hard as a kid was because we studied it school.  Hey, an everyday person was going to be on that flight…teacher Christa McAuliffe.  She was thirty-seven year-old teacher from Boston.  She was selected from over 11,000 teachers who applied to be on that mission.  I think this made the Challenger disaster so much more tragic.  This was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime.

It’s sad to say, but I think sometimes disasters define a generation, and this was one for mine.  I remember the shape of explosion, how its arms spread out in its horrible way.  I remember that all seven lives were lost, including the teacher’s who was supposed to teach two lessons from orbit.

Maybe it was my innocence as a nine-year-old, but I still wanted to be an astronaut.  Yeah, it’s cliche, but I did.  Now that I’m older and work for the government in a much less cooler way, I still foster a love for the stars, planets, and beyond.  I also remember those who gave their lives pursuing greater things beyond the confines of this planet.  There is always great risk when it comes to space flight, and I admire those who put their lives on line.  I always pray for our astronauts and space missions.

At 11:28AM, take a moment and pause to remember those who died 24 years ago today.

Ack! My First Photography Show!

So much is happening right now, that I haven’t had the time post much. Besides getting back surgery in two weeks, I am having my first photography show on February 5. If you’re in southeastern PA and need something to do the 5th (it’s a Friday night), come on out!

Jenn Dixon, Photographer
Location: First Reformed Church UCC
40 E. Orange St.
Lancaster, PA 17603
Friday, February 5, 2010
6-9PM

Fore more information and to see more of my work, please go to http://jenndixon.zenfolio.com.

This Year…..

…keeps getting and better…not really.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and am not at all happy about it.  I’m going to try to control it with diet and exercise.  Any others out there with the same problem?  Have any suggestions?  Tips?  Hints?

New Year, Rough Start

I know, it’s only two days into 2010, but I’ve already encountered some difficult situations.  For example, on New Year’s Eve, I got an interesting message on my home voicemail.

“Hello, we have the result of your blood work.  *weird pause* The doctor would like to discuss the results with you.”

Happy New Year, Jenn.  Let’s start it off by being afraid!

Needless to say, my NYE was wrought with scariness.  I have to wait to Monday until I know what’s up, but still….UGH!!!

My uncle was also taken to the hospital on NYD because he thought he was having a heart attack.  He wasn’t and is home now.  Amen!

Never a dull moment.