A Charismatic Quest

I am a licensed Massachusetts and Connecticut lawyer. These are my views on news and legal articles as well as updates on my hobbies. I am a decent knitter when I have the time, I am trying to relearn guitar, and I dabble in photography and photo editing.

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We have the cutest puppy

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It's That Time of Year Again

I can hardly believe it but this blog is officially one year old. A lot has changed in this past year. I went from an over zealous five posts a week to barely one a month. I've chronicled questionable baking and knitting projects and I've tried a lot of new things. If it weren't for this blog I definitely would not have tried to write 50,000 words for a novel through National Novel Writing Month. And while I don't foresee a book deal coming anytime soon, I am very proud , and honestly, shocked, that I managed to finish it. This blog has given me an energy to attempt new projects, such as coding and getting better at digital editing, that I never expected when I began it. I will definitely continue writing, my Charismatic Quest is not over. My goal for next year is to be more consistent with the amount of posts, probably aiming for one a week. Thanks for the comments, likes and the reblogs, the encouragement has been appreciated.

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This is a nice article from Mashable, with advice for the writing inclined. It's more of an overview than a detailed how to, but if you are interested in writing and getting it published, this is a good starting point.

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Is it ok to treat bloggers differently from "the press"?

Conscious Capitalism, a non profit group, has a two day conference next month for which it charges $560. As is common with conferences in any field, the company offers a discount to certain groups including students and the press.

Conscious Capitalism got in trouble recently because its written policy treated bloggers differently than “the press”. If you identified as a member of the press or a blogger you were eligible for free admission. However, bloggers were expected to write two blog posts related to the event or else they would be charged the full event costs. Members of the press just need to have a published byline or be listed as an editor to qualify. After backlash from the public, Conscious Capitalism has since repealed the policy.

People were upset because this policy treated bloggers as second class citizens to journalists despite the fact that many blogs have strong groups of followers that rivals any any newspaper’s readership. But public opinion aside, did Conscious Capitalism really do anything wrong? Life is a series of social contracts, whether it is explicitly expressed or not. For example, you go to work everyday, for a certain amount of time expecting to be paid at an agreed upon time. If your boss stopped paying you, you would probably have some complaints and bring it to his or her attention. This really is the same thing. The whole reason the media gets special access or discounts at events is for the exposure offered to event holder.

When a major news organization sends a reporter and/or photographer to an event, it is more than likely that their intent is to write about it. If over time, organizations have realized that bloggers, as a group, are not living up to expectations, what recourse do they have? They are not required to give a discount to anyone. Would we prefer they cut out bloggers altogether? Only offer discounts to online publications of a certain size, which would hurt smaller and newer blogs? Or point out those who are not living up to the social contract?

I’ll admit, it is at least questionable that they ask for one post to be completed before the event. I think it is fair to wonder whether the real intent of the pre-event post is to get a positive review since the company will see it before the conference. But even if it is, it would be very difficult for them to forcibly remove your post. And if they tried to charge you the full amount after not liking your post, it wouldn’t be difficult to expose their dishonesty.

There may also be an ethical (and legal) issue with the policy because under federal law you must disclose any gifts received from your blog post. But I would argue anything received due to your status as journalist or blogger, should be disclosed. The discount is only there because you are expected to write something, whether that is explicitly stated or not.

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The Gibson Firebird guitar series was created 50 years ago and Gibson has a great article describing the guitar's beginning. While its considered a classic now, it was bold and different for its time. It went through a few design changes to increase popularity, bringing us to the styles we know and live today.

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There is, it seems, no mechanism in the mind or the brain for ensuring the truth, or at least the veridical character, of our recollections. We have no direct access to historical truth, and what we feel or assert to be true (as Helen Keller was in a very good position to note) depends as much on our imagination as our senses.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/02/04/oliver-sacks-on-memory-and-plagiarism/

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Happy New Year Everyone!

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As violence and mental illness have garnered greater national attention since the Newtown, CT massacre people have spoken out about how it has effected them personally. The most well known of such stories is "I am Adam Lanza’s Mother" by Liza Long, which is one mother’s reflection of life with a mentally ill child with violent tendencies. This woman was later criticized for this and other posts on her blog about her children. While I think it is important to note that this is just one woman’s story and at not point does she try to claim every person with a mental illness is dangerous, some criticisms hit an important point that has not been addressed before this: what do we do about the privacy rights of children when their parents are the ones creating the problem?

The New York Times ran a story on their blog, which you can find here by Jillian Keenan, which addresses it and the potential implications. We now live in a world where if you don't post it to the Internet, no one believes it happened. And while it is your choice as to how much information you post about yourself, you can't control what others post of and about you. As an adult, which for the most part means anyone 13 years old and older, your options are really: 1) deal with whatever is posted of you, as long as it isn't illegal, 2) asks friends or family to remove photos, which rarely happens, or 3) more or less stop being in photos that are not taken with your camera or phone because that is the only way to guarantee that it does not end up some place you don't want it to be. To be clear, I am not blaming social media or the Internet. Bad or inappropriate photos have been around long before the Internet and they were shared with reckless abandon without your permission then too. The only difference is that less people see a printed photo compared to a digital one.

But what about when proud parents decide to post a playful photo of their three year old in the bathtub? Or a mom venting about a child's bad behavior? Most of the time very few people will see or know about the post or photo, and unless it is someone actually involved in your life, they will most likely forget about it a day or two later. You never know when something you post on the Internet is going to get a lot of attention. But do we really need to plan for these rare occurrences?

Keenan discusses the idea of how she could have been harmed if her parents blogged about the negative things she did as a child. She assumes it would effect her ability to get into college or get a good job in life. But isn't that a little extreme? A blog post or photo is not the same as an arrest record that comes up in a simple background search. While I understand why you wouldn't want that information out there, who is really going to see it?

People claimed that Long did not hide the identity if her children well enough. But they were found using Liza Long's information. In the situations Keenan suggests, the child should be searched for under their own name. Unless their full name is used, it is highly unlikely that anything would be traced to them, let alone definitively point to a specific person. There is also the fact that it will be highly unlikely that Long's blog posts about her children, for example, would still be popular enough to show up in a basic search.

I do think people need to be more aware impossible repercussions of putting anything on the Internet, especially when someone else's information is involved. However, I think Keenan and critics of Long are dramatizing the possible negatives. In a world where personal information becomes less personal everyday, people need to realize it is a private decision people need to make for themselves. It is not a decision you can make for another.

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I altered this photo by adding a border to it using Photoshop Touch on iOS. The photo itself is about two years old. I altered it last year, also using Photoshop Touch, by removing a boat under the bridge using the clone tool on the surrounding water.

To create the border, I first opened the photo in Photoshop Touch. Then I created a new layer and used the rectangle tool to create the inner rectangle of the frame. It took a few tries to make it the thickness I wanted, but once I got the placement I wanted I used the inverse tool to select what would become the border area.

I then used the eye dropper to choose a color from the photo, a shade of green and the used fill (under the ‘&’) and tapped the selected area to make a green border. Staying on the layer and keeping the selection I used the stylized filters to add scratches to the border.

The End.

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Happy Holidays Everyone!

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With the holidays coming up, there is free time for some and little to fill it with. So above is a list of books for music lovers, to kill time or maybe a last minute holiday purchase.

The books chosen by the NPR Staff are more than just artist biographies. Each book delves into the background and history of its subject matter. From specifically Tony Bennett to the entire genre of Jazz, takes you past the radio hits and into something deeper. Each book list also has a review included so you can better choose which ones are right for you.

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As word spread regarding Instagram's updated Terms if Service ("TOS") the reaction has rang loudly against the changes. The Verge wrote a great piece about the changes, comparing it to the previous TOS and clarifying user rights. They also hit on two important points that people with less visceral reactions have forgotten. First, the Verge makes the great point that no one trusts Facebook anymore and that is a part the reaction. When Facebook ("FB") bought Instagram, many people were waiting for FB to ruin it. And for some, the change in the TOS was it. For others, after FB has changed their terms so many tones, slowly peeling back privacy options, they could not help but see something nefarious and evil in the change and assume the worst. And second, Verge addresses that fact that, for most, there is a difference between a profile photo that we know anyone can see and a personal photo meant only for your group of friends. I never thought that Instagram could outright sell my pictures but I still don't a picture of menor my family associated with a product without my knowledge, or theirs. The last thing I wanted to add that some people addressed is the fact that the passage in question was unclear intentionally. It was written to leave Instagram wiggle room in the future. That is just Instagram's fault and saying "legal documents can be confusing" is not an actual apology or acknowledgement of the fact that they created the confusion for their own benefit, not expecting anyone to really review it.

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I found a new camera app for the iPhone so undecided to test it out. I took the above photo with new KitCam app by the makers of Photoforge and Photoforge 2, which are photo editors.

I really like KitCam, it has a great selection of features that you do not often see in one app. I think the biggest features are the live histogram, which can be turned off, time lapse, which holds the shutter open, the ability to choose the photo size before taking a photo so you can frame your shot correctly, and the ability to apply filters to your live view so you know what it looks like. The only other iOS app, that I know of, that has all of these features is 645 Pro. One other comparative app is not much in the way of options. I personally find 645 Pro’s screen too busy, but it was an intentional style choice, so for some it may work.

KitCam also has a two novel (for mobile phones) multishot functions. The first allows the user to take multiple photos at different, preset, exposures and layer the photos on top on one another. The app automatically adjusts the light, but you also have the option to donor manually. The app also has five differently styled multishot frames. You choose one before you take a photo but after you take two or four photos (depends on the chosen frame) it arranges the photos for you.

It of course has the expected options including:

grid lines,

manual focus and exposure,

auto focus and exposure

post processing filters,

white balance options (which also be applied to the live view),

a self timer, and

the ability to shoot video.

They also have Pro tools which includes levels, brightness and contrast contrast controls, saturation, color balance controls and a sharpening tool.

KitCam uses lenses and films to allow you to create various filter combinations. The above photo was taken in fluorescent light and I used the Oval Tilt lens which created a circular focal point and soft vignette slightly blurring the rest of the photo. I used the Instant 23 film which gave it a light brown hue.

I have only had the app a week, but so far I love it and it has replaced my previous camera app.

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I found this article about art education interesting. I think it makes important points regarding the importance of working with your hands, whether it it with a pen and paper or brush and easel, and why promoting creativity is a necessity.

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I have neglected my poor blog this last month but I won so it was worth it. I wrote part of a short novel. There is still a lot of work to be done to make a complete story and already know I have a lot to cutting to do if it would like it to be readable but I have a solid beginning and that is the first step. I came in close to the wire, finishing with only fifteen minutes to spare and writing over seven thousand words today, but I did it. And I am proud. And hopefully I will make progress on the story and I will definitely make progress on the blogs.

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An article about a limited edition collection of Epiphones and what makes the 1962 line so amazing.

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Here's another resource to help with writing a novel in a month. Even if you chose not to do the National Novel Writing Month Program, there are still great tips for writing within the article and other helpful resources are listed.