Last year I started a bunch of books, but I don’t think I finished a single one. This year I’m up to two so far. Well, one “real” book and a graphic novel (more on that in another post perhaps).

“Skunk Works” was a nice fast read about the legendary Lockheed group that built some of the most advanced airplanes ever including the U-2, SR-71, and the F-177 stealth “fighter.” Sure, it doesn’t go into super, in-depth detail, but it definitely gives you a feel for the time and let’s you know that the Skunk Works accomplishments were pretty damn amazing. I’m a little rusty in writing more than 140 characters at a time so I’ll let Publisher’s Weekly help out some:

From Publishers Weekly

Lockheed’s Advanced Development Project has set standards for the aerospace industry for half a century. Under its presiding genius, Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, the Skunk Works produced America’s first jet fighter, the world’s most successful spy plane (U-2), the first three-times-the-speed-of-sound surveillance aircraft and the F-117A stealth fighter. Rich was Johnson’s right-hand man and succeeded him as director in 1975, retiring in 1990. In an entertaining style, the authors describe Johnson’s tyrannical managerial style, his thorny but productive relationship with the Air Force and the stealth-technology breakthrough that revolutionized military aviation. Writing with freelancer Jonas, Rich also recounts Skunk Works’ failures, including experiments with liquid hydrogen as a propellant and spy-drone flights over China’s remote nuclear test facilities. He has much to say about the Defense Department bureaucracy and warns, “Everyone in the defense industry knows that bureaucratic regulations, controls, and paperwork are at critical mass… and… in danger of destroying the entire system.” This is a significant book for those interested in aerospace research and development.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The surprising part for me came at the end when Rich gives a pretty accurate assessment of what the future might hold in terms of both military airpower (ie. unmanned drones) and threats from “small hostile countries.” About the only thing he missed (and you can’t really blame him), is the rise of the internet and its mass-adoption by the general public, our nation’s military, and our enemies (who turned out to include non-state actors too). If you like airplanes, cold war history, or work in or around the government, I’d definitely recommend picking up a copy of this book.

Seems the latest blog comment spam comes in the form of jokes. Like these classics:

• Wanna very nice joke?))
  • What insect does well in school?
  • A spelling bee.
• Do you want a joke? :)
  • What’s the difference between roast beef and pea soup?
  • Anyone can roast beef.
• Good joke :)
  • What do you get when you drop boiling water down a rabbit hole?
  • Hot cross bunnies.
• Fresh joke!
  • Why do Vampire have to brush their teeth?
  • Because they have Bat-Breath.
• I have a nice joke.
  • Did you hear about the guy who ran through the screen door?
  • He strained himself.
• I have a nice joke for you)
  • Why don’t fish play tennis?
  • They might get caught in the net.
• Do you want a joke? :)
  • Homeowner: My house is located in an earthquake zone.
  • Agent: Sorry, but I can’t help you. I only sell no-fault insurance!
• A JOKE! )
  • Why did the cannibal rush over to the cafeteria?
  • He heard children were half price.
• A joke for you peoples!
  • How can you recognize a burned-put hippie?
  • He used to take acid, now he takes antacid.
• Do you want a joke? :)
  • Why do bagpipers walk when they play?
  • They’re trying to get away from the noise.
• Good joke :)
  • What city has the largest rodent population?
  • Hamsterdam.
• I have a nice joke.
  • What do snowmen eat for breakfast?
  • Snowflakes.

So this is bigger news for both Heather and Kyle, but I got to play a small part too so here’s the scoop…

Check out today’s Washington Examiner (PDF) for Heather’s column about Kyle’s awesome photo of Michael Stipe. After you read all about it you may proceed down to Adams Morgan and see the photo with your very eyes!

The lastest Ten Miles Square show, I’m With the Band, opened last Thursday at Dahlak. Go see it to “view the work of three talented, DC photographers who combine their passions for music and photography to capture the spirit and energy of local artists and headliners alike:”

Kyle Gustafson
Martin Locraft
Nestor Diaz

Dahlak
1771 U Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
(On the corner between Florida Ave and 17th Street)

Kyle Gustafson has been used in several major publications including the Washington Post, Toronto Star, the Sun (UK), Heat Magazine, Twist Magazine, as well as DCist.com, NME.com, Rollingstone.com, Pitchforkmedia.com, and Huffingtonpost.com

Martin Locraft has been featured in DC Magazine, and his work has been seen on DCist.com, OnTap, the Onion, the GW Hatchet, and Arlington Connection

Nestor Diaz has had images in SPIN.com, Rollingstone.com, RVA magazine, Pitchfork.com and DCist.com

Oh right, and so where I come in to play is the byline photo of Heather that was used in today’s article. This is a photograph that we took right after hanging DCist Exposed 2009. Flashpoint had this couch like thing in the middle of the gallery and Heather humored me when I asked that she stand up on it while I snapped a few shots. The ones from the ground up weren’t coming out like I’d imagined so I grabbed a wobbly chair, stood up on it, and grabbed a few more shots. This was one of the very last taken and worked out a lot better.

Nation’s Triathlon, originally uploaded by Brian Knight Photography.

For the TMS: Fixation show that opened last night, each photographer was required to write an essay describing the subculture explored in their work. My four photos, Swim, Bike, Run, Crash focused on the weekend warrior athletes and thus my essay tries to suss out what exactly drives these people.

What force drives a man to spend thousands of dollars on a machine made from the lightest space aged materials, wear a suit so tight that no part of his anatomy is left to the imagination, and don a helmet straight out of a sci-fi western? What glory is so great to cause men and women to dive into one of the most polluted waterways in the country? What need is satisfied for the thousands of people who gather in the soupy summer evening for a 10K race? What flashes through your mind when one slight mistake suddenly hurtles you through space and time in a manner not meant for living creatures? And what obsessive preoccupation is served by trekking out to remote places to capture such events with a camera?

In this city of suits and ties on one hand and crime statistics on the other, there is an alternative lifestyle of weekend warrior athletes driven to compete simply “because it is there.” I cannot fully answer the first four questions, except I know that I spend more money than I should on my own gear in hopes that it will help me perform just a little bit better. I’ve spent plenty of time in and consumed copious amounts of water from that same river in pursuit of my own recreational needs. I lined up in the same oppressive summer heat hoping to capture a series of shots showing the beauty and grace of athletes in motion. And I’ve put myself in more than one “oh shit” moment when I know something very bad is about to happen and am powerless to stop it. I cannot tell you why we do any of these things except that when it works, when you get that image you want, when you cross the finish line, when it all comes together, you forget the pain and suffering and only want more.

What?! You were not one of the 500+ 700+ people who came to the show last night? That’s ok, even though you missed a great party you can still check out all of the amazing photos this week. Doors will be open Noon(ish) to 7PM(ish). If you really want to add to your viewing experience, come Wednesday evening and watch the skaters too!

Words, when spoken out loud for the sake of performance, are music. They have rhythm, and pitch, and timbre, and volume. These are the properties of music, and music has the ability to find us and move us, and lift us up in ways that literal meanings can’t. Do you see?
- President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet, The West Wing

If you’ve ever read this blog you know I’ve got a thing for Sorkin. I’m a sucker for his writing, I’m a sucker for his stories, I just can’t get enough. And, as I watched Obama’s speech tonight, as I listened to his words, it was hard not to hear the voice of Sorkin’s greatest characters echoing around the back of my head.

At one point tonight my iChat status read: “It really does sound like Sorkin came in and punched up the speech a bit,” so you can imagine my happy surprise when I flipped from PBS’s excellent convention coverage to MSNBC in time to hear Brian Williams say that listening to the speech reminded him of two things… He mentioned quickly how he was left wistfully thinking of Tim Russert and then went on to say that the other thing he was thinking of was Aaron Sorkin.

Williams then went on to quote the parts of the speech that sounded like they’d been pulled almost directly from the movie The American President. The American President, a movie about a dashingly youngish President fighting an uphill re-election battle against a gnarled old Senator. Sound a bit familiar?

The speech sounded familiar too, but not in the “I think he blatantly ripped of Sorkin” kind of way. No, it was more that he did what good writers do, he developed a rhythm, he developed a cadence, and it worked for him. I mean, at one point tonight Olbermann had to cut off Pat Buchanan because Buchanan could not stop gushing over how great the speech was! Srsly.

Now, I’ve found an early copy of the speech and a script of The American President and pulled out a couple of the passages Brian Williams mentioned…

The American President:

I’ve known Bob Rumson for years. I’ve been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn’t get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob’s problem isn’t that he doesn’t get it. Bob’s problem is that he can’t sell it.
- President Andrew Shepherd

Tonight’s Speech:

A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.

It’s not because John McCain doesn’t care, it’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.
- Sen. Barak Obama

And then, more from The American President:

A.J.
Would we have won?

SHEPHERD
If we’d had to go through a character debate three years ago, would we have won?

A.J.
I don’t know. But I would’ve liked that campaign. If my friend Andy Shepherd had shown up, I would have liked that campaign.

Tonight’s Speech:

And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America’s promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that’s a debate I’m ready to have.
- Sen. Barak Obama

Later on in the coverage NBC News’ Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell reiterated the Sorkin connection. I definitely got a big kick out of that.

And now, I’ll finish with one last snippet from The West Wing where Sam explains how the great writers do it…

 MALLORY

One good moment is good.

SAM
Oh, I’m not complaining. I’m saying one good moment is great. It’s a golf shot. I’ve got to get back in there. That’s where it’s happening. (beat) You came by just to tell me you liked the speech?

MALLORY
“This is a time for American heroes and we reach for the stars.”? I’m weak.

SAM
Yeah. I think I stole that from Camelot.

MALLORY
Let me get you home. I don’t think you’re going to make it.

SAM
Yeah. I don’t think I’m going to make it, either.

MALLORY
Camelot?

SAM
Good writers borrow from other writers. Great writers steal from them outright.

THE WEST WING
“20 HOURS IN AMERICA PART II”

I spent quite a few of my days in Montana driving around the middle of nowhere with Alexandra Alter (seen in photo above), feature writer for the Wall Street Journal. She was great company as we searched for stories and photos and video that might capture the essence of a race chock full of amazing stories, fantastic quotes, and some of the most beautiful scenery you can imagine. Her story, following Team #28’s Kathy Roche-Wallace, is in Friday’s paper and online now.

As someone who has recently struggled to get my version of the race pared down to under one thousand words (see the October issue of Trail Runner), Alexandra’s version does a great job at capturing the many challenges a race like PQ Montana presented to racers. Go pick up a copy of the Journal at your local newsstand or read it online right now! Oh and be sure to watch the video. My left arm and camera make a cameo at 20 seconds into the film. Just don’t blink!

Iron Mom

Alexandra Alter follows a 47-year-old woman out to conquer 548 miles of mountains, snow and exhaustion.

By ALEXANDRA ALTER
July 25, 2008; Page W1

Big Sky, Mont.

Four days and 263 miles into a backcountry race and Kathy Roche-Wallace isn’t even halfway to the finish. She’s limping on a big toe that is infected and swollen. She has a purple bruise the size of a grapefruit on her left thigh from a spill down a mountainside. Her sweat smells of vinegar and ammonia, a sign her fuel-starved body has started burning muscle. |Read Full Story|

TOBY
It was my argument a little while ago, when I was arguing in my head.

JOSH
It was a better organized thought in my head. Is she done?

BARTLET
I converted it to Celsius in my head.

BARTLET
Hang on, I’m doing math in my head.

SAM
I could’ve countered that, but I’d already moved on to other things in my head.

JOSH
I’m sorry, I had in my head that we were doing this in your office.

BRUNO
I have to be. I have only so much RAM in my head. I have to prioritize. I have to throw some things overboard, so, I’ve chosen, for instance, not to care whether or not Purdue has a fencing team.

Primal Quest Montana – Race Day 4, originally uploaded by Brian Knight Photography.

Wow was that ever painful. I’d like to take this moment to track down and kick the ass of whomever came up with that cute little diddy about sticks and stones… Clearly they never tried to be a writer, professional or otherwise.

I am happy to report that when inspiration finally and truly took hold I was driving down 395 in rush hour traffic. Instead of zoning out to NPR or cursing my fellow commuters for their crappy driving skills I started talking to myself. A little kernel of an idea snuck into my brain and I started working it over and over until I had a couple decent paragraphs going… When I pulled up to my house twenty minutes later I rushed inside, fired up the Mac, logged into Google Docs, and started typing on a fresh new page. Four hours later I was done. Whew.

And now I leave you with this classic West Wing moment:

CHARLIE
Aren’t you supposed to be writing?

TOBY
I am writing.

CHARLIE
I don’t see paper.

Toby walks up to him and sits down.

TOBY
“We can sit back and admit with grave sensitivity that life isn’t fair and the less-advantaged are destined to their lot in life and the problems of those on the other side of the world should stay there, that our leaders are cynical and can never be an instrument to change, but that, my friends, is not worthy of you, it’s not worthy of the President, it’s not worthy of a great nation, it’s not worthy of America!”

Paper’s for wimps.

Consumer Reports has finished their annual auto tests and I just finished reading a quick summary of the Top 11 Worst Cars.

I gotta say that the write up for the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, the #1 Worst.Car.Ever. (2008), is amusing:

Highs: Off-road ability

Lows: Everything else… (Ride, handling, braking, noise, fuel economy, fit and finish, visibility, front seat comfort, access, reliability)

That’s quite the list. And also, have you seen these things out there on the road? Could they look any dumber all stretched out like that? It’s true, I’ve never been a Jeep Guy (or a Car Guy for that matter), but still… I know an aesthetically pleasing auto when I see one, and the Wrangler Unlimited is not it.

In the Shattering My Dreams Category comes #6, the Toyota FJ Cruiser. This is a cool looking car that I want to love. My neighbor has one and he parks it out front, often right next to my little Pathfinder, and boy does it make my car look shlumpy. Now, I know I just made a sort of bold statement by calling out the stretched aesthetics of what once was a classic vehicle design, but the FJ Cruiser looks cool in that same, weird sort of way that the Honda Element looks cool. They’re sexy-ugly.

Anyways, I want to like the FJ, but apparently there is much left to be desired…

Highs: Off-road ability, powertrain, reliability

Lows: Visibility, ride, handling, noise, fit and finish, premium fuel, access

Again with the high marks for off-road ability. If only Consumer Reports took that into account. Seems that not a lot of people require off-roading skills to drive to the Giant for milk. Shocking.

Now, I’m not sure why this car got to be #8. If you ask me I’d bump it up to the #1 spot. Why? Well, let’s see what they say about the Suzuki Forenza (base)…

Highs: Turning circle

Lows: Acceleration, fuel economy, ride, IIHS sidecrash result, ABS option hard to find

Ok, so it can turn in circles (and I’m assuming we mean tight circles here). Fantastic. Let’s skip down to some analysis on the low points. It won’t accelerate quickly so if you do need to get out of a problem you’re out of luck. Also, you’re going to get to pay a lot in fuel dollars for the privilege of driving an underpowered small car. And the ride will be crappy. And your anti-lock brakes option (a helpful tool for, you know, stopping and what not) is difficult to find. And then, what’s this about the “IIHS sidecrash result”? Hmmm…

The Forenza received a “Poor” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for side impact protection despite having head- and torso-protecting side airbags.

Even with extra air bags you’re still going to get totally F’d up in a crash!! The Jeep at least (one assumes) is going to let you live and/or walk away from an accident. Not so much with the Suzuki death trap. Awesome.

Now, to be fair and end on a positive note, here’s a link to the Top 10 Best Cars.

PQ Heads to Big Sky Country, originally uploaded by Brian Knight Photography.

As seen in the inaugural edition of Adventure World Magazine!

No pics in this edition, but I did get a story published about Primal Quest Montana. Check out the cool new mag online!
| PDF link |