Mike’s Typo

I’m shocked at the number of folks who received the Typo newzletter today and opened the beach volleyball shot. Horrible. We should be ashamed of ourselves. But, what’s done is done. So, in response to those who have written and ask if there was more where that came from, I say simply “tisk, tisk.” But, because I am thorough and leave few stones unturned so to speak, I do have a few more shots that didn’t make the first cut.

Sure is different than football. I mean at a football game who wants to sit behind the goal post. In beach volleyball I’m learning that is the spot that an awful lot of people covet. I can’t believe that they allow photographers to sit there. I mean really. This is just…. Well, it’s what’s wrong with America! God bless America.

Some of you with heart conditions or blood pressure variances will only be able to look at one, maybe two of these “rejected” shots. So, here is 1, 2, 3.

I think I warned you not to look at that one.

The who was Eliot Spitzer & Kristen. The what was - well, you know what. The when was a very tack Valentine’s Eve. So, that leaves the where. Leave it to the NY Times to do a story on the where of Eliot’s transgressions. Seems this was Eliot’s “unlucky” 13th visit to the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. The Mayflower is a mere stones throw from the White House. And, while it is one of “the places” to stay in Washington, the NY Times lends a different perspective on the why of the where. Read here.

Another seemingly intelligent politico is caught doing something certain to tumble his career.  “Eliot Ness” as he was often referred to in finance circles, who is currently the governor of New York, was reported yesterday to be Client #9 of a “stung” high-end prostitution ring.  Interesting news.  Not really from my perspective.  Same old, same old.

But, that said, isn’t it interesting to ask the question why we all do stupid things like this.  I say “we” because we all do (or have done) stupid stuff.  For us, we typically don’t end up on the front page of every paper in the world.  Yep, the world.  Everyone around the world is looking at this and in various languages and dialects saying, “those stupid Americans.”

Is it just Democrats?  Kennedy, Clinton, Spitzer?  No, of course not.  What’s his name from Idaho - that was truly stupid/sick.  So, why?

Short of being able to answer that question, it’s interesting (at least to this blobber/reporter) to stoop to the People mag sort of journalizm and ask for the details.  Alas, People hasn’t hit the streets yet.  So, I had to settle for a NY Times version of the whole sorted affair (pun intended).  Link over here if you want to read how it all came to be.  I’ll let you know in a week or so if the People story is better!

I came across this site and well, an hour later I was still snapping away. Ok, ok. Seems Taco Bell has put this site together that allows you to be the photographer on a “swimsuit” photo shoot. When I heard about it I wasn’t that excited. Then I tried it, I was hooked. I am a photographer, so I thought - I should be good at this. But, it’s remarkable difficult to get a couple of good shots. So, you keep clicking away. Then you start over and try again. The model’s name is Daniella, and well, she defies description. Even if you’ve never take a picture in your life, you’ve got to give this a whirl. Fun, entertaining - you know the typically Internet time suck. But, hey, you’re reading this!

Oh, and when it’s all done, you can download your photos. Make one of them your screensaver. Or, whatever.

Gotta go. I’m late for my next shoot!

First off, I’ve got to say, this is hot off the Reuters newswire. That was important to mark up front. Here’s why. Seems, a 21-year old German man was convicted in Berlin for sending a picture of his you-know-what (editor says I can’t use that word, but I can say penis) to an unknown woman via mobile phone. It doesn’t say whether he mounted a defense, but if I’d been advising him I can think of all sorts of innocent reasons how this might have happened. But, you know what, let’s have some fun with this. Email me and let me know what you think he should have told the court to explain this transgression. I’ll compile the Top 10 list and post it on the blob.
To add insult to injury, the presiding judge was quoted as saying, “We all had a bit of a laugh when we saw the thing.” As if the humiliation wasn’t enough, this little cyber-flasher exercise cost the lad 150 euros (about $220). Ouch!

No, I don’t have a link to the picture.

A friend of a friend’s brother’s sister-in-law, if you can believe it, came up with what I think is a very telling bumper sticker. Hillary for Prez - She Doesn’t Suck. Poor Hillary lost her spark and is crashing fast. So, I guess the timing is just about right. Buy a sticker or two and let’s get people back talking about Hillary. These stickers, t-shirts, front yard signs, and even a large-size coffee mug should do the trick. I haven’t seen word of these on the national news, so I think this is going to be a grassroots effort to get the message out - so, tell a friend!

Link here to buy a sticker or whatnot.

You might remember another post we did about what a type-face says about our candidates. We sent off a copy of this new sticker to the type geeks to see whether this new message will improve Hillary’s chances. We’ll let you know what we hear.

After the whole chocolate thought, I jumped over to Victoria’s Secret, just to see what they had going for Cupid’s day of celebration and revealry. This, all in the name of unbiased journalizm. So. Wow. I suppose my impression is their site might have gone a bit too corporate. What a shame. However, digging and prying around, I found a video ad that, well, gets you goin’.

I think I’m safer with the chocolate. You probably are too. I’d pass on the video. No need to cause any confusion in your thinking.

I’ve always sorta pulled for Gavin (Newsom, SF mayor). He seems like such a ditz who was somehow mis-packaged at the baby factory. Kinda a Monday or Friday baby. Know what I mean? But, something about him just makes you root for him. I mean after all he’s the mayor that has put the “soap” into SF Opera right? But, he’s finally been outdone. Not by one mayor, but two.

You’ve got the guy in Detroit who is text message crazy and didn’t have any idea that someone might have record of his explicit love messages (hundreds, by the way) to his Chief-of-Staff. Ok, so that’s just plain stupid. On all fronts. No sympathy there.

But, I love this one. Carmen Kontur-Gronquist, mayor of a small, eastern Oregon town of 500, has one-up’d even Gavin. Her MySpace page featured pictures of her posing in lingerie on one of the city’s firetrucks. Doing a bit of due diligence (purely editorial integrity stuff), I went looking for the Honorable K-G’s page. Seems it’s NOW only available to her friends of which I’m not one. Falling back on my investigative reporter skills, I was able to uncover a shot of the mayor on the truck from what appeared to be a reputable Internet smut site. (All in the name of good investigative journalizm.) I’m no expert, but it sure looks like underwear. It sure looks like the mayor. What’s more, that looks a lot like a firetruck. I think she’s toast.

I think we need to round up all these nit-wits - the mayor from Detroit, our Oregon hottie mayor, and how about that bathroom Senator from Idaho - and buy them a one-way ticket right out of office and onto the July 5th flight to wherever that plane is going. (Read Mile High Club post.)

I was flying back (on a plane) the other day and the thought occurred to me: “wouldn’t be great to be sitting here nude?” I mean you’re sitting there, your clothes get all bunch up and you get uncomfortable. You get uncomfortable and you get a little testy. Plus, really you run out of things to look at. So, “nudity ok here” would solve all the problems, right? What would Richard Reid have done if he’d been on a nude flight? You’re probably thinking, the air was a bit thin in that cabin Mike was in. Confession: I made all this up. The thought has never crossed my mind that it would be great to fly nude. Further confession: I’ve never ordered anything over the Internet in the nude either. Call me old-fashioned - I can take it.

But leave it to the SF Chronicle and once again Wired to really get the juices flowing (get you “thinking” that is). Seems the Germans are big on nudism. Didn’t know that. But, it’s in print so it must be true. The term, if you’re interested is, Freikorperkultur. No there is no “e” on the end, and yes the o should be one of those with the two dots above it. I’m sure it matters, but really how many of you know the difference between the double-dot o and a regular o? I’m probably going to get lots of email on this. But, anyho. So this freik…. literally translates to “free body culture.” Again, big in German. Or, so they say.

It appears that this is a “holiday travel companies” that is chartering these flights. The first is scheduled for July 5. There are a couple of key details. You must remain clothed in the airport. So, I’m guessing after the plane is in-flight and levels off the Captain will announce it’s safe to move around the cabin and…. Oh, and this. For safety reasons, the crew will remain clothed. Ok, if it’s unsafe for the crew to disrobe, how is it safe for the passengers? I’ve got more questions than answers. If you do too, link over to the article.

See you in Germany on 7/5! Reserve you spot today.

Oh, one more thing. Seems this is NOT an original idea. It was done back in 2003 by Naked Air on a flight to Mexico. Supposedly, the Naked Air web site has pictures. I wouldn’t know since I haven’t checked it out. Let me know if you find any!

So it seems the newest trend in fantasy hotels is sex. Or, maybe this isn’t new. Conceptually, this has been around since… well, the beginning of time. But, leave it to the Japanese (principally) to perfect it. Or, have they? You can be the judge. Another photographer, this time American Misty Keasler, has shot some of the newest, “most innovative” love hotels in Japan. Once again, leave it to Wired Online to bring us this dish. As I write, this is their top article. Go figure. Comes with a health dose of pictures. Words wouldn’t do justice in this case. A picture is really worth a thousand words. So, don’t be embarrassed, jump on over and check this out. You’re not alone!