This week the Toys on 365 are concentrating on pet peeves. So I tracked down some of the dinosaurs and interviewed them. Boy, did I get an earful!
The Apatosaurus is sick unto death with Flintstone wisecracks and jokes everywhere he goes. In fact, he let me know that he even cringes when I shorten the word "dinosaur" to "dino" because of that "dumb Flintstones character who thinks he's a dog" (his words). I didn't make any promises, but I'll try to use that term less.
The Neanderthal Man feels very insulted when called a caveman by those who are too ignorant to know the full scope of the cultures and accomplishments of him and his Neanderthal brothers and sisters. Think about it for a minute -- the term "caveman" has come to imply someone brutish, stupid, and uncivilized. He's also a little tired of me lumping him into the "dinosaurs" category, but understands that I know better, it's just too cumbersome to continually refer to "the dinosaurs and Neanderthal Man." I will try to give him the separate recognition he really deserves -- at least some of the time.
I caught up with the Allosaurus in the living room where he was watching birds and squirrels feed just outside the window. He hates being mistaken for a T-Rex (and I apologized again for calling him that way back in the second photo shoot the dinosaurs did for me). "Doesn't anyone understand I'M the Jurassic guy? Why does the T-Rex get all the attention and glory? What part of millions-of-years-between-me-and-him do they not understand?"
I gently reminded him that just last week he had jumped up and done a brilliant imitation of the Tyrannosaurus Rex in the Jurassic Park movie (and yes, I know that he's the "real Jurassic guy.") He grudgingly admitted that he sometimes added to the confusion when it was to his advantage to blur the distinction.
And, lastly, I interviewed the Dimetrodon. He was choosing a CD for us to play on the boombox. Predictably, he wanted blues or jazz. Almost every time it's his turn to choose, he wants Louis Armstrong, or Billie Holliday, or B.B. King, or Ray Charles. Sometimes Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, or Alberta Hunter... Anyway, his pet peeve really hit home. All he said was "I hardly ever get in on the photo shoots." (long pause) When I asked him to tell me more, he said "The Allosaurus has been the main guy for the last two weeks, and I only ever get in the group shots -- and sometimes not then. Last week's scary movie marathon up in the office, you brought me upstairs, and then forgot to put me in the shot even though I was there the whole time." (Oops...I did forget to include him.) I promised him that if next week's 365 Toys theme was something appropriate that he could handle, he'd be the main man. If not, I'd do an extra shot and feature him. He perked up a bit then, and even more when I put on the Blues Women CD he had chosen.
Although none of them said it, I know that one of the pet peeves for the dinosaurs (oops dinosaurs and Neanderthal Man) in general is that I so often wait until the very last day of the week to put their 365 Toys theme picture up. Sigh. Maybe next week I'll do better.
Hi, im your get-pushed partner this week, and i challenge you to do a wide-angle shot. You dont need a special lens, you could use post processing, stitch a couple photos or whatever, to make your scene look lie a wide angle?
