JLooney.com

These images were published in the Cape Times (South Africa) last year, but I’ve just stumbled across them myself. Click to view larger sizes.

10-September-2001 (Day before 9/11: a series of coordinated terrorist suicide attacks by Islamic extremists on that date upon the United States of America)

5-August-1945 (Day before the Hiroshima atomic bomb was dropped: a nuclear attack during World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States of America)

21-November-1963 (Day before the JFK assassination: Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was shot in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald )

15-June-1976 (Day before the Soweto uprising: a series of riots in Soweto, South Africa on between black youths and the South African authorities. The riots grew out of protests against the policies of the National Party government and its apartheid regime)

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As we were driving home from our little getaway, I noticed how nice a clean mirror can be.

It’s funny, I’ve already noticed that I spend time looking for beauty all around me. It’s pretty cool.

So, today’s my anniversary – 11 years with my sweetheart. Pretty cool, huh?

As we were lying in bed this morning, I found myself appreciating the gentle sound of her breathing next to me. Just that, her breathing and nothing more. What a beautiful sound. I know that I sleep like shit when she’s not next to me, away with her sisters or whatever. It’s not oftne that she’s away, but I hate it, and just having her next to me this morning and appreciating the sound of her breathing was lovely.

I really want to know who thought this would be a good idea.

Megan drives a Dodge Stratus, which is a pretty good all-around car, with one notable exception.

It’s got a seat-belt alarm to remind the driver that their seatbelt isn’t fastened. It’s not a blaring siren, or anything over the top – just a typical chime that rings until the seat belt is fastened.

Let me repeat that last part in case you missed it – it rings until the seat belt is fastened!

So, if you decide to take a road-trip to Vegas, it’ll ring for six damn hours!

What engineer thought this would be a good idea? What corporate exec approved such idiocy?

I understand the merit of wearing a seatbelt. I can accept that automotive companies are doing their best to protect their consumers by reminding them (although it’s probably closer to the truth that they’re protecting their own asses from litigation).

What irks me abouth this whole thing is the non-stop chiming until I’ve complied like a good [sheep] citizen.

Why is it Dodge’s business (or anyone else’s) to force me to comply with their  ideals through persistent irritation?!?

Dodge sucks.

I’ve realized that I do a lot of bitching. I hate stupid people, I hate Utah Drivers, I hate people that complain about everything – you get the idea.

So I watched American beauty the other day, and although I’ve seen it before, it always affects me on a pretty profound level.

Well, noticing that I actually look for things to complain about and watching American beauty inspired me to this new idea – 365 Days of Beauty.

It works like this. Every day for the next year, I will find something that is beautiful to me.  I’m keeping it pretty open. Could be a picture, something I see or hear, a conversation with someone that inspires me – whatever. I just decided it was time to look for beauty rather than always looking for stupid.

So, today, Monday, February 25th, 2008 is Day 1.

Here’s my first entry:

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Yeah, I know it’s a friggin’ rainbow, and that’s cliche and trite and all that crap.

I was getting on the freeway at 3500 south. It was raining that irritating sprinkle-half-ass-rain that forces you to turn your windsheild wipers on once every 5 minutes, and really only serves to dirty your car. There were 2,000 other people also getting on the freeway, which you KNOW I love. So I’m slightly irritated and bugged by just about everything when I glance out my window. You can’t tell too much, but there’s a huge-ass black storm cloud coming in from the north (the left in this picture) and it just looked cool. I pulled out my really cool phone and snapped this picture.

Tada.

beautiful.

And for those of you thinkin’ “yeah, it’s a rainbow, he kinda cheesed on that one”. No dice. I’ve committed to myself that I will actively look for beauty, and will not simply take the first thing that comes along. In order to be considered for this project, it’s got to affect me somehow.

Until tomorrow…