dedleg.com

Just some scientific documentation of the work the local hoodlums have been putting up lately.

From a distance I misread this as “God Blows!” and got really excited. My disappointment was palpable upon closer inspection of the tag, such that it is. I try not to post up too much of God’s work on this blog. Nothing against the guy, personally, but it’s only asking for trouble. His fans are just a bunch of fucking jackasses.

The frequency with which I’ve been seeing these jumping spiders is starting to *ahem* bug me out. At first I found them endearing and kind of cute, but I guess it was around the time I woke up with one of them perched on my nose, staring directly into my eyes, that I started feeling kind of weird about the little guys. Yeah, that and the note that said “GET OUT” written in dismembered fly wings. It’s probably nothing.

Look, I found some wild dedlegs at play! Why don’t you go do the same, Internerd?

Which of these sounds right to you?

“God is in the details,” OR, “The Devil is in the details”?

The answer probably all depends on how you look at the world.

It occurred to me that there were two similar, though seemingly polar, versions of the same idiom today when I was thinking about my approach to photography. I started out shooting a lot of landscapes and wide shots — I was mostly concerned with capturing an entire scene. As time has gone on, I’ve realized there’s a greater sense of discovery in the small details, and getting close to your subject can often reveal plenty of surprises. And really, in photography, as with most art, the element of surprise can work toward your advantage.

Now, how do you surprise people with an image? Well, it’s really quite simple, you see — just show them something they weren’t expecting, something they’ve never seen before! And an easy way to find unique viewpoints, even of familiar subjects, is to get really close.

God is in the details. Maybe.

According to my good friend, Wikipedia, “the expression the Devil is in the details refers to a catch or mysterious element hidden in the details.” Miss the details, miss a good photo. In this sense, the saying is actually consistent with its halo-wearing counterpart. In the end, I think it’s pretty clear that it doesn’t matter if you look to God or the Devil for your guidance, the important things to focus on are the details themselves.

Hell, if more religious people did that, they might have figured out that gods and devils are best left to live within the confines of cliched expressions. They’re safer there, instead of in the world’s highest governmental offices, where humans can give power to fairytales.

Mars Attacks trading cards, released by Topps in 1962

The latest Harris Poll is devastating as usual.

73% of Americans believe that Jesus is God or the son of God;
72% believe in angels;
70% believe in the resurrection of Jesus;
61% believe in hell;
61% believe in the virgin birth (Jesus born of Mary);
60% believe in the devil;
32% believe in UFOs

So… more people believe in a Jewish zombie with magical powers — or that when they die they’re going to burn for all eternity in a firey cavern while a menacing goat man lords over their anguish — than believe that in the whole wide, billions of light years wide (+) universe there couldn’t possibly be other sentient beings, who are in fact smarter than us and capable of visiting our planet.

Not saying I was raped in the night by robotic alien probes or anything (since whenever I do people look at me like I’m crazy), but come on, Eileen. Play the odds here.

Looks like most people’s New Year’s resolutions didn’t consist of getting any smarter.

Sigh. Maybe next year.