We went into this with low expectations because a family told us their young son was actually bored through it. He never laughed, started wandering around in the aisles, and even asked to go to the bathroom. Unusual behaviour for a child at an animated movie. Oh well, forget him — we loved it!

If you like cars, and I mean just about anything to do with cars, like mechanics, painting, cruising or extended road trips, Cars had it all. It was time-travel to the present, reminiscing about what isn’t, but should be. Historical Route 66, vintage stock car racing, pain and heroes, it was all crammed in there. If you’re into hotrods, lowriders or even sportscars, you’d be happy too. However, if you’re into plastic imports with neon lights, and tricked-out Hummers you probably won’t like how your hobby is represented. (Personally, I found it really, really funny!) No, this is a car movie for real car guys.

The attention to detail was impeccable. The level of research into not just cars, but auto history, and general car culture was staggering. They got it right. They got it so right! When this comes out on DVD it’s going to assume its place right beside the Incredibles, and I’ll be watching it more than once just to pay attention to the myriad of details I’ve missed.

The story was solid and satisfying, if predictable. The car-acters (car-actors?) were vividly represented, and believably real. You know, good. But the experience was so far beyond the given story.

Y’know, it’s so sad. That we’ve reduced vehicles to mere commuting appliances takes so much away from what they are. The celebration of human achievement. The freedom to explore. To meet people. And to have fun doing it.

If you can, join up with some friend and go watch Cars at a drive-in. That would be a real hoot! And then hop in your car and go visit someplace you’ve never been.

I’ve seen a number of sites that I’m a regular “attender” at complain about things not being busy enough. Not the same level of growth. Maybe hitting a plateau, maybe even declining. There’s not the same enthusiasm. Not the same level of energy. I don’t have any statistical data from any of these sites, not that I would trust it anyway. Maybe alternative networks are forming on a smaller, more sustainable scale than “global”. Perhaps the novelty is simply starting to wear off.

It does make sense to me. There are two things that people are looking for. One is simple routine. The other is human connection. The internet is such a huge place that it is impossible to comprehend it all. If you’re like me, and have a ton of interests, there’s always something new to see and learn. But most people, I fear, are tired of learning and exploring. They want simpler ways of moving through life. And they want easy ways to connect with their friends and family.

Which probably means that a similar decline is unlikely to be seen in cell phones. People’s lives are increasingly overrun with conveniece. Sigh.

Pentax *ist DL w/ 18-55mm
ISO 400? (Probably. Or thereabouts…)
Available early morning light.

Shot when I woke up a good hour before anyone else in Kramatorsk — obviously not following my regular sleep pattern. Someone asked me if I took the phone off the hook for this shot. I assured her that I’m not that creative. I like the incompleted story this shot refers to. Who was talking? What were they talking about? What was said to make this person leave? I’ll never know.

I have people pictures to post on the blog, but I really should get permission before they just randomly show up all over the place. :-)

Pentax *ist DL w/ 18-55mm
ISO 200? (My memory is not so…um, what was I saying?)
Available light.

I love the perspective in this shot. It’s a main road in Dnepro. The image was very dark, but with some post-processing (contrast adjustment and a touch of desaturation to reduce the outrageous resulting colours) I got a very useable result.

Pentax *ist DL w/ 18-55mm
ISO 400? (I can never remember when it’s digital)
Available light.

Yep, the trip was crazy! Not all pictures are like this one, but I thought I’d start here. This is taken at night from a camera mounted to a tripod set on the floor shooting through the windshield of a car as it drove down a main road of Dnepro. Exposure time is about 30s — the longest my camera can handle before I’m the one that has to start counting (bulb mode holds the shutter open indefinitely). It shows how bumpy the roads are there, among other things. I might turn this one into my desktop when I have a giddy day, or when I feel like I have to relive the travelling experience. :-)