Good tidings

wright family portrait 2006, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Whoa, big news down here. Today, on what was supposed to be a slow day with my boss at the Post out of town, all kinds of stuff went down. First, my editor assigned my a story in Oklahoma, due end of day Thursday. So I'm flying out very, very first thing tomorrow (actually, at this point, today).

And while I was making reservations, the phone rang, and who would it be but the Texas Observer — with a job offer to boot. So it's official, starting next week, I have three jobs, one of them getting paid to blog. Weird. As Kriston said earlier, "Welcome to the life."

All this sandwiched between the two sides of the family's Christmas shenanigans. To Tulsa!

I couldn't say it any better

so awesome, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Way back in April I went to Dallas with Amanda for her grandmother's birthday bash. I recently came across the photos, which I'd never looked through, and was amazed at how many good shots were in there. Not just good family snapshots, but there was a bunch of artsy stuff, too. The set is interesting because it shows how lasting photos can be interspersed in the middle of taking family keepsakes. Or, to say it another way, how art can spring out of seemingly nowhere.

And nothing, in my mind, is more artistic than this giant birthday card made by Amanda's cousin, who has Down's Syndrome. Sweetest kid in the world, and, in the right hands, his handiwork could be the next great internet meme. For now, it stands in for me: Merry Christmas — I love y'all more than John Wayne.

The good ol' days

college, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Found a bunch of scanned negatives from college recently. They're up now.

Hopefully I'll get to see Brendon when Capps comes to town this weekend. Followed by Seemay next week. With Sue coming the week after. It's a Christmas miracle!

Intel dump

This is going to sound pretty dumb, but the last few times I've sat down to write something, I can't stop worrying about the fact that I've never actually told y'all what I'm doing with my life these days. Feel free to skip this, but I need to purge all this what's-going-on information. I think the best way to keep this from being too epic will be to go all Seemay-style and do it in outline form.

I. Career

1. Part-time

A. The Washington Post

i. News aide — it's my job to make sure my boss, the bureau chief, has everything she needs to do her job

ii. Tasks: research; some interviews; ordering office supplies; scrounging through newspapers for stories that my boss might want to cover or need to track

iii. My little in: each week I write a 200-word story on something light and off-beat from our coverage area for the Sunday paper's Coast to Coast section

iv. Coverage area: Texas, New Mexico, OU Sucks, Arkansas, and very, very occasionally parts of Louisiana not named New Orleans

v. Perks: Every so often I can sneak longer feature stories and/or photos into the inside pages of the paper

vi. Drawbacks: None, except I wish it were full time

B. PK Grocery

i. Sandwich Boy — Louis from Visitors is in charge of catering at this upscale neighborhood grocery store/deli in South Austin (near SoCo, etc.), and I help him out three nights a week

ii. Duties: roast tomatoes, roast mushrooms, overcome my gut-wrenching aversion to mayo in order to make dressings, slice a bunch of shit

iii. Perks: learning to cook something besides just breakfast tacos and pasta with mushroom-cream sauce; Louis is my boss; free kick-ass sandwich with every shift

iv. Draw-backs: low pay, limited hours, having to go straight to this job from the Post two nights a week

C. Seeking: The Texas Observer

i. Blogger — on Texas politics

ii. Status: Interviewed two weeks ago, submitted my sample blog post to them last week, hoping to hear back soon

2. On the side

A. Photography

i. Weddings, you can never escape weddings

ii. Hoping to get more editorial work with Daemmrich Photography, which hired me for one shoot on election day and liked my work

iii. Very rare licensing opportunities — and someday I will have a print sale

3. Fresh resume fodder (less than one year removed)

A. NCS Pearson, where I copyedited the TAKS test and felt morally culpable for the pandemic of boredom desending upon today's youths

B. Enspire Learning, where I copyedited textbooks, but this time on the computer — all the boredom with double the eye strain

Disclaimer: I would be a total jerk if I didn't mention that my actual employers were nothing but great to me and both companies are great places to work

II. Social life

1. Relationship: still going strong; living together in semi-filthy apartment near campus; two-year anniversary in Feb.

2. Friends: many in Austin, with even more coming to visit seemingly every month

A. Hancock Bowlerz, me, Danny, Benavides, and Paul: in 3rd heading into playoffs

B. Hancock Ballerz: don't play often enough

C. Fantasy basketball: The San Antonio Breakfast Tacos have been devestated by injuries (Peja, Jameer Nelson, Kevin Martin) and suspensions (J.R. Smith) but will bounce back

3. Family: relieved that I haven't left Texas yet

4. Cats: kick ass

III. Art

1. Photography

A. Currently: shooting, always shooting, continuously, every day, probably too much — and yet, I've somehow managed to not be able to find time to shoot for the blog Austinist anymore

B. Accomplishments: Had something resembling a first exhibition when I put some work up for the East Austin Studio Tour

C. Projects: Always want to do more with my website; wish I had more focus to what I shot; need to shoot more for myself, with patience, and less with the "on-assignment, gun away" mindset

D. Frustrations: Digital workflow is backed up like a left guard's toilet; still feel like I'm missing something about RAW; wondering if photography on the web will always value color saturation above everything else; perfectionism in editing leads to way too much time at the computer; impulse to chronicle every memorable moment probably just counterproductive; the work that pays usually sucks

2. Writing

A. Currently: jack squat

3. Reading

A. Non-fiction

i. The New Yorker is the only publication I read regularly

ii. Just finished George Packer's The Assassins' Gate, simply an incredible book about the Iraq war and worth reading every bit as much today as the day it came out

iii. Concentrated photography studies on the pioneers of modernism, masters of black and white, specifically Dre and the Two Eds (Kertesz, Weston, and Steichen)

iv. Up next: Mencken's account of the Scopes Monkey Trial and then the search for a comprehensive book on W. Eugene Smith

B. Fiction

i. Just finished Willa Cather's My Antonia!, a beautiful book about memory

ii. Failed again to finish The Brothers Karamazov; made it half way this time

4. Music and Movies — I can't remeber the last time I saw a movie that I wanted to own on DVD or heard a band that I had go see live, buy a T-shirt, and recommend to everyone I knew

5. TV — I desperately need to download season four of The Wire (stupid Grande charges too much for digital cable)

IV. Fun and Adventure

1. Travel

A. Washington D.C. (for Post training)

B. Europe (for foreign-culture training)

C. San Francisco (for the-good-life training)

Wow, okay, I think that's about it. It better be.

Buildings

buildings, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Because I can't sleep.

The federal government: It's faaaaan-tastic!

bob inman 2, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Taking a break from weddings real quick, I do pursue this other career that actually delivers paychecks on a regular basis. Last Tuesday I finally got an article in the Post that was more than three paragraphs. Had to slide in the side door of the paper, onto the Federal Page, which is devoted entirely to the drama and intrigue of our beloved bureaucracy.

The subject: Whatever happened to Admiral Bobby Inman. You'll have to click through for all the exciting details, including my riveting photo credit.

Back to the future

picture taking on the dance floor, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

...in which we catch a glimpse of our author and photographer, 60 years down the road, squatting with a disposable camera on the dance floor...

The ol' ball and chain

The more I inch toward professional photography, the more inescapable weddings seem to be. The pay is pretty all right, but the work is absolutely exhausting. I really can think of few things that are as physically and mentally draining as shooting a wedding for eight or more hours — maybe planning a wedding. And if you edit the photos for the couple, which I always get suckered into, the pay steps down to "not bad, but maybe not worth the effort."

I guess it's equivalent to being a grocery-basket pusher at HEB: it's okay as a first job, but you get out of there as fast as you can.

In spite of all that whining, every wedding yields at least a few great shots, about which a photog should never utter a discouraging word.

POSTSCRIPT: Latest solo wedding was Jon Dobertin's, for those of you who remember that guy from San Antonio. I also helped Wylie with one last weekend.

A real answer

As Long pointed out in comments below, Iverson to Minnesota probably isn't happening. So real quick, what are the more likely outcomes. Since indications are that it'll be a team in the West who can deal one or two very talented players back (thus keeping the Sixers roster from becoming overloaded), here are some possibilities I found while watching Vince Young womp all over the Houston Texans franchise.

Iverson for...

... Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy
Probably works from a talent standpoint, but Richardson's coming off minor knee surgery and Philly already has a jump-shooting power forward with a huge contract.

... Corey Maggette and Shaun Livingston, oh, and Zeljko Rebraca
Not sure who the foreign guy is, but he's making over $3 mil this year, which gets the deal under the cap. I'm rooting for this deal simply because my fantasy team would love to have Maggette become the first option on a bad team.

... Mike Bibby and Corliss Williamson
Do you really want to trade for a guy with mallet thumb and another guy nicknamed Big Nasty? I wouldn't. (Plus, House Party, aka Kevin Martin is doing just fine for them at two guard.)

Finally, I keep coming back to the Knicks, mainly because I know Isiah loves Iverson and because their players are so ridiculously overpaid. Iverson and Chris Webber for ...

... Jamal Crawford, David Lee, Malik Rose, and Stephon Marbury
Philly would be able to dump Webber's contract and hope beyond all evidence to the contrary that Marbury (and Malik) could get ressurrect their games circa 2000. Crawford and Lee are two genuine talents. Although I don't know if even Isiah is silly enough to let Lee go. It's also worth noting here that the expiring contract of Jalen Rose, which the Knicks bought out a couple months ago, would've been extremely useful in putting this deal together. Whoops.

So in conclusion, I have no idea what will happen. Your alternative deals are welcome in comments.

The question about The Answer

In case you were too cool to be following your fantasy team by watching a meaningless Nuggets-Heat game last night, the big news in the NBA p.m. was that Allen Iverson asked to be traded. This wasn't exactly unexpected, as Mark Stein reminds us. But Iverson did throw in a little twist by saying he wants to go to Minnesota. The catch, as Stein also details, is that Minnesota doesn't really have shit to trade thanks to inept management. (How you deal Sam Cassell for Marko Jaric and still come out owing the other team a first-round pick is pretty much amazing.)

So can this trade happen? Time to bust out the ol' ESPN trade machine. I'm assuming Philly's looking for young talent and salary cap relief, so let's go from there and then guess at the draft picks.

Minny's up on the clock first, of course. Their options:

Iverson for Ricky Davis, Randy Foye, Rashad McCants, and Marko Jaric

Analysis: Assuming that Philly is cool with a crazy guy, a clone of a guy already on the roster (Willie Green), a dude who just had major knee surgery, and a guy who will be paid something like $20 million over the next four years to keep sucking, I'd say Minnesota would have to throw in something like a decade's worth of first rounders. With G.M. McHale, it just might happen.

Iverson for Bracey Wright, Eddie Griffin, Ricky Davis, Randy Foye, Rashad McCants, and Craig Smith

Analysis: This one actually works better. Wright and Griffin are expiring contracts included only for salary cap purposes. Ricky Davis gives you a poor imitation of Iverson for the next two years of his deal. And Foye, McCants, and Smith could all end up being very good players (Smith's P.E.R., for what it's worth, is over 18). Actually, the more I think about this, the more I think it might work if some picks are thrown in. Of course, Philly would have to cut or trade like 1/4 of its current roster to make room for everbody, but that's outside the scope of this exercise.

Now, if I were the Sixers, as part of the deal I'd demand that someone take Chris Webber's whiny ass off my hands, too. Let's see if that's even possible, much less doable. ... Got it!

Iverson and Webber for Bracey Wright, Eddie Griffin, Ricky Davis, Randy Foye, Mark Blount, Trenton Hassell, Rashad McCants, Troy Hudson, Craig Smith, and Marko Jaric

Analysis: Yes, a rare 10-for-2 deal. That would leave Minnesota with 6 guys on the roster: Garnett, Iverson, Webber, Mike James, Mark Madsen, and Justin Reed. It'd be like Hoosiers, only older. It would also leave Philly with a 23-man roster, which should position them perfectly for a run at the Champion's Cup in 2008. (Fun fact: it would also ask Philly to take on the contracts of Jaric, Hudson, Hassell, and Blount, all of whom have four years left on their contracts, and who are making a combined $22.7 million just this year, and whose combined averages are 28.1 points, 12.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.5 threes, 2.4 steals, 2 blocks, and 6 turn-overs — in other words, a typical night for Dwyane Wade when Shaq's out.)

And, just for kicks, because you know the sports pundits are going to joke about it, let's see if Isiah and the Knicks could pull of this deal.

Iverson and Webber for Channing Frye, Quentin Richardson, David Lee, Malik Rose, Nate Robinson, and Stephon Marbury

Because big names are always better than scrappy, efficient guys, and because two years of Malik is better than three years of Webber.

The art is to be seen, not remembered!

moma from above, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Pictures from my day at the San Francisco MOMA are now up. These scrooges don't allow photography anywhere except in the atrium, even going so far as to make me check my 20d. They also station staff in literally every room to make sure you're not taking pictures or using your cell phone. Actually, I'm okay with the cell phone policy. But still, you'll notice that I saw a massive exhibit on Anselm Kiefer and have nothing to show for it, save a few fading memories. What a load of bull.

Anyways, at least the Optio came through in the clutch when I could get some shots off.

"The weirdest, creepiest, most awkward humpin' in town"

christ bed, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

What takesplace on this bed, as described by Justin, in light of the fact that it's not a particularly religious person who owns this room. The thing is, if you saw the apartment and how it was decorated, this didn't look out of place. It was actually quite effective, I think, in that it was meant to be arresting and I can't think of any other bedroom that made me rush and grab my camera.

Anyways, it's also from the San Fransciso trip, which, looking back, has yielded a disproportionate number of odd pictures. I like that.

Now playing: San Francisco

danny against the wall, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Up now on Flickr, the first group of San Francisco pics: hangin' with the fellas. Wait, not those fellas.

Celebrating like a Grammatica

matt vertical, originally uploaded by NoL Mahree.

That was some Cowboys game. Photo by Noelle.

Riding bikes required by ordinance of Lando Calrissian

riding bikes, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Forgot about this one. Amanda and I are off to IKEA for the second straight day. My slow descent into yuppiedom continues. Did I tell you about this great little house on the East Side I want to refurbish...

Pease, Clare

clare portrait, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Clare has gone to Africa, returned to rock Austin for a few days, and is now on to the Bay Area. Figured I should get a picture of her up instead of just alluding to her. This one's from Pease Park. Notice Leslie's hand slowly nudging toward a boob grab, a college tradition. Woot.