Gotta Catch ‘Em All

Pokemon! I was digging through some old NES manuals and documents today and found something amazing. This is my Pokemon Diploma.

Hmm that isn’t awfully readable. Here’s an enhanced version.

After extensive trading I acquired all 150 Pokemon required to earn a completed PokeDex in Pokemon Yellow. After that I borrowed my cousin Matt’s Gameboy Printer and got my Diploma. All in all this was arguably a more difficult task than getting my college diploma.

[UPDATE: This is actually my diploma from Pokemon Silver. That means I caught 251 to get this! I'll admit there was probably some Gameshark use in order to get the Mew and Celebi.]

Ephemera pt 7 - Camera Ephemera Blow Out

Nothing really compares to part six of the ephemera posts. Middle School is so weird. I'm gonna to the best I can and post a bunch of extras that I found with my cameras.






I wish I could explain more about these or relate a story about my life. Let me try. Hills Department Stores, remember those? No? They had a great toy department.

Ephemera pt 6 - May All Of Your Dreams Come True

Part six of the ephemera tour takes us to the dark part of my history.... Middle School.

I mentioned before that Middle School is the weirdest time any person can have. Every move you make is a mistake. For instance, I started wearing Hawaiian shirts on a regular basis. It is also a time for first kisses and other confusing moments. The above picture is the zenith of those moments for me.
I'm the one in the big white jacket in the center. I am flanked by mutually dateless friends Alex and Josh. Did we know how to rock the 8th grade dance or what? In regards to my suit, I had just played Big Jule in Guy's and Dolls and thought wearing a zoot suit would be killer. Note that I am not wearing a zoot suit. The suit shop ordered the wrong thing and I ended up looking like a Beatle/bellhop for the night. Note that the little connector button at the neck is a Yin Yang. Oh yes.
PS. I did get my first kiss wearing that outfit. Thankfully not with Alex or Josh. (no offense guys)

Ephemera pt 5 - The Library

My mom probably won't like me posting these, so if you somehow check a book out in my name don't tell her.

I used to be a big reader. Unfortunately this was when I was quite small. I'd go the library every week to check out new books. My favorites were big books about Greek and Norse mythology. Then I started reading Star Wars Expanded Universe books. I always hated assigned reading in school. This is probably because Norse Mythology and Star Wars were never subjects.

My gosh, my signature probably hasn't changed in the decade since I signed that card. My handwriting has remained stagnant and so has my reading. I read the news and a bunch of comic books (though I never keep up to date with the monthlies) but the only books I've read recently have been Jonathan Hodgman's books. Theres something about his lies as truth that clicks with me.

Ephemera pt 4 - Spider-Man Magazine

Part Four of the Ephemera series proves how geeky I have always been.

I wish that I had the original art that I sent into Spider-Man Magazine. I submitted my own villain that I believe was an anthropomorphic bomb that could shoot out smaller bombs from his tube like arms. He may have had a Megatron-esque arm cannon to better dispense with his artillery.

Yes, Spidey sent me this reply to my creation. I was heartbroken till I realized that I was now Spider-Man's pal. This still brings me comfort.

Ephemera pt 3 - Driving Pass

Part Three of the Ephemera series returns us to High School.

High School is a weird time. Not as weird as middle school, but pretty weird nonetheless. I was lucky in that my school had a TV program. It wasn't too advanced, but it was much bigger than we deserved. I was able to learn so much there that I still use today. Naturally, looking back on what I made then, I dip my head in shame but at the time it seemed great.

By the I was a senior all I was doing was TV. I was taking the actual class, I was a teachers assistant, and to round out my day I was an intern. Most interns were out of the school so we all got driving passes. Mine was used mostly for delivering/retrieving tapes from local churches and picking up Chinese food. Any time spent in other classes was remedied by pink excuse slips that I had access to. Good times.

Ephemera pt 2 - Elvis Costello

Welcome to part two of my series cataloging brief moments in my life.

Elvis Costello is seriously one of the coolest people ever. His music is some of the best in the past century and he maintains a sense of humor that few men of his caliber posses. (check out his appearance on A Colbert Christmas for proof) I was lucky enough to meet him.

He played a concert at Butler University and gave a presentation on his rise to stardom to the cool kids of the Media Arts department. At times he would just break into "Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes" and his voice would absolutely fill the little room. (he was actually wearing red shoes if my memory serves) When I got his autograph and posed for the worst cell phone picture possible I was still hours away from seeing his full performance that night at Clowes Hall. I lament my inability to express how haunting "I Want You" really is live. I was sitting in the furthest row of the highest tier, but when he stepped away from the mic and sang unamplified it felt just as loud as when we were in the little room.

Ephemera pt 1 - Working for the Colts

I'm posting a single photo/scan and talking about it. This stuff normally loses it's meaning quickly (thus ephemera) so hopefully this makes the magic lasts longer.

For the 2008 football season, I worked for the Indianapolis Colts as a photographer. This sounds like a dream come true. Regrettably I was asked to take pictures of the fans. Still not bad, I get to be there in the new Lucas Oil Stadium and see the game in person right? Sure, but I also had to take 200 pictures a game. I never reached my quota even once. It was so weird showing up to a job I knew I couldn't do, but they kept asking me back.

The problem lies in my greatest fear. You know how most people are deathly afraid of public speaking and would cry if they had to be in front of 63,000 people? I'm the opposite. I freak out if I'm part of the 63,000 fans there. As the stadium filled and the crowd swelled I would freeze up and I wouldn't be able to approach anyone to take there picture. In the end it was alright though because I got that sweet picture with my mom, my cousin Eli, and my Uncle John.