Favorite Pic of the Day for November 18th

Above:

Josh by Allan Spiers

-See More Below-

Happy Birthday today November 18th to:

Hansel, one of my favorite models turns 43 today.

Check out more of today's birthdays HERE:

Noise:

When I was in grade 9 one of my best friends was Oliver. Our friendship was short lived as his father was a university professor and they moved a few streets over the summer before grade 9 and left when his dad was transferred the following summer. Oliver was easy going, quiet but thoughtful and devoted to his bike. Our connection began along a nature trail where we annoyed the shit of dogs and their owners and old couples walking, by burning quickly by them on our bikes, far too close to them, on our way to nowhere really.



After terrorizing the leisure walkers,we often ended back at Oliver's place. His house held a mysterious fascination to me. First off, Oliver did not have a mother. I never really found out what happened but guessed she was still alive somewhere as I thought if she had died there would be a picture around somewhere, there were none. In fact the walls had no pictures at all. The floor were hardwood (unlike my home with wall to wall brown carpet). There were no plants, but instead old tree branches stuck in pots. Oliver had two sisters but I rarely either one of them. They were always home, but they were always in their bedrooms. The oddest thing about Oliver's house was the sound...there wasn't any. It boggled my mind that Oliver's family did not have a television or even a stereo. Oliver had a small transistor radio in his room but it was never on. Whenever I did see a sister, or his father they were either reading, painting or working on some other project with their hands. In contrast my home was always loud, voices were loud and a television that my mother always had on although she was rarely in the same room with it. Even today, my parents television is always on and always loud and even today they rarely sit in the same room as the tv.



I remember initially thinking Oliver's lack of a television, not to mention the lack of noise was really odd. As the year went on I remember welcoming the quiet when I spent time in his home. It was such a break from my own home. Back when I was in grade 9 the television options were not what they are today. Television, radio today seems just full of loud people talking. They are not emoting character driven drama, most of the drama is real, or at least written to be swallowed by the naive as real.

There is so much talking it is all beginning to sound a bit muffled to me. Last week these voices were talking about a 72 day old marriage. This week those same voices are talking about the rape of a 10 year old boy in a shower stall. What is most startling is when you stop listening to the words, and only hear the voices the the two sound shockingly the same. There is far too much noise today, so much so it is hard to escape. So much noise that the brutal rape of a child gets the same amount of attention and air time as a morally challenged fame seeking family. I have no idea where Oliver is these days but I hope his auditory world has remained as pure as the one that I remember.

Thumbs Down: The Talk

Speaking of noise...


I don't watch The Talk. I wrote back in September that I had watched a handful of episodes last year but between it's cold sacking of two of it's hosts and it's....well...the usual crapfest it's hour ends up being I decided life was too short to add it to my DVR list.

But...earlier this week as I was running around getting ready for work when I see a commercial for the guest co-hosts for the week. For some reason Sharon Osbourne seems to be granted a huge amount of time off. (I sort of think much like HRP's recent appearance on CBS it is too keep her quiet). Among the guest hosts advertised were Henry Winkler (seen below) and that 'celebrity' blogger I find so distasteful. His site was actually one of the reasons FH took the tone it initially did. His hate filled site is so vile to me I cannot stand to watch him on anything. I am not the least bit convinced he has changed a bit, only bending to meet the money. It annoys the shit out of me when any show brings him on as a guest, but bringing him on as a guest host,giving him attention only spotlights exactly what I hate about the media, show business and human nature in general.

Compulsion: Josh B. by Allan Spiers Photography

When I first profiled the work of Chicago photographer Allan Spiers last March, (The Two Anthony's) I focused on the connection I felt to the motivation which drives Allan within his work.



'In my mind modeling is not just the presentation of a beautiful body, but rather the expression of a complex personality. Consequently, my goal is to discover and capture the true person in my images.'



'This is the reason I am compelled to take pictures – my desire to not only to show how something looked, but how it felt when I took the photograph and captured the moment. I want to convey the spirit and personality of the person from a new and surprising point-of-view.'

Allan's creative mission is the parallel to what guides me in how I formulate the blog. Although it occasionally happens, for some reason I generally have little to no interest in sharing images on FH that I don't know anything about. This might have to do with my past, or might just be the writer and detective in me. My profession is all about exploring the lives of others and I rarely settle for the what is seen solely on the surface. The surface is a package, but it is what is underneath that truly holds my interest.

Allan's compulsion to unwrap the package and explore beyond the surface is exactly what I try to do each day with FH. To have the reader not just enjoy the shots I present, but feel and experience all that went into their creation. The feel and experience of Josh B. is certainly an amazing one. It is difficult for a model to hide who they are in front of Allan's lens as he adds few elements to distract. Solid backgrounds, a color palette of blacks, whites, greys and browns means your attention is drawn directly to the subject.

Allan Spiers Official Website HERE:

Allan Spiers on Model Mayhem:

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