Random things I was thinking about at six a.m. this morning.

I took this picture of the moon on Sunday. It was playing peek-a-boo with the clouds and looked really neato-mosquito, but… did you know it's really hard to photograph the moon?

People have told me this before, but I didn't really understand what they were talking about until I tried it.

For one, the moon is really bright (reflects the sun blah blah blah) but since the surroundings are so dark, the camera thinks it needs to use a really long exposure. Which, of course, completely blows out all your details. Like this:



But, if you expose properly for the moon, everything around it gets lost in the darkness because the exposure isn't long enough to capture anything BUT the moon. See?



So, I cheated. I admit it. I'm a cheater. And I also cuss like a sailor. There, I said it. Happy?

Okay, actually, cheating was much more difficult than I thought it'd be.

I took two shots. One exposed for the moon, one for the clouds. And then I thought I was so super freaking cool 'cause I'd just use magic Photoshop to superimpose one over the other and make one good photograph. (Okay, one so-so photograph.) (Hey, I'm still learning!)

Except, the moon? Yeah, it's moving. Constantly. So trying to take two photographs with the moon in the exact same spot is nearly impossible. Even after just a couple of seconds, it's in a different spot, so trying to combine the two images wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

Yeah, turns out I'm not so cool after all. Please don't tell anyone.

But, it was fun to try. Okay, moving on.

I seem to be coming across a lot of giveaways these days and, you know, that's awesome. (Who doesn't love free stuff?) But I can't help but notice that several of these "free" giveaways have a lot of stipulations. Stuff like "you must create a sculpture of what you think this blog would look like in stone and ship it to me and then post a picture of it on your blog and a permanent link in your sidebar for five years."

I understand people are trying to drive traffic to their own sites. I totally get that. Hey, I'd love to drive a lot more traffic to my own (I think), but... this space here? As small and insignificant as it may be, it's mine and what I choose to display is totally up to me. And I don't want anyone to tell me what to do.

And I want The Husband to stop giving me grief about spending money.

I know what you're going to say. I don't have to participate. No one is forcing me to. I can just shut up and leave well enough alone, but... well, it's been weighing on my mind and I don’t know why I feel the need to share, except it's Wednesday and I'm standing here thinking about it and this is what I do.

I hope I haven't offended anyone. Have I ever told you I have an absurd, ridiculous fear of offending people? I do.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject. (Really.)

I saw Benjamin Button last weekend. I thought it was freaking fantastic. I love movies that allow you to get absorbed in the character's lives. Especially when the characters themselves are so wonderful.

And, right after, we went and watched The Reader. (Yes, we movie-hopped. Yes, it's technically stealing. Yes, I feel bad. Sorta.) The movie frustrated me. I hate movies that frustrate me. But, I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it. (COUGH wait for the DVD COUGH)

So, what was the last movie you fell in love with?

I think, before Ben Button, it was Walk the Line. I had a huge crush on Joaquin Phoenix for, like, a year afterward. I think my mother still has one.

Unfortunately, I just found this very disturbing article.

Can't they just... be normal?