Thursday, June 09, 2005

I had these pictures on my hard-drive; now I'm sharing them with you. Viewer discretion advised.

The following photo was used by eWarrior to create my current "publicity photo," which I plan on retiring sooner or later -- although it's served its purpose admirably. This picture makes me look pretty weirded out, but it's not entirely unrepresentative.





I took the following shortly after moving into my current apartment, which would have been in 2000.





Last but not least, here's an early self-portrait -- taken way, way back in 1999 with my then-new Web-cam. That manic look in my eyes is disturbing even to me. And my hair appears to be subtly violating some physical law or another.



42 comments:

W.M. Bear said...

I'd call your hair "proto-Einsteinian" in that last pic (meant as compliment).

TheUltimateCyn said...

Actually, I think your hair like that looks hot!

of course, I may be a little biased...


*wink*

Carol said...

What you should really be disturbed about is the fact that these photos consistently show that your head is on crooked. :)

Ken Younos said...

Al-Zarqawi had that same maniac look in his eyes in the alleged video clip of him.

Zabbadoo said...

there are some things about this blog that are really cool. and some pictures of blurry crap that you see on the street. wow. never seen a fire hydrant before. you must promise never to compromise your artistic vision by, oh say, getting a decent camera or , oh, say, learning how to focus a camera or, oh, say, taking photographs of something that's actually.. um.. what's that word, oh yes.. interesting. why, that would be totally not post-modern at all!

Mac said...

Hi, Zabbadoo --

Thanks! Nothing like a little aesthetic controversy to get things jumpin'.

Ken Younos said...

Somebody must have taken a shit in Zabbadoo's cherrios this morning.

TheUltimateCyn said...

Zabbadoo doo - you need to go piss on bushes somewhere else - because you mess with Mac, you mess with [LOTS of] Mac Fans! So come in nice, or stay be ugly and be treated like shit...
This of course is my personal statement, I speak for no one else, but I am sure some agree.

W.M. Bear said...

I think the bottom pic conveys Mac's sense of wonder, the middle one his sense of scepticism, and the top one his sense of "Why has my face turned purple?"

jason said...

Do you have any pictures from when you were shaved bald? I can only vaguely remember what that looked like...

Mac said...

Only a (very) few in my parents' albums. But -- guess what? -- I'm thinking I might do it again!

Zabbadoo said...

Hey hey hey hey hey hey. I have sworn an oath as an "Ain't It Cool News" talkbacker, that I must never criticize anything in a polite manner when rudeness and sarcasm can be used. To me, rudeness is a form of spiritual activity. Now you know. And knowing is half the battle. YO JOE!!!!

eWarrior said...

Mac, I was both surprized and honored that you chose a highly abstract painting as "portrait of the author" on your first book for Simon & Schuster. So, I'm glad to hear you say it "served its purpose admirably." I know it's impossible to find "archives" on my site just now, so here's a link to that portrait.

MacBot (Singularity)

Most interesting comment I ever got: "That's demonic, isnt' it?"

Mac said...

I think the purple cast in the first picture might be due to my lava lamp, which was next to my computer when it was taken.

W.M. Bear said...

To me, rudeness is a form of spiritual activity.

This is definitely a trend that I've noticed. I'm actually starting to hear people talk this way in ordinary conversation. Influence of rap, performance art, Internet boards and chat rooms where you're not F2F with anyone who's going to punch you out? Or just adolescent bad manners?

razorsmile said...

... the artist as a young man ...

razorsmile said...

zabbadoo said: Hey hey hey hey hey hey. I have sworn an oath as an "Ain't It Cool News" talkbacker...

Well, that explains everything :D

sauceruney said...

razorsmile said: Well, that explains everything :D

It also explains Kevin Smith's disdain for the forum in the last Jay and Silent Bob flick.

Zabbadoo said...

See that's the unique magic of the AICN talkback. Although people there use harsh words, MUCH harsher than what I have said here, and now that I look back at it I can see it was a tad harsher than I meant to be, and for that I apologize, however, I don't see any of you DEFENDING THE QUALITY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY which after all was the FRIGGING POINT. Which leads me to believe that there is nothing defensible about it's quality. I'll save the false compliments for less than stellar visuals for when I have kids that decide to draw a picture for daddy, kay? Hey, maybe sometime around the singularity they will make you guys (Mac excluded as he is someone who can apparently shrug off my barbs as he seems to be intelligent enough to tell that they, although somewhat hyperbolic, were not intended to wound) some nanobots that can grow you some THICKER SKIN. Ta ta for now!

Zabbadoo said...

Oh, yes, the unique magic of AICN, hehe, as I was saying, is that although we are assholes, we are honest assholes. See, what it really comes down to is that all of you "defending" mac are really, in a way, assuming that he is as thin-skinned as you are, whereas I went with the assumption, which I believe to be correct, that Mac is not a hypersensitive wimp and can handle a touch of sarcasm, and perhaps, even get a chuckle out of it.

Ken Younos said...

Beautiful photography, Mac! Keep it up.

Mac said...

"The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about." --Oscar Wilde

More photos to come!

razorsmile said...

Everything zabadoo said

I really don't give a shit. About the photographs or your opinion of them.

TheUltimateCyn said...

Zabadoo - Although you defend your lack of obvious respect for others by stating it is your honesty towards someone who you declare is "thick-skinned" - it is really just your way of excusing yourself and justifying your behavior for being a dick. Mac is at least 1% human, thus probably DOES NOT appreciate being insulted. Thick skin or not.
And yes, maybe we are a little more thin skinned than you or your perception of Mac... who knows? And does it really matter if we are? It doesn't make us small to defend our FRIEND, when he is someone you have NO connection with. We let him know that he needs a new camera, just read his prior pic posts... but, we don't have to be ugly about it.
I have no compunction in being far ruder than you when defending him [for any reason] because I respect Mac; I think that he has dirt under his nails with more sense and charm than you will ever hope to have...
I just think it's unfortunate that the foreskin dangling over your eyes blinds you to what a tool you really are.
We really don't care what your defense is...
Take it somewhere else, because the people that know this site don't care about your "honest" opinions when it comes to just being outright useless in your assault. Hell, pick on me, I am pretty good for a debate, plus I am a girl - probably more your style anyway.
You probably secretly idolize guys who drive old Firebirds and wear those stupid muscle shirts.

My final assessment of who you are:
A mullet redneck who envies Mac because he's "cool" and you're not. I mean, how long have you been a blogger? How many posts do you have?
What is YOUR fan base? Hmmmm....


lmao

TaTa

Zabbadoo said...

"Just your way of excusing yourself and justifying your behavior for being a dick." First, I wasn't insulting HIM, I was criticizing his photography with sarcasm and hyperbole. I am a dick. I am not trying to excuse or justify that. That's who I am. "but, we don't have to be ugly about it." Well, just like you don't have to be ugly about it, I don't have to be Strawberry Shortcut and live in a magical land of rainbows and sugar gumdrops to say what I think. "I have no compunction in being far ruder than you when defending him [for any reason] because I respect Mac" I love that you think that attacking me is somehow defending him. That's so cute. But it doesn't make the photos any sharper there, sugarpants. "Hell, pick on me, I am pretty good for a debate, plus I am a girl - probably more your style anyway." Well, it's good that you are honest enough to admit your belief that women can't debate worth shit. It's sad that you are such a sexist, but if that's what you believe I'll talk slower for you and avoid big words. Now make me a sandwich.

Zabbadoo said...

razorsmile said... "Everything zabadoo said - I really don't give a shit. About the photographs or your opinion of them." It's so rare in this day and age, that someone has the independant spirit and frankly, the balls, to stand apart from the madding crowd, to stand strong and to raise their voice to the heavens to say "nothing!". Thanks for throwing in your zero cents worth, there, genius. Jesus, it's like your parents never even taught you how to properly get pointlessly mired in a useless flamewar on the internet.

Zabbadoo said...

"Beautiful photography, Mac! Keep it up." wow, it's amazing that you can enunciate so well with your lips attached to Mac's ass. Such spontaneous praise!

"This is definitely a trend that I've noticed. I'm actually starting to hear people talk this way in ordinary conversation. Influence of rap, performance art, Internet boards and chat rooms where you're not F2F with anyone who's going to punch you out? Or just adolescent bad manners?" MMmmmm... if I blamed it on video games would that mean you would go and punch video games out? Oh, and nice evolved viewpoint, btw, chuckles. Have fun dealing with the hypercomplexities of the singularity with a brain that hasn't evolved past the point where physical violence or threats thereof are still a valid response to something that you disagree with. And for the record, these are completely adult, mature bad manners.

And the race to sink lower than my level continues!

TheUltimateCyn said...

Well, I guess you told me...
*quivering in the corner*


he is postworthy...hmmm...


lmaorotf

W.M. Bear said...

I have sworn an oath as an "Ain't It Cool News" talkbacker, that I must never criticize anything in a polite manner when rudeness and sarcasm can be used.

Yeah, I can imagine a board where flaming is a way of life. It was only a matter of time, given that the Internet is, in some ways, like a rock that's just been lifted. What is your major malfunction? If you cause Mac to cut back on his blog that all of us (with certain evident exceptions) are enjoying, I hope you'll feel you've really accomplished something in this life (note sarcasm).

Ken Younos said...

"wow, it's amazing that you can enunciate so well with your lips attached to Mac's ass. Such spontaneous praise!"

How do you know whether I'm kissing Mac's ass or if I really mean what I wrote?

Zabbadoo said...

I'm not saying it's not real praise. That the pictures are blurry is an established fact. Personal perferences are subjective, however, and if you like blurry pictures, I don't question the validity of your opinion. However, whether the compliment is honest or not is not the subject of my statement, the subject of my statement is that the timing and context of your compliment, whether honest or not, leads me inexoriably to the conclusion that your praise is not spontaneous and furthermore that your motive is to pucker up your piehole and plant a big old smooch right on Mac's posterior. Is there anything else that could possibly have been deduced?

Ken Younos said...

"Is there anything else that could possibly have been deduced?"

Yes, in fact there are many other possibilities which could have been deduced. The timing of my statement could have merely been coincidental, for instance. Or your criticism of Mac's photos may have reminded me that I hadn't yet expressed my appreciation of them. Another possibility is that I wanted to "defend the quality of the photography, which after all was the frigging point" - not in order to kiss Mac's ass, but because I realized that perhaps someone *ought* to speak up in its favor.

"That the pictures are blurry is an established fact. Personal perferences are subjective, however, and if you like blurry pictures, I don't question the validity of your opinion."

Personal preferences are subjective? If you don't have an objective criterion by which to judge Mac's photography, your intial criticism thereof was pointless. In effect, all you could say is, "This doesn't suit my particular tastes, so I don't like it." There was absolutely no reason whatsoever for you to say what you did in the particular manner that you did - unless, of course, it was for the pure reason of being an asshole.

But why, I wonder, would someone want to get online and be an asshole for the mere sake of being an asshole?

Ken Younos said...

Ah, Zabbadoo -- you have no answer for me? Should the timing and context of your silence lead me inexoriably to the conclusion that you are at a loss to come up with another smart-ass response? In any case, being an asshole for the mere sake of being an asshole - is it "spiritual"? Call it what you will; it actually betrays a lack of intelligence. Your blatant disregard for social grace is evidence that you never quite learned the good sense and *rationale* behind cordiality. Of course, such a conclusion would apply to you only if you were also an asshole in person. If, on the other hand, you are an asshole only online -- are you one of those wimps who wish they could be rude in person, but don't have the balls to do it? Do you feel the need to make up for your innate sense of cowardice by being an asshole behind the safety of your monitor?

Zabbadoo said...
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Zabbadoo said...

"But why, I wonder, would someone want to get online and be an asshole for the mere sake of being an asshole?"

And, seeing as how you came back for more, I can see that you now understand why. Because it's FUN!

Zabbadoo said...

Oh and one more thing, Ken. "Personal preferences are subjective?" well, yeah.

Here - see this definition of the word subjective from http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=subjective
"Particular to a given person; personal: subjective experience."
"Proceeding from or taking place in a person's mind rather than the external world: a subjective decision."

I mean, I see how you could very easily get confused. The blurriness of a photo at first glance would seem to be a qualitative property as opposed to what it actually is, a measurable quantitative property.

Um.. and for the record, I admit that I am an asshole. So, really scoring big points by calling me an asshole. "Oh no, he's calling me that thing that I admit that I am!"

The frosting on the cake? By insulting me, you are admitting that you are just like me. Only, with a smaller penis.

Ha ha ha.

razorsmile said...

It's so rare in this day and age, that someone has the independant spirit and frankly, the balls, to stand apart from the madding crowd, to stand strong and to raise their voice to the heavens to say "nothing!".

OMG!!111!!! You saw right through me! You are so smart.

Thanks for throwing in your zero cents worth, there, genius. Jesus, it's like your parents never even taught you how to properly get pointlessly mired in a useless flamewar on the internet.

I'm sure someone somewhere thinks you're hilarious. Perhaps when I have the time, I'll track down said person and have 'em shot.

TheUltimateCyn said...

Razorsmile... Can I watch? heehee

Why is it when guys have nothing left to actually say they attack the "manhood" size of another man? Curious.

I wish chicks could do that. You bitch, you made me mad, you're stupid and your tits are smaller!

Neener... that shows 'um!

Mac said...

Zabbadoo,

"And, seeing as how you came back for more, I can see that you now understand why. Because it's FUN!"

It's also increasingly annoying, in case you haven't noticed. Let's put an end to it. I'm being nice.

Zabbadoo said...

ok doke

TheUltimateCyn said...

It's why I adore Mac, he is King!

TheUltimateCyn said...

oops, I used the *king* thing again, sorry.