Kenny's Camera, Cooking & Crazy Confessions

Greetings, my friends. If you've been following me since my first blogs (or have looked back through them), you might remember my December 31 post, " Leave Resolutions Alone: Make Personal Business Plans! " In it, I gave some ideas on how to develop measurable goals that you can follow and ultimately quantify your achievements.  I also promised to keep you up to date on my progress so you know that I'm sticking to my OWN goals.  So here is my End Of Month Check-In. Well, I've got good news and I've got good news... 1. This blog post will be SHORT (for a change)! 2. Since my first post (just shy of 30 days ago), I've lost 24 pounds !!! I just came from the doctor and she is VERY pleased with my accomplishments. My journey is different than most, in that I am trying to lose weight in preparation for total knee replacement surgery, among other reasons.  I've also suffered a setback after sustaining injury last month that kept me from my trad...

We all have our own opinions on how to handle out-of-control children, Lord knows I have mine.  One of my beliefs is that you need to get them in check from the beginning so they know to respect you, others and their environment.  These kids need to learn how to BEHAVE.  When you let them run wild (or "express themselves freely" as some people claim) now, you're going to have one helluva time reeling them back in later.  But one thing is an absolute must when it comes to disciplining across the board, no matter the person's age:  Discipline must be immediate , it must be consistent and the guilty party needs to know EXACTLY why they're being punished.   But that is a talk for another blog, another day...  Let's get back to these kids and how I had to deal with one, when his mother wouldn't.  I call this Retail Re-Tale (hey, I like that)... "She Didn't, So I DID" (Another Wal-Mart Story) While walking down the aisle at Wal-Mart (and he...

It's NFL Pro Bowl weekend.  1-week countdown to the Superbowl and we're still reeling from the now-infamous non-call during the Saints/Rams game.  If you want my take on it, yes, you should be able to challenge EVERYTHING.  No, we don't need an additional challenge, but the teams do need to be able contest a missed call or one that should not have been made.  True, officials make mistakes all the time.  They're human.  True, "holding" is committed by an offensive lineman on almost every play in some way.  But some obvious calls should or shouldn't be made that have significant impact on the game.  Give the coach a chance to ask for a review.   But these are my opinions...    In the meantime, fans, the commissioner will NOT exercise the authority of a game replay.  That rule applies to crazy, unforeseen and uncontrollable occurrences like a fan running onto the field and actually obstructing play.  Calm down. And y'al...

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone for your love over the past month.  I kicked off my blog series on December 30th, introducing myself while testing the waters.  To my surprise and delight, they were very well-received.  You all have truly made me feel good about sharing my life and love(s).  Knowing that people actually take time out to read what I have to say, when you could be anywhere else, is love and a group hug in the highest to me. When I started this, I was unsure about the direction I wanted to take. Photography.  I read years ago that in order to improve my skills and/or build my business, one thing I should do is start a (photography) blog page.  Life.   Part of me just wanted a platform to speak freely about the way I see the world and its people.  I know that sounds like everyone else, but then again, you REALLY don't know how twisted my mind is .  Hence the next bulleted item. My madness .  Practical j...

So I'm sitting in the barbershop, waiting for my youngest when The Rod Temperton Beatwagon comes on in the random play on my headphones (I really DO listen to everything).  It's one of my favorite movie 'end credit' songs, "Never Too Late To Start" from the 1985 buddy cop movie, "Running Scared" with Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal. I turn on my Shazam app to access the lyrics, but no luck.  I open Firefox and search.  Again, no luck.  What I DO find is an article titled, "It’s Never Too Late When It Comes To Your Songwriting Dreams" .  Before I know it, I've finished it because, as a long-time undiscovered songwriter, my interest had been piqued. It was a great read that left me thinking about the general message: Forget age, it's only a number.  It's never too late to start. But how can that be? I'm 51, overweight, going through Aquatic Therapy for an injured shoulder, back and knee (which is about to be re...

It's Superbowl time and everybody is fired up about the finale to a season chock-full of wild, team holdout, upright-doinking, high-scoring, miracle walk-off executing, record-breaking, drama.  If you've been watching, you've truly seen it all this year.  Right now, the question is which of the conference final participants will advance to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the final battle.  All four promise to make for a very exciting contest between the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and the Los Angels Rams. Now, while we're talking about sports, I can't think of a single fan or casual sports viewer that will watch a contest between two teams without finding something that gets their "goat" (no Brady pun intended).  Whether you're in stadium stands, arena seats, high school bleachers or sitting with friends at a bar or at home, there's always something that's going to rub you the wrong way: a play decision, a ref...

Photography:  My Journey To A New World It all began with a going-away party for co-workers back in 2013.  After dinner, we went upstairs to the club where I took pictures of everyone dancing, co-workers and others.  During this time, I was confronted by a dancer who had his own club, wanting to know where he could see the pictures.  After connecting on Facebook, he tagged other party attendants who saw my work and reached out to me.  Before I knew it, I was asked to shoot other events including an engagement party and family portraits. Catching the salsa dancers This was all so unexpected and happened rather quickly for me because I was busy focusing on a possible transition from 20+ year Environmental, Safety & Health Director to private EHS Consultant and Trainer.  I left my job and realized that I was tired of working in factories, trying to convince management teams to do what they already knew, only to be the center of (attempted)...

The worst thing you can do is live a life...           ...without living at all.  Staring at the hospital room ceiling from your deathbed on your final days (should you be so lucky to wait for the end), looking back on your years, regretting the many things you never accomplished or experienced is not the way, at least not for me.  I dread the thought of seeing the decades as one big collection of workdays.  Wake up, wash up, work up, wind down, wake up, wash up, work up, wind down, weekend, wake up... No.  HELL no. I know too many people that live to pay bills.  If they're lucky, they attend their children's school plays, catch a night with friends at the bar, drive to visit in-laws, get some spring cleaning in, take an occasional trip to the local theme park, etc.  But in the end, what have they done worth noting? Worth remembering with fondness? Don't get me wrong.  If that's all you desire, fine.  You are fa...

(Obviously, by the title, if you haven't read Part 1 yet, you're on the wrong post!  Back it up, baby.) The reason for the delay between Parts 1 and 2 is that I wanted to think hard on how I should follow up on the original message.  I honestly hadn't anticipated the impact and powerful response I've received since its post.  I've received several phone calls and private messages of praise and additional discussion from people who were "spiritually awakened" (as one person put it) by the topic.  I've also been blessed with two invitations to be interviewed in podcasts to discuss it further.  The only reason that I haven't accepted, to date, is because I'm getting over a bad cold, so I have no voice right now.  I also needed to wait until Part 2 was completed.  The pressure is on because it needs to meet or exceed the impact of the first article, making you think harder on the subject of "love of Africa", or the lack thereof. Unfo...