Choosing the photo of the week can be difficult, so this week I choose two. Lucy relaxes before dinner from Wednesday nights dinner out of the house. And Luke James at Coffee O. 
I took many photos on Friday as I was enjoying myself at the monthly Coffee Obsession open mic night, hosted by Melissa and Chris of Flipside, photoed here. More photos of this night can be found at www.benshotme.com in the archives and by then clicking into March 2009.
I have been taking some perverse pleasure in the things people choose not to say, but instead choose to note, sign, tape or post-it.
Wednesday was for dinner engagements. Fine food, dark beer, good company and 12 paws worth of dog was enjoyed by all.
At approximately 4:21 on March 24 2009 Will, to many's enjoyment including Larry's, dons a payload bay hull. It is quickly determined that Will's noggin is the only one suitably small enough for this display.
In the last post you may have been correctly asking yourself, good lord why would he be going to New Jersey!? I was at Rutgers University for the christening of Scarlet Knight II, the Coastal Ocean Observation Laboratory (or cool room's) Slocum glider which is slated to be launched in the coming weeks in hopes of being the first autonomous glider to make a transatlantic voyage. Interested? Well, they can tell the story better at their website.
It has been a busy week! On Sunday I drove to New Brunswick Nj. The drive was rather uneventful as was the day. As is this post. Read no further.
Several years ago while at the local market I grabbed small bags of white and whole wheat flour and searched out e in aisles. I found her of course studying the varying choices, stationary in an row next to an elderly woman, undoubtedly also searching the ingredients or price shopping. I proudly held out the paper pouches to e and exclaimed.
That thing looks like fun and that it was made for speed. If you do not have the urge to push that sucker up the hill and cruise headlong into danger, you should check your pulse.
I almost could not get back into the hotel room, this evening. I remembered that you are maybe not supposed to keep the key cards to the door in your wallet, as I inserted it in the slot and removed at varying speeds and intensities. Meanwhile I am rehearsing the conversation at the desk two long hall ways and five elevator flights away. Green light!
Sick of seeing pics of the cute dog (not likely), but if you are, why not invite me to some event or challenge me to shoot somewhere....I just might do it!
I have some work hanging at the local coffee shop, the owner of which told me this weekend that someone showed interest in purchasing one of the prints. e and I are tickled that the print is, of course, of......the dog.
In the biggest news of the week, e has decided to paint. I am proud of her and can not wait to see what she produces now that she will have time to do so.
Walks on the bogs have also become a lot more pleasant. Phoenix is being given more freedoms, even going off leash on the big bogs.
There is a handmade sign at the J.R. Brodys. It says "no F bombs before 10pm". Advice to live by for certain. I think they should make t-shirts.
There was a mustachio bashio at the Courtyard in Cataumet on this day. We stole the idea of mustachios on sticks and e made me a bismark - good times!
I have called several of our previous revisions of dog- "pretty kitty". This one has now earned it by seeking out the patches of sunshine that move around the floors.
Do not worry no harm was done to the sweater during this photo shoot. This did not stop e from giving me a dirty look when she saw the "dirty" camera on her freshly cleaned and still wet sweater. I wish I could say this was the first and only time I have ever seen this look. Unfortunately I knew immediately what the look meant and why I was getting it.
I recently heard a comedian who lamented the old rotary phone days. One of the better punchlines was about not liking to call one of his friends who had a zero in their number- and then your finger would slip out and you would have to start all over.
I am trying to maintain a balance between the phoenix photos and other stuff.... sometimes she is just sooo damn cute its hard to not use the pics of her. This day, she is cute and the best shot of the day.
We made a new friend, well at least we think we did. Dylan is the 9 month old son of our friends Colleen and Tim. I assume he is going to be a good guy and we will like him based on his fine lineage...but I really think it would be silly for me to assume that we are going to be friends. That said, so far so good, we seemed to get off to a good start, he played well on our floor with his own toys and was a gentlemen, a very good start indeed.
Katherine was present for her birthday cake this past weekend. As usual the potato pancakes preceded the chocolate cake. Also called redundantly by the rest of the szupes chocolate chocolate cake.
After the long three day work week we met at a coworkers house for a taste of the very tasty home brew. It would be nice to limit the work week to three days more often, says the buzz.
As even more proof of my nearly complete recovery I starting dragging the body to work again too!
As proof of our recovery from the plague myself and the pup decided to pose for a second photo shoot.
I think I broke my nose playing hockey in the last 5 years and now this is all I see when I look at the pictures I take of me.
As a sick person I did not have a lot of motivation, I only took two pics on this day, this isnt' the other one.
I didn't realize how good Ibuprofen was as knocking down a temperature before last week. It really does! It was regularly dropping my temperature by more than a degree! The wonders of modern pharmaceuticals.
Friday night is boys night and as you can tell from the pictures.....wild times!
I attended my first UCCC, part of the NECC, meeting on this day. What is that you ask? The upper cape camera club and New England camera club respectively of course. We reviewed a number of printed images while listening to the groups juror on tape cassette recording, not my average Wednesday night.
The worlds best pup or phoenix is growing her tail fur back after having had it shaved off. The vet did the shaving to investigate the area that she had chewed raw. My theory is her skin got too dry after repeated baths. All will be pleased to learn she is expected to make a full recovery.
If it is not my cohorts at work who have been getting me sick...it is the place in this picture. Three times a week I play dek hockey here and not all of my co-dek hockey players are as civilized as my teammates. Some of them choose to spit on the walls and benches and the benches and walls seldom get cleaned. So eventually there is a brown film in the most popular of spitting places. So every time I get sick I wonder if I absent mindedly exposed myself to the filth. This is probably not what you wanted to read about today, or any day, but here at the benshotme blog will sometimes find it necessary to expose the ugly of the day to day as well.
This day and the 6 or seven days above it in the blog will probably make no sense, as I am again blogging while un-well (again). Pink elephants, flying pigs these are just the thing to get you through another couple days on the couch.
Another from the swim meet mentioned in the next post. I woke up the next day and could not figure out why my legs were sore. Eventually it occurred to me that I took many low angle shots and my aches must be from crouching so much at the pool....Makes me wonder how Varitek does it? 
Friend Stacie invited us to Roslindale, where she coaches the Gators swim team. I immersed myself in shooting as the kids methodically took turns swimming their laps. This meet was Gator on Gator, with the white capped Gators handily defeating Stacie's green capped Gators. I shot several hundreds of pics and absolutely love 4 to 5, including this one.
It's been a rough winter for ms phoenix as she has not had as many walks as she would normally like. Or maybe you can already tell this from her expression.
I actually can't be bothered to determine which day this shot is from, I think that the clock in this camera is still set to "not daylight savings time", plus I do not consider after midnight the next day like the convention. Anyone else feel this way, that its not officially the next day until you go to bed and get up? So anyway I can not be bothered...the technology has put this shot in this day so here it is.
Speaking of the 02536, the center of the universe, has a new pub. J.R Brody's opened to good crowds. Myself and e were only able to make it to three out of their first four nights. Maybe we can do better this week. Note that their linked website is under construction, but be sure to check back, as good things are sure to be coming.
Whisking back to my sweet, good tunes, the worlds best pup enjoying the view towards the vineyard in the back of a sporty grey gti in the 02536, sometimes I have to pinch myself at how good things are. Now only if there were guinness in the fridge, oh well you can't have everything!
Had a little scare here...I was pretty sure I had taken some shots on this day, but then I couldn't find any....but after checking, I had only neglected the upload from this day....whew! Another from phoenix 365.
An astute viewer will note that there was not a week six shot. This was because I loved the week 5 shot so much I let it stay up for 2 weeks, but alas it was time for a change.
