(Photo via: Imgur)

Watch out. This furball’s comin to getcha.

(Phota via: Imgur)

Throw the guy a couple bucks. He’s got asthma for chrissakes.

]]> http://www.manolith.com/2010/03/16/photo-of-the-day-help-a-clone-war-vet/feed/ 0 http://cache.static.tsavo.com/wordpress/uploads/2010/02/homeless-clone-war-vet-140.jpg http://www.manolith.com/2010/03/15/photo-of-the-day-conjoined-twins-skeleton/ http://www.manolith.com/2010/03/15/photo-of-the-day-conjoined-twins-skeleton/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:21:05 +0000 Mac Wilson http://www.manolith.com/?p=57236

(Photo via: imgur)

Double the bones, double the fun

(Photo via: Imgur)

Watch your Facebook back!

Definitely, it’s the face that gets the gears turning in my brain, but even now, after years of this, it’s not an easy thing for me to ask a complete stranger to let me take their picture.

Heart picks up speed, I get jittery, it becomes difficult to focus on whatever else I’m doing.

Lindsey was my server at a restaurant, and while it was her face that intrigued me, it was her attitude, a bit of sass, more than a bit of a sense that she was actually enjoying her job, that made me ask her after the meal was finished.

The technique, the actual “how’d he do it?” That I’ve detailed before, no need to go over that again.

Obviously she said yes.

Shooting a new subject is a lot like a first date. Matter of fact, the entire model-photographer relationship is like dating. The pressure of asking them, that’s first. The first shoot, seeing if there’s something between you, the subsequent shoots, developing what you saw that first time, digging deeper. If you’re lucky, you find someone you can work with for a long time.

But before all that, the first shoot. For me, at least, it’s as much about getting to know the model as it is about taking good pictures. Because one informs the other. Lately I’ve been doing the majority of my “first shoots” at my apartment. I’m familiar with where the light is at any time of the day, I’ve got an excellent backdrop in the giant hedge outside my window and the rest of the neighborhood is filled with great little spots to shoot. And I’m in my comfort zone, my walls covered in thousands of Polaroids.

This lets the model know I REALLY like taking photos.

When they show up, it’s conversation. Getting to know each other, though the focus is on me getting to know them. Warm things up. Find things in common, make some jokes, a bit of an interview, a bit of an icebreaker.

All the while, I’m watching their face as they talk, looking for expressions to photograph, the good angles, the flaws, the things I’ll want to avoid. What makes them look better, what makes them look worse? It’s an interview, but it’s also an investigation.

THEN we shoot. We’ll go outside, I’ll check the light, see where it’s playing on their face, where I want to position them. Stand them right in front of that hedge and start shooting. Still talking, keeping things light.

I’m not the kind of photographer that needs to have things Just So, it’s a rather loose thing, my photo shoots. I let the models move, not insisting, not resisting.

When I see something that really strikes me, then I’ll ask them to hold still for a bit. For some people, that’s an easy thing. Others, they got shpilkes, they’re jittery, they just gotta move. I try not to hem that in, too much, rather I try to slow them down just enough to get the shot.

Like I told someone the other day, it’s not about making them uncomfortable, getting the shot is not the most important thing. It’s about having fun and interacting with people.

Most of the time, that first shoot, I’ll just move the model around my front yard, playing with the light a bit. If that goes well, if we get along, if I like what I see later on when I’m looking at all the shots, if all that is Solid, then I’ll shoot them again.

Sometimes even if it doesn’t go well, sometimes I’m just not sure.

But most times, you know. I knew after shooting Lindsey that first time, we got along great, the photos turned out smashingly. And so I shot her again as soon as possible.

Because sometimes you’re not sure, and then there’s the other times, the times you want to shoot until you run out of film.

(Photo via: standardmadness)

He should have offered $20 an hour.

(Photo via: iambored)

(Photo via: imgur)

For every Beyonce Knowles and Jessica Simpson, there is a Solange or Ashlee Simpson out there hoping to ride the coattails of her A-list sister to a little fame and fortune of her own. While most of these siblings are nothing but a reduced-quality copy of the family tree’s favorite daughter in both talent and looks, sometimes the gene pool is deep enough to accommodate more than one Hollywood-bound family member.

For your enjoyment, here are some lesser-known sisters who are actually hotter (or at least every bit as hot) as their celebrity sibling:

Monica Cruz

Hotter than Penelope Cruz!? The hell you say! Well, one look at younger sister Monica, and it’s clear that the Cruz family was blessed with some of the best DNA in all of Latin America. Monica Cruz has been all over Mexican television in the past few years. Look for her to cross over into English-speaking roles in the near future.

Nicky Hilton

This may just be a personal preference, but I’d choose the classier, savvier Nicky Hilton over her slutty sister, Paris, any day of the week. Call me crazy, but there’s just something about a girl who hasn’t made a sex tape (purposely or not) that makes her a little more attractive in my eyes.

Jamie Lynn Spears

Once upon a time, no one could tell me that anyone, let alone some no-name sister, could be hotter than Britney Spears. A few marriages, children and emotional breakdowns later, and it’s safe to say that Brit-Brit’s sex-appeal has faded considerably. While Jamie Lynn already seems to be following in the foot steps of her big sis (teen pregnancy), the fact that she’s doing so out of the limelight seems to be working in her favor.

Savannah Miller

There’s no doubt about it, Sienna Miller is one good-looking woman. However, with her similarly striking long blonde hair (and even longer legs), Savannah Miller makes a solid case for herself. Clearly the looks of these two attractive siblings add up to one epic case of sibling rivalry.

Dedee Pfeiffer

Dedee Pfeiffer is the younger, better-aged version of Michelle Pfeiffer. Apparently, she’s starred in a slew of films, including Wanted and Journey to the Center of the Earth (somehow I was unaware of this). She’s also posed for Playboy, so kudos for her.

Ruby Stewart

Ruby Stewart is the half-sister of model and actress Kimberly Stewart. If you haven’t heard of either of them, just know that they are the offspring of Rod Stewart. While her sister has struggled to grab a foothold in the world of acting, Ruby seems content in posing for lingerie ads and making the occasional cameo at one of her dad’s concerts. I am similarly content in this career path.

(Photo via: weburbanist.com)

And you thought your puppy was fit

The next time you fly, if you pack any sex toys there are certain precautions to take to make sure you and your playthings end up safely at your destination. Some sex toys can be carried on board with you, while others, like handcuffs or anything that could be construed as a weapon, will have to be checked in your luggage. Play by the TSA rules and the laws in your destination city or country to ensure a happy ending.

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(Photo via: Inspirmotional)

Mahmoud goes to the movies.

(Photo via: News.com.au)

(Image via: NY Daily News)

Whoa, whoa, whoa — talk about torn up! Professional punching bag Courtney Love showed up at Milan Fashion Week in a full Emperor Palpatine costume. That takes guts, man. Are they even making more Star Wars movies? There has to be an easier way to campaign for the part. Tough times, Courtney. I say next time just call George Lucas and leave him a message. Just say something like, “I’m afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive.” He’ll know what you’re talking about.

(Image via: Head Cleaners)

Actor Mickey Rourke was arrested in November 2007 by Miami Beach police and charged with driving under the influence. According to cops, the “Sin City” star was seen making an illegal U-turn on his Vespa scooter and then weaving across the road. Once stopped, police noted that Rourke had bloodshot eyes and smelled of booze. He also didn’t perform well on a series of sobriety tests. Rourke, 55, was then transported to the Miami-Dade County jail where he posed for the below mug shot and was held on $1000 bond.

(Photo via: Imgur)

]]> http://www.manolith.com/2010/03/02/photo-of-the-day-sergey-brins-post-google-resume/feed/ 0 http://cache.static.tsavo.com/wordpress/uploads/2010/03/sergey_brin_cv_post_google_140.jpg http://www.manolith.com/2010/03/01/photo-of-the-day-amerrrica/ http://www.manolith.com/2010/03/01/photo-of-the-day-amerrrica/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:45:51 +0000 Chris Stout http://www.manolith.com/?p=55530

(Image via Imgur)

Love it or shoot it.

And it’s not like it’s a rough slog, looking back at my work from years past. Sure, I look at early shoots I did in 2006, 2007, lament that I would use six or seven packs of Polaroid film at a time, unaware of the fact that three years later I’d be hesitant to take a single picture, knowing how little Polaroid film was left in the world.

Gotta say, there are lots of mistakes that make me shake my head, simple things that today I instinctively avoid, but back then was completely oblivious about.

I was a very different photographer when I took these photos of Celisse. It was two years ago, and I’d driven up to San Francisco to shoot with her and my friend, Julia. I was only a few months out of a three year relationship, just starting to live with the idea that taking photos was The Thing I Wanted To Do Most.

Nowadays I plan shoots every week, sometimes two or three in a day. But back then it was still an odd thing to photograph a stranger, to call someone a Model and have them pose for me.

It’s weird to look back, think about things I do now that are so a part of my photographic process, things that were just guesswork, back then. Good shots were as much luck as anything else.

2008 was the last time I went to San Francisco, as well. Up until then, I’d go up at least once a year. Not much of a traveler, me, but I’ve always had folks I love visiting up there, good enough friends that I’d slog through the 5-6 hour drive.

Drives that long means a nap. Because 1) I love naps and 2) driving makes me sleepy. That trip to Las Vegas a few weeks ago, that was a two nap trip right there.

Can’t really say that’s why I don’t go back. Can’t really say there’s a reason, actually. Just haven’t felt the pull. Maybe after that weekend, where we shot in the most amazing places, took pictures of the most incredible model, then had ourselves a fantastic barbecue, maybe I finally used SF all up.

Or maybe it’s time to buy a plane ticket.

(Photo via:  Picturesunrelated)

Taking “stocking up” to the next level.

(Image via: SMBC)

And sometimes computers suck because all you’re doing is clicking on seemingly legitimate links while you’re doing your general daily web surfing and then you get infectecd by some ridiculous malware that tries to pretend, badly, that it’s your anti-virus program and even though you know it’s all bullshit and you would never get suckered in by bad links because you are ‘internet savvy,’ you still have to take the time to figure out how to remove the vicious malware that has somehow disabled your antivirus/anti-spyware scanner. No, I’m not angry.

(Image via She Chive)


There have been a lot of figure skaters over the years, and it’s always been a given that they tend to be hot. There are always exceptions, as there are for any rule of thumb or stereotype — but much like the cheerleading profession, figure skaters seem to defy the odds pretty damned well. These are the 15 hottest figure skaters of all time; these girls may have spent their lives on ice, but they are definitely hot.


Sasha Cohen

Image Source


2006 Olympic silver medalist and multiple championship-winning fox Sasha Cohen is fully aware of how gorgeous she is, and luckily she’s the type to share her gift by way of public appearances and photo shoots. While she does understand Russian, and her mother is a transplant from the Ukraine, Sasha was born in California and is very much your standard hottie from LA — yet somehow a staggering number of people seem to think she’s Russian. After taking a brief hiatus from the sport after her success in 2006, she made her return debut this year prior the Winter Games. Unfortunately, the judges felt that she needs a bit more practice to get her game back, and she wasn’t selected for the Olympic team this year.


Idora Hegel

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Idora Hegel is one of Croatia’s finest, and we’re not just talking about figure skating here, either. While she may not have any Olympic medals to back her up, she’s still a seven-time Croatian National Champion and world-class hottie. Idora did compete at the Games, though. She placed 19th twice — at the 2002 and 2006 Winter Games. 


Tanith Belbin

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Tanith, who seems incapable of taking a bad picture, has competed professionally for the USA since 1998 despite being Canadian-born and holding a dual citizenship. Apparently the guy she teamed up with in 1998 is something of a lucky charm, which makes sense since he’s one lucky bastard. Since their pairing, she’s gone on to win the US Championship five times, the Four Continents Championship three times, four World Medals, and some 2006 Olympic Silver. She’s at the Winter Games this year, and wasn’t doing half bad until Sunday night’s Free Dance. It’s OK though, we don’t mind if she doesn’t win this time around.


Katerina Witt

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Katerina Witt represented East Germany shortly before the Wall fell, and all of Germany afterward. She racked up a string of major wins throughout the 80s, including two Olympic Golds at Sarajevo and Calgary. She’s often called one of the very best figure skaters of all time, largely due to her massive winning record, but she’s a winner in our book for posing in many nude shots. Hit the image source on this one if you’re not at work — those black boxes were quite necessary.


Anna Semenovich

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With a last name that screams bad punnery and a penchant for posing, Anna Semenovich is a favorite for her good humor — if not so much for her record of wins. She never seemed able to find a partner that she had chemistry with, and though she did score two Finlandia Trophies, she didn’t have the best of score sheets. Now 29, she’s turned from figure skating full time for Russia to exploring a singing, acting and modeling career. We’re just fine with that, so long as more shots like this one come out of it.


Barbara Ann Scott

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1948 Olympic Gold-winner and immortalized Canadian pin-up girl Barbara Ann Scott was one hell of a figure skater before most of us were even a dirty thought in dad’s mind. She didn’t just come out of nowhere to win that one, either. Barbara won the World, European, and North American Championships twice each, all on top of winning the Canadian Championships four times. As if that wasn’t awesome enough, this lady is still alive and kicking today; she was a flag-bearer at the Winter Games opening ceremony at Vancouver.


Kristi Yamaguchi

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Making a comeback recently as champion of 2008’s Dancing with the Stars, Kristi Yamaguchi has been a household name since the early 90’s. She won the gold at the 1992 Olympics, and she’s racked up more wins and top placements than losses during her career, making her nothing short of extraordinary. In 2005, she was inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame. The crazy part of her story is how she began; when she was a kid, she had club feet, so she started skating as therapy.


Tara Lipinski

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Though she was only 15 when she was actively competing in figure skating, Tara Lipinski still counts because she’s become a part of the sport. She took home the gold in the 1998 Winter Games at Nagano, after racking up some serious wins world-wide beforehand, and has since taken to acting and cameo work. She’s been in a slew of shows and movies, and now at 27, she’s looking better than ever before. We can’t wait to see her take on some more serious roles.


Oksana Baiul

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Oksana Baiul hasn’t competed since the mid-90’s, but that hasn’t stopped her from remaining a part of pop culture ever since her hay day. She came seemingly out of nowhere to grab the gold at the Ukranian and World Championships, as well as Skate America — all in 1992. She also nabbed second place in the European Championships that year, along with fourth place in the Nations Cup. One year later she scored the gold at the Winter Olympics. She’s been living in the US ever since, despite being technically Ukranian. These days she spends her time collaborating for ice dances and running her own clothing and jewelry lines — and looking great while doing it.


Ekaterina Gordeeva

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Two-time Olympic Gold Medal-winner Ekaterina “Katia” Gordeeva made a name for herself back in the Cold War days by winning just about every competition she entered — and scoring top places in the few she didn’t. She represented the Hammer & Sickle before the Wall fell, and afterward continued to skate for Russia. These days, she spends her time getting even better looking than when she was young, and working as a choreographer and mentor for aspiring hotties on ice. She’s a huge part of the sport and a star for life, and we like it that way.


Kim Yu-Na

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Helping to give South Korea a good name, 19 year-old Kim Yu-Na has been competing for the better part of the last decade — and winning. Her career’s score card is full of “first place,” and she’s not showing any signs of slowing down yet. This year she’s competing at the Winter Games in Vancouver, and her chances look pretty good so far. We’re keeping fingers crossed for this one.


Sonja Henie

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This Norwegian blast from the past is a fixture in the world of figure skating, much the same way that posters of her were probably fixtures on the walls of young men the world over when she was active in the sport. She took home the gold three times, in 1928, 1932 and 1936 — along with ten World Championships, six European Championships, and six Norwegian Championships. The woman is nothing short of a legend, and she cemented her fame when she turned to acting afterwards. She played in 15 films in her lifetime, was inducted into several halls of fame, and graced the cover of Time Magazine in 1939. We dig vintage.


Michelle Kwan

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If you don’t already have a thing for Michelle Kwan, you’ve probably spent the better part of your life under a rock, or you’re too young to be reading this in the first place. Besides her obvious level of hotness, Kwan has made a name for herself by racking up a ridiculously impressive 30 wins between 1992 and 2005. Unfortunately, the highest she ever attained at the Olympics was silver, with one bronze four years later at her next attempt. Despite her narrow misses at the Olympics, she’s regarded as one of the greats. We agree.


Jamie Salé

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Winner of the 2002 Winter Olympics, Canadian Jamie Salé led an impressive, albeit short career. Between 1991 and 2002, she won 16 golds. After her Olympic win, she decided to take it easy and now tours around the continent performing in Stars on Ice — and posing nearly naked for men’s magazines.


Peggy Fleming

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Peggy Fleming, after a blitzkrieg winning-streak starting in 1964, nabbed the gold at the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble. She basically embodied the quintessential girl of the 60’s, complete with the Bond Girl international look and all. She was stunningly gorgeous then, and she’s still got it, too. As well as staying fit and beautiful, she also likes to stay relevant; she made a cameo in Blades of Glory as a judge. We love this woman.

(Photo via: Worth1000)

Yes, I just made up “googly eyes.” It sounds funny, I am here to entertain!

Ginny and Kevin, they keep it respectable in public. I’m sure they have pet names for each other, have the most insidious pillow talk and spend long periods of time just gazing into each other’s eyes. But that’s all private. Because they know how annoying it can be in public.

There should be a word for it, actually. The opposite of schaedfraude, that is the misery someone gets when they see other people being happy. Wait, that’s envy, right? Fine. Well, there should be a German word for it then. Germans, well, they can describe stuff wonderfully.

I see people being happy like that, that teeth-achingly sweet kind of happy where they are visibly in love and the rest of the world disappears, and I’m extremely annoyed. I look at them and my mind begins to concoct reasons they aren’t really happy. Or perhaps I look at them, judge them, think of them as only happy because they’re ignorant, or unattractive, or deluded about what love means. My mind works its hardest coming up with reasons I shouldn’t feel envious, which, I’m pretty sure, is really just a highly convoluted type of envy.

I was running, nice early morning jog, and I saw two couples laughing to themselves as they walked down the street. Now this is about six in the morning, and it was obvious from their outfits (all gussied up) that they were coming home from a night out, that they’d had themselves a fine night.

First thoughts that ran through my head were those of trying to come up with reasons they were wrong. Reasons they were being irresponsible, or ignorant. As I’ve started recognizing this within myself, I’ve tried to stop it when I recognize I’m doing it. And that particular morning, I did stop it.

I don’t know if it’s competition, or trying to take others down a peg to make myself feel better, but it’s clearly envy, and it’s something I’m tired of. So I put it here.

Wait a second, has this column become my Vision Board? EXPERIENCE LESS ENVY.

And so, I’m happy for Ginny and her man. But I cannot be held responsible for my actions if they were to start sucking face in front of me. Be warned!