Lomo Mission #05: Roadside Distraction
This is my submission for the Lomo Mission Flickr Group.  This weeks mission was “Roadside Distraction”  - This is an old photo I had, but it TOTALLY was a Roadside Distraction, so I chose to use this one.  My original post on this photo was as follows:

Imagine you are driving down the street on the way home from work.  You cut through the local trailer park neighborhood to get home quicker, when you happen to look over at one of the driveways and see a dead cat laying there, covered by a dish towel, with a potted plant next to it - a proper burial for any beloved family pet.

What do you do?

You stop your car, get out and take a picture of it to post on your blog, because no one would ever believe that you saw something like that, unless you had the picture to prove it!

Next Weeks Lomo Mission:
Lomo Mission #06 : Skin Deep

Smooth, rough, shiny, old, young, bashful or proud flesh. Intimate or funny, sexy or whoa, honest or a little bit deceptive. Move away from the center and focus on only the surface - although there is a deeper truth and meaning to discover, this skin is the only thing visible to the outside onlooker.

This mission ends next Friday (08.10.07).

Have fun!! And don’t forget to tag your photo “lomo mission 06”.

About Lomo Mission
Every week a new Lomo Mission will be posted to get you out using your camera. The missions will come from the handy dandy Lomo Notebook unless we think of something more fun.

In keeping with the lomo style, the photos don’t have to follow the classic rules of photography… it’s about having fun and shooting without thinking.

You don’t have to use a lomo camera or photoshop a lomo effect but we’ll share info on cameras and photoshop tips and tricks in case you do want to give it a whirl.

Word.

This was such a good idea!!!  I cannot wait to meet some of you guys.  I cannot believe that I have known some of you online for four years now and that we are finally going to plan something to meet in real life…and in Vegas!  How much fun is that going to be?  I have never been - so I am super excited to go.

If you are interested in going too - stroll on over to the site and leave a comment that “You’re In!” and we will add you to the list.  The details are not all worked out yet, but we are working on it!  If you did and you are not on the list, leave a comment about that too.  Have a friend you want to bring?  Cool - invite them!  It’s going to be one big party!

I have been very lucky with my blog, I really do not get a whole lot (really almost none) of nasty comments when I post my opinions of things and I post a lot of opinions of things, because guess what?  It’s my blog (Whateva, I do what I want!).  If someone wants to post their opinions - feel free to post them in the comments (you’re enititled - that’s why I allow comments), or get a blog of your own!  With that said, in the last several weeks, I have gotten two emails from people that have stumbled upon my site and been bothered enough with what I said, that they felt the need to email me their thoughts, so I thought I would take a minute and share those emails with you today.  Enjoy!

In response to my post entitled It’s A Cult:

From: **Withheld For Their Privacy**
Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2007 2:37 PM
To: soapbox.SUPERSTAR
Subject: VW bugs

You shouldn’t let a car bother you so much. The people that have them are usually really happy go lucky people, that don’t care if it bothers you. This unwarranted hate just hurts you, causing stress as well as wasting your time hating something inanimate, that has no feelings or opinion whatsoever about your distaste for the cute little German makes. I have one and I love it!

Arizona VW owner

**With this one, it is really more so the personalized plate and flowers that get on my nerves, and obviously, he missed the part of the post where I wrote “If you happen to be reading this and you drive one, I am not talking about yours.  Seriously!” - To all other’s that may read this that drive a VW Bug - that is totally cool for you, I am allowed to not like that car, just like you are allowed to not like mine, hell, I do not even like mine - so there!  And P.S. - Daniel, I know you drive one - so I am sorry, I ♥ You!**

---

In response to my post entitled A Sign of Hate:

From: **Withheld For Their Privacy**
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2007 10:57 AM
To: soapbox.SUPERSTAR
Subject: You hate me?

Hi.

Happened upon your small rant about folks with Inlet Fitness stickers on their cars.  I’m one of them…I go to the Inlet Fitness in the Red Mill shopping area (off Nimmo Parkway) and I’ve got to say I haven’t seen any cliques or “bimbos” at the gym here. 
I’m a 45 year old mom of two, working hard to get some flab off my belly!  I also have had no plastic surgery, liposuctions or other body-altering surgeries.  I just am trying to mix up creative ways to keep exercising and Inlet really helps with that.  I’m a good person, too, someone who loves her family and spoils her Labrador Retriever.
You are entitled to your opinion, of course, but I’m a little disturbed that because I have a parking sticker on my car so that it doesn’t get towed out of the Inlet parking lot, you automatically want to hate me and believe that I am a surgically altered, brainless “bimbo”.
OK, I’m off my soapbox now.
Peace.

**My favorite part of this email is the Subject - “You hate me?” - Umm no, I do not even know you.  I am sure you are a good person, but again, I am allowed to not like something, and with this post, it comes from knowing quite a few people that DO fit the description.  And at the end of the post I said “Is it sad that I hate a group of people that I do not even know, and worse than that, that I seriously think about that hatred every time I see one of those damn stickers?” - yes it probably is - but that’s life!  I am glad to hear that those people do not frequent the Nimmo Parkway location, I am sure that makes your workout a lot more enjoyable.  Thanks for the email.**

Wow, that was great, huh?  As much as I am bothered by personalized plates on VW Bugs and the elite group at Inlet Fitness, these people were bothered enough to take the time out and email me about me being so bothered - which is totally cool, cause again - EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN OPINION…especially if you are someone that drives a VW bug AND has one of those annoying Inlet Fitness Stickers on the back!  Wouldn’t that be great?  Then I could have pissed off one person with two posts!

A man breaks into a house to look for money and guns. Inside, he finds a young couple in bed. He orders the guy out of bed and ties him to a chair. While tying the homeowner’s wife to the bed, the convict gets on top of her, kisses her neck, then gets up and goes into the bathroom.

While he’s in there, the husband whispers over to his wife, “Listen, this guy is an escaped convict. Look at his clothes! He’s probably spent a lot of time in jail and hasn’t seen a woman in years. I saw how he kissed your neck. If he wants sex, don’t resist, don’t complain, do whatever he tells you to do. Satisfy him no matter how much he nauseates you. This guy is obviously very dangerous. If he gets angry, he’ll kill us both. Be strong honey. I love you!”

His wife responds, “He wasn’t kissing my neck. He was whispering in my ear. He told me that he’s gay, thinks you’re cute, and asked if we had any Vaseline. I told him it was in the bathroom…...Be strong honey, I love you too.”

01. Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world’s smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania and a number of other islands in the Southern, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

02. Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south-southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east.

03. Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands, is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu.

04. Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. It is bordered by Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and by Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east and south of mainland Greece, while the Ionian Sea lies to the west. Both parts of the eastern Mediterranean basin feature a vast number of islands.

05. Ireland
Ireland, is a country in north-western Europe occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland. It is bordered by Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom) to the north, by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and by the Irish Sea to the east.

06. Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia.

07. Netherlands
The Netherlands, is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba. The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, located in Western Europe. It is bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east.

08. Scotland
Scotland is a nation in northwest Europe and one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom. It occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shares a land border to the south with England. It is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. Apart from the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790 islands.

09. Sweden
Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It is surrounded by Norway (west), Finland (northeast), the Skagerrak, Kattegat and Öresund straits (southwest) and the Baltic Sea (east).

10. United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (usually shortened to the United Kingdom, the U.K., or Britain) is a country and sovereign state to the northwest of mainland Europe. It comprises the island of Great Britain, the north-east part of the island of Ireland and many small local islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland.  Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, and the Irish Sea. It is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel.