giving thanks in a different place

this year's thanksgiving was exactly what the title entails, giving thanks but i was traveling all over the place.  thanksgiving was spent at home with the fam, which is always good.  after the festivities at home with the family i was rushed off to the airport to catch my flight out to sin city to shoot a basketball game for kbyu.

there was a chance that they could play two games that weekend and we would shoot them both.  they first played #6 louisville and if they beat them we would not shoot the second game because they would play #1 unc for the championship game.  many people (i included) did not believe that byu would be able to pull the upset and so we planned on being there for both games.

byu actually pulled the upset and so we just spent a night on the town and then went to our hotel for a nap until the next morning where we got up and then went to the airport to fly back home.

i spent a lot of time traveling that weekend but i feel it was definitely worth it.  so i drove from provo to california, flew from california to las vegas and back, and then ended up driving back up to provo to get to school for monday classes.  the trip was exhausting and amazing to sum it up in two words.

it is not our fault

there is much talk about all things bad in the world and the two parties that receive most of the blame in this area are the advertising and film industries (with the double dose of these in the television industry). there is a lot of media out there that is terrible and isn't worth watching based solely on the fact that it just has terrible acting, video/cinematography, no story, and a bad message. i wish that people could separate those things into different aspects of media and advertising.

i know a few people in the advertising industry and they are not bad people (and i love them), nor are the companies that they work for. i happen to work with a television station and associate with people (and love them as well) that have been in many other companies over there tenure in the film and television industries. being in those industries it is easy to point at all the bad things that are portrayed and then to generalize. i say stop generalizing! it bothers me and it makes you look dumb and not know what you are talking about. i love when people get on there soapboxes and rant and rave (wait a second, this seems familiar) about things that are so important to them but have little evidence to back it up.

the greatest thing that i hear almost on a monthly basis is the fact that there is nothing good on television and everyone should abstain from watching television because of the content on it. i particularly like hearing it from the people that i associate with on a daily basis. but i can think of some great programs that are on annually, semi-annually, monthly, weekly, and even daily. it is because of television and the advancements made therein that millions of people worldwide can be enlightened and know exactly what is happening in the here and now.

what we do with our time on the internet also needs to be monitored this day and age. the media that we do not consume on the radio, on television, in magazines, and in the multiplexes can now be brought to us on the internet. we now do not have to leave our households, but we can get our media from clicking a few links, whether we want that media or not.

i am not condoning all the programs or people that put media out there for us to consume, that would be ludicrous, and a generalization, but i am saying that we should all be more thoughtful of the media that we consume and also you may think about what media you would like to consume in order to let these people put food on the table and a roof over their families head.

work: a chore or a choice?

my job is amazing and takes me the places that i want and need to be. first of all, this fall i had the opportunity to be inches away from the prophet gordon b. hinkley (well, technically he was further away but i was in the kbyu truck staring at 10 monitors of him). i love the ability that i have to transmit these things to the world. it really makes me happy that i am able to give millions of people around the world that closeness to things that move and inspire them.


for the prophet.

also with these little badges you can get anywhere you want to in the facility that is hosting your event. hence this video about the energysolutions arena in salt lake city, utah. there i had the opportunity to work with tc smith at the jazz game. he runs the jib for the pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows. with one little pass i got into the game for free, entered the halls down in the "belly of the beast," ate free catered food and got to go out to the floor for some of the game. here is a little video, but it was during a time out so the guards were out and that is why i was still in the tunnel. enjoy.


the "golden ticket".


picture of the set of the show.





(but zack you still do better things more consistently, i love you).

this past weekend i had yet another chance to be with the "big wigs" of the brigham young university sports teams. i got into the women's volleyball game, for free (and actually got payed to be there). and then i shot a press conference immediately following the game. then on saturday i was able to attend the brigham young university game against the university of nevada, las vegas for the mountain west conference championship game. after this game we interviewed the mountain west conference most valuable player (katie fellows). it was awesome to be there and watch the cougars win their first championship in the past few years that they have been in the championship game.


here is the press pass for the soccer game, and the photo sticker (makes it very professional).

true blue is what has given me the opportunity to go to the volleyball and soccer games. i love the opportunity that i have to work for them and get into these events and hone my skills to be able to fill up my resume and get the experience i need to pursue my dreams.

but seriously, let's be honest. is this a chore? no; this is awesome, i love it and want to do it so much more. beautiful, beautiful "work"!

good ch-ch-changes

change is good and as some say "the only constant" so i thought that i would show some new things that are changing the way that i look at things. first off i would like to add that i am using a better machine that is helping me complete my schooling, blog, and future endeavors. i am the proud owner of a macbook. i am happy and i am also very thankful that i have had the opportunity to use this new computer to get school work done. second, i am living in a new place called pioneer. i have a very large room and i even have a sink in my room, kinda random but i love it. thirdly, the new semester starts with new classes and new opportunities to learn about subjects. the following is a photo essay about these new changes:

even instant potatoes from there are good

even though it wasn't the first plan, it turned out to be the best plan. this last weekend we (anne and i) went up to the beloved boise idaho to visit some friends, yep you guessed it greg and jacqui. i love them so much and it was good to see them this trip, i will also get to see them in a couple weekends when an excursion is made for steph-butt's farewell talk. but this past weekend we went camping and just hung out and made the most of the weekend. here are some pics to demonstrate:

hawaii

hawaii is officially my love. what a beautiful state and there is so much to do even if you just stay on one island. my trip consisted of oahu. we (david, danny, their dad, and i) stayed at the marriot in waikiki and had such a fantastic-ly amazing view that it was really hard to say goodbye. we went all over the island and visited a few people that my friends knew out in hawaii. highlights: snorkeling at shark's cove, north shore, waimeia bay, laie, surfing, the arizona, pearl harbor, and much more that happened in the short time that we were there. pictures:



























if i had to live in any other state i would definitely live in hawaii, i just haven't made up my mind on which island yet; i need further trips back to determine that.

it sounds so sweet, i'd sure like to go

if you don't know james taylor then you wouldn't get the title. but anyway, for vacation this past year my family and i went to cabo san lucas mexico. it was not as relaxing as i had originally planned but all in all it was fun. i think the big thing about getting 10 people to decide on doing the same thing is that no one cared what we did but everyone had an opinion that they didn't want over looked. we stayed at the sheraton down there and i would not recommend it to anyone that wants 3 or more people to go to mexico with them. they have to queen sized beds in the rooms but they are "only equipped for two people." ridiculous when you can book up to five people in each room on-line. they also are very misleading about a couple other things from their website but i will just leave it at that. another thing about staying at the sheraton hacienda del mar was the un-proximity to cabo from the hotel. anyway it was fun aside from everything hotel related. we went parasailing, snorkeling, and went to lovers beach where the pacific ocean meets the sea of cortez. cabo is actually a clean place near the harbor and was very pleasant to walk around at night after it had cooled off a bit from the scorching sun. here are some pics of the trip, hope you enjoy:

underwater love

plus

equals underwater love

never had i been so in love with a purchase as i have been with this one. it was frustrating getting it delivered to me but in the end, it was worth it. with a bonfire and surf trip this last weekend to test it out the waterproof case i was excited and nervous and then elation as the pictures revealed a new side of the ability to take pictures while in the comfort of the riotous ocean. looking at the last pictures and then these is like night and day. i love this purchase and suggest that if anyone thinks they will get their money's worth out of a waterproof case then you need to get online go to canon.com and then search for one by the camera that you have. amazing. love. beauty. the end.

travis jensen (no zoom, okay maybe a little)

my new fish eye's (view) lens

why do humans act this way

i really don't know why it took so long to publish this.


i wish i had a dog like mcgruff.

do these two look the same?

i just witnessed something that disappoints me about how we interact as human beings. let me explain, my work has a "dog-friendly workplace policy" and so dogs are here at least one day out of the week, today being one of those days. when they come in the office gives them their attention and talks to them in that higher-toned voice that i guess the dogs hear and are able to understand, right (cesar millan, the dog whisperer, would be highly offended). but let me get to the point. a woman just brought in her child to work today and the same high-toned voice was used to address the child. compliments like "he's bigger than mine," "oh my gosh," and "he's so cute" were all given to him in that voice that is used to talk to small children and dogs. the boy is three now and hasn't been to the office that much, but i feel sorry for him as he is going to go throughout the day being talked to like the dog that is present. names are another thing about children these days that boggles my mind. we are starting to name them after objects, seasons, and other pet names. the child that was brought in today was named sky, and the dog that was brought in today is called mundo (world in spanish). what are we doing to our children, when will it stop, and whatever happened to traditional names like bartholomew, maximus, and zeus?