Today, I am giving props to an item that is taken for granted and is greatly unappreciated.

The paper clip.

It is a beautiful thing when an item so small and simple can be used for so many things. Personally, I use it most to affix gels to strobes and softboxes, but its usefulness does not stop there by any means. Here are a couple of other ways that it can be put to work for you.

Clip sheets on a bed to remove wrinkles
Hold a shirt or blouse tight to fit a model
Hold sheets to doors or windows to block light
Use as a bag clip for the potato chips after lunch
Hold slouchy plant stems upright so they look better in photos
Hair clip
Pinch your assistant to wake them up when you are doing a really long boring shoot
Fasten weights to the bottom of a backdrop so it hangs tight
Hang on the bottom of table cloth to remove creases or folds
Hold cords tight on stands or behind furniture to keep them out of sight
Hold pocket wizards on to strobes when the lanyard breaks
Use as a small block to prop up plates for food photos
Clip a hat on a model on a really windy shoot
Fasten the shot list to anything solid on a really windy shoot
Use as a door stop under pesky doors that don't want to stay closed or open
Hold all of your taxes together on a windy, rainy April 15th evening on the way to the post office

There are probably a million more uses for these little guys, but that's all the ones that I've come across in the last few weeks. And the greatest thing in the world is that a package of 50 of these useful little beauties is around $3.50. Its great to cherish such a simple, inexpensive item.

Cheers

Hope

An interesting thing happened this morning. I woke up at 5:30 still weary from a long string of 12-15 hr work days. I looked around my place at a pile of dirty laundry, a bunch of bills, wilting plants. I started some coffee and checked the weather forecast...sunny and 70 degrees. I remembered an invitation from Woods to go riding over at Phil's World. It pretty much was shaping up to be a nice relaxing Sunday where I could catch up on my personal life and get stuff in order.

My coffee started perculatin' and I sat down to read the news to find out what was happening in the world. I then remembered that I wanted to watch the Obama interview on the late show from earlier in the week. Kicking back on my couch, Mac Book on lap, coffee in hand, I watched the video clip. 30 minutes later, juiced on caffeine I found myself very inspired to go my studio and get to work.

I will state right off the bat that I am not a lifelong Democrat or bleeding liberal by any means. I'm pretty moderate and ride the fence on a lot of issues. I did vote for Mr. Obama and was very happy to see him elected. Do I think he is going to change the world or is he the savior for our country? No. Sadly, our country and world are way too screwed up in too many ways. No matter how hard Obama works and tries to change things, he ain't going to be making revolutionary changes.

The reason I'm sitting at my desk at 9 am on a gorgeous Sunday morning is that Obama inspired me. It was so cool to watch a man who is intelligent, articulate, compassionate, pragmatic, humble, and charismatic. Here is a guy who has one of the worst jobs in the world. I know I wouldn't want his job. On top of just have a very difficult job, he had enormous problems dropped in his lap. But he wakes up every morning and goes to work with the attitude that he gets the opportunity to tackle the challenges that were given to him. That's why he applied for the job in the first place. He saw a problem that needed to be fixed and he thought that he could contribute to the solution. He'll make mistakes, he'll be criticized, his popularity will undoubtedly fall over time. But kudos for the guy for actually trying.

I think what really got to me was the fact that he operates on common sense principles. Responsibility, sound values, and hard work seem to be his modus operandi. He doesn't expect to make changes overnight. He recognizes that the problem that landed this country where it is, is the get-rich-quick philosophy that we all accept as status quo anymore. That we have to get back to the fundamentals that made this country great. It was very refreshing to listen to him speak after what we've endured over the last 8 years.

Simply put, listening to him speak put a flame under my ass to get to work and tackle my small little pile of challenges. It inspired me to make my small contribution to the overall productivity that will get our economy back in order. Like everyone, I won't be getting rich anytime soon. But if I keep plugging away, I think that very good things lie on the other side of this little quagmire that we've been graced with.

BTW, don't get me wrong, its gonna be 70 degrees today. I WILL be out cranking some miles this afternoon.

Cheers