After staring at my work computer for an undocumented amount of time yesterday, I checked the old email personnel email account to see if I had any thing good in there.  Hmmm… only one message was in there (hey, at least it was something). Thankfully, it wasn’t from anyone trying sell me anything or try to make me anatomically superior; rather, it was from my old co-worker and friend, Vanessa Amerson.  After opening up the email, I was flattered that she asked me to take some snapshots at an local event she has organized, called Kidical Mass (http://www.slokidicalmass.blogspot.com/).  Given the 2 degrees of seperation that San Luis Obispo invokes on it’s inhabitants, I had heard of this event somewhere before but I had no idea that it was Vanessa that masterminded the event for our town.  Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised and proud of her.  Kidical Mass is a really fantastic event that gets families outside and enjoying bicycles as a group, and hopefully incorporating it into their daily transportation.  To me, the event is like a “Hello Kitty” motorcycle rally.  And as a photographer (and pedestrian) it was hard to keep up with this rough and tough group during the ride, just to get a couple of shots.  At times, I felt like a CIA Agent running along the presidential motorcade.  But from my perspective, it really enjoyed looking over and catching the glimpses of the kids expressions the faces as they past me by at 5 mph.  You can check out some shots from the day at:  www.jonclaxton.com/events/kidical_mass_june.  If your a parent/attendee, feel free to right click and download what ever photo you want.  If you need a high res photo for any reason, just let me know.

I was walking down the street to this morning, having my a.m. epiphany (true story..ya know, things just pop into your head sometimes).  I was thinking…..hmmmm…..wouldn’t it be great to be really good at something.  I mean, like, really good at something.  We’ll I’ve always prided myself as being the jack of all trades, master of none; but, for some reason, I was thinking about the other side of the coin this morning.  To give you the long and short of it, I spent the whole day behind the desk at work and then wrapped up my day at SLO Brew….oops, I meant Downtown Brew….where I ended up hanging out with two guys who are “really good” at something: my buddy Lucas (www.myspace.com/lucasohio) and Jackie Greene (www.jackiegreene.com).  While I watched both of these guys play, I realized that they kinda fit my epiphany of the morning; I mean, they were really good at something, and it felt great to watch them do their thang.  I wonder if they would be as entertained my typing skills?  Anyway, this blog goes out to both of these guys for entertaining the crowd tonight at Downtown Brew.  I feel fortunate enough to have gone back stage to enjoy a couple of special moments between these two artists.  The PJ-style photo (above) was one of my favs.

Man, what a busy weekend!

Sunday marked my first ever golf tournament.  The day couldn’t have been any better; especially after a monster tee shot on the first tee box to start the morning off (along with a great bloody mary).  The golf tournament was sponsored by the Blue Marble Investments (www.bluemarble.com) and the proceeds go towards the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, located in downtown San Luis Obispo.  Our Team:  Jason “The Thunder” Williams, Tim “Don’t Outdrive Me Guys” Tringali, Greg “I Need a Smoke” Cherry, and Jon “Hack Under Pressure” Claxton.  The Other Teams:  old guys, semi pros, weekend warriors, yuppies, and a team of wives.  Thankfully, we beat the team of wives that was out on the course, but we didn’t really hold a flame to most of the other teams.   Having been my first time on Hunter Ranch, I gotta admit, it was pretty unreal.  Oak trees everywhere, narrow (yet often forgiving) fairways, and nice, well kept greens.  Hunter Ranch is definitely a course not to be overlooked if you have a C note burning a hole in your pocket.  But if you decide to play, get out there before the heat.

Anyway,  I dragged my Canon 5D mkII around with me for a little fun, in case my golf game went to poop.  The following is just a DRAFT version of a video that I slapped together for the boys to enjoy. It still needs some work (especially the lack of an ending).  But, in the meantime, enjoy!

After a good long week in the desert, I came back to the Fluffy One and realized just how ridiculously shaggy that 84 year old dog was looking.  Before even unpacking my bags and washing up my stinky clothes, I corralled Buckwheat into the kitchen for a shave-down.  In true character, Buckwheat flopped on his side and proceeded to doze off while the trimmers vibrated their way across his rib cages.  The final product wasn’t all time “Best in Show” quality, but then again, Buckwheat isn’t out chasing ladies, so his new hairdo will have to do for now.

In celebration of the Pisces – Ara and Lorily, we headed up to Plaskett Creek with a “rain or shine” attitude this last weekend.  The waves weren’t all that great, but the camping and the beach time was epic.  At around 1 p.m. the tide was at approximately a -0.4.  Although it had some small effect on the already meager surf conditions, it had a more profound effect on the coastline, leaving us this sweet natural pool area surrounding a large rock along the coast.  Believe it or not, the water to the far left is probably 1 foot deep, and then it sharply declines to approximately 10 feet around the boulder.  The photo above is a pic of Scott Kam and Greg Cherry cutting loose like flying ninjas.

Check out some of the tequila and tecate infused campfire tunes from Pax (low res) and Cully (HD)…….