George Epley

  Y ou’d think small towns would be easy—quiet streets, familiar faces, slower pace. But that’s exactly where the challenge lies. I remember walking through a little downtown on a chilly morning. Brick buildings, faded signs, a barbershop with the same pole that's probably been spinning for 50 years. Everything felt frozen in time. Beautiful, but still. Too still. There was no crowd to blend into, no busy sidewalk to hide among. The second I raised my camera, eyes were on me. That’s the thing about small towns—people notice . A stranger with a camera stands out. Folks might wonder what you're up to, or why you're taking pictures at all. It’s not hostility—more like curiosity mixed with caution. It makes candid moments harder to catch because the presence of a camera changes the whole atmosphere. And yet… when you do get a moment—an old man sweeping his stoop, kids riding bikes down Main Street, a dog lounging outside the hardware store—it feels more intimate, more perso...

     So there’s this Chihuahua—let’s call him Nacho. On his own, Nacho is a nervous little guy. Every gust of wind is a potential apocalypse. He’ll scamper away from a leaf like it owes him money. But the moment he hops onto someone’s lap? Oh, it’s on. Suddenly, Nacho becomes Sir Barks-a-Lot, Defender of the Couch Realm. Got a 90-pound pit bull walking by? He’s ready to fight. Mailman? Clearly a criminal. Doorbell? That’s a declaration of war. It’s like his lap is a tank, and he’s the gunner. Safe up there, protected, untouchable—and way too small to actually do anything if he had to. But that doesn’t stop the performance. And the best part? The second you set him down on the floor again—poof! All the bravery vanishes. Now he’s looking up at you like, “What were you thinking?! Put me back on my battle perch!”

    "Pirate Patrol: The Lake Mission" So there’s this 5-year-old kid named Max. He’s got a wild imagination and a pair of those oversized plastic binoculars—the kind that make everything look like it's 50 feet closer and slightly upside-down. One sunny afternoon, Max marches down to the small city lake near his house, decked out in full pirate-hunter gear: rain boots (no rain, but pirates don’t care about weather), a superhero cape (because obviously), and a cowboy hat (which he swears is pirate-approved). He plants himself right on the park bench, lifts those binoculars dramatically to his face, and starts scanning the lake like a seasoned Navy admiral. Parents walk by. Joggers pass. Ducks quack. Max doesn't flinch. Then suddenly—gasp! He spots something. “IT’S A PIRATE SHIP!” he shouts. Everyone turns to look... only to see an elderly man in a paddle boat, lazily tossing breadcrumbs to the ducks. Max squints harder, gripping his binoculars like a pro. “He’s got a be...

  🎉 What’s It About? International Do-Nothing Day is a global celebration of glorious laziness . One day a year where the entire world collectively agrees to take a break from productivity, seriousness, and stress. No work, no chores, no big decisions — just chilling, napping, snacking, and wearing the same sweatpants all day. Optional: no pants at all. Think of it as the world's out-of-office reply . 🛋️ Official Rules (which no one follows too seriously): No alarms. You wake up when your body says so. No chores. That laundry? “Nah.” Dishes? “Nah.” No pants. Unless you really want to wear them. No judgment. One random snack meal is mandatory. Breakfast cereal for dinner? Pizza for breakfast? Fully encouraged. Every response is allowed to be “Nah.” To everything. Want to run errands? “Nah.” Want to reorganize the garage? “Get outta here.” Optional group nap hour : 2:00–3:00 PM, all time zones. A worldwide synchronized siesta. 📺 Traditional Activities: ...

  “The Walmart Bunny Brawl” It all started on a sunny Saturday morning when George Jenkins , 62 years young and grumpier than a goose in a windstorm, wandered into Walmart to pick up a jar of pickles and a pair of orthopedic socks. George wasn’t expecting much excitement that day—until he turned the corner by the frozen peas and came face-to-face with a six-foot-tall Easter Bunny. “Good Lord!” George shouted, clutching his chest. “What in the name of prune juice is that?” The Easter Bunny—aka Kyle, a 22-year-old seasonal employee trying to survive college—waved and cheerfully said, “Happy Easter, sir! Would you like a free chocolate egg?” George squinted. “You call that a bunny? Back in my day, the Easter Bunny didn’t look like he was in a boy band!” Kyle chuckled nervously. “Well, sir, times have changed. We’re all about inclusion and flair now.” “Inclusion? Flair?” George grumbled. “You’re wearin’ glitter on your ears! That ain’t festive, that’s confusing!” A small crowd ...

  Once upon a time, in a world filled with landscapes, portraits, and still-life paintings, artists dedicated their lives to capturing reality as accurately as possible. For centuries, art was expected to mirror nature—to be a window into the world. Kings, nobles, and scholars admired painters who could recreate the human form, the glow of candlelight, or the vastness of the sea with stunning precision. But then, something began to change. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the world was evolving rapidly. Machines roared to life in factories, cities grew taller, and people began to see the world differently. Science and technology were advancing, and with them, new ideas about reality and perception emerged. Artists started asking themselves: "What if art doesn’t have to show the world as it looks? What if it could express the world as it feels?" A painter named Wassily Kandinsky was one of the first to take this bold step. He believed that colors and shapes could spe...

  For 20 years, Harold Jenkins followed a ritual so bizarre, so utterly ridiculous, that not even his wife believed it. Every morning at precisely 6:17 a.m., Harold would shuffle into Stall #3 at the Maple Street Cum & Go, unzip his fly, and pee—directly—on a rusty, crooked bolt sticking out of the floor near the toilet base. This wasn't just some random aim, mind you. Harold had perfect accuracy. He treated that bolt like a sacred target. Rain or shine, sickness or health, Taco Tuesday or bad gas Friday—Harold never missed. One day, on a whim (and because his phone had 2% battery left), Harold snapped a photo of the bolt, mid-splash. The angle, the lighting from the flickering fluorescent bulb, the golden arc—it was, strangely… artistic. He uploaded it to a random online photo contest called "Moments of Modern Life." He titled it: "Bolt of Relief." Weeks passed. He forgot about it. Until a call came from an art collective in Berlin. “Mr. Jenkins? Your photo...

  The Day the Aliens Landed on the Playground It began on a perfectly normal Tuesday. The sun was shining, the juice boxes were cold, and the monkey bars were slightly sticky from mysterious child-related goo. But everything changed when the new "modern art installation" arrived at Elm Street Park. The adults called it “Ascending Shapes of Unity” — a towering sculpture made of neon-colored steel beams, oversized rings, and what looked suspiciously like a glowing satellite dish on top. But the moment eight-year-old Mia laid eyes on it, she dropped her sidewalk chalk mid-doodle and gasped. “Guys,” she whispered to the playground crew. “The aliens are here.” Tommy squinted. “How do you know?” “Duh,” said Mia, pointing to a spiraling pink coil. “That’s clearly an anti-gravity noodle launcher. I saw it on Alien Investigators: Junior Edition .” Lena, five years old and absolutely full of opinions, added, “And that blue thing? That’s a translator pod. You sit in it and it te...

  “The Porcelain Muse” They say inspiration strikes in the strangest of places. For George, a lifelong photographer with a love for the weird and wonderful, that place was the bathroom. Not just any bathroom—every bathroom. While other photographers scouted gritty alleyways or golden-hour landscapes, George wandered into gas station restrooms, truck stop stalls, and forgotten public lavatories like they were galleries of the avant-garde. “I’m telling you,” he’d say, pointing to a mysterious rust pattern beneath a broken hand dryer, “that’s not grime—that’s emotion.” George called his ongoing photo series “Porcelain Dreams: A Study in Flush and Form.” His friends mocked him at first. “You’re taking photos of toilets,” they laughed. “Who’s gonna hang that in their living room?” But George wasn’t just pointing a lens at plumbing. He found faces in the soap scum, landscapes in the cracked tiles, existential dread in the lonely, half-used toilet paper roll dangling just out of reach. Hi...

                                                    A few weeks ago, I decided to send a letter to the White House expressing my fears and anxiety about what’s happening with Social Security. In short, I urged them to handle Social Security with care and not mess it up for the 70 million Americans who have earned and rely on this benefit. Yesterday, I received a reply—and I can’t shake the feeling that no one actually read my letter. It seemed like a canned response, the kind they probably send out to everyone, no matter what issue you bring up. It left me with the strong impression that they’re not really listening to us, and that Mr. Trump is going to do whatever he wants regardless of what we say. The response I got was nothing more...

  "The Great Recession Rodeo" It all started when the Dow Jones dropped lower than Uncle Earl’s pants at a BBQ—suddenly America found itself knee-deep in a recession thicker than grandma’s leftover gravy. Gas was so expensive, folks started riding bicycles again, and not because they were “eco-friendly,” but because their trucks were repossessed faster than you could say, “economic downturn.” With banks tighter than a tick on a hound dog, even the farms had to make budget cuts. That’s when the cows and chickens started living together. At first, it was chaos. Cows were used to peace and cud-chewing, while chickens ran around like… well, you know. But over time, they figured things out. The cows provided warmth, and the chickens offered early-morning wake-up calls. It was an uneasy truce, kind of like Congress but with more productivity. Meanwhile, the malls—once thriving centers of teenage loitering and overpriced pretzels—were emptier than a politician’s promises. Escala...

  One of the funniest stories about a U.S. president being so bad at his job that people wanted to replace him with a literal clown isn’t too far from reality. Back in the 1920s, President Warren G. Harding was so famously inept that his own party regretted electing him. Harding himself admitted, "I am not fit for this office and should never have been here." —not exactly confidence-inspiring. His presidency was plagued by corruption, scandals (like the infamous Teapot Dome), and a general lack of leadership. Things got so bad that by the time his successor, Calvin Coolidge, took over, there was an actual movement to replace future politicians with, well… anyone else. While Bozo the Clown didn’t exist yet, the sentiment was similar! In fact, a real clown named Pogo the Clown (better known as John Wayne Gacy—yikes) even ran for public office in the 1970s. If we fast-forward to modern times, we actually did have a Bozo the Clown moment! In 1968, during the peak of the Vie...

    Trump has consistently supported tariffs as a key part of his economic and trade policies. Here are the main reasons he gives for imposing tariffs: Protecting American Jobs and Industries – He argues that tariffs shield American manufacturers and workers from unfair foreign competition, particularly from countries like China and Mexico, which he claims engage in unfair trade practices. Reducing Trade Deficits – Trump often points to large trade deficits with countries like China as a problem, claiming that tariffs help reduce them by making foreign goods more expensive and encouraging domestic production. Combating Unfair Trade Practices – He has accused countries like China of engaging in currency manipulation, intellectual property theft, and government subsidies that give their companies an unfair advantage. Tariffs, he says, are a way to level the playing field. Bringing Back Manufacturing to the U.S. – He believes tariffs encourage American companies to b...

  Side One     Side Two Riding the Storm to See Pink Floyd You know you’re a die-hard fan when not even Mother Nature herself can keep you from a Pink Floyd concert. Back in the day, my buddies and I had tickets to see them live—a once-in-a-lifetime kind of show. The problem? The weather had other plans. A massive storm system rolled in that afternoon, bringing torrential rain, hurricane-force winds, and, just for fun, a few tornadoes spinning around the area like they wanted to get in on the action too. Now, most sane people would’ve taken one look at the radar and thought, maybe we’ll sit this one out. But not us. Oh no. We had a concert to get to. We piled into my old beater of a car, which had all the structural integrity of a soda can, and took off down the highway. The rain was coming down so hard the wipers were just there for decoration. Lightning was flashing like some over-the-top stage production, and the wind was throwing road signs around like frisbees. B...

  Making money as a photographer in 2025 is tough for several reasons, even though demand for photography still exists. Here are the biggest challenges: 1. Market Saturation With smartphones, AI image generation, and more people taking up photography as a hobby, competition is fierce. Many clients opt for cheap or free alternatives instead of hiring a professional. 2. Declining Rates & Free Content Culture Stock photo sites, AI-generated images, and social media have devalued professional photography. Many people expect free or ultra-cheap images, making it harder for photographers to charge sustainable rates. 3. AI & Automation AI tools can enhance or generate images without a photographer, reducing demand in areas like product photography, portraits, and even event photography. Some companies now use AI-generated content instead of hiring a photographer. 4. The Need for Business & Marketing Skills Being a great photographer isn’t enough—you need strong brandin...

The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a truck driver fired for failing a drug test after using a product which was falsely advertised to be free of THC may sue the manufacturer under a federal racketeering law.  So he lost his job and probably his CDL license, but he's gonna get rich beyond his wildest dreams. Maybe!   My suggestion would be for him not to have take the federally mandated illegal drug in the first place and then he would've never ran into this problem. But we have many dumb shits like this. They're behind the wheel of a 18 wheeler going down the road terrorizing a town near you.

  Not at all! Photography is far from obsolete in 2025. While AI-generated images and advancements in computational photography have transformed the industry, traditional photography still holds immense value. Here’s why: 1. Authenticity & Human Creativity AI can generate impressive visuals, but photography captures real, unfiltered moments that AI can’t replicate. People still crave authentic, emotionally resonant images. 2. Professional & Artistic Value Photographers bring a unique perspective, composition skills, and artistic vision that go beyond just pressing a button. The craft of photography—lighting, framing, and storytelling—remains irreplaceable. 3. Journalism & Documentary Work AI can generate fake images, but journalism and documentary photography rely on real-world authenticity. Society needs trusted visual records, and photography continues to serve that purpose. 4. Social Media & Personal Memories People still take and share personal photos ev...