Finally, something I can really hang my hat on… vanityplat.es is #1 on Google for WWF vanity plates!
* found in my statcounter
Could this be a real comment? I’ve started a number of blogs, but none more meaningful than vanityplat.es (that is, meaninful to me). I would love to have non spammers actually participate. The link under his name was just a link to Google. He’s obviously very observant and insightful! ;-)
So, is this a blog spammer tactic?
I’m doing you a FAVOR! (via shawnblog)
I take a LOT of vanity plate pictures. Last year, I decided to start a web based radio show that would be loosely centered around exploits and randomness occurring as I find and document my mild obsession.
I have not yet become wildly popular because of this show and am reworking the format and name because people got a little too hung up on needing to come up with something vanity plate related. The tagline of the show (borrowed from the article that finally motivated me to start the show) was “Life, vanity plates and the meanings behind them”, but the folks I was interviewing seemed to go into deer-in-headlights mode when they had nothing to say specifically about vanity plates.
When I take the pictures in parking lots, I will usually avoid a car if someone is getting in or out of the car. This is not because I don’t want to meet them or explain what I am up to… in fact, that will eventually be part of the show once I get it started again. I avoid active parking vehicles because I am usually in a hurry to go somewhere when I notice the vanity plate and take the quick shot as I walk by with my camera phone and I really don’t have time, nor am I set up to do an on the spot interview with someone who might be interested in talking about their plate.
In traffic, I take these pictures on almost every drive I take around the DC area. Of course, drivers will sometimes notice. I’m sure it freaks some people out a little that someone is taking a picture of their car if they happen to notice. I would estimate that about 5 or 10% seem to notice. Until today, none of them seemed to care-or at least, not enough to give me any signal that they were concerned.
1DREAMR in her BMW was the first person to ever give me the hairy eyeball about my plateparazzi activity. Seen here, 1DREAMR is just opening her door. She continued to lean way our and look back with the most foul expression. Because this has never happened, I didn’t realize why she had opened the door until she got scared and quickly leaned back into her car and closed the door again.
I couldn’ stop laughing at her. I mean, if you have a VANITY PLATE on your car, you want people to notice you. I couldn’t seriously listen to any argument to the contrary. Of course, privacy concerns might be a valid discussion, but you are on the road (public). If a news crew captured your image while reporting on something, you would be on the news. If nothing else, I am a citizen journalist and will blog you if I see fit! :-)
I am at peace with this! (via shawnblog)
I was a little apprehensive about dropping the name “Plate Show” because of my original idea of tying in random topics with random sightings of vanity plates. I guess two randoms are way too random though. Most people would get all hung up on talking specifically about vanity plates and the show never really took off.
::UN:: gave me some feedback advice that crystallized my thinking, so the show will no long focus on vanity plates. There will be new and recurring topics and vanity plates will, of course, be one of these.
Thanks everyone for your continued support! Now I just need to decide… Shawn Honnick Show or Shawn Blog Show… or just Shawn Blog (sans Show).
What do you think?
Also, thanks to twtpoll. Send them a tip if you make a poll!
Your Dream Job
When I retire, I want to work in a garden or a flower shop. I hate sitting at a desk and would love to do something with my hands. And why not be surrounded by beautiful things that smell nice. Plus you don’t have to really deal with people. It’s just you and the earth.OK, let’s go on one of those reblogging sprees where you fill in the answers and shit.
Here we go: What’s your dream job? Why do you want this job? What would you do at this job?
Personally, I’d like to DJ full time and professionally in the UK. It’s something I’m still interested in after 7 years or so and I love to part, so it makes sense. I just want to sit up there in a booth or on a stage throwing down track after track and making people dance for hours.
Yourself?
I want to be Anthony Bourdain.
I want to talk to people about life, vanity plates and the meanings behind them ㋡
