September 20, 2004
Strange Things Afoot in Yachats
The following series of photos is true.
Wow, that's some mighty impressive rock stacking. Given the winds that constantly blast along the Oregon coast, it's amazing that the one in the third picture managed to stand longer than half a second.
What does the arch have to do with it? Something sinister is afoot.
Posted by: Blog at September 21, 2004 10:09 AMThe one in the third picture stands under its own power. Or hadn't you noticed?
Posted by: FLOG™ at September 21, 2004 10:54 AMRight, that's what I meant. It's amazing that the thing has stood, under its own power, for longer than a moment. The pile had probably been like that for weeks before you discovered it. I'm convinced it's the work of either black magic or Photoshop.
And what's that stuff underneath the rocks? It's looks like a digitally-inserted plastic spider.
Posted by: Blog at September 21, 2004 1:28 PMOh, Blog. I can see my stupid little picture story is lost on you. You can't see the crab-legged rock creature with horns and teeth for the trees.
Posted by: FLOG™ at September 21, 2004 4:36 PMI've had just about enough of your Magic Eye mindgames! My sleep-deprived mind can't handle this.
Excellent work, all around. At 10 AM, while I was half awake, you had me fooled. It wasn't until I noticed the legs that I started to wonder. I'm sucker for b & w Photoshop. Regardless, I have seen weird little piles of rocks stacked like this on the coast. Maybe not as elaborate as these but that's what initally threw me off.
Posted by: Blog at September 21, 2004 5:45 PMYes, well, I knew I should have actually added narrative text, but I took a gamble and hoped that the pictures would tell the story.
The story goes: "I was walking on the beach when I came upon a mysterious doorway. Passing through, I found myself surrounded by eerie piles of rocks. At first, I presumed (indeed, hoped) some ad-hoc artist had merely stacked them up and left them to the elements. And then I saw one move."
That being that, the stacks of rocks are indeed real. I am responsible only for the crab legs and the monster head.
And now we've FLOGged this little bugger far beyond death.
Posted by: FLOG™ at September 21, 2004 6:10 PMBut shite, man, I got more.
On my dark monitor at work it was impossible to tell that was a dragon's head and the spider legs looked like seaweed. This was part of the problem.
Despite your confession I'm convinced the first rock shot has been Photoshoped. There's no way that thing could exist in the real world.
OK, enough with the fucking rocks. I'll shut up now.
Posted by: Blog at September 21, 2004 11:10 PMI'd be happy to meet you in Yachats and show you the actual rockpiles, but for good reasons you should just trust me. They were real, and quite stupefying. And, honestly, there is no way I could photoshop something like that first rock pic.
Posted by: FLOG™ at September 22, 2004 2:21 AMI'll be honest, my bullshit meter is going full tilt right now, especially after seeing them on a normal monitor. Take a look at those rock piles in the background of shot #3. They're too in-focus to be real.
If, somehow, I'm wrong, why haven't they flopped over yet? They stacked too precariously to last longer than a few days. At some point, a kid or a strong Pacific wind must have destroyed them.
I may just have to take you up on that dare.
Posted by: Blog at September 22, 2004 4:01 PMI'll be honest, my bullshit meter is going full tilt right now, especially after seeing them on a normal monitor. Take a look at those rock piles in the background of shot #3. They're too in-focus to be real.Would it help to inform you I was shooting at f/8 (the smallest aperture my Coolpix has at that focal length) and I ran "sharpen more" on these pics in Photoshop to boot? You're goddamn right they're too in-focus!
Why haven't they flopped over? I'm as baffled as you are. One time I visited some holy-ass Buddhist site on the Hawaiian volcano Kilauea, where Buddhists would make rock piles like these for some damned spiritual reason. It was the most wind-blown place I've ever been to, and on the rim of an active, phlegmy volcano to boot. Yet there they stood. Rock piles are amazingly resilient if you get the gravity right.
Posted by: FLOG™ at September 22, 2004 11:25 PMResilient? Can they withstand a swift kick though? Surely you tinkered with them a bit.
I have vague memories of seeing rock piles like this around Cannon Beach. The alien Sasquatch monks responsible for them sure do get around.
Posted by: Blog at September 24, 2004 10:25 AM