2.5 years in 5.5 minutes

So, anyone waiting for the next generation of the iPhone to come out, feel free to get excited. I finally upgraded to the iPhone 4, so whatever is coming next will probably be moved up to next week.

Before I left for the store this morning, I decided to back up my 3G one more time. In doing so, I downloaded more than 600 pictures from my phone through iPhoto. In chronological order. At about one every half-second. I’d been staring at it for about a minute when it occurred to me that it was like my life flashing before my eyes. Kids. Hospitals. Drinks. Friends. Bartenders. Poker chips. Money. Don King. Races. Music. Trips. South America. London. Vegas. Food. Oh, man, the food. It was all there and flashing by as fast as it felt in real life. It was, in a word, freaky.

Now, keep in mind, when I take pictures with my iPhone, it’s usually not for the purpose of framing. It’s like a scrapbook I carry in my pocket. The pictures are, by and large, horrible, but they were a representation of what was happening in my life. Everything went by so fast, I had myself asking questions like, “How in the hell did Don King and Tony Hawk end up within seconds of each other in my phone?”

My next thought was, “Wow, I wish I had a recording of what I just saw.” If I’d thought ahead, I could’ve recorded the screen as iPhoto imported the pictures. But, it’s me. I didn’t think ahead.

The idea of getting all the photos and putting them in chronological order again was way too much to consider. Then I remembered I had this Mac and it can do just about anything, including recreate my life flashing before my eyes. So, here it is. Two and half years of my life up to last night…in five and half minutes. There is a lot that can be gleaned from this about me, my faults, my joys, and so forth. Analyze as you like. It’s all there in technicolor, and it’s about as honest as I can be about who I’ve been over the past few years.

2.5 years in 5.5 minutes from Brad Willis on Vimeo.

Brad Willis

Brad Willis is a writer based in Greenville, South Carolina. Willis spent a decade as an award-winning broadcast journalist. He has worked as a freelance writer, columnist, and professional blogger since 2005. He has also served as a commentator and guest on a wide variety of television, radio, and internet shows.

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5 Responses

  1. Lori (IG) says:

    Way cool. Noticed the new pup got bigger quickly from first photos to recent. And remembered you havent tweeted a dinner report in ages yet cooking is still a big part of your life.

  2. otis says:

    Lori–The dog grew FAST (from 13 pounds in September to 60+ now). She is more than a handful. As for the dinner reports, that was back when I was cooking tree or four good meals a week. Now I’m happy if I can get one good dinner cooked any week. However, with the new-to-me house came a bigger new-to-me kitchen. Who knows how the summer will go.

  3. TripJax says:

    I’m totally going to do this too, ’cause it’s a great idea; that said, I’m lazy so it will take me a couple of years to get done. At least I’ll have an additional two years worth of pictures to include.

    And at the very least, I made it in your video somewhere 2 minutes in. Woot! Hope to see you soon man…

    JT

  4. Drizztdj says:

    When I lost my phone in March the cost didn’t bother me, it was losing all those pictures. Especially the one with Chilly flicking off my decent Craps stack from WPBT 2010 and you guys showing up at Binions.