NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 09, 2010: An upcoming film titled "Earthbound" drew a hundred or so people to an open audition in New Orleans, LA on Saturday morning. The call asked for child twins and adults dressed for a cocktail party.(Photo: Mark Ovaska/ovaska.com)

BLANKET, TX - JANUARY 04, 2010: Mike Ratliff feeds chickens near his home in north central Texas. Ratliff is considered by many to be the grandfather of cockfighting in the U.S. training by his count 8000 people in the art of keeping and fighting roosters. A "cocker" since his youth, Ratliff has hundreds of tropheys from a long career in a sport that is now widely illegal. (Photo: Mark Ovaska/ovaska.com)

BROOKLYN, NY - DECEMBER, 2009: 8.6 million square ft. of space between Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn, NY is in limbo as legal wrangling between Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) and Forest City Ratner (FCR) continue. The plan to bring the Nets basketball team (along with a much larger group of residential towers) is requiring the use of eminent domain to evict the few remaining residence of the expansive footprint.

BUFFALO, NY - DECEMBER 16, 2009: Judy Smith, Medical Director for the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY sees a patient on Wednesday, December 16, 2009. Dr. Smith is enrolled in a Harvard program to strengthen her business acumen. She says that the demands of healthcare reform will present a new onslaught of challenges on top of the complexities of running a multidisciplinary cancer center. CREDIT: Mark Ovaska for The Wall Street Journal

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 12, 2009: The day after my adventures as a Santa in NYC I brought the film to the lab. I had 8 shots left inside the camera. Two were self portraits (???). Two were very blurry. These are the other four.

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 29, 2009: Author Mary Karr in her Manhattan apartment on October 29, 2009. Karr, a poet and author of the bestseller "A Liars' Club," is releasing a new book titled "Lit" on November 3rd. CREDIT: Mark Ovaska for The Wall Street Journal

CLEVELAND, NY - OCTOBER 24, 2009: Members of regional Dagorhir chapters gathered outside of Syracuse, NY on Saturday October 24th to stage mock medieval battles. Dagorhir and other live action role play charters act out scenarios based loosely on classic literature. (Photo: Mark Ovaska/ovaska.com)

ROCHESTER, NY - OCTOBER 15, 2009: Rochester community members receive shots for the common flu (not N1H1). The clinic had to close early and turn people away as the supply ran low. Flu shots are in short supply due to manufacturing resources being diverted for the production of the H1N1 flu vaccine.

The Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre reopens with a free concert on October 9th after a $42 million restoration.

In September, 2009 world economic leaders gathered in Pittsburgh, PA to discuss issues related to the control of 85% of global wealth... The group's meeting drew protestors from around the world...