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Focus

I have noticed a lot of confusion amongst my friends, who really are quite a diverse lot (and some not so simple to peg themselves, really). What confuses some of them? Me, apparently. There are things which I have little patience for, as I view some issues and how society approaches them via political process, as being rather childish by design. As I have matured, I determined to put aside childish things as well as inconvenient things, like following politicians or religious leaders who are in point of fact, just doing their jobs. (It is important to know just what

Of Men and Wisteria

A few of us were to get together at Art maven Joe Cardella’s home this weekend. Many have been through the mill as it were, in recent months, so Joe invited the lot of a group of artists and critical thinkers over for a pleasant Sunday afternoon, under the great awning of Wisteria which are in bloom here right now, in Ventura California. I would be away shooting on location, so scooted by to get a photo of the flowers and dose of time with an inspiring friend. Today started in unique fashion. My friend and former editor Drew Kampion

A Faithful Paradigm

  A close friend sent me a story about a researcher who was suing to get a university job position restored, after getting fired for being different. Here is that news piece.  Nothing remarkably enlightening about the story. But as is frequently the case, the informative bits are found in the post article commentary left by readers, who for the most part are more concerned with the deployment of ridicule on the researcher, than the larger question of illegal termination of the man due to discriminatory bias and personal agendas of school staff. In fact, it appears that not only

Independence Day was Born on the Fourth of July

Not vice versa. This is why we consider the Declaration of Independence to be the blueprint for Liberty. It covers the underpinnings necessary for the pursuit of happiness. It is the God given and legal architecture of these united States, with which what I term “The Suck” (which applies to those who endeavor to control and suppress independence) battles, in ever more brazen fashion, these recent decades. Below is some beautiful verse written by my friend and colleague, photojournalist and soldier Jon Louis Blackburn. He is a proud Scot in heritage and tone, and a perfect example of what America

Understanding Fukushima-Daichi

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.   2 Timothy 2:15 I began to study  aspects of the disaster at Fukushima-Daichi the moment the Tohoku quake occurred. The disaster began not on 3-11, as common knowledge would have us believe, but during the throes of the Cold War in the late 1950’s. Some aspects of it actually date back to the turn of the century After watching the tsunami wash ashore with some of my colleagues from K38 Rescue (we

Love and Trustedness

Maybe it is the full moon which hangs sagging slowly through a clear western sky which has me awake at 3am working. But I suspect that it may be something else. It always cracks me up, when as I am sorting through the variety of large and complex projects which are the melange of companies I get to help shepherd, that a blog invariably pops in from Seth Godin. This one, (as usual) was exactly about what I am working on today. Creating trust. He titles it: Belief is More Powerful Than Truth. I am a strong believer in Strategic

Messy and Beautiful

I frequently note that Life (that precarious process which we see daily around us) is both messy and beautiful. In my work this is illustrated to me regularly. Seth Godin writes beautifully on that today, in a blogpost entitled Our Crystal Palace. Julie Borowski hilariously points out the ridiculousness of the TSA in a very similar vein when she is molested by them and makes a beautiful statement about something very horribly messy. In our tendency to want to get through the messy, we somehow lose sight of the beautiful, and quite frequently pass on the possibility to effect some

Imaging Accountability and Authenticity

In the pretense of living in the now, it is not that uncommon for both people and business to overlook the manner in which they are able to affect things on the global stage. The connection culture of today, brings with it, an ever greater demand for accountability. Accountability is one of “those things”. It is a tenet which is (hopefully) acquired at some stage in a person’s life, and (again,hopefully) as they grow, and the scope of the world in which they live enlarges, it scales. If it does not, you really could see some larger scale problems arise.

The High Value in Story

All of us as creatives, are storytellers. That is worth something. So the integrity, skill and life experience of a creator, matters very much. We function within a socio-economic system that is quite leery of the increasingly open source access to “their market”. In a conversation with two sage colleagues in Photography today, I had to point out something. Basically it was this. Just because surf publishing has deigned to not let you play, does not mean your voice is not valid. In fact, it is the opposite. Established fiscal entities do not necessarily WANT the broad market to know

Tis the Season

  For? We all know what the Holidays in North America typically are significant of: the prior sacrifices and services of the forbearers of the Nation and Christianity. Of course aside from those, at the core, it should be about the inception of gratitude. Traditions are funny things. Over time the embeds get, well… buried. Seth Godin has this to say about it today. Black Friday. Really? I hate the name. Black, the absence of light, love, or gratitude. My wife, Donna had to explain it to me. Keep in mind, such has been my own transformation, that she was

Categories

Focus

I have noticed a lot of confusion amongst my friends, who really are quite a diverse lot (and some not so simple to peg themselves, really). What confuses some of them? Me, apparently. There are things which I have little

Of Men and Wisteria

A few of us were to get together at Art maven Joe Cardella’s home this weekend. Many have been through the mill as it were, in recent months, so Joe invited the lot of a group of artists and critical

A Faithful Paradigm

  A close friend sent me a story about a researcher who was suing to get a university job position restored, after getting fired for being different. Here is that news piece.  Nothing remarkably enlightening about the story. But as

Independence Day was Born on the Fourth of July

Not vice versa. This is why we consider the Declaration of Independence to be the blueprint for Liberty. It covers the underpinnings necessary for the pursuit of happiness. It is the God given and legal architecture of these united States,

Understanding Fukushima-Daichi

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.   2 Timothy 2:15 I began to study  aspects of the disaster at

Love and Trustedness

Maybe it is the full moon which hangs sagging slowly through a clear western sky which has me awake at 3am working. But I suspect that it may be something else. It always cracks me up, when as I am

Messy and Beautiful

I frequently note that Life (that precarious process which we see daily around us) is both messy and beautiful. In my work this is illustrated to me regularly. Seth Godin writes beautifully on that today, in a blogpost entitled Our

Imaging Accountability and Authenticity

In the pretense of living in the now, it is not that uncommon for both people and business to overlook the manner in which they are able to affect things on the global stage. The connection culture of today, brings

The High Value in Story

All of us as creatives, are storytellers. That is worth something. So the integrity, skill and life experience of a creator, matters very much. We function within a socio-economic system that is quite leery of the increasingly open source access

Tis the Season

  For? We all know what the Holidays in North America typically are significant of: the prior sacrifices and services of the forbearers of the Nation and Christianity. Of course aside from those, at the core, it should be about