A friend of mine has a great little eco-friendly website called Wild Greens that talks about what you and I can do to “leave a softer ecological imprint for our children and future generations”. Even though it’s owned by some Canadian Canuck, obviously, the info is fairly universal. People like my friend give me hope, make me feel like I’m not the only raving loony who needs to cut his hair. His site could use more articles though. If anyone finds any you can either let me know and I’ll pass them along or you can submit articles here.

Some funny Bush bumper stickers:

1. Bush Never Exhaled
2. 1/20/09: End of an Error
3. That’s OK; I Wasn’t Using My Civil Liberties Anyway
4. Lets Fix Democracy in This Country First
5. If You Want a Nation Ruled By Religion, Move to Iran!
6. Bush. Like a Rock. Only Dumber.
7. If You Can Read This, You’re Not Our President
8. Of Course It Hurts: You’re Getting Screwed by an Elephant
9. Hey, Bush Supporters: Embarrassed Yet?
10. George Bush: Creating the Terrorists Our Kids Will Have to Fight.
11. America: One Nation, Under Surveillance
12. They Call Him “W” So He Can Spell It
13. Jail to the Chief
14. No, Seriously, Why Did We Invade Iraq?
15. Bush: God’s way of proving Intelligent Design is bullshit
16. Bad President! No Banana.
17. We Need a President Who’s Fluent In At Least One Language
18. We’re Making Enemies Faster than We Can Kill Them
19. Is It Vietnam Yet?
20. Where Are We Going? And Why Are We In This Handbasket?
21. You Elected Him. You Deserve Him.
22. Impeach Cheney First, of course that would make Bush president!
23. When Bush Took Office, Gas was $1.46
24. Pray For Impeachment
25. The Republican Party: Our Bridge to the 11th Century
26. What Part of “Bush Lied” Don’t You Understand?
27. One Nation under Clod
28. 2004: Embarrassed 2005: Horrified 2006: Terrified
29. At least Nixon Resigned

Anyone got more?

I don’t remember where I found this quote by Marianne Williamson, so I don’t remember the context from which it came, but when I read it now, in the context of self-image and compassion, I find her argument flawed. It’s no wonder, she bases her entire argument on the idea that we are children of God. While I agree, I don’t think her argument is related.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson

I think it would be wonderful to embrace the “brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous” me with all conviction and honesty, but what if I’m not? What if I’m wrong? How would I know I’m a monster, unless I look to my shadow, recognize that the darkest parts of me are scary, and cringe.

I do worry about my humanity, my compassion. I worry about whether or not I worry enough about my compassion. Yes, I sometimes feel inadequate as a human being. Yes, I sometimes wonder if I could bring more caring energy into this world. But if I’m wrapped in an insoluble shroud of brilliant light I won’t save myself, nor anyone else, from being a monster. I’ll blind myself by my own brilliance.

I can only know light when I stand in darkness. I can only know God if I choose to see all.

Photography used to be a frequent obsession of mine but for the past couple years nearly all my creative energy has been funneled into my business. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing poetry in a language only my computer and I can understand, but I often feel something missing in my life when work consumes most of my waking hours.

I did a quick little photo shoot with some peppers. Of all the sexy beauties who bared their smooth skin for me, here is my personal favorite. Isn’t she sexy?

For all you traditional photography know-it-alls who’ve tried to convince me good black and white photographs can’t be done “right” with digital processes I challenge you to defy this image.

For all you friendly folks, sorry about that little “toss of the gauntlet.” I get a bit frustrated by people who not only use a challenge as an excuse not to adapt and grow but also attempt to impose their own shortcomings on young artists.

This black and white photograph of a vegetable is nothing fancy; just a warm up exercise I suppose. Veggies make good practice in most mediums, and I always work a photograph in black and white first, even when I plan to work the image in color. A series on peppers seemed like a good way to get back into the groove. Besides, I can chop up my sexy lil fruits and spread them over some baked, black beans for a nice little feast.

Some of you may remember I left off working on a few series’ using digital color. I’m sure I’ll come back to the manipulation side when I feel right - or maybe I’ll reinvent myself yet again.

When I look back at some of my work from a few years ago I see an almost furious energy burning it’s way to the surface. Most of the pieces seemed insignificant, for the most part, but I was definitely sensitive to some sort of energy. I know I used to see the world much more actively then late; I want to find my eyes again.

Hardcore science fiction junkies, I have a movie suggestion for you: Serenity. You can get it on Netflix. Even if you’re not a junkie but you have even the smallest love for true science fiction which isn’t pumped full of Hollywood steroids and doesn’t take itself any more seriously then is necessary to tell the story, or any kind of true human drama for that matter, watch this movie. After you do you’ll suggest it to all your friends and you’ll be an even cooler hippie.

A small handful of you out there might remember that witty television show Firefly. You might look back fondly on the universe it created and rage in its sudden end which left a gaping void, a throbbing canker in your sense of artistic justice. The verse of Firefly didn’t die, it was reborn in this movie, Serenity.

Here’s the description on the e-box:

Picking up where his cult show “Firefly” left off, writer-director Joss Whedon’s tale of galactic unrest follows Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), captain of the transport ship Serenity, and his scrappy but loyal crew. When the ship picks up two new passengers — fugitives from the powerful coalition ruling the universe — “Mal” and his mates find themselves at the center of a cosmic conflict, pursued by military forces and space-roaming savages.

By the way, I just finished watching this one with a non-enthusiast - someone who doesn’t like most science fiction - this one is well worth your time.

I’ve got a music find for all you love children who like jazz. It’s a four track album put together featuring Jerry Garcia and Howard Wales. Check out this review by Robert Shupe on zBoneman and you’ll get the idea.

Usually I am not a fan of posthumous releases. They are frequently the ill-inspired work of money-hungry record labels, that exploit the names of our favorite deceased artists, by distributing material the artist chose not to release while alive. But with Side Trips, this is not the case.

This album has an incredible amount of integrity. It was recorded in 1970 and how it stayed a secret until now is a mystery to me. This album has a lot to offer–namely, Jerry at his best. Teamed up with old pal Howard Wales (who was also on JerryÕs Hooteroll), these two lay down intense jazz riffs common to Jerry’s Dead-style space jams. Secondly, the albums’ line-up also boasts jazz masters Bill Vitt and John Kahn. And thirdly, the production on this album is far beyond what you’d expect from a previously unheard-of session recorded in 1970.

Side Trips is entirely instrumental–so don’t pick this up expecting to hear Robert Hunter lyrics and Jerry’s vocals. Do expect to hear exceptionally well-thought out, surprisingly long, guitar jazz. There are only four tracks on this album, the average song lasting around fifteen minutes and the longest, “All For Life,” lasting twenty-four and a half minutes. The real gem on this CD is “Venetian Blue.” This guitar jazz masterpiece is beautiful, technical, and the ending is intricatly woven into the Dead favorite “The Other One.” Whether you are a Garcia fan or a jazz fanatic, the next time you are on your way to work, take a Side Trip and pick this up–you won’t be disappointed.

I like the CD cover art design almost as much as I love the music too.