If you've got a quarter, I'll show you the world

If you've got a quarter, I'll show you the world, originally uploaded by Zeb Andrews.

If you've got a quarter, I'll show you the world

I recently got reacquainted with a fellow photographer who I consider a good friend and have a lot of respect for. He has been absent from Flickr for the better part of a year and a half now. It was a pleasant surprise to see him again, and it was good talking to him. He has long been a fellow whose perceptions I respect and admire. He wrote this e-mail for a friend of his, and forwarded it to me because he knew I would appreciate reading it as well. I did and do. And I think it important. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing it, though I will keep him anonymous unless he chooses to reveal himself. It is lengthy, but it is insightful and I suggest taking a moment to read the whole piece. Thanks E for sending this along to me.

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But, somewhere along the way, something changed for me. I've had many friends ask me why I quit, and I usually start the story at the end. I usually start by saying, I still shoot (usually with a holga), but I don't put film in my camera anymore. This usually leads to some very puzzled expressions and I have to back up and tell the story from the beginning. Really, I often carry a camera and wander the streets of Portland like I have for the past few years. But, I don't want to see the results of my shots. What I want, is to see the world. My camera changes the way I do that.

When I was 16, I went to Greece for a three week school trip. I brought my camera and, after shooting some pics at the Parthenon, and on Santorini, I started to realize that I was missing the experience of seeing the places I was visiting because I was so focused on trying to save an image to look at later. I put my camera down and didn't take a single shot of the last two weeks of the trip. Or, the next ten years of my life. I just soaked in the scenes and tried my best to live in the moment.

That changed the way I thought about photography and, for the next 14 years, I never owned a camera. I spent almost a decade immersed in wilderness and outdoor activity, climbing and backpacking in Mexico and throughout the western United States, and I have only a few snapshots, given to me by friends, to record any of the experiences. My move to Portland was a dramatic lifestyle adjustment as well. I decided to see how green the grass really is on the more urban side. I rarely backpack anymore (as my photo stream attests) and I gave up rock climbing completely.

But I've always loved photography. I love it for the art. I love the moods, the way Steven Shore can capture a series of lines and patterns in what superficially appears to be a mundane scene and launches the viewer into a different mental space... Ed Weston, transforming a bell pepper or a thigh into a tonal voyage.... and the incredible work of the people I admire so much on Flickr, each image, an experiment, and each photo stream, a progressive map and tale of discovery. I'm sounding melodramatic again. But, these pictures really have changed the way I view the world. And so I wanted in. I started sharing too.

And I started wandering the streets of Portland, looking with fresh eyes at cracks in the sidewalk, streaks on a wall, buildings and, best of all, people. I saw light, lines, and structures in a way that I hadn't previously seen them. Unlike my days in Greece, trying to capture a snapshot for posterity and thus pulling myself away from a moment, this new way of using the camera had the opposite effect. Now, I was being pulled in. And I started to examine the constantly evolving scenes of my daily walk to work with new appreciation. It's hard not to keep sounding melodramatic. But it's true.

We've never met. At least not face-to-face. And I have no idea if we'd even be friends if we lived a few blocks apart (but I suspect we would). But in your photostream, I found such tremendous inspiration because you constantly capture the things I'm talking about. And, as I aimed my lens at the sidewalk and buildings of Portland, it not only changed the way I would see my own town, through Flickr, it changed the way I would see the world. I had a blurred pigeon, flying past a column, as my desktop background for a year. Because that pigeon was such an awesome example of something I would encounter every day, but would never have thought to capture the art of it like you did. So, on Flickr I found inspiration and a wealth of new art.

Until it became too much. And something changed. At first I liked the attention. No, not just at first, I still like it. When an image hits the explore page, or when I get mail from someone who requests to use an image in a publication, or someone leaves a sincerely flattering comment, or a zillion of them, I like it. And I like to reciprocate. I like being able to tell someone how truly inspirational they are. But the attention doesn't have anything to do with the cracks in the sidewalk. Once again, my reasons for taking pictures started to shift. I wasn't taking snapshots to put in a photo album like I was in Greece when I quit shooting. I was still trying to capture something artistic, and I was still experiencing the moment of the shoot. But the attention of a Flickr page vied for my energy as much as, and sometimes more than, the shoot itself. I started to feel an obligation to produce something. This has an upside, it kept me shooting. But it has a downside as well. If my images didnt get attention I'd get bummed out. And I started to think about "my audience" more. I started to cater my shots to the Flickr folks who were looking at my stream. Steadily my number of contacts grew. I couldn't keep up (which I'm sure you are familiar with) and then, the final straw, was when I realized that I wasn't shooting cracks in the sidewalk anymore. As I was shooting, I was thinking about what might attract attention. My post process became less about my own ideas and visions, and more about trying to speak to an audience that I was rapidly realizing I didn't know. I feel like, on some level, I know you. I know Dan. I know Angie, and Noicework (Allison), and Zeb, and Sati. But I don't know most of the 200-something people on my contact list. But I want to. And so it all spiraled until one day, I took the film out of my holga. I can't say that I don't care about the attention a photographer on Flickr receives. But I can say that it isn't why I started taking pictures again.

So, it wasn't a conscious decision to stop posting images. It was a gradual realization that I actually felt more inspired when I didn't have film in my camera. I don't need the snapshot. I want to see a moment. My camera helps transform the way I do that so I will keep playing with my camera. And, I might start posting images again. I really do love the comments, the feedback, the sharing. But I don't want that to be my reason for shooting pictures.

Anyway, this got long. I've felt like explaining myself for a while now. I still love to quietly surf the pages of Flickr. I love spending hours in the photography section of Powell's Books. And I still love to stop to think about the lighting on the buildings as I walk to work. I'll keep shooting. And on occasion, I'll keep posting. And I hope that people will keep looking. I know I will.

Uploaded by Zeb Andrews on 4 Jun 08, 11.15PM CDT.

The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huangdi

The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huangdi, originally uploaded by Fraggle Rockstar.

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Qin Shi Huang was buried in his mausoleum, with the famous Terracotta Army, near modern day Xi'an (Shaanxi province).

For 2000 years, a secret army of clay soldiers protected the hidden tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Until 1974 none knew of its existence; now Chinese archaeologists are gradually unfolding the mystery.


The site measures some three miles across and took 700,000 conscripts to construct it. Many wonders of the tomb were described by a Chinese historian, Sima Qian, writing less than a century after the emperor's death. He wrote of rare jewels, a map of the heavens with stars represented by pearls, and, on the floor of the tomb, a panorama map of China with the rivers and seas represented by flowing mercury. The mound itself was said to have been coated with molten copper to protect it, with crossbows lined up to shoot anyone who tried to break in.

Sima Qian never mentioned, however, the terracotta army - which was discovered by a team of well diggers. It is the detail of the terracotta armies that makes it so valuable. The soldiers were created with a series of mix-and-match clay molds and then further individualized by the artists' hand.

All the standing warriors were attached to clay plinths that rested on the tiled floor, which still resembles a modern pavement. Chinese archaeologists have been meticulous and patient in their work. The main tomb (located at 34°22′52.75″N, 109°15′13.06″E) containing the emperor has yet to be opened and there is still hope that it remains intact.

A magnetic scan of the site has revealed that a large number of coins are lying in the unopened tomb, occasioning speculation that the royal treasury was interred with the emperor. Scans of the earth atop the tomb have revealed unusually high concentrations of mercury in the shape of China's waters, adding further to the credibility of Sima Qian's description.

Uploaded by Fraggle Rockstar on 29 Oct 07, 10.56PM CDT.

The Iraq War Comes Home... Iraq Veterans Against the War(IVAW)

The Iraq War Comes Home... Iraq Veterans Against the War(IVAW)

(We are IVAW)Pointing imaginary guns and roughing up "Iraqi civilians", a group of antiwar veterans more... brought the realities of the Iraq debacle to Manhattan, in a Memorial Day protest that briefly turned the streets of the city into a combat zone. In "Operation First Casualty," a half-dozen members of Iraq Veterans Against the War employed the tactics of street theater to stage mini-dramas in Times Square, Union Square and the World Trade Center site, simulating sniper fire and staging mock arrests of fellow protesters who portrayed Iraqis. The group plans to take Operation First Casualty to the streets of Chicago June 17. If there ever was a group whose voices deserve to be heard more in this country it's the IVAW.

Google's Master Plan!

Google's Master Plan!

Hmmmmmm?

CNN/DOBBS: W FULFILLS HIS DAD'S DREAM OFA NEW WORLD ORDER

posted on You Tube:

Added January 08, 2007
From artbell

IN THIS VIDEO CLIP LOU DOBBS PUTS THE... IN THIS VIDEO CLIP LOU DOBBS PUTS THE BIG FAT SMELLY FISH RIGHT UP ON THE TABLE FOR EVERYONE TO LOOK AT - THE NEW WORLD ORDER.

IN THIS CLIP YOU WILL SEE:

1. THE 1991 VIDEO OF DADDY bUSH ANNOUNCING THE
NEW WORLD ORDER !!

2. LOU DOBBS CALLING THE NORTH AMERICAN UNION A PART OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER !!

3. DOBBS SAYING THAT "W" IS FULFILLING DADDY'S DREAM OF A NEW WORLD ORDER !!

4. THE NEW PROGRAM GOING INTO EFFECT TO BRING ALL OF THE AMERICAS INTO ONE UNION CALLED THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS. I GUESS THEY WILL MERGE WITH HUGO CHAVEZ'S TRADE AGREEMENT IN SOUTH AMERICA.

5. LOU DOBBS SAYING, "IT'S A NEW WORLD ORDER THEY ARE TRYING TO CREATE" !!

6. IT'S THE SURRENDER OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE UNITED STATES !!

7. IT'S A STEALTH AGENDA BY THE PRIVATE CORPORATE ELITE !!

8. LOU DOBBS SAYS, "ITS A STRAIGHT FORWARD ASSAULT BY THE ELITIST" !!

THE NEW WORLD ORDER HAS NOW BEEN ANNOUNCED BY THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA AND EVEN SAYS THAT IT WAS AN AGENDA ANNOUNCED BY DADDY bUSH BACK IN 1991 !!

NOW IT'S TIME TO DO SOMETHING !!

Basement Jaxx - Cish Cash

Basement Jaxx - Cish Cash

NHS Rain - Birmingham And Solihull Mental Health Satire

NHS Rain - Birmingham And Solihull Mental Health Satire, originally uploaded by Silvisrivers.

At the garden of
Patient' s outstretched fate

Counterfeit apostles stacked

And the "H" in
NHS
Was where they planned
Their cousins to be racked

So much is centralised
And paid for
Prostituted Legions

They have their existential traitors
Blooding patient lambs

There now , In the regions ......


The problems with feeling prophesy
Is the barbs of truth
Dragging in the veins

The images of futures
Are all made out of pains

He said
If you take the cross on
Anywhere

I'll guarantee you
Whipping rains

You shall be fed in red

So I'm breaking roman rules
Making local Caesars
Look like fools
But they re-arrange their people
Like loaded dices
And like tools....


I saw one lie
To smooth hell
And throw a whirl of senses

My golden wolf
Of heart
Bit it to its raw defenses

These Romans never give up
They crucify
Build roads across soul
And sharpen up their
Alien fences ..


Its so deluded
That treatmentless
The pained
Have to work the phoney bone roads
To be included
And are drained


Gethsemane
Now
The nails prowl

Like beaked beasts
When they drive in

The choirs of skinned
Patient's
In the Care-less
Nettle country
Will howl .

.

Marlene Azoulai Pro User says:

Yes, they will HoWL!
And you, Silvis, will be at the head of them...
their./our inspiration to (((hoWL foRTH)))) the truth...
that can be a frightening thing to do,
in this day and age...
especially when one bears the label of 'other' and 'not normal'
and 'mentally defective'...
labels that have been thrown on us, by those who worship the greAT psYchiAtrIC BibLE...
powerful piece and words, once again!
much love to you, from M-land

Aldous Huxley - Doors of Perception

Nothing so much as the future ...

http://raymondscott.blogspot.com/index.html

Scott 'toonsmithery and electronica keep popping up as insta-cachet soundtracks for YouTube uploads. None authorized, some fascinating, a few head-scratchers. We link, you decide:

A series of psychedelic DNA chains—or something—set to Scott's "Cindy Electronium" (from Manhattan Research, Inc.) by, on, or from kuantika tv.

Goyoelpollo (Goyo the Chicken) has produced a nifty audio-visual montage for MRI. Or perhaps someone else did the vid and Goyo posted it. Nuestro español es mediocre—if you can provide a reasonable translation, please share.

"Powerhouse," Scott's legendary Bugs Bunny-propellent, set to original animation by Antonio Linhares for a university project.

"Motion Painting Number Two" by Adam Bruneau set to Scott's electronic "Portofino."

Johnnysmooth ("comedian"—believe it!) uses Scott's "Lightworks" to underscore scenes from the movie Treasure Island. WTF?

HT: Gert-Jan Blom

Posted by Irwin Chusid.

★★★ Ramon Martins - whitptastic -sp

, originally uploaded by Ramon Martins.

Uploaded by Ramon Martins on 6 Apr '07, 5.16am PDT.

Gunman opened fire at NASA building

Police in the US city of Houston, Texas, say a gunman at the Nasa space centre has killed one hostage before killing himself।

gunnman entered a building on Johnson Space Center (building 44) Friday April 20, 2007, the building was evacueted.
white man, blon hair, about 5 feet 9 inches arround 50 or 60 years old। he was armed with a handgun, the police man said "he´s barricaded himself into a room" there where hostages

the building 44 holds a laboratory. police recive a call at 1:40 p.m. (2:40 p.m. ET) unknown caller untill now.

the Police were called to the scene at about 1340 (1840 GMT) after a gunman was reported and two shots heard.

a hostage was killed and other was tied up.
the gunman kill himself.