Yes We Have

Now that reality has had a couple days to set in I thought I'd try and jot down some of my thoughts about the recent election. I have to say I have never been so proud of my country and had more hope in my fellow Americans than right now. Little A and I had the opportunity a couple years ago to travel the country on a marketing job for a couple health care companies during the whole Medicare Part D prescription drug plan roll out. During that time we got to talk with thousands of Americans from the poorest to the richest and it was quite enlightening. Mostly it affirmed my belief that we are all very similar on the basic level of what we want and need. We may have different opinions on how to achieve those things and how we got to where we are but we all want to be loved, to be able to enjoy our basic freedoms and liberties, to be heard and to be safe.
The last 8 years have been a sad and disappointing downturn in our history and our standing in the world. I've seen first hand the negative effects of the (soon to be) last administrations policies on the lives of average Americans. I think it is really hard to grasp this if you have not traveled in the way I was lucky enough to be able to. It's very easy to get isolated in your little pocket of the world and extrapolate that experience to your view of the whole country or the whole world.
It sends a great message to the world that our country may finally be growing up a bit more and getting past our racial and xenophobic issues to not all fall for the sad and desperate smear campaigns of the McCain campaign and to stand up in great numbers to elect an African American president with a middle name of Hussein. A man who held his ground and did not bend in the face of criticism nor lower himself to the sort of negative campaigning that cost McCain the election.
Now it's up to us to hold the President Elect accountable and make him keep true to his word. And I am glad to once again have a president who looks us in the eye and tells us that we are needed to make sacrifices and pitch in to help steer this thing. I'm so tired of a president who tells us to just go to the mall in the face of national crisis.
We were in the airport on the way to Ireland when the first troops were getting on planes to go to Iraq. We were on the road traveling when we got to visit this memorial project which had placed an American flag for every victim of 9/11 and every victim of the Iraq war in a field. With a child on the way I hope more than ever in our future.

Waves on the Burren

This is a picture I shot when Little A and I went to Ireland many moons ago. The picture hardly captures the awesome magnitude of this landscape. We were standing out on the rocks on the Burren and the ocean was crashing onto them with amazing force. The ground below us was hallowed out and we could hear and feel the water rushing in and out of the ground beneath us. Getting washed off the rock would have been curtains for sure. It was very humbling to be in the throes of the raw power of nature.

Por la Mañana

I took this shot in Nicaragua in the streets of Grenada, the oldest colonized city in the Americas. I performed a little tweaking in photoshop to make it a bit grittier. Something about the combination of textures, light and shadow and the guy passing by on the bike came together in way I really enjoy.

The Amber Throne

This started a s photo of a chair my Little A pulled out of a dumpster. It seems to have evolved into an abstract deconstruction of itself. The digital realm has a way of doing that to you.

Morning Jettison

Morning Jettison, originally uploaded by Mr & Mrs Speeed.

I shot this photo of a native fisherman's boat and net on the beach of Ometepe island in Nicaragua. I worked a little magic on it in photoshop to try and get is to sit on the line between a photo and a painting. Click on the photo for a full view or to browse other photos from Nica.

Nicaraguan Sky

DSC01483.JPG, originally uploaded by Mr & Mrs Speeed.

We just got back from Nicaragua. I took lots of pictures and also many audio samples that I plan to boil down into some musical creations at some point. For now enjoy this sky.

Lotus Mural

So little A had this idea for the bedroom wall.



So to start off we'll need a wall then... Oh, look here's one.



Hmm this wall's not the right color. We'll need a little blue. Let's make it match painters tape shall we?



Then maybe fade into darker blue in the corners and some squiggly vine-y bits of glaze.



Ok, let's doodle on a happy little lotus flower shall we?



Then some color. This is really taking me back to the days of painting custom dance floor covers with ivy and roses. Yes I really used to do that for a living along with fabricating much wackier creations.



Ok one flower pretty much done. Little yellow bits in the center per Little A's request..



A couple more of those and detailing on the curly bits and we're done.



Well, almost done. Maybe some squiggly bits around the doors and windows.



And a lotus stamp on top. Ok I'm outta here...



I think it came out OK. But it's nothing compared to the mural this guy did.