Hello, faithful readers… and welcome to the final hours before winter vacation. You see, I am packing up and shipping out to warmer regions far-flung—a Christmas present to myself of sorts. Going to do a little bit of sight-seeing and a whole lot of nothing. So, in honor of the trip, I am posting this noble giraffe.

The snapshot was taken at California Academy of Sciences in the main lobby. I was frankly taken aback by how tall this little guy was. At 6′2″ I am not a shorty by any means, but to get this view, I had to hold my camera up as high as I could (no zoom on the iPhone) and push the button. And still, he gazes down on me as if I were but a bug.

I wonder if they ever get afraid of heights?

Nevertheless, that about does it for me today. Gotta get packed and ready to fly. But in the meantime, what are y’all planning to do for the new years? Anything exciting? Leave ‘em in the comments section below!

It’s been a whirlwind three weeks of work, travel, and cold weather¹. And the impending Christmas crazies are exploding all over. It seems that every time we open a paper, crack a magazine, or power up the boob-tube, someone is talking about the “Holidays”.

In the past, this hasn’t ever really bothered me—but this year it does. And now every time I hear “the holiday shopping season”, a rage grows inside me… Not that I will ever go all Santa-with-a-machinegun at the local mall, but that it serves to illustrate how completely backwards political correctness really is. If you truly mean “Merry Christmas”, then don’t just swap words and keep all the Christmas trees and Santa Clauses on your holiday cards… just say those words. It proves to be a whole lot less offensive. And, while I am completely in favor of inclusivity… this is not accomplished just by replacing words with Happy Holidays.

So, in hopes of fixing the problem… I have fashioned a simple list entitled “3 Steps to Holiday Correctness: Winter Edition” so that we all can work to correct this political incorrectness:

1. Learn — It’s could be as simple as visiting your local Wikipedia page—reading up on some facts about other religions. (For example², this year the minor holiday of Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before December 12th. Which means that wishing anyone a Happy Hanukkah after the 18th will result in strange looks³.) Or as involved as going to a different church to learn first hand what makes them unique. The key here is understanding.

2. Improve — Make a conscious effort to include different religious views in your actions. (Yes, this means actually finding out who celebrates what in your circle of friends and workplace, and appropriately tailoring your conversations to specific individuals you are referring to. *gasp* [that was sarcasm]) The key here is growth.

3. Tollerate — If someone does wish you an incorrect holiday greeting (and it will happen), remember that’s hopefully just their way of trying to be friendly… and try not to read too much into it. The key here is compassion.

So my friends… now it is up to you to go out and be kind to each other. Enjoy your winter vacations. Spend time reflecting on the positives in life. And try to keep warm. Oh, and say hello to your mother for me.

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1 — I am referring to San Francisco cold, which is still pretty warm compared to other places. But given that everything shuts down here if it rains, I figured it was worth mentioning.

2 — I was raised as a Christian, so I do realize that the facts mentioned herein are probably biased towards Christmas. However, I do not consider myself a part of any religion now… not anti-religious, just un-religious.

3 — Related to this, there’s a “cranky Jew” rant at Sometime Davey Wins that’s worth a read.

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PS. This snapshot was taken into a window display along Haight Street in San Francisco. I love that the camera doesn’t betray it’s own presence, and that the subject actually becomes this green man, longingly gazing out the window onto the street… hoping for a world without corporate greed and holiday drama. You can see another example like this in my Flickr photostream.

Two twin cats: Franky and Sid Vicious. This is Frank… he’s the troublemaker (don’t let those innocent eyes fool you). And since we live on the second floor (which, in our house makes us three stories above the ground due to the garage) this unfortunately means, the little section of slanted roof serves as the cats’ only opportunity to go outside. Granted otherwise a great little apartment, surrounded by quiet, trees, and kind neighbors. But the cats do get a little restless.

Had some good friends over to the house recently, and was reminded of this photo. So I figured it was high time I dropped it in, as I found myself in our conversation referencing the photo that had not yet been published. Equally funny that with schedules and appointments and work, how rare it is to have time to reconnect with our people. Nevertheless, I am always glad to get a small moment to welcome them into our place.

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Been listening to a police scanner for San Francisco as the POTUS stops into our fine city; and watching the internet news feeds about the balloon-boy who cried wolf today. Amazing how something as simple as a news stream feeding directly to the office and an IM account can connect us with the world and peers so definitely. So great when we get stuck into the daily grind to be able to at least have the semblance of connection with those we love.

And lastly, speaking of connection, my dear faithful readers… you are always welcome (in fact encouraged) to comment on these posts and photography! I love hearing your thoughts, comments, constructive criticisms, and suggestions!

Just throwing that out there.. [grin]

This morning, I listened to an NPR interview with Karen Armstrong about her new book “The Case for God”. The discussion surrounded the current state of religion, along with some relevant history. However, there is one thing that stuck in my mind from the interview.

In the words of Ms. Armstrong (from the transcript):

…the idea of God as a supreme being means that he is simply like us, writ large, and just bigger and better, the end product of the series; whereas this divine personality that we meet in the Bible was, for centuries, regarded simply as a symbol of a greater transcendence that lay beyond it.

Some theologians call this the God beyond God. And this God isn’t just a being like you or me, or the microphone in front of me, or even the atom, an unseen being that we can find in our laboratories. What we mean by God is, some theologians have said, is being itself that is in everything that is around us and cannot be tied down to one single instance of being.

What a huge statement, right (!?) …that God is not the noun “being” (as in a human being, a person or someone up in the sky), but rather the verb—a state of being!

This makes a whole lot more sense to me and explains clearly why people will spend their whole lives in search of enlightenment through meditation. They are trying to get as close as possible to that single essence of being… that god-like state of existence! Just strange that it took me 35 years on this earth to understand a subtle shift in meaning.

I apologize if this seems glaringly obvious to the rest of you.

And speaking of zen… this snapshot is taken in the apartment lobby of the Uwajimaya building up in Seattle. I love the minimal quality of the stones and the different textures going on. It was wonderful to run across this in a hallway, especially given that most large apartment situations would render an installation such as this completely ruined. But in this complex context, it works quite well.

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See that? I can play with words too…

Figured I would expand on yesterday’s post with another shot from the garden.

The day was frigid-cold, and the wind was bustling and icy. Ill prepared for the climate, but determined to use this single opportunity to take in as much scenery as possible, I found myself seeking shelter among the sculpture garden’s many massive residents. These wavy steel plates, planted on-end, caught my eye. And as the sun set, the shadows cast by the surrounding trees were just magnificent.

Took me a few shots to get just the right crop and head positioning… but I really like the results. Here’s another from the series:

I absolutely love the elongated shadows flittering across the flat-pack gravel and up onto the rusty steel wave. It felt almost as if the trees were welcoming us to their group, allowing our participation in their sunset festivities.

This sign sits outdoors in the middle of Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park, amidst massive public works of raw, rusty metal. These are gravity defying beasts of a massive scale, and it struck me as odd— especially given that the rain, sun, snow, and wind should seemingly have a much more profound impact on the art than a simple human could ever have.

Clearly, this sign couldn’t have been put there to discourage graffiti. And there is no way a screaming flock of children would take time out of their game of tag to reconsider the longer lasting effects of their sculpture garden hiding places. Nor would the elderly even fathom a jaunt up into the brush and shrubs to lean in for a scrub. Therefore, I had to assume this sign is aimed at me.

So then, despite the fact that I didn’t even have an urge to touch the public work… I sauntered over to the nearest indestructibly weather-worn object and neatly planted a high-five.

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In regards to this snapshot’s composition, what really makes the photo for me is twofold. First, that the sign is nowhere near the art, and instead serves more as an ironic statement about mankind’s relationship to nature. Second, that the trash in the background is doing far more damage to the beauty of the park than anything I could ever personally incur.

Enjoy (…and feel free to rub your grubby hands all over it).

Spent the weekend chilling out and doing a tremendous amount of nothing. Within that nothing: got a chance to see a life-sized, historic, camera obscura; scored a last-chance to view the Fragile Planet planetarium show (before they switch over to the new reel); stopped by the opening ceremonies of the Independent Artists Week; popped in to see some political theatre in the park courtesy of the San Francisco Mime Troupe; ate a delicious brunch by the ocean with friends; finally saw District 9 on the big screen; and achieved a general opportunity to just relax!

…hmm, that certainly doesn’t sound like doing nothing, does it?

I guess even in doing nothing, it’s still possible accomplish a lot!? HA! And there is never a dull moment when you live in a city with so much to do! (Although sure-as-heck felt like nothing—sleeping though most of Sunday).

Can’t exactly remember where I took this shot (maybe it’s in the EXIF data?), but I love the literal interpretation of “the grass is greener on the other side” metaphor. I doubt growing two different grasses together was planned, but what a happy accident it became!

Figured I would keep with a theme here and stick to “graffiti friday” …so here is a great little piece I snapped up on Cathedral Hill, during a long walk around the block. Not sure what it means or even how it came to be, but I really love the composition of the letters and the plants with the industrial air duct. The little V for Vendetta caricature is just gravy. And there is enough green for everyone to have seconds.

True street art has always fascinated me. The desire for people to go out and create illegal public works of art (eschewing all consequences of the massive trouble they can get into) is astounding. I have tough enough time just creating work in the daytime in the comfort of my own studio, never mind adding the cover of night and the possibility of jail-time to it. Heck, I can’t even bring myself to pee in public. And these rebels are running around painting layers upon layers of bright, fantastical, letterforms in vast, virgin landscapes, like typographic astronauts.

Granted it’s also very important to distinguish the difference between true artistry, and juvenile vandalism. In many pieces—some of which you will see in future posts—this is clear an evident. However, in pieces such as today’s snapshot… it becomes much less fine of a line.

And I suppose that is what most excites me the most… that I may see beauty and someone else may see vandalism is key to innate differences in all human beings. That by snapping a photo, it can translate from street crime to art is almost madness. But, maybe it’s just too late at night and I’m rambling on. Either way, make sure you stop and smell the flowers… whether they were put there by seed, bird, or even rattlecan.

As their website helpfully notes… “the Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire is Northern California’s largest antiques and collectibles show.” With more than 800 booths in the beautiful Alameda setting, it also means that it is a madhouse of collectors and crap.

If you have never been it is completely worth it if for the stunning views of San Francisco from across the Bay alone. Giant ships await their fate in the Oakland shipyards next door, while thousands of people bargain to try and grab that one perfect trinket that will make their house complete.

I have had the (mis)fortune of going twice now, and this snapshot was taken along one of the aisles. It struck me as funny in a sad way. That this once regal animal had been resigned to peeking it’s head out of a silk-lined trash can… peering at passer-bys with a contempt that could only be seen to be understood.

If you go, there are just three things to remember: bring loads of cash because the lines to the ATM are a killer, wear plenty of sunblock because there is no shade on the tarmac, and make sure you have a big enough car to haul your goodies home because a sports coupe just isn’t enough to grab everything you will find.