ANOTHER WEIRDER MAGAZINE COVER

I took this photo the other day for the prestigious "Voice" magazine of Guangdong Country Garden School. What does this ragtag band have to do with the school? I have no idea. All I knew was that I would take the picture of these four students in the school auditorium. When I arrived I found the instruments backstage and decided they would help make the photo more interesting. There was a sheet-like banner hanging behind them that I illuminated with a blue gelled flash to add some color. It was commando photography at its best, just like the Jordan days. I wonder what it would be like to have a concept laid out in advance by an art director? Probably boring. PostScript: The students were playing the song "Automobile" by NWA.   

THE LITTLE MATCH CHANBAOBAO

My 3rd grade class started reading a strange book called "The Little Match Girl" this week. It is the story of a poor girl who lives with her verbally abusive father and is forced to sell matches on the street to support his drinking problem. The story culminates with the girl succumbing to hypothermia and dying in the street. I feel like life is enough of a pain in the ass as you mature and get older, and am not sure why eight year olds need to swallow this bitter reality pill. So I helped them change the story. Firstly, we changed the girl in the story to a silk worm (the kids are currently raising silk worms). Silk worm in Chinese is pronounced chanbaobao. Then we added two chapters to the story where the silk worm isn't dead. She changes into a moth and gets revenge on her father by throwing a grenade into his house and blowing him up. Then they illustrated the new chapters. Now that's my kind of story.

LOW ENERGY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Traveling is a young man's game. It takes a lot of energy to make your way across a strange new country, and some countries take more energy than others to negotiate. Places like Cambodia, Ghana, and the Philippines come immediatly to mind. In places like these you need all your wits about you and boatloads of energy to convey confidence and calmness. Julie and I recently spent a long weekend in the Philippines, flying into Angeles and making our way to the less trod towns of La Union and Baguio. We over-reached for our limited time there, and the extensive traveling combined with too much drinking took a toll on us (not to mention our decision to travel back to China separately!). In poorer countries, showing fear or weakness can be dangerous. People with no options in life learn quickly to pick up on subtle queues from tourists that they might be uncomfortable. Thankfully, we had no incidents, and actually met many very nice people in the Philippines. But as my energy wained, it was clear that things could go bad quickly there. I wish I had taken more photos. The Philippines is a beautiful country full of color and character. But taking out a camera and engaging with strangers also takes a lot of energy to do well. Looks like this old man needs to start eating high fiber cereal and pulling his socks all the way up.