THOMAS COLE WAS HOLDING BACK!

This is one of a series of four paintings that Thomas Cole created that are collectively called "The Voyage of Life". The one above represents the time frame I currently find myself navigating, namely adulthood. All four paintings reside at the National Gallery of Art in DC. The first time I saw them I was still in my youthful orientation. I remember looking at adulthood then and thinking perhaps Cole chose to heighten the emotion for dramatic effect. For those reading this on a iPhone, the painting shows a weary, fear-laden adult man, praying to an indifferent God moments before he is thrown through turbulent, seemly unending rapids. A hands-off angel observes from a distance. Now I understand that Cole was being modest. I would have removed one of the man's arms, painted in some river sharks, and, being correct for the time period, rained down Ulama-sized hail. Actually, if I were modernizing it, I'd give the guy a new Banana Republic Gore-tex jacket, have him playing Angry Birds on his iPad, and note his calm, benzodiazepine-induced disposition as he is thrown down any river in China.  

MY FRIEND SETH

My good friend Seth just visited us here in the Springs. He brought with him a scratch-and-dent backpack and his newfound Washington State sensibilities. We ran him through the gamut of what is becoming our traditional sight-seeing tour, though found originality at the nude hot springs of Valley View. You never truly know your friend until you sit next to their naked body in a tepid pool of filth. We almost killed Seth twice: once in an ill-fated late-night adventure to a bat cave, and once on an overambitious route through the sand dunes. 

DON'T MESS MISS TEXAS

Julie and I headed down to the great state of Texas for Christmas break. We thought we would spend our time there basking in the Texas sun, but Mother Nature had other ideas. We mostly camped, and it got cold at night. It got so cold in fact that we needed to buy a heated fitted sheet for our air mattress. Not exactly roughing it, but we aren't young wiper snappers anymore. We spent some time in Austin, Enchanted Rock, and at a wildlife ranch called YO (each letter is pronounced, it's not pronounced like urban slang for "hi"). They had lots of the ubiquitous Texas longhorn, but also gazelles and zebras. For a few thousand bucks, we could have had the pleasure of shooting one in the head. 

LOOK FOR ME ON AL JAZEERA AMERICA ONLINE

Yes, the man shooting sparks out of his groin in the background is me. My buddy Patrick Brown recently shot a series of photos up in the small town of Deer Trail, Colorado, and I worked as his assistant. The story is about the towns' recent infamy over a proposed ordinance that would allow people to shoot down drones that enter into Deer Trail airspace. One caveat: you have to use a shotgun. The ordinance is symbolic and meant to be a protest against the domestic use of drones. Its  author, Phillip Steel, understands that you can't shoot down a drone with a shotgun. His point is that the domestic use of drones should scare the shit out of all of us. You can view the online article by clicking here.  

MY NEW HOBBY: REPURPOSING

These pictures may be a little misleading as it appears at first glance that an alter got repurposed into an alter. Please understand that the top photo is an organ with religious figures haphazardly placed on it. The bottom photo is a well thought out and executed alter. I blame this new hobby on watching too many episodes of American Pickers at the gym. The house we rented here in Colorado Springs came furnished, and among the furnishings was this dilapidated organ. I originally asked the landlord if I could get rid of it because I considered it an eyesore. But slowly it grew on me. I started seeing the beauty of this old piece. I ended up doing a lot to bring it back to life, but it was important to me to keep its original integrity intact. I gutted all the internal organ parts and replaced the front panels with art glass. I also added lights. I think my favorite part of the whole piece are the cast iron foot pedals. 

MY PARENTS IN SHOVE MEMORIAL CHAPEL

I just thought these two photos of my parents turned out nice. I shot them with a 50mm lens with natural light. Shove Memorial Chapel is on the campus of nearby Colorado College. In my opinion, it is the most beautiful church here in the Springs. 

MY FIRST COVER IN COLORADO!

I started doing some freelance work for the free local newspaper in Colorado Springs called "The Independent". The cover features the good folks from Zeezos costume shop dressed, in a clockwise fashion: a turkey, an elf who has been beat up, a flapper, and a magician. It felt really good to be behind the camera again. As a bonus, Zeezos has generously offered me free costumes to use in my secret life as a plushophiliac (do a quick google search).