The Best Valentine's Ever

I wanted this Joey Ramon action figure from the moment I saw I it, and Suzette was there to provide a Valentine's Day "Cool Buy."

Here's what it says on the back of the box:

In every generation a small handful of
artists have such a profound musical
impact they change the entire face of
popular culture.
Most of these artists still owe Joey money.

Joey Ramone 1951-2001

P.S. I made Suzette a pair of killer pizzas for Valentine's Day dinner. It was an even trade.

Throwing Off the Bonds of Fear

Let's face it, things are scary right now. Commercial photographers face shrinking editorial pages in magazines, advertising budgets slashed to the bone and a rise in high-quality, low-priced stock images. This at the same time we stare directly into the face of rapidly changing technology: new cameras, updated software, new media distribution streams. And all of it collides directly over our wallets. It's enough to drive your normal, mild-mannered photographer into an agoraphobic depression.

But I say, "No more!"

Those of us who have chosen to be photographers don't do it for the money. We do it because we have to. Deep in our sliver-halide encrusted souls we yearn to communicate through our images. We crave the knowledge that somebody out there is looking at one of our pictures, saying to themselves, "Yes. I get it. I understand." We strive to connect - to make an impact - with our viewers.

If that impact is on the behalf of a client, so much the better. We thrive when our message is molded and amplified through the collaborative process.

If we are brave enough, perhaps our message is one from deep within our own experience, speaking universal truths only apparent from an individual's point of view.

But fear will stop that dead. It holds us, makes us hesitate when we should act. Fear is the communicator's greatest enemy. So we must lose all fear, be it fear of failure, fear of ridicule, fear of success, or the classic artist's fear that people just won't like it.

So I say, be not afraid of the future! Be not afraid of markets, of financial melt-downs, of global unrest or political strife! Be not afraid to lay yourself bare, to say the things that must be said! Be not afraid of living!

It is time to throw off the bonds of fear and walk proud, to shout, "I am good at what I do, and as I let go of fear, I will only get better!"

I'm gonna get that stupid groundhog....

I just have to say it once and for all: I'm sick of winter. We've been buffeted by hurricane force winds, had power knocked out for days at a time, were snowed in - like the Donner Party! - for nearly a week ("you know, that dog is looking kind of tasty"), endured icing fog so thick you couldn't see what exactly that was you just ran over but it felt kind of bumpy and squishy and you think you might have heard it go Eep! but let's not think about it because it could have been anything in the this damn fog....

And now, after all that, just when we start to believe that a warmer, gentler spring might be around the corner, a frigging groundhog pops out of Bill Murray's butt, sees his shadow, and we're all screwed for another six weeks? How the hell did that happen?

I don't care how cute you look there, Mr. Groundhog sitting along the trails at Mt. Rainer. I know your game. I'm on to you. One day, you're going to look up and you'll see a shadow alright. A shadow that rapidly expands around you.