San Fran City Scapes

There is spray paint graffiti everywhere.

4th of July

Welcome to the neighborhood...on Independence Day...

Scared: A Novel on the Edge of The World

Tom Davis is the CEO of Children's Hopechest, and he wrote a book called Scared, A Novel on the Edge of the World.

I got an email from Children's Hopechest, advertising a free PDF download of the book if I emailed three people. Since I went to Russia twice before with the aid of Hopechest to visit orphanages, I figured I would help Tom out.
After reading the first chapter, I was beyond impressed. This book is for everyone: photographers, world travelers, people who want to make a difference, and people who don't want to make a difference and stay in their comfortable lives.

Tom & Children's Hopechest are really great people. They give everything they got to make unfortunate kids smile and give them opportunities to have a better life, something we all take for granted. Buy or download this book. Believe me, I wouldn't tell you to read something that was a waste of time.

A rebel commander yelled something just outside the door.
Another shot, and the guard who had just spoken fell dead right on top of me. His blood flowed over my neck and right arm, staining my band of brothers ring crimson. The screaming intensified, people ran, yelled, and died.I scooted against the wall, huddled next to Mike as shots continued to shriek overhead. Plaster exploded and covered us. We tried to make ourselves invisible, curling into the fetal position, wrapping our arms over our heads. A bullet whined by my ear, missing by centimeters. I crawled facedown to the other side of the room, trying to get out of the line of fire.
Then a sudden, deafening silence.

Nobody moved for what seemed like hours. Fear paralyzed me, and the silence thickened, punctuated by an occasional moan or a sob. We waited and waited, wondering when it would be safe to stand, wondering if it would ever be safe.

Finally, I gazed out the window, my eyes searching for rebel soldiers in the yellow-orange gloom of smoke. No figures or
movement.
“I’m going out,” I whispered to Mike.
He didn’t respond
“Hey, listen. Let’s go, man.”
I elbowed him in the ribs.
“Mike!” I grabbed his jacket to turn him toward me. There was
a pinpoint crimson stain on the front of his light blue shirt. His eyes
stared through me.
I was frozen for a moment, not knowing what to do. Then I pulled my camera out of my bag. I picked up Mike’s gear and slung
it around my neck...

Scared - A Novel on the Edge of the World from Children's HopeChest on Vimeo.

Once a celebrated and award-winning photojournalist, Stuart Daniels is reeling from debt, a broken marriage, and crippling depression. The source of Stuart’s grief is his most famous photo, a snapshot of brutality in the dangerous Congo. This haunting image indicts him as a passive witness to gross injustice.

Stuart is given one last chance to redeem his career: a make-or-break assignment covering the AIDS crisis in a small African country. It is here that Stuart meets Adanna, a young orphan fighting for her life in a community ravaged by tragedy and disease. Now what seemed like a chance encounter will forever change their lives.

About the Author
Tom Davis is the accomplished author of Red Letters and Fields of the Fatherless. He also serves as a trainer in leadership development. He holds a Business and Pastoral Ministry degree from Dallas Baptist University and a Master's Degree in Theology from The Criswell College. He is the president of Children's HopeChest, a Christian-based child advocacy organization helping orphans in Eastern Europe and Africa. Tom and his wife, Emily, have five children.

San Succulent

Blue

At Jason's house, I woke up with this guy on my chest everyday. His name is Blue, and likes to jump out of second story windows.




Blue had this rad skull collar.

San Francisco, Day 1

Went to San Fran a few weeks ago. Finally got some time to edit some more images.

These images are details of Jason's house.

Michael Jackson Tribute Firework Show at Dodger Stadium 6/26/09

Last Friday, my friend Scott had some extra tickets to the Dodger game, and he had never been to Dodger stadium before. (He lives DOWN THE STREET...) He wanted to take me because the Dodgers are my favorite team. I had never been to a Friday night game since they started having fireworks after the game. (I am more of a Monday through Thursday fan). I had no idea that they would play a tribute firework show for Michael Jackson. Usually, firework shows are played to classical music, but hearing Jackson songs to fireworks made it the most AWESOME firework show ever! And they let everyone on the field.



This video is the finale of the show. If you have a short attention span for youtube (like me), the last 30 seconds are EXPLOSIVE...

Only one way to satisfy a craving...

I have been craving home made Mac n Cheese for a long time. It is a combo of my two favorite food items, noodles and cheese. But I have had really good Mac n Cheese from The South, so I can't just get it anywhere because it won't taste the same. (I won't even consider anything that comes in a box.) And The Pantry serves Mac n Cheese, too. I have been very tempted to try some for quite some time
Anyway, I got talking about Mac n Cheese yesterday, and the idea has been stuck in my head. Only one way to get it out of my head, is to get into MY BELLY!

Little butter, little flour, and some cheese.

Boil the noodles. Mix the cheese and noodles together and add an egg. Chinese people figured out the egg and noodle thing a long time ago. Long before Buddha.


Add more cheese, and bake for a few minutes so the cheese melts a little, but not too much.


WaLA. Paula Dean, eat your heart out.
P.S. This is probably the fastest post I have ever done from a great event. It made it to the top of my to do list for the night. I think I ate too much and I will probably call it an early night.

Tony Gemignani throws some pizza for his San Francisco fans..

Tony Gemignani was at a street festival I went to in North Beach, San Francisco.He was performing his world class pizza throwing skills for the crowd. One of his restaurants is in Little Italy.

Tony's Pizza Napoletana
1570 Stockton St
San Francisco, CA 94133-3306
(415) 835-9888




Giving some shade.

How to make friends, not enemies.

I have been listening to this audiobook by Dale Carnegie. I have learned a lot, and I already use some of these friendly gestures of advice in my own ways of handling people and seeing their point of view. If you have already read this book, it is a classic and never hurts to refresh some people skills.

Six Rules to make friends:

1. Be genuinely interested in what the other person is saying, just like how your dog is interested in you. Fake people stand out , and are no fun to talk to.

2. Smile. Changes the atmosphere in a room.

3. Use and remember the other person's name. Their name is the most important thing about who they are and separates them from everyone else.

4. Listen. It is about the other person's interest and stories, even if you do not get to say your part of the story.

5. Talk in terms of the other person's interests. Once you figure out what the OTHER person wants, you can work together to get what you want.

6. Do unto others as other do to you. Everyone wants to be appreciated. Scratch your back, you scratch mine.

Nixon Library

I went to the President Nixon's Library a week ago. They acted like the Watergate scandal was someone else's fault, but Nixon resigned anyway. Make sense? I didn't think so

Baby Genius'

Anthony and Dave, being genius'

East meets West

Do you have a lot of cousins? Maybe 2nd or 3rd cousins? Well, I have fifth cousins that are spread out across the country and they came out for a family vacation to San Clemente last week. We tried to rally the troops to hang out for coffee or something, but everyone was to busy. Strange, I thought people would want to see some cool family. Then we decided to have dinner at Portillos, and ironically a lot of people and their grandmothers showed up to hang out.

Toms Shoes is going to New Orleans

Toms Shoes is going to New Orleans. I was thinking of buying another pair soon, but when I heard Toms was going to New Orleans this August, I decided to buy two pairs of shoes last week. My brother has been borrowing my old pairs so much, he decided to finally buy his own pair, too.

Below is the collection of household Toms.



A lot of people have these shoes.



I went camping a few weeks ago, and I was surprised on how comfortable these shoes were, even in the wild. I wore my Toms instead of my trusty boots the whole time.



The veteran Toms. Hundreds of miles on the bike paths.




In efforts of Toms going to help New Orleans, I will offer free one hour photo shoots for those that purchase new Toms from now until August.

"Anyone who has a small company, incorporate giving in what you do."

Patience & Un-Punctuality

I took this shot in Downtown LA and I have been thinking of using it to blog about the "time challenged" people, like myself. I had this idea that punctual people should be more patient towards un-punctual people. After all, everything cool never starts on time. Movies, concerts, festivals, parties... And who reads analog clocks anymore?

I just got back from Sequoia National Park today. Let me tell you, I thought I was patient AND un-punctual. Nope. This concept I have been playing around with in my head, I had to apply to myself this past weekend. Patience towards the un-punctual. The whole time I was there, all I did was drive faster to see more stuff. Go go go... See more now now now... In Southern California, we live in a fast pace culture, and I try to slow it down as much as possible. But slowing down time gets hard (especially when texting is so fun and I need to be somewhere five minutes ago), and we all get sucked up into the vacuum of faster faster faster...
So when I was standing in line at the store to buy some ice, and the one person in front of me was taking FOREVER with the small amount of items, I had to remember that I was not in Southern California, and I was a visitor to the giant forest, just like everyone else.

Everything is slower and no one cares. Take a deep breath, and wait.

Alas, a new section to the blog... What I have learned...

Say it loud, I'm stubborn and proud.

Lately, I have been reading around that stubbornness is a negative trait.
I consider myself to be fairly stubborn. Around 75%. Let me tell you, being stubborn is the make up of who I am and how I operate. I do what I want, when I want, and there is nothing you can do to stop me.
Sound like a bad thing? Maybe, maybe not. Stubborness is not be confused with being selfish. I have always lent a helping hand out to those in need. (I drove to Santa Barbara once at 11PM to pick up a friend who crashed his motorcycle...)

Stubborness is part of my drive. I don't like people telling me what to do. This is part of preserving my individuality. You can't change me, or who I am.
If I want to go on a trip somewhere, I will go and I will not wait. Sometimes, I am like a roaming bull in the field.
Bottom line, I see this "weakness" as a strength.

Joey Rules in Theory

I love rules that say don't follow the masses, and walking around the Disney Hall got me thinking. This giant metallic thing definitely stands out as a Los Angeles landmark and took Frank Gehry a lot of his own creativity to put together this timeless monument.

I made a list of my own rules of creative theory.
#1. Who cares what other people think. Don't compare yourself to others. Don't be nervous. Don't think. Just visualize and do. If the great minds of our time listened to what others thought, they would have not created their progressive work and not be respected for being great. You need to be your role model.

#2.Think with your mind, not with your medium. Painting, sculpting, photography, whatever. Mediums have creative limits, your mind does not.

#3. Exercise & go outside. When you feel good about yourself, you will perform better on every level. Exercise is a must for creative balance & progression.

#4. Be respectful to your subjects weather they are alive, dead, or inanimate. Just like when your mother used to tell you, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all..." It is easy to make your subject ugly and unattractive, but it takes skill and grace to make them look beautiful.

#5. Do. You can talk about "how to do" or get inspired, take classes or workshops, or research books for whatever creative avenue all day long, but practice makes perfect. All that talk about following your passions is interesting and "inspirational," but honestly, I prefer to practice. Do.

#6. The last rule is: There are no rules. Don't let anyone tell you to be like someone else or stop your creative groove.

With these theories in mind, I think The Disney Hall would look way cooler if it was purple.

LA Day part 1