Scientific theory

A recent spilling of mine:
I never quite finished this thought on the page. My point was to try to restate evolution to fit humanity's new reality. To again make scientific theory jive with our needs and goals. Our new goals being that we have to tone down our energy use and resource consumption if we want to survive. We have to hearken back to the days of old when we actually fit our natural niche better. De-evolution is the new evolution!

I guess I'm liberal

Over the last month I have accumulated a few things that I thought were cool and interesting. There is no hiding my leanings though. the things I will show here are as follows:
-Really cool art about American consumerism.
-The Barack Obama speech on race in America.
-The feature from PBS's Frontline called "Bush's War."

The art:
http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7
When my mom sent me this link i just thought these pieces were fantastic. I would love for this artist to come to Portland, so that I could stand next to them and look at them. I think that is were they really become art. . . when you experience the scale for yourself. . . theoretically. . . seeing as I haven't.

The Speech :
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88478467
I am already an Obama supporter, but I really feel this was a great speech! I appreciate that Obama doesn't answer complicated questions with simple answers. I worry that much of America is not as impressed with this approach as I am, but I am happy to feel like I don't have to compromise on finding a candidate I like. I really feel that Obama is the right guy.

The Program:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/
This program on the Iraq War is well done. It actually had me dreaming about Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld. Not pleasant, but it says a lot about the influence it had on me. I have not even finished watching it.

I hope any or all of you get something from these links. They really stand out from other things I've seen in the last few months.

Sasha Updated her Website!

Sasha's website is updated and looking good. Her brother designed the site back in the day, and he just showed her how to put up new pictures. I didn't help with too much, but I did help with the front page arrangement (below). If you need wedding photography, this is the way to go!

Yoga. . . .

Here is the video that I talked about last time. It was more fun for me to make than it will be to see.

Evening at Home

I did some yoga this evening to a great song from the Lost in Translation Soundtrack called "Alone in Kyoto." I enjoyed this enough to have spent the last few hours trying to choreograph what I saw while doing yoga, with the song. While that task was all encompassing, interesting, and possibly rewarding, I was interrupted by something much cooler: The sounds of fiddle, clapping and singing coming from somewhere in my neighborhood! I just walked around the block to try to see the players, and while I am confident that I have located them, I could not see them. The sound of fiddle echoing through space takes me back to my childhood when I would fall asleep at my father's band's contra dances, and that feeling is a pleasure.

I would like to share my yoga experience as well. I recommend watching this full screen, in the dark, with headphones.

(video to come. . . sorry)

Granny's Burritos

I joined the Portland Ultimate League this summer, and I'm happy to say we had our first WIN last night! This win comes after three tough losses, so I think we (the whole team) are very happy. We really played solidly: few drops, few thrown away passes, excellent ZONE defense. If you want to keep tabs on our progress you can go here, and feel free to come and watch some games if you so desire.

http://portlandultimate.com/portlandultimate/team.do?teamID=2&tourneyId=12

Also, Sasha has taken some great pictures of us playing, and I hope to put a few of those up at some point.

New Camera

There's a few more pics here: (on my main blog)
http://evancarroll.blogspot.com/2007/06/share-art.html

Share Art

I have a new camera.

It is much more versatile than my old one, and I've been learning its workings all week.

Photography is a special art form for me as I am able to enjoy it intuitively. Intuitiveness is my goal for any art form but I have only been able to achieve it in photography. To me, a photographer should be able to walk about, see things, frame them and capture them without consciously analyzing them. With each additional moment spent taking pictures the goal is to become more and more relaxed and focused. It should be almost meditative.

Sasha and I have gone on frequent "photo-walks" this week and have been able to strive for this experience together. Sometimes one or both of us is "in the zone" and other times we talk a lot and discuss shots. Sasha has a very good knowledge of photography and will always give me pointers if I need them. I think helping me helps her get excited about challenging herself to find more shots to capture. While we are both trying to find shots for ourselves we're also helping each other be inspired.

And that is what is so great about art: it is both intuitive and intellectual, both internally and externally influenced. Every artist wants to create in their own way, but an artist can learn new techniques, perspectives and styles by looking to others. The artist creates something that will be enjoyed a second time through when they share it with others.

Art is a cycle of learning, executing, and sharing. Learning to prepare for an new challenge, executing for self fulfillment and sharing to present a finished work or receive feedback.

I feel that photography is (at least for now) really coming back to me because Sasha and I are going through this cycle together. I hope we keep it up, but even if we move on to other obsessions/interests it's great to be here right now.

If you've got some art that needs sharing, please do. It's great to have this feeling back. I don't think I've had it much since school.

See more pics here:
http://evancarrollphography.blogspot.com/2007/06/new-camera.html

New Apartment!

I have now spent one night in my new place on Munjoy hill! I just walked to work. . . and I am now just a little TEN MINUTE walk from work! I am floored! I was figuring at lease fifteen. And there were lots of other people walking down from the hill to work too! Awesome. . . that's fantastic! On the down-side. . . Sasha and I slept awfully on our inflatable mattresses. We have no actual furniture yet, as we won't be moving 'till Saturday.

On another note. . . this: http://www.portlandmaine.tv/index.php
I haven't really had a chance to look at it yet, but I'm sure it's cool!
(thanks toni)

What about Barack?

I'm going to re-establish the use of my once famous site, "Truth Crusader." I have a new issue to discuss, because I'm looking to get involved. I want to know what people know and think about Barack Obama. Please check-out what I have to say, make your own comments, and read the comments of others HERE.