Saturday, December 11, 2010

12.08.10 Beginning Road Trip

Matthew and I left Thursday for a cross country road trip. Stayed in Boise, ID, went through Salt Lake City, UT and are now in Laramie, WY, the state called Forever West. Some of the most beautiful skies I have ever seen. I will post some pictures tomorrow.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

What Does A Sustainable Future Look Like?

This post is prompted by an article in the New York Times last Sunday on the imminent (possibility) of developing a vast industrial zone with coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, and steel mills, on dozens of miles of lush, nurturing coastline in the city of Dawei, Myanmar (Burma).
The article broke my heart. Because this is undeniably who we are today.
Thailand needs the power, and Myanmar needs the jobs. Everything is expanding, and our population is proliferating. It seems in order to sustain the lifestyles that we currently enjoy, we need to keep building and burning. Building and burning.
What was once the 'American Dream' is now the 'Universal Dream'. We all want a family to love with, a house to live in, nourishment, and health. And we should desire these things. Everyone deserves comfort and warmth, not just the wealthy or the developed. But how can it not makes me sad and uncomfortable when I am the culprit of my environment too? These things keep us alive longer but deplete our resources faster. So maybe there is another way to dream, so that we can live life with joy, and the Earth can grow and replenish it's skin.
Do I want to have babies that grow up into children, teenagers, and then adults that will then want to have more babies? Some day my children will not have this gorgeous Earth that we have now. I wish I was smart enough to live without the things we are told that we need. I wish we had created something that was sustainable, because this currently is not. But wishing is not going to make a difference when it comes to this. Change is going to take the effort of every one on this planet.

Here is a link the the article... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/27/world/asia/27iht-myanmar.html?_r=2&pagewanted=3&sq=myanmar&st=cse&scp=2
I hope it makes you sad, inspired, and motivated.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Small Update

To: Those Across the Country

I have been writing papers, preparing for finals, and celebrating birthdays and holidays. I'll be in Wyoming, South Dakota, and mainly Nashville and Chicago next month. I will post some pictures when they are sorted through, and I would very much like to see those that live in those areas...please...

From: Terry

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

A Telephone Call to Michigan

I missed a call on my phone the other day, and I didn't recognize the number. They didn't leave a message, and since I'm job hunting, Matthew said I should call them back. I think that's awkward...hey, um, did you call me? who is this again? what?

But I noticed that it was a Michigan area code, and one near Traverse City. I have a friend who is a heroin addict that lives with his folks in in the Upper Peninsula. I am often afraid I will get a call from this family saying that he overdosed. So, after deliberation, the next day I call the number back hoping that it's not his Dad that answers.

Nope. It's Camile. She is a woman, living near Grand Rapids, MI actually, and originally from Crystal Lake, IL. She won't tell me how old she is, but I can tell the decade, and that she's a smoker. After we try, but don't figure out how/why she called me, she still wants to chat. So she tells me about her husband, a Chicago cop for 25 years, who wants to retire to a trailer in Florida and does, and who dies in 2004 after they move back up to the Midwest again. She still misses him, but she has great kids who take care of her and look after her every day. She tells me to love my Mom, and call her every day. She asks about siblings, and I tell her I have twin brothers. She seems happy that I talk to at least one of the four of my family every day. I can hear her smiling. She tells me to find love, and to keep it, and to love every minute of every day, because one day it will be gone. She tells me she hopes I am not scared of her, that she's not a creep, and that too many today live in fear. I laugh because she used the word creep, and I tell her it's nice to talk to someone I've never met. After about 35 minutes we hang up. She calls back an hour later and tells me she figured out how our numbers crossed and she says goodbye again.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Seasons of Change

Seattle Autumn is mild, but those fire balls on tree trunks are not as vivid when light doesn't dance on the leaves. But when the sunlight slices through the thick gray for a few minutes, it's beautiful. Although I think Chicago has some of the most spectacular Fall months I've ever seen...So I wonder what do the seasons mean? Why do our bodies respond with stuffy noses and dry skin? Why do colors mute, and gray filters cover my hazel eyes? Why do endorphins and energy levels change? Our thoughts look forward to December, and dread January? Christmas is no coincidence. Our souls may hibernate but they drink, eat, and are still hungry for company. Green grass is still underneath the cold, but our bare feet are inside on warm carpet. Then Spring emerges, and we are rejuvenated; but why not be refreshed by Winter?

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Early Winter Spires

Matthew was ahead of me, the first of the two of us to climb back over the "whales hump" that sits up another 40 feet above the 400 feet we have already climbed. He scampers out a couple feet as I hold the rope, turns around, swings his leg over the steep side and straddles the hump. He grabs the spine of the rock with his left hand and raises up his right arm, swinging it in circles. 'Yeeeehaaaawwww', riding his horse on top of the world, he smiles the biggest smile I have ever seen. And I know he's home. I know after all these years of knowing each other, endless discussions of photography, school, travel, careers, rock climbing, kayaking, the past and the future, and how do all of these align to make the most beautiful life we've ever seen... he has found a home on that mountain horizon. I am so happy for him, and I am so happy for me. It's not always simple or easy, but this new city, geography, landscape, has given us the distance to be ourselves when we need to be, but be as one when the sun sets, and you're looking for that hand to hold.
Life is taking on new meaning for me lately.



Monday, October 18, 2010

write, call, email, blog, paint, print, and participate

Communication has has been focusing on other aspects of my life lately. It feels like it's been a long time since I have put some effort into writing. This blog needs to become something that it currently is not. But I am not sure what transformation this blog deserves. I am not a photographer. I am not a [good] blogger. Really, I am not interesting enough that anyone wants to seriously check out what I do. But I like my life, and I do interesting things every day. But we all do. And today, many think that their lives are worth broadcasting and shouting. I don't know what I think of that.

So, I write. Because I can. It's free and I am not bad at it.

But I am in a nonprofit management program, and I think in the future I will write more about what I discover about this sector. I will write about news, about developments in the arts world, about the pacific northwest nonprofit industry. Or maybe I won't write at all. Maybe I will just live my life and not tell anyone about what I am doing, because if they really want to know, they'll ask. And if I really want them to know, I'll call. I just can't decide right now. Monday morning seems so cold and stiff so far.

So, I'd like to hear about what people are doing. But you don't all have blogs, so I guess I'll have to write you all a letter to ask and find out.


I like the ease of technology, but waiting for mail has improved my patience and consequently my relationships. I love many things. And I love to look at what people think is interesting, and what kind of art they are creating. So I partake in the participation and consumption of mass art. We are now what is called ProAms, Professional Amateurs. I am an amateur of hundreds of things, and a professional at nearly nothing. Consequently, I cannot claim the word professional in any title of mine. Let's have a discussion of what the heck that means.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Friday, September 24, 2010

Casa Do Caminho

After nearly 15 months, I finally have some tangible product from the dozens upon dozens of rolls of 120 film I shot while in Brazil. These are some of the photos, taken with my grandmothers twin lens medium format camera. They are of children and young adults that reside(d) at Casa Do Caminho, a nonprofit orphanage located in Xerém, a jungle town three hours outside of Rio. Casa Do Caminho is supported in part by the language center in Rio de Janeiro where I took Portuguese classes. I spent a number of weekends horsing around, and learning from these tireless kids. The energy and love that emanated from this community was contagious, and indescribable. I will put up more as they are printed and scanned.









Saturday, September 18, 2010

Waptus-Escondido Loop

The eastern side is the drier and warmer side of the Cascades. The mountains are painted with reds and yellows and are speckled with orange and purple meadows. We set out on a 22 mile loop on Tuesday, with the promise of a couple warm days ahead. We may not see the sun til next Spring as AutumnWinter looms. As we hiked up the mountain, every turn on the trail revealed a different surprise; lush green pines, snow capped mountains in the distance, a dried up valley, a shimmering pool. On the second day the last turn on the trail before we began our descent revealed something incredible. A forest fire had swept across acres, maybe years ago, maybe months ago. Hundreds of trees, white and black and gray towered above us. Stunning, and terrifying, it was something out of a Dr. Seuss book. We walked for miles among these charred giants, the muted colors of the area reflected the clouds that were fast approaching. Deep green alpine mountains painted the skyline. We took as many shots as we could; I could never describe this day well enough. Quickening our pace, it began to rain hard just as we hit the valley and found shelter among the forest.



Monday, September 13, 2010

i am in a list making mood lately

i have been absent from the online world for a while.
my 29th birthday came and went.
my first quarter of graduate school is over (summer session) and now i have ten days until fall quarter begins.
my brothers and parents hopped over for labor day weekend and then hopped back home almost as quickly.
i have one last paper due at 5pm today.
the excitement of a possible new roommate
new boots
i smell autumn approaching
i am catching up on the letters that people have been writing me now that i have a tiny break. keep them coming please.

Monday, August 30, 2010

bed and breakfast. and a busy couple weeks.

it was a half refurbished 60 foot sailboat, and we stayed in the front room that was described as the "honeymoon room". you couldn't call it a suite, because i couldn't even stand up in it, but the bed certainly took up the majority of the room. the owners were a retired couple from austria, who held good cheer and educational conversation with us our entire stay. the weekend was a busy one, but i was grateful for the inter mitten relaxation that the boat and it's sun deck offered us. grandma, you would have loved it. www.slowseason.com

yesterday we went rock climbing in snoqualmie in the foggy seattle morning. this past saturday we were tickled with some bluegrass at the local bar, and i've had a whirlwind of class and homework for the past two weeks. now i am getting ready for a visit from the novak fantastic four.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

San Juan Island Ferry

Last weekend was a hot couple of days shooting a wedding on the San Juan Islands in Washington, just shy of Canada. Matthew and I stayed on a dated bed & breakfast sailboat, I will get a couple more of those seriously weird pictures up soon.

Monday, August 9, 2010

rain city

i would like to just sit and watch the glow of the rising sun one morning. i guess i will have to wait a couple more years til after i finish grad school.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Elevation: I am from the Midwest

When the guide book says the difficulty level of your hike is Strenuous, next time I will take that grade seriously. This was my first major hike in forever, and although I have run several marathons, I have never known pain and soreness like this... It's a truly great feeling. Seattle has been many things to me this past month, and the serenity I find only when I am deep in the woods is a perfect balance to the tens of thousands of drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and endless hipsters I navigate through every day. And in the Alpine Wilderness, we had a whole new set of obstacles and swarming numbers to dance, jump, and step around. One snake, one hummingbird, two frogs, three slugs, six caterpillars, the cry of a mountain goat, and 20,000 mosquitoes. Next time we won't forget the bug spray.




Monday, July 12, 2010

Dog Poop

Walking Nora this morning she decided she couldn't hold it anymore and pooped on the sidewalk. She likes to walk, sometimes in circles, while she is in the act. I picked up the little brown culprits, threw them away, and waited to cross the street. A white Nissan came around the corner, and a lady smiled out of her car window, projecting her voice across the passenger seat, told me that i had missed a piece. Flabbergasted. What? Huh? Words did not come, so I said "thanks lady". I guess I'm not in Illinois anymore.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Leah

Moving to Seattle has been a tangle of easy and difficult. I find myself lonely, and I find myself in awe of the beauty that is the Pacific Northwest. Reflecting, and knowing that the incredible nature that surrounds me can kiss me and keep the empty feelings at bay. I have yet to find a camera of my own, so the blog has definitely been lacking. In the soft grass, these are the toes of little Leah, and they make me smile.

Friday, June 11, 2010

wake up (the art of focus)

i don't find comfort in knowing that i am not the only one with a seemingly diminishing attention span. obsessively checking email while working, texting while driving, blogging while brushing my teeth, twittering while taking a shit. all of these things effectively affect my ability to read books, to have lengthy and educated conversations, to listen, to focus, to retain, and i can feel my brain cells sleeping.

the New York Times book review sunday section had a review of Nicholas Carrs' The Shallows. initially i found it depressing, but there is motivation in such a feeling. and i am going to find what has been lost along the relatively short path we call technology.

check it out
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/books/review/Lehrer-t.html?ref=books

Sunday, May 2, 2010

The (Art) (Stress) of Waiting for Mail

I've waited all late Winter and Spring for my grad school acceptance letters. I know how it feels to wait. And then wait some more. Anticipation grows, and every day has the possibility to be Christmas. In the meantime I've begun to write letters to my friends across the country and across the city. I write to those I know, and hope to meet new along the way. Growing up and finding my path(s), I've taken to finding solace in the simplicity of paper and pen, horizons and sunsets, and wide open spaces. Finding tiny surprises in small towns, smiles from strangers on lonely roads, and letters waiting in mailboxes from friends I just met on my last adventure. Their letters beat me home. These little pieces of paper bouncing in the back of a mail truck, so excited to be opened. I love getting mail. It's been a slow start, and I have my Grandma and my love to thank for some wonderful mail, but like everything that's good, you have to wait for it.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The Art of Amateur Radio

There are 700,000 licensed ham radio users in the U.S. These guys know that if the internet and cell phones (suddenly) stop working, they will still be able to communicate. Whether that means warning residents of potential emergencies, communicating mass instructions/directions to a town, cracking jokes, or sending their love to their love across national radio waves. Communication for the masses is perpetually being developed. New forums, new inventions, new sites, new fads. And, like most other fields, new communication is based on old communication. But how has it changed what we are saying, how we are saying it, and what it means?

Can we sort through decades of out-dated communication devices and forms and find something that will change the way we speak once again? By definition, trends and fads escalate and then vacillate often in short periods, many never leaving a lasting impression. But when we talk about communication, sustainable communication, with impeccable speech and noble intentions, that form may be more important than all of the future internet technology combined.

Maybe something to talk about...

Saturday, April 3, 2010

name change

"the effervescent jungle", referring to my time in rio de janeiro didn't feel pertinent anymore. so i've begun anew. please pardon any confusion.
hugs, cheers, and many many thanks for reading my little contributions to this world.
-terry

trees have emotions. humans have branches