Straight Edge Life

The best that reggae has to offer today. Period.

Jr. Gong has been a favorite of mine since I heard Stuck In Between off of the Halfway Tree disc. Not all that long ago… and I wasn’t in love with every single song on Halfway Tree, but it was obvious enough after one run through that Damian Marley has talent in ways few in modern reggae have. He’s got roots.

Listen to the lyrics on Welcome to Jamrock and you find a cutting almost brutal confrontation with all aspects of life. In the way that The Blues isn’t made to make you forget but to revel in life, Marley lifts your spirits without making you forget about reality. I’m not sure if that’s the best way to say it. But After listening to this disc you’ll be full of energy to fight rather than forget. And I think that’s what reggae has always been about to me. Mobilization of those who connect with the message. Mobilization not pacification.

In true Rastafarian spirit Damian Marley keeps every word and note of every song of Welcome to Jamrock positive with a forward-looking perspective. Makes me smile because I didn’t think anybody was making reggae like this anymore. Welcome to Jamrock is richly textured, extremely direct and a hell of a pleasure to hear loud through your speakers.

I’ve been on task for the last week or so. This always happens after I spend a bit of time doing something I like to do. It makes the stuff I don’t really want to do seem easier to handle. I guess maybe the trick to working hard is playing hard.

So yeah… It’s been busy lately. I know, I know. What’s new? But interesting stuff is happening. I’m being offered a full-time position doing programming work here in town. It can be either a 4 or 5 day position depending on how we set it up. And I’m very, very seriously considering taking the job. Especially if it’s a 4 day job. It would pay just enough to cover my bills and would give me the flexibility to work on other personal programming projects or go shooting a bit each week. Which I think is enough. I said a while ago that I’m done with big projects and I think this is the first step to getting away from contract work.

In the meantime I’m keeping way busy programming a number of different projects. I’m getting a chance to use xml a bit more, which is cool. I’ve been training Cam in Lasso, which is cool because he learns fast. And I’ve even been fiddling with a really speedy linux setup for a MySQL server. Fun stuff. More later…

I received an email this morning from “a worried mom”, a straight edge life visitor. She’s digs the idea of straight edge but is a bit concerned about the whole tattoo thing. What follows is my response. Almost verbatim… I thought you might be interested.

There’s a pretty big difference between the straight edge scene and the straight edge philosophy. The scene comes with all the typical earmarks that help a kid who hasn’t found their own identity “define” themselves. The tattoos, the music, even the typical clothing uniform of punk and hardcore music fans. But the philosophy itself isn’t tied to those things. The philosophy is about living a clean life and keeping your head, body and soul free of intoxicants. Healthy.

It might be worth trying to explain the difference to your kid. But it’s worth considering other aspects of the scene first… The music, although loud, hard and fast is surprisingly positive. The clothing, although ugly at times, is a fad and harmless. The hair… well, it will grow back and change back to it’s natural color eventually. So I wouldn’t bug your kid about those. No matter how much they don’t fit your taste. But about tattoos… it’s easier to see that as a line in the sand. They are permanent.

I don’t have tattoos, not because of any philosophical opposition to them, just because. The only complaint I hear about them from many of my friends who do have them is that you have to be really careful about where you get them on your body. It IS actually harder to get jobs with visible tattoos. Becoming a part straight edge shouldn’t hamper your future financial stability. But like I said, it’s a placement issue. Tattoos certainly aren’t a requisite for the straight edge scene and definitely not if you simply subscribe to the philosophy alone. Personally I feel like the strength and personal identity that the straight edge philosophy gives you makes the scene of straight edge itself irrelevant. Does that make sense? When you are strong and clean and smart you don’t need a scene. And that’s what straight edge is about. Strength.

There’s a mexican girl on the other side of my bench reading Playboy. Last night I briefly mingled with a 13 year old child star. Earlier in the day I had brunch with, among others, a girl who I’m pretty damn sure guest starred on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in season 7. I shared a room with Sarah’s brother, Josh, a Java guru working at Sun. Cool guy. Watched him spill so much game that he had at least two girls hanging over him all night. I hitched a ride in a convertible black mustang with a blond bombshell who looked suspiciously like Barbie. Also a cool person. Drank a 1:00 A.M. milkshake over onion rings in a fairly sketchy Denny’s in Burbank with Sarah’s husband, Johnny. On the Airport PA system Billy Idol and the Cure are keeping me chuckling audibly while I am now waiting for my flight. There’s a very country looking guy across from me tapping his toes furiously. I’ve shot more than a thousand images in the last 3 days and life feels pretty interesting for the moment. Of course, I wouldn’t want to live in this town, ever. Most of the people living here feel much the same way. But it’s definitely interesting to come and visit once in a while.

I came down to shoot a wedding. And that wedding was a lot of fun. Rachel wore this very nice 50’s style dress and the church was well lit. Can’t ask for much more. I’ve seen a few really funky wedding dresses and been in a lot of cave churches. And one thing I can say about L.A. is that it’s hard to walk 50 feet (not that anyone walks anywhere in L.A.) without bumping into 10 out of the 20 people you would need to coordinate a fairly major production. And they’re all happy in that wonderful California way to help you stage yours. So the wedding really went off without a hitch.

I’ve edited through the images from my Utah trip. Sadly, not so many photos from the desert as I would have liked this time. Just enough to add nicely to my Utah Photo Gallery (click to visit the gallery). Most of the stuff is from within Zion, Bryce or Arches national parks. Some shot on 35mm, others shot on high-res digital. All images are available as gorgeous prints; with or without mats, ready for framing, or framed upon request. Enjoy.

I had a great time on this trip, as I always do when traveling through the southwest, and you can count on more photos from Utah in the future. Although not right away, gas prices are a bit high at the moment.

Just got back from a trip out into Utah for a bit of photography and relaxation. Equal amounts of both, so it wasn’t an entirely serious photo trip. Casual shooting, casual hiking, lots of driving. The weather was great, even had a few thunderstorms. Great stuff. But as I’m sitting here editing my images I wish I could still be out there. A little more seriously this time.

Photography is what matters to me. Relaxation comes and goes, but photography teaches me. It’s not just a desire to shoot, it’s a need. Shoot, edit, print, sell. All four of those take me through the “process” of art. Instinct, self-discovery, voice, technique, and finally, validation. A lot of my work, the majority of my work, is never shown to anyone. I skip that last bit of validation simply because all I need is to know my own voice. To find my own path, to clarify my thoughts. But in whatever combination these things come they are essential to me. Completely, totally critical.

So, why does it take a third party to tell me what I need to hear? Rather, why does it take a third party to make me listen to the things I’ve been telling myself? To find what is essential.

This trip was great, perhaps one of the best I’ve ever had… but I need more. Something where photography is my only focus.

Getting back to my point about third parties… my life is scattered, progressively fragmented by a dangerous entanglement of work and life. It’s been cramping my creativity severely. My focus is all messed up. I can’t concentrate on my photography with any success and I’ve been making odd decisions. I can barely bring myself to pick up my bag and go shooting. So… at the urging of an article I recently read about motivation and creativity in the digital age, I am giving up AIM/iChat (except by appointment) and will only check email at designated times during the day. Maybe three or four times. TV, is also on it’s way out. I’d also like to turn off my phone, but I’m not sure that one is going to be possible. Things that I have considered many times in the past to help me regain my focus, but never did because I didn’t have any kind of backup telling me it actually could help. So… stick with me as I try this little experiment. The results should be worthwhile.