Some of my Holga shots...

Just for random enjoyment I have decided to post a few photographs I have taken over the past year. Using the cult classic Holga camera I have discovered a great love for photography and hope to share my shots with you...

Where have you been??

Its been almost two years since I have started my blog. It has been nearly just as long since my last post. Due to the unforeseen circumstances life brings I wasn't able to keep a steady stream of entries going on this site and it eventually slid to the bottom of my priorty list. I am not completely confident that this will not happen the second time around but I saw no reason not to give it another try. I will try to keep the posts less sporadic than before but considering I am a busy college student Eastern Kentucky University I can't make any gurantees. So for all my readers out there in the so-called "bloggosphere", please be patient and enjoy my somewhat naive outlook on life. Feel free to give your opinions, whether agreeable or not, on each of my posts.

Enjoy... : )

4 Men Detained For NYC Terror Plot

The article is by Associate Press reporter Adam Goldman.

This is truly terrifying stuff. Read and comment if you like...

Random Pics Around My Hometown...

In order to give the few readers who stumble across my blog a better feel of who I am and where I come from, I figured I would post a couple of photos of the environment in which I was raised.

Each photo was taken within 10 miles of my home.

American Troops Missing In Iraq

Click title to read article by BBC NEWS...

Troops on the ground are conducting a search for three missing troops in Iraq. Early this morning the patrol, including 8 American soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter, was attacked near Baghdad. Five of the soldiers are dead and three are reported MIA. The fate of the Iraqi interpreter has not yet been released.

My Generation...

What will be the legacy of my generation? This question has been plaguing me for quite a while now. I’ve been reading the interviews in the recent issue of Rolling Stone, celebrating the magazine’s fortieth anniversary, and I’ve began too wonder. I’ve began to worry. The interviews include George McGovern, Jane Fonda, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, former president Jimmy Carter, and many more icons from the sixties and seventies. They talk a lot about the counter culture of the 1960’s and the social issues plaguing the United States and the world during that time. Desegregation, women rights, fighting for the Vietnam War, and recreating America’s culture were all accomplishments of this generation. The baby boomers, or hippies, which ever you prefer, were vital instruments in retaining our nation’s democratic ideals that were threatening to disappear. They fought for what they believed. They fought hard. Hard enough that most of their ideals and accomplishments are still in place today.

It’s the recent crisis’ plaguing our great country and world at the moment that has me so worried. Not just worried, but terrified! I’m terrified for the world I will leave behind for my children and their children. Will I really stand by and allow these horrible things to continue? Will I allow them to take shape forever corrupting my offspring’s future? I am optimistic that I will stand against the foes that our currently plaguing our society. Global warming, the corrupt criminals sitting within the Bush Administration, and the recent drought-fueled genocide taking place within Darfur are just a few of these foes. Why are we not fighting?

My generation, both college and high school students, is not adequately standing for our country’s beliefs. We are allowing ourselves to be lied too. We are ourselves to harm our environment. We are standing by as thousands of people are being slaughtered daily on the African continent. Do we not care? Or are there just too many problems for us to choose a cause?

I look back at the young Americans of the 1960’s am I find myself inspired. I am inspired by their determination. I am inspired by their involvement. They saw our democratic state in shambles and fought to repair it. What has happened to that spirit? As we see record low poll numbers on Bush’s approval rating, and that of the Iraq War, we are, at the same time, seeing few individuals stepping up to publicly proclaim their disapproval of Bush and his administration.

As I looking back at the reign of King George II, I suppose he has accomplished one thing. He has succeeded in keeping our country subdued against using our First Amendment rights against him and his fellow criminal posse. “You’re unpatriotic!” I have heard that statement proclaimed somewhat loosely lately as though we have forgotten what the word PATRIOTIC actually means. Isn’t the right to question and protest our country’s authoritative figures what our fellow Americans are currently fighting for in Iraq? Is that not the ideal our country was founded on? If I remember my history correctly, I believe that is correct.

Stand up!! We are allowing our true “morals” and “values” to disappear into oblivion. We owe to our children’s future to fight these tyrants around the world.

With that, I return to my original question. What will be my generation’s legacy? What will we leave behind for our offspring? At our current state it will most likely be a very scary world for them to live in. With no chance to flourish in society, civilizations, much as the current crisis in Darfur, will begin to crumble under the strain and consequences of global warming, and democracy in the United States of America will no longer exist. That will be the outcome brought on our silence. We will be remembered as the SILENT GENERATION… I must say that the idea terrifies me. I do not want my generation to be looked upon by future generations as the generation that allowed America’s democracy too die.

The Future of Life

Just recently I finished my spring semester in college. Due to my procrastination when it came to enrolling in my classes I was not able to take all the classes I had hoped too. Luckily one of the fill in classes, Human Ecology, opened a new arena of knowledge I had never considered. As part of the course, the class was required to read Edward O. Wilson's The Future of Life. The book outlined many of the environmental problems that are plauging the world and the consequences we, as part of the biosphere, face.

Included below is an essay I wrote for the class covering the content of the fifth chapter of the book entitled The Future Of Life. The chapter covered the generous services our environment supply to us free of charge and the financial disastors we will face if they are to dissapeer.

What is our biosphere worth? That is the question Edward Wilson attempts to answer in chapter five of his book “The Future of Life”. According to a group of economists and environmental scientists, the value of ecosystem services provided by the natural environment is at or near $33 trillion. These services vary in value and include pollination of crops, water purification, the nutrient cycle, the balancing of atmospheric gases, and the most valuable, at $17.1 trillion, soil formation. It should come as no surprise that the dollar values of these resources are expected to increase as the services become more tarnished and their engineers become increasingly scarce (World Resources, 1998). Regrettably, this figure has had no effect on Homo sapiens. We continue to increase the dollar value of these natural services by decreasing the abundance of contributors Mother Nature has so generously supplied to help sustain our existence. This includes rainforest destruction, species extinction, and the continuing contribution to greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere. It is said that every action has a consequence. Unless the human population seriously considers the predicted outcome of our environmental abuse and attempt to form a solid solution, the payment to replace our lost natural resources will prove to have greater consequences than just an economic burden.
One ecological service Wilson discusses, which I had never before considered, is the linkage between the contributions of the pharmaceutical world and the disruption of Earth’s rainforest habitats. Rainforests, which cover only 6% of the land surface, house nearly half of all the plant, animal, and floral species living in Earth’s biosphere (Wilson 2002). Out of this rich field of biodiversity scientists continue to discover and supply the world with new pharmaceuticals used to combat infectious diseases. The possibility for cures for major diseases plaguing the world today such as AIDS and cancer are now believed to be hidden away in the rainforests ecosystem. One example of this can be found in the research conducted by the National Cancer Institute. It was the research conducted by this organization that discovered that Calophyllum lanigerum, a tree native to an island off the coast of Borneo, contains a substance(calanolide A) that actually kills H.I.V. without harming healthy cells of the infected (Shenon 1994). Unfortunately, due to deforestation and countless other habitat violations, many of these possible cures are being lost before they are found. Calanolide A was nearly one of these cures. Rainforests are being cleared away much faster than scientists can study all the known and unknown numbers of species believed to hold medicinal cures. Of all the rainforest’s species only 1% has been tested for their effects on combating infectious diseases. If this is not viewed as a destructive argument to reserve the rainforest than I don’t know what is.
As we continue on our destructive, we only see the contributions of the world’s natural services when they are in danger or have already completely vanished from our grasp. The story of calanolide A and its near loss is only one reason behind preserving, not only tropical rainforests, but all ecosystems. The long term benefits the human race may achieve far outweigh the short term benefits we have thus far obtained. It should come as no surprise if the world economies collapse when put under the pressure of supporting the price of the lost ecosystem services. Why this estimated number, $33 trillion per year, is not raising more attention to governments and peoples around the world only shows the lack of seriousness we, the human race, hold in preserving planet Earth.

Final Anxiety

Today was my last final of the spring semeseter at Somerset Community College. Actually, to be honest, I skipped out of my History final today. I have trouble understanding my mindset sometimes and the way in which I base my decisions. Waking up a at about ten minutes after 7Am I had under half an hour to make it to class for the History final, (which covered from the Kennedy Assasination up to the Watergate Scandel and Nixon's resignation). Easy stuff, I know. Especially for a History major, such as myself. Its just that my anxiety has been returning lately and I don't understand why. I have never been clinically treated for depression or anxiety, but its obvious, to me, that they are present aspects of my personality.

I have not been hit by either anxiety, nor depression, since before I returned home last from school, Splading University in Louisville, KY. Being so far from home and almost completely alone (I had my roomate and his girlfriend, whom I graduated with) was hard for me at the time. One incident, probably the incident that was the catalyst to transfer back home, hasn't been very easy to forget.

It was cold when I awoke that morning. On the Ohio River winter morning's are extremely bitter and nonforgiving. Especially for myself. For I didn't own a coat that would sufficiently protect me from the cold. My roomate, a Bilology major, had already taken off for the morning and I was alone. The sound of my dorm mates, who, even after a full semester of living with, I didn't even know, could be heard passing by my door. "God, I can't deal with them today, I thought."
I continued to lay in bed looking out my second floor window at the early morning Louisville skyline. There was something, and still is, very homey about the Louisville skyline to me. Never, not once, did I feel like a stranger in foreign city when my eyes drifter over the small, scattered view of the buildings. Strangely they made me feel comfortable, and peaceful, even through my daily anxiety about leaving the shelter of my small, college dorm room. Even upon returning to Louisville after a weekend home, in Somerset, with my family and friends, when I saw the first glimpses of the skyline a feeling of hope would rise up in me. I felt as though I had another chance to do it all right, again. The feeling of hope still overwhelms me when I visit my ex-roomate or even if I see a photo in the paper of Louisville.
Continuing to lay in bed staring out the window, I didn't even notice that time proceeded without me. Minutes turned to hours. Before I knew it , the classes I had that day were over. Fighting my anxiety and the tempting thought of lying in bed all day, I decided to take a trip to McDonalds. I pulled the warmest outfit I had at the time from my closet and left for McDonalds in small, black Neon.
Not really knowing why I thought of all the accidents I seen in downtown Louisville over the previous months. "You'll eventually be one of them, ya know" I told myself as I entered my routine shortcut through an allyway. "As long as it isn't today" I replied, "any day but today, please." Coming to the stop sign and the one-way street that seperated my ally to the one I wanted to get to, I found a car blocking my view. In an instant, a wave of anxiety overtook me. "F**k it" I said giving my Neon gas and sticking it in second gear(it was a standard). I saw the cadillac coming the second I pulled out but didn't attempt to stop. I still don't fully understand why I didn't stop. Maybe I thought I could make it across. Maybe I really just did not care either way. The details of the wreck are not important, only to say; no one was hurt; my Neon was totaled; I left the university the next weekend and never looked back...

I'm not exactly sure why I decided to share that story. My true intention was to comment on my finals and the spring semeseter I just completed. I guess it was just an experience I wanted to put into words for my own benefits. Whoever reads it will surely see it as nothing but a long, uninteresting rant. Honestly though, the experience as a whole(the wreck, school, Louisville) wasn't bad. I learned what it was like to fail. Failure was something I had never experiences before. Mainly because I never tried to succed. That has changed now. With the exception of today, my effort into my college studies are going great. I expect to pass each of my classes with no lower than an 85 average. So... congrats to me....

Sept. 11th Conspiracy Theory Video

I just recently finished watching a video on U Tube entitled loose change. For those of you who have not seen or heard of the video, it is an hour in length, or there about, that describes the conspiracy theories surrounding the events on September 11th. Disturbed is one word to describe my afterthoughts of the video. Claiming that the United States government was behind the terrorists attacks of 9/11, the video provides extremely valid scientific evidence to disprove the bin Laden and Al Queda link American citizens have been told. From the temperature theory about the melted steel to the controlled detonation of towers 1, 2, and 7 to the mismatched proportions of the hole in the Pentagon compared the size of the plane that is reported to have it, the video offers an answer to nearly every question backed by substantiated evidence.
Although it is not in the video, a couple of months ago I came across a photo taken that morning that will not leave my mind. It is a photo of the impact hole in one of the two twin towers and what appears to a woman standing at the edge looking onto the street below. I at first dismissed it as being a fraud until I read that FEMA reportedly used it in their official report of the collapse of the twin towers. FEMA used the photo in order to validate their claims that the reported fires in the two towers were not the only contributing factor to the collapse. As you may or may not know, conspiracy theorists believe the towers were brought down by a set-up and controlled demolition.

Here is the photo:


Theories of America Airlines Flight 93 are also included in the video Loose Change. They state the well known proposal that the airliner was shot down by fighter jets instead of crashing into the field in Pennsylvania. They offer actual eye witness accounts of seeing more than one plane, described to be of a military style, flying significantly low around the crash site area both before and after the reported crash. Voice simulation of the passenger and crew’s final calls home is also disputed. One such account is that of Mark Beamer who contacted his mother during the hijacking. They claim that Mark addressed himself to his own mother with his full name: “This is Mark Beamer”. I don’t know about you, but when I communicate over the telephone with my own mother I do not see it as necessary to address myself with my full name. They also report that his mother asked her son more than once who was responsible for the hijacking. Mark replied to the questions by asking “You believe me don’t you?”
Through this post I am not giving my own support or belief to the given conspiracies. I find them hard to believe and to accept as probable would devastating to the reality that I hold so dear. Due to the fact in which many of the theories can be scientifically proven, it is possible that we were, at the least, lied to about the events and who was responsible for carrying them out. As we have all come to realize, the Bush Administration is not the George Washington of the new millennium. They are not afraid to lie in order to promote their own political agenda. They are not afraid because the majority of the American public or the media no longer question the truth. With all of the events in the current American history such as 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, continuous scandals with in the Bush Administration why are we allowing our elected leaders to continue to taunt us into submission with their “unpatriotic” mumbo jumbo?

What does it Mean to be Democratic?

What does it mean to be democratic?

With the events taking place in our country these days, I have noticed that it seems as though our "democracy" is beginning to slowly dissapate. Those who have the nerve to stand up against the mistakes of the Bush Administration are coming under fire for not being "patriotic" and "American" enough. Is it just me, or doesn't the ideal of democracy state that we should question our leaders? Is it not our responsiblity, as a democratic state, to question our government policies when we see something going as terribly wrong as the Iraq war? I think it is.

Why are we not standing up for our beliefs as strongly as those in the 1960's during the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War? It seems as though we are letting these politicians in control of the White House get away with the destruction of our country. They are not listening to those they are supposed to represent and are bringing their own values and morals into their policy making process while ignoring the public outcry for change. These "values" (if you can call them that) are not representing the majority of America's people. The majority of Americans want us out of Iraq. We believe it to be a lost war (yes, I said... THE WAR IS LOST!!!!!). We are not all followers of the Christian faith as Mr. Bush would like to believe. And we want Mr. Bush too, if not step down, at least to be a man and admit his administrations mistakes. Why isn't something being done? Why are we allowing ourselves to be intimidated into submission??

Harry Reid has recently come under fire for declaring the war in Iraq as being "lost". He has been made out to be a traitor to our country and the men and women who are fighting in Iraq. He has done nothing more than to state the obvious. We have entered Iraq in hopes of bringing together a democratic state while doing nothing more than speeing up the escalation of a Civil War. Did we not, at the very least, review the history of the country we invaded first?! By invading Iraq and removing Saddam Hussein we have reopened a centuries-old wound between the Sunnis and Shiites that has no possibility of resolve in sight. No matter how much we try, no matter how many men and women our country loses in this fight, we are NOT! going to bring together a democratic state to Iraq.

Does this statement make me less patriotic????