Awesome!

Yes, that is the title of Oli's new blog. My cool persuasion skills got him to make his own blog. Just doing my part to sharing the gospel of Blogger. Mwah hah hah.

Alexey

Hosting Journal

Adoption Journal

Ventura County Star article

International Christian Adoptions

Read about how one family is making all the difference in a young Russian child's life. We should all strive to make a difference in people's lives.

Balance life.

In Picture Story today, we watched a documentary on W. Eugene Smith. We also handed in our book reports; I wrote mine on Looking for the Light, a biography on Marion Post Wolcott. Both were monumental contributors in the world of photojournalism, and both were significant historians in America's documentation. However, both lived in almost completely different ways.

W. Eugene Smith is considered the father of picture stories. The very idea of focusing a story to a single subject was a concoction of Smith. This alone is such a grand influence on photojournalism today. Picture stories have become common techniques to portray life in America. Moreover, Smith's photographs were intensely intimate. The pictures captured the emotions of every subject, and the viewer was brought into the frame as if he/she was present in the situation the image presented. Smith's photographs were near perfect. Perhaps this is where Smith was flawed. I perceive Smith as a tragic character. He spent too much time on his work, and not nearly enough time with his family. In fact, his perfectionist attribute led to family neglect. His finances also suffered, for he spent too much time perfecting his prints that he never sold enough to keep a consistent income. There were times when his family would be without money or food. Smith's heart was in his work. He was a lousy family man, but he became a famous photographer.

Marion Post Wolcott had a high career in photojournalism through her work with the Farm Security Administration (FSA), a photo project in the 1930s created to support the New Deal policies. The FSA changed the course of American history and became one of the greatest photo projects ever developed. Wolcott's contribution of images were fantastic in content and composition. In her third year of the high-life in photojournalism, she met Leon Wolcott (she was only known as Marion Post at the time) and fell deeply in love with the man. They married the same year. Several months after, Marion resigned her position as a photographer of the FSA to devote most of her time to her family. Leon had two sons from his previous wife, who passed away before he met Marion, and she was pregnant with another child. She sacrificed her successfully photojournalistic career for her family. To Marion, photography reduced to nothing but a strong hobby.

Which is better, do you think? Marking a historic point in your country and inspiring hundreds of people to take up photojournalism in order to document American life as it happens, or to commit to your loved ones and do your best to impact a much smaller community? I'm sure everyone faces this dilemma in any career field they choose. In my perspective, the family will always come before the job. If I were to marry, my priorities would shift to my wife and family. Fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters - these are the people that make up a country. Our jobs should ultimately impact their lives in one way or another, and this should be the drive that makes us pursue jobs. I guess people would argue to seek happiness for themselves first, and if it's through their job, so be it. I disagree, but that is my opinion.

This was something that got my mind turning a bit; I thought I'd share with you. Of course, all this comes second to God. In fact, our lives should always look to God in the end. He is everything, and the Christian life should reflect on all things that we live through everyday.

Motorcycle Drive By

Third Eye Blind's self-titled album

Motorcycle Drive By

And I don't know what I'm doing in this city
The sun is always in my eyes
It crashes through the windows
And I'm sleeping on the couch
When I came to visit you
That's when I knew
I could never have you

One night of Hepburn.

Watching Breakfast at Tiffany's. Audrey Hepburn is truly an amazing beauty. One of the most beautiful actresses I've seen in the movies. That's my opinion, at least. Even cooler, she's born on May 4 (that's when I was born too...different years of course). I thought that was spiffy.

Spent the weekend helping a friend make his movie. I never participated in any acting type of activities (plays, musicals, films, etc.), but it was all a lot of fun. A group of us buddies just had a good time making it, which probably means it has a lot of cheesy acting. Something that was expected. My part was to play a hitman; how could I have turned down such a role? Heh heh...

Time to finish off the movie. There's nothing like a classic chick flick to end a Monday night.

Grazed Knees

Snow Patrol's Final Straw

Grazed Knees

It's easier to lie and be safe
Time and time again I'm half stalled
One giant leap of faith is easy
When everyone you ask is so sure

The early excellence.

I learned a very interesting and inspiring fact today in my morning English class. Maya Lin, the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, was a undergraduate student at Yale University when she submitted her design to the national competition. She was only 21 at the time. This simply amazes me. We were watching a documentary on Maya Lin, and it went further than her experiences with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to show other architectural accomplishments she designed. Honestly, I don't know how she can come up with these ideas, but they're brilliant, insightful, and moving. Kudos to you, Maya.