Month: October 2008

Long ago I learned that shooting the tv can be almost as rewarding, artistically, as shooting the event, and a lot easier…anyway, reviewing the last debate I kept coming back to this shot. It reminds me of how the older generation looked (on February 9, 1964) when they first heard The Beatles; somewhat puzzled and taken aback–almost shocked. They just didn’t know what to think, but they could tell it was very starkly different… Last night I had a quick IM exchange with my (very Republican) Mom, which I’ll share: “S: hi Mom, M: hi Scott, S:everything ok? all’s well here… M: all is ok. We are very interested in the election. Please pray for our country at this time and that God will be with us.” I AM praying, Mom. I think God is hearing the prayers, too. A lot of people are praying, really hard…they sound, to me, faintly, like the first distant murmurings of The Beatles, if you catch my drift…there’s a very different world right around the corner…. …and, I think we’re going to like it more; it already sounds so much better to me.

Here’s my custom-made Internet Yard Sign: Vote for Barack Obama, please, if you can. I was lucky enough to meet him, and get a feel for the guy, when he came to Austin for one of his first huge (20,000+) events, way back in February of ’07 (See posts #190 & 191). I was his assigned photographer for a few hours, before he had Secret Service protection…he was as easy and as open and as approachable as you could want. He’s the real deal. His smile is real. His eyes really sparkle. His brain is fully engaged. We’re all lucky to have such a man step up, willing to be our leader. ….And, hopefully, just a few more days before we can all practice saying “President Obama”. Wow. Cross your fingers. (And watch those polling places, and that Supreme Court, for “irregularities”, if you know what I mean.)

Every once in a while current events jog me to post an image shot a few years back, just so I can write about it. I call this shot “don’t jump!”, because that’s what it looked like the central statuary figure was about to do…(actually, it’s called “Integrity Protecting The Works Of Man” or some such bluster, but today “don’t jump!” seems more apropos). Today, Oct 1, 2008, it appears our Ship of State, the USS Titanic Hubris, is bearing down on the huge karmic iceberg we all feel looming high above us, like a mile-thick glacial ice sheet. Hey! We’re Americans! We can have tax cuts for Bush’s Buddies AND a war against daddy’s enemies all at the same time! We’ll just borrow trillions from those industrious Chinese so we can pay those nice Arabs for our party favors! No problem! My Friends, we have sown the wind and we’re about to reap the whirlwind. As idiot-boy slinks back to Crawford I hope the adults can regain control, clean up the mess, and right the ship….I love America. I hate to see her despoiled, abused and used. Now, what happened to that big pile of money…?