Audubon

John James Audubon looks like a bird.

I came to this realization when I purchased a nice 1949 copy of "Birds of America." My obsession with Audubon started when I was a child; my grandmother had an old Octavio set of Audubon books on her shelf. I would leaf through the pages studying the images with sheer delight. The colors and motion that Audubon gave each winged creature really represents the romantic art period of his day. Looking at his portrait now, I see the stark resemblance he has with one of the parakeets he so fondly drew. I wonder if the artist who created this particular portrait deliberately made Audubon to look like one of his feathered friends?

Maine Sunset and Sunrise

Herzog

If Herzog wrote a letter to a woman he employs to clean his house, it would go as follows...
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/werner-herzogs-note-to-his-cleaning-lady/

From the Philadelphia International Flower Show.

Santorum

CA Conrad

From the wonderful Philly poet CA Conrad's the Book of Frank:

"this is your
captain" Frank says from the cockpit

"all passengers wishing to bail out
any time during our flight

it
is
too
late

I have shredded the parachutes to confetti
in celebration of our arrival."

And also:

in the the Laundromat
Frank found
blueprints
for a cocoon
dropped from a
caterpillar's
pocket

"I must
try this at
ONCE! I must
try this at
ONCE!" he
chanted
marching
home

CA Conrad's poems are always amusing and often grotesque. I will share the former and let you find the latter yourself.

Egypt - Cairo Market

The Kahn al Khalili in the heart of Cairo is one of the oldest continuous marketplaces in the world. It was great to be there; to see and smell the spices that have been sold there for hundreds, even thousands of years.

Two more pictures from Maine. The first is of Shirley, Me, a small town located near Greenville at the bottom of Moosehead Lake. The second is of Sunkhaze National Wildlife Refuge, located only miles from where Rachel and I used to live in Milford, ME.

Ever wondered what the engine of a steam train looks like?

He stands keeping vigil outside a small stone chapel on the property of Daylesford Abbey in Paoli, PA. St. Francis always reminds me of our intimate connection to all that surrounds us, how we are made up of the same "stuff" that composes everything on this earth. Here, this statue lingers, weathered and becoming part of the environs, as a reminder to me that I am very much like the weathered stone; I too am growing with ivy and moss, and intimately a part of this world.

Art and Activism

Rachel and I recently attended a conversation with photographer Zoe Strauss and singer/songwriter Steve Earle on the topic of how art (particularly within their particular genres) intersects with their political activism. Both of these fascinating characters were closely involved with the Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU), who advocated for fairness for those on the welfare system in Philadelphia. Zoe in particular resonates with the struggle fought by the KWRU. if you get a chance, I suggest you look at her billboard project, or visit her blog, and you can really get a sense for what her photography shows. She shows people living in all sorts of situations; a woman smoking crack, or a naked man on a bed in a small Los Vegas apartment. She really shows the human condition as it really is. I think she said something along the lines that she shows what we don't want to see, something we tend to brush aside or overlook because it is painful or sad. She shows what is real. Both Zoe and Steve agreed that in order to fundamentally change our society, we need to stop ignoring the problems (KWRU). While Zoe worked directly to expose images of people, Steve wrote and sung to express the need to change. In both circumstances, art was the catalyst for change, exposing the weaknesses we have in our society, and highlighting the problems or needs. I believe that whatever your art may be, it is a platform and it is also an expression. You can use a painting of something whimsical or beautiful to start a conversation with someone. Whatever your medium, the purpose of the arts always should be to foster change in someone.

Sometimes I miss our old home on the Penobscot River.

Our former backyard.

My great-great-grandfather.

I recently came upon a picture of my grandfather's grandfather, George Elmore Bergen. I have not found very much information on the man, and since my grandfather's passing last year I was not able to ask much about him. What I have, however, is a wonderful photograph, where I can see some family characteristics in his face, mostly his eyes and his remarkable comb-over. The older I get, the more interested I become with my family genealogy. I know there must be many stories about these people, but most are forgotten. My task now is to begin to catalogue these stories, and make them available for future generations.