[alecMYRES]

Thanksgiving Break 2011

2011-11-28T14:56:00.000-08:00

Well folks, the rumors are true. I was able to escape to the East Coast for a few days with Sarah and we spent the Thanksgiving holidays in New York. It was incredible and it ended all too quickly. Below are a few pictures from our jaunt, not necessarily in a particular order.

This is the Vanderbilt Mansion, in Hyde Park, New York. It sits atop a bluff overlooking the Hudson River and a 700-acre property that was deeded to the National Park Service by the Vanderbilt family over 70 years ago, and remains almost completely faithful to the original design and decor. This is runt among the family's 40 mansions scattered around, weighing in at a measly 50,000 square feet.

This is the cascading spill-over from the dam nearby Yorktown Heights. The water is New York City's reservoir, clean and green.

Central Park is a grand place on a surprisingly pleasant afternoon in late November. Seen here are the model sailboats on the pond, looking towards Upper East Side.

Shown here is the Interior of St. Thomas' Cathedral, a pleasant and less popular attraction in the hustle of Manhattan, mostly empty, serene, ornate, and punctuated only by the periodic passing subway deep in the ground below.

On the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, a large assortment of the Macy's Day Parade balloons are brought out for public viewing surrounding the block of the Natural History museum. Seen behind us the Spiderman and Ronald McDonald, currently taking a nosedive.

Not surprisingly, Times Square was packed and over-illuminated. It is somewhat surreal.

We managed to fit some culture into our packed schedule, visiting the MoMA for a bit in the afternoon. Sarah is noticeably a connoisseur of the arts.

Skiing

2011-03-21T02:27:00.000-07:00

Fam: it was great to see you all this weekend. Thanks for the memories! A terrific time was had by all.

A majestic flight

2011-03-15T13:04:00.001-07:00

Today I said goodbye to Grant for the next 22 months. I surprised him in his room with breakfast burritos from Rancherito's, mango juice and Ritter Sport bars. A proper send-off, I must say (and I agree with Mom... definitely one of the perks of working at the MTC). He's on the plane now, off to a distant land where he will reign love and peace. To a mission well served.

Celebrity Playlist 4.0

2011-03-10T16:12:00.000-08:00

Well ladies and gentlemen, it is here! The most comprehensive and stunning playlist I could possibly produce, reflective of the right now in my life (Unfamiliar with a CP? Read my old blog entry about the CP 3.0). Want it? Come and get it... my views on music piracy are generally relaxed when it comes to these mixes. Make yours, and I promise I'll listen intently if you share it.

Nothing Can Stop Us (If We Stick Together)
1. "Hall" - Baths
2. "Baby" - Bullmeister
3. "Lost Dream" - Digits
4. "Sticks & Stone" - Jónsi
5. "Ready For the World" - How to Dress Well
6. "Cover Your Tracks (Teen Daze Remix)" - Young Galaxy
7. "Loner" - Stay Ali
8. "4 Me (Beaumont Remix)" - Cassette Club
9. "Into the Clouds" - The Sound of Arrows
10. "Young Blood" - The Naked and Famous
11. "Heart" - Blood Diamonds
12. "Sunkissed" - Muffin
13. "Crazy Enough (Diamond Cut Remix)" - Cullen
14. "I Can Make the Pain Disappear (Monsieur Adi Remix)" - Fear of Tigers
15. "Shook (Mobb Deep v. Sigur Ros)" - Emancipator
16. "Pascal (The Scottish Enlightenment)" - Dan Lyth
17. "Til Kingdom Come" - Coldplay

Oooh, he must have turned awesome sometime in the night...

2011-03-09T06:50:00.000-08:00

He's leaving for Chile in a week. He has the finest East County demeanor, no contest. Stay true, brother G.

Across the Water and Into the Sky

2011-02-21T05:40:00.000-08:00

As I saw it, yesterday.

Art and imbalance

2011-02-17T16:36:00.001-08:00

In Alain de Botton's “The Architecture of Happiness,” there is a passage as follows:

“We are drawn to call something beautiful whenever we can detect that it contains in a concentrated form those qualities in which we personally, or our societies more generally, are deficient. We respect a style which can move us away from what we fear and towards what we crave; a style which carries the correct dosage of our missing virtues. That we need art in the first place is a sign that we stand in almost permanent danger of imbalance, of failing to regulate our extremes, of losing our grip on the golden mean between life's great opposites: boredom and excitement, reason and imagination, simplicity and complexity, safety and danger, austerity and luxury.

If the behavior of babies and small children is any guide, we emerge into the world with our tendencies to imbalance already well entrenched. In our playpens and high chairs, we are rarely far from displaying either hysterical happiness or savage disappointment, love or rage, mania or exhaustion – and, despite the growth of a more temperate exterior in adulthood, we seldom succeed in laying claim to lasting equilibrium, traversing our lives like stubbornly listing ships on choppy seas.

Our innate imbalances are further aggravated by practical demands. Our jobs make relentless calls on a narrow band of our faculties, reducing our chances of achieving rounded personalities and leaving us to suspect (often in the gathering darkness of a Sunday evening) that much of who we are, or could be, has gone unexplored. Society ends up containing a range of imbalanced groups, each hungering to sate its particular psychological deficiency, forming the backdrop against which our fervently heated conflicts about what is beautiful play themselves out.”

The book is more narrowly concerned with the influence of art and architecture on us, as psychological and emotional beings, but I think there is a vaster reach to this idea than just the aesthetic environment we find ourselves in. The people we seek, the things we do, the dreams we have, the books we read, the places we go, the clothes we wear, the schedules we create, the relationships we make, the plans we share, the prayers we offer ... these are all indicative of the internal yearnings we have to correct our perceived imbalances. What do we find beautiful, grand, intriguing, noble, pleasant, virtuous, good, or even praiseworthy? Think about it.

The boys.

2010-11-28T14:47:00.000-08:00

Well, we're back for the time being. New Mexico is beautiful, and even better with family around. Some things just get better with time...

This fall.

2010-11-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

This chalk wall is my one stab at creativity.

This is my car. This photo reminds me of one of my past photo projects.

This is fall here in Provo.

The Celebrity Playlist.

2010-08-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

It does not refer to anything I intend to be, or a line of cruise ships that in part funded my summer here, or really anything in particular anymore. It is one of those titles that has evolved and taken on a new meaning, almost completely apart from the actual words. The Celebrity Playlist is an invention that I attribute to some of my best friends of the last 4 years, and we have taken the CP and made it ours. For those of you who haven't heard of it yet, don't feel left out. According to my memories, it came about during our freshman year in the dorms either in late 2006 or early 2007. Barret challenged some of us to create our ultimate playlists to share with each other, inspired by celebrities who had done the same and made theirs available on some Apple-run media service. The only limit is that it had to be under 80 minutes and be able to burned onto one CD-R. My first Celebrity Playlist was interesting because it represented a collection of years of music tastes leading up to and incorporating some of my freshman year at BYU. It required hours of painful trimming and selecting to reduce the massive group of songs that I loved and and wanted to put on my List to the correct amount, and then even more time constructing a proper sequence. By the time I had finished, I had grown considerably proud of it. I felt that it was mine, and it was. I put it onto a flash drive and shared it (legal debates will be put off for now) with all my friends who wanted it, and they followed roughly the same process. About two and a half years later, during my sophomore year, we resurrected the Celebrity Playlist, same rules, just that none of the songs used on the first List could be reused. Once again it was hours and days spent thinking, reordering, listening, and selecting to find a final product, but soon enough I had CP 2.0 ready to share. It was enlightening for me to see the progression of my music taste, the remnants of my past years, but between it all, another fine product that I found myself proud of and ready to share with those willing. This one was released in the early days of 2010, on a snowy night ride in the blue van, going to a stake party at some large livestock barn somewhere south of Springville. Once again, the songs each had a memory or a meaning or a feeling that warranted their inclusion in my 80-minute Dream Team of audio stimuli. So that is my history of the Celebrity Playlist. My mind is currently concocting CP 3.0, slated for release in September. I think it will be a considerable shift from past issues, but the reason for that is because I feel it has less songs chosen for their sentimental reasons, but more music that is highly pertinent for me know. There is less logical selection, but rather I am being guided by my ears and what they like. Fewer are the stories, and more relevant are the emotions tied up to each song in their current place. If this is highly pertinent to you, I invite you to make yourself present for my release. If this is new to you, I invite you as well and suggest you consider building your own Celebrity Playlist. I would love to hear it. To sit down with you and listen to it and hear what it means to you.

Looming.

2010-08-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

I know I'm not the only one thinking this,
but I am very excited to return to school again.
I am so glad that I came to Alaska and got to be what I am,
to make the friends I have,
to learn what I have learned
and to see what I have seen.
I have had the chance to step out for a breath of fresh air,
regain my composure
and now I feel rested and relaxed.
I feel like I've become a better man,
and now I am ready to dive back in
and get back to my real life in Provo
[with a quick jaunt in San Diego first, of course].
I miss being academically challenged,
surrounded but experiences and opportunities and people.
I am excited to get back and be me.
I am pleased with how I feel.
I love the way I think and understand people and the world.
I am actually going to miss this place,
for it has been a place of growth.
Thank you to those of you who contributed to any of this,
whether you were here or there,
for it all takes part.
See you soon.
Or see you again someday.

Weekend Play.

2010-08-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

Nate and Chad each thoroughly enjoy zip-lining, in their own distinct ways.

Abandoned mining tools and parts from a century ago, found along the beach.

Sarah, ready for camping, on deck of the S.S. Blondina.

Brian piloting an adventure cart on the lawns of Echo Ranch.

Abandoned pier on the Gastineau Channel.

Honking the Horn.

2010-07-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

When I was a child and on occasion found myself of the side of a busy street, it was always entertaining and wildly daring to encourage truckers and bus drivers to sound their air horns. It never got old, and I'm sure you probably know exactly what arm signal I am talking about: the fist clenched, forearm vertical, and making up and down motions... as if tugging down on the imaginary cord that honks the horn. Sometimes the drivers would ignore us, but the ones who didn't and heeded our juvenile suggestion instantly became awesome in our eyes. A rather simple act that made us kids feel on top of the world, as if we were a part of their professional lives, if just for a moment. The loud sound became our voice to the world. We were strong! We owned the sky!

Just the other day I was driving my bus on Glacier Highway, with a bus full of passengers, and we passed a group of kids at a lemonade stand. They stood at the edge of the curb, all excitedly yelling and making that familiar vertical fist pump. It took me a second to realize that they were making that signal to me. It was vaguely familiar, but I found myself in the position of power. I was their hero! I delivered the sound that roared through the valley, caused my passengers to chuckle, and made their dreams come true, if just for that moment. I am a bus driver... and I make kids happy.

Camera Phone Pictures.

2010-07-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

Troubadour.

2010-07-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

I just bought this album. Thanks to Dallin, for the introduction, for the taste, for the exposure. Inside the album booklet, it contains the following:

K'NAAN THANKS:

WAR, Warlords, Immigration, Border Guards (I see you), Metro housing projects, Drive by shooters, Police, Correctional facilities, Financial institutions, Public schools, Case workers at Social Services, Depression, Anxiety, The month of October, Solitude, Girls who's hearts I broke, Girl who broke my heart, Bad songs on the radio, That same music video that's bee playing for 8 years, power-trippin' bouncers, Promoters and Stage Managers, Radio Programmers afraid to play my songs, Headliners afraid to follow my band, just fear in general. Aggression, Inequality, Division, Brutality, Ignorance, Greed, Corporate Journalism, Lies.

I would like to say thank you to all of the above, for forcing me to create. For making me fight harder. For giving me convictions. For enabling me to see uniquely. For showing me the value of humility, the bravery of patience. I am grateful for the pain which I've derived from you, the solitude I've extracted from the brutish sensibilities of life. Of course I can't forget Mr. And Mrs. Positive. It goes without saying that you are a big part of my being. But sometimes I wonder if you in your purest form aren't really just born out of the negative yourself.

The lives and experiences of others are some of the best teachers we have. We don't all suffer through the same magnitudes and types of afflictions as described above, but we can relate. We grow through opposition. We discover what we are really made of. Things weren't intended to be easy, and thankfully they're not. Trials build conviction. Faith carries us on.

Brings this to mind: 2 Ne. 4:28-29
28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.
29 Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.

Boots.

2010-07-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

The other weekend we were volunteering for the local food bank here at the community rummage sale. When all was wrapping up, and everyone was packing and cleaning out, I discovered a lone cardboard box and on the side was written sloppily with a sharpie: "free!" There were knitting needles, some old t-shirts, and cowboy boots. I'm sure you can guess what I took. I also obtained a small jar of Currin's Whale Oil polish, and got right to work. Here they are, ready to go...

Dog Sledding.

2010-07-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

It seems that when I announced that I was going to Alaska for the summer, to many people that conjures up romantic images of igloos and eskimos and down parkas. Until this point, my summer stay has not been quite that, but yesterday things changed. We rode a helicopter up to the Mendenhall glacier and then went dog sledding. Yes, these things are real. The dogs train here during the summer, and during the winter many of them run the Iditarod race from Anchorage to Nome. There is nothing that makes them happier than running. Well trained dogs can keep up their pace for 10 to 12 hours... but yesterday our tour was just about an hour. Still, quite memorable.

Anxious.

2010-07-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

It is painful to wait, to be where you don't want to be, recalling the past and dreaming of once again returning to sea. Sometimes I feel like a boat out of water, built for a purpose, left languishing and aging. Majestic in design; lacking in opportunity. Wait it out! I've made it this far. Even in the cold, the dark, and the silence, there is the impending dawn, and once again the light will shine, the rain will pass, and soon enough I'll find myself where I need to be.

Subaru wagon.

2010-07-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

This is the official car of Juneau, Alaska.

Miscibility.

2010-07-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

Among analogies, common is that of oil and water. The two are deemed opposites, repulsive to one another, and separable by very nature. I don't think this needs be a detractive characteristic, for it is in this certain division that interest and beauty is found. Interplay of this sort, between polar extremes, often leads to more interesting outomes. As such is human behavior. Society and history is defined by clashes between different ends of the spectrum of ideas. It is in this clashing, or dialogue, or interaction, that solutions are found. Separation or elimination or ignorance of one of the elements will not, and never has proven to, produce an ideal position. Not that conflicts, like oil spills, are good, but they happen. People are like that.

Photoshop.

2010-07-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy Photoshop. When I was 18, I REALLY enjoyed photoshop. Many hours were invested huddled over my desk in the dorms, manipulating digital canvases pixel by pixel, out of mockery, wise-crackery, or sometimes simply sky-larking. It was a self-taught art. These are just a few of my earliest accomplishments that I found again on my computer. In those days it was raw and creative... so enjoy.

World Cup.

2010-06-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

Timing is perfect. I have been home for a year now and guess what corresponds perfectly with this momentous time to refresh my burning love for my Terra Amada... the World Cup! It has been 4 years since the last, and I have forgotten how much I have always liked the World Cup (call it blasphemous, but probably more than the Olympics). The 2006 World Cup was right after I graduated high school and Bennett and I, and sometimes some of our other friends, watched almost all the games. There are more countries that belong to to FIFA than belong to the UN... so the World Cup really is the biggest coming together of the entire planet. The teams are all driven by so much passion and intensity, playing the same game, on the same fields, under the same rules, and yet there is so much individuality and uniqueness. Some players catch our attention. So teams do. I can remember from a young age always being enthralled by the show-stopping, game-defining Seleção Brasileira, or Brazilian National Team.

Imagine how much more this team captivates me now that my heart is yellow and green. They are my team. For decades Brazil has defined the flair and creativity in the world of football. It is pretty hard to describe what football means to the Brazilian people if you haven't ever been there. Yeah, sure people all like sports... but to them it is more. Imagine all the passion that Americans have for their sports... like College (American) football, the NBA, Nascar, the X-Games... and now add all the passion for the arts... like Broadway plays, and bands... and add all the passion that people have for video games, and hiking, and any other type of entertainment you can imagine. Now add the strength of family traditions and cultural identity and history. Seems like a lot of human emotion? That is still not close to entirely capturing the way football flows through the veins of the Brazilian people. The English invented it, but they (the Brazilian people) perfected it. They were born for it.

I just watched my first World Cup game this year. Brazil vs Portugal. It was a draw... and they both advance past group play. As I watched, although in terms of pure soccer entertainment it was average, I was taken away with joy. I looked at those beautiful yellow jerseys and I thought about the hundreds of millions of my brothers and sisters in South America who were watching that game, that team, that flag, and I felt such a tug at my heart. I miss them. I love them. I thought of Bennett there right now. I thought of everyone wearing their jerseys around (most people can't afford cars and computers, and a lot can't even afford good shoes or balanced diets, but everyone has a yellow Selection jersey... everyone).

The 2014 World Cup will be in Brazil. I am going. The Selection Team trains in a town called Teresopolis, just outside of Rio de Janeiro. The final game will be played in the Maracana stadium, South America's biggest, which is located right next to the first area I served in. Excited? You bet. Meu coração é verde e amarelo!

One year.

2010-06-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well it has now been over a year since I got home. It has been a great one... lots of ups and downs, but I'm glad to be where I am, to have walked the roads I walked, and to be the person I am. Sometimes we need milestones like this to recollect and regain ourselves. There are a lot of things that I'm glad I've accomplished, some things I will try to be better at, and a whole lot more that I can I continue to work towards. Thanks for being here with me along the way. Love.

Hiking.

2010-06-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

Hiking is probably one of my favorite things to do here.
Vigorous exercise combined with exploration.
The satisfying feeling of complete exhaustion upon return home following an intrepid adventure.
A cleansing effect.
A feat accomplished.
No technology, social convention or presumed identity.
A challenge presented, and only one way to defeat it.
Human endurance.
A small afternoon activity.
A step in the right direction.

Self Portrait.

2010-06-15T19:00:00.001-07:00

Swimming.

2010-06-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

I've only been swimming here in Alaska once so far. I was in the water for about 8 seconds. We hiked out to a swimming hole, which is fed by glacial runoff. There were great cliffs to jump off of, as you can see. The jump was fun, and you can imagine what the water felt like upon impact and submersion, and you can understand why my swimming experience lasted about 8 seconds. Sorry the picture is slightly out of focus, I, being the one jumping, clearly did not take the photo.

Norwegian Horses.

2010-06-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

These are some Norwegian Horses. We went out to Echo Ranch Bible Camp, out at the end of the road, where my friend Shaner's parents live. We had some fun, but these horses were my favorite part.

My New Volvo.

2010-05-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

Goodbye blue van. I had a lot of fun with you this past year [so did my friends]. I wish you the best wherever your well-traveled life may lead. Maybe you'll stay in the family. I know that you're understanding and are okay with this. It is not personal. I am not really replacing you, you know, because that would be pretty tough to do. I guess it is just called "moving on."

A new stage in my automotive life has just begun. Here are pictures of my new beauty. He's a gold 1988 Volvo 240 wagon. 130,000 miles. Full of life. Cheers to future adventures. May our travels be long-lived.

Happy Birthday.

2010-05-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

Evan is 16.
On the 27th.
I hope all goes well for you, my brother.
Sorry about your fracture.
Keep on being awesome.
Can't wait to hang out at the end of the summer.

Here's the man.

Yeah, we're all pretty tight.

He always knows how to have some fun.

He's cool.

You're the best.

Time to Pretend

2010-05-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here is our bonfire. We watched whales breach in the ocean at sunset.

Longboarding, Alaskan style.

The cruise ships take off at night, and the views from shore can be quite spectacular.

Missing you.

2010-05-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

Hey brother, I'm proud of you. You've got swagger like no one else I've ever met. Come home safe.

2010-05-13T14:57:00.000-07:00

This is a bald eagle.
It represents America.
They truly are majestic and noble.
Especially wild and free.

We go hiking whenever we have the opportunity. There are more miles of hiking trails in Juneau than there are roads. So far, not one has been a disappointment. Here we found tide pools and and an abandoned pier from the old gold mining industry.

My roommate, Andrew, and I, on a hike.

A forest.

Here I am standing atop a glacier. The ice is approximately 150 years old and the glacier moves about 2 feet per day. The ice fields above receive hundreds of inches of snow a year and it continuously falls and packs until the ice is formed.

This is what it looks like beneath a glacier. The weight of the hundreds of feet of ice on top pushes all the air bubbles out of the ice, and it appears blue. The most brilliant thing I have ever seen.

The largest ice cube I have ever found beneath a glacier.

You know, it's Juneau.

2010-05-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

I've been here for a week now. It is beautiful. I feel like I'm in Neverland... there is no road access to Juneau, only by plane or by boat. For all I know, I could be on a magical island somewhere. The weather has been unexpectedly pleasant. The cruise ships have started to come in and we're getting busy. Here are a few shots of the natural wonderland around.

2010-05-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

Me. Enjoying a nice day in Seattle.

2010-05-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

Troll Under the Bridge.

2010-05-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

The Gum Wall.

Ode to a glassblower.

2010-04-28T00:42:00.000-07:00

So on some adventures today, we ran across glass. It was colorful and incredible. The world is full of surprises, and I hope you enjoy seeing these. The images don't quite do justice, but you can almost feel how non-terrene these creations are.

These shapes are modeled after sealife.

The colors against the stormy Pacific Northwest are striking.

This is a bridge and the entire ceiling is a collection of assorted glassworks. I never knew that somebody could do that many different pieces, in that many colors, and as such a labor-intensive art medium.

A close up of the ceiling.

Oh, you know, just a few vases and such. No big deal. This only about one fourth of all that were on display.

And so begins...

2010-04-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

Summer break has begun even before summer could come. Thanks BYU for making nature and her functions revolve around, and try to catch up to, you. It has only been a few days, but oh what a few days they were. I'd say that that is has been a good start thus far.

What more could I do post finals?

Naturally, we began our explorations of the Northwest. A rather inviting spring day.

Safety was always in consideration.

We found driftwood and secluded beaches.

We found houses for all our best friends to buy.

The colors here are glamorous.

I drive. You drive. We all drive.

2010-04-16T00:14:00.000-07:00

Cars are symbolic of our society. Freedom, consumerism, individuality and expression are manifested through the vehicles we drive. A car is an extension of its owner's personality. Cars tell our incomes. Cars show what we value.

Like a fingerprint, each car on the road is different and unique. Yet like all fingerprints, they are inherently nearly identical and indistinguishable in their form and function. Under intense scrutiny, a car, like a fingerprint, can be classified and categorized and rated. When viewed distantly and collectively, cars, like fingerprints, appear uniform and homogenized.

For me, part of the beauty and interest is found in the multiplicity of the cars in their vast quantities. Similarly, I find beauty and interest in the individuality and identity of each and every car. Our cars tell our story. My car tells my story.

2010-04-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

A few shots in my life as of late:

2010-04-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

Some things I miss.
I will think of them this summer.

Barefoot soccer on the San Diego waterfront.

Dodgeball tournaments.

Creative projects.

Late night photo shoots.

Escaping for a weekend.

Swimming in public fountains with my brothers.

Bruce.

Playing in public parks.

Family.

2010-04-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

A piece of a past project.

2010-04-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some memories.

Here is the Church, Here is the Steeple.

2010-03-31T17:01:00.001-07:00

Buildings say a lot about us as human beings and our cultures. What is necessary, what we want, what we value, and what we think can all be reflected through our architecture.

The following pictures are of 7 different Latter-Day Saint meetinghouses in Springville, all located within 15 minutes of each other.

The grandest ideas and beliefs on which our which our society here was established, embodied in these church buildings, are ones that we often disregard. We often overlook the commonplace.

Each church building is different architecturally, and of a different age, yet they are commonplace objects and symbols of our environment here in Utah. They reflect the physical environment, the community environment, the socio-economic environment and especially the religious environment.

These photographs beg us to consider a little more deeply what these buildings contribute to our communities and our lives, whether it be simply the architectural details, the physical environment, or the non-physical effects of their presence here.

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Left Coast Dreaming

2010-03-02T11:45:00.001-08:00

I am a Californian, whatever that may mean.

Certainly there is not another state in this Union that has commanded more attention and fostered more connotations about what it is and isn't than the monstrous Pacific Coast-hugging California. Whether it is through the media coverage or extreme sports or natural disasters or political spotlighting, California is a place and an ideal that cannot be ignored in the American and worldwide spectrum.

My object with this project is not to explain what California is or pretends to be. It is not meant to be a detailed assessment. I wanted to take a realistic look at my home through snapshots taken on a weekend excursion, in a way that allowed me to remain somewhat removed and aloof from the world outside the confines of my car. We listened to songs about California, and some of the lyrics accompany the pictures below.

Each of us are heavily influenced by our surroundings and environment, and I feel that through the attitudes and ideas presented through the photos and the music, I was able to portray California in a way that is both interesting and honest.

I am a Californian, whatever that may mean.

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