No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit. Ansel Adams Certain glories of nature, for example, have been all but abandoned to the indefatigable attentions of amateur camera buffs. The image- surfeited are likely to find sunsets corny, they now look alas, too much like photographs. Susan Sontag May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. Edward Abbey Ars longa, vita brevis. Hippocrates We have inherited a too simple myth that photographs represent objective truths. At best, photographs represent facts found by an observer with a specific point of view, at a specific point of time, adopting specific practices with regard to a medium, with an agenda (conscious or unconscious). John Paul Caponigro Surely the fact that people misconceive photography as reality makes all photography surreal in a way. Unknown It was called "The Traitor", it was about the feeling we have of betraying some mission that we were mandated to fulfill, and being unable to fulfill it, and then coming to understand that the real mandate was not to fulfill it, and that the deeper courage was to stand guiltless in the predicament you find yourself. Leonard Cohen Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils. - Louis Hector Berlioz We often think that when we have completed our study of one we know all about two because 'two' is 'one and one'. We forget we still have to make a study of 'and'. Everything is a metaphor for something else. The artist is always engaged in writing a detailed history of the future because he is the only person aware of the nature of the present. Marshal McLuhan White male with dominant upper chakra awareness seeks grounded female. Guaranteed to raise kundalini. The desert...a place where sun, heat, wind and sand conspire to make life a challenge for even the strongest organisms. For humans, it's where civilization ends, and we confront the earth at its most elemental — vast space, rugged terrain, extreme conditions, contemplative solitude, and often, eerie silence. It's no wonder the desert continues to be a major source of inspiration. Hearts of Space Sexual suppression supports the power of the church, which has sunk very deep roots into the exploited masses by means of sexual anxiety and guilt. It engenders timidity towards authority and binds children to their parents. This results in adult subservience to state authority and to capitalistic exploitation. It paralyzes the intellectual critical power of the oppressed masses because it consumes the greater part of biological energy. Finally, it paralyzes the resolute development of creative forces and renders impossible the achievement of all aspirations for human freedom. In this way the prevailing economic system {in which single individuals can easily rule entire masses} becomes rooted in the psychic structures of the oppressed themselves. Wilhelm Reich In this art, scenes from nature...and all other real world phenomena will not be described for their own sake; here, they are perceptible surfaces created to represent their esoteric affinities with the primordial ideals. Symbolist Manifesto "The aide said that guys like me were 'in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality - judiciously, as you will - we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.'" Well I can’t say I been all sinner Can’t say I been all saint I’ve done some good deeds and I’ve made big mistakes I been in and out of love Said words I regret I been drunk, been sober Smoked too many cigarettes And I’m out on this highway travelin’ town to town And the news on the radio just brings me down Intolerance and fear Ignorance and lies It’s the same old same old I heard a million times And I’m thinkin’ of friends and lovers And how they come and go Like look-alike houses on the side of the road Full of everyday people tryin’ to get ahead Tryin’ to find a reason just to get out of bed ‘Cause we all need somethin’ just to get us through Well I’m gonna play the blues tonight man ‘Cause that’s what I do. "Back to the Ashgrove" - Dave Alvin