Hosed

Hosed, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Berry wanted to be a soldier, sailor, ticker, or tailor...

He tried everything, and was good at none.

In the end Barry was a failure.

finding pieces

finding pieces, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

A moment that dictates nothing,
a moment that just is, still
and all yours, and nothing more,
grab it before it passes

Drive my blues away

Drive my blues away, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

The streets are empty,
we're ready to roll...
the fog has lifted,
jump in, let's go...

take me somewhere

take me somewhere, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

down back roads of fleeting memories,
things half forgotten...
some imagined, or wished for....
names and places,
hopes and fears... all bound and ready....
in good time, just passing thru here...

Removing Pieces

Removing Pieces, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Byron wasn't particularly good at anything,
living behind a thin veil of B.S.

It was only a matter of time until it all fell apart.

We'd all seen the warning signs... starting with the fraying edges.  The pieces of Byron's life falling one by one, tumbling down in every direction.

The advice he'd sought was ignored, it was just too easy to look away... until Byron had nowhere to go, and nothing left to hide.

There was nothing left for him to do after crawling from the wreckage, leaving it up to others to remove the pieces left behind.

rolling by

rolling by, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Like the days of our lives,
there's no stopping until the end...
Best to keep moving on...

Doors Up

Doors Up, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Lost in the noise are opportunities to do something different. If you listen carefully you'll hear them, quietly coming and going.

Cow Girl Chorus Line

Cow Girl Chorus Line, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

I went out and shot a parade yesterday, and my favorite image of the day turned out to be this one... my happy accident.

I looked up and these cow girls started doing a line dance, unfortunately, or in this case fortunately, my camera wasn't in focus.

The bokeh look and feel are what makes this image work for me.

Party Time

Party Time, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

The annual Summer Solstice Parade is today, and it should be lots of fun to photograph. Now all I need to do is work up the energy to drive to town, find some parking and fight the crowds.

Under Pressure

Under Pressure, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Leon seemed so steady and sure, he was like a rock, a foundation. It took a lot to shake him, but even he couldn't endure the prolonged effects of the Great Recession of the early 21st Century.

When the 2nd dip hit, Leon began to slowly crack, the pressure on him building.  And though he did his best, before the end of the third dip, Leon had lost everything... job, house, and wife.

Shortly afterwards, the world lost Leon.

Removing Pieces

Removing Pieces, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Soon, even the memories too will fade away.

Planning a get away

Planning a get away, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Flights of fancy bound by imagination.

Learning Lounge

Learning Lounge, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Today I cut the cord.... I'm done with cable.  It was only a matter of time I suppose, starting with my brother getting me an Apple TV (1st generation), then came the Roku Box, and getting hooked on streaming from Netflix and Amazon instant video.

Now, with three Roku Boxes, and two Apple TV's, and a newly built Mac Mini media server using Plex, it just made no sense to continue to pay the outrageous prices for cable, and all the channels they serve up that I don't want or watch.

Now, I watch only what I want, and only pay for what I watch, not what I don't watch.  That's liberating.

I've been slowly building a media library in the cloud, and have the infrastructure to deal with proprietary file format and cloud serving annoyances.

I've learned, and was able to do this thanks to technology, and I'm loving it.  It's a freedom that I truly enjoy.

The next step is to build a NAS Synology Media Server and Private Cloud.  That should be easy enough to do with the money I'll be saving by not paying for cable any longer.

We're in the midst of a monumental shift, and we've only just begun.

Gotta love technology! :-)

Clouds

Clouds, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Dora was a cyclone, the perfect storm of emotions. A danger to all those around her.

She'd managed to keep things mostly in check for years, except for the occasional flare-ups that barely hinted at the rage that was building up.

Unlike a port in a storm, where one seeks shelter, Dora harbored contempt, decades worth.

When the winds of anger were finally unleashed, they quickly grew to gale force, knocking over everything in their path.

It's still unclear if anyone survived the tempest, especially Dora.

Time Remaining

Time Remaining, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

It's often too late when we decide to make the time we have count... as is often the case, by the time we do, there's so little left.

Shoulder View

Shoulder View, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

There are points in life that being carried on the shoulders of others is the only way that we can see what's ahead of us.  Friendship and faith can get us through some tough times.

can't get along

can't get along, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Dean and Megan shared a battleground, in what they thought was domestic bliss.  Each trying to out maneuver the other with new lies and schemes. Inventive ways to lay blame where it only partly belonged.

Violence and passivity,
rage and stupidity...

They thought they were a perfect match... until the whole thing ended tragically.

cause a stir

cause a stir, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

In that instant, Alice's world stopped spinning around.  It was as if the chaos of the previous week had never happened, at least for her.

She couldn't remember any of it, though there was plenty of wreckage to remind the rest of us.  We were in the eye of a storm, with no real plans of escape.  We'd be stuck once the winds of rage resumed, they always did.

Moving in circles

Moving in circles, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Our paths are as straight as our thinking, which in many cases has us chasing our tails.  For without foresight and some thought, the best we can do is move around in circles.  If we want a brave new world, we need the will to build it.

Such is the nature of the roads we build for ourselves, and the course our life's travel.

Inhabits the mind

Inhabits the mind, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Phil had guests in the corners of his  head,
they told him things in small voices...
all about the secrets of the world,
he had to heed all that was said...
there were no other options, or choices,
his reason had unfurled...
it's fear now that inhabits the mind...
it's fear now that inhabits the mind...
it's fear now that inhabits the mind...
Phil's gone....

Keep Right

Keep Right, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

An extremely early morning phone call from a suicidal friend is hardly the way to start the day.  For Syd, it didn't seem all that unusual.  Since finding his father's suicide note, nothing fazed him.

Syd just took everything in stride, death and loss were hard lessons learned.  Lessons you can't teach, but things you've got to get through.

So, shouting "deal with your problems" and hanging up seemed  like the appropriate thing to do.  Syd never got another one of THOSE early morning phone calls again.

lost in the weed

lost in the weed, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

We never really noticed we weren't getting anywhere,
like a Christmas Day and not seeing the wrapping,
consumed by a world of our own making.

Summer Thrill

Summer Thrill, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

The streets were named from A to Z,
and numbered from here to eternity,
our destination plain to see...

give me a voice

give me a voice, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

my thoughts need release,
give me a voice...
my emotions need focus,
give me a voice...
my soul seeks some peace,
give me a voice...
to push back the rankness,
give me a voice...
I am I know, I know I am
an expression of imagination,
yours to mold and program,
just another someone...
prey of the python,
a face in the crowd...
give me a voice...
strong and loud,
with the roar of a dragon,
you'll know who I am...
if you just give me a voice...

new revolution

new revolution, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Our new revolution is digital, we're in the middle of it and have been for some time.  Nearly every industry and occupation is being changed by it, and not all of the change is something we know how to deal with.

Industries that don't adapt and improvise won't be able to overcome the challenges of the change and will be gone.

The internet giveth, and it taketh away.  On the whole, it will give a whole lot more than what will be lost.

It's the wild west... it's like a young America...  it's opportunity and change like we've never seen before.  It's creative freedom.

So, to let this continue and grow, because we'll all benefit in the long run, we need to keep government control and involvement to a minimum, and we need to pressure political thugs into passing legislation (energy policy) that can build a reliable infrastructure to support an expanding digital world.

Seems like simple enough goals, but they'll be anything but....

Cast out

Cast out, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Some things just stop you in your tracks.  Like this, I mean what's the story here?

A picture of a young child and one baby shoe in a dumpster?  I can understand tossing out a shoe that no longer fits (and why only one?), but when it's accompanied with an obvious portrait shot of a young boy all dressed up, it makes you wonder.

Did the child die?  Is there some nasty custody story behind this?  Parents don't just toss framed pictures of their children.

Sure these are everyday items... but when you see them in a dumpster, you see them in a whole new context, the story antennae go up and the mind starts racing. 

These simple items are saying much.

Exactly what is anyone's guess.... and that is the beauty and intrigue of it.

Chained green

Chained green, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

When we get consumed by group think,
there's no reason left... we blindly follow the rest of the herd.

Politicians nothing more than cult leaders expecting us to follow.  Myths and not facts giving them power to blindly lead, and blind us all.

Truth would just turn things inside out, and we just can't have that.

Do you remember freedom?

crazy times

crazy times, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Back room bar,
low key colors,
thought it alright
to drink undercover,
thought it a disease
when I had to have more,
knew I was sick
when I was loving the floor....

Seeing a half

Seeing a half, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Full or empty,
maybe just half a cup,
our world view depends on how we see things...
the perspective we bring with us,
or learn along the way.

Charade

Charade, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Today is farce day... when politicians who've already sold their souls continue to try and deceive the public into believing that their votes matter.....

Unfortunately, they don't

Can't leave you alone

Can't leave you alone, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

The world is ours to change,
to say what needs to be said,
and in the end, leave just the same

Books

Books, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

There's still much to say, and stories to be told.  No doubt about it, what's different is how we're going to tell these stories.

Digital is the means by which this will be done.  We've been in the middle of this transition for sometime, but when it comes to books we've only just begun.

More and more authors will take control of their own work, publishing directly to a digital format.  When this happens, the book as we know it will consist of bits and bytes.

In the end, words will flourish like never before.

be thankful for what you've got

be thankful for what you've got, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Lanny always thought that the next dollar could unlock the door to happiness.  He dug holes of favors and built mountains of debt in order to purchase some nirvana... cars, clothes, watches, women, trips, all temporary fixes and expensive toys.

Promises proved empty, possessions a ball and chain.  Simplicity eluded him as he boxed himself in. 

Lanny spent his life in a pursuit of a happiness that really didn't cost a thing.

from dreams they come

from dreams they come, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Bold in the shifts they make,
bold in the ground they shake,
so different they need new names,
ideas and visions of new things,
a choir's new song is sung,
from dreams they come...

Blah blah blah

Blah blah blah, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Pete was proud to be part of the great unwashed in his youth.  A 1960's rebel, who'd proudly protested and helped burn a bank, "Bring down the man!"

His issues are with authority.

He still keeps his mugshot from his arrest framed, though hidden from the general public, and pulls it out from time to time to reminisce.

He claims to be "one of the 99%".

Rising up through the ranks of bureaucracy Pete relishes every opportunity that comes his way to enforce "the rules" and keep the order.  Pushing people around is second nature to him.  His job is to enforce the law or to make it up as he goes along.

Is it any wonder his subordinates call him Peter?

ghosts at the gate

ghosts at the gate, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Moving shadows that cross time,
like whispers from a long ago past...
their voices echo like clock chimes,
you follow them all along the line,
at the gate you'll cross when you're asked...
smiling and singing long forgotten nursery  rhymes.