I am pleased to announce that this summer I am teaching an intensive multimedia course through the Art Studio department at Case Western Reserve University. This 3 credit course ARTS 350/450 takes place Mon, Tue, Wed, & Thurs Evenings (5pm-8pm) from  June 4 – July 6 (with no class the week of June 11-14 or on July 4) in the Kelvin Smith Library.

In this course you will learn Photoshop – it is a baptism of fire to be sure – but when you are done I promise all fear of Photoshop will be gone.  We also produce a “How To” video using Adobe Premiere Elements.

Tuition in the summer is half-off! More information on how to enroll can be found here:
http://www.cwru.edu/academics/summer/

Spread the word and tell your friends!

It takes a lot to get me to write one of these but I’ve been watching all this vitriol pour out again on the net towards Trump’s sons and their hunting trip.

I’ve spent the last week grading papers in which my students had to talk about an issue of privacy or piracy.  The reason I make them write about this topic is that everyone has a feeling or an opinion but few can truly express in words or in logic what it is they mean and then to truly defend their position.

Let’s cut through all the emotions and look at this clearly.  Two brothers went on vacation, signed up for an ‘experience’ package, broke no laws, and had photos taken.

So what are they being accused of?

Animal Cruelty.  They killed animals.  Is it murder? No – because the animals weren’t people.  Was it poaching? No – because it was legal to kill where they killed and what they killed.  Was it hunting? Sure. You can argue how “challenging” it was but that’s something else entirely.  People go hunting in overpopulated areas or in stocked lakes when they know they will catch something.  We don’t get angry at fisherman.  We don’t get angry at most hunting.  If the Trumps had gone somewhere in the mountains and hunted deer – would there be this uproar?

What’s the difference between this and going deer hunting?  And again – let’s stop – if you find yourself equally angry at them if they had gone deer hunting then say that.  Say “I don’t like people who like to go hunting”.  The rest of the situation is irrelevant to you.  They went hunting – you don’t approve. I get it.  That’s a fine argument.  It’s a fine opinion.

So we continue.  What’s the difference between this and going deer hunting? It cost a lot of money.  That’s one issue.  Clearly this is a luxury thing.  And for some people the argument is “These people have too much money and shouldn’t be wasting it.”  Its a fine argument. But it is their money and they can spend it how they like.  Rich people can do rich people things.  I am not rich but I am sure a lot of people judge me on how I spend my money.  And they shouldn’t.  The Trumps have a lot of money and I would be offended if they weren’t out there enjoying themselves with it.  So – you don’t like rich people?  Say that.  I get it.  That’s a fine argument.  It’s a fine opinion.

But the animals are exotic/cute/endangered etc?  There is no question that for some seeing dead animals is difficult.  I lost my 19 year old cat 2 weeks ago and when she finally passed they asked if I wanted to stay with her a while. I said no. She was gone and I wasn’t going to hug and cry over her corpse.  It was a personal decision.  I don’t think hunters are sociopaths.  If I thought hunters were sociopaths I would have to think that all carnivores are.  I eat meat.  I have a hand in the death of the cow.  No I didn’t kill it myself – but I’ve killed and gutted a fish.  And when I reeled it in – I was excited – but I wasn’t in a frenzied blood lust.  There was a physical and mental challenge and I was caught up in that moment – not in the spiritually life ending murderous rampage that people are accusing them of.  (If the Trump boys are indeed sociopaths then you should be glad that these outlets exist for them. And if you don’t get that this last sentence was a joke then I plead you to stop reading.)  People are protesting that they wouldn’t kill a leopard.  I get it.  And you didn’t. No one is accusing you of killing one.  They admit they did it.  What don’t you like about it? That it is pretty? That is is rare?  It’s not a threatened or endangered animal.  Just because you wouldn’t do it – doesn’t make it wrong.  Even their father made basically the same argument.  People do have a right to live their lives the way they want – even if it offends you.

Then there is the elephant tail picture.  I don’t argue with PETA or side with PETA – ever – they are crazy – we know they are crazy – they know they are crazy.  But this picture shocks a lot of people.  Several years ago I was in Cameroon and when I came back I gave several talks about my time there.  While I was waiting to give one of these talks people were giving me deadly stares and really upset looks.  Why? Because I was wearing traditional Cameroonian ceremonial dress.  You could feel their venom.  How dare I?  And then I played the video.  The video of the local King in front of hundreds of people putting this garment on me.  Commanding me to wear it in pride and to go home and tell others about his people and my experience.  You want the world to be smaller you have to live in it.  If the custom was to hold the elephant tail – then you do it.  Going along with it is the right thing to do – in fact – that part of the story is what makes it have heart.  It wasn’t about pulling a trigger and walking away – it was about having a cultural experience.  At this point you can argue that you wouldn’t want that experience.  Fine.  You can argue that the world is full of backwards traditions and practices – and while it might be true – they are fewer than you think.  I get it – you are shocked and offended first and calmed and informed later.  Most people don’t get to the second half.  How many people bothered to look up what that tradition was before they condemned it? Because now you aren’t talking about the Trump brothers – now you are talking about being offended by another culture or that they wanted to take part of another culture. How small minded is that?

The meat didn’t go to waste.  That’s a point of protocol. And again they are being harassed for it!  People are saying that those people didn’t want the meat or if you really cared about them you would have just given them money.  How dare you? It’s not your or my place to tell these guys how to spend their money. It’s THEIR money.  I’m sorry you don’t like that they are rich. Let’s be really practical here – for most people complaining the fact that they went on vacation was wasteful itself.  That’s not right.  They stimulated the local economy.  You might not like it but they did.  I have traveled all around the world and trust me – people want your business.  And more often than not – people wanted my business NOT my handouts.

And they took photos.  And yes – we all have to admit this is terrible PR.  No one should have seen these photos.  And who posted them? The photos were from the travel company – and the stupid macho slogans bantered around are from the travel company.  Do you really want people judging you by accusing you with the slogans of the products you use?  The Trump brothers didn’t come out and do a commercial – we don’t have video of them acting the fool here and being all gun crazed yee-haw nuts.  As a photographer and a traveler the reality was probably a lot more sedate (and at times more chaotic).

Before I wrote this I reminded myself of the old axiom: “Never argue with an idiot.  They drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”

And then I read this tweet by Donald Trump Jr.: “I don’t apologize to cater to public opinion when I did nothing wrong. To do so would be to sell myself out.”

Amen.

Today was a very sad day.  I had to put Puppycat, my 19 year old Siamese, to sleep.

We came home last night to find her in front of her water bowl unable to move and soaked in her own urine. It was sad to see her suffer and not how I want to remember her.

19 years ago…

My friend Barbara told me her landlord said she couldn’t keep her Siamese kitten Tasha.  Even though she was just a kitten Barbara was already her second owner.  The original owner was very wealthy and paid $1,000 for her and had her 4 paw de-clawed (which I know is cruel and they missed a single claw) and then decided she didn’t want her anymore and gave her to Barbara.

I had played with Tasha a bunch of times and I always thought she was cute.  When Barbara told me she needed to find a home for her I asked my girlfriend Suzanne if she knew a good home and Suzanne suggested that I take her (which it turns out was what Barbara wanted as Tasha was only ever nice to me).

I never meant to ‘rename’ Tasaha but I started to call her Puppycat and it stuck.

She was a very unusual cat.  She never cleaned herself, she never covered her litter, she would burn her whiskers in candles.  The vet said that she had instinct problems because she was taken away from her mother to early and was mildly retarded.  That aside she was loving and clever – sure she ran away from the litter box every times she pooped but she came when called and was always there when I needed her.

She also knew she had that single claw.  She would come at you with it if she needed to.  When she first went into heat she was crazy and when I took to get her fixed they agreed to remove the last claw.  The vet was very nice and told me that the first vet was a butcher and he removed bone fragments from all four paws.  It left with her one flabby paw – she would nurse that paw and hated anyone touching it.  After that though she became a biter – she would warn before she bit – and she would bite very deep – it was the only way she knew how to express herself.  She never really bit me – but then again – I was the only one she every really liked.

For 19 years she was my loving companion.  She would often play with other cats and she came to tolerate the dog (who really wanted to be her friend) but I think Junior is going to miss her most of all. When we got Junior (my Manx) as a kitten, Puppycat really changed and her maternal instincts kicked in.  Puppycat started to groom Junior (though still not herself) and the two wrestled and cuddled every night.

We all have stories about our pets.  I could tell the story about the time I took her to the mall in a bag, the time she tore open a friend of mine’s bag and ate all his pot, the time she knocked over my friends 5 year old little boy and stole his pizza, or that she would play with a ball of yarn so fiercely that she would tie the chairs to the table.

Her last few years have been quiet ones.  She spent most of her time sleeping on the ottoman and playing with Junior.  I had hoped she would die in her sleep and putting her down was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

Goodbye Puppycat

I am pleased to announce that today I posted 2 episodes of From Castle to Castle: Ireland – Day 1
(This is a re-cut of the previously released episode 1)

From Castle to Castle: Ireland – Episode 01 (Day 1)

From Castle to Castle: Ireland – Episode 02 (Day 1)

These 2 episodes chronicle the first of my 12 days hunting castles in Ireland in 2003. This was killer low budget (don’t full screen it) and it represents my first time in front of a video camera (as well as simultaneously behind it). No mics, no lights, no crew just a video camera, a still camera, and a killer mullet. Some fun/weird things happen in future episodes and I think these set the tone for what I will be doing in future episodes.

Enjoy

And here are some great castle resources!

A strange thing happened last night at the movies.

The film broke.

I haven’t seen anything like it in so long that at first we all thought it was part of the movie – the pause of the film and then the burning of the frame until the screen was a pure white.
I kept having flashes of The Muppet Movie. But after a few moments we all realized that the film had gotten stuck and melted.

So we waited. About 2 minutes later the lights turned on.
No one came out to say anything and we just waited realizing that if the lights were on that someone knew what was happening and probably splicing the film.

We waited.

About 5 minutes later – the lights when ALL the way on and a manager (and a security guard) came in to tell us that they would not be able to repair the film and that if we would leave the theater he would be giving us replacement passes.

So we left and he handed us each a movie pass.

We were at most 5 minutes from the end of the film. I don’t know how it ends (well it was J Edgar so I do know how it ends) but I don’t care to sit through the entire film again to see the ending.

As a regular of the theater I told another manager that this wasn’t acceptable – it wasn’t enough. They ruined my evening – they didn’t get that – sure I got my ticket money back – but what about my time (or my popcorn) or my general disappointment. Was I going to blow this pass on a movie I had already seen most of and didn’t want to sit though again? She said that later in the week I could come back and just pop in to see the ending. This was nice and I might do that but what about everyone else? What about the fact that the free movie ticket was done to make them feel better – to scrape by with the least amount of effort.

No one left that theater happy.

And when the manager brought security with him to inform us we needed to leave – he knew it too.

He just didn’t care.

Shame on them.

I have moved!  I am now blogging directly from JaredJared.com!