Vagabonding begins!

Today marks the start of the Burning Man festival in Nevada.

If you haven’t read or seen anything about the project, check into it (http://www.burningman.com)…I don’t have the skill, patience, or finger strength to write everything it would take to make someone understand the madness that is Burning Man. Imagine going to one of the driest, most desolate places in the US, a cracked dusty playa in the middle of the Nevada desert and building a huge, temporary eco-friendly city.

Drop in art, fire, sex, drugs, enough piercings to build a skyscraper and 25K+ very progressively thinking people. People that wear nothing but body paint (if that). Sprinkle in some cops and then cover everything with dust. That is Burning Man. Oh…and at the end of the week, you burn a gigantic effigy and then tear everything down leaving no trace.

It truly is a study of human nature, one that I wish I was attending right now rather than sitting at home waiting for another 10 hour shift of watching horses try to maim their riders. I like the concept, but don’t care for the price ($295 for a ticket which you have to buy in advance in order to get in).

On the flip side, there is supposed to be absolutely nothing commercial on the inside going on. No vendors, no private or commercial exchange of money, no logos or advertisements. You have to bring what you need to survive, and if you don’t have it then someone will gladly give it to you or will trade for something that they need. Its a giant swap meet.

That alone might be worth the price of admission, just a week long escape from rampant American capitalism with no big companies blasting their jingles or logos in your eyes and ears.

Going out there is definitely an option for next year…..any takers?

It seems that every time I update this dusty blog its only about 2 things…..horses or photography.

So what’s this all about? Guess!

The good news is that my month away from distracting luxuries like the internet, air conditioning, and dreaming about adventure has been spent wisely earning fundage that may come in useful one day.
I took a 1 month assignment during a horse show here to work as a photographer at the Kentucky Horse Park….a sprawling green space filled with horses, competition areas, and rich people.

[read on]

A trickle of sweat ran down my overheating cheek. Tens of thousands of strangers were shouting at me, pointing, there was no place to hide as I made my way down the street..... No, It wasn't an angry mob ... [Continue reading this entry]

I knew something was wrong from the moment my bare feet touched the ground this morning. I climbed out of bed with a slight groan here, a subtle pop there. A shifting of something inside my spine that probably shouldn't ... [Continue reading this entry]

The ARMY Rangers were famous for something called a "Ranger pause". When they entered the woods or jungle on a mission, rather than just blundering forward, they would sit for 15 minutes or as long as it ... [Continue reading this entry]

Its almost like looking under your car as your are filling it with gas, only to see that same gas pouring out and going down a drain. And so, after more than 2 years of maintaining this blog, sometimes in very ... [Continue reading this entry]

Moss growing on a log My favorite month. Maybe I'm a little biased because I was born in June....making me a Gemini (twins), and according to some, gives me an excuse for acting schizophrenic. (I agree) wait...no I don't. (yes ... [Continue reading this entry]

My job is so hard Trabajo! During my photography gig in Acapulco for American Eagle, my buddy Jason and I came up with that as a codeword for approaching strangers for photos....as well as leveraging the press ... [Continue reading this entry]

My home in suburbia before selling it to travel I went on one of my usual, periodic neighborhood walks last night to get away from the laptop and to get some circulation flowing in my numb bottom. The walks ... [Continue reading this entry]

When I close my eyes at night, I see them. They are always there, with their nervous ears, flaring nostrils, and taunting me with yellow teeth. Some people see dead people, I see.... Horses. I have just ... [Continue reading this entry]