Tree leaves are dazzling this time of year across Georgia. Everywhere there are breath taking scenes to be photographed. It may be one reason that October in Georgia, especially in Atlanta, is celebrated as photography month.
Photography art exhibits have been set up for patrons of this fine art to get an eye-full of memorable works which capture many angles of a mere sliver of life, as it is and sometimes as we imagine it to be.
Photography art can be poetic, awesome, meditative, revealing, lovely, provocative, profound, cutting edge and enlightening.
Color's Edge
I love photography and so do many people. It is generally a long arduous process to be recognized and respected as a photography artist. It can be such a club affair. Yet, the art making can be individualistic and collaborative, universal and democratic and beyond limits. And, time in service matters greatly.
Avatar
I learned motion film photography first while pursuing a career in journalism, and then still photography in the early 70’s. The first gift of photography art that I received was a framed 1955 Photo by W. Eugene Smith entitled “Dream Street.”
Dream Street
Awe Inspiring. Priceless and to gaze upon the picture is not only to get a history lesson, but invaluable pointers into the integrity of light, an expression of truth. Here’s something to remember, “good and great photographers paint with light.” Smith was a master.
Tree Light
However the real intrigue about this elusive art form is not just merely aiming the camera, but being still and waiting for the moment to occur; the revelation; that sacred space that opens and points the shooter’s eye toward the thing, perspective or aspect to bear witness and then to share.
Fall Tapestry
Photography is art treasure. I invite you to invest in photography art by me, or another artist of your choosing. For sale today, silver 20×13 strip print, $400.00.
The President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, accepts the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize as a “call to action.”
The Nobel Committee release stated as follows:
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.
Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.
Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.
For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.”
Oslo, October 9, 2009
Inside perspective is given by Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland.
Wow.
Just because the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Committee caught America by surprise in naming President Obama this year’s winner it does not mean it isn’t deserved.
A protracted process is how this President goes about making crucial decisions.That’s not only refreshing but reassuring to those of us who believe you arrive at true understanding through process which rings large and is far more important than results at all costs.Results can wane, but a tried and true process can withstand the tests of time. This is what the Committee knows.
Step by step President Obama is changing the course of world politics of “My way or the Highway,” for one of inclusion…”Love thy neighbor as thyself.”That is real progress and a real process of knowing “thyself.”
Congratulations Mr. President on a noble achievement.
Chicago spared no expense in sending its first team to woo the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the honor to host the 2016 Summer games and Paralympics. The First family, Mayor Daley, Oprah Winfrey and others travelled to Copenhagen where the IOC gathered and spoke wonderful words of praise for America’s third largest and heartland city nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan.
The First Family in a demonstration that is encouraging, “try in the face of adversity,” laid out the plan:
From the heart the President and First Lady gave passionate reasons why Chicago is the best choice.
But, in the end the IOC eliminated Chicago in the first round of voting. The last American city to host the Summer Olympics was Atlanta, in 1996. Even in this current economic downturn, the Atlanta Region has not stopped building, much of that attributed to the growth spawned by an infrastructure and construction trajectory that led up to the games and beyond. Businesses from around the globe have relocated here. And yes, when Ambassador Andrew Young, visionary Mayor Maynard Jackson and entrepreneur Billy Payne proposed it many detractors appeared. Change is hard.
There are many lasting treasures. The one thing that keeps on giving is Centennial Olympic Park just across from CNN Center. Much of that park area was blight prior to the Olympics, abandon warehouses. Now the park, which is a favorite spot to visit for summer concerts and boasts a synchronized water-spray for kids and the young at heart, at Christmas–its a tour delight for its many lights. ALSO, development around the park has now taken off–the Georgia Aquarium, the largest indoor aquarium in the world is adjacent to the park, the Coca Cola pavilion has relocated there and there is talk of a Civil Rights Museum and maybe the voter approved new central library may find its new space there as well. As the former Chairman of the Atlanta-Fulton County Library Board of Trustees that notion/idea has my vote.
Get the picture.
Turner Field Home of the Atlanta Braves
I’ve only scratched the surface. The Atlanta Braves got a new stadium, Georgia Tech a new aquatic venue, Spelman College for women got a new tennis facility and the list goes on and on.
People came by the thousands. There is a joke by the locals that says they came and forgot to go home.
But no one can argue that the Atlanta region is not more vibrant because of the games. It certainly is more vibrant than when I came here at the beginning of CNN in the 80’s, another visionary enterprise that helped put the area on the map, and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has become the world busiest airport. Among other things such undertakings spells business and jobs. These are lasting endeavors that also serve national and world interests. Big ideas, good ideas have rewards. Yes, it is hard work and it takes collective effort/will to be successful.
It was the right call to “make no small plans” to seek the games. The groundwork has been laid for 2020 for “the city of big shoulders.” The grown ups may gripe and be political. But, the kids will LOVE IT.
What is felt in the hearts and minds of many is being echoed by one, President Jimmy Carter has taken a stand against the vitriolic behavior of those incensed with an African American as Head of State, Commander and Chief and President of the United States of America.
Keep in mind President Barack Obama won an election, where it wasn’t close enough to be called a fluke, or that some how he cheated the system. No, this President actually endured the evil system of racism and under currents of hate and still sustained a win.
The colored world, which knows well the vestiges of slavery, colonization and oppression, watches–Africa, Slavics, Russia, the Indigenous peoples, immigrants, The Middle East, Turkey, Asia, Central and South America, and Indonesia to see what will be.
Senator Edward Kennedy champion of Civil Rights, Education and against Nuclear Proliferation and tireless warrior for Health reform dies at 77 years of age.
I share this letter from President Barack Obama:
Julius –
Michelle and I were heartbroken to learn this morning of the death of our dear friend, Senator Ted Kennedy.
For nearly five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well-being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts.
His ideas and ideals are stamped on scores of laws and reflected in millions of lives — in seniors who know new dignity; in families that know new opportunity; in children who know education’s promise; and in all who can pursue their dream in an America that is more equal and more just, including me.
In the United States Senate, I can think of no one who engendered greater respect or affection from members of both sides of the aisle. His seriousness of purpose was perpetually matched by humility, warmth and good cheer. He battled passionately on the Senate floor for the causes that he held dear, and yet still maintained warm friendships across party lines. And that’s one reason he became not only one of the greatest senators of our time, but one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve our democracy.
I personally valued his wise counsel in the Senate, where, regardless of the swirl of events, he always had time for a new colleague. I cherished his confidence and momentous support in my race for the Presidency. And even as he waged a valiant struggle with a mortal illness, I’ve benefited as President from his encouragement and wisdom.
His fight gave us the opportunity we were denied when his brothers John and Robert were taken from us: the blessing of time to say thank you and goodbye. The outpouring of love, gratitude and fond memories to which we’ve all borne witness is a testament to the way this singular figure in American history touched so many lives.
For America, he was a defender of a dream. For his family, he was a guardian. Our hearts and prayers go out to them today — to his wonderful wife, Vicki, his children Ted Jr., Patrick and Kara, his grandchildren and his extended family.
Today, our country mourns. We say goodbye to a friend and a true leader who challenged us all to live out our noblest values. And we give thanks for his memory, which inspires us still.
Sincerely,
President Barack Obama
On a rainy Saturday, August 29, 2009 President Obama delivered Senator Kennedy’s Eulogy. Here is some of what the President said:
The President continued…
“But though it is Ted Kennedy’s historic body of achievements we will remember, it is his giving heart that we will miss. It was the friend and colleague who was always the first to pick up the phone and say, “I’m sorry for your loss,” or “I hope you feel better,” or “What can I do to help?” It was the boss who was so adored by his staff that over five hundred spanning five decades showed up for his 75th birthday party. It was the man who sent birthday wishes and thank you notes and even his own paintings to so many who never imagined that a U.S. Senator would take the time to think about someone like them. I have one of those paintings in my private study – a Cape Cod seascape that was a gift to a freshman legislator who happened to admire it when Ted Kennedy welcomed him into his office the first week he arrived in Washington; by the way, that’s my second favorite gift from Teddy and Vicki after our dog Bo. And it seems like everyone has one of those stories – the ones that often start with “You wouldn’t believe who called me today.”
Ted Kennedy was the father who looked after not only his own three children, but John’s and Bobby’s as well. He took them camping and taught them to sail. He laughed and danced with them at birthdays and weddings; cried and mourned with them through hardship and tragedy; and passed on that same sense of service and selflessness that his parents had instilled in him. Shortly after Ted walked Caroline down the aisle and gave her away at the altar, he received a note from Jackie that read, “On you the carefree youngest brother fell a burden a hero would have begged to be spared. We are all going to make it because you were always there with your love.”
Not only did the Kennedy family make it because of Ted’s love – he made it because of theirs; and especially because of the love and the life he found in Vicki. After so much loss and so much sorrow, it could not have been easy for Ted Kennedy to risk his heart again. That he did is a testament to how deeply he loved this remarkable woman from Louisiana. And she didn’t just love him back. As Ted would often acknowledge, Vicki saved him. She gave him strength and purpose; joy and friendship; and stood by him always, especially in those last, hardest days.
We cannot know for certain how long we have here. We cannot foresee the trials or misfortunes that will test us along the way. We cannot know God’s plan for us.
What we can do is to live out our lives as best we can with purpose, and love, and joy. We can use each day to show those who are closest to us how much we care about them, and treat others with the kindness and respect that we wish for ourselves. We can learn from our mistakes and grow from our failures. And we can strive at all costs to make a better world, so that someday, if we are blessed with the chance to look back on our time here, we can know that we spent it well; that we made a difference; that our fleeting presence had a lasting impact on the lives of other human beings.
This is how Ted Kennedy lived. This is his legacy. He once said of his brother Bobby that he need not be idealized or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, and I imagine he would say the same about himself. The greatest expectations were placed upon Ted Kennedy’s shoulders because of who he was, but he surpassed them all because of who he became. We do not weep for him today because of the prestige attached to his name or his office. We weep because we loved this kind and tender hero who persevered through pain and tragedy – not for the sake of ambition or vanity; not for wealth or power; but only for the people and the country he loved.
In the days after September 11th, Teddy made it a point to personally call each one of the 177 families of this state who lost a loved one in the attack. But he didn’t stop there. He kept calling and checking up on them. He fought through red tape to get them assistance and grief counseling. He invited them sailing, played with their children, and would write each family a letter whenever the anniversary of that terrible day came along. To one widow, he wrote the following:
“As you know so well, the passage of time never really heals the tragic memory of such a great loss, but we carry on, because we have to, because our loved one would want us to, and because there is still light to guide us in the world from the love they gave us.”
We carry on.
Ted Kennedy has gone home now, guided by his faith and by the light of those he has loved and lost. At last he is with them once more, leaving those of us who grieve his passing with the memories he gave, the good he did, the dream he kept alive, and a single, enduring image – the image of a man on a boat; white mane tousled; smiling broadly as he sails into the wind, ready for what storms may come, carrying on toward some new and wondrous place just beyond the horizon. May God Bless Ted Kennedy, and may he rest in eternal peace.”
News J Review
