cluster

Photo copyright 2000 Gazelle

Rhodes, Greece

river wave

Eisbach River, Munich, Germany.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nvTbJ9CPgxY

Does anyone out there know if there are any good spots for this near Portland? Maybe I'm breaching a river surfer code asking but screw it, I'm dying to try this.

that sinking feeling

Can't remember where I found this one but I like looking at it. Can't say exactly why either.

sharp but soft

Photo copyright 1995 Gazelle

Yucca, San Gabriel Mountains, California

montreal

Photo copyright 1994 Gazelle

beware

Photo by Nick Ut

Photo by Eddie Adams

We've all see the two images above. I'm too young to remember how they appeared in the media when new but from everything I've read they were prominently published. Naturally, these photos were dangerous to those who profited from or backed the Vietnam War, but they were shown anyway and helped to turn public support against the war. And from my study of the war, including learning about the relatively mild experiences of my father while serving in Vietnam, these two photographs depict a frequent reality in that country at that time: brutality, pain, and suffering.

This week I was reading Foulweather's Monday posting and began to think about just what the public has seen of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The image in Foulweather's post could, along with many other disturbing images we've likely never seen, be prominently and regularly seen in newspapers, internet, and television news broadcasts. But they are not. Ask yourself why. Imagine yourself as an American soldier over there, or as an Iraqi or Afghan living in one of the more violent regions. Imagine being tortured or beheaded. It's incomprehensible unless you're living it, really.

Recently I heard a report on NPR about the military cracking down on soldier's access to myspace, youtube, and blogging. This in spite of the fact that no security breaches due to this technology can be pointed to during the entire time we've been over there. Again, ask yourself why.

On a much more positive note, I heard another news story which was very uplifting. And it illustrates how infrequently we get reports of this kind, and especially about what the United Nations is doing (unless it's a dismal failure).

highlands

Photo copyright 1999 Gazelle

Temple, Central Bali

lava fingers

Photo copyright 1996 Gazelle

Kona coast

malibu

Photo copyright 1994 Gazelle

mother ditch

Photo copyright 1995 Gazelle
Los Angeles River near Echo Park. Publicity still for site specific dance performance which took place in the river. See http://www.collagedancetheatre.org/repertory/

place of refuge

Photo copyright 1996 Gazelle
Brett shoveling sand, Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, Kona
http://www.nps.gov/archive/puho/home.htm

hometown juice

Photos by "Seaglub", posted on surfline.com

I kept staring at the image in my last post wondering if there was a sequence or some video from that day. I didn't find any, but I did find these two shots from the same spot, same swell. I hope there was some serious hooting and cheering going on that day. If not, somebody needs to get slapped.

hometown barrel

Photo by Tom Cozad, http://newportsurfshots.com/

Early season south, April 2007. El Morro Beach, N. Laguna.

east of the cascades

All Photos By Gazelle 2007

I wish I'd had more sophisticated camera equipment on me but here's a few snaps of what was one of the more beautiful short hikes I've ever done. This is the Tom McCall Nature Preserve, adjacent to the mighty Columbia River and about 10 miles east of Hood River, Oregon. This place made me want to roll around in the meadows and never leave...

r.i.p.

Henri, taking a break on a backcountry hike, Golden Trout Wilderness, California

osaka

Photo copyright 1998 Gazelle

Busking high school musicians on walk bridge linking Shinsaibashi & Namba districts of Osaka

A Japanese man told me a joke about his hometown, known as a bustling merchant center since medieval times and now a city with a population and sprawl like that of Los Angeles:

Q: Why are there no trees in Osaka?

A: Because trees don't make money!

Of course, Japanese businesses makes loads of money from trees - through a highly efficient forestry industry. But as the joke implies, to the money-minded Osakan a tree in the city is just a waste of space...