There are preciously few people that I actually enjoy being around. My friends Haley and Matt just happen to be two of them. As you know, I normally hesitate when taking photographs of others of my species, however, shooting these two was rather enjoyable! They’re starting up a new food/restaurant/dining blog… details to follow soon!
Good Morning Andrew
Conceptually Oriented, Practically Confused
Politics of a Curated Life
Over the last couple of months, I’ve become fascinated with the processes involved with living a minimalist lifestyle. Aside from simply having less stuff to worry about, the big advantage that has drawn me to minimalist living is the idea of a “curated” life. I’m not certain if this is in opposition to or in perfect line with our current society’s predilection toward materialist values. In essence, humans could be considered a reflection of the things they purchase, consume, and display. When one focusses on consumption, then we are a representation of an entire universe of consumable objects that disappear from our lives after use. Additionally, we also seem to hunt endlessly for certain objects to display within our daily lives. I’m deeply interested in that schism and, consequently, what makes certain objects so easily parted with.
07-15-2010
While riding on the bus this morning, it struck me as rather horrifying that I had no idea what today’s date is. After a desperate search for my phone (dead battery-no luck), I realized I’ve become so absorbed in my “auto-pilot” routine, that I have lost my ability to pay attention. With that revelation in mind, I’m vowing to break out of my shell and out of my coma by getting back to my priorities. First, and most importantly: less stuff and more experiences. The first part of my vow, selling off most of my possessions on Craig’s List, has been an incredibly liberating experience. Imagine, if you will, the feeling of curating your life – for the first time in 28 years. The second chunk is proving to be a bit more difficult to initiate. However, I’m doing my best by preparing myself for a 16 day solo trip to Vietnam and Cambodia this November.
Back to traveling.
Back to photography.
Back to experiencing in the first person.
In the woods
A casual stroll through a lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.— Zen Saying
via In the woods.
07-10-2010
My life so far has been centered around a type of “chain migration.” I started off in a small town (Kearney, NE pop. 24,000), moved to a slightly larger area (Lincoln, NE pop 225,000), and ended up in the Twin Cities Metro (pop 3,200,000). Apparently, somewhere along the way I lost the innovation and skill necessary to appreciate the poetic elements of life in a rural area. As anyone that has lived away from a major population center can attest, being able to stimulate your mind in an environment lacking stimulus is an immense gift.
Perhaps the most poignant of all of the entertainment endeavors I happened to engage in while living in a small place was my search for a gay community. In Kearney there was nothing except for the late-night cruising grounds in Harmon Park. In Lincoln, I was upgraded to 1 gay bar: the less-than-lovely (as in hepatitis) Q Bar.
While traveling through rural Waterloo, Iowa over the Fourth of July weekend, I decided that there was no better way to celebrate our nation’s (and my own) independence than to go to a small-town gay bar.
Kings and Queens was the aptly appointed name of the joint. It smelled of mold from the last time the Cedar River flooded downtown. There were no decorations, just a bar, a few stools, and (on the evening of a drag show) a full buffet of Hy-Vee cookies. To be inside of the small town gay bar is to transport oneself out of all contexts and into a vacuum-like abnormality of a bar. Think something like a John Waters film (The “Pelt Room” from “Pecker” comes immediately to mind).
There’s something beautiful in all of this. And, if one is patient, signs of that underlying beauty will eventually surface. In this case, I was fortunate enough to see a young woman, in a wheel-chair, dancing/wheeling her heart out in a rhine-stone studded wheel chair.
Thank you Waterloo. I needed that.
(VIDEO POSTED BELOW)
