David Koresh, Timothy McVeigh and Marie Kolasinski

I’ve found another Nutball lurking in Orange County. Marie Kolasinski, the founder of Piecemakers a Christian end-times cult in Costa Mesa, California. A few weeks ago, in a very public confrontation with Costa Mesa Heath Inspectors , Kolasinski was arrested for failing to comply with a inspection warrant which was issued to assure safe access to Kolasinski's commercial kitchen operation. According the OC Register, seven members of the cult were arrested of various charges.

Kathleen Louise Needham, obstruction of justice
Douglas Dorsey Follette, assault
Kolasinski, assault on a heath inspector
Deborah Lindsey Scherfee, obstruction of justice
Kerry Lyn Parker, assault
Judy Marie Hageer, battery
John Fredrick Ready, obstruction

To belong to Piecemakers, one must surrender all possessions to the organization, submit to the authority of Marie Kolaniski, live in the commune, work at the craft shop, forego sex, and subscribe to their ridiculous beliefs. According to the OC Weekly, the Piecemakers have some questionable beliefs:

• To become a cop, lawyer or judge, a person would first have to spend "three months or more" in jail "to understand how awesome is his job."
• No more taxpayer-funded inaugural parties for incoming presidents.
• The U.S. must apologize to the world for its "arrogance."
• No more pampering of the handicapped with choice parking spaces -- "walking is one form of therapy."
• No more welfare programs.
• Open national borders because "it isn't the Mexicans or the Asians screwing up the country but the offspring of the Caucasians who founded this country -- white-skinned, empty-headed with an evil heart."
• Only one religion allowed -- "all others would have to leave the country."
• A ban on aid to Israel.
• No more "foolish" government AIDS research.

I rarely find any organization so completely screwed up and just plain scary. These people are nuts – no, nuts who sell quilts and plot the overthrow of our government. I hereby add them to my Nutballs hall of fame. I also intend to watch them closely.

Technorati Tags: Cults, Nutballs, Piecemakers

Watching the sunset with a Slurpee

Today was a weak day for photos. I only happened to come accross this stranded biker chick while getting gas. I only had a few seconds and the results are poor. But I have resolved to take pictures everyday and post, so here it is.

Technorati Tags: Photography, Street Photography, Photo Friday

Another Foggy Morning

This morning was the second day in a row of fog. Since I leave work after dark and I the mornings have been dark and foggy, my photography has been limited. The Santa Anna's are blowing outside tonight. It should be a better day to shoot tomorrow.

Location: This was shot in the parking lot of Artesia High School in Lakewood.

Technorati Tags: Photography, Street Photography

How to sell a book on Amazon

While surfing the web today, I visited my favorite productivity site for some after lunch mental stimulation before I started to dig into my backlog of 150-emails. I clicked through to a link about photography, then clicked out to Kitten's box to read more. On Kittens Home Page, I saw a review for a photography book that I found interesting, along with a link to purchase it from Amazon (and I did). I thought the Amazon review link was a good idea, but I could not find any information about how to make one. I eventually found information about the Amazon Associate Program from the Amazon Hacks website. Participants get a small percentage of each sale. I will be taking my meager payment in Amazon gift certificates.


How to make a “Buy from Amazon” link

Go to Amazon.com and create an account (if you don’t already have one)
Click on the Help link at the top of the page
Click on Amazon.com Services /Associates
Sign up for Amazon.com Associates program (follow the easy instructions)
When complete, one of the options will be to “Build a Link”
Copy the HTML code into your blog and post it


This first Amazon book link is for The Craft of Research, a book that was essential reading during my recently completed graduate school program. The Craft of Research gave me a leg up on my competitors. It taught me the right way to approach research, how to properly document research, and most importantly, how to present your research in its final form. This book is a must read for anyone thinking about going to a competitive school.

Technorati Tags: Deep Thoughts, How To, Book Review

A bad news day for Los Angeles

Today we found out that Male fish with female eggs were found off the coast of Los Angeles. And in other news, Los Angeles has the worst smog in the nation.

I shot this on the way to work this morning. If the sky had been clear, LA would be visable in the distance.


OK, so maybe it was foggy this morning. But, I can only see LA from this spot 1 out of every 100 days each year. So, maybe the smog thing is on target. In other news, I ate local yellowtale Friday night. I wonder if the extra female parts make it taste better. I really do love LA.

Technorati Tags: Graffiti, Photography, Street Photography

Stereo Image

So, back in the day (1990 or so) I used to love stereograms. I even had a company that made the software that allowed people to make highly complex hidden image stereograms. I also made dozens of them myself. My brother-in-law was the real pro. His work even made the cover of Duckman Comics #1.

I took a picture the other day that reminded me of my old efforts; a channel with holes along its length. I spent some time cutting and arranging it in Photoshop and... Well you can see the result above, a stereo image of a series of holes. If you shift your vision slightly, the image will take on three-dimensional qualities. It has been at least ten years since I made something like this. I think I will make a few more in the days ahead. Its fun and appeals to the autistic side of my brain (yes I said autistic on purpose - I find great comfort in repetitive tasks, like sorting pennies or debugging software).

Lean how to view a stereogram here.
See a more complex example of a Stereo Image here.

Technorati Tags: Art, Photography, Stereogram

A good cigar

Last night I gave myself an hour to relax. I choose to smoke a cigar at Joe R's in Long Beach prior to enjoying dinner with a friend later in the evening. I intended to pick a cigar which I had not smoked before. Something new and light would have been nice. While in the humidor I spotted an El Ray Del Mundo, a cigar another friend had acquainted me with a few years ago in Tucson. The El Ray is not a light cigar. I consider it rich, powerful, and in its larger varieties, completely buzz worthy. I find it good to smoke in moderation.

El Ray Del Mundo (means King of the World)
Handmade in: Confradi, Honduras
Wrapper: Ecuador/USA Connecticut
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Dominican Republic/Honduras

My hour of smoking was a complete success. I spoke to half a dozen new people and had a noteworthy conversation with the cowboy bouncer from the Blue Café. I sat in a chair on the sidewalk while the world drove by – for those of you who do not live in LA, I did not even need a sweater.


Technorati Tags: Deep Thoughts, Cigars, Long Beach

RIP Peter Drucker

Peter F. Drucker died on November 11th. He was visionary business guru for whom I have a tremendous degree of respect. He died at age 95 after a very long career. I own a copy of each of his books and many of his magazine articles. I have read his books for pleasure going back as far as the early 80s. I have also read his books as part of a graduate degree program, which is to say, I studied them deeply. He was on target, insightful and inspiring. I always thought of him as wise. RIP Peter F. Drucker.

The Washington Post does a good job of summarizing his life’s work and its impact in their obituary

"There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." - Peter Drucker

Technorati Tags: Deep Thoughts

Help Shopping

I found this little post it note attached to an artistically painted newspaper dispenser in the heart Long Beach's arts district. I thought it looked odd. The Message:

“Have a space/spare room, you’re not using? I could help you clean it up + offer assistance with decoration or grocery shopping.”

Well ok then - I need my unused room cleaned, decorated, and filled with produce. It's a match!

Technorati Tags: Found Art, Long Beach

The Body

I had dinner with my boss tonight. He told me a story of a friend who had quit a job as a stockbroker to pursue a second life as an artist. His story inspired me to finish a piece I had been working on for a few weeks. For the lack of a better name, I'll call it "The Body" (for now anyway). It fits my mood around the seasonal change for daylight savings. The piece is mixed media – a combination of found objects, scanning, and photographic textures.

My wife liked it so it has passed my acid test for posting to my blog. If my wife like it, the work is not too dark for publication.

All comments are welcome.

Technorati Tags: Art

Video footage of the Paris Riots

I've put together a few links to video coverage of the Paris Riots as well as photo's and a couple of blogs that are following the action. The videos are hard for me to watch. My memories of France do not match today's reality.

Video:

Riots in France Clichy
French riots
Paris Riots
Paris Burns
Deport them

Photo Essay:

Reuters pictures
BBC Pictures
Yahoo Pictures
Republica Pictures Very Nice!

Blogs:

Faeriebell's Blog
Jihad Watch


Technorati Tags: Intifada, Video, Paris Riots

Hatem Bazian to speak in San Deigo

Hatem Bazian, and anti-American Islamic extremist who has publicly called for the Intifada to come to America is to speak at the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committe in San Deigo. Bazian should be at his vitriolic hateful best when he takes the podium to tell everyone what a horrible country we live in. Bazian is a public employee who teaches at U.C. Berkeley – the fact that he is still on the State dole after all he has done really bothers me.

(located in special events) *ADC ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines, 10950 N. Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, 619-840-1945. On Saturday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m., the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee invites the public to hear speakers Phyllis Bennis and Hatem Bazian. There will be food, drinks and Arabic music.

Technorati Tags: islam, intifada

Squeal like a pig

I found the dueling banjo scene from Deliverance at Putfile.com. It's been years since I watched the movie, but it is still good. Nothing quite catches the essence of a red-necked hillbilly like this film. The boy playing the banjo is a great example. Enjoy.

Technorati Tags: Video

This is my second post in my new LA Freeways project. It represents the out-of-the-corner-of-the-eye shot that one sees when driving in LA, dirty old palm trees, gray bridges, and graffiti. They blur together to form a vague but persistent image of decay. In this case, the palm tree marks the spot of a homeless village. It is quite common to glimpse a cardboard house along with its owner, sitting beneath the bridge.

Location: South bound 405 freeway at the Los Agneles river

Technorati Tags: LA Freeways, LA Photobloggers, Photography

Dave Odegaard - a new CD

My Friend Dave Odegaard has released a new CD called Artic Fire. It is a re-master of an older CD from when Dave played in another band. I will be picking up a few copies (they make great gifts) the next time I see him.

I am a big fan of Dave’s music. He has a unique style that takes the electronic guitar to new levels. I can listen to his music for hours. According to iTunes, I’ve played Dave’s previous album, Second Attention, 113 times since I purchased it back in November of 2004. I recommend it highly. My favorite song – Lucid – is a driving and moody piece that highlights Dave’s mastery of rhythm and the electric guitar.

Technorati Tags: Music