Dimen Designs

Logan Birthday Photos

Flying Pack of Wolves

Photographing Dissent Illegal in Mexico City

I don’t often delve into politics but came across an intriguing commentary on the current state of the Mexican presidential election. I spent the 2000 summer in Mexico as my travel-abroad experience (yes, I need to and want to do more international travel), which was the summer of the Mexico’s ground breaking election of Vicente Fox, the first non-PRI candidate elected president in over 70 years. Ever since the Mexican Revolution, one-party power had largely dominated Mexican politics, especially presidential elections, up to the historical 2000 election. If you think American presidential politics is troublesome, imagine one-political party domination (and the corruption inherent in maintaining that control) for over 70 years.

It was a once in a lifetime experience to be in Mexico during this election and I don’t think I even realized the seriousness of the event until afterwards. I remember my Mexican-host family and others within the abroad program recommending that we should be careful the couple of days before and after the election, because no one knew what was going to happen.

While catching up on my reading this week, I came across this WSJ article (registration required), on the current presidential conundrum in Mexico. I’ve read about how Obrador has rallied his supporters to stage massive protests and demonstrations, but this was unbelievable (paraphrase):

...Teachers unions have prevented all three branches of government from functioning…what's more frightening is that hotels in the downtown of Mexico City, a one time tourism magnet is lawless…taking photography is now banned…no police will go there…no 911 service….the state Congress meets secretly...

Amazing, truly amazing. Which one of those items above gives you the most pause?

A Blurry Night

  night_blur 
  Originally uploaded by cherbert.

Flickr-assisted Photo Blog

This post is for my friend Patrick, the newest official photographer for the City of Chicago. Hope this inspires him to start a photo blog.

Flash Slideshow

Anyone out there know how or where to change the CSS so that my main content column in the Typepad template is wider so that these Flick photos don't bleed over into the gutter?

Stakes is High

Just when I think the web is more accessible than ever and I decide to move to a more serious blogging effort, Nick Denton sums it up in the NYT:

"The barrier to entry in Internet media is low," he said. "The barrier to success is high."

Switching gears: The 4th of July here in D.C. was overcast and all I saw from my rooftop were gloriously illuminated clouds or smoke that obscured the nation's fireworks last night. Instead, I enjoyed the weekend playing dominoes with my cousins down in Richmond.

Currently Listening: Snow Patrol - Shut Your Eyes

Last.fm + Flickr = ?

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Currently Playing: Foo Fighters - Everlong (KROQ acoustic)

Stop, Look, Think, & Post

The combination of listening to Juliet Lloyd (iTunes link) covering the great Duran Duran song, "Ordinary World," and looking at this photo, "Mushroom Vendors," made me stop, look, think, want to post about this. Stopping to smell the roses, something that the late Chief Justice Rehnquist stressed to his law clerks.

Look of the eyes of the children, especially the one of the left, the oldest and reluctant leader of the trio. Those faces have seen a million things and lived through a million hardships that most people on this world will never experience.

The photos are by Mexican Pictures, which I stumbled upon through Lifehacker linking to  SLOWER.net that linked to the photo via Del.icio.us.  This combination of music and imagery is one of those eye opening and unexpected travels that I stumble upon when surfing the web, bouncing from one area of interest to something completely unknown but mesmerizing. The music and the photo make me pause and contemplate things.

Look at "Mushroom Vendors" again and imprint the image of the kids' faces in your mind; keep it with you, when you drive to work or are out for a run and your mind is wandering, and think about your life versus the life of those kids.

Currently Playing: Juliet Lloyd - Ordinary World