Nazca

Should have a link to this available later today on masteristvan.com.

Wahkeena trail

This was not yesterday. Yesterday it snowed here, so it was probably damn-near inaccessible in the Gorge, where you can find this waterfall.

I finished a new bag this morning; I'll try to have pics tomorrow.

pokey thing

I'm sewing today, until this new bag is done.

Big(foot?) print

That's my hand.


Why do we get so *bleh* about national politics? Because in truth, contrary to everything the TV would have us believe, all politics is local. We just don't feel -really feel-- that we have a horse in the race. Why bother caring, if we can't tell the difference in the end?

Globalized media is a great thing on one hand, but on the other, it isolates us even more. If the only news we hear about is Britney, then we will begin to feel that Britney is the only thing worth talking about, the only thing that others want to hear about around the water cooler. Problem with that is that Britney is so far removed from us that we can't help but feel left out and insignificant. We don't know her, we won't know her; hell, most of us aren't even likely to see her if we wanted to.

Same thing goes for democracy: if the only candidates and elections we hear about are the national ones, then we are being led to believe that only national elections matter. There are two problems with that: one is that our nation is so big that our personal representatives most often don't have much of an impact individually, so we end up feeling insignificant in terms of the process; the other is that the nation's issues are so diverse that one person (the President, whose election is practically the only way we feel "involved" with our government) can't adequately represent all of our interests (or even all of the interests of all those who voted for him/her).

How could we not feel shut-out of the process? How could we feel anything other than apathy, when we are so far removed from what we're told is Important?

Anxieties

Lighthouse at Newport, Oregon, summer '07.

It's sunny here today. Cold (low 40s I guess), but sunny. I can't wait for spring.


Now who's paranoid?

It's a Go!

YES!

Of course, there's always more work to do, but yes, masteristvan.com is up and running. Check it out!

If you happen to be an owner of some of my work, and you have pictures of it, I would love to get a copy. I have exactly zero pictures of my footwear. Thanks!