Take a break.

Stop what you are doing. (Except reading my blog)
Stand up, look up, lift your hands up, stretch, take a deep breath, and smile.
Try to think of a bad thought. You can't. In fact, you will feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Have a good day.
Remember to break often.

Big Rave Dave

My cousin Big Rave Dave has been making some cool mixx tracks. He made the second one for Nick, called Swimming in Heaven

Dave's Mix

Swimming In Heaven

You can download these songs into your iTunes. They are about 70 minutes.
I have been listening to them constantly.

Sunday. Exercise. Smile

First, I am not against exercising. I know I tell people I am lazy and don't really move. But the truth is I used to be quiet in shape because I would play baseball a few days a week. I got out of the routine about a year ago, and lately I feel sluggish. A few weeks ago, Erica has been making me go to the gym with her. It is very awkward for me to be inside a gym, and working out on an ergonomic machine.
I have been down for a while, and I feel weird and overburdened with grief symptoms. So with the gym and using my brother's "new" vintage road bike, my spirits have been lifted and I feel better. It seems that everywhere I look and hear, the subject of exercise has been popping up. So exercise also helps with putting my body's chemical balances back into place and helps with creativity. So far, it's working for me!

So it is a nice sunday. Exercise & Smile.

The Actual Museum update

I believe photos should be printed and walls should be decorated. My wall is definitely excessive, crammed, and full of colors from around the world. Well, mostly Russia. I had 50 prints from my last photo class, and I finally found some time to fill some frames with my photos. Well...I ran out of frames, and I saw a lot of space in the big frames to squeeze more photos in.

It's my wall, with my photos, and I can do whatever I want!

I am playing Bruce Lee nun-chucks with my duster towel. WOAAA!!!









The girl in the large B&W print was my favorite portrait from the Russian Orphanages. She was not at the orphanage the second time I went, but she still showed up to hang out with us. The color print next to her was the after picture. Yea...red hair!


I bought this "Rappin' Rodney" record for $5. The pictures of Rodney are priceless. And to think he started his comedy career in his 40's. And the Frank Zappa beer that says "kill ugly radio" is classic.

Inauguration Day

Boston Article
Obama calls for unity.
Divided we fall.
United we stand.

Speaking of Dreams

The way I see it, there are two kinds of Americas. Political & Social. Now that I think about it, this goes for pretty much any country.
When I was in Russia, a lot of people I spoke to had no interest to visit America because they disagreed with our political system.
But there is so much more to countries than their political system. U2 spent a year in America to record their Joshua Tree album because of American influences such as Bob Dylan and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Bono said he "...had to 'deal with' the United States and the way it was affecting me, because the United States' having such an effect on the world at the moment. On this record I had to deal with it on a political level for the first time, if in a subtle way." Since Bono was trying to portray the both "mythic idea of America" and the "reality of America" on the album, the working title of the album was "The Two Americas".

Joshua Tree Wikipedia link.

Yes, voting is an important tool to change. But I strongly believe what James Brown said, "Power to the people! HEH!" The underbelly of America has always been it's strength to change for the people, by the people. Through my travels of the majority of America in the last few years, I have experienced and heard so many great stories that keep me 'truckin' to new places to see different faces of America. Our social movements have always been an American backbone to our social idealism. In the 60's, our own African American citizens were not getting the attention and change they deserved, political or socially. In August 1963, MLK rallied the troops and marched to Washington D.C. to tell the world about his dream. 46 years later from King's march and speach, we are going to inaugurate our first Black President.

Power to the People.

Disney. It all came from an idea... of a mouse.

"I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse.

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

If you can dream it, you can do it.

All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.

Crowded classrooms and half-day sessions are a tragic waste of our greatest national resource - the minds of our children.

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.

Laughter is America's most important export.

Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language."

-Walt Disney

I was at downtown Disney at ESPN Zone, eating a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and playing some basketball, and I saw another quote from Walt Disney.
"Inspire. Imagine. Dream."

Then I got thinking...
I see it the other way.
Dream. Innovate. Inspire.

Dream of the mouse. Innovate or create the mouse. Inspire others of the mouse.

Disney words applied to my work:
Dream of the photos. Innovate the photos in my own way. Inspire others of the photos.

I never really thought about dreaming, innovating, and inspiring before. I just wake up everyday and do my thing. Just be Joey.

Then I got thinking...
As simple as Disney's idea's were, they are an excellent foundation for any business and branding. It is the simple ideas & practices used for the foundation of companies that lead to greatness. Details are always being fine tuning, but company mission statements are important to relay to clients & associates. Mission statments also reflect in your personality. I would imagine Disney was Disney, all of the time.
Disney never considered himself a genius, but his idea's and philosophies are on the same level as Einstein. (No Joke. Except Disney's ideas never destroyed cities.)

Disney, Einstein, and myself are dyslexic. And I see similar patters that break molds that information and ideas dyslexic's bring to the table.

Dream. Innovate. Inspire.
I am definately in dream mode. I think about pictures and photos ALL of the time. Not just mine, but every image I see. I dream about my passion, photography. I am in reconstruction mode for building my wedding business. I constantly innovate new ways to refine my work, and quite honestly, I have a lot of fresh creative edge and ideas to offer to my clients. I don't know how or who I inspire, but as of now, I would hope to inspire people to get out of their element and travel (cities, restaurants, museums, parks, scenery & greenery) go places, and see things you would not see in your everyday life.

I joined Twitter

I joined twitter. I dont know why. I dont get it. But here it goes.

Twitter.com

@theactualjoey

Edit for update:
NY Time Article on Twitter

An excuse to order a lot at Claim Jumper

Cure Search has teamed up with good ole Claim Jumper Restaurants. If you eat at any Claim Jumper on January 20, 2009, (Inaguration Day) they will donate 10% of the bill to Cure Search.
Bring:
THIS FLYER

Through public education, advocacy and fundraising, CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation supports the life-saving work of the Children's Oncology Group (COG), the world's premiere pediatric cancer research collaborative that treats more than 90% of all children with cancer, at more than 200 hospitals in the US.

Lauren Wack & Brian Nastase Engagement Photos

I had the great pleasure to shoot my friend Lauren & Brian's engagement photos at Shoreline Village in Long Beach last week.


"I wanna be a pirate."









"Hmmm...I have an idea..."

Man Vs. Food

You may not know, but I don't really watch TV. (Generally, too many chanels with nothing on)
You may know, I like to eat.
Mix the two together, and I am hooked on shows like Man Vs. Food.
I saw the Chicago episode, and my mouth was watering.
Al's Beef, Lucky's Sandwich Shop , and the great Gino's East.

All I know is, I can't wait to go back to Chicago this summer.
Warning: Health conscious consumers, don't even bother. Sorry, this post wasted your time. (Well, not sorry at all)





Wikipedia Link

Other Death Valley Photos

Some more images of Death Valley & Scotty's Castle.





I don't know this guy, but he was sure happy to be on top of the dunes. And he was blocking "walking on the dunes, solo" shot of Ricky.

I got sand dunes in my pants.

My favorite photos from our trip to Death Valley.

Persepolis

I watched this animated movie the other night,
Persepolis. It was a real cool movie, and one of the themes in the movie (that I saw), was 'choice.' I really connected with this movie and one of the ideas of this theme. The movie is about the struggles of a young Iranian woman who moved to France to escape the oppressions of being a woman in Iran. As we grow up and make our own choices, we realize that we are directly affected by all of our choices, even if we choose to deny, or hide from our past and our heritage. The main character in the movie, Marjane, ran away from her country to escape her oppression, but she could not escape her culture.

The movie made a huge impact in several countries that have harsh controls and oppression on their people, such as Iran & Lebanon.

Ain't Got No Time For A Resolution

Happy New Year!
I had an interesting year. Lots of happy times, but a lot sad times, too. I lost one of my best friends from cancer, and I am still having a hard time with the loss, which is expected.

Despite the loss, I had a lot of good things that happened. I have learned a lot about life and even more, about myself. I am really spreading my wings and trying very hard to focus on my talented photography skills. Chicks dig dudes with mad skills. Speaking of chicks, I have been with Erica for a first and complete year. Just from that alone, I have learned more about myself and see a lot of need for improvement. And I also figured out that I am somewhat dyslexic, and from that, I have been able to excell in my photography in an exponential degree. It is my passion, and I am moving and growing full force.

So with the idea of moving forward, I want to make this year a strong year for ACTION & GOALS! I don't have time for traditional resolutions to problems that will end up broken by February.

This year, my 2009 New Year Action is CHOICE! At first it sounds weird, and I had a hard time to explain choice to Erica as a new idea for action. Lately, it seems that I have not been able to do what to do with my time, and that something else pops up in my schedule that I have to do. I feel that I spread myself out too thin and that burns me out, which is unfortunate because I miss out on seeing a lot of people.
In 2009, I am CHOSING to do what is best for ME. We all need to put our needs first for ourselves. There is too many times we put the needs of others before our own. I just can't do that anymore... Sounds selfish? Not really. If everyone would focus on themself and become independent on what they choose their needs and growth to be, you wouldn't have to give your time and effort to help someone out.
This is a complicated issue, and in no way I am saying don't help anyone out anymore. I am talking about choice, and making my choices to improve myself with my actions because I normally make too many plans and choices, and I can't get to them all.

Example: Lately, I feel that almost all of my choices I make, someone gets their feelings hurt because my choices and promises end up affecting other people, and I sometimes flake out on the important people in my life. And when I can't keep my promises, everybody loses, including me. I am still learning on how to use my choices to benefit me, and not other people.

As expressed in a blog post about a week ago, everyone was so busy running around for the holidays. So my brother & cousins went on a little camping trip to get away. We planned about a month in advance to ditch town, and go camping. It was everyones choice to go, and we all relaxed and benefited from the trip.


Me and Ricky's Russian poses in our Russian hats.