Full Frontal

Death of the Big Three

A hopeful sign on Valencia street.

If this guy can brave Valencia on a skateboard while taking photos and staying out of his car, anyone can. And everyone should if they can, at very least stop buying cars from US automakers. I understand this sounds wholly un-American, but shirking your responsibility to the US public is not just un-American, I'd go as far to say it was just the product of the 1950's American ego.

Fortunately, people don't live forever, and when their day has set, the ills of the next generation take the place of the ills that plagued the past. Even still, we've learned a few things and access to information within the US is the best and fastest we've seen it in history.

That information tells us that after Ford licensed Toyota's hybrid technology four years ago, the locus of automotive innovation was clearly in Japan. None of the big three were able to offer an alternative to the conventional combustion engine. Instead they have continued to follow 1950's automobile attitudes, bigger, less fuel efficient, ego chariots. It's not that rollin' in an Escalade with your pals isn't fun in vegas, it's just that you shouldn't be driving your 'lade 40 miles a day to work your job in the valley. Besides, if you're at happy hour to ease your commute home, your probably best not be driving something so destructive to my personal safety.

So why would we pump 25 Billion dollars into the wrong companies? Toyota, BMW, and Hyundai certainly think that's a red flag on the free-market. I agree. I'm sorry people will lose their jobs, but if we're smart, we'll take a hard look at who's responsible for these decisions, fire them, fine them for being irresponsible Americans, sell their jets, and give them 25 Billion to finance a new generation of more responsible transportation designers.

I'm sorry people with lose their jobs, but I'm not sorry that others will find news ones. I'm not sorry that the old ways are no longer working, I'm not sorry that technology gets better, I'm not sorry that human beings get smarter. Wake up old guys, you don't get rewards for FUCKING UP.

March in November

Wildlife Wannabe

Little Red Umbrella

My last day in South Africa. It was wet. Very wet. Our cruise to Robben Island was canceled. We were trapped in the mall. I was tempted to put the camera away; it was raining so hard, but there was no way I was not going to miss shots from my last day in Cape Town.

A Portrait of the Brothers Greer

Yes We Can

Election Day Soundtrack

Need a soundtrack for election day? Check out Obama Day.

Also not to miss:



And another line at the polls for good measure.

Election Morn 2008

It's cold, clear, and crisp on this election day. And for the first time in my adult life, I stood in line at my polling place. While I was momentarily awed by the sight of a line, it was about time that election day looked like this. People of all ages, colors, and politics, showing up because they knew something was at stake, because they were inspired, or simply because everyone else was doing it. For what ever reason, I was never happier to stand in line for something.



Across the country today there will be stories of voter intimidation, fraud, and obfuscation, but not here in San Francisco, not in the bastion of liberal civic-minded responsible citizens! But alas, as I cast ballots 505, 506, 507, and 508, the poll I was at RAN OUT OF BALLOTS! The high school volunteers tried desperately to reach their polling supervisor but to no avail. Tensions and frustrations began to heat up the already crowded poll and a mix of shocked and disgruntled voters standing in line all began to spread the word.

Immediately about half the line disappeared, and as new voters came to stand in line, there was no sign that more ballots were on their way anytime soon. As I left I spoke briefly to another voter and a Mark Sanchez supporter about the debacle at the poll. Turns out that she cast among the last ballots at the poll, 536. Since each voter casts four ballots, that means only 136 people had voted there before the ballots were gone.

I cannot believe this was happening here in SF! Did someone at the ballot office not watch the news for the past two years?!

Election Day Jitters

Tomorrow is a big day. I already have butterflies. We have a chance to change history tomorrow and while all signs point to a win for Obama, I am never one to count my chickens. Even still there is an undeniable import to tomorrow, a chance for Americans to prove we care about our standing in the world.

Amidst the excitement, I'm also saddened by the passing of Obama's grandmother. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for a candidate, on the cusp of the most historical election in modern US history, to cope with such news. My heart goes out to Barack on this election eve.

And while I'm excited about being part of a winning election for the first time in almost a decade, I'm still wary of what that actually means. What does change really mean for us? And while I believe in my candidate, I also know the Americans who have worked tirelessly to keep the old power structures in tact will not go down without a fight. Some of them may not even realize they are the forces that keep us mired in the current mess, and those that do, will do whatever they can to fortify their power, the inequity, and the prejudices they believe are the American way.

I do not fear the future, I fear the past and those who are stuck there. I can only hope for substance.

The Gloves, They Do Nothing