I've moved.

I've moved to a new blog home. Please come visit.

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See you on the other side.

scarf b&w

scarf b&w
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

photo by stephanie travis

volcano?

volcano?
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

looking north

looking north
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

so the fire season begins again...

late night musing

late night musing
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

sunset

sunset
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

malibu, or perhaps and just maybe one of the greatest places on earth.

There is something about this place that I l-o-v-e. It happens about 5:15pm everyday. The light from the sun starts coming down at a sharper angle over the Santa Monica Mountains and everything appears to be as it should be. The coast and the mountains and the sand and the winding roads are bathed in a soft golden light. Driving west is difficult because the sun shines it warm light right into your eyes. Everything is backlit and everything is a soft shade of gold. Being that this is Malibu, things being gold isn't uncommon -- fortunately for all of us, this kind of gold is the stuff that humans cannot make and cannot hoard. Things move more slowly at this time of the day. The rat race is traded for the snail's pilgrimage and the world, if only for brief minutes, is as close to perfect as it can be. It's really tough to put this beautiful phenomenon into words -- perhaps I'll try to capture it on film tomorrow.

back in the day...

Just some food for thought. The whole debate can be found here.

MODERATOR: New question. How would you go about as president deciding when it was in the national interest to use U.S. force, generally?

BUSH: Well, if it's in our vital national interest, and that means whether our territory is threatened or people could be harmed, whether or not the alliances are -- our defense alliances are threatened, whether or not our friends in the Middle East are threatened. That would be a time to seriously consider the use of force. Secondly, whether or not the mission was clear. Whether or not it was a clear understanding as to what the mission would be. Thirdly, whether or not we were prepared and trained to win. Whether or not our forces were of high morale and high standing and well-equipped. And finally, whether or not there was an exit strategy. I would take the use of force very seriously. I would be guarded in my approach. I don't think we can be all things to all people in the world. I think we've got to be very careful when we commit our troops. The vice president and I have a disagreement about the use of troops. He believes in nation building. I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders.

The times have changed.

Sufjan Stevens and my most recent writing...

If you guys haven't picked up Sufjan Stevens newest album Illinois, you definately should. In my book, it's easily the best album of the year so far. I wrote a review of the album for the webzine Circle Six and you can find it here.

While we're on the topic of tasty delicious music you should be listening to, here is my short list of must haves for 2005 with links to purchase them on Amazon:

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

Common - Be

Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Matt Sweeney - Superwolf

Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams

The Colour - Out and About

all hail the sinking feeling that comes along with monday

My last weekend in Washington D.C. was undoubtedly one of my best. I spend most of Saturday at Eastern Market and took some photos. Those are posted both on my flickr page as well as on the b.y. photography blog. Options, people. I'm here to give you options. Anyhow, there are more photos on the flickr page... your choice. Or both. Whatever.

The Eastern Market was great. I followed a lead and tracked down the best blueberry pancakes ever. Seriously, these things were amazing. Sunday was spent mostly on the sidewalk of King Street in Old Town Alexandria. That too is a great place. I couldn't help but have visions of being sixty and owning one of the little townhouses down there, walking the streets with my main squeeze and smoking a pipe. Yeah, an old-school pipe. That would be awesome. And yelling at wippersnappers and the like.

My time is drawing to a close here in the D.C. If I've learned one thing this summer (and please believe I've learned a few more things than just one thing... but for brevity's sake...) that one thing would be to be moderate in speech. It seems that overstatement is the name of the game out here in Washington. Politicians do it; anchors do it; most everyone does it. But what I've come to believe is that overstatement, though at times useful, when used habitually is very much counter-productive. Well, that's about it. Maybe I'll have more later...

In the meantime, check out the pics... and, as an added bonus for you three readers, I'd love some feedback on this blog about the photo blog I maintain. It's a sort of portfolio of sorts - I want my finest work to be on display there. If you think there are photos that shouldn't be there, let me know. I'm not saying that I'll take them off, but your thoughts are important to me.

Later.

fri-tastic!

Have a merry weekend! I'm out.

tasty...

update over at b.y. Enjoy!

done

done
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

mangled

mangled (small)
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

I wish I was...

here.

I really miss the ocean and I really miss surfing. There's something about it - it's tough to describe in words. One of the reasons why I've taken to surfing is because everyonce and a while it allows me to be totally alone with just God and the beautiful ocean around me. Surfing isn't just a recreational sport; it's something that feeds your soul. It's the ultimate spontaneous interaction with nature. It's a dance with a partner who is both beautiful and seemingly infinite - limited only by a horizon miles and miles away.

The last wave I surfed in Malibu was maybe the best wave I've ever surfed. I can't wait to get back...

thursday...

This week is cruising by... I don't really have much to say that doesn't relate to cats so I'm not going to bore you with the details. I suppose this week has been rather boring. We all need boring weeks now and then...

monday afternoon...

I don't have much today. I had a good weekend and (by now this should be no surprise) took some new photos. I'll have those up soon.

I've been struggling with some pretty strong headaches recently. For those of you praying types out there, I'd appreciate some prayer on that issue.

That's about it for now... In closing, I would love for y'all to head over here and read this great piece by Barack Obama about Abraham Lincoln. Here is an excerpt:

A connected idea attracts us to Lincoln: as we remake ourselves, we remake our surroundings. He didn't just talk or write or theorize. He split rail, fired rifles, tried cases and pushed for new bridges and roads and waterways. In his sheer energy, Lincoln captures a hunger in us to build and to innovate. It's a quality that can get us in trouble; we may be blind at times to the costs of progress. And yet, when I travel to other parts of the world, I remember that it is precisely such energy that sets us apart, a sense that there are no limits to the heights our nation might reach.

I admire both these men and the essay is well-worth reading.

american apparel

This is an interesting column about everybody's favorite "sweatshop-free" clothing brand. I'm really torn about this because I really liked their clothing and supported the company's vision.

It's really too bad. AA doesn't need to use sex to sell their clothing. Their profits have been through the roof and they've posted positive growth every quarter.

I'm not advocating a mass boycott of AA. That's just not my style. But I do think it's important that we, as Christians, give this some thought.

women's rights in Pakistan

Nicholas Krisof writes another piece well worth reading. If you don't have the necessary login, just sign up. It's quick, free and painless.

gnocchi and photos of cats

Nothing new to report. I made some gnocci last night and then spent some quality time with the cats I live with. You can see the result here and here. Let me know which one you the faithful readers like better.

I'll have more tomorrow...

so it's Monday...

So I saw Batman. And I liked it.

Alex, one of the cats that resides in the place in which I reside, pooped on the floor in the middle of the night. Awesome. There are few better ways to start off a Monday morning than cleaning up cat feces off the carpet.

All in all, the weekend was excellent... maybe I'll write more later. If you didn't know, b.y. photography has been recently updated. Enjoy.

Thursday musing...

in regards to my last post...

benyoung3384: read and enjoy
duhvore: Haha that's awesome
benyoung3384: yessir
benyoung3384: I live to please my blog readers
duhvore: I've never hitchhiked before
duhvore: Haha you do well
benyoung3384: that's one of the funny things... when I decided to hitchhike, I was like... well, this could be great blog material
benyoung3384: I think something is wrong with that
duhvore: Haha
duhvore: Sometimes it's fun to do things just because you know a good story will come of it
benyoung3384: that is true

Well folks, there you have it. I put myself in harm's way for all of you. Well, that and I needed to get to work somehow.

thumb up.

So, today has been interesting. It all started when I woke-up from deep slumber at 5:15am this morning. And I was wide awake. Just like that. But what am I going to do with myself at 5:15 in the morning? It's not like I'll get out of bed and go running or read something. I'm a morning slacker and I only like doing three things in the mornings: showering, clothing and coffee-ing. That's it. So clearly being awake at 5:15 in the morning is not doing me any sort of good. So what did I do? I rolled over, grabbed an extra pillow and went back to sleep. Now, for those of you who sleep like I do, you know that this one to two hour section of sleep is absolutely useless because I usually wake-up feeling more tired than I did when I woke-up the first time. Plus, there's all sorts of r.e.m. crashing going on... suffice to say, those two hours this morning were bad. Bad because I felt more fatigued than I did at 5:15 and bad because, well, I overslept. There it is. I said it. I was a greedy, sleep-loving whore and I overslept. The good thing is that I didn't oversleep by a whole lot. But, I did oversleep by enough to make it count - yeah, I don't really even know what that phrase (make it count) means in this situation, but please go with it - it’s been a long day. All that to say, I hurriedly did my three morning things and walked out the door at 7:53am. At 7:55am, just as I was approaching the bus stop, I watched the bus fly by.

So here is where my Homerian odyssey begins. I had two choices. First, I could wait for the next bus. The thing is, one doesn't ever know when the next bus will come rolling through. For that matter, is there ever even a next bus at all? In my experience, no, there is not. My second choice was a bit more daring than my first choice: it would have me approaching the side of the road, extending my arm away from my body, pointing my thumb to the sky and waiting for some kind soul to pick me up. Yes, folks, hitchhiking. Well, for those of you who know me, this shouldn't come as any surprise. I chose option two. And there I was, standing out on Route 50 in Arlington, Virginia, thumb to sky and waiting for the mercy of a stranger.

It's funny what you see when you're trying to hitchhike. I saw a lot of people laughing at me. I saw an older lady get a very concerned look on her face (obviously she wasn't too concerned - she didn't stop) and I saw this old, mini-van driving, grumpdog of a man try to run me over - I guess he doesn't like hitchhikers much. Finally a man in a little Honda Del Sol pulled up and asked me where I was going. I said to the District and he said "hop in." So I did.

This merciful soul sent from heaven above rescued me from the pit. Well, maybe not the pit. But it was hot and I was beginning to, hmm, perspire, if you will. We exchanged names and off we went. Turns out, this guy was head of an environmental agency and so our conversation turned to carbon molecules and hydrogen cars. Fascinating stuff. He dropped me off by the metro and amazingly I made it to work on time.

From a sociological perspective, hitchhiking is an interesting experiment to do now and then. But I’m not going to get into that now. No. Now I’m going to look at scooters online and see what I can come up with for the rest of my stay in our nation’s wonderful capitol.

D.C./L.A. and quantum physics

After my first six weeks here in the nation's capitol, I've come to the conclusion that there are striking similarities between D.C. and L.A. Both cities are immensely powerful. Both cities revolve around the industry that they're famous for -- obviously, in the case of D.C., it's politics, and in the case of L.A., it's media. And, oddly enough, the people are very similar in both places. Here, people care about "who you are" in the most shallow way possible. Here, it's all about pedigree -- who you know, what you do and what school you went to. In Los Angeles, it's all about "how you are" -- what clothes you wear, what car you roll, how you conduct yourself, etc. The people in both cities are very shallow. Obviously I'm overstating and oversimplifying a bit in both cases. But on a shallow level (pun intended) I think this comparison works pretty well. More on this later...

I've also been nerding it up and reading some literature about quantum physics and the soul. A good primer on the topic can be found here, in an essay called "Quantum Physical Communication Between the Self and Soul" by Dr. Fred Alan Wolf. Good stuff. Expand your mind a bit.

Also, Henry Kissinger writes and interesting piece about U.S.-China relations. Check it out.

Well kids, that's about all for now.

see no evil...

This is a great piece by one of my favorite writers. Nicholas Kristof writes for the New York Times and is basically the only person in media making consistent noise about the crisis in Darfur and our President's lack of action.

For those of you out there more prone to blind partisanship (and I, by no means, am totally innocent of this) please read this and reflect on it. The President talks a great game about freedom, justice and "good." Yet we, when faced with a crisis of staggering magnitude, back down from our promises and hide behind fiscal excuses and policy shortfalls.

I don't want to be a critic without offering any options for how to make the situation better. So here is what I would do: First off, we must pressure the United Nations Security Council to pass tough resolutions for Darfur. China and Russia are both filthy with supplying Sudan with weapons. This must end. Second, we push the EU and NATO to commit peacekeeping troops to the area. We approach this from an aid/peacekeeping slant only. The truth is, intervening here very much helps the National Security situation in the United States -- the less failed states, the safer we are. In this current situation, our troop level commitment wouldn't need to be over 10,000 and this could be a relatively quick operation. Our military spending is pushing $400b a year. Surely we could divert $500m and use that directly in the area.

Our silence is immoral.

hmm... 2008?

hmm... 2008?
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

So, I was a little bored and decided to do some critical thinking about who might run in 2008. It's a pretty standard list, but the nicknames made me laugh a little... trust me, I am bored to tears -- at this point, anything would make me laugh.

a good read. or two.

So my summer has been a little different. I don't have cable and I don't get internet in my house. For many of you out there, this would be a dreadful condition in which to find oneself. I, however, have found it be very enjoyable. In many ways I've rediscovered my first love: reading. Yes, reading, and yes, I said it. I realize that reading might not be cool anymore (if reading ever was "cool" to begin with), but, for whatever it's worth, I adore a good read.

So, in the spirit of sharing, here are my reading recommendations for this week:

Hyperbole and Human Rights - The Washington Post

Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order - Robert Kagan

The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith - Irshad Manji

Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire - Niall Ferguson

How to Be a Gentleman: A Contemporary Guide to Common Courtesy - John Bridges

That's it for now.

also...

if you'd like to redesign my blog... let me know. that's it.

[s]cripps!

To all the spelling bee finalists: you might be big shots today, but remember this: spelling champions today, master calculators builders tomorrow!

muwahahaha.

oh well...

I guess I'm pulling for the Heat. It's become painfully obvious that the Virgin Mary is not a mavs fan...

go mavs.

go mavs.

Hail Mary full of grace,
Help us to win tonight at home in our place.
Hail Mary give us steel
So we, Amare's shots, can repeal
And help us play some defense
Make our zone oh so dense
Causing Steve Nash to lose his grace
His having a mediocre game would help us save some face.

Hail Mary full of grace
Help the fans who will fill AAC's space
To be loud and rowdy
So to, a game seven, we can say "howdy."
Mother Mary, you're a mavs fan,
Bless Dirk so he can be the man
And lead us to a win.
A-min.

yikes... more to come

the rain coming down...

it's a stormy, dreary morning in the District and I'm convinced of a couple things. First, God can handle my anger, my disappointment, my hurt and my lonliness. He's bigger than all of that. I'm not saying that right now I'm struggling with those things... please don't read this post as some sort of cry for help--it's not. But through some really good conversations I've become more and more convinced of that fact. And it's not like I haven't believed that in the past. It's more that I don't think Christians let themselves into the "darkness" that is composed of these emotions. It's an interesting thing: obviously, dwelling on life's perpetual dark side isn't a healthy way to live. Then again, nor is it healthy to simply cover up those feelings and sugar-coat life's struggles and bitter moments. I think we too often say "fix me Jesus" and then pretend and believe that everything is a-ok when in fact, it's not. What are we afraid of? That God isn't big enough to handle our doubt, our pain? Are we afraid that we'll disappoint the Almighty to the point where He just cuts us free from Him? Or maybe we're afraid that if we deal with our own darkness, we'll find something in ourselves that we don't want to find--maybe that's holding us back.

And so I come back to my original statement: God is big enough to handle it. He was big enough for King David and the emotional maelstorm that King David screamed at God. I know He's big enough for me too. Do you believe that He's big enough for you?

green arrow

green arrow
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

colors

primary colors
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

leaving

leaving
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

up

up
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

updates.

if any of you out there want to redesign my blog... it needs a facelift badly.

keep coming back because I'll be posting a subway photo series soon.

bolton, bolton, bolton...

I don't understand why people support this guy. And I fail to understand why people think that a Bush nomination for a diplomatic position would be any good at all anyway. Let's consider the facts about both Bolton and Bush's nomination. First, the President is a Texan which means that he inherently does not have the ability to be diplomatic. We don't do diplomacy in Texas. Whenever a dispute comes up, we settle it either by a duel or a drinking contest (and occasionally by a heated game of horseshoes). Diplomacy is art that requires a subtle touch. Texans, for the most part, are about as subtle as Anna Nicole Smith is intelligent. Second, Bolton hates the United Nations. Everyone knows this, the U.N. included. Does anyone actually believe that Bolton will be able to bring anyone over there on board? (Obviously, Israel is on board, but that doesn't count because we own them or they own us... it depends of the day of the week). No. Bolton will be miserable there and make everyone around him miserable. Bad choice George! Bad, bad choice.

Yo, El Presidente, here's a good idea. Nominate Bolton to be the U.S. ambassador to Nebraska. It's practically a different country and his "blunt nature" and "honesty" will go along way over there.

good news/bad news.

The good news is that my office is pro human rights!

That said, the bad news is that my office is Pro-Israel/screw Palestine. Y-ouch.

go mavs... more to come...

get down again.

for real this time! Well, sort of... a Cessna came to close to the Capitol today so we were all evacuated from the building. It was crazy. People were running for their lives. Policemen, guns out, screaming for us to go as fast as we could as South as we could. I, being the newly minted intern who didn't know the emergency plan, just kinda strolled out, following the plan. It was amazing. I kept thinking the scene looked remarkably similar to the disaster footage from the third world, the difference being that everyone here was wearing expensive clothing. Refugees with thousand dollar suits... welcome to the United States Capitol folks.

uncle sam

Uncle Sam
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

The third and final photo from the murals at El Rescate, Los Angeles. A slightly different perspective on an American icon.

blindfold

blindfold
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

Second in a series of photos of the murals of El Rescate, Los Angeles. This tells another side of American actions in Central America--the side our history books ignore.

resolve

resolve
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

This is photo I took at El Rescate, Los Angeles. El Rescate is an organization dedicated to working with Salvadorean refugees and anyone who needs help. This photo is a frame from a mural El Rescate has in its basement, painted to commemorate all those who died in the Salvadorean Guerra Civil.

This image made me stop in my tracks because of its power and complexity. Although it appears fairly simple, the image fully represents the complexity of human emotions when faced with a traumatic situation. Cover up the right eye and she looks scared; cover up the left eye and she looks both angry and passionate about changing her enviroment.

Over the last few weeks I've also been trying to find a photo that captures the idea of faith. I think this could be the one for me. What more is faith than suffering through the present, resolutely looking to the future because of a belief for something better? I think this woman represents that well. Anyway, enjoy and please leave feedback.

more on Darfur

Fortunately, as far as forgotten conflicts go, the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan is not the most forgotten conflict happening today. Thanks to Colin Powell’s announcement last September that the violence in Darfur constituted genocide, the conflict leapt, if for only a brief minute, into the world’s collective conscience. More and more has been written about what is going on in Sudan, and it seems that more and more people are becoming educated about the situation. But sadly no decisive action has been taken by the world community to end the violence or punish those who perpetrate it.

The United Nations called the situation in Darfur the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, while the European Union has said the violence has increased to levels “tantamount to genocide,” but they, as well as the United Nations, refuse to label the conflict genocide. There is a seeming myriad of reasons why Kofi Annan and Company will not use the word genocide to describe the situation, but the reason that makes the most sense is the simplest of them all—according to Article 1 of the U.N. Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, parties who have signed and ratified the convention “confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.” The article is clear and sheds light on the reason why the global community has failed to take action: everyone desires to keep their hands clean of the mess in Darfur.

But regardless of the U.N., E.U. and U.S. motivation to stay out of the conflict, this is not something that we can simply ignore—to do so is immoral. Experts have estimated that the number dead as a result of ethnic cleansing is more than 200,000, with an additional 10,000 people dying each month. Almost 2 million people have been displaced from their homes into refugee camps that lack even the most basic adequate food, shelter or health care. The situation is dire and will probably get a lot worse before it gets any better.

Experts are predicting another famine will rack the country, causing widespread death from both starvation and malnutrition. The Janjaweed militias, those largely responsible for the crisis in Darfur, have taken up the practice of targeting both food and water shipments from aid organizations and scorching farmland. To worsen the situation, many Janjaweed have joined ranks with the police and army and will not be prosecuted for their crimes. Finally, the Sudanese government has shown nothing but contempt for international law and has flaunted its blatant rejection of U.N. resolutions. Sadly, on March 16th, the United Nations withdrew its entire staff out of the Darfur region after the Janjaweed said it had begun targeting the UN humanitarian convoys and foreigners.

In short, the situation in Darfur is a tragedy. It is time for the United States to take the lead and put as much pressure on the both the U.N. and E.U. as it can. We say we learned from the 1994 genocide, now it is time to prove it. Maybe if the United States was as passionate about spreading freedom to the millions in Darfur who are being raped, shot, starved, burned alive and driven from their homes as it was a few years ago before taking action in Iraq, real change could be affected.

However we should not wait for the government to act before taking action of our own. There are many ways to help—find one. There are many aid workers on the ground in Darfur risking their lives because they believe this cause to be worthy. The least we could do is support them by a small donation or writing a letter to world leaders urging them to take action.

Reportedly, on reading a paper regarding President Clinton’s inaction during the Rwandan Genocide, President Bush reacted by writing in the margins of the paper, “not on my watch.”

Sadly, genocide is happening on your watch, Mr. President and now it is time for you to lead. We will follow.

-Benjamin Young, The Graphic, 2005

the old lion b&w

the old lion b&w
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

This is a entry for a photo set of stuff that was but no longer really is... I suppose I saw in this statue a perfect example of aging and the passing of time. Anyway, leave feedback as always. Thanks.

the pennhotel

the pennhotel
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

yuma

yuma
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

memorial (to those who bult an industry)

memorial (to those who bult an industry)
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

the fisherman

the fisherman
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

bird rising.

There are sublime moments in life and then there are wretched moments. The thing that drives me is the hope for the sublime moments. The thing I dread is the onset of the wretched moments. But why do I dread those moments so much? The truth is that those moments are often the ones that teach, shape and mend more than the sublime moments. It's hard to accept -- the creation of somthing new through the destruction of something old. I never want to be totally destroyed. I fear that. But on the other side, after the recreation, it's so good. So why do I still fear those painful moments?

the new photos

So the new batch of photos is from South America. Well except the photo called "go." It's from Tahoe. Comment away.

go.

go.
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

arch & light

arch & light
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

arch b&w

arch b&w
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

flower and clouds (Peru)

flower and clouds (Peru)
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

Spare change

I spent two hours at Malibu Seafood eating fish and sitting in the sun. It was amazing.

I asked a girl out on a date... she said she couldn't go because she was "too busy." Now, under the normal circumstances, I'd take that "too busy" as a sign to go away, but for some reason, I'm inclined to stick around and see what happens. Call me foolish... call me Ishmael... whatever Melville, whatever.

[I'm not sure why I'm blogging about my pathetic love life... oh well, something new for my two readers I suppose]

+++++

I suppose the thing that has stuck with me most these past two weeks was something I saw in San Diego. I was sitting on a bench with some dear friends, staring out into the beautiful ocean. It was a sunny day--perfect weather and good waves. I sat there enthraled in the ocean. I mean, it tends to do that to you if you let it. A slight clicking sound broke my reverie. I'm suprised it did. It was not very loud and kinda sporadic... so I looked up.

I saw a little girl walking with her dad. The little girl was carrying a stick that she clicked on the ground in front of her in a sort of sweeping motion. She was blind. And my heart broke.

I wondered what it would be like walking by the ocean and seeing it. I wondered how the ocean sounded to one who can not see. I wondered about how in my life, my most profound memories are attached to things that I've seen (blog post: memories, oct 2, 04) and I wondered how one remembers things without anything visual attached to the memory.

She walked by me, and I looked into her face.

She was smiling.

21

Here's to another year... hopefullly it's more successful than the last.

heart and rays (early edit)

heart and rays (early edit)
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

This is the second piece in the series for Darfur. As you can tell, it's totally different from the green one... for this one I wanted to get a more pop art feel. As usual, please, please, please leave me some feedback - likes, dislikes, whatever.

The third will be up soon...

savedarfur.org awareness project #1

darfur awareness project #1
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

This is graphic design initiative that I'm starting with the hope of raising awareness of the genocide happening right now in the Darfur region of Sudan. Hopefully, this piece will be the first in a series of pieces which I will display both here on the blog and around campus. As always, I cherish your feedback, especially from those of you who are skilled in graphic design.

Also, please check out www.savedarfur.org and read up on what's going on and make a donation to the cause. After Rwanda, we swore we wouldn't sit back and let genocide happen again. Yet, here we are, doing exactly what we swore we wouldn't do. We can all make a difference.

fightin' dirty.

The flu fights dirty. Let that be a warning to you all. I had the flu against the ropes and I was about to knock him the hell out, but, well, the flu fought back. Now the flu has me against the ropes and I find myself unable to come up with any good way to retaliate. So I'm hopped up on Tylenol Flu and pounding throat spray like its my job. Drop some love or advice on how to beat the flu in the comment section below.

Iran.

Please keep Iran in your thoughts and prayers as they suffered a large earthquake today. Up to 1000 people may have been killed.

thefingersofearth b&w

thefingersofearth b&w
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

water and rocks b&w

water and rocks b&w
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

I haven't yet decided if I like this photo... leave some feedback y'all!

water and clouds b&w

water and clouds b&w
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

Malibu - after the rain (Feb 17, 2005)

the aero theater

the aero theater
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

some thoughts about Israel, Palestine and love.

It's been an interesting week. I was fortunate enough to attend a lecture by Dr. Khalil Jahshan, one of the leading Arab scholars and activists in the United States, and I was deeply moved by his comments. In the Christian bubble here at Pepperdine, both Zionism and Pro-Israeli sentiment run deep and strong--so deep and strong that the idea of any validity to the Palestinian argument is mostly inconceivable. I would even argue that in our overwhelming and often blind support of Sharon and Israel, we forget that there are both human beings and Christians suffering under the Israeli military occupation, a blatant and severe violation of human rights and human dignity. We are strong in our condemnation of terror attacks against Israel--this is a good thing. But how strong is our condemnation against the illegal wall that Israel built on Palestinian land? How strong are we in our condemnation of Israel's tactic of targeting militants and then laying waste to city block after city block with often outrageous civilian death and collateral damage? As long as our playing sides continues, peace in this region will be a utopian dream just beyond our grasp. And people will continue to die senselessly, and the vicious cycle of racist hate will continue. According to Jahshan, America's involvement in the peace process is absolutely vital--without us, peace will not be found. But as long as this crisis stays on the back burner, not only will no progress be made, but, because the world is not static, we'll sink further and further into the violence.

As Christians, we have a duty to love God and to love one another. There are no asterisks on that statement that excludes people from certain national backgrounds or ethic roots or political affiliations or (and this will step on some toes) sexual preference. As hard as this may be, this credo of love can be the catalyst for change.

Grace and peace to all.

superbowl xxwhocares?

Here's to the Eagles in the 00's -- the new Buffalo Bills of the 90's.

the christmas tree.

I was driving back from skiing the other day. It was late in the afternoon, about the time the sun is on its way down, but not yet quite there, so everything is bathed in that beautiful spread of amber-red light that comes in almost straight from the side. It's so hard to drive at that time in the afternoon. The light sweeps down over everything--it's almost like a thick blanket hovers over landscape, hugging every contour. It's so surreal driving at that time of the day.

The christmas tree was lying in the middle turn lane of a two-way road. It looked to be pretty dry, but it still fiercely retained its green like a champion prizefighter holding onto his championship belt going into a match that he knows he won't win. There's a sort of desperation in that. Hear, hear for the final hurrah. So the tree held on for all it was worth. It struck me as so odd that someone had so recently discarded their tree. I mean, it was late January--most trees are tossed around the New Year. But this tree still held on, as futile as his hopes were, he still hung on.

It's weird when a dying christmas tree so perfectly illustrates the plight of so many people, living under the setting sun, hoping against all hope, banking it all on that one last breath.

sailing to my own soundtrack (a dream I had last night...)

I was sailing around the world on my speedy sailboat... shooting straits, braving waves, outrunning pirates. I soared on the wind and sped around the oceans with no real destination. I was out for the journey, sailing to my own soundtrack. There was a girl I loved in Santa Barbara and I visited her often although my feelings for her were not reciprocated. I resolved to continue loving her and keeping the faith that against all odds, one day we'd be together. So I continued sailing, one man against the world, one man against the wind. Destiny in my sight and resigned to my yesterdays, I stood ready for the future, whatever it would bring, I was ready. And off I sailed again, speeding towards infinity...

And then I woke up.

technical updates.

I've updating the commenting/feedback system on the blog and you all should find it much easier to comment... so please do! The downside is that I lost all the love ya'll left on the previous system, so we're starting over from scratch and here we go!

I've decided to keep the blog in sort of a mixed format... I considered making a new blog for photos and keeping this one for pure prose, but I'm thinking now that I like the fact the blog content is varied... the suprise factor should keep my three faithful readers coming back for updates and suprises frequently.

More coming...

red (resize)

red (resize)
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

serra retreat monk statue (resize)

serra retreat monk statue (resize)
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

MLK III (resize)

MLK III (resize)
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

glass works (resize)

glass works (resize)
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

concept (resize)

concept (resize)
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

sheriff (resize)

sheriff (resize)
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

a few thoughts.

So, thanks to the geographical wonderland that is California, I surfed and skied in the same day. Seriously. Where else does that happen?

Although In'N'Out is over-hyped, it's still a very good burger.

So here's the irony of the week: GDub was inagurated during Pepperdine's "peace, hope and justice week."

More coming later...

fun at mcdonalds

So I finally broke my fast-food fast and went to McDonalds yesterday. My fridge was empty, I was on a deadline and I needed something tasty stat. I pulled up to the drive-thru and noticed that they hadn't yet cleared the little screen where you can check your order to make sure the linguistically challenged drive-thru operator (and by linguistically challenged, I mean, you know, that they usually don't speak English very well. So I suppose that they aren't linguistically challenged... just maybe English challenged.)

Anyway, to carry on the story, I drove up to the little screen and microphone speaker where you order whatever goodness you're there to order, and I noticed that the order before me was a little odd. It read as follows: 2 fillet of fish - one without sauce, 1 mcchicken sandwich - no lettuce, and 2 large decaf coffees. So I'm thinking to myself, who orders fish at McDonalds anyways? I mean, a burger I can understand... chicken, eh, yeah, I get that too. But fish? Wow. This person must be quite "unique." (On a side note,I love the word "unique" because it a nice way to say that someone is totally weird.) Anyway, I drive up and notice that the car in front of me is a nice SUV, not the boat on wheels whose driver would order the mcfish. I waited in line for a while and my curiosity kept building. No way, I thought, that this person is a typical SUV driver... no way! I was dying to find out the scoop.

As I pulled up to get my order from the window, I noticed the car in front had to pull over to the side to wait a bit longer for the order... aha, I thought, this is my chance. I slowly pulled up and furtively looking over the driver's way... nobody in the back seat... the passenger seat is empty... then I locked eyes with the driver. This was a man who would order the mcfish... a tall, salty, white-hair, straggle-toothed, leathery, sea-god of a man. And then it all made sense.

Carter and Mao

In 1980, Jimmy Carter's at a summit in Beijing with Mao:

Carter - "We, the United States feel that you should loosen your immigration policy..."

Mao - "Well, how many do you want, 100 million, 200 million?"

I just don't think we "get" China at all...

Finding You on the Menu

So James and I were talking:

James - "So, I think I've tried all the drinks on the Starbucks menu..."

Me - "nice, trying to find yourself in a drink?"

James - "Yeah, so what does it mean if I go back the Mocha Frap?"

So Bonnie and I were talking:

Bonnie - "So did you know Malibu Yo has hottie tuesdays?" [meaning you get free stuff if you're deemed hot enough]

Me - "no"

Bonnie - "Yeah, I'm afraid to try it though... I mean, what if the girls in front me get it free, but I have to pay?"

"There are times when my heart almost stops beating, slowed down by heavy loads of longing."
-Nelson Mandela, April, 1971

What’s worth longing for?

Sometimes beauty is found in unexpected places. Sometimes beauty is haunting.

Photo courtesy of http://www.thememoryhole.org

a trip to taco bell

It might have been my mood today when I was driving to Taco Bell, or it might have been the sunset; maybe the music I was listening to, but probably a combination of all of the above. There's something about driving next to the ocean as the sun sets that begs me to be contemplative and to notice things. Here's what I noticed today:

There are some amazing houses in Pacific Palisades. And when I say amazing, I mean spectacular. Full ocean view, huge property, and lots of windows...the houses are beautiful. As I was thinking about the houses at the light on PCH at Sunset, I looked over to my left, over to the gas station. Three or four homeless guys were sitting around, not really doing anything, not bothering anybody, just chilling. And then a homeless dude on rollerblades came zipping on the scene and sat down next to the group. I'm not sure why, but that struck me as profound. In all the wealth and opulence, there are still members of our society who don’t have a place to sleep at night... that, to me, is just simply amazing.

I was listening to a song with a lyric, "I get all the news I need from the weather report." I found myself longing for a less-involved life. I found myself wondering how much easier it would be if I was so disconnected, I could get all the relevant news I needed from watching the weather channel. I suppose that gaining knowledge is tied with greater responsibility. Now that I know, I must act. Now that I’ve seen, I must respond. Now that I’ve heard, I must answer. And I suppose that responsibility is rather daunting and intimidating. I mean, there is much injustice in the world and now I have the responsibility, the obligation to do something about it. Where to begin…

I wanted to roll down the windows and let the California sea breeze run through my hair like all the singers sing about. I did so and then realized I was freezing.

Surfing is the closest I get to Zen meditation.

the beautiful irony

There are days when it seems indisputably lucid that God has not only a sense of humor, but also a deft sense of cosmic irony. As I was walking to class, I spotted a kid who was hurrying along on his way, minding his own business and not doing anything particularly interesting. The catch was, however, that he had his nose totally buried in his book. He was walking as fast as he could, head down, oblivious to the world outside the pages of whatever he was reading. And I realized that these people, to me, are always funny. I find myself curious as to what in the world is so interesting that they would risk life and limb (as walking around campus is a semi-perilous activity) to get to the ultimate literary payoff seconds faster than if they just took a break to walk. This particular kid was really humorous though because he was so intense. So I had a good laugh, thought about the whole demographic of reader-walkers, laughed more, then tripped and barely avoided falling on my face. Yes folks, God indeed has a flair for the ironic.

The man and the homeless

Tonight I was struck by a few figures: 80,000 homeless in LA which includes almost 30,000 families, mostly single mothers and children.

In the midst of our hustle and bustle to create democracy and successfully occupy territory overseas, how have we forgotten to take care of the people in need here at home? How have we forgotten the homeless? How have we let ourselves forget the countless minorities in most large cities who are caught in the land war of regentrification- always uprooting to move away from new high income projects? How dare we say we refuse to teach the thousands of Hispanic school children living here in the States on the grounds that they cannot speak english? We have marginalized and forgotten the poor, the hungry and the homeless.

But how is this possible? We've spent USD 250B on this war effort in Iraq. Had we spent one-tenth of that money here at home, we would've solved our homeless problem. Had we spent one-tenth of that sum on education, we could've progressed light-years ahead of where we are now. I suppose the agenda is clear. Cleaning up social injustice just must not be as important as cleaning up social injustice in the rest of the world. And while I understand how the war in Iraq fits into our plan of pursuing our interests, I cannot imagine how feeding the thousands and thousands of hungry people here at home doesn't. It blows my mind the things we let slide right past - the riffraff on the side of the street with a "hungry - God bless you" sign. Get a damn job you lazy bum, we think. We've muffled the emotional reaction to the scene to the point where it draws nothing but good ole' fashioned American apathy. We just don't care. And why should we? Clearly, our government doesn't give a flying flip about this issue. I find this unnacceptable.

It's cheap ignoring the homeless....

Farenheit 9/11

So I finally watched Farenheit 9/11. I almost turned it off during the first Iraq segment because I felt sick to my stomach. I think, ultimately, the power of the movie isn't derived from its "look, it's Bush playing golf," but rather watching the gut-wrenching weeping of the mother when she's talking about her slain son. It's from watching the screams of the Iraqi woman as she calls out to Allah for revengance on us as we destroyed her life. It's from the images of children, blown to shreds and burned beyond recognition by our weapons as we marched to liberate Bagdad. It's from watching the calloused soldier look to the camera and sing "let the bodies hit the floor" as he's clutching his weapon and we watch footage of war-torn bodies.

I don't buy everything the movie says. There's a lot of loose connections and shadows that are set up to be of the utmost importance. And some parts are downright silly. That said, some of the footage demands us to think. It demands us to step outside of the paradigm of our self-righteous spread of "freedom" and recon with the voices screaming and weeping for those that have been lost. Can we look them in the eye and say it was all worth it? I don't know about you, but for me the answer is absolutely not.

the weight of the world

don't look at me
and please don't speak to me
can't you see past this facade?

don't look at me
and please don't speak to me
can't you see how messy I am?

share your troubles
pennies on the dollar
thoughts and musing and concerns
and the weight of the world
you put on my shoulders
like I'm someone who can help
like I'm someone who has something to say
like I'm someone who's put together
like I'm someone who's got it figured out

life is crashing down around me
the traveling carnival is moving on
the good times are gone
pack up the show
this is where real life starts.

-Benjamin Young, 2004

scene

alone in a room full of people
floating here,
floating there
just skin, bones
a little nicotine
some caffeine

i feel the drink.
everything is softer
take the edge off
floating here,
floating there
a ghost in a crowd
a room of pretty
a scene of hip

i'm not the scene

Descartes

Ouch. I am being strangled to death by Rene Descartes. You would think, him being a philospher and everything, I, being the hulky man-stud like I am, should be able to overpower the said frenchman and beat him into submission. "Die frenchman," I say, "we don't call them french-fries no more...you're hold on us is DONE!" Boom. No more Descartes.

what went down

The recent events in Russia have been weighing heavily on my mind. It seems like Russia is three years away from a total collapse. I don't think anyone really understands the immmediate and sweeping effects of this possible action.

child one

child one
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

blur scene: tango man b&w

blur scene: tango man b&w
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.

photography

From time to time I'll be posting some of my original photography. Please, please feel free to comment and leave feedback.

Enjoy!

Mexican Church at Sunset

Mexican Church at Sunset
Originally uploaded by benjaminyoung.