I’ll be updating my twitter while I’m in the Panhandle documenting BP’s oil spill. You can see the feeds directly on this page, or follow me @creativenole.
I’m off…
Posted in Happenings
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Five Seconds. In that time, enough crude has leaked from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill to fill your Suburban. Two and a half times. Tick. Tick.
As a proud native Floridian, I was and continue to be devastated by the unravelling events of the BP oil spill. So when the idea came up that I should travel to the Gulf Coast and photograph the worst environmental disaster in US history, coupled by the fact that oil’s been sighted just off the coast of Pensacola Beach, it didn’t take very much convincing to get a plan into action. So, tomorrow, as early as I can get everything I need together, I’m hopping on I-10 and making my way to the Panhandle to document the events as the unfold.
What’s been gnawing at the back of my mind, however, is that BP is being exceptionally restrictive to the media in allowing their precious oil to have its picture taken. What is even more disturbing is that local authorities are working with them to prevent the devastation from being documented. Are you kidding me? Think about it: the local authorities, whose beaches are tainted with grimy oil and whose air reeks of acrid crude, are stopping the documentation of this tragedy, not at the orders from the federal government, but from the orders of the company that caused the damage to begin with. What authority does BP have? It’s a private company: it doesn’t need to be in charge of the media, it needs to be embarrassed and humiliated. It makes my blood boil, folks.
I am still trying to decide what route, be it a photojournalist college student, or a freelancer, or an ignorant tourist, or an angry local, is going to get me the largest chance of getting onto that oil-soaked beach and taking photos. Hell, It might even involve sneaking through the woods or a swamp. I’m not above that.
I feel a huge obligation to document this. I want to show current and future generations how important it is that we hold accountable the large corporations that are defiling our natural resources, and how integral to the future of our society alternative energy needs to be. I want to show that there are faces behind the oil on those beaches, faces that belong to people whose ways of life have been ruined. I want to show people that this is the stuff that our cars and trucks guzzle, and when it’s handled irresponsibly, this is what happens.
As things evolve, I’ll keep posting. Wish me luck against the BP Media Machine.
Posted in Photography, Rants
Apparently Evelyn Lynn has come to her non orange-and-blue senses. After the introduction of her brainchild SB 2442 stirred some strong responses in those outside of the highly esteemed Gator Nation, she changed the wording of her bill to allow FSU and USF to be included as potential candidates of flagship institutions.
Seems like a ploy to get us to shut up to me. The bottom line is that even if all three universities get flagship status, there are still eight instutions that will get the shaft end of this bill. I believe that universities such as New College and UCF deserve to have the resources needed to fufill their expectations as places of learning and academic development.
What this bill seems like is an excuse to be able to cut funding from the entire system, with the illusion of increasing it for the universities that some politicians consider “the most important.” Maybe a bill that gives the name flagship to certain large research universities but also increases funding and promotes shared resources for all institutions is what we need.
But god forbid we spend more on education than we absoutely have to in order to give the illusion that students in our state are actually learning.
"You're welcome Gator Nation!"
So, for those of you that haven’t seen, I wrote an open letter to all of Florida’s senators asking them to oppose SB 2442, which would create a flagship university system in the state of Florida based on a completely biased set of guidelines.
Although the bias is essentially all in favor of the University of Florida (a giant thank-you to the lovely Senator Evelyn Lynn) I oppose it because it would steal both money and resources away from ten (10!) other universities in the state. How selfish. Did I mention that Ms. Lynn received a (false) anthrax letter in 2008? Just throwing it out there.
Well, I’ve gotten some responses. And holding true the the convoluted, pedantic style of politics in the US, they give me absolutely nothing of value.
Example. Kristen Carter, legislative aide to District 34 Senator Nan Rich, wrote me the following, verbatim:
Thank you for e-mailing Senator Rich to express your views about SB 2442, which would establish standards for state universities to achieve “flagship” status. I will pass your comments along to Senator Rich. Please be assured that when this bill is taken up by the Senate, she will keep your views – as well as those of all her constituents – in mind before casting her vote.
Well Kristen, thanks so much for telling me that Senator Rich is doing her job. I couldn’t have made that assumption myself when I emailed her.
Come on.
Can you imagine if an upper-level manager was contacted by his employer or other figure of authority asking about the status of an important project he’s working on, and he responded by saying “I know the project you’re taking about. I’m doing my job.”? He’d have his head on a block! Now I know that we the people are a lot of little bosses to keep happy, but something more than a generic response from an aide would be appreciated. I spent hours upon hypothetical hours writing crafting this letter to you, and you can’t take a minute or two out of your time to write something back yourself. If I were writing Obama, I’d understand. But you’re the Florida District 34 senator. It’s two minutes.
I was more pleased with the response I got from Charlie Dean, who’s the District 3 senator. He wrote me (all on his own like a big boy):
Thank you for writing about SB 2442. I have had the privilege to graduate from Florida State University while I have seen my son graduate from the University of Florida and I understand the importance of both of these universities, as well as the other nine universities in our State University System, to this state. As such, I will certainly keep your concerns in mind regarding SB 2442 as we continue to work in this Legislative Session.
Although it’s not quite what I was looking for, it’s a couple of steps in the right direction. He convinced me that he has a foot in both figurative camps and that he’s got some understanding of the situation that’s going on. Not to mention that he knew how many public universities there are the state of Florida. He also wrote it himself! If I had to choose a senator who responded to take with me to a desert island, it’d be Charlie. Sorry Nan. You are the weakest link.
I got other, completely automated responses from Senators Steve Oelrich (good luck), Durell Peaden, Arthenia Joyner, Ted Deutch, Larcenia Bullard, Mike Haridopolos, Garrett Richter, Alfred Lawson, JD Alexander, John Thrasher, and Frederica Wilson, that essentially told me politely that I’d probably not be hearing from them.
And that’s it. I guess I’m expecting too much. But I’m sure anyone who’s experienced the annoyance of getting in touch with a Senator and making an impact knows the frustration.
Time for the phone calls.
…means that I want a darkroom right now.
Got my hands on this beautiful camera the other day. It’s widely known to be the prettiest and optically best of Yashica’s TLRs. In fact, it’s often referred to as the Japanese Rolleiflex. This thing is as solid as a rock, so much so that I’m pretty sure I could win some money if someone ever asked me to stand on it as a bet . Let’s just say that they don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
Of course, nothing comes simply to me. Shortly after purchase, I discovered that there was an issue with the shutter. Mainly that it wouldn’t release. I read somewhere that there’s a widespread issue with these that involves the self-timer and the M-setting on the flash sync, and that if you use one in conjunction with the other, the world implodes shutter becomes damaged. Awesome, right? I’m sure I had that coming from some karmic portal somewhere.
So, this weekend was devoted to disassembling [advil], studying [advil], cleaning [patience], lubing [not nearly as fun as it sounds], and reassembling [advil + advil + advil] this lovely vintage lightproof box. Five times. Every time I would put the damn thing back together, the shutter would start sticking again. For once, my roommates stayed out of my way.
And now I’m seeing the (somewhat hazy, kinda ‘perma-haze’) light at the top of the hill. I’m not sure if it’s completely fixed, but the shutter is snapping nicely at all speeds and everything seems to be working as smoothly as the day it came to life in 1968 Japan.
Once I develop some shots, I’ll be back here (and on flickr!) with some examples of what this amazing camera can do. You think your vintage 35mm Nikon has resolution? Your Mark IV? Hah. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t want any of those, mind you. Just saying that medium format film is, for good reason, alive and well.
Posted in Photography
(This is an open letter which I just wrote to every single Florida state senator.)
[To each Florida Senator]:
Greetings. Is it not amazing that in this day in age, a citizen can contact every single state senator via an electronic medium virtually instantaneously? I know that when the majority of you were my age, such a technology seemed unreachable, if not simply impossible. However, here it is. In a few moments, when I click send on my email client from the comfort of my living room in Tallahassee, Florida, your inboxes will be flooded with my message.
Think about that for a moment. It’s pretty astonishing, even for someone of my nineteen years of age. Yet did such a technology happen overnight, at the hands of one individual? I’m sure you can attest that it did not. The majority of times, such innovation does not come to fruition simply by means of a single stroke of genius from one mind at one time. It takes the collaboration of many minds, over a span of time, to breed such advances.
In order to foster young minds, such as the ones that at one point developed the technology which is right now allowing you to read this message, it is imperative that such environments exist which can effectively nurture and provide academic challenge with adequate, if not excellent, resources. I did not say a single environment, mind you, but multiple environments. This is why I am writing you to ask against your support for bill S 2442, which would effectively give the University of Florida the titular honor of the flagship state university in Florida.
Surely you cannot expect that such a movement would promote a statewide environment of learning and healthy academic pursuit. In ordaining upon the University of Florida a majority of the resources ordinarily available to all of Florida’s state universities, the other 10 member institutions will suffer. This is not simply a theory, but common sense. Although the University of Florida is a very fine establishment, it is not the only option in Florida for academic success.
I digress to provide an example. Although originally from Gainesville, I am a jazz studies major at Florida State University. I applied for and was accepted to the University of Florida with a generous merit-based scholarship. I decided, however, that because the Fine Arts programs at Florida State are far superior to those at the University of Florida that I would choose to study at FSU. This is an example of how a one-size-fits-all approach to education is not a viable approach, as there is too much diversity in the student body aggregate of Florida
Allow me to clarify. I am not writing to you today because I am a student at Florida State. I am writing this message because I cannot and will not stand by while ten universities whose fine programs that tailor to individual students’ needs suffer at the hands of a bill which seems to be founded on a prejudiced bias, proposed by none other than an alumna of the University of Florida and further promoted by such alumni.
I urge you to see that the passing of this bill would ultimately hurt the entire State University System of Florida. To place all of one’s eggs in a single basket is not only foolish, but when it is done at the expense of others, corrupt and selfish. Fostering elitism hinders beneficial progress.
My generation is constantly being lauded as the one that is going to advance American society for the better; I demand that you give me and all of the Floridian members of my generation that chance by opposing bill S 2442. I need not remind you that the glory of the democratic system is behind the power of the vote.
Thank you for your time, I kindly welcome your responses.
Zachary A. Goldstein
Jazz Studies Major
Florida State University
…in the form of new ketchup packets. thank you heinz.
I am genuinely curious to know what most people think of these things. They supposedly hold about three times as much ketchup as the previous versions. Additionally, they make dispensing that oh-so-glorious red goop onto your processed, chemically flavored fries as you fly down the interstate going 93 miles an hour (while juggling your iPhone and nursing a coke shoved between your nads, of course) a breeze.
What’s going to happen with this +∆ : K/Pq (scientific expression for increase in Ketchup per Packet)? Here’s my prediction: Americans will overconsume ketchup like never before, and due to the heightened levels of high fructose corn syrup consumption, the country will soon suffer obesity levels so high that they will be considered an epidemic.
Wait. I feel like I’ve overlooked an important fact. What could I be missing?
Try this.
Haha yes, yes, I know that these two things are almost completely unrelated. But do I care? Not really. The thought gave me a chuckle and that’s why I shared it with you.
