Victory

I came across this clip during the production of the LaRouche PAC film 1932. I think we watched it 50 times. Most triumphant :)

Smokin'

This is my house. These are the people. What was I just saying?
Insert Bob Marley reference here.

Christmas Night

There's one bar open on Christmas night in Grants Pass. I'd have been happy avoiding JD's Sports Pub, it's a depressing place when it's not Christmas and a bunch of your friends have planned to meet there. I grabbed Jim Fosmo and headed down. Chrissy and Jim share a birthday, they're Libras. That's the famous Fosmo phone-flip you see.

Mah man, Dre.

Andrew Cates is a brilliant artist. We've been friends for almost fifteen years now and back in the day we used to roam through neighborhoods in the middle of the night brandishing all kinds of makeshift weaponry. These are his twins, Jonas and Elliot. They're somewhere on the autistic spectrum, I'm not sure exactly what that means, but Jonas parked his head right up against mine when I showed him these pictures on my camera. They do amazing art that I'll link here some time.

Christmas with the Family (continued)

This is my step dad Frank and (step?) niece Chloe. Pretty cute huh? Stacey is the super-cool step sister I hardly know. As you've probably gathered, I have distant relations with my family. There's no real reason for this other than I've traveled a lot and been far away. I had an unstable childhood and never got good at maintaining relationships. I'm great at starting new ones though :(

Christmas with the Family

I sure wish I had been around more to see my nieces grow. They're looking at me like a stranger because I've only met them at their one and two Christmases. The older one is Kailey, the younger one Tegan. It would be great to live in the Rouge Valley and be with my family, but the last two decades have seen only retirement and service growth in the area so there's nothing there if you want any kind of future. The place literally destroys most of the young people who stay there; it's very sad because Grants Pass has always produced very talented people.

Dutch Bros, Dec. 23rd

If you're from the Northwest you probably know of Dutch Bros. Coffee. It was started in Grants Pass, OR, in 1991 or there abouts, and has rapidly taken over the Northwest coffee scene. They use chocolate milk instead of milk and chocolate syrup in their mocha drinks, and I believe this makes all the difference. The guy with the beanie is Dutch veteran Jim Fosmo, a great friend of mine for about ten years now. You'll see more of him later.

Out the Window on the Way to Mt. Ashland, Dec.23rd

It's now illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving in California, well... you have to be "hands free." I think it's a good idea. But I still have to find something to do while driving and often this means shooting out the window. These were taken in route to Mt. Ashland for a snowboarding 'sesh.' Now I know you're thinking, "where are the snowboarding pictures?" Well, you can either live something or shoot it. I guess I know my priorities.

Ashland, OR Dec. 23rd, about 8 am

I drove from Siskiyou Summit down to Ashland with my headlights off. There was about as much light as you have during a full moon, and the snow covered landscape was beautiful. The reason I do this drive at night is to avoid traffic. I took these photos in Lithia Park.

Yreka, CA Dec. 23rd, about 6 am.

The drive back to Grants Pass, OR (home) is always better than the return trip to Ventura, CA (where I live). I did this one without stopping. Not like crazy astronaut style, but without stopping to sleep. I pulled into Yreka at about six, thinking I should wait for the sun to come up before attempting the pass.