most beautiful place on earth...

hope you are all having a good weekend. mine is going well. now that i am back to school the concept of "weekend" means something.

new cd's i'm excited about in upcoming months: sheryl crow, dire straits (who knew they were still alive) and most of all nellie mckay....

i command all my loyal readers - yes, both of you...to go to fluidpudding and show her much love. hers is one of the best written blogs there is and she's recently gotten some negative comments from some folks. funny thing about some folks - they love seem to love irreverence except when directed at them...

anyhow, playing with my new camera - i love taking pictures - i mean the "act" of taking pictures. i love taking pictures of things in my everyday surrounding - many of the photos i post are from my own backyard - and most of the rest are from local metroparks...

there are two reasons for this - the mundane and the pretentious...the mundane reasons is, i never go anywhere... the pretentious is that for me, photo taking is kind of a meditation. the point of most meditiation is cultivating awareness. remember, the buddha isn't a g*d or a superhuman - merely an ordinary person who is completely aware. the thought is, once one is aware of one's actions and their consequence and the inter-relationship of all - one cannot help living in a loving and compassionate manner. taking photos of the things around me has helped me *see* and realize the beauty around me - making me more aware and appreciative. i love taking photos of weeds - to find the beauty in them - i think is a great lesson in life - by the way, i hate the distinction between flowers and weeds...the standard definition: a weed is something i haven't planted is as good an expression of humanities view of the environment - if i can't control it, it ain't any good...

anyhow, i took some photos friday at a metropark - might post some soon - and a guy there told me about a reclaimed wetlands in the area. no exaggeration, i have never been in a more beautiful place. here is a photo and i will post more as time allows:



while there i listened to hanne hukkelberg. imagine if bjork and brian wilson had a baby - and it was raised by dido - beautiful, earthy, ethereal and otherworldly - a perfect match for the landscape...


i am amazed that such a place is 20 minutes from my home. i strongly feel the most beautiful place on earth is where ever you find yourself - no matter where it might be...