Friends doing cool things, like putting out an EP

I love when my friends do cool things, like raise money on Kickstarter and put out an EP.  My friend Sam Kornstein, a member of the "Sunday Spins",  just put out an album called "Bend when the sun moves" by Vanessa Kafka and the Sunday Spins.  It's available on iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, etc., go check it out! This was my first experience with Kickstarter and it was a pretty good one.  It was easy to use and made it financially feasible for this band to put out an EP, which previously would have been much more difficult to do on a shoe string budget.

Where did all the compassion go?

"Compassion isn’t a sign of weakness, but of civilization."  - Nicholas Kristoff' I've been thinking a lot lately about compassion, especially in terms of the upcoming US election cycle.  I have an interesting history with religion, having spent the first 15 years of my life blissfully ignorant to any religion before spending 4 years at a Catholic high school where I was thrown in head first.  I never came close to becoming Catholic, but I did really enjoy learning many of the values that most Christian faiths instill in its followers.  One such core value is this idea of compassion, and my four years of Catholic teaching opened my eyes to soup kitchens, clothing drives, holiday gift drives, and caring for those in the community who were struggling in one way or another.  This has no doubt shaped me into the man I am today.

Fast forward to 2012 and I am blown away by an apparent lack of compassion in this country, including a significant number of so called Christians.  We are the wealthiest and strongest nation in the world and yet our country is in the midst of a vicious debate over providing health care, something that could arguably be called a universal right.  If you look at many of the hotly debated issues, whether it is health care, gay rights, immigration, or female equality, they all boil down to compassion.  I wish every American was able to put themselves into the shoes of others before voting, thinking through the issues from the perspective of someone whose whole world centers upon one of these.  For example, what if you were the friend or relative of Scott Androes, the man who made a now fatal mid life crisis mistake to quit his job and lose his health insurance and was recently portrayed by Nicholas Kristoff's in the New York Times (read here)?  Or what if you were brought to the US when you were 3 months old and know nothing but the USA and are told that you have no reasonable chance of ever becoming a citizen?

Almost all of the issues debated in this year's election have absolutely no impact on my day to day life.  Regardless of who wins, I will wake up on November 7th knowing that my life can continue on in pretty much the same manner.  But for millions of Americans, that will unfortunately not be the case.  In one night, the dream of affordable health care, marrying the love of one's life, or becoming a US citizen could be destroyed.  So why do I care so much about this election?  It all comes down to compassion.  I feel for those in situations different than mine.  I feel lucky to be where I am and I recognize the best way  that I can show that appreciation is to care for others that aren't so lucky.

So, on November 6th, all I ask for is that you think about how you can be compassionate to others.  Help your fellow Americans with a vote that represents what you would be wishing for if you were in the shoes of one of millions of other Americans struggling to get health insurance, hoping for equal pay, in need of birth control, or trying to get married.  Who knows, maybe that will be you or your child some day in need of some compassion.

Side Note:

Seeing the graphic below really made me sad, as it shows a complete lack of compassion by a large portion of Americans (unfortunately there is a large % in all 3 groups).  Pew Research Center study from 2012 (page 5 in PDF).

Badlands National Park....Wow

We have headed from Chicago to Des Moines, through mile after mile of wheat fields and tourist destination billboards (e.g., 1880's Ghost Town, Flinestones campground, World's Largest Corn Palace, World's Largest truck stop) and finally out of nowhere we emerged at Badlands National Park.  Absolutely beautiful.  It pales in comparison to the Grand Canyon, but it's far more intimate and gorgeous in it's own way.  There is little wildlife here, but we did get to take in one of the most colorful sunsets I've ever seen.  In the morning we woke up for a really disappointing sunrise which slowly turned into an amazing sunrise when we reached the Yellow Mound Overlook.  The weather when we arrived was a balmy 110 degrees Fahrenheit (record highs!), followed by a 50+ degree drop overnight.  Without question, these are some of the best photos I've taken in the four years since I got my SLR. Mount Rushmore was definitely not as grand in scale as I had been expecting, but it is far more detailed and surrounded by deep forest than I had anticipated.

Now onto Yellowstone where we will spend two nights camping and get to take in a "blue moon" (the 2nd full moon of the month, which happens only once every 27 months or so, hence the expression "once in a blue moon").

What's your favorite picture out of curiosity?

The saddest part of the cycling doping scandal

Hearing the news last night about Lance Armstrong made me cringe.  Not because of the Lance news, I think his guilt was determined a long time ago.  My heart went out for the guy that worked his butt off every day for years.  He sacrificed everything;  his life was dedicated 100% to training.  He never gave into pain, injuries, or his mind convincing him to stop.  He likely had to blow off quality time with friends and family, all for the quest to win a cycling race.  Yet, despite his sacrifices, he probably always came in 6th, or 8th, or 15th place (there were a lot of cheaters, not just Lance).  There was no fame, no big sponsor money, and no publicity for this guy.  Ironically, it was this guy that was the champion though, surrounded by a bunch of cheats.  It is so sad that I don't even know his name.