Category: Uncategorized

LOVE NOT HATE

The Capitol, Washington DC

There is love and there is fear. Fear spawns hate in those who choose it. Choose love instead.

Everything else is just opinion. So far, that’s still legal to voice in the USA, depending on who you talk to. I find it better to say nothing, because you never know who’s listening.

DEEDS, NOT WORDS

I’m a pragmatist at heart with a penchant for aphorisms, but even I know that a worthy man dedicates himself to service to remind himself that there are other things more important than his own selfishness. Forget the farcical hypocrisy you see on TV. It’s my belief that good deeds are best done the first time you think of them.

HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY MOM!

Congrats to my mother for her remarkable achievement after a life of challenges, including the death of her mother in Estonia when she was very young, losing her father to the Russians at the beginning of WWII, being bombed while a prisoner of war working at a German hospital, learning English and adapting to a small fishing village in Alaska, working in a cannery, raising us kids, and a life that revolved around my dad, a commercial fisherman from Colorado who was often absent. You made it!

(Photo:Andrea Wells)

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

The Massachusetts colonists, or “patriots”, won the first major military campaign of the American Revolutionary War in Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, 250 years ago. Today is also the 250th time the signing of the Declearation of Independence will be celebrated (the official anniversary is next year). Here’s some reading material:

Continue reading “”

LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Words on a piece of paper. A document that used to have the same meaning for everyone. I remember a time in the USA when those words spoke of a dream that was attainable for all.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness seemed possible for those who worked hard and followed their passion. An achievement that was not just measured in monetary terms, but also in how WE THE PEOPLE felt about our nation. Continue reading “”

REMEMBERING OHIO

Injustice demonstration regression déjà vu. From Kent State 1970 to L.A. 2025: “I’m not a crook” to “I’m a crook, so what”.

Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

BEING MULTI-HYPHENATE

The word multi-hyphenate was something I was unaware of until recently. This term is being applied to a person who works in multiple jobs with each one being a field of expertise – especially influencers and celebrities. Thank goodness I don’t qualify for that last part.

Yet, working as a photographer-filmmaker-writer/author-music reviewer means I’m never bored. Beyond that I’ve never thought about it much. I’d probably be doing those things even if I wasn’t making a living at it. I’m certainly not a “renaissance man” in the traditional sense, since I’m not an inventor, musician, poet and mathematician. Now that would be something to be proud of.

I think as long as you are doing something you love and have a passion for, then you are taking care of your emotional health. Taking care of your physical health is another story, but it helps if you reduce stress, exercise regularly, eat healthy and takes breaks along the way. Everything in moderation is my motto today.

Making a meaningful difference for the better in today’s world is a whole ‘nother topic.

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L.A. FIRES

My heart goes out to everyone impacted by the fires in and around L.A. Several people I know lost their homes or recording studios, including Howie Idelson and Bernie Grundman. Others lost family heirlooms. I was just in Topanga Canyon and Malibu last month to photograph some Porsches. It’s a devastating loss and not always preventable. Mother Nature is not happy.

(Photo of burnt out mostly plastic car on PCH: Michael Christopher Brown)

STORYTELLER, NOT MYTH MAKER

With social media being what it is, there are all sorts of myth makers out there. Facebook and other platforms were never meant to be journalistic. Unfortunately, people begin to believe what they see, read and hear on a constant basis.

Building community enthusiasm for a worthy cause is one thing, but providing misinformation or engaging in flat out deception for personal gain whether it’s on social media or in print is another. You will never find that coming from me as an automotive journalist. When people ask me why that is, I always reply “I’m from Alaska.” It’s become a bit of an inside joke.

(Photo of Randy: Andrea Wells)

FORESHADOWING

If the latest reports are to be believed, this world is in trouble (and that’s putting aside all of humanity’s problems). Solar eclipses, solar flares, winds, fires, flooding, and global warming predicted at +2.5 degrees celsius. Add to that AI that can’t be explained but is going to be used everywhere anyway. I think they may have got it wrong in the Stanley Kubrick 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, it looks like it could all come down around 2050.

Enjoy it while you can.

(Image above: Courtesy of MGM)

THE ROAD TO H*** IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS

The key is to never let it get you down. There can be a lot of mis-communication when everyone is coming from a different point of view. Fractured is how I see the world today. It can be frustrating, but it’s up to each of us to follow what we know to be the truth. It’s good actions that matter. Forget the rest. ‘Relax-Ay-Voo’

CHEAP AND GOOD ENOUGH

If you are a budding photographer who wants to add a side hustle shooting automobiles, make sure you are “cheap” and “good enough”. That way you might get enough gigs to survive your first year in business. If you work really hard shooting cars once a week and practicing Photoshop every day, you may eventually have “something to say” (aka: develop a great eye and a style) that will separate you from the pack. Then you can charge more. If that happens, it can take up to five years, but learning on the job requires that. Remember, it takes 10,000 hours of intense focus to become an expert, technically. Just don’t try to fake it ’till you make it. That never works for very long.

(Illustrator: Unknown)