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Trek Across Maine…spare change???

May 8, 2009 by qualiaphotography

In recent months I had a link posted on facebook for my Trek Across Maine fund raising page. It was getting a good hit count, but not many donations (Matt and myself, thanks Matt…and me!) I decided that I would take it down, mostly of aesthetic reasons, but also because it didn’t seem to be doing much good.

I have been checking out more information about the Trek and fund raising. From the language they use on the page I am now under the impression that if I don’t raise at least $500 in donations by the first day of the ride, then I don’t get to ride. I could raise $300, or $50, but it won’t matter. It has to be at least $500.

I guess it was staring at me in the face the whole time but I refused to believe it. I have left a message with a representative and I have not yet spoken with them, so right now I only have questions.

Why would they penalize a participant for not reaching the American Lung Association’s goal? Isn’t something better than nothing? In my view, if I had not registered (which costs me $40) and solicited donations, they would have received $0. I checked other sites that do walks or rides for causes (AIDS walks, MS rides). Some of them also have minimum requirements, some of them don’t. So, this isn’t totally out of the ordinary.

I’m torn on how to feel about it. A part of me feels selfish for bringing my feelings into something that is for good cause. I should be invigorated to meet the goal and find donors. I should be typing a message getting the word out that I only have six weeks left to raise the funds.

But, the other part of me also feels cheated by the fact that if I don’t jump through their hoops, I won’t get to ride. I wonder how the people that donated in my name would feel if they knew that I didn’t get to ride because what I did wasn’t good enough. It doesn’t make me angry. It makes me feel disappointed and to me it makes the ALAME look greedy. After all, I am spending my time, energy and money to help them.

Whether I raise $500 or $5, they should be thankful that I spent the time to spread their name and raise awareness on the topic. They shouldn’t make a judgement on me based on my fund raising ability. I just want to ride and do the best I can.

I will check back in once I hear more information. Hopefully it’s not as bad as I think it is. For anyone who will help me reach my goal, follow this link:

http://www.mrsnv.com/evt/e01/part.jsp?rid=895668&id=2078&acct=8010329095

Keep in mind that your donation does not guarantee that I will get to ride. I’m sorry if this looks like pity fund raising, because it’s not. I am not expecting that anyone will donate in my name because of my rant. I am trying to do what I can for myself and my team. I leave it to your discretion.

Thanks!

~Alex

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5.04.09 – Peaks Bicycle Ride!

May 4, 2009 by qualiaphotography

Caitlin can rock a pink helmet like no other.

Caitlin can rock a pink helmet like no other.

My goodness. Does it feel great to get back on a bicycle. Lately I’d only been riding to work and from work. But there needs to be more fun involved in riding a bicycle. Today Caitlin and I took our bikes to Peaks Island for a ride. It’s a short ride (about twenty to thirty minutes) but it’s worth the price of admission.

Speaking of which, be prepared to drop about $15 to get to Peaks with your bicycle. For some asinine reason they will charge you $6.50 to bring your bike on the ferry. What’s more, there isn’t even an official spot to keep your bicycle once you’re on. No bike rack. No area to keep your bike safe and secure from damage or theft. They have you lean it on a wall of the boat near automobiles and cargo. Do what I’m going to do and write in a suggestion that they throw some racks on those ferries.

~alex

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Sunset, 5.2.09

May 2, 2009 by qualiaphotography

Western Prom

Western Prom

I might as well re-name this blog “Sunsets”. I can’t help it. I’m drawn to the sky and I am constantly lured into West End sunsets. I guess it’s not all that bad of a vice. I usually have trouble taking photos of people. Sometimes is helps if they are part of the scenery. Maybe I’ll get some more confidence in portraiture in the future.

On an unrelated note, the one and only Watson Atkinson was gracious enough to give me a cd of a band called The Ascent of Everest (http://www.ascentofeverest.com/). I looked around at Bullmoose and I could not find the disc, nor did it show up in their database. It was then that I learned that this band is relatively small and new, formed back in 2005 in Tennessee. Watson gave me the cd yesterday and I’ve been listening to it almost constantly today. What a guy!

If you are at all into the post-rock stylings of Red Sparrows, Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Mono then you’re sure to enjoy /AoE\.

~alex

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Sunset – 4.23.09

April 23, 2009 by qualiaphotography

Sunset over West End, on Brackett Street

Sunset over West End, on Brackett Street

It’s been a few days since there have been any updates. I took a trip to Boston to visit some friends and things kind of got away from me for a while. But I’m here to make up for that with this stunning sunset that occurred over Portland tonight. Hot damn! This photo barely does the experience justice.

~alex

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Long Exposure…

April 16, 2009 by qualiaphotography

I loves me some long exposure.

I loves me some long exposure.

This was taken at Port City Music Hall last night while I was attending the Portland Phoenix Best Of ’09 awards. Have you walked by the exterior of that building and thought to yourself, “wow, that place looks like shit”? If so, then me too! I was pleasantly surprised to find that it’s actually a pretty nice venue on the inside.

“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” Yeah, well, when you don’t do very much work to show that your business isn’t the Stadium, then I can’t do anything else but judge it by the cover. Hey PCMH, change that up and you’ll be in business.

~alex

P.S. – A tip of the hat to all of the bands that played last night. Spencer and the School Spirit Mafia are one of the funnest big bands out in Portland right now. I mean big band too. Ten members on-stage and everything.

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Since 1972…

April 15, 2009 by qualiaphotography

Josh Freese is a well known drummer in the music industry. He is the go-to guy for recording and touring. Chances are pretty good that you’ve heard his drumming at some point in the last fifteen years.  He has played drums on approximately 300 records and he’s only 36 years old. Here is a sample of work he has been involved with:

The Vandals – Fear of a Punk Planet, Suicidal Tendencies – The Art of Rebellion, Meredith Brooks – Blurring the Edges (The “I’m a bitch” song), Mary Lou Lord – Got No Shadow, DEVO – Pioneers Who Got Scalped, Poe – Haunted, A Perfect Circle – Mer De Noms, Abandoned Pools – Humanistic, The Offspring – Splinter, The Dwarves – The Dwarves Must Die, Nine Inch Nails – The Slip…

He has been a touring drummer for DEVO, Nine Inch Nails, Sting and the Vandals. A prolific resume for someone still in their prime. Why am I giving you the back story on this man? He recently released his second solo album titled “Since 1972″. If you visit his online shop (Josh’s Shop) you can buy a standard copy or one of his deluxe packages. Some of these deluxe packages include:

A personal phone call from Josh to you for five minutes ($50), lunch together at PF Changs or Cheesecake Factory ($250), one sensory deprivation tank experience with Josh, filmed for posterity ($500), Josh will wash your car or do your laundry plus dinner on the Queen Mary ($1000)…

This list goes on and on. The highest priced package is $75,000. I won’t even try to get into the details of the package except you should know that it includes him joining your band for a month and one shroom fueled ride through Hollywood in Danny Cary’s (from the band Tool) Lamborghini. It all sounds preposterous and too good to be true.

But low and behold, someone from Florida purchased the $20,000 deluxe package. Josh has held his word on each and every experience that package contains. Mini Golf with Maynard from Tool. A pizza party at Mark Mothersbaugh’s house. One drum lesson or a foot AND back massage. Two songs written about the buyer that will appear on Josh’s next album. I didn’t believe it until I saw the picture:

Josh and the $20,000 deluxe package buyer. Photo courtesy of wired.com

Josh(right) and the $20,000 deluxe package buyer. Photo courtesy of wired.com

The above photo was taken from an article found here at wired.com. You can go there to read more of the story on Josh and Thomas.

It’s a fantastic story on a musician raising the bar in the world of self-marketing/promotion (with zero major label input or help) and staying true to his word. In the beginning the whole thing could have been a big joke. Whether it started that way or not, now it’s the real deal. Hopefully someone will buy the $75,000 package and they can document that car ride.

~alex

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Blip.fm

April 14, 2009 by qualiaphotography

If you aren’t aware of blip.fm, then please allow me to tell you about it. Blip.fm is an online service that allows you to share your musical taste with others. You use their search engine to find a particular artist or song and post it (or, blip it). Other “djs” on your list will see the music you’ve picked out, and vice-versa. You can also set up a playlist to share with others. You can find mine linked on the right side of this page under the My Links section.

It’s a great way to hear new music you might have never found otherwise. It’s always great to get new music from your friends or family. Now you can get it from acquaintances from all over the world. If you join up, you can find me (ahelfen) and we can share music. Wooo! :)

www.blip.fm – DO IT!

~Alex

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Sick…

April 13, 2009 by qualiaphotography

It started with a scratchy throat. Then came the skin sensitivity. Then the really painful sore throat.

Two weeks ago I started frequenting the grocery store. It had been months since I’d purchased food to make at home. Take-out was the usual routine, and I enjoyed it. I heard, quite often, that if you buy food at the grocery store you’ll save money. It was always hard for me to believe this because I am spending more money up front. But I thought I’d do it anyway, and hopefully prove myself wrong.

So I’ve been making most of my meals at home. I’ve been snacking on fruit instead of sugar. I’ve been making myself salads. For the most part I’ve been in a healthier eating routine. I was surprised to find that I liked this new routine. Before I found it to be a chore, but now I see the joy of the moment in making my own nutritious meal

So it came to quite a surprise to me yesterday when I got sick.

I’m eating better and yet I got sick. This tends to happen to me whenever I change my eating habits and then I fall back into the take-out/unhealthy habit. This usually coincided with me feeling better. This time I am going to try to fight it out without resorting back to eating crappy food. Could it be that all of the bad food I have been eating is now what is ironically keeping me healthy? My body can’t even process natural foods? If so, it’s time to turn the corner on that and leave it behind.

Since I’m sick, I don’t have a new photo for today. But, I will post a photo that I haven’t used in the past.

Basil and Willow

Basil and Willow

Basil and Willow are two border collies I met while Caitlin and I were visting her sister, Tara. Tara was working at a Monastery helping with the upkeep of the grounds. Sadly, I found out that Basil died recently. I won’t go into the details (it’s too sad), but I felt it was important to show these two dogs as they were two of the sweetest animals I’ve ever met.

~alex

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Survival

April 12, 2009 by qualiaphotography

There are plenty of resources to find information on how to survive a zombie outbreak or a robot attack. What people won’t expect is the silent killer: nature.

Tree chokes building. Film at 11.

Tree chokes building. Film at 11.

Think about it this way. What if, hypothetically, the fertility of the human race started to decline. Birth rates drop, overpopulation plateaus and before you know it, the world population is actually decreasing. Sounds ideal, right? Wrong.

Over time there would be fewer and fewer people on the planet. The infrastructures that we’ve built would start to lose the people needed to maintain them. The 21st century bed that we’ve made will be too big for us to sleep in. Buildings fall into disrepair. Road conditions continue to decline. Utilities won’t be serviced.

Who will harvest food?

Most major cities would turn into jungles that are uninhabitable due to the dangers of a city falling apart. Granted, nature wins in this deal. I’m sure that over the years there would be evolution to adapt. Would we adapt? I’m not sold. We’ve made things too comfortable for ourselves. If everything came apart tomorrow I know I wouldn’t survive out in the wilderness. Perhaps only the third world population would survive as that’s what they’ve been doing this whole time.

What you see above is a taste of what it could be like. This wouldn’t happen for thousands of years and sure, it’s a little disturbing, but sometimes it’s good to take a sobering look at what we’ve created.

~alex

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Wait, me write now.

April 12, 2009 by qualiaphotography

I realized that this could be a good outlet for me to practice my communication skills. They are average at best. I’ve always been intimidated by the idea of having to explain how I feel or what I think. I’m not sure why, because I know that I have passion about the things I enjoy. It could be a feeling of how someone will take what you have to say. Will they think it’s stupid? Will they think it’s pointless? Why should I bother to type anything if it’s pointless?

It hit me with that thought. Sometimes what I have to say is, well, pointless. Audrey said something important to me the other day. She told me that if someone is going to have a blog, it should do something. It should be helpful, or entertaining. It should have content and meaning because there’s no point for anyone to visit and read otherwise.

So there is my inspiration. I want to have meaning with what I do. After twenty seven years I finally feel the spark. It’s not too late to arrive to the party. It’s better than not showing up at all.

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