It’s wonderful to find media outlets that encourage us to think, discuss, and encourage change in society. I recently stumbled across a website that motivates us to do this. It is called FiftyCrows - Social Change Photography. Through the use of photos essays and short films, the photographers look to educate people about the hardships and realities of life that we tend to forget and to take action to protect our fellow human beings from further harm.

I encouarge you to check out the short films title “The Chernobyl Accident” and “Iraq: A Depleted Generation”. The photo essay titled “Ushguli: A Village at a Crossroad ” by Gia Chkhatarashvili reflects on a remote village in the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia, north of Armenia. Another photo essay titled “Self-Immolation: Afghan Women Cry Out for Help” takes a look at the slow progress in social change for women in Afghanistan. The photos can be a bit graphic. These movies do not have your typical movie stars to adore, instead they have real people suffering as a result of circumstances beyond their control. Get off your butt and do something.

Last Monday, we received news that I have been accepted into the Community and Regional Planning (CRP) Graduate Program at the University of Oregon in Eugene. After, what seems to be a few months of hardships, though please don’t think we were down and out, we needed a little pick me up. I will focus my studies on environmental planning in hopes of doing international work, possibly in the former Soviet Union.

Laura is excited to be closer to her family in the Portland area and will now have the opportunity to visit or have them visit more often. My family is excited for our opportunity but will miss having us around.

Eugene offers a great location for education, nature, culture and community. Click here to learn more about Eugene, Oregon. We will make the move this summer to allow time to settle in and to find a teaching position for Laura.

We enjoy listening to Podcasts. If you aren’t familiar with Podcasts then click here to read about them. If you have iTunes, though you don’t need to have iTunes to listen to them, you can easily download Podcasts to listen to them. While working, I usually end up listening to podcasts from NPR, No Ones Listening, Weekly Presidential Address to the Nation, Ring of Fire and many others. There are thousands to choose from. Some are amateur and others are professional and include all topics.

Recently I have been enjoying listening to War News Radio. It is “a weekly half-hour program focused on the situation in Iraq. We feature the stories of ordinary Iraqi civilians, American service people, and others who have been affected by the war. The show is produced from the campus of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA.”

If you know of some good podcasts out there, then please email them to me.

View the Armenia photos for new collections.

I added new links in the Activism section. This is a very important area of the website to us, as it reveals a lot about who we are and what we believe in. We encourage you to visit this area often, as we will keep adding new sites to visit.

We believe that inorder for our society to truly succeed we need to evolve from a society that is centered around greed and the corporate machine to one that centered around the collective as people work to help one another. How can a corporation that only serves to make money for it’s stockholders at the expense of human rights, health, and the environment do us any good in the long run? It can not. We need to take a stand against such machines and encourage one another to produce and purchase in sustainable ways. Support your community services and grassroots efforts that encourage a healthy sustainable society for everyone. It is time to act now and to vote with our money. The most influential action one can have on society is how you spend your money. If you choose to purchase name brands that don’t offer a living wage to it’s workers living in horrible conditions then this is what our society will evolve into, but if you want a society that is rich in natural resources and ecourages everyone to live healthy and happily then purchase products and support services. Don’t waste your time on mind-numbing pleasures, but prefer to not insult yourself and go out and stimulate your mind. Read, get outside, talk with one another, learn about each other.

If you are not sure where your money is going, then take the time to research the companies. The internet makes this possible. Be an investigative reporter trying to uncover the truth. I know that I don’t know everything about every company but I don’t sit on my ass and claim I didn’t try. Everyday brings new opportunities to change this world. WE MUST ACT TODAY!

Check out this video. I won’t say what it’s about but spend the next 4 minutes or so and watch this guy perform. It is definitely entertaining.

Jones Soda offers fans a chance to get their photos on the labels of Jones Soda bottles.  I put up a few pictures and hope to get more up in the near future.  Click here to access and vote on our pictures.

Grab your own copy here.