Habits & Contradictions

Nov 11

Nov 11, 2012…
via Barack Obama’s Tumblr:

“Six months ago, Taylor [Morris] was serving our nation in Afghanistan. And as a member of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, his job was one of the most dangerous there is: to lead the way through territory littered with hidden explosives; to clear the way for his brothers-in-arms.

On May 3rd, while out on patrol, Taylor stepped on an IED. The blast threw him into the air. And when he hit the ground, Taylor realized that both his legs were gone. And his left arm. And his right hand.

But as Taylor lay there, fully conscious, bleeding to death, he cautioned the medics to wait before rushing his way. He feared another IED was nearby. Taylor’s concern wasn’t for his own life; it was for theirs.

Eventually, they cleared the area. They tended to Taylor’s wounds. They carried him off the battlefield. And days later, Taylor was carried into Walter Reed, where he became only the fifth American treated there to survive the amputation of all four limbs. Contine reading…

And you think your job is bad? #BeThankful

Sep 14

newyorker:

In November, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will unveil an exhibition on war photography unprecedented in scale and ambition. The origins of “War/Photography: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath” can be traced back to the museum’s acquisition—ten years ago—of the first known print of Joe Rosenthal’s famous photograph of the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima.

Click-through for a slideshow (on our revamped Photo Booth blog) of images, and more from Elissa Curtis on the exhibit: http://nyr.kr/R5kzn8

(via fotojournalismus)

Sep 12

fotojournalismus:

Fashionistas pose for photographs in front of a homeless man outside Moynihan Station following a showing of the Rag & Bone Spring/Summer 2013 collection during New York Fashion Week September 7, 2012.

[Credit : Lucas Jackson/Reuters]

Sep 4

picturedept:

The Tribe: Pavel Prokopchik

The Tribe follows alternative lifestyles of young Russians to realms far away from the politics and materialism of the national culture. Prokopchik, writing on his ongoing project:

It’s a story about freethinking people that willingly deny the comfortable lifestyle and life oriented at possession of things, particularly in a country that is caught up in between strictly controlled society and capitalism. Some of them turn to sale of illegal substances to support their lifestyle and evade a 9 to 5 office job, which doesn’t pay much anyway. Some keep their work and their life separately and refuse promotion not to get too involved in a corporate world. They are not the hippies of the 60’s, nor are they the beatniks, even though some of them inherited the relentless sprit of Dean Moriarty from Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’. It’s a new generation that is still in search for the escape from the grips of our society.

See more from the series at prokopchik.com.

(via fotojournalismus)

Aug 28

gooddaypennylane:

Favorite Actors: Christian Bale

“You’re creating a different world and the actor’s job is to be able to convince the audience to enter into that world, whether it be actually something that you recognize from your own life or not.”

Aug 28

election:

Tampa Day One (Sort of): Protesters Take the Streets.

Clockwise from top: A RNC protester signals his displeasure with the Florida National Guard; demonstrators march in downtown Tampa; uniformed riot police stand ready in the pouring rain.

—Photos by Benjamin Lowy for Tumblr

“And government, fuck government, niggas politic themselves” ~Jay-Z ‘Where I’m From’

Aug 28

@ an orphanage in Equatorial Guinea. Only rule: Do more good than bad.

Aug 17

lumumbabandele:

Celebrating the 125th birthday of the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey. Garvey’s legacy & accomplishments have yet to be matched. He organized over 2 million Black people worldwide ..without the internet!! Malcolm X is a part of Garvey’s legacy. His parents were active members of the UNIA. As a child Malcolm attended many UNIA events.

For the record, the RBG (Red, Black and Green) flag known to most as the African Liberation flag was created by Garvey’s UNIA and is NOT the African American flag. The Liberation flag represents ALL Africans in the diaspora, not just those in the US.

“liberate the mind and ultimately you will liberate the body”

(via dreamhampton1)

Aug 17

santosha65:

Back in September, as the Mexican presidential elections were still in full swing, we headed to Cherán, an indigenous rebel town located in the southwestern state of Michoacán, Mexico, to celebrate the first anniversary of their fight against organized crime and the protection of the nearby forests.

For several years, Cherán’s forests were illegally deforested by loggers protected by the notorious La Familia cartel. Locals asked the government for protection but were ignored. So on April 15, 2011, the townspeople took matters into their own hands. Armed with sticks, stones and machetes, the people of Cherán seized the local government and police buildings and set up burning barricades around the perimeter of the town.

By appealing to various national and international laws, they achieved indigenous autonomy and were granted the right to establish their own form of government.

The deposed municipal president and his cabinet were expelled from town. Cherán is now governed by a council of 12 elders and protected by a volunteer militia that utilizes expropriated weapons and vehicles. Today, one year after the uprising, they still maintain barricades at all four entrances into town.

The townspeople have banned all political propaganda within the town and refused to participate in the presidential elections that were held this past July. As one of the members of the council said, “If the government had the least bit of dignity, they wouldn’t even dare to talk about elections when our own security here has been in jeopardy. That is why we will have no more political parties in Cherán.”

Watch: The New Zapatistas?

(via dreamhampton1)