today was the memorial for a friend of mine who recently passed away. his name was KC Murphy, and i originally met him while he was working at the mock crest tavern, just up the road from me. i often go into the tavern for their good breakfast food, coffee with free refills, and free wi-fi, which is always nice for a freelancer like me. anyhow, KC was usually working there almost every morning up until a few months ago when he had to quit due to health complications.

he was a good bartender, could cook up a great breakfast, and i enjoyed our conversations, not to mention seeing him play blues with his band there at the tavern a couple times. when i took this picture, i was working on a collection of portraits for a project i was trying to get off the ground, and he was gracious enough to let me take this photo one day in the bar. after i took the photo, i gave him an enlarged copy for his own use, and had mostly forgotten about the photo. at the time, i had no idea he would only be with us a few months longer.

the memorial today was held at the tavern, and i was able to meet some of his friends and family. there were lots of memories shared, the food was good, and some of his band mates played a blues tribute set. when i arrived, i was pleasantly surprised to see that they had framed the photo print i had given him, and used it as the cover image for a CD of his music. many people commented on the photo, and i think it connected with many of us because that’s how we remember him - always with a friendly look, and usually sitting at the end of the bar on his usual perch.

anyhow, i was also very happy to see a very crowded bar at the memorial today.
KC will definitely be missed.
-h

Filed under: Images, Thoughts by stephen h @ 11:37 pm on October 18, 2008
TAGS: [black & white | Images | KC Murphy | photography | stephen h]

well, the recap here is a bit late, but better late than never… the aids walk was a ton of fun, and there were a lot of people there! the final report from the director of the cascade aids project was that about 10,000 people walked on sunday, and raised approximately $300,000 for CAP.

after meeting up at pioneer square at 9am, a full breakfast was served, with fruit, bagels, donuts from krispy kreme, coffee, and so on… there were educational displays set up, live music, a kids play area, and all kinds of representatives from oregon politics, including sen. ron wyden, mayor-elect sam adams, senate candidate jeff merkley, and many more! right before the 10am start time, CAP director michael kaplan invited those affected by HIV/AIDS to come forward, and over 60 people came forward and we all shared in a moment of silence. it was a very moving display, especially seeing the bravery of those fighting against the disease and how much support there was.

throughout the walk, there were volunteers all along the route cheering us on, a drum troop, and even a group of cheerleaders from a local school! it was a great time, and i’m happy to have been a part of the walk. check out more of my cameraphone pictures below - click the thumbnails to see the full sizes! -h

Filed under: Images, Links, News by stephen h @ 12:23 pm on October 14, 2008
TAGS: [AIDS | aids walk portland | cascade aids project | Images | Links | News | photography | stephen h]

taken from inside a popular chain coffee shop near dupont circle in DC back in may… -h

Filed under: Images by stephen h @ 2:48 pm on September 29, 2008
TAGS: [Images | photography | stephen h | travel | washington dc]

i felt motivated to put together my own parody of the mccain/palin campaign logo(see below). probably the biggest reason is because not only has mccain NOT shown leadership or a clear policy on the economy over this last week, his obviously changing message shows even he doesn’t know what the plan is, who the parties involved are and what their roles are, and he has little if no clue how to fix things. furthermore, the fact that their campaign is keeping palin mostly inaccessible to the press and that when she is interviewed, she can’t deviate from her talking points for more than 5 seconds without committing some kind of verbal gaffe, shows that she’s merely being used to bring in those few extra women/conservative voters and she has almost NO capability to even know what the issues are or make strong decisions on her own.

for a great commentary video from ABC news on why mccain’s age should be an issue, check out this link: “populism is always pandering, and pandering is always the reverse of leadership.” oh, and feel free to pass this graphic around whenever/wherever you’d like(just not for commercial use). -h

[click picture for larger version.]

edit: here’s a news item from the NYTimes on how the mccain campaign needs palin handled with kid gloves. QUOTE: “McCain advisers said they were only somewhat concerned about Ms. Palin’s debating skills compared with those of Mr. Biden, who has served six terms in the Senate, or about his chances of tripping her up. Instead, they say, they wanted Ms. Palin to have opportunities to present Mr. McCain’s positions, rather than spending time talking about her experience or playing defense.” … so, in other words, she needs to be able to stick to her script, rather than replying to follow-up questions like in a normal conversation/debate. wow.

Filed under: Discourse, Links, Thoughts by stephen h @ 9:13 pm on September 21, 2008
TAGS: [barack obama | Images | john mccain | Links | politics | stephen h | Writings]

tonight, i’ve begun work on bringing white shirt, philosopher - the comic strip i originally launched late last year - back to life. for those who don’t remember, the original series focused on a character named white shirt, with modern philosophy and characteristics, but placed back in old testament biblical times - more specifically right after moses announces the 10 commandments. sort of. actually, it more or less explores what would happen if moses brought the 10 commandments down from the mountain in current times… exploring mankind’s reactions and attitudes to the new laws. [click here for more...]

Filed under: News, comics by stephen h @ 1:37 am on September 10, 2008
TAGS: [comics | Images | News | stephen h | white shirt philosopher]