More Crappy News Network

Instead of CNN I’d suggest you check out NPR. CNN has proven itself to be very untrustworthy.

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: News, Politics No Comments » December 2007

CNN: Crappy News Network

Can you trust the news you see on CNN?  Nope.

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: News No Comments » December 2007

TED

Thanks to my friend Bill I just discovered TED.  Here’s the scoop on what TED is and why it’s so cool.  This text is lifted directly from their website:

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. Almost 150 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted.

Our mission: Spreading ideas.

We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. Over time, you’ll see us add talks and performances from other events, and solicit submissions from you, as well. This site, launched April 2007, is an ever-evolving work in progress, and you’re an important part of it. Have an idea? We want to hear from you.

The TED Conference, held annually in Monterey, is still the heart of TED. More than a thousand people now attend — indeed, the event sells out a year in advance — and the content has expanded to include science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world. Over four days, 50 speakers each take an 18-minute slot, and there are many shorter pieces of content, including music, performance and comedy. There are no breakout groups. Everyone shares the same experience. It shouldn’t work, but it does. It works because all of knowledge is connected. Every so often it makes sense to emerge from the trenches we dig for a living, and ascend to a 30,000-foot view, where we see, to our astonishment, an intricately interconnected whole.

In recent years, TED has spawned some important extensions.

TEDGlobal is a sister conference held every other year, and in a different country on each occasion. The first conference was held in Oxford, England, in 2005; the second, in June 2007, was held in Arusha, Tanzania. The themes of the global conference are slightly more focused on development issues, but the basic TED format is maintained.

The TED Prize is designed to leverage the TED Community’s exceptional array of talent and resources. It is awarded annually to three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 and, much more important, the granting of “One Wish to Change the World.” After several months of preparation, they unveil their wish at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference. These wishes have led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.

TEDTalks began as a simple attempt to share what happens at TED with the world. Under the moniker “ideas worth spreading,” talks were released online. They rapidly attracted a global audience in the millions. Indeed, the reaction was so enthusiastic that the entire TED website has been reengineered around TEDTalks, with the goal of giving everyone on-demand access to the world’s most inspiring voices.

Today, TED is therefore best thought of as a global community. It’s a community welcoming people from every discipline and culture who have just two things in common: they seek a deeper understanding of the world, and they hope to turn that understanding into a better future for us all.

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: Charity, Education, God, History, Humor, News, Photography, Politics, Science, TED, Useful Info No Comments » December 2007

So I married an Iraqi Terrorist…

Upon inspecting the convoy, soldiers found a stubbly-faced man, Haider al-Bahadli, decked out in a white bride’s dress and veil

Click here for the full story.

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: News No Comments » November 2007

Before Hanging, a Push for Revenge and a Push Back - New York Times

A very interesting article in the New York Times.“They cannot wash their hands, this is a joint responsibility,” hesaid. “They had the physical custody, and we had the legal custody. At one point,I asked, ‘Is it our call or is it your call?’ They said, ‘It’syour call.’ I said, ‘If it’s our call, we’ve made the decision.’” Legal niceties could not save Mr. Hussein, he said, concluding, “Theman has to go.”via: TheNew York Times.

Posted by admin Posted in: News, Politics No Comments » January 2007

NPR : Are New Initiatives Changing Life on the U.S.-Mexico Border

NPR : Are NewInitiatives Changing Life on the U.S.-Mexico BorderDuring 2006, calls for increased security along the U.S.-Mexican border grew louder.Congress approved construction of a 700-mile fence along the border, and the governmentannounced the Secure Border Initiative.Also see my photos of the US/Mexico Border at: www.MarkWallacePhotography.com

Posted by admin Posted in: News, Photography No Comments » December 2006

Site upgrade coming soon…

My site has been pretty much the same for a few years now.  Over the next fewdays (or weeks) depending on how much free time I have I’m going to be doinga major overhaul.  I plan on upgrading my blog to dasBlog1.9 to make it a little easier to manage. 

I’ll be keeping my photoblog alive but haven’t decided if I’m goingto stick with one reaction.  It’sa good photoblog engine but I have some gripes.  I don’t like that I haveto limit my shots to a horizontal orientation.  I like how Brandon hashis blog set up.  It changes the placement of the info and comments based onorientation.  My other gripe is that the photos don’t show up in an RSSfeed.  So you have to actually visit my blog to see the images - even if yousubscribe to the RSS feed.  Bummer.

Even though I’m an avid reader I just can’t seem to keep my booklist updated.  I created it so I’d have a place to put books that I’veread so others could read them too.  But I don’t know many people who actuallyread.  “I don’t have any time to read.”  Yeah, I hearit all the time.  I hear it from the same people who then go on and on abouthow they watched 5 hours of TV every night.  Turnoff your TVs you lazy dogs.  Don’t get me started…

Anyway, I’m not so sure about keeping the booklist around.  If anyone out there actually uses it let me know (post a comment)and I’ll think about keeping it around.

Pretty much everything else is going away.  I think a blog, photoblog, and abook list is good enough.  I plan on getting a YouTube account so I can start posting videos on my blog.  That should be fun.

Stay tuned for the new site!

Posted by admin Posted in: News No Comments » December 2006

Looking for my ring, finding local art.

This Saturday Diane and I checked in with BaileyBanks & Biddle to see if my wedding ringwas ready yet.  We ordered it in late September.  The first time the ringcame in it was the wrong size.  On Saturday they had a ring that was the rightsize, but the wrong ring.  The ring is a customScott Kay ring so we expected to wait a little while, but this is getting ridiculous. Twice the ring has come back the wrong size.  We asked for our money back butJeffrey, the Manager, promised to make things right.  We agreed to give themone more chance after they gave us a significant discount on thering.  I’ll let you know if they come through.We left the jewelry store and headed down to PhotoMark tolook for a new tripod for Diane.  We found a great Manfrotto that is solid witha lot of great features.  She got the 055Protripod with a ballhead.  The ballhead is so easy to use I’m thinking of changing the head on my tripod aswell.  It’s much faster and easier to use than the threeway head I have now.  We also added the spikedfeet for the tripod – this is a must for great stability.After we picked up the new tripod we headed downtown.  We checked out the PhoenixArt Museum’s new exhibit, KeepingShadows.  The exhibit had some very interesting photos, but it was far toosmall and limited to demand the $9 for the exhibit (I paid about $15 for a ticketto the Louvre).  Not only was the exhibit small, they had misinformation aboutthe photos and photographers.  Anyone who’s studied the history of photographywould know that the information posted on the walls was misleading.I was very irritated by a plaque on the wall describing Groupf/64 which was founded by several photographers in the early 20th century (AnselAdams among them).  It’s description of “pure” photographyvs. pictorialism wassimply misleading.  The information was limited and gave the impression thatAnsel Adams did no manipulation to any of his images – which simply isn’ttrue.  Don’t get me started.I think the exhibit really missed out on this point.  The debate in the early20th century is being repeated in the early 21st century with digital cameras and ethicsin photo journalism, the definition of “art”, what’s acceptedpractice, etc.  People think these are new things for digital photographers,but the debate has been raging for 100 years.After we left the museum we shot a few photos for the photoblog andthen discovered we were hungry.  We zipped down to Fate andhad some incredible food.  We actually got to Fate a bit early so we walked overto Red Dog Art Gallery and checkedit out.  They had a few interesting works on the walls.  If you’rein the neighborhood you should take a look.

Posted by admin Posted in: Family Stuff, News, Photography No Comments » January 2006

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Diane and I are doing great and our puppies are happy. 2005 was a big year for me and I hope 2006 will be as well. Here are some of my favorite things from 2005, click on each one for more information:�

• Diane and I got married!
• Weadopted Luka (now called Luka Bear because he looks like a fluffy bear).
• I launched my Photoblog.
• I was invited to join IPNstock.
• A week in Paris! [Clickhere for blog entries.  Clickhere for pictures.]
• A few more weeks in India. [Clickhere for blog entries.  Clickhere for pictures.]
• My photography classes finally got offthe ground.

I’m sure there is a lot more I could list, maybe the ridein Nashville that was a blast (and made me sick), or our Family Reunion, or… There was a lot going on in 2005.  Thanks to everyone who was a part of it!

Posted by admin Posted in: Family Stuff, News No Comments » January 2006

Transition

>You may have noticed that my blog and photoentries have decreased in the past month or so, well now I can tell you why! The bottom line, I’ve been really busy.  Not only busy, but going throughbittersweet life.Most importantly I’m happy to tell the world that Diane and I are getting married! Getting married is glorious, but it’s been consuming all of our time. We decided to get married a couple of months ago, I’m not sure when, I thinkwe made the decision while I was in India. There was not big proposal or event, I’m not even sure how to explain it. But we made the decision and we are very happy about it.We were going to keep our wedding details a secret, but Diane forgot all about thatthe moment we chose a date.  But that’s another story and I’ll lether tell you about it at some point.  Our official wedding date is October 8th– a week from this Saturday!  Woohoo!Once we decided to get married we made a mental list of all the things we’dneed to do before we could have the ceremony.  The first big item was to findhomes for Diane’s cats; Toaster and Mossimo.  We looked for months butcould not find any homes.  Last weekend we took them to a shelter in North Phoenixthat will have the means to locate good parents for them.  It was a very, verysad moment.  Diane has had her kitties for 6 years.  Moving the cats tomy house was not an option because of the dogs.  So we did what we thought wasbest.  But we will miss our furry friends.The second big item was selling Diane’s house.  Before we could put iton the market we had to do some work on the back yard.  So we put in a drip system,planted new plants and a tree, had curbing added, and shoveled 3 tons of decorativerock.  The yard really looks great now.  Once that was finished the housewas listed.  We thought we’d it would take a week or two to sell - it soldin 12 hours.The third big thing was moving Diane’s stuff out of her house.  Not onlymoving, but fixing all the little things the new owners requested in the contract– fix a leak here, replace a circuit breaker there, adjust the sliding glassdoor, etc.  The past two weekends have been spent packing, cleaning, fixing,and hauling.All of the new stuff at my place means that my house is in total chaos. My garage is full of boxes and furniture and odds and ends.  But I finally havesome art on my walls.  The house is filling up with Diane, it’s awesome. Now we just need to figure out who’s furniture to keep and what to sell.During all of this change my Jeep decided to die.  Awesome timing!  Thanksto Cecil forlending us his truck to move the big stuff, we would have been sunk without the help. Saturday I replaced the radiator, thermostat, and serpentine belt on the jeep. I thought the water pump might need to be replaced too, but I decided to see if thenew radiator/thermostat would do the trick.  Nope – I still need a newwater pump.  So I’ll be doing that sometime soon.Did I mention I started a new photography class two weeks ago?  That’sright, I’m teaching a new class for this fall.  I have 13 students andwe are meeting two hours a week at Barnes & Noble in Gilbert.  It’sa lot of fun and I’m really enjoying it.But that’s not all!  (I feel like a steak knife commercial).  I’vealso been invited to join the IndependentPhotography Network.  I got my contract today and my submissions will belive next month.  It’s a great honor but also a lot of work choosingand categorizing all of the photos.During all of this excitement I learned that some good friends, Brandonand Denise, are moving to Oregon. The Bohlings have been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement to me duringthe past three years.  Diane and I were talking about how much we are going tomiss our friends.  Brandon and I talk a lot about photography, trade ideas, andbounce questions off each other.  Denise always has a fresh perspective on life. And they both love good food and great wine.  I’ll miss running to YenMi to eat Pho andget lost in conversation.It was the Bohlings who invited me to hikethe Grand Canyon, encouraged me to become more involved in photography, showedme parts of the world I’ve never been to, taught me about spro,and made the daily grind more enjoyable.  I’ll miss you guys!There is even more than that going on, but I’ll stop for now.  I don’thave time to tell you about Diane’s college classes or my crazy schedule atwork this week.  I’ll be in Portland tomorrow night and Wednesday. Maybe I’ll have time to post some more thoughts while I’m at the hotelor on the plane.Until then, enjoy life – love your pets and cherish your friends.  Eachday is a blessing.

Posted by admin Posted in: Events, Family Stuff, News No Comments » September 2005

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