beautiful chaos

my buddy Kevin's viet nam clip. so many memories.

yet another chicago summer day.

On Saturday 21 July, 2007, again Kenny and I indulged in a photography adventure. Before this, I attended a friend's barbecue alongside the sea-blue Lake Michigan. Such a weather perfect day that day, Foster Beach was somewhat overcrowded. Families of many different backgrounds spent some quality time with one another; grilling, talking, laughing, sporting. In such an event, those who are not quite as lucky as these individuals enjoying their relaxing Saturday afternoon, were also out, selling goods desired by those who were. Mostly of Latino descent, from mere observation, many of these individuals were on their ice-cream carts, rolling down the beach path, ringing their bell in an attempt to acquire a hungry customer. Others appear to walk in a beleaguered manner carrying two dozen or more air-filled beach balls in various shapes, sizes, and colours. Surprisingly, these individuals did in fact sell most of their items. Those here on a less strenuous visit have the luxury to purchase them from the vendors.

Following such a privileged visit to Foster Beach, I bid farewell to my work buddies from the Jumpstart days and headed over to Devon, where Kenny currently resides. He mentioned of this grandeur temple near Evanston, IL which is a must see spot. After glimpsing at a few images of the temple, there was no doubt I had to see it. As we approached the towering structure, I was again reminded that things in reality are far better than images or photographs. The vivid details and architecture signified somewhat of an Islamic influence. Though such the case, the temple is of Bahai religion, which derived from what is now current day Iran.

According to the visitor pamphlet, the Bahai religion is one which recognizes all world religions, believing that there is one God, and those important figures in other religions are simply messengers of God; pointing to somewhat of a solution to religious conflict which is so evident in the world today. Bahai religion, like many others promotes peace and unity amongst all people, and emphasizes this on the basis of one human race. Very interesting. Though the temple is open to all peoples, the majority of the visitors were those of Middle Eastern and India Subcontinent descent. This is perhaps the case because of the religion's roots in the Silk Road region.


hac.

beautiful chicago.

This whole summer, i have yet to really indulge in photography, abandoning my new fujifilm camera much too often. yesterday, i decided to utilize my fuji and capture what Chicago has to offer. unfortunately, i did not take many pictures at all. During this photography venture I engaged in, alongside my buddy Kenny, we unconsciously recorded, through the digital camera, the more well known, touristy hubs of Chicago. Initially, I preferred to wander into the more ethnic neighborhoods, such as Pilsen [Mexican area], Devon [Indian/Pakistan area], and Uptown [African/southeast Asian area], but alas, that plan fell through.

On this day, I myself felt like a tourist in the city which I consider home. Walking down Michigan Ave., it was quite difficult to not notice the affluence in economics between the dwellers of this city. Gucci, Prada, Armani were filled with the high class 'Hearst' type of people. I once decided to enter an Armani clothing store and was flabbergasted by the ridiculously inflated prices. "Made in Bangladesh" printed on the tag. How much to make, how much profit Armani gains? I feel that to many outside of this city, Chicago is this. Chicago is the Michigan Ave., the Millennium Park, the Sears Tower, the upward mobile landmarks, the high class life. Individuals parking their beautiful BMWs alongside their tree-lined brownstone homes several blocks away from the richness of downtown. Other than this societal observation, the physicality of the landmarks hold a different story.




tran.quy.hac

bia ba ba.

Mr. Lego

This summer is perhaps one of my most uneventful summers of all. I am working full-time at a Lego camp. There are of course ups to working--making good money, gaining experience, and interacting with funny, not so funny youth. Growing up, I was fascinated with Lego's, or so I thought until meeting and interacting with a few of these kids. Some of the kids are adorable and say some outrageous things. One Lego camper yelped out something along these lines, "I think I'm in heaven right now; look at all these Lego's!" The camper is a red-headed seven year old the size of a four year old, making the comment even more humorous. Kids are very honest and joking around with them is often enjoyable.

Working in this camp, I have witnessed some amazing constructions. One of the sessions, we decided to focus on the Seven Wonders of the World. One of the children built the Taj Mahal; I swear it was a miniature replica. In another one of my camps, which had a "Monsters of the Midway" theme to it, we focused on building sports related things with the Lego blocks. As a group, we attempted to build a semi-life size Michael Jordan. Above one can see the head--we used yellow bricks because there were no brown. Each day I go to work, I feel as if I am regressing to my own youth. I did in fact choose a Lego pirate ship over Sega Genesis ten or so years ago for my birthday.




tran quy hac.