Lava Pit

Lava Pit, originally uploaded by Taylor Hurley | Grain Studios.

Taking this photo took my breath away. A Leicagasm. This is my playground from 5th-6th grade. I wasn't a junglegymmer, more of a kickballer. This was one of those mysterious places for me. There was a bit of a longing, the lava pit was foreign territory. I didn't speak the language, didn't have the strength to cross the pit without falling. I remember once falling from the third rung, landing on my arm and knocking the wind out of my lungs. That moment was different from the Leicagasm but somehow they are distinctly related. Experience is a spectrum. We invoke both the beauty and the grotesque just by breathing each breath.

Temporal Splice

Rasberi Bertoni - Pimp, originally uploaded by mobiuscycle.

This is a meeting of the minds. The near, the far. The new, the old. Technology meshing across a gulf of time. Old doesn't necessarily mean crap and new rarely equals good. Why? I've been asking myself this question with regard to bikes since my mom bought me a $10 Schwinn from a consignment store in ~1986. She said, "It's a Schwinn!" when asked if this was a nice bike, of course it was, the name said so. Things have changed since then. With the advent of internet bike sales, and increase in planned obsolescence, there is less accountability in bike production. It used to be that you could ONLY buy a "bike shop bike" in a shop. A "bike shop bike" was something you could trust for 10+ years. The major brands insisted, in order to honor your warranty, that a bike shop assemble your bike. Now even the major bike companies are building for that internet/disposable market. Wheels last months instead of years. First ride on the street, fixed cogs strip to freewheels. Besides, the gear ratios the bikes come with are practically unusable. Nowadays, the best way to be sure your bike is well built is to build from scratch. Hand built wheels, holistically chosen parts and the personal touch. Some components on this build are from the seventies, the frame is possibly 80's/90's and the other parts are 9/02/10...(hehe 90210 that's today). Each person needs a very specific bike to meet their needs. This is the goal of each build. The Rasberi Bertoni pictured here is Greg's dream, pure and simple.

Revel

Revel, originally uploaded by Taylor Hurley | Grain Studios.

A reminder to celebrate life. REVEL! Too often we are duped to believe that we don't deserve to enjoy ourselves. But inspiring through beauty in all its forms is the essential meaning of life. That meaning so many spend so long searching for. Enjoy! That's the message stitched into the fabric of the universe. No matter how bad it gets there is always some positive to be found simply by the act of looking.

Shug: More than anything God love admiration.
Celie: You saying God is vain?
Shug: No, not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off when you walk by the colour purple in a field and don't notice it.
Celie: You saying it just wanna be loved like it say in the bible?
Shug: Yeah, Celie. Everything wanna be loved. Us sing and dance, and holla just wanting to be loved. Look at them trees. Notice how the trees do everything people do to get attention... except walk?

The Color Purple by Alice Walker