Camel Rock

a landmark in northern New Mexico, U.S.A.

International Balloon Fiesta

held annually in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A., find more info here

I was there this year for one of the Mass Ascensions in the early morning

SFCC: Fall Semester 2009

Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A.

this is where I am enrolled as a student these days

http://www.sfccnm.edu  

taking FILM 140-01 & FILM 255-01, otherwise known as Film Crew Training 1,
& International Cinema

Petroglyph National Monument

in New Mexico, U.S.A., I was there exploring some of the Boca Negra part of it this spring, the photo was shot along the Mesa Point Trail
more info about the place can be found here: http://www.nps.gov/petr/

Cloudcroft Hostel

tucked away in the mountains in New Mexico, U.S.A.,

I stayed there a night last summer, it’s a really nice place,

http://www.cloudcrofthostel.com/

Roadside America

a website featuring a neat collection of roadside attractions & oddities in the 50 U.S.A., I’ve used it myself sometimes as a reference for stops to make along my roadtrips: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/

Santa Fe Youth Film Festival

Get Awesome Film Festival to be held Wednesday, June 3, 2009

featuring short films (as in under six minutes each)

7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. at Warehouse 21 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A.

http://www.sfyouthfilm.org/

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

 an area I’ve hiked in twice this spring, in New Mexico, U.S.A., this place has been a National Monument for about 8 and a half years, tiny little Apache Tears are scattered along the trail, the Slot Canyon really reminds me of what a little pebble I am in this world, this world of wonder..

more info here

Academy Awards

the first Academy Awards ceremony was held 80 years ago today, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, “a professional organization dedicated to advancing the art and technology of filmmaking”, the event was hosted at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel,
Wings was awarded “Outstanding Picture” & Sunrise was awarded “Unique & Artistic Picture”, 2 uncategorized awards were given to Charles Chaplin’s The Circus as well as The Jazz Singer produced by Warner Bros.

also referred to as “The Oscars” (a name the trophies were officially dubbed with 10 years later) the Academy Awards continue to be held annually in the U.S.A., for more information check out: http://oscars.com/ & http://www.oscars.org/

FFRF

the Freedom From Religion Foundation, as quoted on their website, http://www.ffrf.org/ , “… with more than 13,000 members, is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists and agnostics) in the United States [of America].”

I really like the newspaper they publish, Freethought Today, which I first subscribed to a few years ago, and have recently resubscribed to now.
The website offers “Freethought Of The Day” which usually notes the birthdays of wellknown atheists, agnostics, or freethinkers with short bios and quotes.

they also have a radio talk show, conventions, student essay competitions, etc. & help fund legal battles to uphold the separation of church & state, as well as put up billboards, & go on other advertising campaigns

Freethought Hall in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A. holds the national offices for the organization, FFRF is a non-profit tax-exempt organization.

Dakota Buttes Museum

in Hettinger, North Dakota, U.S.A., with a wide assortment of objects from the homesteading days of the area (& a little beyond) to the near present, I did a few months volunteer work there a couple years ago, & have donated to the level of “sodbuster member” in the past
here one can find yesteryear cookware, dental instruments, hair dresser equipment, arrowheads, old fashioned children’s toys, a display about the Yellowstone Trail (Highway 12), Ford cars from the 1920s, portraits of many of the settlers of the area, political button pins from decades gone by, etc.

Elihu Palmer

was born 245 years ago today, in Connecticut, U.S.A.,
a lawyer, he was a writer & lecturer in favor of deism as well

“Another important doctrine of the Christian religion, is the atonement supposed to have been made by the death and sufferings of the pretended Saviour of the world; and this is grounded upon principles as regardless of justice as the doctrine of original sin. It exhibits a spectacle truly distressing to the feelings of the benevolent mind, it calls innocence and virtue into a scene of suffering, and reputed guilt, in order to destroy the injurious effects of real vice. It pretends to free the world from the fatal effects of a primary apostacy, by the sacrifice of an innocent being. Evil has already been introduced into the world, and in order to remove it, a fresh accumulation of crimes becomes necessary. In plain terms, to destroy one evil, another must be committed.”

“Deism declares, that the practice of a pure, natural, and uncorrupted virtue, is the essential duty, and constitutes the highest dignity of man; that the powers of man are competent to all the great purposes of human existence; that science, virtue, and happiness are the great objects which ought to awake the mental energies, and draw forth the moral affections of the human race.”

Warehouse 21

located on Paseo de Peralta in Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A., this is a place of “a community of young artists, mentors, and volunteers”, it’s a really cool joint, I’ve been to some silk-screening classes & a concert there in the past, & it continues to be a spot I take an interest in, & would like to spend more time at, W21 features a variety of creative activities including open mic poetry nights, and media arts classes, https://sites.google.com/a/warehouse21.org/home/