Deserted Building- Southeast Portland

Gary Numan Live At The Roseland Theatre 1 NOV 10 - Part 1

St. Frances At The Grotto

Crazy About Dog Food

Over the past year I have gotten obsessive about what I feed my dogs. I have grown increasingly interested into what is put into the food that I feed the animals I love so much. Needless to say I was appalled at the results of my research. Here are some ingredients that major companies add as short cuts to cost and quality:

• Slaughterhouse waste (organs, heads, hooves, beaks, feet)
• Bread and cereal rejects (cobs, stalks, mill sweepings)
• Contaminated grain middlings
• Dying, diseased and disabled farm animals
• Road kill (deer, skunks, and raccoons)
• Distiller fermentation waste
• Spoiled supermarket food
• Dead zoo animals
• Restaurant grease
• Euthanized cats and dogs

Notice the last one? Thats right. Not that the rest were not awful enough. This is not a joke nor is it some kind of smear campaign against pet food companies. Trust me if you start researching it, there will be overwhelming evidence! Start here: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-industry-exposed/shocking-truth-about-dog-food/
Also, most of these companies use cheap grain such as corn (indigestible) as filler. So basically our pets are getting awful "protein" and cheap, useless grain.


I have since made it a mission to give my dogs quality human grade ingredients. I have started making homemade food over the past year and now alternate every other feed with the kibble that I have researched and trust (http://www.championpetfoods.com/). I started with a basic recipe and have adjusted it according to how the dogs tolerate it as well as stuff like cost and seasonal ingredients. The results a grain free, homemade diet were immediate and absolutely incredible. Although my dogs get plenty of exercise the absence of bad ingredients such as filler grain enabled them to look healthy, in shape, and "cut" in a matter of a week. Most importantly I feel good about it and it has manifested into a passion of mine. I have not noticed a big change in the cost of making food versus buying big bags of junk.
 Here is one recipe I like:


4 chicken breasts or thighs    OR
1 package tofu (vegetarian option)
4 cups brown rice
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
2 zucchinis coarsely chopped
2 crooked necks coarsely chopped
2-3 cups carrots coarsely chopped
1 cup peas
1 cup blueberries OR cranberries

Bring water with chicken to boil for 20 min
Remove chicken and coarsely chop
Return chicken to water
Add brown rice and stir in carrots 
Bring to boil and reduce to simmer for appx 30 min
Add beans and stir well
After 15 min add zucchini, crooked necks, peas, and berries

I keep kettle in fridge and it lasts about 1 week.
Keep in mind that you can add/remove vegetables as the changing seasons will offer variety
This recipe was developed for 2 dogs so cut in half for 1

I hope you give it a shot and let me know how it goes!

Gener & Deaner

Gener

Deaner

Ween Live At The Crystal Ballroom

Portland, Oregon

2011

Every Saturday morning the Downtown Farmers Market happens near where I live. Becuase of its time, I rarely get to go and if I make it over it is usually in the early afternoon when I am walking to work and it is closing up. One winter morning however I woke up to go and check it out. I have yet to make it back. Key words being Saturday morning. Not only is it great to pick up fresh local produce, it is a great place to bring a camera. There are lots of colors and shapes everywhere you look. As I made my way through the market I stopped at the very front to take a shot of the sign. When I was taking a shot I noticed a lady with these striped stockings standings at a table. It made me think of a witch picking up her fresh ingredients to throw in her weekly pot of "witches brew". It was absolutely necessary to make this a black and white photo. Maybe someday I will get my behind out of bed again to make it back.

Prayer Of St Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

Lately, with working exceptionally long hours and the days of winter being very short and dark I have been feeling especially guilty that the dogs do not get a lot of play time. With living downtown comes the disadvantage of not having an automobile anymore and I start to feel isolated as Im sure they do as well. I start to think about making changes again in order to be able to get back out and do some exploring outside of the city with the dudes.  I came across this photo of a trip we took out to Pacific City, Oregon, a couple of years ago. It was the dogs' first trip to the Pacific Ocean and they immediately fell in love. Some images need very little words and this is one of them. I live for this shit!

At the end of August I had an opportunity to go to New York City for a week and I did not hesitate to take advantage of it as it has been at the top of my list of places to visit. More than anything else it seemed to be more of an experience. This was apparent as soon as I stepped off the plane from Portland and into such a high energy environment. I met up with my sister Marie and brother inlaw Dan and we stayed at a pretty cool hotel in Midtown Manhatton (thanks to The Loft Salon). For Dan and I it was our first ever visit to the city. We talked about the overwhelming feeling we got by simply just looking around us, not to mention trying to come up with some sort of agenda for the next few days. Some things were planned like Maries training, a Yankee game, shopping, and the usual must see sights like The Statue Of Liberty, Times Square, and the madness of Lower Manhatton Island. That was all exciting and felt extremely touristy, like we were visiting Alcatraz or Fishermans Wharf (from a native Bay Area perspective). We all agreed we had to visit Ground Zero. It was hard not to lose get emotional when thinking about how crazy and horrific that day must've been.
On one of the mornings Marie had her training, Dan, my niece Caitlyn, and I toured New Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. It was pretty damn cool. It is truly a  baseball museum and has a feel as if the Yankee Gods are sitting in thrones in the clouds above looking down.  Later that night we went and caught a game with thousands of other hardcore Yankee fan lunatic New Yorkers. Yankee pride most definitely runs deep.
I spent a lot of time on my own in the city. I packed my camera and tripod around for miles and miles. I dont mind shopping but my sister and neice take that shit to a different level. Besides, I think most of my money went towards slices of cheese pizza and iced coffee. That is literally all that I consumed the entire time. Anyways, I enjoy spending my vacations firing away with my camera instead of the credit card. We took a walk across The Brooklyn Bridge at night and we were all very glad we did so as the view from there is stunning. As an after dark photographer, New York City is ideal. I love street scenes and they are endless there. World class and surreal actually. The highlight of my trip was seeing The Dakota Building. This was one item on my personal agenda that I had pre planned for years. It has a spooky aura to it at night as it sits on the edge of a dimly lit section of Cenral Park.  I grew up a huge John Lennon fan thanks to my mom and she made me call her and describe it as she has yet to visit it.
New York City is worldly, grand and electric. I cannot wait to return. I have worked hard since September on all of my photos and had to narrow what I included in the slideshow down from 500 to about 130 images. That task alone was extremely challenging.  I wanted to show them all. I tried to mix it up with some shots that I worked hard to get along with some fun snapshots to try and give an overall feel for the trip. It was especially challenging to find music that was long enough and had a good vibe to it because in the end thats what the trip was all about. I will provide a link to soon to an album of all the shots if interested. I hope you enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1661983961993&saved

Happy 2011! I wanted to start the new year off by creating a space where I can share happenings and images with friends and family on a more personal level.  I hope you follow along or check back often!
Most of my images are taken as I walk through downtown in the city I love and call home. More often than not I walk with a tripod and camera in one hand while the other hand is busy securing two large, rambunctious dogs on leashes. If I am not at work I am most likely out and about enjoying life this way. Because it is so cold out this week I have been reflecting back on warmer times. The shot below was taken on a warm June evening while walking across the Hawthorne Bridge looking to the south along the Willamette River. During this week every summer Portland hosts its annual Blues Fest along its Waterfront Park. Here, boaters drop anchor and congregate along the marina to get a first class view of the party. This shot was taken a few nights before the beginning of the festivities. As the temps have dropped into the low twenties this week I felt this was a good kick off for my blog.