Mark Dean Photography or 1000 Words Photography
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Sunday, November 11, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
A Challenge to Family and Friends
OK, so since i have been asked by 10 people this month if i do photos for head shots, weddings, pregnancy, and even product pictures i figured i better get serious and get a business name and even some business cards made. But here is the thing, i have run into a bit of a block when trying to think of the name for it. That's where all of you guys come in, i need your collective creative guineas. The person who submits the name that i chose gets a free, (yeah I am going to charge for these things now) photo shoot of their choice. Need some family pics taken? How bout your Christmas cards coming up? Senior pics? So please submit as many as you want, no purchase necessary, void in um nowhere.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
The Post Below
If you are planing on watching the movie 3:10 to Yuma dont read the post below until after you have watched it.
3:10 To Yuma
I just watched this movie last night with my bride and loved it. A nice action flic with a bit of blood and with blood comes violence, and a bit of language but other than that a solid movie. Apart from that though this is why i liked it, it plays out a great story of adventure and danger for a father and a son to partake in. Now granted there was a lot more adventure back in the old west days, everyone carried a gun, there was a lot more open range and a lot less law enforcement to keep the piece. But this story goes a bit deeper than that. Now i get into some spoiler stuff so if you haven't but are going to watch it then plug your ears. The father was wounded in the war between the north and the south, a wound that led to the removal of his leg, he is a cattle rancher in the Arizona desert during a drought. His oldest son has no respect for him as he watches the landowner burn down his barn in the middle of the night, watches them go with little to eat and his younger brother struggle with TB. The only source of pride he has is that his father lost his leg in the war from a sniper. Witch as we find out later in the movie he lost from friendly fire while he was running away from the battle. The father stumbles upon a great opportunity to not only get some much needed cash for his family, but the self respect that has been drained out of him for years. The scene is played out as the father comes into the house one last time before heading out on the epic journey. A dialogue between him and his wife after she asks why he is doing this and why he doesn't just stay home.
"I am tired of being dirt poor. we have nowhere to go. I'm tired of the way the boys look at me, and I'm tired of the way you don't. I've been standing on one leg for three years waiting for God to do me a favor, and I'm tired of waiting."
Both the main characters in the movie are men by the worlds standards, a cattle rancher and a wagon robbing outlaw. But as the movie progresses we find the hard exterior is a front and they both are broken inside. One cant live up to the war hero he has made himself to be, and the other is a boy of an alcoholic father who died when he was young, and a mother who abandon him at the train station. The under story is of the boy who wants to look up to his father, who needs a hero and needs to be called out as a man. A story that every boy from the beginning of time has lived out.
It is important for men today to be the hero's their children look too, to be present in their homes and absorbed into their lives. Sure i don't have any children (yet) but i know the importance of this. I know that I wouldn't be in the place i am today if it wasn't for my father, leading and shaping my life. Letting me be a boy, be rough, wrestle and play basketball with me. To show me what it means to be a man, provide for the family, and love my wife. Was he perfect, no, but that's the great thing about it, in his imperfection i learned. As men we want to be looked up to, as a leader, adventurer, wild at times, but also the safety, and the lover. It is no wonder that the majority of gay men had no father or strong male presence in their lives. It has led them to seek that male attention in unhealthy and dangerous ways.
It is equally important for men to feel wanted and appreciated. To feel like they are fighting battles and winning the prize. They want to be respected and see their prize blush and swoon over them as they come in the room. To be desired and loved, and boasted about. To ultimately get the girl.
Recently Kendra and I have been released to start our connection (small or home) groups from our pastor. My connection group is focused around calling out the men of today out. To be men that some of them weren't released to be by there own fathers, like the outlaw in the movie, and also, not the man they have painted themselves to be, like the war hero. God placed an order in the house, the man is the head (not in a chauvinistic way) and the leader. and its time that we learned to do it the right way and honor our wives and raise our children. To stop passing it on to the women to be the leaders and the ones who try and train the boys to be men. They don't how and it only leads to problems in that boys life later down the road. I could go on for a while but i really feel this is a important piece and has been missing for way to long in our world today. If you have the interest please read Wild at Heart by John Eldredge, it reflects the importance of this natural progression. Love
"I am tired of being dirt poor. we have nowhere to go. I'm tired of the way the boys look at me, and I'm tired of the way you don't. I've been standing on one leg for three years waiting for God to do me a favor, and I'm tired of waiting."
Both the main characters in the movie are men by the worlds standards, a cattle rancher and a wagon robbing outlaw. But as the movie progresses we find the hard exterior is a front and they both are broken inside. One cant live up to the war hero he has made himself to be, and the other is a boy of an alcoholic father who died when he was young, and a mother who abandon him at the train station. The under story is of the boy who wants to look up to his father, who needs a hero and needs to be called out as a man. A story that every boy from the beginning of time has lived out.
It is important for men today to be the hero's their children look too, to be present in their homes and absorbed into their lives. Sure i don't have any children (yet) but i know the importance of this. I know that I wouldn't be in the place i am today if it wasn't for my father, leading and shaping my life. Letting me be a boy, be rough, wrestle and play basketball with me. To show me what it means to be a man, provide for the family, and love my wife. Was he perfect, no, but that's the great thing about it, in his imperfection i learned. As men we want to be looked up to, as a leader, adventurer, wild at times, but also the safety, and the lover. It is no wonder that the majority of gay men had no father or strong male presence in their lives. It has led them to seek that male attention in unhealthy and dangerous ways.
It is equally important for men to feel wanted and appreciated. To feel like they are fighting battles and winning the prize. They want to be respected and see their prize blush and swoon over them as they come in the room. To be desired and loved, and boasted about. To ultimately get the girl.
Recently Kendra and I have been released to start our connection (small or home) groups from our pastor. My connection group is focused around calling out the men of today out. To be men that some of them weren't released to be by there own fathers, like the outlaw in the movie, and also, not the man they have painted themselves to be, like the war hero. God placed an order in the house, the man is the head (not in a chauvinistic way) and the leader. and its time that we learned to do it the right way and honor our wives and raise our children. To stop passing it on to the women to be the leaders and the ones who try and train the boys to be men. They don't how and it only leads to problems in that boys life later down the road. I could go on for a while but i really feel this is a important piece and has been missing for way to long in our world today. If you have the interest please read Wild at Heart by John Eldredge, it reflects the importance of this natural progression. Love
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
How sweet it is
Hello people how ae we today? Nice, well Kendra and I are doing good, things are begining to heat up here, dips down into the 90's at night. (JR its a dry heat, you still got me beat). Nothing has changed on the baby front, still thinking over the sugery/invetro delema and praying in the meantime for another miricle. Please continue to lift us up in your prayers on that issue. Work is kicking into high gear for me, we have a lot of jobs and we are working long weeks but i have learned to ride the waves pretty well. Josh and Jose (workmates) are doing great at picking up the slack and making things smoother for me which in turn makes things smooth for the whole co. Kendra is ever battling the wieght of being a good friend/strong leader at her job. Putting the smack down when needed but most of the time she works for the bomb squad it seems, always defuseing some issue. I am working on some ideas in my head for photo stuff, it seems it has been on the back burner for a while, but a restored passion has come upon me. I have an engagement shoot tomorrow and then a wedding in Mexico next march for the same couple. I still love to shoot children (kinda sounds a bit sick, but in the right context) they dont shy away from the camera like adults do. I love it when people commit to the picture, it makes me feel good, and in turn the pics seem to turn out better. I will be more dilligent in posting photos, i have been going through my iphoto and deleting some of the not so's, I have 8000 pics in there and not all of them need to be taking up space. I have found some friends here also have a passion for photo and I plan on forming some sort of group so we can help chalenge eachother. Kendra is teaching some of the local kids hip-hop, and then thursdays she goes to the gym with some women from church and takes a hip-hop class there, pastors wife included. They have a great time the lot of them, like a bunch of little school girls giggling and huddling. I am continueing on my quest to loose weight, what i have lost hasnt found me, i took a left and pointed right, classic bait and switch. I have lost 20 pounds but more importantly lost two pant sizes. I am currently going to physical therapy for a back injury i sustained on the softball field, freak batting acident, i was swinging...... did i mention i was 30? They are working me pretty good there, helping to strengthen my core and get my bones cracked. I miss my neph Finn tremendously, he is so freaking cute and i swear i hear him scream everytime i go to JR's blog. Anyways thanks for reading, ask me a question and i will post on it. Love you.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
New Pics
there are some new pics on the fliker site so go check em out by clicking the photo link on the right
First of many
So the other night Kendra and I come home from eating out at My big fat Greek and on our way home we see an accident happen. One car making a left after the light had changed was met by a car running a red head on, then red light runner continues to drive away much to the consternation of the other driver. He sped off after her, which is exactly what i would have done, his was a new Jeep, he didn't even have the plates yet. Hers was a beat up little geo or something and from the brief look I got at her she looked to be a bit anebreated as well. But thats not the pic for this story.
As we pulled into our hood I saw flashing lights coming from our cul-de-sac, Is my house on fire, did Tyson get stuck in a tree again, or did our neighbor flip his Jeep trying to turn it too fast? I was right, he came into the sac at to high of a speed, as he made the turn his foot slipped off the clutch and whammo over he went. He was okay and as he and another neighbor were trying to flip it with their Toyota all the cops in Goodyear came blazing in to save the day. They tried hard to convince the guy he had been drinking, but he told them again and again it was a simple mistake of underestimating the center of gravity to speed ratio that caused the topsy turvy. Anywho all was well, no one was hurt and the entire neighborhood got to hang out in my driveway. Good thing I just vacuumed it.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
A Post
This is not Mark, this is Debbie sitting under strict orders from Mark to post something on his blog. I'm not sure that I can write under so much pressure, I mean it's like Joni Mitchell said on her "Miles of Aisles" tour, you just can't say to Van Gogh, "Hey paint another Stary Night Man!" So I guess that's me saying that I am an artist who needs inspiration to be clever and under this heavy pressure I can't just preform.
One thing I will say is that I am so happy to be here, a friend of mine said recently that I need to be present where I am and enjoy the moment. I am enjoying the moment and the moments. Mark ribbing and bossing me, mornings with Kendra and coffee and raisin toast, our dog Scout chasing their dog Tyson, lunch with my old friends and Wednesday night home group with my new friends. I'm enjoying the moments of answered prayers and small and large miracles, like the recent reversal of Mark's swimmers, the new test that says that he has more than enough. My faith rises to say that Kendra is next to receive and I am not alone in this, I am in a community of the faith filled, the ones my age who have lasted through the trials and the young who are audacious enough to believe with no evidence. I am reunited with a daughter in a new trial and I bring my faith to the challange and I belive in miracles and that old patterns can experience new hope.
One day, in mid-May we'll fly from here to see our other son, our grandson and our Kate and then we will return here to make the drive back to our "real life" in Oregon the first part of June, I will live in those moments too, I'll be "present" and I will give thanks, in the meantime, writing this has won me some time in front of the tv with Mark, Kendra, and Bing, we'll watch the recorded shows we love, we'll decide if we agree with the Idol judges and we'll be present and enjoy this moment.
One thing I will say is that I am so happy to be here, a friend of mine said recently that I need to be present where I am and enjoy the moment. I am enjoying the moment and the moments. Mark ribbing and bossing me, mornings with Kendra and coffee and raisin toast, our dog Scout chasing their dog Tyson, lunch with my old friends and Wednesday night home group with my new friends. I'm enjoying the moments of answered prayers and small and large miracles, like the recent reversal of Mark's swimmers, the new test that says that he has more than enough. My faith rises to say that Kendra is next to receive and I am not alone in this, I am in a community of the faith filled, the ones my age who have lasted through the trials and the young who are audacious enough to believe with no evidence. I am reunited with a daughter in a new trial and I bring my faith to the challange and I belive in miracles and that old patterns can experience new hope.
One day, in mid-May we'll fly from here to see our other son, our grandson and our Kate and then we will return here to make the drive back to our "real life" in Oregon the first part of June, I will live in those moments too, I'll be "present" and I will give thanks, in the meantime, writing this has won me some time in front of the tv with Mark, Kendra, and Bing, we'll watch the recorded shows we love, we'll decide if we agree with the Idol judges and we'll be present and enjoy this moment.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Awesome....
As some of you may know, Kendra and I have been trying to get pregnant for 1 1/2 years. We recently went to a doctor to get me tested. (by the way that experience was awkward) Today we got the results, I am infertile!!!! that's great news. That's just what i needed to hear, not only was the experience at the doctor emasculating, but now I have no seed. How am i feeling? Hurt, pissed, confused, and piled on with the last posts and other goings on in this ever so fabulous year of 2007, very depressed. Oh but don't loose hope, we get to go back in next week and find out what kinda pills and trials and tests they can do. If any of those are a success then maybe, oooh just maybe they can stick a needle into Kendra's egg and inject it with my steroid and testosterone laden seed, mix it together in a dish, and place it back inside, just the way it was meant to be. I am sorry if I sound overly sarcastic or brash but i have run out of emotions the past month and joy and happy never made it home from news years eve.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Jury Duty
Some of you may know that i have been on Jury duty since Monday of last week. This is something that i have always wanted to be a part of, I think the system isn't corrupt and placed into the hands of people who are impartial and fair the proper outcome can be reached. The case I was on involved five children, CPS, and the mother. CPS claims that they have given the mother every chance to regain custody of her children, and the only option from here is severance and adoption. I sat through 7 days of testimony and evidence, objections, examinations, cross examinations, opening and closing statements. We as the jury had the case for 6 total hours i believe before we came to a decision. We had to decide on two claims from CPS, if one or both were found to be proven then severance and adoption was the next step. I didn't feel that a co dependant personality was considered a mental illness, 6 others did. We all felt CPS had provided sufficient resources for mother to regain custody of her children. We all felt it is in the children's best interest to no longer be in the care of their mother and at that moment, severed the parental rights of the mother. Today on valentines day I told a mother that she is "mentally ill" and that she is no longer the parent of her five children. My heart breaks for her, her children, and the remaining family on mothers side. For the last three years she has been fighting this, and in a day its over. I always wounder ed what it was like to sit in on a trail. To hear lawyers do their thing, to hear the bailiff tell all to rise as the jury came in and out of the court room. My broken heart is for her, having her children taken away from her. For me, seeing those with kids not take care of them, but not being able to have any of my own. For me, taking away other peoples kids, but not being able to have any of my own. Ask me to judge a thief, ask me to judge a murderer, ask me to judge a drug dealer, but don't ever ask me to take someones children away ever again. I have always wanted to be a part of a trail, no one said it would be easy, but no one said it would be this hard.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Freaking B of A
Before I have a heart attack i have to get this off my chest and onto the fish wrap which is my blog. I have a bank account in both Arizona and California for reasons I am not quite sure at this point. So maybe two months ago i was using my check card from BoA and noticed that it was scanning off and on and also the three digit code on the back which allows you to make on-line transactions was rubbed off. I had then made the decision to call BoA and order a new card. So begins my ulcer trail. First off you cannot call the number on the back of your card from your Arizona account and expect to talk to a rep concerning your California account. So, after trying to go through all the right automated channels I finally spoke to a breathing person, I ordered a new card with them and hung up the phone. A week later I received my new card, called the activation number and began using my new card. After trying to make a purchase with my AZ that was declined i had Kendra look the balance up online, -400$. I was having a hard time figuring this out and had her look at all the recent transactions. She started naming them off and as she went through them i noticed something odd, they were all to Home Depot and Lowes, and other establishment of that nature. Well it was queer to me because those were all purchases I was making with my newly ordered CA card. Well using my awesome sleuthing skills i compared the numbers on both cards and, you guessed it Watson, identical!! So to sum up so far, old card dead, new card ordered, new card received, used, overdrawn, sleuthed.
Haha funny i thought. Called BoA and ordered the "right card." Made sure to verify the card number to make sure "we" didnt make the same mistake again, and also verified the address. Then I waited, three weeks passed and still no card. So i called again, verified the card number again and also the address and hung up. Waited another 8 days, no card. So lets sum up. Old bad, new bad, ordered not received, ordered not received.
Haha pissed. Called BoA tonight. Talked to the rep in my ever so restrained I am going to burn the place down voice, and explained my predicament. She told me that she only has on record the time i got the new bad card (AZ), and the most recent time i ordered the new card, (#2 must have been lost on the freaking Tandy computers that they seem to be using at the call center). So I convinced her to send me a new one, again verified the number on the address. Wait what? Can you repeat that? No my address is not on Mason Street in Santa Barbara!!! I haven't lived there in almost 4 years. So i asked her to explain to me why i have been receiving monthly statements for my AZ account, my CA account and our BoA credit card but for some (earmuffs) reason the address "tied" to my debit card is my old place on Mason. She had no logical explanation for me and her, "I understand, I am sorry we will get a new card out to you right away" was certainly falling on deaf ears. I wanted to scream into the phone so loud her mother went blind. How is that freaking possible? So now i have to wait until next wed to get my new card because it gets shipped this wed, thu fri tue wed (monday is a bank holiday), just my luck right? So lets sum up.
Bad card, new bad, re ordered (3)x, wrong address, two weeks. If i don't get the card on wed in two weeks i am closing all my accounts and STRONGLY encouraging everyone in my path to do the same. The only redeeming factor is we have a friend at BoA who helps us in resolving all the overdraft fees. Oh and by the way BoA is an acronym for Bunch of (earmuffs)
Haha funny i thought. Called BoA and ordered the "right card." Made sure to verify the card number to make sure "we" didnt make the same mistake again, and also verified the address. Then I waited, three weeks passed and still no card. So i called again, verified the card number again and also the address and hung up. Waited another 8 days, no card. So lets sum up. Old bad, new bad, ordered not received, ordered not received.
Haha pissed. Called BoA tonight. Talked to the rep in my ever so restrained I am going to burn the place down voice, and explained my predicament. She told me that she only has on record the time i got the new bad card (AZ), and the most recent time i ordered the new card, (#2 must have been lost on the freaking Tandy computers that they seem to be using at the call center). So I convinced her to send me a new one, again verified the number on the address. Wait what? Can you repeat that? No my address is not on Mason Street in Santa Barbara!!! I haven't lived there in almost 4 years. So i asked her to explain to me why i have been receiving monthly statements for my AZ account, my CA account and our BoA credit card but for some (earmuffs) reason the address "tied" to my debit card is my old place on Mason. She had no logical explanation for me and her, "I understand, I am sorry we will get a new card out to you right away" was certainly falling on deaf ears. I wanted to scream into the phone so loud her mother went blind. How is that freaking possible? So now i have to wait until next wed to get my new card because it gets shipped this wed, thu fri tue wed (monday is a bank holiday), just my luck right? So lets sum up.
Bad card, new bad, re ordered (3)x, wrong address, two weeks. If i don't get the card on wed in two weeks i am closing all my accounts and STRONGLY encouraging everyone in my path to do the same. The only redeeming factor is we have a friend at BoA who helps us in resolving all the overdraft fees. Oh and by the way BoA is an acronym for Bunch of (earmuffs)
Friday, February 02, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Monday, January 08, 2007
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