Good Hard Working People

Favorite Songs: 4th 1/4 of 2019 Mix Tape

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 03:58:00 +0000

In some ways, the last favorite song mix tape of the year is usually the most interesting one to me. I usually get to add quite a few last minute songs to it as I discover great songs on other people's best-of-the year lists. Also, I realize that after a whole year of music-listening certain songs that I thought I didn't like so much, have really grown on me and get included now.

And then there are the songs and albums that come out in time for the holiday shopping season. Most excitingly this season was a new album by my friend Thimo Sander - and it's a beauty.

So lots of great music to choose from, which made it extra challenging to keep the compilation to (about) 90 minutes.

Cover for the mix tape of favorite songs from fall 2019 - featuring a photo of a mural in St. Pete, Florida.

List of my favorite songs from the 4th quarter of 2019:

1.    Honeyblood - You're Standing on My Neck [Splendora Cover / Daria Theme]
2.    Taylor Swift - The Man
    3.    Lizzo - Like a Girl
    4.    Snow Tha Product - Say Bitch
    5.    Jenny Lewis - Red Bull & Hennessy
    6.    Carly Rae Jepsen - Too Much
    7.    Karen O & Danger Mouse- Turn The Light
    8.    Rico Nasty - Time Flies
    9.    Sharon Van Etten - Seventeen
    10.    Susto - Homeboy
    11.    Guster - Overexcited
    12.    Spoon - No Bullets Spent
    13.    Sturgill Simpson - Sing Along
    14.    The Hives - Good Samaritan
    15.    Best Coast - For The First Time
    16.    Lucy Dacus - Fool's Gold
    17.    Thimo Sander - Pommerby
    18.    Aldous Harding - The Barrel
    19.    Tōth - No Reason
    20.    Bon Iver - Hey, Ma
    21.    Joseph Arthur - Mayor of the Lower Eastside
    22.    Purple Mountains - Snow is Falling in Manhattan
    23.    Pedro The Lion - Quietest Friend
    24.    Matt Berninger & Phoebe Bridgers - Walking on a String
    25.    Big Thief - Not

You can listen to the entire 4th Quarter of 2019 playlist on Spotify...

You can watch the respective videos (if available) on this YouTube playlist.

If you're interested in hearing songs from this current quarter, then check out the *temporary and ever-evolving* Spotify playlist "Latest... but greatest?".

Want even more? Then listen to this epic playlist: 2019 - Additional

Jumping Over My Own Shadow: My First Indie Market

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 22:27:00 +0000

In German, we have an expression that translates to "jumping over one's own shadow" and means to do something that doesn't come natural to you and is unsettling, even scary to you. It's usually something that is not scary or even a big deal to others - but just outside of your personal comfort zone or natural behavior.

A few weeks ago, I took that leap and went on the (to me) daring adventure of setting up art, wares, and hopes... for the public to come and take a look and judge... maybe make a connection, maybe make a purchase, or maybe just pass on by. I participated in my first indie market. Actually, Scott and I were there together. But I don't think it required any shadow-jumping on his part.

Organized by the Tampa Bay Area Indie Flea, the arts, crafts, indie-makers and food market took place in Gainesville, Florida, on a December weekend. So it was perfectly timed for some holiday shopping and ideal outdoor market weather.

It felt like the right (yet still intimidating) opportunity to try something I had been contemplating for years: offering pieces of my photography for sale + and introducing the ideas and products of Happier Place to people "in real life" (vs. just online as we had been doing for the last two years).

Before the market:

In the short window between getting selected for the market and the actual event and in the middle of prep for Opt Outside Friday and Cyber Monday, Scott and I decided to design and order two new Happier Place products - and I took the plunge and ordered metal prints of over two dozen photos.

For this event, I went mostly for more smaller prints instead of less larger prints. And I opted for all ready-to-hang UV-protected metal prints. Might discuss that and other options with you in another post.

It was SO exciting when those prints finally arrived. What would they look like?

Shiny, vivid and almost 3D-looking: a few of my nature photos as metal prints getting stickered and ready for test-hanging.


The luxury of living in Florida: enough space (and extra Florida Room) to build a 10x10 "sandbox" to play around with the set-up of our future "pop-up store".

At the market:

The day arrived with the previous day's horrendous rain gone and us ready to set up, display, meet, inspire and get inspired, sell and buy, and learn through trial and error and success. It was such a rush to set everything up in time and then to keep up with people coming into our tent, engaging and giving me reason to struggle with the "paypal card reader + iPad + woocommerce" logistics - that I never got a chance to get nervous.


Scott in our humble "pop-up store" - between an herbalist and t-shirt designer (and street artist!) Justo Luis Rodriguez of Upful Creations.

During the short hours of the market, we had so many visitors I didn't have much time to take photos and just barely managed to get one Instagram Story out.

Digital photos of analog metal prints doesn't really do them justice. But it shows what was there and how the pieces were displayed.

It would definitely be cool to have more larger prints. But the price point is so at this high quality that this time I opted for pieces that would be affordable for customers and me.

Behind-the-scenes: The method we came up with to hang the metal prints at the craft market - here seen from our backyard during testing phase. It works. But is there maybe a better way? Would be great to at least use shorter s-hooks so they wouldn't show in the front. After all, you wouldn't see the the nails if you hung the photographs on a real wall.

Best by-product of the market: Creating these display albums of all the postcards and folded greeting cards - divided into their respective sets. A great way to see an array of my nature photos - and choose individual cards and full sets for purchase.

Arrived just in time: new business cards featuring mini nature photos and Happier Place slogans.

Popular and free to anyone walking by: Happier Place slogan stickers.

Inside-the-scenes: one of our views from inside the tent. I can't express how cool it was to design the display together with Scott and to finally see our Happier Place products together like this.

In-person experience makes all the difference - especially with products like our super sustainable notebooks (recycled, plant-based ink!, B-Corp-made), multiple-choice postcards, and metal prints.

And then suddenly the four hours of the market were over and it was time to break down and meet local friends at the Cypress and Grove brewery across the street. Wow, what a whirlwind!

And the results?

Spending weeks envisioning, researching, planning, learning, shopping for, designing, arranging, testing, packing, transporting, and setting up... an entire (out-of-town) store that was only open for four hours was still so rewarding that we're excited to attend many more markets very soon.

And next time we already have a tent and I know how to use that credit card swiper. Also, we learned so many things we'd like to try out at future events.

Fortunately, we managed to recoup our direct expenses during this market. Even more rewarding: the thought that some of my photos and some of our products are being used and appreciated by other people. And the very best part might have been simply to connect with other people and talk about the outdoors, creativity and doing things that make us happier... and doing something to make the world a happier place.

So yeah, jumping over my own shadow was totally worth it and I can't wait to do it again!

Our friend Hollie with a complimentary (market-exclusive) Happier Place shoulder bag holding her new photography pieces.

I'd like to thank everyone who came out to see us at the market, to Rachel (owner of Tamal) for hosting us and Whiskey Dog, and to all those who inspired me to give it a try, including patrons Miriam Blaich and Margaret Baker, and Google+ Create friends Mark Hurn and Maire Thompson. THANK YOU!

Way after the market:

As a bonus on the way out of town the next morning, I finally got to see and photograph wild Sandhill cranes, which were taking over a cow field on the UF campus!


Sandhill cranes and a cow

Another bonus: the photography pieces I didn't sell, now grace our walls - until the next market...

Honeymoon Island (Florida)
St. Vrain State Park (Colorado)
Ft. Collins (Colorado)

Favorite Songs: 3rd 1/4 of 2019 Mix Tape

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 01:31:00 +0000

Another quarter of a year came and went. A lot happened, a lot didn't happen. There were songs, there was silence. More laughter, tears, outrage, thoughts, talks, yearning, gratitude, hope, disappointment, several road trips (one especially epic), sooo many beach walks and beach sunsets, a lot of work and never enough dancing. Here are my favorite songs from July, August and September 2019.

Cover for the mix tape of favorite songs from summer 2019 - featuring a photo from St. Joseph Sound, Florida

List of my favorite songs discovered during the 3rd quarter of 2019:

1. Dancing in the Dark - Lucy Dacus
2. Cosmic Dancer [T. Rex cover] - Valerie June
3. Drunk II - Mannequin Pussy
4. More Than a Month - The Regrettes
5. Can I Go On - Sleater-Kinny
6. Lo/Hi - The Black Keys
7. Sail On - Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
8. Come Back World - Joseph Arthur
9. Friend of Mine - Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster
10. Somebody Loves You - Devon Welsh
11. The Modern Leper [Frightened Rabbit cover] - Julien Baker
12. Bags - Clairo
13. Boy Scout - Patio
14. La Criox - EB
15. You Need To Calm Down - Taylor Swift
16. Redesigning Women - The Highwomen
17. Big Mouth - Petrol Girls
18. This Baby Don’t Cry - K. Flay
19. Bilingue - Snow Tha Product
20. Juice - Lizzo
21. Remember The Name - Ed Sheeran, Eminem, 50 Cent
22. Sister Rosetta - Frank Turner
23. Bum Hour - LIFE
24. Roy’s Tune - Fontaines D.C.
25. I Also Have Eyes - Florist
26. Poke [Frightened Rabbit cover] - Daughter
27. My Backwards Walk [Frightened Rabbit cover] - Harkin, Sarah Silverman

You can listen to the entire 3rd Quarter of 2019 playlist on Spotify...

... or check out the videos on this YouTube playlist.

Interested in hearing songs from this current quarter, then change out the temporary and ever-evolving Spotify playlist Latest... but greatest?

Favorite Songs: 2nd 1/4 of 2019 Mix Tape

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 19:03:00 +0000

Alright, I'm finally officially not making CDs for my quarterly favorite song mixes anymore... it's all just playlists from now on. And since I now have the freedom to make the quarterly playlists as long as I want to... I decided to restrict them to the length of a 90-minute cassette tape.

So here is the cassette cover for the first quarterly mix *tape*. And if you have a cassette player and would like to have this as a cassette, I might just make you an actual mix tape...

Cover for the mix tape of favorite songs from spring 2019 - featuring a photo of a water hyacinth in Florida.

List of my favorite songs discovered during spring 2019:

1. Bad Guy - Billie Eilish
2. Old Town Road - Lil Nas X
3. Mississippi Nuthin’ - Shovels & Rope
4. The Third Degree - Honeyblood
5. Cruel - Monica Martin
6. Bury A Friend - Billie Eilish
7. Doin’ Time - Lana Del Rey
8. Playa Grande - Sofi Tukker, Bomba Estéreo
9. Sister - K. Flay
10. Puppet Angels - Jackie Mendoza
11. Collector - Odonis Odonis
12. House of Glass - Cage The Elephant
13. If I Were You - Claud
14. Salt Eyes - Middle Kids
15. Eagle Birds - The Black Keys
16. C’mon Utah! - Shovels & Rope
17. The War Is Over - Cage The Elephant
18. Heads Gonna Roll - Jenny Lewis
19. A Bathtub In The Kitchen - Craig Finn
20. Light Years - The National
21. Old Friend - Chris Staples
22. Hello Sunshine - Bruce Springsteen
23. The River St. Johns - Jake Xerxes Fussell
24. Everybody Said - Chris Staples
25. What Comes After Certainty - Bill Callahan
26. In The End - The Cranberries
27. Holy Elixir - Kate Tempest

You can listen to the entire 2nd Quarter of 2019 playlist on Spotify...

... or check out the videos on my Music Video Pinterest Board.

Photos from the Weeki Wachee River and Springs State Park (Florida)

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 00:08:00 +0000

Weeki Wachee River in Hernando County, near the west coast of Florida

A few days ago, I published a comprehensive article about the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park and about paddling down the Weeki Wachee River over on the Happier Place website. Please feel free to check it out right now: Meet Mermaids and Paddle A Crystal Clear River: Weeki Wachee Springs and River (Florida)

Or... just stay here and look at the photos I included with that article (and a few more) without all the additional information about the park, the river and all my tips about visiting. This here blog post is all about the photos.

Just FYI: If you'd like to see a photo larger. Just click on it. With some of them it'll also give you the option to purchase a print or another item featuring that image (e.g., mug, magnet, phone case etc.). How very entrepreneurial of me, right?

Okay, let's start with an afternoon on the Weeki Wachee River...

The water of the Weeki Wachee River is so clear that you'll see every fish and manatee - if you're there during manatee season (winter + early spring), which we were not.

During the day, the water appears turquoise where it reflects the blue sky and the white sand is free of any underwater vegetation.

Whiskey Dog and Scott floating along the Weeki Wachee River around Golden Hour, when the water appears in more of a honey color.

Whiskey's very first swim in fresh water since moving to Florida. She gets plenty of saltwater swims in, but lakes are off-limits due to the alligators, naturally.

Towards the end of our kayak and SUP tour down the Weeki Wachee River we cruised by quite a few houses and backyards with steps right into the river.

Closing out a day on the Weeki Wachee River: Erik contemplating if to turn left or right to get back to Rogers Park (and our car) before dark. The answer is: to the left!

And now on to a fun day at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park...

This is the actual Weeki Wachee Spring - one of the deepest in North America. The building in the background is the Mermaid Theatre, which allows underwater viewing straight into the spring. To the right is where the river flows along Bucaneer Bay and then on for about 10 miles west until the Weeki Wachee River reaches the Gulf of Mexico.

A swimmer's perspective of the Weeki Wachee River just past the spring.

Buccaneer Bay is the water park is part of Weeki Wachee Springs State Park and was built right next to the actual spring - allowing you to swim in shallow, clear water flowing from the spring down the river.

Nothing quite like tubing down a gentle, refreshing river with your besties. There is a short and lovely tubing section as part of Buccaneer Bay. Rentals are available. You can't bring your own floaties.

Baby Alligator. Erik totally touched it. I didn't. Scott was fishing elsewhere.

Yeah, there are peacocks just roaming around Weeki Wachee State Park and right here in Buccaneer Bay.

Peacock - in classic colors and attitude.

Brown peafowl chicks and their white "albino" peafowl mother.

The Mold-A-Matic just made this "girl on a seahorse" for me while I was watching!

Oh, you came here to see photos of the Weeki Wachee Mermaids? Well, here you go then...

If you want to know more about the Florida State Park or the spring-fed river, check out this comprehensive guide to Weeki Wachee.

Spring Blooms and Chicks

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Thu, 30 May 2019 22:19:00 +0000

Pinkster Flower (North Carolina)

This spring, I got to travel to North Carolina and various places around Florida. Naturally, I took lots of photos. Over the next few weeks, I plan on publishing several posts (either here or over on Happier.Place) dedicated to specific locations, e.g., Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

But for now, here is a collection of photos featuring spring blooms and baby birds, or teen birds, if you will. Officially, spring isn't over - but in Florida it already feels like summer and "they grow up so fast". So I don't really expect to take any more photos of springtime wildflowers or baby birds. Except that I'm hoping to still get everything aligned just right to get better photos of younger pelican chicks (vs. the tweens I'm featuring in this post).

Because nature doesn't always stick to the "calendar season," I'm also including a photo of almond blossoms that I took during a trip to Germany in early March, officially still winter.

For more photos and to purchase prints (or photo-adorned items), please visit the Spring Blooms and Chicks gallery on the LuciWest photography site.

Moorhen chicks looking for their parents (Largo, Florida)

Moorhen speeding across the lake to the chicks

Moorhen catch-up and feeding time

Azure Bluet aka Quaker Ladies (North Carolina)

Mountain Laurel aka Spoonbush getting ready to open (North Carolina)

Not the blossoms, but the very poisonous seeds of the Rosary Pea (aka Jequirity Bean) found in spring (Honeymoon Island, Florida)

Red Silk Cottontree (that huge, super cool tree in front of the Fine Art Museum in St. Pete, Florida)

Weeping Bottlebrush (Largo, Florida)

Great Horned Owl Chick (Honeymoon Island, Florida)

Stop looking at me!!! (same owl, a week or so younger)

Flowering Dogwood (North Carolina)

Limpkin aka Cry Bird eating Apple Snail (Gainesville, Florida)

Mmmm snail innards! Limpkin parent feeding its chick an Apple Snail

Two Limpkin aka Crying Bird chicks are, of course, Cry Babies

Let's just call it as we see it: the Yoda Plant (North Carolina)

Whitetop Sedge aka Starrush Whitetop (Paynes Prairie, Florida)

Bee on a Spiderwort (Gainesville, Florida)

They grow up so fast! Bald Eagle and scruffy-looking chick (Florida)

Pink almond blossom in Haselau (Germany)

Water Hyacinth taking over a lake (Largo, Florida)

Put a bird on it: Great White Egret landing in field of Water Hyacinths

Water Hyacinth - so pretty, but so invasive in Florida.

Powderpuff Mimosa (Gainesville, Florida)

Baby pelicans in a tree! (Belleair Beach, Florida)

Actually, these aren't little babies anymore, which have even shorter beaks and fluffier white feathers. But the waterproof camera gave out before I could get to the other side of the island with the younger chicks. And since then the pump for my paddle board broke. Hoping new pump arrives and camera works better before they are all grown. Might just add more photos to this post if I get them.

If you want to see even more spring flower and bird photos, you can find those in the Spring Blooms and Chicks album on Flickr.

Favorite Songs: 1st 1/4 of 2019 - #MusicMonday

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Mon, 06 May 2019 22:53:00 +0000

How is it May already? Easy: time keeps on ticking into the future. Sigh. Anyway, here's my "mix tape" with my few favorite songs from January, February and March 2019.

Mix CD of favorite songs from first quarter of 2019 - featuring a photo of the Lunar Eclipse in January.

1. Now That You're Gone / The Raconteurs
2. Dylan Thomas / Better Oblivion Community Center
3. The Rockaways / Conor Oberst
4. Old Bone / Wet
5. we fell in love in october / girl in red
6. Hurricanes / Dido
7. Images of Love / A.A. Bondy
8. New York / Ex:Re
9. hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but i have it / Lana Del Rey
10. Didn't Know What I Was in For / Better Oblivion Community Center
11. No One Changes / Conor Oberst
12. Skin Crawl / Alice Phoebe Lou
13. Harmony Hall / Vampire Weekend
14. Sunday Driver / The Raconteurs
15. Even in the Tremor / Lady Lamb
16. Thoughtless / Monica Martin
17. New House / Rex Orange County
18. Uproar [feat. Swizz Beatz] / Lil Wayne
19. Bullet With Butterfly Wings / Karen O

The mix still spans exactly one audio CD. And I'd give you one if you'd like. But you'd probably just want to listen to the 2019 - 1st 1/4 list on Spotify anyway, you streaming consumer, you.

You can also watch videos for the songs on my Pinterest Music board.

Since it's already May... and if you're wondering what I'm listening to these days, you can check out my Latest... But Greatest? playlist. Songs come and go on that playlist as I try them out.

Photos of Florida Gulf Coast Birds

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 18:53:00 +0000

Great Blue Heron

Since moving to the Florida Gulf Coast in June 2018, I've found real pleasure in admiring and photographing the local birds. At times, it seems that my camera is drawn mostly to waterbirds - but then I spent over an hour just standing near a bald eagle's nest in hopes of seeing a white head.

The array of big showy birds that can be found here on the Pinellas Peninsula (from Clearwater Beach to St. Pete) has been so wonderfully consuming, that I haven't made much time for photographing the smaller inland birds or the more common waterbirds, like gulls and ducks.

Actually, I still have a ton of photos I need to still sort through that include quite a few birds types not part of this selection. Another day...

Of course, there are also still so many rare birds I haven't had a chance to photograph at all. And other birds, I'm hoping to catch again under better lighting conditions - mainly the roseate spoonbill, black skimmer and black-crowned night-heron.

The photos below are a small selection of favorites. You can see a larger version of each photo by clicking on it.

If you want to see more, check out the full collection of Florida Birds on my photography website.

All photos are available for purchase.

Roseate Spoonbills drawing away attention from Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron

Pelican Sunset off Honeymoon Island Dog Beach

Osprey Lunch

Great Egret Take-off

Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron

Great Horned Owl staring down Osprey Trail


Nanday Parakeet

Turkey Vulture and Black Vulture and a dead Racoon

White Ibis in Largo

Egret Fly-By

Pelican flying along Clearwater Beach at sunset

Great Blue Heron at sunset

Anhinga in Taylor Park, Largo

Great Egret on Sandkey Isle

Bald Eagle in Honeymoon Island State Park

Brown Pelican at Belleair Boat Ramp

Great Blue Heron at Clearwater Pass

Nesting Bald Eagle on Honeymoon Island in 2019

Favorite Songs: 4th 1/4 of 2018 - #MusicMonday

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 18:41:00 +0000

Made some big decisions and changes in how I acquire and enjoy music. A little less than a year ago, I stopped purchasing CDs all together and instead pay for mp3s of albums and songs I know I definitely want and then buy the occasional vinyl record if it's something to be especially cherished.

Now I've taken the next plunge and am trying out different paid streaming services (vs. the free versions I've had a hate-love relationship with for too many years). My feelings are still mixed on this easy-come, easy-go relationship to music and the companies behind services like Spotify and YouTube Music, which appear to be screwing the creators when it comes to getting paid. But due to concerns about time, space, money and the environment, streaming services and digital purchases make most sense... and the occasional vinyl record for the soul.

I'm curious: do you use streaming services? If so, which one(s) do you use? I'm probably going to decide between Spotify and Amazon Unlimited, the later being more affordable as a Prime member but having less social connections and 3rd party playlists.

Enough about all that because no matter what, I'm not stopping to make my quarterly "mix tapes". Here are my favorite songs from the last quarter of 2018 (October, November, December).

Mix CD of favorite songs from autumn 2018 - featuring a photo from the Botanic Garden in Gainesville, Florida.

1. O.M.G. (I'm All Over It) / Jenn Champion
2. High Horse / Kacey Musgraves
3. Who R U? / Anderson .Paak
4. Blaxploitation / Noname
5. I Do (feat. SZA) / Cardi B
6. Nonchalant / 6LACK
7. whisper / serpentwithfeet
8. Romance / Ex:Re
9. Me Voy / Cat Power
10. Space Cowboy / Kacey Musgraves
11. Motion Sickness / Phoebe Bridgers
12. Mariners Apartment Complex / Lana Del Rey
13. Night Shift / Lucy Dacus
14. Stay / Cat Power
15. All I Want / Matt Berninger, Stephen Altman, Julien Baker
16. All That We Get / First Aid Kit
17. Guiding Light / Mumford & Sons
18. When Did I Get Like This / Allen Tate
19. Give It a Shot / Bad Moves

As usual, the mix spans exactly one audio CD - and I burned one copy to keep next to the cassette deck + CD player boombox I recently acquired for our guest room. There are probably two copies going out in the mail as soon as I get printing paper again for my printer (in this digital life I don't even know when exactly I must have used the last piece of printing paper).

For everyone else, you'd probably just want to listen to the 2018 - 4th 1/4 list on Spotify anyway. Or you could check out videos for the song on my Pinterest Music board.

In case you want more, here are a bunch of songs that I also liked but that didn't quite make it into any of the four 2018 mix tapes: "2018 - Additional" on Spotify

Favorite Songs from the 3rd 1/4 of 2018 - #MusicMonday

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 03:21:00 +0000

Another 3 months have come and gone. Here are a few of my favorite songs from the summer months: July, August and September.

CD cover for the Summer 2018 Mix features a photo of a heron taken near my new home in Florida.

The mix spans exactly one CD. If you're still into that kind of thing, I can make you one. Otherwise you can listen to the entire mix on Spotify or check out the music videos via my Pinterest music board.

1. Curse of the I-5 Corridor / Neko Case
2. Soft Stud / Black Belt Eagle Scout
3. Genius / Luluc
4. Me & My Dog / boygenius [Phoebe Bridgers]
5. Heat Wave / Snail Mail
6. Dark Saturday / Metric
7. Best Friend / Sofi Tukker feat. NERVO, The Knocks, Alisa Ueno
8. Come On Then / Lily Allen
9. Self / Noname
10. the light is coming [feat. Nicki Minaj] / Ariana Grande
11. Fuck They / Sofi Tukker
12. Run the Road / Santigold
13. Rank & File / Moses Sumney
14. Pretty Little Fears [feat. J. Cole] / 6LACK
15. Nobody / Mitski
16. Oracle of The Maritimes / Neko Case
17. Bite The Hand / boygenius [Lucy Dacus]
18. Please Don't Die / Father John Misty
19. Deep Sea / Snail Mail
20. Kids / Luluc

The End of the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 19:14:00 +0000

On Labor Day, I happened to come back into Crown Heights (Brooklyn), just as the West Indian Day Parade was winding down. While my friend Erica and I had been out in overheated and somewhat deserted Bushwick taking photos of street art (and cooling off with tacos and beer under a mind-blowing collection of velvet paintings), people on Eastern Parkway had been showing off colorful costumes, dancing and playing music, eating Caribbean food and not minding the huge crowd.

Pulled in by the music, the smells of grilled food and the sense I might still grab a good photo or two, Erica and I walked the short block from her house to Eastern Parkway and were not disappointed. Of course, watching and participating in the actual parade would have been fun, too. But to me there's something even more intriguing about the aftermath, when "the make-up has worn off" and the afterglow or exhaustion come to the foreground.

Here are a few photos from the parade route and side streets taken as the last float came down the parkway closely followed by the clean-up crew.

First Impressions From My Florida Garden

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Sun, 26 Aug 2018 22:20:00 +0000

Leaving behind my thriving Colorado garden when moving to Florida 2 1/2 months ago was especially sad because it was in late spring, just at the cusp of summer. Everything was just coming back fully, starting to bloom or already showing first fruits. With some envy, I watched friends purchase new plants (tomatoes!) that they'd be able to watch mature. I dug up my herb garden, which I had nurtured for four years, and moved those plants to a friend's yard. This way I'd know someone else would enjoy my plants - as long as they survived all of this summer's hailstorms.

The backyard at the new house on the Florida Gulf Coast, between Clearwater Beach and St. Pete, was hot mess - quite literally. There was more brownish-grey sand than grass. The yard was surrounded by shrubs and hedges which had been chopped up by a "yard care" company. A few palm trees were overgrown and more brown than green. The flowerbeds were full of weeds.

Ladybug feasting on aphids.

But I wouldn't be my mother's daughter if I didn't embrace this as a personal and rather enticing challenge. So I got busy researching, weeding, trimming, planting, seeding and lots of watering. The rewards have been quick and plentiful. This isn't just thanks to time, effort and money. It's also because the right plants grow incredibly fast and because quite a few of the shrubs surprised me with beautiful blooms.

These are a few photos I took over the last week or two.
All images are available for purchase here.

Purple Queen - also known as Wandering Jew.

Red hibiscus I planted.

Probably my favorite backyard surprise: Bougainvillea.

The delicate, yet sticky blossoms of the Blue Plumbago.

Shiny new leaf on the False Roselle aka Red Leaf Hibiscus.

Male brown anole lizard.

Female brown anole lizard.

Morning Glory: from seed to bloom in about four weeks!

Side view of the Boatlily aka Moses-in-the-Cradle that I found hiding on the side of the house and moved to the front and backyards.

Side view of the Boatlily aka Moses-in-the-Cradle. I've already seen it bloom, which shows the connection to the name. Just wasn't satisfied with how the photos of the flowers came out. Next time.

Favorite Songs from the 2nd 1/4 of 2018 - #MusicMonday

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 20:44:00 +0000

It's been a whirlwind 3 months - while moving from Colorado to Florida, going on two big road trips and wrapping my head and heart around a bunch of... well, stuff. During May and June, I actually listened to a lot of older music - but these favorite new discoveries from April, May and June 2018 made up a lot of my spring soundtrack. Hope you hear something you like.

CD cover for the 2nd 1/4 of 2018 Favorites features a photo of the North Fork of the Cache la Poudre River I took in May.

As usual, the mix spans exactly one CD. So if you want one, let me know. Otherwise you can listen to the entire mix on Spotify or check out the songs that have videos in the Pinterest music board and Google+ music video collection.

1. City Looks Pretty / Courtney Barnett
2. I'll Be Your Girl / The Decemberists
3. Pristine / Snail Mail
4. But I Like You / Say Sue Me
5. Just A Fool / Jim James
6. Just Dumb Enough to Try / Father John Misty
7. Don't Move Back To LA / Okkervil River
8. Four Out Of Five / Arctic Monkeys
9. Benadryl / Sofi Tukker
10. Smoke.Netflix.Chill. / Tank And The Bangas
11. This Is America / Childish Gambino
12. Maintain [feat. NAV] / Belly
13. deep end / Lykke Li
14. Lucky 88 / Speedy Ortiz
15. Old Town / Say Sue Me
16. Bought It / Middle Kids
17. I'll Make You Sorry / Screaming Females
18. I Came Back To Bitch / L7
19. Marijuanaut's Theme / Sleep

Staten Island Ferry Ride (New York City) - #HappierPlace Video

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 17:08:00 +0000

New York City provides countless opportunities for quick escapes into nature. One of my favorites: the Staten Island Ferry ride between Manhattan and Staten Island.

In this video I show you the views you get to enjoy while riding the Staten Island Ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island and back - featuring downtown Manhattan, Battery Park, the Financial District, the Hudson River, Ellis Island, Liberty Island, the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, the New Jersey coast, the Verrazano Bridge, Brooklyn (Red Hook, South Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights), Governors Island, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, and the East River.

Staten Island Ferry Ride (New York City) - Happier Place

If you want to read more about the park and see a few photos, please check out the full post on the Happier Place website: Staten Island Ferry Ride Views, NYC (New York) + VIDEO

The song this Staten Island Ferry Ride video is "Walk In The Park" by Jason Shaw.

Favorite Songs from the 1st 1/4 of 2018 - #MusicMonday

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 00:21:00 +0000

It took me a bit by surprise that almost all my favorite songs from the first quarter of 2018 have female vocals. Not sure if that says something about this season's music and musicians or my state of mind. Some of the songs are late discoveries of 2017 songs - but most of the music I've only gotten into over the last month.

CD cover for the First 1/4 of 2018 Favorites Mix features a photo of a Colorado pond I took in January.

1. Trigger Bang / Lily Allen feat. Giggs
2. Drink About You / Kate Nash
3. List of Demands (Reparations) / The Kills
4. Rebel Heart / First Aid Kit
5. Relay Runner / Loma
6. Fireworks / First Aid Kit
7. Need A Little Time / Courtney Barnett
8. Hell-On / Neko Case
9. Steppin' Razor / The Kills
10. Severed / The Decemberists
11. No Roots / Alice Merton
12. Giver / K.Flay
13. Life In Pink / Kate Nash
14. Hot Pink / Let’s Eat Grandma
15. Make Me Feel / Janelle Monáe
16. PARAD(w/m)E / Sylvan Esso
17. Television Romance / Pale Waves
18. Nameless, Faceless / Courtney Barnett
19. The Hype / Shopping

Videos for a lot of the songs can be found in my Google+ Music Collection.

Listen to all the songs as a playlist on Spotify.

Natur-Park Südgelände, Berlin (Germany) - #HappierPlace Video

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 21:39:00 +0000

Picking a favorite park in Berlin is a challenge because there are so many fantastic parks all over the city - and they all have special appeal and very unique aspects. But as soon as I walked into Natur-Park Suedgelaende, I knew I had found my favorite Berlin park!

Natur-Park Südgelände, Berlin (Germany) - Happier Place

Once a train yard, it is now a captivating mixture of nature, abandoned train remnants (tracks, trains, buildings) and art (graffiti, sculptures). It's amazing to see nature take back over human achievement... and then see art grow throughout nature.

The quote by Karl Ganser in the beginning of the video, and found twice in the park, says it all: “Die Kunst ist der nächste Nachbar der Wildnis” (= Art is the closest neighbor to wilderness).

If you want to read more about the park and see a few photos, please check out the full post on the Happier Place website: Südgelände Nature Park, Berlin (Germany) + VIDEO

Happy Happiness Day!

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Tue, 20 Mar 2018 14:33:00 +0000

Today (March 20th) is the International Day of Happiness, and I wish all of you an especially happy day!

Since 2013, the United Nations has recognized March 20th as the International Day of Happiness (also known as Happiness Day) to draw attention to the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world.

Of course, this is right up my alley. If you read my recent post "Happier Place - The What, Why and How," then you know I launched the website Happier Place to help inspire people to be happier.

So it's with great pleasure and honor that I tell you: I was invited to be one of the co-leads of the Google #InternationalDayOfHappiness 2018 initiative!!!

The main idea is to share, inspire, discover and celebrate happiness together by creating posts on Google+ and tagging them #InternationalDayOfHappiness.

In addition, Clarissa Silva, Bob Danley, Aninha Fritz and Nell Morato (in Brazil), and I (Luci Westphal) developed special themes to inspire you to focus on happiness and share what you come up with:

Developing and maintaining happy relationships: #YourHappinessHypothesis
Your Happiness Hypothesis collection

Sharing beautiful images of plants and animals
Butterflies collection

Reflecting on happy moments: #FazendoaDiferença (making a difference)
Felicidade/Happiness collection

Getting happier by having fun outdoors: #HappierPlace
Get your outdoor photos featured in the Happier Place... Places collection

It would be wonderful if you'd join us on Google+ today (and really on any day) to share your happiness images and words - and use the hashtag #InternationalDayOfHappiness and any (or all - if fitting) of the special hashtags listed above.

Of course, you're also invited to just click on any of the collections or the hashtags above (which will take you directly to the hashtag search results on Google+) to browse what others are sharing on this Happiness Day 2018.

But most importantly, I hope that today you will do at least one thing to make yourself happier and one thing to make someone else happier.

xx Luci

P.S.: If you'd like to read inspiring tips for how to be happier, I've shared a few specific strategies on the Happier Place website already:

Happier Place - The What, Why and How

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 21:27:00 +0000

A few months ago, Scott and I launched Happier Place. It's been keeping me so busy I haven't gotten around to writing about the whole endeavor here on the blog. That's changing right now!

Happier Place says: Take a break. Go outside. Have fun.

What is Happier Place?

The outdoor leisure brand Happier Place inspires people to get happier by having more fun outside.

Happier Place offers articles, photos and videos featuring outdoor and get-happier tips, inspiring people interviews, destination profiles, picnic and drink recipes, in addition to a few products - all to encourage people to go outside more often, enjoy nature responsibly, have fun, feel connected and create lasting memories.

We have a pretty simple core formula to get happier: Take a break. Go outside. Have fun.

Doing that allows you a respite from your responsibilities, worries, doomsday news-reporting and makes you feel more connected to the beautiful things in life. You’ll feel re-energized and happier, which will also make the people around you happier… And if we’re all a little bit happier, the world becomes a happier place for everyone!

The majority of Happier Place products and tips aim to make your Happy Place better. For something to be "happier-approved" it should be practical, simple, and make activities better or be itself a little bit better than average. It either improves your outdoor experience directly - or it makes it easier to get out into nature more often.

Where is Happier Place?

You can find Happier Place articles, videos, photos and products on these platforms:
Happier.Place - Facebook - Google+ - Instagram - Twitter - Pinterest - YouTube

We highly recommend you sign up for our newsletter so you can get all our articles, tips, entertainment, coupons and exclusive insider info directly into your inbox. If you sign up here NOW, you also get 15% off your entire next purchase!

Happier Place celebrates nature and "having a good time" outdoors.

Why launch Happier Place?

Quite a few things came together that eventually evolved into launching Happier Place. Since this is probably the only place where I can chatter on endlessly about all the reasons and what we hope it will achieve, this is going to get long... So if it's too much to read for you, just skip to the next section.

1. The continuing news about terrorist attacks, wars, and random acts of violence in the last few years have made me want to do something proactive against the sadness, frustration, fear, anger and intolerance in the world. I believe that if people were only happier, they would have less of the negative feelings and triggers - and they might also be kinder to one another. We both have the desire to make a positive difference in the world - you know, make the world a happier place.

2. For seven years, I made the weekly 1-minute video series Moving Postcard (also known as In A Colorado Minute, In A Berlin Minute, etc.). These videos mostly show locations, with music and without commentary - but also a few 1-minute interviews. Filming, editing and sharing these videos and related photos brought me a lot of joy. Viewers let me know that seeing my work made them happier by allowing them to travel to destinations out of their reach or inspiring them to go see something for themselves. It was time to bring that series to a close on the 7-year anniversary. I wanted to launch something somewhat similar that was more directly focused on making people happier by taking them somewhere beautiful and/or motivating them to go outside themselves.

3. After living in Brooklyn for 14 years and also partially in Berlin for the last 2 of those years, we suddenly found ourselves living in the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. We learned to embrace a different lifestyle and way to spend most of our free time. While we've always enjoyed outdoor fun (e.g., meeting friends for drinks in a city park or biking around town), living in Colorado made us realize how much happier we are when we spend more time in nature - connecting, appreciating and letting go of our worries for a little while.

4. We like to drink and eat and be merry. And we love to do all that in nature. Often this just means a purchased sandwich and a beer at our local park. But it could also be cocktails and homemade food with friends on an island we reached with our little boat. So we started accumulating recipes, tools and know-how for how to have more fun, faster and easier in the great outdoors. We realized we have some information to share to help others...

5. ... we also realized there didn't seem to be another company or website dedicated to casual outdoor leisure and "indulging in the good things in life... outdoors." Yes, you can buy an insulated bottle over there, and you can see photos from a stunning national park there, and you can get excellent cocktail and salad recipes via those mailing lists... but where is the brand that offers all of that and more in one place...?

6. Trump was elected president, which shook us and our peers to the core. Like so many, we thought we needed to do something! We wanted to put our energy towards something positive and proactive (see point 1). We also thought people would need breaks from all the crazy that was about to come... and keeps on coming. (The day after the election we opened all our Happier Place social media accounts - even though we wouldn't add any content for almost 10 months.)

7. Scott had taken a big step away from the creative work he used to do as a writer, graphic designer and video producer when he took a job as a general manager of a marijuana dispensary in Colorado. He was itching to get back to being creative.

8. Building and maintaining a website and social media channels that provide content and motivate people to get happier by having more outdoor fun costs money, time, and energy. So we decided to offer not just free content but also sell products that make having fun in nature better, easier and more stylish. Anything to get you outside and happier.

There probably are still more reasons that came together for us to take the plunge and build, launch and grow Happier Place. But these are more than plenty for now, right?

Happier Place Inspiration Categories: Know-How, People, Places, Recipes and Workshop

How will this make you happier?

I'm so glad you asked! As stated above, the main principle behind Happier Place is to encourage people to get happier by having more fun outdoors. So do it! Go outside and enjoy yourself and the nature around you. Maybe motivate someone else to come along...

Share photos (or other creations) from your outdoor experiences and tag them #HappierPlace. If you do this on Instagram, Twitter or Google+ we might share your creations in our Collections or feature them on our website - so your work can inspire people beyond your circle. Also you might even win one of our giveaway prizes!

We're doing a big launch together with Google for the UN International Day of Happiness on March 20th. If you share something tagged #HappierPlace on Google+ by then, we might reshare your post and a ridiculous amount of people might see your work!

Read articles on the Happier Place website. Here are a few suggestions to start:

Know-How:

What’s so Great about Snowshoeing Anyway?
A Happier Year with a Fun-Was-Had Calendar (vs. a To-Do List)
Secret to Happiness: the Gratitude Moment

People:
Lisa Goldfarb (Fine Art Painter in Los Angeles, California)
Adam Groffman (Travel Writer in Berlin, Germany)

Places:
Four Parks In One: Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
Südgelände Nature Park, Berlin (Germany) + VIDEO

Recipes:
Our Favorite Picnic Food: The Happier Pasta Salad
Perfect in Fall and Winter: The Happier Holidays Cocktail

Workshop:
Ridiculously Versatile: The First Happier Bandana!
Finally Here: Happier Hats for Happier Heads
Giving Back to Nature – for a Happier Earth

And yes, of course, we'd love it if you purchased any of our Happier Place products... and we do believe our products will encourage you to get outside more often and make you happier and your Happy Place better.

Also please keep in mind that not only are you supporting the website and our outreach with every purchase, we also donate 5% of each sale to the Environmental Defense Fund. And if you're in the continental US, shipping is free for orders of $50 or more.

Happier Place wants to help you make your Happy Place better.

Favorite Songs from the 4th 1/4 of 2017 - #MusicMonday

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 20:50:00 +0000

How quickly another year comes to an end. Still got to listen to a few more new songs before the year was over. Here are my favorites songs from the last quarter of 2017.

CD cover for the Autumn 2017 Mix Tape features a photo I took at Molotow Club in Hamburg, Germany, in December.

1. Little Dark Age / MGMT
2. Never Swim Alone / Death from Above
3. Los Ageless / St. Vincent
4. Die Young / Sylvan Esso
5. Burn it Down / Daughter
6. Drew Barrymore / SZA
7. Perfect Places / Lorde
8. Searching for a New Day / Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
9. Plimsoll Punks / Alvvays
10. broken / lovelytheband
11. It Gets More Blue / Girlpool
12. I'm Not / Daddy Issues
13. How Are You True (Unpeeled) / Cage The Elephant
14. How It Gets In (Feat. Julien Baker) / Frightened Rabbit
15. Sorry Is Gone / Jessica Lea Mayfield
16. If We Were Vampires / Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
17. Bum Me Out / Jessica Lea Mayfield
18. Going To A Town (Rufus Wainwright cover) / Lily Allen
19. Mary / Big Thief
20. Julie / Rhiannon Giddens
21. Perfect Places (live from BBC Radio 2) / First Aid Kit

Videos for a lot of the songs can be found in my Google+ Music Collection.

Listen to all but one of the songs (Lily Allen's cover of Rufus Wainwright) as a playlist on Spotify.

Horsetooth Reservoir, Ft. Collins (Colorado) - #HappierPlace Video

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 01:09:00 +0000

The second video in my new Happier Place web series is a look at Horsetooth Reservoir (Colorado) throughout the year - using footage I filmed over several years through all four seasons.

It's been a long time coming since this is one of my favorite places in Colorado - and certainly one that makes me happier. Hope watching this will make you happier, too!

Horsetooth Reservoir, Ft. Collins (Colorado) - Happier Place

If you want to read more about Horsetooth Reservoir and see a few photos, please check out the full post on the Happier Place website: Horsetooth Reservoir, Ft. Collins (Colorado) + VIDEO

Favorite Songs from the 3rd 1/4 of 2017 - #MusicMonday

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 19:26:00 +0000

July, August and September of 2017 were all about building and then launching Happier Place. So it was pretty much just work, work, work. Fortunately, we live in Colorado - so even just a few free hours meant we could spend them in beautiful nature or watching the Solar Eclipse.

This is my soundtrack for those busy months:

CD cover for the Summer 2017 Mix Tape features my photo of the later stage of the Solar Eclipse.

1. Old River / Middle Kids
2. Westermarck / Charly Bliss
3. Barf Day / Diet Cig
4. Leave The Light On / Overcoats
5. MRI / Grouplove
6. Boyish / Hippo Campus
7. No Distraction / Beck
8. Creature Comfort / Arcade Fire
9. Dear Life / Beck
10. Come a Little Closer (Unpeeled) / Cage The Elephant
11. Everybody Knows / Partner
12. Over Everything / Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile
13. New York / St. Vincent
14. Day I Die / The National
15. Nobody Else Will Be There / The National
16. Cigarette Daydreams (Unpeeled) / Cage The Elephant
17. The Concept [Teenage Fanclub cover] / Ben Gibbard
18. Only A Child / Gracie and Rachel
19. Quiet / Milck

Videos for a lot of the songs can be found in my Google+ Music Collection.

Listen to all of the songs as a playlist on Spotify.

1st Video of New "Happier Place" Web Series: Anastasia State Park (Florida)

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Sat, 02 Sep 2017 00:25:00 +0000

I'm so pleased to share with you the first video of my new web series Happier Place. Actually, the videos are just one element of a the outdoor leisure brand Happier Place that Scott and I launched this week.

Happier Place wants to help you get happier by having more outdoor fun! Happier Place offers articles, photos and videos featuring outdoor and get-happier tips, inspiring people interviews, destination profiles, picnic and drink recipes, in addition to a few products - all to encourage people to go exploring more often, enjoy nature responsibly, have fun, feel connected and create lasting memories.

I plan on writing a longer post about the whole endeavor and the ideas behind it in the future. For right now, let's just focus on the video aspect. Basically, my Moving Postcard web series has evolved into the Happier Place web series. Instead of just the 1-minute videos, the new series features longer videos showing locations that might make you happier just by watching them... or inspire you to take a break, go outside and have some fun.

The first video features Anastasia State Park near St. Augustine, Florida. With a vast beach, intriguing wetlands, abundant wildlife and plants, it’s an ideal #HappierPlace… just waiting for you.

Anastasia State Park (Florida) - Happier Place [4k]

If you want to read more about Anastasia State Park and see a few photos, please check out the full post on the Happier Place website: Anastasia State Park on Anastasia Island (Florida) + VIDEO

Favorite Songs from the 2nd 1/4 of 2017 - #MusicMonday

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 19:06:00 +0000

Spring! Yay!!! March, April and May 2017 were pretty darn good months. Fun birthday celebrations and an epic road trip to Utah via Colorado and then back via Wyoming. Then the decision to stop making the Moving Postcard web series and publishing that last episode. Sad, scary but ultimately liberating and allowing time and space for a new endeavor... more about that soon.

For now, here are a few of my favorite songs from Spring 2017 - which is appropriately lively:

CD cover for the Spring 2017 Favorite Songs Mix, featuring a photo from Arches National Park in April.

1. Feel It Still / Portugal. The Man
2. HUMBLE. / Kendrick Lamar
3. Hot Thoughts / Spoon
4. Enter Entirely / Cloud Nothings
5. Tall Glass of Water / Tim Darcy
6. Same House / Bad Pop
7. Total Entertainment Forever / Father John Misty
8. Number One (feat. Richie Havens & Son Little)
9. Passionfruit / Drake
10. The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness / The National
11. Second Sleep / The New Pornographers
12. Do I Have To Talk You Into It / Spoon
13. Tiptoe / Gracie and Rachel
14. In The Morning I'll Be Better / Tennis
15. Ballad of the Dying Man / Father John Misty
16. Mercury / Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, James McAlister
17. Apocalypse / Cigarettes After Sex
18. american dream / LCD Soundsystem

Videos for a lot of the songs can be found in my Google+ Music Collection.

Listen to all of the songs as a playlist on Spotify.

Photos of Arches National Park (Utah)

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 16:35:00 +0000

Arches National Park outside Moab, Utah, features so many striking sandstone rock formations that it's almost hard to believe that they all formed naturally in this place - and aren't a collection gathered from different locations to create this park. Of course, they are all natural formations continuously changing over time.

During a three-day visit to Utah in April, I took pictures of the formation at various times of day and was astonished how the rocks and landscape appeared so differently depending on the lighting conditions. This is a collection of some of my favorite photos from that visit. Originally, I intended to scan in some of the analog photos I took at Arches National Park in 2002, when we had the park pretty much to ourselves in February. Alas, this post is long overdue and I still haven't gotten the scanner to work again.

When I published the 1-minute Moving Postcard video "Arches National Park (Utah) – In Another Minute (Week 365)" back in April, I wrote a longer post about the National Park. If you want to read more, check out that post.

You can see even more photos from this shoot in the MIN 365: Arches National Park Flickr album.

If you'd like to purchase a print of any of the images, head on over to LuciWest.com. If you don't see what you're looking for, please contact me there.

To see photos larger, don't be shy and click on them...

Arches National Park and the La Sal Mountains in Utah.

The Three Gossips and The Sheep
Arches National Park, Utah

The Courthouse Towers: The Organ in the foreground and the Tower of Babel in the background.
Arches National Park, Utah.

Scale of rock formations in Arches National Park.

Texture of sandstone rock formations in Arches National Park.

Cycling in Arches National Park.

Looking down on Moab from the serpentine entrance road to Arches National Park

Famous Delicate Arch
Arches National Park, Utah

Seeing Delicate Arch from afar shows it standing on the edge of a bowl.
Arches National Park, Utah

Turret Arch and other sandstone formations in Arches National Park in front of the La Sal Mountains in Utah.

Balanced Rock
Arches National Park, Utah

North Window and South Window
Arches National Park, Utah

Keep Off Arches
Arches National Park, Utah

Turret Arch during Golden Hour
Arches National Park, Utah

Double Arch
Arches National Park, Utah

Between Fiery Furnace and Devil's Garden
Arches National Park, Utah

Skyline Arch in Devil's Garden
Arches National Park, Utah

Do you see the deer hiding in Devil's Garden?
Arches National Park, Utah

Pine Tree Arch in Devil's Garden
Arches National Park, Utah

Pine Tree Arch
Arches National Park, Utah

Turret Arch
Arches National Park, Utah

North Window
Arches National Park, Utah

Colors going whack during Golden Hour in Arches National Park, Utah.

Inside the North Window
Arches National Park, Utah

Surreal colors around sunset in Arches National Park, Utah

Shadow of North Window on yet another rock formation.
Arches National Park, Utah

Arches National Park during Golden Hour.

Sunset in Arches National Park, Utah.

Parade of Elephants looking at the sunset in Arches National Park, Utah.

Why mass shootings are a reason I'm making "All's Well and Fair"

noreply@blogger.com (LuciWest) — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 15:17:00 +0000

One year ago today, I was in Gainesville, Florida, to film the 3rd installment of my documentary project All's Well and Fair. The next morning, Rachel (one of the three mothers in the documentary) called me to tell me what happened overnight: a gunman shot and killed 49 people and injured many more at the Pulse Night Club only a few hours south in Orlando. There was that eerie deja-vu because it was Rachel who had called me from down the street in Brooklyn on September 11th, 2001, telling me a single airplane had just crashed into the World Trade Center. We watched the rest live on television and from our rooftop that morning in September.

When Rachel and I got off the phone on the morning of June 13th, 2016, I sat in my rental car in the hotel parking lot for awhile, overwhelmed by feelings, thoughts and finally an epiphany: this is why I'm making All's Well and Fair - this is why I've always been making it! So I wrote the following post quickly on my iPad to share on social media... before another day of filming - now with two new interview questions: What are your thoughts in regard to the topic of mass shootings? What are your core values?

As the Orlando Pulse Night Club shooting is in the news again today, I realized I hadn't shared that post from a year ago anywhere permanently. While I'm in the midst of editing the documentary now, my thoughts from a year ago are a guiding light. Not to mention that more shootings and terrorist attacks have happened since then... And our changed world and how different generations deal with it is an important aspect of the documentary.

My post from June 13, 2016:

On Saturday, the last thing I filmed was an interview with Laksmi, 15 now, 5 years old during our last installment. For 20 years, one of the questions has been about government and war. When I asked her about her views on that subject, I realized that she, at 15 in 2016, may live in a world where the term "war" has been overtaken by the term "terrorism". So I added that word to my question. She immediately began speaking about mass shootings at schools and movie theaters. It struck me that this is the world she has grown up in - so different from the world me and the mothers grew up in. Different even than her older sibling.

A few hours later, a gunman killed 50 people, and injured another 50, at a gay night club in Orlando - only two hours away from where the families in our film live.
The gunman associated himself with a Muslim terrorist group, it was a gay club, it was Latin night.
Gender identity is another new topic, I have introduced to our 2016 conversations. Racism seems to be the only thing that doesn't change out there.

In the last 24 hours, it seems more poignant than ever to make this film about three families every 10 years. Some of the changes - especially in how children grow up seem mind-boggling. The fact that mass shootings have become so common-place is shocking to us of the parent generation - but it's part of the world's landscape for these children!

In the context of our film, I also realize that to me right now, it doesn't matter if this man did this horrendous act due to his goal of spreading Muslim beliefs, his hate of another race or of homosexuals. What matters more to me is what core values, forms of expression and response-patterns a person is raised with.

For All's Well and Fair, I didn't just pick some random families to film, and it wasn't about just filming three of my best friends every 10 years. It was about three mothers, who despite raising children under challenging circumstances, seemed to be raising their children with positive core values and leading by example with healthy forms of expression and response-patterns.

Expressing yourself freely and creatively, thinking critically, being open minded, treating others equally no matter their gender or race, eating healthy, being active, not falling into the trap of commercialism... These are some values I believe the children of All's Well and Fair are being raised with. And I believe they are the kind of values that keep a person from killing 50 people at a night club, school or movie theater. I believe these are the values that keep a person from wanting to retaliate with hate, violence and war mongering in response to a terrorist act like the one that just happened.

I may be wrong about all of this. But to find that out is the reason why I return to film these families every 10 years. I will be interviewing them for another week to learn more. And when the film is finished, you will be able to find out more too and hopefully be inspired to think more on these topics as well.

I'm signing this with love and gratitude and with my personal motto "be brave and be kind."
xx Luci