The key here is “noncommercial.” I work for a nonprofit and I like helping nonprofits. I’m happy to allow an underfunded organization to use my photos in their blogs or newsletters. But if someone uses my photos in the pursuit of profit (i.e. Mashable), than I require a piece of the action.

UPDATE

The photo has been removed. I received this response from the author via Twitter:

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   jolieodell @nathangibbs Honest mistake – I generally look for CC pics licensed for commercial use! Changing the image now. 26 Apr 2011 from web in reply to nathangibbs

1. 
   nathangibbs Flying tomorrow. Can’t decide whether I want them looking at or touching the #junk. 18 Nov 2010 from TweetDeck

Leaving San Diego was uneventful. There was no scanner at my checkpoint. They did do a quick pat-down of my upper body, but didn’t go below the belt. Leaving Dulles International Airport, I was diverted to a line that had the new scanners.

I decided to try both options. First, the scanner. Hands raised and feed spaced apart, I stood for my X-ray glamor shot. It was quick and silent. The agent directed me to step out and stand in line for pat-down. “Belt,” she said to the other agent. He asked me to remove it and to send it through the standard conveyor. He then told me he needed to check my waistline by running his fingers inside the belt line.

As I put my shoes on, I watched an older, pot-bellied gentleman get the more rigorous physical search. Standing behind the man, the agent spoke in his ear, “We can arrange a private room for screening if you would like.” He didn’t respond, so the agent knelt down to begin. The gentleman’s pants were falling down in absence of his belt, so the agent struggled to hoist them up. He checked up and down one leg, then hitched up the man’s sagging pants again. “Can you pull up your pants, sir?” The man obliged as well as he could with his curvature. It was sad to see this gray-haired traveler with his pants half off in a crowded airport. “He can’t hear out of one ear,” said the man’s wife.

After arriving in San Diego, Rosario and I headed to baggage claim. Yaoska Machado, a reporter for Univision San Diego, heard us speaking Spanish and asked Rosario where she was coming from. Rosario indicated I was the traveler so Yaoska directed her questions at me. She extended the mic and the videographer aimed his camera. I stumbled to answer her questions, suddenly nervous speaking Spanish on camera. But after the interview, I knew which clip she would use. It was the only usable sound byte I gave her.

As someone who crosses the border between San Diego and Tijuana regularly, it’s a geeky delight to win back the mayorship of the U.S.-Mexico Border Crossing at San Ysidro Port of Entry on Foursquare. Of course, there will be no discounts or special rewards offered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. But it’s still useful to share with friends, and if anything, it’s a fun novelty. (Update: A day after posting this, @dr_chuy regained the mayorship.)

When I started using Foursquare, there were no border crossing venues. I added locations at both the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry. But soon after, I was ousted by more frequent crossers who joined Foursquare.

The border is a complicated place in terms of politics, culture, economics, language and cell signals. It should be no surprise that Foursquare check-ins are also messy. There’s no address at the international line between the U.S. and Mexico. There is an address for the customs office, but that location doesn’t jive with GPS data when people wait in line to cross. In this confusion, people have added a number of redundant venues. There are currently two with nearly identical check-in totals (at the moment).

Foursquare Check-in Totals at the U.S.-Mexico Border

• US/Mexican Border: 285 people, 437 check-ins
• U.S.-Mexico Border Crossing at San Ysidro Port of Entry: 143 people, 429 check-ins
• International Border San Diego, CA ( USA and Mexico ): 115 people, 140 check-ins
• US-Mexico Border: 38 people, 42 check-ins
• US-Mexico border fence: 30people, 31 check-ins
• US/Mexico border: 8 people, 10 check-ins

The venue containing “San Ysidro Port of Entry” in the title has twice as many check-ins per person as does the generic “US/Mexican Border.” I suspect it’s a case of locals vs tourists. I guess we’ll have to wait and see which venue becomes the dominant choice for border check-ins.

(And yes, that Border Crossing badge is fake. I mocked up a few different versions like Coyote and Illegal Alien, but decided to keep it a bit more subtle. If you know anyone at Foursquare, let them know I’m happy to provide additional feedback about improving border check-ins.)

“Arizona Border Patrol” by Kenny Harrelson

Kenny Harrelson collects and customizes Hot Wheels diecast cars and shoots with vintage film cameras. He’s an author and musician. Harrelson is also colorblind.

“This Arizona Border Patrol car was customized from a Hot Wheels Sheriff Patrol car. It was drilled, paint stripped, 2 coats of gloss white and the custom decals I created and applied,” Harrelson says in the photo caption on Flickr. He based the custom decals on border patrol cars he’d seen while living in Arizona. “I support the Border Patrol as they fight the tough fight.”

What’s even more impressive about the photo is the technique he uses to shoot diecast cars in scenes like this. Harrelson explains that the photo is indeed one single photograph without the use of Photoshop. The background is a printed photograph formatted to 1:64 Hot Wheels scale. The photo wraps under the car and up behind to form the scene. He then lights and shoots the final image. The effect is seamless and stunning.

You can see more of his work in the Flickr photoset Diecast Scenics:

As my nephews become young men, their passion for soccer only increases. Just two years ago, they were playing on small patches of grass in a neighborhood park. Now, they’ve graduated to the harsh dirt fields of the local school league.

On Saturday, Angel (#4) scored his first goal ever in a game. The team had been on a losing streak and this win was a big lift for the group.

Benjamin (#7) is the team captain and managed to play just about every position during the game.

Alex protected the goal and made some strong plays.

The 2010 U.S. Census shipped this week to residents across the country. For those who consider themselves Latino or Hispanic, question #9 may cause some confusion. Question #8 asks whether or not a person is of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity. No confusion there.

Question 8: Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?

Asked in 1970. The data collected in this question are needed by federal agencies to monitor compliance with anti-discrimination provisions, such as under the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. State and local governments may use the data to help plan and administer bilingual programs of people of Hispanic origin. (census.gov)

Question #9 separates ethnicity from race, considering Latinos can be of various races; Spanish-speakers in Latin Americans do come in all colors. Using the crude color analogy, the available choices include “white,” “black,” “red” and “yellow.” But nothing explicitly for “brown.”

Question 9: What is Person 1′s race?

Asked since 1790. Race is key to implementing many federal laws and is needed to monitor compliance with the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act. State governments use the data to determine congressional, state and local voting districts. Race data are also used to assess fairness of employment practices, to monitor racial disparities in characteristics such as health and education and to plan and obtain funds for public services. (census.gov)

Most Latinos have mixed ancestral heritage from indigenous Americans (Amerindian, Native American) and whites (or one of the other choices). But the “American Indian” category asks people to specify a tribe. In past census counts, the government ignored what Latinos wrote in here and counted them as white. But this year is different, according to Nicholas Jones, chief of the racial statistics branch of the U.S. Census Bureau. From an article written by Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez, assistant professor at the University of Arizona, the “fill in the blank” box will be calculated and not re-assigned:

If they are de-Indigenized or far-removed from their Indigenous culture, that is not of interest to the bureau. For those who have a direct connection, they can check American Indian and write in their affiliation, such as: Aymara, Quechua, Mixtec, Maya, Huichol or Yaqui, etc. If they don’t know their affiliation – which is perhaps the case for most Mexicans/Chicanos and Hispanics/Latinos, the bureau will accept “unknown,” “detribalized, “de-Indigenized” or “mestizo” or any other term that indicates or connotes Indigenous or American Indian ancestry. (politicalarticles.net)

For me, I will be marking both “White” and “American Indian” categories, writing in “mestizo” as the tribal affiliation.

My brother Phil and I made a last-minute trip south to shoot the Todos Santos Big Wave Event off the coast of Ensenada, México, on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. After shooting Mavericks a few weeks earlier, he let me know they called the Todos Santos contest. With little time to prepare, we rented extra photo gear from George’s, charged batteries, and spent the night in Tijuana. We only got a couple of hours sleep before waking up around 4 a.m. to head to Ensenada.

We were to meet at 5:30 a.m. at the boat but arrived in Ensenada 20 minutes behind schedule. We knew to meet at the marina, but didn’t know exactly where. As the confusion began to peak, I resorted to breaking a few traffic laws, including one right in front of a police cruiser. At this moment, I assumed the day would be a total bust. Thankfully, the officer didn’t notice and we made it to the dock. It was a huge relief to find the group and get our bearings on the boat.

It took about an hour and a half to get to Isla Todos Santos, about 12 miles off the coast of Ensenada. The swells were big enough to have everyone excited. The first sign we were arriving was a broken surfboard floating by the boat.

The competition had already begun when we arrived. The water was busy with jet skis and boats, blocking quite a few shots. Some photographers on skis were using weather-sealed digital SLRs, but without water housings. Our captain was pretty conservative and kept us out of optimal shooting position for most of the day. But considering it started around 8 a.m. and ended around 2:30 p.m., there was plenty of time to get a few clear shots throughout the day.

Heat 1 Qualifiers: Greg Long, Carlos Burle, Kohl Christensen

Heat 2 Qualifiers: Gabriel Villarán, Grant “Twiggy” Baker, Mark Healey

This next shot is Phil’s, but I have to include it because it does a better job than mine do of giving the scale of these waves (check out his Todos Santos gallery). Gabriel Villarán rode this monster, considered the biggest wave of the day:

Heat 3 Qualifiers: Mike Parson, Jaimie Sterling, Ken Collins

Heat 4 Qualifiers: Grant Washburn, Shane Dorian, Ramon Navarro

Heat 5, Semi-Final 1 Qualifiers: Grant “Twiggy” Baker, Carlos Burle, Mark Healey

Heat 6, Semi-Final2 Qualifiers: Shane Dorian, Ramon Navarro, Grant Washburn

Heat 7, Final: Mark Healey (1st), Shane Dorian (2nd), Ramon Navarro (3rd), Carlos Burle (4th), Grant “Twiggy” Baker (5th), Grant Washburn (6th)

The waves were amazing all day. The sets were largest at the beginning of the day and seemed to ramp down slowly through the competition. I’d never seen waves this size in person; it’s an amazing thing to witness. The power and force of the water, the color, the sound. It’s breathtaking to see someone take on a giant.

Three of my pieces (Self-Portrait, Race Cube, Crayola Monologues) were included in the group exhibit "Embracing Ambiguity: Faces of the Future" at the Cal State Fullerton Main Art Gallery from January 30 to March 3.

Artists include Nzuji De Magalhaes, Kip Fulbeck, Nathan Gibbs, Loren Holland, Bryce Hudson, Delilah Montoya, Toni Scott, Laura Kina, Bradley McCallum, and Jacqueline Tarry. The exhibit was curated by Jillian Nakornthap and Lynn Stromick:

Embracing Ambiguity: Faces of the Future

It is estimated that there are 6.8 million multi-racial individuals living in America. It was not until the year 2000 that Americans were allowed to choose more than one ethnic category on the United States census. Embracing Ambiguity: Faces of the Future features painting, sculpture, video and mixed-media works by ten multicultural artists living and working in the U.S. In a world where labels are often forced upon us, these artists are searching for new, more layered ways to respond to the question: "What are you?"

For centuries, the majority group in power has felt the need to label what they deemed to be the "exotic other" or any person that was foreign to them. During the 18th century, in the Spanish colonies, artists used casta paintings to depict the results of the Spanish conquerors intermixing with the native people. Casta paintings were formulaic studies that illustrated couples of different races with their mixed offspring. Reflecting the trend of the Enlightenment to scientifically categorize the world, these paintings contained inscriptions like mulatto, wolf, and coyote. The paintings reinforced the superiority of the pureblooded Spaniards and attempted to quantify the percent of pure (Spanish) blood in the mixed-race individuals.

Going forward in American history, the One Drop Rule stated that any individual with a trace of African ancestry was considered black. In the 1960s, Jim Crow laws kept races segregated in public places. Anti-miscegenation laws forbidding interracial marriage were also still in effect. On June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court case, Loving v. Virginia, set a precedent. Mildred Loving, an African and Native American woman, and Richard Perry, a white man, were sentenced to a year in prison because the state of Virginia would not recognize their marriage; the couple would not have to serve a prison term if they left Virginia. The couple left, but took their case to the Supreme Court, who ruled that Virginia’s anti-miscegenation statue was unconstitutional. Ironically, Barack Obama or 44th president and a child of mixed race parents, was born in 1961 before the ruling took place.

This exhibition opens a year after the election of Obama, our first multiracial president. It was his image on a Time magazine cover that sparked our curiosity about the American identity. The photo of Obama was similar to that of a computer-generated face that appeared on a cover thirteen years earlier. Dubbed "The New Face of America," the image was a composite of many different races. It visually reinforced the idea that Americans were not so easily defined. The artists in this exhibition have an advantage in the search for answers as they represent with images what words may not be fully able to express. Their artistic expressions allow these artists to question the past, and look forward to the future with new visions and voices. We hope this will be a future without boxes, where no one will be limited to "check only one."

-Lynn Stromick and Jillian Nakornthap, January 2010

(The curators wish to thank Mike McGee, Marilyn Moore, Martin Lorigan, Joanna Roche, the exhibition design students, the artists and lenders, the Art Department, the Art Alliance, the AICC, the Multicultural Leadership Center, our families and friends. This exhibition would not have been possible without all of your support and guidance.)

Over the holiday break, we took three of our nephews (ages 13, 13, 16) on a trip to Oaxaca, México. Here, we tried some grasshoppers in the market. They’re cooked with lime, salt, chile and garlic. They taste surprisingly good!

La Orquesta de Baja California joined forces with Nortec Collective artists Bostich and Fussible on Sunday for a free concert in the plaza outside Tijuana’s cultural center. It was the final day of Entijuanarte, a three-day contemporary art festival featuring work ranging from painting and photography to digital and performance arts.

I’ve seen Nortec Collective artists perform before and it usually involves a lot of sitting behind laptops. But Sunday was a much improved live performance. Nortec’s signature sound comes from layering samples of banda brass over electronic beats. And for a city increasingly recognized for cultural hybridity, it’s only more fitting to have a high-brow orchestra perform pop culture riffs alongside electronic music for free in the public space.

The concert started with “Tijuana Makes Me Happy,” which garnered cheers despite a bad audio mix early on. “Tijuana Sound Machine,” the title track from the latest release by Bostich and Fussible, was well received; the song’s music video recycles the city’s campy heritage in a fun, sequin-covered spectacle.

In its early stages, the Nortec Collective seemed to be more widely received internationally than on its home turf. But that seems to be changing as the youth embrace the city as their own, taking pride in Tijuana’s cultural identity.

YouTube videos from Sunday, October 4, 2009: