My Grown Up Christmas Wish List...

Every year… my mother asks me what I want for Christmas so this year I’ve decided to keep it simple for her. Here it is… for those of you who know my mom know that I am just kidding. I love her to pieces but like all parental units sometimes they can be well a bit much. I mean I am 32 years old but to my mother I am still just 16. So I am really just posting this to get a rise, a laugh and keep it light…

also... should my humor get lost on some of you out there... this is strictly meant to be SARCASTIC!

Despite her Glen Beck Fanaticism … She is still the best Mom Ever! I love You Mom!!!!!!!!!

MY GROWN UP CHRISTMAS WISH LIST....

1) A Hookah 

2) A Tramp Stamp 

3) My very first Prius 

4) Broadway Tickets to see CATS 

5) The Complete Monty Python Collection

 

6) A DNC Donation Contribution… 

7) Book Titled... All I Ever Needed To Know I Learned From A Hipster

8) An OBAMA 2012 Campaign Contribution

9) The Michael Moore Documentary Box Set Collection

…. And last but not least

.

10) My very own first Marijuana Plant... YAY! Legalize that Ish!

Billy and The Turkey! November 2011

 

Mmmm... I am so grateful for the love of my man!!! Not only is he all around my best friend and confidant he's also my own personal chef. This was taken at our old place in Pasadena ... Our last Turkey Day at our old apartment. :)

Few things in life are free and the love of those we care about is one of them. If we just stop to look around us and appreciate those that are there for us, the world would be a much better place.

Too many times in life we neglect opportunities to verbalize how we feel towards one another and then sadly time catches up with us and we lose valuable time to say how we really feel.

Tell those you love everyday how you feel about them... cherish the moments together for tomorrow is not promised.

Dear Santa ...

To the North POLE
(Please hand to the Fat Bastard in a Red Suit… )


Dear Santa

This year I’ve been good…. I think. Well maybe marginally. I mean there was the time, I did skin the cat but I promised not to do that again. I also promise not to experiment on goldfish humping carpets anymore. But you gotta admit for those first 30 seconds Nemo was quite talented! He'll be missed.

Oh and well actually there was the time I broke into my neighbors house but only because he asked me to because you see...he was locked out. I swear! And while breaking into houses is not something I'd choose to make a career out of.. you have to admit all those times I cut school and broke in at home through the bathroom window, came in quite handy. So you see I was really just helping him out. I should get a badge or something… work on it. I appreciate chya.

And yes... yes... let us not forget the time that that I did eat most of the Halloween candy that wasn’t mine, but it was only the chocolate ones. And only because it would have gone to waste and it was a hot October … and it would’ve melted, honest. Try going through chocolate withdrawals when pmsing... just ask Ms. Claus... oh wait she's an old hag. I mean... I love her she's a really nice lady with a a big tokus..

I think that about sums it up. So please if you would be so kind I could really use the following… (See page attached!) Thanks… and P.S. I promise not to spike your egg nog and make you those special cookies again this year. Although c’mon a gacked out drunk Santa is pretty f…. umm I mean pretty darn funny,

:Love, Me… (arie)
XOXO

WHAT IS THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT'S OBJECTIVE?

I've had many friends ask me... what is it all accomplishing anyway? What's the real message behind it? For those of you wondering...here it is! I am an OLA Supporter.. I am not a politician... do not lean right nor left... democrat nor republican. As such I refuse to label myself by any political party... Nor do I believe myself a socialist. The Occupy Movement is not a political movement, rather a movement of the people, by the people, and yes for the people. Occupiers are out there making their voices heard for you the 99% of Americans that are subjected to comply to the 1% calling the shots for our government's economy. Many of the occupiers are fresh out of college students who are indebted up to their eyeballs in student loans... some are hard working middle class families who have lost their homes due to the plummeting decline of the housing market. Contrary to what others may be portraying ... the majority are not hippies who chose not to bathe. I have been in the trenches with the OLA occupiers and stood in solidarity and these are average everyday people who are tired of watching corruption destroy this nation.

I realize that the message however noble and honorable, is getting lost by what appears to be chaos. Many of you Angelinos who've driven through downtown every morning and passed by the tents may have honked your horns and waived in support early on...but have since become weary of the traffic congestion and less than attractive appearance of City Hall Park (now unofficially renamed Solidarity Park). I understand your frustration. There needs to be a more cohesive and organized agenda for The Movement. Which is why we cannot give up the fight. While the OLA may have been evicted from Solidarity Park Headquarters... OLA must remain strong. "A people united will never be defeated!"

WHAT IS THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT'S OBJECTIVE...What I believe that the Occupy Movement around the country and around the world really just wants is to generate an uprising and an awareness of the mass corruption that the greed of capitalism has become. What The Movement is doing is basically asking for reform in the economic branches of our government. It's generating a mass uprising of Americans who will stand up and make their voices heard demanding CHANGE in the government and financial institutions.

Our government is basically run by these major financial corporations such as Goldman Sachs' who put money into the political campaigns of those serving in office. Even the former Secretary of Treasury, Hank Paulson so conveniently happened to be former CEO of Goldman Sachs.. (coincidence... nope). Not surprisingly when bailouts were being handed out left and right to the criminals on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs was one of the only financial institutions to remain up top in the aftermath. Bernanke, chairman of the FED is no better... also behind the bailouts... pumping 600 BILLION dollars into the banking institutions for a "slow recovery" all the while... NONE of which is regulated. Meanwhile more Americans continue to lose jobs, homes, life savings... etc.

What the cohesive objective of the Occupy Movement is .... to reform our economy... to change and give the power from those in Wall Street back to the hands of the people. Asking for the government to have more oversight and regulation over financial institutions... reform capitalism. To prevent corporate greed and banks from foreclosing peoples homes. I realize that the message can be lost along the way. I also realize that it seems easier to let others carry the torch and shrug one's shoulders and not become involved. However please keep in mind that the larger the number of people that stand up and unite the more effective we can be to bring about change. After all there is strength in numbers.

I hope this helps to clarify for some of you why I support this Movement and I sincerely hope that you also join in to stand in solidarity with me!

Thanks for reading! ~ Arie

Dear Life, I Love You Right Now... Signed, "Me"

"If money were no object for you, and you could do anything you wanted with your life, what would you do?"

I immediately answered without hesitation and not a moments pause... "I would want to be a traveling photographer... a photojournalist."

He looked down at me, straight into my eyes with his hands around my waist and said; "Then that is what I want you to do."

These are the words I was asked one morning by this wonderful man whom I call my soul-mate. Imagine my surprise... me speechless. Me? Who always has something to say. Never have I received such a vote of confidence, such love and support to pursue my dreams.

Life hands us sweet surprises when you least expect it. Some good and then there are those that are not so good. I may be inconsistent in my thoughts on life depending on my mood on any given week. Fact is I am probably most likely cynical most of the time. But for now I find myself loving my station in life. I have been given a most sweetest gift to pursue a passion of mine of many years and this great gift means probably more than any other single object that I've ever been given. I have the love of my life to thank for this.

I am enamored by life's subtleties and wonderful moments that are often overlooked and I also feel privileged to be able to capture these rarities behind the lens of a camera. What will become of this new venture of mine? Not sure. Perhaps nothing lucrative or perhaps I land a highly esteemed career in the media and arts as a photo journalist along the lines of Diane Arbis. Hmmm. Who the hell knows. Listen all I know is I have the opportunity to tell a story; a moment in time that can be captured in a beautiful or not so beautiful but sincere and genuine photograph that perhaps and hopefully will carry on as a touching moment in history to live on forever. These are what we esteem as memories. Remember the first Apollo landing on the moon.. the day JFK was shot in Texas.. That little three year old boy saluting his father's casket in Washington; That single still shot which later became one of the most memorable and candid photographs of JFK Jr. that resonated with so many as a dream for America that never came true. These are the stories that are told behind the lens of a camera. And it is I who want to tell them.

I am loving the journey that awaits.

To Speak or Not to Speak.

Is silence a better option? I've often heard it said that if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it does it not make a sound? Ah yes the ever popular philosophical riddle of observation and reality. I am not sure what that means exactly. But here's what I think it means... that just because you aren't there to see it or feel it in the tangible sense does not necessarily mean it did not happen or exist. Keep in mind that at this point it's midnight and I'm not making sense even to my own self.

My analogy to this riddle is simply this... in life things happen in the background that are unbeknownst to us. However just because they do not happen in our plain sight does not mean they did not/ are not taking place around us or behind us. I apply this to relationships. Take for instance a loved one who hurts another but that injured loved one is not present at the time to witness the act that wounded them to begin with. Does this mean that simply because the wounded individual did not witness the cause of their pain, that their pain is not then validated? Could this also mean that because a wounded individual does not demonstrate their pain for others to witness, that this must mean they are not hurt, injured, or scarred? Of course not. However the silence of an individual voicing their pain can definitely birth a long term hindrance to an already strained relationship and create a near continental drift between two loved ones tearing them apart forever. What is left unsaid can often lose validity in the long run if not spoken up with in reasonable time. Gee... Melodramatic much? ... you ask. Why yes. Consequences of too much caffeine and restlessness.

Today I feel a loss. The feeling of a life long friend who has grown apart is something that wounds my soul. Have you ever wondered which hurts the most: saying something and wishing you had not or saying nothing and wishing you had? Sometimes in life we can easily circumvent a situation by the restraint of that which should be left unsaid, while other times it's necessary to boldly speak the truth no matter how much it may pain one to say and/or hear. Wounds do heal after all, life will go on. In either scenario one must always be prepared to deal with the consequences of one's decision and apply it as a life lesson learned. Deep reflections.. Sorry, No dear Jack Handy tonight.

Happy Travels...

The Drive from Big Sur...

This IS quite possibly the most beautiful part of the California Coastline. We drove from Oakland to Half Moon Bay and through Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur on the way home from an amazing time at Outside Lands Festival. It was a fantabulous fun filled weekend all around. Too many details to share. I was transported to another place and time. Suddenly I understood what so many free loving hippies all understood those many years ago at festivals held in the San Francisco and other notorious festivals such as Woodstock. It's all about connecting with music in a free state of mind. Free from inhibitions and free to love and live in peace and harmony. Music is that amazing thing that breathes in us inspiration... it speaks to the soul.. rejuvenates and brings healing. Words cannot explain how good it was. A once in a lifetime experience.

Yes ladies and gents, I do believe Arie has become a modern day hippie. LOL. Only I happen to take showers, use deodorant and go through anti-bacterial sanitizer like a fat kid eats Twinkies.

Anyway... back to the world's most beautiful and breathtaking drive, had it not been for the most adorable couple Tom and Megan, we would have never ended up on the twelve hour journey home that led us to find the perfect spot. Ours and ours alone. That's all you're getting. To be continued...