If you plant it, they will come...

Happy Earth Day!

More photos of Jack Gescheidt's TreeSpirit Project (see link to article below) are here...

Going...going...gone green

Just finished putting the Pacific Sun's latest special "Green Issue" up--meaning, spreading it out over the Website, e-newsletter, Twitter and Facebook pages. Which means, also, that I'm now totally sick of it. But it is a good issue, seriously. You should check it out...

I did two-and-a-half stories in it this time: one's about this photographer, Jack Gescheidt, who is doing a series of photos of, well, basically, naked people in trees. I interviewed him at his big house down a long and windy road in the middle of some lush, yummy-smelling woods. He was really cool, and I totally got his whole vibe--which, of course, heightens the pressure for me of trying to express what he's trying to do... and I made the mistake of reading too many other articles on him so that kinda fucked me all up, too. But what're you gonna do?? I got it done.

I also interviewed (by phone) this 90-year-old reporter/book author named Harold Gilliam. After doing some initial research on the guy, I sort of intimidated myself with all of his great accomplishments. I mean, he was reporting on the environment waaaay before it was this pervasive movement it is today. And he has this cool writing style--I read a couple of his columns (like "Sleepless in Seattle" for example) in the SF Chronicle, where he worked for over 30 years--that was personal and informative and and relevant, and just a great read. But during the research, I got a little bummed because...here's this guy who was a pioneer in environmental journalism in the late-'50s-thru-'90s, somebody who paved the way for all the green reporters today, but because he was doing it pre-Internet, most of his columns, articles and books are not as easily accessible as those of his successors. So hardly anybody knows about him. And they should, you know, out of respect. Anyway, I was honored to talk to him, he was very nice, surprisingly modest and a bit... I dunno...disarmingly old. But inspiring, for sure.