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Many of you know the long and often-told story of how I got bitten by a camel in the Sahara desert.
I must say I thought my story was somewhat dramatic, sexy, and exciting.
But, man, I’m REALLY glad that I did not suffer the fate of the poor woman who died because her pet camel became a bit too enamored of her.
Death by attempted camel copulation. Yikes.
I know, I know you missed me so!! Or, you didn’t realize I wasn’t here.
In either case, I’m happy to announce that I’m back online after a period of being unplugged.
I was at an intensive photography workshop called A Natural Eye, taught by Eddie Soloway, an amazing photographer who specializes in (yup) nature photography.
It was great, but also totally exhausting. Sensory overload, you know?
Also quite humbling as there were many professional photogs in the workshop. And I am squarely in the “enthusiastic amateur” category. Oh well – it’s a journey, as Eddie is wont to say.
And I feel like I have some new ways of looking at things, which – for me – means the workshop was a great success.
Liked Eddie quite a bit – great teacher and just an all-around good guy. He teaches at Santa Fe and all kinds of other spots, so if you ever get a chance to catch one of him workshops I say go for it!
These are his images, by the way… cool stuff, no?
Here is a cool thing – especially for anyone who is adopted and yearning to know more about their biological ancestors.
You can now track your own ancestry through a simple DNA test.
[That's DNA pictured here... or an artist's rendition anyway. 
]
National Geographic is sponsoring something called the Genographic Project, which maps human migration patterns.
You can pay $100 (ouch, I know), and send for a kit to collect your DNA (a swab of the cheek), send it in.
You will get a report and mapping of where your ancestors came from, and (if you choose) participate in the larger mapping project, which be going on for several years.
Very very cool. Here’s the link for general info about the Genographic Project.
Listed among the “The 10 Best Places You’ve Never Heard Of”, according to Budget Travel, is Yirgalem, Ethiopia!
See the article here.
Today I got together for a picnic with several local families who have adopted from Ethiopia, or who – like me – are in the process of adopting.
I have to say, it is really nice to be a crowd where no one thinks it’s odd that I openly stare at their children with covetousness. They understand.
One of my favorite scenes was this one. A bunch of the kids lined up very politely to watch a couple of people launch their small sailboat. They seemed pretty fascinated by the whole thing.
It was a really nice sunny day, but a bit breezy The wind didn’t keep the kids from plunging in to the very cold Bay with abandon, however:
And, will you LOOK at these gorgeous girls – they are stunning. Even when they are discussing the best way to get a bunch of rocks into your mouth without your parents knowing about it…
The photo below will take you to a web album with all the pix.
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| BayEthio August 2007er |
Have been heads-down yesterday and today at a seminar. The topic was Advanced Venture Capital, the “Advanced” part of which I have decided refers almost entirely to the jargon level.
Quote of the day for yesterday:
“If you leave that out of the LPA, you could end up getting crammed down by an inside pay-to-play round at the fund term.”
(This would indeed be a very bad thing, but I’m confident you don’t want a full description of why this is true.)
As a word geek, sometimes I marvel at the terminology of my chosen profession. My peers have completely serious discussions while employing vocabulary that verges on the ridiculous. Yesterday alone, there was discussion of – among other things – burn rates, down rounds, no-shops and go-shops, wash-outs, mezzanines, bring-downs, angels, woofies, cramdowns, shelf offerings, lock-ups, earn-outs, bridges, comfort letters, and black box exemptions.
Yikes. Jargon overload!
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