The national media has done a decent job getting the word out on the raging wildfires out in Colorado. The Denver Post had done an excellent job covering the Waldo Canyon fire, located just outside of Colorado Springs. One component of their coverage has been their Photo blog. Yesterday, they published AN AMAZING COLLECTION OF PHOTOS from the Waldo Canyon fire.
The post has over 70 photos of the fire from various perspectives. I think the still photos do a much better job of capturing the enormity of the situation than video does, but that may just be my professional bias.
Regardless, it is well worth a look.
Thanks for reading,
Schmoe
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
21 Days
I received an e-mail today, one from a reader who wanted to make sure that I was all right. I guess it has been three weeks since my last post and while I haven't been as prolific as a year ago, 21 days is a long time for me to go without espousing some opinion or another.
I wish I had a good reason for not posting, but I don't. When I was working, there was never a shortage of interesting things to write about. Nor was there a shortage of interesting things to photograph. The badge on my chest was like a magic passport. It opened all sorts of doors, allowing me entry into places that others could not go. My life was a little unique and I enjoyed sharing the cool, the tragic and the interesting with you.
My life has become a little more mundane, in fact some might even call it boring. In many ways that is a good thing, however the current banality of my life has not inspired me to take up the keyboard and put you to sleep with the details.
I have mentioned before my need to assess this blog and determine where I want to go with it. Another anniversary has recently passed, I have been doing this for over three years. As such, I am not going to allow it to die. I have too much effort and emotion in it to just let it go.
When I read older posts, I can't help but notice how much of my soul I put into what I was trying to say. I don't see that emotion in the lines that I have written in the past nine months and it troubles me. I want to get back to the point to where I can put something down that deserves to be picked up. I am confident that I will get there, I just can't say when.
So, TRJ, rest easy. All is well in the Schmoe house, it is just a time of transition. I am truly derelict in not posting, if even to let people know things are ok. For that I apologize. I appreciate each and every person who read my little blog - you deserve better.
Thanks for reading,
Schmoe
I wish I had a good reason for not posting, but I don't. When I was working, there was never a shortage of interesting things to write about. Nor was there a shortage of interesting things to photograph. The badge on my chest was like a magic passport. It opened all sorts of doors, allowing me entry into places that others could not go. My life was a little unique and I enjoyed sharing the cool, the tragic and the interesting with you.
My life has become a little more mundane, in fact some might even call it boring. In many ways that is a good thing, however the current banality of my life has not inspired me to take up the keyboard and put you to sleep with the details.
I have mentioned before my need to assess this blog and determine where I want to go with it. Another anniversary has recently passed, I have been doing this for over three years. As such, I am not going to allow it to die. I have too much effort and emotion in it to just let it go.
When I read older posts, I can't help but notice how much of my soul I put into what I was trying to say. I don't see that emotion in the lines that I have written in the past nine months and it troubles me. I want to get back to the point to where I can put something down that deserves to be picked up. I am confident that I will get there, I just can't say when.
So, TRJ, rest easy. All is well in the Schmoe house, it is just a time of transition. I am truly derelict in not posting, if even to let people know things are ok. For that I apologize. I appreciate each and every person who read my little blog - you deserve better.
Thanks for reading,
Schmoe
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Justice
Without getting into the case too much, the jury in the trial of a man convicted of the murder of Riverside Police Officer Ryan Bonaminio recommended that the defendant, Earl Ellis Green, be put to death.
An appropriate punishment, in my ever humble opinion. That the defendant killed Officer Bonaminio was not really challenged by his defense team. Their strategy appeared to focus on why Green acted as he did, somehow placing the blame for the decision to murder on the defendant's upbringing rather than on him. Apparently, the strategy was flawed and it failed.
I'm speculating that the prosecution team, the victim's family and a large segment of the community are happy with the sentence recommendation, though all must realize that the chances of Green ever being executed are extremely slim. That Green will be confined to the austere conditions of death row, rather than enjoying the benefits of the general prison population, justifies the sentence - even if he dies of old age before being executed.
In a few weeks, the judge will actually sentence Green, likely to death. Though the judge has the right to not follow the jury's recommendation, that is very unlikely. Green will be transferred to death row at San Quentin State Prison, where he will languish - probably until he dies of natural causes. Green will be at the end of a line of over 700 men, all waiting for their turn to be executed. As we have not executed anyone for over 6 years, that line never moves.
The good thing is that Green will never again see the light of day as a free man. Whether he gets the needle or dies of natural causes, he cannot hurt anyone on the outside again. For the family of Ryan Bonaminio, the men and women of the RPD, the prosecution team and the general public, I hope that he does get the needle and justice is served. We shall see if he is smiling then.
Thanks for reading,
Schmoe
Earl Ellis Green, smiling at the camera, seconds after hearing
his likely fate. (Press Enterprise photo by Stan Lim)
An appropriate punishment, in my ever humble opinion. That the defendant killed Officer Bonaminio was not really challenged by his defense team. Their strategy appeared to focus on why Green acted as he did, somehow placing the blame for the decision to murder on the defendant's upbringing rather than on him. Apparently, the strategy was flawed and it failed.
I'm speculating that the prosecution team, the victim's family and a large segment of the community are happy with the sentence recommendation, though all must realize that the chances of Green ever being executed are extremely slim. That Green will be confined to the austere conditions of death row, rather than enjoying the benefits of the general prison population, justifies the sentence - even if he dies of old age before being executed.
In a few weeks, the judge will actually sentence Green, likely to death. Though the judge has the right to not follow the jury's recommendation, that is very unlikely. Green will be transferred to death row at San Quentin State Prison, where he will languish - probably until he dies of natural causes. Green will be at the end of a line of over 700 men, all waiting for their turn to be executed. As we have not executed anyone for over 6 years, that line never moves.
The good thing is that Green will never again see the light of day as a free man. Whether he gets the needle or dies of natural causes, he cannot hurt anyone on the outside again. For the family of Ryan Bonaminio, the men and women of the RPD, the prosecution team and the general public, I hope that he does get the needle and justice is served. We shall see if he is smiling then.
Thanks for reading,
Schmoe
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