Dana Ross

Time accumulates

2012-01-30T14:05:00.001-08:00

I don't even understand time any more. I don't think of it as passing but stacking up. If you hear a Mahler symphony it is stacked up and heard through the layers of earlier hearings. Experiences don't disappear but stack up and we see our new experiences through them. Like the flavors that accumulate in a tea pot.

Make a list - check it twice

2012-01-25T18:29:00.000-08:00

I spoke at a computer conference last weekend. The subject was Open-Source Software for the Media Professional. Not everybody knows what software is available and which work well. Being that I am a professional and make my living making photos and videos for clients and I use Open-Source software for everything, I am well qualified for this.It was a great talk. About 70 people in a room that held 80. After I did my presentation we had a long Q&A. Lots of audience participation. It was really fun.Here's what I learned: Do your preparation. Make sure all the equipment works. Test everything. Make notes. Make a list of topics to cover to keep yourself on track.Here's what I forgot to put on my notes and what I should have put at the top of the list in very big letters; TURN ON THE VIDEO CAMERA.Can you believe it? After all this prep and setting up equipment I forgot to turn the video camera on to record my talk. Crazy.

2012-01-22T19:19:00.001-08:00

This seems crazy. I know what they mean but this is funny. #End

Regrets notwithstanding

2012-01-18T17:13:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I have behaved deplorably, or in an inexcuseable manner. It pains me to think of these moments of rudeness and I am ashamed to think that others have been victim or witness to my unkindness or lack of empathy. The strange thing is that many of these people who have seen this dark side of me are now dead and gone. My secret is safe and I can pretend to be kind and wise with no one to contradict my present image.

2011-10-19T15:07:00.001-07:00

Taking the time to catch up. The Book Thief.

2011-09-30T14:33:00.001-07:00

I love my library.

2011-09-17T11:31:00.001-07:00

Time to hit the Farmer's Markets . It's a Tomato love-fest out there.

speedoscarshootwstills.mpg

2011-09-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

Here's me shooting some still-lives this week. Long, slow work but it looks pretty easy sped up 4000%. Great clients, a lovely time.

2011-08-18T14:14:00.001-07:00

This is pretty cool

Bone bike

2011-08-14T14:25:00.001-07:00

A bone bike at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market today.

Homeless on the 4th.

2011-07-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

This is a great country but we have some problems.

Dark Dancers. Latest art magazine.

2011-05-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

Flesh and Beauty vol. 2 Issue 1: Dark Dancers

Dark female forms dancing out of shadow.Photographic art by Dana Ross.http://fleshandbeauty.com

Setting up to shoot video blogs

2011-05-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

I'm getting the living room set up for video blogging. All with Open-Source software on Ubuntu. So cool.
I've got a lot to say. I hope it's interesting.

Cafe shots

2011-05-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

I have a new favorite street in Santa Monica - Pier. Just above Main street on Pier is a incredibly great Bookstore angelcitybooks and a great Cafe 212pier open 24hours a day. I'm sold. I'm in love.

This makes me cry

2011-05-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

I filmed this last week. Cantor Ken and Rabbi Neil from Beth Shir Shalom.I am moved because this is basically a lament to a God who perhaps doesn't care about us but who we love none-the-less.

From a recording session. Very cool.

2011-03-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

MLK recording session. from Dana Ross on Vimeo.

Vimeo video test

Bikerowave

2011-02-14T14:48:00.000-08:00

Is Bikerowave the coolest place to spend a Sunday afternoon?I think so!bikerowave.org

2011-02-14T13:27:00.000-08:00

The Mint and Tarragon at our local Persian markel smelled so fresh today I just had to get them.

2010-10-03T13:46:00.001-07:00

Yarn bike. Santa Monica.

Great Ideas and how they develop

2010-09-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

Steven Johnson from Riverside Books explains how great ideas happen.
This is a beautiful presentation and very insightful.

2010-09-24T10:57:00.001-07:00

Did someone lock his front and rear wheels here as spares or did the frame get stolen?

Home Brew

2010-05-25T15:28:00.001-07:00

Dana Ross invents the highest level ghetto brew coffee device in history. Funnel, shirt-tail. That's it!
Yum!

2010-05-14T16:46:00.001-07:00

The City of Santa Monica is converting two car-parking places into 36 bike-parking places.
That sounds like a good idea to me.

2010-05-13T16:56:00.001-07:00

that's the dove in hal's back yard. notice the baby's head on the lower left.

Black Coffee Coffee roasting

2010-04-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

Designing a new blend and then sampling the roast in 2 degree increments.
They are slightly under roasted by traditional standards to bring out more of their varietal characteristics. These range from mouth-puckering citrusy to choclately roastiness.
None are over roasted, all are delicious.

Sign-Language on Skype

2010-04-15T10:01:00.001-07:00

More Sign-Language on Skype in a cafe. So pleasant compared to someone talking on a cell phone. Maybe we should all learn to sign.

Two weeks in the life of a busy photographer

2010-04-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

Cellist Lynn Harrell, Architect Frank Gehry, Birthday girl Niecy Nash, Rapper-producer Rev-Run, USC School of Business, Moth Design, The Entrepreneur's Organization, Cultural Affairs for the City of Inglewood, Temple Beth Shir Sholom. It's been a busy few weeks.

iPad

2010-04-07T16:05:00.001-07:00

It's just about the slickest thing ever made but virtually useless. No Flash or Java. You can't do your homework without a keyboard. It's like a really pretty but dumb girl. Not worth a second date.

SMPL

2010-03-28T16:31:00.001-07:00

My beautiful library in Santa Monica.

Playground

2010-03-26T09:02:00.001-07:00

They're making a playground in Inglewood today. I'll be shooting it all, start to finish.

2010-03-22T16:50:00.001-07:00

We have so much to do everyday. We have our computers and our friends and meals and Facebook. It almost doesn't matter where we are; New York, Los Angeles, Ojai, Melbourne. Well I am here today, having some Peace, reading at the Santa Monica Library. I biked here after a long day of driving and meetings. Grateful and happy, feeling welcome and Home.

2010-03-15T17:11:00.001-07:00

I'm taking my music teacher Lia shopping. After 8 decades her eyesight has degenerated to the point that she is not allowed to drive. I'll be taking her out every week when I come for my lesson. It's a nice time to share with her.

Canon Linux

2010-02-10T11:32:00.000-08:00

Here's a copy of what I wrote Canon today.

I emailed to suggest that Canon provide Linux drivers for their cameras. I'm a professional photographer and have moved over to Ubuntu Linux wholeheartedly. I would like to be able to continue shooting tethered with my laptop in Linux. Canon could be a leader here. Please consider supporting this growing market. Please Note: there are more Linux users than Mac users.

An Article about Love, Life and Running - Mostly Love.

2010-02-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

This is a great article I just read and I recommend it to everyone.
It's about re-capturing our love and happiness in everything we do.
It's about running.

Click here to read "Born to Run"

A beautiful Family

2010-01-30T21:17:00.000-08:00

Look at this beautiful cycling Family I ran in to in Santa Monica today. They're starting their children off on the right foot, or pedal

Winter

2010-01-09T13:29:00.001-08:00

Winter oranges at Valley Glen. It looks like a flpping Rose Parade float!

Tabernacle by Thomas Cook

2010-01-05T17:41:00.001-08:00

Racing in to the last exciting chapter of a trite detective novel. I can't wait.

It's all coming together right now. Then I can get back to more substantial reading.

Laptop kludge hinge repair

2009-12-28T21:27:00.000-08:00

The hinges of my 17 inch Acer broke.
It has an Intel core duo 2GHz processor running Vista and Ubuntu. Everything is great about it except perhaps that it is too big for its own britches.

I "fixed" it by putting in a Gaffer tape hinge and nylon twine held on with Duct tape. It's an ugly kludge but works perfectly.

The question is; should I let myself be seen in public with this beast?

Bad Art

2009-12-06T14:10:00.001-08:00

This is the worst piece of art I have ever seen. Over six feet tall. Dog standing on ice sheet surrounded by dog turds. Pasadena City College Flea Market. First Sunday of the month Recommended.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T13:09:00.001-08:00

That's how we do turkey!

Moulton 2 speed, belt drive, kick brake TSR

2009-11-25T08:07:00.000-08:00

This is my next bike. I love Moultons and have an AM-7 which Paula presently rides.

2-speed kick-shift hub made by Sturmey Archer. It's a belt drive and starts out in a low gear then you kick it back a little bit and it shifts into a higher gear. That's perfect.

Here's a link Moultonbuzz 2-speed TSR

Ubuntu

2009-11-11T15:34:00.001-08:00

I have fallen in love with Ubuntu Linux operating system. Everything is easier annd better. These pages were printed out wirelessly on my office printer. No problem setting it up. Easier and better than Windows and Mac. Wow!

Solar Power in Pasadena

2009-11-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

Solar Powered Compacting Trash Cans.
Pasadena is so cool.

Skating

2009-10-30T18:14:00.001-07:00

They're skating already in Santa Monica.

Windy

2009-10-28T20:05:00.001-07:00

It's a windy day in Santa Monica.

Santa Monica Ice

2009-10-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

The coils are chilling. Maybe they'll be putting in the water tonight.

Ice Rink?

2009-10-17T12:12:00.001-07:00

O.K. Why is Santa Monica setting up the Ice Rink in the middle of a heatwave in October?

Skateboard

2009-10-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

I am riding my bike and was just passed by a guy on an electric skateboard. Is that crazy?

Barnsdall

2009-10-10T21:31:00.001-07:00

Art is hapening right now in L.A.

My Dad says Hello

2009-10-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

I just saw a man in a wheelchair being pushed along the bike path here in Santa Monica. He looked so similar to my Father, who died a couple of years ago, that I had to look three times before I saw that he had a longer, skinnier, nose than my Dad's. Same hat, jacket and skin - same expression on his face.

It was beautiful and touching to be reminded of my Dad's presence so fully. I am glad that my Dad didn't live long enough to be dependent on a wheel chair pusher. He wouldn't have appreciated that.

I texted my Sister writing her these words and we started texting back and forth about him and us when suddenly another guy came walking by and said Hi in passing. He had my Father's face too - a little meatier but still, it was my Father's face.

What's going on? He must be trying to say Hi or maybe he's lonely. In any case I don't feel that he is gone. As much as he was ever here he is in my life every day. I'm near him and I feel him everywhere.

Hi Dad. I love you.Publish Post

Christmas?

2009-09-25T18:11:00.001-07:00

Why does the city of Beverly Hills have their Christmas decorations up in September? Crazy.

Dog

2009-09-24T16:04:00.001-07:00

These things are just ridiculously cute - and impractical.

Hef's place

2009-09-15T17:23:00.001-07:00

A cute chick at the Playboy Mansion.

Shoot planning.

2009-09-15T16:18:00.001-07:00

We're planning a shoot at the Playboy Mansion for next week. A lot of organization.

Reality is for people who can't handle drugs.

2009-09-07T17:47:00.001-07:00

These plants are crazy. Why are they growing on my block?

Obama tattoo

2009-08-19T23:13:00.000-07:00

My neighbor has a tattoo of Obama on his arm. .
He designed it himself.

Obama is against an American flag and holding
up Hitler's head in one hand. He has a slain Klu-Klux-Clan head in the other hand.

He actually made the ink himself and a guy
did the tatoo with parts from a CD player and a
ball-point pen tip.

He did this while he was "on vacation".

Moving day.

2009-08-15T12:27:00.001-07:00

It's moving day for Marc. I'm helping out. He's moving in with his sweetheart, Paula, 5 blocks from where I moved in with my sweetheart, Paula. I'm always about a year ahead of him.

Alley Smile

2009-08-07T20:16:00.001-07:00

Is it just me or is this end table smiling? It's out in my alley looking for a new home.

Fashion Statement

2009-07-31T13:12:00.001-07:00

This is the coolest T-shirt in the world. An original 1988 Michael Jackson World Tour shirt, appropriately worn out and two sizes too tight because he grew in the last 20 years.

Go Unurban

2009-07-28T20:24:00.001-07:00

They play Go at the Unurban Cafe on Tuesday nights. That's Baxter's chess teacher in the background. How cool is this city?

Change

2009-07-27T17:13:00.001-07:00

I like using change to pay for things. It's considered archaic and inconvenient but I feel like I am playing a game with artifacts from ancient Rome. I also like to get rid of pennies - get rid of a few with some transactions, get a few back with others. It keeps me alive. I'm not going to die until all my pennies are gone.

Obama stimulus company

2009-07-14T21:03:00.001-07:00

Our president has a loan modification company on the side. Who knew?

Santa Monica

2009-06-27T13:58:00.001-07:00

Santa Monica is wonderful. I went to the library to get a book for Melodee's school reading list. A girl working there said that all their copies were checked out and then she asked if Mel went to SaMoHi. I said yes and she said they had free copies for students. She went in the back and came out with a nice new copy. Is that wonderful?

Grace

2009-06-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

How can you call a man a Bum when he's doing it with such style? This guy is wealthy in my book.

School Presentation

2009-06-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

Melodee doing a presentation at school. Nice use of a $300 Netbook and open-source OpenOffice.

The impotance of a good nap.

2009-06-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

Shhhhh. She's sleeping.

FWD:retouching

2009-05-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

retouching in gimp against my desktop background is a little trippy.

Fallen Angels

2009-05-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Shit. It happened again. This time in Austin, Texas. Doesn't anyone care?

Artificial Limbs

2009-05-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

fucking awesome. boy with no legs riding tandem with father in traffic. that's better than any movie. i'm in tears.

Interactive Cafe

2009-05-11T14:32:00.001-07:00

A nice shot at the Interactive Cafe in Santa Monica. It's a nice place, spacious and a little impersonal. Open late. If the Wi-Fi didn't suck I would come here more often. - cell phone shot -

Fallen Angels

2009-04-12T12:33:00.001-07:00

It happened again. It's such a shame. I'm attracted to photographing these fallen angels. I don't want their lives to pass unnoticed. It can happen to any of us, anytime.

Sexual Grounding

2009-04-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

I decided to stop spending my time being controlled by sexual thoughts that held me because I knew that they were "wrong". I didn't want my sexuality to be controlled what I perceived as "kinky" thoughts. What if i decided to accept my thoughts as healthy, normal and wholesome. After all I was a healthy normal wholesome person. It must be normal to have such thoughts. I'm normal.

I didn't want kinky thoughts coming between me and my lover while lovemaking. I didn't want a filter separating me from my experience and appreciation of my divine lover.

I decided to accept these thoughts so they would lose their power over me. I allowed myself to look at everything the internet had to offer. I gave my self permission to look at anything and masturbate to the thoughts it brought up. I did this a lot for a while and eventually everything lost its power over me. Visual porn looked like people making bad lifestyle choices. It lost its energy to control my libido and thoughts.

Now when I was with my lover I could be alone with her and experience our connection fully. Imagine how wonderful water tastes when you take the time to really taste it. Imagine your hot body after a long workout, skin bare, heart pumping, sweat dripping, lungs panting, pausing to take a long savor of clean cool water. Imagine how much finer that moment tastes without syrup, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, chocolate - just water. MMMMMMM. I want some now.

orgasms

The feeling of drifting off to sleep, I could feel that now. Just lingering and savoring the moment as I started drifting off to sleep. I could pay attention to it and feel my limbs become heavy, dark and start to seem fuzzy from the inside out. Being aware of this state allowed me to conciously decide to wake myself up from this feeling and experience the feeling of the bubbles inside becoming tiny as I almost woke up and then I could let myself drift back down into the dark bubbles of sleep. Yum.

By stretching out the time I had to perceive this I could feel that this was very similar to the feeling of Orgasm. Instead being centered on my genitals, it was more broad and encompassed my entire body. Because the same force was spread throughout my body it was harder to perceive. I had to be quiet. I had to be free of abberant sexual thoughts. I had to be able to taste water or even my own saliva.

How do you taste yourself when you are the reference for what is neutral? How sensitive do you have to be to realize that neutral has a taste too.

I did this more and more often until the feeling could come over me at will
anytime. I had to be still and drop a lot of thoughts and chatter and ignore my body to feel it. Then I would feel my legs start to go into a bubbly orgasm state. If I suddenly gave the feeling a lot of attention I would chase the it away. I had to ignore the feeling to allow it to grow over me, like a big warm fuzzy coat enveloping me. A body orgasm could overcome me antime now, anywhere, with anyone.

grounding

The weird thing is that after a while I found someone to love, like, adore and share the fun of life with but I was no longer rooted to sex from bodies leading to orgasm. I was having orgasms on my own out in the ether. Now I was growing a real relationship with a real woman and had to find my way back to the earth to have a common goal to share the love of creating our orgasms together.

How do I find my way back to earth? Do I have to give up the ability to live in a state of almost constant orgasm? Yes. I really did have to let go of that subtle attachment to Heaven and God to live here on earth. Yes it is worth it. Yes it is wonderful to know that the feeling of love and orgasm are present in me always and now I have closed my eyes to them so that we can find them together. Yes, the orgasms are stronger now and more focused on a smaller area. Yes, it is better for for me to share my states and emotions with my lover.

Double Trouble

2009-03-25T18:37:00.001-07:00

Cookie's in town. She and Melodee are very industrious with their studies. Funnel Mill is our remote study center.

Z.D.U.

2009-03-21T11:49:00.001-07:00

City of Inglewood motor cycle police detail. Zombie Death Unit.

Lifestyle

2009-03-20T19:12:00.001-07:00

Video editing cafe lifestyle.

Gorgeous Curtains

2009-03-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

Could she have any bike other than a Moulton or live in any city other than Santa Monica?

Starbuck's???

2009-03-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

It shocks me to say this but Starbucks actually got good, and now they have wi-fi. That's good.

Funnel Mill

2009-03-15T17:31:00.001-07:00

Funnel Mill Triple Dark. Siphon coffee made with love, care and science.

Hangin with J

2009-03-14T22:40:00.001-07:00

Joao is a deep character. I'm glad he lives next store.

Old friends

2009-03-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

Neilan's in town. Time to have fun.

Cafe art

2009-03-11T11:58:00.001-07:00

I just finished a harsh shot of espresso at a cafe on Montana. Caffe Luxe.

Curling

2009-03-04T00:37:00.001-08:00

It's hard to make fun of a game like this. I mean the entire sport seems based on visual satire. The question is "who is in on the joke?". How much does a stone cost? Is this an expensive sport? Is it a sport? Is height an advantage? In the first Olympics did they play this in the nude? Will they let you on an airplane with a stone, or is it considered to be a weapon? Do people bring their own stones to competitions or are they provided the way pianos are provided to musicians. Could you play this game with Pianos? I'm beginning to like this sport?

-photo by Ariana Ross

Bike Chick

2009-03-04T00:15:00.001-08:00

Check out how cool Paula is, riding home with 20 lbs. of groceries on her Moulton AM7.

Sun shot

2009-03-03T11:07:00.001-08:00

Drive-by Valley cell phone art.

Tragedy?

2009-03-01T14:24:00.001-08:00

I always worry when I see a scene like this. What happened to this poor woman?

Experience

2009-03-01T12:19:00.001-08:00

This is a pretty design but it is poorly thought out. The basin is too shallow under the faucet and you can't really wash your hands here. The person who designed it never tried it and didn't have enough experience to recognize the problem. Experience is a good thing.

Global Obamas

2009-02-28T16:15:00.000-08:00

I was skyping with my Romanian friend Alex today. He said that Obama is so popular in the rest of the world that when he is finished with his term(s) in office here he could run for office in almost any other country and win. Isn't that an incredible thought?

I hope we get more Obamas in the world so everyone can have a leader this great.

The joys of cycling

2009-02-18T16:29:00.001-08:00

Best cellphone reflection shot of the year.

2009-02-17T16:40:00.001-08:00

after the rains

2009-02-01T10:20:00.001-08:00

I'm going to see how many bicycles I can photograph in one day. Look for a new webpage.

Me time

2009-02-01T10:12:00.001-08:00

I'm having free time today - my immediate family is out of town. I am just getting used to the idea that I don't have to be useful and I don't have to help others all the time. I can just be me for a while.

I can't always be productive and useful. I've learned to take micro-breaks and mini vacations; time in a cafe, reading a book. But today is different. I'm not going to be useful. I'm just going to be comfortable with being Me.

Marketing demographics

2009-01-27T19:14:00.000-08:00

This is exciting in terms of demographics in this economy. I'm sure it gets a lot of attention and I know that there are people who this appeals to.

I wonder if he guarantees his claim. I mean, if someone finds the same items for more is Bijan willing to match their price?

I have to rethink my marketing strategy.

This Great Day

2009-01-20T10:39:00.001-08:00

This is a great day. It was worth it. We've never had a man like this in office. What a great thing to have him as an example.

To us

2009-01-20T09:33:00.001-08:00

To Obama. To us.

Good Night

2009-01-15T17:07:00.000-08:00

Goodnight Sun.

Obama Totem

2009-01-12T19:30:00.000-08:00

I love seeing this totem to Obama. Jan. 20 is a special day. Let's have a great party.

Make room

2009-01-04T10:52:00.001-08:00

I buy food, make dinner and put the leftovers in the fridge. I buy some things and don't like them so they stay there. In time I have a fridge filled with old food that is spoiled and new things that I don't like. I don't have any room to put in new things that I like. Let's clean this fridge out and make room for new treats. Hey! I should do that with my life too. Obligations and old clothes - it's time to go.

Communication

2008-12-28T16:23:00.000-08:00

This guy was protesting something in Santa Monica but I couldn't figure out what.

Poor

2008-12-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

Do poor people deserve less because they are poor?
Are they doing something wrong to be poor?
Is it wrong to be poor?
If you work and get paid, why should you be poor?

What is poor;
to not have a nice home?
to not have a nice car?
to not have heat?
to not have food?

If you make $600 a month you are poor. If you make $600 extra per month you are rich.
How much do you need to make before you have extra?

Can you decide to live with less and have more sooner?
If you decide to live with less and you have more extra will you feel richer?

Can you decide to live without a car, in a small apartment, with no cable and feel rich?

Future dwelling.

2008-12-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

This is a man's portable handmade home. It has wheels, it looks waterproof and cozy, he has it locked to a bike-rack. I think we'll be seeing more of these.