Life continues . . .

Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing wonder and awe -- the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.
- Immanuel Kant

This will be the last entry of this blog. With the experiences I have been through during this traveling expedition I have decided that it is no longer important to log my travel. The beauty of witnessing and experience the wonder of the universe is far more rewarding then spending time talking about it through digital media on the inter-web. I have entered a new stage of enlightenment and molted off yet another layer of my internal mental construction. I have fulfilled every goal set for this trip and am ready to return back and start a new life away from distraction and disarray. This will be the mark of a new era and a confident return of creativity, productiveness, and happiness. For all of who fallow this blog, I wish for all to go out and live to the fullest. Do not cowardly hide in the unhealthy grasp of our society. The world is filled with wonder and amazing experiences. Strangers on the street are not there to rob you, but there to share stories and kindness. We are all here living in the same chaotic global village. There is a lot we can learn from each other if we open up and share ourselves. I have been moved by the people I have met and the landscapes I have climbed. I wish to all a very happy life and to not be afraid to explore or to tap in and express your inner-self.

Bon Voyage,
Scott B. McKibben

Shenandoah to NYC

So I have taken a break from my blog for a while to enjoy my travels to the fullest. I have hiked my way through the great Shenandoah National Park as well as hustling through the crowded streets of New York City. During my travel to Virginia where I stayed in Shenandoah, I found myself waking to a foggy cloud which slowly crept along the mountainside making anything further than 5 feet away merely invisible. I had an encounter with some white tailed deer in Big Meadows that was absolutely unbelievable. I was within arms reach of a young faun as it continued to walk closer and closer. I made sure to grab a few shots.


I then hiked in to the woods with my camera and camping gear hoping to find a backcountry spot to camp. I overshot my hike and passed the poorly marked sites and found myself at the beginning of the 5 mile hike. It seemed like a rather difficult 2 miles in, but hell i'm a bit out of shape and I had a 50 pound makeshift back pack on my back. Irritated by the situation I decided to settle into a campsite on the far South side of the park. Right as I pulled in to the campground I noticed to very tired looking men off to the side. I stepped out of my car to register and we began to talk. Joe, a long bearded man from Chattanooga, Tennesse and Tiff, a German and newly relocated Atlantan. We talked for a bit and decided to share a camp spot to save money. I took the two men to the camp store and they were thankful enough to purchase two nights of camping. We ended up having a great time and sharing many memories and stories. We eventually were joined by Al' and Jordan, a father and son duo. Oh and did I mention all of these men were hiking the Appalachian Trail. The two nights with these new friends went by very quick, but I am very glad I got to share time with them. it's easy getting lonely on the road. They told me I should go visit Blackrock summit before I departed. I took there word for it and made my way hiking in to the rocky mountainside. I slipped on the rocky slope till I made it to the top. The view was incredible. 360 degree's of visible mountains and wilderness. I made my way back to Sophia and ended up taking another hiker back to the campsite from the summit. I really enjoyed helping these guys, because I felt there pain with my measly little 5 mile hike. From there I departed and headed to Long Island to visit my sister.
Once I made it to Long Island I was greeted by my sister and nephews. They have been so amazing to stay with and I really have found a special place for them in my heart. It has been nice building a stronger relationship with my sister. We didn't grow up together so my memories have been very faint. I definitely feel a lot closer to her now and the two boys have grown so much since the last time I have seen them. I really want to try to be a better uncle for them as well. Denise took me into Brooklyn so I could stay with a friend for the night and visit the Buckminster Fuller Institution. I had a great time visiting with Derek and walking around the city. It was a little odd not having anyone with me and just wandering, but I had a lot of time to think about what I needed to be doing to prepare for the rest of my journey. I woke up from Dereks early in the morning and took the train back to Williamsburg. I got some breakfast and headed to the Bucky Institute. There I spent the day reading Earth, Inc. which was published in 1947. I was the only one in there other than the 2 people who worked there. It was a really nice study area with a bookshelf of interesting literature from Bucky, about Bucky, or from people who influenced Bucky. I was able to take a lot of notes as well as passing forward information about my documentary and the idea for my experimental social project. Hopefully I will hear back from their project coordinator. Denise then came and picked me up and took me home for a delicious home cooked meal. I will set off in the morning to go to Portland, Maine where I will visit my friend Watson and hopefully take a lot of pictures. This I think will be the last place I visit in my journey. My money is getting low and the toll roads are wearing the budget thin. For now it is late and I shall rest up for tomorrow.
Till next time,
Scott

Trail of dust

So there is nothing for free at the Outer Banks. Camping was a no go even though online said there is disperse camping in places. I had no help from park officials. It is a very touristy area so I can understand they make the majority of their money from things like camping and lodging. So I was lucky enough to stay at Tim's house for one more night. Him and his roommates were very friendly and I enjoyed getting to meet some new people. I spent the day at Pea Island sitting on the beach and walking the nature trails. I almost stepped on this poisonous guy.



Visiting the OBX was a really nice trip, but I am heading out to George Washington National Park for some disperse camping in the woods before I head to visit my sister in Long Island.

Till next time,
SBM

Goodbye OBX

The Outer Banks

Hello ladies and gentlemen of the internet realm. I am sitting in The Coffee House on Roanoke Island in the Outer Banks. I can't wait to leave this coffee shop and explore. I do have to say this place has the best coffee of my whole trip. 16oz organic mexican brew is the way to go. Great internet connection too! The Coffee House on Roanoke Island gets 2 SBM thumbs up. I will be updating my findings in a few days when I leave the Cape Hatteras National Shore. Here is a picture from Nashville to help hold you over. Nothing special, but a decent landscape of the city.



I will leave you with a passage from Utopia or Oblivion by Buckminster Fuller 1969

"At the present moment in history, we find ourselves in a fundamentally different economic position. When, a decade ago, Eisenhower went to meet with Khrushchev in Geneva, both had been informed by their military and scientists regarding the magnitude of the destructive capability of the atomic bomb. And Eisenhower said, as he went to that conference, "There is no alternative to peace." I'm sure Khrushchev, with the same realization, must have felt the powerful responsibility of that moment. Both, being political realists and hard-fact men, knew that they would not be able to make any important peace agreements as conceived solely by themselves. Their proposals and agreements, if any, would have to be backed by their respective political parties, and their parties were always in mortal contest at home with their chief opposition parties which waited upon altruistic moves of the "ins" as opportunities to impeach them for treachery to their respective sovereign power's ideological premises. Any softheaded step on the part of the leader would throw the party out. While Eisenhower and Khrushchev couldn't yield an inch politically, ideologically, and militarily, both of them brought along their atomic scientists and allowed them to talk to each other in limited manner regarding any at all possible peaceful uses of the atom.
Only one decade ago, at the meeting in Geneva and its companion meeting of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, it came so clearly into scientific view that the leading world politicians could acknowledge it to be true that -as reported unequivocally by Gerard Piel, publisher of the Scientific American- for the first time in the history of man, it was in evidence that there could be enough of the fundamental metabolic and mechanical energy sustenance for everybody to survive at high standards of living - and furthermore, there could be enough of everything to take care of the increasing population while also always improving the comprehensive standards of living. Granted the proper integration of the world around potentials by political unblockings, there could be enough to provide for all men to enjoy all earth at a higher standard of living than all yesterday's kings, without self-interferences and with no one being advantages at the expense of another.
But clearly both political leaders and their respective states were frustrated by all the political checks and balances each side has set up to protect and advantage only their own and their allies' side in view of yesterday's dictum that there was only enough of what it takes to support one in a hundred. So, all the ages-long fears; all the bad habits; all the shortsighted expedients that have developed in custom and law frustrated whatever might be done to realize the new potential. But the fact to remember is that it was only one decade ago that man had this completely surprise news that Malthus was indeed wrong and there now could be enough to go around -handsomely."



Isn't that refreshing!
-Scott B. McKibben

Smoky Mountains

So I have just entered Nashville after spending 2 nights camping in the Smoky Mountains and a brief visit in Asheville, North Carolina. Cataloochee in the Smoky Mountain National Park is absolutely beautiful. It is home of a diverse group of plants and animals. The National Park Service works to manage the preservation of native species to the area. Some of the successful wildlife reintroductions in the Great Smoky Mountains include the river otter, Peregrine Falcon, and three species of small fish. All of these species were reintroduced because they had been eliminated from the park at a point in time. There was an experimental release of elk into the park in February 2001. Over hunting and loss of habitat eliminated these animals from this region in the 1700's. It was a great pleasure to be able to share a home with these majestic animals for a few nights. A little nerve racking at first, but I found myself captivated by the clear water streams and thick forest canopy. I hiked to camp ground number 39 and 40 while I was at the park. It was very nice being able to share memories with my friends during the first part of my travels. The last night camping I spent the night in a hammock. It was a bit chilly as soon as the sun rotated out of our hemisphere, but watching the starry sky was well worth the chill. We woke at 4 am and hiked back through the woods in darkness to catch the elk grazing in the foggy field. Even with my 100-400mm I could not get close enough to photograph any details. I realize I would have needed a 600-800 or larger and a 3000 dollar tripod. Oh well, they were better in person than any photograph could capture.

We then left for Asheville. There we sat under a bridge and shared tunes and rested our heads from the early morning daze. It was quite relaxing watching the water go by. It would be nice If everyone would take the time to focus on what is around them. It's hard while working a job every day for the rest of your life. It takes a lot to break free. I fell in love with Asheville. The whole city provides fresh organic food and everyone is so nice and happy. Such a wonderful place. I am considering moving there when I get back. I have always wanted to live in the mountains and I think I could be a successful working artist there. I also really enjoy being able to play music on the streets. I recorded a song while I was there . . .


After we finished with the video I headed to Nashville and started the beginning of my solo trip. Once I got to Nashville I was greeted by my old friend Jessica Lee. She is always a pleasure to be around. Her bubbly personality is medicine for lifting your spirit. Her and her sister Rachel showed me around town and took me too a few places. I have 2 favorite places here. 1) is Bookman and Bookwoman, an independent used book store. There I bought Man Against Myth by Dunham. Here is a quote from this book,

'"The unhappiness of man," wrote Baron d'Holback, "is due to his ignorance of nature." It is a profound truth, and the future of mankind undoubtedly turns upon it. Knowledge is, of course, a satisfaction in itself. We are likely to feel that even if we cannot avoid the blows of circumstance, there is some consolation in knowing what hit us. Yet how much greater the satisfaction would be if we had no need to be consoled, if our knowledge of the given circumstances were transformed, by further knowledge, into control over it!"

Wrote in 1947

2) Percy Warner park was also one of my favorite spots. It has a great over look of the city and we saw a hand full of deer on the long drive up the mountain. I'm really glad Jessica took me around and showed me these spots.

I am now going to head to the coast of Virginia to find some free disperse camping. Time to read, paint, and play music.
-SBM

I need help

Good day internet patrons. I have stowed away all my belongings in the far corners of Marietta and am preparing my travel necessities for my month long escape. I am very excited to escape a routine way of life and capture the world from an outside perspective. I will be sharing my travels with the world as I find myself entering new situations and discoveries. I hope to inform and educate as well as provide my photographic talents to those whom wish to enjoy. I plan on trying to stay traveling as long as possible, but my funds are limiting. I am open to sleeping on couches and camping as ways of shelter. I will learn to cut my costs, my waste, and act as a responsible human on this beautiful planet, Spaceship Earth. I am very appreciative of any friendly help I can get along the way. As much as I hate the idea of money I have created a Donate button for paypal on my blog. Any funds are a help and will go directly to helping me continue my travels and my education. In return I will post my findings, photographs, and video's all for free. I just need help getting by. Prints of my work will also be available through www.scottmckibbenphotography.smugmug.com I am also taking suggestions for traveling and you can be a part of the very photograph that could be hanging on your wall. 4 days till my departure and there is still very much work to be done. If you lay your head on the East Coast and have an interesting discovery, lifestyle, organization, non profit or philosophy to share please contact me.
Thank you so much for everyones help!
-Scott B. McKibben

Changes

What a shame . . . We have reached a point where our own ignorance, greed, and insensitivity has lead to a point of disaster. My plans for moving to New Orleans have changed. I have looked in to going and helping and "due to the high volume of volunteers [they] are no longer accepting applications." I am concerned for the health of those helping and the education being provided about the harmful side effects of working with such toxins. The chemical agent being added to the oil has many catastrophic side effects and we will see a lot of damage in the future because of this. I blame not only the government and BP for this disaster, but I blame myself and other humans for not putting forth all of their interests into alternate fuel options. We have had our chances with the auto manufactures and the public was more concerned with their gas guzzling suv's, sports cars, and trucks. So for now we choose oil which is spewing out rapidly into our oceans, destroying our wildlife, poisoning our food, and feeding the flame for the fate of our future. I know I want this to change.



Instead we will probably point fingers for a while and not take responsibility for our own actions. There needs to be more government action and less blame game. Also, somebody needs to take the typewriters microphone and pass it to Obama. I can't hear him talking in circles clearly.

On the contrary, my lease ends on the 30th of June. I have arranged for myself to take forth all of my energy in my documentary to help educate humans on what it is that is happening and why. I will be traveling to Canada hoping to stir an interest in my project and to receive grants and funding. I just need the means in which I can focus 100 percent of my time on this project. I will be stopping by the Buckminster Fuller Institution to learn more about Bucky and to talk with them about what it is I am trying to do.

I will use this trip as the stepping stone to constructing a hard outline of what the project will offer and to help educate people along the way. I will keep a consistent video blog of observations and experiences through out my journey.

Please help me in my travels. I need places to stay, people to talk to, topics, and any information that can be of help for making a change. Please email me at scottmckibbenphotography@gmail.com

On a more light hearted note, I will also be cataloging my music endeavors along the way. Hoping to create a video blog series devoted to american music. I will play my own tunes as I travel as well as film the others I encounter. If you live on the east coast and are interested in meeting me to be a part of this project please let me know.

There is a lot to come from me in the next few months. I am also happy to say that my website will be going up next week. After months of hard grueling work Dave Berzack and myself have come to a closing with my website as well as his Nerdcore Rap Spoof video. I hope these projects bring us success in the future.

I just wanted to give a brief overview of what there will be to see in the next coming weeks and am very excited about sharing my travels with the world wide web.

Till next time,
SBM

What I have been up to . . .

It is summer again and my mind is blooming along side the spring. I am shedding my winter fur and opening my windows to a long awaited change. I spent the winter accomplishing goals I had previously set for myself. Now that I am coming to a closed chapter, I feel it is necessary to follow all of my instincts and live as free from order as possible. I am planning a move in the near future that will direct me in a new direction stronger and more concentrated than what has yet to be produced by me. This will be a extremely positive experience whether the consequences are enjoyable or dreadful. I will be visiting New Orleans for the second time next week. I think NO will be my stepping stone to New Mexico. I have also been considering WWOOF. I am up in the air with my decisions for right now.

On another note . . . I had my first solo art exhibit on March 27th @ The Ice House Lofts. It was a great turn out and I learned a lot from the feed back I received. Here are some of the works that were presented.

The rest can be seen at

http://scottmckibbenphotography.smugmug.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=11737058&AlbumKey=hC4Ns

I will also be having a photography show sometime this summer. So stay tuned.

I recently premiered my music video for Rising Appalachia. That can be seen at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmr5rdaemYk

I am also working on another music video for Dave Berzack. He is a local web developer. He is creating a fully interactive

website for me. I am very excited to release this project. It has been a very large project and will showcase a lot of my work.

His video will be the most gangsta nerd rap spoof anyone has ever seen.

Also, Captain Crazy Productions Inc. is hosting Wooden Spoon at The Eyedrum on May 4th.

This event will give local artist a chance to network and spread their talents as well as growing as artists and strengthening

the community. Don't miss out it will be from 8-11:30pm.

Please come support me and other local artists with this exciting night of interactive art.

I will hopefully be performing an acoustic show along side a group of mangy muts.

Some come ready to dance, cry, and stomp your foot.

If there are any questions about any of the projects going on or my art work please contact me at ScottMcKibbenPhotography@gmail.com or add me on Facebook

Till next time,

SBM

Scott B. McKibben Solo Art Exhibit

Rising Appalachia- Scale Down by Scott McKibben

Click here for a good time!

This is a music video I made for my friends Leah and Chloe. There is nothing like a good ol' time in North Georgia hanging out with wonderful people. We spent the day at their friend Meadow's house. It was truly a pleasure meeting Meadow and being able to stay at her home which she built by hand. Her hospitality was more than I could have ever asked for. Imoto, Chloe, Leah, Meadow, and I all froze underneath the big moon belly that night. Luckily we had fire all around us to keep us a little toasty. After the shoot the girls friend Scott came down from New Orleans with a bucket of shrimp and we had an ol' fashion shrimp broil and a new fashion miso and shrimp soup. The food was fallowed by an old time jamboree with a circulating guitar, banjo, and fiddle played by Scott, Leah, and Chloe while the beautiful chiming in of Meadow's voice would occasionally enter the tune. The music went long into the night and eventually I had to hit the sack. No one really takes me seriously when I say we have to be up at 5 or 6 to shoot, but I am definitely serious. So . . . everyone looked like they wanted to kill me in the morning when I was yelling for them to get up. I think the outcome of the morning footage stands for itself though. Great lighting and the crisp breath in the air really made for a great aesthetic for the video. We finished up the morning footage and Imoto and I headed back to the city so we could get started on some more work. Over all we had a great time and got to meet 2 new great people.

Where I am now.

I keep asking myself . . . "Where am I right now." My body sways uncontrollably, my palms moisten, and my mind becomes a packed train station with images and messages arriving and exiting every millisecond. My jaw muscle tenses and I squeeze my eyebrows together in hope to see clearly. Although eyeglasses were prescribed to me by an eye physician, this uncomfortable gesture is performed not because my vision is unclear, but because it is hard for me to concentrate and understand what is happening around me. From birth our minds have been force fed to look at ourselves, our environment, our morals and work in a way that is under false representation of what is of the most importance.

First lets look at wikipedia's definition of Humans.

Humans are bipedal primates belonging to the species Homo sapiens (Latin: "wise man" or "knowing man") in Hominidae, the great ape family.^[2][3] They are the only surviving members of the genus Homo. Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the arms for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to make far greater use of tools than any other species.Mitochondrial DNA and fossil evidence indicates that modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago.^[4] Humans are widespread in every continent except Antarctica, with a total population of 6.8 billion as of November 2009.^[5]

Like most higher primates, humans are social by nature. However, humans are uniquely adept at utilizing systems of communication for self-expression, the exchange of ideas, and organization. Humans create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families to nations. Social interactions between humans have established an extremely wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which together form the basis of human society. Humans have a marked appreciation for beauty and aesthetics which, combined with the human desire for self-expression, has led to cultural innovations such as art, literature and music.

Humans are noted for their desire to understand and influence their environment, seeking to explain and manipulate natural phenomena through science, philosophy, mythology and religion. This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills, which are passed down culturally; humans are the only species known to build fires, cook their food, clothe themselves, and use numerous other technologies.

From a boy I realized my love for nature. My curiosity with what made our world work. It was clear early on the synergetic nature of our universe was scientifically unbelievable. I spent years collecting and observing plants and animals in their natural and in my artificial environments. As a child it was easy to see the importance of a natural relationship with a living organism and the environment around it. Simple by just understanding that every animal I had in captivity died where as the same groups of wild life would continue to prosper outside my window.

Through out my last few years at Lassiter High School I worked at Pike Family Nurseries. I started off loading cars with mulch and pine straw and on my free time began to study the plants around the green house. With in time I had learned 95% of the plants sold by that store. I was recognized for my hard work and interest in learning about the horticulture so I was offered a chance to take classes provided by Pike Family Nurseries in order to try and pass the Georgia Green House Associations yearly plant professional exam for Georgia. The class gave me hands on experience with many plants native to my home of Georgia. The knowledge gained helped me build on those idea's of synergetic relationships I had formed as a child and it became clear that I was on to something real.

I graduated from Lassiter High School in 2004 and was forced to quit my job at Pike Family Nurseries because I was attending Reinhardt College in Waleska, Georgia. Reinhardt was a small Methodist College north of Marietta. My sister attended Reinhardt graduating a couple years before me. Her friends all seemed very nice and the community at the school seemed strong and full of loving spirit. Upon arrival at the introduction ceremony I was rushed like cattle in to small categories of different majors and interests. It was no longer about learning together as a whole, but now focusing our attention on 1 topic. Ignoring my interest for nature, biology, and the wonder and enjoyment our universe brings me I decided to major in Film and minor in photography. I finished my first year at Reinhardt with all A's and B's doing very well in all of my classes. I grew to become friends with the schools photography professor who showed me the first steps in the dark room. He was the only teacher I have every had that did not restrict my idea's or tell me something was right or wrong. This was contrary for the rest of my experience at Reinhardt. The students would section themselves in to small groups and clicks that intern left me an outsider. I made friends with a few people from high school and a couple other lost souls I found while studying in the library. I found the school to be rather close minded and although the North Georgia scenery was always nice to explore I needed a change. I moved to downtown Atlanta the following semester and attended Georgia Perimeter College. Here I was among groups of people from all races and age groups. Everyone I met at Perimeter was eager to learn and appreciative of the opportunity to be in school. I once again found myself droning through the crowds to get to class, but there was always someone I could talk to and bring forth an interesting conversation with. After I had built my transfer credits up and proceeded to transfer to Georgia State University where I spent the next to years studying film and photography.

I do not understand why I went to school for film. I never enjoyed going to the movies as a child. I would usually find myself nodding off to sleep and creating better stories in my sub conscious. Perhaps knowing I harnessed the ability to create moving images far more interesting then those based around money and advertisement. Let me make this clear, I do not regret studying film in school, I just realized there are greater possibilities in the use of media, film, and video production that those that our popular among modern society. I spent daunting hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months analyzing scenes from films. The more films I was forced to watch the more I realized it is not about each scene, film, or even region in which the film was created. Cinema is motion pictures, collectively as an art. These films were made to impose on ones believes, thoughts, or emotions. Films are teaching tools. Many are used to help express the suppression of the film maker or the region in which it was created. Politics, religion, money, power, and greed have all for the years held restrictions and regulations on what is acceptable for us (the viewer) to participate in. And for me I found it disturbing that we as homo-sapiens are not in control of the forces around us. And the most disheartening discovery is that we are not harnessing what we do know in ways that benefit humanity and life on earth.

This was quite a hard discovery to make while spending 40 plus hours a week studying, writing, and working on projects for school. To this day I look back at what I was going through internally and can not figure out how I was able to push my way through school. It was the summer of 2007 when I began free thinking. I took everything that I was told or shown my whole life and started new. I began observing things for myself with out the impressions from my friends and family or that of media. I should mention that after graduating high school I had stopped watching television completely. I feel this was a major roll in to getting to where I am today.

Furthermore, I strived on to do well in college and spent the last year of school in the dark room. I fell in love with the process of creating images and gained a love for the camera. I believe the camera is where my passion for film had come from in the beginning. The camera is to me like becoming a different being. I can manipulate the eye to create images that were not normally visible to my naked eye. This was always difficult to explain to my photography teachers who would always stress a right and a wrong way to exposure, shutter speed, and other photographic characteristics. It wasn't until reading Critique of Judgement by Immanuel Kant till I realized there was no right or wrong and in fact I could use these suggestions for different purposes to help build idea's outside of what the art faculties standards were.

The judgement of taste, by which an object is declared to be beautiful under the condition of a definite concept, is not pure. There are two kinds of beauty: free beauty (pulchritudo vaga) or merely dependent beauty (pulchritudo adhaerens). The first presupposes no concept of what the object ought to be; the second does presuppose such a concept and the perfection of the object in accordance therewith. The first is called the (self-subsistent) beauty of this or that thing; the second, as dependent upon a concept (conditioned beauty), is ascribed to Objects which come under the concept of particular purpose.

Flowers are free natural beauties. Hardly anyone but a botanist knows what sort of a thing a flower ought to be; and even he, though recognizing in the flower the reproductive organ of the plant, pays no regard to this natural purpose if he is passing judgement on the flower by Taste. There is then at the basis of this judgement no perfection of any kind, no internal purposiveness, to which the collection of the manifold is referred. - Kant

Therefore, it was no longer a question of whether I should always take a picture with a definite concept dependent on beauty. I began thinking about Taste, Beauty, Good, and the Sublime. I started doing more research on artists that where never shown to me me in art history. Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenburg, Marcel Duchamp, and the list goes on and on. I began looking more in to film in discovering works by Nam June, Bill Viola, Phil Niblock, and so many others. I have since the seventh grade spent at least an hour out of my day writing folk songs on my guitar and once finding out about John Cage now I focus 24 hours a day listening to the most beautiful music I have ever heard. That of which that is all around me at all times. The sounds that come from mans creations as well as those produced by the wild. Where I am going with this is that their are people that have expressed idea's that are so important in understanding that we do not teach in our schools. We could learn from a lot of these artists. Art and science go hand and hand and we can use art as a tool that would be more profitable than the daily biased news and shoot em' up television shows. Television and the internet all of which is becoming one, is the most important characteristic of this era. Internet can be free. It is all around us and only needs to be tuned in. You say, "How could we have the internet for free?" Consumerism is my answer. This is frowned upon by most of the anti-american americans, but in reality consumerism is what makes the most sense. The more consumers wanting something the more work will be put forth in to having it. We will never let the satellites and towers become unattended. We rely on them to much. Our ongoing progression towards a technological evolution is apparent and exciting for me. We are becoming more concerned with alternative energy sources and cleaner living. We are working every day to try to come up with new ways of living. The importance of local farming has even made its way in to the Kroger of Moreland as well as the local health food stores.

Let me try to explain my wide range of topics and stories here. We all have a primal relationship with Nature. These were the experiences I started feeling as a boy playing in the creeks and woods. These are the same feelings a experienced while studying plants. We have experiences with nature from conscious memory that lingers from the forgotten prehistory of mankind. Some feel as if it is a spiritual belief and that I can agree. For me it is very spiritual and beautiful. We have been provided a planet that is absolutely the most suitable for human life. Unfortunately us silly humans have forgot our responsibility on planet earth as well as the success of humanity.

George Catlin once wrote in 1841,

Many are the rudeness and wilds in Nature's works, which are destined to fall before t he deadly axe and desolating hands of cultivating man; and so amongst her ranks of the living, of beast and human, we often find noble stamps, or beautiful colours, to which our admiration clings; and even in the overwhelming march of civilized improvements and refinements do we love to cherish their existence, and lend our efforts to preserve them in their primitive rudeness.

I can see humanity wanting to do what is best for survival. We are just trapped in road that have been paved for us. It is important for us to continue our research in understand what it is we are doing here on Space Ship Earth. We need to feel comfortable asking the question why. We can work together and to understand biophilia, which is defined as the innate tendency to affiliate with life and lifelike processes. I am interested in wondering where I am, what it is I am doing, how it is effecting what is around me, how is what around me effecting what I am doing.

With this said I am devoting my life to understanding the processes in which we can help benefit humanity and the overall success of life on planet earth. Furthermore, I am willing to do all I can to invest my energy in to understanding wild nature and human nature and our synergetic relationship with one another. Most importantly I am going to use my knowledge of film theory and the understanding of media to convey my idea's free on the internet. I have a plan to develop online television the works as a symbiotic relationship with humans and technology bringing forth a new form of education superior to our understanding of the universe and the human psyche. We all have been given such a wonderful biosphere and I know in the hearts of everyone our deepest level of moral concern lies within our planet's well being.

I will leave you with a passage from The Creation by E.O. Wilson,

What precisely, then, is human nature? that is one of the great questions of both science and philosophy. It is not the genes that prescribe human nature. It is not the cultural universals, such as incest taboos, rites of passage, and creation myths. Those are the products of human nature. Rather, human nature is the hereditary rules of mental development. the rules are expressed in the molecular pathways that create cells and tissue, particularly those of the sensory and nervous system. The rules are also prescribed in the cells and tissues that generate mind and behavior. They are manifested as biases in the way our senses perceive the world. They appear as the properties of language and symbolic coding by which we represent the world. The developmental rules are not absolute. Instead they are generate the options we open to ourselves. They render some choices more pleasing than others: music yes, they crying of a baby no.

The developmental rules are in an early stage of exploration by psychologist and biologists. Even so, the few that are known range over diverse categories of behavior and culture. They affect how we clarify colors in accordance with the innate coding of cell reception and transmission within the retina. They bias our aesthetic response to visual design according to elementary abstract shape and degree of complexity.

It is time to overcome our phobia's and to explore our deepest interested. Let's pull down the walls and barriers we have created and work together not as different countries, colors, faiths, or wealth. We are all humans. We are all part of the same genetic structure and we all have been given the right to live. I am currently seeking for grants and funding to help me continue my goal of educating through digital media and the internet and spreading idea's applicable to the survival of our beautiful Space Ship Earth. I will continue to educate myself on a wide amount of topics relating to out survival and the understanding of human nature. Hoping to find the right group of researchers to help me with my quest as well as revisiting a university. I would be appreciative of any feed back or questions relating to my studies and or any help with continuing my work.

Live open, honest, and true to yourself,

Scott B. McKibben

scottmckibbenphotography@gmail.com