The Visitor and His Gift

The Visitor, Renfo Ademeit, is from the Alpha Centauri star system, the nearest star to the Sun, at a distance of 4.4 light years (1 light year is 6 twillion miles). Thusly, it took him roughly 4.4 years (26.4 twillion miles), at light speed, to reach Earth. The first three years of his journey was spent in hyper-suspended animation, to preserve ship's life support systems, and the attendant boredom such a relatively long journey would engender. He travels to Earth with an important message, and a gift that will transform Humankind.

"The Red Tower", Wash., DC

For more detail on "The Red Tower" and to view other images of my photography, click here.

The U. S. National Arboretum, Wash., DC (Slideshow)

The following slideshow is composed of photos I took at the U.S. National Arboretum, in Washington, DC, in 2002. If you haven't visited, do so! You will be amazed that such natural beauty exists within the confines of an urban city.

A Symphony of Two

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In 1984, while on my lunch hour walk, I caught these two young, gifted musicians holding forth a symphony of two on the corner of 19th Street and M Street, NW, in Washington, DC. They were very, very good and demonstrated a promising career in music. I sometimes wonder what became of them, and if they realized their dreams, whether in music, or some other labor of love.

3 Boys

I took this picture in 1975, on a small playground on 16th street, in northwest Washington, DC. I consider it one of my most fondest, and it always brings a smile to my face whenever I look at it. It clearly shows that character development starts early in children.

Mandelas: Chakra Series

Chakra 1

Chakra 2

Chakra 3

Chakra 4

The Mandela Series are 12" x 12" each, and printed on Matte Photo Paper. Prints are priced at $45.00 each. To place an order, please contact me at amkag@comcast.net. To see more of my "mandalas", click here.

The Journey

I wanted to do something in the way of expressing my support, belief, and admiration for Senator Barack Obama and his seeking the Presidency of the United States and, in the process, make history by becoming the nation's first African-American President. After reading his autobiography, "The Audacity of Hope", I came away impressed with his personal journey to "find" himself, being of mixed parentage, and become enlightened as to what his purpose and ultimate responsibility is as a husband, father, and black man living in America. Here is a man who seemed destined, and by design, 'customized' even, to be doing what he is doing now, which is his inherent ability to bridge the gap between black, brown, and white America, and bringing them together. Cynics and doubters questions his experience to lead the nation, yet overlook his proven ability in bringing people together and building consensus--two attributes he inherited from his parents, respectively. These doubters and cynics are blind to the spiritual forces at play. No matter how prevalent they play race against race; that Hispanics won't vote for him, as they did in Virginia, they will do the same in Texas. Why? Because Barack Obama trenscends race for a higher purpose, which is to finally bury the Civil War and all it engendered. His unique gifts equips him to show us how it is done; that as long as we see ourselves as 'victims' and 'victimizers', rather than as a people of a rich, diverse heritage, on a common quest, America will not become a true democracy.

Almost a year ago, few people knew of Barack Obama. Now he is less than a year away of becoming President. Even now it all seems so unreal. Not because half of us doubted a black man could handle the job, but because the other half doubted America would let it happen. But it is happening: a black man becoming President in this eighth year into the New Millennium. Even former President Bill Clinton unwittingly calls it a "fairy tale", but it is real, and it is happening against all our fears, hopes, and desires.

The Wilmington Ten

The Wilmington Ten were a group of civil rights activists who spent nearly a decade in jail after being convicted of arson and conspiracy in 1971. The case became an international cause celebre amidst widespread beliefs that the individuals in the case were only guilty of holding dissenting political beliefs. Amnesty International took up the case in 1976 and the convictions were finally overturned on a technicality in 1980. To read more, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington_Ten

The "Ten" were:

Benjamin Chavis (age 24) - 34 years
Connie Tindall (age 21) - 31 years
Marvin "Chili" Patrick (age 19) - 29 years
Wayne Moore (age 19) - 29 years
Reginald Epps (age 18) - 28 years
Jerry Jacobs (age 19) - 29 years
James "Bun" McKoy (age 19) - 29 years
Willie Earl Vereen (age 18) - 29 years
William "Joe" Wright, Jr. (age 19) - 29 years
Ann Shepard (age 35) - 15 years

One Human Power

Aside from developing cardiovascular fitness and a beautiful physique, riding a bicycle is also kind to the environment by limiting your expiration of carbon dioxide to only 0.35 cubic meters per hour, or roughly 900 pounds of carbon dioxide per year versus the additional release of 50,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year into the atmosphere if you travel by fossil fueled automobile!

Tribute to Tupac

As far as I'm concerned the genre started and ended with him. All the others are pretenders cashing in on the 'House' he built.

Transfusion/Distillation/Alteration

The "digital" in technology has given us an unprecedented degree of freedom and control over how we receive and use information. However, the ease this technology gives us to 'lift' data-- whether it is music, art, or literature--from its context presents a clear and present danger of running the risk of shortchanging our perception and understanding of how our world has come to be. After a while, we will no longer be interested in the "how" and "why" of things, only our consumption of it. This in turn will lead to our ignorance of how our world is put together, and the knowledge of maintaining it and/or rebuilding it, if need be. In our indolence, we will ask ourselves, "Why should I waste time and energy using my mind and getting my hands dirty when my precious machines can do these things for me?" By this time, the machines will rule, and it may very well be too late for us to reclaim the very thing that makes us human, which is our free will.