A few years back there was a birthday party that took place right around this same time of year.  A Happy Birthday to all of you Scorpios all around the World.

You know when you’re working or going to school full-time, whatever comprises your busy days, it takes time to reflect and show love for some of the details that truly make a special event. For this party a talented airbrush artist painted this 6’x3’ canvas banner and custom t-shirts in honor of three birthdays @ a well thought out and memorable party celebrated together with a bunch of good people.

Thank you and a special shout out to Mr M. Thompson, aka Skillz.

Nowadays the art of airbrush has become much more conventional than ever before in history.  From local grassroots artists to mainstream media attention the popularity of these highly detailed custom paint jobs are seen almost anywhere you look…vehicles, murals, clothing and design, you name it, airbrush culture is in demand.

It’s a dark, brisk night.  You are walking on your way to a party as the wind is howling and the leaves swirl around in the air with the distant sound of a galloping horse…

The lore, of what is the cultural phenomenon of Halloween is interesting and somewhat mystifying.  However one of the facts this time of the year is the annual celebration of the pumpkin harvest.  So how do we celebrate these cool looking, uniquely sized and shaped gourds?

The answer:  With a blade. Carefully, carving them up…

As the flesh and seeds of the pumpkin are reserved for culinary purposes, the hollowed shell remains a piece for those creative souls to transform them into their own unique luminary expressions of art.  The pumpkin carved in the form of a face, a pattern, really anything imaginable, next brought to life by the light of a lamp or candle.

During those dark, brisk nights leading up to October 31^st, Jack O’Lanterns will adorn patios, windowsills, and porches.  Maybe even upon the shoulders of an infamous headless character in a Sleepy Hollow near you…

Happy Halloween!!

Do you remember that science class when you took samples of water or animal tissue to observe under a microscope? Looking at cells, parts of the building blocks of life.

What about all of the images that we see today in the electronic world? You know every time you look at televisions, computer screens, electronic billboards, digital cameras, wireless gadget displays, and media that have been printed with inkjet devices.

Like the cells you saw in lab, the building blocks of these images are pixels. These small dots or boxes of different shades and colors are those that comprise the images you see in everyday life. Put a million pixels in a box, and they become Mega. These various groups of megapixels combined together to create the world of digital photography.

In reflection, many years before megapixels, maybe the Pointillists’ art revolution was just way ahead of its time. Maybe they knew the secret to visual arts would keep re-inventing itself, as does the technology influencing it. That Neo-Pointillism would one day become Reality. Because their perspective was to share, naturally like the universe, that each individual part is its own integral player in an infinite image.

Long before humans were able to transcend vast distances more rapidly than ever before, roadways were just migrating lanes throughout the world’s continents.

Well, a lot has changed.

Of course, they were unique to each person(s) then, as the routes we take to work and the vehicles that help move people and goods, today.  Now within the vast networks of dirt, gravel, asphalt and concrete, like life, there are many different twists, turns, hills and valleys along the way that make each and every one its own unique story.

We plan many of our destinations traveling on the roadways, some for work and some for play.  But then there is the proverbial “every now and then”. Those autonomous moments in time, when you create an opportunity to put the map away, switch off the GPS or maybe the Google Maps on your portable wireless device.

Then you will have truly set the stage…a time and place where the unknown becomes an expedition. When you explore a new environment while appreciating your surroundings, many offered by traveling upon the world’s many different roadways.

May all joy and intellect fuel your drive for adventure.  To simply be motivated by what you will see when you get to the top of each and every one of those hills in life.

This week in The United States, from October 4^th until October 10^th 2009, is a time to honor National Newspaper Week.

But why for just a week? And why just in The US? For in reality, everywhere around the world, when printing presses are fired-up-ready and produce pieces of paper inked with printed words, symbols and images, everyday is truly a cause for celebration.

Back up for a minute, though.  Just imagine for a moment having been alive many centuries ago.  It would not be a question if transcribed literature, printed newspapers, magazines and books would survive The Digital Age.  It would not be a question of whether or not a Pen or a Typewriter would ultimately be replaced by a Computer Keyboard with a Printer, and then, those advancements to be superseded next by Touch Screens and Voice Command systems.

Nope, none of that would have ever mattered, had the old typeset Printing Press not been invented.  That’s right, you would have never had the opportunity to hold in your hands and smell a newspaper that is “Hot Off The Press”.  And there wouldn’t have been any banter of “EXTRA, EXTRA, Read All About It!!” on street corners.  Let alone miles of shelves covered with your favorite magazines, vast library systems, and amazing prints and artwork to adorn private and public space.

Come to think of it, we wouldn’t know anything about our governments, communities, people, places or our favorite things.  On that note, let these words be a sense of urgency, for you to get out there, use the new technologies, pick up your phone, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, you name it.  It’s time for a true call to promote, subscribe, and ultimately support our newspapers and print publications, all around the world.

To become better informed, at the same time, showing love for printed material and the people and innovation that make it a reality. Because no matter what the future holds, an old friend, named Gutenberg, will forever look upon us, from wherever he is, and continue to smile at the progress in, and of, The Flow of Information.

Thanks to print, and all to do with its cause. Here’s to the ever-persistent dedication to inform and be well informed Citizens of Our World.

You know those times when you just can’t put your finger on something you really, really want to find? It could be anything.

You know, when you think about the last time you saw it, maybe where you had it last, drawing up this whole blueprint in your mind to come up with a strategy to make what is lost found.  You’re confident and you’ve got it all mapped out, as you start your search only again to be frustrated by the discouragement of your honest efforts.

Then you think to yourself, new strategy.

I’m simply just going to take this one out of my hands. If it’s meant for me to find it, then it’s meant to be.  You close yours eyes for a few moments and take in deep breaths. You relax, and become calm as you let go of all the old invisible barriers in your mind, and you begin to visualize, then you see it, that what you are looking for, like a diamond in the rough, and, ultimately, you see yourself finding it.

At that moment, you open your eyes to see help has arrived.  Random in its form, you take comfort and are pleased to be presented with a Guide.

There are many interesting life things to ponder in our spare time.

One of those could be communication in its most raw form.  That’s right, for each and every expression set forth, is only unique as the interpretation of its receiver.

Thanks for visiting Rankin Images. New content here every Wednesday.

As the long days of warm sunshine meet the shorter days and cooler nights, soon arrives the harvest time.

Yes, in this part of the world, at this time of year, people are wrapping up their summer activities, vacations, BBQs, getting the kids back in school, and the start of football season, you name it.  Amidst all the action, the earth continues to shift on its axis, naturally, like the most precise clockwork balanced on a scale spanning billions of years.

And we humans and inhabitants of the earth have all kinds of things we look forward to each and every season, those marked by the world changing around us.  Then there are those moments, when you simply just take a break from it all, to kick back, relax, and witness the gentle clockwork motion in action.

The point when the Earth clearly meets the Sky, during a Summer Sunset.

…and education put into perspective…this past week received a communication from an upstanding friend of Rankin Images, Mr. Dominic Leong.

Leong is currently in the process of fundraising and working with the organizations of The Boeing Company and Room to Read in efforts to construct a school in Vietnam.  Having known Leong for the better part of the past half-decade, he is a person of good character. One who recognizes and follows up on opportunities, at the same time humble in his blessings and a compassionate, progressive thinker.

In his communication he mentioned something quite interesting to share.  A view on opportunity and education that could be easily overlooked, yet simple and thought provoking in the grand scheme of things. Here’s an excerpt:

“When Quang returned from his vacation we contacted Room to Read and committed to fully funding one school in Long An.  Both Quang and I believe education (especially education of girls) is the most critical component to eradicating poverty.  Through improved educational opportunities, individuals are able to improve the socioeconomic conditions of their families, communities, countries, and future generations.  We have both benefited from excellent educational opportunities here in the United States, but we also believe much of that is due to luck.  I just happened to win the lottery of life by being born middle-class in the US.  Quite simply, I would not have had the same educational opportunities if I had lost that lottery and been born to a poor family in Nepal.”

Yes, each life could represent a role of the dice, luck, that winning lottery number, random, ultimately each and every one in its own time and place, a miracle.

For more information about Leong’s project email S. (Sean at Rankin Images) and he will forward you supplementary details.  Additionally, for every Rankin Images order processed between now and September 24^th, 2009, half of the profit will be donated to Room to Read, and their efforts to build educational opportunities worldwide.

Imagine for a moment you are child.

You go grocery shopping with your parents.  You look around and marvel at all of the wonderful things that are offered at the market.  You help them fill the basket with all kinds of good food products and follow them up to the check stand to pay.  A debit-card is swiped, a receipt is taken, and you make your way out of the store.

In the parking lot you spot an object shining in the sun.  Without any prior knowledge of the perception of money, you pick up a coin.  With it in hand, you look up to your parents in amazement and think, What is this treasure?!

They look at you with bright smiles and say, It’s a tool.