a shot from the arm: Stranger flowers yet, there will never come a day that I will ever regret

It's 8/16/11 so of course I'm referencing '8:16 am' off of 311's album Grassroots. I still have a ways to go in sharing images from the Pow Wow Festival. I had planned to include 8 photos today, but I decided why not double that and make it 16 instead?

So here we are, more 311, and more of my chatter about how badass they are. If I ever need a pick me up, to pull myself out of a funk, some workout motivation, or just want to rock my face off, the iPod dial turns to them. Or even if I'm in a perfectly fine mood, it's probably still turning to them especially lately because I'm still amidst my Pow Wow "afterglow" as a friend recently put it.

One of the focuses in their musical catalog is staying true to yourself, being positive, and loving what you've got in life...and I can get behind that 100%. Everyone has daily battles. No matter how large or small, they are still battles that we have to overcome. That's part of the journey and what makes us stronger and wiser. I completely believe that we have the power within us to make the most of a situation. It's mind over matter. You have to take a bad situation and turn it into something positive. Otherwise, you will just drown and what good is that? Negativity accomplishes nothing except more negativity. If you are positive and thankful for what you HAVE been blessed with, then that positivity spreads to those around you. These days it saddens me to see what people have been consumed with in this world. Money, possessions, worldy things.....you can't hug a Lexus or a bank account. It's family, friends, relationships. It's people. It's who leaves a mark on your heart. It's someone who will be there for you no matter what. My dad said this to me when my grandfather was in hospice. He said, "it's family that matters. You can't take a Cadillac to heaven." There wasn't one minute that my grandfather was in that room alone from the time he was admitted until after he passed away there. One of us was always with him and he knew it. That's love.

Another tangent, but it still relates back to the message that 311 puts out there.
Know what's important.
Be happy.
Stay positive and love your life.

With that, here are some miscellaneous images from Pow Wow. I was glad to capture the first shot there. This girl's smile made ME smile. I wish I knew who she was so I could send her a copy. This entry is a little heavy on Nick and P-Nut images, but who cares? I'd be sharing them eventually. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.