Our Wedding Photos

Thanks to Daniel and Monica Lal for these excellent color photos from our wedding.
Enjoy!

Please click here to see the Google Plus album.

The Unrighteous (A New Novel)

The wait is over...
Many of you have read my friend E.K. Jonathan's novel "All Things New," an excellent full length book that contains fictional interviews and experiences that take place in the new system. Although the work is purely imaginative, many I have known and even a few complete strangers have come up to me to express their thoughts about it, and some have felt it has in some ways helped them to even anticipate the new system even more.
I am happy to announce on his behalf that a 'sequel' to this novel has been written which pertains to the ressurection. The full epub version of this book has not been released to the public yet, but for now you can see the first installment of this novel that will be released in a series of posts at theunrighteousnovel.blogspot.com. When the ePub is available, I will likely make another post.



The following is a direct quotation from the preface of this new novel…

"When I first set out to write the book that would later become All Things New, I had no idea what would become of it. Would I even finish it? Would it be something worth reading? Would anyone other than a few close friends even bother to skim its pages, or would it end up a half-finished and sloppy pre-first draft on an old hard drive slowly decaying its way towards oblivion? Later on, as I put in the hours and slowly saw the book taking shape, new questions riddled my mind...”

“Fact: We have no idea how any of this stuff will go down. Well, not exactly, anyway. And the farther we gaze into the future, the hazier things become. The book you’re about to read here deals with events centuries into the New World. Will the unrighteous have the thoughts and hindrances that I’ve described in these pages? Maybe. Will New World communities’ systems of organization and commerce function as they do in the fictional towns of Clive and Bighton? Who knows? Certainly not I. So why, you may be wondering, pontificate so extensively about it?...”

“While I’d imagined All Things New would prove encouraging to at least a handful of those who took the time to peruse it, I never expected the overwhelming positive feedback that the book has managed to garner. To date, I’ve received dozens of emails and donations from friends around the world explaining just how encouraged and thrilled they were by the stories. Some were battling depression. Some were comforting older ones. Some had just experienced tragedy. One sister had actually been praying for help in visualizing the earthly paradise before inadvertently stumbling across the book. Needless to say, it felt good bolstering up the friends in that way.”

“The purpose of this book is not to fuel controversy, nor is it intended to push certain ideas. It’s merely to spark discussion. Is it speculative? Well, yes. Will some disagree with certain aspects? I imagine so. Of course, it’s likely the case that no two Witnesses on Earth have the same mental picture of what paradise will be.

I genuinely hope that the words in these pages will encourage you...”

Happy reading!

My Favorite Instagrams of 2014

2014 was the year of plane disappearances, planes getting shot down, ISIS, Russians invading, Ebola, the ALS ice bucket challenges, the death of Robin Williams... 

In other words it was chock-full of lots of things that were sad in themselves or reminders of sad things we have to face in this world.

For us as witnesses, it was a different story. 

There were many positive events that happened this year for us. 

A lot of them have happened just recently, in the later part of the year after the annual meeting – most notably the beginning of JW broadcasting, and you might also remember the special campaign that was going on in August to promote our website.

However the one thing that stood out above and beyond and covered quite a large portion of the year were the new conventions.

2014 was the year that the "super convention" was born. Conventions are now tied in one with the other and are multimedia experiences. From the brief video clip visualizing the resurrection to the tie-ins of actual governing body members giving talks, I really doubt that conventions will ever be the same again in the future. 

Much more than just the old name "district convention" changing to the new name "regional convention" has changed, and what has changed, has changed forever for the better. 

Yes that last sentence was a very confusing and unnecessarily long sentence that used the word "changed" or forms of the word "change" a little too much. It's hard to keep up with so many "changes."

Personally, 2014 was a great year. I think it may have been my best year since 2006. Yes I realize that is a very specific statement, but I also am not exactly sure how to measure how good one year is versus the next especially considering that it is better to 'go to the house of morning then to a banquet house' when it comes to gaining life experience, maturing as a person and growing through time into an adult.

I ended my 20s in September (thanks to Tina Cheung for catching the original typo in this sentence where I accidentally said I finished my 30s!), so hopefully I can finally claim what my legal documents say – I am an adult regardless of the fact that I may be lagging behind in many ways. :)

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My favorite Instagram posts from this year do not necessarily well represent different moments from the year in my personal life or even as far as world events because most people's posts don't always correspond with big events in the world, big events in my life, or even big events in their own lives! Some of my favorite posts this year were snapshots taken from everyday moments. Perhaps, to some, the preceding sentence would suffice as a partial definition of what a good photograph is. 

A good photograph, coupled with the social awareness or just simple interest of sharing that snapshot, albeit cropped to a square, with your friends on Instagram has allowed good photos and the spirit of those good moments to be shared and exist outside of comparatively cramped and private world of digital photo albums, physical photo albums, or even Facebook photo albums. That's the limited world where photos lived before Instagram!

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Below are my favorite posts from 2014. This is the third annual time I have done this, and so far I have received great support for when I do these posts.

Regardless of whether you were one of the people that really likes these entries, or are one of the ones that find the action of me doing this to be self-righteous, some sort of personal confirmation for you that I am an Instagram addict or otherwise, I hope you enjoy the photos in this post. 

I definitely think that, to a large degree, the era of excessive selfies, excessive food pictures, excessive pet pictures, etc is passing and Instagram is continually becoming more of a brainstorming studio for exercising photography and creative skills. Still, above all else, it is a medium for sharing special moments with close friends and friends that we wish we could be closer with.

My Top Individual Posts

This year’s number one spot is something more personal. Jaron was one of my closest friends growing up. I don’t think I can remember a time when I didn’t know him, and I’m glad he found a sister as wonderful as Jessica is. There were lots of photos taken by multiple skilled photographers with expensive equipment at his wedding, but my favorite photo of all was this two-toned silhouetted shot of a moment when it was just the two of them during their honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico. 

#1

I’m not sure if it is sad that 'Brooklyn Bethel' will soon be a thing of the past. This year, that fact became more clear than ever with the ongoing growth of the Warwick World Headquarters project. 

The photo below of Hannah Long looking up to an important part of our past, the Photo Drama of Creation, carries double weight considering the actual location of the exhibit will soon become history itself. Conversely, at the same time, the existence of exhibit itself is a reminder of how far we’ve come as Witnesses under Jah’s direction and a warm reminder that in order to know where we are going, we have to know where we have come from.

#2

Shanghai resident Esther Johnson has changed from a young woman that consistently posts good photos to one that seldom posts excellent and often powerful photos. Her picture below of a boy separated from what he desires by a piece of plastic is more than just a excellently lit cute picture. It is the unfortunate story of a country that is developing quickly, too quickly and not quickly enough all at the same time. 

#3

Simone Hviid has a passion for photography. She’s the photographer I personally am closest to, and as such I know how often she talks about taking and editing those perfect shots. Shots like the one below of the wonderful Elisa Gonzalez getting smacked in the face in the name of art are an example of action shots—photos that capture something that the human eye can never freeze and imprint into space on its own. The photo below is the best example of that that I’ve seen all year. 

#4

When Brian took the shot below of his wife in Toscana, Italy, undoubtedly he was happy about it—it’s a great photo—but he may not have thought it would be one of my favorites of the year. The comment below says: ‘Frame-able moment.’ It’s interesting how with Instagram, it isn’t only about a great picture—the caption matters as well! This post is inadvertently a spokes-post about what Instagram should be about: 'frame-able' moments.

#5

I only recently found out that Jackie Suhy was a photographer. I shouldn’t be surprised. Her photo of a little Dominican girl with a mountain of multi-colored curlers on her head is cute and developing-nation-gritty at the same time. Wonderful. 

#6

Five Star Posts

There were many excellent photos this year, but after reviewing the screenshots I took over the course of the year, the posts below were the ones that I considered the best of the best after the posts listed above.

An excellent, if not my favorite ever, kissing picture of Jermaine and Jessica for their first wedding anniversary. 

When Melissa posted the photo above, my older brother said he would never read my blog again if it weren't included in my year in review. :) I did share his sentiments for the photo, and also really liked Melissa's bold-enough-to-be-black-and-white post below of a tiny flock of ducks in front of Brooklyn World Headquarters.

Since this is the third year-in-review post, it's now possible to see how some photographers like theflyingfin, along with others, are building a reputation over time of consistently making excellent posts.

 Two great posts above from a consistently good photographer, and the jumping picture of the year below.

The two biggest nations in terms of population and developmental growth are represented above and below; a beautifully simple picture of a child in India (above) and of a Chinese child playing with a ring and stick in mainland China.

Although, tragically, (I know that's too strong of a word), Instagram was blocked in China this year, preventing some of my favorite photographers from posting freely, there were still some excellent entries. Below is a shot from mainland China and above is a moment of glee from a たこ焼き (Takoyaki) party.

(Above) Shanghai-based Tyler Johnson consistently posts excellent pictures from his travels all over the world.

The above photo was posted and reposted many times in the day preceding Jaron's wedding, but I don't think one needs to know anyone in the photo to appreciate the youthful, warm spirit of this photo.

One of my favorite posts from the Stegosaurus tour in the US. The salt flats photos from Utah make the excellent photo above from Japan-based Nanako Ohashi look like a green screen special-effects mashup. 

Pepper, the Texan who has returned to Samana DR, recently took this excellent photo as her debut post on Domincan ground.

A Swedish Citizen-Kaney moment wonderfully captured from above by frksikter

My Favorite Profiles

#1 - Sparklingwaterforeveryone

Although, I’m singling out Pasi, the trio of excellent posts from him, his wife (violetta.ok) and his sister-in-law (paradisedreamersdream) are inseparable from one another and it's obvious they all support one another. Really, this Finland-based trio consistently makes artsy posts that focus on and somehow strangely combine the contrasting categories of youthful elite-hipster fashion with a wonderful, often eccentrically wonderful, spirit of European stay-at-home-in-the-winter warmth. The excellence from their photos and posts don’t come from sensational travel posts or Nat Geo style shots. The excellence comes from warm simplicity and awareness of style.

One from Giulia (his sister-in-law)...

And one from his wife Violetta...

#2 - Littlescoot

There are several people who use their Instagram profiles to directly or indirectly promote the needgreater lifestyle. My personal DR-based good friends Veronica Ochoa, Justin and Jennifer Eirhart and Matt Power are excellent examples of this style of posting. Tanzania-based Ruth Stackhouse (savannahmoja) and Myanmar-based Oliver Degrate (oliverinmandalay) and his wife post excellent, informative, encouraging posts as well. However, in my opinion, Thailand-based Lexi Taylor takes the cake. Her photos range from inspiring to breathtaking while never losing a consistent overall sense of humor. If her posts don’t motivate you to get on a plane and try the adventures of the #bestlifeever (a slogan that was born in 2014), I wonder whose posts will… 

#3 - thesecondgreatestman

Last year’s first place position may not be my favorite profile overall this year, but that’s certainly not because of any regress in the quality of his posts. The hashtags can get excessive and the cynicism, though funny, gets tiresome, but post after post, shot after shot, Josh has consistently and unrelentingly posted photos that dazzle.

#4 - Mattkingmonkey

Matt Power, the Londoner in DR, has grown out of posts with artificial blurs into an artist that posts pictures that well complement the prosaic quotes he often includes in the captions. His posts have been excellent all year, and he keeps on getting better. 

Great profile: theswedishswag

Swedish born Sandra Hedstrom consistently posts excellent pictures of the Dominican Republic that show her life here and elsewhere thorough an artistic eye unlike any other—her own.

Great profile: Mokkicard37

One of the biggest events of my 2014 was the “birth” of my sister-in-law to be—Monica Cardenas. When it comes to her presence on Instagram, it isn’t only about pretty pictures—it’s a peek-hole into her life, whether she’s living in China, Columbia, New York or traveling elsewhere. She inadvertently, and appropriately in subtle manner, invites us to travel and live her life with her through her posts. I would know this more than most because I knew her though Instagram long before she became my sister-in-law to be. When I finally met her in person, I felt as if I already knew her.

Other Notable Profiles:

This year, I loved following and especially looked forward to posts from Simone (s_moon_), Veronica (v_8a), Stephan Mabson (stephanmabs) who continues to grow as an architectural photographer, and Phillip Galyean (fatkidswithglasses) who has instantly mastered the GoPro and continues to post wonderful photos.

35 Honorable Mentions from 2014

The photos below are other photos I loved in no particular order. To those who took the photos, thanks for sharing!

15 Outstanding Sunset Photos

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As always, I wasn't able to include every photo I liked, did not include profiles dedicated to professional photography or reposts, and what's represented here is a sampling of the posts I enjoyed from the feeds I follow.

We have a lot to look forward to for 2015. Convention season is quickly coming. In the upcoming spring months, I plan on getting ahead on my time so that I can enjoy the festivities. Of course, now I think we all look forward to each October, wondering what will be presented at the annual meeting.

In my personal life, my brother will get married in August! I'm looking forward to the festivities surrounding that.

I've got a good feeling that this year will be one for the books.