Andrija Ilic is a photographer from
Belgrade, Serbia in the former Yugoslavia.
Andrija uses photography to document
social changes to his environment and the daily events in his homeland. He has covered
some of the most important events in the region: war in Kosovo in 1998, NATO maneuvers
in Italy in 1998 and intervention in 1999, numerous anti-regime protests 1996-2000,
events surrounding the fall of government in Belgrade in October 2000, the
crisis in southern Serbia.
As an American, the events in the
Balkans the past half dozen years always seemed disturbing to me, but distant.
Andrija has used his lens to help
me understand the history and spirit that precludes the conflict. Architecture is
medieval, people farm and ranch, it snows ... all captured with the soft, filtered
colorings of Ilic style.
Then there is war.
You can see the pain in the faces
of those that Andrija froze for eternity on film. The numb refugees, the stoic fighters,
relatives searching for lost loved ones, the crying babies and weary mothers.
You see it in the crumbled brick and
block, the slaughtered livestock, the orange fire and billowing smoke, the stark
consequences. Andrija was in the middle of it all.
He was there too as his countrymen
began their awakening with protests that led to the eventual fall of Miroslav Milosevic.
Andrija Ilic was in the midst of the special police forces the night they arrested the
tyrant.
Those faces that once bore strain and
pain now reflect joy and celebration.
Lately Andrija aims his camera for art.
He photographs illusion and theater, desire and sport, fashion and beauty. In other
words, these days Andrija Ilic is photographing peace.
That applies to bad timing, as well
as good. I find myself faced with one of those moments of bad timing.
The
Internet Brothers
Community went online in April 2000 as a forum for creative writing and shared
experiences. Internet Brothers' web sites have long been oriented to what has become
known on the web as content.
This "content" is delivered in the form
of tutorials about how to do this
web stuff. It includes a collection of hows and whys by some of the best known
digerati, as well as
interviews with many of
them. And, it includes the
IB Community.
Earlier this week,
Kimberly Warzelhan submitted an essay for
consideration. I agreed to post it because she tells an interesting
story that has a moral filled with hope and positive humanity. You can read
Machines and Miracles, and enjoy it, in the
Storytelling
section.
In the meantime, because of what the
web does so well, interconnection, I have been injected into the middle of a
completely unrelated imbroglio. Why? I haven't a clue. I have no dog in that hunt.
This month marks the two year
anniversary of Lucid Confusion and five years on the web for
Internet Brothers. Hmmm. If I ever figure
out why, I'll let you know.
An answer on
Final Jeopardy demonstrated to me just how
little I know about a very important event in American history. Listening with a friend,
my curiosity was piqued, so I used this great library on the wire, the Internet, to
learn more about the correct question, "Who was Wade?"
This attorney was well known as both the prosecutor of Jack Ruby for
the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald in Texas, but also the defendant in a landmark U.S.
Supreme Court case that is still argued with passion 30 years later.
Norma McCorvey was pregnant with her
third child, the result of a rape, when she was recruited to be "Jane Roe," the lead
plaintiff in the Roe vs. Wade
class-action lawsuit. Ironically, she never had an abortion, but instead delivered
a girl, whom she gave up for adoption.
The identity of Jane Roe remained a
secret to the public until the 1980s, when McCorvey disclosed her real name. Norma
McCorvey then announced in 1987 that her rape testimony in 1969 was false. Now a
born-again Christian, she converted to the pro-life lobby.
Lawyers Sarah Weddington and Linda
Coffee filed the Roe vs. Wade class-action lawsuit on behalf of U.S. women. Weddington
convinced Norma McCorvey to become the lead plaintiff as "Jane Roe." After McCorvey
converted to the anti-abortion camp, Weddington said she wished she had chosen a
different representative for the cause.
Henry Wade was the Dallas County
district attorney who was enforcing the Texas abortion laws when he was named as a
defendant in the now-famous Roe vs. Wade lawsuit. As such, he represented the state of
Texas in the case. During his career, this former FBI special agent also prosecuted
Jack Ruby, the man who shot Lee Harvey Oswald.
Now, because of Jeopardy, and a friend
who encourages me to use the Internet more as a learning tool, I know more about the
players from this very important moment in time that helped define America.
Today marks the two year anniversary of Lucid Confusion
and the five year anniversary of Internet Brothers.
Hmmm. If I ever figure out why, I'll let you know.
Computer Operations Management:
where proven strengths in perception of requirements, observation of results, analysis
of trends, and problem solving combined with expertise in systems administration will
contribute to streamlined and effective service, as well as increased productivity and
profitability.
