Blog Day: Where is Our Blogger?!

Photo & Text Copyright 2009 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.

Today friends in the City Daily Photo Blog community are posting special photos from our cities around the globe to express our concern for our fellow CDPB blogger who has shared with us every day for years the beauty of the city and people of Iran's capital, Tehran. He disappeared on the streets of Tehran seven days ago and we are anxious to hear of his safety and whereabouts. Ours is a photoblogging, not a political community, but we must express our love and concern for someone just like each of the rest of us who shares one photo a day from our cities and enjoys friendship around the world. There is a tower in Tehran that a friend once told me Seattle's Space Needle reminded him of. So, from the Space Needle here in my city to the beautiful Milad tower in Tehran, which our blogging friend Amir began showing our community the construction of in 2006 and the lighting of in this photo in August of last year, I send my good wishes for his safe return and for the peace of the dear people of Iran in these present troubling times. Here is a green balloon for each day that has passed since we have learned of his disappearance. Similar balloons were let go all over Iran on Friday to express the Iranian people's wish for the right to peaceful demonstration and freedom of speech without fear of reprisal.
Click here to view thumbnails for all the CDPB special Blog Day: Where is Our Blogger? participants.

UPDATE: Amir has been released! our blogging friend reported at 12:06 PST today that , " I just got an email right now that Amir is released and is back home." What wonderful news!

UPDATE #2: Read this to find out how some detainees at Evin prison have been treated.

I Know We Can Make It

Photo & Text Copyright 2009 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.

I was going home one night in mid December past a house that in past years has offered very creative and large lighted Christmas decorations ( the year before it had been "Fa la la la la la la la la" on colorful stacked blocks about as tall as a house). This is what I saw and I only had my cell phone camera at the time. I intended to go back with the real camera and get some decent shots to show you, but we had all that snow and then we were out of town, more snow, yadda yadda. . . I was hoping it was still up when I went back in the fog last night with the real camera and tripod and it was. The home owner has mounted the 3' high letters (made of polyester batting, 3 types of Christmas lights, and some shiny embellishments) on flexible metal fencing grid and hung it from a tree at an angle facing traffic. It lights up the whole street. I'm betting there's a party there next Tuesday night ;^) .

Update: Although folks are probably more likely to crank up the Goo Goo Dolls' "Better Days" as inauguration day gets closer, here are the lyrics to the Pointer Sisters huge hit song Yes We Can from many, many moons ago. Perhaps they will serve to inspire US folks considering following through on the president elect's request that Americans spend a few hours volunteering time and service in their communities on this Monday's national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday:

Now's the time for all good men
to get together with one another.
We got to iron out our problems
and iron out our quarrels
and try to live as brothers.
And try to find a piece of land
without stepping on one another.
And do respect the women of the world.
Remember you all have mothers.
We got to make this land a better land
than the world in which we live.
And we got to help each man be a better man
with the kindness that we give.
I know we can make it.
I know darn well we can work it out.
Oh yes we can, I know we can can
Yes we can can, why can't we?
If we wanna get together we can work it out.

And we gotta take care of all the children,
the little children of the world.
'cause they're our strongest hope for the future,
the little bitty boys and girls.

We got to make this land a better land
than the world in which we live.
And we got to help each man be a better man
with the kindness that we give.
I know we can make it.
I know darn well we can work it out.
Oh yes we can, I know we can can
yes we can can, why can't we?
If we wanna, yes we can can.