It’s a big question. Not really answerable, in the big picture. But Jörg Colberg, of the photo blog Conscientious, and I tried to give it a go. Here’s a link.

I just got a $5 fine from the State Taxation Board for being late with my payment of $0. You can’t make this stuff up.

Without intending to, I had a bit of a gangster film festival the last few days. (A few films worked their way up the Netflix queue when I got lazy.) Anyway, “The Sicilian Girl” is a chilling Mafia film out of Italy, “Shanghai Triad” is a classic by Zhang Yimou, and “Dirty Pretty Things” does it London style. Now just let your ass hit the sofa and it’s all good.

Yes. You’ll thank me.  Here we go: Cook penne in boiling salted water until your preferred degree of done-ness. (1/4lb per person…I like it al dente myself.) In a separate saucepan, melt butter on low heat (2 pats per person), then stir in a bit of flour.  Stir until smooth, then add milk once it’s all mixed together.  1/4 cup of milk per person, more or less.  Stir until smooth.  Add a touch of salt.  Congrats, you’ve just made a Bechamel. Then add 1 handful of chopped cheddar or jack cheese (per person) and stir until smooth on low heat.  Drain pasta when cooked and add to the cheese sauce.  Stir.  Add a scoop of New Mexico Green Chile on top, if you’ve got it handy.  This stuff is better and cheaper than the store-bought kind.  (Well, not cheaper than Kraft I suppose.) Guaranteed to satisfy any kid on the planet.

Here’s the quick answer:  it’s not one or the other, it’s both.  Have you noticed that most people prefer one or the other, and take that decision personally? I sided with FB for a while, but then realized it was a silly stance.  Last week, I read that David Plouffe, Obama’s guru, watches Twitter during Obama’s big speeches.  Not TV.  Then I read that Mixed Martial Arts’s UFC, the fastest growing sport in the world, offeres its athletes a half million dollar bonus for those with the largest amount of Twitter followers. I get it.  Twitter and FB together constitute the global cyber community.

As such, you can now find me at @jblauphoto on Twitter.  I’ll only be retweeting, and sharing naughty thoughts and observations.  No self promotion on Twitter for me…

I saw a couple of new people starting following this Tumblr.  I admit I often get a little (a lot) lazy with it, but will bust out some fresh new posts in the coming weeks.  You can also connect on FB if you like, and read some of my articles on A Photo Editor.  Thanks for the luv. I think I’ll join Twittermania pretty soon as well.  Everywhere, all the time is the motto of the 21C, right? 

Yesterday, I saw on a Facebook post that Tim Hetherington had been killed in Libya.  Apparently, the wires picked it up from Andre Liohn’s Facebook post.  No surprise, as we all know that social networking sites are breaking news each day, and breaking regimes in the Middle East as well.  It’s a major tragedy for us all.

Two weeks ago, I watched “Restrepo,” for the first time.  Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger both made a film about, and in, the most extreme battle zone in Afghanistan.  They experienced the war, and lived with the brave soldiers, because they believed that people needed to see the reality for themselves.  They captured the dust, depression and determination of a group of men who would have otherwise been anonymous. 

I happened to watch the Oscar winning film “The Hurt Locker” on the same day, an unplanned and slightly perverse endeavor.  It was more than clear to me that Hetherington’s narrative was a far more successful piece of art:  a tense dose of geo-political reality made for a culture over-saturated with silly fame-grabbers who’ve practically denuded the term “reality” of any meaning at all.  “Restrepo” was the best film I’ve seen in a long time.  A must see for every American.

So when I read the FB post about his possible demise, I was hurt and saddened but not shocked.  I like to make work in the comfort of my studio.  I like to play with ideas and make people think.  It’s safe.  I have a wife and a kid.  And I don’t understand what it feels like to risk one’s life in order to disseminate vital information for and to everyone.

We are all the lesser for this loss.  In a world where journalists and artists are increasingly at risk, where Ai Weiwei can be locked away and Serrano’s “Piss Christ” can be destroyed out of hate and ignorance, the world needs more brave souls like Tim Hetherington. 

Hola.  I’m having a solo exhibition for “The Value of a Dollar” at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Ft. Collins, Colorado.  The exhibition opens Friday April 1, from 6-9pm.  I’ll also be giving a lecture about the series on Saturday April 2 at 2pm.  If you or any of your peeps are in the area, I hope you’ll stop by.  C4FAP is a terrific space.  For more information, visit www.c4fap.org.