So David Blake just released these two prints along with another one I think, through the “Get Up Gallery”
You can order prints if you want one…
Pretty dope, if you ask me.
Do your homework and find it.
$30 bucks, ya’ dig!
much love,
Joe.
*This afternoon, I heard a news break of a bank robbery in Chino that led to a shooting… Not sure of the details, but it made me think, and realize that beyond all the bad things going on, my life is really great.
I love my life.
I sincerely feel sorry for those who feel that the only option left is to risk your life in order to get ahead, or just survive (*side note: working on a photo project titled “Survival Vs. Morals”). I am a humble person, but I am also very proud of myself. I have always had to work for what I want, and not just financially. I think that so many people don’t realize how lucky they are just to be able have the opportunity to go to public school, much less college or even have the physical and mental ability to literally go, and learn. Or the capability to get a job… any job. Yet, in our society there are so many people who don’t thrive, but simply settle. To settle for less is cheating yourself. People expect so much to be simple and easy. I believe is life were simple and easy, then it wouldn’t be worth the value of achieving success. It’s not always the destination, but the journey that makes the expedition so valuable.
I love my life.
I love what I have learned from my parents, my family, my mentors, as well as what I’ve learned from my peers and friends. I mean, I’m not saying that my friends are all scholars, saints, and over achievers, but simply the fact that through each others hardships we grow and learn with each other. Everyone and everyday is a lesson.
I love my life.
Even though so many things are achievable through hard work, there is so much frustration in life that is valid. Simply due to the fact that there are things that we can not control, no matter how hard we try. This is really the toughest life lesson there is. Knowing that you don’t know everything. Recognizing that you can not always be in control of everything that happens to you, or that happens to people in your life.
There’s people who come into our lives that stain our memories with love, laughter, loss, and life lessons that we will carry with us forever and pass onto those who we cherish today. A song, a place, a smell, anything can remind us of those who made us who we are…. Take nothing for granted, and take everything to heart.
I love my life.
Today is a leap day which is significant to our modern calendar, to happen every four years. This year is a significant year to the Mayan calendar, simply because it expires this year… So, it really makes me wonder what is it that we can predict and expect. We all make plans in our life to take that cruise (don’t take a cruise they keep wrecking), or to get married, or to buy a house (not even sure if buying a house is a good idea these days), or shit just to wash the car. But in reality, we can’t seriously know what’s going to happen. After I heard the breaking news about the bank robbery, the weather forecaster said that this weekend, there is a possibility of rain… this guy has the easiest job. I could tell you that.
I love my life.
After hearing about the bank robbery shooting, and that it might rain, I received a phone call from a TV show producer from the ABC network, that I had done a shoot for a few months ago (well a mock shoot for a reality show). She was telling me that the show I helped out on will be airing this Saturday on ABC (at 10 or 10:30am i believe), and that the photos from the mock shoot were really great and they want to use them for the website to promote the episode. The show is titled ” Everyday Health”. It’s actually really great (I’m not just saying that because I’m on it) and it’s pretty amazing how each episode benefits different children in need. If you want to be inspired by kids who have had it rough in their short life, check it out. Below you will find the link to the website with the episode’s preview (episode #19), and on Friday there will be more content regarding this specific episode. I did this project completely pro bono, knowing and recognizing that there are a lot of people in the world that have to work a lot harder than I have to achieve their own personal success. This year has been an amazing year for me so far, and is only getting better. I am a firm believer in karma and the power of love. If you want it, you can get it.
I love my life.
much love,
Joe.
PS: here’s a quote from one of my favorite movies that I didn’t mention in my “love for movies” post from Sunday.
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
F.B.
Everyday Health TV episode 19, check your local listings
*Approximately 63 miles north west of San Antonio, Texas on Highway 16 you will find a small town (it’s actually considered a census-designated place [CDP] in Bandera County, Texas) named Medina. The population being 2960, which I believe most of which are from the surrounding hills. Continuing on highway 16 about eight miles you will find the Medina Children’s home orphanage. On the furthest point of the children’s home, and across the street from the children’s home main house, you will a piece of land with a small sign titled “B&B ranch”.
My father’s father (Elmer Briscoe) purchased this land with the help from the bank, I believe back in the early 1940’s. He taught my father to cherish this property as my father taught myself and my siblings to do the same. The “B&B” badge is short for “Briscoe and Bank” from when my grandfather took out a loan and purchased the land. He thought it was only fair to share the title, of the ranch since the bank was literally sharing the property title for a little while there.
No matter how far I travel through out the world, this is always where my heart will be. I love this place more than one can express love to any one location, and will forever hold it to be one of the most valuable things in my life. There has been many tears cried, blood shed, laughs bellowed, smiles shone, genuine life lasting (and changing) memories made (and possibly some babies made too) on this cherished land that will only continue to grow, and stay in my family as long as my name and voice will live on.
For those of you that know, I don’t need to express it’s majestic power in any other way… for those of you who don’t, I can only hope that you find a place in your heart that you can hold as dear to you as I do to the B&B ranch.
Hope you enjoy!
much love,
Joe.
PS: I am sharing in this post a number of different pictures from a number of different generations. The top picture above is the last photo I’ve taken at the ranch this past holiday season when Roscoe and I were road tripping.
^ An amazing photo taken by Haven of the garage at the ranch. I told you she captures things differently that I have seen a hundred times.
^ A pic of my sisters at a young age with their pink strapped horses
^ An overview sketch my sister Danelle made while in college, of the ranch.
^ My niece Kayla Archer dangling from a great rope swing that completes every summer.
^ The “rooftop 7” is our cattle brand that you will find all over the ranch and property of the ranch.
^ A photo from 1983 I believe, of my cousin Michael Ceballos and myself jumping on bunk beds together with riffles… this was all okay at the B&B ranch, even at the age of 5. FYI: I’m the one with the gun.
* “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
All throughout my childhood my grandmother (my father’s mother), would tell me about this reoccurring dream she would have of me. She would say, ” I always see you being a chef… On a cruise ship… and just traveling the world.” My grandma, Lillie Briscoe lived to be 98 years old and traveled the world until she was about 90 years old. She was a wonderful woman, and I think is the reason that so much of my family love to travel.
I’ve been fortunate to be able to travel to several different countries and places, for work and play. In this post I am sharing a bunch of photos from some of my journeys. (Above is a photo from one of many trips to Barbados W.I.) Also, below is a link to a gallery on my website entitled “places”. Check it out for yourself.
http://www.briscoephoto.com/#/PORTFOLIOS/PLACES/1/
Hope you enjoy!
much love,
Joe.
^My niece and I shopping for sunglasses in Hawaii
^Self portrait NYC time square
^Self portrait Nevada desert (I think…)
^My feet, hiking trail, Kauai Hawaii
^Barbados W.I.
^Self portrait, Kauai Hawaii
*When I was about seven years old, my parents got the first VCR for our house. This was a big deal being able to rewind a movie you were watching… and play it at will. The movie I remember watching most has a painful memory. Only because it was a pain in my foot. We “rented” the first movie at our house… Karate Kid. Nothing short of amazing of course. But I couldn’t help but to be enthralled by it, and of course attempt my own version of the “Crane Kick”. As the most intense scene of the movie plays, I subconsciously set up my own ass kicking stance. Then before I know it, I’ve been standing in front of the TV and kick the hell out of the whole entertainment center. With my foot throbbing, bleeding, and just short of broken, I realize how captivating movies can be.
The first movie my father purchased on VHS, ended up becoming one of my favorite movies of all times. Beverly Hills Cop is a classic in my book, and not only because I had just seen “Delirious” at my buddy’s house on their VCR (don’t tell my parents, it was R rated).
In this post, and in relation to the Oscars premiering tonight, I am showcasing my love for movies. I have always been astounded by the captivating power of a film. Something that is literally unreal, and written by someone and their imagination, that can evoke emotion, temptation, affection, and down right make you laugh out loud, or ball up and cry. Movies can be a moving, emotional, and intense all in a matter of seconds.
Some of my favorite movies include (but not limited to) are:
Casino
Goodfellas
Raging Bull
Goonies
Delirious
Fargo
Airplane
Blazing Saddles
Karate Kid
Fletch
Caddyshack
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The God’s must be crazy
Ghostbuster’s
The Godfather (1,2,& sometimes 3)
National Lampoon’s Vacation
Lemony Snicket’s -A series of unfortunate events-
Willow
These are just to name a few, off the top of my head… (the list in it’s entirety is endless).
I commend all the people that spend their life aiming for, working towards, and reaching the final product of a film that entertain so many people with the completion of the project. Below is a group of clips I found showcasing the best of “Beverly Hills Cop”.
I hope you enjoy.
much love,
Joe.
*I have always been a curious experimenter in the kitchen. I’m always exploring different concoctions how to make things better. If I had a recipe for a dish, I would (and will) always manipulate it to see what I can come up with to enhance it in some way… or just make it different. I love to cook. Both of my parents always cooked. The kitchen in my household growing up was where all the fun was. My mother is Mexican, and always could come up with something quick and good, any time of day or night. My father was French, and a Texan so his love for cooking was all over the place. And being from Galveston island, seafood was always in the mix somewhere. The first dish my Dad taught me to make was french toast, and it’s one of my favorites to this day to make and enjoy.
Some of my fondest memories growing up took place in the month of February, when Mardi Gras season was brewing. My whole family would participate in the making of the most amazing gumbo one could imagine. It was the whole process that completes the memory. Everyone had their own jobs and Dad would be directing the whole process. Really wish I had his recipe box today… but I still remember how to make his famous grilled crabs, homemade bbq sauce (that goes with his 20hr brisket), and a handful of his other specialties that even if I had the recipes I would probably customize them a little bit every time. He was also a chef of the same manners of measuring…. pinch here, a dash there. All to taste.
If you ask any of my friends from my childhood, they will without a doubt, tell you that if you mention to my mother how nice her hair looks, you can talk her into making some of her amazing pollo con arroz. I still try to make it like she does, but it’s just not the same.
I’m sharing a couple of pictures of me stuffing a turkey along with some other stuff I cooked up. Below, you will find a video of my amazing grandmother, Leonor Guajardo, telling me how to make her homemade chorizo. Hope you enjoy.
much love,
Joe.
*In this final post of this weeks inspirational people in my life, I am recognizing my biggest fan, and most admirable loving person I know… My mother.
My mother is a twin, yet she is one of a kind. She was born and raised in Pharr Texas, as one of 7 children, and was raised in a working family. Her and all of her siblings were raised to begin working at a very young age. I always hear motivating stories from not only her, but my aunts and uncles and grandparents. I could not even imagine what her childhood was like. Her and her sisters would pick fruit and her brothers would drive the fruit all across the country. My uncles have told me stories of driving a load of fruit in a truck to Illinois or somewhere really far from south Texas, at the astonishing age of twelve. I would get lost in my neighborhood at the age of twelve… it’s an amazing work ethic that has been passed onto me in many stories. Which today, has taught me to strive to succeed. I am very appreciative of everything I have in my life, including the ability, and ambition to work and succeed.
After having children, my mother was a stained glass teacher in her private studio before continuing college and becoming a radiologist. She never stopped. She continued to work in radiology and study to only achieve and succeed more. She is now a Nuclear Medicine PET/CT Technician. She never fails to amaze me in everything she does… Even though sometimes I don’t always understand what she does.
This is a quote from a letter that was written about my mother by one of her patients last year… just another day in the life of my wonderful mom.
“I have never met a stranger more kind than Ms. Briscoe-Waters was to me. From constructing a make-shift sheet arm rest; to the most wonderful chicken soup and warmed bread; she satisfied my sick and weary soul. I truly do believe that she is an angel from heaven here on this earth! I can never thank her enough for her kindness. I sincerely hope that if in the future she too is in need of such wonderful love from humanity that someone comes through her path to take as equally good care of her as she did for me.”
I can only hope to be as successful and happy with my career when I am her age… and not want to retire. I’m including some photos of her with me, our family, and the bottom one is her and my sister Danelle. Oh, and if you didn’t notice from the photos, she’s always been very particular about her hair.
Love you Mom.
much love,
Joe.
