I'm Back!

A couple of weeks ago it was brought to my attention that my photo blog, My Viewfinder, had become infected with some kind of malware that my viewers could contract simply by visiting my site. Web browsers might issue a warning  before displaying my blog (Google Chrome did), but I didn't want to take a chance on spreading the malware further. I didn't have the time or expertise to try to find out where it came from, how it got on my blog, and how to get rid of it. So after six years of posting pictures almost daily, I decided to pull the plug on My Viewfinder.

I debated whether or not to start a new photo blog. With the holidays and being extra busy at work, it was a good time to take a break anyway. For the past couple of weeks I have posted some photos to my Facebook page, but for various reasons it's not the ideal vehicle for how I like to do things. I decided that when I got some time during the New Year holiday I would launch a second photo blog.

What to call it? I really liked the name My Viewfinder; I was never tempted to change it. I tried to think of another title that was both catchy and descriptive, but I kept thinking of how much I preferred My Viewfinder. So I took the easy way out and will call the new one My Viewfinder 2.

I want to thank any previous visitors who happen to find their way to the new blog. Your comments were always an encouragement to me. I'm hoping that my posts on Facebook will help some old friends find me once again, although I'm sure I'll lose some for good. New friends seem to come along periodically, and I'm thankful for them too. To protect myself and my visitors, I will have to go to moderated comments. I hate to do that, and I'm dreading the extra time it will take, but I now believe it's necessary to help keep the bad guys and spammers at bay.

Today's Photo

Burning Monk Mural, Asheville, NC  -  2012

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

On a trip to Asheville this morning I decided to swing by the old warehouses on Riverside Drive to see of there were any new murals or graffiti of interest. There was. This mural is based on a famous photograph of a Buddhist monk burning himself to death on a busy street in Saigon on June 11, 1963. He was protesting the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam's government led by Ngo Dinh Diem. Photos of this self-immolation spread quickly around the world, bringing attention to the policies of the corrupt Diem regime. This huge mural (compare to size of the warehouse door) successfully uses color to depict the horror of the scene shown in the original B&W photo.

Original photo from 1963