When Dream Jobs Don't Pan Out

If you would have asked me what my ultimate "dream job" would be anytime between my fourteenth and twenty-first birthdays, I wouldn't have hesitated to proudly declare that some day I hoped to work for the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer. I envisioned grand adventures of living in foreign lands, constantly learning new languages, and working with locals as a representative of the alruistic American people, for the betterment of their country and the betterment of the world at large. What I never imagined is that, at the age of twenty-one I would be flying to Russia to start an internship which fully embodied the responsibilities, prestige and adventures I had sought as a young adult and believed awaited me at the State Department.

Going West

Eventually, Finnish summer came to an end.  

In late August I welcomed American friends to Helsinki.  

Caleigh, Garrett and I strolled the sunny, windy green streets of Helsinki and visited plenty of seaside cafes where we always picked patios with the best views of the archipelago.  Angry skies signaled the changing season.

Competence Mapping : Read About it on HuffPost

My latest article on Huffington Post is out. This one describes an incredible Finnish innovation - a third paradigm of investment technology that allows us to map the competencies of investors in the stock market and to rank them. It's not a cross-sectional view of current market performance, but rather a longitudinal, historical track record of each investor's performance with each of their stocks.

Competence mapping (or competence analysis) is a means of pinpointing expertise and holds great promise for efficient models of resource allocation.  Key to the further development of this system is market transparency, a topic which just received a lot of attention at the G8 summit last month, where a revolutionary declaration was made:

The leaders recognised that transparency has to cut across all aspects of government – and it will only really make a difference if all countries sign up to it. The Lough Erne Declaration could hardly be bigger picture: “Governments should publish information on laws, budgets, spending, national statistics, elections and government contracts in a way that is easy to use and re-use, so that citizens can hold them to account.” ... 

The Declaration was accompanied by the Open Data Charter – an extraordinarily impressive document that commits G8 members to make all data open by default and sets out ways to improve its quality, quantity and – above all – its usability.  [read more]

This is being heralded as the beginning of the Open Data revolution.  Exciting times!

My Huffington Post article describes how nonprofit cooperative Robin Hood Asset Management has applied the innovation to their own social goals. This application to the stock market is just the beginning for competence mapping technology. Keep your eyes open for more on this as the technology becomes known globally.

"Nepal Falls into Political Turmoil" - (But I'm Alive!)

The Wall Street Journal May 29, 2012
KATMANDU, Nepal—Nepal sank into political turmoil Monday after lawmakers failed to agree on a new constitution, leaving the country with no legal government. The premier called new elections, but critics said he lacked the power to do so.
Security forces went on high alert and riot police patrolled the streets after several political parties called for rallies to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and protest his unilateral decision to call elections for November. Only a few peaceful protests were reported."The country has plunged into a serious crisis," said Ram Sharan Mahat, a senior leader of the country's second-largest party, the Nepali Congress, who said that six months would not be enough time to prepare for new polling."This government has no legitimate grounds to continue," he said.The squabbling political parties in Nepal's Constituent Assembly had failed to agree on a new blueprint for the Himalayan nation by their own deadline of midnight Sunday, despite repeated extensions of the due date over the past four years.A key sticking point was whether the country's states should be drawn to give regional power bases to ethnic minorities.Writing the new constitution was supposed to cap an interim period aimed at solidifying details of Nepal's democracy after the country turned the page on centuries of royal rule and resolved a decadelong Maoist insurgency by bringing the former combatants into the political mainstream.Mr. Bhattarai, from the party of the former Maoists, said the previous constitutional assembly, elected four years ago, had failed and must be dissolved, and that he would head a caretaker government until the Nov. 22 elections."We have no other option but to go back to the people and elect a new assembly to write the constitution," Mr. Bhattarai said in his announcement.However, his plan immediately drew criticism from legal experts, who said any plans for new polling should be made in consultation with the country's other political parties."It was politically, legally and morally incorrect of the prime minister to announce fresh elections," said constitutional and legal expert Bhimarjun Acharya.Police spokesman Binod Singh said thousands of police officers had been deployed in the capital, Katmandu, and major cities across the country to stop any violence in the coming days.At a rally Monday in Katmandu, small groups of college students burned effigies of Mr. Bhattarai and demanded his resignation. Police quickly put out the flames.Separately, a group supporting the abolished monarchy also demanded the prime minister's resignation, blaming him for the country's political crisis. Police allowed the demonstrators to march through the center of Katmandu.On Sunday, police had clashed briefly with protesters outside the Constituent Assembly, where political leaders from the country's four main parties had been meeting in a last-minute attempt to agree on a new constitution before the deadline.Much of the debate was over whether to draw state boundaries in a way to boost the political power of the country's ethnic minorities.Nepal's minority ethnic groups and low-caste communities were overshadowed for centuries by the country's elite. In the past couple of years, as Nepal has struggled to create a new government, those divisions have given rise to caste- and ethnic-based politicians, who insist their long-marginalized communities deserve to live in states that maximize their influence.The Constituent Assembly was elected to a two-year term in 2008 to draft a new constitution but has been unable to finish the task. Its tenure has been extended four times, but the Supreme Court rejected any further extensions.—Copyright 2012, the Associated Press

Though there is certainly some turmoil in the capital, I am fortunate to be in the high Himalayas, beyond the reach of its influence.  Pema Choling is perhaps the safest place I could be in Nepal during a time like this.  I'm thankful that we flew out early in the morning on the very day the constitution was supposed to be completed, and that we actually made it to Lukla, as we are officially the only flight which the clouds permitted to land here in the past two weeks!

Life in the Himalayas revolves around tourism, and as long as the trekkers keep coming and eating, the Sherpa people are happy. As far as I know, the Sherpas are not very politically active beyond their isolated communities, have not declared any strikes, and are not included in the minority ethnic groups which seek to maximize their political privileges and influence.  In fact, I don't believe the political situation in the country is even a hot topic of discussion up here.

I'm just glad that I won't be flying back to Kathmandu until August; hopefully in the next three months things will die down. And if it is still unpredictable, I'll simply book my ticket home and, upon arriving at the KTM airport from Lukla, stay there until boarding my connecting flight.

In other news, seemingly unrelated to the constitution business, but equally tragic...

"Nepal Supreme Court Judge Killed"The Wall Street Journal May 31, 2012
KATMANDU, Nepal – Motorcycle-riding assailants shot and killed a Supreme Court judge under investigation for allegedly taking bribes as he headed to work in the Nepalese capital Thursday, police said.Rana Bahadur Bam's bodyguard and another passenger in his car were also wounded in the attack as the judge was driven to work after worshipping at a Hindu temple.Mr. Bam was being investigated by the Judiciary Council for allegedly taking bribes from suspects charged with abduction in 2010 in exchange for releasing them with light sentences and fines.Police official Rabindra Shah said two masked men on a black motorcycle drove by the judge's car and opened fire. Mr. Bam, his bodyguard and another person identified as the judge's friend were hit but the driver managed to escape. The attackers fled the scene after the shooting and the injured men were rushed to the hospital in a taxi.Mr. Bam, shot several times, died at the local Norvic Hospital as he was being treated for internal bleeding, said hospital doctor Bharat Rawat.The other two men were undergoing surgery and their condition was unknown.Police set up checkpoints in Katmandu and were searching for the motorcycle and culprits.

Again, I'm not able to follow the happenings in Kathmandu very closely, but I'm not in the least bit concerned for my own safety during my time here at Pema Choling and along the trail to Base Camp.

Welcome to the New, Flat World

Thomas Friedman, political journalist--turned 21st century philosopher, brings us his thought-provoking thesis on globalization in this video from MIT. 
I've read several chapters of his revolutionary book, The World is Flat, as well as most of another, The Lexus and the Olive Tree.

 

In an Information Systems for Business course I took last semester, I was challenged to think about the following questions while listening to Friedman's lecture. These are themes I'd been periodically mulling over for a while, so I welcomed this opportunity to draw a few conclusions and support them with anecdotes from my own experience.

What does a flattened world mean for you as a student looking for employment in the near future? 
A flattened world puts each of us as individuals in direct competition with the rest of the world for jobs. As Thomas Friedman mentioned, everything can be (and is being) outsourced.

Learning by Leaving

I have immensely enjoyed the opportunities I've had this week to sit down with classmates, old friends and professors who all want to hear about my travels in Eastern Europe. Their questions - whose answers are often "so obvious" to me - have been incredibly insightful and helpful in reminding me how much I actually learned while I was gone. Their reactions to my responses have ranged from utter surprise to indifference, from "I told you so," to "I'm so glad you're still alive!"

I am among only a handful of seniors who still have a meal plan at Belmont's cafeteria, so when I'm not hurriedly trying to finish reading for my next class while munching my veggies, I'm often joined by one of the four other seniors whom I might run into there. These past few days I've eaten a few times with Steven, an accounting major with whom I used to work as a Resident Assistant in one of our dorms.  There couldn't be two more different students at Belmont, but we always seem to get into serious life-planning discussions.  Steven has lived in middle Tennessee his entire life, and would be happy to stay here indefinitely. Tonight I heard the most adventurous statement he's ever made in my presence:  "I might consider moving across the country if I had to."  I first thought I had heard "to another country" and almost fell out of my chair and flung a carrot across the room, but he quickly confirmed that it was across "the country" -- the one and only country worth living in, in his book -- the United States of America.
There's a simple sweetness about Steven's contentedness here; his happy-go-lucky and laid-back personality make him unassuming and easy to be around.  His genuine interest in other people's life and experiences and willingness to listen give us license to be genuine and unworried about being too quickly judged.

My neighborhood church.

Looking at the Admiralty from across the Neva.

Tonight Steven asked, "What was life like in general over there?"
I told him about registering with the city government and the need to re-register with the municipal authorities of a another city, should you visit for more than three days. I talked about the über-high cost of living in the big cities; $10 cups of coffee in St. Petersburg; a subway line that is so far underground, it takes five minutes on an escalator to get down there. I told him about the warm, genuine, intelligent people I met and their curiosity about the West.  I even told him about my good friend Yuriy, the photographer with whom I effectively covered most of downtown St. Pete on foot.
Steven stopped me halfway through my first sentences, exclaiming, "...And you want to move back there!?"

I had to think about it for a minute.  "Well, yeah, for a time," I said. "There are a lot of things about life in Russia that I miss."
"You know," I told him, "there are things about every place that I've lived that I miss.  It's like being a little bit homesick for six countries at once.  But I like it that way.  I don't take any day for granted, and I know that I make the most of every day because wherever I am, I live in constant awareness that I won't be in this place for very long."
We were both silent for a minute; the din of students eating and laughing in the background faded out as we both lost ourselves in contemplation.
Finally Steven said, "Wow, that's an interesting way to look at it.  It's like not taking anything for granted because you know you could die any day -- except you're not dying, just leaving.  For all of us that just live here, we get into a routine and sometimes it becomes about just getting through the day."
I completely understand what Steven is saying, and I see the truth in his observation. But to me, what he is describing is a tragic existence.

A canal near the Hermitage.

"I just couldn't live like that..." Steven went on, "...I couldn't live in a place where there are so many rules and regulations - especially with the government and everything." Another friend I saw this week prefers the safety of America to the many, many (both perceived and real) threats and inconveniences of daily life that expatriates and inhabitants of other countries face. I can't say that I blame her, but I approach life from a completely different angle.  It's a challenge and a game for me -- to see how fast I can adapt to life in another place; how quickly I can fit in seamlessly and be taken for a local; how uncomfortably I can live and still be happy; how many oddities and quirks I can find and embrace in a new culture; how low-maintenance I can become.

Downtown St. Pete.  A big pole falls and no one shows up to put it
back in place.  No orange cones. Nothing.
I actually got stared at while taking this photo,
as if this is an everyday occurrence.

Sometimes it takes a conversation like the ones I had with these friends to realize the logic that underlies our daily actions and attitudes. Sure, I'm aware that every morning I open my eyes, remember where I am, and pick out all the things I want to do that day that I know I can't do anywhere else. I just hadn't taken into consideration the fact that everybody else isn't doing exactly the same thing.

Speaking of taking photos for people...I snapped this shot for my brother
Jared.  It's "his" car - same make, model & color as the one my aunt
gave him as his first car!  And I saw it in Russia!!

For me, leaving and exploring new places and meeting new people is as much about cherishing my old home and friends and past experiences as it is about exuberantly embracing the new.  I remember walking to work every morning in St. Petersburg - 45 minutes in many degrees below zero - and smiling as I thought about all of you. Some of the pictures I took were for me, because I came upon a nice view or some unusual scene that made me laugh; but honestly, most of them were for you. 90% of the time I pulled out my camera because something triggered a memory of one of you and I thought, Oh my, so-and-so would LOVE to see this! 
Now I walk to school every morning - 10 short minutes under the warm Tennessee sun - and think about the community I left in Russia....my wonderful co-workers at the Consulate, my passionate film- and music-loving young friends, the man with no legs who wore black fingerless gloves and scooted around between traffic on a little square board with four wheels, asking for spare change.
Just as traveling introduces you to parts of yourself that you might not have ever otherwise encountered, it also prompts the discovery of your home in a new light and from a new perspective, namely, the perspective of an outsider.

The giant poster reads: "Russia. Land of Opportunity."
Wait...wasn't that America's trademark??

People's Republic of Beer

"How one man’s yeast research is propagating China’s craft beer culture"

I read an article about the proliferation of micro-brewing in China in Beer West magazine this afternoon while sipping a glass of Pinot Gris at Southern Oregon Brewing Company, our neighborhood brewery and taproom where my parents are regulars. Unfortunately S.O.B. doesn't offer any gluten-free beers, so I'm restricted to wine (but really, with a plethora of award-winning Southern Oregon wines at my fingertips, I can hardly complain).

Visiting with my Grandpa Rick at Southern Oregon Brewing Co.

What stood out to me most in this article about Yan Gao's new enterprise is his innovative solution to the obstacles posed by China's often hostile business climate, which can be especially unfriendly toward small businesses. Beer West's Emily Hutto writes,

"While microbreweries in the U.S. receive tax breaks if they're producing under a certain amount of beer, microbreweries in China must comply with macro-brewery laws, which dictate higher tax rates and expensive facility requirements that most small breweries can't afford. That is, unless they find a loophole.

Yan Gao inspecting yeast cultures in his lab.
photo by Bjoern Walter

In 2008, Gao opened Nanjing's first microbrewery, Oktoberfest Biotech Co.
While friends and imbibers recognize Oktoberfest as a fully-licensed production brewery, the state recognizes it as a yeast research firm. It's illegal for Chinese companies to dump their byproduct, in this case beer, so Gao drinks and sells it instead. 'I know how to deal with those dummies,' he says of the Chinese government. 'In order to grow yeast, we need to make beer. And in order to save the environment, we need to "recycle" the beer.'"

I love this nothing-will-stop-me entrepreneurial spirit and passion for his craft.

St. Petersburg Center: A Guided Tour

Last week one of the coordinators from the School of Russian and Asian Studies, named Sergei, led Sarah, Hillary, and I on a walking tour of central St. Petersburg.  It was a warm, clear day and perfect for walking.  It turns out Sergei is a professor at one of the universities in St. Petersburg, and he is a wealth of great information.  Beyond simply knowing an immense amount of information about Russian culture and history, he is able to detach himself from his Russian identity and talk about issues objectively and in a global context.  

"Dom Knigi" ("House of Books"), otherwise known as The Singer House.
It was the first building built in St. Pete by an American company,
(Singer Sewing Company), and at one time it even housed the
U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg!

TULI ISO JYTKY!...A taste of Finnish Politics

If you don't happen to closely follow Finnish politics, I'll give you a brief run-down on the current political climate...

Timo Soini, leader of the True Finns

Parliament elections took place the weekend I arrived in Helsinki. You might remember the Swedish-speaking Finnish men's choir I met on the way.  They were nervously checking their phones all night as the votes trickled in, and the reactions were not positive.  The ultra-conservative "True Finns" party gained 35 seats, a huge increase from the three they already had.  I don't have a complete picture of their agenda; but I've gathered bits and pieces of public opinion from conversations with people I've met here.  It seems that I've been meeting the most liberal Finns around, however, because no one I've met has been a True Finn sympathizer.  (Although one guy said he was embarrassed to admit that his dad voted for them.)

The California-Texas Travel Dictionary

I don't usually engage in the perpetuation of email chains or forwards, but every now and then something so funny comes along that I can't help but share.
I don't know where this originated, but it certainly made me laugh.  Here's your daily dose...

The California - Texas Travel Dictionary

Intended for use when listening to main stream media.

A lexicon, with translations for Californians who are visiting Texas , or vice versa.

In California	In Texas
Diverse or Lifestyle Choice	Sinful and Perverted
Arsenal of Weapons	Gun Collection
Delicate Wetlands	Swamps
Undocumented Worker	Damned Illegal Alien
Cruelty-Free Materials	Synthetic Fiber
Assault and Battery	Attitude Adjustment
Heavily Armed	Well-protected
Narrow-minded	Righteous
Taxes or Your Fair Share	Coerced Theft
Commonsense Gun Control	Gun Confiscation Plot
Illegal Hazardous Explosives	Fireworks or Stump Removal
Nonviable Tissue Mass	Unborn Baby
Equal Access to Opportunity	Socialism
Multicultural Community	High Crime Area
Fairness or Social Progress	Marxism
Upper Class or "The Rich"	Self-Employed
Progressive, Change	Big Government Scheme
Homeless or Disadvantaged	Bums or Welfare Leeches
Sniper Rifle	Scoped Deer Rifle
Investment For the Future	Higher Taxes
Healthcare Reform	Socialized Medicine
Extremist, Judgmental, or Hater	Conservative
Truants	Homeschoolers
Victim or Oppressed	Criminal or Lazy Good-For-Nothing
High Capacity Magazine	Standard Capacity Magazine
Religious Zealot	Church-going, God fearing
Reintroduced Wolves	Sheep and Elk Killers
Fair Trade Coffee	Overpriced Yuppie Coffee
Exploiters or "The Rich"	Employers or Land Owners
The Gun Lobby	NRA Members
Assault Weapon	Semi-Auto (Grandpa's M1 Carbine)
Fiscal Stimulus	New Taxes and Higher Taxes
Same Sex Marriage	Legalized Perversion
Mandated Eco-Friendly Lighting	Chinese Mercury-Laden Light Bulbs

On the Road Again

In just a few hours I'll be on my way to les Pays-Bas, otherwise known as Holland or the Netherlands.  In French, les Pays-Bas means "the low-lands" -- a very appropriate name as Belgium and Holland are perhaps the flattest lands I've ever seen.  In fact, besides my family, what I missed most while living here was the evergreen mountainous skyline of the beautiful Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon. 


I'll take the train from Brussels to Nijmegen tomorrow morning, to meet up with my friend, Hadrien, whom I went to high school with in Belgium and who now studies in Nijmegen, Holland. Belgian students are obliged to take Néerlandais (Dutch) classes from 1st-12th grades.  In 5th or 6th grade they usually have the option to start English as well.  After finishing high school, it's very common to do a linguistic exchange -- either in the form of a gap year or as part of university studies.  Some francophone (French-speaking) families try to give their kids a head-start by sending them to Dutch schools, where they become completely bilingual very quickly.  You see, Belgium is split in two: Wallonia, the French-speakers, in the south; and Flanders, the Flemish-speakers, in the north (Flemish is Dutch spoken with a lighter accent).  Both French and Flemish are official national languages. The linguistic and cultural separation in the country has been a big problem for a while.  April 2010 saw the most recent collapse of the Belgian government, and we're going on month nine without any substantial progress in negotiations to erect a new government. To better understand the mess here, click here to view an short animated film that does a great job introducing the situation in a quite entertaining fashion. 

Does Democracy Lead to Economic Growth, or Vice Versa?

I'm loving every minute of my International Business course this semester.  Both the professor and the textbook we're using are quality sources, and we've had some great class discussions.  Coming from an entrepreneurship point of view, it's been neat to see how the authors of the text approach entrepreneurship in the context of international trade and politics, and global economic growth and development.

Young Americans skeptical about government

I heard this on the radio this evening during an interview with Ralph Reed, a conservative American political activist and founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.  The following quote is the result of a recent study...


"More 18 to 29 year-olds believe there is life on Mars than believe they will receive a social security check in their lifetime."
                                   - Ralph Reed
                      Founder, Faith and Freedom Coalition

The young adults of my generation tend to be known for spending money extravagantly, sometimes carelessly, and often oblivious to its value. We expect many things to be free and fail to consider that everything costs somebody something.  As long as it's not coming out of our wallets, we make no connection between cost and value.  That being said, I think it's a notable event for this young generation to realize and verbalize an opinion that the government is spending too much.  We are the ones that are going to pay for today's federal expenses -- "universal" health care, bailouts, "economic stimulus packages"....most of us assume we will have no social security to speak of, and many of us are considering retirement options even while in college.  It's going to be every man for himself.  I don't know about life on Mars....but I'd be willing to bet a pretty penny that the FICA taxes I pay today won't be coming my way again.

Shepard Fairey: A Powerful Dissident

In “The Declaration of Independence,” Jefferson wrote about citizens’ duty to dissent—in speech but also in action: “…Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.” Write about a time on this trip you have noticed dissent as a powerful force in American life.

This prompt has been weighing on me for a while now. I feel that mere complaints are too often mistaken for dissent, and I wanted to find an example of what I think is intelligent dissent—not just the regurgitation of a vague, generalized, partisan opinion which requires little to no understanding of the issue at hand. I'm interested in specific, creative, alternative ideas as a response to what the dissenter views as flawed.

I found an example of the powerful dissent I was looking for in a location and medium I least expected. When I think of dissent I think of speeches, books, and articles. I think of two opponents in a verbal duel. I do not think of framed pieces in the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art. When I hear 'dissent' I do not think of murals on brick buildings in poor neighborhoods, bumper stickers, or reinventing propaganda. But then Shepard Fairey came along and my perspective on dissent was quickly challenged.

Even though the picture I would paint of America would differ from his, I appreciate the beauty and straightforward style in which Fairey communicates through his art. It is obvious that a lot of thought goes into his work; each word and each square inch of his pieces are intentionally symbolic.

In this re-creation of the One Dollar Bill, Fairey implies that the American people are pawns, forced to participate in an unethical capitalistic system, and subject to a government who's ultimate goal is to take over the world by way of a 'new world order.' By making this a 'ransom note,' Fairey challenges viewers to consider who/what really owns them.

I see elements of truth here: I think there are quite a few Americans who walk around uninformed and ignorant to the political, economical, and social systems that they subscribe to. But they're not victims. They will only fall prey to 'lesser gods' if they allow themselves to.


In the left circle you see a hand (adorned with dollar sign) reaching for the world. Around it is enscribed 'Hostile Takeover. New World Order.' Earlier this week, during the G8 Summit, Obama supported giving the U.N. more power. Perhaps Fairey is on to something; I wouldn't discount the possibility of the U.N. ruling the world some day. And the scary part is that some people think it's a great idea.


Across the bottom we see written, 'Indiscriminate Capitalism.' A group of us were sitting in the back of the bus when I started to work on this article, and I put this phrase up for discussion: What does Fairey mean by 'Indiscrimate Capitalism'? The consensus was that it's supposed to convey the absence of ethics in capitalism -- that the capitalistic system pays no regard to its effect on the environment, other people, etc.


"But wait a second," I'm thinking, "capitalism was never meant to be an ethical authority." That's what religion is for. I'm all for ethics, but if capitalism involved the dictation of ethics then it would cease to be capitalism -- it would become something like socialism or communism, where everything is "fair" (i.e. everyone gets the same thing no matter how much or how little they work.)


There's something beautiful about reaping the rewards of work in conjunction with productivity. And I'm all for sharing the wealth, but I want to share my wealth on my own terms and using my own discretion.


Mr. Fairey has the right to be frustrated if the people/businesses around him are not living up to his moral expectations, and I understand that his work reflects that frustration. But I wonder about how most viewers interpret this phrase. I see a common trend: Americans blame the government for some businesses' low ethical standards and feel that the way to fix it is for the government to enforce some kind of rule about how and where businesses acquire their products, manufacture their products, market their products, and distribute their products. When really, it's not the government's job to supervise any of that -- each company must set their own ethical standards and moral aspirations; and in turn, each customer must set their own. I hope viewers realize that "Indiscriminate Capitalism" doesn't reflect any failure on the part of our government; it should make them reflect on our decisions as individuals--as individual consumers and individual merchants.


I like that Fairey goes for shock value and is clear but not exhaustive in his message. He leaves a lot up for interpretation, forcing the viewer to think through what they see.

To read more about Shepard Fairey, click here.