Tank Man

I was unable to put these pieces together but here are some of the ones I'm working on.

Tien'anmen Square

What happened at Tienanmen Square was a complete disaster. I couldn't and can not fathom what occurred.

Communist China, it seemed, wanted nothing but to keep control of everything. At the mere mention of Democracy, China took charge and tried to stop it. The protests for Democracy and change lasted for seven weeks and ended on June 4th in Tienanmen Square where a massacre ensued on both June 4th and the day before. Government soldiers shot openly into the public, first so that they would disperse and later, it appeared, just because they were still there. On the day that Tank Man halted the tank, soldiers fired at a large crowd's retreating back for over a dozen times.

What frightens and intrigues me is the censorship of the incident that is still in motion. After the massacre, the government tried to cover it up. No one could talk about it basically. Anything and/or anyone that alluded to the incident was flushed out. People were either exiled, imprisoned, or executed. Many books were destroyed and newspaper stopped. The government obliterated all traces of the incident, only giving a slither of the tale they wanted to tell.

Now, no one who came after the Tienanmen Square incident really knows what happened there. If they do know anything it's from what the government allowed or hearsay. People in other countries know more about what happened in China more than Chinese people do. The government insists that a massacre didn't occur. They insist that they did the right thing.

Classic Photoshop Manipulation #2

Because I have an obsession with coins.

Classic Photoshop Manipulation #1

I used an image from one of Audrey Kawasaki's paintings and the picture of my best friend Derrick at the beach.

Collection Part 18: American Sacagawea dollar: ?

This is technically the coin with the most intrinsic value in my collection. The Golden Dollar Sacagawea coin. It was given to me by my brother. I noticed something peculiar though. It doesn't have a date. This could mean it's either counterfeit or...something else.

Collection Part 17: Austrailia 1993

A similar incident like the one with the Bermuda coin occurred with this Australian one. Queen Elizabeth, the queen of England is featured on the currency of many countries which I wasn't aware of. A key difference though, from Canada: the coin had a different backing and it wasn't as decorative or as delicate.

Collection Part 16: American Wheaties 1952-1958

This is the old version of the penny before the year 1960. They're heavier because they consist of more dense metals. I first noted the difference in the pennies in the 6th grade and have been collecting them every since.