I never realized their were multiple copies of this sculpture until I saw in at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts. I think the first time I saw the iconography was on a postage stamp. Taking this photo was funny. It seemed that everyone wanted their photo taken with it, and there were several photographers around. I waited patiently as one photographer took a series of shots of a couple in various poses around the sculpture. Just as they were leaving, I got ready to take my shot. Simultaneously, these exuberant little girls came running onto the scene. I snapped this photo figuring I might never get the sculpture alone. When they saw me, they stopped and stared at me like does in headlights, and I said, “I just wanted to get a photo of the sculpture by itself. It’ll just take me a second.” They left and I got my plain photo of the sculpture before they came back to play (or pose for their mother with the camera), but I like this one better.
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Arizona Falls at Night
This is one of my favorite sights in Phoenix. Located on north side of Indian School Road just east of 56th Street, Arizona Falls is a manmade waterfall that channels the water of the Crosscut Canal through a hydroelectric power generator. It is a part of the Salt River Project (SRP). I have taken many photos of it by day, but this photo is one of the first photos I’ve ever taken of it at night.
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Red Neon at Super Target
An interesting element at the new Super Target in Christown Spectrum Mall
By the way, I was very kindly and gently asked by a lady security guard about what I was taking photos for, and I said, “I’m celebrating the opening of Super Target! 🙂 I live in the community, I love art and architecture, and I’m taking photos to commemorate.” She was actually watching politely while I took this photo. I assured her I would not take my camera into the store. We chit-chatted briefly, and she went away while I walked my camera back to the car. It was no problem.
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Sometimes we dress alike. Accidentally!
My partner & I shop together and have similar taste in clothes. Occasionally we dress for work at different times, meet each other after work, and find we’ve dressed alike!
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Canadian Diamond Traders wants to silence me?
I received a phone call the other day from someone claiming to be from Canadian Diamond Traders. He said that he had sent me an e-mail demanding that I remove some objectionable content about CDT from my website. I had not received that e-mail. I gave the man another e-mail address to send his letter to, and I haven’t received it to that e-mail address either.
It’s possible that my junk mail (spam) filter blocked it, but that’s beside the point. Why would Canadian Diamond Traders want to silence a blogger? All I said in an entry I posted over a year ago was, “Is Canadian Diamond Traders a scam? I suspect so. Consider what the FBI says about pyramid schemes…” and I went on to cite an FBI article warning of common fraud schemes. I am sure that nothing I wrote or cited could be considered libelous. The only thing I can think of that they might object to is that I allowed a man named David Thornton to post a long comment after my blog post, and in it he says some very damning things about CDT. Even in what he said, however, there are links to reputable sources warning consumers of fraud schemes whose claims and procedures resemble those of CDT; in fact, a couple of them name CDT outright. (See Diamond Pyramid Scheme Warning article on the Western Australia government’s Department of Consumer and Employment Protection website and the Mail Scams article on the Parliament of New South Wales (Australia) website. Also see this warning against Pyramid Schemes from the Maryland Attorney General’s website.)
In the interest of presenting opposing views, I also allowed a woman named Mary to respond to David and tell him he was wrong. She didn’t make any persuasive arguments, though. The Google searches I’ve conducted have revealed nothing but a lot of people saying CDT is a great way to make money and a lot of people saying CDT is a scam. Almost all those in favor of CDT are CDT resellers themselves, and almost all those against are irate consumers. That, in itself, says something. But with all due respect, it has been nearly impossible to find any facts from reputable sources. A search of the NPR website brought up only one article, and it had nothing to do with exploring whether or not CDT is a scam.
It is my right as a blogger to present information for the public good. There were other vociferous people who wanted to argue the issue back and forth by posting more comments after my original blog post, but my blog is not a place for that. The arguments are already out there on the Internet. I stand by my statement that I have said nothing libelous. If Canadian Diamond Traders wishes me to remove anything from my blog, let them send me a letter, and we’ll take it from there. Until then, I believe I have every right to question their business practices and encourage people to research more and decide for themselves. I would love to see some reputable news agencies pick up the story, but until then, this humble blogger will have to do.
Related post: Is Canadian Diamond Traders a scam?
Daniel Greene 