Stuck in Hogwarts Hel

So the last of the Harry Potter books came out last night. While I've not been all that interested in reading them myself, my wife has began reading them to the grrrls soon after the second book came out and we've all been going to see the movies. Like any red blooded grrrls, mine are smitten with young master Radcliffe and really like the series. All manner of media frenzy has broken out over this last of the books release and MuggleFest Portland was conceived of.

While the concept of any such socially phenomenal event such as this is often brilliant, it is another thing entirely to pull it together in reality. The energy of the event was palpable, and in the long run, I suppose we can say that we are happy that we were among the 5000 people who purchased tickets, but it was a trying many hours. Here are some of the photos that I made of the event to give you some idea of what you may have missed:

The Narrow Gauge Railroad on Portland's Eastern Prom was transformed into Hogwarts Express for the afternoon.


"All Aboard!" and the train is away ...well, except for those of us who wouldn't push and shove our way to get onto the train...we gave up waiting for a second attempt at boarding and we walked down the tracks to the event...It was a pleasant walk at least.


A half a mile later we arrived and queued up to get our (sold out!) tickets punched and our green arm bands. We then adventurously entered the warehouses of The Portland Company Complex which had been converted for the day into Diagon Alley.

There were certainly many colourful characters and great costumes from volunteers to attendees:




There were shops in the 'alley' from a number of very good causes such as Habitat for Humanity and the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital and there were on hand even some commercial entities such as our favourite local Portland Purveyors of Spritual Goods...


Again, the concept, the design and all the work put into the event...and all of the awareness and money that was probably raised through the event is admirable and to be applauded, but there were 5000 tickets sold to this event and everyone wanted to stick around until midnight to get their books. Sadly, what I will remember most about MuggleFest was 10 hours of this:


No, there is nothing quite like a 10 hour experience with 5000 sweaty nylon costumed mugglespawn all near brainless sugar-high on Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Droobles, Ice Mice, Fizzing Whizbees, Cockroach Clusters, Jelly Slugs, Blood Pops, and Chocolate Frogs crushed in tightly together suffering +100° heat and high humidity in a 161 year old collapsible firetrap of a warehouse complex built to hold maybe 1000 people comfortably and safely.
Oh the joy of the shared social experiences that I get talked into forking over cash for!

4th of July 2007

The fireworks were washed out on Saturday night, but were held on Sunday...Here are two shots of the grrrls enjoying them...

Denmark's Bicentenial Park

Some dedicated Denmark residents have raised a lot of money to purchase a parcel of land near the town's damn to fix up and create a town park.
The park was dedicated this last 4th of July Weekend.



Denmark Bicentennial T-Shirts, buttons and posters for sale to benefit a local family who lost a member in a recent shooting in NH...


Bringing in picnic tables to seat the crowds...


A view of the new bandstand and the grounds...


The flags are raised to open the dedication...


Words of thanks are offered to the many dedicated folks in town who made this park happen and a reminder that the park and indeed our town is everyone in the town's responsibility...








A view of the pond from the shore of the new park...

Bean Supper

We are blessed to live in Denmark, Maine.
Denmark turns 200 years old this year.
The town is celebrating itself all summer.


This 4th of July weekend, the Lions held their annual Bean Hole Baked Bean Supper.
Over 360 people showed up to support the Lions and all they do for our town.
Even in the rain.




There were pickles, yeast rolls, coleslaw, fatback salt pork, classic Maine red hot dogs (as well as brown hot dogs for the tourists) and lots of different deserts....


And of course, three types of delicious beans had been baked in the holes New England style...


Some folks sought refuge from the rain in the basement of the town hall.

PESO Unique Wedding Images

Allison and Mike were wed at Dexter's Inn way over in Sunapee, NH. (That's all the way across NH and almost in Vermont from here!)
Now, I've shot a number of weddings at Dexter's and they always are fun, but Allison and Mike had a full 15 minute professional fireworks demonstration! This was a first in my nearly 20 years of professional wedding photography.


It was actually quite dark for a night where the moon was bright. A slow synch flash and the longer exposure that I used to get some background detail makes it look brighter than it was.


The crowd's reactions and the moon nearly full.


The reception tent glowing gold in the blue moonlight seems to be one of those images that I just love trying to perfect at any wedding that it presents itself as an opportunity.

Maine Chrsitian Civic League

Though I'm a fairly political person, I really try to keep politics from creeping in to this BLOG, but I need to take a short break from photos for a moment though...

A long time friend of mine was recently attacked and slandered by the Maine Christian Civic League in their online publication 'The Record.' (They stole copyrighted photos from her site too for that matter!)

As some of you may have shown up here at my BLOG from the link on their site I would like to take this short opportunity to set The Record straight on a few things...

My friend, Rita Moran, happens to be the Chair of Maine's Kennebeck Cty Democratic Party. She also happens to own a wonderful bookstore with her husband in central Maine and they happen to be Pagan.

The hacks at the CCL find the notion that someone may be politically active in the community who doesn't happen tow the line with their own particular brand of theocracy to be completely intolerable and so in an unmitigated display of 21st Century Witchhunting, a one Michael G. Hein posted an article in The Record intimating that Rita is nefariously practicing witchcraft 'underground' and trying to somehow recruit unsuspecting Maine children into 'Pagan worship' through her bookstore and online activities.

Why would this upset me?

For the record... If you read my BLOG at all, you'll notice that I've taken no particular pains to hide the fact that I've considered myself a Panentheist Pagan for quite a few years now. While not having a huge amount of time for more active participation that a leadership role would entail, I've been fairly active in Maine's burgeoning – and certainly NOT underground - Pagan community online and occasionally have been able to attend (and host a few) public gatherings to celebrate the turning of the Seasons in our beautiful state.

While it is a general rule of thumb anyhow in Paganism, the two largest Pagan organisations in Maine, The EarthTides Pagan Network and Maine Pagan Clergy Association both have policies and standards in place that Pagans do NOT proselytize Paganism to anyone and moreover that any minor is expressly required to have written permission on record from their parent or legal guardian in order to participate in any public function by any group linked by association.

Am I just an Anti-Christian Liberal Commie?

For the record... I have NO issues at all with anyone just because they consider themselves Christian. I try my best to judge individuals based on their actions not by their beliefs. As a wedding photographer I work quite happily and respectfully with a great number and variety of Christians (and people of a lot of other religions as well). I was Baptised, raised and Married in the Methodist Church. I have several versions of the Holy Bible and refer to them quite often. As a Mainer of Gaulish/Gaelic heritage, my family is largely made up of devout French Canadian Catholics and devout Scottish Methodists for whom their faith offers great solace and shelter from the inclemencies and vicissitudes of life here on Earth. I respect these Christians for actually LIVING their faith, and firmly agree that the teachings of Jesus are perhaps one of the best plans ever devised from which to live a happy life. I simply don't have any faith however that any of the many versions of The Holy Bible is The Inerrant Word of God, nor do I believe that one must have a belief in the resurrection nor a faith that Jesus' sacrificing His blood somehow absolves me from mistakes that I may make in my life 2000 years later in order for me to follow His Way. This doesn't mean that I worship the sun, the trees, or false gods or demons, nor that I've no moral compass nor that I'm evil. It only means that some people who consider themselves Christians will never consider me 'saved.' I'd point them to Luke 10:25 and assure them that I'm going to be fine, but they only wish to pay attention to those parts of their version of the Holy Bible that they can use as a weapon against those with whom they disagree.

For the record... I am not a Democrat. I happen to be registered Republican to vote, but I am neither a Liberal nor a Conservative. Like the founding fathers of our great Constitutional Federal Republic, I'm a Libertarian and I'm very active as the Chair of in my local town government's Board of Appeals.

The CCL's slanderous article struck me as foul and against my sense of fair play and justice. I kept my passions in due bounds, but was compelled to post a comment on their site in response thusly:

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What is 'Underground' about Maine's Pagan Community? Most of the thousands of Pagans in Maine live our lives quite happily out in the open here. Even those of us who are registered Republicans and active in our own town's local political scenes need not hide our religion for fear of the ignorance and false judgments of our neighbors. Most Mainer's realize that in the United States, a person's religion is a matter best left between them and God.

Is it any wonder at all that with such 'upstanding and moral' people as Mike Hein acting as the 'voice' of the Maine's CCL, that this once powerful and effective organization has become a political laughingstock even amongst the Conservative Right in Augusta and about the State? I've known Ms. Moran for well over a decade, and while I disagree with her politically on a great number of fronts, she is one of the most moral people I know with ethics beyond the reproach of someone who would stoop to a modern day witchhunt in a pathetic attempt to discredit a political opponent. But then, that is likely why Mr. Hein didn't have even the support of our own party in his failed bid for public office.

Such vindictiveness doesn't reflect well on the ideals that Jesus spoke of in His teachings, nor would one think, well on the CCL.

Michael Eric Berube, photog@fairpoint.net

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Of course, because the CCL has no real interest in honest debate, but is interested only in scare mongering to prove that the faithful are besieged by us evil doers, my response got edited down to just my first two sentences.

I had included my personal email address per instruction when posting. The site claimed that my email address would NOT be published with my response. Instead of holding to this contract, Mike G. Hein (the CCL Administrator, I've since found out) dug up my home street address, my business URL, this blog's URL, my Toll Free business number and my business and personal email addresses from my website and published it all with my edited comment. One would assume that he did so as some attempt at political/financial intimidation.

Well, that didn't work. Those of you who have met me realise that I don't live my life 'flaunting' who I am in people's faces, but I'm proud of who my parents raised me to be and I am completely at ease with letting the whole world know where I stand on any given issue if they have any real interest in knowing. Of course, Mr. Hein hopes that general public knowledge of my religious path will hurt my business. I believe that he is greatly underestimating the sense of right and wrong that the Maine people and people who wish to be married here in Northern New England hold in their hearts. I got the same assumption from a colleague or two when I included photos from same sex weddings that I've photographed into my online business portfolios. “It will cost you business to take a stand on anything political.' My response is the same in this situation as in that one...

For the record... any prospective client of mine who would wish to reconsider procuring my services to artistically document their event simply because of my religious beliefs or my willingness to photograph the events of any adults who happen to love each other and want to formally make a such declaration of that love with family and friends is someone I'd probably rather not work with anyhow. In fact, if it ever gets to the point where I needed to rely on such people in order to stay in business, I'll quit and happily flip burgers for living.

"If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: Someone flattened by an opponent can get up again. Someone flattened by conformity stays down for good."

~ Thomas J. Watson, Jr.

As of this afternoon (28JUN07) the CCL has removed all of the nearly 80 comments on this article from their site so this note may seem out of place. My apologies, but I hate being censored and really I wanted to set The Record straight.

Thank you for hearing me out on this matter. I'll now return you to hopefully enjoying my photographic documentation of a life in the wild wooded hills of Western Maine.