This Sunday is Mother’s Day and, of course, there are already great mom-inspired tributes out there. The Christian Science Monitor has two wonderful stories about moms. The first piece is by Theresa Dowell Blackinton who wrote a story thanking her mother for “the greatest gift:” her three brothers. The second piece is by Joseph H. Cooper, an English composition teacher at a Connecticut correctional facility. Here, he shares his students emotional stories about their beloved moms.

I wanted to share these pieces with you because they speak so strongly to the power of love and motherhood. For me, this Mother’s Day is a strange one, emotionally. See, my mother is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, and as I ordered her bouquet of flowers, I wondered if she would know what they were for.

In many ways, my mother is still the same. An incredibly loving woman who is both forgiving and compassionate. And despite having a disease that’s eating away at her memories every single day, she still manages to be that sometimes annoying, over-protective mom, just like when I was a kid. She still insists that I wear a sweater when it’s a 70 degrees out in Phoenix. She still worries that I don’t have enough food in my fridge and tries to pack canned goods in my suitcase. And she still sometimes asks—in public—if I went to the bathroom that day. What? I was a constipated child.

But lately, there are more days when I feel like I’m the mom and she’s the child. (more…)

It’s been a little over a month since I was laid off from my magazine gig—the entire publication folded and we were all let go.

That’s the back story. Now to my point.

I was checking out Flickr for something completely unrelated, when I decided to type in the word “Unemployed.” Hmmm. I kept plugging in words like, “laid off,” “layoff,” “getting sacked,” and “getting the axe.” Needless to say, I hit a goldmine. Some of the images were dramatic, others were simple and to the point.

But of course, what made this whole mini-exercise/break from checking out gossip sites and Media Bistro so therapeutic was a) realizing that I’m not the only person who feels like dog poop right now; b) I must take more time to express myself—whether it’s using a camera to capture those poopy-esque moments or writing about them; and c) these are regular people who are putting their work out there for the rest of us to see.

And “c” is what SMITH is all about.

Celebrities, watch out—well, celebrities who drive gas-guzzlers or skip out on recycling had better watch out.

There’s a blog out there called Ecorazzi, the gossip site for green celebs (and those who aren’t so much). Great, just what I need… like I don’t already spend most of my morning reading up on the stars both here and across the pond (god, I love Posh and Katie + Peter).

If you want to know which actors and actresses have gone green, then definitely check out the site. It’s actually quite cool—besides dishing on Clooney’s electric Tesla Roadster, Woody’s hemp, or Halle’s shopping spree for organic wears, there are links to other green sites, celebrity sites (yes, Leo DiCaprio has his own website dedicated to saving Mama Earth), upcoming events, and of course, non-green gossip blogs (think Perez Hilton).

Go to ecorazzi.com and read up on your favorite celebs guilt free. Hey, it’s green!

I must say, it takes a lot to impress me these days. So, when I read this article in The Christian Science Monitor about Mike McCann, an eighth grader from Massachusetts, I was actually floored.

Mike is a 14-year-old bugle boy who plays taps at military burials—when he isn’t doing his homework.

And the kid already has one heck of a reputation around town, too.

“Mike is very poised and well-disciplined. An awesome kid. He does a great job,” says Chief Petty Officer Christopher Lazenberry, who has attended a half-dozen services at which Mike (more…)

I think that anything “reality” is getting a tad out of control–and this is coming from a girl who, as of late, has been watching a lot of reality TV. In no particular order: I love New York, Miami Ink, Katie + Peter, The Hills, Work Out and reruns of Top Chef, America’s Next Top Model and Top Design.

Kristin Cavallari of Laguna Beach fame and that one movie you never saw, is having Lasik surgery and she’s sharing her story on the Web beginning in May.

Yeah, this is apparently a series of some sort. (more…)

You gotta give Alec Mario Waclawski major props. Waclawski is walking from one coast to the other to raise $$ for cervical cancer research, a disease that killed his wife in 1999.

Dressed in a tux that looks like something my prom date wore and a pair of aviator shades, he’s passing through Phoenix on his way to Washington where he hopes to have a sit down with the President. (more…)

I hate weddings–and I’m engaged.

Frankly, I think they’re a waste of my time and my money. To make matters worse, weddings have become pretty formulaic.

The food–chicken or beef–usually sucks. You’re lucky if there’s an open bar; of course, with what it costs to get hitched these days, I’m not surprised daddy doesn’t want to foot that bill. And the music is kind of lame. I’m sorry, if you think your guests really want to dance to The Electric Slide, The Chicken Dance, The Macarena, and/or YMCA you’re sick. (more…)

A New Yorker to the core, Lauren Fleishman’s work has appeared in The Fader, New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, The Sunday Times, Time, and ELLE. But it was her incredibly personal photo essay, You Would Have Loved Him Too, that caught SMITH’s eye. “The series is about the loss of a relationship with a person that I met when I was very young,” says the Brooklyn-based photographer. “He was very attractive and charismatic—everyone loved him and wanted to be around him. That’s where the title comes from.” Using her own photographs and letters he had written her, Lauren created a book which contained images and collages chronicling the affair. “I’ve always kept journals and this gallery started in that style when the relationship ended.”

Named one of the Photo District News’ 30 young photographers to watch in 2003, Lauren is now a finalist for the American Photography 23 and an award recipient in the 2007 PDN Annual for her series, Sixteen Candles, which appeared in Time.

Lauren talked to SMITH about her craft.

Can you tell me your name, the brand of camera you’re using, and how long you’ve been taking pictures?

I have been taking pictures since my sophomore year in high school. We had a photography program that started us in black and white and then moved into color. It was fantastic because we could develop our own color film.

I use a lot of different cameras depending on the job, but I started with 35mm. Now, I mostly use the Hasselblad H1 and the Contax 645. For digital, I like the Canon 5D.

You Would Have Loved Him Too is a very personal and compelling photo essay. Why did you decide to capture this moment in your life?

I had been in a small town in France with him and I left for Paris alone, which is when I started to put the images together. I did it because I thought it was an important point in my life. I used my own photographs with his handwriting. I would work in this hotel room where I was staying and paste everything together in a book and make pages. The original consists of a combination of 60 images and collages.

What has the response been like from friends and colleagues to the series?

The series was first edited and published by Whitney Lawson at Nerve. She was the one that came up with the name for the gallery. There was a comments page and most people thanked me for being honest. Someone wrote something about how the work was mediocre and self-obsessed and I can respect that opinion. I work mostly as a magazine photographer and I would probably be really hurt if someone said that about my editorial work. But these pictures came from a different place, so they will always hold something for me. I continue to show the story because people seem to respond to it, but it is so much harder for me to show personal work.

What makes a good image to you?

Any image that makes you connect with the subject or the place.

What do you consider off-limits to shoot?

I don’t think anything specific is off limits to shoot, but you have to respect boundaries.

What’s one fish that got away?

I was sitting in a one-room Amish schoolhouse with about 10 older members of the community. It was 8 o’clock at night in the middle of winter with nothing but the gas lamps for light. I felt like I had stepped back in time. The Amish typically don’t allow themselves to be photographed, and on that night I was asked not to take pictures.

From whom, what, or where do you derive inspiration?

People inspire me. My job allows me access into so many peoples homes, so many different lives. The best way I can describe it would be like when a friend introduces you to something new that turns out to be fantastic. Except in my case, this person is someone you’d probably otherwise never meet, which maybe even makes it more extraordinary. Being a freelancer can be really lonely and I need those moments to make me feel normal and connected.

What’s the picture you’d most like to take?

I hope I know it when I see it.

If anyone could take a picture of you, who would it be?

This is a tough question, but strangely enough it would probably be my father. I remember when he would photograph the family and he would step back and insist on always taking a vertical [shot], but the pictures would always be crooked.

Where are you happiest taking photographs?

In Northern Indiana.

More from Lauren Fleishman.

Also check out more “My Ex” stories.

OK, I know we’ve all seen President Al Gore’s awesome/Oscar-winning doc, An Inconvenient Truth (and if you haven’t, shame on you! RENT IT TODAY), so in honor of Earth Day, I thought I’d post some eco-friendly tips straight from Gore’s website (pass it on).

Small things we can do to keep the planet alive:

Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl).

Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer.

Seek out and support local farmers markets.

Try telecommuting from home (kudos to SMITH).

Turn off electronic devices you’re not using.

Be sure you’re recycling at home.

Go green.

For fun, I decided to troll through Flickr and see waz up this Easter Sunday. I used to love decorating Easter Eggs with my parents. They’d buy the Paas coloring kit and I’d dye my eggs—nothing fancy, just your typical pastel-colored egg.

Of course, some folks have really turned Easter Eggs into an art form.

You can check out some of the masterpieces below:

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