My latest reading

I'm getting towards the end of "A Storm of Swords". This is the third book of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, the loooong epic about the trials of the Children of Lord Ned Stark in the fictional land of Westros. I guess when spending so much time with characters, you can get somewhat attached. I found out what it is like to have a sleepless night worrying about fictional characters. It can be disconcerting.  But I'm plowing on.

I had a chance to go to Zuccotti Park before the big NYPD raid, and talk to some of the protestors, take in the feeling of the place, and do some marching myself. The growing economic disparity is only a symptom of the real problem, which is the fact that the political balance is tilted towards the banks and corporations. It's time to shake things up in this country, take the political power away from the banks and give it back to the people, and create the kind of democracy men like Jefferson dreamed of.

A crowd marching down Wall Street, the canyon of power.

I found this nice scene on my way back to the ferry.

The new 1 World Trade Center tower. A magnificent building, it made me proud to view it.

Last of the summer photos for this year. This bird brain walked right up to  me, but didn't say much.

Yes, It's been a month since I posted I'll try to keep up.

Steps

To anyone reading my little blog from up north today.

 Happy Canada Day to you all!

Trepidation

Stanley cup aftermath

Condolences to the majority of Vancouver citizens who did not take part in the rioting. To the handful of morons making a nice city look bad. What the hell is wrong with you people? Do you think you are the only ones who's team ever lost the big cup? Go home and dry out.

I'm alive and well.

I've been neglecting this blog for too long. I'm going to start getting back to it starting this week. Stay tuned.

Another failed prediction of the beginning of the end times.

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels in heaven, but my Father only.
Matthew 25:36


Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man commeth
Matthew 24:13


So, these people who try to predict the so-called rapture are always convinced of three things:
1:  That it will happen in their lifetimes
2:  That they are the ones who will be personally ushered up to to the heavens while the rest of us schmucks have to fight it out with each other down here while Satan establishes his earthly reign
3:  That they poses some special knowledge reserved for God alone. 


It's all huberus, actually, and deserving of ridicule.

My friend, Angela made this. I'm proudly displaying it on my wall. If you haven't checked out her site yet. Give it a try. The link to follow is on the right.

I'm not actually sure how I managed to pour this, but I love how it turned out. I wish someone at my workplace (the real coffee shop, not this virtual one) could show me how to pour designs, but I have no such luck. I'll just have to figure it all out at home I guess. The problem with that is, the last thing I want to do on my day off is turn on the espresso machine. The cafe where I am employed turns you into a high speed gear in an assembly line, you have no time to think of yourself as an artist. Making drinks becomes a chore.

Resting

It's been a time of intense emotion. I'm feeling storm-battered. It's time to assess, repair and get my bearings again.

What a day! I couldn't help feeling like this guy.

Happy Mother's Day!

Up and running again

I reduced my number of posts per page down to 10 and my Error 503 problem seems to have gone away. Maybe related, maybe not.
Interesting Problem: If you are using Firefox, you might not be able to see everything here. I'm looking to see if there is something I can to at my end to fix that.

Milestone

This blog has recently had it's first readers outside of North America. Welcome, friends.

A Quote from Mark Twain which sort of sums up my attitude today.

"I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure

Looking out.

Professional model, 1994.

I'm sleepy, yet, sleepless

my thoughts aren't clear

I am a  traveler caught in a fog bank

I am a losing boxer groping for the way out of the ring

I become sad, lethargic

until we talk again

A very happy Easter to anyone reading this today.

Something from my college photography class many years ago. This was shot on Kodak Plus-X and hand developed and printed. The darkroom was an exciting place. Watching an image form on a white sheet of paper floating in a pan of developing liquid while the odor of photographic chemicals burnt my nostrils made me feel like I was taking part in a strange ancient alchemy.

I'm sitting down with a nice cup of 100% Kona. I don't usually spoil myself with the expensive stuff, but, today I am, as a simple pleasure to accompany todays meditation. It's the day after my birthday. I've grown a bit wiser, this year, I guess, so it's a good time, maybe, to finally start getting a handle on my 40's.

This Started out as a shot of the Guggenheim museum in NYC. Then I went crazy with the Photoshop.

The Great City

Some wisdom from Mister Miyagi

The Karate Kid (original)

While you are here...

My friend Angie is a super gifted artist. Please check out her blog and website. The links are on the right.

I'm no Ansel Addams. My nature photography usually sucks. I just don't have an eye for it.
Here is one of my better ones....

I have way too many photos that end up looking like this...

Another boring tree near the water. This is a New Jersey scrub pine shot this weekend at Cattus Island Park in Ocean County.

It's the first truly warm spring day of the year and I am thinking about green things.

Morning

Ignore the alarm

Dream of you

Bliss

Some of my old cameras

First Post

I'm not sure where I am going with this. Perhaps this blog will take up a life of it's own. Stay tuned.