Just stop and look around

I'm amazed at the intense colors all around us. I often catch them with my point and shoot while walking around. Sometimes, the most beautiful, saturated colors are right in front, above or to either side to you. If you just stop, take a moment, and look around. The last half hour of sunlight on the top floors of a building, a chair (or two) against a painted wall or a store sign minutes before dark.

Bust a move on Jesus

I've been sitting watching Ted Kennedy's funeral services. Funerals always seem more appropriate in the rain. I have great respect for him but this service is agonizing. Plus, think of the millions of dollars that were spent on security, secret service for all those presidents, transportation for all those people--the buses, limos. The Boston and Arlington police. It's incredible. Being a big advocate of cremation, I think, wouldn't that have been a million times easier and more efficient to cremate him? A small service on the water at Hyannisport? Ashes in the water, some roses, a few thoughts said by family members? John Lennon was cremated, had no service and God only knows whatever happened to his ashes. A service for him would have been huge. Look at the Michael Jackson fiasco. California is in debt up to its ass and roads had to be closed while a police motorcade lugged Michael's body around for all the freaks and fans to cry over. And, as of now, he's still not in the ground. At least one more motorcade is still ahead.

Back to Ted. I'm listening to this agonizing music drone on and on. Here's my point: Church music is nauseating. All of it, without exception. I remember as a little kid sitting in our hot Methodist church on a bright, sunny Sunday, thinking to myself, "This music sucks, I want to shoot myself." I was probably 5 years old. Sometimes I was offered a choice between sitting in a Sunday school class with some teacher trying to convince us that practically all fun things were sinful or going to "big church" sitting with the grownups. Stuck there with this horribly depressing music and long winded minister telling everyone that practically all fun things were sinful. Either choice was bad, except Sunday school didn't have the crappy music. Throughout my life it always seemed odd to me that if I went to a wedding, a christening or a funeral, all the music sounded exactly the same. Same old man sitting at the organ, nearly motionless, staring down at the music through small glasses resting near the tip of his nose. Exactly the same tonality of the organ and choir, regardless of the church. Whether the songs were sung out of sadness or happiness, it was all the same monotone drab depressing tonality. Did it all originate during the dark, plague-ridden Middle Ages? Going into these damp, dreary, dim, candlelit churches, crying and praying for the end of war, disease, and famine? Who first came up with this horrific music? Somewhere, sometime, someone decided "All of the music played within these walls will be depressing beyond belief... FOREVER. For THIS will be church music." I think I'll find a nice black Baptist church to go to. Get me a tamborine and bust a move on Jesus!

Rain & Goggles

Another rainy night blur.



Walking down 5th Ave I noticed this little wiener dog wearing a visor and goggles. I asked his owner if I could take a snap of his dog. He smiled and said his name was "Fritz".

Similar goggles on an old guy I met one day.

You down with HST?

I ripped off the quotes from another blog.

Love him or hate him, he was brilliant, and didn't give a rats ass what anyone thought of him or his views. We need more people like him around to remind us that there is more than one way of looking at everything. Less sheep, more Hunters.

Some excerpts from Hunter S Thompson taken from various rants throughout the years:

If the current polls are reliable... Nixon will be re-elected by a huge majority of Americans who feel he is not only more honest and more trustworthy than George McGovern, but also more likely to end the war in Vietnam. The polls also indicate that Nixon will get a comfortable majority of the Youth Vote. And that he might carry all fifty states... This may be the year when we finally come face to face with ourselves; finally just lay back and say it — that we are really just a nation of 220 million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns, and no qualms at all about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable. The tragedy of all this is that George McGovern, for all his mistakes... understands what a fantastic monument to all the best instincts of the human race this country might have been, if we could have kept it out of the hands of greedy little hustlers like Richard Nixon. McGovern made some stupid mistakes, but in context they seem almost frivolous compared to the things Richard Nixon does every day of his life, on purpose... Jesus! Where will it end? How low do you have to stoop in this country to be President?
"September," from FEAR AND LOATHING ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL '72 (Warner Books, 1973), pp 413–414

The Rumsfeld-Cheney axis has self-destructed right in front of our eyes, along with the once-proud Perle-Wolfowitz bund that is turning to wax. They somehow managed to blow it all, like a gang of kids on a looting spree, between January and July, or even less. It is genuinely incredible. The U.S. Treasury is empty, we are losing that stupid, fraudulent chickencrap War in Iraq, and every country in the world except a handful of Corrupt Brits despises us. We are losers, and that is the one unforgiveable sin in America.

I take no pleasure in being Right in my dark predictions about the fate of our military intervention in the heart of the Muslim world. It is immensely depressing to me. Nobody likes to be betting against the Home team.

We have become a Nazi monster in the eyes of the whole world, a nation of bullies and bastards who would rather kill than live peacefully. We are not just Whores for power and oil, but killer whores with hate and fear in our hearts. We are human scum, and that is how history will judge us. No redeeming social value. Just whores. Get out of our way, or we'll kill you. Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads? Who among us can be happy and proud of having all this innocent blood on our hands? Who are these swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid little rich kids like George Bush? They are the same ones who wanted to have Muhammad Ali locked up for refusing to kill gooks. They speak for all that is cruel and stupid and vicious in the American character. They are the racists and hate mongers among us; they are the Ku Klux Klan. I piss down the throats of these Nazis. And I am too old to worry about whether they like it or not. Fuck them.

It will be guerilla warfare on a global scale, with no front lines and no identifiable enemy... We are going to punish somebody for this attack, but just who or what will be blown to smithereens for it is hard to say. Maybe Afghanistan, maybe Pakistan or Iraq, or possibly all three at once. Who knows?
"Kingdom of Fear" (2001-09-12)

This blizzard of mind-warping war propaganda out of Washington is building up steam. Monday is Anthrax, Tuesday is Bankruptcy, Friday is Child-Rape, Thursday is Bomb-scares, etc., etc., etc... If we believed all the brutal, frat-boy threats coming out of the White House, we would be dead before Sunday. It is pure and savage terrorism reminiscent of Nazi Germany

These horrifying digital snapshots of the American dream in action on foreign soil are worse than anything even I could have expected. I have been in this business a long time and I have seen many staggering things, but this one is over the line. Now I am really ashamed to carry an American passport.

I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours

Bring on fall

Reminder: Click on any photo to enlarge.


Glacial rocks are beautiful and go on for miles.

I was looking out over this mountain vista and noticed a large raven enjoying the view as well. Yes, they're ravens up there...not crows. I sat there for an hour...he didn't move.

I'm about done with summer. I need to find a place where it's fall all the time. Is there such a place? There are places where it's winter all the time. Places where it's summer all the time. I don't know of a place where it's fall all the time or I'd move there. Last year I went to Banff. I flew to Calgary, rented a car and drove north through Alberta. All by myself. For 90 miles there's not much... then, the most incredible views anyone could imagine. I've been a lot of places, including the American west (Montana, Washington, Oregon, Colorado), and nothing comes remotely close to this. The most amazing sites I've ever seen. It's about a 175 mile ride through Banff National Park. Only one gas station and once you get to Jasper on the north end, everything is ridiculously expensive. I paid $200+ for a crappy room with a bed that was short sheeted. The only other choice was a youth hostel at $45 a night. Co-ed rooms and a funky "hole in the floor toilet" bathroom. Six people to a room? Bunk beds? Not me, I'm too old for that shit. Whatever the price, I need to get back to Banff.

Reflections and Low Light

With nothing better to do, I went to the Staten Island Ferry this afternoon for the 300th time. Around 8:30pm, the obnoxious vendors who scream "Ice cold water, one dollar" at the people using the ferry poured out their ice chests and moved on. I liked the reflections.



An old friend called me to meet for coffee and a chat. Afterwards she suggested we take some snaps. It was stormy and dark but we took these in a few minutes. Mostly taken with my little point and shoot on a high asa. One small window. Beautiful model, beautiful light.

Gifted Taco

Before reading this understand that I truly DO love kids. My nieces, my nephew, and my goddaughter Julia.

I often had (note: had) these periodic inner thoughts of whether or not to have children. They usually came on suddenly, perhaps after holding a friend's new baby, and left just as fast as they came on. I thought of it more often about 15 years ago, thinking that if I was ever going to do it, I better get busy pronto. Now, I've just run out of time, or reasonable time, to be a responsible' able-bodied parent. Yes, I could obviously still have a child but do I want to start that journey at my age? When I was giving it some serious consideration I often had the good and evil "me's" sitting on my shoulders, each yelling in my ears the pros and cons. I looked long and hard at most of my friends with children and they didn't seem all that happy. Actually they seemed exhausted, stressed, and even resentful of the little tykes. They spoke of "the good old days" prior to having them. They ALL complained of never having sex anymore... or, if they did have sex, it was hurried. More of a release than a pleasurable interlude. The women didn't seem to care, the men complained incessantly. Aside from the lack of sex, they never seemed to have any time for themselves. Everything they did was coordinated around their child's school, playdates, various sports, ballet, instrument lessons, camp, etc., etc. It makes one wonder if these parents hit a point in their lives when they themselves were bored. Had they done everything they wanted to do in life and were ready to give virtually ALL of their time to a child? I find it funny that EVERY single friend who has children has said to me, "I never knew it would be so time consuming." What? Are you stupid? Did you not read or talk to anyone prior to this endeavor? Were you on that island with Tom Hanks (Castaway) for the past 30 years? Of course it takes up time--every friggin moment of your life. You didn't think this would happen?

When I was a kid all I heard was "go outside and play." There were no "activities." We relied on friends and ourselves to create whatever fun we had. A bike, a skateboard, a few plastic army men, and a heap of dirt. That was about it. Nowadays, kids are bombarded with "activities." Parents feel obligated to do things to keep their child busy for fear they may miss something. Or, they're not doing their duty being a good parent. We had a black and white TV with 4 channels: ABC, CBS, NBC, and WTTG 5. You could sometimes pick up channel 20, which was usually fuzzy, but if you grabbed one pole of the rabbit ears and stood on your head while holding 3 pounds of aluminum foil in your other hand, it might come in halfway clear. TV sucked. Kids today have 200+ channels, play stations, electronic games, and computers. I truly think they're over stimulated. Where's the imagination? Quiet time? Time with friends outside without anything to play with except a ball or some woods to run through? It's no wonder kids are all fucked up today. Half are on Ritalin, antidepressants, or in therapy by the time they're in high school. That's seriously fucked up. Not to mention their diets. Kids eat more sugar and processed crap than ever before and parents let them; it's not worth the argument. As a kid we sat down to dinner every night at 6:00pm. We said a prayer and quietly ate whatever was on our plates. We were taught good table manners and how to hold utensils. Have you ever watched people eat today? Go to any restaurant and look around. Nobody knows how to hold a fork, much less cut something and switch back to the fork in the right hand... it's amazing. I want to walk up to people and say, "Who the hell taught you how to eat?" I digress... I probably would have considered having one or two kids if they didn't require the IMMENSE amount of attention they do. I'm too self absorbed and selfish to sacrfice so much of "me time" for anyone. And, is the payoff truly worth 22+ years of sacrifice? Not to mention the enormous expense of babysitters, nannies, schooling, food, clothing, and overall raising someone. Is the payoff truly that great? Really? 'Cause I'm not seeing it. Are the parents of an average 13, 14, 15, or 16 year old kid oozing with ecstatic happiness? Is the whole motivation to having kids so you'll have someone to take care of you when you're old? Maybe subconsciously that's it. Kids are basically a long term insurance policy. They're supposed to provide you with company and elder care later in life. By God, that's it! I honestly answered the question of the reason for having children.

If I ever did have a child I'd like to have a them from 6 months to 2 years (newborns do nothing except cry, eat, and poop). Then I'd send them away and get them back from 4-11, then away again until they were 24. When a kids hormones kick in (13ish) they're argumentative, combative, and from I've witnessed, they basically become demonic assholes. Are their exceptions? Of course... I know of 3. One is obviously gay, one is religious, and one is half retarded. The others are like me and my friends were--complete assholes. Show me a kid who loves and adores his parents as a teen and I'll show you a full-blown nerd. One who is considered uncool and probably a social outcast with few friends. Part of being a normal kid is being rebellious and standing on your own. With your own opinions, challenging authority and being a bit reckless and adventuresome without killing yourself in the process. Do I want to deal with that? No... and especially as an older parent. I'm sure much of parenting is wonderful. I know many parents have told me how wonderful it is to sit and watch their child do the simplest of things. Amazed that this beautiful child is a product of their own seed. Now, flash forward being the parent of a 15-year old daughter who just got caught sneaking out of the house and tell me how special parenting is.

Many (most) parents I know think their child is gifted. Newsflash, I assure you, they're not. If your kid isn't playing Bach beautifully at 4 years of age on a piano or violin, then she's not gifted. If he's not speaking fluent Russian and reading at college level at age 6 or coming up with some new mathematical theory than I assure you, he's NOT gifted. Smart? Perhaps. Gifted? No. I've never met any parents with a gifted child, ever. So, if you're watching that 4-year old of yours eat a taco and are amazed that they can hold it without dripping it all over their shirt. Sorry, they're not gifted.

Then again... maybe I'm trying to justify not having kids. But I don't think so. Parenting is not for everyone. Life can be pretty damn exciting without kids, believe me. Maybe even more than watching that gifted child of yours successfully eat a taco.

Snaps

Another festive Christmas lobby (my old building)

I noticed this odd bit of graffiti on a wall in the village.
"We go to Koala Mountain hide in trees".

Summer. I've only had "real" shoes on once since June.
Teva sandals leave weird tan lines

Who calls what art?

On the walls in most subway stops they hang movie posters and advertisements in these large metal frames. They evidently glue these ads up and after time they either fall off or they're torn down by vandals. In a particular stop near Inwood there are these frames that haven't been used in a very long time. Each time I leave the station I stare at what remains of the previous posters and can't help but notice the similarities between them and much of the art I see at places like MoMA, the Whitney, and the Guggenheim. I've always thought artists like Rauchenberg, James Rosenquist, Ellsworth Kelly, Frank Stella, Cy Twombly and their contemporaries were full of shit and their art was complete garbage for the most part. There's a very interesting film called "Who get's to call it art" about a guy named Henry Geldzahler who basically hand picked his favorite "modern artists", gave them a show at the Met and single handedly brought them all to fame. Who hasn't been to a large art gallery, looked on the wall to see a painting that looks like it was done by a 1st grader, and wondered "How the hell did this painting end up here?"

I have this picture in my mind of guys back in the 40s and 50s, guys who didn't want to work, sitting in these large, industrial, daylight filled lofts in Soho surrounded by large canvases. They're smoking cigarettes in clothing lightly covered in multicolored drips and smudges of paint. Occasionally they get up to splatter some paint in the direction of one of these blank future masterpieces. Along comes someone like Henry Geldzahler or Peggy Guggenheim (who, by the way, screwed Jackson Pollock) who befriends them and these unemployed, talentless loafers become rich and famous. Whether you like him or not, many of Pollock's contemporaries referred to him as "slatterpuss". There are many critics who believe he drank himself to death because he knew in his heart he was a hack and his work was a joke. Even though I appreciate a few of his paintings I still think it was a gimmick. Stand over a canvas, drip paint.

Back to the "accidental art" on the subway walls: So, each day I look at these frames on the walls and think..."These could easily be hanging in the Whitney." Art? Sadly, I think it's mostly bullshit.

Reality and Funny shapes

Weird guy filming himself with ketchup at Coney Island

Washington Square Park

I was watching something on that moronic family named the Duggars who just had their 18th child. These people believe that Jesus told them to have all these kids. Of course they're leeching off the public's sympathy and donations having a giant home with multiple washers and driers, plenty of food and everything they could possibly need. They look, act and dress like cult members. I abhor these people. Then again, if you listen to them talk they're very robotic and seem pretty stupid. Sadly we all have to pay in the long run for their "Stepford-like" existance. Fucking imbeciles. Obviously they and most other families who have more than 2 kids can't seem to grasp the concept of over population. These people are too selfish, stupid and self absorbed to understand the repercussions and impact on the environment of having just one child, much less 18. I heard that mindless twit Elisabeth Hasselbeck talking on "The View", now pregnant with her third child, saying that her kids might be the ones to solve the world's problems. Hey Elisabeth...pull your blonde, empty head out of your ass! The SINGLE worst thing you can do for the planet is have a child.

Here's some interesting reading.

http://www.overpopulation.org/

and another

http://www.thisisreality.org/

Take a moment and read. Very sad and very scary.

On a brighter note:

HBO has been running the movie "Raising Arizona" for the past few weeks. I love that movie. I've watched a portion of it about 37 times. It's a love/hate movie. My sister hated it. There are certain quotes that still make me laugh everytime I hear them. Here are a few:

Evelle: H.I., you're young and you got your health, what you want with a job?

Evelle: These blow up into funny shapes and all? (regarding the balloons he just bought)
Grocer: Well no... unless round is funny.

Hayseed in the Pickup: Son, you got a panty on your head. (after picking up H.I. after he robbed a store)

While I'm at it, a quote from "O brother where art thou" when John Goodman's character finishes a piece of chicken.

Big Dan Teague: "Thank you as well for the conversational haitus. I generally refrain from speach during gustation. There are those who attempt both at the same time. I find it coarse and vulgar."

The Coen Brothers are geniuses.

Air guitar

Here's a joke:
What's green and smells like Miss Piggy?
Kermit's finger.

I heard that joke many years ago and it still makes me smile.

I was in Central Park recently and I noticed these kids running around like banshees. I was so envious. When was the last time you just took off running for no reason? As a kid growing up in Virginia we ran constantly. We played smear-the-queer, football, baseball, or just ran around chasing each other like maniacs all over the neighborhood. We also had a huge chunk of land we called "The Woods" at the bottom of our street and my best friend Bruce and I would go there just about every day until our mid-teens. If we weren't running, we were on bikes. I don't remember ever getting tired, though I'm sure we did. Watching those kids made me want to run, not jog, but run...flat out, really fast.

Today I was on the A train going to visit Julia (my goddaughter) and her mother Kristin. This guy was sitting across from me wearing headphones, a scraggly beard and one of those Rastafarian hats, even though he was whiter than I am. He was playing air keyboards. Not in a subtle way, really rocking out. Like he was on stage backing up Santana at Woodstock. His knee and thigh were his pretend keyboard. I'm sure he thought everyone was looking at him thinking he was cool.... Well, he was wrong, he looked like an asshole. I see many people doing air instruments on the subway, usually it's guitar, an occasional horn or slap bass but even more people dancing with their headphones on. They know people are watching but obviously the music is so intoxicating they can't help themselves. The other night, riding the train headed north, a woman with "whitey dreads" and a faded bandana stood in the middle of the car gyrating about like she was at a Grateful Dead concert. I almost tapped her and said "Please stop, you really look stupid." Each time I have one of these "air" sightings it painfully brings me back to a high school dance. I was a junior and I was too embarrassed to ask anyone to dance with me, and actually I really didn't know how. We were listening to great local band called Liberty. I was standing there on the side of the dance floor, the music pounding and I felt I had to satisfy this urge to move. I started to air guitar during one of the solos. Suddenly my best friend Bruce tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Steve, stop, you look like an idiot." I was embarrassed, I knew he was right. Air instruments are for those people who can't play anything, OR they're too shy to ask someone to dance, OR for drunk people who truly don't give a shit what anyone thinks. Since that night, any time I've felt the urge to air guitar, I stop and think of Bruce and that Liberty dance... he was right, I must have looked like a total asshole.

Photos have no relevance to story. I just like them.

Intimidation

Today I was doing errands and looked down a side street to see a huge waterspout shooting out onto the road. A half block away was the typical New York City street scene: a bunch of kids playing around an open fire hydrant. Two kids who looked to be about 11 or 13 were using a Goya juice can to aim and steer the water in whatever direction they wanted. It must have been hard to hold on to because after a minute or two, the force of the water would shoot the can across the street. Some cars would pull up to get a free wash; other cars were scared to drive through, would wait, and then suddenly speed by, windows rolled up tight. I started shooting and a well-built Hispanic kid about 16 or 17 walked up to me and asked me why I was taking pictures. I told him I live in the neighborhood and thought it was a cool scene, the kids playing with the hydrant. He walked away and I kept snapping. Another guy, about 30, walked up and said he didn't want to be in any photos. I told him he wasn't. I then glanced to my right and about 8 people were sitting on car hoods, drinking beer and watching me shoot. I crossed the street and after taking a few snaps, that 17 year old kid walked over and in a no nonsense tone said, "Let me see the pictures." I pulled my camera from around my neck, showed him the screen and clicked through the photos. He stared at each one and at one point said "go back, go back." I did, and he studied the sceen looking to see if anyone in the group could be identified. Then he said "We don't want to be in any pictures." I smiled again and said "You're not, it's the water and the hydrant." I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he walked back to the group and reported what I had said.. Something told me to leave... my spider sensors... something. It bothers me that I walked away but I didn't want to deal with a confrontation or one of them grabbing my camera and smashing it on the ground. Would a better photographer have kept shooting? Should I have stayed possibly getting a better shot? It's a constant dilemma when shooting on the street in a strange neighborhood.

Hamptons/Coney Island...Who's happier?

Today it was 88 degrees and beautiful. I got off the train at Stillwell Ave at 3:30 with 2 cameras around my neck, grabbed a Brooklyn Lager (in a cup) and took a long walk. Coney Island is loud, filthy, grimy and littered with trash. There are thugs and drunks and fat hispanic women wearing tiny bathing suits everywhere. Kids are running around with no sign of a parent or guardian anywhere in sight. One thing you can't help notice is that everyone seems to be very happy. Music is blaring, people spontaneously break out dancing, old men bang wooden sticks(called clave) together to keep the rhythm. Here's the interesting part: I'll bet if you ask anybody on this beach if they're happy and they'll give you a wide smile, tip their beer and tell you what a beautiful day it is. Now, go to the Hamptons and ask each person if they're genuinely happy. They'll probably express their desire for the latest Gucci bag or pair of designer shoes. They might be happy if their apartment was bigger or they had that summer place outside the city. They'd be really happy if there were less people in their summer share. The people at Coney Island are simple, blue collar working people, content to be surrounded by family, friends and a cooler full of food and ice cold beer. A $2.00 subway ride and they're in heaven. Sort of makes you wonder who doing it right and who's doing it all wrong.






Self portrait

Human anthill

Uhhhh....no

Happy snaps:

Spur of the moment shoot... Location is always a dilemma. When all else fails? Toss em in the bathtub. She was beautiful, a great sport and so much fun. And, her first time...


Work in progress...(tattoos and photography)

Interesting blend of the bored daily commuters and the excited tourists riding the Staten Island ferry. I never get tired of riding it.

Take the A train

A train, 12:45am


Since I've been living in the great north (Inwood), I spend literally hours (plural), on the subways each day. After living in the west village for 8+ years I still gravitate to my old hood. The train can be a fickle bastard. Sometimes it runs express, sometimes it runs local. You have to catch the A train before 10:30pm to get it running express. Taking an express train from West 4th to 200th street where I live takes about 35-40 minutes and makes about 11 stops. If you miss the express or it decides randomly to run local, as if often does, it takes double the time and makes 23 stops (give or take). During the weekend it generally runs local all the time which sucks ...it stops constantly. Sorry, all of this means nothing to anyone living outside the city.

The other night I got on the train around midnight. It took forever and was surprisingly empty, which is always sort of spooky. On most of this trek I was all alone in the car. I felt slight anxiety at each stop wondering who might get on. A nutjob? A gang? When I finally got off at 200th street I stood for a moment on the empty platform and took some photos of a bum sleeping on a bench. I heard a noise behind me and noticed two rats chasing each other just a few feet away. They hadn't noticed me and it was if I was watching two cute, furry rodents on the Animal Planet chasing each other and playing tag . They were completely unaware I was there. As I walked out of the station another rat spotted me as he was halfway up the steps. He turned as if panicked and decided to retreat and go back down as I was coming up. He hugged the wall as he ran past me.. Normally I would stiffin up and screech (internally) like a little girl but this time I just watched him zip by. There are so many rats in Inwood. Occassionally I'd see one walking bravely on the platform at West 4th but it was rare. You always see them on the tracks. My old girlfriend and I used to call them "Mice-capades". It kept us entertained while waiting for the trains. I dream of the day when I can hop in a cab from 200th and say..."West Village" and fork out the $30 to get down there without wincing. Then again, when I get that 1800 sq ft loft in Tribeca I won't need that $30 cab.

Random snaps 2

I walked past this building last Christmas and couldn't help but notice the warm and cozy inviting feeling of this lobby. It was like a Courier & Ives scene of a Vermont Inn during the holidays.

Riding the Staten Island Ferry just after a storm. The sun broke out just after we left the dock.

I stopped to listen to this guy play and sing on 23rd and 7th ave. I snapped a photo and he started yelling at me to stop. I pulled out my press pass and told him to shut up. The cops started laughing. He's cranky and he sucks musically.

"That's right Guv-na"--WTF?

The other day I was IM'ing a friend and during the conversation she used LOL (laughing out loud), LMAO (laughing my ass off), ROFL(rolling on the floor with laughter) and IMHO(In My Humble Opinion). Seriously, she used all of these abbreviations in 15 minutes. I called her on it and she basically told me that it was common IM language and easier than writing the full descriptions. And she suggested I learn the lingo and get with the program. I asked if she actually WAS rolling on the floor with laughter and laughing out loud. Too make matters worse, she ended the conversation with "Ciao". So I asked her when she became Italian.
Here's an abbreviation...WTF?
Two weeks ago I was shooting a male model and at one point I apologized for stopping to load a new card in the camera and he replied "No worries Mate". I thought that was a bit odd considering he was from someplace like Cleveland. Later, he said "bloody hell" when he dripped something on his shirt. Throughout the day he used many Australian and British expressions. At the end of the day as he was leaving he yelled out "Ciao" to the crew. Somebody please explain to the need to use foreign expressions and abbreviations. Why not say goodbye in that language in Africa where they make ticking and popping sounds with their tongues?
"Goodbye model"
"Tick, pop, tink"
WTF?
Why not use Czech or Greek? Russian or Polish? Dutch or German? Finnish perhaps? And another thing regarding language..Saturday night I was hanging out with a Collette, Lewis and her parents. Her father was curious about all the Chinese and Japanese character tattoos that everyone seemed to be getting. We LOLed and wondered how many of them were written incorrectly. We also ROFLing that many, if not thousands of people were probably walking around with symbols that said Moo Shu Chicken or Kung Pao Beef on their body rather than the intended meaningful symbol like "Seek World Peace". Here's a question... What's up with writing asian characters on yourself? It only means something if you ARE asian and can read it.
Once again... WTF?

Random snaps

I recently started going out and snapping photos with my auto focus turned off. I blur everything out in varying degrees until I like the composition. I tend to like rainy nights best. Yes I know, it's been done. I don't care.

I was in Times Square and started noticing the shadows late in the day as people walked by. I put the camera over my head and upside down and liked what I saw.

I love the shadows

Crazy eyes....

What's better than window light?