Free hugs and a zen garden — life is good!
Tag: lighting
Ash Wednesday
I went to the Ash Wednesday service tonight and the second I walked in the door, Jerri snagged me and said “I need you to run sound,” and quickly showed me which channels controlled the mics, guitar and video, then she went off to direct the music. I don’t how long it’s been since I’ve gone to an Ash Wednesday service, but I decided to try some self portraits with the ash cross on my forehead when I got home. I find self portraits are challenging, especially in the mirror without having the camera show. Since I couldn’t see my composition or focus, I just took my chances. These two came out the best, although, I can’t seem to smile and press the shutter at the same time. It’s like the corners of my mouth and my fingers are connected, because I start with a smile, but moving my finger down to press on the shutter, pulls the corners of my mouth down.
Never STOP Loving
Our new neighbors pointed out the the “Never” and “Loving” on the stop sign at the post office was the only graffiti they had seen in Corrales, and it was positive. It’s been there for months so either the Village or the PO can’t decide whose responsibility it is to remove it or since it’s not offensive there is no reason to remove it. I had ignored it all this time, but tonight I thought it was appropriate to start off the week of Valentine’s Day. I also noticed that people are putting up “Valentine’s lights” in the fashion of Christmas lights in Corrales. Out of the lights I noticed on my way home tonight, the bicycle with flowers was the most interesting.
A silver chopper was parked in front of Cafe Giuseppe this afternoon, but it was blocked by a planter and a truck, so I only got a portion of it. I would of had to stand out in the middle of the street to get the whole of it, but I was loaded down with stuff and had deadlines that precluded risking getting ran over by a bus for another view of a chopper.
Roadies
Roadies waiting out behind the Sunshine Theater. I didn’t have time to check and see what groups were playing tonight.
Art Along The Way
Even though we are creatures of habit, our intelligence, ability to learn and adapt quickly are a few aspects of human nature than help us to survive and advance, so after 15 years of leaving by the back door every day, I should be able to simply change that habit and remember to leave by the front door, because going out the front door is now the shortest route to my car. I walked out the back door twice today, and instead of unlocking the back door and walking through the building, I walked around the block both times. Yet it wasn’t all for naught, because between 1:30 this afternoon and 7:30 this evening some new art was installed in the pocket park on the end of the block at 2nd and Gold.
Dry Iceberg
Today I ended up with a mix of flowers, a sparrow, and a couple of experimental shots with pearls. The dried iceberg looked like a painting in the late afternoon light, and the flowers on the table were vibrant in the afternoon sun shining through the bay windows. While I was out walking around the yard before sundown, a sparrow kept flying around behind me and landing in a nearby tree. At one point I was standing in the shadow of the black bamboo, and the sparrow flew out of the tree, made a U-turn, and flew right back towards me, and almost flew into me, swerving around me at the last moment. I was dressed in black, standing in the shadow of the black bamboo, so I think it actually didn’t see me until it almost flew into me. After that, it sat in the tree across from where I was standing and gave me mad dogs.
Lights, Action, Birds
We went in to see how Tristan organized her study space when we dropped her off after school late this afternoon, and I noticed the lights in their stairwell made a very nice design. Sophia always does the same pose whenever she sees a camera — a kind of pensive, sultry look — and René, the Eclectus parrot former known as Joey, is looking really good these days. Tristan said she noticed that René is not the brightest bird on the block, but then she is comparing him to her African Greys. Most parrots have intellects comparable to 2 to 3 year old children; whereas African Greys have intellects comparable to 5 year old children. So while most parrots are very interactive, inquisitive, and can often mimic people very well, African Greys can actually reason with you.
Old and Cold
There were a lot of band tour buses parked out behind the office this afternoon, so I looked up on the Sunshine Theater’s schedule to see who was playing tonight. As usual I had never heard of or heard any of the groups listed, so I looked up samples of their music on Youtube. The first group in the list is Emmure and the music video I chose at random was what I would call hyper-grunge with caveman lyrics, although to be fair, cavemen were probably much more clear and articulate. After a few painful seconds on listening to Emmure, I looked up Whitechapel, the next group on the list, and the random song I chose sounded just like the song I listened to by Emmure. I had to do a double take to make sure I hadn’t reloaded Emmure — I hadn’t. Obey The Brave and The Plot In You also sounded the same to me. If I got it right, these bands tour together as Brothers of Brutality and from the snippets of the songs I listened to, they are brutal.
I guess I’m getting too old, because I don’t know why the groups want to subject themselves to themselves, or why anyone else, of any age, would want to subject themselves to the Brothers of Brutality, but there is an appeal that goes beyond both my understanding and sensitivities. I left the office a little after 5:00 pm tonight, a bit later than I had intended since I was supposed to pick up Laurie and Tristan at school at 5:00 pm. When I walked out the door the cold hit me like a stinging slap on my face, and I shivered as I walked to the car. While I was sitting at the light at 2nd and Gold, I got a text from Laurie that read “Hypothermia!” The light turned green and as I drove by the Sunshine theater, I noticed that many of the kids who waiting in line for The Brothers of Brutality concert were wearing short sleeve shirts and shorts, and many of the girls who were wearing jeans had slits all over them and plenty of flesh exposed to the cold air. Maybe being brutalized by the elements is a required to properly experience The Bothers of Brutality? Call me old, call me a prude, but it’s much too brutal and mysterious for me.
Off Center & Not Even 