Everyone was now settled, knees tight together, ankles and toes aligned. Shoulders, for the most part, square and tense. They were all waiting for the word, the start, the get to it. It never came. For four and a half minutes I let them wait, watching slowly as one by one their once ready frames sunk into their normal form. The boys went first, slumping back against the old metal chairs, creaking back and forth, impatient. Those closer to the front held somewhat of a disadvantage, what with not being able to see the rest of the room, now void of vigor, wondering what my game was.
They had been told about the test weeks in advance, yet never told what it was on. Advised that it was very important and reminded weekly. I was, of course, their favourite teacher. Biology was my subject. Most had taken the hint and swatted up on all things anatomical. Little did they know it was themselves, those bones, those teenage bones, which were under test conditions. As the last shoulders dropped from a skinny fifteen year girl my mouth finally opened. See you next semester, you're an under five minute class.
Some very personal drawings. At least that's what the site says. Have a look. Friends have been showing me just how talented they are recently, and all without actually trying. Whether they are taking pictures, sending me postcards or blogging about sending postcards and taking pictures, it seems they have the ability to inspire, entertain and create like very few others who I know.
Beth Schaible now has her own blog, where you can catch her posting all sorts, books, prints, pictures, even the odd recommendation. She send super postcards.
There are some things I never want to get rid of, despite the fact that I know I have no further use for them. I find myself placing them in odd nooks and crannies. It is only a few days, or even weeks later, when I come across them again, that I get the notion that the Collyer Brothers are egging me on. It is at this point that I throw said item away.
I have become fascinated with their story, the Hermits from Harlem, their lives and their deaths. It's the stuff of short stories, truly. For lots of great pictures click here, and for the story of these two hoarders just read the wiki article here. Police and people were of a very different mindset back then. It's entertaining.
Two compulsive, eccentric recluses, living in over 100 tons of rubbish, yet able to pay off their mortgage in one fell swoop. A house with traps, no windows, organs, cars. It took police weeks to find missing brother Langley, despite him lying only 10 feet from his brother, also found dead.
A tad macabre? It's a Friday.
Somewhere on this block, I slept in a cheap hotel. When I paid the guy, in advance, in Euros (which, incidentally, were quite unpopular with almost everyone) he gave me a few doubletakes before grabbing my crumpled money.
A few minutes later, he came to my room, knocked on my door and held out the bills I gave him. "You know, when you make a mess of your money like this, it's impossible to iron them."
"Iron them?"
"Yes, you cannot make them straight again."
"Oh......sorry."
He walked away. A few hours later I wandered down to the office to make a phone call. Inside the office were three guys, including the owner. There was also an ironing board, and several huge bags of bills. Everyone was leaning over the ironing board, ironing stacks of money.
I didn't want to know why. (Words and photo from here)
Sometimes the title/caption/story of a photo makes the once ordinary into something full of character, just as in this case.
I see midnight runs down this back street, pockets full to the brim with all manner of bills. Elders of the community using their experience and knowledge to press the new bills in town. I see a bank clerk,stressed, his job is to keep all the bills pressed, a teller, turning away those with crumpled notes. Tourist season is a nightmare, out of towner's. This little town went from being a sleepy village to a community shrouded in obsessive compulsive disorder, relating only to the flatness of money.
Too many people leave out titles/captions, 'Untitled'. I am sick of 'Unititled'. Of course it's ridiculous to read too much into a title/caption. The possibility of the above is a million miles from the reality of the photo itself, and no doubt the story, which is true, but isn't it fun?
I often find myself thinking of things that, while I have loved and no doubt could recount, have not played too large a part in my life. Take Rear Window for example. I have seen it once, enjoyed it once, but thought of it countless times. Why? It obviously struck me, or my mind at least.
I have taken to using these things that keep flooding back to me, time and time again, as starting points.
So Rear Window it has been today. I have been kept busy with images, both beautiful and mundane. There are views from places of work, hotels and even pictures of a grubby rear window.
Jerry Lee Lewis wears a large ring. I have always been confused by men who wear large bejeweled rings. Ponder it if you will while watching this, tedious link is that it played in the Hitchcock classic. Get up and dance, you won't always have the chance.
I think we sometimes forget, it doesn't always have to be perfect. I just read Hunter S Thompson, I watched Candy. I listen to The Cure daily.
There is something beautiful about a straight laced sketch. Edward del Rosario has me hook line and sinker with his work, depicting characters you just want to delve into, solemnly staged and void of colour in many cases. You can see the rest of it here, via the Richard Heller Gallery. It's the same place I came across Hope Gangloff. If you're after some visual therapy today, in the form of splendid artists, just check their list.
If you feel down today, please, be troubled no longer. I have the solution in jpeg format. tadannn. Try to feel sorry for yourself when that's your background, I dare you.
We all need a link to a trendy, hip, young and dynamic artist every once in a while...don't we? I'm not so sure anymore. Nevertheless, here is said link. Eveline Tarunadjaja. It's all just too cool? Correct me if i'm wrong.
On the Bang and Olufsen website there is an image gallery like no other. It contains snapshots of their products, starting with those from the 1920's and then every decade after, right up until the new millennium.
Bang and Olufsen have always been a company that I have loved, yet it was never really about the sound, despite them predominantly being an audio focused brand. It was always about the look.
When I first fell in love, as a younger boy, it was the 1990's. I remember visiting a family friend who had his living room full of the latest products. The Beosound 9000, which you can see above, was my favourite.
Looking through the decades on the site, the 70's and 80's clinch it. There are so many iconic pieces, take the Beocord 9000, designed by Jacob Jensen. The art of design, and while trademark Bang and Olufsen would never suit myself, or my wallet, it's inspiring to look at. Pieces of plastic, metal and sometimes wood, veneer of course, all trapped in a decade.
06/07/09 We may be miles apart
6,768 Miles Apart has been my new reading material, or should I say looking, as it's all in stills. There is Diana, who lives in California in the good old United States of America, and Ana, from Wellington New Zealand. They both blog, the former on OurCityLights, the later OnDressingUp.
Ever since April 1st 2009 they have been, weekly, posting a series together entitled 6,768 Miles Apart. It is a look, through photos of their mornings, into their lives, all those rolling hills, cities and oceans apart. The origins are explained here.
I love this idea, and the quality of the shots make it all worthwhile. I hope you like it, if not, the two blogs are fantastic in their own rights.
If, like me, sometimes you just want to scroll down a blog and be entertained visually, then try this little number for size. Some great shots. Eyes Wide Shut, apparently.
05/07/09 Anyone having any fun?
I have been told that the blog has been missed. I am flattered. If I had ever been to Peru, perhaps I would miss it too one day. Photographs from a trip, Justin Barnes. Take a look and marvel at them.
I came across Linefeed after hearing the new Wooooo reviewed in this video, it's beyond middling and past fair.
Music, the heartbeat of the summer. Oh what nonsense, it's all year round. Any Fun by Coconut Records is on repeat in this house, and when I get a second I sit down and watch the video, in its entirety. I do close my eyes for five seconds, from 0:56 - 1:01 seconds. It's better that way. Trust me.
Last but not least, leifpeng, from flickr, has so much great stuff on there. Try this for size.