Cameron Trading Post in Cameron , AZ.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Camel Trek Across the Dunes
Out onto the Dunes of Merzouga by camel for a night in the desert. I got lucky and rode the one that knew the way on her own so I got great views of the rest of the camels and riders on the trek. Shooting stars, scorpions and dung beetles were our only other companions. As the sun rose the next morning a small herd of goats bleated by on a nearby dune.
The road to Marrakesh ends here.
August 2000- The Djemma El Fnaa in Marrakesh, Morocco in the early evening. Full of incredible tastes, smells, and sounds.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Used Book Storage
The Beineke Rare Book Library at Yale University is a very interesting structure. A protective glass box inside a cube of translucent marble that glows softly inside from the natural light outside.
It feels like someplace Kirk and Spock would visit. The sacred repository of all knowledge of some ancient alien race silently biding it's time on some long forgotten distant planet.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
The Beautiful Bronx
The New York Botanical Garden is a sylvan paradise in the middle of The Bronx. The fire hydrant in the middle of "the woods" reminds you of where you are in case you get lost in the illusion.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Well it was 17 years ago today, that the Cicadas last came out to play.
May 2004-My third time around with "The Locusts" as we called them when we were seven. I took Joana down to Maryland to see the Cicadian invasion. She liked them! Now that's a cool girl.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Glass Beach
The town of Fort Bragg, California used to throw all their trash into the sea. Now fifty years later the spot that was their dump has turned into an expanse of polished glass. Do not try this at home.
"The Streets of Charleston-A QM Production"
These shots look to me like scenes from one of those cop shows I used to love as a kid in the '70s. Let's call this one "Smokey and DeGennaro" and we'll say it's about two cops from up north. The big guy, Smokey, is an easy going, laid back, by-the-book detective and Degennaro is a streetwise vice cop who isn't afraid to bust a few heads. They are on special assignment from the NYPD, "on loan" to the Charleston, South Carolina police force. Think "McCloud" meets "My Cousin Vinny."
This episode finds them on the trail of some redneck gun runners who have teamed up with the Irish Mafia. The gang sends cheap, saturday night specials up north and brings shipments of "extacy" pills back down south hidden inside kegs of Guinness. Thanks to some creative "good cop-bad cop" routines our heroes convince some sorry stoolies to give up the location of the gang's hideout. But things go badly and Smokey buys the farm when they are ambushed in a set up. Later he's laid to rest in the ancient burial ground and in the closing scene DeGennaro vows to bring the culprits to justice.
Next episode we find out Smokey is OK thanks to a bullet-proof vest. The funeral was staged to fake out the bad guys. The show gets cancelled after only half a season but a spin-off about Smokey's little brother "Babajayjay" who is a yoga instructor turned turned private eye runs for two more years.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Magic Hour
We walked over desert scrubland for about a half a mile to the un- developed overlook. It was a couple miles south of Page, AZ and the Glen Canyon Dam. The sun was setting, small birds zipped by our ears, and we were happy to be there together.
Kitty enjoys his new home.
Kitty is my step cat. He lived with my wife before we were together and he was supposedly wary of new people. He hid for a couple of days when he first moved in but now he's friendlier than ever and doesn't mind new people much at all.
Qarawiyin Mosque in the Medina of Fez
Looking out from above the thousand year old medina of Fez, Morocco in 1997, the green tiles on the roof of the Qarawiyin Mosque glitter in the setting sun. It is debateably the oldest university in the word and according to Wikipedia Gerbert of Auvergne (930-1003), who became Pope Sylvester II and who supposedly introduced the use of zero and Arabic numerals to Europe, was an alumni of al-Qarawiyyin. The medina is a maze of twisting alleys and covered walkways that make navigation a real challenge. The carpet shop that served tea on it's rooftop terrace, where this photo was taken, had closed due to a fire when I went back in 2000, hopefully it will reopen.
Break from animation at an Ottawa museum.
My friend Temah looks through a display case with reflections of dinosaur skeletons adding to the interesting imagery. The Ottawa International Festival of Animation is a great event and the city is a lot of fun. October 2002.
Boycott France? Why don't I just call it "Freedom Land" and continue to enjoy.
Visiting Mike, a high school buddy who now lives in Paris, we celebrated Bastille Day with Roman candles. Would they shoot off Parisian Candles in Italy?
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Saint-Gaudens
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in New Hampshire is the home and studio of the 19th century sculptor. Our visit included a walk through a shroom filled forest.
Ascending Monadnock
Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire is one of the most climbed mountains in the world and a relatively easy ascent. But it's still a mountain and it will exhaust you if you're not in shape and try to do it too fast. Trust me I know from experience. I think I'm getting old.
Fergus and the Fish
I have a couple of friends who got a little Highland Terrier and liked him so much they started being foster parents for other ones. Now it seems they usually have 4 or 5 at once and peace and quiet are things of the past! Having a lot of little dogs is more hectic than having a baby, I think!
Down South Jukin'
Joana was pregnant so we made a lot of pit stops on the Skyline Drive as we headed down to Athens, GA to visit another of my friends who has fled The Elm City. I figured he'd have six months of southern hospitality before he headed back to the Northeast, the only home he'd ever known. That was Fall of 2004 and no sign of a return yet, I shouldn't be surprised when love is involved. I guess a double-wide out in the sticks is as good an environment to write as any. I'm sure there are less distractions than there were on Nicoll Street with me and everyone else perpetually dropping in to hang out.
Waterfire in Providence, RI
Wow, Providence looked nothing like this when I lived there. It was an odd, interesting place with a lot of strange little nooks and crannies that seemed to endlessly ooze bizarre and interesting characters onto the streets. It may be a lot prettier now but I'm not sure it would be as fun to come of age in today's remade Providence. Waterfire is a great time for children of all ages though, and you should definitely check it out on selected weekends in the Spring, Summer and Fall.
Rainy Night in Belgium.
Waiting for Michelle to get back from Italy, I wandered the wet, winding streets of Brussels, encountering a Congolese military marching band and a big official EU gathering in the Platz. July, 2002.
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