Saturday, January 31, 2009

Golden Globes




Honey-pot Ants at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in DC.

Expecting 2005

Friday, January 30, 2009

São Paulo Street Racer


I scanned this one of Joana as a little kid in Brazil from one of her old albums.

My Thanksgiving in Acton Massachusetts 2002



A very Massachusetts Thanksgiving. The Mass Pike was completely jammed with holiday travelers. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground. The house had actually been renovated by Bob Villa on "This Old House" back in the day. The women were all busy cooking the wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. The men, well we were of course all gathered around the tube watching Dallas or Detroit play somebody. Before dinner everyone held hands in a big circle while Aunt Ginny the nun said a prayer and then we each added what we were thankful for.

I was the "new boyfriend" so I was tasked with taking that years photo of the whole crew with everyone's cameras. I guess if I'd made it to two years I'd have been included in the next one. It's a pretty good technique for keeping the transients out of the "permanent record." Still I was thankful to be welcomed there for a memorable Massachusetts Thanksgiving.

Olivia with Mama and "Dada"




Olivia and Joana check out some Dada puppets from 1918 created by Dada artist Sophie Taeuber at the National Gallery of Art East Wing in DC. I liked these a lot.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Monday, January 19, 2009

I Have Confidence In Me!





Click the "play arrow" in the lower left hand corner of the clip above. Recent FlashPlayer required.


Olivia knew she wanted to be Maria von Trapp from The Sound of Music for a long time before Halloween and she had a blast in her costume. Joana made everything but the guitar case which was my handywork.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Like Father, Like Son


40 Years after my dad used to hike with me on his back I was doing the same thing with Olivia. Now she can hike on her own and it's Emily's turn to ride next! Photos by my mom, and Joana (notice how a mother frames a shot! :-)

Grand Canyon Part 2





Our first stop to peer over the edge of the canyon turned out to be a good one. Unfortunately I had busted one of my toes horsing around with Joana at Zion a few days earlier and it still hurt, so we didn't hike down into the canyon. Someday we'll go back and do that though because it's really so big that I had a hard time relating to it from up on the rim. Photo of us by an anonymous, friendly, fellow tourist.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Future Home of the Old Schoolhouse Bed and Breakfast




January 2003 Michelle and I visited her friends Sarah and Mick in Dublin, New Hampshire on our way to go skiing at Stowe, Vermont. We stayed in their amazing "guest room" and were treated to such a fantastic breakfast that Michelle remarked they should open a B&B. Sarah said hey that's a great idea and not too long afterwards they actually did it. Now you too can stay at The Old Schoolhouse Bed and Breakfast practically at the foot of Mt Monadnock and enjoy Mick and Sarah's hospitality.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Blue Window Essaouira




The view across the alley from a room at the Hotel des Ramparts in Essaouira, Morocco.

Tikal Engulfed


I really like the way the jungle has completely reclaimed this ancient Mayan pyramid at Tikal in Guatemala.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Grand Canyon Part 1



The day slips away while we watch from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon near the Tovar lodge.

Rambling Rose


A rambling red rose frames Joana in the courtyard of the Cameron Trading Post Lodge. Cameron, Arizona 2004

Lake Powell Part 2



We found a secluded cove where we anchored the boat and ate lunch. Afterwards I went for a swim and the water was almost warm enough. Late May 2004

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Jardin Majorelle





Majorelle Garden in Marrakesh, 1996

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Francophone, Paris 2001


John Jordan yaks on a Parisian pay phone in this image made from multiple video frames. It was late, we caught the Metro to La Defense but the trams from there to Suresnes had stopped running so we had to hoof it a couple or three kilometers back to Mike's house. Of course we had no maps and had never made the trip on foot before so it was a very indirect route until we finally got some where that looked familiar.

Monday, January 05, 2009

Congolese Marching Band on a Side Street in Brussels 2002






Because they just appeared unexpectedly, seemingly coming out of nowhere, this makes me think of a scene from a "Pink Panther" movie or the old "Get Smart" TV show. I can just see Clouseau or Max following someone up this alley and trying to get by these guys as they keep pushing him back! I ended up seeing them later in the Grand Plaz where they were performing for some official EU gathering. I'll post those pics later.

Sunday, January 04, 2009

The Casbah of Ourzazate



A really nice casbah. The place is pronounced Where-Zuh-Zat.

My Dad Vs. The Moose


My dad outruns a moose while my mom stays calm, cool, and collected enough to get the shot! Nice going! He had been shooting photos of the scenery on the other side of the fence when the moose came galloping down the fence line towards him. This brings back memories of Sunday mornings when I was kid. My mom would drag me to church while my dad stayed home and watched Rocky and Bullwinkle. I was very envious.

Michelle's Blue Bottle Collection Circa 2002



Michelle kept her blue bottle collection on the window sill by her front door. I contributed the glass Milk of Magnesia bottle with the flowers in it. I found it when I was a kid spending part of the summer with friends who moved to a farm in West Virginia. We were exploring the ruins of an old farm-house that we had run to after being scared by the sounds of "The Motorcycle Mamas" gang as we called them (yes it was the 70s) coming down the road on their choppers. Once inside we poked around and I found that beautiful blue bottle and kept it for years until I found it a better home, with "family" on Michelle's windowsill.

Paris Video Montages 2001



A couple of images stitched together from video frames. My first time visiting Mike in Paris.

Let's Kick It!



San Francisco, March 2000: For me the highlight of the first Flashforward conference ever held had to be Joe Sparks' presentation where I was introduced to Radiskull and Devil Doll and became a fan as soon as the boys started to kick it! If you aren't familiar with them do yourself a favor and check out the first episode below.

Radiskull #1: Radiskull & Devil Doll

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Placencia, Belize, Formerly Undiscovered Tropical Paradise




The old Turtle Inn was a rustic, laid back little string of palm roofed huts on the beach in Placencia, Belize. When I visited in 1999 the first dirt road had just reached the isolated fishing village that sits at the tip of a lush, sandy peninsula separating a tranquil lagoon from the beautiful blue-green Caribbean Sea. Placencia was remote, peaceful and had no streets, just wooden sidewalks through the sand. It was in the process of being discovered and developed though, and walking along the beach revealed rickety wooden scaffolding rising occasionally from sandy lots where I suppose hotels may have grown. The Turtle Inn and it's palms were leveled by Hurricane Iris a couple of years after these photos were taken and a new upscale Turtle Inn owned by Francis Ford Coppola now exists on the same spot.

Back here in cold, snowy, New England, on winter days like today I think back to that hammock in the shade of the palms on the warm, sunny beach in Placencia and smile. Hammock photo by Kara.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Tikal, Guatemala


Looking somewhat as it must have to those who rediscovered it, an ancient stone pyramid appears to grow out of the jungle at the ancient "Mayan Metropolis" of Tikal in the hinterlands of Guatemala.