Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Oodles Of Doodles CCLXIX


I know, I know, you all thought I had forgotten about the doodles. I haven't, but I've been busy elsewhere. I've got stacks and stacks of these things that I want to share, but there always seems to be something more urgent to do. But I wanted to get this one up here before I forgot about it. At first glance, I stopped breathing for a sec and thought "This looks like a Jim Flora!" On second glance, I decided it's probably not. It may be modeled after some of his less kinetic art, but this lacks the life of his work. It also lacks anything with three arms or fourteen eyes, and nothing has teeth. So until someone tells me otherwise, I'm going to put this in the 'not Jim Flora' pile. (I wish I actually had a 'Jim Flora' pile...) This still-great doodle hails from the flipside of Jack Montrose And All-Stars-The Horn's Full (RCA Victor LPM-1572, 1958). Hope you enjoy it.

Never Forget


Sometime back in '97 or '98, I had the chance to visit NYC for a few hours. I wasn't into photography at the time and didn't have a camera. I took a ride to the top of the Empire State Building, looked out the window, and knew I needed to invest in a camera. Your choices are somewhat limited at the Empire State Gift Shop, but I got a disposable camera and took these rather inglorious shots. An hour or so later, I drove past the base of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, but missed the turn to park and visit the observation deck. I figured I could go back some other time, but I figured wrong. A couple of years went by, and suddenly the towers were gone. So to remember them, I have these two fuzzy pictures that I took all those years ago.

I don't know anyone who died when the towers came down. I know one person who was inside when one of the planes hit, but he got out safely. I remember the feeling of angst on that day as I'm sure anyone who calls themselves an American does. I hope we can live the rest of our lives without experiencing that feeling again. I'm afraid that's as eloquent as I can be.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

This Week In September


Here's another page from the weekly calendar book. You're looking at the Nevada side of Lake Meade, taken from near the midpoint of the Hoover Dam. That structure to the left is one of the intake towers that channel water to the turbines deep within the dam. I shot this picture during my weekend in Las Vegas last year.