One a Day

Sometimes this project makes me feel like I’m Ricky Fitts from American Beauty.  Like I’m chasing around a plastic bag dancing in the wind only I’m not trying to turn it into this big metaphor for something else.  Its not some benevolent force its the wind carrying a plastic bag, and it happens to be beautiful.    I think this is one of the problem s that I had with art school.  I always needed to find a reason to make work.  I could never just make something beautiful.  There always needed to be some driving force behind the work.  Sometimes this was a really great thing, and it would drive me to create fuller work with deeper meaning.  Other times it would cripple me because I couldn’t make a narrative fit with an image, or it the final product would just seem contrived.  A lot of times it would stop me from making work, because I would just sit there thinking it out.  I know I’ve said it before, but this project is just really freeing sometimes.  Sometimes its nice to just chase plastic bags.

Here in Brooklyn, we can pick out books at the bus stop.  It’s weird how there aren’t (many) book stores anymore.  Music stores are all but dead.  Video rental shops? Adios.  Except in the neighborhoods that keep these places in business (whether its for irony or nostalgia), these places have just about vanished.  I miss the idea of going to the store and renting a tape and vegging out that night and watching it.  It was almost a ceremony of sorts.  The process of picking it out, taking it home, and settling down to watch it.  Don’t get my wrong  I love binge watching episodes of Arrested Development on Netflix, but I’m just saying I miss it a little.

I know all generations have to watch things they grew up loving disappear or change, but I can’t imagine it happening as fast as it has for my generation.  Although I guess light bulbs and television changed things a bunch..

Anyway pour one out for our fallen homies: Borders, Sam Goody, Tower Records, Blockbuster Video, and all the rest.

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone.  Oh and also Happy Arrested Development Release.

Yeah, so today’s picture is of bread.  Just bread.  It’s nice fresh baked bread.  The roll coated in flour was particularly delicious.  Had to snap this photo last minute for a project I’ve been working on.   Was pretty glad for it, as far as the blog goes, as today was an edit day.  So there was just a lot of me sitting at a desk.  I took a picture of that.  It was pretty boring.  This bread is a Summer Blockbuster in comparison.  If that gives it any context.

Met up with Mike Wolfert at the Cliffs in Long Island City.  We had an awesome chat and took some pictures that i’ll be sharing with all of you in the coming weeks.  Had fun and as you can see the place looks awesome.

Every time I drive past this supermarket near Fordham Road, I’m reminded of the beginning of Food Inc. where they talk about how most foods have names like Farm Fresh, Nature’s Bounty, or Yada Yada Valley.  Meanwhile the majority of our beef come from CAFO’s, our chicken is factory farmed, and most of our produce is genetically modified.

I’m very aware of how fucked our food industry is and the most I do is buy organic milk.  I guess its a start right?

Sometimes its just a necessity to have a beer after work.  I’m glad I don’t do it all the time, but its a nice reward sometimes.

This is Ruben, he works at Excelsior Bike Shop at 694 Franklin Ave. in Brooklyn.  Seems like a cool dude, was super helpful and informative.  Now that the warm weather is here, I’m finally starting to find the hidden gems in this neighborhood.

 

Great day with my girlfriend today.  We went to a monkey graveyard, to the mountains, and to the tundra.  We also went to space.  And we only had to take the subway to get there.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been to The Museum of Natural History, and I love that its even more interesting at 29 than it was when I was 9.  Plus we got to cap it off with burgers from Shake Shack, Sunday funday doesn’t get much better than this.

Bonus Ram

Bonus Winter is Coming:

If I don’t come up with a title for one of these within the first few seconds I’m totally lost.  It’s like a word association game, most of the time your immediate answer is super disappointing.  Reflections? Really?  It sounds like a Kenny G album.  I hope I’m not the Kenny G of photography(Thanks Mike Birbiglia.)  This definitely isn’t my favorite picture, but I still think its better then Adult Contemporary.