Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Timewarp Tuesday: Photography of Me

My scanner arrived today. True to my name... Analog in Digital...I've taken on the ambitious project of digitizing important family photos and other critical documents.

So, here's a little song about photographs. If you didn't try to style your hair like A Flock of Seagulls, then you can hardly call yourself a child of the 80's.



And here's a little taste of things to come. Here are my brother and I at the Silver Dollar Fair, circa 1974 is my guess....Vrrroom, vrrooom....



Saturday, September 27, 2008

Saturday Sighting: Obama and Me

One of the cool things about living in Washington, DC are the "celebrity" sightings. Friday I was walking down Connecticut, iPod on (learning German... "Woher kommst du?"), when a woman in a black trenchcoat and an earpiece puts her hands up, stopping the sidewalk traffic. Out from the Washington Sports Club (a local health club chain), come a group of men in black, including in a black athletic wear and a baseball cap, Obama! Off he went into his getaway vehicle. It all happened so fast.

I wasn't quite this close, but almost. This is from the Obama campaign office in the building where I work. While I vote in DC, I'm thinking of volunteering for the campaign since I spend almost 1/3rd of my current life in the swing state. Obama's looking especially shiny. It must have been the workout.

By the way, this morning while I was on my way to German class, the streets were blockaded for, I presume, Bushy. *Yawn*


Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Timewarp Tuesday: Vintage U2

Another vintage clip. Why U2 this week? Well, as I've been developing my guitar calluses, I actually learned how to play "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (chords, not all the cool stuff the Edge can play) this week in addition to having a "Sunday Bloody Sunday" this last weekend. (See last post for clues.)

I can't tell you how many times I've watched this footage from U2's "Live from Red Rocks" concert. It came out in 1983, during the early MTV days when they still had lots of music on "Music Television." They broadcast the whole concert several times. Do you know how many times a 14 year-old music lover can watch this seminal concert?

The answer: many, many times.

I own the live album on vinyl, too.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Timewarp Tuesday: The Bee Gees Vortex

This week I'm going a little further back in time, but my contemporaries will appreciate this one. How this week's timewarp came to be... honestly, I was a the gym and heard the song "Emotion" by The Bee Gees. As I'm in a premenstrual funk/bloat, I thought. How appropriate!

Except then I got suck into the vortex of YouTube. You know, the one where you watch one thing, and then it suggests a bunch of new videos and then you watch one of those, and so on and so on, like a bloody shampoo commercial! Anyway, I went from Bee Gees to Andy Gibb to Leif Garrett to Leif Garrett with Brooke Shields to The Blue Lagoon and then I knew I was in the deep end.

So, back to dry land and to the Bee Gees images that are emblazoned in the minds of any girls who ever had disco dancing contests in their basements. Enjoy. (But don't get dizzy. I kinda did, but thankfully, I was sitting down.)



And here's "Emotion" in case you were curious. I vaguely remember the late 70's negligee-lip gloss-bedroom eye style. Man, were those wild times! (FYI: The Bee Gees do the back up vocals, if you're not clear on the connection.)


Sunday, September 14, 2008

Sunday Sober: Welcome to DC

A few days after the fact...but on 9/11 the Dupont Circle metro station was swarming with police. Not putting together that they were on alert because of 9/11, I decided to take a picture, as I often take pictures of cops, ambulances, and motorcades.


I snapped this shot, the cop turned around, having noticed my camera flash, and I ducked into the train, my heart racing. "Shit! What have I done! He's going to memorize the car I'm on and I'll be picked up at Metro Center and put under suspicion as a part of a terrorist plot! What I am thinking taking photos in the Metro in DC on 9/11!"

Well, that didn't happen. I made it to work as usual. Phew.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Tuesday Timewarp: Vintage Bjork

I was out late again tonight, so not much commentary. I always enjoy Bjork's otherworldly music to take me to dreamland. Here is some true vintage Bjork a la the Sugarcubes. I saw the Sugarcubes in 1989 at the Shorline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California when they were touring the album "Life's Too Good." I could have sworn PIL and New Order were on the same bill.

Bjork looks like a baby here. Enjoy the fun, predigital effects in this video, too.


Saturday, September 6, 2008

Saturday Stay-Inside: What You Can Do When Staying Overnight in the Munich Aerport

As we on the lEast Coast are hunkered down for Hannah, I will share an informative photoessay I produced especially for AiD readers called "How to Entertain Yourself Late at Night in the Munich Aeroport after Everyone Has Left the Building."

Simulate the view from the cockpit and realize that it is actually incredibly dull, especially since the stewardesses stopped wearing cute outfits.

Experience the podlike structures straight out of 70's sci-fi movie sets. Runner!!! (This is where I slept, btw, and I didn't feel as renewed as I thought I would sleeping in a pod.)

Help yourself to as much kaffee and news as you like! Wilkommen!

What you do after you've drank all of the kaffee you like. (Until they shut off the TV at 11.)

Pretend you are the bionic woman by running up and down the moving "walk"ways.

Hmmmm. Tempting.....

Admire Bavarian Motorwerks engineering in Bavaria.

Take your time choosing a seat for you 6am flight.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Timewarp Tuesday: The Wednesday Edition

As my friend Jessica calls it, this is a SUPER timewarp since it is in fact late. (I haven't really figured out the relative physics of that. Let me know if you do.) As I was gagging myself with a spoon listening to Rudy Guiliani tonight at the RNC, I was hoping to come up with a thematic timewarp. Jessica said anything from the 80's would work since the Republicans appear to be stuck in the 80's. Good point, Jess!

Since I wasn't really feeling the love from the Republicans, here's a whole lot of love from ABC.


Monday, September 1, 2008

Monday Mellow: Scenes from a More Tranquil Sea

A big PHEW for my beloved New Orleans this evening.

As promised, more sights from my vacation.
Here is a video to contrast with water lapping over the Industrial Canal in NOLA.



And since that one is a wee bit short, here is another of Wood, Florian and Richard playing in the water.