Little m Long a

I snapped this photo at the Tate Modern in London just hours prior to hopping on a train at Kings Cross bound for Newcastle.  It’s a Warhol.  I’m not a huge Warhol fan but I thought it was kind of cool.  The entire room was dedicated to Andy and the walls were covered ceiling to floor with these pink cows on a stark yellow background.

Little did I know then that these cows would play such a significant role in my very immediate future.

I hate cows.  Unless of course, they are carved up moderately thick, marinated in Dales and seared to medium rare perfection on an open flame.

In that scenario, I think I could say that cows are pretty cool.

I have just returned from merry old England having walked its width.  The width being roughly 89 miles from Newcastle Upon Tyne (at the North Sea) to Bowness on Solway just past Carlisle to the west and the waters of the Irish Sea.

It hurt.

I followed the path of Hadrian’s Wall or, as it shall be forever remembered by me, The Trail of Poo.  (It could have just as easily, and appropriately so, been renamed the Great Hadrian’s Pub Crawl.)  For six days I trudged the pathways that followed the wall built by the Romans in AD 122 through some of the most beautiful countryside I had seen in quite some time.  And by countryside I specifically mean cow and sheep pastures.  Do not be fooled by lush images of green landscapes and gentle rolling hills.  There’s poo out there and lots of it!

It took me all of two days to say, “Fuck it! I’m not walking around this shit any more!” and just plow straight through.  Yes, I walked in poo.

Read the rest of this entry →

I have seen the future.

It’s disturbing.

Actually, it wasn’t the future.

It was the present.

The now.

Today.

The thing about it, it wasn’t even my present.  It certainly was close, though.  It essentially shattered the visions I held within my mind of how the present appears.  At least how I interpret it to appear.  Put a pretty big spin on the past as well.

And now, I’ve got an image stuck in my head and it’s eating away at my insides.  Gnawing at me.  Peeling away the person I perceive myself to be and leaving me feeling a bit exposed.  Worried that I am as starkly changed.

And feeling a bit helpless regardless.

There were no fewer than nine (9) items on my to-do list this morning.  Nine fairly specific things that absolutely had to be completed before 8:00 am.  Why yes, I do tend to procrastinate.  Why do you ask?

To make matters worse, I turned the alarm off rather than hitting the snooze.  I hadn’t even made it out of bed and was already an hour behind schedule!

Read the rest of this entry →

Thursdays come and Thursdays go as Thursdays are wont to do.  Yesterday was just such a Thursday.  It has gone now and I’m kicking myself for it. Though surely it will return as my calendar tells me I should expect another Thursday next week and another the next.

But yesterday’s Thursday is gone.

Most days I’ll remember for the things I did.  Accomplishments.  Yesterday will more likely be remembered for what I did not.

Read the rest of this entry →

… all hands fold
As the two year old says grace.
She says help the starving children to get well.
But let my brother’s hamster burn in hell! … John Hiatt, Your Dad Did

That has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but it made me smile this morning so I thought I’d share.

Read the rest of this entry →

“You got a budget?  I mean, where do you want to be?  Give me a number here.  You know,  something to work with.”

I did.  He glared at me.  “You asked.”

He sighed heavily, and picked up his calculator and commenced to cyphering.

I suck when it comes to negotiations.

Read the rest of this entry →

Hadrian's Wall

“Fancy a walk?”

It was a simple question, short and to the point.  An e-mail from an acquaintance.   Granted, the guy’s a lunatic but he’s got an oddly compelling personality — the kind of guy with which you can picture yourself spending an evening or sharing a cup of coffee.

Or a stroll.

“Sure,” I responded.

And that was that.  Dan, you may know him from All That Comes With It, has organized a charity walk in support of the Joseph Salmon Trust and I am honored to have been asked to participate.  Well, I was honored last June when he asked me.  Now, I’m hearing a Talking Heads tune repeating on an endless loop, “My God, what have I done!!”

Read the rest of this entry →

Karma

I thought I might spread a little bit of good karma. You know, do something altruistic.

I only needed an hour.

I paid for 5.

So that the person happening upon the spot after I had left it might have a little gift.  A little something to make their day just a tad brighter.

I guess snapping a picture and broadcasting my intentions pretty much eliminated any altruistic benefits from the gesture.

Maybe the karma will stick.

Every once in a while we we stumble upon tiny glimpses of our past.  Little bits and pieces of heritage and history.  Answers to why.  Snippets that account for what.

Forgotten artifacts carelessly tossed in a corner of the attic.  An old coat or shirt dry rotting on a hanger in the back of the closet.  Dismantled or broken appliances, furniture or toys.

Read the rest of this entry →

The alarm was telling me that it was 5:30 am.  I didn’t believe it.  “No freaking way,” I mumbled.  I gave it another chance to convince me.  In fact, I gave it five more chances to convince me.

At 5:30 am there is time to prepare coffee.

Time to check the weather or stare at an empty in-box.  Save for the reminders from my Google calendar that I have nothing to do today.  At least I’ve got all day to do it.

Read the rest of this entry →

So I’m in the car, as I often am, and I’m listening to the radio, as I often do.  I’m a participatory listener in so much that if there’s music playing, chances are I’m tapping my foot or pounding out the rhythm on the steering wheel.  I’m usually singing along.  And on a really good day, there’s head bobbing.

Today was a good day.

The sun was shining this morning and my resolve to will spring’s arrival seemed to be working.  I’ve done things to make sure that spring will be here in very short order.

Tangible things.

Noticeable things.

Read the rest of this entry →

“Take that!”

“And that!”

She was an easy target.  Her reflexes have little definition and she’s easily distracted with false moves.  I alternated stabs from ribs to stomach and back again.  She was powerless against my superior swordsmanship.

She fought gallantly though, without fear.  Laughing in the face of defeat.

Read the rest of this entry →

It’s funny how certain things, things that have been in your possession for years, things that had no particular significance when they came into your being other than that they just were, can all of a sudden hold deep meaning.  Importance.  Relevance.

St. Francis of Assisi

Read the rest of this entry →

Time away does not necessarily equate to time productively expended.  Words have been tacked up less than frequently of late leading one to believe that I may have used that energy in a more useful manner.

This is not the case.

The allure of winter wonder has all but faded.  The varying degrees of contrasting shades of white and gray have grown monotonous.  Sky gives way to barren landscapes.  The lines are blurred.   They are all vying for the same colors and the palate is as monochrome as it is cold.

Read the rest of this entry →

Red on White

There have been times where I’ve seen 15-20 of these guys (male and female) waiting turns to get at the bird feeder.  Thing about cardinals is that they tend to be a bit camera shy and it was way too cold out for me to keep standing motionless waiting on the herd to return.

(I know it’s a flock.)

Anyway, I just love the contrast of the brilliant red of these birds with the stark white of snow and barren trees of winter.

It’s day 41 of my go at project 365……

That’s all I really have to say about that.  I’ve yet to glean any great wisdoms or similar life altering knowledge from the experience.  You can see all of the pictures to date at the three six five page (the link is also at the top) or by heading straight over to my flickr 365 set.

(By the way–full disclosure time.  The above photo was cropped.  To my knowledge, there is no 365 rule about cropping of photos.  Or crappy photos for that matter–good thing.)