California
I’m sitting at the outside bar at the Long Beach Airport drinking a beer and waiting for my flight back home.
It has been a pretty quick but lovely trip.
The above photos are from a nice trip to Olvera Street that we took to eat some great Mexican food and walk around a bit. Frida Kahlo is everywhere!
Cris and I always try to go to Huntington Beach. This day was cool, grey, and rainy. Lovely.
I really like wandering on and under the pier.
It wasn’t very crowded due to the weather.
A Ruby’s chocolate shake always hits the spot.
I don’t remember Zoltar from previous years. He will tell your fortune though.
I am kind of attracted to photographing weird stuff.
I wonder how many times the Life Ring has been used.
The nearest In n Out is about a 30 minute walk from Lynne’s house. So much to see along the way!
My brother-in-law John knows so much about LA and it is amazing to spend a day with him cruising around. This is the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Brentwood. It is referred to as the Sturges House but is most famous for the fact that Jack Larson the actor who played Jimmy Olsen on the Superman TV show, lived here for many years. It was to be auctioned a few years ago, but didn’t sell. It is now abandoned and in rough shape. Shocking.
It is in a very quaint and beautiful neighborhood.
Check out this deck from below. It is nearly the size of the house which is only 1400 square feet. I am always saddened and amazed that such an important house can sit abandoned and empty. Especially in Brentwood!
John grew up in Palos Verdes, which is to me the most amazing community in the LA area. It was nice to go there for a coffee before driving back to Tustin. This fountain is in the center of the little commercial area.
Thanks for following!
Hope and Feathers/Walks
The opening for the Hope and Feathers exhibit was lovely. Quite a few American Demographics folks made the trip to Amherst, and it was a grand reunion. Special thanks to founder Peter Francese for coming down from New Hampshire, to Brad Edmondson who wrote a very flattering piece about me, and to Mike Rider who designed a lovely flyer for the show. Seeing everyone made me happy.
The folks at Hope and Feathers were great, and thanks to Bronwen for all her hard work, and to Simone for hanging the photos. And thanks to Michelle for agreeing to this somewhat out of left field project.
It is great to have our Peter back home for a while. One of the benefits of having him around is that we often take walks in and around Amherst, and it is fun to grab a camera and take some pictures.
I love the Autumn and how plants adapt to the changing seasons.
Concrete too. But it doesn’t change much.
Thanks for following.
Symbols
Whenever I am here in Nepal I always keep an eye out for bricks, as seeing them makes me think of my good friend Richard Pieper. Most buildings are adorned with them, and the walls surrounding the Royal Palace are all brick. On our daily walk to the World Education office we pass by a large section of the Palace wall which is undergoing a post earthquake renovation. I saw this pile and noticed the markings and didn’t think much of it at the time, but the next day I stopped and took this picture. It is not at all uncommon to see the swastika used as a symbol in various ways around Nepal. It got me thinking about how we in the West are so conditioned to see the obvious negative aspects of it. I went to the wiki page and learned a lot of interesting facts about its history and usage. I would encourage anyone interested to check it out. What got to me especially was that under the section of the wiki that showed the varieties of swastikas, the Hakenkreuz (second row, bottom left) gave me a visceral reaction.
We head back to the US on Sunday. I have managed to pick up a bothersome cold and have been a bit less active than I would like, but Cris’ work ends today and we will have some time to goof around tomorrow and Sunday morning. Thanks for following.
Boudhanath / Full Moon
Last night was the full moon and Cris thought it might be a nice idea to go to Boudhanath Stupa and have a stroll around. We have come here quite often, but always during the day.
It was a beautiful evening, the temperature was perfect, and the feeling was very peaceful and relaxing.
This giant prayer wheel spins constantly and is just inside the doors of the little temple on the site.
The area is really interesting. One enters the main gate at 6 on a clock face and everyone strolls quietly around in a clockwise direction. The stupa is on the inside of the clock and is surrounded on the outside by restaurants, guesthouses, and smaller business enterprises. Dogs and pigeons are everywhere.
Nepal is so interesting in terms of religion. The culture here blends Hinduism and Buddhism in what seems to me a beautiful way. I have talked to Nepali friends about this and it seems quite natural to them. If you think about religion in the West, there isn’t so much crossover. The closest I can think of to this is Unitarianism, which is how I was raised, and seems to encourage people to take the best of all religions and build a personal philosophy around what you find useful. One year my Sunday School was called “The Church Across the Street” and we spent the entire time visiting just about every church and denomination in Meadville. I loved the Holy Rollers.
Because one walks in a circle around the stupa it is easy to just keep going without realizing where you entered, which I eventually figured out is one reason for the visit. I just had the feeling that it would be possible to walk all evening and not feel the time passing. It was a lovely experience.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #10)
I have delivered all of the American Demographics photos to Hope and Feathers for framing. I get back from Nepal on the 1st and the show will be hung on the 2nd. The opening is Thursday the 4th.
I had heard that a house was to be moved in Ithaca and went down to hang out and watch the action. These two guys seemed to be enjoying themselves. You can just make out the corner of the house that is attached to this cool Peterbuilt. Robby Aceto did a great job on the colors.
Hope to see you on the 4th.
Willard / Meadville Trip / Conneaut Lake Park
A
After living in D.C. for the past 5 years, our son Peter has moved home for a bit to take some classes and do GRE prep. It is nice to have him around. Soon after he returned to Massachusetts we planned a quick trip to Meadville and Pittsburgh to catch a Pirates game.
The Willard employee reunion dish-to-pass event was happening on the Saturday that we drove out, so he and I stopped to say hi to old friends. We had time afterwards to go to the cemetery which is always a very moving experience.
The sign at the Jewish part of the cemetery is looking a bit run down and could use some help.
The little stone marker is still there.
Here is one of the numbered graves in that part of the cemetery. It makes me so sad that #43 has no name. The state of New York could remedy this if they cared enough to publish the names of the patients who are buried here.
Before Peter and I continued on to Meadville, we stopped by the Romulus Historical Society building to see the recent exhibit updates. It was nice to see Craig Williams and Debbie Nichols who had been a nursing student and then a nurse at Willard.
Here is Debbie sitting next to her actual uniform. It is a great little museum and well worth a visit.
I’ve been stopping at the Angola Rest Area on the New York Thruway for as long as I can remember. It is so nice to walk over the highway to get to the main building.
The first stop was a visit to Eddie’s Footlongs on the lake road outside of Meadville. I had 2 with the works.
Next stop Hank’s Frozen Custard. I had 2 here as well. Chocolate.
On Sunday morning we got word that the Pirate’s game was cancelled due to rain, so we checked out of the motel and drove to Allegheny College to see the tree we planted in honor of my Dad.
My sister Karen chose a lovely Winter King, and it is thriving.
It was a rainy Sunday morning and after breakfast at the Meadville Market House Grill, we drove out for a last Hank’s and then around Conneaut Lake. The amusement park was not surprisingly deserted, but it was strange that country music was playing through the loudspeakers.
There was no one there to yell at us to stay off the rides, so we wandered and took some pictures.
Ugh, clowns.
On the left above is the Blue Streak roller coaster. I was never keen on riding it, but once Judy Jacoby who was my girlfriend for a short time convinced me to go on it. It was fine.
It is difficult to know for sure, but I think the park is still open. But it was a bit eerie to walk around with the music blaring and nobody else there.
The coaster car is pretty classic.
A Century Flyer made in Dayton, Ohio.
Here’s the entry into the first tunnel.
The master controls. ↑
Peter and I actually rode the Devil’s Den many years ago. The “Infamous Gum Wall!! is just that. People started sticking chewing gum on the wall when the ride slowed down and it became….well infamous.
Cristine and I are off to Nepal on Friday. I hope to post regularly from Kathmandu.
Cheers everyone and thanks for following.
Victory Players / Whippy Dip / Fenway
I had fun last week photographing a new musical ensemble that is sponsored by the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts. The Victory Players are (from left to right) Han Chen, Giovanni Perez, Elly Toyoda, Robert Rocheteau, Eric Schultz, YuMi Bae, and Conductor Tian Ng.
The top photograph was made at the Victory Theatre in Holyoke, which is about to be restored to its former glory, but currently has an abandoned feel to it. The photo with the piano was shot on the Mount Holyoke College campus and in spite of looking totally staged, was really quite spontaneous. Robert Rocheteau was taking selfies and it just sort of fell together for me.
I also did individual shots of each of the musicians. There is something about this photograph of Robert Rocheteau that really grabs me. He has fabulous hair.
On Friday night I went to a performance of the ensemble in Holyoke and stopped on the way home at Cindy’s in Granby for an ice cream. I made it just before closing. My friend Alex always referred to every summer roadside stand as a “Whippy Dip”, and this one is a classic.
To end the week, my friend Lisa and I went to a Red Sox / White Sox game on Saturday. She had gotten amazing seats for us and the weather was perfect for a 4:05 start. I took this from our seats just after a J.D. Martinez home run, and I think he was still rounding the bases as I fired the shutter. The (Red) Sox won 4-2.
Julianne Wick Davis / Grand Central Station
The evening at Joe’s Pub was amazing. Julianne Wick Davis’ song cycle based on my suitcases photos was really incredible. I was completely blown away by her talent and drive to get this going. The project is still in the early stages of development, but it is so exciting to have been an inspiration to her. / I was so thrilled that my buddy from Wittenberg, Chris Brigham came out from Chicago for the event. It was so great to see her.
I am on the Metro North train heading back to New Haven which goes in and out of Grand Central Station.
It is quite a place.
The suitcases site has been having a slew of problems of late. We are close to getting it sorted and it is currently back up and running. It appears that it has been innundated with bot attacks attempting to take over the site. Thanks to Steve Fox at Born Digital for all his hard work. It has been very frustrating and costly, but fingers crossed we are working towards a resolution. Cheers all, and thanks for following.
Back at the Boston Public Library
I was back working in Boston yesterday and had a break between locations to go back to the amazing Boston Public Library. These lions are guarding the stairway to the reading room. Just after taking this photograph I noticed these 2 women on the far stairs.
They were happy to be photographed. I’m not really sure what was going on here, but they reminded me of the daffodils that all of us in New England are so desperate to see.
Boston Public Library
Doing some work in Boston today. Came in here to quickly edit some photos. Amazingly enough, this is my first time in the Boston Public Library. What a room. Love the green lamps.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
5 comments