Shadows and Light

How fascinating are airplanes?? They never fail in capturing my wonder and imagination, and is it childish of me to still get excited when boarding a plane? All that shiny, molded metal, full of people and objects, smoothly gliding across the blue sky and disappearing into fluffy white clouds. It's absolutely mesmerizing. Here's another perfect photograph by William Eggleston. It seems to perfectly encompass the beauty and anticipation of air travel. The colors of the light seen through the cocktail and the little clouds visible through the window...very nice.


(I'd love to find a more Hi-def version of this pic..)

Rhyme or reason

So what's the story? This was a rough week, in terms of newsworthy events, both national and international. I can't make sense of the shootings or the earthquake, of course not. I read somewhere a long time ago that the exact number of birds in the sky above you at any given moment portends to something or has some sort of meaning, maybe it was an old Greek philosopher who said so. Anyways, I saw this pic and it reminded me of a few things, like going to the deli on the corner as a kid, eating my chips and staring at the junk collected along the sidewalk, wondering where it all came from, whose fingers touched it last. It also reminded me of the idea mentioned earlier about birds, whether that logic applies to other objects that populate the landscape. In any case, the color here is striking and the photo altogether masterful. There is a lot to look at and wonder about.

Photo by William Eggleston. Click to enlarge.

Pasqualino Settebellezze

Here are two clips from one of my favorite films, Lina Wertmuller's "Pasqualino Settebellezze," titled "Seven Beauties" in English. It stars the great Giancarlo Giannini, who completely encapsulates the macho but lovable Italian male stereotype here. Wertmuller's direction is like Sergio Leone transferred to the Bay of Naples, overly-dramatic, operatic, sensuous. The first clip has no dialogue, only music, so it plays similar to how they used to display silent movies with an accompanying music section. The second clip, starting at minute 8:00 is one of my absolute most favorite scenes in film, does have dialogue, but no subtitles, only in Italian. Sorry! However, as I said, the acting, editing and direction in both clips is so good, you can follow along without really knowing the words. I love good movies.

The Congo

I visit a photography website called The Big Picture pretty often and it posts photographs from around the world on a regular basis, usually dealing with news happenings and world events. I've been aware that there is some sort of hell on earth going on in the Congo for a while now, but several months ago, TBP posted a series of photos from the Congo that are truly devastating. This picture above is one that really just, I don't know, it leaves the viewer speechless. I've been meaning to post it, but I hesitated because it's so personal. I've always wondered how photographers are able to take pictures of people when they are in such dire circumstances, it seems like a violation of privacy. On the other hand, I guess if they didn't take the photo, how would the rest of the world know of the atrocities going on there? I know this is a bit different than the pics I usually post and I have no idea what to do or how to help the people of the Congo, but the look in this man's eyes and his determination to take care of these children, most likely his own, is something I think about. I don't know what else to say except that I hope the conflict in the Congo is resolved quickly and soon. And that this man and his children are alright.

Here is the link if you'd like to learn more: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/conflict_in_congo_refugees_on.html

(YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images) Click on pic to enlarge.

Spring colors of NYC

Sky-high glass and steel with little earthbound blossoms. Happy Springtime!
Photo by Paul Romaldini

Dolphins - part deux

See what I mean about Dolphins? In this photo Mavrick, a 14-month-old male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, goes to greet Akaasha, a six-month-old female Bengal tiger at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif. on Thursday, March 5, 2009. This photo is amazing, even a bit surreal, no? Who you?? Park animal staff strolled by the dolphin exhibit as they escorted the tiger cubs on their daily walk around the park. (AP Photo/Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Nancy Chan) Click to enlarge.

Dolphins are special

Well, all animals are special really, but dolphins (and dogs) are just something else. First of all, they always look like they are smiling. Second of all, just check out this video of dolphins blowing bubble rings, it will make you smile.