The Closer You Look, The Weirder….

Ah, Brunch

That’s a basic Bloody Mary beside a grilled muenster with fresh tomatoes and slivered red onions on rye. Simple, straight-forward.  The photo is not very sharp because I’m just learning to use my cell phone camera. (I’m not really what you’d call an early adopter) I’ve not generally been one of those folks who takes a lot of photos of my food–in part because I never had a smart phone until a few weeks ago, part because I don’t usually order food for its aesthetic appeal, and mostly because, really, who wants to be that guy taking pictures of his food? I may have been a little derisive about the whole trend. But it is kind of fun, isn’t it. It took me a while to see that, and given that I’ve recently made a promise to myself to be more playful and more embracing of the positive, I’m thinking: why the hell not take pictures of my food, my dog, my friends, my booze, the flowers in the yard, the cat with a chipmonk drooping in her mouth (good cat).

More on this later, as if reflects a slightly altered direction not only in my life, but in this blog.

Organic Roadkill

I intended this piece as a bold statement on the isolation and ultimate futility of our ostensibly rich and purposeful lives. I understand, it is powerful imagery, and can be disturbing to contemplate, but I must confess that in embracing the perspective–as a detached, virtually omnipotent observer–I find solace, even liberation, in examining the naked truth of my reality.

Snapshot Portrait #2 Grandfather & Granddaughter

Snapshot Portraits #1 Diana

Randomly selected portraits from a lifetime of unskilled point and shoot photography.
Diana. The Liberty Belle Tavern. Southside, 1995

Eleven Years Ago…

…we bought a particularly nice tree from this unsavory character. I made the mistake of saying, “hey, toss me that tree over there…” Opps.

Man, does time go fast. The semi-feral six-year old ragamuffin making sure the tree is safely nestled in the bed of our truck is going to college next year…

Saturday Night Original: Joyland

My novel features a frontier city called “Joyland” that is inspired by, in unequal parts, nascent Las Vegas, Bogart’s Casablanca, Deadwood South Dakota, and just about every “Little America” truckstop along the highways of America–but the name came from a ramshackle little roadhouse in the blink-and-you-miss-it town of Cramer, PA just north of Johnstown near the Conemaugh River.

What’s Wrong With White Folks?

I know, entire novels have been written on the subject, but yeah–this (see picture) is a “thing” that is is widespread and common enough to merit signage.  N.A. folks must be thinking: what’s the hell is up with white folks? Then again, they’re pretty much used to our shit by now.

Four Corners Tourist Site, Navajo Res, CO-UT-NM-AZ.

Peering Over Canyonlands

2015 Summer Wonder #77: Jump Redux!!

I choked on Jump Week–I owe four “Jump-themed” found photos, so you’ll get ’em today through Wednesday and worry about what comes next after that. This is a good one, eh? I particularly like the furthest kid to the left, turned to face the camera and mugging unapologetically.