Farm Fresh In The City

There's just something about strolling through a produce stand on a crisp Autumn day. Watching the customers as they carefully examine the various tubers, fruits and vegetables. The murmur of neighbors and acquaintances "What are you preparing for tonight? Is that a squash? What is a gourd, anyway?"

The colors and textures, as well, attract me.

Now I'm hungry!

This Land Is Your Land

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,

I saw above me that endless skyway:

I saw below me that golden valley:

This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;

And all around me a voice was sounding:

This land was made for you and me.

iPhotograph Washington, DC

New photo essay up at American Journal. Shot entirely with an iPhone. Let me know what you think.

iCanal

Ventured down here with only the iPhone. Nothing else. Felt weird not having everything hanging off my shoulders, bag, camera, lenses...etc. Nice, but odd.

Seat of Power?

"Politicians working within a system like ours can never be much more than what the system will allow. Hypocrisy and self-deception are the traditional characteristics of the middle class in any place and time, and the Untied States today is the paradigmatic middle class society. Therefore, we can hardly blame our political gamesmen for being, literally, representative. Any public man has every right to try and trick us, not only for his own good but, if he is honorable, for ours as well. However, if he himself is not aware of what he is doing or to what extent he is playing the game, then to entrust him with the first magistracy of what may be the last empire on earth is to endanger us all." ~ Gore Vidal

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military/industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." ~ Dwight D Eisenhower, President of the United States, 1953 - 1961

Dirty Laundry

Somewhere in DC.

iNcreasing iPhone iMagery of WashiNgton DC

Made the rounds a few days ago. Our beautiful, vibrant city.

This project I've taken on, the DC stuff... if nothing else, I've learned I would love to live the life of a flaneur. I lack the means, of course. But who knows... maybe... some day. Ha!

Meantime... I think a cobbling together of a decent number of these images and, you know, doing something with them... that would be worthwhile. Must work on that.

Til then... Cheers!

iStorm

Hard to explain, but there's just something about strolling the city in a snowstorm...

A poignant, quiet exuberance, I think I'd call it.

Washington DC Via iPhone

A little more exploration of DC with the iPhone. Cafes, canals, and cathedrals.

Happy New Year all!

iStroll

Wandering the city with an iPhone. More to come.

Homo neanderthalensis and You

It recently came to light that we humans... (well, some of us anyway! specifically, those of European or East Asian or Australasian extraction.) have 1 - 4% Neandertal DNA coursing through our veins. How cool is that!? (I'll answer... Way Cool!) I'd try to go into a little more detail, but I'm pretty sure I'd end up sounding like the Neandertal-esque ignoramus I actually am. So you can read all about it here: John Hawks Weblog. He knows of what he speaks.

It was also at that blog where I learned there is a new app for the iPhone. It's called MEanderthal. It takes a close up photo of your face and morphs it into a Neandertal version of you! Now how cool is that? (see above answer) It can also make Homo floresiensis and Homo heidelbergensis versions of you. I expect--and hope!--that they will add more species in the coming months. Til then... have some fun!

OK... here's my transmogrification:

Aargh!

One other thing... Neandertals thrived for over 400,000 years. From the Levant to northern Europe to China to Siberia. It seems reasonable that they had developed adaptations not unlike ours. A Neandertal from what is today France and one from China or Siberia probably didn't resemble each other all too much. In other words, I'd like to see at some point a few available versions of Neandertal from this app. Differently shaped noses, a few different shades of skin perhaps. Not everyone should have the same hair style either. This is all for fun of course, but I'm guessing that when everyone starts comparing their Neandertal avatars and begin to notice we all look the same it'll lose some of it's grooviness. Anyway... just some thoughts.

iTravel

Long flight ahead of you? Don't forget to hydrate. Relative humidity in a high flying aircraft... 5-12 %. That's like a summer afternoon in Phoenix, AZ.

Yikes!

H1N1 Vaccine. iVaccinated #2.

Ouch!

(Just kidding. Hardly felt a thing.)

Here I am once again getting jabbed. A kind nurse with deft poking skills administers the H1N1 vaccine. A few things that will not happen due to this vaccine:

-- I will not develop swine flu.

-- I will not become autistic.

-- I will not develop Guillain Barre disease.

-- I will not die.

-- And... there is no micro-chip recording my every move by the "Guvmint!"

Herd immunity folks. The more people vaccinated the less likely a pandemic can unfold. Do your part.

Cheers!

24 Months!

On behalf of the entire staff here at Kircher's Conceit I'd like to take a brief moment to thank everyone who stopped by this past year... all three of you!

Here's to the next 365 days, may they be productive and enlightening.

Cheers.

iVaccinated.

This is yours truly doing his civic duty. How'd it go? Well, it was a real shot in the arm! Bwah-ha-ha-ha!!

But seriously folks. Herd immunity. The more vaccinated the less that fall ill. Get your shot. Do it today.

This was the typical seasonal flu shot. There are folks in greater need of it than I at the moment, but I intend to get the H1N1 flu vaccine when it is available to me. Please do the same.

Here's to good health! (Oh... and don't forget to wash your hands!)

Cheers.

"It's Just a Phone!"

Pushing the limits of the iPhone.

OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration. Really just trying to make a few semi-not-dull images with this limited (photographically) little "contraption."

(Jackson Hole stuff coming soon to a web page near you. Promise!)

Cheers.

iBePhotographing

Went to the river with Rob to scout locations for an interesting shoot he's contemplating... he saw me taking photos with The Gadget... he was laughing, saying, "It's a phone!" True. But damn this thing is fun!

iPhotograph

OK... I think I'm done for. Picked up an iPhone recently, downloaded a couple "apps," and now there's no turning back! I'm hooked. I've been assimilated to the hive. (Can an iMac be far behind?) Not proud, but weirdly, not ashamed!

One of the first pics shot, a little vignetting added (thanks to "Camera Bag" app). Much to explore. I'm thinking an entire essay using just this tiny 3 megapixel camera. Could be fun. Will keep you posted.

Cheers.