[regatta] go see the boats

 

[arch]inktober 2022 week 1

 

straw

fail

sticks

deconstructed

masonry

craftsmanship

irving gill

jack [hole] lantern

this year i wanted to try something different with my pumpkin.  i tried drilling holes into it instead of carving it.  i'm not sure it worked, as it ended up looking like some hubble telescope photo of the sun. my girlfriend on the other hand bought a carving kit and skillfully cut a cute pattern into hers. we had a fun time working on them and in a way i'd like to think both our pumpkins fit us perfectly. hers; neat, orderly and cute. mine, slightly rough around the edges and an attempt at being artistic.

the only people for me are the [acl] ones

after six years of attending and photographing the austin city limits music festival, i've learned one thing; i rarely look back and enjoy pictures i've taken of far off stages with tiny little performers singing. the pictures i enjoy most are those of my friends, and the 75,000 other people that form a three day, music loving, community.  a utopian society, swarming with strangers, solely based on their shared love of sound. a camp where you can cut loose the ties of traditional society; a place of pilgrimage where people can unpackage their personality and be whoever...or whatever they please.

one of my favorite quotes is from jack kerouac, and too me, there's no better way to describe the crowd at acl.


"the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."

austin city limits [festival]

and now for some highlights from the actual festival:

- great shows on friday from first aid kit, tegan and sara, florence and the machine and the black keys
- banh mi's from the food court
- water filling stations and cooling fans
- purchasing an official acl koozie, fueling my new obsession for these objects
- being in an instagram rich environment
- chicken cones from the food court
- being well prepared for the rain on saturday
- purchasing a water proof blanket
- finding waldo
- random conversations with complete, but friendly, strangers
- jack white performing "seven nation army" on saturday night
- an amazing performance from the civil wars on sunday
- watching the avett brothers put on one of the best shows i've seen at acl
- chad smith from the red hot chili peppers playing drums for the avett brothers for a few songs
- reliving most of my childhood by rocking out to the the red hot chili peppers as they closed the festival
- hanging out with friends

 

 

[first aid kit] for unexpected situations

music is a wonderful thing.  it brings people together; it connects them.  the divisions we sometimes find between each other can be reduced to nothing with just a few beautifully played notes.

the other week, my friends and i went to see "first aid kit".  if you've never listened to this band, do yourself a huge favor and you tube, google, or spotify them then sit back and enjoy.  the band is comprised of two swedish sister's whose harmonies are absolutely angelic.  if this isn't enough to entice you, their latest album was influenced heavily by american folk music paying homage to emmlyou harries, june carter, and johnny cash, with hints of simon and garfunkel throughout the album.

not only did the beautiful sounds of "first aid kit" fill the walls of the granada turning a random tuesday night into a memorable one, their music also accomplished that wonderful thing music can do; it connects people, or in the case of this particular night, reconnect people.

5[k]razy

it always feels amazing to accomplish a goal.  this summer, my goal was to run a 5k in a relatively decent time and without serious injury.  last week, i did.

this goal came about for several reasons.  first of all, as much as i try to deny it, the fact is i am getting older.  now being firmly on the first step on the 30's staircase, i decided i needed to take better care of my health.  around the time of my birthday, i found myself working out several times a week on the elliptical machine.  second reason, my friends.  i have no idea how it happened but my friends are all very fit, always running and playing soccer.  it didn't occur to me how out of shape i was until last june, when they all participated in a warrior dash.  looking at the course, i felt there was no way i could complete it and opted to stand on the sidelines and take pictures.  yelling and cheering for my friends as they jumped over fire and crawled through mud, i was a little sad.  i wished i could have been out there with them.  i wanted to have that anxious look they all had before the race, and i wanted to have that feeling of accomplishment they all had as they crossed the finish line.  by the end of june, i switched from the elliptical machine to running.  lastly if you've been reading this blog for a while, you may remember my first attempt at a 5k several years ago.  if not get caught up here.  it was far from a good run, as my time was horrible and my legs hurt for three days. i was anxious to wipe that run from my record.  i continued running throughout the summer, and increased from doing just a mile to running 3.1 miles several times a week.

the other weekend, my friends and i participated in the rosstober run, which takes place in the beautiful college hill area of wichita.  we all kept pace with each other for the first half mile, but slowly started to set into our individual paces.  as nervous as i was, it was apparent my training had really helped.  it didn't feel nearly as long as the race five years ago, and i was pleased to see the people i was running next to seemed to be in good shape.

now i was never what you'd call the "athletic" type.  i spent most of high school in the dark room and theater, so there have been very few times in my life where i had to compete using just my athletic ability.  my time was 31:17, which is nothing to write home about, but as i crossed the finish line, the feeling of accomplishment was amazing, and was worth every minute of training.  also the free beer and bratwurst every runner received was an added bonus.

the really scary thing is how much i enjoyed it.  i plan to keep up with running, and would love to get my time under 30 minutes.  also being of german decent, i plan to look for more races offering beer and bratwurst, as it's the perfect carrot to dangle in front of me.

[beat]week

there's something about this time of year, that makes the number of miles davis songs played on my ipod increase. with "autumn leaves" creating an internal soundtrack in my head, my mind is allowed to wander. as i listen to the extended trumpet riffs, my mind pictures, dark, smokey coffee houses, poetry, and eventually the beatnik culture.

with this mood already set, you can imagine how thrilled i was when i heard of the several "beatnik" activities that took place last week. first of all, newman university, had a gallery showcasing kansas's own beat experience. in coordination with the exhibit, they also held a reading of poems by allen ginsberg. topping off this beat week the movie, "william s. burroughs: a man within" was featured in wichita's tallgrass film festival.

attending these three events made me realize two things. first of all, the romantic, idealized, hollywood-esque image of the beatnik culture i had in my head a few years ago, is diminishing rapidly. it goes far deeper and darker then the beret-wearing-goatee sporting-maynard-g-kreb-types, i had once pictured. reading kerouac had given me a better description of what it really was, but discovering more about ginseberg and burroughs took it to a whole other level. secondly, i was amazed to found out how much kansas played in this sub-culture. not only did burroughs spend the last years of his life here, but one of ginsberg's most famous poems is entitled "wichita vortex sutra" an anti war poem heavily laced with city references and counter-culture feelings.

i feel like i've taken way too big of bite from the beatnik buffet this weekend. looking into the meaning ginsberg's poem, and visualizing the places he mentions, has me exhausting the internet for as much information as i can find. expect another blog on this subject later. for now, i'll crank up "so what" and see what wikipedia knows.

pumpkin patch [kid]?

well...it was suppose to be a group outing with several people.

it turned out to be just my mom, my dad, and me.

did it feel like it was 1984 again, and my parents were taking me to the pumpkin patch? yes.

was it slightly awkward i was 25 years older than the other kids there with their parents? yes.

did i still have a great time? yes.

was it a wonderful way to spend a sunny october sunday? yes.

did i get that ice cream i was promised if i behaved? no.

....i guess i shouldn't have thrown that tantrum when i wasn't allowed to get the 400lb pumpkin i wanted.