Memories

On the morning of September 11, 2001 I was on my way to a class at Penn State when I first heard news of the attack. I heard a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center and I just naturally thought it has to have been a small prop plane. When I heard the first tower had fallen I didn't believe it, it wasn't possible. I had been there so many times, stood on the top, looked out over the world, and I just couldn't believe bringing it down was humanly possible. I never got to class but sat in the HUB for hours watching the news with hundreds of other students and teachers, for the most part all silent, stunned. Finally I just wandered off to the hockey complex.

I never played field hockey in college but this was my sophomore year and I still helped out with the team because it was a way to keep a stick in my hand and get a good workout. All the days activities had been canceled but the team still seemed to gravitate to Bigler Field as if we we had no where else to go or just belonged there. We sat on the field talking some but mostly thinking and here is where I noticed something that, other than the news itself, is my main memory of the day. It was just a stunningly beautiful day in the mountains. Cool early fall air, a cloudless blue sky, and not a sound to be heard because of the grounding of any aircraft. It was just gorgeous and didn't seem fair, there is no way it should have been such a beautiful day.

A month later in October a friend and I drove up to New York because I wanted to see it myself. As I have a habit of doing I snuck around some barricades and wandered around the area taking photos until I was caught by the National Guard and escorted out. I will never, ever, forget the things I saw that day. I've tried writing about it a few times but words just can't describe what I saw, smelled, or how I felt. I took hundreds of photos while I was there but pretty much have kept them to myself ever since. I decided I wanted to show some as my little memorial to that day and those that died. I picked out some of my favorites, maybe not the best of the lot and far from the best work I have ever done but still my favorites. I think taken together they give the best idea of what I saw.

Ten years later one thing does trouble me. The idea that even though most of the masterminds of the attack are dead the terrorists may have won in the end. I'm 29 and I still remember this country before 9/11, before it was bled by ten years of war, before police carried sub-machine guns, before we began to resemble Orwell's Oceania. Somebody my sister's age has no memory of the time before and and to them it is a completely natural way of living. That may be the saddest thing of all.

the photos - (flickr set) (Picassa album)

Obervations from the Mountains 9.10

What a god awful crazy year it has been in so far. The snowpocalypse, heatpocalypse, an earthquake, a hurricane, and than the rains came. I was beginning to think this is what Bombay feels like during the monsoon season which is not something I need to do with my life. More than 4”of rain fell in the Village over the past few days and that is added to the over 18” we (Central Park) officially received in August. The summer of 2011 is now the wettest in New York City history.

Back home in central Pennsylvania some places received well over a foot of rain. While all that rain fell around him my Earth science geek brother sent a constant stream of giddy texts talking about a fifty year storm whatever that is. Near Harrisburg the Susquehanna River reached levels never seen before and closed the main highway north to State College just as I was planning to head into the mountains for my first Penn State game of the year. This forced a drive up the two lane road on the left side of the river and a four hour drive from New York became six but I'm here. I'm in my mountains, a place I've been away from for too long.

Alabama traveled 900 miles to reach Happy Valley and play Penn State later today, #3 vs. #23, in one of the biggest early season games Beaver Stadium has seen in years. For now it's time to tailgate, have some of Sean's 'world famous' chili, and than maybe a few beverages. But first I have to find myself a white sweatshirt to wear because it's White House day and like a dumb ass I didn't bring anything white to so I'll have to wander downtown on my way to the stadium and pick something up.

A little trivia, Penn State has played Alabama 15 times and ten of those times both teams were nationally ranked. Only twice was neither team ranked.

Skylar Grey - Invisible

Observations on Art 9.9

With the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks just days away it's becoming a little depressing to turn on the news and see it over and over again. To me it's one thing to remember but another to glory in it like a badge of honor as some people seem to be doing. It was the murder of nearly 3,000 people including over 400 emergency personal who lost their lives while trying to save others.

Court sent me this video a bit ago but today it came to me that this would be an awesome way to honor that day ten years ago. Wrap Battery Park in paper and let everybody remember in their own way.


COPENHAGEN PAINT PARTY 2011 // from Yabba Yabba on Vimeo.

Observations

"I will remind the people I love how much they mean to me."
Posted by Brittany Lott

I Will - 9/11 Tribute by Pam Thomas from Steam Films on Vimeo.

911Day.org

Observations from the Bar 9.5

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everybody a Happy Labor Day, I hope it is or was a good one. If you don't live in the US or have no idea what I am talking about feel free to crack your favorite beverage and skip ahead to watch the vid. Keep in mind it's not arrogant, it's German.

Tropical monsoons permitting tonight the Phillies finally get to play Atlanta again and hopefully start to lock up the division. One of the amazing things of this totally amazing season is the fact that as good as the Phillies are the Braves have been right with them all season long. Maybe that starts to change tonight.

I want to add a small postscript to my writings on Hurricane Irene. The GOP's wingnut choirboy Eric Kantor says the Federal Government can pay for hurricane damage but only if we make cuts elsewhere in the budget. The total estimated damage from Hurricane Irene now stands at 40 to 60 billion dollars. Coincidentally the congressionally appointed Commission on Wartime Contracting has found that over the last three years we have wasted, you got it, $60 billion through fraud, waste, and payments to warlords in Iraq and Afghanistan. That breaks down to $12 million a day.

Rammstein - Amerika

Observations from the Bar 9.3

The 125th season of Penn State football began Saturday with a 41-7 win over Indiana State. A game in which Penn State ran the opening kickoff back 95 yards for a touchdown. Sadly for the first time in years the season began I wasn't there. I could have gone but I would have had to drive back right after the game as I have to be in the Village Sunday morning to try and finish a small art project of mine. My brother is going to the 'bama game next week so maybe I'll try to get to that one.

Still I was a little bummed at missing the game so I did what works best at times like that and I went to the Museum of Modern Art to walk around. Coincidentally the museum just redid the painting and sculpture galleries on the fourth and fifth floors so that just gave me another reason to go.

Ann Temkin has been the museum's chief curator of painting and sculpture since 2008. The redone galleries are principally her work with the help of five other curators and is supposedly the most far reaching since the 1940s. The opportunity to reinstall the galleries came about because of the closing of the “Abstract Expressionist New York” show after a seven month run. I'm not going to get into it but if you know MoMA it's just fascinating to see. In its look at the new galleries the New York Times said it seems to “soften its historic focus on linearity, male genius and art movements while excavating exciting, little seen treasure from deep storage.” One gallery I especially liked is devoted exclusively to the feminist work of American born artist Hannah Wilke. As I said, if you are a fan of the museum it really is worth a look.

No hurricanes, earthquakes, or other pocalypses this weekend but there seems to have been one world changing event. On my way to the bar for the, as it turned out, yet again tropical storm delayed Phillies game I wandered into Urban Outfitters to pick up a jacket I had tried on last time I was there. Not a leather jacket or even a black jacket but a brown corduroy sherpa lined jacket. I can't wait to see the VQs' faces when they see this.

Finally don't feel bad for Indiana State. In exchange for their trip to Happy Valley their cut of the days' revenue was $450,000.

Observations on Art 9.1

A friend of mine posted something on Google+ in which she asked the question “do you think Black and White photography specifically has gained more than it has lost in the digital age and why?”

I had to think about the answer to that because it really is a hard question for me. The first affordable digital cameras emerged in the late '90s and the first Adobe program in 2003 so by the time I began to take photography seriously the world had already begun to change. I never had much formal training and only ever toyed in a darkroom but I did take a lot of analog photos with a pair of OM10s I own. It's something I would like to get back into someday but who knows if I'll ever have the time. I'm torn because my photos are almost exclusively monochrome but a large percentage are color shots I changed with software. The different methods of doing that is something I have in the back of my mind to write about and something that came up in the seminar I just took.

I first fell in love with
black & white when I discovered the portraits of Robert Mapplethorpe and the landscapes of Ansel Adams almost twenty years ago. To me color records the scene in front of you while black & white interprets that scene and there aren't any better at it than those two. Maybe this is a little arrogant of me to say but the way I feel is that a color photo is a photo but a black & white one is a work of art. I try to limit using software myself but to me software is just another tool to use in creating that work of art. I'm sure photography has lost something in the digital age but I also think it has gained just as much or more than it has lost. One thing I'm not quite sure of is if the ability to take hundreds of shots in search of that one great one is a good thing or if it takes away from the original composition of the photo. Than again I'm as guilty of that as anybody

Software isn't used in just digital photography today but all kinds and even without software a purely analog photographer has any number of ways to change a photo including film speed, exposure, and soaking time. So I guess my total cop out answer is you can't take the digital out of photography anymore than you can take the acrylic paints out of contemporary painting. One thing we both miss are the scents and smells of the old styles.

I don't know if I answered the question or asked more but thanks for making me think.

Inspired by Irene

A friend of mine sent me this video. I just think this is totally cute and think we will prob see her on the Weather Channel one day soon. Remember I told you first.


Link

Inspired by Irene

I know I wasn't going to write about Irene anymore but I just have felt oddly drained for the past couple days. Almost like I'm going through some sort of adrenaline withdrawal so I was looking at videos people made during the storm and came across this one. I wish it was longer and showed more but I still think its awesome.

Irene NYC from Buffalo Picture House on Vimeo.

"Two young filmmakers went out during Hurricane Irene to document their Manhattan neighborhood."

One thing I have learned, I don't like the name Irene because I leave a space between the 'I' and the 'r' every time I type it. Sometimes I 'm just a dumbass.

Observations on Irene 8.29

I always seem to find funny moments in any situation and Irene was no different. Both involve my early morning wanderings as the storm reached its peak. The first I mentioned yesterday when I got the text from Ash calling me an idiot. When I got back to the apartment she scolded me like an errant child as Chloe tried not to laugh but failed terribly. The other was during that same walk near the forbidden zone while I was standing in a doorway trying to keep a cigarette dry. Two of New York's finest strolled by, stopped, and seemed ready to scold me like, well, an errant child. I only had on hiking boots but I was still taller than both. After a moment they walked away never having said a word.

Favorite tweet from the storm, this made me laugh. “@spicenyc: So that's it..my next girlfriend is going to be a hot weather chick..done + done!” I'll tell you what, after the past couple days I could write a post just on those weather girls and maybe I will sometime but not now.

To tie up some loose ends I should say that I heard from my friends to the south and all is well, just a power outage. I don't know anything first hand about the beach house and Stone Harbor but I did find this on their Facebook along with some photos that show little damage to the downtown area.

“Stone Harbor fared very well! We have retained much of the replenished beaches, and little damage around town is evident. We are so fortunate that we can all now return and get back to normal. Many thanks to all who helped keep us safe - our tireless public servants and volunteer fire company - and thanks to all of you who provided photos and information that we could pass on. We love our Stone Harbor - Sidewalk Sale, anyone?”

I have been hearing all over that the government, particularly New York City's, overreacted to Irene. Speaking for myself I don't think they did at all. Better to shut down and have it end the way it did than not shutdown and have a Category 3 storm plow into Coney Island Sunday morning because North Carolina didn't take the hit first. If this was somehow a failure of government I'd much have this Irene failure than the previous Katrina one. As for the complainers, I didn't see any of them out in the streets this morning during my walks.

I think I'll remember Irene more for how I felt than for any lasting damage it did. Not scared or worried at all, maybe a bit depressed about things, but I was wired. Excited at what was happening around me and what I was going to do with it. Saturday night was exhilarating, I can't think of any other word to describe it. I'm just not right in any way.

One last question, anybody need some 'D' size batteries? First come, first served, cash only please.

Observations on Irene

I'd like to take a moment and thank everybody that emailed, texted, called, tweeted, commented, and plurked their luck, wishes, thoughts, and just damn well wondered if I was still alive. Some of you know me all too well. Anyways it meant a lot even though I don't often say it.

Thank you.

One last Irene post in the morning than back to the regular bull shit.

Observations on Irene 8.28

2:00AM - After a bit of relaxation I just realized the wind is absolutely howling outside the window. Warnings be damned I grab a cigarette and sit in the window as sheets of rain blow down the street outside. Lights of some kind flashing down the block, police, fire, or ambulance, I have no idea. I just took a look at the ConEd map and there doesn't seem to be any major power outages yet but they are going to decide in the next hour whether or not to shut off power to lower Manhattan.

Best line on CNN, “the empty and ominous streets of New York.”

Guess I'm on my own here because the VQs seem to have grabbed their wine and gone to bed so I suppose it's time I try and get some sleep myself. Irene is just south of Stone Harbor.

8:00AM - Awake since six, alive, not hungover, and amazingly I have power. Over 75,000 in the city are without power but no one in Manhattan has lost it yet. That's just hard to believe but I better shutit because the lights are flickering and I don't want to jinx myself. As predicted Anderson Cooper isn't down at Battery Park but over in Washington Square Park which is just a couple blocks away from here. I guess if he was going to be up this early he wanted to be within walking distance of his apartment. Well, I don't care what the mayor said, I might need to go for a walk. For the record Jacqyi Jeras in a red dress isn't a bad thing to wake up to either.

Some friends to the south lost power last night and I have no word from them yet. I hope all is well with them but I just talked to my sis and she said that other than the rain it never got very bad at home. That was good to hear. No sign of the VQs yet which is strange because it's a perfect morning to be a VQ.

High tide along with the storm surge is happening right now, winds gusting close to hurricane force, and heavy rain falling. Forgetting food was a bad idea because I had too much to drink, not enough sleep, and I'm starving. Like I said it might be the perfect time for a walk.  I wonder if AC wants some coffee.

10:30AM - Not long after I posted that last part the wind kicked up dramatically and at the same time both rivers began to spill over their banks as now Tropical Storm Irene made landfall over Coney Island. Never did get AC his coffee because till I got over there they were moving out. His loss.

The VQs emerged from their hurricane and wine induced slumber. I was walking down the street when I got a text from Ash which, edited to be politically correct, pretty much said I was an idiot and I should get my ass back inside. I've decided that unless I can get to the water, or the water can get to me, hurricanes aren't very photogenic at all. Just a big nasty rain storm slapping you in the face.

Some water in our basement but other than that no big problems yet. Brooklyn and Staten Island are covered with power outages but so far there is just a small one in the West Village. That I do not understand but I'm an artist so what do I know.

Seems like the worst is passing now and AC finally made it back to Battery Park. The water is starting to recede already so maybe I'll try and get to one river or the other and see what I can find. I don't have a Weather Channel or CNN jacket so might have a problem but maybe the Penn State field hockey one will do the trick.

Than maybe it will be time to put a dent in these supplies we have.

Observations on Irene 8.27

12:00PM - We have the weirdest sky now, all dark and swirly, something I don't associate with a hurricane. More like a twister movie sky.

Electric shutdown, “If a shutdown of those substations did become necessary, the affected area would be the southeastern tip of Manhattan, bordered by the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Broadway on the west and the East River on the south and east, said Chris Olert, a spokesman for Con Ed.” Well that's bad for them but good for me.

1:00PM – The bar is open and the Phillies are going to try and play. I hope I didn't make a mistake leaving the alcohol with the VQs though. I could get back to a storm shelter for theatre types and that isn't how I want to spend my hurricane. Forget this as the Phillies game was called when the outer bands of Irene arrived over Citizens Bank Park. That means the Phillies now have no days off until the end of the season, 33 games in 33 days. Not good at all.

6:00PM - Made one last check on Foxy and did my usual weekly engine running routine while I called my dad to check-in. It's getting breezy there but not raining much yet which is good because they already had over a foot of rain this month. For the first time I'm glad my parking space is on the third floor, she should be fine.

I'm starting to get a slightly depressed feeling as the storm tracks up the coast. I love the shore, I always have, and one by one some of my favorite places are being trashed. Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks went first and will soon to be followed by Ocean City and Rehoboth. When Irene hits Stone Harbor later tonight I might just cry. Supposedly 95% of Cape May County, which includes Stone Harbor, has been evacuated. It will be days till I know how the house made out.

11:00PM - Heavy rain started falling not long ago and with it came the first sounds of thunder. The winds are gusting to about 30 mph now but should rise to 50 mph by midnight according to NY1. The latest predictions have us getting wind speeds up to 90 mph and a six to eight foot storm surge by early morning. When Anderson Cooper goes live at 6AM I don't think he will be standing in Battery Park where he was Friday night. The street below is pretty much deserted now, honestly I think I saw more activity out there during the blizzards this past winter.

More useless hurricane trivia. On October 16, 1955 Hurricane Katie was born with winds of 115 mph. It lasted three days, caused $250,000 damage (1955 dollars), and left seven deaths in its wake.

And now the first lightning. I have the feeling it's going to be a long night.

Observations on Irene 8.26

I thought maybe I would take some early morning photos so I rode an empty subway train down to the soon to be forbidden zone of Battery Park. Truth be told I didn't take much of anything because it was just a cloudy dreary humid morning and on top of that the Starbucks was closed. If this is the calm before the storm I think I'll pass.

Irene came ashore in North Carolina around 7AM as a category 1 storm. The weakening doesn't change the situation much here as the problem is how long the storm will batter the city and how much water will be pushed into the harbor, the rivers, and down the street. Later today ConEd will decide if it is going to shutdown the power to lower Manhattan. Because the cables are all underground they are vulnerable to saltwater if they are in use but not if they aren't in use. Now I understand why there are no batteries to be found in the Village.

Everybody says be prepared so we stocked up with the following....

One case of Corona, one case of Corona Light, and two bags of ice in the freezer. Multiple bottles of red and white wine because Ash can't decide which is the right one for a hurricane and one must follow the wine rules at all times.
A bag of limes and one bottle of Jose Cuervo Black Medallion tequila because one shouldn't ride out a big storm with cheap tequila.
One carton of Misty Menthol Ultra Lights otherwise known as Misty Silver under the theory that people think ultra-light smoke is healthy and will think silver isn't.
One carton of Marlboro Menthol 100s because Chloe isn't a lite weight like me and smokes a real cigarette, or so I am told.
New lighter to light those above named cigarettes.
Two camera and two laptop batteries charged. A camping lantern and flashlights along with a jumbo pack of priceless D size batteries. The latter I am tempted to sell on the street because, well, they really are priceless right now.
My older digital camera packed in a towel and zip-lock bag. Don't ask on this one because I'm not going to tell.

Shit I forgot to get food.

A bit of worthless hurricane trivia that doesn't seem so worthless now. If the storm is a category 1 at ground level it is a category 2 ten stories up. I can hear the glass raining down already.

No subways running down below and it just started raining in the Village. I suppose this really is the calm before the storm.

Let the games begin.

Neil Young - Like A Hurricane, Berlin 1982

update - Due to some concern I would like to add that we have cookies, coffee, and two cases of bottled water too.