Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Falling Water
From Slate, Witold Rybczynski's photo essay on Falling Water.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Tree Cutter's Stimulus
I think maybe we should look at the hurricane as a tree cutter's stimulus package. Certainly there are enough of them employed in my neighborhood now. I think this tree just got tired, and needed to rest against this row house. It was soon cut up anyway. The first photo was at 8:30 this morning, the second one at 12:30 this afternoon.
Earthquake\Hurricane Irene
Earthquake\Hurricane Irene
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Earthquake/Hurricane Irene
Some photos I took today showing the aftermath of the earthquake and Hurricane Irene. Many leaves and sticks down, but not many whole trees, other than the three included in these photographs.
The only visible earthquake damage that I could see on the Cathedral was to the pinnacles of the central tower. The Cathedral is still closed, and fenced off. They are trying to reopen for the 9/11 Services that are planned there, but I don't think they are certain yet that will be possible.
Click Show Info in the upper right of the slide show to see photo descriptions. Also the dates on these photos are all wrong, because my new camera did not have the date set properly.
Earthquake\Hurricane Irene
The only visible earthquake damage that I could see on the Cathedral was to the pinnacles of the central tower. The Cathedral is still closed, and fenced off. They are trying to reopen for the 9/11 Services that are planned there, but I don't think they are certain yet that will be possible.
Click Show Info in the upper right of the slide show to see photo descriptions. Also the dates on these photos are all wrong, because my new camera did not have the date set properly.
Earthquake\Hurricane Irene
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Lessons Learned
The flood walls raised at Washington Harbor to keep out Hurricane Irene.
Canal/River - 2011
Canal/River - 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Under Construction
This is the site of the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It is currently being reconstructed, which is why all you see is dirt.
Monuments - 2011
Monuments - 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
A set of photographs I took earlier tonight of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial by the tidal basin. The evening on a sunny day is not the right time to take photographs here, since the sun sets behind the Memorial. Maybe some time I will make it down there in the morning, and get better pictures.
The sculpture of King is by Lei Yixin.
The last photograph in this set is not part of the Memorial, but is the Marker on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where King gave his "I Have a Dream Speech".
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
The sculpture of King is by Lei Yixin.
The last photograph in this set is not part of the Memorial, but is the Marker on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where King gave his "I Have a Dream Speech".
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Demise of the Chelsea Hotel
My third post on the Chelsea Hotel in New York City. My 11/29/10 post included a photograph I took of the Hotel last year. My 12/19/10 post included a link to the Guardian's "Top 10 Chelsea Hotel Moments".
Now an article from the Daily Mail on what may be the Hotel's final demise. The article contains an extensive account of the Chelsea's notorious history.
The world's most decadent hotel
Now an article from the Daily Mail on what may be the Hotel's final demise. The article contains an extensive account of the Chelsea's notorious history.
The world's most decadent hotel
Monday, August 15, 2011
Justice Douglas with Hat
A new photograph added to my Monuments set. This bust of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas is located near the C&O Canal terminus in Georgetown. The sculpture is by Wendy Ross, but the straw hat was added by someone last weekend. This bust is normally hatless.
Douglas is memorialized here because of his effort in the 1950's to preserve the canal. If not for Douglas the canal would probably have been obliterated, and replaced by a highway.
Monuments - 2011
Douglas is memorialized here because of his effort in the 1950's to preserve the canal. If not for Douglas the canal would probably have been obliterated, and replaced by a highway.
Monuments - 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Canalworthy?
I posted a photography of the Georgetown canal boat a couple weeks back. Since then things for the boat have taken a turn for the worse. It has been removed from the water after tests determined that the wood inside has rotted. Further tests are planned to determine if it is salvageable. Here is what it looks like now.
Canal/River - 2011
Canal/River - 2011
Babar at 80
An interview with Laurent de Brunhoff, the current writer and illustrator of the Babar the elephant books.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
The Berlin Wall
Today marks 50 years since the Berlin Wall went up. Until it's opening in 1989, the wall separated East Germans, and West Germans. Today several sections of the wall are in the Newseum, in Washington, D.C. It is a very interesting exhibit. I saw it a couple weeks ago. Maybe I will go back some time with my camera, and take photographs to post. Here is a video from the Newseum that includes the sections of the Wall they have.
I will also use this as an excuse to plug one of my favorite films, The Lives of Others. Set behind the Wall in 1984, I did a July 10, 2010 post on this film.
I will also use this as an excuse to plug one of my favorite films, The Lives of Others. Set behind the Wall in 1984, I did a July 10, 2010 post on this film.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Gulp
'Gulp' is a short film created by Sumo Science at Aardman, depicting a fisherman going about his daily catch. Shot on location at Pendine Beach in South Wales, every frame of this stop-motion animation was shot using a Nokia N8, with its 12 megapixel camera and Carl Zeiss optics. The film has broken a world record for the 'largest stop-motion animation set', with the largest scene stretching over 11,000 square feet.
First the making of video, followed by the actual film.
First the making of video, followed by the actual film.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Films About Trees
Two films about Trees, or at least that have the word Tree in the title.
There seems to be a very sharp divide on Terrence Malick's latest film, The Tree of Life. According to a poll in The Guardian, 57% thought is was a "Profound Masterpiece", while the other 43% thought is was "Pretentious nonsense". Malick directed one of my all time favorite films, Days of Heaven, so I was really hoping to like this film. (See my 5/14/11 post)
The Tree of Life tries to take on the meaning of life. I would not say that is pretentious nonsense. One the other hand, it may be just plain pretentious to think you can do that in film—even a long film.
Days of Heaven was not considered a success when it was released. It was criticized, because the narrative is a bit murky, and there are many sequences in the film that are visually stunning, but have little to do with advancing the plot. i.e. wheat fields. In that film, which has a relatively simple plot line, I thought all that helped to set the tone of the film.
The Tree of Life is similar in a lot of ways. But when you have a plot that is not presented chronologically, and then you include long sequences of the galaxies evolving, and then some more sequences of dinosaurs, to me it just becomes a jumbled mess. The core of the story, which involves a family with three young boys growing up in the fifties, is very well acted. It was just a little too disjointed for me to appreciate.
The father and mother in film are play by Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain, and I can't criticize their performances. In general though, when two people are married in a film, even if they no longer love, or even like, each other, I would like to see some evidence that at one time they had a reason to be together. I find it tiresome to watch a couple on film, and the whole time to be thinking "what possible reason could these two people have ever had for being together". I don't see how you can ever understand what went wrong with a relationship, unless you have some idea why it started in the first place.
That being said, you may be one of the 53% who would think this is a masterpiece, so don't let me stop you from seeing it.
The Tree, a film from Australia, is the second film. This film starts out with a generally happy family in semi-rural Australia, but things turn bad when the father has a heart attack, and smashes the truck he is driving into a massive tree growing in front of their house. He dies, and the family is left bereft. The middle daughter comes to believe that her father's spirit has been transferred into the tree. In due course, the massive roots of the tree begin to create problems, for both the family, and their neighbors. This then leads to a conflict over whether or not the tree should be cut down.
Unlike the sweeping scope of The Tree of Life, this film is tightly focused on the family involved, and their personal attempts to deal with a traumatic situation. Much like The Tree of Life, The Tree uses landscape to enhance the tone of the film, but in this case that use is integrated into the narrative of the film, and not added in as interruptions to the narrative.
The Tree has a rather languid pace, which is appropriate for a film focused on dealing with loss. It does, however, have a very dramatic ending, so that when the film is over you do feel like something has happened.
All this to say, I liked The Tree better than The Tree of Life.
As I final note, I would add that both films contain strong performances from very young actors, and are probably worth seeing just for that.
There seems to be a very sharp divide on Terrence Malick's latest film, The Tree of Life. According to a poll in The Guardian, 57% thought is was a "Profound Masterpiece", while the other 43% thought is was "Pretentious nonsense". Malick directed one of my all time favorite films, Days of Heaven, so I was really hoping to like this film. (See my 5/14/11 post)
The Tree of Life tries to take on the meaning of life. I would not say that is pretentious nonsense. One the other hand, it may be just plain pretentious to think you can do that in film—even a long film.
Days of Heaven was not considered a success when it was released. It was criticized, because the narrative is a bit murky, and there are many sequences in the film that are visually stunning, but have little to do with advancing the plot. i.e. wheat fields. In that film, which has a relatively simple plot line, I thought all that helped to set the tone of the film.
The Tree of Life is similar in a lot of ways. But when you have a plot that is not presented chronologically, and then you include long sequences of the galaxies evolving, and then some more sequences of dinosaurs, to me it just becomes a jumbled mess. The core of the story, which involves a family with three young boys growing up in the fifties, is very well acted. It was just a little too disjointed for me to appreciate.
The father and mother in film are play by Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain, and I can't criticize their performances. In general though, when two people are married in a film, even if they no longer love, or even like, each other, I would like to see some evidence that at one time they had a reason to be together. I find it tiresome to watch a couple on film, and the whole time to be thinking "what possible reason could these two people have ever had for being together". I don't see how you can ever understand what went wrong with a relationship, unless you have some idea why it started in the first place.
That being said, you may be one of the 53% who would think this is a masterpiece, so don't let me stop you from seeing it.
The Tree, a film from Australia, is the second film. This film starts out with a generally happy family in semi-rural Australia, but things turn bad when the father has a heart attack, and smashes the truck he is driving into a massive tree growing in front of their house. He dies, and the family is left bereft. The middle daughter comes to believe that her father's spirit has been transferred into the tree. In due course, the massive roots of the tree begin to create problems, for both the family, and their neighbors. This then leads to a conflict over whether or not the tree should be cut down.
Unlike the sweeping scope of The Tree of Life, this film is tightly focused on the family involved, and their personal attempts to deal with a traumatic situation. Much like The Tree of Life, The Tree uses landscape to enhance the tone of the film, but in this case that use is integrated into the narrative of the film, and not added in as interruptions to the narrative.
The Tree has a rather languid pace, which is appropriate for a film focused on dealing with loss. It does, however, have a very dramatic ending, so that when the film is over you do feel like something has happened.
All this to say, I liked The Tree better than The Tree of Life.
As I final note, I would add that both films contain strong performances from very young actors, and are probably worth seeing just for that.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Patrick Dougherty
A few weeks back I posted some pictures from Dumbarton Oaks. A couple of those photographs contained mysterious stick structures. Here is an article from the Washington Post about Patrick Dougherty, the artist who created them. And here is a video of Dougherty discussing his work.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Andrew Wyeth Paintings
Nice images of some Andrew Wyeth paintings, set to the music of Duke Ellington's song "In a Sentimental Mood". I have a copy of the painting that appears at 2:45 hanging in my bedroom.
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