Duh.
July 18, 2009
Broadway Pier #136
I have to admit my eyes suck. I certainly couldn't see the tug heading away from the Broadway Pier when I clicked this pic.
Aside: Please be sure to double click the pic if you want to see more detail.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #97 Formstone
The Formstone history. . .Museum of Industry. This is included in their paint exhibit. There is a long long long history of paint production in Baltimore - Glidden, SW, etc. I am a Sherwin Williams gal!
Remember, if you double click on the photos, it will enlarge it so you can see the detail better. .
Tourist in Baltimore Again #109
Not done yet with the Museum of Industry pics but thought I'd break it up a little with this. . .
I had not thought much about selling my photography until we went to dinner last evening. This particular bar/restaurant offers artists the opportunity to show and sell their work and doesn't take a gallery fee. (very cool and very good food - Yellow Dog Tavern).
I've been to this place a good bit but this was the first time I had seen pure photography featured. And it was amazing. It's the same kind of photography I take and appreciate. Colorful subjects (in every sense of the word). Mainly focused on inanimate objects - no people. These were photos I was capable of taking and have taken. Yet these were proudly displayed with pretty little tags explaining the subject and prices. Yes, prices. . .prices that started at $125!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow. I adored the pics and I almost purchased several. But I wondered if I couldn't achieve the same results myself? What if I had already and just needed to correctly crop and print the photo?
Believe right?
Advertising. . .
Up until now, I've been hesitant to add advertising to my Blog. I know some people might find it offensive or it might seem like selling out. I'm not sure. I signed up and I'm going to see how much it distracts from everything else. It's nothing permanent. . .few things are.
I just felt like it was time to take another step. Up until now, only my family and a hand full of friends knew about the blog. And yet, I advocate "sending your signal" (that's a Jon Katz phrase) and I believe offering up your authentic self (some of that is Merton) and I'm not really doing that if I only share the Blog with some folks I know will read it now am I?
So I'm going to try the advertising and I'm going to try to get the word out. Please tell your friends that there's a crazy lady in Baltimore who creates multimedia art, and loves to take photos but knows nothing about photography, and can make a mean strawberry bruschetta. She's also relatively amusing and wants to offer a forum where she can share and provide others the opportunity to share as well.
Obviously I won't tolerate abuse or toxic negativity. I will encourage constructive criticism and encouragement.
Let's see what happens.
If I don't try, I'll never know.
I just felt like it was time to take another step. Up until now, only my family and a hand full of friends knew about the blog. And yet, I advocate "sending your signal" (that's a Jon Katz phrase) and I believe offering up your authentic self (some of that is Merton) and I'm not really doing that if I only share the Blog with some folks I know will read it now am I?
So I'm going to try the advertising and I'm going to try to get the word out. Please tell your friends that there's a crazy lady in Baltimore who creates multimedia art, and loves to take photos but knows nothing about photography, and can make a mean strawberry bruschetta. She's also relatively amusing and wants to offer a forum where she can share and provide others the opportunity to share as well.
Obviously I won't tolerate abuse or toxic negativity. I will encourage constructive criticism and encouragement.
Let's see what happens.
If I don't try, I'll never know.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #39
Speaking of Tomatoes. . .There is a farmer's market on Saturdays at the Museum of Industry. We got some very nice produce there. There are also a few artists. One really cool jewelry artist and a guy that does fanstastic mosaics and other mixed media wall art. I'll post their names later. Both of them were friendly, eager to share their crafts, and were reasonably priced.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #38
Come on slurp some oysters. All the cool guys with freaky-assed mustaches and velvet suits are doing it!
Tourist in Baltimore Again #37
Esskay Plant circa 1920. It's on East Baltimore Street. If anyone could tell me exactly what is there currently, I'd greatly appreciate it. I know the vicinity but can't picture how it translates to current landmarks.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #34
And this. . .is gawd only knows what and it looks scary as hell. It's like a cross between a circular saw and a chainsaw and on steroids.
Suffice to say it was in the "meat packing" portion of the Museum of Industry. The pic borders on disturbing, creepy. . .I like it.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #33
This, my friends, is a sausage stuffer. I'm not even sure what else to say about that.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #32
Another meat grinder. I like how the light is so bright and the equipment so dark, it almost looks black and white. It's been almost distilled to a silhouette.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #31
I adore meat grinders. I even have a budding collection. Here's the mother of all meat grinders! Thank you Esskay!
Tourist in Baltimore Again #48
Anne Arundel Pride!
I thought the only thing they grew there was privilege! LOL!!!
Anne Arundel County is beautiful. Home to the State Capitol and center of the sailing universe, Annapolis. I really love Anne Arundel County.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #30
Apparently beer and E. A. Poe weren't the only spirit "floating" around Baltimore. . .
Tourist in Baltimore Again #29
Good Old Natty Boh. . .It's not nearly as nasty as you might imagine. Try it sometime.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #46
There was an exhibit of a "corner store." This of course was one of my favs. The corner store is marvelous. Where else can you get milk, alka-seltzer, sparklers, fresh deli items, and an eye-glass repair kit a block or less from your house?
When I first moved here about 10 years ago, there were a lot more corner stores. Now they seem to be fading fast. The ones that seem to hang on have moved into a niche. They cater to a particular ethnic population or they offer up gourmet items or they've somehow obtained a liquor license to sell beer and wine.
At any rate, the corner store has been and I hope will continue to be a cornerstone of Baltimore and this exhibit pays homage to it.
They had a large canned goods display. . .Consisting entirely of items produced in Maryland at one time. I moved this can of shad roe from the shelf temporarily to get a good pic.
Yes, I'm sure there was no sign that said "Do not Touch."
Tourist in Baltimore Again #27
Esskay. . .A hometown fav. Go ahead be a "meat expert." This makes me painfully miss hot dogs!!!!!
Tourist in Baltimore Again #23
I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!
Aside: Here's something I just realized recently you can do. If you double click the pic, it will pop up enlarged. This will help you see more detail. Of course the BB pics will be of a poorer quality. At any rate, I've also learned to click the back button. It doesn't open in another window. If you click close, you will exit the blog entirely. . .And we wouldn't want that now, would we?
Tourist in Baltimore Again #24
Ok. This is CRAZY. The critically acclaimed show The Wire was filmed in Baltimore. This statue was apparently a prop used in the City Hall scenes. (I've seldom watched the show, mostly because we didn't have cable when it started but C and I have vowed to rent all the seasons - likely in the winter when all this "tourist" crap gets old).
You can't believe how they created this thing! I'm not sure even in my Rum or Miller Lite-driven sick, demented creativity could I have concocted this!
Asides:
1. I've realized in just about every other post the word Statue is misspelled as statute. That's a g-d attorney for you. It won't pick up on spell check if it's another word spelled correctly.
2. On the way back through I was about to touch the back of this statue's "cape" when C admonishes "What are you doing? The sign in the front says Do not Touch. Don't you remember?" I actually did forget. Meanwhile, what would the harm have been? It's not like anyone else was there to catch me doing it. Thank you C, museum rule enforcement/fun-suck Nazi. Once you see how it was made, I guarantee, you'd want to touch it too!!!
Tourist in Baltimore Again #21
Did you know Noxema was invented in Baltimore?! This is where Cover Girl Cosmetics all started. Or at least that's what I took away from the exhibit. I got bored reading and was much more interested in the pretty bottles and potions in the Drug Store exhibit. . .Plus it had a soda fountain. . .I abandoned reading rapidly and proceeded to touch everything I could get my hands on. (Aside from the things that said "Don't Touch" of course. . .)
Tourist in Baltimore Again #19
That handsome devil on the left is Pratt.
What's with the sour-puss? Dude, you're rich! He looks as if he could use a cocktail and perhaps a massage.
If this is what years in the financial industry will do to you, I need a new career path ASAP!
Tourist in Baltimore Again #188
One of Pratt's greatest contributions is the Enoch Pratt Free Library. This is the outside of the main branch. This photo was taken the day we went to the Basilica.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #18
I guess even way back in the day organizations had mission statements? Maybe they aren't as worthless and as stupid as I thought?
This is for a Baltimore Bank/Safe Deposit/Trust Company. It was founded in part by Enoch Pratt. A transplant to Baltimore who eventually became on of the city's biggest philanthropists.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #16
A Baltimore Landmark/Icon. . .The Domino Sugar Sign. It looks most spectacular all light up at night. I didn't realize it was this close to the museum.
Baltimore Tourist Again #15
View from the Museum of Industry. Easy to see why people have events at this venue. It's a popular site for weddings.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #13
Whoo - hoooo. . .Another museum!! This on has a primo location right on the waterfront in Locust Point.
Tourist in Baltimore Again #11
We started at the Museum of Industry. This is a place C has been wanting to visit for a while. I was intrigued when I read they were featuring displays of the history of the GM plant located in Dundalk and a tribute to the Maryland Highway system. These two topics are very near to my heart since my Father has worked on projects for both the GM Plant and on MD roads, bridges, and tunnels.
As seen in the pic, the museum goes for authenticity. This is located outside the entrance.
Baltimore Tourist Again #124
First of all, it is a post card picture perfect day in Baltimore. Nearly no humidity, clear blue skies with just enough fluffy white clouds. . .Excellent photo-taking weather. Some of them turned out pretty good.
Can a Mop be Evil?
Our house is entirely hardwood flooring save for the bathroom tile. C vaccums it and then I damp mop with peppermint castile soap (or once in a while Murphys Oil soap).
We use rags for mopping and I just need a mop like a Swiffer to push the damp rags around. Sometimes I use a little too much force and eventually the mop breaks.
This happened a few months back later in the evening and C very kindly went to the store a block away to get another so we could finish cleaning.
I didn't want to sound ungrateful but the mop was the flimsiest cheapest thing EVER. You really have to choke low on the handle for max effects and it really tweaks your back. I didn't want to replace it til it broke. I did once mention my frustration with it but that was it.
Yesterday C had the day off and he did all the cleaning on the two main levels. This was his first experience with the wicked back torturing mop.
When I got home I realized it was in two pieces. (It snapped back together).
And last night as I was slowly drifting off to sleep I hear C whisper, "You're right, that mop is junk."
Summer Sky
Have some housekeeping this morning. Going to the museum of industry this afternoon to see an exhibit about the history of the GM plant in Baltimore. Maybe will hit Ft McHenry for some pics. Quiet evening hopefully and brunch with friends tomorrow. No work this weekend I hope (tho I prob should).
July 17, 2009
Lunch?
July 16, 2009
C's Sea Glass Skeleton
Earlier this week I walk into the basement and find this on the sink. There was a pile of sea glass we collected in Oxford (10/2007) sitting on the sink for months and he made this.
When I asked him about it he said he was on the phone and he had been putting the glass on his palm and came up with the idea.
I asked him how he would like to mount it. He brushed it off. I am undeterred. It will be mounted.
This is beautiful. Leave it to a scientist to create something so elemental, practical, beautiful, and just a little mysterious and chilling.
I think C, like most of us, have many extraordinary talents that are just waiting to be discovered, nurtured, encouraged, revealed.
In creating something, you offer up a bit of yourself - or a lot. When you chose to share it, you are by extension offering yourself up for an unknown response/reaction. If your art is not well received, you might feel rejection and insecurity on a visceral level.
We must not be afraid of this. We should embrace criticism. We should believe in ourselves and our art. . .Know that no matter how scary it might seem to offer all you have - in art, life, love, whatever you're passionate about - the scarier, less fulfilling scenario is to hold back, pull back, be reserved, lament, and regret.
Tomorrow is fast approaching. Will you be more honest and more fearless?
I know I will try.
Rip off that rear-view mirror and NOW live, give, forgive, believe, laugh, love.
This Evening's Randomness. . .
So I'm trying to "get off" a steady stream of news and a continual information feed. Mainly because I'm subjected to it all day at work and I'm sick of stupid reporters telling us how much the world sucks and is crashing down upon us.
At one point it was so bad, I was even watching CNBC on a Friday night. . .
Announcer: "Up next Asian Squawk Box."
C: "Is Asian Squawk Box something adult and dirty?"
(Oh, if you could have only heard the hopefulness in his voice - haha.)
Anyway. . .I recently flipped the TV from Bloomberg to a show called Snapped. I've seen this before and I do rather like the appalling vileness of it all. Every half hour episode is dedicated to a story about how a woman plotted, schemed, and carried out the murder of someone, typically a love interest. (Yes I realize this show is likely worse than the actual news. What can I say? I'm nothing if not consistent).
What amazes me continually about this show and all others like it: Why in the eff do these people think they are smart enough to kill someone and get away with it?
I realize you might find it disturbing that I'm not more amazed by the fact that someone could actually kill another human being. But I think this is a well established fact - it unfortunately happens all the time.
I'm still just floored by the perpetrator's arrogance. Don't they watch Forensic Files for chrissakes?!! Don't they realize they're NEVER going to get away with it?! Cold, callous, arrogant, idiots. They deserve whatever they get. . .
After all adequate due process and a trial before a jury of their peers of course. I still have a good bit of faith in our criminal justice system even though I believe some parts of it are in need of repair.
Anyway, I suppose I'll look for a little more inspiring background noise while I decide where to focus my attention next. I do have a canvas primed for destruction. . .
At one point it was so bad, I was even watching CNBC on a Friday night. . .
Announcer: "Up next Asian Squawk Box."
C: "Is Asian Squawk Box something adult and dirty?"
(Oh, if you could have only heard the hopefulness in his voice - haha.)
Anyway. . .I recently flipped the TV from Bloomberg to a show called Snapped. I've seen this before and I do rather like the appalling vileness of it all. Every half hour episode is dedicated to a story about how a woman plotted, schemed, and carried out the murder of someone, typically a love interest. (Yes I realize this show is likely worse than the actual news. What can I say? I'm nothing if not consistent).
What amazes me continually about this show and all others like it: Why in the eff do these people think they are smart enough to kill someone and get away with it?
I realize you might find it disturbing that I'm not more amazed by the fact that someone could actually kill another human being. But I think this is a well established fact - it unfortunately happens all the time.
I'm still just floored by the perpetrator's arrogance. Don't they watch Forensic Files for chrissakes?!! Don't they realize they're NEVER going to get away with it?! Cold, callous, arrogant, idiots. They deserve whatever they get. . .
After all adequate due process and a trial before a jury of their peers of course. I still have a good bit of faith in our criminal justice system even though I believe some parts of it are in need of repair.
Anyway, I suppose I'll look for a little more inspiring background noise while I decide where to focus my attention next. I do have a canvas primed for destruction. . .
July 15, 2009
Long Day
I'm tired and this week feels as if it's dragging on and on and on. But At least I still got to appreciate the sunset - even if it was the lazy way!
Clinton Street Sunset #8
All these pics were done on the "automatic" setting on the camera. I wanted to move rather rapidly since the sun was sliding away quickly and surely the transit police were bound to show up. I wonder what the results would have been with manual settings and more time? Although, as I said, I'm pretty pleased with these results given the circumstances.
I didn't notice this until I just looked carefully at the enlargement but you can see part of the Domino Sugar sign. I need to keep that in mind for next time.
And if you hear a news report about some crazy lady with a camera scaling a chainlink fence, in the Port of Baltimore, camera in hand. . .You can be relatively sure it's not me. Typically I'm not wearing the proper shoes for scaling fences!
Clinton Street Sunset #10
Big thanks to C who saw me drooling over the scene as I was driving and suggested I turn around and pull over and take some pics. I'm sure he was starving but he was very encouraging. I'm glad he suggested it. LIfe is too short to allow beautiful sunsets to slide away without proper acknowledgment.
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