You Know What I Keep In The Lining

One of the simpler joys of television production is that you get to be a tourist on the company dime, unashamedly going places that are more of the hoi polloi than the hipster douchebag fucks [I] usually cavort with. This is how I made it to the top of the Empire State Building without having to wait in line. This is also how you end up on one of the pedestal lookouts on Mt. Washington (I realize this corollary is a little wanky, as there are no lines for the pedestal lookouts on Mt. Washington, but follow me, would you?).



You also tend to eat well -- especially when doing food shows -- or at least eat uniquely. Here we have the Primanti Brothers' flagship location in Pittsburgh. The sandwich has a meat, a cheese, a cole slaw, a tomato, a handful of french fries between italian bread. It's a sandwich designed for truckers who would take them to go. Pretty soon everyone (specifically stoner college kids) started consuming them, as is the case when something utilitarian becomes bougie (cf. Underarmor and those ridiculous telephone earpieces).



Let it be known that nothing we've eaten this trip has been particularly healthy. I've been trying to cram salads and fruit behind (or in front of) every meal, but I'm still left feeling logy and listless and gross. Granted, I've not done a good of of taking care of myself for the last month or so anyway, so the effect is compounded.

An Observation:

The North Side of Pittsburgh is BEGGING for gentrification! Not only is there a charming, colorful area called the "Mexican War Streets", but there are old man bars that only need Ms. Pac-Man to become destinations! There is a YMCA with a bitchin' sign (picture to come) that will provide a tasteful amount of transient low-lifes and charming brownstone row homes that lack only kooky white artisans to make them complete! I suggest that we (my peers, and my only occasional readership) buy a block of these homes and do them up right so that by the time the NEXT real estate crash comes, we'll be goddamn gajillionaires.

Later, BUFFALO.

All I Know Is "Ball" and "Good"...

I'm in Reading, PA right now. It's 11:30 PM and I've been working all day, though nowhere NEAR as hard as Dan has. One of the things I do when I travel is carry the camera and snap pictures that usually never see the light of day. Most of this is because time is the best editor, and... see previous statement about the light of day.

Seeing as how my last foray into liveblogging a job went to tits, I would consider this my first attempt to deal with a nightly schedule. Let the record show that no great art was made today. No great sights were seen; no great experiences had. Let it be known that downtown Reading is swimming with a sense of unease due to the roaming gangbangers debating (and in some cases not...) whether to flash signs at the camera or not. There are a lot of dudes with teardrop tattoos.

The closest I came to anything amusing was this sighting of what is clearly a rapemobile,



And this sign,




Hung at Jimmy Kramer's The Peanut Bar & Restaurant,



Which can be used to diagram MANY things, not the least of which is the morale of the crew at any given time. For those hard of sight allow me to transcribe, left to right, The Drunkard's Progress,

1. A glass with a friend.

2. A glass to keep the cold out.

3. A glass too much.

4. Drunk and riotous.

5. The summit attained. Jolly companions. A confirmed drunkard.

6. Poverty and disease.

7. Forsaken by friends.

8. Desperation and crime.

9. Death by suicide.

It's kinda neat in a T.G.I.Fridays in Hell kind of way.

I mean, I guess the bookmobile is kind of interesting for the, "WHO BOTHERED TO SPAWN THIS WRETCHED CHARACTER DESIGN?" question.



Tomorrow we are off to Pittsburgh.

9 to 5

This is a sampling of the people related to me. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 5. The short story is that my brother got married (he and Jenny are in the center and scattered throughout the collage). Yes, I shot my own brothers wedding and no I don't recommend it -- working a family event means you don't get to enjoy it as much as you might if you were just, say, drinking or entertaining babies or eating (in that order). However if you are the type of person who hates his or her family, this new form of practical isolation might be good for you and might endear you to them.

The long story is that I've been trying to hold working office hours to get the film done. This means that there is no film from Antimagic and Talk Normal at Silent Barn, nor is there any film from [All Nines] and Japanther from last night (8/24/08). I am behind, and I've been neglecting my precious, precious blog. This is going to get worse before it gets better -- I'm off to Redding, PA (Huh?), Pittsburgh (PA) and Buffalo (NY) this week for a food show or somesuch. Details are sketchy at best. All I know is that the Redding Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates are in their respective towns and I will get to see my long lost friend Ashley and her flock of children in Buffalo.

Then, Fashion Week, Season 8 -- The Return.

Motion To Previous Question

It seems that I remembered how to do things correctly and now I want to shoot with film more often. What's that about hubris? Real scans WILL BE DONE, but that WILL take a while. Gimme a week or two.

For those who come in through the front door on the Blog, the rest of them are here and there will be more going up shortly.

Brute Force Works Sometimes

So my refrigerator died, which is a dumb way to start a post about concert pictures. Anyway, my refrigerator died which means that I had to clean it out so the little men who took it away would not hurt themselves before bringing in the NEW refrigerator. In my cleaning I found fifteen or so rolls of long-since expired Fujipan 400 and I, never being one to leave an expensive stone unrolled (or whatever), decided to shoot Fiasco's goodbye show at Market Hotel.

Long story short, I realized I should probably do a clip test because God-knows how long I've had that film in the fridge and who knows how well it's held up. Plus I have no idea what I'm doing in general (fun fact!).

This is the clip test. Scans of the real deal to come soon. Or not. I have to shoot my brother's wedding so that will take up a lot of time.