Literature
This morning I saw more faces and figures on "autoracks" as they passed?a great rat, a snowman, a mystery visage, and some sort of hooded ninja:
As I watched these faces roll by I was reminded of when I lived in Montana and saw similarly striking moving-canvases. My friend Greg Keeler and I would fish these weird parts of the Gallatin River, places where, to get to, you'd have to walk along the tracks?sometimes right between a vertical cliff on one side and the swirling river below on the other, and if a train came you had to sprint to where the cliff leveled off or the riprap became generous enough to climb down onto. It could be quite terrifying when the trains came bearing down suddenly from around a bend. Anyway, sometimes the trains would be carrying green-coated bodies of Boeing 737 airliners, like large alien phalli; other times, there would be long lines of boxcars palimpsestically spray-painted over with a thousand codes, signs, warnings, and other idioms known only to the secret painters. I'm thinking of exploring such scenes in a future course called something like "everyday aesthetics."
- Canoeing, A Brief Personal History
In the canoe last summer, on the big lake Rumor has it that there were four water rescues out in Lake Michigan last week. At least, four near where I am, on the Leelanau peninsula. The big lake is big, and can go from glassy calm to six-foot swells in...
- Dark River Balloon
This morning, I'm not really sure why, I head for the river at the perfectly unreasonable hour of 4:30. As I walk through the silent neighborhoods cast in streetlight glow, I catch glimpses of countless cats slinking and darting under cars, and I...
- Morning Walk Photo Essay Ii
It was about a year ago that I posted my first morning walk photo essay; I figured today that it was time to post a second one. (I find myself telling students that things become so much more interesting when you do them multiple times?like reading,...
- Faces Of The Ordinary
Two faces seen on my walk this morning: "The ordinary is a moving target. Not first something to make sense of, but a set of sensations that incite." ?Kathleen Stewart, Ordinary Affects"But always the face shows through these forms." ?Emmanuel Levinas,...
- Morning Walk Photo Essay
Most mornings these days, I go for a walk to the Mississippi River with my small roommate, Julien. This morning I decided to record my walk by taking some photos that show the things we encountered along the way. Julien doesn't walk yet, so I push...
Literature
More Faces & Figures, This Time on Autoracks
This morning I saw more faces and figures on "autoracks" as they passed?a great rat, a snowman, a mystery visage, and some sort of hooded ninja:
As I watched these faces roll by I was reminded of when I lived in Montana and saw similarly striking moving-canvases. My friend Greg Keeler and I would fish these weird parts of the Gallatin River, places where, to get to, you'd have to walk along the tracks?sometimes right between a vertical cliff on one side and the swirling river below on the other, and if a train came you had to sprint to where the cliff leveled off or the riprap became generous enough to climb down onto. It could be quite terrifying when the trains came bearing down suddenly from around a bend. Anyway, sometimes the trains would be carrying green-coated bodies of Boeing 737 airliners, like large alien phalli; other times, there would be long lines of boxcars palimpsestically spray-painted over with a thousand codes, signs, warnings, and other idioms known only to the secret painters. I'm thinking of exploring such scenes in a future course called something like "everyday aesthetics."
- Canoeing, A Brief Personal History
In the canoe last summer, on the big lake Rumor has it that there were four water rescues out in Lake Michigan last week. At least, four near where I am, on the Leelanau peninsula. The big lake is big, and can go from glassy calm to six-foot swells in...
- Dark River Balloon
This morning, I'm not really sure why, I head for the river at the perfectly unreasonable hour of 4:30. As I walk through the silent neighborhoods cast in streetlight glow, I catch glimpses of countless cats slinking and darting under cars, and I...
- Morning Walk Photo Essay Ii
It was about a year ago that I posted my first morning walk photo essay; I figured today that it was time to post a second one. (I find myself telling students that things become so much more interesting when you do them multiple times?like reading,...
- Faces Of The Ordinary
Two faces seen on my walk this morning: "The ordinary is a moving target. Not first something to make sense of, but a set of sensations that incite." ?Kathleen Stewart, Ordinary Affects"But always the face shows through these forms." ?Emmanuel Levinas,...
- Morning Walk Photo Essay
Most mornings these days, I go for a walk to the Mississippi River with my small roommate, Julien. This morning I decided to record my walk by taking some photos that show the things we encountered along the way. Julien doesn't walk yet, so I push...