Sofia, for god's sake, CALL JOE!!!
I'm not saying I look like Bruce Springsteen but I think these photos have a similar feel to them. The overall look and composition maybe. Or perhaps it's just wishful thinking. At any rate it was unintentional. I actually started to cut the "spine" of all my v-neck undershirts because of this album cover (you can barely see it beneath my white-collar shirt).
The photos of me were taken on a late Saturday night after my best friend's wedding of which I was the (un-official) best man. I was standing in front of the closet getting undressed when the friend I was crashing with took these pictures. It was a good night well spent and we were feeling quite relaxed and satisfied.
This is a great Springsteen album by the way. I think my favorite, next to Nebraska. Racing in the Street floors me.
I love the classic candies. Bit-O-Honey, Mary Janes, Toffees, Malt Balls, Licorice, etc. Every Christmas I buy a tin and fill it with them to snack on while hanging with the family. Sticks to your teeth, but I love it. When I went to my friend's wedding in Waynesville, NC I came upon a general store whose entire basement was filled with barrels of candy. A dream come true. I stocked up for sure and bought smarties for all the groomsmen (but in the wedding-jitters-madness forgot to hand them out!). It's a good thing I don't live anywhere near this store otherwise all my teeth would fall out!
I never had much of a sweet-tooth growing up and didn't start getting into sugary things until my 30's. I'm picky for sure, so I don't eat too much, and I temper it with the healthy stuff of course. But candy is a fun diversion from my usual constitution.
It is not my intention to use this blog as a promotional platform for local or contemporary musical artists, but I have to share this song because it is simply killing me with pleasure. Prince Rama's track, So Destroyed (as told through the fictional band, Rage Peace), is such a ground-breaking step forward for them, it really excites me. I first saw them last year open up for Indian Jewelry, and have been charting their course since. A fan of their live performances, I've never really gotten into their studio recordings....until this. So Destroyed transcends beyond their eastern-influenced mysticism into a wholly unique and uplifting adjudication.
My favorite part of the song is about 1:35 into the track when the break down switches from C major into a G major chord....a simple change that gives me goosebumps. I can't wait to see where this band takes us next.
Here's a collection of the black & white photos I took in China. Most of them are from my trip to Hangzhou, which is famous for its lake and surrounding woods. It's a few hours from Shanghai and I took the train there by myself. It was crazy getting there and back. Imagine the chaos of Penn Station except all the signs are in Chinese. I would stare at the characters of the alphabet on my ticket and then check the board until I found a match. It worked!
The West Lake at Hangzhou is beautiful and when I went it was raining. Fog covered everything, adding a hint of mystery to my experience. I then took a taxi up the mountain to Lingyin Temple, which is surrounded by beautiful grottos and religious rock carvings of the Buddha and his followers. I meditated in a nice spot by a stream and when I opened my eyes I was surrounded by Chinese tourists taking pictures of the meditating westerner.
It was also in Hangzhou where I got a taste of what it's really like to live under the thumb of the Chinese government. After dinner I came back to my room to check my facebook account. Blocked! Hmmmm....let me check what's on youtube. Blocked again!!! I learned that, although you can access them just fine in Beijing and Shanghai, they're banned everywhere else. So I just turned on the tv and watched The Green Hornet (there wasn't any nightlife in Hangzhou).
