Reading Myself

"A photograph is not created by a photographer. What he does is just to open a little window and capture it. The world writes itself on his film. And the act of the photographer is closer to reading than it is to writing. He is the reader of the world." -Ferdinando Scianna, from Slate.

I was trying to capture the look of a couple of outfits today. I tried on the dress I'm intending to wear and I got both jackets together so I could take pictures of them each open and closed. Why just use a mirror when you can make it complicated, right?

Well, these pictures look as confused as I felt. I misplaced the focus and they definitely won't work for what I wanted. I was trying to read the world in the sense that Scianna described, but I failed. I had a good problem - choose between two lovely jackets to make a nice outfit. I also had a good weekend, enjoying dinner out with Gerkin and Hubster at Les Halles. Friday night, Hubster and I, too enjoyed a great evening with just the two of us and our unnaturally hyper cats. I did have a few darker moments, though. It seems as though I can feel a little too tied to practical matters of late - I'm bothered by how often I avoid deeper moments with K or just alone with myself. I'm stressing out, and I want to slow down but seem unable to focus on anything but the next task.

In some ways, these pictures capture that. I'm out of focus and the project I'm actually trying to do (decide which jacket to keep) is hopeless because the focal point of my camera is a foot in front me. My photographic ineptitude making my point for me. If only all these were solved so easily.

Petroglyph National Monument

We quite enjoyed our foray into this park, but then again we're nerds. If you find yourself equally nerdy and curious, I've included some Wikipedia links for more information. Okay, okay PICTURES!


According to the placards arrayed throughout the site, it was considered a holy place where Native Americans (and later Spanish settlers) would go on faith quests, basically. The art pictured here is less representational than ritual. Sometimes we have no idea what they mean because no cultural artifact bears the same symbol. However, many symbols recur throughout the area, like the one pictured above.


This petroglyph was not dug as deep into the rock, but you should be able to distinguish a man with a mask over his left eye.


Such fluid lines on this little man. Love it.


We also learned that the cross was as symbol in the local Native American cultures long before the Roman Catholic Spaniards showed up. You can tell each culture's cross by whether it has an outline or not. This is a Native American cross; the Spanish would not have outlined it.


Another man, hanging out. I should really reprocess this picture, though, because it definitely doesn't match the tonality and color depth of the desert varnish well at all. Oopsies!


KITTIES! ON ROCKS! Although these were likelier to be jaguars than domesticated cats. Apparently, their range extended to Albuquerque, back in the day.


And you gotta love the modern graffiti. Was is worth it, Amanda '86?

For a pretty good primer on petroglyphs (stone carvings) see this Wikipedia article. Apparently, the reason you can get and retain these carvings is because of something known as "desert varnish," a darkened exterior which certain types of rock get in hot arid climates. This article seems to indicate that it's because of the rocks make-up as well as the interaction with the environment over time. When you scratch off the outer layer of varnish, it doesn't fill in again so your carving remains intact for centuries.

I highly recommend a visit. Maybe next week, I'll show you some images of the area itself and you'll notice as we did that it's not as easy/safe as most national parks. For one thing, you have to climb among all these rocks without many handholds and few stairs with handholds. I wore some adorable platform espadrilles which were TOTAL CRAP on those steep (and often tight) inclined spaces, but I didn't fall down and avoided going boom. I just wouldn't recommend flipflops.

Albuquerque Snaps

Ah, the ubiquitous New Mexico chili peppers - this time chipotle. When we went out to dinner at El Pinto, the fragrance from the peppers bedecking their porch was amazing.


Desert Broom or Broom Dahlia. Whatever, it's PRETTY!


Oh, mysterious flower, what is your name? It was all over Petroglyph.


Here's the side view of the above plant. Those crazy modern-design-esque pods are flower buds.


This is how you pay for parking in Old Town. You stare at this board puzzling over just why the slots for each spot are so small. You look at the hourly rate and determine you need to insert three dollar bills. You roll them up tightly. You decide to finish pushing them into the slots with your car key. You wonder if the person who designed this was a genius or an idiot. You further decide that, although it made you laugh just then, making t-shirts that read "I parked in Old Town" would be too obscure.


All that fuss over parking was worth it. After all, here's a lovely picture of the San Felipe de Neri Church.


You count the days until you have to leave this delightful place.

Why read when you can hear about the movies I've seen?

I just went out to a movie with my husband, so I guess it's time to talk about recent movies I've seen and whether they are any good. In order now, from the crappy to the fabulous, I present my experiences with movies.

Music and Lyrics: Have you seen the trailer? Well, it tells you everything there is to know about this romantic comedy which was disappointingly formulaic. Drew Barrymore can be quite charming, but she is constantly doing these roles and I just want to airlift her out of this movie and into something good. I mean, the first few minutes of the movie feature a faux-80s band video which is PURE GENIUS. The end credits were also awesome. The middle? Not so much. It had its moments, a few quotable lines, and that's about it. No offense to those that liked it; I just felt like I'd rather be watching something better.

Talladega Nights: I was fully prepared to "not get" this movie and decide I didn't like it. I mean, lots of my friends loved Anchorman and I didn't enjoy more than a few lines of it. Really, Will Ferrell is not a sure bet for me, but this movie was pretty darn hilarious. Yes, I waited till it hit DVD, but it was worth the rental for the laughs and good lines like this one: "I wake up in the morning I piss excellence." Indeed you did, at least for this one, Ferrell.

Children of Men: Futuristic movies are always tough. The production designers either go Aeon Flux and make it crazy weird-looking or . . . well, they usually go nuts. This movie was amazing partially because though it was set 20 years in the future, and the world was going to Hades in a handbasket, it still looked and felt real. It was beautiful, sometimes so moving I cried, mostly it was an interesting foray into out culture and what ends it might reach. Also, it was beautifully filmed - long shots are so complicated and they had several. Kudos to them, and kudos to those of you who decide to watch it. Well worth a rental.

Shaun of the Dead: Sweet fancy Moses! I've never seen a zombie movie before, and I'm sure I would have been on the floor laughing had I seen them, but frankly, I know all the leitmotifs because they're such a part of pop culture. This movie is an entry in the genre, a funny homage, a delight. Loves it!

Hot Fuzz: The movie which Hubster and I just saw, created by the people behind Shaun, and it was fabulous! Growing up with brothers and tons of male friends, I've seen my fair share of action movies. Again, it's an action movie which ratchets the cheese factor. If this trailer strikes your fancy, you just might be Hot Fuzz material.

Late Book Report Fined 10% Per Day

Today, I'll be reviewing books which were all good to one degree or another. Some were more interesting than excellent, but I still think they're worth a read if the titles/themes catch your eye.

Pattern Recognition, William Gibson: From Amazon, "The first of William Gibson's usually futuristic novels to be set in the present, Pattern Recognition is a masterful snapshot of modern consumer culture and hipster esoterica." That's about all you should read, though, because otherwise you'll spoil the book. I had my issues with some of it, but overall, it was an interesting look at culture, and I thought the bits about internet culture were incisive.

Lady Oracle, Margaret Atwood: Oh, another Atwood. I'm like a groupie! Well, this wasn't my favorite of hers, so I guess the honeymoon's over with her. See, her beautiful language was still there, and she even retained some of her amazing insight, but the plot and some characters just didn't do it for me. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't Atwood good. Single tear.

The Autograph Man, Zadie Smith: I finally finished the book. Very good. I didn't enjoy it as much as On Beauty, but it was still miles ahead of other novels. I've included quotes from it before here and here.

Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez: One of my new favorite books because, WOW! The style reminded me a bit of Dostoevsky with its rambling narrative and insights about even the most minor of characters, but Márquez was didn't seem to wander quite as long as the D might. There were so many good lines that I really can't copy them all out. Really a must read. I think I could start a few dozen posts with inspiration from them. Hey, that's not a half-bad idea. Better idea? READ THIS BOOK.

Bel Canto, Ann Patchett: Another of my new favorite books. The language is truly fantastic. She creates a rather implausible world, yet you want so badly to believe it exists, that it is, in fact, our world that she keeps you at the edge of your seat, even when she's discussing how the terrorits and hostages will make dinner out of raw vegetables. Opera, terrorism, language barriers, and French Ambassadors cooking - it really has it all. READ THIS BOOK, TOO.

I'm reading another great book, but that's quite enough pontificating and Amazon searching. If you're headed beachward (or airportward) then snap one of these babies up.