Lately I have been trying to read as many things as possible. I went to the local library this evening for a quick browse of nothing in particular. I only spent a couple of minutes walking straight through to the biographies and society shelves before picking up a biography of Marlon Brando and Jonathan Foer's Eating Animals.
For quite some time, I have wanted to start reading biographies and memoirs but, however, had never had the motivation to do so. I really needed to find a figure that I would want to learn more about and I guess for me, Brando would be a good place to start.
Over the next few weeks I should have three books on the go! And I may write a little something about each one as I progress through them. Luckily I have quite a lot of spare time currently on my hands.
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Story of a photo
Because I'm trying to stay productive rather than procrastinate, I thought I'd upload my third post of today and share a photo. Probably the last photo I actually took, developed and processed from memory. I think its my favourite so far that I've taken, and I'm thinking of starting a little photo project on people/portraits pretty soon.
I really like photos of people that aren't at all staged or set up in some way. The 'arty' portraits just don't appeal to me in any way at all. I really like the photos of Dorothea Lange in this respect, her photos were real and of real people.
I took this one on Anzac Day this year. A few of my friends and I were walking the streets of Fremantle with our cameras snapping shots of what caught our eyes. I remember walking down the main street which had been closed off to cars, so there were people everywhere walking around. A lot of them were sailors in town to celebrate after the mornings Anzac services. Both her and I spotted each other walking down the street towards each other with cameras, so what followed was a brief photo-duel and a smile.
I took the photo on 35mm film, developed it myself, scanned it into a digital format and tweaked it a little in lightroom. I really don't like to touchup photos too much, but I'm not quite that good yet...
The Revolution will not be televised
Gil Scott-Heron has just recently come into music collection. I'm sure everyone at some point has heard The Revolution Will Not Be Televised which I think was the piece that really gave Scott-Heron a name.
I heard his latest album I'm New Here playing at work a little while back, and without knowing who it was or what it was about - I was completely captured by it. He just has this captivating voice and phrasing of his words.
I would say his latest album is like nothing I've really heard before. A dark and beautiful mix of spoken work, blues, beats and electronica. I'm waiting in on an copy from a record shop in the city but its been on back order for a few weeks now, and they've got no idea when it might come in.
I did by chance one day a few weeks ago find an LP of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised in a stack of records at a shop I was visiting for the first time. And I had to buy it. A good place to start, and I know I'll have to hunt down the rest of his work.
I heard his latest album I'm New Here playing at work a little while back, and without knowing who it was or what it was about - I was completely captured by it. He just has this captivating voice and phrasing of his words.
I would say his latest album is like nothing I've really heard before. A dark and beautiful mix of spoken work, blues, beats and electronica. I'm waiting in on an copy from a record shop in the city but its been on back order for a few weeks now, and they've got no idea when it might come in.
I did by chance one day a few weeks ago find an LP of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised in a stack of records at a shop I was visiting for the first time. And I had to buy it. A good place to start, and I know I'll have to hunt down the rest of his work.
Too much Vonnegut
I had the day off today, and I wasn't expecting to be doing much with my time. I had a bit of a rough sleep and a particularly strange dream which left me in a slightly nonchalant mood all day. I went to a couple of cafes where my friends work, simply trying to find some means of socialising. None of them were working to I turned to the newspaper where I was quite excited about glancing across and seeing a piece by Christopher Hitchens, who I know very little about but have come to respect with a particularly enthusiastic reader from work.
I also had a copy of Kurt Vonnegut's 'Galapagos' which I have been nursing for quite a while now - slowly making my way through it. But this afternoon, fueled by caffeine and a blank, empty mind I finished it. I really enjoyed it, although its been such a struggle for me to read. Vonnegut has this voice, which now after reading this latest novel, has become a lot clearer in my mind. He is has a strong and somewhat daunting satirical humor about the human race - its quite bleak.
He has many characters and ideas, that resonate and reappear through most of what I have read of his fiction. In short, all of which seem to be about humankind's ignorance, which results in our downfall. Although in Galapagos I think there is at least some optimism shrouded in his dark portrail of humanity. The cost of this however, is almost losing what makes us 'human' in the first place, or distinguishes us from other living creatures. I'm not even sure if I agree with what I have just written?
What I do know right now, is that I've definitely read too much Vonnegut as of late, and I'm going to have to mix it up a little. I do love to read Vonnegut, but his style and his words tend to leave me exhausted and confused after consecutive reads.
I also had a copy of Kurt Vonnegut's 'Galapagos' which I have been nursing for quite a while now - slowly making my way through it. But this afternoon, fueled by caffeine and a blank, empty mind I finished it. I really enjoyed it, although its been such a struggle for me to read. Vonnegut has this voice, which now after reading this latest novel, has become a lot clearer in my mind. He is has a strong and somewhat daunting satirical humor about the human race - its quite bleak.
He has many characters and ideas, that resonate and reappear through most of what I have read of his fiction. In short, all of which seem to be about humankind's ignorance, which results in our downfall. Although in Galapagos I think there is at least some optimism shrouded in his dark portrail of humanity. The cost of this however, is almost losing what makes us 'human' in the first place, or distinguishes us from other living creatures. I'm not even sure if I agree with what I have just written?
What I do know right now, is that I've definitely read too much Vonnegut as of late, and I'm going to have to mix it up a little. I do love to read Vonnegut, but his style and his words tend to leave me exhausted and confused after consecutive reads.
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