Thriller Lexington 2007

Alrighty, undead!

We just had YEAR SIX of Thriller: Live in the Streets of Downtown Lexington, and it was probably the greatest yet. Over 100 zombies. 3 Michael Jacksons. And about 3000 people downtown to watch. Even an appearance by Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

It's hard to underscore what a great event this is, what a great community art event — but I want to try. Mecca Live Studio is the organization that conceived of this and makes it happen. Certainly, other organizations — notably WRFL-FM and LFCUG Parks and Rec — are to be mentioned, too.

But it's funny — this "dancing Thriller" concept has become oddly widespread and is done all over the place: in prison, even. For that matter, some enterprising, promotionally-minded people even opted this year to try for a Guinness Book world record by coordinating Thriller dancers around the world through a web site. And yes, Lexington dancers participated in this event, called Thrill the World.

But that felt odd to me, and here's why I feel the need to shout out to the Mecca peeps, especially Mel, TT, and Jeff. I feel an inner certainty saying this, but can't prove it: I think they did it first. If they didn't do it first, they did it nearly first. And I want to say "we" instead of "they," because the Mecca peeps are some of the most dedicated community artists that I ever expect to know; but still I want them to get credit. Ironically, even more than they want credit, I might venture.

So even if I can't prove it, I wanted to say it: Thanks to Mecca for such a cool thing. It's great fun that people are doing this all over the place. It's community art, pure and simple. There's no admission, no big commercial sponsorship, nothing but everyday people who want to learn a great dance and get out and put on a show watched by thousands. How cool is that?

Thank you, Mecca. For your humble and friendly greatness.

Video of this year's Thriller is starting to appear. There's already this one. And this one. And there are more video cameras and photographers downtown every year. So while you're waiting for more youtube and flickr posts, go see what a great thing we've got going on by looking at past years.

Previous videos: 2005, 2002 and 2006. Some of my pix from previous years 2006 and 2005.

I'm working on editing the new pix and will put them up soon.

PS: This also shouldn't go without saying: Thanks to Michael Jackson, John Landis, Vincent Price and all the fantastic dancers and production people that have amazingly cemented Thriller into our collective memory.

smalltown officing

Latest office
Originally uploaded by mrtoastey

Out on the road with Lucy today, in Mt. Sterling, Ky. This is a neat way to do business. She goes on sales calls, I find a hot spot. Failing all else (coffee shops, lawyers stoops) there's usually the public library. Mt. Sterling is a funny little dollhouse town. Meaning, it's full of fastidiously maintained early 20th century colonials. Otherwise, there seems to be an abundance of bars for such a little place. And the rest is antique stores and tanning places.* Also: it's the home of our dipshit governor who will be voted out of office with godspeed a week from today.

*'tanning places' remark was completely uncalled-for, possibly even false. As a peace offering, I would like to point out that their library has a surprisingly large collection of Gore Vidal novels.

Eulogy for Black Betty

betty
Originally uploaded by mrtoastey

We lost Betty today.

Betty was a wonderful, cantankerous, glaring long-haired cat that Lucy has had since years before we met and of whom I was very fond. She was first and foremost a hunter. I initially became enamored with Betty over her behavior at Lucy's place on 6th Street. Betty loved the outdoors; and while she did include cat food in her diet, she generally would only consent to come indoors for an interim snack. Dead of Winter or heat of Summer, Betty preferred to be outside at nearly all hours.

One of my favorite memories of Betty concerns the large glass door that opened onto Lucy's back yard; Betty would often sit there on the outside and stare inside. Early on in our relationship (with Lucy or Betty, take your pick), I would open the door, thinking she was wanting in. She would turn and bolt away. I gradually learned that Betty only wanted to observe us caged creatures. She vastly preferred the wilds.

I don't think I've ever lost an animal like we lost Betty. In the past, they've gotten hit, or ran away or some other form of, um, absentee death. We think Betty had a stroke or thrown clot. We came home to find her semi-crouched in the kitchen, occupying a single spot. This wasn't exactly unusual behavior for Betty— one of my favorite eccentricities about this soft black cat was her habit of staking out some random spot — and then occupying it vehemently, sometimes for days. Frequently, you would just have to walk around her, depending on the spot. One time, the spot was my pillow, but that was one of the few times that she was unseated by me. Repeatedly, I must add.

This evening was clearly different and we took her immediately to the animal hospital; after some compassionate consultation from the Vet, I sat with Betty and stroked her soft furry black head while she was put to sleep.

I've cried a lot tonight over Betty because I loved her. I loved her absolute disdain for the trappings of comfort and domesticity. While she lived with humans, she never particularly deigned to be much other than a prowler. I respected that. Betty would come in, but mostly she was going out. She liked to be OUT, and as a token of respect, we will bury her somewhere out. In The Wilds.

I didn't know we were going to lose Betty today. I keep thinking this. I don't know why. I don't think I could have changed it, I don't feel guilty, I just puzzle in the crevices and chasms of grief and how it works.

I didn't know this morning after a welcome few hours of sleep recovering from the Mountain Workshops.

I didn't know during an unusually cheerful visit to KET.

I didn't know during a delightful trip with Lucy to Winchester.

And I didn't know while we crashed the pool at the Marriott. I didn't know that such a wonderful day would end in tears. And it's okay, really— It'll be okay. I just didn't know. I 'm reminded that we cannot really predict or prepare for these things. I just want to be present when they happen. I think these are some of the most important times in Life.

Epilogue: Betty, I'm told, was properly called "Black Betty Bam-Ba-Lam," after an old blues song. To this day, I'm not sure that I know it. But I knew Betty. We understood each other, and while she was a remarkable crank, she was also a delight to me and I will miss her, as will Lucy and the rest of our household.

MOUNTAIN WORKSHOPS 2007 | DANVILLE, KY

MOUNTAIN WORKSHOPS 2007 is kicking my ass. But it's been a good ass-kicking. I trust that I'll be able to profit at least a little from the presence of several National Geographic shooters as well as a couple Pulitzer prize winners and a host of world-class newspaper photojournalists. But ouch! Critique hurts!

The support staff here is hard at work doing all manner of things, only some of which I understand, some of which have to do with extremely new Macs, and some of which have to do with the website. The full site isn't up yet; Last year's MW site was up until about a week ago, and now I see why— the site is a testament to the work that is currently being done and it is contantly evolving.

That having been said, click the link above and wait for a picture to load. After it does, hit "reload" and another will load. And that's what's going on here at Mountain Workshops 2007. Yay.

MOUNTAIN WORKSHOPS 2007

Getting that excited-but-can't-breathe feeling again as I prepare to embark upon my second hardcore photojournalism camp experience: It's the 2007 MOUNTAIN WORKSHOP!

I've very excited, possibly even concerned; I guess my fear is that this expedition isn't going to have the same warm-fuzzy feeling of the Maine Workshops.

But I'm hoping…

There was some kind of magic in Rockport that absolutely moved me to a level of focus and concentration that I rarely experience. And while, in my heart, I expect the same out of Mountain Workshop and hope that it's not modivated by merciless critiques. I didn't go to art school. I think if I had, I might handle critiques better. But wow, I'm sensitive. I hope I can get over that, regardless.

It's a great workshop, by all accounts. One of the odd things, though, for me is that it's in Danville this year, barely an hour away, which is pretty different from the pilgrimage I made to the Maine Workshops a couple of months ago. Still— people are coming from all over the country, including a few of my heroes from Maine.

Strangely, I also feel like I'm making up for a 25-year-old faux pas: When I was about 14, I got to go to Western Kentucky University's Yearbook and Newspaper camp for high school students. I went as a photographer and was coming from the perspective of being photo editor of both publications several years running at my school. What happened kind of still bothers me; basically, I was cocky as shit. And I was surprised and unnerved to find out that there were better—and younger and more experienced—photographers there than me. Easily. It rattled me and I ended up not paying the kind of attention that I could have and thus not learning too much. As odd as it might sound, I'd like to make up for that at Mountain Workshop. Why Mountain Workshop, you might wonder? Well, because it's put on by … Western Kentucky University.

Maybe I can lay this old demon to rest.

Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize for climate campaign - Times Online

Does it seem weird to anybody else that Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize
is getting so little press coverage here in the US? How disappointing. What an amazing achievement in these times.

TTtattoo

TT's Tattoo Excursion
Originally uploaded by mrtoastey

TT got a tattoo. Here's some pix..

oscarbark©

Oscar loves to bark. Barking is usually preceded by growling, indicating an imminent intention of barking. Generally, I discourage excessive barking. But sometimes it is encouraged.

This is one of those times. (click on the picture for authentic barking action)

Sufing game

Sufing game
Originally uploaded by mrtoastey

A weird and popular "surfing game" at lexington's oktoberfest

A few new pix from The Indigo performance

Rachel portrait
Originally uploaded by mrtoastey

I realized that I had neglected to post about a dozen pix of interest with my set from Mecca's show featuring The Indigo. Probably, I got sidetracked making classic cocktails for the girls. Anyway I've added about a dozen to The Indigo Set on my Flickr page.

Brooke

Brooke
Originally uploaded by mrtoastey

Lexington got a great treat in the form of a visit by The Indigo from San Francisco. Yay, Rachel, Mardi, and Zoe! The show was, of course, the handiwork of the ever-fabulous Mecca Live Studio, responsible for so many fun things here in Lexington. Thanks, Mecca!

Here are my photos.

"Before your time, kid…"

A little while ago, I was beleagering a younger friend about her supposed love of early Rush, which I noisily decried to be "too long ago" for her to know about. Or appreciate?

It's funny—the same accusation would totally rile me.

In fact it did once, a few years ago. I was at the State Fair, gaping over the bitchery and pomp heralded by the many horse shows. I think I was paying witness to a particularly fruity Saddlebred Horse Show, which featured a cavalcade of jaunty tunes played on a colossal organ, live, everybody! Anyway, I was fascinated and sought out the organ player, who was sequestered in a corner of the showring seats, alone at his organ. I kind of hung around and watched him do his gig. He was not a jaunty man—in fact, he ended up being more of a vituperative, bitter grump. I know this because at one point he started playing "Cherish," by The Association—a song that I knew but couldn't place at that moment. So I asked him about it and he spit back this bile: "Ah, it's before your time…" The guy was positively sour. And I there I was, trying to connect with him.

I wanted to say: "Oh, dude—you so don't know of that which you speak."

Because that's a funny thing about music fandom: Loving music is a timeless habit. I happen to be a big fan of The Association, despite having been barely born during their heydey; Similarly, some of my 22-year-old noise-rock friends probably know more about John Cage than some scholars; And it's possible—entirely possible—that my friend-in-question might love Rush's "Fly By Night" as much as somebody significantly older than her.

Anyway, I guess the reminder for me is: watch it with the "it's before your time" thing. When it comes to a love of music, it often a bad idea to judge a fan based on age.

Jill and Joe's Wedding!

The reception
Originally uploaded by mrtoastey

Massive big fun was had by past and former Kentuckians and their North Country hosts for Jill and Joe's nupts in sublime Minneapolis-St. Paul. What a great time, y'all!

The set of pix is here!

saturday morning thoughts

For the first time in recent memory, I don't feel overwhelmed waking up in the AM. I've spent months now feeling the need to jump out of bed and start running as fast as possible until the inevitable bedtime, when I would rest so that I could do it again. That is not healthy, I am quite aware. And in fact, this has been the busiest craziest summer ever, from a mostly work standpoint, but also just in general. And lots of that has been really cool and some not so much and plenty just kind of in the middle. Mostly my issue has been with volume of stuff.

And I'm really happy to momentarily report that it's cooling off. And that refers to volume of stuff (VOS) and even just plain tempurature. The thing I wanted to announce is really quite simple: I'm wearing my hoodie. It's Saturday morning, things are quiet, I hear the hissing of the sprinkler watering my tomotoes and I'm wearing my favorite hoodie.

Last night, through a wonderful "friend connection," I worked at photographer at this benign horse farm party where The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band played. Everybody was nice and reasonable, and cheerful, nobody got wasted or belligerent (including me – ha), I was nicely paid and I might get to do it again. This is calming.

Just came back from Minneapolis, from Jill's wedding (pictures coming) and that was a great trip in many ways. And? I'm glad to be home with not too much on the horizon. Except Mountain Workshop, which has me a little heebie-jeebie, I admit. But mostly in a really excited way. Besides that's a few weeks from now.

In the meantime, I'm hoping to sort through some pictures, keep the clients under control and help Lucy here and there with her new job.

hammer time

hammer time
Originally uploaded by brian arnett

Hammer Schlager: I have got some shit to say about this North Country oddity.

Jillabration

Jillabration
Originally uploaded by brian arnett

me and "the bride," puttin' the hurt on a reception.

oktoberfreaks

seerSUCKERS!
Originally uploaded by brian arnett

jill's wedding reception, near Minneapolis. Land of the 1-liter beer. Gawd. What fun!

Jill's wedding!

aisle
Originally uploaded by brian arnett

Just came back from Minneapolis and Jill's wedding. Lucy give it the thumb up! (me, too.)

Mother - Daughter Reunion

Two Simmons, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

My friend Merrill and one of the compelling portraits that she has around her place of her mom. I was secretly delighted to get this picture even though I was acting like I was not paying attention to such things while Merrill was standing there. ;-)

Maine Workshop Memories

Kate's Cottage, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

I've been meaning to post this set of some casual snapshots that I took around the campus of The Maine Media Workshops in Rockport, Maine. My time there was so precious. And so busy. When I got around to taking these pictures, one of my last days there, it felt … so weird to be taking snapshots. After spending the week shooting shooting shooting in the field. I felt funny walking around like a tourist taking these pix. But I wanted to share them.

Mingle Freely dot com!

I've owned the domain minglefreely.com for quite some time, but I only just now got around to plugging it in.

So! The good news is, my blog can now be reached from the web address minglefreely.com! Much easier to remember, right?

Joe Zawinul RIP

Just saw this morning that Zawinul died. And that requires a brief eulogy. Because Joe Zawinul and Weather Report grooved me through my early 30's, years that I remember fondly for the house parties on Kentucky Avenue often helmed by Lexington's great jazz-rock party band Lily Pons. So many of us had such a great time in the presence of our friends/incredible musicians. And there was no doubt that they took cues of inspiration from "Black Market-" era Weather Report.

Those were great times. In fact, just the other day, having dinner with some friends, I noticed a copy of Black Market on top of the stereo and couldn't resist putting it on. That music can still summon memories of some of my most carefree years. I never got to see Weather Report with Zawinul, which is a bit saddening, but not too much because I would have really liked to have seen them in the late 70's, well before I could have actually appreciated them.

A final thought: One of my favorite albums of all time, Brian Eno's "Another Green World," includes an austere instrumental interlude called Zawinul/Lava: Many musicians were inspired by Joe Zawinul. Many people delighted in his music.

RUSH! Riverbend 2007

Saturday night, saw an amazing show by the heros of my youth, Rush. The show tickledlme in every way and I am just so delighted that I didn't feel somehow too old to go see the patron saints of my teenage years. Here's my phone cam pictures

They're kinda psychedelic.

Chicken rotisseries

Chicken rotisseries, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

The rectangles. Seriously! The orangish rectangles are chicken rotisseries.. It's a joke apparently about how they no longer need big huge amps like in the old days; so Geddy had a row of institutional chicken rotisserie machines. Last tour, it was washer/drier units. My cam-phone pic pretty much sucks, but here's a better photo.

Rush!

Rush!, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

T-Mobile

Gourmet chili

Gourmet chili, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

I went in search of authentic cinci style chili. A random guy that I hollered at from my car tried to send me to Skyline but when I balked, suggested Dixie Chili in Newport. While I tried to got there, I instead accidentally wound up at this place down the street. Gourmet Chili 'n' More, I think it was called, on Monmouth Street in Newport. Perfect. Also, chili (mostly) fits my phase 1 SBD.

Awesome!

Awesome!, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

The absolutely nutz bldg by Daniel Libeskind in covington (in progress). Libeskind said ""This building, while modern in design, is based on shapes that reflect the history, traditions and landscape of Greater Cincinnati." Um, clearly? Regardless, the guy is incredible, is a former faculty member of the UK College of Architecture and we're very lucky to have one of his buildings here in Kentucky. There's more about the project here and here.

"Invisible Airwaves!"

OMG—

I'm 41 years old and I'm going to see Rush on Saturday. That should be depressing but I'm so excited. It's been more than 25 years since I sat in my best friend Tim Haney's basement and boggled over the mystery of Cygnus X-1, a song that ends "to be continued…" Whoa. Tim had filched older brother Jaye's copy of A Farewell to Kings and it was just one of the most intriguing things either of us had ever seen or heard. What would I have thought if I'd known that I'd be going to see Rush so many years later?

There's something about Rush that fires the furnace inside of teenage boys in a way that cannot be denied. I barreled through my teens listening to "Tom Sawyer" and "Red Barchetta" thinking that there was nothing in the world that I couldn't do if I really wanted to. The music of Rush assured me that I had an important place in the universe —that in fact, we all did should we chose to accept such a mantle. Does that sound breathlessly grandiose? Of course it does! That's what Rush is about somehow.

What really excites me is that I'm going to see Rush with some of my oldest friends and, while our friendships are somewhat disparate and we don't always spend a lot of time together these days, we still have Rush. And while we listen to all manner of music (I am an ultra-hip-on-the-newest thing college radio deejay, I must belabor), obscure, mainstream, in a variety of genres, we still have Rush.

So why is it then that Rush inspires a kind of timid or reluctant endorsement as we get older? There's almost "the Rush smirk," the sideways look you know you're gonna get if you bring up Rush among those who claim any degree of modern music fandom or scholarship. It's as if my briefcase (if I had one) fell open and was full of Tinker Toys or Legos.

And what's funny is that this attitude will frequently be adopted by people who quite possibly loved Rush when they were younger. Almost as if we're saying I'm so much more sophisticated now, but when I was a kid… sure! Maybe it has something to do with that delicious burning with which we once felt those Objectivism-inspired Neil Peart lyrics (who among Rush fans wouldn't have given anything to have dinner with our teenage intellectual god? if only to say "Neil, what should I do with my life?") coupled with the oft-repeated — and so inaccurate — labeling of Rush as a 'metal band.' Please. Nothing really against metal for the purposes of this point; it' s just so wrongheaded as to miss the entire point. Which is: There really isn't any other Rush. What's weird is that so few bands ever even come out into the light with their Rush inspiration. (The Smashing Pumpkins used to do "Limelight" in their encore, and Mixmaster Mike of the Beastie Boys does this great "Tom Sawyer" cut-up prior to Beasties shows). Recently, Chuck Klosterman, epic and hilarous rock writer that he is, wrote a fantastic essay on "The Spirit of Radio" for Esquire magazine.

So where am I going with this? Maybe it's this: Rush is just like Star Wars for me. That elemental. And just as I don't tend to watch Star Wars very often these days, neither do I tend to listen to Rush. But they both resonate to this day. They've both lost little of their sway over me and the way my brain works and really the values that I hold.

Recently, I've been reading, for the first time, The Lord of the Rings. I have always felt that not having read the Tolkien tome was an oversight by any supposedly well-read person. And one of the treats of this reading is seeing some of Rush's own influences. "Rivendell" is obvious, and even somewhat hamfisted, one must admit. But "The Trees" shines still, in both word and music.

The point really is what Rush introduced me to: Rush introduced me to literature. Rush introduced me to intellectualism. Rush songs aren't about girls, they're not about partying, they're not about drugs (okay, okay except A Passage to Bangkok), they're not about being depressed. They're about ideas and dreams, and the epic nature of the world around us. And for a band to inspire unshakeable starry-eyed optimism in teenage boys, well, there are worse things.

I learned so much from Rush, and I can't wait to see them for the 3rd and probably last time. I doubt that I'll need to see them again, honestly; this is kind of a "touching base" with my roots. It's less a testament to any continued adulation, than it is a celebration of who I am in my 40's. This person—this person who takes pride in a renaissance attitude, in a continuing zeal of discovery—owes plenty of that attitude to Rush.

And I don't expect them to be the same band that I loved (although I of course can't help but want them to be), but that's mostly because Rush taught me not to expect that. "Changes aren't permanent, but change is," was just one of the many little life lessons that peek through those overwrought lyrics. This from a band that has, unbelievably by any measure, had the same roster for over 30 years. Almost no other band can claim that. Name one band. By and large they've always been married guys who have shunned the spotlight outside of touring (okay, Alex did get arrested with his son awhile back). I remember hearing, many many years ago, when they played Rupp Arena that they were seen playing tennis at the Hyatt. I've always held the funniest mental image of boney gargoyle-like Geddy Lee in tennis whites with a headband on. (And thanks to the Internet, here it is)

Rush just carries on. They are the essence of what one might call progressive rock. They just keep progressing and kids keep graduating from the school of Rush. It's not like they ever sold out. It's not like they've ever had a bigger hit than "Tom Sawyer." But they have made million-selling record after record and have a die-hard audience of — guess who?— teenage boys full of fire, ambition, and what might be called intellectual angst, I'm guessing.

The funny thing about Rush, is that despite having "outgrown them," I've always trusted them. How does a band inspire trust? I'm not really sure. I have just always felt that Rush wanted me to be the very best person that I was brave enough to be. In Rush's music, the message was always Go! Do! Be! whether in my personal odysseys or even in relationships.

I'm still trying to do that, and I will always love Rush for their unflagging encouragement.

Last note on "The Starman," the longstanding emblem of Rush. Neil Peart says: "All it means is the abstract man against the masses. The red star symbolizes any collectivist mentality."

The Final Edit

blow drying, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

Here it is. This is what I shot over a thousand pictures to get down to. Seems crazy, right? It was an amazing experience. I came to understand how a good (in the care of my teacher, great) photo editor can look at dozens —even hundreds— of pictures … and see a story. Here's mine, edited and laid out by National Geographic Senior Projects Editor Bill Douthitt. What you see here is what was shown a the Big Friday Night show at the Maine Media Workshops, along with the work of the rest of our class, and also the rest of the week's participants. It was a really great time for me and I was very very smiley. Note: It wasn't all girls, actually; but the slightly-extended story, which I'm still working on really concerns the girls and how 4-H figures into their lives. Plus I love the phrase Beltie Girls (although "Beltie Kids" is okay, too). Click here to see The Final Edit.

Rock-A-Fire Hacker

Here's the apex of western civilization: Videos featuring the reprogramming of the Chuck E. Cheese Showbiz Pizza Rock-A-Fire Explosion animatronic band to perform a variety of … other inappropriate songs.

Maine sunset

Maine sunset, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

T-Mobile

The 40

heidi, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

I've posted a flickr gallery of The 40, the shots that I culled down from around a thousand, which were then culled further down to six with the guidance of National Geographic Senior Projects Editor Bill Douthitt. It was one of the most thrilling experiences that I've ever had sitting in a chair.

The gallery is here.

Belties

Belted Galloways are among the most curious and gentle bovines that I've ever experienced. Apparently, the bulls are regarded as even gentler still. From my first day at Aldermere, I found out how relaxing it was to be close to a pen full of "Belties," if not actually in the pen, as the 4H kids were on MWF.

On my first day, I got there just as the kids' work was winding down, and then it started raining. The Belties really aren't any more fond of rain than these girls and everybody was in the freshly-sawdusted pen. Notice the girl who's actually lying on top of a cow. This scene lasted nearly half an hour, as I recall. If the cows got close enough to be annoying, the girls would slap-slap-slap! them in the snout or just push them away.

I had a different experience, just as I became convinced of the total serenity of the situation. One of the Belties who'd been kind of eyeing me with a bit of defiance, suddenly took a couple of steps towards me and butted me in the side a couple of times. It was a little disconcerting, especially, since she kept her eye on me and kind of followed me as I stepped away. Then she head-butted me again. I kind of quietly made my way out of the pen and over to where the kids were doing some other work and had this exchange:

• me: "So, um, have you guys ever been head-butted by any of the cows?"
• 4H girl: "Oh, yeah, all the time." (with blasé)
• me: "Oh."
• me: "So, um, what does it mean?" (translation: "Am I being attacked?")
• 4H girl: "It means 'get out of my way.'"
• me: "Oh."
• Another 4H girl: "Sometimes they're sorta bossy."
• me: "I guess that explains about when I saw you slapping that one cow on the nose a bunch."
• 4H girl: "Yeah. It's the best way to get their attention."
  

That was my only questionable moment with the Belties all week long. I loved showing up in the morning and going around and smartly smacking them between the eyes repeatedly, sort of like you do to a cat's tail end. They are just sooo sweet.

One more Beltie story: I was spending some time in a new pasture they are clearing on the back of the farm. It's an amzing piece of land and basically rolls down a hill right to the ocean, with only a grove of trees in the middle. At the top of the hill is a Beltie pen and they have free reign of the in-progress pasture, which on this day was being de-boulderized by a backhoe/frontloader. You know, a big yellow piece of classic construction equipment. A real life Tonka Toy.

The cows stayed pretty much away from the backhoe while the farmhand was digging — I don't know if that was because of volume (the thin's pretty loud) or just because everybody should stay away from backhoes. But after he called it a day and left, I hung around and the funniest thing happened. The cows — about a dozen or so — were under their shelter, standing, lying, staring at me. After a long while—half hour or so—one of them sauntered towards the gate, and slowly they all followed. The lazed their way down the hill, stopping here and there to chomp some grass, before eventually making their way to … the backhoe. And they all congragated around it, and sniffed and licked it for at least 15 minutes before continuing down the hill. It was one of the brightest moments of my day, literally, because it had been cloudy and the sun had now come gloriously through. If you don't believe me, see for yourself. I love them Belties.

I keep thinking about sooo many things… right?

The other day, a fellow workshopper and I were talking about the amazing cross-section of people that are here, in terms of geography. Easily, folks from all over the US as well as places like Iceland, Burmuda and Europe. We were thinking about funny colloquialisms having both had experience with the oft-misunderstood NY'ism, the habit of saying "rightrightright!" or "yeahyeahyeah!" to indicate that you are "following" what a person is saying. But it's frequently misunderstood as an expression of "hurry up." It's (usually) not.

Anyway, I learned how the San Francisco version of "yeahyeahyeah…" is a lethargic-sounding "yeahhhhhhh…" with a slightly glazed-over moment of contemplation. They mean the same thing: "I understand what yr. saying and I'm following you."

Here, I've heard this funny colloquialism that I'm not sure is regional or generational. It's the use of the interrogative: "Right?" It comes after a momentary pause, at the end of a sentence and doesn't really beg an answer. It basically seems to be similar to the above.

Example dialog:
Dude A: "Dag, this party is off the hook!"
Dude B: "I know! ..........right?"

No further comments on the topic of party-off-the-hookness are required at this point and conversants may now move on to the next topic.

PS: This picture also did not make the final cut. It is, however, a shining example of my attempts to emulate the fill-flash style of my teacher, National Geographic stalwart Karen Kasmauski. The idea is to use a strobe as fill-in lighting in a somewhat dark spaces, while simultaneously preserving the "ambient light." Oh, and the ideal is that it not be apparent that a flash is being used at all. This is one of my better executions. Quite a great lesson.

Pal/cottage-mate Jenna

Pal/cottage-mate Jenna, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

jenna's lookin' all contemplative but really she's couch chillin. Also jenna's a swell photographer of tattooed love boys.

The class bldg

The class bldg, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

Or at least my class bldg

Kate's Cottage

Kate's Cottage, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

My home. Not on the web map for some reason. It's on the south end of "thw homestead."

Watching The Workshops go 'Bye

Photo_08, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

I've been sitting in the dining tent for hours. After a crazy night of post-workshop jubilation—it's always strange and exciting to go to parties where people don't really know each other that well—I dragged my somewhat-slightly-dazed ass out of bed at 8am and shambled to the tent in hopes of a greasy breakfast. This wasn't easy for other reasons, too, namely, it was pouring down rain for the first time all week and I was all done. That makes for a pretty convinding case for staying in bed, no?

But I didn't want to. I love this place and the people that are here with me, and I just want to drink it in some more. Today is a day of teary goodbye's for most, and I've just kind of camped out since breakfast, through lunch, talking, laughing, sharing photos, and really having my eyese well up with tears more often then I would admit.

Every conversation seems to yield new things. I've even made new friends among people who were on their way to the airport in moments. I can't wait to talk to Molly some more about Holga. I've talked endlessly to various people about the contagious exhuberance of Bob Sacha, who I'll be revisiting in a month at the Mountain Workshop, along with a few others from here. And I've delighted in the shared wonder of nearly every person here at The Workshops.

My class is over, and this week is pretty much closing down. I'm alone in the dining tent, and the industrious kitchen staff swabs the deck, the rain relents, the sun comes out on a glorious Maine day, and the staff falls back and prepares to do it all again for tomorrow's incoming students.

It's not a wrap for me yet, though I now kind of move into a different mode. I'm staying to cover the Union Fair and my "Beltie Girls" as they show their cows for ribbons. And delightfully, I've made arrangements to stay exactly where I am until Tuesday, my room in Kate's Cottage (the students here are scattered around in a variety of dorms and motels and houses; Kate's Cottage is kind of ideal in terms of being "right down the road" from the campus.) and I even get to keep my "eatin' priv'leges." So I'll be kind of a lurker, but will get to visit with a few of my fave peeps who are staying for yet another workshop.

It is so great here. I've got tears again.

Beltie Girl

Beltie Girl, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

One of my "Beltie Girls," 4H kids who take care of and show Belted Galloway cows at world-famous Aldermere Farm, in Rockport, Maine.

Documenting them was my photo project.

I made over 900 images, that were then culled by me to 80, Wednesday night into Thursday morning. I can barely explain what a strange and intense experience this was. From the 80, my pal Casey, our diligent TA, helped get me down to our instructor's mandate of 40 images.

The next thing that happened was one of the most amazing and hard-to-describe experiences of my life: sitting next to National Geographic Senior Graphics Editor Bill Douthitt (my teacher!) as he edited my photos down to … six. I was very, um, concerned about this. I don't know how to express how I felt. I felt nervous, I was kind of afraid that he'd say "Mick, there's really not quite enough to work with here. I want you to go shoot some more."

But Bill and his wife, Nikon Legend Karen Kasmauski (also my teacher) were among the strongest "the carrot not the stick" proponents I have ever met. I sat with Bill, and he consoled me by saying: "Just wait a minute, Mick. You're going to be amazed at what's about to happen."

So from 900 to 80 to 40 to 6. I'll put the show up soon.

Holy cow. It was presented last night at the Big Show (all the collected work of the Workshops this week) and there have been a stream of people complimenting me on them since then.

Which feels so great.

(By the way, this picture did NOT make the final cut!)

A glimpse

Well, I didin't really expect that I wouldn't write annything for nearly a full week, but … wow. It's true. I guess taking over a thousand photographs tends to hamper free time.
:-)

I don't feel like I can really explain what's happened here; I arrived at dinnertime last Sunday and came around the corner, a stranger, into the vicinity of the dining tent ((yes, I said dining tent) and the picnic benches (picnic benches! Am I going to have to repeat everything?) were full of high school kids. My first thought: OMG: I'm at camp. I'm the oldest person here") turned out that this pace is bustling with people of all ages. (there is also, a contingent of hs kids who are kind of segregated from those of us taking the workshops who range in age from 20-60, at least)

I've almost cried a few times, walking around these very dark rural main roads, past old shingled building after another, feeling the deep cold water that's just out of sightc. This place is sort of a collection of ramshackled yet memory-filled old houses mixed in with a couple of capital building projects (a dorm building) and a whole bunch of photography and film related notions, props, tools, and most of all— thoughts, ideas, stories and curiosities.

The Workshops are full of creative warm people. everybody smiles and I quickly learned that it's best just to go straight to outright friendly. I meet new people every day, have laughs with people every day, talk photography and philosophy and "life the universe and everything" every day. and there's beer to drink – good beer — every day! It appears in plastic cups next to plastic cups of box wine every night after the frayed rope is pulled aside and the dinner bell is rung, announcing the opening of the serve-yourself buffet line which as featured all manner of vegan and carnivore delights. The beer, though— that's been my first stop every night, somewhat serrepticiously filched w/o waiting in the long line. After that, I've been content to sit at a table, have a conversation with "somebody new" or in busier times, furiously plow through some of the hundreds of photos that I've taken of the belties and the kids who take care of them, in preparation for the Union Fair, which begins sunday. I'm staying extra long here so that I can finish out my project with images of the kids showing their cows.

Today was actually the last day of our class, and that makes me sad if I were to stop and think about it. I'd rather think about what I'm going to take next year, though. This place is … paradise. On the one hand, it's coastal Maine. It's pretty, rural, cool, foggy at night, it reains nearly every day for a bit, etc. I wouldn't want to live here, it's pretty rich and white, but as a place to … focus on something, or a place to take a step back from the harrying world, I doubt it can be beat.

And then there's the workshops. The Workshops. The Workshops! By that, I don't mean "the workshops" but rather the proper noun that is the casual reference to the Maine Media Workshops, which is just simply one of the greatest educational resources/concepts for photography and filmmaking in the world. Rather than me blabber on about its history, why don't you just check it out here?

I gotta go on to the next post. I know there's typos here. I don't care.

I'm back

Well, it's been a long time away from the blog, but I'm coming back now. I felt like I had to let things sit for awhile after losing Jamie. Now it's time to pick up telling tales, I reckon.

Today was supposed to be the day that I've been preparing for for literally months. That's to say, I was supposed to get on a plane today and go to coastal Maine to take part in an amazingly cool photography workshop that I registered for in November 2006.

I'll get back to that. First of all, USAirways can bite me.

They have beyond amazed me lately with their amazingly poor customer relations. I'm not going to dwell on this, but suffice it to say that at about 1pm today — 4 hours before I was due at the airport — I received an automated phone call telling me that my flight had been canceled, with no explanation, and the instruction that "should I want to reschedule my travel" to call their standard-issue 800 number. As if that wasn't bothersome enough, what followed was — I am not kidding — over 3 hours on the phone, literally an hour and a half on hold, two regular employees, three supervisors and an eventual begrudging agreement to fly me all over creation tomorrow, rather than today. Again, thanks US Airways, you sorry bastards.

But here's the bright side: I've spent actual months trying to "clear my plate" so that I can go be a photography student — in relative peace — and I've done quite well with that mission, though it has been harrowing and unbelievably frantic. But, as I sit here three hours after I was to catch my canceled flight, I can see that I really needed this one extra day to tie up a few remaining loose ends. So it all works out.

Next time I'm going to tell you about how I'm going to be studying assignment photography with a Nikon Legend and a venerable NGS senior editor, photographing and writing about kids and cows for the next 10 days on a celebrated Maine farm.

I'm sooo excited!

The Falls of the Ohio

The Falls of the Ohio, originally uploaded by mrtoastey.

On a clear and beautiful Tuesday morning, a group of us visited The Falls of the Ohio—one of Jamie's favorite places—to scatter some of his ashes. It was a very emotional time and I took special care to only document it in the most general of ways. I just wanted to share with those who love Jamie what it looked like there. The earth that we walked across is filled with remnants of creatures and adventures impossibly past. And to those magnificent epic tales, we added Jamie. I'm sure he would be happy about that.

More words and photos about Jamie are here.

sonambulance

Feeling kind of dreamy at 4am, though not from actual dreaming. I woke up with a toothache and got the opportunity to quietly walk the empty halls of the Galt House, thinking about how it's okay that Jamie's gone. Yesterday—Jamie's Day—comingled my life with the lives of so many other people who shared and delighted in him on this Earth. And it was hard to let him go, but it was very comforting and rich to walk into their worlds, beside them.

There was an underlying joy and a camraderie in his service, and in the simple hugs and shared faces, so many of them etched with sorrow—I felt like I got to look deep into the good souls of so many people who felt like I did; that we missed and loved Jamie, but that paradoxically, he was the one who had brought us together.

Walking the empty halls of this hotel, I found my way to a beautiful grand piano, with a throbbing lower register, thought of Jamie, thought of the sublime visitation playing of Rachel, and managed to pick out Brian Eno's "Another Green World," a timeless melody which has been ever-present in my ears ever since we … started saying goodbye. That pensive melody, to me, is one of complete and perfect reflection. It is the soundtrack of the mindful observer, it is the soundtrack of Jamie. It is not sad, though it strokes my sadness gently, comfortingly. Like you stroke a sleeping cat.

I'm still sad, as I've said before, because—selfishly—I miss Jamie. I can't believe he's gone. And I've bristled at those words maybe in the past because that don't seem to … really communicate anything. I've heard people say them before when there's been death in their lives. But I know them first hand now and I, too, find myself saying them: I can't believe he's gone. I'm grateful for Jamie's day, as full of tears as it was, it was also full of smiles, full of life and joy, and full of new and old friends. I'm grateful for the service and to the community process of mourning that made yesterday simultaneously so hard and so comforting.

We sleep in the mornings,
We dream of a ship that sails away,
A thousand miles away.

"The Spider and I"

Brian Eno

Miss you, Jamer.

Please go see pictures and stories.

Men an Tol Stones - Cornwall :: Photos of Cornwall

Going back to the Pilgrimages of Jamie, into the Cornwall countryside, to see sacred stones like Men an Tol

blown apart

"And she said losing love
Is like a window in your heart
Everybody sees you're blown apart
Everybody sees the wind blow"

—"Graceland" by Paul Simon

jamie and planet louisville — an outsider's perspective

I want to share a recollection that was shared with me by Mary Houlihan, something that we fondly recalled the other day—It's not so much a story as it is a state of mind, a snapshot in time.

Mary was dating Forrest, and at the time, Forrest and Jamie were frequent musical collaborators. This must have been around 1998. Jamie lived in Butchertown in the funny little shotgun place that one day just burned the fuck down. (Fortunately, nobody was home)

Anyway, because of music and friendship, we would all hang out together, mostly in Lexington, because mine and Forrest's house was "practice-space-central." for "the boys," as Mary sometimes called them — Jamie, Fo, RScotPayne..

Around this time, I became aware of Rachel's. Songs for Egon Schiele came to me by way of Forrest, who almost certainly got it from Jamie. It was and remains one of the most haunting and introspective pieces of music—of any genre—in my library.

Eventually, the opportunity — through Jamie, of course— presented itself to go to see Rachel's in the Ville. I'm not really sure where the show was. It was like a college auditorium. Going to the show was an eye-opening experience for both me and Mary; to see this Louisvlle scene, to see these musicians who had street cred for playing in some pretty loud bands on stage in a scholastic auditorium playing… cellos and violas. Opening the show was maybe the first "math-rock" sort of band I'd ever seen, Dianogah. For somebody used to seeing bar bands, it was like landing on another planet. Not just musically either—The audience was attentive and supportive, with Jason Noble, during some technical difficulty asking: "Anybody know any jokes?" and then proceeding to tell some terrible ones himself. The audience was also full of loving hecklers, people you just knew were friends of the musicians, saying things like "Why don't you play a little quieter?" to scattered cackling. Many of these were Jamie's "Louisvlle friends," I say as a Lexingtonian, and I saw for the first time that Jamie didn't just have other friends, but that he himself was known and moved in much wider circles. Heck, I had to acknowledge, Jamie was kind of famous, I felt like, and I was there with him. It was a good feeling.

Another time, maybe the same weekend, Jamie took Forrest, Mary and I to the legendary Sugar Doe Cafe, to see David Grubbs and and some major dude who had something to do with Tony Conrad, the minimalist giant (though I knew none of this particularly at the time). I stuck close to Jamie, a little uneasy awash in this sea of ideosyncratic arty strangers, many of whom greeted Jamie by name. And as we pushed our way back into the performance space in the back, I was in awe of what I saw, to this day: A room full of people, mostly younger than me, sitting quietly on the floor, in rapt attention, listening to David play some of the most atonal introspective "music," I'd ever heard.

It wasn't just the music. It was the whole scene. Why weren't these "rock kids" drunk? bored? talking amoungst themselves? I was in awe of it. Again, it was like another planet. The Planet Louisville. The Planet Jamie. And it opened a myriad of doors for me into musical worlds not yet explored. Jamie was always doing that for me.

The next day, we returned to the Sugar Doe for a fantastic brunch (unearthly music at night? amazing brunch the next day? what is this place?!) and Jamie seemed to know everybody. He was always greeted warmly and again, I was his friend. I felt special.

Mary and I recalled this story with great fondness the other day. We both had no idea what we were getting into, but in somewhat different ways: she was a self-described "bar-band girl," and I thought myself to be a a wise, well-informed alt-music snob. But Jamie had a way of showing me how little I knew. Without the least bit of hipper-than-thou, Jamie was just showing—and sharing—his interests, his curiosities… and leaving the conclusions to you.

I try to practice this in my life, too, but I never realized how much of that attitude I learned from Jamie.

(shared from The Jamer Way, a photo and recollection blog)

kapowspot

My friend Todd blogged a little bit about jamie, too.

Jamie, I miss you.

My good friend, beloved amigo, brainiac, humorist, and bon vivant Jamie Tittle passed away yesterday, Tuesday, June 19, 2007. At about 8:30pm, Jamie rocketed via Incomprehensible Quantum Dimensional Express to his next infinity-based adventure. He left inside a beautiful sunset from his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

I miss him so much already; but I know that he'll find ways to tell me more about myself and about this marvelous universe that we call home for however long our time here happens to be. Jamie's seemed short. He was 41, I think. It's easy to think that his tour wasn't long enough, but I try not to think that. The truth is, I like a world with Jamie in it. It's selfish, of course. I just miss him and I'm sad. Maybe you knew Jamie, if you met him for a minute you probably liked him. He was so very likeable. He was also a genius, but never tried to make you feel dumb.

Jamie was — and is and will always be — one of my favorite explorers, equally comfortable rubbing shoulders with computer wizards (and matching their wizardry) or lazily riding bikes in whichever direction suited.

Jamie, man, you will be so very missed. Thank you for all the things, places, sentiments, knowledge, and people that you shared with me.

Here are pictures of Jamie. It's a group photo pool and I would encourage anyone who as pictures to please share them. Looking at these pictures is a kind of solace that I didn't expect to be so powerful.

Also, so much love must go out to Jamie's parents, his brother Kirk, his sweetheart Merrill, all of whom help shepherd Jamie to this "connection flight" and helped the rest of us invaluably by maintaining his caringbridge site. Go there. Read the guestbook. Share yourself with the people that shared Jamie's fight with the many many people who cared. And speaking of fights— Jamie didn't lose. Jamie couldn't lose. The guy was so full of light and energy that there's no such thing as losing. And knowing Jamie—just knowing Jamie—that has been a victory in my life.

To learn more about Jamie, read these words and look at these pictures. And share your stories, please at both sites.