Photo Challenge: State of Mind, Where have all the flowers gone?
Flowers entangled in barbed wire do not mean much . . . unless you’re standing on Omaha Beach, below the American Cemetery in Normandy, France.
Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category
Photo Challenge: Life Imitates Art
As a photographer, this is one of my favorite ways to capture a moment in art. I’ll take a selfie by reflecting in a minor in a museum and voilà, I’m part of a famous exhibit. Or I’ll put myself or a friend in a painting or sculpture. Sure, this is just bit of whimsy, but when I try these experiments, they always make me laugh.
Recently, I visited Rockefeller Center and, having some extra time, looked around the stores in the Rockefeller building. Murals hung on the wall, including this one of NBC television celebrities. I posed in front of the mural. I then put a sepia overlay onto the photograph.
I take the initiative to add a third-party to Charles Wilson Peale’s Staircase Group painting.
In this train station mural in Philadelphia, one might wonder who are the real people.
Life imitating art or art imitating life? The fellow at the crate dolly is wearing a red shirt and blue pants like the fellow in the mural. What are the chances?
Finding an excuse to take a selfie in the reflection of a Christmas ball.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Life Imitates Art
Photo Challenge: Vibrant (Red)
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner so perhaps that is the reason I was thinking in hearts, flowers and vibrant red. Be my Valentine! 
Weekly Photo Challenge: Vibrant
Photo Challenge: Inspiring Optimism by the Seaside
“hark, now hear the sailors cry,
smell the sea, and feel the sky
let your soul & spirit fly, into the mystic…”
St. Malo, France
Weekly Photo Challenge: Optimism
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Photo Challenge: Weight(less) . . . Defying Gravity and Convention
The photo challenge for this week is to share a photograph that either shows weight or the air of weightlessness. This memory came to mind: a time when I was walking through the plazas of Madrid. Street theater is entertainment at its best: varied, unexpected, usually humorous and contributions are voluntary–defying the boundaries of standard entertainment venues. Street theater is democratic, as actors can decide, independent of usual restraints, to perform whatever they like. Since no tickets are required, the audience receives the benefit of a free show. Defying both gravity and convention–fascinating.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Weightless
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Photo Challenge: Circle
The photo challenge for this week invites photographers to consider what a circle represents. What came to mind was this snow shovel invention, which makes use of a wheel to create a fulcrum to lift snow.
Last year the total snowfall amounted to over 58.4 inches in our area, all of which had to be removed from the drive and walkway. Because the drive is shaded, the snow freezes making a nice, slick patch of ice to negotiate.
Then I saw our neighbor across the street using a crazy-looking device for removing snow: a huge wheel attached to a shovel. I watched as our neighbor cleared his entire driveway without having to bend over to lift the snow. He gave us the information on the device, and I lost no time checking the Internet on the invention: the Snow Wovel. Time Magazine claimed it as the best invention for 2006, so it’s been around for a few years. According to their website the Snow Wovel is
recognized by Co-op America and National Green Pages™ for its positive, pollution-free environmental standards and zero carbon footprint in usage. University of Massachusetts independent study confirms the wheeled snow shovel clears snow with a fraction of the effort and safer on the back: “comparable to simply walking.”
Wheel technology continues, as I ponder when the first human conceptualized this circular device about 3,500 BC, making life easier for us all.
Late Show with Stephen Colbert and other New York City Adventures
Get the Tickets!
Two weekends before Christmas I took the Bolt Bus to New York City to visit with my sister, Jean. Her husband was diligently signed up to attend a three-day cardiology conference, doing good for the world by keeping updated on latest in advances in heart care, whereas I was on a holiday spree and lucky to have a place to stay.
My New York City wish list included attending the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The Colbert Report, Stephen’s satirical take on political pundits, was one of my favorite late-night shows on Comedy Central, so when Stephen migrated over to David Letterman’s slot on the weekday slot for late night entertainment, I followed him. I was not disappointed. Stephen has a cleaver wit, producing humorous skits with his guests, and he can also sing and dance. I hadn’t attended a taping of a television show since grade school, so this would be an opportunity to update my experience.
I began looking for tickets in October, but the December calendar for ticket release was not yet up. Every morning I went to the Late Show site, checking to see if the tickets had been released. As soon as the tickets became available, I signed up online. Those tickets did not guarantee entrance, however, as the show over books to guarantee that all seats are filled. We would have to build in time to stand in line to secure a seat.
Jean and I waited in line for a couple of hours, taking turns stepping into the nearby shops.
So happened that we were standing right next to a restaurant where a poster of holiday shakes, Sweets for the Season, occupied a space on their window. The sign stated, “Back for a limited time!” Oh, no, if we didn’t buy one now, we’d never get one! The question was: which one to pick? After some debate, we decided on the Peppermint Chocolate Chip, oh yeah!
Finally, at 3pm, the Late Show staff distributed entrance tickets to folks lined up on the sidewalk.
Soup Kitchen
We had some time before we had to return to the theater, so we headed out to the restaurant made famous by the “Soup Nazi” episode of Seinfeld when Jerry and George placed their order at the soup stand, which supposedly offered the most delicious soup in the city. Well, George makes an issue of not getting bread, whereby the cook shouts, “No soup for you!”
Luckily, we got our soup without incident. For $10, the cook handed us a little bag with a cup of one of the best-tasting soups I’ve ever had, a piece of bread (unlike George), a chocolate candy and an orange. We walked over to Central Park, a few blocks away, and ate in the vendor tent area. I wished we had more time to wander among the little shops, but we had to get back to our room and then over to the Sullivan Theater to wait in line again to get into the show.
Live Taping
By 4:30, the Late Show staff had us lined up inside the lobby of the theater. A sign at the entrance proclaimed that the Late Show had all rights to our image “for all perpetuity and throughout the universe.” Was that warning written by a lawyer or their comedy writers? In any case, they had themselves covered, for sure!
The ushers showed us to our seats, in the second row from the stage! . . . one of the advantages to standing longer and earlier in line. We watched the hubbub of activity on stage, five cameras moving about and stagehands assisting with setup. Jon Batiste and his band, Stay Human, played several numbers, musicians coming into the audience to perform. Paul, the warmup comedian, came out to get the audience psyched; we even rehearsed the shout-out, “Steph-En, Steph-En . . . ” The show does not use audience laugh/applause signs, which I remembered from my last encounter with a tv production. Instead, the stage manage waved a cone of paper to rev up the crowd and that worked well. In a sense, we became part of the show as the directors depend heavily on audience reactions rather than laugh tracts.
Stephen’s History Lesson: Meeting Button Gwinnett
Stephen’s first guest was Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer, lyricist, rapper and actor, best known for creating and starring in the Broadway musical, Hamilton. Lin-Manuel and Stephen performed a short skit using rap to spoof Hamilton but referencing another founding father, but almost unknown, Button Gwinnett from Georgia. Lin-Manuel played John Adams in the sketch. What really surprised me was that someone, let alone a founding father, was named Button! The audience was primed to reply to Cobert’s question, “What’s my name?” The crowd shouts back, “Button Gwinnett”! The camera pans the audience, and there we are! Jean and I (turquoise scarf shows up very well) at 2:41 into the tape for our 10 seconds of TV fame!
Isaac “Ike” Barinholtz, actor, and comedian, best known as a cast member on MADtv, from 2002–2007, and for his roles on The Mindy Project, The League, and Eastbound & Down, was the second guest. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, a funk/soul band performed several numbers at the end of the program.
The show was energetic, fast-paced, and entertaining. Doesn’t hurt, of course, that Stephen and I would agree on many political issues. I enjoy his constant skewering of Donald Trump. I would return to watch the Late Show again or perhaps the Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.
Another Taping: with James at Times Square
That evening we were off to Times Square to find my nephew, James, who was working camera equipment, during a taping of “King of Thrones,” a mock book signing. We found James, and he was able to take a few minutes to visit and show us around. Throngs of people gathered around the set, some wearing costumes from the television show, Game of Thrones. How exciting to have a connection to all the action taking place on the Square.
On the walk back to our hotel we shouldered our way through the crowds at Rockefeller Center. The tree in center stage displayed thousands of colored lights, and golden flags sparkled as they waved in the night breeze.
Skating at Rockefeller Center and Other Adventures
The next morning we were up early to get, yet again, in another line, this time to go ice skating at the Rink at Rockefeller Center. Part of what I love about ice skating is twirling around in a beautiful location. The Rockefeller Rink was decked out in beautiful holiday decorations and lights.
Luckily the lines to get into the rink moved fast; seems that most folks just want to do a couple loops around the rink and that’s enough.
We had some extra time to look around the stores in the Rockefeller Building. Murals hung on the wall, including this one of NBC television celebrities . . . except the talented lady who never made it into tv, except on the Late Night Show. Photoshopping is so much fun.
Just this past October, our high school class held their reunion, and I was able to connect with my friends from Springfield. My best friend, Dorothy, and her husband, Aron, live in Manhattan, so this was another chance to catch up with them. We stopped for lunch at the Great American Health Bar at 35 W 57th Street. The food was excellent, especially the split pea soup served with fresh bread. I would stop in again.
On our way to get tickets at the Red Box for the Illusionists, we did some window shopping. Saks Fifth Avenue decorated its elegant storefront windows in blue and white this year, and garlands and lights surrounded each display. St. Patrick’s is reflected in the background in the photograph.
Shoppers swarmed along the sidewalks as the unseasonably warm weather, reaching 70 degrees, encouraged people to be out and about.
Views from Williamsburg
Our last destination for the weekend was Williamsburg, a neighborhood in the borough of Brooklyn, as James had recently moved to an apartment near the East River. The rooftop of James’ apartment building offered expansive views of the Williamsburg Bridge and the city. We walked to East River State Park, another great place to view the New York skyline.
So ended our fantastic three days in New York. I boarded the Bolt Bus for the trip to back to Philly with many wonderful memories of our weekend trip.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Gathering
Invasion of Starbucks by gathering of activists supporting workers by advocating wage increase to $15.
Starbucks demonstration.
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“Oops!”, Photo Challenge: Clean Out in HR Office Reveals Strategies
Human resources cleaned out their office and left free books for the taking, inadvertently revealing their game plans for dealing with employees.
Nighttime Inferno at the Phoenixville Firebird Festival
Discovering Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
Phoenixville, a borough of 17,000, located about 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia, sits along the Schuylkill River, between the French and Pickering Creeks. In the early twentieth century, the city supported a bustling manufacturing complex, including steel and iron works. The town assumed the name of their major employer, the Phoenix Iron Works. According to the Firebird Festival Website:
In 1813, Lewis Wernwag, the owner of the first iron company, was looking at his furnaces one evening from a nearby hillside and saw a Phoenix in the flames. This vision inspired him to rename his company Phoenix Works. When the community that grew up around the iron works became incorporated in 1849 the name Phoenixville was a natural choice for the new borough.
From this story, arises the Firebird Festival, which has become an annual tradition. The original firebird myth dates back to the Egyptian and Greek cultures. Greek legend recounts the story of the Phoenix: a magnificent bird, which lived for a thousand years, built a pyre, only to be consumed by its flames but then reborn from the ashes. That’s a dramatic story, for sure, and I have to give the citizens of Phoenixville credit for reenacting the myth. The effort brings community members together to build the structure, plan the parades and manage the logistics of such an endeavor.
Not unlike the myth, Phoenixville had to resurrect and remake itself when all the mills closed. Economic stagnation pulled the town down into a decline. In recent years, however, the city has undergone a rebirth with new shops, restaurants and clubs lining the main street. The Old Foundry Building, 120 years old, now houses the Schuylkill River Heritage Center, and the Phoenix Village Art Center occupies a storefront on Bridge Street.
Phoenixville embraces their mythological heritage. Colorful murals of the Phoenix greet visitors driving through Bridge Street.
Behind the interpretive center, the Schuylkill River Trail winds along the bank of the river. The trail begins in Philadelphia and ends in Pottsville. The path leads under Bridge Street, the arching curves framing the surrounding landscape.
I walked back into town and stopped in several of the shops. Along the way, the Kingsessing Morris Men performed a unique stick dance under the marquee of the Colonial Theatre, once a vaudeville house built back in 1903. The K-Mens’ costumes included a top hat with spiky feathers and shaggy bits of colored cloth draped down the front of their coats. The energetic dance, with accordion accompaniment, looked like so much fun to perform with their skip, hop and hit!
Firebird Festival
From the parking lot, I boarded a toasty warm school bus for transportation to Friendship Field. White tents surrounded the giant bird and offered gourmet food, local crafts and music. Fire eaters amazed the crowd with their breath acting as torches, shooting flames six feet into the air. Performers looped hoops, staffs and fans around their bodies, flames spinning out from all directions. The parade entered into the center ring led by torch bearers, drummers and dancers as giant bird puppets waved their wings over the crowd.
Finally came the moment went the torch lighted the inside of the Firebird, making “a fire in the belly” transform from metaphor to reality. The crowd cheered as the bird ignited and flames spread, while cascading orange sparks flew into the night sky–truly a spectacular recreation of the legendary Phoenix consumed by fire. Next year the community will resurrect the wooden bird once again, completing the myth cycle.
For another very dramatic effect: mute the sound on the video, then slide the audio clip below to 111 to start, begin video and audio together. Stravinky’s Finale to the Firebird Suite will play to the end as you watch the video!
Special thanks and appreciation–to friends, Joe and Dan, for their participation, and to all those on the Firebird committees–for making this event possible!
Psalmboxkey's Blog 
Written
on 01/08/2016