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There are very few news stories I remember from my childhood, and even fewer photographs from the news. This one by Stuart Franklin/Magnum Photos is hard to forget and is undoubtedly on of the greatest and most memorable photos of the 20th Century.

It was amazing watching the BBC News report yesterday when the secret police were blocking the cameras with umbrellas. It was like watching cheeky school children playing pranks on a news reporter. Look at how much fun the guy in the second picture looks like he’s having.

I’d never been to the powerHouse Arena in Dumbo before, so I was nicely surprised by the size of the space and the quality of their collection of photography books (I’ve added Vicki Goldberg “Light Matters” and Robert Hughes “Nothing if not Critical” to my reading list). I was there for Brantly Martin’s book launch along with a bunch of socialites and hipsters who wanted to hear some readings and grab a signed copy. Brantly is being touted as the “the love child of Charles Bukowski and Bret Easton Ellis.”

“In the United States of Amoeba, Amoebans have always been ready to judge who is an Amoeban and who isn’t. First generation have always been looked at as outsiders, immigrants, scum. Islanders, being the brains of Amoeba, take this even further. To them I will always be an immigrant. Not just an immigrant, a Mexican. Spic. Wetback. If the Natives had their way the GW, Williamsburg, and Brooklyn would be drawbridges. The Lincoln and Midtown blown up. They are forced to accept the notion of coexistence, but are always quick on the trigger of subtle reminding. I grew up here son or back in the day. Yeah, and forever shall you stay here. Son. Your island, your prison. Without your tired-ass references, what the hell have you got? Alcatraz east. And when a Native dares leave the Island don’t think they go five goddamn minutes without letting all comers know their derivation. If it isn’t back in the day it’s some uptown Native dropping private school names. To them I am forever a Mexican. Fucking bring it.” — Brantly Martin

This blog could probably just post things about how old I feel and it would continue on quite happily… I clearly remember this tragedy that happened 20 years ago today. It’s my first real memory of any news story that really showed a large amount of death close enough to home for me to pay attention. I thought of it again when the towers were hit, even though it was on a much smaller scale, but it still felt close. Most Americans I’ve talked to, don’t even know about it, so here is the BBC memorial story. It had one strange and eventual benefit for me and I’m sure lots of other kids that attended the games, which was the removal of the horribly scary fences that stood strong at the front of all of the stands, creating an impenetrable perimeter to the pitch. They were the main cause of all of the deaths, and they always made me think of a prison fence, blocking access and ultimately a good view of the pitch. Not being a big football/soccer fan, I was glad of anything that made the sport more enjoyable and accessible, and that let me attempt to feel as passionate as my Dad always did. See an image of the crush against a fence here. It was at the home ground of Sheffield Wednesday but was a game between between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, which was abandoned soon into the second half.

From just outside Ithaca

I went out to the Zoo today, which has been on my agenda for about 2 years now. It’s meant to be free on Wednesday’s which really translates into requesting/guilting you into a donation of at least $5. I took a bunch of photos but don’t know that it’s possible to get an original image from something like a zoo.

Thankfully I got the obligatory Lions doing it! The crowd around me were all pretty psyched by the whole affair. It was nearly as exciting as the kids who threw the bananas into the monkey pit, or pretending to throw things at the bears, or even yelling at a glass case that had some kind of lizard in it. It’s amazing how stupid people can get around caged animals.

I went back to my undergraduate college, SUNY Purchase, and the place had changed a lot!!! Thankfully Jo-Jo Wlash was still selling his “Italian Stallion” opposite campus.

I am completely sceptical that this movie could be even as close as good as the book, although I will reserve judgement til I’ve seen it. This trailer helps a little, making it look like a cross between “Juno,” “The Neverending Story” “The Blair Witch Project” and “The Bridge to Terabithia.”

I like this little snippet from wikipedia – “The original concept for the book featured horses instead of monsters. Sendak said he switched when he discovered that he could not draw horses.” I’m convinced that horse characters would have left the story flat and not sold over 19 millioon copies worldwide.

One of Amanda’s co-workers is going on vacation to Miami and needed a dog sitter. We love French Bulldogs, so it shouldn’t be any worry for us, although 3 crazy dogs will make life interesting (most things are interesting when you’re unemployed). Cesar was dropped off tonight, and being the photographer that I am, I had to snap some pics. I need to post a video so you can hear how crazy his breathing/snorting sounds. He’s already done the number 1 and 2 in the house!

…so we planted a Redwood Sequioa tree in our apartment. It may seem illogical, but you could just see it as a measuring device for when we need to own a house with a garden. The plant grows a foot a year, so that gives us plenty of time to get out of Brooklyn!

(shot with a Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro Lens – a relatively inexpensive but perfectly functional macro)

I’ve never been very good at word games. Crosswords and word puzzles have always been a problem for me, but I’ve watched my relatives scrabble away for years, so I must’ve picked up something. Grandma is in NY this month and at the ripe old age of 82 she’s making us all feel like linguistic morons. My family are the people to watch for technique in scrabble (even though they use an official scrabble dictionary to gain the upper hand)! If you don’t score over ‘300′ against them, you’re going to lose.

Mum’s birthday was yesterday, so I got a break from the shooting and editing to eat some awesome food at the Spice Market on 13th and 9th.