Better Living Through Introspection

If you really love me, you’ll buy this for me from Amazon. I’ve gone ahead and created the link for you. Just click the graphic. Go ahead, click it. You know you want to. Don’t make me beg. Okay, I’ll beg. Please, please, please buy this for me. I never ask for anything from you. It’s the least you could do. Come on. Just do it. Click it. Go ahead.

Thank you.

So last night, knocked out by some flu-like symptoms (it’s not still West Nile season, is it?), I’m channel-surfing and I happen upon one of those shows that just makes you feel smarter for watching. Newshour arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown was interviewing the world-famous portrait photographer Richard Avedon.

Avedon is one of those names that you may or may not recognize, but if you see his work you’ll immediately recognize his style in which black and white portraits (more often than not one of a culturally significant individual) are shown against a stark white background.

I won’t bore you with the details of how awed and amazed I was at listening to him speak, how he didn’t talk about the honesty of photography, but rather he spoke of how the camera lies — a photograph represents one facet of a person, not the person as a whole…Anyway, the man’s a genius with the camera. I’m inspired. Next thing on my list of things to do before I die: learn to take portraits.

If you’re interested in Avedon, here are some links to background info, but all the sites are way light on pics, unfortunately. If you live in New York, be sure to check out the Met link. Apparently an excellent exhibition of his is going on right now.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Special Exhibitions
Richard Avedon: Portraits

PBS.org
American Masters: Richard Avedon

Zone Zero Magazine
Richard Avedon’s In the American West

You’d think after running this thing back in 2000 (2001 was cancelled due to obvious security concerns…um, though I’m a bit miffed seeing as the Marines went ahead with their tribute to fallen arches) that I would have prepared at least a little bit better.

Unless of course you know me, in which case you knew all along I’d favor work over training, and end up winging the whole damn thing. I’m proud to report that despite my lack of training, I actually improved my time by ONE WHOLE MINUTE this year. Whoop-de-do!

Highlights: my running partners Krista and Laurie (yay team!), good old-fashioned Army know-how, the legions of cheering fans (not necessarily mine, and not necessarily legions).

Lowlights: chafing (though I’m thankful I’m not the guy with the bloody nipples…jeez, dude, a little band-aid action next time, eh?), the cold, losing the afore-mentioned partners after the finish line, and most low of all, the 14th Street Bridge (which, ladies and gentlemen, if you’ll refer to your maps, you’ll see we’ve renamed “Hell”).

“Our school district was quickly running out of money and the only place we could cut back was in the school lunch program. Thanks to Pets or Food, we’re able to offer hot, meaty lunches every day! The kids especially like the groundhog meat loaf. They jokingly call it mystery meat. If only they knew!”

Jane Jarvis
Lunch Lady
PS 193 New York, NY

[from Pets or Food]

Sushi-Ko, last Friday the 4th.
You: Burberry plaid skirt, sweater, pearls, glasses, absolute world-class knockout sitting at corner of sushi bar.
Me: Goofball at the end of the sushi bar so enthralled by your hotness I was reduced to a mute idiot. My dinner companion and I kept staring at you like the fools we are, coming up with highly complex plans on how we could introduce ourselves. By the time our adolescent brains figured out a simpler, less Goldberg-esque plan, you hopped in your beemer and drove off. Was the glance through the window while you were waiting for the valet hopeful or apprehensive?