Monday, May 30, 2005


Stick up

Alexander Malletovich: Diver


Soviet Facilities: AKA MIT

Alex turned 31 last Thursday and my gift to him was private dive lessons with the assistant MIT dive coach, Leonardo. As with many things physical, he's naturally inclined. He has a few lessons to go, all of which I hope to attend so I can shoot more photos. The pool is an interesting place to shoot because of the blah overhead lighting and the contrasting colors of the pool and equipment.

Walking the plank


Warning

The wheel


In we go

splishy

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Self-Inflicted Self-Portrait


Hi there stranger. Do I look as uncomfortable as I feel?

My photopals and I wanted more of a challenge so we established a weekly photography project, apart from what we are doing in class. This week's topic was a self-portrait and damn was it hard. After 40 shots this is about as good as it gets. Check out my cronies portraits , if you're so inclined.

First Year Recap

Alex is good with words and even better at telling stories. With that I invite you to visit his description of Year One in Bean Town.

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

The Artist Next Door to The Beav

We met our soon-to-be new neighbor, a veterinary intern at MSPCA’s Angell, on Saturday. After less than 5 minutes I was putty in his hands. Here’s why

He’s a vet (rationale: Vet=animals or at least cool animal stories).
He has 2 dogs
He’s really really neat. He set up his room in one day complete with shelving, curtains that match his bedspread ( bed skirt included—wow), perfectly organized bookshelves, a desk only the Beav would recognize, and slippers placed at his bedside. I know this because Sandeep escaped next door and I had to fish him out from under his bed.

When he asked what we ‘did’, I said I worked at MIT and was a photographer. He responded with “Cool, there seem to be a lot of artists in JP.”

Me, an artist? Whoa, Shiver me Timbers!

I’ve never fancied myself an artist but someone else did. With that short conversation I felt like I had something to write home about, something like “hey, I’m all grown up now and I’m an artist.”

Alex thought it strange that I was so taken aback. He said it would be as strange as him saying “I’m a computer scientist” and then being blown away because people considered him an engineer.

Grammar Terrets

Some strange and funny linguisitic challenges have cropped up. Namely, I’ve adopted a new, completely involuntary, and grammatically very incorrect way of speaking.

Examples:
Riding the T, looking at a poster of a woman I asked Alex: “Who is her?”
Explaining to Alex why I don’t want put my old computer on the curb for garbage pickup: “I don’t want them to find about me”

What I find so funny is that I was once an English and ESL teacher. No, I didn’t get fired, I got burnt, as in burnout.

I hope Me Talk Pretty One Day.

Monday, May 23, 2005


Flash Trial and the Model Who Puts Up With it

Music Mayhem

Friday, May 20, 2005

Wednesday, May 18, 2005


Mozart in Motion

A Picture of My Photography Experience To Date

The photography is going well. I'm busy shooting, refining my skills, and having a good time doing so. I've actually even grabbed a couple of jobs here and there. "Here" being MIT and "There" being the Chameleon Arts Ensemble, as well as assisting Lou Jones on 2 shoots.

I'd like to brag about the caliber of photographers who are teaching my classes. They happen to be some very well known and important people in the photography world.

To date I've had instruction from the following:

Cary Wolinsky National Geographic and Stock (He's responsible for the NG Poison and Brain editions)
Bob Caputo National Geographic Photojournalist and Author
Dave Henderson Interiors, Architecture, and Flowers, Boston Globe
John Barnier Alternative processes
Rick Friedman Newsweek, NY Times, People, Sports Illustrated
Lou Jones Travel, Sports (He's shot the Olympics for 20+ years) & Commercial

Monday, May 16, 2005

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Bright Idea



Two and a half weeks of Advanced Photoshop has meant very little camera-in-hand time. My love of Photoshop runs deep but it cannot replace my first love, the camera. My friend Marcie (the one who's kind enough to drive me home everynight after class) and I were complaining about this and with that very conversation, a weekly project was born. Marcie thought up the topic and the rest is history. The featured photographers are Lisa, Chad, Marcie, Stephanie, and yours truly.

Thursday, May 05, 2005

T Time Poem, by Me

Riding the T it seems to me
This mode of transportation
Is not what it should be.
Convenient it is,
Although rarely on time,
The orange line it works,
But is less than sublime.

First are the odors of people en mass--
At times I just gag and need a gas mask.
From pie holes and armpits in need of some soap,
To sweet stinky perfume, or maybe it's dope.

Next there are the habits, of humans not pigs,
Who smoke on the platform the nastiest of cigs.

Trash from Fleet Center, gum, chips and waste,
A variety of junk and certainly tastes.

The Metro, the daily, it litters the seat,
And if it not that it’s some students’ feet.

All this trash, not recycled but strewn
Could really use a big ol broom.

The people who dine and commute all at once
Eat their breakfast and dinner in front of us all
They balance and totter but never do fall.
People Obese from life on the go,
But they don’t seem worked up and go with the flow.

The bumping and blaring of the pods on their ears,
From hip-hop to what-not so loud I can hear,
Their eardrums are screaming and wishing for peace,
And so do mine right next in the seat.

Day-in and day-out the same route they take,
The drivers, god bless them for safety’s sake
So boring their jobs are, they must feel quite sad,
Which is why their announcements are often so bad.
From sing song to mumbles each stop is declared,
But what they are saying? No one seems to care.

The orange line is mine and ride it I do
It’s all that I’ve got so manage I do
Choice I have not, A commuter I am
But damn that damn T
However convenient
really bugs me

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Fruit of Flowers

I've been having some creative, maybe even strange, ideas lately. Below is a poem I wrote about one such idea. Too bad I'm not an engineer.

From Tangerine, Plum and Carrot
Edible color makes me wonder
How Fuchsia and Lilac would taste
If they moved from the planter to my plate

Slices weeping a puddle of hues
Imagine a salad of fuchsia so fresh
The juice is like pomegranate staining your dress

The Lilac, a garnish, both vibrant and softly pastel
Where this thing came from it’s hard to tell
But one thing is known, domestic it's not,
only these tastes could come from a place I am not
.

Man learns to tell 'pigs' from cops

A New Zealand man who called police officers 'pigs' has been ordered to spend a day at a pig farm.

The 22-year-old has also been ordered to write an essay about the difference between pigs and police officers.

More on that, here

Come a little closer

Monday, May 02, 2005

Confessions, Obsessions, and Sins

I love Post Secret and I think you will too. When reading the confessed sins, I think about all the people during the day I wanted to clobber and then imagine it's their sins, quirks, and obsessions I'm reading. It's human therapy and I wholeheartedly recommend it. www.postsecret.blogspot.com

Minds That Can't Master

I’d like to explore the definitions of two very important words, Engineer and Technology.

Engineer
n 1: a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems [syn: applied scientist, technologist]
2: the operator of a railway locomotive [syn: locomotive engineer, railroad engineer, engine driver]
v 1: design as an engineer; "He engineered the water supply project"
2: plan and direct (a complex undertaking); "he masterminded the robbery" [syn: mastermind, direct, organize, organise, orchestrate]

Technology
n 1: the practical application of science to commerce or industry [syn: engineering]
2: the discipline dealing with the art or science of applying scientific knowledge to practical problems; "he had trouble deciding which branch of engineering to study" [syn: engineering, engineering science, applied science]

A simple list of Technologies
  • Toilets
  • Copy machines

Technologies not requiring a PhD or Engineering degree to operate

  • Toilets
  • Copy Machines

Technologies that stump MIT Engineers and PhDs

  • Toilets (e.g. flushing)
  • Copy Machines (e.g. making copies and unjamming the jam they created)