Friday, March 29, 2013

Look At This


We're on Spring Break! Woo hoo! I have a few last tasks to complete today and then I can set aside the job for a couple of weeks.

I won't be entirely free of work, because I have another project hanging over my head. Remember last year when I spent some time developing content for a journalism-related web site at the behest of my former boss? Well, that web site now needs editing. My former boss and I have discussed this several times since December, but I haven't done a lick of work on it yet. So I really need to buckle down and apply myself.

There's always something, you know?

Yesterday's adventure with Doggy Day Care worked out well for both Olga and me. I dropped her off about 8:30 in the morning -- apparently a bit too early by their standards, but oh well -- and I picked her up at 4:30 in the afternoon. In the interim she got to hang out with the other dogs and go on a couple of long walks. Reportedly she socialized well.

I, meanwhile, got the heck out of here and went down to south London for a long photo walk from Elephant & Castle through Camberwell to Brixton. This was a new route for me and though I didn't get any shots that completely knocked my socks off, I got several that I really like, which you will no doubt see in coming days.

I had a slight confrontation with a whacked-out guy in Camberwell when I was taking a photo and he wandered in front of my lens. He accused me of taking his picture, and though it's true I do take pictures of people all the time, I (fortunately) had not taken his. He demanded to see, and I showed him my most recent images, but he remained unconvinced and said I was hiding it. "You're wrong, mate. You're wrong!" he said, and then wandered off. Like I said, whacked out. I'm pretty sure chemicals were involved.

I'm slightly less than midway through my 800-page biography of Richard Brautigan. (This book weighs 3.75 pounds. Yes, I weighed it.) We're already up to 1969, and I'm wondering where it can possibly go from here, considering that he's done all his best writing already and he died in 1984. I guess the second half will be more about coping with literary fame (and a subsequent slump).

Dave and I rented "The Paperboy" last night, with Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman. Not terrible, but a little too sweaty and bodily-fluids-obsessed. I read the book years ago and the plot came back to me as we watched. It supposedly takes place in Florida, but I could tell right away (being a Florida native) that it wasn't really filmed there. And sure enough, it was filmed in Louisiana. One swamp does not look just like any other, people.

(Photos: Top, a garage under a rail line in Brixton. Middle and bottom, two little items I found on the sidewalk while walking Olga.)

6 comments:

Ms. Moon said...

Watching movies filmed in the south drives me crazy. They don't do southern accents right. They never do. Ever. Then yes, they say it's Florida but it's Louisiana. Or something.
Glad the whacked out guy didn't whack you. Be careful out there in the mean streets of London.

Reya Mellicker said...

What a great post, all the way around.

Yes, there's always something.

So happy Olga had a good day with the other dogs and you caught a break.

You're RIGHT, mate, definitely chemicals were involved.

The Bug said...

I love that top picture & the editorial comment - I want to know what we're supposed to look at too!

Once in Washington DC Mike took a picture of me, and then this guy who'd been in the background demanded that we pay him because we'd gotten his picture too. Being naive tourists we gave him a couple of bucks to make him go away. He was annoyed that we were so cheap, but Mike convinced him we didn't have any more cash.

Linda Sue said...

Your Olga finds are awesome- Dexter finds the coolest stuff, also, I think that the walking the dog energy slows us down enough to see. Doggie day care sounds like a lot of fun for Olga and some measure of freedom for you. A great idea all around. People can become pretty weird about photos, especially the mentals- paranoid soul stealing sort. Be careful, be glad that you are not in the states where the mentally ill are each given fire arms to cast off evil.

Anonymous said...

You notice everything...I love it! And that's one interesting garage...but I really like the 'what?' following the 'look at this'...fun!

Elizabeth said...

I can't bear to watch Matthew McConaughey in anything. He makes my skin crawl! Otherwise, I could use a good movie recommendation -- last night I resorted to another lame romantic comedy (Sliding Doors) --