Well, it's about 6:45 a.m. as I write this, and already it's been a peculiar morning. Olga was wiggling and squirming and thumping her tail on the mattress, eager to get up, so I took her to the back door thinking she might need to go outside. Well, she did, but mainly to charge the fox(es) that she evidently heard in the garden. I opened the door and she flew to the back fence, barking all the way and thrashing around in the shrubbery.
While she was doing that, I looked up in the sky and saw a bright red light to the south, over Mrs. Kravitz's garden. I thought, "What on Earth is that?" It was obviously artificial and it wasn't moving, and it seemed too high in the air to be attached to the construction cranes down by the Thameslink station. I even made Dave come outside and look at it. (His response was basically a shrug.)
Within the next few minutes, as the sun began to rise, I could see that the light was indeed attached to a crane and we were not being invaded by hostile aliens. (That would have ruined my last day of winter break!) You can sort of see the crane behind the bare tree in the photo. I'm curious about where it is -- I'll have to check it out later today. If it's way down by the train tracks that is a huge crane.
Yesterday I barely moved off the couch. It rained pretty much all day, and even Olga showed no interest in going outside. I finished "The Hero and the Crown," read some magazines and began another Newbery, "The Tale of Despereaux," which is going to be a quick read.
In the evening I made a martini and Dave and I watched Todd Haynes' excellent documentary about The Velvet Underground on Apple TV. I have "the banana album," as it's known, but I didn't know much about their other work, or the band's history in general. I didn't encounter their music growing up because it wasn't played on the radio -- being all about drugs and deviance, Lou Reed's tortured soul and Nico's androgynous sibilance. Obviously that so-called deviance was a huge part of their appeal. To be honest I find many of their songs unlistenable, but I like the more popular, accessible ones like "Sunday Morning" and "I'll Be Your Mirror," and the movie was fascinating.
Addendum, 8:11 a.m. -- The crane now looks farther away than it appeared in the dark. Funny how perspective changes when you get more light on the situation, right?
What great comparison photos. The first is magical, beautifully shot. I was a huge Lou Reed fan, but never got into the Velvet Underground. Sounds like an interesting documentary.
ReplyDeleteThe more I learn about Lou Reed the more intriguing he becomes. I only learned in recent years that he was gay (or at least bisexual).
DeleteIt can be quite hard to track cranes in the sky ground location. I know. The warning light is rather dramatic.
ReplyDeleteI like martinis 😝 Just the one, mind. Ok, if you insist.
I've rarely been known to have two martinis, but I definitely feel it the next day!
DeleteLooks dramatic at night!...and you see just how big it is by day...that is some crane
ReplyDeleteWhat's funny is, it's been there for about two months. How have I never noticed it before now?!
DeleteI thought that "Androgynous Sibilance" was one of the Newbery prizewinners.
ReplyDeleteActually, it sounds like a band name in itself! "Nico's Androgynous Sibilance." It's every bit as good as "Sandy Duncan's Eye."
DeleteI'm still thinking aliens, using the cram as a landing site,
ReplyDeleteHey, I didn't say they were huge aliens!
Hmmmmm...I hadn't thought about that! I'll watch for strange critters in the garden. LOL
DeleteI have to admit that the entire Velvet Underground and related music and culture never entered my consciousness enough to even really ever think about. I might have loved them! Who knows?
ReplyDeleteYeah. That crane would have creeped me out for sure.
As a young person I was never attracted to that dark side of pop or rock music, but some people were very into it!
DeleteThe two pix are amazing, one so ominous, one so workaday. Thanks to Olga for alerting you.
ReplyDeleteDaylight changes everything!
DeleteAmazing how bright that light is in the dark. I was aware of the Velvet Underground but I don't think I ever listened to their music. Though now that I think about it, we might have one of their albums or did at some point.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I find them very hit or miss. Some of their songs are great and some are pretty harsh.
DeleteThat red light would have made me run for the camera too. It really is so different in the sunlight.
ReplyDeleteI never listened to Lou Reed, and I'm not sure why. I remember his name, but not his music.
I bet you've heard some of his songs and just didn't realize who they were. You've surely heard "Walk on the Wild Side."
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG6fayQBm9w
With that crane being so tall, a warning light is required to alert low-flying aircraft it is there.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I understand WHY the light is there, I just didn't realize it would be so apparent from our garden! That crane is several blocks away from us but it seems really close at night.
DeleteOutstanding Post Brother Reed - Outstanding
ReplyDeleteCheers
Well thank you brother Reed!
DeleteSometimes our perception is fooled.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how different it looked at night.
DeleteThat first crane shot was spooky! That would have scared me a bit.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I knew those songs by the Velvet Underground. I think the only Lou Reed song I remember is "Walk on the Wild Side" and I had to use Google to help me remember that!?!
That's the only Lou Reed song that ever routinely made the radio, as far as I know, and that was actually Lou solo without the rest of the band. The radio version of "Walk on the Wild Side" was also edited to remove some of the more graphic lyrics.
DeleteI think that light on the crane is unusually bright. I've been able to see the lights from a crane out my bedroom window for the past six months and it's only one block away and they don't seem anywhere near as bright.
ReplyDeleteIt was VERY bright. It freaked me out.
DeleteI agree, that is a big crane. I agree though, it made a very interesting night photo. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteAt night it seemed like it was practically hanging right over the house!
Delete"let's smoke camel cigarettes, drink black coffee and listen to Lou Reed"...I loved listening to the Velvet Underground thinking that It was probably as close to heroin as I would ever get. Dark, seamy, in contrast to my squeaky clean , very square existence. Unpolished, un washed voices, dissident.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the light shot and the after shot of same. Perception is tricky. Wonderful!
Yeah, it's a way to experience danger -- a "walk on the wild side" -- without actually putting yourself in any danger. LOL
DeleteHi Steve, Happy new year to you all!
ReplyDeleteHaha that does look like the beginning of an Alien invasion. I love the Velvet Underground. They are one of Andy's favourite bands so I have listened to their music for a long time. We don't have Apple TV or I would look out for that documentary.
Oh, definitely look for it! It might be available through Amazon or even Netflix.
DeleteThat crane! It would freak me out too until I figured out what it was. Dave and you watch some fascinating things. I need to find some good documentaries/programs to watch. Once my family leaves I'll have too much time on my hands whereas now I have too little.
ReplyDeleteWe've had pretty good luck with Netflix when it comes to documentaries, although this one was on Apple TV.
DeleteI always imagine a day of reading would be heaven but I also know I get restless after about an hour. It's funny how the light changes perspective so much.
ReplyDeleteIt IS great to be able to sit down and focus for an extended period of time, but yeah, my brain keeps coming up with other things to do!
DeleteI’ve heard of the name but can’t say I could name any of their songs. But I can say that about many groups whose songs I could probably sing the lyrics too. My brain just isn’t wired to associate songs to group names.
ReplyDeleteWell, as I said, they rarely if ever made it onto the radio, so even their more popular songs are not widely known.
DeleteYour final statement is actually quite profound!
ReplyDeleteThe second photo unfortunately takes the magic out of the first one for me. I kinda liked the thought of aliens, but preferably not hostile ones.
It did look so otherworldly when I first saw that light! In daylight I wondered why it confused me so. It seems so obvious.
DeleteSteve that light would have freaked me out lol. Why am I seeing 2 red lights? A big one and a small one? Maybe it is just my eyesight, and it is not really there lol. Have a wonderful evening!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe small one is actually just an artifact from my lens. There was only one light.
DeleteTell me, how do YOU make a martini ?
ReplyDeleteI pour gin into a martini shaker, add ice, and stir (don't shake!) for about a minute. Meanwhile I swirl about a thimbleful of dry vermouth around in a martini glass, and dump it out. I add the chilled gin to the Vermouth-coated glass, plunk in four or five green olives, and that's it.
DeleteThat red light in the night sky looks like an alien spacecraft for sure.
ReplyDelete