Things From Today, 7/12

Has any photographer out there ever noticed that life generally looks better through a camera lens? A half crumbled statue of Madonna on a background composed of smog and city utilities sounds tragic, but looks beautiful on 35 mm film. With a camera, I can blur out the ugliness (or, rather, everything else), the excess of life (or its details) and focus on only the important (or, on the other hand, the unimportant parts), focus on only the most beautiful (or the most hideous) of this world. With one tap of my finger I can remember a moment from a whole vacation, and that's all that would matter. Photography is like a bias spark notes towards life. One could take pictures and thus remember only the good parts- this is what I call "life documentary photography". You know, you bring a camera with you everywhere and take hundreds of pictures of your friends, that you later don't even bother looking at before you upload them to facebook. Then there's artistic photography. The kind of person that would carry around a big bulky camera with them, for one picture that would take them twenty minutes to properly set up. Artistic photography captures the good, the bad- the beautiful and the wrong, the love and its upset, everything. Both are good in their own way obviously- but I am a strong follower of the artistic photographer. One would say that photography is all technique you can learn, it's not a talent but rather an aquired skill. Sure, that's correct. Anyone can take a good picture. But how many people can find a good picture? How many people have the vision to find that one great shot- who sees life automatically through a camera lens, rather than through eyes, looking through a camera lens? This is what makes an artist. Someone who can see life, but take it differently. Wether they paint pain or write wonders, if they use charcoal for change or clay for calamity or photography for pleasure, an artist can take this world apart from the way everyone else sees it and make a new world. It pisses me off when all these kids take shitty photos, make them black and white, and call it photography. No, you took a fucking picture. You took a picture of a leaf lying on the ground. It was an ordinary leaf. It had nothing special about, not even color (but we got rid of that with the photoshopping, anyway). No one can say what art is or isn't. Maybe through that leaf, they were channeling their innocence and the metaphorical fall of it in the wind. Or maybe they just have no clue what they're doing. Take a fucking class.


In other news, i recently downloaded a shitload of music.
also in other news, i wish i uploaded that music to an iphone.
That thing is so cool! I watched the video about it on Apple.com- got to admit, that is truly a visionary company. Unfortunately, the iPhone is only on At&n, and it only has a 24 hour battery life, and only like five hours of talk time. Which is ridiculous. But, on the other hand, the breakthrough tech. inside is really something. Monkey ball on your cellphone? Hell yes!


Also in other new, i spent most of friday skating around Manhattan. I started around Grand Central, right after getting lost, confused, and manhandled into buying something on korea way. Skating down the west side highway bike path (which is really VERY nice), i almost got hit by a toddler in a wheelchair. And a truck. I ended up in Greenwich Village, and got a little lost on the cobblestone side streets, but soon found myself in a beautiful guitar store, drooling over a beautiful '65 Les Paul. That thing could p'wn my V-card and i wouldn't have cared less that its a musical instrument. Walking west, I stumbled upon some live show in the park near all the NYU buildings, which was cool. I was mistaken for a law student, and invited to a seminar. That didn't go down, unfortunately. Then i found St. Marks, had like three bubble teas, chatted with the, uh, bubble-tea-maker-guy (Michael), and on my way to the D line met up with Karen and Deanna.

Back to coincidences! How could three people, out of 6 billion, that know each other, be on one street (out of thousands) in one city (out of hundreds), at the same time? Life has a funny way of throwing loops at you when you least expect it.

Then i went to brooklyn and played the Wii for the rest of the day at Andrew's, who is truly a very good kid.
We also got a free Slurpee at 7-11, cause yesterday was july eleventh and yeah FREE SLURPEE DAY WOOT!


So new music that still has to be listened to:
Muse
The Chap (amazing, i'm almost done with the album. Fantastic pop-rock, without the Clarkson. This is how pop rock was always meant to be. Mixed beats and toney guitar riffs backed up by a relatively unemotional voice ties the package together nicely)
Other Sigur Ros albums
Abe Vigoda
Bob Marley
Bright Eyes
Coldplay
Hellogoodbye


I will get onto that now! Also tell you how hellboy was! Also, if i ever get out tonight to see it.
Peace&thelove forever!