Lake Austin View

Favorites— A quick tour of The Hotel Moscow

Karen

My sister is a fantastic subject.

On All That Glides in the Air

This photograph has always reminded me of my favorite poem by my father. I publish it here, abridged, with the suspicion of his consent, and the hope that no publishing agency stooge will find me. It can be found in its complete form in the collection, Elegies and Other Poems.

"On All That Glides in the Air"
By Lars Gustafsson
Translation by Christopher Middleton

My grave is still nowhere to be seen.
Thus I too glide,
resting, without knowing it.
In an ocean of air
gliding with all that glides,
living with all that lives,
resting with all that rests,
and perhaps, too, not knowing it,
dead with all that's dead.
There is no word for this.
It is a way to glide
"in the ocean of air,"
as old-fashioned ballonists did,
and this ocean of air is yourself.

...

So all mortals glide in the interior
of their own picture, somewhere in the twilight,
and for this gliding there is no name.
So also the signs glide over the white pages,
so the rooks glide over the snow,
good times over evil times.

So everything glides, stands as the angels stand
in an unthinkable motion,
and for the flight of the world there is no name.

From the Gulf of Bothnia

Taken without a tripod at midnight on the way home from the bars. My hands were cold and unsteady. A high ISO was needed.

Leaping Over the Past

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Once Upon a Time in Mexico

How to Disappear

Under the Northern Lights

Seven Second Satori

Life and death
are separated,
by a seven-second satori.

How Austin Became: The Live Music Capital of the World

We used to laugh when people referred to Austin as the "Live Music Capital of the World." Back then the city was a lot smaller and the tag-line seemed more like a marketing strategy than a reflection of reality. The drag was still lined with little apartment stores. People drove around in rectangular cars. Armadillos walked the streets and tumbleweeds bounced around in the southern winds. And so on...

I was out walking near Town Lake the other day with my SLR, (as I am want to do), when I stumbled upon a gawdy looking piece of artwork. Immediately I was awestruck with pride. Tears lept from my eyeducts as I sang the National Anthem (not knowing what else to do in order to express my patriotism). This art was obviously commemorating the supernatural musicality of our city.

If you happen to witness a disfunctional looking crane attached to a metal guitar, you will know what I am talking about. You will cry too.

You showed 'um Austin. Damnit. You showed them.