Halloween Piano Recital...

Sunday afternoon, Ari suited up as his favorite funster. Before tickling the ivories, he humored himself...speculating on his mood and mocking the Batman.

After clowning around, the crowd cheered and his sister followed suit. He was last seen on his way back to the Funhouse...

Carving Cavalcade...

The cousins came together for their annual pre-Halloween pumpkin sculpting. Orange slime stuck to everyone. Seeds roasting in the oven, were later sprinkled with salt. Little rascals hollowed jack-o-lanterns...foreshadowing the carnivalesque.

If you want to dissever, engrave or etch, just bring your own blade...and click here.

Hard-Boiled...Haute Couture

Yesterday morning, one of my co-workers buzzed in with her new scarf.  Her sense of humor, and the fashionable kerchief mischief made for memorable moments throughout the day.

If you want your own scarf, click here.

Atlantic Atheneum...

A very artsy friend cast her spell and transformed our local elementary school library. Her interpretation of an ocean theme swelled into a benthic literary fantasy...20,000 Reads Under the Sea, if you will. During last night's book fair, parents and students swarmed about the cellulose seascape...spawning themselves into bookish baitfish...perusing the plankton fonts under the watchful gaze of a squid, a shark, a stingray and a few seahorses.

If you want to swim along, hold your breath and click here.

Segmented Cephalopod...

On Friday, Gabriela had a fragmentary experience in her sixth grade science class. She decided to share her delight in the dissection. In the evening, I was greeted by an invertebrate collage....

Cachondeo Cubano...

Saturday, I joined a colleague from work and soaked in a bit of soccer at RFK Stadium...U.S. v. Cuba in a World Cup qualifying match. A contingent of Cubans sat a few rows ahead of us, waving their flag and screaming "Cuba, Cuba, Cuba...." With an awestruck gaze, they often paused and took pictures of the crowd. I overheard a few of them speaking in dialect, their accents thick like freshly harvested plantains. They optimistically cheered for their team during the entire match, despite losing...6-1, an optimism to emulate, a loyalty to envy.

The next day, I read in the Sunday paper that two of the Cuban national team players had defected before the game. I wondered if the Cuban fans knew. I wondered if the Cuban defectors knew how much their fans had cheered. I wondered about life in Cuba.

Happy (En)Trails...

After four hours, I surveyed my hands at midnight. They were a deep black, darker than squid ink and coated in a repulsive moisturizing bile freshly harvested from the labyrinth of pipes under the sink and beneath the walls. The aromatic bouquet, a rancid eau d' compost, reminded me of the alabaster vapors drifting and dancing through Haiti's Cité Soleil slum. For hours, I pushed and pulled a series of coiled spring-steel snakes into and out of various plumbing orifices around the house. Home Sweet Home, constipated by a pound of green beans that Daniela decided to "recycle" in the kitchen sink disposal.... Home, Sweet, Home...I hate you.
This morning, my father and I continued the battery of enemas...until I heard the gurgling gasps rising from the rooftop drain pipe. I sat there on the roof and sighed, humbled by my close encounter with domestic excreta.

Cosmetic Comparison...

Clowning around with my cousin Elisa at Manina's house in July 1979, almost thirty years ago...
A few weeks ago, when my mother found these pictures in her basement she commented on the resemblance between me and Gabriela. Below is a picture of Gabri, which I took last year.

You decide.

Yom Pikkture

On Thursday, my day was weighted with reflection. In the early afternoon, Ari hovered as I shrouded myself with solemn introspection. He is an eight-year old boy. He relishes time spent with his father, especially when we embark on father-son adventures. This day was not such an occasion. Still, his childish exuberance escaped the gravity of this day. Atonement has many melodies, so I decided to improvise and create a form of pixelated expiation. I decided to make up for the times when I had said, "not now..." or "later...."

"Ari, grab your camera, and I'll take mine. Let's go for a walk." "Really," he doubted. Along the bike path, we talked about photography, nature, and framing images around us....

(Click on the images to focus on the colors.)

Sunrise...Silhouette

6:45 am...I headed for DC. A few minutes later, I saw the streaks across the skyline as I crossed over the Potomac. I reached behind me and into the backpack. Cruising along Independence Avenue on my way to Capitol Hill, I desperately sought to capture the glow. The exposure to these hues and tones affected me all day. My moods radiated with solace.
...along Independence Avenue, approaching the Tidal Basin.
...along Independence Avenue, Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian) on the left.

Kültür Karavan...

This weekend accelerated past me, reminding me of science fiction warp drives, and Star Trek reruns. My only image of stability reflected in a side-view mirror. I did, however, find some firm footing...
...walking around at this weekend's Turkish Festival. (Eighteen years ago, I spent months studying the Turkish language, and then a few weeks in Istanbul.) As we walked today, the crowd in DC saturated my senses with familiar phrases, idioms, compliments, curses, and proverbs, while the Anatolian aromas and Azeri artisans contrasted and cavorted with the Istanbul chic.

Aside from the faceless fez, we saw Fenerbahçe jerseys and Puma footwear competing for attention amid the headscarves. And once in a while, I spotted reconciliatory fashion statements swimming within the stream of modern and traditional currents.

I taught Gabriela and Ari a few phrases in Türkçe and they artfully deployed them, earning smiles from the vendors, artists, dancers and passersby. All three of us marveled and mingled.

If you prefer to savor these Turkish delights at your own pace, click here.

The Dark Knight & The Bailout Plan

I enjoyed this clip, and have played it many times over. The fictional context is fitting, and creates a revealing backdrop.