Author: Robert Kimberly
Hunkering and Blogging from Houston
“Hunkering Down” is the phrase of the night. It’s the term being used by all the TV folk describing all of us taking shelter while the storm takes aim. We have managed to find ourselves with a great bunch of people in a mighty robust building. Food, drink and power have been in abundance. Which means much launching snarky commentary at the local and national weather people. Geraldo Rivera is getting most of our scorn.
Which he has always deserved.
For My Weekend, A Hurricane
As I wrap up a long few weeks of work, my gift from the world is a huge storm bearing down on my fair city. Thanks.
Today I was deinstalling and recrating the photo exhibition that I (as well as a couple other people) spent installing the previous three days, and I know another Houston institution packing up their current show in preparation for the storm.
Hurricane Ike. You’re a big pain in the ass and you’d better be impressive for all the trouble you’re causing.
Hmmm… maybe not the best thing to wish for.
Distraction Enabling Devices: The Internet
Internet addiction sounds funny, but I feel I’m suffering a slight case of it. Compulsive surfing at the expense of other activities like reading and writing. An inability to stay focused on any sort of non-computer reading. A strange avoidance of typing away at the fictional ideas that are always close at mind, instead returning to the ease of continual google searches about nothing of importance. Anxiousness at even writing about these feelings at all.
When I exert a little self-control, I fire up Freedom and give myself some net-free time. Maybe a little TV watching will distract me from this uneasyness. Oh, yes, that’s the stuff.
Wednesday Night Photo Post: Other Houston Photographers – Houston Astrodome Auto Racing
No Blogging, Working Too Hard. And Hard Drive Question
So, a recap of art installation activities…
Over 18 days, 17 days of working with 1 day off. That was 10 days ago. Now I have 3 days to go.
So, working a little too hard. But it will worth experience and the Rice University Gallery pictures will be the proof. Plus there will be a little adventure the evening of the opening. Blogworthy events I’m hoping.
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Lastly, looking to buy a 500 gig external backup hard drive. Any readers feel like offering up opinions/experience/recommendations/reviews. Oh, yeah… has to play well with OS X and would like it to be a network drive.
Any info would be great.
Wednesday Night Photo Post: Other Houston Photographers – LMX X 041
Hello Gustov: My New Favorite Website
For all the wrong reasons, Stormpulse is my new favorite website.
I’m a sucker for a pretty interface, and I had a chance to see the site on a nice cinema screen Mac. Hurricane Gustov is heading north, Hannah is hanging out by the Grand Turks and way over Africa way is High Potential Disturbance #1.
*sigh*
Wednesday Night Photo Post: "Big Alex" by David Adickes
While hoping to visit the Texas Junk Company (closed until Sept 6th or 7th, can’t remember) I saw this on the corner of Mason and Hyde Park Blvd. Picture Plus is hosting this David Adickes sculpture.
Loving that every street in Houston is viewable on Google Maps street view. That’s how I confirmed the exact location, with a view of the building before the addition of phone and business sign.
Why I don’t have to remember a thing now that Google does it for me.
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Interesting local article on “Big Alex” and his long journey from David Adickes studio to the Montrose neighborhood. (original article no longer available. cached version found on Google
The High Price of Literacy: Windsor McCay Will Make Me Poor
Between my wife taking what little money I earn (for safe keeping) and the Houston library’s large collection, I buy few books. Which is good, because I naturally gravitate towards the pricey end of the spectrum. Not 18th century first editions, but nowhere near the cheap, used paperbacks that would be so much easier on the budget.
Examples: I already purchased last year “Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays.” Little did I know that a second volume was in the making.
There goes another hundred or so bucks on another Little Nemo collection. And Windsor McCay and his surreal draftsmanship is not done with me yet.
Continuing the dream theme, “Dream of the Rarebit Fiend” is a complete collection of all of Windsor McCay’s fantastical exploration of what happens when one has a late-night snack of welsh rarebit before bedtime. Like the other books, “Dream of the Rarebit Fiend” is hefty in size. Blogger Need More Coffee’s review put it this way,
“…it’s a foot tall and seventeen inches across, to give the comic strips reprinted within enough room to be reproduced at their original size. The book weighs about ten pounds. In other words, it’s only slightly sturdier than a Roman soldier’s shield and could probably be used to stop small caliber bullets…”
And it is the smallest book on this wish list. At $133 (shipping and DVD of additional material included) it looks like I’ll have to get working before even thinking about adding these two gorgeous books to my library.
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The Comic Strip Library is scanning public domain comic strips, including Little Nemo. Check out the archives to see what newspaper readers in the 1900’s were finding in their Sunday papers.
Sunday Press Books, publisher of both Little Nemo collections and more.
My copy of Many Splendid Sundays…
Neon Poisoning 