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A Scene From Yesteryear
Continue ReadingIn this slice of American history, relaxation — and sturdy confidence — run as themes throughout. Epitome of cool affluence, A royal beagle oozes the calm of an awakened being. The machine? Voluptuous (almost-carnal) red — Code for feminine heat and elegance. An illustrious era has gone by and is lost. U.S. flags at times […]
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Another Anomalous Vision
Continue Reading“If an extraterrestrial came to earth and witnessed this scene, what would it think?” The inquiry above is a warmed-over, often-repeated banality; nevertheless the question applies legitimately to our image. How could even our elite domestic anthropologists ever understand this behavior? It is very strange. Is the headgear in reality a cooling machine created […]
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Homage For Robert Johnson
Continue Reading“I got ramblin’ I got ramblin’ on my mind I got ramblin’ I got ramblin’ all on my mind Hate to leave you baby But you treats me so unkind” Lyric by Robert Johnson Ask a painter, musician, writer — anyone practicing a difficult art to confide their heroes; they usually will not hesitate. Their […]
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An American Refugee
Continue ReadingIn the 19th Century some historical roles were reversed. For instance: the United States — and not a Middle Eastern country — had an industrial Civil War in progress, killing soldiers and uprooting civilians. A million-and-a-half military casualties occurred in less than five years in the USA, including men dead in battle and those suffering […]
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Encountering Complex Symbolism
Continue ReadingDiscovering an exciting new English phrase in the wild. An advertising professional produced this wordplay: IN BRUNCH WE TRUST I found this intransitive declaration on placards appearing on every residential floor of a Las Vegas hotel, opposite elevator doors. Each of seven landings had an urban backdrop showing through floor-to-ceiling picture windows: views of rooftops, […]
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It’s Hard To Escape This Guy
Continue ReadingFeeling Lost In A Forest Of Symbols If you are like me, you sometimes feel lost in what seems an endless forest — infested and overgrown with imagery and symbolic forms — where no pure light and nothing tangible may penetrate. For instance, it seems every time I turn around I see this fictional character […]
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Passing Through Still-Flourishing Small Towns
Continue ReadingOut-of-the-way settlements — found in forests and deserts, mountains and agrarian zones — naturally exist beyond interstate highways. In their locations they lack brisk commerce. An above-average number of residents depend on government for income. Driving through some of these towns creates melancholy — the places are so forlorn and drab. Our two photographs provide […]
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Stopping By Pancho’s Gate
Continue ReadingWhen hunting photographs by automobile my mind numbs over the initial distances, across territory made sterile for me by repeated exposures. In that mode I passed the sign pointing to Pancho’s Place. The oddness of the scene must have triggered unwitting thoughts — taking some time to surface — because gradually over the next half […]
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A Scene From YesteryearIn Americana, Cultural Anthropology, Street PhotographyIn this slice of American history, relaxation — […]
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