I been watching some of the Democratic Convention. I understand that most networks are having very little coverage of the convention, which is a shame because they missed a really great speech by Barack Obama. I want him as President, but Kerry will do for now.

Posted by Nica @ 11:24 PM PST [Link]

I might have to confess to a false nostalgia. I enjoy many old photographs even if they are not really particulary "well made". Academia has enbranced Julia Margaret Cameron, so I don't have too much guilt there, and wet plate photography has been making a sort of weird comeback with Sally Mann probably being the most conspicous artist picking up the technique, so when I admire the wet plate look I can argue that it is more than a wistful look back in time.


Very early candid photography I find wonderful even though I can't always say it's because the compositions are so great, or the tones so smooth, or even because it give me insight into the age. There is something amazing about see reality largely unadulterated from long ago. A Merchant Ivory film might delude you every now and than that you are seeing something from a world now dead, but they you remember it's all fake, just a bunch of actors in fancy dress.


My local library had a book, Lady Ottoline's Album. Ottoline, between the two world wars, was good at getting interesting and intelligent people to spend their hours at her shabby chic house in England . Luckey for her. Lucky for posterity she was a shutterbug.






I don't know if I've ever imagined T.S. Elliot as looking like anything except old, but of course he spent much of his youth young. This image of T.S. Elliot charms me even though the pose is silly, and the focus lacking. Nevertheless I love staring at this photograph. And then there are group pictures which are facinating.

My favorite is this one with Bertand Russell in the middle, Lytton Strachey to the left, and Philip Morrell to the right. So prim but at the same time comfortable picture. There is some quality about this image in particular which reminds me of the best Irving Penn's.


I wonder how many great photographs of the famous and obscure are carelessly thrown out? I know I have done just such a thing with old photographs of my father's. An older gentleman I knew told me that his mother threw out hundreds of glass plates from his father's photography career. That is probably a common story.


Most antiques are mass produced antiques. Many photographs and virtually all negatives are one of a kind.

Posted by Nica @ 01:09 AM PST [Link]

I love a hoax, but I have to admit that I'm a little annoyed by the SciF Channel's The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan.

First of all the "documentary" is a little too contrived. It's sort of corny. Come on, all that spooky music and jiggly camera stuff. It's silly.

I prefer hoaxes which take advantage of mainstream media, not hoaxes used for marking by mainstream media.

It is hard for me to believe that a guy like Shyamalan who appears in his own movies and talks a little too much in his DVD extra, is that adverse to attention.

It's a little off putting that the son of a great architect would end up working on a three hour ad.

Posted by Nica @ 10:59 PM PST [Link]

OK, here is the rundown of the birds.

I still have Soren, the orignal pigeon of mine.

I still have Ludvig and Marie, his hens found shortly after he was found.

I have freed Sorig, Soren's and Ludvig's offspring.

I have freed Darkwing and El Blanco, Soren's and Marie's offspring.

Claudia is crippled, born of an egg I swapped with Ludvig eggs, she now lives in a laundry basket. The other birds were picking on her.

A few weeks ago Reagen and Phoebe hatched from Ludvig's eggs. They are doing just fine thank you. I plan to eventually let them go.

Marie has two chicks in her nest, about a week old. I haven't named them yet.

Ludvig has two eggs in her nest.

We have a new found pigeon, Foundling, who I noticed yesterday wandering the parking lot of the Sheraton Hotel. She looks about three weeks old, unable to fly, and skinny, no adults nearby. I really like her. She sharing the laundry basket with Claudius. They get along well enough.

Things to note in the picture:


Claudius's leg sticking out at a funny angle. Amazingly, that is her better leg.

The yellow fuzz left of Foundling. Sure sign of a young pigeon.

Claudius is about the same size as Foundling. Claudius is more dove-like that most street pigeons.

Posted by Nica @ 10:56 PM PST [Link]

I should follow up my initial review of the new Seattle Central Library:

Dewey decimal numbers labels have been added to the ends of the stacks, and not just on the floor. That is a good thing. I've also become a little more fond of the numbers on the floor, though I'm becoming more annoyed by just how narrow the pathways through the stacks can be.

One thing I didn't notice on my early visits is that there are few signs pointing out the restrooms. I live very near the library, so I didn't think about it. If I need to pee, I would just wait till I'm home, use my bathroom, and then curl up with my books. Last I looked, most of the signs for the restrooms were crudely taped up.

The semi-self-check-out system works somewhat, but not as well as it should. I sense the librarians get somewhat annoyed with the glitches. If it can be made to work the way it looks like it should, it would be pretty neat. As it is now a staff member is stuck helping people check out books that the visitors should be able to check out totally on their own.

I like how the inside of the building looks different with different lighting conditions.

Posted by Nica @ 10:34 PM PST [Link]

Some of you might have noticed that my blog has suddenly lost a lot of recent entries. Eskimo North had some sort of technical failure and lots of data was lost. It could have been worse, but still I'm a little annoyed. Eskimo has not had this sort of thing happen since 1995, so really I'm more annoyed with me for not backing up my account more recently.

Lesson learned.

Posted by Nica @ 10:21 PM PST [Link]