Creating Memories... and, Recording Them.

Is photography a means to reinforce memories or there's something more to it?

Creating memories is what I think makes for a full life. Of course there are lots of other important elements but I believe doing something memorable every day is good. Obviously I can't say that I can do it every day, but I try. It doesn't have to be big. Actually, I don't believe passing time looking forward to big events. Yes, they can be transformative with big impressions left over, but it is the smaller things that make a bigger difference in life.

Let me explain. Going on a nice month-long vacation to a beautiful place is certainly a welcome event. Yet, what do you do the rest of the year? Taking smaller but much more frequent breaks to do something interesting--being with a friend, engage in a hobby or any other joyful activity--are more important. It is said that it's not the absence of stress but the lack of many positive events that make a person unhappy.

Taking pictures is a hobby I enjoy. A picture is like a mini story. Framing, emphasizing (or excluding), and even tweaking the appearance of the "natural" picture is what photography means to me. I took up photography when I was a teenager. I was given a good all-manual camera, no batteries except in the attachable flash. I learned how to estimate the required speed, aperture, ISO, and whatever else. And, it wasn't easy because it was slow. In the days of a 24 or 36 frame film, it took me several days if not weeks to go through it--unless it was a special event that I could go through a 24 frame at once.

Now, I don't remember using the one-hour processing, if that was available back in the days. Even if it was, there was no money for that. So, I had to wait several days to see the results of my shooting. I may have kept some notes about some pictures I had taken but it wasn't very practical to walk around with a notepad writing down what settings I had for what picture.

Anyway, while in college--for a good stretch of it--I had no money for such a hobby. I had a budge of $20 per week for food. That included all food at school & trips to the supermarket. Spending $5-7 on film, processing and prints was not an option. I gave it up. It was also during that time that my car was broken into and my manual camera was stolen.

After I graduated I took some pictures here and there with a small cheap camera. It wasn't until 2004 when I got my first digital camera that my love for photography returned. I still use that bulky Olympus, not-intuitive and (by now) old technology camera. Most of the pictures I have today are from this one. Any DSLR new(er) camera is big now and they all have great features--and much better designs that those available a few years ago.

However, a great camera is one that is being used. If it stays in the closet it's not all that good. My point is that sometimes the size/weight of a camera may prevent its owner from using it or carrying it around. That's why I got myself a Nikon Coolpix recently. It seems that I always have this one handy, in my car or attached to my belt. I've taken some great pictures with it. The most important thing is that I was able to take a picture because I had a camera with me! It sounds stupid but it isn't. I have pictures, a record of things I experienced, that otherwise I know I would not have had. On many occasions it wasn't practical to carry my big camera, so the little one came in ..handy! And, let me tell you, the small ones today pack oodles of features and capabilities.

As I'm writing this, the night is well worn. One way to relax before bed is to do a crossword puzzle or work on the pictures I've taken. I had used Photoshop once; too big; the Elements, a smaller version, may be more appropriate for many photographers. However, for most amature photographers, Picasa is a great photo program to have. It's part of Google and it's free. Try it. I have a Gmail account, but I don't know if you need one to be able to upload your pictures on the internet. Yes, you'll need to do that if you take many pictures. I've been doing this for a long time now. You can use Flickr or a number of other free programs/sites. For example, here's a link to one of my online albums: Hudson Valley You could also link only to single picture: Pier on Hudson.

If you take pictures at an event or for any occasion that you want to share them with many other people the only sensible thing is to upload them to the web. I do it through Picasa, then I sent the link to a number of people instead of emailing them a bunch of pictures. That way they can choose for themselves what to do, including downloading any picture they like. You can have those online galleries private so only those who have the key to them can see your pictures.

I think photography is a great activity. I'd recommend it. It's rather inexpensive. Same thing with writing. Thinking about expressing a thought, an idea, an image, etc, are all great for the mind. Happy trails fellow traveller!


PS> All the pictures here don't have a common theme other than I took them in New York state this month (July 2009). They are among many, not superb or artsy but I like them and that's all there's to them. By clicking on them you can make them bigger. I found out that IE does keep this available, but Firefox removes this option when I move the pictures around within the post. That's why on some previous posts clicking on the picts doesn't do anything.


UPDATE: As per request, and in order from top to bottom:
1. Amusement park; 2. Hudson river by Rhinebeck; 3. Coney Island; 4. Hyde Park; 5. Coney; 6. Lower West Side; 7. LWS; 8. Harriman; 9. Woodstock; 10-12. Central Park; 13-15 Esopus/Kingston; 16. Peekskill; 17. Kingston lighthouse; 18. South St. Seaport; 19. Coffeehouse; 20. Coney.

The Power of Culture and Indoctrination

It's been a national story soon after it happened on Sunday on a highway in Westchester, NY. Actually I was going to NYC on Sunday when I heard that the Taconic parkway--the one I take to go to NYC--was closed due to a horrific accident. It happened right by the place I work. I know the area well and I can't imagine how a driver could get on the northbound lanes and travel at high speed southbound (against the heavy traffic) for 1.7 miles before colliding head-on with another car resulting in 8 people dying, including several children. There are many questions to be answered and the investigation continues.

Immediately the references to God became apparent. Of course, they followed the same pattern: God gets only the credit for good stuff, not the bad. That he should be praised for allowing one child (of the 4) to survive the crash. The other ones, all under 10 years old, weren't deemed worthy of survival. God may have "special plans" for the survivor, etc. Prayers and special church services are now part of this unfolding story. It's amazing to me that people haven't figured out that even if there's a God he doesn't interfere; he doesn't alter the laws of nature that he allegedly created. Therefore, praying to any god or to the sun yields the same results. [George Carlin explains this one here.]

And here's a longer version. Do you find it offensive?


We all know that bad stuff happens all over the world, though usually we tend not to focus on the suffering for too long. It's not a bad thing, because otherwise we couldn't have a normal life. Obviously people have different ways to deal with adversity and grief. One common thread is religion. They pray. The want to believe that God is active in their lives (intervening) and he takes care of the departed souls. Making imaginary friends or any entity is an old phenomenon. Culture and indoctrination from childhood make this illusion all but real for most people. Very few of us have escaped this predicament. Hopefully, more and more humans will shed this prejudice, superstition, and this need for the supernatural.

The following video could be very challenging to those who don't want to see the obvious. It shows human behavior and thought processes that go against the logical, reasonable approach to everyday life--it ain't easy, but wanting to believe in something simply because it gives a false hope is not appropriate for grown-ups.



Well, are you up to it? Can you handle the truth? It's a bold question and a bold step to leave behind ancient explanations fit for people who didn't know any better. But, we do! And, we know that the universe doesn't revolve around humanity. We've progressed a lot, learned so much about the physical world and there's so much more to find out. Yet, have you pondered, how do we know things? What is the process, the tool we use to systematically discover, invent, and reason? It's the scientific process. This is the best method/tool we have to understanding ourselves and the universe itself.

Give it a try. But, be careful: once you take certain steps, you can't go back, that is, if you decide that you want to know--no matter what the truth is--you can't revert to being ignorant. It's like losing your virginity...

Oldies but Goodies

I've been away and rather busy the rest of the days--OK, this includes catching up on sleep--so I haven't posted in a while, but I have lots of stuff on backlog! Where to start? Let's see, how about something for the boys?

If I had lots of money, I'd definitely have a few cars, maybe 3, 4 or 5. Of them, 3 would be really classic, oldies but functional. I spoke to the guy who restores old cars; he showed me pictures of how he found them. They looked total junks, and unrecognizable. He puts lots of new parts, new engine, etc. He spent $9,000 on one--for parts only, because the labor is all his. He had just given that car to his daughter for a graduation present!

There are many clubs of owners of oldies in the US, and there are frequent shows everywhere. All the cars have to get to the show [this case was in a big parking lot in Peekskill, NY] on their own power. So, yes, they are all in good shape. They open the engine hood so you can see they have new engines or a rebuilt one with lots of modern parts. It makes sense.

Take a closer look at the Ford with the wooden cabin. It was built in the early 20th century (like 1921 or so)--not much later than the very first cars appeared in the US. I think the license plates of historic cars also show their year of production.

In one of the photos, there's the interior of a 1971 VW Beetle. When I was in college I drove one. It was built in 1971 and it was a fading yellow color! Ha! I had wheels, that was the most important thing. But that car was horrible on gas mileage, very wide turn radius, not very safe, no heat (AC? haha), and your face was a couple inches from the windshield! But it took me places, and it helped me with my social life.

In the end, the engine was consuming (or losing) as much oil as gas, so I had to junk it because the labor to fix the problem seemed exhorbitant to me back then. Then, I think, I got a Ford Pinto station wagon! IT was not an improvement... Didn't last that long though.

A Street Fair, A Museum, and A Movie Under the Stars

I used to work in the city and hanged out in cool places but then life happens and I moved out. First, a stint in New Jersey and then back to New York, in Westchester. Not exactly far from the city but not exactly within a distance that a spontaneous outing is ordinary. It takes planning now and a lot more leisure time to venture into the city. It seems that some of my friends who live in NYC find my company desirable and they drag me into doing something there.... I appreciate that. Maybe I shouldn't say it publicly but I do find things in the city to do on my own as well.... There just so many opportunities for such...

These couple picts are from the First Avenue Fair. The street was closed for several blocks and as you can see thousands of people attended. Free music and stuff too. All year long, there are street fairs/festivals in this very diverse city. And, remember, the city has 5 boroughs, not only Manhattan! Ever since I got a mag subscription to Time Out New York I've found lots of interesting events, but you can check TONY's site yourself for free: http://newyork.timeout.com/ .

Then it was the Metropolitan Museum. I go there several times a year. That's how you can really see it. It's so vast that one or two visits aren't enough. There's always something new on display. Yeah, I know the suggested admission price is $20--which is a bargain for a tourist--but if you're a New Yorker and want to visit often, I'll tell you in private how to get in for free or almost free....

The Francis Bacon exhibit (red banner on the left) is a delight to the morbid-prone individuals. I think the artist was a very disturbed person and his paintings reflected that. Not a fan, if you didn't get my drift.

However, the Model As Muse fashion exhibit is a great one; I recommend it. It has many topical and period treatments; I'm sure you find something of interest in the many rooms. Great displays too. Couldn't take any good pictures because they don't allow any photography. Think of that, fashion without pictures... Geesh.

Of course, I appreciate modern art but not all of it. Salvatore Dali's works (like the one ontop of the page) are interesting. Picasso was a genius, as well as many others. The pictures here (besides the girl) are of works I enjoyed during this visit.

I've been wanting to go to the Museum of Modern Art since it's been some 3-4 years when I last visited but haven't had the chance to do so. Definitely this summer.

Now, I don't want this to spread but the roof terrace of the Met is a must-go-and-see place. It's small and the museum doesn't really make it easy to go there. Ask for directions. There's only 1 elevator and 1 staircase that go there, so it's got to be your mission, unlike the rest of the museum where you can wander freely all over.

The roof terrace has some great views of Central Park and midtown. It also has new artwork. This time there was some metal structure, like bare tree branches that threatened to impale the unwary....

Who's this guy with that tiny camera? These windows reflect the whole terrace and they can frame a nice picture with the artword and the sky...

Strolling through Central Park can offer relaxation, excitement, exercise, entertainment, and great views. It's very diversified and I'm willing to bet that many New Yorkers (city residents) haven't fully explored this great public park. I know, I've seen the old pictures of disrepair; I've experienced the decay in the late 1970s and 19080s. It wasn't pretty.

But the park has been cleaned up, it's safe, and gorgeous. Above the Belvedere Castle, next to an open air theater. This tiny castle is accessible to the public. From there you can see the Great Lawn, Turtle Pond, and the Delacorte theater, as well as much of the park.

When you see lots of people with blankets and chairs and an inflatable big ..screen at dusk, don't leave, check it out. The many francophones milling around made it more intriguing. The reason was this movie, Home, by Yan Arthus-Bertrand. [hit the link and for the next few days you can watch it on YouTube]. The free screenings in NYC parks on Fridays are sponsored by the French Embassy, http://www.frenchculture.org/ Watch the movie [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU], enjoy the city, and have fun this summer. I'll be posting some more pictures as the summer goes on....

See ya...

PS. This post has clickable pictures... so, if you want to see them open up bigger just click on them. If you steal them and repost them, just give me credit.

A Good Trip Over Memorial Weekend

Got the chance to leave the city and venture to Vermont. Part of the fun, though, is getting there and returning via the beautiful Berkshires. Oh, yeah, I did my first camping of the year, by a river! The problem was that ..someone forgot to bring the tent poles! Well, I had to string together a concoction of a shelter... not bad as a couple of the pictures below indicate.



The "finished" product. Yeah, a bit tight, but without the flexible poles the tent can't be fully deployed. It was cozy though!

The College Experience

The following several pictures are from Williams College in MA. Once, I wanted to work there. It has a beautiful campus; actually the most of the Williams town is the college. Nice, neat, but probably long winters and not much else in the near vicinity. Ah, well, I teach elsewhere now. By the way, I got the students reviews for this past semester and they look really good. I guess most of the students I leaned on heavily didn't bother to evaluate me.

How would you like to dorm in the building below?

One of the scenes common this time around is students moving out of their dorms (pix below). I suppose it's OK for those who are returning, but it must be a very emotional time for those who have just graduated... I totally understand the feeling. There's a big difference between those colleges that attract local students and those whose student body is of out-of-staters. For the latter, there's a moment of separation and the knowledge that you won't see this place for a very long time, that those past 4 years are over, and that you won't see many of your fellow students again...

I don't know how many students do go back to visit the place they spent 4-5 years at, but most people do maintain the emotional connections to a place they got a valuable life experience, often the first one as adults away from home for such a long time.

I'd definitely recommend this, first for the academic value--the building of intellectual capital--and for the experience itself. Dorming or living by the place of study is also recommended....it's so much different that staying at home. I don't think many young students really appreciate the college-attending as much as they should; maybe in the last year they begin to realize it...

Moose project...

In Bennington, VT, they're doing a moose art project. Now many communities picked up on this theme of decorating animals and placing them around the town.. They're pretty!

Vermont's Attractions

Manchester, VT, is nicely located for many outdoor activities. OK, including shopping for those who might be interested; there's an outlet center there. But, for the rest of us, the Green Mountain forests are nearby. Plenty of recreational opportunities. In Dorset, there's this cooling hole called Dorset Quarry. It used to be a place where marble was cut from the mountain but it's been abandoned and now it's filled with water where people go for a swim or just hang out.

The first marble quarry in the US was opened in South Dorset in 1785. The lower part is visible from the road and it gets very crowded, but the footpath a while up the hill leads to the less crowded, clothing optional, water hole.

Above, someone is jumping into the waters. Below, you can see the marble cuttings. The whole place has many large marble slabs laying around...I wonder why...

Ah, the summer is still young... Many more trips to plan... Stay tuned...

PS>for some reason clicking on the pictures doesn't open them to show them bigger. Sorry, but I don't have the energy to re-upload them or tweak the html code right now.

:(

Spring has Sprung and the Action has been Local

As I wrote on my political blog, it's been a hard long couple of months but now I have some free time to catch up with friends and other projects. I was so busy that I didn't take pictures of our lovely campus in, appropriately named, Pleasantville.



Here are some of the pictures I managed to take over a span of several weeks this Spring.

A Fine Walk Through PepsiCo Gardens

This is what I saw recently at PepsiCo Gardens in Westchester, NY.

If you click on any picture in the slideshow, you'll go to my online Picasa album. Gorgeous day to stroll around. This modern art garden requires lots of walking, so it's best on a good day. There are about 45 sculptures strewn all over. I snapped pictures of most of them, but I have a few here. The gardens are located at Pepsi's headquarters and are free to the public.

A Pond and a Castle

Manitoga, NY
No particular theme to this post & pictures. The weather is getting nicer, so I've done a couple hikes lately nearby. The top picture is "Manitoga" landscaped by Russell Wright. The other two are a couple miles north on Rt 9D, before Garrison, NY. The trail leads to Rock Castle.

Spring and warmer weather have arrived but the leaves haven't really sprung yet. A few more weeks...

A Lake, A Stroll, and Gallery Hopping

I've been busy and a little lazy updating this blog here, but life is going well over all. Lots of new experiences and new places I discovered nearby. Last Saturday, I took a drive to my favorite park, Lake Minnewaska, and on the way back I stopped in New Paltz's Huguenot "village."

Then, crossed the Hudson river to my next stop, Beacon, New York. The latter is a happening place, at least judging from my last couple of visits there. Two weeks ago they had a huge St. Pat's outdoors party on Saturday when also many of the art galleries had opening receptions. Not sayin' whether I got loaded with wine & cheese...

Spring break is over; back to work this week.... and it'll be heavy loads until early May. No complaints though, because I've held some bad jobs in my earlier years, so I maintain a good perspective on what's good, bad and ugly. Enjoy the Spring. I'll get out to take pictures when nature blooms but haven't seen anything yet around here.

Miracle on the Hudson. (Or, how people crave excesses)

I'm a New Yorker, and most of us are used to witnessing the extraordinary, the weird, the big, and the profound. On the other hand, we are no different that many other peoples who want to use superlatives and ill-chosen attributes to describe events. The miracle on the Hudson, was the headline used for the US Airways crash on the Hudson river a few days ago. Within a few minutes of that wintry Thursday afternoon countless heroes emerged from and around the icy waters of the Hudson.

It was indeed very fortunate that all these passengers and crew of that jetliner survived the crash, but why is there a need to describe such an incident invoking the supernatural? Is it something we don't fully understand and cannot be explained by the laws of nature? I think not.

I also have a problem with the definition of hero. Not every person involved in a tragic event or experiencing something unusual, traumatic, etc, is necessarily a hero. For example, those who rushed to the scene of the accidents are not heroes but conscientious people, many professionals who did their job in an exemplary manner. Kudos to all. The captains (yes, there were 2 in the cockpit) performed admirably in putting their airplane on the river. Doctors save lives every day by being professionals and doing their best. Are they heroes?

[hero: mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability; an illustrious warrior; a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities;: one that shows great courage; etc.]

For me, nothing is devalued if exaggerations aren't used. There's no need to elevated the importance of something by piling up irrelevant and incorrect attributes. There's no need to include unrelated qualities and descriptions in order to make a point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [how many exclamation marks do I need to make my point more important?] I think the video above is poignant.

Really, I'm not trying to belittle the whole incident and the extraordinary performance by many individuals. It's time, however, that we emphasize the value in professionalism, good training, and readiness to meet the challenges. Praying or expecting miracles is a vane if not wasteful effort.

A New Journey on a Beaten Path

What I like about science is that it has explained many natural phenomena and, in my opinion, has made the cosmos even more magnificent. There are lots of stuff we don't know, but instead of just making things up--or, reciting the superstitions & ignorance of the past--science provides us with a tool to a greater understanding. This may not be what some people want to hear, but I find the miracle (not in any supernatural term) of human life amazing. We've become the conscience of the universe, in a tiny planet, smaller than the small speck of sand in a cosmic beach.

Here's a video made of 7,000 pictures that shows our spaceship Earth moving in along on a beaten path around our sun. Try to find an unpolluted sky at night and look up. Do that as often as you can. I now live north of NYC, where the light pollution isn't so prevalent, so the night sky is stunning!

Happy Festivus (no airing of grievances here) and a Merry New Year!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Ah, this is a great time for celebrating. The colder weather--at least here in the northeast--requires a cozy atmosphere. The winter solstice just took place, so the "new sun" will rise higher and higher for the next 6 months, but every season is nice to experience... all because our earth wobbles like a drunkard! ha!

Enjoy life and don't waste your time with pettiness and unnecessary grief.

A Test of Citizenship

I've been debating with myself whether to post something so serious here at the Casual Cafe, but I'm really disturbed by the continuous violence in Greece. I wrote about this elsewhere, but then my fellow blogger, Doctor [who also has a couple posts on this subject], sent me a link with these pictures...

It's easy to have an emotional reaction to all this, but some deeper thinking is required. What are the causes of this mayhem? Why is it necessary for young (?) Greeks to demand their rights by trampling on the rights of others? Of course, I understand the frustration and anger, but employing such methods of violence?...

I don't live in Greece, so I writing this from abroad and trying to understand what's going on there. I've been asked by my friends, What do those Greeks want? I'm not sure I know the answer. What makes thousands yell, "pigs, murderers" (at the police), and "the state is the biggest terrorist"? Isn't the state of, by, and for the people? Is Greece under foreign occupation? The police represents the state. The police may be a manifestation of the state's incompetence, so it's in everyone's interest to reform it. But, when people demand change by destroying private and public property and putting lives at risk isn't a civilized way in my opinion to ask for improvements.

The killing of the 15-year old was not the reason for the revolt & destruction but it the trigger. I didn't see what most Greeks don't really know what happened when a number of youngster threw stuff at the police. I'm withholding my judgment until we know what happened between the police and the victim. The Greek police is ill-trained and serves as the convenient target of both the public & the government! As for the incident, a bunch of teenagers can be dangerous, so although I'm deeply sadened by the death of the 15 year old, I also accept the principle of self-defense. Many horrible wars & mass killings in Africa showed that children-soldiers can be deadly. Ballistic tests indicate the bullet ricocheted [Kathimerini] No well-trained police fires bullets into the air to scare of demonstrators, but if the Greek police did that in self defense, then the motive is different than murder.

Likewise, Prime Minister Karamanlis declaring, shortly after the incident, "there will be no leniency" for the policeman who shot the kid is a ridiculous statement. The PM and his government aren't in charge of the courts, are they? The police represents the state and if they're incompetent it reflects on his own government. At best, the government through the prosecutor can ask for certain penalties but it should be up to the court to decide what happened and evaluate the circumstances. The PM should wait for an official inquiry before he makes his judgment. Leniency should depend on the circumstances I reckon.

On the other hand, he should also make sure that the police are trained very well, because "firing in the air" to scare the protesters isn’t a technique used by well-trained police! Likewise, it’s appalling that the Greek police beat up the arrested persons. This is another example of an ill-trained force. The Greek government(s)are ultimately responsible for this.

Shifting the blame may be convenient but every citizen should look him/herself in the mirror first. Good parenting is necessary. For example, what were those youngsters doing skirmishing with the police? Good citizenship means being polite to your fellow human beings, that you do not litter, that you protect the forests, the sea and the environment--your own place where you live, your country. Oh, and that you show up on time and perform your duties to the best of your ability.

Little children, immature as they are, sometimes hate their parents but at the same time want them to solve all their problems. Some adults, too, behave like children: they hate the state but demand it solves all their problems!

Certain societies operate by solving their political differences with bullets. Violence against the current government? Sure, but such behavior sets the tone for the next one too. The hard question is this: assuming Greece is not under foreign occupation, what are those qualities that make some countries perform so much better, are more efficient, there’s less corruption, and their people record higher levels of happiness?

PS> I'm including the following because some of the responses to my editorial spoke about "enemies"(foreign and domestic), conspiracies, illegal aliens, etc.

I’m afraid that Greece isn’t being threatened by external enemies as much as from internal problems.The latest events are not the result of foreign enemies, illegal aliens, and a few anarchists. The violence spread all over Greece. If, indeed, those agents are present everywhere and are able to inflict this, then those enemies have won already.