Subjective Response

Pee-wee Dinosaur

2007-02-08T14:03:00.001-08:00

cabazon: fearless
Originally uploaded by jek in the box.

This is on my must-see list of Fun Campy Adventures. A trip to Cabazon for the 20-year-old in all of us. Just so we can go in the T-rex's mouth and say "Everyone I know has a big but. C’mon Simone, let’s talk about your big but." Then reenact the chase scene with Andy and Pee-wee, run around screaming Aaaaaah! Classic.

Demonstrate

2006-08-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

DSC_1424
Originally uploaded by digitalgrace.

Banners waving, shouting slogans, fists raised
What do they want? When do they want it?
Voices bark in unison

How many hours a day can a person stand to be tied
To a job?
Tied to machines, concrete, smoke and fumes

For slop on the table
For food in baby's belly
They hammer and pound week after week

All that's left at the end of the day
Pockets full of broken matches that will
Not light

Breastfeeding

2006-08-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

Willow & Bel
Originally uploaded by The Department.

Support breastfeeding! Tips from And baby makes four: World Breastfeeding Week: How YOU Can Help

Photo from The Department

Spider

2006-07-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

Spider
Originally uploaded by jov.

Seeing one in my house
Get a cup to capture him
This process causes my mouth to taste of metal
Afraid spider may run onto my hand
Carry the critter outdoors quick before tang of aluminium engulfs

Seeing one outside I'd never be bothered but
Spiders indoors are another thing. Besides
I'm paranoid
What if
While I'm asleep a spider
Might crawl up inside me
Like the old woman who swallowed a fly

Finding Stillness

2005-08-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

IMG_2051
Originally uploaded by dbraller.

Alone
On forest path
Steps cushioned from sound
Soft blanketing
Layers of fallen needles muffling footfall
Create hushed shuffles

The trail leads to water's green edge
Then hypnotized by murmurs of mossy stone, what else to do
But stare at ripples
Thoughts start to come
Who am I? How do I
Learn to live my life
Alone?

Sharp crow caw jolts the mind's reflection.
A stream's reflection does not suffer the same
Break from reality
It keeps reflecting the world
Peering closer reveals more details

Closer still
Beneath its flow
The still depths
Hold mystery
I know not
If in the cool there
May be peace
Maybe monsters
Maybe nothing
But injured tangles of weed and murk

Easter Island

2005-08-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

Heads
Originally uploaded by oso.

This makes me think of the lost peoples. Big mysteries. What were the statues for? How did they get here and what happened to the people who made them? I wonder about those ancient times that are long forgotten. Thor Heyerdahl tried to prove that the settlers of Easter Island came from South America. Maybe predecesors of the Incan people.

Blowing Out the Candle

2005-07-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

IMG_0687_post
Originally uploaded by isho.

Brian makes the funniest faces. Here is one he made while Isho was attempting to capture his image, blowing out a birthday candle. That's me in the corner. I only cracked up once I had seen the outcome of the photo. I married a goofball, but it's mutual and we make each other laugh.

Body Tattoo

2005-06-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

A Picture Share!
Originally uploaded by doctor paradox.

Wow. Gorgeous.

David Best

2005-06-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

Temple Interior
Originally uploaded by Eric in SF.

According to the photographer, Renegade, David Best wished that the city had given better credit to "The Temple Crew" on the sign they made for the David Best Hayes Green Project. So here's a big "thank you" to the group that built such a beautiful structure. I loved visiting it, sitting there, taking pictures and talking to people who stopped by.

Barceloneta

2005-06-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

beach art
Originally uploaded by moritz™.

Everytime I see a photo of Barcelona it makes me want to go there even more. Even the beaches there have interesting architecture. This structure is on Barceloneta Beach, entitled "Homentage a la Barceloneta" by Rebecca Horn.

African Dance

2005-06-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

200506056
Originally uploaded by jcmunt.

I like the action in the shot. It's exciting, as if the figures will fling themselves right off the screen. What's great is the how they're caught in mid-jump, caught in the second before landing. To see more photos of this troupe, Tiditade, go to their gallery page. Enjoy the pictures, but be warned that the site is in Czech.

Cherry Tree

2005-06-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

cherry tree
Originally uploaded by KitschKat.

Springtime trees covered in blossoms. Magnificent and striking, there's nothing that can capture my attention like this. Purity. Celebration. Flowers everywhere renewing dead branches dotted with round petals. Signal of green leaves soon to sprout. Then fruit in summer. Red ripe juicy cherries to pick from boughs full of treats. Abundant trees, showy and glad.

Fly

2005-06-09T15:11:00.000-07:00

Soaking Up The Sun
Originally uploaded by Clearly Ambiguous.

Another goggle-eyed being captured here, but this time on a small scale. I've never perceived a fly this way before, like all of a sudden it's cute. With green and pink background and the way it's resting on a thick, lush leaf. The fly's solitude...quite touching, really. There's even a sense of an idyllic peacefulness. No rubbish heap, no rotting corpse. The beauty here overcomes my usual revulsion towards the fly. Hairy back and legs fade away, outshined by delicate wings and amber-gold eyes.

Futuristic

2005-06-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

A Picture Share!
Originally uploaded by doctor paradox.

I think this woman looks like someone who stepped out of a sci-fi movie or a Mad Max set. Probably because of the goggles. Plus, she seems determined, scanning on the horizon for what's ahead. Proud, strong, tall and focused. Amazonian. Imagine her piloting some kind of huge vehicle like in Brazil. She's a sphinx.

Healthy Cookies?

2005-06-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

DCP_3376
Originally uploaded by stu_spivack.

This made me laugh out loud. The chocolate one is half eaten, and the Health Valley rice bran & amaranth graham crackers are still stacked up. But the real reason it was funny to me was that my friend shot me down recently when I bought some of the oat bran graham crackers to make s'mores with. "No." she said. So I had to go back and get the traditional kind with GMOs and trans fat. We all know how it is... bleached flour and high fructose corn syrup make them irresistable.

Elusive Prize

2005-06-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

P1010330
Originally uploaded by mirzamir.

Enticing prizes there to lure kids. The machine's claw seems to always let slip the toy. Lifts up half way then plop. Down falls the stuffed animal. Frustration.

Temple of Joy

2005-05-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

Temple of Joy
Originally uploaded by sleepycat.

Pictures of this temple remind me of how it feels for me to miss a year of Burning Man. The year was 2002, and I couldn't make it out that Labor Day for the first time in three years. All I could do was look at online photo galleries later and admire. I spent hours looking at images others had captured. The Temple of Joy was one of the art pieces I most wished I could have been in, because of the deep significance it has for us to remember our dead. My friend told me he left something there for his mother, because her name was Joy. So I think this year will suffer the same envy. I can't go, but my closest friends and family are. Well, if 2005 is anything like 2002, then they should have the best time and enjoy the kindest weather.

Ocean Crashes

2005-05-19T17:08:00.000-07:00

More Waves
Originally uploaded by nattywoohoo.

There's something so soothing and hypnotizing about watching the ocean. Today I was feeling extra tense. "Need to relax," I thought. Since going to the beach wasn't an option, I just looked at pictures of beaches. Most of them made me wish I could take off and go to some tropical isle somewhere, but this one almost brought me the sounds of the sea. Can you hear it?

Its Frogness

2005-05-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

Sunbathing
Originally uploaded by Corydora.

What is it about frogs? Sometimes I think they're so cute, and at others I feel squirmish. It's true that some people love frogs and think they're all adorable, but not me. I like the tiny golden frogs you find in NorCal ponds. Bullfrogs scare me. As a four-year-old, it was terrifying to listen to their noise at night and I couldn't fall asleep. To be fair, though, I think that if I were to come across even a huge one on a walk, I'd probably be enraptured at the sight. Frogs fascinate me. The urge to go near one outweighs the instinct to run away. After all, the stories I heard as a girl about the ones that squirt blinding venom at people... well those involve toads, don't they?

Funny Dunny

2005-05-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

IMG_4268
Originally uploaded by mediaeater.

Okay, I know I'm behind on this one, but if you haven't seen these, Kid Robot's Dunny Show NYC from 2004 was way cool. Dunny is a vinyl figure/collectible toy designed by artist Tristan Eaton and the show exhibited Dunny pieces customised by artists such as Tim Biskup, Frank Kozik and Gary Baseman. Further photos from the Detroit leg at CPop can be seen on the Flickr page of Shidoshi. I'll admit I got all flushed when I saw them.

Photo by mediaeater

B-boy in Action

2005-05-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

head spin
Originally uploaded by pearwithlegs.

When this popped up in my FlickrFox sidebar, I was riveted. Back in 2000 my b-boy friend exposed me to a lot of breakdancing. It would always make my heart beat faster. Even standing on the outside of the circle watching them dance, eveyone nodding heads to the rhythm, rocking along and cheering the moves. Headspins were one of those that got the people clapping. What a rush when everybody tuned in. No haters jealous of the space taken by breakers, everybody craning and nodding and rocking together, and the lightning-fast dancers in the middle of it all. B-boys and b-girls crouched on the inside edge, ready to jump in. Show off the fancy footwork or gymnastics. Crazy flexible bodies bouncing back and forth. A battle nobody had to die in. If the flow was good one would pounce up, the other give way. If the timing was off, they might both throw down. Play against each other. Fierce and sweating. We went wild for a tricky freeze or flip at the end.

Photo by pearwithlegs.

Changing Clouds

2005-05-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

Still seeking skies
Originally uploaded by Pandiyan.

Momentum and motion of clouds running along wide expanses almost sucks me up into space. I drift along with them. Swift face of creation passing up and beyond the trees, the land. Beyond my body. Feet no longer touch the ground. Rising undulations take my breath away. Astonished.

Gavin Newsom

2005-04-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

IM003898
Originally uploaded by sfist.

Mr. Slick politician guy using public relations to gain street cred with disenfranchised groups. Very clever if you ask me. Of course he should be applauded for the good he does, but I hope his head doesn't get big from too much praise. Well, at least he isn't as flashy as Willie Brown. Still, what I'm saying is "don't believe [all] the hype." If something looks better than should be believed, then it probably has cracks. My gut tells me that he's trying to woo the lefties because so many of them voted against him in such large numbers.

Taste It

2005-04-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

Marnee Thai (5)
Originally uploaded by Eric in SF.

Oh yes oh yes. The slurp smacking, taste-bud-tingling goodness that makes a slobbering dog of the best of us. Mmm. Chew on the salty flavors of noodles, the crunchy greens, smell the aroma of sweet sauce and bite into soft tomato red. Makes you glow inside. Satisfy your stomach's mumbling hunger. That's why it's good for the craving spirit.

Marc Bamuthi Joseph

2005-04-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

Bamuthi Joseph
Originally uploaded by ekai.

A poet? Yes. Performer? Ditto. But I have said it before and will say it again. Bamuthi is most like a preacher. Not in a dry, moralising, "do-as-I-say" kind of way, but in the uplifting tone of his voice that provides an adrenaline rush for the audience when he's working them up.

For Bring the Noise 2005 he got the crowd hollering and then threw them a heavy load. He spoke of African Americans expressing "pain and rage," of Haitian suffering, of being made to feel unAmerican. Then he talked of his two-year-old son being shaped by mainstream forces that were against everything he believed in. He danced, too. Pirouettes followed body waves and street moves to the beat of congas.

Was it all too much to take in at once? Perhaps, but at least people listening didn't have to keep shushing all the loud, restless teens as they did throughout Ishle Yi Park's performance. It was an appropriate segueway to allow for Beau Sia to bring the house down.

Photo by ekai.

Surreality

2005-04-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

P1010013
Originally uploaded by timc74.

Peering through the dust cloud, a vision. Another world of shapes and dreams disguised as twisted metal folding back on itself convulsing. A ladder to somewhere undiscovered. The climbers move on to the other side, leaving me behind.

Raving

2005-04-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

17640027
Originally uploaded by ryumu.

That used to be me, but not so much anymore. Being a part of the counterculture long enough has given me an identity crisis as of late. A conflict. Am I part of the mainstream now? Does settling down necessarily mean giving up ideals of youth? How very San Francisco of me to wonder these things. In other places people my age would have let it go long before now. But I'm reluctant. Guess that's why I live here.

Leo the Lion

2005-04-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

Dozy lion
Originally uploaded by imarsman.

Most male and regal, ruled by the sun. Magnetic, dramatic yet languid at ease. Mysterious. Lover of pleasure, are you hedonistic? Appearing in my dreams you offer me approval. A good omen to make me glad.

Awww

2005-04-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

nate_mommy
Originally uploaded by scarbiedoll.

I want to be a mommy like her. Everytime I see a baby now it gets me all mushy inside and fills me with longing. The rational part of me goes into hiding, forgetting that it spent years saying babies would make me lose too much sleep. Now I've found someone who actually would make a good dad, that's all gone out the window. So here I am all wist-filled. Somewhere in my chest radiates a soft warmth. If I don't get pregnant soon, the worry will take over, and I'll be filled with a whole new feeling. Hopefully that won't happen. Boy, do I need to learn how to relax.

Loneliness

2005-04-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

Performing Elephant
Originally uploaded by bintibee.

Elephant in captivity. Solitary confinement. Herdless. No fields to roam or hills to climb. No rivers for swimming. Death by degenerative-foot disease. Will not live to see 60. Where are the others?

Charlie Chan Isn't Dead

2005-04-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

I saw a photo on flickr and it reminded me of being surrounded by Caucasian kids chanting "Chinese Japanese/Look at these/Dirty knees," while pulling their eyes into slants. Ouch. Bad memories.

That got me thinking about a story I heard where Fox Movie Channel planned to air a Charlie Chan marathon in 2003. Some people objected due to the blatant stereotypes of Asians in those films, which then led one commentator to express surprise because, he said, "these people are usually too [busy] acheiving to bellyache."

People mocked the objectors' complaints that Charlie Chan was a "painful reminder." Greg Crosby dismissed it as "witch-hunting activist groups on the left" out to save the world from evil.

Fox suspended plans, but finally showed the movies due to uproar from viewers. It seems that our pain doesn't count.

Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan