I know, it might seem like the kind of blog where a guy travels around taking pictures and talking about the places he went to, and I do do that, but mostly this is the kind of blog where you go to see giant snake heads rising out of the water, snake heads made by mirror-imaging a photo of the moon, glowing through the trees… and making fun of Donald tRump, and stuff.
It is amazing, the time and effort and technology we have utilized in the search for more efficient ways to do each other in.
Most ancient weapons and sets of armor that still survive belonged to rich people. They had space to store stuff, even after they got too fat to wear it or too old to use it. They had servants to oil and preserve their stuff.
Although that looks like it belonged to a regular guy.
Most of the things you are looking at cost more than a peasant made in their lifetime.
Not that that kept the rich asshats from giving the peasants a pointy stick and a leather shirt and making them do most of the fighting.
I was never a fan of using horses for war. I hate it, but thanks for at least giving them some protection.
But hey, a well-trained war horse was expensive.
Okay, we are coming up to the fancy butts… gun butts.
A very few of these might be hunting weapons.
But you must admit, the craftsmanship is incredible.
And now, the fanciest butt of all…
I flintlock pistol with a face on the butt. I couldn’t help but think that, if you hit someone with that… pistol-whipped… it would leave an impression… of that face.
Keep calm, and don’t lose your head, that is the main thing, right?
Why is my son-in-law standing in front of an ancient Roman mosaic floor? And why does he look so much like that guy in the tiles, handing the maiden a… flower arrangement? A fruit assortment? A horn of plenty?
Why does it look like we are in the chapel in an old castle?
What’s with the fancy coat of arms thingie?
How long did that guy have to stand around in his fancy party armor to have his portrait painted?
Which of those suits of armor would look best on Jason?
Why does that ancient Viking dagger look so uncomfortable to stab someone with? Did part of the handle rot away?
Is that a stirrup? When did they invent stirrups anyway? It seems like stirrups would really make swing a sword on horseback a lot easier, and couldn’t you use a lance more effectively?
Why is there a lady lurking behind that knight? And why is his shield so freekin’ big?
How many kinds of swords are there?
And what is really better for armored, hand-to-hand combat, a sword, or a mace, or a war hammer, or an axe? And why does your spell-checker underline ‘axe’ like it is not a real word? It is a real word, isn’t it?
Is that an upside-down mermaid on that helmet?
Wow, you ask really good questions. A lot of them. And the answers will be revealed. Maybe not the answers to these particular questions, but at least I will fill you in on where Jason and I went on our boys-day-out in New York.
Don’t get too excited.
When I say ‘final chapter’, I mean just of the wiggly pictures I took on the first night of our 3-and-a-half-day adventure in New York, standing by the East River and overlooking Manhattan across the river.
But you have survived to the last post of the first day. Now, let me see if I can explain why I love taking these photos.
Mostly, it is just that I never know how they will turn out until I look at them full-sized. Some are awesome. I find them artsy.
Also, I like the challenge of figuring out what combination of distance, lens, lighting and wiggle give the best result.
Also, there are things about this which I do not understand.
Why is it that some lights leave a complete, distinct line, while others seem to stutter and leave dots or dashes behind?
But yeah, mostly it is the wiggle. I try sweeps and swoops, up and down flicks, side to side swipes.
That one of the Brooklyn Bridge is barely wiggly.
And that one, of a skyscraper on the island across the way, seems to be repetitive up and down wiggle, with a slight curve. I may have been using the zoom lens on that one. Maybe I should be taking notes.
Now that is some world-class wiggling!
Okay, see you soon for the start of day two… which is going to contain lots of photos of penises. Yes, you heard me. Penis pictures. I am mostly telling you that to see if anybody is reading the words on these posts, but it is absolutely true. And yet, we will still stay within the framework of my more-or-less family-friendly blog. I hope.
Once again, my title is too clever by half. Obviously, these are just more of those photos I take when the lighting is low, and the shutter stays open longer, and I wiggle the camera around trying to get interesting results.
But how often do I get to do it while standing by the East River, not far from the Brooklyn Bridge?
Not often, since I live in San Diego, in California, and it is not close to New York City.
But, as you may be aware, I was there recently to visit one of my kids.
So I took the shot. A few shots, actually.
Sometimes these are awesome, and sometimes they aren’t.
I just enjoy doing it. I discovered this art-form when I was at my mom’s house for Christmas last year, and I was trying to take pictures of the Christmas tree in low light.
Turns out, after a few adult beverages, my hands are not always steady.
Wiggly lights reflected in wiggly water.
I am still playing with the best distance to take these from, and whether or not to use the zoom lens.
But mostly, it is all about the wiggle. That one isn’t nearly wiggly enough. I have about two more posts of these, but I am not adding any words to them, so I hope you read the words in this post. Then, we are done with day one of the three-and-a-half day adventure. And, as usual, I will probably save the best few of these to do some other weird digital stuff with someday.
But I did warn you that those purple lights would come back to haunt you.
There she is, calling you, lighting the way to…
More pictures of that dang bridge.
But look, it is getting dark.
The lights are coming on.
The bridge has adorned herself in sparkling jewels.
Manhattan is lit up like a Christmas tree.
Darkness descends over the East River like a cloak.
Okay, I am trying too hard. That was just stupid. You put a cloak on just like a coat, only without the trouble of finding the arm holes… sleeves… I know because I have a cloak. I would like to say I only wear it on Halloween, but that wouldn’t be true.
Remember those purple lights over there. They will be highlighted in the next few posts… but in a weird way.
And really, can you blame me for taking so many pictures here?
Even the bridge footing is lit up in purple. I love purple.
That is a fancy restaurant on the East River, under the end of the bridge. It is lit up like a fairy tale. And Manhattan gleams in the distance.
Because it is getting dark, you know what that means.
You have survived almost to the end of the first day of our 3-and-a-half day trip to New York! You deserve a medal. You must be exhausted.
Hit this button!
Click it! Just do it!
Click to go to book page with links
A book for kids... Click to go to book page with links
Otherwheres Collide-my newest book
Pouring My Art Out by Arthur H. Browne is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.Based on a work at https://pouringmyartout.wordpress.com/.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
