photo philosophy

As you know, I am very worried about the state of pictures in the modern world. I heard on NPR that we should basically just assume that everything that we save in the cloud is lost. LOST. We are too reliant on some server somewhere to save our most treasured memories! To help alleviate my anxiety over this issue, I have been printing hard copies of my favorite digital photos from each year and storing them in photo boxes in a closet. I am convinced that my family will, in the near future, be heralding me as a genius for all of this work that I’m doing (alternatively, I imagine myself cradling the picture box while keeping warm around a post-apocalyptic warmth/food fire). At first, I limited myself to only 100 pictures a year (that’s how many fit into the plastic photo boxes), but I just completed years 2013 and 2014 (I was behind!) and decided to eff it--I just can’t be bound by those numbers, especially since the year 2013 was the year of the best experience of my entire life—the MS Delta experience. I’ve been really thinking about it recently because one of my xmas presents to Natan was a trip to Blues and Biscuits, a SF club that plays blues nightly and serves Southern food (but not sweet tea, which baffles me, and makes me think less of it as an establishment). I bought tickets immediately upon learning about it in December, so excited to hear good music (we actually went to a gospel Christmas concert) and reminisce about our time in the Deep South.

I then got to thinking about how “best life experiences” naturally have to shift over time, due to the addition of so many more life experiences. I think that the Great Barrier Reef might have been the previous best, ousted now by Mississippi. I know it makes absolutely no sense that wonderful places in the world, like Vienna, Mexico, the interior of AK, are all second fiddle to what many consider an American wasteland, but there it is. In the words of the wizened and talented Selena Gomez, “the heart wants what it wants”. This heart is moved by American history, familial lore and regional fried foods. I think part of its specialness was because it involved learning and touring—two things that I love. Teaching is hard, way underpaid and a grind, but there are these opportunities that simply do not exist in other careers (excluding, of course, academics). I’m about to embark on another one tomorrow--to rainy Seattle to attend an astronomy conference (WHAT?! Dreams do come true) and begin a year-long research project on black holes (!) with two other teachers and an astronomer at CalTech. It is very exciting to be back on government per diem! There is no such thing as “teacher per diem”. If you work at a good school, such as mine, then perhaps you are thrown 30 clams/day to offset your food expenses, but it’s just a random and made up number, and it does not account for differences in expenses across the country. Government per diem is so much more generous. I think it’s around 80 bucks/day for Seattle, which will buy me a lot of Dungeness crab! My goal is to blog every day, both about 2014 xmas and the experience of an astronomy conference (how will it be different from an earth science one? Will there be free beer at 4 pm?).

Until then, I will leave you with some pics of Blues and Biscuits (the second holiday concert we went to over this break. The first was Chanticleer, the all-male chorus that Natan requested again this year after mocking my penchant for idiosyncratic gifts last year. He knows what’s up with awesome Christmas experience-gifts).

 In line outside.

There were three panels--MS Delta, Chicago and Memphis.  We've been to most of the places depicted on all three.

Dockery farms--the birthplace of the father of the blues (and forerunner in name choice for new baby)!

The Checkerboard lounge on the south side of Chicago--my recollections of it are that it was very smokey.  I'm really glad that I went in college.  I heard it's moved locations.

 Descending.

SF building decorated for xmas!  Blues and Biscuits is very close to the tenderloin.