|
|
by doug | April 29th, 2011 @ 7:37 pm
 I do not really have anything meaningful to say. I cannot add anything to the discussion, and I feel very distant from Tuscaloosa which, more than any other place, is truly my hometown. I was born at Druid City Hospital, now overwhelmed by displaced Alabamians in need of treatment for their injuries. A great percentage of my happiest moments were there on campus, whose historic structures were miraculously spared. I have spent more of my adult life in T-town than anywhere else, and I will always go back. Always.
I have been posting random bits of media and info to my facebook page. I will post some here too. They will overlap, so I apologize for the redundancy. I think it is important to understand the magnitude of what happened, the tragic aftermath and those who are devoting their time and energy to the relief effort.
First: this is the most incredible and horrifying tornado video I have ever seen, amateur or professional.
I don’t know what kind of vehicle this guy was in, but we know the front seat had to have been big enough to accommodate himself, his camera, and his gargantuan set of balls.
The death toll just keeps climbing as rescue efforts continue.
Coach Saban and Coach Stallings are lending their support where they can.
Local animal rescuers have set up a page for lost and found pets.
I just realized I could keep linking and linking forever. Go to YouTube and Flickr and do a search if you want to see more footage. There is so much amateur material out there. It really serves to make an already, for me at least, personal story that much more personal and that much more real and frightening. Students with their cameras pointed at the skies before running for their lives. Local storm spotters trying to report and warn and, at the same time, stay out of harm’s way. This isn’t "When Weather Attacks Vol. 4" tonight on Fox. This is home.
Look at this. 15th St. and McFarland. It is unrecognizable.
Here’s the point. If you don’t want to read all my bullshit just skip to right here: please donate what you can to the American Red Cross either via their website or by texting 90999 from your phone. There are so many neighbors in need and every single tiny bit helps. Thanks. And Roll Tide.
by doug | April 22nd, 2011 @ 10:20 pm
Rather than start this off with the same tired apology for not having written more often, etcetera, I am electing instead to dive right into the reinstatement of the long-dead Friday Thought Dump (I would link to one but, damn, they are so uninteresting… let’s hope I’ve upped my game since then).
I started reading David Foster Wallace’s posthumous novel, The Pale King, appropriately (its loose collection of characters are IRS accountants at the Peoria, IL processing center), on April 15th. There are many, many reviews floating around out here in the internet already, but perhaps I will be able to add one more viewpoint to the discussion: a review from the perspective of an actual public accountant. I am, admittedly, not very far into the novel as yet, but already Claude Sylvanshine’s interjecting interior monologue re: CPA examination questions and answers hit so close to home I feel like weeping.
Have you ever been rejected? I bet it wasn’t like this.
I love my iPhone. I use it for everything. I should probably post some of my favorite apps – that would make a fine throwaway blog post someday.
One bittersweet note: I’m a little discouraged by how much fun I’m having taking pictures with my phone. On the one hand I feel like it is encouraging me to be more thoughtful about what makes a good shot – especially in situations when I normally would not have my DSLR at my side. But I can also see myself stagnating because the dead simple photography apps make crafting a creative image so effortless.
It doesn’t help that I pretty much lost an entire weekend’s batch (roughly 550 photographs) due to operator error this month. We drove up into northeastern NM and, as usual, ended up on an unimproved road in the gorgeous middle of nowhere. The next day we went to the zoo and I took all kinds of pictures of the animals and so forth. Ninety percent of them are worthless. I went the entire weekend thinking I had the camera at its normal ‘auto’ setting, when in actuality it was in manual mode the entire time – still adjusted for taking pictures of the moon. I am going to try to salvage some of the more interesting shots. As it stands, the iPhone got the best captures:
   
   
There you have it, folks. Hodgepodge at its finest.
by doug | March 20th, 2011 @ 9:47 pm
Thursday afternoon I stumbled onto some internet post or another that indicated that there would be a lunar phenomenon called a ‘supermoon" happening Saturday evening. Not having anything else to do, the wife and I headed south and set up the tripod on a remote county road outside the village of Hatch, New Mexico (where they have the chile festival). I have included some pictures of the location and a couple of the moon rising over the hills. The best part was just being out in the country like that, without any sounds or too many traces of civilization. I do not really have the right lens for astronomy work, but it was a blast all the same. I would like to go out there again on a moonless night so that we could view the stars unhampered by the glare of man-made or natural lights. Anyway, on with the photo show.
 
 
View photo gallery here.
by doug | February 26th, 2011 @ 9:28 pm
 For the past six months, ever since I relocated to the Land of Enchantment in mid-August, I have taken every chance to regale my friends and relations back home with tales of the glorious food culture here in New Mexico. It did not take long at all for green chile stew to become one of my go-to kitchen concoctions, and if I go a week or so without huevos smothered in red chile sauce I start going through withdrawals. I serve steaks with flour tortillas on the side. Every time I fly back in to the Sunport after a business or pleasure trip, I hit the Frontier before going home. The food here is awesome, and I have adopted it and rave about it.
I say all that to say this: today, it is time to give my native South some love.
Today I discovered Pepper’s, and holy shit it is slap-your-momma incredible. Pepper’s is located across from the New Mexico State Fairgrounds on San Pedro Drive, in a little strip next to a payday loan store and a barber shop. Pepper’s proper name is Pepper’s Ole Fashion BBQ and Soul Food, and is owned by Daniel "Pepper" Morgan — who learned to cook from his grandmother, was once the Dallas Cowboys’ official barbeque-er (the fact that that position exists makes the world a better place), and whose eyes lit up when we told him we were from Birmingham (he used to visit ‘Bama with some of his fraternity brothers and remembers the Jefferson County pig ears and chitterlings fondly).
We knew we’d found the right lunch spot when we spotted the two hand-painted signs along San Pedro announcing "BBQ!" and "Turkey Legs!" and the iron barrel grill in the parking lot wafting aromas that could only originate from meats on the tail end of a good 7-8 hour long smoking. Mr. Morgan mans the grill. Mr. Morgan cooks the veggies — which today included fried okra, collard greens and mac & cheese. Mr. Morgan runs the register, which is cash-only since the credit card machine broke.
There is bottled water available, but we chose a couple of cans of soda from the ice-filled cooler in front of the counter. Mr. Morgan brought our meals to the table. I had the brisket. Leslie chose the ribs. I will definitely be going back to sample the turkey legs and catfish. Sweet-potato cornbread and two pieces of white bread are served with each platter. There is Louisiana Hot Sauce and other condiments available in the knick-knacked dining room. There is also a couch where I fantasized about spending the rest of the afternoon sleeping off lunch with the smells from the grill piping in through the windows.
The verdict? We will be regulars here. Damn.
So, to my readers in Albuquerque: you owe it to yourselves to pay Pepper’s a visit. This endorsement comes from someone who was born and raised in the Deep South. This is real soul food and real good. I want Mr. Morgan to adopt me and take me home with him. So, stop by sometime. You will probably see me in the corner booth with a brontosaurus-sized turkey leg in hand and a roll of paper towels at my side. Ignore me. I’m back home.
  
Lovingly cross-posted to Duke City Fix.
by doug | January 30th, 2011 @ 6:20 pm
The final plays from the 2009 and 2010 BCS National Championship games. Cheers to the great football state of Alabama – producing the last two national champions and the last two Heisman trophy winners. I think we can keep the streak alive in 2011. This one is somewhat reminiscent, in my mind, of Two Histories from August 2009.
View the photo gallery here.
by doug | January 16th, 2011 @ 10:51 am
 The dedicated photography website is finally current.
Last night I unpacked the desktop setup – dual monitors and all – and got innovative with the dining room table and some cable ties. Aside from some outdated software and virus definitions and what-not, everything was in working order and all hardware survived the cross-country move intact. (My wife’s concerns about possible dog urination-related corrosion also proved to be unfounded.)
There is definitely something about 1) a fully functional workspace and 2) some semblance of a final product that seem to inject some necessary creative energy into the process. My photography has a place to live and breathe. I will be able to manage and edit photos on screens large enough to be useful. And my wife, if she so desires, doesn’t have to browse facebook on a mobile phone screen the size of a postage stamp. Everybody wins!
Anyway, it isn’t anything miraculously advanced, but it is absolutely up-to-date. Visit www.dougscarboroughphotography.com to view the gallery.
|
