Treading Water

What next? What next?

Oh this?


Ok.

Camera, Camera

I am traveling in Poland now. It is on the whole more similar than it is different, but I find myself seeking out and photographing the details that are "foreign" to me. Neither my traveling companion nor I speak Polish. It is frustrating and a little hollow not to interact with anyone but the young and educated, although we have been profoundly grateful to the young Polish folks who translate between us and, say, the train conductors.

There is something consumptive about being a tourists and I haven't quite figured out how to own it well. We have only a month, which will end soon, and then we return to the US with anecdotes and photos. On that subject of photos and the tourists who take them, I present Camera, Camera a film by my talented friend Malcolm Murray. This is only a trailer, you'll have to attend the LA Film Festival in mid-June to see the world premier, but even this small bit hints at the way the camera facilitates and distorts our consumption of foreign culture. If you're in LA, or know a film or travel buff there, encourage them to make a point of seeing Camera, Camera.

CAMERA, CAMERA - Trailer from malcolm murray on Vimeo.

Cześć

I'll be posting photos here for a while. Also, if you're on the skype, give me a ring at kt.ries. English feels good like a hot shower or a rich meal.

Over and out.

Leaving Home

Every time I prepare to leave a place, my nostalgia for it spurts out of control. Right now, as I prepare to head to Poland for a month, I am especially infatuated with Knoxville and the people here.

In addition to viewing my home and life through rose colored glasses, our damn sweet dog was almost squashed flat by a car today. I had a swift vision of puppy guts and blood, but she was not hit and emerged with only a broken harness to show for the event.

Lord, increase my bewilderment.

The First Land Scouts

Although there have been many who signed on with the Urban Land Scouts, this young person and his mother were the first to send in photo documentation of their scouting.

I am thrilled both to see the second phase of this project start, and to see all the spring plants blooming in the woods around them. You can see more photos at urbanlandscouts.com.

Special Tea

This tea comes from Sally Payne by way of my mother. We drank it all summer when I was younger. The taste signals to me the promise of summer and leisure. It is simple to make, very sweet, slightly caffeinated, and good with ice.

Carrots