January 2009 Archives
January 22, 2009
about these days...
nothing beats the feeling of staying at your in-laws' with your significant other...
...with all four in-laws being happy about it.
that's loving parents.
nothing to hide.
nothing to rush.
no need for signed paperwork.
no need for social approval.
no need to stand in front of an audience as if we were a fucking show... saying out loud words copied over and over and over.
...nothing against that, though...
breathtaking... this is life.
no books, no pretensions, no name dropping to show yourself.
... this is who you are.
no armor.
...with all four in-laws being happy about it.
that's loving parents.
nothing to hide.
nothing to rush.
no need for signed paperwork.
no need for social approval.
no need to stand in front of an audience as if we were a fucking show... saying out loud words copied over and over and over.
...nothing against that, though...
breathtaking... this is life.
no books, no pretensions, no name dropping to show yourself.
... this is who you are.
no armor.
January 14, 2009
post-2008 thoughts
Now that 2008 has passed us by, here are some thoughts about it.
Worst band of 2008: Coldplay
Band that pushed it too hard to be pop and now they're public figures instead of people focused on music: Bajofondo Tango Club.
Best new band (well, new for me): Editors
Best new thing I can't live without:TV Series
Best 2008 event: Foundry Photojournalist Workshop - Mexico City
Best new tool in 2008: Shared between the m6, the rolleinars and the lenovo s10
Worst person during 2008: hahaha. sooo many.
Worst 2008 drivers: Monterrey drivers
Worst 2008 roadtrip: McAllen - N, Jules and Luis
Best artsy fartsy thing in 2008: Participating in Antony Gormley's Allotment
There are many other things, but I'm too lazy to think tonight.
Hope life catches you well.
J
Worst band of 2008: Coldplay
I liked Coldplay. I really did. I liked them enough to grab a plane and see them live at Madison Sq Garden. I still think Spies is their best song... ever. But somehow it had been spiraling downward since the second album came out.
I tried too hard to not complain about the second and third album, but after Violet Hill I threw the towel. I felt seriously disappointed. It's like you're dating someone who you felt infatuated with. Yeah, the first flush was awesome, but then somehow you realize (s)he's really stupid. And you keep saying to yourself how this may just be a bad streak... over and over and over. Until they publicly do something that embarrasses you so hard that you realize how it's been shitty all along.
And the last album... please... just take a look at the cover. They claim to have been inspired by Frida Khalo (suuuucks) and people throwing out the status quo. Guuuys, last time I heard, in the painting La liberté guidant le peuple, Eugène Delacroix depicts people being guided by FREEDOM, commemorating the French revolution of 1830. So... why the *fuck*is it cool to "vandalize" a painting that represents what they heartedly support? I don't get it. It'd be better to paint over something that represents the old regime, or something they hate, otherwise it's like a rebel without a cause... like a 10 yr old boy saying "no" to all.
Eugène Delacroix - La liberté guidant le peuple
Source: Wikipedia
Band that pushed it too hard to be pop and now they're public figures instead of people focused on music: Bajofondo Tango Club.
The first time I heard BFTC, a friend and I were talking about how cool Gotan Project was, then he gave me a cd and insisted I should hear it.
After listening to the cd a few times I really liked it. The style was so fresh that I read about the band, origins, and influences. Since I've been a fan of Gustavo Santaolalla is one of my favorite artists for soundtracks as well as Eric Sierra, I kept reading and listening.
And so the Bajofondo story went on... i kept on listening, and then bought the Bajofondo Remixed cd... lots of stuff from Luciano Supervielle
...and then came Mar Dulce. It's a different concept from the previous cd, but well, an inevitable change, nevertheless. Lots of collaborations.... to the point that some people i've spoken with, believe that Gustavo Cerati is a member of BFTC.
And that sucks.
Best new band (well, new for me): Editors
Yes, yes, yes yes. Would undoubtedly see them live.
I prefer them over Interpol. Great drummer, and an overall feeling that reminds me of bleak, gray skies, and decaying urban landscapes.
Best new thing I can't live without:TV Series
My personal favorites:There are others, but well, it's a short list anyway. Honorable mention to Samantha Who, My Boys, and Eli Stone.
- The Big Bang Theory: Even before it debuted here I wanted to see that. After the first episode, I was hooked.
- Project Runway: Can't think about seeing it without N. She's got an amazing taste.
- Family Guy: Evidently.
Best 2008 event: Foundry Photojournalist Workshop - Mexico City
I had never been in a formal photo workshop... and well... it rocked big time.
Awesome teachers, awesome friends, and got to meet some of the guys of MJR.
Best new tool in 2008: Shared between the m6, the rolleinars and the lenovo s10
Cameras and computers.... my tools.
Worst person during 2008: hahaha. sooo many.
Yeah, well... go figure
Worst 2008 drivers: Monterrey drivers
There's this little thing called BRAKES!!!
Worst 2008 roadtrip: McAllen - N, Jules and Luis
According to what I heard, undoubtedly... the worst.
Best artsy fartsy thing in 2008: Participating in Antony Gormley's Allotment
Contemporary art at its best. And with someone who proposes something rather interesting. Funny thing: he did not care about Tec... when the wifey called he said something like "yeah, i'm in a university of some sort... don't know really".
Try swallow your shitty ego for once, ITESM!!!
There are many other things, but I'm too lazy to think tonight.
Hope life catches you well.
J
1000 kms and a new life ahead
Another year, another place
1000 km drive in a packed up car
I'm sick of Monterrey, and these last months are finally over.
I should have left a year ago, but well... I had all this time to find myself an inspiration; mine is to never get stuck there.
So yes, I'm back home in good ol' Mexico City,
not a tourist stop, but mexico city, nevertheless
rays of light
one of the limits of mexico city. nothing but desolation beyond this places
weird palm that grows tomatoes near N's house
nice place to go for a run
please refrain from playing with the beer tap... note the napkins underneath
you can't call it a night until there's broken glass and spilled beer
24 hour flower shops
Happiness is a cool glass of tangerine water
i've got this thing going on where my patience is super short, and my temper is very explosive. do or say something that pisses me off, and you'll hear a not-so-nice version of me.
no fucking kidding.
now, the funny part is that I don't like Mexico City anymore.
too many cars, too many people, and this air of being a huge cage.
i'm not going to rant about assholes who think that visiting Mexico City is so chick and a sort of statement. Please...
look how far you've arrived by now.
all on daddy's expense.
yeah... my father paid for my college as well, but where I'm heading in a couple of weeks, you can't buy your way in.
you have to earn that yourself.
i've lived this year totally independent from my folks. independent on a scholarship salary totally sucks. but it teaches you one thing: you have to make it; no plan B and no calling dad.
i'm even thinking about taking less photos; I'm getting to this point where much of the things I've done seem to take an awful lot of time and energy...
this is a "back to basics" type thing... that's why 95% of the photos i've taken lately are made on an m6 and a single 35mm lens.
film shot with said m6:
portra 160VC
Monterrey "Cotemporany" Art Museum - Love the blue elevator. 1 seg at f1.4
i'm amazed at how certain people you don't expect become very close friends. The one thing I will surely miss from Monterrey, are N's friends... and the fact that by the end, a lot of them had become mutual friends.
It's even better when you realize they're geniuses in their own ways... and none of them are pretentious... even though most could lecture me on their specialties.
(and those who seem pretentious at first, well, they have the means to actually be)
I am seeing a sort of pattern here... go somewhere, make friends, and then leave.
...as if I was creating future nostalgia.
and right now i've got this feeling of saudade thinking of all the worthy people i've met and left eventually. thankfully all those who are worthy of a true friendship still remain in contact. no pretending, no convenience... truth and honesty when i ask them what's up with their lives.
a church I've seen maaany times and finally decided to enter
bench store. Weird.
home safety. f2
stalled car just before rush hour
strange liquid coming out of the guy's shoes
love portra+sky. I should do a series of these
ya never know when ya gonna use 'em huge sunglasses
watts humphrey at my school. I got an autograph for my PSP book at last
Daydreaming
shallow DOF - click to view larger
christmas tree in paseo sn pedro
sam
vecindad
for those of you who are fans of ass
stand for rent
since sam and diego had their cameras out in the open, people posed
portra shining
BW
Delta 400 - 120
a bit (and not so cheap) piece of egypt (or so they said)
crappy overpriced apartments just by the uni
mirrors
music guy selling memorabilia
delta 400 - 35mm
protection
walls held together by faith
the very last one of the personal stuff
"What I want is the world to remember the problems and the people I photograph. What I want is to create a discussion about what is happening around the world and to provoke some debate with these pictures. Nothing more than this. I don't want people to look at them and appreciate the light and the palate of tones. I want them to look inside and see what the pictures represent, and the kind of people I photograph."
- Sebastiao Salgado (Excerpts from an interview with Sebastiao Salgado by Ken Lassiter, Photographer's Forum)
urban nonsense
for some weird reason, about a three weeks before we left, there was a huge festival where people drew famous paintings near the central plaza... right on the floor. you grabbed some chalks and did it.
maaaaany artists there
some others were not painting... well, not exactly
some others just dressed up and took a break
a close up of the process
love alleyways
saying thanks to the flock... a sort of marketing
taxi mirrors... last day i taught class at a high school
kermit visiting home
not being in monterrey means no jumps across the border to pick up stuff from my mailbox, or going over with friends to pick someone's stuff up... like this-that mcallen visit with luis g., jules, and n.
yeah, like 2 hour wait to cross the border, but well, that's how life is.
then drive back through god-awful-reynosa and then back home... all in one day.
truly bilingual stuff--- when i think spanish is stronger than english in that part of town
bolsa "chivera" - the perfect bag to store your shit when crossing the border: huge and resistent for the trip
gum in the streets
mcallen bus station
and the compulsory stop at pizza hut
bus mirrors - awful exposure
one of the last meals
...and that was it. i still have many rolls to develop, but a pro-lab will certainly help me out with those... which means more time to read, write, and learn how to do what i'll get paid to do.
N and i chose what to do next. not just what i wanted or what she wanted... what both of us wanted. i don't think i could do that with anyone else... there's something magical about everything working out perfectly in every way. timing, parents, and decisions.
i guess there'll be a lifetime to keep that working.
hope life catches you well.
J
1000 km drive in a packed up car
I'm sick of Monterrey, and these last months are finally over.
I should have left a year ago, but well... I had all this time to find myself an inspiration; mine is to never get stuck there.
So yes, I'm back home in good ol' Mexico City,
not a tourist stop, but mexico city, nevertheless
rays of light
one of the limits of mexico city. nothing but desolation beyond this places
weird palm that grows tomatoes near N's house
nice place to go for a run
please refrain from playing with the beer tap... note the napkins underneath
you can't call it a night until there's broken glass and spilled beer
24 hour flower shops
Happiness is a cool glass of tangerine water
i've got this thing going on where my patience is super short, and my temper is very explosive. do or say something that pisses me off, and you'll hear a not-so-nice version of me.
no fucking kidding.
now, the funny part is that I don't like Mexico City anymore.
too many cars, too many people, and this air of being a huge cage.
i'm not going to rant about assholes who think that visiting Mexico City is so chick and a sort of statement. Please...
look how far you've arrived by now.
all on daddy's expense.
yeah... my father paid for my college as well, but where I'm heading in a couple of weeks, you can't buy your way in.
you have to earn that yourself.
i've lived this year totally independent from my folks. independent on a scholarship salary totally sucks. but it teaches you one thing: you have to make it; no plan B and no calling dad.
i'm even thinking about taking less photos; I'm getting to this point where much of the things I've done seem to take an awful lot of time and energy...
this is a "back to basics" type thing... that's why 95% of the photos i've taken lately are made on an m6 and a single 35mm lens.
film shot with said m6:
portra 160VC
Monterrey "Cotemporany" Art Museum - Love the blue elevator. 1 seg at f1.4
i'm amazed at how certain people you don't expect become very close friends. The one thing I will surely miss from Monterrey, are N's friends... and the fact that by the end, a lot of them had become mutual friends.
It's even better when you realize they're geniuses in their own ways... and none of them are pretentious... even though most could lecture me on their specialties.
(and those who seem pretentious at first, well, they have the means to actually be)
I am seeing a sort of pattern here... go somewhere, make friends, and then leave.
...as if I was creating future nostalgia.
and right now i've got this feeling of saudade thinking of all the worthy people i've met and left eventually. thankfully all those who are worthy of a true friendship still remain in contact. no pretending, no convenience... truth and honesty when i ask them what's up with their lives.
a church I've seen maaany times and finally decided to enter
bench store. Weird.
home safety. f2
stalled car just before rush hour
strange liquid coming out of the guy's shoes
love portra+sky. I should do a series of these
ya never know when ya gonna use 'em huge sunglasses
watts humphrey at my school. I got an autograph for my PSP book at last
Daydreaming
shallow DOF - click to view larger
christmas tree in paseo sn pedro
sam
vecindad
for those of you who are fans of ass
stand for rent
since sam and diego had their cameras out in the open, people posed
portra shining
BW
Delta 400 - 120
a bit (and not so cheap) piece of egypt (or so they said)
crappy overpriced apartments just by the uni
mirrors
music guy selling memorabilia
delta 400 - 35mm
protection
walls held together by faith
the very last one of the personal stuff
"What I want is the world to remember the problems and the people I photograph. What I want is to create a discussion about what is happening around the world and to provoke some debate with these pictures. Nothing more than this. I don't want people to look at them and appreciate the light and the palate of tones. I want them to look inside and see what the pictures represent, and the kind of people I photograph."
- Sebastiao Salgado (Excerpts from an interview with Sebastiao Salgado by Ken Lassiter, Photographer's Forum)
urban nonsense
for some weird reason, about a three weeks before we left, there was a huge festival where people drew famous paintings near the central plaza... right on the floor. you grabbed some chalks and did it.
maaaaany artists there
some others were not painting... well, not exactly
some others just dressed up and took a break
a close up of the process
love alleyways
saying thanks to the flock... a sort of marketing
taxi mirrors... last day i taught class at a high school
kermit visiting home
not being in monterrey means no jumps across the border to pick up stuff from my mailbox, or going over with friends to pick someone's stuff up... like this-that mcallen visit with luis g., jules, and n.
yeah, like 2 hour wait to cross the border, but well, that's how life is.
then drive back through god-awful-reynosa and then back home... all in one day.
truly bilingual stuff--- when i think spanish is stronger than english in that part of town
bolsa "chivera" - the perfect bag to store your shit when crossing the border: huge and resistent for the trip
gum in the streets
mcallen bus station
and the compulsory stop at pizza hut
bus mirrors - awful exposure
one of the last meals
...and that was it. i still have many rolls to develop, but a pro-lab will certainly help me out with those... which means more time to read, write, and learn how to do what i'll get paid to do.
N and i chose what to do next. not just what i wanted or what she wanted... what both of us wanted. i don't think i could do that with anyone else... there's something magical about everything working out perfectly in every way. timing, parents, and decisions.
i guess there'll be a lifetime to keep that working.
hope life catches you well.
J
