Observe and Report.

Lee had a short but illustrious career in the homeland security field of security guard.  When I asked him his duties, it was "Observe and Report."
"Don't get involved, only Observe and Report."

A couple days ago I'm out shooting some of the adios dogpatch photos.  A guard from a building I'm looking at approaches.
"You a spy?"
"Sure."
He smiles.  Seems he's just bored and wants to talk to the somebody.  I asked him if he was Observing me and then Reporting me.  "No, they don't pay me enough to even Observe, I turn my head (and he demonstrates how fast he would) if I see something."  Again he smiles.

Early this morning, I'm out doing more in the neighborhood shooting.  I'm next to the bay in the big post industrial building area.  A security guard in a car drives up to me.  Hey, you can't be here.  This is private land.  I look down and I'm standing on a SF City painted sign on the path that says "Public Bay Access"..or something similar to that.  I point this out to the guard.  She's not having anything to do with it.  Nope, I'm on private land.  Again I point down and say read this.  Nope.  I'm thinking right now she's Observing and pretty soon she'll be Reporting.

All I can do is shrug and move on.

Sure is a lot fear going on…..

From this morning.

Something Happened

It's been sitting there next to the cage of cactus thorns on a repaired small ceramic plate.  On top of the unfinished set of drawers I'm making for Taylor.  The rest of the wood for that project is leaning up vertically right next to it.
The small ceramic plate is waiting for me to deliver back to Carol next time I see her.

I got both the Hoshigaki, a white Kite feather and the small broken ceramic plate as a package deal from Carol. Damn, I've been linking back to myself a lot.  I think we're supposed to do that these days,  point everything back.

So, it's been sitting there.  I've been eyeing it now since it came into my place.  Damn thing didn't say anything to me.  Just sat there.

But the wave is here and I'm trying to ride all the way this time.  You know how there seems to be waves of creativity that come?  You're waiting out there, treading water, waiting waiting and then something happens and then the wave is picking you up and you start to ride it.  And so it begins.

Anno Numero Due

This is my second year of making Nocino.  Last year's big talk about it here.

This year I decided to age 5 liters of the Everclear based portion of it in a new American oak cask.  Wisely I wrote down when I did because it would have only been a vague date if I hadn't.
Aug 29th for some reason.

Also made a few liters using Vodka as the base but that's been in glass from the beginning.

Bottled it today.  I still need to do a new label this year and then I'll be able to give a few of the bottles away to the ones that would appreciate it the most.

Taste.  Totally different this time around.  I made a decision to have each year to be it's own child.  Not trying to make it taste like the year before unless it does so naturally.  Mix up the recipe, try different aging schedules, start with walnuts at different maturation points, etc.

Throughout the year I save bottles that have a character or size to them and those will be the soldiers that will hold this year's Nocino.

Thanks once again to my good friend Bill for his nuts!  Yes sir ree, his nuts.

Firing it up somewhere else

An extension of this.

Soon I'll be out of the DogPatch.  I'll take everything with me and head on down to The BayView…..including my BBQ…and I'll be firing it up down there.  Can't wait for the first big knock down drag out party.  Whole new vibe it will be.

Before that though, I've been everynowandthen traipsing around through dogpatch and shooting some memory pics.  The cha cha changes that have taken place.  Things that haven't moved since I got here.

These cranes in front of my compound have not budged an inch since I moved in.  Graffiti on them change every 6 months to a year but the cables hanging down haven't.  I've long lusted after turning the front one into an apartment.
This is from this morning.

Dude lighting up something.

And some other random things from my walks. This ain't over yet.  More to come.

And the brand spanking new hospital two blocks away.

Re: Another Video

A couple posts down I talked about Henry's use of me as Schtick in a few of his videos.  During one of the shoots for the 3D People, Henry grabbed his camera and shot for a few minutes.  He turned it into one of the invitation pieces for a party him and I are doing at my studio.  Hit the blue link, Carol.

No Depression

Tallynn

"Hey, you just missed Lynn."
"Which Lynn?"
"You know, Tall Lynn."

Another of the Utah Death Portraits.  Lynn.  If the person sitting next to you at the Utah doesn't know which Lynn you're talking about all you have to say is Tall Lynn.
Done.

She's not really as tall as the photo suggests but I'm thinking when people walk into her wake, we'll have this as a life size print greeting everybody….maybe add another foot to the print to really emphasize the point.

She doesn't look down on anybody though so this shot doesn't represent that at all.  

And since Lynn is so angelic.  Here she is right after Death and that whole bright light theory thing.

And the Oscar for Best Whiskey Glass commercial goes to…...

Man, I had to do a lot of takes on this one.

Ben's Whiskey Glass

And by the time Henry finished shooting I was a bit tanked, faded, toasted.

Henry's brother was in town awhile back, he's a glassblower living in New Orleans, and the two of them talked me into a drink in the middle of the day.  Quite a few of them actually.  Ben makes these absolutely beautiful whiskey glasses.  He stamps in designs or words in the bottom.  They feel so good in the hand, big bunch of glass at the bottom gives it a perfect heft, a gravity. The slight irregularities from the hand made process can be felt with the fingertips.  The rim is a sensuous delight on the lips.

They wanted a little spot done for Ben's website.  I was their actor dude.

Henry knows me and so there was music playing while we filmed it.  That's where the snapping of the fingers, the tapping of the knee comes from.

Glass Blower Ben

Best friend Henry

Also, just for a little history lesson here.  Henry shot this video of me making a liquor cabinet a couple years ago.  In it I spontaneously come up with my moniker…MakerUnknown.

Pane e Tulipani.  Bread and Tulips.