i was gonna post some stuff i did at the weekend, some photos and scribbles, just playing around. but then i started watching Chinatown on tv. one of several really famous films i never seen, is really good. but now it's late.

since it was a sunday i took my bike on the train and cycled from kings cross. just as i was approaching farringdon road, there was a road closure manned by police, it turns out it was for a march and they said i could walk my bike through. not sure what exactly, but some Italian and Catholic thing, middle-aged italian men walking carrying church effigies on their shoulders, the women singing and walking with banners, flat-bed lorries with younger people dressed as biblical scenes: the marriage of Cana, the crowning of thorns, the queen of angels (i think some of them were made up). groups of priests and nuns filling the street with the smell of incense, and the seemingly obligatory gaggle of parents with kids in pushchairs near the back. And near the front a fantastic marching band, the 73rd Coventry Scout group band - the leader, 7 snares, 1 bass drum, 6 glockenspiels, 7 trumpets/cornets, 1 french horn, 1 trombone and 2 of those marching band tuba type things. they make a lot of sound, they were doing all sorts, some samba-ish beats and some film music and some old forties tunes. of course i had to stop and watch. not much of a crowd there but still good.

i been out of touch these last few days, i had my head down at work. work work work. getting in early, not checking LJ. feels good though, i've got a heck of a lot done. in work again which is a bit of a drag but i have a few other bits and pieces to do.

now that is some fine thunder and lightning!

the Liberty marketing email never fails to entertain:
"Trust Fun arrives at Liberty this month, with a collection of scarves inspired by nature, science and the Apocalypse. Each individual scarf is a fractal, painstakingly created by entering a series of numbers and equations into a computer, creating a potentially infinite variety of form, colour and detail bringing the skill of handcraft into the digital age. Each scarf is based upon a completely unique equation and can never be replicated, making it the perfect feature piece for your summer wardrobe."
http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/categorylist/designer/trust-fun?resetFilters=true

this morning my dad woke me up at ten to 8. my 'late' train is at 8.15... i realised i fell asleep with my phone in my hand thinking about what time to set the alarm but didn't actually make it that far... i was tired.
yesterday at my mum's exhibition we had someone just like Brian from Spaced come visit. he was quite funny, i don't think it was deliberate :)
now the lightning is strobing outside my window.

why don't glass blocks come in sizes compatible with bricks? it's really stupid.

the last couple of hours have been tedious. there's been too much to do this week and very little of it's been done, so i thought i'd stay a little late, but i've just been staring into middle distance and feeling tired. ho hum. a little update and then a final burst of productivity and then chucking out time...
tuesday night went along to the opening of the Hannah Barry gallery's summer sculpture (and other art) show. i was at their painting exhibition a few months ago and Sven, the co-owner, got chatting and said i should come to it. he was unusually chatty and friendly for a gallery owner... they've made quite a name for themselves in the last year and a little bit since they've been open, with reviews in the FT, outpost exhibition in the west end (2 doors along from Annely Juda), a showing at the Venice Biennale this year (the "Peckham Pavilion") and more good review. both notably young (25 and 30) they seem to just have loads of reasonably talented friends, connections, and aren't afraid of just doing stuff.
so, the show, it is "Bold Tendencies III" and it is on the top 2 levels of the carpark in the Cineplex on Rye Lane, Peckham. Very good indeed, a single scruffy lift (packed with visitors) takes you to level 6 (it's actually only the 2nd floor - they number the half-levels and start from ground) to a dark concrete car-park, with only one car parking there tonight, but dozens of nice-looking bikes looked to every available drainpipe and railing (you know the ones, retro or actually old and reconditioned, racer or touring, that mostly boys with skinny jeans and interesting but not ridiculous hairstyles and plaid shirts ride - oh wait, everyone's in plaid shirts this year) and the occasional security guard in a dark, smart suit. the visitors are all sort of flowing up the ramps towards pieces of gently glowing art, or groups of friends and acquaintances. the low concrete ceiling and plain half-height wall frame the views of a big artist-occupied warehouse across the railway line, and peckham in the sunset on the other side. My favorite piece in this dark space was a big loop of 8mm film projecting (business card sized) a sea view against a concrete column. a metal pipe played the sound of trains from the direction of the railway, but it was a small tape player stuck to the end. Piano wire stretched across vibrating gently, glimmering slightly in a carfeully placed light (how long before someone walks into it though). Big paintings and a bus stop style light-box. Even a small bit of white-walled-gallery installed (Andrew thought he recognised the work from the Camberwell degree show). local kids and older gallery visitors and lots and lots of art students. Circling up the ramps again to the very top, and the art is pretty much inconsequential: it's the top of a carpark, it's summer, there's a sunset happening and a couple of hundred kids hanging around noisily. there's even a bar, very nicely built in timber with a red canopy like the Rialto fish market, but it's too busy and they've run out of beer. the kids the kids, they are all good-looking. is like being on the set of Skins (not really but a little bit). Andrew said "Even the ones who aren't good-looking are good-looking. I don't know how they manage it."
If you're in the area, check it out. it's on til end of September. i think i'll go back, i'm curious whether it will be busy or not.
i noticed it a lot that night but i've been noticing lately that my person-recognition seems to be malfunctioning slightly. i think i recognise everyone, or that they look familiar, or like someone i know. Familiar strangers. maybe it has something to do with commuting where you do see the same strangers day after day, but it might be more than that. i even think i know people in adverts, is a strange feeling.
i was halfway up to kingsx and i was tired, i decided to stay over in london. realised too late that i had left tickets for the next day at home... so did a bonkers run up to cambridge and back down again in the morning before work. gah. i thought i would have more sleep than that.
so yesterday, it was back to hyde park, to see the Tindersticks and the unlikely return of Big Star. i was just heading there when my sister texted - she was on her way to see Take That at wembley! blimey. apparently on my recommendation (even though i've only seen them on TV). anyhoo, she hadn't thought to tell me, eh, but i was heading for a rather more sedate evening. oh, i've woken up a bit now, better do some work for a bit, more later...

listening to this today at work - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00lpr3l/Glastonbury_2009_Day_2_Highlights_Part_Three/
(this jumps straight into the middle of the set)

( lengthy buzzy ramble about last night's gig... )

barlett show on friday night. dropped and lost my railcard, oyster card and an access/ID card out of my railcard holder cos i kept fiddling with timetables etc. all replaceable but costly. didn't make it to springsteen tribute night.
slightly rubbish and tired saturday, although i did manage to help my mum with some stuff. failed to get to abigailb's party, apologies once again.
sunday carried too much stuff down to london, stood around in hyde park all afternoon, saw the Gaslight Anthem, James Morrison (felt a bit sorry for him but he did his best to 'rock'!) couldn't be arsed with standing anywhere near the front during the Dave Matthews Band, and to be honest they were still pretty annoying from further back, then watched a very very tiny Bruce Springsteen play a storming 2 3/4 hour set. kicked off with London Calling - class!
legged it up the stairs at Borough tube station this morning, a little out of breath at the top but ok - this is an achievement as i used to do this everyday and not be much out of breath at the top and lately haven't been able to without feeling like it is extremely hard going and wanting to stop halfway up.
on the other hand, the gig was over by 10, i am at work and i am Very Tired.

i haven't taken any photos since the weekend in suffolk, 5 weeks ago. i've hardly taken any for months really. i've been looking out of train windows at beautiful fields of poppies and not carrying a camera. i carried both the Leica and the pinhole yesterday to the exhibition opening, and didn't take either of them out of my bag. i just didn't feel like it. this is odd. at the very least i should get those half a dozen exposed films i have sitting around at home to Darkside...

wandered over to Muse-ings and there were a couple of interesting things there: this quite awful sounding "machine-learning based online system of computer-based prediction of aesthetic quality for color natural photographic pictures" http://acquine.alipr.com/ - at first it sounds like an interesting sort of project, but there are things there that just sound a bit wrong -
"A rule of thumb is that if the aesthetic quality of a photo is obvious to most people, it may not be worthwhile to seek Acquine's opinion on it because Acquine may choose to assign funny scores in such cases. Please be serious if you would like Acquine to help you.
yes. we have to take it seriously. no casual family photos, out-of-focus shots, political photos, news photos, and importantly, no "etc.". right...

betterly, although i'm not a big fan of the clean modern dystopian-ish social hardware observation stuff a la Andreas Gursky i like the look of this a lot - http://www.lynne-cohen.com/

ah, non-photo related, other than i spotted a couple in the last few days on lunchtime excursions in the sun, across the Thames, everything very photogenic and yet not feeling like take photos, http://www.streetpianos.com/london2009/ it seems like years ago i remember seeing the website for this before anything had actually been organised, about a single piano left on the street and the dream that it could be more than that, i think it's the same guy, and it's nice that he's made it happen.

oh wow, i just looked at Luke Jerram's page. brilliant. not sure this is the same guy as before now... but just amazing work. love the description to Black Cloud: "This 8 metre long black inflatable cloud was made for a sad friend to help cheer him up. We used meth burners to fly the cloud over Bristol. Unfortunately the cloud caught fire at 100ft, but the event did cheer my friend up. "