8:44 PM — Phun Photos
I keep forgetting how much I like to take whimsical photos. Most often, these take the form of strangely reptitive forms, usually as found in forms of modern industry. This past weekend I spent visiting my parents in NYC, and I carried my new digicam with me. (Cannon Powershot S400 Digital Elph--long enough name?)
I visited my Nga Boo (grandma) in the "rehab center" on Friday. The Kosher facilities and attempts at engaging the inmates result in a bizzare mix of the pathetic and humorous.
Elderly Excitement captures this in the sweeping arc of wheelchairs aligned facing the TV, the main source of entertainment. The focus is slightly off unfortunately, I'm not sure whether due to where it chose to autofocus, or through a longer exposure (I didn't use a flash, as I didn't want to disturb my subjects). When I learn to zoom on the camera I'll be able to check the image better at the time of taking it. I also need to learn how to change the focus zone.
Saturday night Dad and I went up to Yonkers (just North of the City) for the Crotona Midnight Run. This is a not your father's motorcycle race. Starting at midnight, this year's 27 entrants had until 6:30am to ride 150 miles throughout Upstate New York. They are handed the route only an hour before the start time, and are penalized if their average speed for the trip is more than 30mph. Temperatures this year started at about 35
OF at midnight with light snow.
Entrants likely to finish wore spelunking lights on their helmets to see their home-built contraptions for reading their routes, and heated suits and gloves which plugged into their cigarette lighters. As opposed to most motorcycle events I've been to, I felt included, even welcomed into the group, and the start was a jolly good time. We declined an invitation to meet them at the halfway point and instead went to our warm car and warmer beds. Our inviter was last year's second place finisher--of three people who made it through the whole night. The start was at a Nathan's Hot Dog chain restaurant. These traditionally have arcades with pinball and such, and of course no arcade today is complete without its
Grab Game.
Images are copyright ME. Permission granted for educational and personal use on a single computer. All other uses must obtain written permission prior to use.
12:56 PM — Anal Sex and Blowjobs...
...are the
other way of getting a sore ass and bruised knees. Saturday I discovered another method for obtaining them that burns more calories: snowboarding! A sport primarily about balanace, you may be thinking "Zandi, what prompted
you of all people to give this a try?" (For those of you who don't know me in person, I am not that physically apt.) Why, a discount, my beloved readers!
Pat's Peak has a deal where you can ski/board Saturday nights, 3pm to 10pm, for $21 including rental equipment. If I've gotta pay to make an ass of myself, at least I can say I did it for a bargain. Ah, that Jewish blood of mine finally surfaces!
Snowboarding is a fascinating sport in which I've found you don't have to actually use any muscles, just balancing (well, I guess that takes muscles, *hyuk*). That makes it easier than skiing. The downside is that when you fall in skiing, you just fall on your hips, and you usually hit arm first, so you don't bruise. However, in boarding, you fall either ass-first, or knees-first, and hence, bruise. Oh, and summersaults are pretty easy too.
I've got
a few photos up on my webpage, but they're all of me looking spiffy, since I was too busy falling to take pictures when my feet were actually attached to the board.
10:33 AM — Lady Liberty has no light
How many people know that the
Statue of Liberty closed to the public on September 11, 2001? How many people know that it is
still closed to the public, two-and-a-half years later?
Got any spare change? Doesn't anyone care that this symbol of America's open gates to the world instead has her gates closed to even her own people?