Light Painted Motorcycle

Several years ago, I rode my bike to the Philadelphia Museum of Art where Sylvester Stallone took his Rocky famous (Rocky Steps) climb in preparation for his movie fight.

Ever since I bough my bike, I'd been wanting to take a photograph with the Philly skyline in the background at night. People park their cars up there and take pictures all the time, but driving a vehicle into the Museum of Art area is prohibited.

Initially, a security officer said no, but eventually changed his mind and allowed me to take a few pictures with the condition that I take the pics very quickly. It took five minutes just to set up the camera gear and adjust the settings. It is extremely hard to get sharp focus in the dark.

The security officer was getting uncomfortable with having my bike parked up there, so I had to rush the photoshoot. I am sure the light painted motorcycle picture would have looked much better if I had a little more preparation and time to compose the image, instead of using a 15 seconds exposure. I would have preferred to use 30 seconds exposure, or "bulb mode", but that's a story for another day.

Comedy Is Tragedy

A while back I promised myself that I would not watch Saturday Night Live anymore; in my opinion the show is unwatchable.

Last night I broke my promise, and I am glad I did. John Mulaney was last night's SNL host.

During the opening monologue he talked candidly about his friends staging an intervention to help him overcome his drug addiction. He also discussed his time at a rehab center during the January 6 insurrection, his sobriety, a text conversation he had with his drug dealer, and about his 12 week old son. 

I thought it was very clever, honest and refreshing how he incorporated drugs into a comedy act and deliver such a strong positive message. My respects go out to you, John Mulaney. 

The Rise Of Social Media Experts

Have you noticed how many online social media experts are out there? I think in Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are where you find the most.

Nowadays is difficult to find anyone who is not on social media. In my opinion, the conspiracist theorists and purveyors of misinformation have given social media a bad name. They have made it harder for the true experts to spread correct information. 

Misunderstanding

Many years ago, the Afghan war was still raging, and US Marines were in the mountains of Tora-Bora in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

I remember writing a parody blog post at another blog site back in 2009 about my time as a Navy Seal, ( just to clarify, I've never been a Navy Seal) and former member of Seal Team 6. 

I thought my little parody was funny. If I learned anything from my one time as a wannabe humor blogger, is that some people misinterpret what it is being written, and instead of asking questions, they lash out. 

Some of the usual suspects were banned when they began with accusations, personal attacks and name calling, instead of asking to clarify. I guess they missed the part where I clearly stated that it was a parody blog post. 

Throwback Thursday

This picture was taken in 2015, my first year getting into digital photography. When I bought my first DSLR, I used to walk around armed with my camera looking for places to photograph. I had no idea what I was doing but that didn't stopped me from trying. With so many historic buildings in Philly, photo opportunities are abundant. 

A good thing about photo walks is that even if my photography sucks, I get a hell of a lot of exercise. This particular day I got up early in the morning and took a few pictures inside UPenn University, the college grounds were completely empty thanks to the holidays. There was nobody there, therefore I had the place to myself. 

All by myself; this phrase just reminded me of one of my favorite songs = All By Myself by Eric Carmen. 

Am I Being Detained?

A Republican congressional candidate in Florida from the party of Law and Order, was caught on police body camera threatening to end an officer's career.

Last Monday, the police officer pulled Republican congressional candidate Martin Hyde over for allegedly driving 57mph in a 40 zone, and was also seen texting on his phone. He was ticketed for not having his vehicle registration.

"In a combative exchange that followed, he refused to cooperate, threatened her job and asked her if she was behaving that way because she was an immigrant.  I’ll just call your chief. How’s that? You know who I am, right? Hyde asked the officer after she explained why she’d stopped him. When the officer returned to Hyde’s vehicle with a citation, he told her he’d called her supervisor. I just spoke to your boss,” Hyde said. Is it your Russian immigrant status that makes you treat people like this?”

So this GOP House Candidate, Martin Hyde,  born in the United Kingdom, actually had the audacity to call out a police officer immigration status. 

If he acts this way as a candidate, imagine how he'll be if elected. Anyone with an attitude as his should not hold any political office. The good old boys from the GOP really know how to Back the Blue.

btw, this exemplary GOP House Candidate is backed by Roger Stone and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. He is the one on the left in the second picture next to Flynn.

Ronald Reagan Would Be Absolutely Appalled

Can someone explain this sudden change of heart of the Republican Party and Conservatives offering praise for President Vladimir Putin?

You see it happening with Republicans in the House, FoxNews, and the other conservative media. I read a poll yesterday that shows that 6 out of 10 Republicans praise Putin instead of the American president. The GOP is blatantly showing us that they crave an authoritarian leader. 

How can any self respecting American side with an autocrat who threatened the United States from nuclear extinction? This individual assassinates and imprisons his political opponents. 

It appears that Republican politicians respect the fact that Putin can just kill anybody who gets in his way, and invades any country whenever he wants to. Even the former Secretary of State and Director of the CIA Mike Pompeo was on TV yesterday praising Putin. 

I read somewhere that all the adulation and comments toward Putin by Republican politicians, are being shown on Russian State TV and fed to their citizens. I don't think this adulation toward Putin aligns with the interests of the United States. 

Sometimes I wonder if President Ronald Reagan would be appalled by our current Republican politicians, fawning to Putin and other authoritarian leaders. 

Testimonial

Back in 1997, as part of my job, I was required to provide HIV/AIDS and std's education to middle and high schools.

At the time our agency had a small group of trained volunteers of all ages. In addition of being volunteers, some were also our patients, people living with HIV/AIDS. When it was needed, they helped with office projects, making copies, mailing letters, answering phones, etc. Some of those same volunteers sometimes helped me with the school education programs.

This particular day, (in 1997, I was only 40 years old) I had with me a younger Betty White look alike senior, (she was in her late 60's or early 70's) helping me to distribute the educational material to the students. Unbeknownst to the students, she had volunteered to do what we called [ Living with HIV/AIDS: A Personal Testimony ], sharing her story of how she acquired HIV/AIDS.

So after a brief introduction, I began the high school workshop by asking the students, "can you tell by looking at someone, who is HIV positive?" They all looked at each other, and began to giggle. Our senior volunteer stood up in front of class and asked, "looking at both of us, which one do you think has HIV/AIDS? The students that dared to answer, pointed at me and laughed.

When our senior volunteer told everyone that she was HIV positive, the giggling stopped, suddenly the room became very quiet. You could hear the girls sobbing inconsolably in the back.

After our senior volunteer finished her testimonial, she was congratulated by the students for her courage to share her HIV/AIDS personal story. By far, this was one of the most emotional educational workshops I've ever presented.

Ace Up My Sleeve

In 1974, I had saved enough money to purchase my first motorcycle. I even sold my prized possessions, my two bicycles.

My two bicycles were my only mode of transportation at the time, but I was motivated to have enough savings for the motorcycle down payment.

My mother told me she would sign the dealership paperwork (at the time I was only 17 years old) if I called my father and inform him. That night my father came to the house after I told him my plans over the phone. I realized he wasn't buying my argument, so I decided to pull an ace up my sleeve. I showed him the picture you see on top.

Mom had saved several pictures after the divorce. One of them was a picture of my father hanging out with motorcycles in Panama during the Korean War. He gave me a mean look, and growled in a deep and menacing voice, "I dare you .... you will only buy that motorcycle over my dead body", and left in a huff.

Of course I ignored him, I was motivated to buy my first motorcycle. The following Saturday morning, mom and I headed to the dealership. Mom signed the paperwork and off I went. The rest is history.

For months afterward my father would come to my house holding newspaper clippings of motorcycle accidents, trying to convince me to sell my bike. Unbeknownst to him, the week prior of buying the motorcycle, I attended a funeral viewing of a friend of the kid who taught me how to ride. The young man died while sitting on his motorcycle. A drunk driver crashed into him from behind, while he was waiting for the green light.

We Have Seen This Movie Before

It has been proven that COVID infections and hospitalization numbers go up after restrictions are lifted. 

Denmark is the latest example. They lifted restrictions and mandates earlier this month.  “This marks the transition to a new era for all of us, because Denmark will once again be an open society, completely open,” said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. “We dare to believe that we are now through the critical phase."

Since then, they are now recording more COVID cases per capita than anywhere else in the world. And hospitalizations and deaths have also gone up. 

It was announced today that Philadelphia is ending indoor mandates, including vaccinations,  thanks to the declining cases. 

In my opinion, we're going to deal with COVID for the next five to 10 years, or in the worst case scenario, maybe for the rest of our lives. 

La Practica Hace La Perfeccion

La fotografia usualmente es un pasatiempo solitario. No es facil conseguir personas que compartan el mismo interes en tomar fotos. Especialmente tomar fotos de paisajes o de un horizonte de la ciudad tarde en la noche. Yo estoy tan acostumbrado a disfrutar mi propia compañia, que no me molesta viajar a un lugar en especifico a tomar fotos solo.

Tambien es recomendable unirse a un grupo Meetup en el internet, y participar en las excursiones/actividades de grupo. De esa manera tiene uno la oportunidad de compartir ideas y recibir consejos de personas del grupo de como tomar fotos. 

Lo mas importante de la fotografia no es tener la camara mas moderna ni la que cuesta mas dinero, la camara no hace al fotografo. Es practicar y tomar muchas fotos utilizando todo los metodos que uno ha aprendido.  Con el tiempo eventualmente la practica hace la perfeccion. 

Estas son algunas de las fotos de actividades en grupo en las cuales he participado en los pasados 6 años.

If You See Something Say Something

I think it was back in 2002 that the Department of Homeland Security implemented the phrase "if you see something, say something". You can see posters at the airport, in bus and train stations encouraging travelers to report suspicious activity.

The next day after I arrived from France, I was at the Amtrak terminal at Penn Station in NYC waiting for my train to arrive and take me to Philadelphia 30th Station. With plenty of time to spare, I decided to use the restroom. I don't know you, but I don't like to use the restroom in the train or bus when I am traveling.

To my surprise, a well dressed young man was injecting heroine in one of the toilet partitions. I screamed an expletive at the young man, and stepped out into the train station waiting area. Immediately notified the situation to an Amtrak employee, he advised me to tell the police.

I informed three police officers, two men and a woman with a K-9 police dog that were standing at the train terminal. They replied, "we'll take a look". They didn't move and kept chitchatting as if I was not there.

The whole incident, and the police officers lack of care had upset me more than when I encountered the young man shooting up drugs in the restroom. What if I was a parent taking my young child to the restroom? How about the safety and wellbeing of other children? The experience left a bad taste in my mouth. Our tax dollars hard at work. 

Sweep The Cobwebs Away

After today, the temperature will finally rise to the 40's and 50's, and the rain will stop. Time to get the cobwebs out of the garage.

Who knows, maybe I could squeeze in a short ride before the weekend. With our unpredictable temperatures, I'll take any good weather I could get. Right now, I'll be happy to just sit back and enjoy the ride. 

The Story Behind The Shot

Last year, in one of the photography forums I am a member of, I saw a picture of the Eiffel Tower taken from a tall building in Paris. At first, I thought it was taken using a drone.

Upon inquiry, a forum member revealed that it was taken from the MontPannarse Observatory Tower. So I decided if I ever visited Paris, I would find a hotel room close to that location.

So I did. When I made the decision to visit Paris, I booked a hotel that was a short walking distance from the Montparnasse Observatory Tower. As luck will have it, I had access to everything I needed during my stay including access to public transportation; everything was in the same vicinity.

As mentioned before, on the day of my arrival, I applied for the French Health Pass [$36.00 euros] as proof of vaccination to gain access to pretty much everything in France.

It was a cold freezing night when I visited the Montparnasse Observatory Tower. I was surprised to see that I was the only person in the security screening line. After they screened my Health Pass, I was the only person on the elevator on my way to the observatory. The night was so cold that without counting the security personnel, I was the only person at the observatory. I spent half hour taking pictures during sunset hour.

After I left the building, I walked ten city blocks back to the hotel with a huge grin on my face anticipating what kind of pictures I had taken. Even though you never know what will happen when taking pictures, I predicted one of the dozen images I took would be the one I envisioned. This is my favorite image taken during this trip, it was all worth it. 

More Paris Pictures

Learned recently that the Eiffel Tower is lighted in blue the month of January because it was France's turn to preside over the Council of the European Union. For a minute I was wondering why the tower turn blue at night, when in most online images it looks gold? I guess that solved that mystery.

One late afternoon, after visiting the Louvre Museum, I decided to walk [approximately 3 miles] from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, along the Seine River. I noticed a tribute sculpture (the Flame of Liberty) for the late Diana, Princess of Wales at the entrance of the tunnel where she died next to Pont de L'Alma bridge.

As I stood there, passersby dropped flowers at the sculpture next to her pics. I chose not to take pics of the memorial, I refuse to photograph anything that resembles a shrine. Instead, I photographed a young woman taking pics at the metro subway entrance next to it. Enjoy the pictures!

The top picture was taken from a place called Trocadero. Second picture was taken next to Princess Diane Flame of Liberty sculpture memorial at the entrance of the subway Metro. Next pic is another Trocadero image. Then the Louvre Museum, a merry-go-round by the Eiffel Tower, and the Eiffel Tower at night. The last picture was taken from the Montparnasse Tower Observation Deck.