A trip to the Market, Eastern Market that is

Yes, yes, I know, this is kinda-sorta turning into photo blog. But, in my defense, I've been taking a lot of pictures lately (as my computer keeps telling me when it notifies me I'm running out of back-up space), and I like putting them up here.

The first bunch are from my walk around Eastern Market on Saturday. The weather was nice, cool but clear and, as long as you kept moving, not too, too cold. Perfect for a day of rummaging around through other peoples' junk looking for that overlooked treasure.

One thing I did notice about this set of pictures is I spent a lot of time looking either up or down. Very few of the shots (that I liked) were shot on the straight and level. And, in some cases, they're shot from a very low perspective.

Did anyone see my magic carpet? I know I parked it around here somewhere...

For some reason, this thing just creeped me out. The dress is nice, but is it really that exciting?

I liked this frog, but I didn't like it $119 worth.

Colors, reflections, what more could you ask for?

If you look very, very, very close, you can see me. Sorta.

Someone looks like they're not enjoying Eastern Market as much as everyone else. Perhaps it's because his legs are so much shorter?

A skilled pair of hands. I was back on Sunday as well, walking around with a friend, and the artist was still working on this same panel.

Ditto for the kid above.

This photo and the next are of artist Jackson Collins. Painting is by no means a neat endeavor. Oh, and his pictures are pretty good as well.

And now on to the next set. While I was waiting for Metro, I decided to play around a bit with some pictures. All I can say is god bless digital. The ability to look at the picture right after you take it is, in a term, life-changing. Being able to make adjustments on the fly to shutter speed and aperture makes picture taking so much more enjoyable.

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Anyway, as you can see, this set of pics (Eastern Market and L'Enfant Plaza) the exposures are kinda long, about a half second. Next time I try this I'm definitely using my monopod to stabilize the shots, but these didn't turn out so bad. Also, it's kinda interesting, when a train is coming into the station, how still people stand. And for that I'm thankful.

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At Eastern Market

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If you look between the girl in the middle and the guy on the right in the picture below, you can still see the ghostly image of the "Eastern Market" sign through the windows of the train. Cool.

At L'Enfant

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Hope everyone's week is off to a good start.

Batter Up!

Well, beat the drum and hold the phone - the sun came out today!
We’re born again, there’s new grass on the field.
A-roundin’ third, and headed for home, it’s a brown-eyed handsome man;
Anyone can understand the way I feel.

- Centerfield by John Fogerty

The world famous Durham Bull. When he gets hit,

his eyes flare and his nose snorts streams of smoke.

Now I’m not that big of a baseball fan. But, every since my first game at Chicago’s old Comiskey Park, there’s just something about the start of the new baseball season that screams “SPRING” in my ear. [Note: Even though my first game was a White Sox game, my sister quickly rectified any potential fandom for the Southsiders by taking me to the North Side cathedral bounded by Clark and Addison streets and Sheffield and Waveland avenues. And while my first love is and always will be for my dreadful hometown Pirates, the Cubbies are a very close 1A.]

And while you won’t catch me watching more than five or 10 minutes of a game on TV for the next six months, I can think of few things finer than a summer evening at the ballpark. The laughter of friends (including those who couldn’t give a damn about the game) surrounds you as you gaze down toward a field of grass so green it almost hurts your eyes. The pitcher’s wind-up and delivery. The crack of the bat hitting a 94-mph fastball. A player hustling around first, stretching a single into a double and a play at second base.

I’m not a passionate baseball fan, but I am a fan of the time I spend at the ballpark each year with my friends.

And now, two of my favorite baseball movie quotes.

“Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.”
- Crash Davis in Bull Durham

And, despite all the times baseball players and owners have disappointed us, I think these words pretty much say what we all feel about baseball:

“Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.”
- Terence Mann in Field of Dreams

Play ball!