lost time

There's only so much abuse one can take. I gave it a chance, really. But she hung herself. Or me.

Who would have thought someone who could write seven Potter books, full of such imagination (and many explanations of what had happened) and whimsy, generating an immense fortune in the process, would compose such a leaden work as The Casual Vacancy? Rowling no doubt knows how to tell a story, but in it's telling here, it moves at an almost glacial pace, nearly in real time, amongst a large cast that it takes some time to sort out.

But once that's done, we're left to hear them drone on and on. They're a fairly boring lot for a 503 page novel, despite all the back stabbing and sneaking around in the bushes. With not a one of real interest, other than possibly 15 year old Krystal, a truant who lives with her heroine addicted mother in a trashed public housing apartment. Several of the male characters are such extreme examples of type -one a foul mouthed, abusive father; another a bleeding heart liberal despised by his own Raskolnikov like son - that they crash into absurdity, their puppet strings all too clearly visible. The women are small minded and always loyal to their men. The teens are grubby grifters who have nothing but sex on their minds.

After a while the pretty little borough of Pagford becomes a claustrophobic caldron. As it's meant to be. The residents may not have an option to leave. But I got the hell out, and bailed before the end of the line. Not a common experience, after investing 10+ hours. I've got to cut my losses though.

never too many zombies

Here's the extended cut from all the cameras on the course, courtesy of Amoeba Films.

What I did for Halloween

A fun time was had by all: the Zombie 5k Run and fundraiser in downtown Charlottesville.

f-o-r-d pt. 212

What does happen to road kill? No doubt some have wondered what became of Mephitis mephitis. It doesn't go to waste, that's for certain.

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The day after taking this photo, when I passed by again, there was nothing left. The system was doing it's part to clean up the remains. The only evidence of the demise of this animal is an odor that lingers in the area, not from any body parts, but from residual oil deposited on the pavement at the time of death.

f-o-r-d

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Really, I'm not searching for this stuff. I go out walking in the morning, and this is what I find. Along with some beautiful scenery. But who cares about that, right? We want sensationalism. We want fires, and murder, and car crashes.  But in presenting it here, on a landscape site, am I not falling prey to the same cheap motives that the rest of the media employs? I've wondered before how far one can go with representational photography before you have entered the zone of exploitation. These images are pretty tame: they simply report the incident. As victims of road killings, there was likely little suffering involved. If I was to trap animals, run over them or butcher them, and then photograph the results, it would be a different matter. But can anyone really determine that I wasn't in fact the cause of these animals' deaths?

BTW - nothing has been moved in order for clarity. The final photo, of Mephitis mephitis, shows an animal that was killed on the road and moved into the brush by someone else.