An Open Letter To SEPTA

Dear SEPTA,

How stupid are you? You really didn't anticipate this many people? Seriously -- You guys had the same exact problem during Live 8 three years ago. You think you would have learned. "We have been overwhelmed with people." WELL, DUH. Especially since every news station and radio station were broadcasting "Don't drive into the city! Take SEPTA!" upon your recommendation.

GET IT TOGETHER, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

Pffft,

8K

Happy Halloween

From Tippi Hedren in Hitchcock's The Birds.

Fek fek fek!

I can not seem to figure out an easy way to get from Cardiff to Dublin. Both Cardiff and Dublin have major airports, but it seems that there's no flights between the two until March. MARCH. The hell? No one ever needs to get from Cardiff to Dublin or vice versa?

So I began looking into ferries, figuring that since they both are cities with major Bay areas, there was bound to be something. Guess what? There's not. Ferries to Dublin only go out from Holyhead and Pembroke.

So my choices are to take a train from Cardiff to Pembroke so I can take a 3-hour ferry ride, OR take a train back to London and take a flight from London to Dublin, which seems kind of counter-productive, not to mention expensive. Either way, I lose an entire day to traveling, and while I'm sure I can entertain myself fine on a ferry and train, I'm not exactly looking forward to it.

As a spoiled American, I'm sort of surprised that there's not anything more convenient. I can't believe that there's not more inter-Isle travel going on. Where's the love, Wales and Ireland, Where's the love?

Gutted

Oh man. I knew this was coming. But still.

David Tennant Leaves Doctor Who

Dude, I was just talking about this last night with someone. They asked if I thought Tennant was leaving, and I pointed out this iO9 post and the speculation that there might be a movie, along with the claims that the Beeb is keen to keep Tennant happy with lots of money and flexible scheduling since he's so popular. So I guessed that Tennant would stay on through at least part of season 5, because I guessed he would want to work with Stephen Moffat some and ALSO, what a fabulous mid-season swerve that would be, to have a regeneration occur in the middle of the series when no one was expecting it! Oh well, I was wrong wrong wrong.

Let the speculation on Eleven begin! I like: James Nesbitt, Richard Coyle, Stephen Fry, Chiwetel Ejiofor (this will never happen, but I can dream), and Dylan Moran. Paterson Joseph is the current favorite, with odds of 3-1. I'm kind of "meh" on him. Mainly because the two roles I know him from are from Jekyll and his bit part in Doctor Who, and in both cases he played "that obnoxious guy."

Anyway. I was devastated when Nine left*, thinking that no matter how cute Ten looked he would never be my Doctor, you know? But then we got so much time with Ten, and I've grown accustomed to him and now I sort of can't wrap my head around him leaving.

*I totally still miss Eccleston a bit. I would have loved to have another season with him.

Those Fightin' Phils!

PEOPLE. DID YOU SEE? THE PHILLIES TOTALLY JUST WON THE WORLD SERIES.

I'm not the world's biggest sports fan. Football, meh. Basketball, fffftt. Hockey, I like. Baseball is probably my favorite.

I was reared to be a Phillies fan. My earliest memories of my grandfather, and the image of him that comes to mind whenever I think of him, is him sitting in his chair with a beer, watching the Phillies. I used to climb up into his lap, steal sips of his beer and watch the games with him.

The fact that the Phillies won the world series is so awesome and incredible to me. The breaking of "The Curse,", the Phils winning the first world series of my lifetime, everything.

And I know, somewhere in the afterlife, my grandfather is THRILLED.

More UK updates!

My room at the B&B in Cardiff has been secured! I may have found people to stay with in London (a former coworker now lives there and is willing to have a couch surfer!) and Dublin (my brother's sort of sometimes girlfriend) or worst case scenario, stay in hostels. Travel plans I still need to work out: Train (which seems pricey) or bus from London to Cardiff and plane or ferry (?) to Dublin from Cardiff and then back again. I also need to decide what I am going to do in these places once I get there. So far my plans include:

LONDON - Tate Modern, Hyde Park, and the obligatory 10 Downing Street and Westminster Sights.

WALES - Doctor Who/Torchwood Walking tour (shut up), Cardiff Bay, Millennium Centre, Cardiff Castle

DUBLIN - St. Stephen's Green, Guinness Storehouse (obviously), Parnell Monument.

That's all I've got, so far. Any of you got any suggestions? I'm open for them. But mostly, what I really want to do when I get over there, is to explore. Assimilate. Photograph. Find the craic.

Meanwhile, paper has come to a screeching halt as I've feel like I've run out of things to say. I need to whittle in on my ideas more and seriously start expounding. I'm starting to PANIC and have anxiety dreams.

Disappointing my mother

This morning, I received an email from my aunt, who happens to be my mother's twin sister. My mother was also a recipient of this email from my aunt, and the contents were basically: Sarah Palin is the best thing to happen to politics! Here's a poll where you can vote and say she's qualified for this gig! Which, of course, caused me to have a brain aneurysm. So I responded to my aunt and hit "reply all," copying my mother on the response, which was pretty much pulled word for word from my blog:

I hate Sarah Palin and everything she stands for. But then, I don't like most people who are diabolically anti-choice, hunt wolves by chasing them down in planes and then shooting them when they get tired, supports tearing up the environment, banning books, and privatized healthcare. So, you know. Shocker. I think she gives a bad name to feminism, and is the kind of woman who achieves her power by doing everything modern women believe they do not have to do: presenting herself as maternal and sexual, sucking up to men, evincing an absolute lack of native ambition, instead emphasizing her luck as the recipient of strong male support and approval. I don't think she's qualified. "I can see Russia from my house!" Are you kidding me with this? Shut up, lady, and quit winking at me. I think she's precisely what's wrong with the Republican party, and given that she can spend $150,000 on her clothes and hair in a month, I shudder to think what she would do with a national budget. McCain chose her solely to pander to the alienated Clinton supporters, and I find his choice in her both troubling and offensive. To say nothing of my complete disgust with McCain's rolling over and playing lapdog to the Bush administration these past 8 years. "Maverick" my ass. Voting for McCain is voting for McSame. I hope the Obama/Biden ticket TROUNCES McCain/Palin.

My mother responded with:

I am sorry you are not open and respectful of other people's beliefs. It is a side of you I haven't seen before and I feel I have failed you as a mother. I thought I had taught you that every person has worth. The Obama Media knows only how to report such negative and unfair criticism. It is ok to disagree with someone but to express such hatred is unacceptable.

This gave me a bit of pause. Mainly, the "I feel I have failed you as a mother" bit.

So this was my response to her:

Don't think you have failed me as a mother. While Sarah Palin may very well be a very nice person to meet on a one-and-one level, the hatred I express here is for her political and public persona. Which I frankly do despise. I think she presents a bad image for women everywhere. Saying that Sarah Palin is bad for feminism doesn't mean I think she's worthless. Disagreeing with her politics with fervor doesn't mean I don't respect her as a human being. But it does mean I feel nothing but contempt of her as a politician.

AND ALSO: I think you did precisely the RIGHT things for me as a mother, helping me recognize that my personal worth as a human being is not based on my looks nor my ability to convince men to like me, but rather on my intelligence, wit, and compassion and creativity. I think I am quite open-minded, thanks to you and dad, which is another reason I find the Republican Party in general and people like Sarah Palin specifically so frustrating -- there's an "all or nothing" quality. Only "real Americans" are going to be voting for McCain, the maddeningly narrow definition of the word "marriage," the idea that women and their uteruses are public policy, the fact that you're not qualified for a tax break unless you make $200,000 a year, etc.

I think, as a mother, you taught me to voice my concerns and beliefs. To stand up and shout when I see wrong things being done. After the past 8 years, I believe it is my duty as an American to stand up and point at the party in charge and say loudly, NO MORE.

I think you taught me that compassion should not stop at the white, privileged and Christian, but should extend to everyone: Gay, straight, transgendered, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, Wiccan, male, female, poor, middle class, educated, uneducated and everyone in between.

I think you as a mother taught me that education, both personal and academic, is paramount and key to my successes. It's why I read the newspaper everyday. It's why I'm constantly reading, writing, thinking and and arming myself with information. It's why you had to pry books out of my hands and threaten to withhold them from me as punishment. It's why I'm continuing my education, why I'm constantly gratified by the support you and dad give to me. It's why I think being "elite" is a good thing, a quality to strive for.

I think you and dad taught me that I am not just an American, but also a global citizen. To realize that the choices I make in voting affect not just this country, but the entire world. That I have responsibility not just to my country, but also to brother and sisters in other nations. It's why I'm so excited to go to Wales in a few weeks; why I thank you, dad, Aunt Mary and Mom-Mom for the opportunity to go to Germany all those years ago.

I think you taught me that no matter how little money I have in the bank, how much it costs to get the car fixed or how much I may struggle to pay my bills, I am very, very, blessed, and pretty well-off. There are people who don't have what I have and not only am I lucky to have the gifts in my life, it is my responsibility to help out others less fortunate than myself. It's why I just donated money -- a small amount, only $10, all I could really afford -- to Sarah's Donor's Choose Fundraiser. It's why I donate to the Dewey Donation Drive every year, which helps fund libraries who've had their budgets consistently cut every year. It's why I mentor. It's why, at the checkout lane in the store when they ask if I want to donate a dollar to cancer research, I always say yes. It's why the change I get at Wawa in the morning goes into the Kids in Need box next to the register.

I think you, as my mother, you should pat yourself on the back.

Wassup

Conforming

OK, fine. I've joined Twitter.

(Mainly I've done this so I can update while I'm in the UK. Lord knows when/where I'll have internet access over there. On Twitter? Help me get settled! I really have no idea what I'm doing.)

UK updates

Mostly for the Economist, who has been both my biggest cheerleader and best "sack up, ho" influence. In case I forget to tell you, THANK YOU, for both.

Passport Nonsense: DONE. In a nutshell -- I applied for my passport well over a month ago, everything seemed peachy. Then I got the letter that since my old passport was so out of date, they needed my birth certificate. Which took some tracking down (my Dad thought it was in the safety deposit box, had a minor meltdown when it wasn't there, and then discovered it in the safe at home), and then had to be overnighted to me. Everything is now in, and the passport official told me that short of finding fraud or terrorism in my past, I should be getting my passport in about 10-12 days.

Travel Plans: I am so glad I didn't book my flight two days ago. I just discovered a discounted roundtrip flight from Philadelphia to London, which I am booking the second I get home and have my credit card*. Leaving on the 10th (oh, it is ON, David Byrne!) and coming home on the 25th, but taking the rest of that week off to recover/Thanksgiving/etc. Now I need to figure out trains, B&Bs, and touristy things to do! I had made the executive decision to cut England and Scotland out of my trip, just sticking to Cardiff and Dublin, the two places I was most interested in. But since that deal came up, I might spend my first two days exploring London. Scotland, you're still on the backburner, sorry.

THE PAPER: Not in the best of shape, but begun. Outline is done, first two pages are crappy, but done. I'll revise later. Now I need to cohesively get my ideas together, and it's working. Still need to track down my own copy of the amazing Doctor Who book that was shown to me at the gathering for Lilly on Saturday. Sadly, it's out of print, but I've found promising used book leads on line.

Feeling: Thrilled, nervous, slightly terrified at the prospect of traveling alone, very poor, and -- of course -- super excited!

*So I have a credit card now. With an obscenely high credit limit. I'm nothing short of frightened of it, and as a rule, don't carry it around with me, lest I be tempted to buy shoes, books, and booze with it.

Update to the Update: OMG. Tickets are booked!

Blueberry on the Outside

This weekend rocked, for a variety of reasons (Karen's 30th celebration! Scared stiff at Eastern State Penitentiary! Slumber Parties!), but probably the coolest reason: I got to meet Miss Lillian Rain.

FAIR WARNING: I am not responsible for the debilitating cuteness of the following photos.



I know. Isn't she rad? She's still so small, and at the same time, I couldn't help but marvel at how big she's gotten since I first saw photos of her. Babies grow a lot in 10 weeks! Her little face is so expressive -- you can see her taking in the world around her and processing it all, figuring it out and understanding. At first, I think my camera perplexed her.



Get used to it, kid. I'm going to be doing this a lot. Look at it as a blessing. How many other babies have their own personal paparazzi? Well, besides Suri Cruise.





To the Gerber Baby: Watch yourself. You got some competition now.

Obviously, I was smitten with Lilly right away. She was so good and pleasant. She handled a large number of people fawning over her really well, and only got fussy at the expected times -- when she was hungry, needed a diaper change, etc. And basically all she did was eat, sleep, smile, and coo. But we all were amazed by her as if she had just figured out a solution to the economic crisis. Babies are so fun when they're this age and everything is just beginning. Every day they do something new! Teresa says she just recently discovered her hands and realized fingers can fit in her mouth.



I got to hold her twice and no kidding, I kind of didn't want to give her back. I tried convincing Teresa and Al to move back to PA -- New houses in my town! Ready baby-sitter nearby! -- but it looks like they're staying in Baltimore, so scientists need to get on that teleportation technology right away.

One last picture, this time in a HAT, because babies in wee hats are the cutest things evah!



Somewhat related: Yes We Can (Hold Babies). If Obama wins the election (and I am tentatively hopeful because the polls are looking awesome) Teresa, Al, and Lilly plan on attending the inauguration. Your mission: to get a photo of Obama holding Lilly, although I think most cameras would explode from the awesomeness of that potential picture.

Halloween Help

YOU GUYS HALLOWEEN IS LIKE 16 DAYS AWAY AND I AM PANICKING. PLEASE HELP ME THINK OF A COSTUME BECAUSE I'VE GOT NOTHING.

Requirements - Has to be appropriate for multiple parties, namely: Office party, Rosemont Party, Pagan Party, and Luke and Leslie's party. Vaguely sexy is OK (i.e., like last year's), but down and out slutty is not cool. I am not a whore and I don't want to be one for Halloween either. Please do not suggest Sarah Palin, like everyone else has, because NO.

Needs more Vakien

Just a quick and dirty post to show off some shots I took of Vakien at one of their gigs last month.











Just a note to all bands I photograph: Please, for the love of god, play in places that have decent lighting. I know you can't help it, but man, that venue that Vakien played was ridiculous. Candle light would have been better. And the last thing I want to do is use my flash. Because, as we found out when WBC played two months ago, the results are this. And that's ugly. Also, flash is distracting.

I've been taking a bit of a self-imposed hiatus from photography lately -- that Vakien gig a month ago was my last bit, aside from photographing some ex-votos for the Doc -- because I've just been feeling so burned out by the entire process. Part of it has to do with the amount of time involved, which I think people don't realize. It's not just the photographing of the actual event (which itself is time consuming), it's also hours of sitting at a computer and sifting through the shots, editing the salvageable ones, burning back-up copies of my data, and then uploading everything. My digital workflow takes ages to get through, partly because I'm so trigger happy and bracket all of my shots for safety. I think people don't realize the time suck involved with all of this. A few months ago when I took some shots for an acquaintance, he began bugging me 48-hours after the gig for the photos. I had taken a lot of frames, probably about 200, and I hadn't yet had a solid time to sit down and work my way through them yet. It took a lot for me to not to lose my shit on him right then, because, for real, it was was like two days, I work full time and go to school part-time, to say nothing of the fact that I was doing all of this for him for free. Simmer down, dude.

Part of it probably comes down to me -- I should learn to edit more in-camera, be more conservative with my shots, stop bringing my damn camera everyplace I go, stop letting people take advantage of me, start charging, etc. But a lot of it is also expectation. I am also feeling like I am starting to get stuck in a rut. It's been all bands, bands, bands, work stuff, work stuff, bands, bands, bands. I would like to get back (if "back" is indeed the right word -- was I ever there?) to doing some more artistic shots, and portraits. Next weekend is Karen's 30th birthday* at Dave and Buster's, plus a sweet little lady is coming to PA for her first visit. I plan on taking my camera to both events, and remarkably, find myself excited at the prospect of taking photos not because someone asked me to or because I am expected to, but rather because I want to.

*Lord, everyone is turning 30 this year. We're You're all so old.

Some things

QK is now 30 years old, and hot damn.

I made this cake, as well as this one, again. Both turned out excellent, and coupled with the carrot cake that Becky made, means QK got one cake for each decade of her life.

I really, really wanted to be all kinds of crazy and drinky on Saturday night, but the start of a nasty cold/sinus infection prevented me from helping QK down that magnum of champagne the way I really wanted to. Instead, it left me grumpy and sitting on the couch.

And really, this cold/sinus thing can go fuck off already. I ended up calling out of work yesterday (Renee: shut up) mostly due to that (shut up) and the lack of sleep I received (shut up) and today I sound like a gross fog horn blowing my nose every five seconds and my lips are all chapped and weird and ew ew ew. Aside from all that, I feel generally OK though, but the whole ordeal makes me feel annoyed and decidedly unsexy. Still, Renee cooked me dinner of chicken and dumplings last night and let me lay on her couch all snotty and pathetic to watch Heroes, which OMG.

Wales is a MONTH away, as the Economist was so kind to remind me. Because I'm not STRESSING THE FUCK OUT as is.

So an update: I have begun work on the paper. Passport is hung up on a tiny hiccup that should be resolved today. Credit card is ready to purchase tickets. I'm not in the best of shape, but things are progressing. However, this news has made me bummed, as Paul Cornell was one of the people I was looking most forward to meeting. Still, it's going to be a good time regardless, and there are plenty of other cool Who people around.

Bounce This

Do yourself a favor. Go download some Girl Talk.

Sarah, Sam, Poe and I went to the Girl Talk show last night at the Starlight Ballroom, and let me just tell you: it was crazy insane. And AWESOME. Sarah had turned me onto Girl Talk a few months ago, but nothing beats a live show, where everyone is dancing their asses off, the entire crowd sweaty and excited, throbbing as one and collectively losing their minds. It was probably the closest I've ever gotten to a rave. I had such a blast and came out of the show feeling like I could take over the entire world.

ETA: Josh Sisk's photos of Girl Talk at Sonar in Baltimore give you a pretty good idea what a show is like. Also, DAMN, I wish I could take photos like this guy.

Faffing dollars.

You guys. Have you seen what the market is doing today?

I mean, for fuck's sake. Maybe I shouldn't have discounted my grandmother so much 7 years ago when she was hording hundreds of dollars in coffee cans. Granted, I blamed that on her increasing dementia (she often thought it was 1937 and I was her sister) and paranoia (she kept telling me robbers were coming to take her money and tried to get me involved in elaborate schemes to hide the money from the thieves), but she may have instead been incredibly prophetic.

There's also this, which gives some black humor to the situation. And REALLY?!?!

For real, I think there's like $29 in my 401(k) right now.

Of cards and desire

Saturday night, I gave my first Tarot reading. I've never read anyone but myself, and I felt sort of weird doing it for someone else. Still, he'd asked me for a reading, and even though I had to consult the book a number of times, I felt pretty confident in my interpretation.

As a rule, you don't ask to know their question. At first, the cards seemed so scattered; pentacles and wands interloped, finance muddled with romance and wisdom — I had to stare at the spread until I could see a flow, how each card might relate to the other. I took what I knew about him (truthfully, not much) and looked for similarities in the cards.

Eventually a motif appeared, one about balance and change as well as finding maturity. The reading ended on the Three of Cups, a prosperous card of joy and celebration.

Two cards captured my attention due to their prominent position in the spread.

The Lovers -- A card of, well, lovers. Some decks have the card being depicted by an Adam and Eve, lilies and apples surrounding them to depict desire and temptation. It's a card of new beginnings, sexual attraction, and stimulation. Love is a force that makes you choose and decide for reasons you often can't understand; it makes you surrender control to a higher power. And that is what this card is all about. Finding something or someone who is so much a part of yourself, so perfectly attuned to you and you to them, that you cannot, dare not resist. In interpretation, the card indicates that the querent has come across, or will come across a person, career, challenge or thing that they will fall in love with. They will know instinctively that they must have this, even if it means diverging from their chosen path. No matter the difficulties, without it they will never be complete.

The High Priestess - She is the female version of the magician. She is often depicted with a scroll, and the scroll that she grasps contains all the secrets of life, because knowledge is hers. She is the lady guide, watchful and protecting. She brings balance and luck, wisdom and grace. But she is also secretive and mysterious. The High Priestess offers secret knowledge, like the moon on a dark night, so that the querent can find their path. She sits between the pillars of dark and light, existance and negation, wax and wane. All secret knowledge is hers.

Something flashed inside of me when I read these cards, quick and clear, of memory and instinct. Cool dewy grass, night sky, and the infinity symbol being traced across my skin.

I couldn't help but smile.

Please tell me you're kidding. PLEASE. MY GOD.

I cannot stand that woman. I CANNOT BELIEVE SHE KEPT WINKING AT THE CAMERAS. As I texted to all my friends: Fuck off, Sarah Palin, with your folksy bullshit nonsense.

Joe Biden, thank you for keeping your crazy at a minimum tonight. Although I really wanted you to wipe the floor with her, there's no denying that you were nothing but courteous and respectful towards Gov. Palin. Thank you for calling her out on her use of the word "Maverick."

How anyone can be undecided in this race is beyond me.

Give!

So, financially, things are looking pretty shitty these days. I mean, the economy looks just dismal. I am so sick of the words "financial" and "crisis." And I know my wallet is looking pretty thin this week as I just had my car inspected (Lord, I shouldn't bitch as I only needed some new tires, but still, tires are expensive, yo) and paid rent and the cats need food, and I could go on and on.

But I believe that what goes around comes around. And in giving you get, as well as other clichéd phrases.

So Sars is doing her annual Donors Choose fundraiser, and all donations, no matter how small, count. It's a great charity, one that funds teachers and schools directly, and you know that 700 trillion gabillion bailout everyone is spazzing out about is going towards investment firms and not towards American education, which frankly, has been in crisis for years. No Child Left Behind, indeed. There are some really cool projects worth funding. Plus, you can even win prizes.

Meanwhile, my co-worker and friend Melissa is doing the Walk4Hearing in two weeks. You should support her and the charity -- both are awesome, and Melissa in particular works tirelessly for this cause.

Like I said, I know things suck right now, money-wise. But even $5 or $10 can really make a difference in these cases, and if you can spare it, please think of tossing it towards one of these worthy causes.