The Old Decatur Waterworks

Photo by me, February 2011.

T

ake me to a place that is old, falling down and covered in graffiti and I am at home. Perhaps it is the speck of the fragment of the inner anarchist in me or I just like the graffiti and it reminds me of the Berlin Wall. The B-52's Roam ricocheted through my brain too many times when I was a teenager and here I am.

 

This is the old Decatur Waterworks complex located in DeKalb County in the Atlanta inner suburbs. This is a very nice upper-middle class area despite what one might think of a park that has graffiti covered ruins. The bored youth of soccer moms and daddy occupied with a backyard grill that is too complicated and big for a family of three have colorful angst.

Modern society may take a dim view of graffiti but did you know that it has been around since Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. The word etymology tells us that word originates from the Greek word 'graphein' and means to scribble. Graffiti can have a legitimate purpose is often intended to express political thoughts and to voice anger against repression. This isn't always the case of course and sometimes it is used just as a creative outlet.

Look at all those empty spray paint cans.

 The old Decatur Waterworks complex at one time supplied the drinking water for the city of Decatur then to a nearby Naval Air Station (now PDK) and an army hospital. It has been abandoned since the 1940s and since 2006 has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today the area is a public park.

 The old ruins remind me of a place you would see in some post apocalyptic movie or in a music video from the 1980s and 90s. I love the place.

This is one of the old dams with a hole blown through it from dynamite. The county dynamited the two dams in the mid 1960s that had helped to form two lakes that were on the property.

It's a fun place to go explore and photograph if you are ever in the area and you can enjoy the surrounding nature too.

*All photo taken by me in February 2011.

A Chapter On Beige Window Drapes

Natalie Portman as Jackie.

Upon viewing the film Jackie last night I was surprised and not surprised at how uninteresting and pointless it felt. I approached this film with the hopes it would be an elegant and sophisticated film with nuances and insights into the life of the woman that was known for her elegance and sophistication. Instead what I watched was a film so narrow in its scope and so disjointed that I was disappointed in every way. Even though the film has a running time of less than 100 minutes it felt like it took an eternity to finish. Glaciers have gouged the landscape and melted into the sea faster than this film creeped onward.

At its most basic level this is a film about planning a funeral and that could be an interesting story...maybe... but it wasn't. Okay so it is a film about planning a funeral about a U.S. president which could make it more interesting...but again it wasn't.

There is no meat on the bone with this story because we have had decades to be familiarized with this story. This film is only a chapter in a story and that alone isn't enough to make a film. Watching Portman sweep around in fabulous clothes doesn't a film make. There's nothing here to keep the mind engaged as we already know what happened that Kennedy is killed, there's a funeral and Jackie retreats into a very private life. The plot is so condensed into such a small slice of her life, covering the assassination, the funeral, and the week after that we get no sense of whom Jackie was as a person. You cannot consider this a biopic because it only shows such a small window of time in her life and even during this small glimpse the character is as interesting as beige window drapes. If you are going to make a film about one of the most famous people during one of the most infamous events in American history then you should damn well provide some new insight into the characters or the event. This film does neither.

The film is clearly intended as Oscar bait given that it is a drama, released late in the year and it tackles a heavy historical subject. By gosh the Oscars took the bait nominating this film for three Oscars and not a soul should be surprised. I will say that I am pleased this wasn't given a nomination for Best Picture. If this film had been released in March or April of 2016 then most assuredly it would have been forgotten come Oscar time.

Famous scene from the 1976 film Carrie starring Sissy Spacek.

Who hasn't seen the Zapruder film millions of times and doesn't have the image of John Kennedy's head exploding like a watermelon etched into their brains? It would have been better to have alluded to or to film the blood and brains scene in a more restrained manner. We all know how it looked and so having the slow motion scenes of an exploding head was gratuitous. If you wanted to show that day in Dallas you'd have been better off limiting it to reaction shots of Jackie and only offer glimpses of the gore. A little mystery could have went a long way in keeping this a more sophisticated film. Plus the scene of Jackie in the shower washing off the blood and the water turning red made me think of that scene from Carrie where Sissy Spacek gets a bucket of blood dropped on her head, that scene was completely unnecessary filler.

Natalie Portman as Jackie in a scene shot in France.

I've come to the conclusion that I will never like Natalie Portman as an actor. People praised her to no end in the film Black and White, oh sorry, I mean The Black Swan and I thought they must have watched another film than I had. The Black Swan is a campfest and so literal that I think you'd have to be comatose not to get it. So here is Portman again getting heaps of praise and even an Oscar nomination in a mediocre film. I will say it again but imitation is not the same as acting. It wasn't even a good imitation of Jackie either. Yes, the real Jackie had a very specific manner of speaking but she never looked as though she was suffering a seizure with a taut neck and constantly exposing her teeth. Portman made it seem that Jackie was a stroke survivor. The real Jackie was elegant, unusual and proper but she never looked as if she was in pain while speaking.

The soundtrack is haunting and beautiful and it is too bad that the film itself couldn't match the quality of the music. The film score by Mica Levi transcends this film and it is wasted being attached to it. The music is unnerving, restrained but soars at the right moments and captures the dark and bleak mood that this film couldn't portray with any sophistication. If there is any genuine emotion in this film it comes from the music. Levi was rightfully nominated for an Oscar.

This unfortunate trend in Hollywood continues of making films that are all style over substance. These films look pretty but are so shallow with nothing meaningful to take away with us back to reality. Maybe this film was intended as one last nostalgia trip for the baby boomers and their fantasy Camelot because I have no idea what this film was intended to be about. I could learn more about a person by looking at a stranger's Instagram feed than I could by watching this film.

A Storm

#16 Kanbara by Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige.

In Japanese folklore there is a beautiful woman known as the Yuki-onna also known by many other names but I happen to like the one commonly used that calls her the "snow witch." She is a spirit that lives inside snowstorms and comes to travelers often in the night to trick and freeze them to death. She sometimes is said to have kissed them thus freezing them on the spot or to lure unsuspecting victims to her cave with the promise of shelter and food from the cold and snow. The poor souls end up starving and freezing to death in her snow cave.


Friday night Yuki-onna must have been hiding in my snowstorm that was coming but instead of freezing me to death she stole my snow and left me with an ice storm and bitter cold in her wake. The snow witch played her tricks and left us frozen in place in Atlanta Saturday morning encased in an icy web. I was expecting inches of fluffy snow to play around in and was tricked by the snow witch.

Moon Bridge in Meguro by Utagawa Hiroshige

For days I had been getting up at 2AM analyzing the weather and getting excited about how a big storm was coming because I had not seen a big snowstorm in a few years. I was invested emotionally in getting a big storm and to enjoy that silence that settles in on the world when we get big snows here in Atlanta. The roads are free of cars, the world stops and the snow cover is a blanket of insulation that absorbs the sounds of civilization. I sacrificed sleep for what I thought might be a few days of fun.

Morning sun shining on the ice coated oak trees. Photo by me, January 2017.

At 4 AM Saturday morning I stepped out the front door in my big gray winter wool coat that I bought fifteen years ago at J.Crew when they made things of high quality, my blue plaid scarf and black gloves. The world was silent and the only sounds were the dry and sparkling snow crystals falling from the sky and collecting on the already ice covered trees, shrubbery and ground. In the street lights I stared at that mesmerizing sight of peace and silence filling the air knowing this wasn't going to be a big snowstorm. I was accepting of what little snow I was going to see and thankful that I had a chance to stand and watch it with no one else around. My little peaceful few moments standing there covered in crystallized enjoyment the snow witch took mercy on me I suppose and flew away with the wind on her way in search of other victims.

Photo by me, January 2017.

Photo by me, January 2017.

Ice storms have their own beauty. It is a dangerous beauty that you fear and that beauty is tempting like that of the snow witch. The glazed over trees that are bowing to the world, the shiny sidewalks, the frozen raindrops are like someone has placed icing on a cake. You want to admire this glistening jewel before you and it is so tempting. This beauty brings down trees, takes out the power lines and leaves you in the cold and dark like the snow witch's cave.

Photo by me, January 2017.

Photo by me, January 2017.

There's the awful crack of the ice storm. If you've been through an ice storm, especially a bad one, you know that undeniable sound of the cracking of the ice over your head. That crack of the ice on the trees brings you nightmares because you know that could mean a limb or an entire tree is aiming for you or your electricity. Every wind gust has you looking to see how the bent over trees are struggling under the weight of the ice. Ice storms are humbling.

This morning it was 15F or -9C degrees. The oatmeal and boiled egg that I eat every morning seemed extra relevant as the windows fogged over with steam from the humidifier. This cold is the kind that hurts the face and ears after getting exposed to it for more than a minute. and your breath becomes an extra long cloud of steam as it evaporates into the sun and wind.

Photo by me, January 2017.

Photo by me, January 2017.

The ice is still falling from the trees and cracking to the ground today. The snow is curled up in the leaves in the shade and I'm reminded of my coldest experiences in winter in places like New York and Toronto or living in Louisville. Years ago in Hell's Kitchen I was so cold I couldn't speak, just walking a few blocks and my mouth wouldn't work. It is that cold here in Atlanta today and yesterday. It stayed in the 20s all yesterday afternoon and it never climbed above freezing (32F, 0C).

Even if I didn't get my big snowstorm yet this winter I did get those few moments alone in the snow at 4AM as a reward without the snow witch taking me. 

 

2016 A Year

Burkharts in Atlanta where 2016 began. Photo by me, January 2016.

H

ow do you sum up a year? Was it marked by the beeping of the coffee maker telling me to fill up my cup day after day or by the shutter click of my camera? Maybe it was the miles of footsteps hiking in the woods or the lines of words I wrote? I really don't know the answers, but I know that 2016 is over.

I know that silence was more prevalent as I spoke less, withdrew and tightened the circle in my life. It was a year of endings and I said goodbye to some people. Some of the goodbyes were angry and hurt but what has been said has been said. Sometimes you want to forget and sometimes you need to remember and I did both. 

 
It was awful year of politics and America let us all down. I thought we were better than this but I was wrong and that is depressing. Many a sleepless night has come to me over this election.

I didn't break any bones or require any surgery and for that I am grateful. I might have earned a wrinkle or two and gained a few more grays, but overall I came through this year physically well. I still live in fear of what 2012 did to my body and those scars greet me every morning.

I'm reminded of Seasons Of Love from the Rent soundtrack to put a cap on this year.




My favorite book that I read was from Edmund White, Inside A Pearl: My Years In Paris, published in 2014.

I couldn't find any new music to give a damn about this year. I had to turn to the past and discover music that was new to me. Tom Waits took my heart with his tender ballad, If I Have To Go, from 2006.

Alabama. Photo by me, July 2016.

My favorite moment was in July watching thunderstorms atop a mountain in Alabama. I watched the blackness grow, move toward me, the wind rush up and a growing curtain of rain surrounded me. In that moment I wanted to be left alone to live in that second with no distractions by anything. That moment was symbolic and foreshadowed the remaining months. It was the turning point from what had been a good year to one where nothing made sense on any level and patterns to predict behavior and trends in everything and everyone failed.

On the Atlanta Beltline over North Avenue. January 2016.

I walked on beaches, city streets, mountains, valleys and floated on the water. I looked at the sky more both day and night to wonder and think. That was my road this year of my life with the highs, the lows and periods of flat ground.

2016 was a year I would like to forget and I hope that 2017 is better.

Christmastime In The City

Centennial Olympic Park. December 2012. Photo by me.

What I enjoy most about this time of year are the lights, the crowds and the distractions from everyday life. The cold is nice and when it snows that is nice too. All of those things make city life a little more colorful and a little more enjoyable from the rest of the year. So here are some sights from this year and from a few years in the past. Merry Christmas to you and happy holidays.

Centennial Olympic Park. December 2016. Photo by me.

December 2012. Photo by me.

A church on Peachtree Street in Midtown. December 2012. Photo by me.

Santa at Lenox Square. December 2016. Photo by me.

Marilyn Monroe tree inside the former Davison's/Macy's department store on Peachtree Street. November 2011. Photo by me.

Ice skaters at Centennial Olympic Park. December 2007. Photo by me.

Lenox Square. December 2016. Photo by me.

Centennial Olympic Park. December 2016. Photo by me.

The World of Coca-Cola. December 2007. Photo by me.

Lenox Square. December 2016. Photo by me.

Centennial Olympic Park. December 2012. Photo by me.

November 2012. Photo by me.

This is my favorite Christmas tree in Atlanta located at Peachtree Center in Downtown.


Best wishes.

A Cold Night During Christmas Week

December 2016. Photo by me.

It was just a few days from Christmas and I was at Atlantic Station while the Christmas shopping was wrapped up on Monday night. It was cold and seeing the snow and the Christmas lights was nice. It was cold enough for a wool coat, scarf and my black leather gloves. The sidewalks at Atlantic Station were busy, the shops too and the restaurants were filled.

Christmas isn't something I much celebrate, but I try. I put on my smile and keep going though 2016 wasn't the greatest year - a year of endings.

December 2016. Photo by me.

People were ice skating under the clouds and through the cold. It reminded me of this song.

December 2016. Photo by me.

The machine made snow fell and the lights of the buildings glowed as a backdrop to the tree.