Lousiana!

So, I already fail at being consistent at this blog.  I got a bit backlogged on things like this after my recent trip to LA.  So, I'll post a few pics this time around to make up for the lack of pictures.  Plus, there were a lot of cool things to see in LA.

First up, we have the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge.

I worked for a couple of months a few years ago, doing some research work to track down the portraits you can see on the walls in the background, so it was awesome to get a chance to see my work in person.  Not to mention that the building is just incredibly beautiful, as you might gather from this photo.  I didn't think too much of Baton Rouge, probably because the city was abandoned due to an LSU game, but this might have made the trip worth it to see.

NOLA

New Orleans is quite an unique and interesting city.  I felt its feel may have been best summed up by the dichotomy set up by these two signs:

 

One of my favorite parts of the city was the architecture.  I was fortunate enough to have a friend in the city who graciously spent a lot of time showing me around and there was such a beauty to the detail that was put into some of the buildings in the area.

   

 

Finally, what would a trip be without some souvenirs?  NOLA has its own brand of style when it comes to take home items as you maybe can tell from these items available in the French Market.

 

Rock and Roll Hotel

I recently had the pleasure of seeing my first show at the Rock and Roll Hotel on H Street which, I thought, was a pretty fantastic venue.  Perfect place for an intimate little rock show and all around cool place to hang out.  Beware if you're not a fan of the hipster crowd though, as they are quite abundant. The upstairs bar/ dance hall reminded me a lot of this place I loved in Brooklyn, which perhaps explains a lot about my previous sentence. Regarding this particular picture, someone who knows my eclectic taste in music can probably figure out why I liked it so much.

Quick shout out to Titus Andronicus and Free Energy who both put on a fantastic show.  First time in a while I think that I have seen two bands have that much fun playing their own music at their own show.  Titus especially, I was neutral on  after hearing only a couple of songs, but seeing them live gave their music a whole new feeling.  Free Energy I always kind of liked, but they get bonus points to for indulging my request to have the band sign my CD.

Welcome from General Washington!

Hello and welcome to my new photo blog!  

This blog has been something I've wanted to start doing for some time now, both to have a somewhat structured way of visually documenting my life, but also to get myself  to start paying more attention to the world around me.  For example, this statue is one I pass almost every day on the way to work.  It depicts General Washington, (as in our first president) during the Battle of Trenton.  It took me nearly a month of passing by this statue before I paid enough attention to notice that it was Washington, which probably says a lot about how observant or at least curious I am about the world around me.  Or maybe I just tend to tune out statues of dead guys on horses.  Either way, it's time for me to start taking some more time to pay attention to my surroundings, hence the purpose of this blog. 

Not that George Washington needs much more to seem am impressive individual, but on the particular night of this photo there was a thunderstorm brewing behind the general, and I must say there's something about a background of lightning bolts and rolling storm clouds like makes a battle statue seem all the more impressive.  My apologies for the somewhat poor quality of the photo, but I'm working with a simple-point and shoot so grainy-ness, especially considering the lighting of this shot, is a bit hard to avoid.