This Broken Land

This is another post like the last one. Just some random photos I'll pick on a whim and then publish before I have time to think much about it and make any edits. It's not some kind of best of. Just whatever interests me in this moment. I'm doing this in real time. That's not some kind of self-criticism, btw. Spontaneity employed randomly with no pretense of meaning can be a good thing. Everything doesn't have to be precious. Normally anything I show is thought out and meaningful on multi levels.

Here are a few photos, not a best of, or coherent in any intentional way. They are randomly chosen with the virtual dartboard method, just now. Above: Ella. She had terminal cancer and a variety of other ills when this picture was taken, but somehow managed to keep a smile on her face. Sandinista, January 1983. Stalker. Hollywood Boulevard, circa 1981. County Jail. Music Box. High Schools. Adderall Eyes. Popular kids. World Afire. Ruins, Middle-American. Church Ave., Brooklyn. Divers. Multi-faceted woman. Corps.

I had to cut short my time out west for the 95 project due to a family issue back home, but I had a week to get there so decided to make it a little vacation. I don't remember the last time I had a vacation. I'd been camping in a cheap state campground by the Clearwater River outside of Lewiston, Idaho for about a week, exploring the area and doing some specific research.

"We were contented to let things remain as the Great Spirit Chief made them.

Metropolis Illinois is the official home of Superman. Every year they throw a festival that draws about 30,000 fans. Celebrities from the D.C. universe make appearances, give talks, and sign autographs. The biggest fans do cosplay. On the opening day of the festival in 2023 there was a leak at the nearby uranium enrichment plant. No one in town was officially notified.

Ed. Note: This is over 6000 words, so plan your time accordingly if you are going to read it. There are three parts. Part 1 is me babbling on about who knows what. Part 2 is Slab City. Part 3 is Bombay Beach. If you prefer to wait for a

Ed. Note: This is over 6000 words, so plan your time accordingly if you are going to read it. There are three parts. Part 1 is me babbling on about who knows what. Part 2 is Slab City. Part 3 is Bombay Beach. If you prefer to wait for a better version, I'll be revising it at some point and posting it on my main website: mwebphoto.com. Or you can just scroll down and look at the pictures. They tell stories as well. Please leave a comment if you have any thoughts.

I quit my job, left my wife and kid, put the mobility scooter on the trailer and high tailed it out of helltown for Yuma, Arizona. I'm now living in my car down by the river, or by the lake as the case may be, and considering what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. It occurred to me that I'm sitting here in one of the most famous places for western lore, and I remembered back to my childhood and what I wanted to be when I grew up, and thought why not? I want to be a cowboy.

I made a second trip to Columbus over the holidays. A town of roughly 50,000 in central Indiana, Columbus is an important destination for modern architecture, much of it Brutalist. Over 70 buildings are considered architecturally significant. To cantilevered brick walls at the entrance of Columbus City Hall. Knowing how much I like visiting botanic gardens, my daughter Chloe sent me an article about what the author thought was one of the best gardens in the United States.

Contemplate that sign. They're recruiting old men to be Pizza delivery drivers. Charles Bowden wrote about the Mexican border as a laboratory of our future back in the nineties when I was living in Tucson. I did some writing on border issues back then. One piece was about water issues in northern Mexico. NAFTA-born factories upstream were polluting a beautiful valley between Magdalena and Santa Ana in the state of Sonora.