| Author | Message | ||
     Court |
I've decided to come in and play. My reasons are partly personal, partly professional. From a personal perspective, so to speak, my life is like a postcards. In fact, most of those playing "my hometown" have similar lives. Be ye in NYC or Kerrville or Idaho, we see the wonderment of where we are daily. Most pass it by. I submit that part of the tie that binds us is that we see that wonder. I wrote in 1995 that I thought motorcyclists were, as a result of passing freshly mowed fields and such, more in tune to the beauty and wonder of their world. I thought it then; I know it now. Your pictures have proven it. From a "professional" perspective I have recently agreed to undertake a very challenging creative project and have committed several hours per night to "tuning" my writing, critical and creative thinking. You unwitting souls have, without so much as a wimper of objection, become de facto guinea pigs. I've a new toy to help me in my pursuit and I carry it with me. Here are some pictorial thoughts from today's ride home. Court                 Sleep tight, Court | ||
| Dino |
HELP! I'm not getting images...just the "Your Image Here" icon. | ||
| Dino |
NEVER MIND! I have them now! Cool! Great tour...way too brief. More coming? I particularly love the 1st basking. Great basis for a series, I'm thinking. And the 'still a warehouse'...does it for me, too. Cool the way the reflection shut down the exposure on the bike. Center metered, huh? That was a fortuitous shot! Just like you meant to. Hope there's lots more! (Message edited by dino on April 19, 2005) | ||
| Pdxs3t |
Great pic's Court, about time you jumped into the thick of things!  Lookin forward to seeing and reading more. Jim | ||
| Tripper |
Thanx Court. Much more interesting than "Jerry's Beauty Tours". Just kidding. There's beauty all around. Dallas has much to offer as I am finding out this week. Oh the silicone!!!! | ||
| Court |
Tripper: Dallas has some awesome spots. I was there with the White House for the Republican Convention in the 80's. Fell in love with Dallas and started going there once a month "spying". A year later we were the largest electrical (highway lighting and traffic signals) contractor in town. Did many of the projects you see light the big rusty looking light towers at DFW and the ITS (Intelligent Transportation System) on Stemmons and all the traffic signals in Carrollton, Farmer's Branch and the 58 interconnected controllers in the "M Streets" off Central. Go down in the East portion, between Fair Park and Downtown (be wary of south Dallas) and look at some of the vistas. Great stuff. Still one of my favorite towns. Don't let me forget to tell you the story of the TSDHPT official who tried to soak me for a bribe when I was building the intersection of SH114 at Las Colinas! One of the most illustrative tales of my utter stupidity and blindness to the "real world". Sure...lost more coming. I'm thinking of a "churches" and a "public architecture" series. New York is the "victim" of some of the damnedest architecture in the world. Some of the world's wealthiest people, at the height of their wealth, set out to memorialize their time on earth by out doing each other. The citizens of NYC are the benefactors. Yeah...I love the one of the motorcycle. I **think** (I don't know squat and have enrolled in Nikon school) that the blistering sun glare reflected off the tank told the camera there was LOTS more light than there was. Yeah....I meant to do that. NOT Court | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Court, i've got a lot of words desiring to make the transfer from brain to fingers to keyboard to "New York, New York," and not nearly enough time on this day to do them proper justice. so... simply... thanks. ride to lean, Ferris | ||
| Court |
Problem not my friend. . . come back this evening. I'll be home late but today's "featured photos" will be New York's Central Park. If you have a "request" get it in by 2:30. Court | ||
| Henrik |
This is for Henrik. He can explain it. Thanks Court - fun memories The picture is of Slick's sidewalk motorcycle repair and used bike sales. In the usual turn of Williamsburg coincidence, the shop is right across from "Relish", a yuppie "Diner" selling Yuppified home cooking. The Diner is a classic design and has appeared in many movies - lately "Angels in America." Slick is probably around 70 years old - African American. Moved to New York from Philly in 1957. From the stories, you'll know that Slick had a bit of a wild youth, and at some point he realized that staying in Philly would get him dead, so he moved. Why he moved to NYC of all places, who knows. When he arrived in NYC, Slick moved into the building immediately to the left of the corner building in the picture. He tells stories about the time the City required Landlords to provide hot water in each apartment, and the rent went from $13/ month to $15 Slick for many years was a Harley Davidson fanatic. He rode a hopped up Sportster in on of the Black Biker gangs that used to hang out in the bar, which is now his shop in the picture. Lots of street drag racing for $$, women and fighting. Those were the days when the HD Sportster was King of the Road. Then the Japanese bikes started to become top dog on the streets of NYC, and gradually Slick became more and more disgusted with the Mother Ship - why wouldn't they build him the Jap Bike Beater he so wanted (sound familiar ...?  ) Slick had in the meantime bought the entire corner building that now houses the shop. Williamsburg was at the time an industrial slum, and I'm thinking he got the building for a song. Now however ... Slick finally became so disgusted with the lacking HD performance that he sold the Sportster and gave away all HD parts and related tools and turned his shop into a Jap Bike only shop. He built performance bikes and supposedly did pretty well at the drag racing in Englishtown. He figures he's spent his amount of luck and lives and refuse to go there anymore. When you see Slick you could easily mistake him for a homeless person. But he's a sly old dog, and can fix most things on older jap bikes. Not pretty but it works - mostly. He got a kick out of talking to me - I'd have him change tires for me. Of course he'd keep my old tires, and the ones off the track bike - being worn pretty much only on the edges - he would, I'm sure, turn right around and sell  Every time I'd stop by he would get the conversation turned around to the old days of Harley performance and how disappointed he was and still is, that HD has not kept up. Show me the tests, he'd say. Show me at the strip. I guess old drag racers die hard All the best Slick Henrik | ||
| Pdxs3t |
Court, Would love to see some shots of the USS Intrepid. | ||
| Ceejay |
Court, speaking of rich folk outdoing one another, is that why central park is looking the way it is? | ||
| Lornce |
Nice images, Court. Catchy contrast in the wing mirror view of the bridge. I like it. New Yawk always gets my eyes narrowing and my shutter finger itching. Love that city's vibe and energy. Thanks for bringing me back! Lawrence | ||
| Court |
New York is a city with an attitude. It has to have one. You can't be the "capital of the world" without one. We're a city where a significant % of the population list their occupation as "writer, artist, musician or actor", we are where you HAVE to be if you are a musician on your way up, an advertiser or a museum wanting to display some motorcycles and attract a larger crowd than the Mona Lisa brought when it debuted. We also love are architecture. The captains of industry, names like Carnegie, Mellon, Rockefeller and Woolworth were here when they were all overcome with an irrepressible need to throw their parsimonious ways to the wind, ignore budgets and build something, to assuage their ego and secure their place in history they were sure no one could outdo. An "attitude"?, you bet. We are the city where the Mayor, when returning to by air, found that his plane had, in fact, landed in Newark, NJ and refused to get off the plane. He was flown to New York's Kennedy airport and, upon leaving the plane, immediately ordered the construction of LaGuardia Airport. We are a city where a BUELL BLASTR gets outfitted with homemade fairing lowers and major luggage capacity from fiberglass plates wired on with #9 Iron Wire. We are a city with more vehicles in the city limits than North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma combined. Attitude? You bet your •••....we gotta have one. If nothing, we are about function. Here, from a walk Wednesday while waiting for a meeting are a couple glimpses. Court       But....we love our architecture      And we love the bridges, hundreds of them in fact, in Central Park.    And we love our music......                 It's been a long day.....we'll do the Intrepid next. Deal? Court | ||
| Dino |
Wow. I'm having a wonderful time touring NYC thru your photos, Court. A couple questions: Do the squirrels in Central Park have a drug problem? Are those the famous Stepford mannequins? | ||
| Court |
Funny...I never thought of that. The squirrel was a project. I'd done some ducks a few minutes earlier and the requisite "rich kids roller blading while their nannies ran behind with sneakers and snacks", some ducks and the photos of the female joggers you’d better keep hidden from the wife, when I came upon the squirrel. I started, unfamiliar with the new D100, in one mode and kept switching, uncertain of the results. Finally in desperation, I just snapped and got the "squirrel resting" photo. I like it. I also kinda dig the unrotated back to vertical fire escape. It was actually shot last weekend whilst walking with a friend. I think the 90o left orientation makes you "tnihk". It challenges the mental property of 'closure", our ability to fill in gaps and correct obviuos eorrors. Talking about "just snapping", I got some fairly cool shots of the Brooklyn Bridge in a rather heavy fog on the way to the office yesterday. I'm going to try to go wiggle about the Intrepid this week and perhaps test my "music" or "doors" on you. Fun stuff...big city. Court | ||
| Henrik |
No idea who's house this is. They seem to know. I think they may be keeping an eye on Pale Male and his mate. Apparently they're breeding again after their nest was pulled down recently. Henrik (Message edited by Henrik on April 24, 2005) | ||
| Court |
I'll be darn...I think you nailed it Doc! | ||
| Pdxs3t |
That's a Deal Court. Thanks for the tour of NYC and looking forward to the Intrepid! Jim | ||
| Court |
Spy photo?   | ||
| Court |
On the way to work this morning....I kinda dug it.  | ||
| Timbo |
WOW Court! Thanks! Great stuff. And Henrik, I enjoyed your story of Slick very much. I would have him change my tires, just to hear his stories too. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
what Timbo said. | ||
| Henrik |
Thanks Timbo; Slick *certainly* is a character. He did some dirt tracking as well as drag racing. He's got a great photo of himself on an HD dirt tracker flat out and sideways. Great guy. Henrik | ||
| Timbo |
And Court, You are right, the stable you pictured would be a totally cool garage. I like how it looks so substantial, like it has stood the test of time, and will continue to do so for generations to come. Seems as if it was put together with whatever was at hand at the moment, right up to the top of the windows, then everything above looks very well planned out. Almost as if it was put together from pieces of another building. But can you tell me this... Is that a styrofoam cup on the bottom ledge of the arch above the doors? Hmmmm.... | ||
| Court |
Quick..busy day at the power plant, yes the POWER PLNAT today. But, I shot a couple that were fun.       Fun town. | ||
| Jb2 |
Court, Never been much on cities and I never made it no secret but everytime you post something about NYC I hear Ruthie Foster singing "Lost in the City" and me thinks that one day you-n-Henrik might get the opportunity to change my mind. | ||
| Henrik |
Jim; NYC is a fantastic place to go exploring. My parents, who don't travel a lot, took all of 2 minutes to figure out how to navigate Manhattan, and were off exploring on their own for a week - loving every minute of it. They'd done a lot of home work, reading up on the "whats and wheres", and all in all had a great time. Even if you're not that into big cities, there's still plenty for you to see and do. And you and Kim of course have an open invitation to come and stay with us. Henrik | ||
| Road_thing |
Careful, Jb2, you're standing close to the edge of a very slippery slope! Court turned me loose last month with his subway pass card. Next thing I know I'm on the Staten Island ferry heading for Manhattan! The place could be addicting... rt | ||
| Court |
Mostly just cause I dig the TOTAL contrast with the fabulous pictures my freinds in Californaia are posting...from a project I am working on, live from the Capital of the World.              (Message edited by court on June 15, 2005) | ||
| Henrik |
Cool pictures. I recognize my old "hood". And I'm happy to see that Slick is still around and busy fixing up old Jap bikes Henrik |
