Image for 5-16-11 - Scotland Flashback: Punk Rocker

The first day of my trip to Scotland, I stumbled on a group of Scottish Socialist and Anarchist protesting the Royal Wedding. There was also a small group of British loyalist literally wrapped in the Union Jack taunting the protesters and singing "Hail Britannia" from across the street. The cops and journalist out numbered them all. I grabbed a few pics of this guy, an archetypal punk rocker, roving through the crowd drinking a beer and providing a perfect photo-op for the photojournalist and tourist. Good to see some people still flying the flag of punk rock.

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Image for 5-15-11 - Rain Barrel Time

Got the rain barrel deployed for the season. I like using rain water for watering our plants. Just makes good sense and saves some dough on the water bill. Trying to grow potatoes-in-a-bag again this year. Last year was a bit of a disaster with no growth or potatoes, but feeling more optimistic this year with some good, sprouting taters to start with. Now we just need some rain to fill the barrel and away we go!

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Back in the USA

My mystery friend enjoys a pint.

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Rainy Sunday in Edinburgh

Sorry for the lack of posting. I have been Twitting (@Weaverwerx) and posted a few updates on FB. Don't have an easy way to upload photos while on the road overseas. Nearly upgraded my iPod to the latest with the built in camera and wished I had. Next trip.

This has been a fantastic trip. Dave and I have covered alot of ground in the last week-and-a-half. Hiked the full length of the Union Canal. A couple of days on the coast visiting friends in Dunbar. And now back in Edinburgh for Dead by Dawn, a must viewing for any horror fan.

I hope to post a photo or two tomorrow before we fly back Tuesday. There will be much more to follow when I get back for the big catch up.

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Image for May 1, 2011 - Union Canal - Ratho to Linlithgow

Union Canal Aqueduct

The Union Canal features several aqueducts that carry the canal over roads, rivers and walkways, sometimes all at the same time. It's a strange feeling to be walking along the secluded path only to come out over a roadway with cars speeding underneath. I guess it's easier then building a bunch of locks to help the boats transverse the landscape.

I threw in an extra photo from this day of Dave and I in front of a field of rapeseed that a fellow walker took for us. The rapeseed fields were in full color and photos will never fully capture the intense vibrancy of the yellow flowers. For the first part of the walk, we'd see the yellow fields far off in the distance shimmering like the yellow brick road, seen but always out-of-reach. Finally at this point of the hike we came right alongside a field and had to use it as a backdrop. I've done a far bit of solo hiking, but I always prefer to have a good friend along. Anyone reading this would be fortunate to have a friend as good as Dave has been to me. He's a solid trail companion and I look forward to many more adventures in the future with him.

Hal and Dave along the Union Canal

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Image for 4-30-11 - Danger of Death!

I love that sign, saw while hiking the Union Canal. It's warning against the overhead power lines. Judging from the barbed wire wrapped around the pole, I guess they've had a few people try and climb it. I think that sign is applicable anytime though. The end can come anytime, so you better get out there and live your life. The samurai would "freshen their minds with death" every morning to remind themselves how short and fragile life is. I do the same.

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Image for 4-29-11 - The Old Castle Town

The castle is the symbol for Edinburgh. I saw this old relief logo on the side of a small utility shed (or was it a public toilet?). I'm a sucker for peeled paint and I like the icon design.

I pulled the photos off the camera last night, all six hundred and fifty-two of them. I know my pal Dave shot about double that. It was a very well documented journey. We saw and did a lot in the twelve days we were on the ground there, the trip featured a little of everything, some hiking, visited new places I had not been to before in Scotland, catching up with old friends, some urban exploring and finally, Dead by Dawn, my favorite horror film festival. It's been six years since I last set foot in Scotland, also for DbD, as my circle of horror film friends refer to it. I was surprised at how little had seemed to change in Edinburgh, a few new shops  here and there, but when the city's essential layout was made in stone hundreds of years ago, there's no easy way to modify that without obliterating part of your history. Tidewater (I refuse to use "Hampton Roads", a rant for another time), seems to revel in destroying any building new or old that stands in the way of "progress", I use the term loosely as it generally means making way for a parking lot, chain drug store or, more likely, luxury condos. I'm sure that if I lived in Edinburgh for a while, something I'd love to do, that I'd see the creepy corporate influence there as well. On this trip, I was blissfully happy to wander The Meadows (a large park in the southern part of the city) or hang out in the Grassmarket ( area with pubs and shops in the shadow of the castle). Oh Edinburgh! I love you!

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Back in Edinburgh

My flight arrived on time. After all the drama yesterday, I'm amazed that I got out at all. Fully expected to be sleeping in Newark airport last night.

My friend Alan Smart picked me up at the airport. I know Alan from my time living in Ireland. We were both kitchen help in an Italina restaurant in a small town in the west of Ireland. A long story for another time.

Edinburgh is strangely quiet today because of holiday for the Royal Wedding. The empty streets fits my mood.

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Enjoying a Guinness in NJ

On the ground in Newark. First pint of the trip. The second pint was bought a a swell Scotish guy named Paul. He and his wife were just returning from their first visit to NYC.

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Norfolk Airport Carpet

Yeah, still stuck here. Flying sucks. OK HW

image for 4-28-2011 - tiki mug drawing

 

Delayed at the airport. Made this sketch from memory. Compare with the yesterday's photo.

Image for 4-27-11 - The New Tiki

My friends Casey and Laura picked this Tiki Mug up for me in Reno, NV. He's a real beauty and a fine addition to the collection. He sports real, plastic green gem eyes!

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Image for 4-26-2011 - The old Space Park

This was taken at the old Air & Space Power Park in Hampton, Va. I remember visiting this park on a field trip back in second grade. The park was in much better shape back then. It's sad to see all the rockets and jet planes rusty in this unkempt and forgotten place. I recall as a child wandering among these technological wonders and dreaming of a future full of space adventures. Now, with the Space Shuttle nearly retired and nothing to replace it, it will be the first time in my lifetime that the US will not have the ability to but people into space. NASA's current budget is about eighteen billion dollars a year. Considering the fact that we're spending two billion a day on the wars, it's hard to believe that we can't find the money to keep America on the leading edge of space technology. Hopefully this park of decaying relics is not our future.

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Image for 4-25-11 - The Wedding...

I did not find, or make a photo today, guess I got a case of the lazy eye. I did realize that I have failed to put up on here any photos from my friends Casey and Laura's recent nuptial event. This is a shot I took with my phonecam of the newly joined groom and bride and the nice lady (whom's name I can not recall) who did the joining.

I took a bunch of pictures that weekend and uploaded some of the better shots to a Facebook album.

I'm looking forward to seeing the other pictures from that weekend and the video too. It was a touching event, with lots of love and and happy tears. They even picked me to read a poem!

Laura and Casey are wonderful friends and I feel humble to have shared in such a loving celebration.

I wish them many years of happiness, fun and love!

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Image for 4-24-11 - Azalea Time!

The Azaleas are peaking right now. The walk I take through the neighborhood is laced with explosions of Azalea color right now. I haven't seen many bees taking advantage of all those open and willing petals, which is worrying with all the reports of bee colonies dying off. I saw one big bumblebee in the middle of the sidewalk, on his back, fighting to get upright again and gave him a little nudge that righted him and he flew off. Made me think that we're all in this together and if we don't help each other, we won't make it. Go forth my bee brother and hit that pollen!

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Image for 4-23-11 - I'm ready.

Got seven miles in today with the pack on. I feel ready for the coming big hike in Scotland. That seven miles also brought my year-to-date total up to two hundred and thirty-five miles, two miles ahead of the average I need of two hundred and thirty-three point thirty-three by the end of April and I'm not through with adding some more. It was hot yesterday, in the eighties, the first slicing fingers of summer heat in the wind. I enjoy the heat less and less as I get older. Prefer the cool and cold weather of fall and winter. Would rather have the fireplace roaring, then the AC humming. It's also more difficult to hike in the hot weather, the heat drains my energy, the humidity reduces me to a soggy sweat ball. The bugs swarm and bite and sting. Give me a cool, overcast day in November anytime.

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Simon's Cat

I enjoy these Simon's Cat animations. This one in particular is a lot of fun.

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Image for 4-22-11 - Perspective

Was this picture taken from five thousand feet or five feet? Does it matter? The view would be the same and your experience could be just as disconnected. From this vantage point, it is just color and texture and shapes. You could be an ant or a giant. What do you see?

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Image for 4-21-11 - Map

I am a big fan of maps. I will spend time studying a map, reading a map, walking down the roads in my mind. I've visited places just because I liked the shape of it on a map. Technology is all well and good; GPS will grab you by your nose and lead you where you want to go, but you won't learn anything. Maps can reveal a city, a landscape; show you the alley behind the wall; the pathway that leads out of town to the Roman ruins over the hill. With a map in my pocket, the world is mine. Now, that doesn't mean I won't get lost, in fact a map usually gives me too much confidence, which guarantees  I will get lost, but that's alright. I've made some of my best discoveries when lost.

This is a map I know fairly well of one of my favorite cities in the world. I will be there soon,

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Image for 4-20-11 - Big Chief

I got mixed feelings about graffiti. Sometimes I see it and it pisses me off, just looks like selfish bullshit inflicted on a public space. Then I'll see something that transcends that and makes it to the art level and improves upon the surroundings. This piece falls into the  later category. It has a humor to it and sophisticated sensibility that appeals to me. I also have to admit that I have become more open to graffiti after watching Exit Through the Gift Shop, a film that you need to see if you haven't. (Those with Netflix and Roku box can add it to their Instant Watch queue, hint, hint). The best quality graffiti I have ever seen was in Barcelona, Spain. I'll have to dig those photos out...

Image for 4-19-2011 - The Skull and the Brain

This is a quick camera-phone photo of the part of my desk of a skull candle, left-over from Halloween and a squeezy brain bit of swag from a trade show. I took this because I realized I spend a lot of my life here in this cube and see these things everyday and as a result no longer really see them anymore. Also needed to test my camera-phone. It's working again, but for how long, how long...

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Image for 4-18-11 - peep

I always liked this frame. It's from the fifth issue of my old underground comix, "Reluctant Sadist". I need to get back working on the book project I started that will collect all the issues together and also other work from that time. The "peep" is because I got no excuse. I must get ass in gear.

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Image for 4-17-11 - Red Helicopters

I was raking leaves this afternoon and looked up and saw this. Red helicopter seed pods against green leaves and a clear, blue sky. It was a fine peaceful moment.

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Image for 4-16-11 - Pollen Ring

I got a fast seven-mile hike in this morning. I saw lots of dried pockets of pollen along the edges of the sidewalks and in the gutters. This was the most interesting one, a pollen ring around a depression in the multi-use path that runs through the park. Found art is always around us.

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I'm a Mini Movie Mogul

Last night I threw twenty-five dollars in the indie film ring. There is a great web site called Kickstarter that helps artist, writers and filmmakers fund their projects. I've looked at it a couple of times before, but have never taken the plunge until last night. I found out through Twitter, about this making-of-a-horror-movie-doc called, "Hardcore Indie" that was getting down to the wire to meet their fundraising goal and decided to get off the bench and help them make it happen. I'm looking forward to seeing how their project develops! OK HW

Image for 4-13-11 - Tiki in Progress

Back on track.

This Tiki is in the front yard of a house I walk by on one of my regular hiking routes. It stands about four feet high and has been slowly evolving over the last couple of months. Once I ran across the artist at work. He had a variety of chisels and chainsaws and was sporting a finger splint earned from his efforts. I stopped and chatted with him a while about sculpting and tiki's. I haven't done any wood carving, but I have thought about it, even bought some tools. Sometimes I think that when I return to sculpting, that it will be wood. I love the smell wood, the texture, the grain. The connection with cultures through the whole of history. It's good to see the spark of creativity moving on to the next generation. Half drunk bohemians taking steel to wood to keep the old ones alive on a suburban street. My time is coming.

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Off track

I owe my regular viewers an apology for the lack of posts. I was out-of-town over the weekend for a wedding and was uploading photos and posts from my phone, or so I thought as there is no evidence of that here (thanks' Virgin Mobile). Yesterday I clean forgot to post anything. We'll see if we can get back on track today.

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Image for 4-9-11 - Mel and Billy

I am still back filling the days that were missed due to my stupid phone.

Here's a shot of Mel and Billy before the big hitch up. Billy was the best man and actually doesn't have a beard, that was a happy accident of the crappy tech. I enjoyed getting to know them better last weekend and look forward to hanging with them again sometime soon.

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Image for 4-8-11 - The Misty Mountaintop

I originally sent this from my camera phone to the blog, but it still hasn't shown up, so I'm playing catch up and reposting it directly. Friday we drove up to Wintergreen, VA to witness our good friends Casey and Laura be married. The ride up from the coast was uneventful until we got to the mountains. The cloud was down in the higher elevations and slowed us a bit. I am a big fan of fog, I love how it can take a normal environment and transform it into a mysterious adventure.

The truly dense stuff waited until later that evening when we had to make our way back from the Devil's Backbone down in the valley. The shroud dropped hard, reducing visibility to a few feet in front of the car and I had to creep along at five mph, clinging to the center line reflectors. It took awhile to get back to the chalet.

More catching up to do soon.

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Image for 4-7-2011 - Tangerine

I love tangerines. They unfold so easily and beautifully. Taste so sweet and are so good for you. I took a snack break at work today and found this cool shape after I cracked open this little fruit. It looked like an alien flower to me. Good thing I got a photo of it as it wasn't around very long.

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Image for 4-6-2011 - The Mistake

That's my keys, on the seat of my car, behind a locked door. Yeah. Bummer. Been a long time since I did that. Had to call AAA and wait over an hour for the guy to show up and pop the lock. I was hoping to get the groceries on the way home, then get a hike in. Instead spent that time pacing around my car in the Kroger parking lot as the sun went down. By the time I got home, I was too hungry and grouchy to hike. Bah. Some days are better then others.

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Image for 4-5-2011 - The Surrealist Sketches Return

Finally got off my lazy ass and did a little art. Continuing my series of little sketches of surrealist. I have a book on surrealism that has a lot of great old pictures of those wacky guys and have been filling up a little sketchbook with their portraits. I'm embarrassed to say how long it's been since I last added to the collection. I like some things about this drawing, but also have some problems with parts of it (hey, nothing's perfect). I mixed up the quality of line using fine, soft strokes for his face and heavy, looser lines for the jacket and background. Kinda like pulling focus. I know nothing about the artist, or in this case, filmmaker, Pierre Prévert, so I got some Googling to do.

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