Archive for the ‘Without A Home’ Category
Lost and Found: Anatomy of an Accident
I stood over the pile of shattered safety glass that had been swept against the median. It looked different in the daylight. I could still see the lights reflecting on the faces of the crowd that had gathered: red, orange, white, blue, red, orange, white, blue, red, orange…
The accident had obviously been terrible: the car was on its side and a swarm of black clad firemen were prying and pulling at the shell with their Jaws of Life. It was then that I noticed that there wasn’t another car. As if reading my mind, or noting the way I was looking around, the man next to me muttered, “there was only the one car… and the pedestrian.” That’s when I saw the paramedics attending to the body that lay in the street. It was almost 25 feet from where the car sat in the intersection. I was aghast – and yet I continued to stand there, transfixed by the horror (or spectacle) of it all. My friend, who stood behind me, had grown increasingly agitated.
“Why are they all standing around? Why are they filming? Taking pictures? Laughing?”
I found myself looking in his direction and saying something about human nature. Our dark heart. Everyone love’s a trainwreck.
As I shuffled the pile with the tip of my boot, I reached down and collected the items in the image above. Looking around I realized that they were the only physical remnants of what had happened at that intersection the night before. They struck me more powerfully than any photo from the scene could have: they were there, in my hand and not on a screen.
click the above image to enlarge
Sometimes love is enough…
Click here for full size.
Odd Foods: Dragonfruit
As mentioned before, New York City is a veritable paradise for those who seek the weird in the world of food (and many other worlds… should you choose to stumble down those alleys.)
On numerous occasions I’ve discovered something new simply by walking the streets and stalls of Chinatown. Many of the most prominent stalls along the Eastern end of Canal St. offer a variety of oddly shaped, festively colored, and reasonably priced fruits. One that has often caught my eye is the (seasonally) short lived Dragonfruit, commonly known as a Pitaya.
A pitaya is the fruit of several cactus species, and sensibly occupies an important place in many culinary cultures: they are found across the globe from Asia to the Americas.
The skin of the fruit is somewhat leathery, featuring leafy offshoots. It sits comfortably in the hand, but can weigh anywhere from .25 lb to 1.3 lbs. Wikipedia notes that fruit up to 2.2 lbs has been recorded.
The flesh, a bright white speckled with small black seeds, is similar to that of the kiwi with somewhat more of a physical snap (in texture, not taste.) The red (in this case, though there are other varietals) skin is not consumed and has been known to be fouled by pesticides with farm grown fruits. The flavor is mild and acts as an excellent palate cleanser between courses of more strongly flavored foods. Since it is low in calories you can consume quite a bit of it without worry.
The Dragonfruit is relatively expensive when compared to more common fruits, but it’s flashy appearance and abundant flesh make it an excellent addition to many meals, and has never failed to illicit a raised eyebrow from visiting dinner guests.
Changes on the horizon
For some time now, Clogvert, has lain more or less dormant.
At first it started out as a fun outlet for all of my weird and off-color commentary that otherwise had no home, but as my life and career have become more involved the time to craft witty posts that no one would read has grown scarce.
I’ve saved a few of my favorite posts below, tentatively altered the design of the site, and in the near future hope to re-tool the content of the site to reflect the struggles of being a real world working artist… which will be my full-time job in just a matter of months.
Sit tight, and check back in a few weeks.
An injury most foul…
click to enlarge
Take a look at that image. Take a good long look at it.
It’s not a fake, and it hasn’t been digitally manipulated other than to remove sensitive personal information.
Darren Coyle is a hard working young film maker who has, for some time, been struggling to achieve the notice he richly deserves.
It’s not an easy industry by any stretch of the imagination, further complicated by the fact that it seems largely populated by douche bags. But such is the case and if you wish to play that game, you must play, to some extent, by their rules. And so Darren has: becoming a producer in the field of reality television, hopping from job to job when the wellspring of salaried work dried up, most recently taking a job working on the fascinating exploration of the American psyche known as Wife Swap.
In January, while working in Seattle on a shoot for this show, Darren had the great misfortune to fall, head first, down a short flight of concrete stairs. Though explained to me more than once, I am still not quite able to picture the contortions required, but needless to say, the fall resulted in Darren’s ankle being shattered in three locations.
Darren was rushed to the emergency room and escorted into the operating theater once the nature of his situation was determined. Two hours, 10 screws, a steel plate and 1 pin later Darren emerged… more metallic.
Post surgery, our hero suffered re-hospitalization at the hands of an infection, but is now recovering well, having gotten over his fear of pain killers and pre-fab microwave meals. Though 8 weeks certainly seems a long time for one forced to endure its passage from the confines of a bed and a narrow city apartment, I am certain that he’ll be back up on his feet, free to fall down whatever stairs he sees fit in no time at all… we’re all rooting for you, Darren.
