Exercise Machine

Much of the last day of the year was devoted to picking up and assembling a new elliptical machine. This had nothing to do with any new year's resolutions - we actually used our old one so much that we broke it. Jockomo thought the pieces were perfect to relax among; with his help and that of The Allman Brothers and King Sunny Ade, I had it assembled in a couple of hours.

Freight Train

The tracks near my house in Atlanta.

Blues at Blind Willie's

A low-light photo of Fatback Deluxe, with my friend Ben Gettys on bass, at Blind Willie's in Atlanta.

Remnants of Christmas

McLendon Avenue, Atlanta.

Chamblee Antiques

An antique store in Chamblee, Georgia - built as a church in the 1880's.

Unboxing Day

The day after Christmas is known in some countries as Boxing Day. Since we didn't have much of a Christmas, Karen and I exchanged gifts for "Unboxing Day" this morning. She has always had a knack for finding interesting and unexpected presents - this year they included a book of poetry by W.S. Merton, a CD by the great Malian musician Bassekou Kouyate, and a Kindle electronic reader. My presents to her weren't nearly as imaginative.

Christmas 2010

Christmas for us this year began in a hotel near the Frankfurt airport. This was followed by four hours or so at the airport and twelve hours on a plane. But we made it home.

Clever Geocache

We're stuck in Frankfurt with a canceled flight. I have several depressing pictures related to that theme, but thought I would post a composite picture (before and after opening) of a clever geocache I found in the German woods near our hotel today.

Hot Girl-on-Girl Action

My wife and a close friend on the campus of the University of Saarland.

The Carnal and the Spiritual in Paris

Today's plan was to spend the day in Paris, but train cancellations and delays meant that we only spent a few hour there this afternoon. I'm breaking my "rules" and posting two pictures, representing the carnal and the spiritual.


In a little cafe, I had a plate of sausages and the best pommes frites (French fries) that I've ever had - not surprising, I guess.


I took lots of pictures at Notre Dame cathedral, but I like this 14-century representation of Doubting Thomas.

Saar River

The Saar River at dusk, taken from the bridge to the Schloss Palace.

Neugrabenweg, Saarbrucken

Sorry about another "Germany in the snow" picture. I only took a few shots today; through a misunderstanding, I didn't have my camera for most of the day. This is Neugrabenweg (literally, "New Ditch Way"), the street our hotel is on in Saarbrucken.

Saarland Snow

Sorry about all the snow pictures - it's fascinating to a Georgia boy. My nephew and I took a hike in the woods in Saarland, Germany this morning.

Early Morning Frankfurt

Outside the main train station in Frankfurt on a cold morning.

Main River, Frankfurt

We're spending a snowy day in Frankfurt before heading to Saarbrucken to visit relatives.

Headed for Europe

A few minutes after this picture was taken, we were on this plane, headed to Frankfurt, Germany.

Yin and Yang

I have avoided posting pictures of my cats so far - it's pretty cliche, and a lot of folks don't like cats. But I wanted to capture this moment. Our cats don't like each other, or rather, Sassy, the female (right), doesn't like Jockomo, the male. Jockomo is pretty oblivious to Sassy most of the time. But the cold weather we've been having makes strange bedfellows, hence this yin/yang pose.

Frozen Pond

It seldom gets cold enough long enough for lakes to freeze here in Georgia. But it hasn't gotten above freezing for several days now. This pond is in the Shepherd Nature Preserve in Decatur.

Midtown Atlanta

Midtown Atlanta, looking over Piedmont Park.

Snow on Ivy

Snow is infrequent here in Georgia. Today we got a very light dusting, with perhaps more to come.

Waterworks

Abandoned waterworks - Decatur, Georgia.

Restaurant Cat

The resident cat at a restaurant in Augusta, Georgia, enjoying the sun on a cold day.

Savannah Bottles

These are 19th-century soda bottles from Savannah, known for their rich colors. I was struck by the way the sun shone through them this morning. The blue John Ryan bottle is prized by bottle collectors.

Antenna and Grey Sun

This in not the most attractive picture I took today, but it's the one which best represents the day: cold and so overcast that the sun is a grey smudge.

Old Brick Pit Barbecue

Being a Southern boy, my favorite thing to eat is barbecue. Whatever the rest of the country thinks, "barbecue" is a noun, not a verb, and refers to pork slow-cooked over hickory wood and served with sauce; the sauce can be tomato-, vinegar-, or mustard-based. Here in Georgia, Brunswick stew is an essential accompaniment. Since barbecue is not the healthiest thing in the world to eat, I try to limit my intake, but today I visited one of my favorite places. Old Brick Pit Barbecue is, in my learned opinion, one of the two best barbecue joints in Atlanta - the other being Harold's. Note the regular and hot vinegar-based sauces on the table.

Waiting for Parole

Took a walk on Atlanta's coldest day for ten months - not that it would seem that cold to many people. Saw these jailbirds on Arizona Avenue.

78 Album

I'm a record collector, and in some ways I'm the worst kind. I collect, among other things, 78 RPM records. I love them for their direct, immediate sound as well as for the sense of holding a piece of history. Today I cleaned and played a 4-record album of 12" 78s which I found recently - Benny Goodman, Fats Waller, Tommy Dorsey,and Bunny Berigan. The records are in excellent condition and sound great.

Recording with the 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra

Six and a half hours in the recording studio today. The kick drum is miked with a conventional bass drum mic and a homemade one, which uses a 10-inch speaker for a diaphragm; it's mounted into a cheap rack tom.

Kizzie's Baby

About a month ago, I visited the grave of the great blues singer Ma Rainey. Rainey is buried in Porterdale Cemetery in her hometown of Columbus, Georgia. After finding her grave, I was wandering through the graveyard and came across this stone. I returned today and took this picture.

For most of the history of the South, racial segregation did not end with death. Porterdale Cemetery was designed to be the final resting place for the black residents of Columbus. And seeing this tombstone brought the terrible history of my region home to me. At first I thought it was strange that there were no last names on this stone. Then I realized that Kizzie and Jenny didn't have last names - they were slaves.

The stone itself raises some questions. It's marble, and professionally carved. Most of the older markers in Porterdale are concrete. There's not much chance that, in Georgia in 1858, Kizzie could have paid for her daughter's tombstone - so who did? Was Kizzie the maid of a privileged family? Could Jenny's father have been the slavemaster?