Walking the dog

So I was walking the dog today and saw some poor little creatures that had lost their lives. I thought it would be a nice change to include these in my blog, there has been a lot of pleasant photographs and now it's time to face reality- stuff dies. alot.

BUT just to end on a nice note, here's another picture of nanny;

Sparklers

So we had some big ass sparklers and these are a few images from then, just 20 second exposures.

High Voltage

The new mural on the back of high voltage, the army is growing bigger! It's still a work in progress so I will go back to see the finshed outcome but it's looking great so far, I have high expectations for the final piece.






Here are a couple more images from Melrose Ave. some more graffiti I found interesting.

Hollywood Graffiti

I'm pretty sure this [above] was a nest for homeless, the pair of old trainers and smell of urine kind of gave it away.




The street art here was very impressive, in comparison to the stuff I see back home on the Wirral- well there is no comparison, it just gets blown out of the water. Anyone who has seen the work in Sheffield will probably get on board very quickly with the graffiti here. The first thing that came into my head when I saw all of it was 'propaganda', they all had messages within them but not in a 'know thy enemy' type, infact to me it was the oppposite. The graffiti is truely a representative of the people that live there- one big mix of culture, all expressing themselves positivily and creatively.

Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum

The minute I got there I knew I was in for a good day. There was a calm surrounding me, complete silence- the dead at peace, all was in a state of serenity. It got me thinking, the people that are buried here must really have been loved and/ or respected. The lengths their families have gone to, to have these massive works of art planted above them, protecting them is just incomprehensible to me. I hope maybe someday when it is my turn to return to the dust that the people I have left behind leave my shell in the protection of an ornate stone guardian.





The Giovinazzo grave was my favourite, even in death they are together- despite the traditional wedding vows that enable both to part in death.

This is Nanny, she is cute. Not as cute as my kitties but she'll suffice whilst I am away from home :)

Just a few images from Venice, I'd really like to go again- the first time was so overwhelming I need to go back and take more pictures.

The J. Paul Getty Museum

It was a very educating day today, the Getty's exhibitions had tonnes of religious art which was so amazing. The Old Testament gallery was such a joy to walk around, it's hard to think that these pieces of art are all so old and are still in such good condition. I also think it's interesting that Christ's image is not mentioned in the bible, yet every piece of him I saw today followed the typical template of the messiah; light skin, long dark hair and beard.



The Da Vinci exhibition was enjoyable but my one criticism is the politeness of the staff, instead of asking nicely to not take pictures, they thought I would respond better to them barking 'NO PHOTOS!!'
fuckin stupid bitch, I'm sick of the elitist attitude, I wasn't using flash so there's no way the picture would be damaged. The jokes on her I got a picture anyway [the dragon sketches above]

My favourite piece was just before we left; Printing the grand manner: Charles le Brun and monumental prints in the age of Louis XIV- The fall of the rebel angels. Such an impressive piece, the amount of skill needed to etch the image into metal plates with such an intricate amount of detail was just mind blowing.

My first time shooting

This is the casing from the first bullet I shot. I'll never forget the way I felt today. The systematic loading of the bullets into the clip, then the clip to the gun, release the chamber lock and your ready to go. The whole workings of a firearm are all man made and the whole thing just screams mechanical death, but the feeling of having a gun in my hand just felt... natural. The way the gun just clicks into place, the force travels up my arm and it makes it feel complete for once. It takes a few shots to get used to it, I flinched a few times and the bullets didn't hit the paper but once you really just focus its a wonderful sensation, lining the dots up and squeezing the trigger and seeing that small explosion as the bullet leaves the gun.

The ideas some people have about guns just being an extension or compensation for the penis is just wrong, well in my case anyway. I didn't feel like a 'big man' shooting a gun, I didn't think 'ohh yeah I've got a massive cock because I can pull a trigger and blow holes into stuff' and I didn't have this urge to go out and do 'manly' stuff like chop down a tree or get blind drunk and hit a woman. I think it's the only time I have been truly calm. I saw the gun as not an extension but a device to channel myself, steady breathing, eyes locked on one thing, squeezing the trigger just as if I was closing my hand into a fist, and then that orange flash as the negative feelings leave my body. I would highly recommend going to a shooting range, there wil be the people there that I described above, but before you shoot just remember that that mentality isn't universal in all gun users.






These are all my bullet holes, note I actually got one in the red zone, without sounding so unpoetic but fuck yeah, fuckin kill zone!