getting reacquainted with nature

Sometimes those little river-towns can really surprise you visually and I would be remiss not to have taken advantage of a getaway to Hermann, MO, where German immigrants found a piece of home in this lush pocket of the Missouri River Valley in the 1840's that now mainly consists of two major wineries, a microbrewery and of course a plethora of antique stores. There are definitely shades of kitsch, but the initial drive in from the south (Hwy 19 or H I think) provides a panorama that spawned a flashback to my views of Bavarian hills (and mountains) through the windows on the train.

dorm life

You're a Skyscraper

I've been a long time going through sixteen-hundred-plus images from San Francisco, and I think this will be the swansong for that trip's assemblage of exposures. I'm hoping there was some enjoyment on your part of this whole deal, going through these sets with me. If you didn't enjoy yourself, though, you can piss right off, because I had a great time. Hah. You should be used to the next part:

(makes you wanna say your prayers)

The St. Louis Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens was awesome as usual, and I've only been to the opening day so far. Mayor Slay was there for the kagamiwari: the ritual of smashing a giant barrel of sake open with hammers, and then dishing it out. And so it came to pass that the mayor of St. Louis poured me a drink. I'll be mentioning that at parties for a long time.


Oh! There were many cool things, but the Taiko drummers stole the event for me. I just set my camera on rapid exposure and held down the button. How's that for technique? I guess it's more like carpet bombing than sniping, but the St. Louis Osuwa Taiko ensemble put on a non-stop flawless show to a packed crowd (I cowered at the back) so I'd go so far as to say you can't blame me. Anyway, click that break link below to see a full sequence of the sound and the fury in photographic form.