oh, hey, hi

I have been shameful about updating this blog, I know! But today our city attorney linked here from his Twitter account after I followed him, which was really cool/baffling, and I do not want to be arrested. (Because he can probably do that, right? And who has the wherewithal to deal with being arrested In These Economic Times?) So here's a picture from when we had some drinks in Monterrey back in March. Apparently I dismembered a flower arrangement, but it was for "art," as you can see.

I actually have been taking pictures, although not regularly, for the past several months. But at some point my boyfriend and I decided to move in together, which turned out to involve moving, and then work got insane to the point where it makes me cry a little bit (but I still have a job, In These Economic Times, so I try to weep quietly), and also I decided to learn to garden, and also read Infinite Jest, so you can see how the photo blog got away from me.

But I'll try to do better, because I am pretty sure they don't let you have Photoshop in jail.

recession lentils!

Wow. Food photography is hard. This looks kind of gross here but tastes delicious, I promise.

I've actually been making this recipe (adapted for my laziness and hatred of onions) since long before the recession and will continue to make it long after, because it is completely awesome. But Steven and I are looking to move in May, and rents and security deposits in San Francisco, while coming down, remain completely insane, so I'm trying to save money. The ingredients for this cost $7.38 and the leftovers will feed me for five more meals at least. Here is my version of the recipe: 2 tbsp vegetable oil Coarse sea salt or kosher salt 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into vaguely 1-inch chunks, but no need to get all OCD about it 1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger (or more, if you are in the mood!) peeled and chopped 2 or more large garlic cloves, put through a press thingy or chopped 1 tbsp curry powder 1 or 2 bay leaves As much cumin, chili powder, tumeric, etc. as makes you happy 1 1/2 cups of lentils (They don't seem to sell red lentils at my local store, but the regular ones work just fine. I bet yellow split peas would be good, too!) 8 oz. can of tomato sauce Head of cauliflower 1. In a large saucepan over high heat, warm the oil. Add ginger, garlic, and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until it starts to smell good.
2. Add the sweet potato, ginger, garlic, other spices, and bay leaf and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the broth and wait for it to boil. (In retrospect, it would probably be better to boil the broth separately, and then pour in, as in the original recipe. But I didn't want to have to wash an extra pot.)
3. Stir in the lentils and tomato sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low, set the timer for 20 minutes, and go catch up on "United States of Tara," "Flight of the Conchords," "Daily Show," or similar. Check for ideal softness of both sweet potatoes and lentils. This time, I got kind of distracted, and the potatoes became almost mashed. I initially panicked, but it was fabulous like this.
5. While the potatoes and lentils are cooking, steam some cauliflower. Serve the lentil concoction over the cauliflower. The cauliflower absorbs all the other flavors, and is a good way to get your vegetables in. (You're supposed to get five servings a day, you know. The government says so.)

Also, I know I've missed a ridiculous number of posts lately. I've taken pictures most days, but have had some personal stuff going on, some good and some bad, and haven't gotten around to posting. I'll get them up soon, which I am sure will be an enormous relief to, well, nobody. But still, I figured I should explain.

swing

swing, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

Fooling around with capturing motion, although too lazy to set up a tripod. Well, my tripod was across town, but who am I kidding? I would not have set it up. We had a long day traveling yesterday, which is sad when you consider we were only flying from L.A. to San Francisco. An impromptu photo session with this cute little plastic cat on a swing was all I had in me.

And just like that, I am only one day behind on my blog. And technically, today is not over. In fact, it just started. I'm going to call that caught up, I think!

married!

married!, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

I met David and Tyler through the lovely Mo Pie, oh, a few years ago, and now they are my friends, too. They all co-host the fabulous Shindig each year and are two of the kindest, funnest, most generous folks you could ever meet.

They officially tied the knot back in October, but had their wedding celebration this past weekend in L.A. and asked throw Prop 8 the hell out.

well, damn

It seems that day 46 and days 48-50 are forever lost to history. I took pictures, but hadn't had time to get them off the card or blog them our anything. Yesterday, I finally cleared the card so that I could go shoot my friends' wedding. Or I thought I did. I can't find the damn things anywhere on my computer. I guess that'll learn me about procrastination!

So here's a crappy cell phone pic I took of a wall treatment in the W Hotel in Los Angeles, where we're staying for this weekend's festivities. I guess the missing images are just lost to history. Tragic!

On a happier note, I took 1,550 pictures at David and Tyler's wedding last night, and will post some of those later today. Right now, however, I am off to find some breakfast in Westwood!

empty pockets

empty pockets, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

There were two full racks of shorts at the Macy's men's store today that had both sets of pockets turned completely inside out. I can only imagine that the display is intended as a sly comment on today's economic situation. Because the alternative is that guys are going to start wearing their shorts like this. And I'm not sure I can go on living in a world that would allow such a thing to happen.

(BTW, I am a bit out of order. The picture for day 46 is still on my memory card, and I'll post it soon. I'm sure you're incredibly relieved to have that straightened out.)

obligatory valentine photo

obligatory valentine photo, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

The nice folks at Chez Papa gave out red roses with the checks last night. Dinner was amazing, especially the open-faced mushroom ravioli. I guess last night was the first time I've ever done the "traditional" Valentine's Day dinner out. It was kind of weird to be surrounded entirely by couples (and in San Francisco, weird that only a few of them were same-sex couples) -- not a four- or six-top in sight.

And, oh! Rob reminded me that cookie lady from my last entry was Edith Meyer, who apparently was moonlighting from her job of making absolutely gorgeous wedding cakes. All 12 of you who read this blog should go order one immediately. (I bet she won't check to see if you're really getting married or not!)

multimedia schuyler

On Friday night, Robert Rummel-Hudson (an Internet Friend whom I have actually met in person!) did an author appearance for Schuyler's Monster at Book Passage in Corte Madera. Schuyler and Julie were back home in Texas, but joined us through the magic of Skype and charmed the crowd from inside the computer machine. Rob did an excellent job, and there were amazing cookies by a woman who also had a fabulous purse made out of old slides whose name is escaping me right now (Mo? Rob? Ian? Halsted? Help!).

I have lots of other pictures from the event, but now must go get dressed for Valentine's dinner at Chez Papa. Probably I will not be dragging my camera with me, as it's pouring down rain outside, and something about lugging my humongous camera bag around seems less than elegant. I need to design a beaded evening camera bag that can fit my DSLR. And several lenses. And my flash. I'm going to make the inside bigger than the outside, using, I don't know physics or something. And sequins. It's going to be awesome.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

days 41-43

patient

I remembered at the last minute Thursday that I still needed to take a picture. I begged Steven to let me take his picture, and he finally agreed to an extreme closeup. It can be very trying, hanging out with me and my camera. Heh.

dinner
I've been cooking a lot more lately and really enjoying it. I fall back on stir fries a lot, though. But they're tasty! And fast! And colorful! And a good way to get your vegetables!

alembic
Friday night, I met up with my friend John at Alembic. (Like almost all restaurant websites, annoying animation and sound there. And PDF menus. Why are they always PDFs? Nice place, though.) I enjoyed a Jack Rose or three and John had them concoct things for him at the bar. Of the food, my favorite was this pork belly thing with scallops on top. Man, that was good.

big moon

I forgot my keys today, which I did not discover until after I made it back to my neighborhood and had gone grocery shopping (including for ice cream bars, sigh). But as I was calling my roommate to see when he'd be home from work, I glanced to my left and saw this ginormous moon. I was so focused on getting into my house and cleaning the kitchen/doing laundry/cooking dinner, that I probably would not have taken time to notice this if I hadn't been forced to, so, yay?

I'm not sure this really captures how big it was. I might need a bigger lens. Heh.

red light

One last cell phone pic. Stopped at the Kilowatt on the way home from Steven's to meet Jen Wade and Shawn for drinks. I am reading "Friday Night Lights" and tried to read while waiting for them to show up, but this red lamp was not strong enough.

dharma initiative mac and cheese

Have been camped out at Steven's most of the weekend and am still without a new camera battery, so another cell phone pic. Last night, I had dinner at Mo and Ian's and got to see, in person, the Dharma Initiative mac and cheese box Ian received at his Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance. Sadly, the photo does not capture its true magnificence.

For the record, there was lots of cheese, but no macaroni at last night's supper.

barack obama is your new bicycle

Was heading up to Steven's after work, and saw this bicycle locked up at the corner of 18th and 3rd. I excitedly got out my camera, only to find that the battery was dead and remember that my other battery was back home in the charger, plugged into the wall.* Hence, the cell phone pick.** I think it came out kind of cool, though.

* Wasn't that a great story? You were on the edge of your seat, weren't you?
**It's rare that I intentionally take a picture with my cell phone. I joke that someday I will mount an exhibit called "Pictures I have accidentally taken with my phone." Secretly, I think it would be a sensation.

steven's hand

steven's hand, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

Somebody was feeling a little Sean Penn tonight, I guess. (Um, I mean, without the punching and being really pretentious and stuff.)

I did not mean to go out tonight, but I'm glad I did. Got to chat with some coworkers and meet some new people and have a little wine. All in all, a win!

days 32-35

The past few days have been a little crazy, but in a good way. So I've taken pictures, but haven't had a ton of time to upload and update. So, here's what I've been up to, in reverse order:

laundry roomThe lights have been out in the little alley leading back to my place, which is inconvenient for getting my mail, but very convenient for taking blurry pictures of the light leaking out from the laundry room door.

entrance
Does this say something in binary code? Somebody please tell me!

lamplight
Not terribly exciting, but I thought the sky was nice the other night.

clothesline
I did a lot of laundry on Sunday and did not remember I needed to take a picture until just before I left to pick Steven up from the airport. Just pretend this is terribly deep!

drunk

drunk, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

I accidentally did this in post-processing, and like it, even though it is maybe a bit cheesy.

I went to the corner store today and noticed that not only do we have an actual working pay phone in the neighborhood, but it also has a phone book that is relatively unmolested, save for the bird on the cover. Is it wrong that I think this bird is sort of adorable, despite the fact that it's supposed to be dead and/or drunk?

grand piano

Today I ventured out of the house, driven by my desire for clean pajamas. This toy piano sits between my yard and the laundry room. I'm guessing it belongs to my adorable little neighbor, though I've never seen her play with it.

Feeling much better today, although my throat still feels kind of weird and I'm really, really tired. But tomorrow I will force myself to get off the couch and do some cooking and cleaning. Because my life is glamorous and exciting that way.

sick day

sick day, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

I knew that eventually I would have to resort to pictures of my cat for this project, but I thought I might at least make it out of January. Iggy and I are camped out on the couch today, napping, watching old movies and trashy TV (including a special on women who love prisoners! score!*), drinking tea, and surfing the net. Well, Iggy is only doing the camping out and the napping.

*OMFG. Danielle Steele married a bank robber! And then had a fling with another felon! How did I not know this?

I think I am coming down with the plague

I think I am coming down with the plague, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

Was out to dinner tonight, and it was delightful, as Mo Pie would say. But as the meal wore on, I could feel myself starting to fade and get weird chills. There were plans to go out after, and I really wanted to, but was also kind of relieved when everyone else was tired and I could come home and make some tea. (However, I still had the presence of mind to move the kettle to the least-disgusting burner before I took a picture of it.)

I really hope I'm not sick. But if I am, the next few days are going to be nothing but pictures of my cat. Maybe with some shots of juice and soup thrown in for variety.* You have been warned.

*Speaking of which, both boyfriend and housemate are out of town. Can someone send juice and soup?

lapu lapu

lapu lapu, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

One of my favorite street signs in the city. I mean, it says "Lapu Lapu"! C'mon! I also like the white of the sign against the whitewash on the wall. Usually when I pass by here it's daytime, and the light is much less sinister. But I had a long day of meetings down in Redwood City, and had just returned my City CarShare ride to a garage around the corner when I realized I didn't have a picture for today.

done

Of course, this would've been more timely, say, a week ago, but it still makes me smile every time I walk by it.

I wish I had something more clever to say, but I only got about 8 hours sleep this weekend, so I am off to gently abuse over-the-counter cold medicine in search of a good night's rest.

branches

branches, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

On the way to the grocery store tonight. I just liked the way the streetlight on the branches and the color of the sky looked together. The branches did not quite cooperate to make the perfect abstract composition, but that's "nature" for you. Oh, nature!

headboard

A year or so ago, I got a new, queen-sized mattress and the delivery guys offered to take away the old bed frame, leaving me with this headboard. I finally put it out in the garden with the idea of letting the vines climb around it. I think it would be more aesthetically effective if we could get anything actually pretty to grow out here. As it is, I can't decide if it's more white trash or shabby chic. Also not sure if "shabby chic" is still a thing.

Not terribly exciting, but I spent the day hungover and a little sad*, which, it turns out, is not a condition helped by watching tragic high school football dramas or movies about school shootings. Am now trying to rectify the situation with Grosse Pointe Blank. (Which, OMG, has Mr. Trick in it! And the guy who took Buffy to the dimension where all the kids aged really fast and had to do manual labor!) Tomorrow, I will venture beyond the front gate and find something really good.

* Nothing serious!

trick question

I call shenanigans! Yeah, you heard me ... shenanigans.

(Confidential to Freddie: Get well soon!)

i got roped into trivia night

... and this is something I noticed along the way. Our trivia team was called Solid As Barack, but we were robbed of victory as if we were Al Gore or something (ha! ha?). The only other team with a better name (maybe) was The Finer Things Club. So we came in second in the Best Names competition, which is doubly sad when you consider that that competition took place only in my head.

I have several other layout and color versions of this, but this is what I think looks pretty now. It is likely I will subject you to the other versions later. You have been warned.

sign of mysterious mystery

It's been hanging up on my street for years, and as far as I know, there are no estates of any description in the area, let alone any named "Heather Glen." According to Google, Heather Glen Estates do exist elsewhere, and I suppose this sign could be pointing vaguely in the direction of Texas or Pennsylvania, but as a navigation aid, that just seems ineffective. I wonder about it every time I walk by.

inauguration specials

Shot this at Brick House while I was getting my coffee this morning. Shockingly, I'm not taking advantage of this fine offer. I am exhausted, but very, very happy. Came home, ate dinner, did my taxes (I am such a fucking rock star), and watched some footage of the Obamas dancing with each other. Successfully refrained from bursting into tears yet again, although there may or may not have been some sniffling.

Am now going to crawl into bed with the photography book that Wendy got me for my birthday. Got to keep improving.

experimenting

experimenting, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

Shot through the viewfinder of some crazy old camera my friend and tattoo artist Iggy Vans lent me. I have some other TLRs to play with, but no time to be in the darkroom just now, so I'm playing around to see what I can do.

The tiny elephant was a gift my coworker Golshid brought back from a trip. The plastic ram mysteriously turned up in my luggage after the annual Green Bay mini-con organized by my friend Weetabix. I'm sure there is a very good explanation.

alien broccoli

Tragically thwarted in my plan to make artichokes for our dinner last night, I noticed this crazy thing at Good Life Grocery. (Which is awesome, and staffed by delightful people. Go there!) I mostly bought it to photograph, and got some asparagus, too, just in case alien broccoli turned out not to be so tasty. It was fine. Tastes more or less like cauliflower, but looks way more badass.

tunnel top

tunnel top, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

On my birthday proper, Steven, Mo Pie, and Ian took me to Bar Crudo for dinner (which was fabulous). But first we stopped at the Tunnel Top for Mojitos of Wildly Varying Quality, and to creepily take pictures of strangers. (OK. The last part was just me.)

champagne

champagne, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

The night before my birthday, a bunch of my coworkers came out to The Brickhouse. At some point, people started ordering champagne. Which I guess explains why hardly any of the pictures I took were in focus. Or framed well. Or of anything recognizable at all. Just say no, kids.

wonton

wonton, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

There are two of these ... ostriches? ... on the walls of the alley outside my office. I've grown quite fond of them. I'm not totally sure if that really says "wonton," but that's what it looks like to me. I considered straightening this picture out a little, but I like how it looks like he's walking downhill.

Housekeeping Note of Interest to Hardly Anyone: Tomorrow night and Saturday night I will be out carousing in celebration of my birthday, so I don't know when I'll get around to uploading/updating. I will definitely TAKE pictures every day, but I might not be near a computer to update until a day or two later. Or maybe I will send drunken cell phone pictures, if I can figure out how to make that technology work. It's really anyone's guess.

reading

reading, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

Jonathan reads a Christmas card from some of the regulars.

ace

ace, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

Someone has affixed all manner of metal objects to a telephone poll down the street from my house, including many, many keys. I wonder if this is all the work of one person, or if people have just added random objects over the years. I prefer the latter scenario. Maybe I'll tack something up here if I ever leave this neighborhood.

I have been meaning to shoot it forever, and should probably go back and re-do it under better circumstances (with tripod and/or flash, or during the day, or when I am not in a hurry to get to the grocery store and trying to remember that we need toilet paper in addition to dinner fixins*), but I kind of like the yellow-y light and the way just that one key is illuminated. This was almost the last of 42 shots I took of this one cluster of keys.

* Remembered the toilet paper. Totally blanked on laundry detergent. Dammit.

hatch

hatch, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

It was unseasonably warm in San Francisco today, and our office-lette is sauna-like in the best of times, so we had to open this hatch in the ceiling. Well, I say "we," but I really mean Edwin, since I seem to lack both the height and strength necessary to open this thing without actually climbing onto the roof.

A little mundane today. I'll try to find some magical unicorns (as opposed to, um, everyday unicorns) or something to photograph tomorrow.

leaf

leaf, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

This kind of reminds me of the 4AD album covers I was obsessed with in the 90s. I couldn't decide which version I liked better:

open for dinner

open for dinner, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

On the way home from brunch today.

ominous

ominous, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

I didn't shoot this in black or white, or change it to greyscale after the fact. It was just really foggy and drab this morning. Weirdly, though, this picture makes me happy. Ran it through the noise filter a couple of times to get that smear-y look on the branches. This is my favorite cheesy effect.

Except not really

Except not really, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

zip

zip, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

I rented a Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens for the week* and started playing around with it today. I had big, big plans, but I came home to a messy house, a pile of laundry, and a plumbing problem of mysterious origin. So here is a closeup of my favorite boots ever.

Clearly, I've got some a lot of work to do, mastering this macro thing.

* From these folks, who are awesome.

Other January shots here.

buddha, jesus

Had to shoot my picture before leaving home this morning, since we're recording the podcast tonight and lugging my camera, lenses, AND laptop around all day is insane, even by my standards. (Not that I haven't done it, though.)

These are in my neighbor's little garden, along with some other random statuettes. Another neighbor in our tiny compound* told me that the statue-owner has lived there for 30 or 40 years, is a Vietnam vet, and is also stoned a lot of the time. Which ... explains quite a bit. I no longer have to re-introduce myself to him every couple of weeks, but if you are a short-ish blond woman, and you run into him on your way to visit me, he will likely greet you with "Hi, neighbor!" He's a very nice man, and back when I used to get up and run at 5 a.m., he'd be the only person I'd ever run into on our block.

So, anyway, this is his garden.

More January goodness here.

* It's sort of like Melrose Place, if Melrose Place were made up of a bunch of somewhat rickety old buildings. Also, we have neither a pool nor an Amanda Woodward. So, I guess, not like Melrose Place at all.

glam

glam, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

I started off shooting the wee disco ball, but decided the pipe, uh, thing was way more interesting.

Other January shots are here.

lilian

lilian, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

Not much time to take pictures or play with the internet today, but luckily, I got to meet my friends' baby for the first time. The pictures just took themselves. Score!

More January stuff here.

oceanview

oceanview, originally uploaded by Shannon K.

Today we walked from the Panhandle to the ocean, and then up to Sutro Baths. After some cocktails at Cliff House, we found this chair by the beach. I've got tons of other pictures from today, but right now, it's time for Buffy and some soup.

Other random January snippets here.