William Shatner's "Bohemian Rhapsody"

William Shatner is amazing and his rendition of Queen's classic rock-opera is fantastic. Almost like an homage to his spoken-word "Rocket Man," but with an odd music video with his face in the sky. I was incredibly excited to find this video and I wasn't disappointed. Corny, low-budget excellence.

 I found this on ultimateclassicrock.com

Chris Austman

I chose to let fate decide the topic of this Thursday's post, maybe I'll keep up this trend. Anyway, I went to bandcamp.com and the first Indie page that popped up was of Chris Austman. He has a smooth, laid-back, eclectic vibe and was a pleasant surprise to me in my random search.

He is self-described as "Born in Toronto, formed in Montreal, raised in Calgary, Chris Austman pursues a much needed merging of forms between the dust bowl and the digital. "Anything that makes a noise is able to make music.""


You can find him on Bandcamp, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter

Give him a look and a listen below.

Legos

Near Rockefeller Center in New York City is a super awesome Lego store. This past weekend featured the Manhattan College XC Invitational, the largest high school cross country meet east of the Mississippi. I went there with my team, going down the day before to visit the city. One of our stops was at Rockefeller Center where we came across this Lego wonderland. Two of my runners made this Lego men from a bin full of various Lego pieces.

I love Legos and this photo, never mind the chainsaw murderer connotations, is really fun.

Union Station, Chicago

A few years ago, I took a short weekend trip to Chicago with my brother and sister. It was a very short, compact vacation that featured a seemingly endless train ride there and back from Western New York and non-stop action in and around the City of Chicago. I absolutely loved it there. We went on an architectural river cruise, toured the John Hancock Observatory, walked around the city, visited some museums, and saw the Blue Man Group, and saw an off-Broadway production just outside Chicago at the Theatre at Center. It was one of the nicest cities I have ever been to (sorry NYC), and I can't wait until I get a chance to go there again someday.

As we were preparing to start our long voyage home, rushing to board our soon-departing train, I snapped this photo from the backseat of our rental car. Though I was frantically snapping shots in the car, not really trying to set up anything cool, I got this little gem.

Occupy Wall Street

Thanks to Dan Patterson on Flickr

The past several weeks have seen a modern American revolution of sorts in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Average citizens have taken to the streets to protest commercialism, mass-corporatization, capitalism in general, and a whole mess of other issues. The protests have been fairly peaceful but has seen the usual police oppression and over-reaction to public, non-violent, peaceful protesting. Perhaps they're all paid off to suppress the rights of the people, or maybe the cops are just ignorant of the rights that the protesters, and every person, ought to have.

The success of the Occupy Wall Street, and the broader NYC General Assembly, have inspired similar protests in other cities across the country, as well as additional movements to join this one. It is possible that everything in the other cities were planned in cooperation with what's happening in NYC, but whatever the case may be, it is really exciting and I hope a lot of change and progress will come of this. We all know that the government is incapable of catalyzing such change, so the people must stand up and fight the man.

This all reminds me of the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle, the Battle in Seattle, where very well planned protests shut down the WTO world meetings in 1999 in the name of fairness, equality, and ending oppressive capitalism.

Trailer without the Horses

As I was running with my Cross Country team one Sunday evening, I came across this little bit of landscaping in the middle of a field. I though it was very pretty, especially for being the end of September. It juxtaposes some of the bright summery colors that are fading away with the bold earth-tones that are on their way in. I also really like the hills that this region offers as they gently rise and fall against the valleys between them. It is especially beautiful in the fall and it is something I truly missed when I was at school in Buffalo, NY, which is dreadfully flat and relatively tree-less. Well, at least compared to anything rural. 

Diatomaceous Earth

My friend, that I previously have posted on, has re-started a music project of his. It is an interesting sound, to say the least. It is a mix of experimental, electronic, hip hop, and rap. Though it may be an acquired taste, it is definitely worth a listen. Your can download a 2006 album and a 2011 single from Bandcamp and you can find Diatomaceous Earth on Facebook. Take a listen below and see what you think.

Enjoy.

Riding off into the Sunset

Here I have two high school cross country runners on the beginning of an eight mile run while their coach bikes closely behind. I actually took this while riding my bike as I inattentively narrowly escaped toppling over. This one I did some editing on to make it really something special by the meaning behind this photo is something even better. This coach, my coach from when I was a young lad not too long ago, is quite possible the wisest man I know and pillar excellence, leadership, and morality within the small community in Western New York / Northwestern Pennsylvania. He will retire after this year from thirty-plus years of teaching and twenty years of coaching. He has made a lasting impact in the lives of many young students and will be dearly missed as he rides off into the sunset.

Morgan Freeman: He's in Everything

Morgan Freeman is one of my very favorite actors and though I wouldn't really be capable of producing such a project, I think it would be an excellent idea to produce a biopic on the man entitled, "Morgan Freeman: He's in Everything." This of course is in reference to Family Guy reference to Morgan Freeman's incredibly lengthy filmography. Thank you Chris Griffin, which is to say thank you Seth MacFarlane

My Dog Oliver

My beloved toy poodle, Oliver, has been with me for more than half my life. I got him as a ninth birthday present from my aunt and I love him. Not only is he the perfect lap dog and a true companion but he is just as cute as a button. Though I did not personally take this shot, it is the greatest photo of Oliver, excluding the hideous time stamp, and, I dare say, the greatest photo of any pet I have ever seen.

I also like this one from the same photo shoot.

Guys at the Gym

So, I recently switched gyms from a very small, quiet gym to a bigger, busier gym. Price was the deciding factor in the switch ($30/month at Snap Fitness and $10/month at World Gym) because I figured that a gym is a gym and lifting weights and using those machines would be the same no matter where it is. However, the change in scenery has brought a huge change in culture and an interesting glimpse into the habits of a gym rat.

Most guys at the gym are there to boost their own egos and to show off their man-muscles. Ego maniacal exhibitionists. Why do you think there are so many mirrors in front of the free weight section of the gym, yet there aren't any mirrors over by the elliptical machines and whatnots? Mirrors fuel muscle mania. Guys love watching themselves work out. Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. I rarely look at myself in those mirrors, as I usually just people watch. However, many of the guys there are obsessed with their reflections. It is such an integral part of their work out routine that they wouldn't be able to do anything if it weren't there.

Case in point, when I was at the gym today it was rather busy and the free weight section was packed. I am by no means a gym rat and I don't really care about gym etiquette or anything so I just squeezed into the only free floor space I found, in between the benches and the weight rack. Apparently this was the wrong place to be. The guy that had been using the bench right behind me, I was in between the bench and the mirror, sat down with the weights he just brought over and was getting ready to do whatever it was that he was about to do. I saw him there just sitting in ready position waiting, waiting, and waiting for something. I realized that that something was me getting out of his way and by the time I realized this he had given up waiting and put his weights down and continued to sit there. Then, after I had had my fun disrupting him I stepped to the side and he immediately started his reps.

Is watching yourself, your muscles, really that important? Seriously, just get over yourself and just work out. Whatever, I think it is close impossible to fully reason with something that I don't understand. On a lighter note, I look forward to toying with many, many more gym rats for a long time to come.

Johnny Cash - "Hurt"

Johnny Cash's cover of the Nine Inch Nails is just fantastic. I like a lot of Cash's work but this one is chilling and the video for it is excellent. I remember when it first was released it was better than anything else that was out at the time.

Of Montreal

I discovered the musical stylings of an indie rock/pop group from Georgia about two years ago when they did the credit music on a documentary that was playing at the movie theatre I was working at. I've listened to pretty much all of their work and I have to admit I'm really quite fond of their early stuff but the newer stuff is growing on me. They've progressed from pretty light Beatles-esque rock/pop to a more electronica, funk, rock sound.

In any case below is the music video for Famine Affair from their latest album False Priest.




Though they didn't do any music videos for their early work, you can just give a listen to one of my favorites.

Joel Murray

I have broad general interests so it follows that I listen to a variety of music genres. I particularly like indie music, as well as the musicians themselves. I'm a big fan of Joel Murray, not only because he is a personal friend of mine, but his music is, in a word, excellent. He has a bit of an indie pop sound that is minimalistic and simple. Sometimes simple is the best way to go, and it definitely works for Joel.

You can find him on Myspace, and bandcamp where you can download some of his self-produced albums for free. You can also find him at Silent Home Records, which is Chris Bell's (the guy in the post below this one) at-home indie studio.

Here's a sample of Joel's music, a nice acoustic cover of Taking Back Sunday's The Ballad of Sal Villanueva.

An Awesome Cover by Christopher Bell

A musician from my tiny hometown of Frewsburg, NY recently did an awesome cover of Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al." I really like it and I can't get it out of my head. Its just him and his cello rocking out. Here, you can see it for yourself.

You can find Chris on Myspace, and his personal at-home studio's website Silent Home Records where you can buy and download his and other local artists' music.

Merger

I have decided to merge together all of my oft-neglected blogs and various posts that contain anything related to photography and music. I may also throw in some history lessons and random going-ons in the life of Adam Prent. I believe that having one blog for everything will not only create a more interesting atmosphere with a greater variety of posts but also one that will likely be updated more frequently. It can be quite a hassle for someone that is as big of a procratinator that I am.

Though I am changing the dynamics of my blogs, I hope it is for the better and I am willing to listen to any and all comments and suggestions. Thanks reading. Have fun, godspeed, and don't steal any of my photos or writings without my permission. I take a lot of pride in my work; show some respect.

Commercial Slip

Buffalo's Erie Canal Harbor was home to a lot of history during the 19th Century with the construction of the Erie Canal. It has now been given some new life thanks to the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation and their mission to make this section of downtown Buffalo a center of culture, commerce, and life. This photo was taken on a Saturday afternoon in late May 2011. It was depressingly vacant there but the reconstructed Commercial Slip and architectural ruins to its right provided for an excellent shot from the Whipple Truss bridge. The Skyway and the vacant Donovan State Office Building in the background stand as an outdated relic of Buffalo's dark side of the mid-20th Century and provide a stark contrast to the rest of the harbor's renewal and development.

I have taken quite a bit of interest in these sorts of things. I wrote my honors thesis on urban renewal in Buffalo and interned with a NYS agency. Buffalo has the potential to be a really cool place but there is a lot of work that needs to be done. The work that the ECHDC has been doing at the harbor is a great start which will hopefully be added in the next few years and be the inspiration and catalyst for a broader movement within the City of Buffalo. Urban Planning; it is as important as it is interesting.

Introduction

Cool pictures of stuff to come.