ot for nothing, it is amazing how much a beautiful drop cap can dress up a simple blog post. Fortunately there’s a site devoted to the topic the Daily Drop Cap. How convenient! Except it’s almost impossible to find any past examples since there’s no collection of links, and obscure urls etc. ah well. I can go with the flow.
All from Jessica Hische over in Brooklyn. Lovely.
From earlier this week another casual shot of the work place…
For years I’ve been documenting my commutes, usually around the change of seasons. Today it once again struck me to take some snaps, but since I hadn’t given it a moments thought all I had was a phone. Still, as the saying goes, the best camera is the one you have with you…
The drive starts in darkness this time of year, the sun rises as I go, and the day has begun when I get into the City. I do not recommend taking pictures while driving… but I’ve developed quite a few techniques for making this work, which I will not discuss.
And now the continuation of the Houndstooth Chronicles™. Here is a scarf I found for seven dollars that continues the journey. Casually wrapped around my neck this morning, it’s a great transition piece, keeping the drafts out in the cool mornings, yet easily adjusted and removed.
For reference, Wikipedia defines houndstooth thusly: “Houndstooth checks originated in woven wool cloth of the Scottish Lowlands, but are now used in many other materials. The traditional houndstooth check is made with alternating bands of four dark and four light threads in both warp and weft woven in a simple 2:2 twill, two over – two under the warp, advancing one thread each pass.”
I don’t see the hound in all this, but I do love the constraint of the pattern applied in so many different ways. It is that tension that makes design so exciting to me. Another favorite? Herringbone. We’ll be getting to that soon…
Lastly, a shout out to the guys at Outlier. I’ve been meaning to write something about their designs which I’ve been wearing for a while now, both on and off the bike. A full write up of the pieces I’ve worn soon…
These babies (mentioned in the previous post) from Panache Cyclewear. Oh yeah. Allez!
More about my well worn Guide Tennies here.
It isn’t often that I take a stand on things which culture and taste make clear to some and not to others. But this shot from lunch at work today, expresses the obvious… Houndstooth rules! (As does green tea from Adagio with their brilliantly simple ingenuiTEA, and a warm, bright final day of summer.)
Other sources of houndstooth finery can be found at Panache Cyclewear (I have the socks, but more to come, hopefully, next season) and more generically, here.
Proud of your Houndstooth? Let me know (No one has more fun than I)
…but it’s far cooler than it was a few weeks ago in the morning. 6:30AM this morning I tossed on a vest and arm warmers and through a leg over my bike.
Since the ride I did a few weeks ago I haven’t been able to spin out all the pain in my knees, but both were better this week than last… and again I forgot to take some pre-ride NSAIDs. Sigh.
Anyway, I shouldn’t have sneered at the cold this morning when I decided not to put on some leg warmers as well, there were some times that my knees were red with cold… not a good choice considering. Ah well. But on days like this I love riding early when the roads are quiet, the sun lights up the undergrowth, and the day is cool. Soon enough, it’ll be truly cold when I ride, and I’ll be whining (to myself if only) about being cold. As a final insult, some embrocation I’ve been waiting to try seems to have lost it’s kick, and I didn’t have time to rinse off and use something else. Life, in the small sense, can be… unkempt.
So 28 miles later, I cleanup and hit the road (in the car this time) with the Little One and the Wife. I had pulled out a shirt with happy little football on it, and hoped that I might get a chance to watch a little bit of opening day Jets or Giants. (Both teams won!) We visited a favorite craft fair and said hello to some of the artists and artisans we see year after year (they do become like family after a while… you know the good family that you miss hanging with and don’t see often enough). The Wife picked up a inexpensive bauble or two, and then on our way to check out the “tent sale” of another favorite store, we ran into a street fair where the Little One got a chance to climb into a fire truck for a photo-op. Moments later, the two of them were contemplating a classic street rod. Ah… the joys of youth. And in this fashion the last Sunday I’ll be able to enjoy for a while was spent.
They often start with “Get some gigs, start building a following, do some recording (because it’s super cheap now that digital is everywhere) give all that away, rinse, repeat, and sell merchandise.
That is not a business plan folks, and it simply solves the audience desire for free recordings.
First of all, getting gigs is not that simple, and are plenty expensive to a band (or band leader). There are many fewer places supporting live (especially original) music, and plenty of reasons why you need to be either willing to work for free or a loss or established. And trying to make a living selling merchandise for a band without a following is also not a winning solution.
So while a recording can be considered a promotional device the question is how to you support the cost of creating it? True the incremental cost is small, but how much does the first copy cost?
Also spoken about as if it were magic is the sell the rare, give away the ubiquitous. This is the start of the subscription model where the artist figures out ways of getting folks inside. Pre-release tracks, backstage passes, etc. It doesn’t solve the promotional problem of finding places to play.
Here’s something that a lot of folks don’t think about. Not everyone is good enough to make there living as a musician. It’s not a right that you can invoke because you desire it, and the greatest work ethic will not guarantee anything either. To be good enough as a song writer, player, etc. to support yourself in this scenario of playing your own music for adoring fans is in and of itself rare. Desire doesn’t change that. Promotion doesn’t change that.
Maybe that’s all there is to it?
Go look. Awesome!
turnings :: daniel berlinger 