In mid-December, a vast, vacant field of weeds still thrives in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

I was recently wandering around Bushwick on a shoot for my office, and took a moment to snap a few shots of empty lots — a type of urban space that always intrigues me, not having any land of my own.

• I caught a lecture with Adam by painter Eric Fischl at Pratt last week, about the history of the human form in painting, and some connections between painting and photography.  Fischl is best known for works like “Bad Boy,” and the controversial, 9/11-inspired, “Tumbling Woman.” While many interesting points were made, he did seem to make some arguments around objectivity of photography (versus painting or performance art), which I don’t entirely agree with.  But in general, certainly an educational and solid talk.

• Speaking of Adam, he hooked Jenn and I up with free tickets to see a Doors tribute band called “The Soft Parade” at the BB King Blues Club.  I have seen very few tribute bands, I was realizing, and I hadn’t been to the BB King space before (it’s right near the center of Times Square, ouch), however it seemed to exceed our expectations.  It was great to see all of the classics in the Jim Morrison catalog performed with the help of a 1960s organ (though it broke halfway through and had to be replaced), and some other vintage instruments. The vocal delivery and sound in general seemed to be spot-on, though the lead singer was possibly a little bit heavier than Morrison (perhaps later-bloated Morrison?).

• Yesterday morning: As I wait underground for the train during an especially rainy and windy winter morning, I notice a few small flashes of light in front of me, down in the tracks.  In what appears like dimly-flashing Christmas lights, one of the small pylons elevating the third rail a few inches from the railroad ties is in the path of a slow orange-ish ooze, and has a handful of tiny spots that appear to be lighting up, then going out a split-second later.  The ooze appears to be leaking out of a crack in the ceiling, much like what occurs in limestone caverns. I guess it’s this sort of environment that is almost conducive to track fires that I’ve heard about, but not seen (“almost” because there was run-off water in the primary/center bed, between the tracks — that “safety zone” of filth, of which you can lie in, when a train is coming). I have seen plenty of sparks before – and have assumed they had to do with friction possibly combined with electricity – but the controlled, almost predictable/pattern-like nature of the flashing lights coming from the metal support was more mesmerizing.

• Thanks to everyone who came out to the party this past Saturday night in South Slope!  Good times — backpacks and clothing were left behind, which I think is a fair indicator of a success.

• WNYC’s culture section just started a new series where they take street photography submissions, and potentially run a video piece on the photographer. Could be worth giving them a shout if you find yourself shooting on the street regularly.

• I’ve been surprised at the number of freshly-dead animals Suckapants finds on the street.  I came across one the other night in Windsor Terrace, and have decided to self-censor a little, by instead of featuring it, just posting a link, but be warned, it’s a little rough: here.

• A few weeks back, I found myself sitting next to a Christian conflict resolution guy on a flight.  We started discussing his job some, and he seemed to be almost the bouncer or secret police of his denomination – his church would fly him all over the US to different branches to “kick some a**” and “bust some heads together,” as he put it.  I was surprised as his frequency of throwing four-letter words around to describe his duties; it didn’t come across necessarily as him trying to impress me, but perhaps just that he’s super proud of his role as a hired gun, haha.

Washington State, May 2008. I happened to flip through some old shots that hadn’t seen the light of day.

Brad showing off his Honda Ruckus on Capitol Hill in Seattle, Washington, 2008.

Leaning over the edge of a steep cliff, there were a few battered shells of automobiles at the bottom of the ravine near George, Washington (yes, that’s the actual name), 2008.

If you’re familiar with David Lynch’s cult early-90s TV show, Twin Peaks, then you’ll recognize this as the waterfall from the title sequence (plus subsequent & frequent establishing shots), featuring the lodge owned by Benjamin Horne. Having recently watched the entire catalog of episodes, seeing this small town (including the diner) was quite a treat.  May 2008.