A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
The “Malling of America” is a catchphrase used by several authors in recent history, including Andy Serwer of Fortune, Barbara Berenstein of PBS, and William Severini Kowinski. Most of these works (many now nearly a decade old) cite the decline of Main Street USA in favor of malls. In an a reversal, at least in … Read More “Get Malled” »
“Oh God, not another one.” That was my first thought when I heard about Batman Begins. My second thought was “What a goofy looking Batmobile”, as if the previous versions with huge bat wing fins were perfectly reasonable. These impressions were, of course, before I went to see the movie. Since it was so hot … Read More “Batman Begins” »
NOTE: This restaurant had been closed, but has recently re-opened. This has long been one of my favorite places in Greenville. I remember many years ago talking with a snooty German exchange student about German cuisine. I mentioned Haus Edelweiss, and she derided both the name and the possibilty that authentic German food could be … Read More “Haus Edelweiss” »
When we were living in Tucson, my mother, who is completely unfamiliar with Mexican food, described a chicken quesadilla as a “chicken pie.” It was a perfectly adequate description based on her experiences, but I couldn’t imagine her writing a review of the restaurant with her limited knowledge of the cuisine. A similar thing happened … Read More “What’s that you’re eating?” »
..and what a week it has been. In the course of seven days I have entertained my brother at my house, gone to see Michael Frayn’s “Copenhagen”, kayaked the Green River, and lost miserably at bowling – all this while battling a cold and fever. I had all these wonderfully pithy entries I was going to … Read More “Welcome to the Working Week” »
Here’s a summarized version of the Lifecycle of Bloggers by Min Jung Kim… #1. Start reading blogs.#2. You start a blog.#3. You become a stats whore.#4. You become really personal on your site as the online and real-life worlds start confusing you.#5. You faux “retire” from blogging.#6. You cave back into blogging in less than … Read More “Metametablogging” »
Family photos depict smiling faces: births, weddings, holidays, children’s birthday parties. People take pictures of the happy moments in their lives. Someone looking through our photo album would conclude that we had led a joyous, leisurely existence, free of tragedy. No one ever takes a photograph of something they want to forget.-Sy Parrish, One Hour … Read More “A Generation of Lost Photographs” »
Last day in Vermont, and a travel day. We had breakfast at Steve’s Diner, just across from the Inn. This is the type of place only open for breakfast and lunch, and where the waitresses are on a first-name basis with the clientele. No grits, of course, but we both had delicious pancackes with maple … Read More “Hurry up and wait” »
Interesting dinner conversations. Tonight at Mister Ups, we watched as two women meticulously split up their dinner bill. Last night at Amigos, Laura had mentioned that another group of women took an inordinate amount of time figuring out and paying for their meal. This, in turn, reminded me of a conversation that I had when … Read More “OK. So Who Gets the Bill?” »
It was a foggy morning, and we were slow getting started. After wandering for the past two days, we both thought it would be great to stay close to town. The day started out very foggy, but it looked like it would burn off. Laura grabbed her book and headed for the Adirondack chairs, and … Read More “The Road Less Travelled” »