I’m home alone with the youngest daughter and the cat woke us up at 6:30 by scratching to get in.
We weren’t supposed to have a cat but – long story short – I grew soft and said we could keep it as long as it wasn’t my problem. Since then it has grown to become my problem as well as anybody else’s.
Pets are annoying and form up a pathetic companionship with humanoids.
Having had 5-6 cats in my life I’m entitled to say that I hate them, their hair, their sounds them in general being in your way.
Perhaps before a wife and before kids they filled in a role in your life. But now, get out of my way you hairy thing!
Part of our solution was to keep the cat in a garage with a cat-door so that it could stay there most of the time and then come through the cat-door to the kitchen when we felt like it. You can lock the cat-door, you know.
But yesterday I took a good look at that pathetic little creep looking unworthy and scared.
So I let it out in the sunshine, outside in the garden, and perhaps the road with the cars.
Life is life. If you’re a cat you must live a grand life outside with the wild animals. And risk being killed by wild animals called cars.
If that is your destiny… so be it.
Better than living as a locked-up animal.
I think the cat was no more than 30 meters away from home all day. At first it crawled outside and looked scared up as if the sky could fall down. I think it was the birds that scared it.
What a cat! It really needed to get out. My wife would kill me if she came back from the congress and the cat was lost.
But I don’t care. We already took its balls, tattooed a number in its ear and vaccinated it into immortality.
Cats need a real life with danger, dogs and cars to feel alive. It may shorten down the life, but it’s the life quality that matters. Live strong, die young.
Anyhow, this morning the cat woke us up at 6.30 outside the bedroom door. It had broken out through the cat door and into the house!
During the night that pathetic little creep had grown into a wild animal! I was proud but annoyed. I came down in the kitchen and it was like the cat door had been blown away with plastic explosives.
So I threw the cat outside. Go catch some dogs!
Next problem was that my youngest daughter Robin was now awake and we really should have gotten an hour more of sleep.
So we sat down in the sofa upstairs and played some Jimi Hendrix on the hifi.
We had a guest yesterday, a children’s book author who’s voice my daughter recognized instantly from his CD’s. She adored him. And he adored our hi-fi and we listened to some Jimi Hendrix.
But even better. He’s also a drummer, so Robin and him had played on some of Robin’s drums, which – mind you - are pro drums for kids. But no pro drummer erver showed her what she could do with them. Wow. And later we visited a large drum shop in town. Drums all over the place, and Robin’s eyes were all in love.
Largest drum store in town - wow!
Got some catalogs of all sorts of drums with me she read in the car.
He’s also one of my photo seminar students and had just bought a new Leica D-Lux 3 camera, which we played with. I have like 10 people who bought that camera now. Will post the photos from the drum shop when I get them.
Anyhow, having him as a guest listening to Jimi Hendrix’ The Jimi Hendrix Experience, this lovely 4-CD purple velvet deluxe set of remastered CDs… well, it just made me listen differently to it. He’s the age where you listened to Hendrix when you were a teenager, and a musician as well.
He was floating all over the sofa, playing airdrums at the same time. And my daughter was dancing in front of the stereo.
Hippie family.
While we listened two other guys came by, one musician and one teacher, but also guys who had grown up with Jimi Hendrix.
We could have started a party right there. The mood from back then was there instantly.
I don’t know why that thought came to me, but it did: “If I’m ever to get romantic with a milf, this is the music I’ll be playing to get her pants off.”
It would work. You’re entirely back at age 17 and having a good time., feeling free, revolutionary and daring.
I was about 15 when I learned about Jimi Hendrix first time. Jimi had been dead for a while then, he died before I was born.
Nevertheless.
Later in the day we went to a café. I often go to cafés with my kids because they love it. Not to get them cake and coke, but the experience of being with strangers, hear new music, drink coffee, sit in designer furniture and eat with a knife and a fork.
This café was the Lynfabrikken that is also a shop for artists work. Lots of strange characters such as German poets looking arty and speaking Skype on their laptops in the café.
After that we went to a friends house down our road. He’s a Leicaphile as well and our daughters went to the same daycare.
Jimi Hendrix. That was what we played again this Sunday morning, my daughter and I. Jim I Hendrix’ "Bold As Love" is a fantastic instrumental piece.
He was a true artist, that guy. Mind you electric music was all new and he played around with the possibilities in a very neo way, not just amplifying the sounds but changing the shape and form of the instruments original sounds.
Even the drums resonates as part of the guitar sound. It’s so gritty that sound.
Daring.
Funny how you can dream about times you weren’t part of. But you can.
That moment at 6:40 felt very revolutionary. The cat broke out of it’s dull life and we sat here listening to Hendrix. And my wife would kill me if she knew about the cat.
And my daughter loves that music, listening to it, dancing to it.
I think kids should not listen to children stuff and Disney only (perhaps not at all). They must listen to real music and learn the history of music. Lots of stuff to catch up on and a waste of time to turn 15 years and all you know about is Disney and some buy band.
But you can’t hang around at home all day, so we hit the streets a bit later. Sat down by a circus by the harbor at 7:30 with coffee, fresh baked bread and ecological strawberry juice “made in France.”
Robin, with her kindergarten in the background
The elephants must have been sleeping because we didn’t see them. I’m not a circus-romantic anyway. I think circus is a scam where you get parents to buy popcorn to their kids so the family can sit and yawn while some dogs, elephants and sea lions run around, all made up so that circus artists can live a life on the road, speaking four languages at the same time. I don’t see the point.
So we went looking at the boats and the ocean, and then went to the horse track to look at the horses waking up and starting rehearsing for the horse race later in the day.
The horses ran around in this trademill-sort-of-thing
There was one horse with a broken eye. I mean, there was a hole through it and it made me wonder both how that happened but also how that affects your career opportunities as a racehorse. Could have happened just the night before and maybe it was a 50,000$ horse. Don’t know.
Anyway, there was a young blond girl also in a coffee shop. Very nice, probably 17, with revolution written all over her. Literarily, because she had a big tattoo on her back. It was the Danish government symbol with a king crown and three lions. And a look of remorse in her eyes.
Kinky and sad in the same sentence.
Anyhow, a lot of impressions over the weekend but very little production because I had to baby sit. So I have 8,000 files waiting for me in the morning that needs to get sorted and photoshopped, from the Faroe Islands and the climate conference with Al Gore.
But I also have photo seminars going on so … I hate when my weekends get caught up in baby sitting and family father stuff.
Maybe that was why I freed the cat. Who knows the deeper meaning of that?
PS. I should add, Thorsten, that I found your websight because I just bought a D2 last fall. You seemed so thoughtfull and cool and produced such lyrical photos with light, that I assumed you were a mature over-50 person! Glad to see you are 43 - close to my age of 46! - I search the web looking for comments on cameras I'm thinking of buying. And photos taken by them of course. Even months after I've bought the camera, I'm still looking for encouragement. I guess cause I'm not a real photographer. I'm more a Jack-of-all-trades, and I don't really have time to take a lot of photographs. So I guess as I take more photos, I'll get a feel of the images the camera produces, and also a feel for myself and what I want in a camera. I'm also looking at the Olympus E-420. I'm still trying to decide what sort of a images I want in a camera. But I love beauty. I find I'm taking some really cool shots of kids, and of course the ocean/clouds/mountains and nature Vancouver has in abundance. So who knows? Maybe I'll find I AM a photographer! :)
Chris again - Over here in Canada we have the CBC radio, with RAndy Bachman from the Guess Who hosting a show where he spins discs and talks about the music and sometimes twiddles his guitar to illustrate some chord sequences! Very much fun! - RANDY BACHMAN'S WIFE MET JIMI BACKSTAGE AT MONTERY POP!!! Very cool! Randy had her on his show and she talked a lot about what Jimi was like. She didn't know him as a friend, but spent a few hours with him and other people because she was hanging around backstage. - She said he was really, really nervous. He was worried about following Pete Townsend and the Who, with Pete smashing his guitar. Jimi: "How am I going to follow THAT???" He was really worried about making an impression on people. I guess he was a real performer, an artist, a comunicator. Randy's wife (before Randy met her) was consoling Jimi, offering words of encouragement. "You'll be fine!" Jimi hadn't become famous yet. - So once he got out there, at the end of his performance, he poured lighter fluid on his guitar and lit it aflame! I thought "Ahhh! So that's where that happened." Cool to hear these little insights into people's personalities. - Chris
Why has no one commented on the Hendrix??????? Its hard for me to accept that most people aren't into music. But I guess most people aren't into cameras (real ones) either. - But Hendrix! He was amazing. Bold as Love is a great string of words. Especially when you put Axis in front of it. A very sensitive guy. And "...Castles made of sand, slips into the sea...eventuaaaallly..." Beautiful alliteration too, the word sounds sounding like the idea he's describing...beautiful artist... - I live in Vancouver, CAnada. My grandfather was danish. My Mom's cousins live in Jutland, and I think I visited Arhus. But I'm very proud of the Danish 1/4 of me. My "Uncle" was manager of a speaker factory, which was cool, and lived in a converted school house which was heated by running pipes under ground outside the house and back again. Heat exchange I think? And this was in 1979! 1979!!!! 1979!!!!!! Arggg! I think North Americans are complete idiots, compared to Europeans. On the other hand Thomas Dolby moved to LA from England because change was allowed in the US. You could tear a building down if you wanted to, he said. - Chris
Jimi Hendrix is one of the artists one return to again and again in cycles throughout life. He's like one of the pillars in music, like Van Morrison whom I also find myself returning into to rediscover every three years or something.
Speaking of pillars.
Being Danish is a very exclusive thing, you know. There's only 5 million of us, so the chances to become one is 1200, considering the current population of Earth. So being 1/4 Danish is real cool. Well done on that!
Just lucked out I guess! How fortunate am I! My neighbour is Danish. Talking to him, and reading your blog, Thorsten, I'm beginning to see this rebelliousness you talk of in Danes. I heard that King Christian, when Danmark was occupied by the Nazis in WWII, dared to risk getting shot. He personally removed the Nazi flag and put the Danish Flag back up. By the way, I'm named after him - my middle name is Christian (Charles Christian Berryman - Mom's parent's name was Andersen). Maybe this Danish rebelliousness explains a lot of my personality, if its genetic and not just cultural. I'll have to start thinking about that! Thanks for filling in another gap in my heritage! Now the D2 is part of my heritage, too.
What you need is a dog! I never liked cats... cats don’t mind me but I just don’t get their indifference, among other things :)
You just made want to listen to some Hendrix! Having played guitar for many years, he was one of my music heros... don’t know what happened, I guess the monotony of life took over.
Thanks for starting my day with a laugh! I thought I was the only one who disliked cats intensely. Ever since I was a kid I've had a problem with them. All they do is eat and sleep and get fat. They never give anything back unless they want feeding. Dogs I like, cats I can live without. Cats instictively avoid me anyway usually! Nice photos, I really like the exposure on the 4th. I was reading your Leica articles on your website last week and looked a lot at the Digilux 3 as a replacement for my 350d. I am going for a 5d + 24-70 L as my main camera (want to try and build a proper portfolio). I'll then get a Leica M6 as my street shooter. I'm finding it very difficult to hide my 350d on the street! When are you next doing a seminar in London? Cheers
Glad to hear you had fun. I dislike dogs as well as they demand even more care and is just as pointless (to me) having.
5D sounds as a good choice. You know you can put Leica R glasses on them, right?
NExt photo seminar in London will be in the end of October, probably October 22-23. I have an event in the last weekend in October in London (not confirmed date yet though).
We don't have space for any pets so it's moot. God knows how we are going to cope with a baby, till we find a bigger place. I didn't know about the Leica R lenses working on the 5d. Something to think about! I'll put a note in my calendar for October.
Ha ha! I'm gonna show this to my girlfriend. We always argue whether pets belong in the house. Hail the mighty cat, king of the animal kingdom -- just make sure he stays outside...
I'm at a point in my life where I think people should take care of a child's school in Africa or something relevant if they need to expand their sphere of responsibility for living creatures. Sort of :-)
It has been, i confess, long overdue. But i have been procrastinating this simple task of leaving you a comment for weeks. I've been busy and only comment when commented. I do admire your work and your blogs are quite the read. congratulations on a wonderful page. And. xoxoxox :)
I just wanted to say hello and compliment you on your gallery. You've got a really great selection of pictures here, I really like your natural style and your use of light. Lots and lots of interesting stuff to read too! I reckon I'm going to be a regular reader. Take it slow... Mark
Heeeeey... You're another one on here who I see has fanagled a way around (what I thought was the max) of 16 "Top Friends." How'd you manage that one, if you don't mind me asking? Whatever the case, very best of regards to you...CCx
Thanks for the comment on my first post- nice to know I'm not alone in my technological woes! Love your photography- really beautiful shots you've got here.
thnak you. I'm just collecting all the art i see in San Francisco... check out the new slideshow on TINGLETANGLE and WEMARNY sections on the nav bar menu of http://ozcillator.com. peace, franz
Hello Thorsten. I've been doing a lot of uber-diving, and I must say that yours stands out as one of my top five blogs. It's so diverse and interesting! Keep up the good work! All the best, Stewart
Hi Thorsten, Thanks for the great idea for a blog posting on how a designer comes to dress a star at the Oscars. I will have to write it! Continue to check my blog, I'm going to continue to add great stuff in the next few weeks. xoNick
I found it annoying, the D-Lux 3, that you can't get a good grip at it. That you use the screen as viewfinder is kind of OK. But the light from the screen, as well as the red AF light at night does not make it a stealth camera like a traditional quiet Leica M.
But I love beauty. I find I'm taking some really cool shots of kids, and of course the ocean/clouds/mountains and nature Vancouver has in abundance. So who knows? Maybe I'll find I AM a photographer! :)