Took Me Long Enough

I finally finished my urban alphabet.  Finally.  I only have a week left in this 365 day photo project, so I figured I really needed to get out there and find that annoying and elusive "Z".  Here it is...

and here's the whole thing...

A Through Z

Vonnegut-esque

I passed this the other day (didn't have a camera then.  Went back today).  I didn't know the quote or who Chuck D was, but in this age of information, it was not hard to find the quote (lyrics to Rebel Without a Pause) or the guy (part of the rap group Public Enemy).  I liked the addition of the hand and pawn piece to what otherwise would have just been some standard quote that works well as graffiti.  The graffiti itself was just some white paint for the letters and tan paper for the hands on a red brick wall behind some green plants.  I edited my shot to better reflect the mood. ...oh, and disregard the artist's inability to accurately quote the song (as interesting as one big chest game would be, I'm sure he meant chess)...

The thing about it that most made me want to get the shot was that it made me think of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.  It is very similar to a "calypso" found in his novel Cats Cradle.  Which is a great book, by the way.

          Bokonon's 53rd Calypso

Oh, a sleeping drunkard

Up in Central Park,  

And a lion-hunter  

In the jungle dark,  

And a Chinese dentist,  

And a British queen -  

All fit together  

In the same machine.  

Nice, nice, very nice;  

Nice, nice, very nice;  

Nice, nice, very nice -  

So many different people 

In the same device.

Belfast Wall Art

Belfast has a few murals.  I'm sure some of you out there know about them.  They definitely hold certain connotations for different people.  I'm not about to get into any of that.  In fact, if I ever get some pictures of them, I will probably post them without any text whatsoever.
Belfast also has a lot of walls that are covered in paintings that have no (at least no direct) connotations for people.  It is my impression that the shots I got today are of the paintings that take no political or social sides.

This one says "welcome to Belfast" and shows some of the things you can see here.  Such as the Botanic Gardens and the River Lagan.

This one is just some text.  Some text that I don't feel I can answer.  Mostly because I was under the impression that we haven't even proven that gravitrons (which would be the necessary quantum particle in gravity) exist.  Anyone have an answer?  I'm at a loss on this one...Though I must say, I like the idea of getting to go for a walk and getting to play trivia at the same time.  Now if only they'd change up the question each day...

Now onto birds!  It's National Bird-Feeding Month!  Though I don't want to limit myself to only bird photos this month, I do indeed want to get as many photos of our fine feathered friends as possible.  So today, in addition to those painted walls, I give you some Mediterranean Gulls...

...and some Oystercatchers.  There were other types of waterfowl down at the River Lagan as well, but I figure I'll spread them out throughout this most excellent bird-celebrating month.

Old Men and Old Kegs

Went for a walk this morning.  Saw an old guy...

 He was rather intent on making sense of this "map"

and some old kegs...

They look far too American for Northern Ireland.

As the Sun Rises

I work from my living room in Belfast.  It's pretty spectacular.  What isn't so spectacular is the winter daylight hours here in Northern Ireland.  The sun rose around 8:30am this morning.  It set right at 4pm.  That is not a lot of bright, light-filled hours.  Working during all of those hours makes it hard to get a daily photo... unless my subject is in my living room with me.  I'm sure as we get further into the winter months and less light is readily available, I'm going to have to make sure my subject is indeed in this room with me...today, though, I quickly ran out before I started to work...hoping that the rising sun would prove useful.

I know I have a similar rooftop shot, but this one has a sunrise as a background ...as well as the remains of a recent snow...and a steeple.

 I also came across this section of a brick wall which worked wonders for my urban panorama project.  I love the abstract feel of the rectangular painted portions.  I am also a fan of the fact that I could print this as a ten foot by thirty foot image...at a rather high resolution.

And last but not least.  Yesterday's urban alphabet was fine and all...but I was not extremely pleased with the 'S' that I came up with.  I found a much better one today.  Here it is:

Much better.

Finally Trying to Finish a Series

It's about time that I finish up an old series.  My Urban Alphabet.  I started it awhile ago and really want to finish it, I have far too many partially completed projects.  So I went at it this morning with a vengeance.  A rather effective vengeance, apparently...I got eight letters.  Leaving me with three to go...

...xyz

The Elusive Letter

Here is the next letter for my Urban Alphabet.  The K.  You'd think the K would be an easy one...or at least I did.  Bars and pipes and wires are always going at each other in angles...that should make it awfully easy to find a K.  Apparently those angles are never the degrees I want them to be.  I have been hunting down a K for weeks now.  I finally found it today in a lumber yard roof.  Not the best K, but I don't think I can continue to look for Ks...it would drive me insane.  Now that I found it, though, I'm sure they will start popping up everywhere.

K is for Killing me slowly with a game of hide and seek that takes a few weeks to play

"I found you!...but I must say, best hiding place ever!" 

 Urban Alphabet

It's coming along nicely...anyone have a name that is comprised of the first eleven letters of the alphabet?

It Has Been Some Time

...Since I did my last installment of my Urban Alphabet.  So, with a free morning, I hopped on my bike and rode around town looking first and foremost for my elusive G. 
I frequently have my camera attached to me while I'm on my bike, so I have been looking for the G for quite some time.  I have had no luck up until this point.  Today, I told myself I had to find it.  I did...Within the first 3 minutes of being on the hunt, too.  H, I, and J were quickly found after the G popped into existence.

Urban Alphabet

Now I can spell out Big Head.  That, my friends, is an accomplishment. 

Alleys

There are a bunch of alleys around my house.  A bike ride down them will result in sights such as the following...

Paint The Walls

Here is my attempt at an "urban art" stylized image.  A can of paint was slowly emptying itself into the streets and down the wall.

  Pile O' Bricks

Nothing more than a pile o' bricks.  Except for the interesting pattens in the wooden planks, in the way the wooden planks are positioned, and in the shingled wall.