Blog Archives

orange and blue and green

Now, then, about this book Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours…the full title has 44 words, which makes me realize how the title for my masters thesis fell far, far short of an impressive length.

I believe that the flower-painter* dude would agree that this shade is similar to Colour 78 – Orpiment Orange, described as “the characteristic color…about equal parts of gamboge yellow and arterial blood red.” That description raises a couple of questions:

  1. What is it characteristic OF?
  2. And gamboge yellow is what color?
  3. “Arterial blood red” – do what, now?
  4. And, the obvious question – what/who is an “orpiment”?

But I guess we can all agree that the book got it right when it says the color (“colour”) is similar to the “Belly of the Warty Newt.”

the snow day series
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.24.2026

*When my granddaughter Hannah was little, she aspired to be a flower-picker. She’s now in college studying international politics, which is practically the very same thing.

sign maker, searching for words

I watched this young man take a very long time, scrolling through his phone, looking for the words he needed to say.

Finally, he found what he wanted and began making a sign.

Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.11.2026

Orwell: a prophet

 

I read 1984 while I was in high school, when the dreaded year was still a decade in the future. The book scared me and I never reread it.Scenes from it are still vivid in my mind and the awful feeling Orwell’s words gave me has never completely left.

Anyway, here we are in 2026, a fucked-up year (already) and the words are, sadly, relevant. And even more frightening.

at the Renee Good protest
Lubbock, Texas

photographed 1.11.2026

firework(s)

First of all, it’s pretty easy to see that there are fireworks available here.

And second of all, my brain and I enjoyed the idea of just rolling down the highway, going between 3.2 and 9.9 miles over the speed limit (because: Texas), and coming up on a giant truck that shouted FIREWORKS at us. It’s not that funny, now that I see it written down, but trust me on this: in my head it was hilarious.

Wolfforth, Texas
photographed 12.31.2025

sunbleached

When I made this photo, it seemed like a huge mistake. It was the first photo of the day (and the first one, now that I think about it, in two weeks). My camera settings were – to use a technical term – completely fucked up; the photo was way the hell over-exposed. I’d made a little drive out to the place specifically for a different shot I’d had my eye on for a while, so this felt like the one I took before I took the one I wanted.

But then, when I looked at it again, I rather enjoyed the overexposed look, the way the sun baked that sign until it started falling apart, and seared everything else until the colors were drained.

Wolfforth, Texas
photographed 12.31.2025