The Purple Mango Post

Sedona, Arizona.

My dear friend and colleague Irene Noguchi just moved to Las Vegas to take a job as a producer for KNPR, the area's local NPR affiliate. When she needed an Arizona expert for her Regional Roundup of Southwestern news, she called another dear friend and colleague, Arizona Republic political reporter Casey Newton. The segment aired yesterday on KNPR, and is a great listen, particularly if you're interested in the inexorable decline of the nation's economy. Note for the technically un-savvy: Because of the way the file downloaded onto my Mac, I was at first confused by the Tiffany intro and thought that iTunes was punking me. Be patient. Once I figured it out, I listened to the program and came away with the following: 

St. John the Divine is one of the most beautiful treasures in New York City. It was built as a place of prayer to welcome all of the diverse beliefs and nationalities this city represents. Construction started in 1892 and still isn't finished, though unlike the Segrada Familia in Barcelona you can't see the ongoing work from the facade or the interior.

It's so exciting to witness the construction of a building like this. I love imagining the countless generations of people that will walk through those arches after I'm gone, and to think that they'll enjoy a finished product that won't even exist in my lifetime. It makes you feel like part of history - think of all the people who walked past the construction sites for Notre Dame or Westminister Abbey and wondered if they were ever going to finish that thing!

100th Street and Amsterdam, NYC.

Carl Schurz Park, NYC.

I have a new camera!

In preparation for a big trip coming up early next year (more on that later), I decided to invest in a camera with a bit more sophistication than my faithful point-and-shoot. I’m now the proud owner of a refurbished Nikon D40. It’s a DSLR, which in simple terms is a smarter camera than a point-and-shoot and gives you more control over the kind of picture you take. I’m taking a workshop at Adorama next week on how to make the most of it.

This means I have a new hobby: taking shitty pictures while the camera and I get acquainted. In the last five days I have photographed blurry ducks, blurry leaves, blurry old people sitting on benches, blackened landscapes and portraits of my husband rendered ghost-like by an over-aggressive flash. Nothing makes you feel powerful like reducing the spectacular beauty of Central Park in fall into a bleached blur of burnt-orange squiggles.

The great news about the digital age is that amateurism is cheap. A few years ago, a staff photographer at my newspaper lent me his 35-mm film camera. After a short tutorial on f-stops and shutter speed, an afternoon of giddy snaps and a trip to Walgreens’ photo counter, I had three rolls of dark, blurry pictures and $35 less in my wallet. Now practice shots disappear with a click of a button, and posterity will never know that you accidentally photographed your own shoes. 

In the theater of life, you too will have your moment. Become your dream.

While you were sleeping off your hangover Sunday morning, this woman pedaled 26.2 miles to the finish line at the New York City marathon. Congratulations to handcycle division winners Dane Pilon and Helen Hines, and to all 42,000 competitors in the NYC marathon.