los fuzzy dice

because sometimes you just gotta roll 'em....

[thebackpedaler]

[drbmbay]

when I leave this town, I will leave a shadow behind.

Untitled - West 6th Street/Austin, photo by Patchen Preston (2014)

[drbmbay]

live or let die.

Our War – Our Pain, Venezuela, by Oscar B. Castillo (2014)

The Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund today announces, exclusively through LightBox, the winners of its 2014 grants. The fund, which began in 2009, awards annual grants to photographers from around the world to support anticipatory work that sheds light on under-reported issues and communities. The grants range from $4,000 to $7,500 for regional photographers who proposed covering stories near their homes, and $7,500 to $12,000 for photographers who proposed covering international stories.

[drbmbay]

garden house.

Telemachus. Farragut Street, New Orleans, by Frank Relle (2006)

“There are no people in my photos, but they are all character sketches of the people I grew up with. I want to make things that encapsulate that and are able to communicate that not in explicit terms, but giving people access and letting them create their own narratives.” - Frank Relle

[drbmbay]

something in the air.

People taking to the streets to protest, Alexandria, Egypt - photo by David Degner / Freelance (2011)

“One of the reasons I came to Egypt is because it is so cheap to live here. I came about six months before the revolution. I was just doing my thing for six months. Then, the revolution started and, all of a sudden, photographers were in demand.” - David Degner

[drbmbay]

it’s gonna go our way, no matter what you say.

Revolution by Saidah Baba Talibah (2013) (via YouTube)

"I can’t say I find drastic differences in music around the world, other than the obvious, which is dictated by culture and environment. But it’s so true when they say that, “Music is a universal language.” This is what joins us all together. The heartbeat, the drum." -  Saidah Baba Talibah

[drbmbay]

pay what you wish.

Postcard for Clifton’s Pacific Seas Restaurant, Los Angeles CA (194?)

about: “Long before the Civil Rights movement allowed black Americans to freely patronize white-run establishments, Clifton’s restaurants were integrated. In response to a complaint about his progressive policy, Clinton wrote in his weekly newsletter, “If colored skin is a passport to death for our liberties, then it is a passport to Clifton’s.” Regardless of income or skin color, Clinton wanted everyone who ate at his restaurants to be completely satisfied, so the phrase “Dine free unless delighted” was printed on every check. Though many patrons ate for free, enough customers gave significantly more than they were asked to keep the business afloat.”

[drbmbay]

you have to find a profession you love.

"I'm here to fix the lasagna" - New Yorker Cartoon by Matthew Diffee (2000)

"The New Yorker is a magazine about New York, really. That's part of what people like about it, because I think people everywhere used to live here, or wished that they lived here, so we have a responsibility to report what's going on in New York in a comedic way," - Matthew Diffee

[drbmbay]

bit-o-soul.

Soul Vendors - Just a bit o soul (by Konazrt)

about: "In 1967 Clement Dodd decided to take a group of musicians to England. Alongside the singers Alton Ellis and Ken Boothe, he asked Roland Alphonso, Jackie Mittoo, Johnny Moore, Lloyd Brevett, Bunny Williams and Errol Walters. This group would be named The Soul Vendors."

[drbmbay]

hollywood lustron. 1950's advert for Bit-o-Honey & Old Nick candy bars

[drbmbay]

la vacance.

Bit-o-Paris, by Sharon Kalstek (2012)

about: "The Niagara falls Motel in NY is perfect for anybody looking for hotels or motels to stay when visiting the world wonder that is Niagara Falls. Located Just minutes away from the Falls, Seneca Niagara Casino, Fashion Outlets and Canadian border, you are sure to enjoy your stay. 25 rooms, handicapped, Internet."

[drbmbay]

today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic.

clip from The Singing Detective by Dennis Potter, starring Michael Gambon (1986) - Teddy Bears’ Picnic sung by Henry Hall & His Orchestra  (1932)

[drbmbay]

a lotta bears.

Pandas on Tour, various papier-mâché installations by Paulo Grangeon (2014)

top photo: by Mandy Cheng/AFP/Getty Images (2014)

middle photo: by Patrick Lin/Reuters (2014)

bottom photo: by Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images (2008)

about: "Paper pandas completely took over the National Theater of Taipei on February 24. The bears were accompanied by a local green tree frog – also an endangered species.  The papier-mâché sculptures are a part of the "Pandas on Tour" exhibition which is held to raise awareness of wildlife conservation. The outdoor expo will feature 1,600 pandas and 200 Formosan black bears made of recycled waste paper. The event is held to raise awareness of wildlife conservation, according to the Taipei city government." The pandas were also in Paris in 2008.

[drbmbay]

I’m gonna let you out, baby. that’s what I’m gonna do.

Rosco Gordon-No More Doggin (high Quality) (by Carlos Rasool)

about: “Maybe the least expected of the factors that went into making ska in those years, and the one many would argue that most nearly approached it in sound, leading most directly to its birth, came not from Jamaica at all, or even from the Caribbean, but from West Tennessee, and more specifically from South Memphis, and more specifically than that, from the band called the Beale Streeters, and most specifically of all from the right hand of their pianist and sometime singer-songwriter, a Memphis native named Rosco Gordon…. Several of Rosco’s songs had second lives in Jamaica. These were cuts that had been hits in the States in ’52 or so, entering the charts in Jamaica a half-decade later or more.”

[drbmbay]

how will we ever get over losing our minds?

We Almost Lost Detroit - Gil Scott-Heron 1977 (by teenabeenaweena)

The song shares its name with a Reader's Digest story about Fermi 1, America's first commercial breeder reactor.  It is also what Scott-Heron sings about. In 1966 there was a partial nuclear meltdown and could have destroyed Detroit. (wiki:) "It took four years for the reactor to be repaired, and then performance was poor. In 1972, the reactor core was dismantled and the reactor was decommissioned. America's first effort at operating a full-scale breeder had failed."

[drbmbay]

love.

Robert in His Living Room, Detroit, by Dave Jordano (2012)

"I started this project in 2010 after reading about so many photographers who were going to Detroit to photograph all of the abandoned factories and the emptiness that was so pervasive there.  Detroit is my hometown and I felt that this one-sided photographic approach to the city, although accurate and noteworthy, didn't give full credit to the people who live there and who have been struggling for decades with Detroit's economic decline." - Dave Jordano

[drbmbay]

it’s an old song. let me play it for you.

still from "Let Her Down Easy," a George MIchael music video, directed by directed by Vaughan Arnell (2014)

[drbmbay]

when the pain ends, the love ends.

Leah, by Marjorie Salvaterra (2007)

"My first portrait was of LEAH who was a friend and our realtor. One day after a rainy open house, I told her she had to let me photograph her before she left. She declined but I told her if she wanted to sell our house, she had to let me make her picture. She thought she looked a mess. I thought she looked cool so I messed her up just a bit more and quickly shot her. After that no one was safe." - Marjorie Salvaterra