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June 1, 2007
Color & Light: Two Moments, Unrelated
Brooklyn, NY; 31 May: Our little piece of Van Brunt Street was turned into a movie set last night for Charlie Kaufman's newest film, Synecdoche, and as a result Alexis and I were up way too late for a school night in order to check it out. It is amazing how large lights pointed in the right direction can transform the aesthetics of a street. For several hours we watched Philip Seymour Hoffman and others walk back and forth between Visitation and Pioneer Streets while a pile of bar goers, us included, sat on the sidelines. As part of the scene setting, a humongous light was installed on a side street near our house, effectively bathing our apartment in a red hued blast of color and light. So when you see the movie in a year or so, that reddish 5-story building in the background of one of the scenes is our abode. And that really tired looking shadow in the top floor window was me who, at about 2 a.m., was wondering when the hell they would shut things down and let us have our darkness back.
Konya, Turkey; 18 May: We drove from Selcuk to Konya between the 16th and 18th of May. The photograph above was taken just as we set forth for the mountains, whose base on the other side gave way to our destination for the night. We marveled in the dramatic light and color of the afternoon sky and, for a brief second looked at one another and wondered if driving straight into what looked like a powerful storm was a good idea. We didn't really have any other option and thus pushed forward- and true to our assumptions, within about a half hour were confronted with pelting rain.
As we climbed the winding mountains on roads with no clearance or guardrails, we found ourselves stuck behind a large tanker truck moving at about 15 km- slow enough that a conga line of frustrated Turkish drivers formed behind us, all making it obvious that if we didn't pass the truck, they would pass us both. Finally, Alexis managed to pull ahead and we quickly realized that the slow-chugging vehicle had been effectively sheltering us from the most frightening storm we'd ever driven a car through. Rain pelted, then hail the size of ice cubes fell. There was zero visibility. I kept trying to push away the thoughts of how we would ever get off the top of the mountain, imagining where we would take shelter in this foreign country as the lightning and hail and rain crashed all around us. Finally, we found a space to pull over, as did most of the other people on the road. We prayed that the flooding wouldn't wash the side of the mountains down. We laughed nervously. And then, as minutes upon minutes passed, the storm let up enough for us to inch forward, flinching at the deep, deep puddles, only exhaling once we'd descended the mountain and found our way to the chaotic city streets of Konya. We were very thankful for good windshield wipers.
Note: You can see some lame footage of the storm here.
Posted by callalillie at June 1, 2007 6:58 AM | City Life , Random , The World Outside NYC , Turkey
alexis looks like he's totally ready for some sleep.
Posted by: tien at June 1, 2007 9:00 AM
his hands were cramped and sore the next day from gripping the steering wheel so hard.
Posted by: corie at June 1, 2007 9:14 AM
My old car had an "orange peel" roof after being caught in a hailstorm in the UK with huge hailstones. I was sat in the car and could shout at the top of my voice - and only be able to hear myself through my skull, the hail was so loud it drowned out any external noise!
Did you go by Egirdir?
Posted by: discostu at June 1, 2007 9:17 AM
We did go to Egirdir. It was so beautiful. I've never seen a lake so aqua colored before.
Posted by: corie at June 1, 2007 11:11 AM
I cant remember the hotel/hostel we stayed in (its six years ago now) but in its guestbook we found a photo of a car parked on the lake - it freezes over!
I remember it being a very relaxing place, and some nice walks nearby.
Posted by: discostu at June 1, 2007 1:23 PM
Have you interpreted any of the words/phrases from the graffeti images that you guys captured?
Posted by: Erin at June 2, 2007 7:57 AM
Posted by: erin at June 2, 2007 7:59 AM
I really like this picture...
g.
Posted by: g. at June 8, 2007 6:54 AM
this is my favorite kind of sky! yummy!
Posted by: gg at June 12, 2007 7:52 PM
