Posts Tagged ‘Pickman’
fallen over
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Thanksgiving weekend is no time to burden you with cares or worries, that’s Walmart and your family’s job, so the Newtown Pentacle tradition is to kick back and present singular images which appeal to the sensibility and tastes of a humble narrator. Above, and I do believe that this shot has run before at this – your Newtown Pentacle, is depicted the corner of 31st street and Broadway in demimonde plagued Astoria. The structure, of course, is the the elevated track of the Subway. There’s just something about the light in this one which I really dig.
held colloquy
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Liberty persists in darkness, and threatening storms, and even on “Black Friday”. This one off shot, captured while onboard a Working Harbor Committee expedition during the summer of 2012, is one of my annular favorites simply for the presence of “crepuscular rays”. That’s the fancy thirteen dollar word way of describing the rays of light filtering down through the clouds.
kaleidoscopic rotation
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The thanks I give today is to the Audubon Society, for bringing me out to South Brother Island with them when they were doing a count of nesting shorebirds back in the spring, whereupon I was able to capture the image above. Probably my favorite shot of 2012, at least so far, and given the relatively late calendrical date- odds on favorite for this years “best of show”. Not a turkey, rather a night heron, by the way.
nerve powder
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Suffer, suffer, suffer. That’s the status on the bad back situation, which I am tired of complaining about. The holiday weekend is upon us, and accordingly, you will see rather short postings here for the next couple of days as most of you will be eating and shopping with loved ones in lesser cities and hopefully have little or no time to listen to me. Pictured above is the never ending stream of traffic entering Queens from the great machine called Queensboro, by the way. We’ll have new conversation on Monday, as in my infirmity I’ve been reading quite a bit about both cannibalism and crocodiles.
lurk unseen
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned a day or two ago, your humble narrator is currently incapacitated due to a lower back injury. Manifestations of my inferior physical robustness such as this pop up occasionally, serving as reminders of a weak and sickly childhood. Seldom does one go more than a few weeks without some new complaint, which when compounded with the diminishment of advancing years, paints dire portents about long term survival.
from wikipedia
Back pain is regularly cited by national governments as having a major impact on productivity, through loss of workers on sick leave. Some national governments, notably Australia and the United Kingdom, have launched campaigns of public health awareness to help combat the problem, for example the Health and Safety Executive’s Better Backs campaign. In the United States lower back pain’s economic impact reveals that it is the number one reason for individuals under the age of 45 to limit their activity, second highest complaint seen in physician’s offices, fifth most common requirement for hospitalization, and the third leading cause for surgery.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Those around me grow increasingly wary watching this process working upon me. Extraordinary effort at maintaining an appearance and facade of bon vivant and vigor fall apart when these sudden spells occur. Unfortunately, this is my true self- timorous and wracked with an inconceivable number of physical maladies. For the moment, it is difficult to surmount a shallow set of stairs, let alone perform a perambulation.
from wikipedia
The lumbar region (or lower back region) is made up of five vertebrae (L1-L5). In between these vertebrae lie fibrocartilage discs (intervertebral discs), which act as cushions, preventing the vertebrae from rubbing together while at the same time protecting the spinal cord. Nerves stem from the spinal cord through foramina within the vertebrae, providing muscles with sensations and motor associated messages. Stability of the spine is provided through ligaments and muscles of the back, lower back and abdomen. Small joints which prevent, as well as direct, motion of the spine are called facet joints (zygapophysial joints).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pain, aside from the psychological torments and thwarted ambitions which are part and parcel of my daily round, is something I am quite used to. The particular complaint in my lower back has all the appearance of something temporary, a visitor for the holidays sent to remind me that time is short, and that despite all- I am human, all too human. At least I still have a heated and electrified house to live in, which seems to be a blessing in the New York City area these days. My little dog, however, seems quite concerned about me and has been sticking to my heels.
from wikipedia
Before the relatively recent discovery of neurons and their role in pain, various different body functions were proposed to account for pain. There were several competing early theories of pain among the ancient Greeks: Aristotle believed that pain was due to evil spirits entering the body through injury, and Hippocrates believed that it was due to an imbalance in vital fluids. In the 11th century, Avicenna theorized that there were a number of feeling senses including touch, pain and titillation, but prior to the scientific Renaissance in Europe pain was not well-understood, and it was thought that pain originated outside the body, perhaps as a punishment from God.
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