nabbott blog

This is my buddy Anthony's blog. He's a pro skier and artist and photographer (and I really like his newest post of art photos from his travels...)
Joystick Skiing

This a book by a photographer named Paul Watson and an interview and an article about him. Dude took a crazy important, Pulitzer prize winning photo and its not all such a rosy moment. But he's still winning awards photographing wars and gnarly situations around the world. If I can find it, its gonna be my next book, but they don't have it on Amazon, apparently 'cause he's from Canada (where they kill baby seals...)
Where War Lives

The interview is amazing:
Paul Watson on Fresh Air with Terry Gross
(You can also download the podcast on iTunes.)

The actual photo, very disturbing and graphic image of an American soldier and a mob in the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia. Look with care:
Pulitzer Prize winning Photo Linked on Palm Beach Post

Article tying Paul Watson and the next photographer and their divergent/convergent stories, "Ghost of a Man I never Knew":
Macleans

This is a photo that also won the Pulitzer, but the photographer Kevin Carter took his own life as the years, PTSD and controversy wore him down (Collection of stories about Kevin Carter):

Posted by nmablog at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So, I started writing this to ask a simple question, that being, who cut the hole in the back of my mullet on Saturday. Oh? Really? You haven't seen me since noon on Saturday? Well, yeah, I was bored and going to a big birthday bash for Eva so I cut my hair.

Funny thing is, as I was writing the first draft of this, my friend Chris wrote me to ask a photo question, and in his text, he apologized for messing my hair up. Still not sure what happened, but I know who it was. Other than that, epic party, gooooood game people, good game!

Tonight was the playoffs for my soccer team and we lost. I played horrible and blame the loss on myself even if I thought the other team was very lucky on three of their goals. But there was an interesting occurrence, being that the other team brought special cones to mark the edge of their penalty box (and yes, they took the cones with them to their end in the second half). Was that justifiable, illegal or sporting? I have my opinion, obvs. Was that the one percent difference in us losing a hard fought 4:3 game? Who knows. I do know their best player didn't shake our hands and scowled at me when I searched him out and wished their team luck.

The reason I bring it up is this whole tangent of Alberto Gonzales resigning today. He was a cheater and a justifier and an apologist. And as I rode my bike home I thought about how happy I was to have played, and thought about You can have US attorneys who will not prosecute Republican politicians and will serve president rather than the people (thats an actual Gonzales quote from a few weeks back). And then as the door hit him on the way out, our dickhead fucktard of a President tried to blame his quitting on the fact that the press and the Democrats wanted him to follow the rules. Good riddance, and I guess I will never win the soccer league or be the President or Attorney General, but I'm pretty happy with that.

Hows that for tangential? Back to work.

Oh, I'm listening to this band right now, you should too - turn 'em up. Battles!!!

Neverland party, dancing in the rain.

My haircut and some sort of late night cake fighting debauchery.

Posted by nmablog at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

out the door and I catch the first
rotten garbage, a twinge of dog shit?
turn my bike down driggs and onto newel
stale garbage now, but not rancid
through greenpoint continues the ride with wiffs of chemicals and petroleum products
over the pulaski its fresh, a breeze in my face
i ride faster till about 42nd and 11th then coast
cause here in queens its the sweetest 10 blocks
a few blocks of the Dunkin Donuts factory at 44th
then another bakers (TomKat? hopefully not related to cruise and holmes)
then i'm under the queensboro and its reaking of shit again
but up and over the bridge and the east river smells fresh
compared to the rest of the city, but maybe not to a walk on Pine St with Louie
roosevelt island is kind of european, i ride slow and listen to quiet conversations, not a lot of cars and no trucks
maybe a few air conditioners working.
during the game i go to take a corner kick and someone is smoking weed down on the promenade watching the lights of manhattan
the ride home is dark and lonely and the only
new smell
takes me back to college and a high school girl i dated
wearing peach lotion from some mall cosmetics shop
and my brain slips back to lazy nights walking the mall in Boulder with her
while i ride over the Pulaski
sweaty, to my quiet apartment in the rich city

Posted by nmablog at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After getting home from the Beckham game after midnight and finishing my work around 2, I got up this Sunday morning to do a photo shoot for Goal Magazin - an Austrian Football mag - at 8:30 in the morning in Hoboken. Like most assignments, not enough time, but despite the big victory the night before, the Red Bulls (and my subject, Markus Schopp) had to practice at 10:30 am.

After the shoot I rode my bike into Manhattan, did some taxi dodging across Houston St, and then played some pickup soccer at Pier 40. As it started to rain I rode back across the Williamsburg bridge to Brooklyn, took a shower and headed to the last free concert of the summer in McCarren Park.

The band Ghostland Observatory was playing to a faithful and soggy crowd, and I got to spend some quality time dancing in the rain. Ghostland is awesome, wish I could see them with more friends and less rain. A short tour of some of Williamsburg's finest drinking establishments and home to an Ice Cream sandwich and good night's rest.

One of the 2 dudes who make up Ghostland Ob was wearing a blue satin cape. They're amazing! My pictures? Not so amazing from under the umbrella.

Dance dance revolution.

Kickball in the rain.

Posted by nmablog at 03:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I went to the New York Red Bulls vs. Los Angeles Galazy soccer match on Saturday with 66 thousand of my closest friends. For the end of the game I was in the middle of one of the New York fan sections. They cheered their asses off, but were also all flicking Beckham off, booing every time he touched the ball, trying to get pictures of him and singing a minute long song with the only lyric being "maricone" sung over and over again. (Spanish slang for a three letter slang word for homosexual...) Classy those New York football fans, but a great game, and great experience. I even overheard a couple of 60 year olds who had flown from London just for the game - sick! The pictures are a bit spotty since I'm holding some of the best back from the blog.

(Thanks to the b-day girl for the pass!)

NY Coach Bruce Arena.

Shirtless Beckham applauding NY fans while they give him middle fingers and call him a fag.

OK. I'm adding this since I've been getting complaints from the ladies. Here's a crop from another shot...

Post game ankle icing.

Posted by nmablog at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last winter I was told a story that was such a bald-faced lie that was more than a little annoyed that I even laughed at it. It was like a snipe hunt, the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus- some sort of tale told to little and impressionable youth not to 30 year old men like myself. The claim was this: Eva told me she could catch a chicken and put it to sleep in about 10 seconds. I spent months on end doubting this claim, especially after we ran away from an old lady who caught us chasing her chickens.

But now, after seeing it with my own eyes, I can share the greatest bar trick ever, with you, my friends on the internets. And I can also say, Eva, I am not worthy of your skillz.

Posted by nmablog at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

These are things that are making my summer fun:

Soccer - Despite the heat, and getting kneed in the balls (although reality she hit my thigh it was still to close for comfort and left the biggest bruise ever...)

The West - I flew back to Boulder, hung out with my family and my niece Emily. Then on to Seattle for Runke's wedding, which was an amazingly fun and beer soaked dance party. Java did an amazing job as the Minister, it was great to see old friends, meet new ones and see Melissa and Ryan express their love in front of friends and family. How drunk was M**k W***h, but still getting the shots? Incredible. Also, thanks to the Windell's intern (whose name I forget) who was driving our drunk asses around. Incredible in a different way.

The East - Humidity. Sitting in front of the fan. Buying a new bike today, the day mass transit failed (you should have seen how scared and confused I was when I woke up at 6 am to 3 inches of rain, lighting hitting within a mile of my apartment and, apparently, tornadoes touching down in another part of Brooklyn). The lameness of New Jersey - I would never hang out there. Beach days. The smell of trash on the street and in the subways. Sunsets over Manhattan. Sitting in the shade in the park. Contemplating the relative prevalence of anorexia between the women and men of Williamsburg. Shopping.

Shows - Went to the Handsome Furs last night after soccer, which left me more sweat and beer soaked than ever. Dan Boeckner (of Wolf Parade) is about as rad as it gets, the dopest voice and really dark stormy lyrics and incredible guitars. Also in the past weeks or tickets that are attached to my bulletin board: TV on the Radio, Tokyo Police Club, Ra Ra Riot, Modest Mouse, New York Red Bulls vs. David Beckham (not music, but definitely a show...), LCD Soundsustem and Arcade Fire, Feist, Ghostland Observatory, Ted Leo, etc.

Photography - I may not be shooting a lot, but I'm totally going back to school and studying a lot of other photographers and styles. Old shit. New shit. Old masters. Fads that'll be forgotten by next year. Next level shit. Concepts. Feelings. Meaning. Processes. Failures. Successes. Learning.

Here's some more bullshit pics from my point and shoot cam. I left the battery in Boulder, so no pictures from Seattle.

The Bruise.

Manhattan haze and the GW Bridge.

My sister's incredible elderly dog, Lewis.

Em.

Dive!

Eisenhower Tunnel.

I-70 going into Summit County, where there's no oxygen.

Boulder turnpike / bored on the bus.

Weaving our way through thunderheads flying out of Denver.

Storms over the plains.

Flying back into NY. Times Square lights. City stretches for miles and never sleeps.

Posted by nmablog at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)