Why The Fall Is So Bewitching

When the air is this crisp, everything seems bigger. The days pulse with newness, ever young; the possibilities seem real, so graspable; and the moments stretch endless. You can feel the world in flux, and to be swept up in its movements would be a singular adventure. This feels like a time for boldness. Breathe deep; I've known this air before and I swear I'll know it again.

Also, the colors.

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish"

Here's to the titans who came before, who inspire us to stretch our own legs and stride.

Signs Of Our Times

I may not always agree with you, or you with I, but diversity of opinion is a crucial component of progress. There are a lot of opinions on display down in Wall Street these days, as anyone who's kept an eye on Twitter or the political blogs can tell you. Tons of passion as well, some directionless but exuberant, others focused and intense. It's hard to find something definitive worth believing in these days, but I have a healthy respect for anyone that stands for something, that fights for what they believe in.

Stand up yourself.

#OccupyWallStreet to keep an ear to the streets.

May Daze

It seems like I blinked and half of May is already gone. The city's been surprisingly gracious lately (considering the long winter we had), offering sunny days that skew more mild than thick and soupy, and I likes my weather mild. The thunderstorms that have been lurking behind the curtains of clouds the past couple of days suggest that the three (two and a half? Screw it, I'm rounding up) weeks of Spring we got this year are coming to an end, but even the imminent threat of rain showers and rumbling skies aren't enough to dampen the city's, or my own, spirits.

It's been a busy couple of weeks, work-wise, but I somehow managed to squeeze in some extra-curriculars.

When word broke late at night on May 1st that Osama bin Laden had been killed and a crowd started to gather at Ground Zero, I had to head down and see what that scene was like. People celebrate for their own reasons that may or may not be in line with your beliefs, but politics aside, that kind of jubilant unity is something I can wholeheartedly appreciate.

Freedom Tower steadily building up in the back. On a side note, you can see me seeing this here.

Moving on to other things, The Naked and Famous played Terminal 5 a couple weeks back.

They pummeled the crowd with a barrage of 5 of their most popular songs. It was a short but exuberant set, as they were opening for these guys:

Freelance Whales

Foals

(On a side note, all my Terminal 5 pictures start to look the same after a while...) All good bands, but I had gone that night to see The Naked and Famous, so when it turned out that they had added a last minute show that same night at Piano's, a local bar in the Lower East Side, there pretty much was no way I was going to miss it. We had to cut out of Foals early to make it down there, but it was worth it.

Much better seats.

Melbourne This Way

I've been really behind on uploading these pictures. Here are the last of the bunch from our Australia trip that was...was it really a month ago? Time's a-flying. Here's Melbourne (pronounced mel-bUHn, ya god damned Yanks!).

Melbourne's architecture served as a stunning and eclectic backdrop for our stay there. It's such an odd and interesting mixture of varying architectural styles. If I were one of those architecture douches, I'd go on some more about it here, but I don't claim any expertise on the matter, so here are some pictures that hopefully just demonstrate what I mean.

Melbourne's laneways serve as the cultural heart of the city. Snaking arterially throughout the central business district, they deliver concentrated doses of eats, drinks, and even art. Melbourne's street art scene, in fact, is among the most spirited I've seen.

Different strokes...

Meat market at the Queen Victoria Market.

Netball, Australia's warped twist on basketball. If it looks silly, that's because it is. Mostly played by women, incidentally.

Partway through our stay, Roy and I took off for a 290-kilometer drive along the Great Ocean Road, a scenic highway that runs through vibrant beach towns, the shipwreck coast, and some of Australia's best vistas, all along Victoria's beautiful southern coastline.

Set of wheels.

Right side driving always takes some getting used to.

The morning leg of the trip saw weather of the paradisiacal variety.

Urquhart Bluff. One of the most peaceful beaches I've stepped foot on.

Stopover for lunch in the lovely town of Lorne.

The weather turned soon after we got back on the road. The scenery did too, as the road took us away from the beaches and slightly inland, where the landscape changed abruptly to a mix of rolling hills and rainforests.

Middle Earth-y.

Our destination was the Twelve Apostles, a rock formation by the sea, located in Port Campbell National Park. I think only eight of the eponymous twelve remain. It was rather dreary when we arrived, but as sunset came...

Light up.

Ed and Casey didn't go with us on the trip, so they stayed out the night before and got hammered. This is what we came home to the next night around 10 PM.

Don't sleep on the Chilli Chicken from 7-11. If you know, you know.

Ordering sushi over the phone while we were at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Because sometimes, that's just how we do.

And that's that. Helluva trip. I'll be back, Australia, so keep the lights on for me, yeah?