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November 28, 2014 by tomdalzell

Miscellaneous #2

640px-Die_protestantische_Ethik_und_der_'Geist'_des_Kapitalismus_original_coverIn case you had not noticed, I confess that I like to categorize my photos.  I like thematic organization.  I feel that I have failed if I cannot find ten photos that fit a theme.  Maybe it is an over-application of the Protestant work ethic which was instilled in me in my childhood.  Or maybe something less religious, just compulsive.

I don’t only feel lazy when I present a group of miscellaneous quirky things, I feel that I have failed.  I don’t want to let you down.  I don’t want to fail you.

I will fall back on my religious upbringing.  I will turn to the Book of Common Prayer of the  Episcopal Church, 1928 edition.

A General Confession.

To be said by the whole Congregation. after the Minister, all kneeling.

ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.

 

That done, here are some photos of miscellaneous quirk.  Given my journey back to my Episcopalian roots, why not start with a quatrefoil, a proud Christian symbol.

Shasta above Tamalpais

Shasta above Tamalpais

990 Grizzly Peak

990 Grizzly Peak

960 Euclid

960 Euclid

743 Spruce

743 Spruce

743 Spruce

743 Spruce

181 Brookside

181 Brookside

3342 California

3342 California

3342 California 23342 California

3342 California

3342 California

 

3342 California

3342 California

2900 block Dohr

2900 block Dohr
2306 Carleton

2306 Carleton

2339 Curtis

2339 Curtis

2808 Grant

2808 Grant

1400 block Santa Fe

1400 block Santa Fe

2408-2410 Roosevelt

2408-2410 Roosevelt

770 Camelia

770 Camelia

When I started walking Berkeley in 2014, I intended to take photographs of every column I saw.  This quickly changed.  I saw that this was an exercise in completionism, not a quest for quirk.  I deleted my folder of column photos when it got to be about 200-strong.  These, though, at Gary Parson’s office on Camelia, demand inclusion.  Bonus – they are around the corner from the caboose in the backyard.

1940 Action

1940 Action

2200 6th

2200 6th

 

1500 ARch

1500 ARch

1640 A University

1640 A University

650 Spruce

650 Spruce

1867 San Juan

1867 San Juan

1726 Parker

1726 Parker

1336 Channing

1336 Channing

1406 5th

1406 5th

My friend had a project going when I took him these photos for his review.  He was looking at African images of Little Black Sambo, a book that was clearly written about a south Indian or Tamil boy, not an African.  He was working through a theory of how the story is in fact a story of empowerment, of the small, weak adversary conquering through wit a bigger, stronger enemy.

I agreed that I’d look at his idea if he’d look at these photos.  He did, and he had an opinion about them:

IMG_3677

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