Godard made this film when he was 50. I’m turning 50 this week. I love Godard’s movies from the 80s. Sure, I love Breathless, Le Mepris, Band of Outsiders, etc, his output in the 60s is legendary … but this film, is a kind of entertainment I could not get in American films of that period. I think mostly it’s due to that I lived in Northern NY growing up. These 80s Godard films had an edge to them that seemed dull in most American films. I was close to the Canadian border and my mom was a French teacher. I was aware of an existence that was not anything Northern, NY and was fascinated by it. I saw Band of Outsiders via a satellite dish in the 80s. It had an effect on me. It was the same age, sort of, of my parents’ 60s American experience, but was way cooler.
Getting to his 80s films in the 90s, close enough for them to be relatable and not that old. I’m no Godard expert or a film scholar, amateur or pro. I’ve read his biographies a long time ago; enough to not remember much, and watched almost all of his movies. Know enough about his life that he was kind of a jerk and flawed. Godard to me was an idealist and tried to portray that in his films. He was loved more by his films than as a person it seems. Almost as if what he showed on film was ok but words out of his mouth were (sometimes rightly) taken in a wrong way.
Anyways, I’m on a tangent. I just can relate in a way.
I have time off from work to relax. To ease into 50. Younger me would think this setup is cool. Watching Godard in an old school house. I’m going to enjoy Godard’s 80s films as a send off into the, hopefully, next 50. Maybe it will inspire me.
Beth wanted to see some fall foliage in the mountains so we headed to Ellicottville for a couple days recently. Our first trip was Warsaw for some coffee and we found a shop that had some records. I found some random 7 inches to play on Fantastic Voyage, a couple records to gift and a Prism record. I probably could have gotten more as they had a pretty big selection of older country music that probably would have had songs for Fantastic Voyage, but we had to get motoring.
Ellicottville was having a fall festival, so we went to that. I’d say at least 25% of the booths sold some sort of Buffalo Bills black market clothing or crappy crafts. We also had an amazing breakfast at Dina’s, whose food was comparable to Redd.
After dealing with the crowds at the fall fest, we took a chair lift up a mountain at Holiday Valley. We spent a couple hours people watching, listening to a pretty decent cover band and staring off into the scenery. The crowd on the mountain was very mellow, which put me in a pretty decent mood. Those chair lift buildings remind me of retrofuturism architecture. I also wish I took uo skiing when I was younger.
I pretty much hate hotels. I find them gross. It was a little torturous but I managed to relax enough. Our room had some nice local photography.
I found Beth a Bills shirt at the fall fest.
On the way home in Olean, we stopped at a good enough diner, which was next to this Monro shop that also had hair styling. Oil change and a haircut.
Then we went home and watched the Bills lose and the Dodgers win.
I don’t watch much tv so I listen to a lot of music and make playlists. I made a playlist (Apple Music) for a road trip I probably will never take. I have another one for spaceflight too. We listened to the playlist and drove around the Finger Lakes. Only got less than a handful of skips from Beth so I think the playlist was a success. I’ll admit, I went a little too weird for some selections.
Our favorite place to stop is at Miles Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake. That dock is for boats and drinking. And people watching. There was a bridal party. If I was feeling extraverted, I would have taken a portrait of the bride to be. Couple of bikers as well. Oh and an old nerdy guy wearing boat shoes and sailor hat. I’m out of practice.
I learned a new word this week while listening to the always fantastic Graphic Ear on WAYO. The guest, Chris Jones, brought up the word frisson, a psychophysiological response to rewarding stimuli. I thought that was just something everyone experienced, but studies say otherwise. I cannot imagine not having this ability (my word). Some bands give me this whenever I listen to them, whether live or through some sort of media. I get it all the time while watching a movie or a great tv show.
Recently we found an oil painting while in Lewiston, NY. After sifting through some over priced jazz albums, I looked up, saw the painting, got goosebumps, saw the incredible price and purchased the painting. It is now hung in our hallway. We see it everyday.
I used to get frisson while making photographs, whether candid or posed. I’d see or anticipate something happening and get chills. I knew it was then to make a photo. The photo below is one of those candid instances.
Sometimes, while sitting at home, I look out windows and get a burst of goosebumps because there’s a cool cloud, when the sky looks incredible blue.
So, this morning, like a frisson junky looking to get my fix, I rolled out of bed and took off on foot this morning to go for a little walk to Javas to restock on coffee beans in hopes some frisson would happen. There were very few people out doing anything interesting to photograph and I’m not that fond of my own observational photography. I guess it’s probably one of those instances where familiarity breeds boredom. Also, I’m addicted to the idea of making photographs that cannot be made again by me, or anyone else. I tried though.
After accomplishing my errand, I went to Greenwood Books for a literary fix only to find them closed, which is cool. Everyone needs a break now and then. Then I walked to the new-ish RIT Art Space to check out the zine fair. I left feeling equally influenced/ecouraged and disappointed. First there were some amazing zines there. I find it amazing what people can do with ink and paper. The possibilties are endless. I got to see Tate Shaw, whose artistic mind I’m in awe of. I also enjoyed the LGBTQIA2S+ zine makers and their zines. They were also the kindest of the vendors as well. While their creations are not really intended for someone like me to be their audience, I recognize how their life experiences shows up in their ability to create thoughtful and challenging zines while not just conforming to some popular, yet boring, aesthetic. They didn’t have to engage with me but they did and I appreciated that. For instance, the table that had work by PHAGS, was pretty incredible. They had something to say and were challenging in how they said that. Their zines had a bit a 90s geocities Gregg Araki vibe with a pinch of the situationist movement, which I enjoyed. Those kids are definitely alright.
My only regret is that I wasn’t able to talk to those vendors more. More times than I would have liked, a conversation was interrupted by someone or another literally boxing me out of what I was attempting to view. It happened so much I just gave up. I think the repeated offenders really do a disservice to the vendors/artists when they act this way, whether they are monopolizing the artists or the space. I found this to be a budding problem whenever I go to a First Friday exhibit that I pretty much stopped going. But, I guess, that is more of a me problem, than a you the reader problem.
Despite the annoyances, Tate, PHAGS, Zaftig, and Michelle Moode all specifically inspired me so much with their work that my walk home and afternoon had my brain spinning, encouraging me to progress some of those already started projects just waiting for me and to start others that I have been neglecting.
I learned at an early age there’s no justice in the world. It’s very rare that good triumphs over bad. Sometimes, if you let bad be bad long enough, another bad will out-bad the other. Or one bad will turn on another bad. Other times, bad will just adopt the goods’ policies to be worse. This is nothing new. It’s always been this way. It’s just more pervasive now. It’s all over social media, the news, at work, with friends and in families. It’s easier to hate or to act evil than it is than to do the opposite. Those that hate the loudest are now martyrs and saints. It’s batshit crazy.
The past couple years I’ve been reading a lot about philosophy and philosophers to try to make more sense of the world. It was helping until it wasn’t. I could read on and on about Sisyphus, Meursault and Josef; I really think even they might have trouble finding purpose in today’s world.
I think for most people, it’s hard to have a purpose outside of trying to survive day by day. I can certainly relate to that. I cannot stand when someone says “just do not watch or read the news.” Or “it shouldn’t bother you that much.” I relate to people who show empathy or simply have some capacity of caring, instead of using those words as a weapon against people who just want good.
Can you tell I’m trying to be polite here? I’m not as eloquent as Pastor John Wesley.
Anyways, have you been watching the news about 3I/Atlas? I’m kind of hoping that any further news about this maybe or maybe not comet will make all of this moot. Maybe smarter, calmer and more precise minds will move to the front. Telescopes and satellites are all trained on to this multi-billion year old object. While I have hope that this will be part of some great event, I’m not holding my breath. And if it is, humans will find a way to fuck it all up.
When I walk into a record store with intention to dig and find something to add to my collection, if I only find one album, I will not buy it unless I find another I would like. I have a two vinyl minimum. Is this a thing for others?
We recently went camping at Keuka Lake State Park. Initial plans were for hikes, lots of reading, perhaps a little writing and some plein air water coloring. Instead I spent the whole weekend staring deep in and out of thoughts. It was quite nice doing nothing. We saw remnants of the a meteor shower around the time I took the above photo. One sighting lit up the sky a bit. It was a literal high five moment.
We spent a few hours at the beach there as well. Again, I just sat and watched. It was the first time in a while I could be somewhere and not feel antsy.
The campsites at Keuka, at least in our loop, were all pretty private, which is pretty rare. While Fair Haven is our favorite, Keuka is a close second. Parks we tried in 2025 but didn’t like at all were Stonybrook and Filmore Glen State Parks. I doubt we would ever tent camp at either of those places again.
Jason Wilder 