For about 4 months, I’ve been hearing what sounds like an explosion in my neighborhood…followed by big white sparks. Of course, I’m never really looking out my window when this happens, but it’s bright enough that I’ve seen it out of the corner of my eye from my office. It started to be about once every other week…and then every week. Now it happens just about every day since it’s become warmer outside. It always happens at night…usually after 10pm.
I’ve posted on Philly Blog about it months ago after some police cars showed up down the street following one of the explosions. Someone else wrote about it again recently. No one knows what the hell this is or what is causing it. I’ve mentioned to a few of my friends. Some think I’m crazy and losing it (which I probably am), others suggested that it’s a meth lab, some think it’s the power grid down the street, or the Reading Viaduct. But no one really knows. There are other people who live in this neighborhood so surely I’m not the only one witnessing this crazy shit.
However, today on page 14 of the City Paper, a story was released about a man who actually caught on fire on June 20 on the Reading Viaduct that runs through the neighborhood because he came in contact with the live wires and 12,000 volts of electricity. It made a loud bang and sparks flew 40 feet into the air and he was running around on fire screaming for help. I highly doubt that each loud bang that I hear every night is another person getting zapped. In fact, the explosions that I’ve heard/seen aren’t even around the Reading Viaduct, but further west. There is a power grid just a block from where I live. I’m thinking that maybe the substation is emitting high energy waves through the electric lines here and causing these loud bangs/explosions. It’s quite frightening. I have power lines running right next to my window. I really hope that they don’t explode.
In the City Paper article, Steve Dufala, an artist who witnessed the whole thing happen on June 20 said, “I was like, Jesus Christ, it’s a fucking person. And that is not an image I’m ever going to forget.”
I apologize for the lack of new content. I haven’t felt very motivated to shoot much lately.
So for now, here are some shots for the Philadelphia Grid Project from April when we were wandering around south Philly.
Last week when I felt like making an escape, I went to Bartram’s Gardens for a quick visit. I had only been there for a very short walk-through once in the past. When I went last week, the weather was overcast when I had left and just perfect for doing macro photography. But by the time I got there, it was full-on sun and full-on humidity and full-on hotness. The kind where you felt like you took a shower from being outside. I was there long enough to take a stroll around and check out the plants that were there, snap a few mediocre photos, get a quick glimpse of a garter snake, sit and ponder for a while, and realize that the weather in Pennsylvania just stinks. Of course, this is nothing that I didn’t know before; I’m just reaffirming the fact right here, right now.
I never got around to posting the photos from the April 24 5K walk/run event at the Philadelphia Museum of Art that benefited United Cerebral Palsy. Here are a select bunch from the night. If you would like to give a donation to United Cerebral Palsy of Philadelphia or if you would like to participate in one of the upcoming benefit events, please check out the UCP Philadelphia website.
This past Saturday, I met up with some of the other members of the Phildelphia Grid Project to head out to Germantown where we were interviewed for FOX 29 news. The segment aired that evening on the news. In case you missed it, you can check it out on the FOX news website. I’m glad that they blurred me out because I really didn’t want to be on the news.
Below are some of the photos that I took in the area that day, but I’ll probably be heading back out to the area again to capture more for this month’s grid.
Last Sunday, Albert and I went to Morris Arboretum because they were having a 75th Anniversary Celebration, complete with free admission (which is normally $10), tours to areas of the arboretum that are generally not open to the public, free food, free entertainment, and many photo opportunities! Neither of us had ever been there, but had wanted to check it out. I had made it a goal to visit every arboretum and public garden in the general vicinity of Philadelphia this year….we’ll see if it actually happens because there are a lot in the area!!
It’s really difficult to believe that this incredibly beautiful place is located in the city of Philadelphia! And I also think that it’s my new favorite place in Philadelphia. Just gorgeous. I really can’t say anymore than that except that I can’t wait to go back.
And the ferns…..oh, the ferns. And there are redwoods, too!
I never got around to posting my March photos for the Philadelphia Grid Project. I got some useful images, but nothing that I was really happy with this time. However, we did check out a really awesome abandoned house that was in the process of being torn down and had some really cool remnants inside of it. March’s grid fell within west Philly, encompassing the area of Mantua where most of my photos were taken.
We had our meeting last night to review and discuss the photos. My photo to be entered into the archives for the month of March is the first one below: a photo of a Polaroid found in the abandoned house.
I had posted some photos that I had taken at Tinicum back in September after everything had dried up (see them here and here). I went back for a spring visit last week when it was my first chance to get out of the house. It was also really warm outside.
