Good Session

Well, the good folks here at DaBlog have decided to switch off the lights. It’s been a good long run….and now it’s time for the afterglow.To those of you who have dropped in over the last 3 ½ years, it’s been a beautiful thing. We found that sweet spot on occasion and even got in the zone now and then. We probably went off on some weird tangents too, but hey, it’s like that.

So a big THANKS! You’re all awesome!!! Well, GOOD TIMES! Later –Matt

Oh yeah.....Be sure to follow Matt’s ever evolving InstagramGallery

New gallery from PhotoMatt

Photography sure has come a long way! Now it's instant gratification with Instagrams.

Hope you'll check out my all new Instagram Gallery. 

And bookmark the link, as I update fresh new images all the time.

Here ya go........ CLICK TO LINK

Copy to your bookmarks.......

http://statigr.am/wtznot2lyke

BIG harvest!

The crew worked hard and finally feasted well! 

Word from the vintner is the grapes are happily fermenting away!!

CHEERS!!!

 

Bein Green

The Bike Fairy left a little something in my garage the other night….or was it THEEEE LEPREEEECHAUNNNNN!

I mean my new Santa Cruz Superlight actually comes with an AC adapter to amp up the green!

 

 Well, it's no longer as clean as my pre-ride photo shoot and actually will never be again.

So, I taped up my hurt wrist and set off for a world of greenery, up in Annadel after a 6 week lapse. Nothing too technical until I heal, but up Canyon to the lake and back had me STOKED!

 

 The 2012 Superlight is a quantum leap from my old 2001. 
Someone tell Kermit it's just gotten easy ‘bein green’.

 

Instagrams Gone Wild

Instagrams have captivated me, now that I have G's old iPhone. 

No, I don't actually use it as a phone, but connecting with photographers from all over the world is irresistible!!!

See Ya Big Bird

Johnny Utah: [to Bodhi] You crossed the line. People trusted you and they died. You gotta' go down.

surf wax

When it's 102 degrees, the wax pretty much strips itself.

We get it!

Dude, where am I again.....oh yeah....NORCAL!!!

Pancakes

Pancakes at the Rosedale Diner was always a special outing as a boy...... Americana that got put out to pasture. Hall & Oates even sang about the place.

I took this shot back in the early 70s when I was shooting this stuff called film and actually did my own darkroom work. Photoshop was a place where you bought your supplies, like 100 ft. rolls of Tri-X in bulk and packets of chemicals to mix in big brown gallon jugs.

I never dreamed I'd have instant gratification like digital and Instagrams. The love of photography endures!!

Day to day, to day... today
Then they were old, their lives wasted away
Month to month, year to year
They all run together -Hall & Oates

Doctor's Orders: No Arm Wrestling

It’s been a month since I got hurt; so I finally went to a Sports Doc.

Seems that ligaments take awhile to heal….longer than bones even. Thus my small contusion is nearly healed, while my Ulna ligament…. not so much.

Who knew I even had an Ulna ligament? I didn’t, at least not until the Doctor torqued my hand outward, simulating my fall. At that point my screams pretty much cleared out his waiting room.

The good news is I’ll heal. The bad news is it could take 2 months more. Could be worse. At least I can tape up, shut up and do some road rides.

Climbing is fine, but I max out with a 3 mile Lichau Road descent though….so a 12 mile Pine Flat descent will have to wait. The geezer posse will just have to go on without me. So try to keep up the repartee without my scintillating contributions.

One further note to self: Next time, remember not to crash!!!!!

back door world

This guy now resides by my side door.....Guess I'll be taking an alternate route for now.

outtakes

Here's some crazy visuals from Ali's wedding gig yesterday. These were NOT for the bride.

movin on.....

 They can never be what she was to me.

must eat meat

Other than that piece of Spam sushi that I mistook for Unagi, I really haven’t eaten red meat since 1990. Ain’t it funny how sometimes events conspire to affect change!?

Since I am still recovering from a recent bike crash I have lapsed a bit. Last night I realized I was basically refrigerating air. Well, it wasn’t quite that desperate, I did have IPA and coffee....basic survival mode. And there was the Vicodin. I remembered I still had some from my botched hernia surgery years ago.  Forget the 9/09 expiration date, that stuff worked fine…just fine.

My evening plan was to kick back with the Season 5 True Blood finale, under a full moon yet. But first I’d have to venture forth into the night like a vampire in search of food.

I was soon back in my lair with what should have been a fat grilled chicken burrito. Just as the first of many vampires got staked, I took a big bite. The creature exploded and to my horror, the burrito was Carne Asada!!!!

What to do now? No other food source, injuries throbbing, dull from Vicodin, under that full moon fever. I gulped the IPA for courage....... Aw, what the hell.

black & blue sky

The bike flipped over as if in slow motion. 

As I hurtled in my upside down trajectory, all I could think 

before slamming down on the rocks, 

was how blue the sky!

Here's a little addendum form Joel, my biking bro.....
I was waiting at the bottom of Marsh & when Matt didn't show for awhile rode back up a ways to find the stoic Prince accompanying his uncooperative steed with twisted bar, despite his smashed right wrist, down to the top of Canyon picnic table, & then with bar newly set, gamely riding the rocky descent to his car, w/ my barely believed opinion that the wrist wasn't broken. The ride up had been all joy and acclamation for the rolling big wheels, the new found enthusiasm smashed asunder, when a solitary rock refused to join the party.

Dinosaur Foot

A band name like Dinosaur Foot conjures up primordial sounds bubbling from the ooze. Really more like modern day musical mayhem bursting forth from the garage!

This band has energy and stage presence! Oh yeah, it also has my son Garrett.

Seeing them as the opening act last night at the Red Devil Lounge was a blast......

and not from the past!

Just couldn't resist doing a little photo mash up (above) with my shots from their gig.

Beer Country

Yeah, yeah, I know it’s the wine country; but on a hot Sonoma County night, 

sometimes the palette gets to hankering for some pure refreshment. 

So Goldie and I fired up the Red Rocket and drove our Hop Rod

 like a Racer 5! Destination: Beer Republic...er make that Bear.

(Dude...where's my car? So not my Subaru here.)

 After a stint at the bar, we descended a small flight of stairs to

 a large flight of  beer....all astonishingly diverse and nuanced. 

The food was awesome and the beer was awesomer! 
Way to wash down a mountain of garlic fries.

so long, old soldier

With your chrome heart shining
In the sun
Long may you run. -Neil Young

I had to let her go.... Sigh.

bicycle seat neuropathy

Finally....I can ride again in comfort without the dreaded penile numbness!

My new seat is THAT GOOD!

revelation on the road

From the first time I hopped on this bike, it just FELT right! I've been on a roll ever since!!

Of Duct Tape & Beer

I’m more of a Safeway kind of guy, but this morning I did make a stop at Whole Foods. I could have bought a 6 pack of some nice IPA for what I ended up paying for that one bottle of Orval Trappist Ale. Somehow I knew it would taste right after today’s mountain bike ride. In retrospect I had no conception of just how good it would really taste!!!!

The hard technical climb was well behind me, just as I neared Buick Meadow up in the flats. That’s when I heard the explosion! My bike grinded to an immediate halt! The shrapnel that had been my rim’s sidewall was lodged in my v-brakes. The tube was shredded. Clearly getting back down would be a schlep.

On this busy Sunday in Annadel, a small crowd of hard core bikers was assembled there at the meadow. Needless to say, my bike was suddenly the main topic of conversation. Too bad I was in no mood to bask in my new found celebrity status. I was ready for a chopper to airlift me home; but that wasn’t gonna happen.

We reasoned that since the rim was trashed, I could ride back on that alone, sans tire. That’s when Dean came to the rescue. His funky fix was as brilliant as it was resourceful and artful. A little duct tape and some zip ties and badabing!

I wasn’t able to hold much air in the tube, but somehow made my way in a hunkered down survival mode, half rolling and half bike hiking. The will to survive and the prospect of that Trappist Ale got me through....... with some moral support from Charlotte and Joel too.

When I finally popped that Orval, I was in need indeed and the beer didn’t disappoint.

The Terminator

Catching Skinny on a hill climb just ain’t gonna happen. When we road bike, I am feeling good just to see him on the distant horizon.

When I crested Sonoma Mt. Rd., he was awaiting me. He quickly pointed out the large rattlesnake sunning itself there on the little traveled road. Rattlers always appear formidable in their very presence. We would soon find out just how formidable.

Just then another cyclist appeared. I yelled out, but he just obliviously waved back and proceeded to run over the serpent sunbather. Kathump!

Just as suddenly a Porsche convertible made the summit. Kathump, kathump!!

Only a Terminator could handle such a pummeling. Miraculously, the snake survived; though now it’s basking in the sun had given way to a menacing slither. It was swiftly heading right for us and it was hella pissed!

I’m outta here I exclaimed..... and for once, I left Skinny to pick up the rear.

World In Changes

World in changes we’re going’ through
I’ve got a lot to learn about you
World in changes we’re goin’ through
You’ve got a lot to learn about me too
 -Dave Mason

Go Levi!

Good Evening

wake up & smell the bike race

It's morning coffee and a Grand Depart! Groovin in Santa Rosa as the Tour Of California begins!

Check out my mellow slide show of the morning. Enjoy.

Apropos music is Teamwork by ShinsSight Trio.

rear view

After finishing our Saturday road ride, I was cruising back on Westside road when I came up behind two riders for Team Liquigas Cannondale. These guys would not relent in letting my car pass them. Sensing greatness, and planning to pull off at Wohler Bridge anyway, I just rolled behind them.

Fast forward, pun intended, today’s Amgen winner was Slovacchian, Peter Sagen. It may well have been him blocking my way yesterday; and if so, I had the same ‘from behind’ perspective as did many a rider today.

 

Fashion Tip: Color Coordinate

                                                         rockin the camo

The Prince Gets A Crown

“Just try not to kill my buzz, okay?”

Why did I just say that to the dentist? Must be the nitrous talking.

 I hope he has a sense of humor since he’s about to grind away my molar here.

 I drift off to that crisp wave I was carving in my Costa Rica memory bank just as the drilling begins. Even with a mouth full of novacaine and a head full of nitrous, this ain’t no disco.

 My dentist seems to surround himself with a beautiful female staff , all extraordinarily competent and all super nice and gorgeous. One was on either side of me to offer comfort.... Nope, just the nitrous again.

Oh well, what are ya gonna do?..... Just breathe through your nose.

 In retrospect the hardest part of all this is the bill....but hey, the dentist has to keep that Porsche running sweetly! At least the Prince finally got his crown. Too bad it’s in my mouth!

Holy Hot Dog!

Dental Issues

Welcome to some bizarro parallel universe where dental problems are a way of life.

Son G spent all of yesterday in the dentist's chair having a deep gum cleaning and then 2 cavities worked.

"What else could go wrong?" he posed, hardly intelligible from all the novacaine. He was awkwardly attempting to consume a soft bean and cheese burrito.

"Dude, don't even go there", I replied as I bit into mine, which was grilled chicken.  

"OW!...WTF!!" I was suddenly in pain, having just broken my own molar!

This was all way too uncanny. Have I entered the Twilight Zone or what? And what is the universe telling us here?

Well, I just got back from my own dental evaluation. My teeth are “maturing” (air quotes), the dentist commented. Haha, how euphemistic.That’s supposedly why one cracked. So now I need a crown and a blast of nitrous oxide please.

Maybe I don’t wanna be all that mature!!!!!!!!

Metamorphosis Realized

Some recent imagery and thought process have fully morphed into Metamorphosis, my newest slide show.

I am always intrigued by the creative flow and how it unfolds, ever emerging from the subconscious. Though I process images in Photoshop and Lightroom, much of the ultimate process happens within.

Want some more?!

“C’mon hon, we just watched like 3 Xena episodes, let’s pop in Machete.”

All right, all right, so it’s not exactly a chick flick….though the ladies do seem to dig him!

kinda kooky

A shout out to Jim & DaBlog welcomes you back!.....And thanks too for those surf forecasting insights......Jim reminded me not to share the local knowledge with any kooks (quite rightly) and by implication that would make me not a kook....so thanks, bro for the vote of confidence. ‘Cause there are plenty of days when I sure feel like one!

definite DON'TS!

Change Of Season

Seasons change, people change
But you can't hold back the clock
Cause time won't stop for you and me
And the world keeps spinning 'round -Hall & Oates

metamorphosis

Know thyself! A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever observes himself arrests his own development. A caterpillar who wanted to know itself well would never become a butterfly.
~Andre Gide

in the day

It’s the 50th Anniversary of “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”, and Tony Bennett was in the spotlight this Valentine’s Day. He was in my lens like 35 years ago!

I took this shot as an aspiring photojournalist back in ’77. We had this stuff back then….. I think it was called film.


Tony is 85 now and just gets better with age. That “golden sun” of the song lyric surely does shine for him!