In Simulacra and Simulation, Baudrillard refers to Los Angeles as a "perpetual pan shot": more a cinematic circulation of hyperreal fantasy than a space-bound city of definable dimensions. This association is strengthened by how the city's sprawling urban landscape is typically traversed, rendered as a steadily-streaming assortment of images scrolling through the letterbox framing of … Continue reading City Scenes: Mediated L.A. Spaces
Category: Cities
City Scenes: Toronto Cinema Spaces
Film venues and screening spaces are among my favorite fixtures of the urban mediascape. For me, the crown jewels of Parisian cultural superiority are not the sidewalk cafe tables but rather the abundant cinemas (and also the multi-story bookshops that seem to be all around). Toronto also has a strong film culture and a number … Continue reading City Scenes: Toronto Cinema Spaces
City Scenes: Zenith vintage & brunch
My sister’s trip to Pittsburgh this past summer gave me an opportunity not only to revisit some favorite local spots but also to check off some items from my Steel City bucket list, like Jerry’s Records. One of the other places I got to experience for the first time was The Zenith: an antiques shop … Continue reading City Scenes: Zenith vintage & brunch
2022 cycling montage (w/ music!)
To cap off 2022 here’s a montage of cycling videos I shot this year, mostly from this past Fall. The footage includes rides from Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto. Special thanks to Ben McSpadden who wrote and recorded original music for the montage! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP-O1r2aeT0
Cycling Toronto’s Waterfront (w/ video!)
While in Toronto this past October I tried out the city’s bike share system. Even though I’d used the city’s public transit during previous visits to Toronto, on this trip it took me a while to acclimate in terms of which stations I was able to purchase a metro pass for the subway or streetcar … Continue reading Cycling Toronto’s Waterfront (w/ video!)
West Coast Reflections
Just as this year’s Fall foliage was flourishing throughout Pittsburgh I slipped off to the west coast to meet my parents who were on their own California vacation. It was a bit of a Southland homecoming for all of us; we hadn’t been together in L.A. since our family lived in the area in the … Continue reading West Coast Reflections
City Scenes: New Orleans, New York, Newark, November
This Fall ended up being travel-heavy for me, with multiple research and work-related trips following in quick succession after a personal excursion to spend time with my parents. As November draws to a close I am recuperating from what feels like a whirlwind of interchangeable liminal spaces and solitary wanderings in strange cities. The physical … Continue reading City Scenes: New Orleans, New York, Newark, November
City Scenes: Jerry’s Records in Squirrel Hill
Jerry’s Records has been on my Pittsburgh to-do list ever since I first arrived in the city many years ago. My personal preferences in urban media spaces tend toward film venues, bookstores, and art galleries. Record stores typically don’t make it on my itinerary. When I was still buying CDs I would make it a … Continue reading City Scenes: Jerry’s Records in Squirrel Hill
Milk Crates of Canada
Last month I was in Toronto for the first time in six years. For whatever reasons of circumstance, my trips to Canada have always fallen in late October, right around Halloween. Memories of my first visit include the CN Tower being lit in orange and green to resemble a pumpkin, and the red poppy pins … Continue reading Milk Crates of Canada
Trail ride to Homestead (w/ video!)
Ever since moving to South Side Flats last year I’ve regularly gone out on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail that snakes along the neighborhood’s edge beside the Monongahela River. My initial forays followed the trail west toward downtown, and I stuck to that stretch throughout the past year. This summer, however, I changed up my … Continue reading Trail ride to Homestead (w/ video!)