Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Mountains.
Hmmm… The water that we kayak on is usually horizontal and the waves are usually not mountainous. So I don’t have many photos of mountains.
I have visited the Alps and the Rockies. But I’ve found that I like best the smaller mountain ranges that, with perhaps no more than a thousand feet of elevation, still look and feel like real mountains. You can climb them in the morning and still be back below for supper. Yet up there, you still have those sharp peaks, precipitous slopes, and—especially when the mist rolls in—that exposed, lonely thrill. And when the mist clears, there are sunlit views far into the lowlands, even as far as the sea.
As, for example, in the Cordillera Central of Puerto Rico—
What with Couples, and Love, and Valentine’s Day, we’ve had entirely too much romantic stuff lately. So, for something completely different—
.
A few months back, a friend and client invited me to a corporate event.
Not your typical corporate event: It was a “Battle of the Bands”, in which employee-musicians competed in front of a crowd of hundreds of other employees and business partners.
Knowing my friend is a huge fan of the rock group KISS, I volunteered to come dressed in full KISS attire.
Okay, actually I didn’t volunteer. My business partner volunteered me, as in, “I’m sure Johna would love to dress up!”
Hmm… I’d love to, but… As the president and CEO of an up-and-coming technology research firm, did I really want to show up in front of clients and other professionals dressed like a rock star? Isn’t there something about, you know, having an image to uphold?
Upon further consideration, it took me about a nanosecond to agree with the idea. (After all, if I were diehard about maintaining a professional image, I wouldn’t be sporting a Billy Idol ‘do.)
Much longer, though, were the preparations.
First: Which member should I emulate? I was only dimly aware of the individual band members. My friend the KISS connoisseur advised that although Gene Simmons is better known, Ace Frehley’ Paul Stanley’s makeup is easier to do. (Note: As alert readers have noted, it was actually Paul Stanley’s makeup we emulated. I was confused by listening to “New York Groove” while writing this….)
Paul it was!
Then there were the logistics. Prior to the Battle of the Bands, there was an actual formal(ish) event during which we technology folks were to get briefed on the company’s products and services. The CEO would be attending. Did I want to show up at this event in KISS makeup?
In the end, I decided against that plan of action. Instead, after the event, my friend and I swiftly changed into KISS gear and did our makeup, rocking out to the sound of “New York Groove”.
The results? I think we were a rocking pair of Pauls! And my friend accessorized with a blow-up guitar…
By sheer coincidence, some time before Vlad had taken a photo of a Gene Simmons lookalike at the Hallowe’en festivities on the Upper East Side. He didn’t recognize the costume, though: I had to provide some additional context.
Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Gaudy.
I think it’s safe to say that Ailsa will never issue a challenge on the exact word that this costume inspires, so there’s no point in holding this photo back. Gaudy it is!
And there’s one set of photos that comes to mind straight away :-)
Some of you have seen them before, and I apologize. I promise not to show them again (any time soon, anyway)… I guess I’ll have to find something else for Valentine’s Day!
Vladimir Brezina (RIP)
... kayaked the waters around New York for more than 15 years in his red Feathercraft folding kayak. He was originally from (the former) Czechoslovakia and lived in the U.K. and California before settling down in New York. He was a neuroscientist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He died in 2016.
Johna Till Johnson
... is a kayaker and technology researcher at Nemertes Research. She's an erstwhile engineer, particle physicist, and science fiction writer. She was born in California and has lived in Italy, Norway, Hawaii, and a few other places. She currently resides in New York City.
As, for example, in the Cordillera Central of Puerto Rico—
Vladimir Brezina (RIP) 
Johna Till Johnson
Wind Against Current 