No Peopley

  If you were to put yourself in my shoes: the player whose turn shows up on Christmas, you might feel, as I did, the slightest pressure to be up to the task.  I could see the game trending, as far as a week out, toward a holiday theme. In the past few days I’ve been actively searching-out Christmas images.  I don’t mind telling you I felt a little let down by my neighbors, none of whom had suitable Christmas decorations.  In fact, the only image I made over the past few days that’s anywhere near worth showing is an accidental self-portrait (a “selfie” to those of you under 30) made when my iPhone was pointing toward the ground and happened to be triggered whilst aimed unwittingly at my shadow in the snow on Christmas Eve. I went out just before dawn this morning to continue my quest, but rather than being presented with a Christmas image I discovered a water main break on my corner.  I phoned the sheriff’s office to report it and then hung around and made a series of unremarkable images barely worthy of a facebook.com posting. I thought of going literal:  I have an image I made a few years ago of the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Plaza in New York, but that’s such a cliche I couldn’t do it. Finally, drowning my sorrows in a comforting $8.00 cup of pu-erh at Madamme ZuZu’s, I was fiddling with a sno-globe that is part and parcel of their decor when I decided to make a snow picture instead… white Christmas and all that… which, by the way, it is here in Chicago.