You may eat cake
It seems fitting that the first new wallpaper of the year should be an image from the past. It was my birthday three years ago, a humble affair, a small group of friends and good cheer. One notable extravagance was the cake. It was expensive and exquisite, conceived and executed by a person with a special appreciation for chocolate. An artist, to be sure. It must’ve had at least 8 layers ranging in density from mousse to fudge. The chocolate flowers that covered the top were so delicate, the mere warmth of your breath would melt them. It was a masterpiece more ephemeral even than an ice sculpture or a castle made of sand. It inspired in all of us a reverential urgency to consume it as quickly and as completely as we could. We did. But I escaped its delirious influence momentarily as I was eating my slice. I realized with a deep pang of loss that I had not taken a picture of the cake as it looked when it first came out of its box. That opportunity was gone forever. But I set down my plate on the table and captured the image above, just as it is. The room was dimly lit, but I refrained from firing the flash. Instead, I drew from my pocket a nifty little halogen wand that a friend had just given me. I’d been fucking around with it all night, taking unusual pictures by its unusual light.
Christmas close-up
A tree does not grow in Union Square, but one has been erected there and festooned with colored lights. This is a close-up of that tree. I’ve made a habit of visiting the Square to see the Christmas tree pretty much every year since I moved to the Bay Area. I’ve put up some trees of my own in my adulthood. But they cannot compare to the ones I remember from childhood back in New York. My mom trimmed those, and they were a gaudy spectacle when they were done. But they were warm, that’s for damned sure. As a boy, I’d spend some time in December curled around the base (where the fake polyester snow perfected the illusion of a real tree growing in the living room)… not just because that’s where the gifts were piled, but because there was a kind of bleary magic there, up close. Growing up usually means giving up most of that sort of magic. God knows I’ve fought it tooth and nail, lol. It’s funny. I find that if I press my nose up close to the monitor I can almost… Fill in your own special blank. It’s Christmas time. Fulfill a dream… your own or someone else’s, if you can. Merry Christmas!