SF0 / burnunit / Stranded

25 + 70 points

Stranded by Burn Unit

February 28th, 2008 5:31 AM / Location: 44.943713,-93.09998

INSTRUCTIONS: Get stranded somewhere on purpose and make your way home.

I recently spent a whole day at a conference in Saint Paul. I had a presentation to make at 1130 and then lunch and some networking. Because BlueTulip had also been performing at the conference, we had ridden together. But she left early, inspiring me to try to get further stranded. I had several opportunities to get a ride back to Minneapolis, to go into the office and do my work at my desk. Instead I stayed, worked the conference more, and helped break down our booth. The guy I helped was going to Minneapolis, but not to the office or anything, and I said it'd be great if I could at least get a ride to the city, and that I'd take it from there.

I'm really starting to get into these situationist and quasi-situationist activities. My intentional stranding left me in Saint Paul longer than it needed to, but that was just kind of an appetizer. The main stranding took me to a cool part of town, and made me think about what was convenient or inconvenient about the places I go vs. the places I want to go. When I stepped out of my co-worker's apartment building and down the tunnel of their awning, I felt like I was about to get into an adventure, like the city was waiting for me to dive in, play, and explore. I tried out a little game of pointing my phone camera down the various streets and whatever direction "looked prettiest" through the lens was the way I went. I pretty quickly got into places I hadn't really seen before. I've driven by the area, but not had any chance to look at the buildings up close or experience what it feels like to walk in their shadows. I felt like there were many little surprises to be found and always felt like there was opportunity lurking around the corner. I also was surprised by how empty everything was. This neighborhood has a school in it, it is a pretty good mix of "artist types" and a healthy number of tony, well-to-do gay couples. I figured there'd be people about, on the go to their favorite restaurants or cocktail hours. Perhaps it was so cold even the free spirit people were locked away at home. It's exciting to look at the city this way, as a fount of continuous possibilities, a playground for the sharp eye and a location where transient beauties can be found in the play of natural light upon the streets, or there in the architectural bones of the buildings themselves. Where the city's living pulse offers up wonders for your eyes, and confrontations with your preconceptions. center of the park

Eventually my (aesthetic? lomographic?) ccd-driven wanderings brought me into the entrance of Loring Park. It was beautiful all abandoned and cold. Descending into the park I got a phone call from BlueTulip who wasn't sure she'd be able to come get me right away. This brought me pretty much to the most stranded sensation of the day. I was really not sure where the nearest bus line was. If it was where I thought it was, then I was kind of inconveniently placed to it. On the other hand, if she eventually did get away to come get me, I was totally inconveniently placed to get a ride just then. I started to regret my games a little, feeling cold and alone and my feet were very tired from presenting and standing around all day.

I applied my camera test one more time, and headed toward the basilica (I think I would have gone west, but the moment of fiery beauty shown in the picture below had long passed as I stood there wrestling with phone problems). As I trudged up out of the park, having to go a little more circuitous route than planned on account of the lack of paths cut thru the snow, I arrived on Loring Place, which is where there's at least two good bars and restaurants. I was delighted to discover a third, Nick and Eddie, a new place that supposedly serves comfort food and has a terrific bar. I didn't have a lot of cash, so I just ordered a beer--and they had Old Speckled Hen, which I've always found to be very calming and uplifting for me when served on draught. My sense of disquiet and solitude began to fade. My phone rang, and some cousins had showed up at the house, allowing BlueTulip to leave Eleanor & Henry with them. So my ride came through, and I was unstranded at last.

- smaller

empty street, even at rush hour

Ahead: this is one of the several little stranding points where I was inconveniently positioned, relative to the time of day, my need to be home, and my normal modes of travel.

(addiction in progress)

Stranded in frigid blustery Saint Paul, with only Ice Cold Coca Cola to keep me stimulated.

disobedient nature

That conical structure to the right of the billboard is a power pole. Covered in vines. Those are Dried Vines completely covering it and hanging down to the ground. It looks like someone threw a blanket over it.

bridge to nowhere

This is the bridge that starts at a wall and ends in a railroad track.

parking ramp2

The light was fading fast and I was a little closer, but still pretty much just as stranded.

gateway to adventure

Heading down from the apartment building, this awning with bright white light and very steep stairs made me feel like I was descending into the carnival thrills of the city. It was very evocative and got me charged up for the idea that I was jumping into a strange place.

warm stone

This house had great stonework outside along with the most pleasing orange glow on the porch.

lomographic reasons

"Dropping my usual motives" for travel, I opened my phone. Whatever direction I deemed looked the best through my camera viewfinder, I went that direction.

journey to the start of the evening

Me, mid-derive in the neighborhood south of Loring Park

red door

For some reason these lovely old apartment building doorways had lurid colors in their call boxes outside. Bright red and other tints as well. I liked the arts-and-crafts stuff in the glass over the doors

house on fire

but only the windows

go man!

I tried running, to get my blood going. This is looking back over my shoulder as I took a turn away from one area and toward the unknown.

park entrance

At this point I was cold and after all day on my feet, quite tired. But I wanted to capture the strange festive nature of the trees at the entrance to the park. Those lights blaze on, well out of the holiday season, mutely welcoming winter revelers to the park.

basilica

The glowing lights in Front of the basilica are all bars & restaurants. It's the pull of sin and gluttony, to be followed quickly by penance! It's also a beautiful part of the city.

west

This is near the south-central part of Loring Park looking toward the west. About where the flash of sunset is lies the Walker Art Museum and Sculpture Gardens. The tall structure at left is the Methodist Church. La Belle Vie restaurant is also that way, the pinnacle of Minnesota fine dining. Knowing the state of my relative poverty (relative to what it costs to eat There, anyway!) I felt quite alone and bereft.

most stranded sensation

This is when I felt the most stranded: I had just been trying to talk to BlueTulip--for whom it wasn't precisely convenient to come get me--about how I was getting home, and I was equally distant from pretty much every point in the park, which meant there was no "right way" to go to get quickly back to "civilization." And I was FReezing my nips off!

nick and eddie

I headed toward the lights of the Basilica (sanctuary! sanctuary!) and what I knew were at least a couple bars. Lo and behold, Nick and Eddie is open. This is a tribute restaurant & bar burning the torch for NYC's original Nick & Eddie, as well as our own long lost New French.

bartop

One of the co-owners also happens to be one of the (most secretly) avant-garde theater directors I've ever known, and a profound influence on my own art. Doug Anderson is known to Minnesotans as master front-of-house guy and restaurateur at places like Bakery on Grand, A Rebours and now this little legend-in-the-making N&E. But before all that he was a student of Richard Foreman at the Ontological Hysteric and I know first hand he has a deeply twisted theatrical vision... I didn't know they'd opened yet!

old speckled hen

This beer has natural mellowing agents for me and really took the edge off my feeling of being stranded. It helped me uncoil the spring

welcome

I took this shot of the door with its classy "welcome" sign, actually as I was leaving. From this point on I was technically no longer stranded, my adventure concluding on a high point.

homeward