26 Comments
Jul 18Liked by Rob Stephenson

I came for the stellar writing and was surprised with Madonna facts! So neat! Feliciano's rendition of the anthem is right up my alley, and a much more approachable example of a song that set the note on "free" so high it was only achievable by a few select people. SUBTEXT.

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Yeah the distance between "O say, can you see" and "free" is formidable!

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Jul 23Liked by Rob Stephenson

Who would have guessed Louis Armstrong had such an awesome kitchen?

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I want those cabinets! And stove

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Jul 23Liked by Rob Stephenson

At what point do you think that garage door painter realized he was running out of space? So funny!

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I can totally relate.

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Jul 23Liked by Rob Stephenson

Fantastic photos this one! My fave is the street scene between the white van pic and the park pic.

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Thanks! I like that one too

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The white van pic reminded me of Criminal Minds

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Hi again Rob, I've included this in Flipboard's photography newsletter today. This isn't the actual newsletter, but it gives you an idea of what's in it. If you DM me your email, I can forward you a "hard copy" by the end of the week. https://flipboard.com/@mia/some-favorite-photography-substacks-50kq0f9araorioci Thanks for all that you do, and to the Substack community for recommending you in my Note!

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Aug 14Liked by Rob Stephenson

Thanks for the sounds! A joy to listen and read about a community at the same time

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Thanks for listening (and reading)!

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So so good. I love this concept of learning about a neighborhood and seeing such stunning pictures of it, even the "plain" ones. What camera do you use? Do you put any filters on the photos? In any case, such great work, thank you for sharing.

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Thanks Mia! Mostly I use a Fuji medium format digital camera. But, since I've been shooting around the city for nearly 20 years, I often have earlier large format film images from the neighborhoods that I include too. Basically I try to get my digital photos to look like my film ones so I make adjustments in Photoshop.

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Jul 22Liked by Rob Stephenson

Love the Jose version. Hendrix not so much

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What about Fergie?

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Jul 24Liked by Rob Stephenson

Didn’t listen. I have a small amount of brain space available for music.

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The short story ‘Neutron Tide’ is relevant to this week’s article. I won’t say why, because it will ruin the excruciating ending.

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Still trying to track this down!

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It's been a long time since I read it. I'll investigate.

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Jul 19Liked by Rob Stephenson

Love this, love the home of Louis Armstrong. It looks surprisingly sensible and livable. Thought it would be over the top befitting a jazz legend.

Thanks for the tree growing between two pieces of a table😍

But of course the star of the show is none other than The Star Spangled Banner!🇺🇸 I haven’t watched so many videos of the national anthem in one sitting!

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Impressed you made it through them! Love that table tree too. And the Armstrong house would be worth preserving even without its famous former occupants.

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-Lucille was Satchmo's fourth wife. The previous three marriages all ended in divorce, but Lucille was with him from the 1940s right to the end.

-Feliciano's version of The Doors' "Light My Fire" is astounding. But for a guy with a free-form style like his, the stodgy old anthem wasn't really a fit.

-My favorite version of "The Star Spangled Banner" is by Marvin Gaye at one of the NBA All-Star games. He understood that song's rhythms better than most.

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The Marvin Gaye version is amazing!

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SheLLey DuvaLL ... double L's !

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You got me again! If you're ever llooking for emplloyment as a proof reader, let me know!

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