Tag Archives: urban

flickr, foto, urbex

The Day Kennedy Was Shot

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Taken today in an abandoned house in Koshkonong, Wisconsin.
A generation before I was born America survived a national tragedy. President Kennedy was killed by an American, one of our own, trained by the very government he later sought to throw into chaos. A single date, November 22, 1963, shattered the American Dream. Civil unrest, chaos, and war with no meaning followed.
My generation has not learned history’s lesson. CIA trained Osama bin Laden remains uncaptured for his 9/11 crimes. We are still mired in not one, but two wars with uncertain futures that have sent our country into a downward spiral. One of those wars was prefaced entirely on a series of compounding lies. Comedian George Carlin once said that you would have to be asleep to believe in the American Dream. The tragedy is that he was probably right.
college, education, genius

Wisconsin Urbex

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I produced a short documentary on Urban Exploration in Wisconsin for my LIBMEDIA 638: Teaching & Learning via Video & Across Distances grad course. There was something about this project that I really latched onto. The resources that went into producing this video far exceeded the requirements, but I am very satisfied with the results. Please enjoy my Wisconsin Urbex short documentary.

flickr, foto, geek, genius

Club 26

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Three months ago I was driving down H26 towards Milton, WI when I came across an abandoned bar. I took a walk around the bar and found a window open. I didn’t have a flashlight, but I could see that the floor was a little unsteady. No one else was with me and I didn’t want to risk it. One of the cardinal rules of Urban Exploration is to never go alone. I once almost fell three stories checking out a brewery alone in Germany, so I wasn’t going to risk falling again. This weekend I went back with Kaela in tow. Everything in the kitchen is now falling through the floor. Most of the pictures I snapped did not turn out due to poor lighting, but there were a few good ones.

education, geek, schadenfreude

Eastern State Penitentiary

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via flickr

Have you ever seen that Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis movie 12 Monkeys? Last weekend Kaela and I decided to check out Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia where the asylum scenes were filmed. Operating between 1829-1971, the penitentiary became the model from which most modern prisons were built. The notion of solitary confinement was taken to such extreme in this prison that inmates literally lost their sanity. Charles Dickens’ senses of the prison were so offended that he details them in his work American Notes.

In its intention I am well convinced that it is kind, humane, and meant for reformation; but I am persuaded that those who designed this system of Prison Discipline, and those benevolent gentleman who carry it into execution, do not know what it is that they are doing….I hold this slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body; and because its ghastly signs and tokens are not so palpable to the eye,… and it extorts few cries that human ears can hear; therefore I the more denounce it, as a secret punishment in which slumbering humanity is not roused up to stay.

The prison is also notable for housing Al Capone, having a dog as an inmate, and being home to a few children over the years. Today the prison is in a state of “preserved ruin.” Be sure to check out my Flickr gallery along with the following links.

Eastern State Penitentiary Museum
Eastern State Penitentiary on Wikipedia

deutsch, geek

Marburger Brauerei

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Everyday when I rode into the sleepy little town of Marburg on my way to the university I passed a decaying building called the Marburger Brauerei. I first noticed the building upon my arrival and was immediately tempted to explore it. The only problem was that the structure was overlooked by a fairly populated residential area and I intended not to get kicked out of Germany. The last week of my stay I made my way into the building and was not disappointed. Most of the photos I took were nowhere near as dramatic as the ones from the Hessia Fabrik, but there are a few gems. For some reason I just forgot to publish them.

I should also note that my infiltration of the building was incredibly stupid. There was glass everywhere, holes that dropped three stories, and asbestos all over. On top of that I went alone.