Cargo Cult 2005

"Oh, great silver bird, brings us thine unholy triumvirate: Spam, Coca Cola, and Lucky Strikes." — JAC
<br>
<a href=\"www.madagascarinstitute.com/cargocult.html\">Cargo Cult</a> 2 October 2005 Manhattan and Roosevelt Island, NYC
<p>
"Being: The culmination of years of hard labor and brutal ritual, the final push that will get the runway done, the ancestors pleased, the planes back, and deliver to us the abundant cargo that we so, so deserve; featuring: merchant marines, brazen brass, exceedingly clever flying machines, cardboard communication, synchronized semaphore, lighthouses, Melanesia, control towers, morse code, dazzling displays of ritual dance, arbitrary and capricious blood letting, sacred Jello, red crosses, gigantic, gimpy John Frum, sea chanteys, and your helping hands when they are needed the most. or: an elaborate ruse for a tramway escape to a desolate island paradise. Beware of swashbuckling pirates, unsympathetic Red Cross workers, and John Frum. If you follow the signs and complete the ritual, you will be amply rewarded for your faith. Don your WWII flight suit (or similarly inspired attire), brush up on your semaphore signals...and chart a course for 14 Honey Locusts Park, at 59th St. betw. 1st Ave and 2nd Ave in Manhattan." — <a href=\"www.madagascarinstitute.com/cargocult.html\">Madagascar Institute Cargo Cult</a> Flyer
</p>
<p>
The flash on my 35mm catastrophically failed early on when the (unsecured) battery door (thanks for the superb design, Canon!) fell off and was lost; that\'ll teach me to mock the cargo gods. (Or to use Canon gear; I\'ve since switched to Nikon.) Most of these shots are a combination of digital, my backup point-and-shoot (almost left it home since it\'s one more thing to lug and I don\'t like the image quality), and my 35mm T70 running slow shutter to make up for the low light levels in the early evening.
</p>