Way-v of the Future

The future, I guess, is now. The car is a WayMo. On our way out of the city after a lovely day of food and photographs, we realized we were keeping time with a driverless car. For most of the ride we couldn’t see a passenger either, and I wondered if the car’s parents knew it was joyriding along Geary, headed for the beach. But no, the blinker blinked, the car pulled to the curb, and out popped a real person who had been hidden by the tinted glass rear windows. A view of the car is in the Extras, just so you can see all the gadgetry: things that blink and shimmer and presumably read every little thing for quite a distance.  It gave me the creeps.

We had a nice stroll on Clement Street, lunch at our favorite Burmese restaurant, and then a couple hours at the DeYoung Museum to savor the Irving Penn photo exhibit. I’ve never paid attention to his work before, and boy was I knocked out by his dynamic compositions, by that wonderful graphic sense. I’d always thought, oh, fashion photographer, silly dresses and silly looking models, but I eat my words now, as a single ballooning sleeve takes up most of a frame, and vigorous black shapes are emphasized by subtly textured backgrounds. I don’t think I’m supposed to post photos of artwork, so just go look up Irving Penn if you want to see what I mean.

We were grateful for such a satisfying outing, as the earlier end of the week had been taken up with bodily parts: visits for skin, hands, teeth, feet—the endless litany of things that need a little help these days. Luckily everything worked as it was supposed to today and we had a fine time.