ANTHONY R. VIZZARI | ARCHTOGRAPHIST

Some recent "poses" in a photobooth (testing for an event...) I rock a mean ukulele... The beautiful Andrea... after the show, looking majestic as ever... Me at a show...scowling as usual. Andrea at the camera... These recent photos are proof that we are still alive...and, looking good! I’ve been laying low, avoiding the blog, phone calls and email…not in any particular order. I just haven’t had much to say and needed a good rest. At just about 7 weeks post-surgery, I’m moving around and back to work. I’ve lost about 10-12lbs, which I don’t really mind…. I’m still a little slow and limited to lifting 25lbs or less, but I’m feeling well. Andrea’s back is doing better too. I haven’t gotten out much since returning home after surgery. I’ve made it out a few times for social engagements, and a few times for work. Last week, Andrea and I went to the Museum on a whim, which was great. And lately, we’ve been watching the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup finals. Admittedly, I’m not a...

...a tree in our backyard, Highland, Wisconsin We came back from the Highland house Sunday night. Whenever we go up there, the first day I’m always overwhelmed by the list of things to do. Towards the end of the day, I start to loosen up and realize it’s just a house, and being so, if it rots into the ground… well, that’s ok. It doesn’t have to be perfect. The floors can bow and beetles can eat the windows and joists and I don’t care whatever it is they eat. If I have to, I’ll just watch the place disintegrate. When we can no longer open the doors, we’ll raze it into a bazillion pieces and build a new one. Until then, we’ll just patch it bit by bit… such is the nature of a house. Somehow, when I accept the impermanence of structure, the supremacy of physics, nothing else seems to matter. And from there, I can just enjoy staring at the ceiling even if there is no hot water. In the back yard, before we left, I spent some time admiring a tree. There are plenty of trees everywhere, and th...

Andrea and Sylvie in the living room... note the couches from our Oak Park living room... not the best photo of the space, but you get the idea... we're getting there. We came up to our house in Wisconsin for the weekend to do some spring work before my surgery. There's still PLENTY to do... but at least for now, it's habitable. Slowly, it's getting better. The bathroom is pretty much done (minus paint) and looks great, but alas, one of the coils on the water heater went bad. So, we can't enjoy that new spa tub! Everything is closed for Easter, which means no hot water until next time. The furnace here annoys me a sucks down oil, so we're going to switch to gas at the end of the summer. And finally, we bought some used appliances, a stove and refrigerator , refurbished from a local old school appliance place, for $350. Score! We also picked up a coffee pot, panini grill for a fully functional kitchen. There is still a good deal of painting, floor work and gen...

Mold-A-Rama "Miniature Plastic Factory": Don't think I haven't already looked into buying one! I have leads and a potential location already. These things rule! We'll see what pans out? Alex using the Mold-A-Rama... Andrea and I (Circus Exhibit - Museum of Science & Industry). Moose? Field Museum Display... Goats? Field Museum Display... I've been away from the blog since my PVE because I've been both busy...and tired. I've started to bounce back and I'm getting things in gear prior to the big surgery. The date has been scheduled (tentatively per scan results) for April 21st (pre-operation stuff) and actual cutting on the 22nd. My next scan will be April 15th. On the work front, things have been VERY busy. Some new digital projects are in the works which are exciting prospects. Also, we have two new locations about to be installed, one digital and one chemical. In addition, there are a few international and domestic sales in the mix, for bo...

My Search: "What to do...with old Olympus lenses..." My Search: "Is it.... bad to do an international wire transfer..." My Search: "Is it dangerous.... to do an international wire transfer..." Ok, so life and the Internet are indeed interesting. Some folks out there probably want to know how I'm doing. The answer is, fine. I feel a little tired much quicker lately, not sure why... and still a little achy, but otherwise normal and doing the regular stuff that I do. But for me, the more pressing question is... What the hell are people searching for on Google??? I had a few questions of my own this week, and I was amazed to learn that others did too! When you type a question or search term into Google, it often automatically populates popular terms or phrases that others have entered. This is not news and I often ignore it... but after these last few entries, I was perplexed and could not keep my silence any longer! So, here is how we arrived at this....

A bull fight...a found photo, from the collection. Today was much better... The Fentanyl (pain drug) they gave me yesterday made me sick with vomiting and a nasty headache. It was like I drank a liter of Vodka. -And it was not fun. The only thing that seemed to help was mint chocolate chip ice cream. The mint and cold helped with the nausea. and of course, it's easier to throw up, since it melts on the way down. (nice visual, right?) When the drug subsided, it left me with a good amount of pain in the middle of the night. This morning I was sluggish, the pain has started to subside a bit. I got a good deal of work done via email, etc. so the day was not lost. I have a few meetings and obligations this week, but for the most part, I'm going to try and take it easy. I'm working to confirm the surgery date, which is now tentative sometime between April 19th - 23rd. I'll have to have a scan first to assess the liver growth. Hopefully 6 weeks will yeild enough growth for s...

The "kidney protection" drip... this thing lasts forever! The beautiful adornment... My hospital room in the ward... not too bad. After a relaxing day with Andrea (fueled by room service and general doing-nothingness), I checked into the hospital on Sunday afternoon. At which point, Andrea and I were eventually forced to part ways. I am not allowed visitors in the hospital ward, be it before, during, or after treatment. On Monday, I started a battery of different tests which consisted of much poking of needles. One test was to examine kidney function. At around noon, after a physical examination, my treatment began with an IV drip of “kidney protection” medicine. After about 45 minutes, the PRRT treatment was started. The treatment was short, maybe 30 minutes or so? I felt ok during treatment, but right after I started to feel very anxious, had a headache, was kind of dizzy and generally irritated all over. It was as if I could just not stay still or get comfortable (I beli...

Both JD Salinger and Howard Zinn, dead....? bummer! I jacked this from another blog, but thought it worth a re-post (love it...): “If history is to be creative, to anticipate a possible future without denying the past, it should, I believe, emphasize new possibilities by disclosing those hidden episodes of the past when, even if in brief flashes, people showed their ability to resist, to join together, occasionally to win. I am supposing, or perhaps only hoping, that our future may be found in the past’s fugitive movements of compassion rather than in its solid centuries of warfare.” —Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States

Aunt Lil' in a photobooth Aunt Lil', Florida 1956, courtesy of "uncle Joe" Aunt Lil', Florida 1956, courtesy of "uncle Joe" ...I'm still here. 30th: My 30th birthday was good. Andrea and I went to some local antique shops and as usual, I bought some photos. We went out for an early dinner and ended the night with desert and wine... followed by a movie at home. In all, it was relaxing. Unfortunately, Sadie died early that morning, which was a bit upsetting... It was surprising how fast that happened? I know it has, and is, especially difficult for my family right now. Day to Day: I've been working on a new booth install and getting our crew ready for my future "absence". So far, things are working out. Friday night we're having some people over. (Andrea is forcing me to have a party -so I guess, no working on Friday...). Then, this weekend, we'll head to our house in Highland, WI to do some work. Hopefully, the bathroom and ne...

Small studio outing for a Bulls game... 5 blocks from the studio... I thought we should walk, but it's damn cold so we drove... Thanks to Paul for the tickets! Nice score! FYI: Put this into perspective: The United Center holds around 22k people. So, put about 5 full houses together, pull one person out, and that's about the ratio for Carcinoid / NET.

Lillian was my grandfather’s sister, my mother’s aunt…and therefore, my great-aunt. With best intention, my mother recently sent me an old photo of Lil in a wedding dress, torn in half, without a groom. –black and white. In her mind, my mother was probably thinking… "wow, look at this old photo of Lil… you like old photos…and, well, you were somewhat close with Lil, so you should have this.” Of course, that gesture was great… I do like old photos, I did like Lil. I was legitimately surprised to see this torn modest artifact tucked inside a card. Under normal circumstances, I’d find something like this at countless flea markets, shops, etc… I’d relish in the fact that someone took the time to cut out their husband, yet, somehow couldn ’t manage to discard the photo of themself in a wedding dress? I’d find this ironic and write a little story about it. The story would be dry, or, tongue-in-cheek, yet “somewhat” close to the truth, because, as truth would have it, we’re not all th...

I love this... Irving Park just west of Kedzie

Ouch, yes...that is my finger and typing is not so easy! Andrea and I went up to our house in WI over the weekend to do some work. On the way there, I checked the oil on the van only to have the latch spring back and close on my finger. That wasn't so bad becuase the skin was still covering the wound. So, I grabbed some bandages and went on our way... but later in the evening, it got worse. I was installing a new door and jamb, with my father-in-law, into a masonry opening. We needed to install a new door leading into the furnace / utility room under the house... otherwise, the cold air would leach in and burst the pipes, etc. That required building a new custom jamb into the opening... which means Tap-Con masonry screws... as I was driving one of the screws into the jamb, I took my eyes away from the bit to say something to Andrea and presto!! The bandaid got stuck in the drill bit and ripped the skin off the top of my finger.... Awesome! Being about 20 degrees where we were worki...

We close on this property on Friday in Highland, Wi . Cross your fingers that it happens without a hitch. See that little garage addition to the right, yeah, well that's going to be a nice little studio! As is typical, things have been fast paced with contacting various doctors, methods for treatment, etc. I'm about to cancel my surgery in NYC with Dr. Shafir . This does not mean that I will not get treatment, I just won't get that treatment. I could go into all the details, but they are many. Really, I just can't stomach a full recap. The IR team at Northwestern wants to watch and wait for a few more months, then go in for some type of embilization therapy. I've been talking with a great Oncologist at Sloan ( MSK ) in NYC, and she feels strongly that the hunt for the primary tumor is not all that important right now...and that I should default to Northwestern's course. However, she noted that if Dr. Chen at the University of Wisconsin thinks surgery is a go...

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.The Supper at Emmaus, 1601. ( Currently on loan to the Art Institute of Chicago .) It's always better to see his work in the intended location, such as a small niche in Rome...but it's still worth a visit to see such a powerful work here in Chicago. All too lately, I start off my entries in this manner...making a statement about how much I’ve been working without the time to write, etc. etc… I often wonder if this is true. Well yes, the constant working is true… but what is the motive? Am I secretly avoiding something by always trying to move forward at breakneck speed? It’s much easier to bury your head in the sand and commit to your business, all the while, neglecting the real matter at hand… the elephant in the room… the baby on the door step… the time bomb ticking inside of me… ticking this wretch of blood and pumping with so much eager activity under the skin, rooted in the organs, chewing little by little at the whole thing that is me...

Kodachrome: Square: Circa 1970: From the Collection: Photographer Unknown How could I not want to swim? Jump off the dock and let the cool water wake me up... floating on my back watching the clouds drift by... ears going just below the water, so that the wind can no longer be heard, just the fins of fish, pushing water like so many mini hurricanes toward the single-celled universe.

"Short Order...?" Silver Gelatin Print: From the Collection: Photographer Unknown. What can I say? I'm absolutely drained...! It's been a while since I've felt like this, but I'm burnt out! I've been working like a crazy man over the last few weeks... with the last weekend being the most brutal. On Saturday, I did a 21hr day, on my feet the whole time, which was proceeded by back to back 18hr work days, followed by very little sleep... I'm shocked that I'm still functioning in any capacity. Then again, I've always had a lot of energy. I've always been very good at accomplishing a lot, despite the physical and emotional drain. So, I'm still plugging away, but I really do need a break! Actually, what I need more help. I have a good crew of people who work with me, and Andrea is the best, but I need a full time assistant and/or clone? The main problem is finding the time to effectively manage everyone. It's not that easy! But hey, this...

Last night we had a great 4th of July / Andrea's B-Day celebration at our place in Oak Park. True to form, we had the Digital Retro Photobooth up an running... now, the day after, back to work in the shop! We have a busy week ahead and no time to loose! Click here to view the images from the photobooth.

Art Sinsabaugh: Chicago Landscape #23, 1964 (printed 1966) One of my favorite photographers is Art Sinsabaugh... and, one of my all time favorite writers is Sherwood Anderson. In 1964 Jargon Press (Jonathan Williams) put together a killer book pairing 15 pieces from Anderson's Mid-American Chants with Sinsabaugh's photos. I have the book, a limited edition of 1550 copies, which is a PRIZE in my collection. I think I once told Andrea that this book made me fall in love with the Mid-West. It's more than a piece in a collection, but an inspiring artifact. When I need a minute to escape, I take it out and flip through the long panoramic pages. I also have a great first edition of Mid-American Chants with a nice corn colored cover, and of course, a few orginal Sinsabaugh photos. Those too hold a special spot in my life... In the Forward to Mid-American Chants, Anderson writes: "I do not believe that we people of mid-western America, immersed as we are in affairs, hurried a...

Polaroid Epitaphs: Part II: No. 1 : Lisa's Lips: 05/30/2009 While it is true that my blog entries have been sparse lately, a lot has been transpiring. Business has been, well, business, -up and down. -That goes without saying… My recent chest CT scan revealed nothing. That is to say, no primary tumor was discovered in the lungs. While most people pray that they will never find a tumor in their lungs, I was disappointed. I just want to know where it is…? I want a face to hurl a dart at…!! Yes, it’s a strange stick to pull, but it’s my stick. Short of exploratory surgery, we have only one more test to go on the hunt for the primary tumor… that is, a colonoscopy in a few weeks. With that test completed, we will have effectively run the gamut! I suspect that too will be inconclusive? My pathology report came back last week from Dr. Woltering. The news was mixed… my KI67 is very low at 2%. However, Woltering noted that my tumor is Moderately differentiated, not Well (note previous repor...