Round Robin Challenge: See The Music

From For Ellipsis

"A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."

-Leopold Stokowski

RRC: See The Music
Suggested by Karen, of the blog, Outpost Mavarin

Barefoot In The Park...

Music... what would life be like if there were no music? Boring and sad I think. I took this photograph way back in 2005, just a few months after Alan gave me my digital camera. I was in Golden Gate Park, just soaking up all of the spring beauty of the tulip garden, when this lady walked past me, strumming on a guitar. Street performers are pretty common place in San Francisco, but this lady was so pretty, and her guitar playing was so soft, that it caught me off guard. It was a cloudy day, and her music was soft and ethereal. It was one of those moments that I found myself thanking God for the invention of the camera, because it was one of those moments you want to be able to visit again and again.

Thanks Karen. This challenge reminded me of a really nice day. :)

Linking List
**Welcome New Members

1. Karen... Outpost Mavarin
Posted!

2. Carly... Ellipsis
Posted!

3. Jama... Sweet Memories
Posted!

4. Monica... Click Shots
Posted!

5. Gattina... Keyhole Pictures
Posted!

6. Valerie... Soulfully Blonde


7. Wammy... The Ellis Family Cincinnati


8. Sherrie... Sherrie's Stuff
Posted!

9. Nancy... Nancy Luvs Pix
Posted!

10. Jen... Phun With Photography
Posted!

11. Suzanne R... SuzyQ421's Photo Blog
Posted!

12. Linda... Mommy's Treasures


13. Chris... Camera Obscura RRPC
Posted!

14. Robinella... Robinella's


15. Sandra... A Cappuccino a Day
Posted!

16. Mojo... Why? What Have You Heard?
Posted!

17. Molly Mavis... Visual Dialogues
Posted!

18. boliyou...endomental
Posted!

19. ChryseisViviennne... CV Photographs


20. Rita... Cashjocky and the Old Salt


21. Amanda... Amanda's Weekly Zen


22. Martha... Menagerie
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23. Alexa... Imagination Pounces
Posted!

24. Terri...Ways I See The World
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25. ellenb... The Happy Wonderer
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26. Connie...Far Side Of Fifty Photos
Posted!

27. Marina...Visual Chronicle
Posted!

28. Peggy... Holmespun Fun
Posted!

Remember, there is still time to play along with our current challenge. If you have never played before, and want to, just jump on in. This challenge will remain open until next weekend, if you can't play today. If you just can't make it this time, for any reason, but you would like to join us sometime, check the official Round Robin blog the day after each challenge to find out what we will be doing next!

-Carly

Scary Things

From For Ellipsis

"In Witchcraft, each of us must reveal our own truth."

-Starhawk, Spiral Dance

Happy Walpurgis Night...

Tonight we will carve a pumpkin, make some hot spiced apple cider, and pray a wayward ghostie or goblin doesn't visit our door. It's not Halloween, but it is Walpugis Night! April 30th, sits exactly opposite October 31st on the calendar, which means the veil between this world and the next is at it's most slight. It is also, according to About.com, "the last chance for witches and their nefarious cohorts to stir up trouble, before spring reawakened the land."

Are you scared?

Does this frighten you?

Bwahahahahahaha!

If you have known me any length of time, you know how much I love spooky, scary stuff. Autumn is my favorite time of year, and I embrace it fully! It has been cold in the Bay Area this spring, so it feels really nice to have something fun to blame the chills on. I still have a pumpkin sitting on the window seat from last autumn, so I will carve it and place it by the back door tonight. Why do I still have a pumpkin on my window seat? I always buy several extra pumpkins for cooking, and decoration and, of course, protection, through the long dark winter months!

A Little Too Scary...

Another confirmed case of Swine Flu was just announced in San Mateo County this morning. San Mateo county is just across the bay from where I am, on the peninsula. I suppose it's just a matter of time until a case has been diagnosed in Alameda County. I hope not. Sigh. I don't believe it is a forgone conclusion that I will get it, but it's a little scary anyway. The thing that worries me the most is that the CDC knows so little about it. Hospitals in the area have just been inundated with folks who believe they have flu-like symptoms. So much so, that tented triage units have been erected, at some hospitals, to handle all the folks coming to emergency rooms.

I don't know. I don't feel particularly worried. I carry hand sanitizer with me all the time. I have to, being a diabetic, I check my blood glucose several times a day and having a bottle of sanitizer in my purse is just apart of my life. I always wash my hands before and after I touch food. That's just been a lifelong habit. Does doing any of those things make me any safer? Maybe from some things, but this is airborne, so what's a girl to do? I know one thing, as much as I like spooky movies, I won't be watching Steven King's, The Stand, tonight!

What do you think?

Will things get much worse?

Should we all be panicking?

Is it a forgone conclusion that all of us will get Swine Flu?

How did it get so big, so quick?

Opinions, opinions. Tell me what you think. Will you be celebrating Walpurgis Night along with me? Does the Swine Flu worry you? Are you taking any special steps to protect yourself? Do you get annual flu shots?

Tell me what you think.

Walpurgis Night

Hospitals Inundated with Panicked People

-Carly

Welcome To The Light!

"Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved so far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.

-Senator Arlen Spector

WOW! I don't know about you, but I was shocked to hear Senator Arlen Specter's announcement this morning regarding his switch to the Democratic Party. It makes me wonder, will we be seeing more and more defections as time goes by? Has the GOP become an entity that is unrecognizable to it's own members? Is it really a clash of ideals that caused Sen. Specter to change sides, or is it due to the lack of clear and consistent leadership? Whatever the reason, Senator Specter, welcome to the light! Come on in, it's good to have you with us!

Opinions, opinions! What do you think? Will more republican senators follow Senator Specter's lead? Do you think he will be reelected in the 2010 election? And while we are on the subject of elections, do you believe that Al Frankin will ever be sworn in as the junior senator from Minnesota?

Arlen Specter



-Carly

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot # 35: Government Buildings

"We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us."

-Winston Churchill








EMPS #35: GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS. NOW CLOSED!
For this week's photography assignment, I thought it might be fun to shoot some GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS! LOL. With a camera of course! Silly persons! Now, grab your camera, and show me what your local City Hall looks like, or if you live near the capitol of the state you live in, show me your capitol. Courthouses are good too. Any local GOVERNMENT BUILDING will do.

Extra Credit: Many times there are lovely gardens or public art on display in and around GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, so, show me what special feature you find in the area around the building you photograph! Statues, murals, Rose gardens... it's all good!

**PLEASE READ**
You have until next Sunday evening at 9:00 PM ET, to get your photo, post it to your blog, website or journal, and then comeback here with the direct link to your entry. Please remember, it must be a link specific to this week's photo shoot assignment. No hyperlinks accepted. Also, it would be just nifty if you linked back here to this entry, so other folks can play along with this week's assignment.

Linking List for EMPS #34: Earth Day. 04/20/09

NOW CLOSED!

1. Wammy

2. Suzanne

3. Karen
And a bonus entry here.

4. Liz

5. Terri

6. Jama

7. Greg

8. Mike

Question of the Week: As a photographer, which do you prefer, indoor or outdoor photography?

NOTE: There seems to have been a problem with Ellipsis last week, some folks indicated that at times when they tried to access my blog, multiple IE windows opened unexpectedly. I have done some research, and found out that there is a bug in IE which can cause this to happen, regardless of what website you are at, but just to be sure I have done some template tweaking to try and resolve the problem. Everything seems to be working ok for now, but I want to know if it happens again. Please send me an email if you notice anything like that happening again.

Ok, go be photographers, I will see you in one week with an all new assignment.

-Carly

At The End Of The Day...

From For Ellipsis

"Every time you wake up and ask yourself, "What good things am I going to do today", remember that when the sun goes down at sunset, it will take a part of your life with it."

-Indian Proverb

Torture. When it comes to a subject as serious as this, I ask you, is there really such a thing as right or left, indeed, shouldn't it be right and wrong? I do not understand how anyone, regardless of political affiliation can say, "let's just move on," when it comes to this issue. An awful lot of bad things have been done in the name of each and every American. With equally bad results. It has been proven that torturing prisoners usually results in very little, if any, solid information. The tactic of torture does NOT keep us safe, indeed, it puts us in greater danger. Have we been safe since 9/11? Well, I don't think that we can say that just because there hasn't been a day like 9/11 since then that we are safe. I think we have been lucky, but not necessarily safe. You have to remember, the enemies we have now are a patient lot. Walking around with a cocky attitude, bragging about how safe we are, will eventually comeback to bite us... BIG.

Here is what I really don't get about the Bush administration authorizing "harsh interrogations"... why? Why resort to that? Why let Osama bin Laden win in his effort to change who we are, or were? Can you just imagine the moral victory we handed him? Not only did we never bring to justice those who attacked us that day, but we have given them a solid moral victory in knowing they have divided us as a nation. Sigh. Will prosecuting the Bush administration for war crimes divide us further? I hope not. I hope that regardless of what we have all been through, we can still see and know the difference between right and wrong.

I remember when the Bush administration tried to erase the word hunger, by calling it "pantry challenged." Sheesh. It was still hunger. It didn't work. And it is my hope that changing the name of torture to enhanced interrogations, won't work either.

It's Obama's first 100 days. So far he has given me a lot of hope. He has reversed many of the Bush administrations policies, and with each reversal, I can feel another brick being lifted off of me. Hope. It's a good thing. Are things perfect? Far from it. Do I agree with everything he is doing. NOPE. But at least I can see a future again. Life is getting better. Nothing really profound happens in the first 100 days of any administration, it's what happens from now on that really matters. I just HOPE he does the right thing.

Opinions, opinions...

If you are a republican, or a democrat for that matter, feel free to chime in. If you have known me for any length of time you know I welcome opinions, even if you don't agree with my point of view. So, tell me what's on your mind. Go ahead. Don't be shy.

Opinions anyone?

-Carly