Round Robin Challenge: The White Stuff

"Some people like living in a black and white worlds. Let them stay there. Appreciate all the colors you see in your world though."

~Ashly Lorenzana

RRC: The White Stuff

For this round, Karen wants to see WHITE. I was able to get out with the camera a couple times, in between RRCs, so I have a couple brand new photos, and just for fun, I threw in some oldies but goodies from the archives. Some with a little bit of white that stands out in a colorful photo, and some that are mostly black white naturally. Okay, lets let the pictures speak for themselves. Shall we?

The White Stuff












"Women think of all colors except the absence of color. I have said that black has it all. White too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony."

~Coco Chanel, Chanel

Okay, that's my post. Now go see what the other participating Robins have posted for this challenge round! We have some awesome photographers in the community, so I know you won't be disappointed! Just click the link at the top of this post to be redirected to the official Round Robin Challenge blog. That's where you will find both the list of participants and all the information you need to join in. 

Thank you Karen for another great challenge!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Half Moon Bay, The Real Housewives Of New Jersey And The Mavericks

"Sometimes in the morning, when it's a good surf, I go out there and I don't feel like it's a bad world."

~Kary Mullis

A couple days ago, while out with the camera along the coast, I heard a familiar little bell on my phone, and when I checked, there it was, a Breaking News text from my favorite network news affiliate in the Bay Area, KGO, and what a news headline it was... "Mavericks Surf Competition Will Be Held This Friday." That's a big deal in the Bay Area, especially in Half Moon Bay, but it's an even bigger deal to surfers worldwide who come each year, when the waves are cooperating, to compete for the top prize.

Some recent changes in how spectators can view the contest make it almost impossible to be able to see it from the shoreline, but there is a viewing area where a large screen TV will show all the action. For me, that takes the fun out of it. I like being able to sit on, or near, the shore, with my camera, and see it for my own eyes, so I probably won't brave the traffic. The good news though, for the first time the Mavericks competition will be available to stream online at the official website!  And also for the first time, it will be televised on the Universal Sports Network. (See the link to the official Maverick's website, located at the bottom of this page, for all the event and viewing details).

I will watch it that way. Still, I wish I could be there in person. The news is predicting waves of record height. As high as 50ft. That is an awesome thought! So far the highest I have seen personally is about 30 ft! I think that would make for the photo of a lifetime! Someday. Maybe. We'll see. As the years go by, perhaps things will go toward better viewing conditions along the shoreline. You never know. Until then, there is always the Internet. Right?

Here are my photos from Half Moon Bay two days ago...









I have written about Half Moon Bay on this blog many times. In the context of our annual visits to the amazingly beautiful pumpkin patches, and my love for the Pacific coast shoreline. I did also mention Half Moon Bay in regards to my astonishment at the fact that the cast of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey, during season 4, stayed in Half Moon Bay, while on vacation in California, and couldn't seem to find any beauty to the town or the coast! Which still leaves me completely perplexed, because truly, I am so in love with the place that I tend to visit the area as much as possible. I can't imagine NOT loving the area. There fresh produce. The air. The sunsets. The friendly small town atmosphere. Jeepers, the place is even mentioned in a beautiful song by the group Train! What's not to love? But then, that's just my opinion.

Maverick's Invitational 

:)

So tell me, will you be tuning into the Maverick's competition? Yes/No? Tell me everything!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Great Southern White (Ascia monuste)

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

~Oscar Wilde

I am tired, and weary. My Fibromyalgia is roaring through my body. It's okay, I had a fabulous day with the camera yesterday. Butterflies. Large, beautiful, Maverick sized waves. The sky. The flowers. Art was everywhere, and my eyes happily took it all in, and my camera saved it forever. Life is good.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (A Movie Review)

"The whole of life is just like watching a film. Only it's as though you always get in ten minutes after the big picture has started, and no-one will tell you the plot, so you have to work it out all by yourself from the clues."

~Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures



Yesterday, Alan and I went to see, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty. What a great movie! We both thoroughly enjoyed it! It wasn't at all like the original Danny Kaye version of the Thurber short story, this definitely took the story in a more modern direction, but frankly, I liked it better than the original musical. And I don't mean to be presumptuous here, but I bet Thurber would have liked it better also! I actually heard a while back, I think on AMC, that Thurber hated the Danny Kaye version, especially because of the music. It didn't really fit. Music wasn't a part of the story he was trying to tell. And I get that, although don't you sometimes miss those wonderful old musicals? Just maybe that story shouldn't have been made into a musical. The author knows best... right? Just ask Stephen King. He hated what Hollywood did with The Shining, but years later he got to be more hands on with the TV version, and was very happy with the outcome. He got to see his vision come to life the way he meant it to be.

Anyway, I liked this version of the Thurber story very much. It was well done, and it was truly visually stunning. As an amateur photographer, it made me jealous that I couldn't have stepped into the movie with my cameras, and snapped away at all the beauty I was seeing. The story was sentimental, and yeah predictable, but it was like another movie that I loved, Big Year. Both were quiet, lovely storytelling, and I guess by today's goer standard... unsophisticated. No loud car chases. No CGI. No obnoxiously loud music used to make the movie's point. Instead actual dialog did the storytelling. Well done, dialog, acting, and gorgeous cinematography. Sigh. I guess I am hopelessly un-hip... wait... is that still a thing? To be un-hip? LOL. Being an old fogy will never go out of style will it?

I am giving my age away here aren't I? Well, I will just say... GO SEE THE MOVIE!

The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty


I give it 4 out of 5 kernels of popcorn.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Getting To Know You

"The way to get on with a cat is to treat it as an equal... or even better... as the superior it knows itself to be."

~Elizabeth Peters, The Snake, The Crocodile And The Dog

It's been about 2 months since our new baby, Joey, came to live with us. I will never forget the day we found him, he was scared, and injured from some crows that had bit at his tiny body, and he was tired. He was just this wee ball of fluff, about as lost as anyone could be. I think it was pretty much love at first sight. Love for all of us... well... almost all of us. It took a good bit of convincing where Dylan was concerned. Hendrix only took a couple days to warm up to him, and now they are wrestling buddies! Dylan has never been a very social cat, I think because his eyesight is so bad, so he still continues to hiss, but it's a defensive stance, not aggressive. A simple FUCK OFF if you will. 

Joey takes it well, and he is giving Dylan the proper amount of respect. He doesn't try to engage Dylan, and lets him be. It's working out much better than I imagined it would. We now have 3 beautiful little boys, each one different, but all three wonderful. For the most part, Joey is picking up some of Hendrix's traits. Love comes first. Listen when Mom says the word NO or STOP! LOL. But Joey has his own personality, and it shines through quite charmingly.

Joey likes pizza. Any kind of pizza. Whenever we make a frozen pizza or purchase one from out in the world, Joey knows it, and wants some. I actually caught him happily gnawing on a slice of Domino's Wisconsin cheese pizza the other day, much to my surprise! My other two boys aren't really foodies. Dylan pays no attention when we cook and serve dinner. Hendrix always wants to be a part of things, but never eats anything. Joey doesn't really much care about out meals... unless it's pizza. Sometimes, as I get to know him better, I wonder if Joey might have been a human once upon a time, who lived in Flatbush in Brooklyn, and really liked pizza!

It could be. One never really knows about these things. :)

But look at that snugglepuss, don't you just love him?

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Things I See...

"An artist's concern is to capture beauty wherever he finds it."

~Kazuo Ishiguro, An Artist Of The Floating World

 

Am I an artist? Well, that's quite debatable. I know I love art, and I get really excited when I know I have taken a good photo. But that doesn't really make me an "artist" does it? Will I ever make a living at taking pictures? Not unless I sell them for stock photos, which don't get me wrong, it's perfectly legitimate thing to do, but when I take a really good photo, one that reaches into me, and brings to the top some long buried feeling, impression or emotion, I know I have done something worthwhile. I don't need all the attention, I much prefer sharing the photos that have made my life richer, right here on this obscure blog no one has heard of. I sometimes count on that obscurity to help me express what I feel day to day. Still, when someone tells me that one of my photos affected them in some way, good or bad, I feel like I did good. I got to touch someone's life by sharing a little bit of my life. That's big for a girl who works hard at holding people at arms length.

Mood: Reflective

~Me :)

Go 49ers!

"Today I will do want others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't."

~Jerry Rice

 

Okay, so a little later today I will be doing a small amount of yelling at my TV machine. Mostly phrases like GO NINERS, SEAHAWKS SUCK and Alan's personal favorite... TOUCHDOWN! But in all fairness, I won't be the only one in Berkeley yelling in the middle of the afternoon, in fact, I dare say, the entire hillside will probably join me! 

Didn't you just love this time of year as a child? On Saturdays and Sundays you could hear all the dads in the neighborhood yelling their hearts outs at their TV's cheering on... whoever... college or pro team that they supported. Here in the Bay Area, the East Bay specifically, it was Cal Berkeley Bears on Saturday, and either the 49ers or Raiders on Sundays. 

LOL

So tell me, will you be watching football today? If so, who are you rooting for?

San Francisco 49ers or Seattle Seahawks? 

My Pick: 49ers! (Of Course)

How about the other game?

New England Patriots or Denver Broncos?

My Pick: New England

Mood: Happy
~Me :)