A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 86~ Sexy Food

"The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of the human race than the discovery of a star."



~ Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin


 


My first love is photography. My second love is photographing food. I love the way it looks. Let's face it... food is sexy. There is something wonderful about picking out something wildly delicious, and aromatic, bringing it home, and preparing it for with someone you are crazy in love with. A couple years ago, I began hearing about Blood Oranges, and their attributes. Delicious, visually striking, and like all oranges, a great source of calcium, antioxidants. 

 

I wish they were in season, but they aren't and they won't be until this winter. I will have to wait to cook with them, unless I want to use some blood orange juice as the base for a recipe. Personally, I like the taste of the juice, and the soda for that matter, but there is nothing like working with a lovely fresh organic one, purchased fresh from a store just before cooking. I have some recipes in mind, such as Spicy Orange Chicken, and Blood Orange and Pink Peppercorn ice cream. Oh yeah... did I mention my love of pink 
peppercorns? 


 



Delicious... and equally sexy. ;) Amazing in ice cream!


I think this fall and winter I will be quite busy with food photography, which is good, because not only can lighting be a bit of a challenge, but I also get to get a fair amount of time in practicing my macro photography. I could definitely use some practice with that. 


Okay, here is my market list...


Heirloom tomatoes


Brussels Sprouts


Blood Oranges


Lavender


Pink Peppercorns


Tri-Color Cauliflower


Purple Yams


So tell me, do you enjoy doing food photography? If so, what kind? If not... why not? Would you be willing to try a new food, and photograph it for an EMPS assignment? If so, what have you been wanting to try, but haven't gotten around to yet?

Tell me all about it!


~Me :)


Today's Link...


JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/08/apadf6-84.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 85~ Time Passages

All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person's ( or things ) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time's relentless melt."



~Susan Sontag


 


I love the streetcars in San Francisco, and I need to spend a more time photographing them. They are such wonderful looking machines, that kinda makes me feel like I have stepped back in time whenever one passes by. The whole experience brings about all kinds of wonderful romantic images of men in fedora hats and ladies in gorgeous peplum skirts circa the 1940's. I can imagine all kinds of wonderful Film noir scenarios of great adventure with dashing men of intrigue and femme fatales just waiting to seduce them.. How delicious it all was. With Hollywood constantly remaking films and TV, I would love to see the eras of the 30's and 40's redone. 


With the silent movie, The Artist, having won the Academy Award for best film, I suppose there is a good chance that particular time in history could be highlighted more often. It would be so refreshing to not have to see a cell phone, or a Google search do all the legwork. There was a time when one actually had to put thought into things... sigh... I guess I am showing my age here... but I would love to escape to another era sometimes. Oh not to stay mind you, just a little break from the heartbreaking truth of today, and the harshness of having everything so damn available. Sometimes I think my generation was the last great one, because we didn't have such devices doing all our thinking for us. LOL I can remember when the pocket calculater was the hot new must have electronic device.



LOL. Yes, the older I get the more I sound like an old coot. It's okay... so be it. I wouldn't trade growing up the world the way it was for nothing. Although, I imagine that had the world already had the social networking sights it does now, it would have made the world a much different place than the one we live in now. I dunno. Shrug. I know I can sit for hours and listen to folks who lived through those eras, compare then and now. Would I really choose then over now? No, probably not if push came to shove, but oh how I would love to visit sometime, with camera in hand, and perhaps help some big galoot solve a mystery using nothing but my smarts, my cat like instincts, and my feminine wiles.

Yeah... that would work out well! LOL.


So tell me, if you could visit any era, with your camera, for 1 week maximum, which era would you choose to visit, and why?




:)



~Me




Today's Link...


JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/08/apadf6-83.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day ~ 84 Is That A Cannonball?

 


"There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers by see only a wisp of smoke."


-Vincent Van Gogh


I think I have shared in the past about my fear of fire. I would like to say that since that time I have worked on it, but no, haven't done a thing about it. I am working on my fear of flying, by booking Alan and I on a nifty little plane ride, featuring an areal tour of the San Francisco bay. Alan is still amazed that I did that, but I have come to believe that it makes NO sense sitting here, waiting to get old, and die. I mean, if nothing else has been learned in my 50 years, it's that there is NO guarantees. I could be sitting right here, posting a blog entry, and have a meteor hit me. Or perhaps someone in a 747 takes a poopy, flushes it, and by some stupid random  series of events, the poop is inadvertently dropped out the bottom of the plane, landing directly on top of my head. Or I could maybe be hit by a wayward cannonball. Hey, just a few months ago, there was an incident, with a wayward cannonball, that took place here in the Bay Area. No one was hit by it, thank goodness, but it had all the potential for great disaster. I am kinda sure that if I had been living in that neighborhood, that cannonball would have found me.


I really do.


I don't know if I need to address my fear of fire at this point in my life. I have been living with it for 47 years. Although I suppose if I did make the effort to fix it, I could go to my grave in perfect mental health, and those at my funeral could say... "Well, at least she worked on that stupid fear of fire she had, but isn't it ironic she died doing what she loved... making triple decker S'mores?" I think the attendees at my funeral would be both proud of me, and also have an interesting story to share with friends. So that would be a good thing... right? See, I could get over my fear of fire not for myself, but for my friends. Yeah. That sounds like a plan. But on the other hand, whose to say my future demise couldn't come from some other equally interesting event. Like perhaps... dying from... oh say... constipation... which... don't laugh... has been known to happen. If that happened, then my friends could always say, "She had some problems, but she was doing what she loved to do, she was working on her shit."


Hmmmm. I am going to think about thinking about getting over my fear of fire a little bit longer... no reason to act hastily.


Right?

Chronic Constipation Killed Elvis Presley




Mythbusters Cannonball Hits Dublin Home, Minivan




~Me :)

Let's see what my pal JR is up to, shall we?

JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/08/apadf6-82.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 83 ~ Public Art

"Life beats down and crushes the soul, and art reminds you that you have one."

~Stella Adler


Not many words tonight, just a deep appreciation for art, and what can be learned from it. The Holocaust Memorial at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, is perhaps one of the most moving art exhibits I have seen in my public art travels.  Seeing it made me sad. It made me want to know more about why, or how, humans could bring themselves to commit such an atrocity. It's hard to believe that this was ever a part of human history. A blight that cannot be washed away. All that can be done is to learn from it. Do want each of us can, on both an individual basis and as a clear thinking nation, if there is such a thing.We have to put thought into who we put our trust in.




Sigh.




~Me











Don't forget to go see what my friend JR has posted today. He is an awesome photographer, I have learned a lot about angles and lighting from him. 


:)


JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/07/apadf6-81.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 82~ Half Moon Bay

You save my life with every word you say
You shine your light for me to find the way
Just hold me tight and cross your heart to stay
Here with me born to be
Every part of you in Half Moon Bay...


Train, Half Moon Bay







Half Moon Bay


Sunday night, on the Real Housewives of New Jersey, they began a new story arc centered around the casts visit to Napa, California, and all the drama that apparently surrounds it. The New Jersey franchise, of the popular Real Housewives "reality" series has been difficult to watch this season, I mean even more so than usual, because it is rapidly moving toward the possible permanent destruction of one or more relationships, that if it were not for the camera, and the willing prying eyes of America, may have otherwise been fixable. I won't go into any detail about that, because if you are a regular viewer you already know what I am talking about, and if you never watch the show you probably wouldn't care. But what I will talk about right here, is the inevitable collateral damage. The unintentional injuries.


In this case it isn't a relationship, but rather an innocent bystander. The town of Half Moon Bay, California. Briefly, the families and friends at the center of the RHONJ decided to make a working trip to Napa, into a bit of a vacation as well, to hopefully get away from the pressures of home, and spend some quality time together. Upon arrival in San Francisco, the families decided to rent RVs and spend 4 days at an RV park near the beach in Half Moon Bay. When they arrive at the park, they are stunned to see that the park isn't actually on the beach, but rather in a parking lot at a distance of maybe 50 ft from the beach.

 



There was some whining about having to park in the parking lot instead of on the beach itself, and some disappointment at having to BBQ out in the open, rather than on a gourmet stove at a resort. Sigh. They all knew that the trip was supposed to be bit of camping, but they didn't seem to know they would be going... camping. I guess spending 4 days next to one of the most beautiful coastal communities on the West coast, wasn't quite... how do I say this... not their cup of tea. Not when compared to the obvious glories of the Jersey Shore I suppose.


 Sigh.


I knew I should just change the channel when Teresa Giudice stepped out of her RV, walked over to great some fellow campers on the other side of the lot, and asked them... "Is there somewhere nicer we could stay around here?" I would have laughed, but it really wasn't very funny to me. One thing I did find amusing was Teresa's mistaken belief that when she stepped off the RV, she would be on an island. An island? She thought the San Francisco peninsula was an island? She was coming to the Bay Area, as part of her REALITY show, and she didn't bother to learn about where she was going?Not even a Google search?


Sigh.

 


The RHONJ will be spending 4 days in Half Moon Bay, but I won't know until next week if the show will feature anymore of Pillar Point, and the bay. But some of the previews of upcoming episodes are to say the least disheartening. Why is it, when I watch these people behaving like imbeciles, and when I say imbeciles, I mean asshole ignoramuses, in their own New Jersey neighborhoods, I laugh, and cheer on the train wreck, but when they come to my neck of the woods, or shall we say, my shore, I get offended by their stupidity and their unwillingness to just see the beauty in front of them, rather choosing instead to look down their nose at both the scenery in front of them, and their own interpersonal relationships?


Sigh. Go ahead, give it to me straight.


Maybe it's me, maybe I am simple, but do you know where I go to feel better, when nothing is going right? Half Moon Bay, and other spots along the Bay Area coastline. There is something about the natural beauty and the sounds of fog horns that speaks zen to my soul. It just does.

Sigh.




Train, Half Moon Bay...




~Me :(


Now, I am done whining, and ready to go see what JR has posted, come along with me...


JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/07/apadf6-80.html

A Phot A Day For 6 Months: Day 81~ Don't Get Me Wrong

 


"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."

~Mae West

 
 The is a quick post of randomosity. I like to photograph a lot of different things. And I love those wonderful amazing days, when stuff just seems to have been waiting for me and my camera. I absolutely believe I have some spirit putting me in the right place at the right time. Or maybe it's just that when I have my camera with me, I see things I wouldn't see otherwise. I don't know which... but that's okay, whether it's luck, or guidance, I am just going to keep on snapping, It's all good!


Here are some of my favorite photographs taken in places and situations that I hadn't planned for. Please give me some feedback on what you think of them in terms of quality, feel, as in did it make you laugh, or feel indifferent, and what you may have done different.


Enjoy...


Row v Wade...




The Dreamer 
By Pepe Ozan 2007




The Odd Coconut (Double Coconut On Display At The Conservatory Of Flowers)

 

Controlled Burn

 


 The Pretenders, Don't Get Me Wrong...
 



~Me :)




Hey, lets go see what JR has posted today...


JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/07/apadf6-79.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 80~ Berkeley And The Age Of Aquarius

 

 Aquarius { 5TH Dimension}

When the moon is in the seventh house
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars


This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The age of Aquarius, Aquarius
Aquarius

Harmony and understanding, 
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the minds true liberation


Aquarius. Aquarius

 When the moon is in the seventh house
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The age of Aquarius, Aquarius
Aquarius

 


The pictures posted in this entry aren't the best ones I have ever done, not by a long shot, but when I look at them I always smile. I always feel warm inside. It's not the pictures themselves, it's the circumstances around the photos, and the moment, or possibility hour, of perfect serendipity that allowed me to have this bit of luck. Or was it magic? Maybe it was just written in the stars.


One day, in April of 2007, I was in my therapists office, working on some monumentally painful things in my life. Things that now, in complete retrospect, shouldn't have been given nearly as much power and attention as I was giving them. It was long past time for my having moved on from people and situations I had no control over, but being the sentimental person that I was, I was finding it difficult. Moving on isn't easy for a sentimental person, which is not a legitimate excuse by the way, but I think in my particular case, I couldn't let myself move on because I think I was afraid on some level that if I did so, then I would also have to face the loss of the love that would accompany it.


Therapy is hard work. Heartbreak is devastating, and at times damn embarrassing. My main question was, how could something hurt, and embarrass me as much as this did, without actually killing me? Whose stupid system was this? Really? No shit... I wanted to know!


So, in the middle of a paid hour of self pity, with my eyes red and puffy and otherwise swollen shut from the effort to fix my problems, I glanced outside the window of my therapists office, to see what looked like an old record resting in the window of the apartment building next door. Those particular apartments sat just a couple blocks off the Cal Berkeley campus, and as such, there was always something wonderful and unusual that could be found nearby or in the neighborhood. It's just quirky that way.


I had made it a regular part of my visits to my therapist, to bring along my camera, for those times when I would reach a wall/ If that happened I would take the camera out and snap something. A shadow on the wall. A bird that would sometimes come and rest on the small ledge outside the window. Whatever caught my eye, and could serve as a momentary break from the pain I was in. It always worked to help me focus, and then resume the dialog with the therapist.


I was intrigued by the sight on an old fashioned record in the window. What could it be? Was it something magnificently meaningful, like an album of Jack Kerouc poetry? Maybe it was a full album of The Mupputs singing the best of AC/DC. Or perhaps it was William Shatner singing Rocket Man, by Elton John. I sat the rest of the hour, in a lot less pain, because I was more interested in what the record was, then wallowing another second more in my own useless whining. So, when the hour was up, I snapped off a few photos of the window next door, and the record, so I could find out when I got home, what had saved me from myself that day.


 


The record was Side 2 of the soundtrack to the movie Hair. LOL. How cool is that? Here I was, in downtown Berkeley, Hippie East Bay, and that record could have been anything, but it wasn't, it was Hair. You know...the play about the counterculture of the 1960's which overall message was one of anti-war, but also about how one should stop taking life so hard, and embrace it. Life is for the living. Sigh, Messages I really needed that day. Things I really needed to deal with.


I won't go into anymore detail about what specifically was hurting me that day, I will just share that it felt very much like the universe was telling me that yes, it was time to move on. And yes, it was ok to do so.


Sometimes, the universe sends you all you need to know... you just have to be willing to listen.




 And now, a little music... enjoy!


  The Original Motion Picture, Hair, "Age Of Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine"



5TH Dimension...  "Age Of Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine"





~Me :)

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 79~ RRC: That's Odd

"There are two sorts of curiosity... the momentary and the permanent. The momentary is concerned with the odd appearance on the surface of things. The permanent is attracted by the amazing and consecutive that flows on beneath the surface of things."


-~Robert Lynd


RRC: That's Odd


One of my favorite things to do is travel along the Pacific coastline here in the Bay Area and take all the gorgeous scenery in. There is a particular spot, on the San Mateo County coastline, that I enjoy and am awestruck by, no matter how often I see it. It's Devil's Slide just south of Pacifica, California. The short stretch of highway has been featured in film, but it also holds an interesting spot in history. As you come down the steep highway slope, you can't help but be awestruck by the natural beauty, but you might also be caught a bit off guard by just how narrow and steep the slope is. If you are going south on HWY1, you have the ocean on the right and almost no shoulder at all. It's gorgeous, but scary at the same time.


 


Now, here is where it all get's really interesting, and ODD. As you turn the corner you see above, you come around the side of the cliff and off to the right, on a wider cliff over the ocean, you will see a really ODD shaped dwelling, or is it a garage of some sort?  Maybe it's the worlds largest birdhouse? It could be a storage shack maybe. Ohh... I know, I bet it is a dream home of a wealthy eccentric, that found out they didn't fancy living precariously on not just any cliff, but Devil's Slide cliff. Could that be it? Ummm... well... no. That ODD little building is actually something much less spooky. In a weird way, that building might be described as a kind of lighthouse. Well, that's how I think of it anyway.




According to Wikipedia, it's called a Base End Station. These little dwellings were used in World War II by the U.S. Coast Guard Artillery as part of the fire control systems for locating the positions of attacking ships and controlling the firing of seacoast guns, mortars, or mines to defend against them. Wow! It is sometimes easy to forget that during that era, the enemy could pretty much walk, or swim, up to America and give us the WHAT FOR. I don't remember hearing anything about this kind of thing in history class, and I don't remember my parents mentioning it either. But can you imagine what it must have felt like to see it being built for the sole purpose of coastal defense?


 


Suddenly the natural beauty of the ocean, and the sandy beaches and the amazing wildflowers of the California Pacific coastline, has this strange, ominous, watchtower of sorts, heavily armed, and ready to fire on ships and submarines that might come to do us harm. I can definitely see the need for it, and I can see how it must have been a relief to know it was there looking out for us, but at the same time I think I would have felt really sad that it had ever been necessary at all. I think the people who lived in that area, during the 1940's probably felt the same way we do now, when he are faced with some of the choices that needed to be made in post 9/11 America.





The earliest of these Base End stations were built in the late 1800's and were used until about 1946, and then were closed, later to be sold off to private land owners. There is perhaps as many as 100 of this type of structures surviving across America, the ones inland used primarily for early detection of fires, but there could have been a number of different Base End operations sectioned off per floor. I am not sure when this Base End station was built on Devil's Slide, there isn't a lot of information about it, but it's seems it was sold to a private owner in 1983. It's possible that the state of California owns it now, as there is currently a bridge and tunnel is being built to replace the Devil's Slide section of roadway due to erosion and frequent landslides during the winter months.

 



I will miss driving on Devil's Slide after the new bridge and tunnel through the mountains opens. I love that drive, especially on sunny summer and autumn afternoons. The water below can look like crystal. It shines and seems to be so calm you could walk on it. And the natural beauty of the wildflowers and the occasional awesome bird, can make for a relaxing, peaceful drive. I understand the need for the bridge through the hills, it will be safer and more reliable, but as you know I am hopelessly in love with the Bay Area, and I hate for anything to change. Especially if there is a change that there might be a negative environmental impact. And believe me, there was some debate about that, but after many years of impact studies, the bridge project was a go.


The bypass is scheduled to be finished this fall, and after that time the only access to the Devil's Slide area will be by trail for hiking and for bike access. I will be looking forward to taking that on in the summer of 2012, and perhaps at that time I will finally be able to see the Base End station up close. And you know, I will have my camera in hand!

:)


If you can, feel free to join in with this week's Round Robin Challenges, I know Karen would be thrilled to have you play along. Just click the link at the top of this post, to be redirected back to the official Round Robin blog. You can also find a list, and the links to, the other participants in this challenge!


~Me :)

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 78~ California Dreaming

"At night the fog was thick and full of light, and sometimes voices."



~ Erin Bow, Plain Kate


 California Dreaming...

 


Fog. If theres one thing the Bay Area can count on, it's fog. I LOVE fog, well, let me qualify that, I LOVE fog when I have a camera in my hand. I don't drive in fog, don't care much for how it affects my arthritis, but if I had to choose my favorite atmospheric condition for doing outdoor photography, it would definitely be in the fog... in fact... the foggier the better!



"Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us."



~Henri Matisse



I think fog brings out more colors and shadows which would be obscured on a bright sunny day. I enjoy the fact that everything can seem reasonable and focused one moment, and the next moment you can almost  feel like a ghost is creeping up on you, outdoors, in the middle of the day. 


"Under the thinning fog the surf curled and creamed, almost without sound, like a thought trying to form itself on the edge of consciousness."



~Raymond Chandler 





Don't get me wrong... I have also had some wonderfully spooky conditions, usually late in the day, as a sunny day will slowly transition to a foggy one. The light within the fog can make it difficult to focus sometimes, and it seems like the only reasonable thing to do is call it a day, but if you can be in the right place at the right time, the mist can be used to set a more lighthearted feel to the photo you are doing.



When I think of what I love most about living in California, especially the Bay Area, I think about all the wonderful micro-climates that tend to keep it all interesting. And I love that you can always depend on the fog to keep things cool. Driving in fog... not so much... living in the fog... meh... doing photography in the fog... there is nothing like it!


 "Fog comes in on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.



~Carl Sandburg 



And Now... The Mamas And The Papas



California Dreaming

 

~Me :)

Be sure to stop by and see what JR is posting, I just know it will be something amazing!

JR

http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/07/apadf6-77.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 77~ When You're Strange

"My wife is always trying to get rid of me. The other day she told me to put the garbage out. I said to her I already did. She told me to go out and keep an eye on it."
 


~Rodney Dangerfield



Ghosts (Original Post Date May 25th 2012)



Garbage. We all have it. Some have more of it than others, some have less, but one thing is for sure, we all have it.



Don't we?



I mean I think that me a universal truth.



Right.



Here is what I am getting at. Remember a couple months back when I shared with you about the odd neighbor that moved onto the property where I live? At the time I was almost completely sure the new neighbor was perhaps a ghost. I was only kidding with you a little bit. There was a part of me, that kinda believed it on some level, because at least it would explain his odd hours, and his strange lack of... well... life.



Since that time, I have finally seen the neighbor climb the stairs, and to my profound relief he was carrying a bag of what appeared to be laundry. Ghosts don't wear laundry... right? So he must be alive! And anyway... ghosts do wear clothes, they just don't do laundry... it's a fact. So, why would a ghost carry a bag of clothes up the stairs to his apartment, when everyone knows ghosts are not known for having a particular fashion sense?



Okay. It's not a ghost. But the oddities continue. Remember when I shared that the new tenant had never once taken his garbage down on the usual Thursday garbage day? A fact that I thought was kinda odd because who doesn't make garbage, especially after just having moved to a new apartment? Well, now it has been 2 more months since that post, and still no garbage. NO garbage since moving in at the first of May? That's odd... right?



Okay... no garbage. But he is now coming and going at while still rigidly scheduled times... leaving at 4:30 am, arriving back home at 8:00 pm is a little more normal than his original hours of arriving home at 8:00 pm, and leaving again at 12:30 am. Those are much healthier hours I think... but to do that every single day, Monday thru Friday, and on major holiday's like the 4th of July? Really? That can't be healthy.



Here is another thing. The other night, as Alan was leaving for work, for an overtime night, he saw the new tenant coming in at the usual 8:00 pm, and as he drove past him on the long driveway, Alan waved. And as he did so, the new tenant glared at him, as if to ask... "What the whoopteedoo do you want?" Alan, looked away, because it was a really awkward moment. The new tenant continued on up the driveway road, got out of his car, went in his apartment, and no lights came on for the rest of the night. NONE.



I don't know what to think. I suppose he is just some guy that has recently went through an emotional trauma of some sort, but it's a little creepy to be sure. Hmmm...



Any thoughts? Theories? Guesses? Speculations?



Anyone?



Pretty soon I will share with you about the other new tenants that recently moved onto the property. I promise it is a much more fun story to share. Basically about the most normal part of living around other people... the noise that means that not only are you alive... you are embracing life to it's fullest. You will get a giggle from it, I promise.



:)


Now, how about some music. I hope you have been enjoying the music videos this week. It feels good to set life's absurdities to the music in my head. But feel free to tell me if you hate it. Okay?



And Now... The Doors



When You're Strange





~Me :)


Now, go see what the awesomeness that is JR has been up to with his camera!


http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/07/apadf6-76.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 76 ~ Peaceful Trails

"Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself. It's not far. It is within your reach. Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know. Perhaps it is everywhere... on water and land."




~Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass



**Before I begin, there is a link I would like to share with you. My friend Laura has written about a different perspective and element of the terrible tragedy in Aurora, Colorado last week. It's times like this, that I find myself dwelling on only one aspect of a tradgety, without considering the total situation. There has been a lot of people in the media drawing attention away from the overall responsibility, by faulting, to a degree, some of the victims, and the asking irrevelent questions both of which only serves to distract from the obvious questions. Laura has taken one of those judgements and answers that judgemental question from not just opinion, but from experience. If you can only read one blog post tonight, please skip mine and go read hers. It should be read.

Laura ~ Adventures In Juggling, Considering Aurora


Okay, now about this picture. I went out for a walk in Tilden Park a while back, to clear my head, and just be in peace. A day that had started on a sad, lonely note, was finished with a great deal of peace. The whole park is absolutly stuinning, but I love the Botantical Garden in the park the most, because all through the year you are treated to the best of the native plants and trees of California. It is sectioned off to reflect different areas of the Golden State from the desert land to the amazing redwoods. Guess which is my favorite? If you guessed the redwoods, you get whatever is behind door #1. The dark little path you see, is the rock trail that goes up to a small collection of amazing redwoods.


 It is quiet, and cool, and just walking through there, tends to comfort me unlike anything else, well, except autumn LOL. I love the redwoods, and I am going to do some more pictures of this part of the park, hopefully tomorrow, so perhaps I will bring you a look at the trees this next Sunday. Cross your fingers for me! If all goes well, perhaps I will head up the giant redwoods up north, while we are on vacation this fall. It will be all new terrain for me, and I could use the challenge.



And now the music video of the day... 




Paul Simon, Kodachrome






"And Everything looks worse in black and white."




See you tomorrow.


:)




~Me :)

A Photo A Day For 6 Months:Day 75 ~ Jazzman Take My Blues Away

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” 

~Victor Hugo  William Shakespeare

Okay, another Monday done. Closer to our month vacation in October. Sigh. I am short-timing it I think. I woke up with a lot more energy today, the Fibromyalgia pain is better, and the while the sun was out today, it wasn't unbearably hot. In fact, it was just about perfect outside. I even considered going down to Oakland and greeting President Obama at the FOX theater, where he was attending a fundraiser. But the traffic would be a nightmare, and the barricades wouldn't let the average guy or gal get very close, so, in the end, I decided to stay home, and work a little in the garden. There is a lot going around in my brain. I wish President Obama would come to Bay Area sometime when he doesn't have a fundraiser to attend. It's depressing that access to the president goes to only the highest donors, or is it bidders? Either way, there is something wrong with that.

I put some music on today while I was in the yard. I LOVE Carole King. Jazzman was one of my favorite songs as a young one. While I was listening to it today, it reminded me of a photo I took at Union Square several years ago, just before Christmas. I love the street performers in San Francisco. They are awesome, and really set a mood sometimes. The man in the photo above was an pretty great musician. He had a real talent. It was amazing to sit and listen to him, as shoppers went scurrying by and folks dressed to the nines walked toward the Theater District. San Francisco is magical at Christmas, there is music everywhere. Today would have been a good day for the Ethereal Musician today to out playing his tunes, you know, that guy with the saxophone who can sometimes be heard in the yard. 

But no. It was not to be. Maybe he was in Oakland, standing at a barricade, greeting the president. You never know.

So, in his absence, what's a girl to do? Why go to YOUTUBE of course.

Ladies and Gentlemen... Carole King

 

~Me :)

Go see what my friend JR is up to, I know it's something amazing!

JR 

http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/07/apadf6-74.html

A Phot A Day For 6 Months: Day 74~ HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP

"Whenever I feel the need to exercise, I lie down until it goes away."


~Robert Maynard Hitchens


Just a short post tonight. I want to share a little humorous situation, that will hopefully bring you a grin as you begin another week on planet Earth. Most of the time I am a pretty even tempered person, but when things like what happened in Aurora suddenly present themselves, it can be difficult to pull out of the funk it leaves in it's wake. Fortunately, I have my Alan, who always makes me feel better, and I have Dylan and Hendrix who make me laugh daily as they do their best to figure out their world as well!


Here's what happened. I went outside the other day, to check on the gardens, and clear my head a bit, when I came back in, my orange tabby, Dylan, ran past me, and didn't stop until he made it as far under the bed as he could go. I didn't think much of it, until I glanced into my office, and saw my desk chair swinging around and round in a decent spiral.


I thought about it for a second and then realized that Dylan had hightailed it out of my office, so he wouldn't get scolded for getting on my chair. It was kind of funny, how he thinks he can get away with it, if he can just cover his tracks. Well, he almost did this time except for one thing... the internet footprints he left behind! Look really closely at the picture above... see it? Yep, Dylan had stood up on my chair, stretched his front paws onto the computer keyboard and typed... HELP, HELP, HELP, HELP, HELP, HELP, HELP, HELP.


LOL.


Thank goodness the Help tap on AOL doesn't immediately contact 911 dispatch. No telling how much fun THAT would have been to explain!


LOL.

Dylan is a goofy little cat. I have seen him stalk, then attack, laundry, shoes, my purse, the remote control, my hairbrush, a small bag of jelly beans, and my personal favorite... an unopened box of black pepper. LOL. Dylan can be a handful, but goodness, he might just be the most beautiful cat I have ever seen. He is my baby!

See...
 

:)

~Me :)
 Now, go see what Jama and JR are up to today!


Jama
Sweet Memories

JR 
JR Cline Photography

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 73~ The Next Day

The tears I feel today
I'll wait to shed tomorrow.
Though I'll not sleep this night
Nor find surcrease from sorrow.
My eyes must keep their sight.
I dare not be tear-blinded.
I must be free to talk.
Not choked with grief, clear-minded.
My mouth cannot betray
The anguish that I know.
Yes, I'll keep my tears til later...
But my grief will never go.


~Anne McCaffrey, Dragonsinger (Pern, #4)


Okay, I am okay. I was going to take a little time off, but I slept really well, and when I woke up today, my body wasn't in nearly as much pain as it had been. Sleep... solid sleep... is usually the key. I have to admit, getting stuff off my chest didn't hurt either. 


I was pissed off. I am still pissed off. I expect I will still be pissed off come November 6th... Election Day. I do know that the process of blogging has been amazingly cathartic over the nearly 9 years I have been doing it. I processed the death of my mother. The death of some good friends. The death of the best cat ever.


But I have also shared my great joys. Dylan and Hendrix. My photography. The new friends I have made. The ridiculous situations I have found myself in. The amazing Twitter friends I have made, who make me smile every day.


You know... LIFE. It's an absurd system. When you hurt so bad you can't breathe... you have to get back up. When you are grieving, you  have to get back up. When you are frightened... you have to get back up. When you miss a friend who you have lost... GOD DAMN IT...YOU STILL HAVE TO GET BACK UP.


Yeah, I am still pissed off. Until something is done, until one of the winner's running for president grows a pair of balls and stands up to the NRA I will be pissed off. Sometimes it feels like there isn't a moment to spare. If anything like what just happened in Aurora, Colorado, happened to Alan... look out. If it were to happened to me, again, look out. I will not roll over and die. If my death is inevitable, then so is the gunman's.


Never underestimate the power of a truly pissed off woman!


~Me :)


Please go now and take a look at the photography posted by my pal JR. Ooops... my awesomely talented pal JR. :)


JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/07/apadf6-70-72.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day~72 Deepest Sympathy And Love For Aurora

If tears could build a stairway,
And memories a land,
I'd walk right up to Heaven
And bring you home again.

~Author Unknown


**Warning... this post is not a lighthearted one. If I offend anyone, I apologize... but I am not sorry.


FUCK YOU! The Rant Paragraphs...


Every time I hear someone say American is the greatest country on the planet I want to borrow their rose colored glasses, so I could see the world the way they do. And yet at the same time, I want to point out how very wrong they are. I did a little Googling, and as an example, we don't lead the world in EDUCATION, but want to know what we do lead the world in... HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTINGS. That is what we are doing for our children, that's the world we are giving them.. AMERICA... LEADING THE WORLD IN SCHOOL SHOOTINGS SINCE 1999. 1999... And the Columbine Massacre.


Both Mitt Romney, and President Obama held their respective press conferences today, and neither candidate had the BALLS to say ENOUGH. GOD BLESS AMERICA  and GOD BLESS THE FUCKING NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION. If I hadn't made up my mind before, it's made up now. If President Obama doesn't do anything SUBSTANTIAL about gun control between now and November, I will NOT vote for him, or anyone else who can't stand up the NRA. And don't give me that BULLSHIT about if you don't vote you can't complain... SHUT UP! As a matter of fact I can, and I will. LOUD. Because that's what AMERICA is about. The freedom to speak. To seek change. To insist that our government DO IT'S JOB!


The Government has kept us safe since 9/11? No, not really. The government has us being molested at airports. The Obama administration has more guns on the street now, then when George W Bush was in office, and oh by the way, we weren't being molested at airports during his administration.


There are more Americans, then members of the NRA. It's time for those of us who can think straight to make our voices known, not just loudly... DEAFENING!


PRESIDENT OBAMA. DO SOMETHING NOW! I DON'T WANT A PRESIDENT WHO CAN'T STAND UP TO THE NRA!


WEEP... The Sadness Paragraph...


Every time one of these shooting takes place, invariably I will learn about someone's life. Someone extraordinary. And while I may have never met them, I never forget them.


(Dr. Michael Griffith)
1991 - Lubby's Masacre


(John Scully)
1993 - 101 California St Shooting


(All The Children Of Columbine)
1999 - Columbine High School, Columbine, Co.


(Amish School Children)
2006 - Amish School, Bart Township, Lancaster, Pa


(Gabby Giffords)
2011 - Tucson Shooting, Tucson Az


(Jessica Ghawi)
2012 - Aurora Century Theater Shooting, Aurora Colorado


In Aurora, as of right now... 71 Shot or Injured. 12 Dead.


Enough...weep... weep... weep. I am sorry, I will PRAY for you is just NOT ENOUGH.


Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence (Website)


Brady Campaign (On Twitter)


Please take a moment to sign the Petition at the Brady Campagin to Prevent Gun Violence.


Share These Badges In Support Of The Victims Of The Aurora Shootings. (From ABC7 News San Francisco Facebook Page)
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~Me :(

NOTE: I am taking a few days off. I thought I would make it to my goal, but I just feel the artist in me draining out, and an exacerbation of my Fibromyalgia flowing in.  I will be back soon I think. Gotta take care of the health first.


:(

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 71: San Francisco Brides

"Longed for him. Got him. Shit."


~Margaret Atwood


On any give Tuesday, or Wednesday you can probably find a bride and groom, posing for romantic pictures, somewhere in San Francisco. I have had amazing luck in finding such scenes to photograph, and it always makes me a bit reflective. In the moment, I will more than likely not have much time to grab my camera, put it on the proper setting, and get the photo. My best luck has been in Golden Gate Park, at the various picturesque points, but the Palace of Fine Arts and the Legion of Honor are great spots as well. I mostly photograph the couples in color, but I think I have gotten my best scenes in black and white.


I don't ever show the faces of the brides and grooms, as I am mindful of the moment for them. But also because sometimes it isn't the couple themselves that makes the photo, but the scene around them. Of all the photos of bridges and grooms I have done over the years, this is one of my very favorites. I think there is a lot to take in. Is the man walking away from the bride, as in letting go of a lover, or is he the Best Man, and simply done fulfilling his job as the witness? Is the man more of a haunting figure? Does the presence of the man evoke a sad feeling, or one of indifference? Personally, I am not sure how it feels to me. I was there, and I know who and what he was, but I still find myself pondering the man's part in the photo 6 years after taking the photo.


So, tell me your impression. Do you like the addition of the second man in the photo? Or should I have simply cropped him out and had the photo be just about the couple? Does the second man diminish the romance of the bride and groom? Good photo? Bad photo? What was your first thought when you saw it?


Opinions. Opinions.


"I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury."


~Groucho Marx


~Me :)