Sunday, July 16, 2006

I Just Want to Know!


Stepford Avril
Originally uploaded by katzeye.
Is there like some kind of secret society, maybe run by the devil,
that insists that if you are young, female, have a little bit of
talent, or an inclination, you can achieve stardom if and only if, you
become blonde and get a boob job so that you fit the mold of the
young, female star (and all look the same)?

It's just so annoying that all female singers, for instance, seem to
go to this secret society, some kind of stepford stars soceity, and
sell their souls, which are sucked out of their bodies with some kind
of wierd sci-fi vacuum, and then they are left empty, but blonde and
buxom.

Britney, Jessica, Christina, Paris, Nicole, the list goes on and on.
Brunettes entering the machine and coming out all looking exactly the
same!

What's the deal anyway?

So along comes Avril, and she is different! She is skinny, flat,
scrawny, angry, with her dark hair parted down the middle, almost
hiding her face. She's a little bit punk and a lot individual (well,
at least more so than the the stepford stars).

So, look at the photo, and tell me.

She's gone and done it, too, hasn't she? She got sucked into the
stepford star machine and spit out the other end, looking like every
other young, female star, and lacking the soul that was just traded in
for her new star-making looks.

It's just so tiresome!

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Female Photographers


Mother and Daughter
Originally uploaded by katzeye.
This morning my husband pointed me in the direction of some other female photograhers who are shooting much as I did when my kids were young, in a journalistic style along with the writing that accompanies it.

I recall, even before I became a mom, and in fact, probably even before my first day of Kindergarten, thinking that I was an observer. I liked (like) to observe people and anything visual. I would be really quiet, a lot of the time, mostly deep in observation (when not climbing trees, exploring canyons, or riding waves, all of which, in a sense, for me, are other forms of observing).

When I looked at a couple of their blogs, I was entranced to find fellow observers. It brought me right back to my center. It is akin to the feeling one might have when, after being a stranger in a strange land for some time, returning home, and immediately recalling all that one values.

Thank you Mark. And thank you ladies. If you wander over here and see this, you will know who you are. And perhaps in the very near future, if it agrees with you, I will link this blog to you because you are creating beautiful photographs of childhood, and a beautiful history. And you are being wonderful, gentle moms, that is very evident.

{note on the photo that accompanies this blog: I took this about five years ago. It is my daughter-in-law with my first grandchild, who was supposed to be napping. Clearly, mom is tired, as all moms are at this stage. The photo is actually a film photo, and I copied it with my digital, and plan, one day, soon, I hope, to rephotograph it on a stand, with a tripod to make a more crisp copy. In the meantime, I am savoring this soft, dream-like copy, because that is like my memories of my children at this age.}

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Attack Beagle


Attack Beagle
Originally uploaded by katzeye.
Things are not always as we might expect. I was taking a brisk walk in downtown Huntington Beach, and passed by this house with a Beagle at the window.

He had his chin on the sill and he peacefully watched me walk by. I thought, Awwwww. But I didn't take my camera out (being so recently victimized by the mean camera thief, and also not having all my stuff replaced yet, I have tended to not take out my camera as often as I used to. I am still paranoid that someone will take what I do have, and then I will really be despondent and hopeless).

I rounded the corner, and my inner muse kept nagging at me to go back and take that photo, because I would regret letting it pass by.

I was nearly to the next corner, but I decided that my muse was right, and so I turned around.

As I walked back, I thought all about how cute this photo would be. I used to have a Beagle and he was so smart and sweet. This would be the best photo. I was remembering how sweetly he was basking in the sun on the window sill, watching me go by, docile and peaceful.

I got to the location and he was still there, thank goodness. Still peacefull basking. I pulled out my camera, and he immediately reared up and began to bark at me.

He barked the bark of a threatened dog in need of protecting his territory. I snapped and I went on my way.

It was a completely different photo than what I had imagined. But then, c'est la vie, n'est pas?

Friday, July 07, 2006

Non-Existent Words that People Use Anyway


Why?
Originally uploaded by katzeye.
Would this woodie go quicker than present day cars? Did you know that there is no such word as "quicker"?

It does not exist. You won't find it in the dictionary.

There is quick, quickly, quicken, but there is no "quicker."

It's probably Ogden Nash's fault, because, a little while ago, he wrote:

Candy
is dandy
But liquor
is quicker.

He was just bending the rules to be funny. Or "funner"?

What other words are there that we use as if they were real words when they really aren't? Can you think of any?

Just curious!

Monday, July 03, 2006

What Lies Within


Jonas as a Robot
Originally uploaded by katzeye.
What is your interpretation of this Ralph Waldo Emerson quote? I mean, yes, it's pretty simple, in many ways, but what is your personal take, and what kind of person meaning do you attach to it? And/or, what do you think he meant by it? Feel free to wax philosophic!

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."