Forget Diets, Exercise and Pills!
This is the new era of cyberspace! We shop online, we communicate online, we send files online. There is virtually no need to ever go anywhere anymore! We can just stay home and utilize our windows to the universe for all of our needs, including the need to shed a few pounds and look MAH-volous!
A recent “news” item is all about how Katie Couric shed 20 pounds thanks to modern technology. Yep. Apparently an enthused photo editor thought she could use some slimming and so he used his mouse, and voila! 20 pounds gone, just like that! Who would ever know? I certainly will never see her in person, will you?
Let’s see, if I just never go out in public, and why would I need to, other than to get groceries and work out, I could just maintain a certain look, via software. I can get my groceries online, and if there is no need to work out, why should I?
Of course, her response to the controversy (and to me, the controversy is, and ought to be, how far should photo editors go to alter images? But that is an entirely other topic), was that she liked the original photo better because there was “more of me to love!” Hmm…imagine being narcissistic enough to…well, never mind, that is also a different topic. It’s just that my irony alarms seem to be going off here.
So, we no longer need to worry about such things as love handles or double chins, because they can be removed in seconds thanks to modern photo editing software.
Okay.
(I am wondering if there is any kind of elongating tool, I have always wanted to be around 5’7” to 5’8”, I’d only need 2-3 inches added.)
PS-I used this photo of my grandson and my sister, who is about an inch or two taller than me and in no need of digital lipo-suction because that way no one could accuse me of altering the photo, or of using someone in need of alteration.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
New Online Photography Workshop
For those of you who have been waiting, and you know who you are, or for those of you who are interested, I finally started the online photography workshop. Find it here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/kczphotoclass/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/kczphotoclass/
Friday, August 18, 2006
child denied her childhood
Have we actually found the man who murdered this poor little girl? I have heard that he said such things as that he kidnapped her from school, and that he drugged her. Well, if this happened the day after Christmas, what was she doing in school? No one has school the day after Christmas. And the autopsy showed not a trace of any drug in her body. So, right there, two lies.
I also heard that his ex-wife stated, basically: what the heck is he talking about? he was with me in Alabama that day! (not her exact words). Ex-wives are not necessarily known for their loyalty to their ex-husbands, so why would she offer him an alibi? She wouldn’t. But she’d probably be eager to speak up immediately if he said something totally wrong. Lie number three?
It has also been stated that there is NO evidence, anywhere, ever, of his ever having been in Colorado, ever. Okay, hmmmm. Lie number four?
So, it appears that he might be a liar. But a murderer?
It has come out that he was obsessed with the Jon-Benet case, and that he was emailing Patsy, the mom, quite a bit, throughout the case. And now he is confessing to kidnapping her from school the day after Christmas, etc.
Maybe he is mostly a nutcase. A nutcase who likes to spend time in the pit of depravity. Maybe he gets a thrill from imagining himself as the murderer. Maybe all along, he has been attracted to the case and wanting some notoriety. Maybe he just wants to attach himself to something he finds to be thrillingly wicked.
And maybe the investigators are just happy to have someone so willing to confess that the facts can be bent a little.
I don’t know. And I suppose I have no right to speculate, not having the facts, all of the facts, and just the facts. It will be interesting to see if the truth comes out.
I do know this. This little girl was murdered, in spirit, a long time before she was physically murdered. She was denied the right to have a normal childhood, to be accepted as she was, and to be able to grow up climbing trees, not caring about what she looked like. She had a lifestyle foisted upon her that was not normal. For the sake of their own pride, her parents stole her life from her. She was sexualized by her parents long before someone molested her. She was used. She was made into a symbol and denied the right to be a real girl.
It takes a village to murder one little, innocent girl!
I also heard that his ex-wife stated, basically: what the heck is he talking about? he was with me in Alabama that day! (not her exact words). Ex-wives are not necessarily known for their loyalty to their ex-husbands, so why would she offer him an alibi? She wouldn’t. But she’d probably be eager to speak up immediately if he said something totally wrong. Lie number three?
It has also been stated that there is NO evidence, anywhere, ever, of his ever having been in Colorado, ever. Okay, hmmmm. Lie number four?
So, it appears that he might be a liar. But a murderer?
It has come out that he was obsessed with the Jon-Benet case, and that he was emailing Patsy, the mom, quite a bit, throughout the case. And now he is confessing to kidnapping her from school the day after Christmas, etc.
Maybe he is mostly a nutcase. A nutcase who likes to spend time in the pit of depravity. Maybe he gets a thrill from imagining himself as the murderer. Maybe all along, he has been attracted to the case and wanting some notoriety. Maybe he just wants to attach himself to something he finds to be thrillingly wicked.
And maybe the investigators are just happy to have someone so willing to confess that the facts can be bent a little.
I don’t know. And I suppose I have no right to speculate, not having the facts, all of the facts, and just the facts. It will be interesting to see if the truth comes out.
I do know this. This little girl was murdered, in spirit, a long time before she was physically murdered. She was denied the right to have a normal childhood, to be accepted as she was, and to be able to grow up climbing trees, not caring about what she looked like. She had a lifestyle foisted upon her that was not normal. For the sake of their own pride, her parents stole her life from her. She was sexualized by her parents long before someone molested her. She was used. She was made into a symbol and denied the right to be a real girl.
It takes a village to murder one little, innocent girl!
Thursday, August 10, 2006
War. What Is it Good For?
WAR. What is it good for?
I hate war. When I was a kid at the movies, war scenes always terrified me far more than any horror flick ever could! Even as an adult, war scenes make me cry, cause me to lose sleep, terrorize me. I cannot even stand to read about war. From a very early age, I sensed that war was the ultimate evil.
And yeah, I don’t like violence, in general, and I don’t like guns (even though I have a really good aim, my dad taught us to shoot at tin cans in the desert when we were young), and I don’t like mean people, and I don’t even like anger!
One might say that I am a pacifist through and through.
Would I like it if we were not at war right now? Absolutely!
Imagine if you would, that you live on a street in a make-believe neighborhood. You are living your life to the best of your ability. You have friendly neighbors on this street, and sometimes you socialize at each other’s homes. Down the street, though, there is this one family that hates you. And, in fact it hates you so much that it wants to kill you and your family. And, in fact, it believes that if its members were to rape your daughters, torture and maim your sons, and kill you, that they would be doing a noble thing. They don’t care about laws or the land, morality, what’s right and wrong, or anything like that. To them, the only thing that is right is to destroy you.
There are other neighbors who feel the same way. They fight amongst themselves, and often you see patrol cars pulling up at their homes to try to settle some dispute or to arrest someone who kills or harms one of the others. But, they are unified in their hatred for you, and have secret meetings and plots.
As time goes on, the threats against you and your family grow, and there are even attempts to destroy you. There have been assaults on your home and family, and upon your neighbors. Oh, and by the way, you cannot move.
So, what do you do? Do you go have a chat with these people? Do you see if you can work out your differences? You tried that a long time ago, and they made it clear that they do not want to hear anything you have to say, and they have no desire to compromise or reason. They intend to destroy you, and that is all there is to it.
Sometimes there is no avoiding war. Sometimes one must defend oneself and one’s own. And when war cannot be avoided, we must be vigilant about protecting and defending.
So, the neighborhood forms a kind of group to protect and defend those being attacked. The group may need to use weapons and it may need to use force, and it may even need to spy a little to stay on top of the actions and plans of those who wish to destroy you.
Amazingly enough, there will be some who will be more angry at that little band trying to protect us than they are at the ones who would destroy us.
Throughout history, the story has been told and retold.
War is evil. It will be with us until the end of time. I hate war. But I realize that without war there would be many countries that would not be enjoying the freedoms they do today. Without war, Nazism would likely still be a major force, as one example among many (and thank goodness for the brave men and women of WWII who took on that evil!). Sometimes war is necessary.
As much of a Pacifist and violence-hater that I am, you can bet that if a rapist had invaded my home and attempted to assault my daughter, I would have used whatever force necessary to protect her. I would have risked my life. I would have called upon my good aim, if necessary.
I support our troops who are defending us. I support our leaders who are working hard to protect us. I am grateful that they prevented the deaths of innocent citizens flying from London in the last 24 hours.
War. What is it good for? For freeing the oppressed, for protecting the innocent, for preserving our freedoms.
I hate war. When I was a kid at the movies, war scenes always terrified me far more than any horror flick ever could! Even as an adult, war scenes make me cry, cause me to lose sleep, terrorize me. I cannot even stand to read about war. From a very early age, I sensed that war was the ultimate evil.
And yeah, I don’t like violence, in general, and I don’t like guns (even though I have a really good aim, my dad taught us to shoot at tin cans in the desert when we were young), and I don’t like mean people, and I don’t even like anger!
One might say that I am a pacifist through and through.
Would I like it if we were not at war right now? Absolutely!
Imagine if you would, that you live on a street in a make-believe neighborhood. You are living your life to the best of your ability. You have friendly neighbors on this street, and sometimes you socialize at each other’s homes. Down the street, though, there is this one family that hates you. And, in fact it hates you so much that it wants to kill you and your family. And, in fact, it believes that if its members were to rape your daughters, torture and maim your sons, and kill you, that they would be doing a noble thing. They don’t care about laws or the land, morality, what’s right and wrong, or anything like that. To them, the only thing that is right is to destroy you.
There are other neighbors who feel the same way. They fight amongst themselves, and often you see patrol cars pulling up at their homes to try to settle some dispute or to arrest someone who kills or harms one of the others. But, they are unified in their hatred for you, and have secret meetings and plots.
As time goes on, the threats against you and your family grow, and there are even attempts to destroy you. There have been assaults on your home and family, and upon your neighbors. Oh, and by the way, you cannot move.
So, what do you do? Do you go have a chat with these people? Do you see if you can work out your differences? You tried that a long time ago, and they made it clear that they do not want to hear anything you have to say, and they have no desire to compromise or reason. They intend to destroy you, and that is all there is to it.
Sometimes there is no avoiding war. Sometimes one must defend oneself and one’s own. And when war cannot be avoided, we must be vigilant about protecting and defending.
So, the neighborhood forms a kind of group to protect and defend those being attacked. The group may need to use weapons and it may need to use force, and it may even need to spy a little to stay on top of the actions and plans of those who wish to destroy you.
Amazingly enough, there will be some who will be more angry at that little band trying to protect us than they are at the ones who would destroy us.
Throughout history, the story has been told and retold.
War is evil. It will be with us until the end of time. I hate war. But I realize that without war there would be many countries that would not be enjoying the freedoms they do today. Without war, Nazism would likely still be a major force, as one example among many (and thank goodness for the brave men and women of WWII who took on that evil!). Sometimes war is necessary.
As much of a Pacifist and violence-hater that I am, you can bet that if a rapist had invaded my home and attempted to assault my daughter, I would have used whatever force necessary to protect her. I would have risked my life. I would have called upon my good aim, if necessary.
I support our troops who are defending us. I support our leaders who are working hard to protect us. I am grateful that they prevented the deaths of innocent citizens flying from London in the last 24 hours.
War. What is it good for? For freeing the oppressed, for protecting the innocent, for preserving our freedoms.
Friday, August 04, 2006
babytalk
Oh Brother!!!! Is this a shockingly, disgusting, and gross photograph. Not at all!!!
I am one of those people who is not immersed in popular culture that much. I do not subscribe to PEOPLE, I think the tabloids are sources of amusement during waits in supermarket lines, on those rare occasions when I actually go into a supermarket (I usually shop where there are no magazines and no toyfoods). I am not much of a TV watcher. I seem to live in an alternate dimension. Perhaps this makes me qualified to speak on this issue because I am not brain-washed as to current societal norms.
And so, when I see certain immoral and immodest types being role models to pre-teens, to me that IS shocking. When I see pseudo stars gaining popularity by accidentally producing and selling sex videos featuring themselves as accidental porn stars, that to me is disgusting.
When I hear people explaining why they had five children, each by different fathers (or mothers), to whom they were not married, at the time, and, in fact, when all were actually elsewhere committed, to me that is gross. (“It just happened!” They say as an explanation as to why they screwed up their lives and those of a trail of innocent victims. Or “I fell in love” to explain why they abandoned family and/or destroyed another family. When feelings and impulses rule us, the society is doomed!)
When I read of people who destroy or even murder for gain or power, I feel discouraged and I feel contempt for such acts.
So, read the article and come back and tell me what you think:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060804/od_afp/afplifestyleussocialbreastfeeding
Shocking? Disgusting? Gross?
What is happening in our world where what is pure and beautiful can be seen by some as being ugly and unspeakable, and what is ugly and unspeakable is seen as being worth our attention and focus?
Some people have it turned all around backwards and inside out.
To me, this is a truly beautiful photograph! This is a loving moment that is pure and inspiring. Look at the baby’s expression! This is what mothering is all about and this is what produces a human being who will be kind, moral, and decent.
I applaud BABYTALK.
I am one of those people who is not immersed in popular culture that much. I do not subscribe to PEOPLE, I think the tabloids are sources of amusement during waits in supermarket lines, on those rare occasions when I actually go into a supermarket (I usually shop where there are no magazines and no toyfoods). I am not much of a TV watcher. I seem to live in an alternate dimension. Perhaps this makes me qualified to speak on this issue because I am not brain-washed as to current societal norms.
And so, when I see certain immoral and immodest types being role models to pre-teens, to me that IS shocking. When I see pseudo stars gaining popularity by accidentally producing and selling sex videos featuring themselves as accidental porn stars, that to me is disgusting.
When I hear people explaining why they had five children, each by different fathers (or mothers), to whom they were not married, at the time, and, in fact, when all were actually elsewhere committed, to me that is gross. (“It just happened!” They say as an explanation as to why they screwed up their lives and those of a trail of innocent victims. Or “I fell in love” to explain why they abandoned family and/or destroyed another family. When feelings and impulses rule us, the society is doomed!)
When I read of people who destroy or even murder for gain or power, I feel discouraged and I feel contempt for such acts.
So, read the article and come back and tell me what you think:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060804/od_afp/afplifestyleussocialbreastfeeding
Shocking? Disgusting? Gross?
What is happening in our world where what is pure and beautiful can be seen by some as being ugly and unspeakable, and what is ugly and unspeakable is seen as being worth our attention and focus?
Some people have it turned all around backwards and inside out.
To me, this is a truly beautiful photograph! This is a loving moment that is pure and inspiring. Look at the baby’s expression! This is what mothering is all about and this is what produces a human being who will be kind, moral, and decent.
I applaud BABYTALK.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Is it Just Me, or Is My Frustration with Adobe Photoshop Justified?
Here's the thing. I've been wanting photoshop elements for some time, because I've heard it's a good, basic, photo editing software with some of the tools that I like to use.
Mark got it for me for Mother's Day, last May. Cool!
I didn't install it until sometime in late June, due to travel, etc.
I finally installed it, loved it, used it 2-3 times, tops. (Lots of travel in between.)
Home again, went to open it, and it went to a window that appears to be an attempt to upgrade it. Okay. I have several programs that like to upgrade themselves from time to time, I'll just wait for it to do that.
It never finishes. N E V E R. I can let it upgrade for the rest of my life and it will just be in the process of trying to upgrade, so eventually I have to force quit.
I contact the adobe people. They're really helpful until I say that I am using adobe photoshop elements 2.0. They can no longer register or support that because it is considered, by them, but not by a lot of photographers, to be obsolete. I can, if I wish, upgrade through them, for the huge editing program, that I never wanted in the first place, using my current softwared, for a mere 170.00 bucks.
I guess that is a startling bargain because, I am told, that if I were to buy it outright, it would cost something like 800.00.
But, I only wanted elements.
So, why would amazon.com sell software that is considered to be obsolete? Or, why would they not tell their customers that it is, so that they can know that before they purchase it?
So, I got to have the thrill of using it no more than three times? So my husband purchased a very short term trial software at the cost of regular software?
Is any of this making any sense whatsoever?
So now, I have to either upgrade to the whole enchilada, or write to amazon and see if they will take it back, and shop, all over again for suitable photo editing software.
Bleh! Any commentary, advice, suggestions are totally welcome!
Mark got it for me for Mother's Day, last May. Cool!
I didn't install it until sometime in late June, due to travel, etc.
I finally installed it, loved it, used it 2-3 times, tops. (Lots of travel in between.)
Home again, went to open it, and it went to a window that appears to be an attempt to upgrade it. Okay. I have several programs that like to upgrade themselves from time to time, I'll just wait for it to do that.
It never finishes. N E V E R. I can let it upgrade for the rest of my life and it will just be in the process of trying to upgrade, so eventually I have to force quit.
I contact the adobe people. They're really helpful until I say that I am using adobe photoshop elements 2.0. They can no longer register or support that because it is considered, by them, but not by a lot of photographers, to be obsolete. I can, if I wish, upgrade through them, for the huge editing program, that I never wanted in the first place, using my current softwared, for a mere 170.00 bucks.
I guess that is a startling bargain because, I am told, that if I were to buy it outright, it would cost something like 800.00.
But, I only wanted elements.
So, why would amazon.com sell software that is considered to be obsolete? Or, why would they not tell their customers that it is, so that they can know that before they purchase it?
So, I got to have the thrill of using it no more than three times? So my husband purchased a very short term trial software at the cost of regular software?
Is any of this making any sense whatsoever?
So now, I have to either upgrade to the whole enchilada, or write to amazon and see if they will take it back, and shop, all over again for suitable photo editing software.
Bleh! Any commentary, advice, suggestions are totally welcome!
Sunday, July 16, 2006
I Just Want to Know!
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!
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
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.}
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
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?
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
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!
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
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."
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Where Does One Get Itty Bitty Blindfolds and Who Would Be Dexterous Enough to Put Them on Ants?
The latest research (did we pay for this with our tax dollars by the way? Just curious), is that ants count their steps, and that is how they know how far to go to find their homes (after they leave mine with whatever it is that was so important).
That sounded pretty bizarre to me, imagining the ants counting, two million, thirty-five thousand, and...drat, I forgot where I was!
But it gets better. It seems that there have been many theories over the years, here are some:
"One is that they do it like honeybees and remember visual cues, but experiments revealed ants can navigate in the dark and even blindfolded."
I just want to know who blindfolded a bunch of ants, and how they did it!
"Next, the researchers performed a little cosmetic surgery.
They glued stilt-like extensions to the legs of some ants to lengthen stride. The researchers shortened other ants' stride length by cutting off the critters' feet and lower legs, reducing their legs to stumps."
Just where is Peta anyway???
"The ants on stilts took the right number of steps, but because of their increased stride length, marched past their goal. Stump-legged ants, meanwhile, fell short of the goal."
I am just imagining all these ants, their "feet and lower legs" cut off, unable to get home again. This is truly heart-breaking. And then those ants on stilts.
Who answered the ad to put stilts on ant legs anyway? What was the going rate for that task and what kind of people showed up to apply for the job? And what about all those ants on stilts who marched right past their home?
At least I know where they are, they are marching into my kitchen! Ants on stilts!
That sounded pretty bizarre to me, imagining the ants counting, two million, thirty-five thousand, and...drat, I forgot where I was!
But it gets better. It seems that there have been many theories over the years, here are some:
"One is that they do it like honeybees and remember visual cues, but experiments revealed ants can navigate in the dark and even blindfolded."
I just want to know who blindfolded a bunch of ants, and how they did it!
"Next, the researchers performed a little cosmetic surgery.
They glued stilt-like extensions to the legs of some ants to lengthen stride. The researchers shortened other ants' stride length by cutting off the critters' feet and lower legs, reducing their legs to stumps."
Just where is Peta anyway???
"The ants on stilts took the right number of steps, but because of their increased stride length, marched past their goal. Stump-legged ants, meanwhile, fell short of the goal."
I am just imagining all these ants, their "feet and lower legs" cut off, unable to get home again. This is truly heart-breaking. And then those ants on stilts.
Who answered the ad to put stilts on ant legs anyway? What was the going rate for that task and what kind of people showed up to apply for the job? And what about all those ants on stilts who marched right past their home?
At least I know where they are, they are marching into my kitchen! Ants on stilts!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Died Tragically While Rescuing His Family From the Deck of a Sinking Battleship
I often see little snippets of films. It's because I will haul some laundry in front of the TV, and just turn it on. I find things like sorting laundry to be tedious, so I like the distraction, and sometimes the little snippet is pretty interesting. Sometimes it's just a bunch of commercials for equipment guaranteed to, at last, get one totally in shape in just 15 minutes a day, and it folds down compactly to store under the bed, too!
Recently I was matching up socks and saw the end of "The Royal Tannenbaums." There is a visit to the grave and it is revealed what has been inscribed on the marker, "Died Tragically While Rescuing His Family From the Deck of a Sinking Battleship."
It is a comic moment that is also tinged with pathos. How many of us lead very ordinary, very safe lives? How many of us are Walter Mittys, imagining heroic acts?
And how many of us would just like to have the sense of humor to arrange to have such a thing engraved on our own headstone, knowing that no one would actually believe it and just chalk it up to one last attempt to break away from the mundane?
What say you?
Recently I was matching up socks and saw the end of "The Royal Tannenbaums." There is a visit to the grave and it is revealed what has been inscribed on the marker, "Died Tragically While Rescuing His Family From the Deck of a Sinking Battleship."
It is a comic moment that is also tinged with pathos. How many of us lead very ordinary, very safe lives? How many of us are Walter Mittys, imagining heroic acts?
And how many of us would just like to have the sense of humor to arrange to have such a thing engraved on our own headstone, knowing that no one would actually believe it and just chalk it up to one last attempt to break away from the mundane?
What say you?
Friday, June 16, 2006
Happiness and Gratitude!
I went into my flickr files to find one of my favorite macro shots, one to portray the sense of gratitude and joy that I feel, knowing that soon I will be back to taking photos like this and whatever else moves me.
For those who are waiting for me to do their family photos, just hold on a bit longer. For those who are taking the photog class, I will demonstrate primarily with your equipment and the ability to demonstrate (with my own stuff) ought to expand along with your ability to comprehend. For the rest of you, watch out, because soon I will be back in the game.
I feel like I am anticipating Christmas, birth, a wedding, a trip to Europe, or all of the above, or whatever is exciting, and taking too long to get here.
It has been an interesting journey as I have experienced various ways of being, from the initial shock and loss, and how much it felt like something important had been amputated from my soul, to the ways of getting around it:
sorting photos, going through and uploading the ancestral photos that my sister copied with a digital point and shoot, seeing what my p&s could do, trying various devices (close-up filters, telextenders, etc.), and generally getting out of my own way to keep the creative juices flowing, in little streams, around the massive dam of the missing equipment.
I am OVERWHELMED and AMAZED at the generosity of others. It is such a healing balm for the wounds I suffered at the greed of a thief.
You people have so restored my faith in humankind, for this, and for many other misdeeds commited, not just against myself, but against all people. I know that sounds like a political speech or something, but I mean it. I can get bogged down with how much hate and violence there is in the world, but hey, there are still kind and generous people everywhere. That makes me happy to know this.
THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU!
I am most humbly and gratefully indebted to so many of you. I will find a way to thank you each in a meaningful way.
I can't say thank you enough. While I am still rather paranoid about the thieves amongst us, I feel like the sun is starting to shine again. I feel like soon I can come out and play again, only with a new appreciation for what I can do and an immense gratitude for the ability to do it, and for the tools that make it possible.
Thank you with all of my heart!
For those who are waiting for me to do their family photos, just hold on a bit longer. For those who are taking the photog class, I will demonstrate primarily with your equipment and the ability to demonstrate (with my own stuff) ought to expand along with your ability to comprehend. For the rest of you, watch out, because soon I will be back in the game.
I feel like I am anticipating Christmas, birth, a wedding, a trip to Europe, or all of the above, or whatever is exciting, and taking too long to get here.
It has been an interesting journey as I have experienced various ways of being, from the initial shock and loss, and how much it felt like something important had been amputated from my soul, to the ways of getting around it:
sorting photos, going through and uploading the ancestral photos that my sister copied with a digital point and shoot, seeing what my p&s could do, trying various devices (close-up filters, telextenders, etc.), and generally getting out of my own way to keep the creative juices flowing, in little streams, around the massive dam of the missing equipment.
I am OVERWHELMED and AMAZED at the generosity of others. It is such a healing balm for the wounds I suffered at the greed of a thief.
You people have so restored my faith in humankind, for this, and for many other misdeeds commited, not just against myself, but against all people. I know that sounds like a political speech or something, but I mean it. I can get bogged down with how much hate and violence there is in the world, but hey, there are still kind and generous people everywhere. That makes me happy to know this.
THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU!
I am most humbly and gratefully indebted to so many of you. I will find a way to thank you each in a meaningful way.
I can't say thank you enough. While I am still rather paranoid about the thieves amongst us, I feel like the sun is starting to shine again. I feel like soon I can come out and play again, only with a new appreciation for what I can do and an immense gratitude for the ability to do it, and for the tools that make it possible.
Thank you with all of my heart!
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Teaching Photog Class Soon
Starts the end of the month. Haven't taught photography in a while. I will begin, at first session, by assessing student levels and what they want to learn. It's a really casual class, obviously.
Was starting to think, though, of a way to share the class with any online friends.
Any suggestions?
Was starting to think, though, of a way to share the class with any online friends.
Any suggestions?
Monday, June 12, 2006
My Grandma Was a Photographer!
Last night we uploaded the photos that my sister took while staying at our mom's. She took a bunch of photos of old photos, so the quality was not always good (faded, wrinkled photos, etc.)
In this photo, my grandmother is taking a portrait of my mom, the little girl sitting in the chair.
My grandmother has the marcelled bob of a flapper, and the newly shorter skirts. She kneels to get a good shot of my mother, in her bob haircut, seated in the rattan chair. This was taken somewhere in southern CA, possibly in Santa Monica or Long Beach, where they had been living at the time.
The date on this would be around 1925-27.
What I discovered, as I looked through the hundreds of photos that my sister copied, was that there were a considerable number of good photographs. Typically, the photos that people have of their ancestors are stitled, posed, lined up in bright sun, etc. But my sister found many, many wonderful photos of people riding in model-Ts, playing on the beach in swimsuits to their knees, etc.
We also discovered that the photos that our grandmother took were, pretty much without exception, well composed, creative, and compellingly wonderful. (The photos she was in were never quite as good!)
What a delight to discover that my beloved grandmother, who was capable of sewing anything that I could conjure in my mind and sketch on paper, was also a gifted photographer.
It makes me feel as if some of her is in me, and that perhaps, she watches me and takes some joy in watching me compose creative photographs.
What a wonderful discovery!
In this photo, my grandmother is taking a portrait of my mom, the little girl sitting in the chair.
My grandmother has the marcelled bob of a flapper, and the newly shorter skirts. She kneels to get a good shot of my mother, in her bob haircut, seated in the rattan chair. This was taken somewhere in southern CA, possibly in Santa Monica or Long Beach, where they had been living at the time.
The date on this would be around 1925-27.
What I discovered, as I looked through the hundreds of photos that my sister copied, was that there were a considerable number of good photographs. Typically, the photos that people have of their ancestors are stitled, posed, lined up in bright sun, etc. But my sister found many, many wonderful photos of people riding in model-Ts, playing on the beach in swimsuits to their knees, etc.
We also discovered that the photos that our grandmother took were, pretty much without exception, well composed, creative, and compellingly wonderful. (The photos she was in were never quite as good!)
What a delight to discover that my beloved grandmother, who was capable of sewing anything that I could conjure in my mind and sketch on paper, was also a gifted photographer.
It makes me feel as if some of her is in me, and that perhaps, she watches me and takes some joy in watching me compose creative photographs.
What a wonderful discovery!
Friday, June 09, 2006
Politics, as Usual...
About a week ago, I wrote to my senators about an item about which they were about to vote. It was an issue of great import to me. When I got to Barbara Boxer's (aka Sachez) site, there was a form for those of us wishing to communicate with her about such issues.
In order to send one's commentaries to her, one was REQUIRED to choose a topic for the commentary from among the ones that she listed.
There were quite a few topics, and I scrolled through them at least three times in an attempt to see if any of the topics listed was related in any way at all to my commentary, and none of them was even remotely related.
My topic was related to families, and her topics were the war, immigration, civil rights, illegal aliens, taxes, etc. None of her choices fit.
I tried to send my topic as "other" or with no topic chosen, but the commentary would not send until a topic was chosen.
So, I just chose the very first topic which was the "War in Iraq." I wrote my commentary and I even apologized for choosing the first topic on her list, randomly, in order to be able to send my commentary. I explained that I wasn't writing to that topic, but another that did not fit into any of her categories.
I just got a reply from Senator Boxer today.
She writes, "Thank you for sharing your views on the War in Iraq." Then there are several paragraphs which elaborate on her personal opinions on this topic.
I suppose I should not be surprised in the least, but it is as if I got to the end of the yellow brick road and discovered that the wizard is just a little man behind a curtain.
So, she has all of her commentaries already written, to go with each of her topics, and when her constituents write her, she just has the hired help fire off the form response to match the topic.
So good to know that our elected officials actually want to know what we think about things.
In order to send one's commentaries to her, one was REQUIRED to choose a topic for the commentary from among the ones that she listed.
There were quite a few topics, and I scrolled through them at least three times in an attempt to see if any of the topics listed was related in any way at all to my commentary, and none of them was even remotely related.
My topic was related to families, and her topics were the war, immigration, civil rights, illegal aliens, taxes, etc. None of her choices fit.
I tried to send my topic as "other" or with no topic chosen, but the commentary would not send until a topic was chosen.
So, I just chose the very first topic which was the "War in Iraq." I wrote my commentary and I even apologized for choosing the first topic on her list, randomly, in order to be able to send my commentary. I explained that I wasn't writing to that topic, but another that did not fit into any of her categories.
I just got a reply from Senator Boxer today.
She writes, "Thank you for sharing your views on the War in Iraq." Then there are several paragraphs which elaborate on her personal opinions on this topic.
I suppose I should not be surprised in the least, but it is as if I got to the end of the yellow brick road and discovered that the wizard is just a little man behind a curtain.
So, she has all of her commentaries already written, to go with each of her topics, and when her constituents write her, she just has the hired help fire off the form response to match the topic.
So good to know that our elected officials actually want to know what we think about things.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
The Internet as a great source of entertainment...(or Duck X-Ray Reveals Alien Head)
Maybe we should call it the Enternet, or Intertainment.
I was looking up the filter size for a particular lens that I need to replace, eventually, and somehow found the pathway to some bizarre hoaxes and well, whatever. In any case, I came across this:
Duck X-Ray Reveals Alien Head
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2006/06/01/238983-duck-x-ray-reveals-alien-head
I admit that I clicked on it, and immediately started laughing the moment I saw the picture.
In today's world, we all need a good laugh at least once a day. That was mine.
We are also entertained by the hollywood, gossipy, petty, shallow magazine that I accidentally subscribed to.
It all began when we ordered a pair of shoes for a teen boy whose mother recently died. They say no good deed goes unpunished.
Just as I was clicking on the "send order" button, I saw, too late, that the box was checked that we would receive a free subscription to Star magazine. Agggghhhh!
Oh well, it has been entertaining to keep up on the petty details of the lives of people we don't know and don't care about. The writing and the photos reveal more about the writers and photo editors of the subjects, anyway.
So, we have that source of entertainment until the free subscription, thankfully, runs out, at which time we will likely be bombarded with special deals on renewal along with subscriptions to national enquirer and whatever that one is in the supermarket that always has peoples' (or aliens') heads pasted onto the bodies of sumo wrestlers.
Which leads us back to the alien head found in the duck. Have you had your laugh today?
I was looking up the filter size for a particular lens that I need to replace, eventually, and somehow found the pathway to some bizarre hoaxes and well, whatever. In any case, I came across this:
Duck X-Ray Reveals Alien Head
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2006/06/01/238983-duck-x-ray-reveals-alien-head
I admit that I clicked on it, and immediately started laughing the moment I saw the picture.
In today's world, we all need a good laugh at least once a day. That was mine.
We are also entertained by the hollywood, gossipy, petty, shallow magazine that I accidentally subscribed to.
It all began when we ordered a pair of shoes for a teen boy whose mother recently died. They say no good deed goes unpunished.
Just as I was clicking on the "send order" button, I saw, too late, that the box was checked that we would receive a free subscription to Star magazine. Agggghhhh!
Oh well, it has been entertaining to keep up on the petty details of the lives of people we don't know and don't care about. The writing and the photos reveal more about the writers and photo editors of the subjects, anyway.
So, we have that source of entertainment until the free subscription, thankfully, runs out, at which time we will likely be bombarded with special deals on renewal along with subscriptions to national enquirer and whatever that one is in the supermarket that always has peoples' (or aliens') heads pasted onto the bodies of sumo wrestlers.
Which leads us back to the alien head found in the duck. Have you had your laugh today?
Monday, June 05, 2006
Film or Digital?
I was a dyed in the wool film fanatic until I tried digital SLR. I still see the value of film. It has a certain warmth and depth that is not always captured with digital. It's like the difference between listening to a vinyl record and a CD. But the differences are subtle.
Film has a certain, um, sense of permanence, in that every image that you take is on a negative and/or a print. You can hold that in your hand, hold it up to the light, and say, "Ah yes, here is the photo that I took of Uncle Bob doing the Marenga." The only things that can make that image go away would be: fading over time, fire or flood, or having the negative fall out of a box on the freeway while you are moving.
Digital images need to be backed up on the computer, on CDs, on an external hard drive, made into prints on paper that doesn't fade too rapidly, etc. And when one is shooting digital, one is making more images than one can possibly have the time to back-up adequately! I often have the sense that my digital images are not much more permanent than my thoughts. And often enough, I have lost images one way or another, through computer melt-downs, through corrupted files, and theft. I have easily lost far more digital images than film.
But all of these points, and more, have been argued by many. Here is my own take, as a lover of film and manual cameras, and the victim of the theft of my digital SLR.
About a week ago, I got out an old, refurbished manual SLR and loaded it with B&W film. I decided that without my D-SLR, I would return to my roots and shoot film and choose my settings manually. I expected some kind of glorious epiphany, some kind of back-to-the-land kind of simple joy.
While it has been an interesting experience (the smell of film was a fond memory, and I enjoyed the winding of the film around the spool, and then there is that wonderful click that occurs with the mirror), it has also felt like returning to a horse and buggy. While that may be fun, and a kind of novelty when on vacation, it doesn't fit in so well with our present-day lifestyles.
I found myself taking fewer and fewer photos because the joy of seeing what I had just taken, and trying again until I got it the way I wanted it was entirely missing. I was less experimental, relying upon tried and true (from several decades of photographing) compositions, lighting, etc. I was inclined to be more conservative because I couldn't take the risks I could with digital. I had only a set number of exposures on the roll of film, and would need to pay for every one of them when I got to the end of the roll.
It feels like I am simply sketching some ideas, and then, filing them away. With the digital SLR, the idea was there, and then there was the execution of the idea, and the immediate feedback, and the response, "Oh, that won't do at all! Delete that and try it this way," or, "Hey, look at how that one turned out, that is not what I expected, but I like it! Let me try pushing the envelope a bit more in that direction and see how that looks."
With the D-SLR, when I approached my subject, the camera and my eye experienced a kind of merging and they became a team. There was the seeing, the adjusting, the capturing, the editing, etc.
It seems that with digital SLR, my eye and my mind are working in a different, more creative, more energetic way. There is more synergy and more serendipity. There is more exploration, and more enthusiasm for risk.
So, what do you think? Do you prefer digital or film, and why?
Film has a certain, um, sense of permanence, in that every image that you take is on a negative and/or a print. You can hold that in your hand, hold it up to the light, and say, "Ah yes, here is the photo that I took of Uncle Bob doing the Marenga." The only things that can make that image go away would be: fading over time, fire or flood, or having the negative fall out of a box on the freeway while you are moving.
Digital images need to be backed up on the computer, on CDs, on an external hard drive, made into prints on paper that doesn't fade too rapidly, etc. And when one is shooting digital, one is making more images than one can possibly have the time to back-up adequately! I often have the sense that my digital images are not much more permanent than my thoughts. And often enough, I have lost images one way or another, through computer melt-downs, through corrupted files, and theft. I have easily lost far more digital images than film.
But all of these points, and more, have been argued by many. Here is my own take, as a lover of film and manual cameras, and the victim of the theft of my digital SLR.
About a week ago, I got out an old, refurbished manual SLR and loaded it with B&W film. I decided that without my D-SLR, I would return to my roots and shoot film and choose my settings manually. I expected some kind of glorious epiphany, some kind of back-to-the-land kind of simple joy.
While it has been an interesting experience (the smell of film was a fond memory, and I enjoyed the winding of the film around the spool, and then there is that wonderful click that occurs with the mirror), it has also felt like returning to a horse and buggy. While that may be fun, and a kind of novelty when on vacation, it doesn't fit in so well with our present-day lifestyles.
I found myself taking fewer and fewer photos because the joy of seeing what I had just taken, and trying again until I got it the way I wanted it was entirely missing. I was less experimental, relying upon tried and true (from several decades of photographing) compositions, lighting, etc. I was inclined to be more conservative because I couldn't take the risks I could with digital. I had only a set number of exposures on the roll of film, and would need to pay for every one of them when I got to the end of the roll.
It feels like I am simply sketching some ideas, and then, filing them away. With the digital SLR, the idea was there, and then there was the execution of the idea, and the immediate feedback, and the response, "Oh, that won't do at all! Delete that and try it this way," or, "Hey, look at how that one turned out, that is not what I expected, but I like it! Let me try pushing the envelope a bit more in that direction and see how that looks."
With the D-SLR, when I approached my subject, the camera and my eye experienced a kind of merging and they became a team. There was the seeing, the adjusting, the capturing, the editing, etc.
It seems that with digital SLR, my eye and my mind are working in a different, more creative, more energetic way. There is more synergy and more serendipity. There is more exploration, and more enthusiasm for risk.
So, what do you think? Do you prefer digital or film, and why?
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