Sometimes I like children's books. Part of it is that some books take me back to my childhood. Another reason is that I also wanted to always have something for the nephews/niece to read if they were here -- not that that ever really happened with iPods, TV shows, etc. everywhere. But I still like having some children's books on hand.
I never remember "Where the Wild Things Are" from when I was little. I suspect it was not a book that would have appealed to my Bible-believing Mom...the characters do look a little Satanic, right?
Anyways, I now have "Where the Wild Things Are" in my library, and I recently bought Sendak's "My Brother's Book". It's short...like almost too short...and in verse....but I love the illustrations. It is said that it wasn't really about his brother, but about his deceased partner (who knew that Sendak was gay!?).
Here is an example of one of the illustrations -
Into the lair of a bear
Who hugged Guy tight
To kill his breath
And eat him -- bite by bite.
The roses are blooming. Here's a pic of a bouquet I brought in the other evening. Front to back: Easy Goin', Fragrant Apricot and Melody Parfumée --
I never remember "Where the Wild Things Are" from when I was little. I suspect it was not a book that would have appealed to my Bible-believing Mom...the characters do look a little Satanic, right?
Anyways, I now have "Where the Wild Things Are" in my library, and I recently bought Sendak's "My Brother's Book". It's short...like almost too short...and in verse....but I love the illustrations. It is said that it wasn't really about his brother, but about his deceased partner (who knew that Sendak was gay!?).
Here is an example of one of the illustrations -
Into the lair of a bear
Who hugged Guy tight
To kill his breath
And eat him -- bite by bite.
The roses are blooming. Here's a pic of a bouquet I brought in the other evening. Front to back: Easy Goin', Fragrant Apricot and Melody Parfumée --
Probably 12 years ago, I planted a climbing rose on a fence under a tree -- Zephirine Drouhin. I knew that roses needed light, but there was some comments online suggested that she wouldn't need much light.
Of course with little light, there has been not one bloom in all these years. Last year, my neighbor and I cut that tree down...so guess what Mlle Drouhin is doing now? Climbing and blooming!
I don't have a lot of room to plant stuff, so I planted some Dutch Iris last year -- smaller than full sized iris --
I grabbed a surreptitious pic at the museum's pop art exhibit the other day...so many nipples...and mouths! Based on the exhibit, the guy obviously loved him some breasts! And he got into painting smoke.
I was supposed to ride in an organized ride today. The weather reports showed bad weather -- although it turned out quite nice today. And I have been a bit depressed and unmotivated lately...so I skipped it. I did get a short solo ride in though. I also picked up my ride packet last night -- I had paid for it after all. Here is me in the shades they provided -- very 'Men in Black'!
One thing -- while I was riding at about mile 8, I met up with this guy. He broke his collar bone 4 weeks ago in a racing accident -- has a plate and everything now...he's been on the indoor trainer. Today was his first ride outside since the accident...he was at mile eighty-fucking-eight! I told him he was putting me to shame...I gotta find motivation to bike wherever I can find it!
I finally got one of my souvenirs from Thailand framed. It's pierced water buffalo hide. The frame shop did a good job of helping me pick a frame, and I like how the frame sort of mirrors the ragged edges of the hide. I am still searching for the best place to put it in the house, but it is temporarily on my dining room wall.
Went to P's pad tonight to watch the movie John Will Die in the End....sort of an LSD version of the Life of Pi...This is a picture of the lobby of his condo.
Of course with little light, there has been not one bloom in all these years. Last year, my neighbor and I cut that tree down...so guess what Mlle Drouhin is doing now? Climbing and blooming!
I don't have a lot of room to plant stuff, so I planted some Dutch Iris last year -- smaller than full sized iris --
I grabbed a surreptitious pic at the museum's pop art exhibit the other day...so many nipples...and mouths! Based on the exhibit, the guy obviously loved him some breasts! And he got into painting smoke.
I was supposed to ride in an organized ride today. The weather reports showed bad weather -- although it turned out quite nice today. And I have been a bit depressed and unmotivated lately...so I skipped it. I did get a short solo ride in though. I also picked up my ride packet last night -- I had paid for it after all. Here is me in the shades they provided -- very 'Men in Black'!
One thing -- while I was riding at about mile 8, I met up with this guy. He broke his collar bone 4 weeks ago in a racing accident -- has a plate and everything now...he's been on the indoor trainer. Today was his first ride outside since the accident...he was at mile eighty-fucking-eight! I told him he was putting me to shame...I gotta find motivation to bike wherever I can find it!
I finally got one of my souvenirs from Thailand framed. It's pierced water buffalo hide. The frame shop did a good job of helping me pick a frame, and I like how the frame sort of mirrors the ragged edges of the hide. I am still searching for the best place to put it in the house, but it is temporarily on my dining room wall.
Went to P's pad tonight to watch the movie John Will Die in the End....sort of an LSD version of the Life of Pi...This is a picture of the lobby of his condo.
Still playing with the new lens...I actually find this mildly amusing!
I'm in a quiet mode tonight...
I'm in a quiet mode tonight...
I bought a new fisheye lens -- it has a limited number of use cases for me, but I think the picture are cool.
Today, when a friend and I were biking, we both thought this field of buttercups was beautiful. It totally seemed like a perfect use case for the lens, so after I got home, I drove back to the east end.
First thing I noticed was that you do NOT point the lens the same way you point it when using other lenses. I took some of these pictures by almost pointing the lens down toward the ground instead of out across the field.
I have a crop sensor (Rebel T4i), so I can't get quite the same level of 'fisheye-edness' as if I had a full frame. Also, there is some serious chromatic aberration (CA) when using the lens with a crop sensor. The lens actually has a limit switch that keeps you from zooming to a point where you'll get black frames and CA. I turned the limit switch off because I wanted the rounder effect, and knew I can either crop the CA out, or reduce it somewhat.
If you're not careful, even on a crop sensor, you can get a picture of your feet! This pic is not edited at all, and you can see the blue chromatic aberration around the edges of the circle.
Later, I went to Maymont to try the lens there.
On the way home, I saw this motorcycle in front of me. I don't think I've seen one of these sidecars in person. It looked like he had his child in the side car :)
Today, when a friend and I were biking, we both thought this field of buttercups was beautiful. It totally seemed like a perfect use case for the lens, so after I got home, I drove back to the east end.
First thing I noticed was that you do NOT point the lens the same way you point it when using other lenses. I took some of these pictures by almost pointing the lens down toward the ground instead of out across the field.
I have a crop sensor (Rebel T4i), so I can't get quite the same level of 'fisheye-edness' as if I had a full frame. Also, there is some serious chromatic aberration (CA) when using the lens with a crop sensor. The lens actually has a limit switch that keeps you from zooming to a point where you'll get black frames and CA. I turned the limit switch off because I wanted the rounder effect, and knew I can either crop the CA out, or reduce it somewhat.
If you're not careful, even on a crop sensor, you can get a picture of your feet! This pic is not edited at all, and you can see the blue chromatic aberration around the edges of the circle.
Later, I went to Maymont to try the lens there.
On the way home, I saw this motorcycle in front of me. I don't think I've seen one of these sidecars in person. It looked like he had his child in the side car :)
Last night, I took some Thai takeaway over to P's pad. He gave me some advice on my upcoming trip to Utah (excited!), and then we watched the DVD Brazil. We both had seen it before, but it had been a very long time.
We both remembered certain scenes. But it's interesting to me how I remembered some of the scenes.
For example, in my mind I remembered "the cat woman" --
And in my mind, I remembered that the "cat woman" fell apart because of her plastic surgery. But that's not true -- it was NOT the cat woman, but the OTHER woman who fell apart!
And I remembered some of the final scenes, with the lobotomy --
Happiness -- we're all in it together!
And I guess that the movie was named for this music, which shows up in the movie --
And by the way, Apple -- fuck you for trying to control whether I can take screen captures of videos -- it's not your place to babysit. Big Brother, indeed.
We both remembered certain scenes. But it's interesting to me how I remembered some of the scenes.
For example, in my mind I remembered "the cat woman" --
And in my mind, I remembered that the "cat woman" fell apart because of her plastic surgery. But that's not true -- it was NOT the cat woman, but the OTHER woman who fell apart!
And I remembered some of the final scenes, with the lobotomy --
Happiness -- we're all in it together!
And I guess that the movie was named for this music, which shows up in the movie --
And by the way, Apple -- fuck you for trying to control whether I can take screen captures of videos -- it's not your place to babysit. Big Brother, indeed.
Company is coming, which means I am cleaning the house...but being an amateur photographer, I keep seeing things to play with taking a picture of!
This is most likely due to my being bored cleaning house on a rainy night :)
This is most likely due to my being bored cleaning house on a rainy night :)
I got a lot done yesterday -- another short trail ride, some seeds planted, and some yard work.
I went down to Belle Isle to walk around, but right after I got there, it started raining, so I left. This was taken from the footbridge as I crossed back over the river to the parking.
I went down to Belle Isle to walk around, but right after I got there, it started raining, so I left. This was taken from the footbridge as I crossed back over the river to the parking.
P and I went to 4th Fridays last night. I didn't see anyone I knew really, although I did enjoy talking to a guy there who it turns out is also in IT.
Since the road bike is still in the shop, I pulled out the mountain bike today for a short ride on the trails in the park. And then later, K and I went to the Filipino Festival -- I think we didn't like the venue for that one.
Here are pics from the weekend so far. They were all taken with the iPhone - and I used Photoshop Express (good app!) to add some effects. I pulled a couple of them into Lightroom on the Mac for a couple minor touches (like I needed to add some fill light to the one of P at the bar last night).
I like this "pop-art" effect --
This is a friend's condo building -- using the 'invert' effect in PS Express --
Creek in the park ride this morning --
P's fish tank --
From the bathroom at lunch with K, using the 'rainbow' effect in PS Express --
The Spirea in the yard is blooming --
It seems that allergies are affecting me this evening, so I think it will be a quiet one ...
Since the road bike is still in the shop, I pulled out the mountain bike today for a short ride on the trails in the park. And then later, K and I went to the Filipino Festival -- I think we didn't like the venue for that one.
Here are pics from the weekend so far. They were all taken with the iPhone - and I used Photoshop Express (good app!) to add some effects. I pulled a couple of them into Lightroom on the Mac for a couple minor touches (like I needed to add some fill light to the one of P at the bar last night).
I like this "pop-art" effect --
This is a friend's condo building -- using the 'invert' effect in PS Express --
Creek in the park ride this morning --
P's fish tank --
From the bathroom at lunch with K, using the 'rainbow' effect in PS Express --
The Spirea in the yard is blooming --
It seems that allergies are affecting me this evening, so I think it will be a quiet one ...
First poppy bloom today. I love these little orange flowers because the pedals are so paper thin! This one is papaver orientale "Double Tangerine Gem".
From Hollywood Cemetery the other day --
Moon tonight --
Also from Hollywood the other day --
And this is what my screen looks like when I'm editing pictures -- Lightroom for the editing, and I use Image Capture to quickly delete the pics from the camera. And yes, I take a lot of the same shot in the hopes of getting 1 or 2 that I like ....
From Hollywood Cemetery the other day --
Moon tonight --
Also from Hollywood the other day --
And this is what my screen looks like when I'm editing pictures -- Lightroom for the editing, and I use Image Capture to quickly delete the pics from the camera. And yes, I take a lot of the same shot in the hopes of getting 1 or 2 that I like ....
My old copy of Le Petit Prince is falling apart!
I'll probably take one or 2 more until the moon is full --
The azaleas are blooming in the yard --
The azaleas are blooming in the yard --
The other day, the thought occurred to me that I'd like to map all the angels in Hollywood Cemetery. It will take some time, but I have started that project at this link --
http://angelsofhollywoodcemetery.wordpre
http://angelsofhollywoodcemetery.wordpre
Friend came over for some wine tonight, and then we stopped by the Gay Community Center on the way to dinner. I have a thing for faces, so I took this snap while I was there --
And I took this one, just so I could stretch it in Lightroom when I got home :)
While I was waiting for him to arrive, I took these with the macro lens, first of an ant and lots of pollen and then salt crystals --
And I had high hopes for this pic in the rain, but sadly, I didn't do a great job with the depth of field. It's hard to take a picture of the War Horse at the Va Historical Society because it's surrounded by a fence, and the fence bars are barely wide enough to stick a camera lens into.
And I took this one, just so I could stretch it in Lightroom when I got home :)
While I was waiting for him to arrive, I took these with the macro lens, first of an ant and lots of pollen and then salt crystals --
And I had high hopes for this pic in the rain, but sadly, I didn't do a great job with the depth of field. It's hard to take a picture of the War Horse at the Va Historical Society because it's surrounded by a fence, and the fence bars are barely wide enough to stick a camera lens into.
Headed down to the State Capitol tonight. I took this pic of the moon using the new 1.4x extender I bought for my 70-200mm lens, effectively giving me (I think) 280mm on my crop frame Rebel --
State Capitol --
I don't have a fisheye lens, but I've been playing with the distortion effects in Lightroom. Look closely, and you might be able to see how the columns are not quite straight -- sort of like a funhouse mirror (but this one is in the opposite direction of a fisheye)!
The lilacs are blooming!
Tulips inside with a shaft of evening sun --
State Capitol --
I don't have a fisheye lens, but I've been playing with the distortion effects in Lightroom. Look closely, and you might be able to see how the columns are not quite straight -- sort of like a funhouse mirror (but this one is in the opposite direction of a fisheye)!
The lilacs are blooming!
Tulips inside with a shaft of evening sun --
This was taken yesterday when a friend and I went on the walking tour at Hollywood Cemetery.
But it seems like it fits today after the Boston Marathon explosions.
But it seems like it fits today after the Boston Marathon explosions.
The tulips have been beautiful this year, so I cut some and brought them in. I used the iPhone for this picture, taken in a dark corner, and then used the standard phone editing tools -- "auto-enhance" -- and I think this came out pretty well! The photo is a little noisy (courtesy of the lack of light), but it sort of reminds me of a painting in acryllic.
The one and only camellia I have is blooming. The weather has been so weird! This camellia usually blooms a little before the first azalea, which blooms before the azalea out front. They are all 3 blooming at the same time right now - I guess because winter has been hanging on for so long this year.
The other night, I was riding my bike, and the crankarm came off! I've never ever paid any attention to the crank -- and it had not been creaking or anything. My shoe was still clipped in, so the whole crankarm was hanging from my foot! I started walking back home (in those bike shoes!), and then thought to call a friend in the neighborhood to give me a lift.
When I got home, I loosed the screws, tapped the crankarm back on, and tightened it up. I haven't tried it yet, but something tells me that this is going to be a bigger repair.
The one and only camellia I have is blooming. The weather has been so weird! This camellia usually blooms a little before the first azalea, which blooms before the azalea out front. They are all 3 blooming at the same time right now - I guess because winter has been hanging on for so long this year.
The other night, I was riding my bike, and the crankarm came off! I've never ever paid any attention to the crank -- and it had not been creaking or anything. My shoe was still clipped in, so the whole crankarm was hanging from my foot! I started walking back home (in those bike shoes!), and then thought to call a friend in the neighborhood to give me a lift.
When I got home, I loosed the screws, tapped the crankarm back on, and tightened it up. I haven't tried it yet, but something tells me that this is going to be a bigger repair.
After I got home tonight, I walked over to Thirteen Acres to take some pics. There was some unusual lightning going on in the sky at one point, except I didn't make it home in time for that.
