Week Forty-Seven: The Facts of Life

This week's episode brought to you by the makers of Trivial Pursuit. The top butterfly flight speed is 12 miles per hour. Some moths can fly 25 miles per hour. And people wonder why I'm afraid of moths. Demented little insects that can flutter dementedly faster than I can easily move myself are something to be feared.

Day 1 (323): 27th of October
Africa is bigger than the United States, China, India, Spain, France, and several other countries combined. But as they say, mo' landmass, mo' problems. Carney Park was burning tonight.

Great photo from Pozzuoli. Had to borrow glad rags for a Ball.

Day 2 (324): 28th of October
The Mongolian navy consists of seven people and one boat. Happy Tuesday.

This one came out great. I love the unplanned shots that just seem to work.

Day 3 (325): 29th of October
In ancient Rome, when a man testified in court he would swear on his testicles. I don't think we've come all that far. Science wonders why humans only use a small portion of their brains. I think it's a sample size problem. too many men were studied, and it is well known that little thinking is done with the brain. Ohh pretty. I miss my Mini.

Ahhh, the joys of commuting at dusk.

Day 4 (326): 30th of October
The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used. It turns out that going to sleep at 2230 and waking at 0230 to listen to Game Seven of the World Series leaves one rather less than alert during the day. Despite my elation at the win for the Giants (even years are the thing), I needed two cups of tea, two cups of coffee, and half a bag of chocolate covered espresso beans to reach a level of cognizance that met the minimum requirement to do my job. Also was asked several times if I was sick, several times if I was upset about something, and a couple of kind souls informed me that I looked rather tired. So kind of these random individuals to look out for my health and inform me of my apparent condition. I call this "Sun through rainy windshield."

And this is "Moon plus star." I'm nothing if not creative.

Day 5 (327): 31st of October
The past-tense of the word “dare” is “durst.” I think that means the past-tense of "fare" should be "furst." If only because of the confusion it would cause. If the Internet cannot use the right form of "there" or "their," just imagine. Read a great article this morning extolling the virtues of ghosting. It was music to my eyes. Many a time have I been chided for buggering off from a party without saying anything. That was the plan for tonight's party. A couple hours, a couple beers, a couple hellos and I'd be gone. Haha. Best laid plans. Foiled by that A-hole Alan Keilborn Holl. Ah well. Fun regardless. And I think I've satisfied my social appearance quota for at least six months. Here is a cool photo of the moon in the afternoon.

And the sun in the sundown time.

Day 6 (328): 1st of November
It is forbidden for aircraft to fly over the Taj Mahal. Another day, another set of glad rags. The Marines really know how to put on a party. Great grub. Great tunes. Almost enough to distract a person from those she tries to avoid but who end up everywhere. And when one's defenses are down thanks to the Mother of All Hangovers, distractions are welcome. Gosh I'm a grump.

And apparently Hangover Photos look just like Day Before Hangover Photos.

Seriously. Get a new muse, Rodeo.

OK, something that isn't just like the the crap from yesterday.

Day 7 (329): 2nd of November
Cats sleep 16 to 18 hours a day. I believe it, as there is one draped across my person as I type. It is truly remarkable how a human brain works. Particularly when combined with those pesky things called emotions. Someone whose presence used to elicit a smile and positive thoughts can become someone whose presence brings out nothing but urges to simultaneously flee and cause bodily harm and make snarky comments. Really wish I were better at things like saying and doing the right thing, or saying slash doing anything. Nope, when confronted by a complex situation, I usually follow the example of the great Br'er Rabbit. And that typically ends up with me laughing because it's the only thing that makes sense. Any rate, enough of that nonsense. Here is the view from my hotel this morning. Such a lovely morning.

A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why. Just proves that ducks are really aliens.
Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end. All the better for wagging.

Week Forty-Three: Round and Round

What did the parallelogram say to the circle?
"Not to take sides, here, mate, but you have to admit, you're pretty pointless."
Round things. Circle things. Reminds me of a song from my youth about a wheel of cheese. The line, "round it goes, cheese cheese cheese, wheel wheel wheel" comes starkly to mind. As you can see, some of last week's madness has carried over. Or perhaps it is just part of the perpetual state of semi-madness wherein exists my brain.

Day 1 (295): 29th of September
A blonde has just gotten a new sports car. She cuts out in front of a semi, and almost causes it to drive over a cliff. The driver furiously motions for her to pull over, and she does. The driver gets out and draws a circle and tells her to stand in it. Then he gets out his knife and cuts up her leather seats. He turns around and sees she's smiling. So he goes to his truck, takes out a baseball bat, and starts busting her windows and beating her car. He looks back to see that she's laughing. He's really mad now, so he takes his knife and slices her tires. He turns around and she's laughing so hard, she's about to fall down. He demands, "What's so funny?" She says, "Every time you weren't looking, I stepped out of the circle!" 

This is a ball. It is my constant companion, and is so good to me.

Day 2 (296): 30th of September
Why are the two blondes on the motorcycle arguing? They're fighting over who gets the window seat.

Two blondes fell down a hole. One said, "It sure is dark down here, isn't it?" The other replied, "I don't know; I can't see."

That's all the jokes for today.

Day 3 (297): 1st of October
OK. No more jokes. For now. I was sitting on the sofa in the evening, and the smell of someone burning foliage drifted in the window. Really love that smell. It always reminds me of the few trips to visit my English grandparents. They had a lovely property and a wonderful riding lawnmower I thought was just the best thing ever. And during at least one trip (probably just the one), they were burning a heap of branches and leaves and other garden detritus, and the smell got planted in my brain forever. Such a nice memory. I miss those days. I miss the two of them, even though they both died before I was even six years old. This sunset needed no editing. So lovely.

Madness in the editing room. It happens.

This is what that thing normally looks like.

Day 4 (298): 2nd of October
No internet again at the house. And just before I left work, I thought to myself, "just do your homework now, just in case the funky weather messed with the ADSL."Then I replied, "Naw. It's probably fine." Obviously that was daft, so I got home, saw the dreaded router doing its blinky thing, and jumped back in the car to go in search of wifi. Guh. This was all I had the energy to do. A plate and a bowl. They are round. I had to crop the cat's photobombing tail out of the shot.

Day 5 (299): 3rd of October
So today I added some whisky fudge to my Amazon cart (because of course). This led the Amazon bots to recommend ExOfficio Men's GiveNGo Boxer Brief, and LARABAR Fruit & Nut Food Bar, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Gluten Free. Really not sure what to say about that. Interesting analytical leap, for certain. And that in a week wherein I've had to fight against Other People making analytical leaps unsupported by a net of connected facts and evidence. Such leaps are what make me not get any real normal work done and emphasise my distaste for analysts. One can show them facts and say "this is, quite literally, all we know on this matter," and they will take that to mean a whole host of things that make no sense at all.

I've shot this before, but it fits with the week's theme.

This only sort of does, as the sun is indeed rather circular. But it came out pretty cool.

Day 6 (300): 4th of October
Still no internet, but kind hearts prevail and I am typing this from the sofa in a much too kind friend's apartment. Just finished a goodly chunk of the week's homework and even did some research for the infernal paper due next Sunday. That and this morning I read a whole book, worked out, did laundry, and started to clean my house (didn't get all that far). Such thrilling commentary on the day, to be sure. Though it started right, and that's what matters. Particularly if it means starting with this.

And then it ends with this.

Day 7 (301): 5th of October
The broken ADSL record plays on. But being in a good mood makes it easier to bear. Why am I in such a good mood? Hmmm. Well. Difficult to say, but we'll just go with because. Besides, I'd rather just enjoy it than analyse it to death. Like this, one of the tools of the trade. An older one, but still a goodie.

How do you confuse a blonde? You put her in a round room and tell her to sit in a corner.
How does a blonde confuse you? She comes out and says she did.
What do you call a redhead with a blonde on either side? An interpreter.

Sorry. Jokes came back. As a girl identifying both with the gingers and the blondes, I find the last one quite funny. 

Week Forty-Two: Idea Flight

Hard to come up with an intro for this week. So hard I didn't even do it when I first posted this thing. But as I am being overrun at the moment by a cat who talks in his sleep (who knew cats were dreamers?) and who thinks I am his personal bean bag, I figured I'd go back and do it right. Or at least as right as one can with subject matter that so defies categorisation. So consider this week introduced.

Day 1 (288): 22nd of September
Have you ever waited for a thing for a long time, and wanted that thing, and then one day realised that thing had long gone out of reach? You build it up in your mind for what seems like ages, then find that Life did whatever it had always intended to do. What is that about Life happening whilst we make plans? I think it prefers to just ram through those plans, squealing with laughter. Or so I think. My plans usually consist of "if I had my druthers..." and little else. Big scary fence. At night. Kind of slanty.

Scary wavy weed trees. At night. Not too bad an execution on this one. Didn't even use the tripod. Just my thick skull propped against the wall. It's almost October, so I guess the Dark and Stormy thing works.

Day 2 (289): 23rd of September
Today was angry music Tuesday. Just needed to hear a little shouting on the music box, so out came Halestorm radio. While it occasionally hits the odd christian metal song, there's only a rare need to hit the down thumb. Have you ever noticed that the only time things get really clear is when we are dreaming? Makes sense, then, that we can never really clearly remember our dreams; the only thing that is easy to grasp is that maybe things made sense for a minute. Jabba the Hutt makes no sense. Neither does this photo that was poorly captured and more poorly edited. Not terribly clear at all. Too dark.

Day 3 (290): 24th of September
An old friend of mine recently suffered one of the worst tragedies that a person can experience. His 23-year-old son was killed in an accident. As someone who has no kids and likely never will, I was left speechless (rare for this gobby, opinionated, somethingorother). Now it is taking up rather a lot of real estate in my brain. Wish I could do more for them. Really, knowing what to say to people who've been clobbered like that has never been my strength. All I know to do is to be there and hope I keep my foot out of my mouth long enough to be of a tiny bit of help. I only kind of knew the boy, but he was such a good kid, and had just gotten into the groove of following in his old man's naval footsteps. Golly. Any rate, following the theme from yesterday, got a better pic of a conversation no one ever thought happened.

And then got this sunset. Didn't even tweak more than the exposure a little bit. All but the sun itself came out alright.

Day 4 (291): 25th of September
What's the cure for a brain out of whack? I really wish I knew. Knowing the things need done, but finding it nearly impossible to dig in and bloody well do them. Stayed far too late at the office today because I stuck around to get homework done and forgot to put the "CLOSED" sign out on the door (and was dumb enough to answer my phone when it rang). Real highlight though was getting home to find the internet finally functioning. Thank the Wee Man. Realising as I post this that the following picture is a bit serial killer-esque. But no matter. Playing around with an old lens for this one.

Another killer sunset that needed no editing at all. Makes my work easier.

Another rose. What can I say. They are not my favourite flower (not my least, either), but they are everywhere, so I photograph them. If there were lilies out here, they'd be featured far more. Who doesn't love lilies?

Day 5 (292): 26th of September
End to a dragging on week. Brain still feels like someone is jangling keys somewhere just out of sight, which is incessantly distracting. Temporary ADD, I think. brought on by madness in the surrounds and an uncertain future. By the time one is thirty, these things ought not be issues any longer. The ubiquitous "they" say directionlessness is a thing for twentysomethings. Liars.

Day 6 (293): 27th of September
One can be in a strange mood all day (week?) and never know the cause. There are a great many Things Needing Done, but only a rather small number will see the light of completion. Not because there's no time, but rather because there is no inclination. I watched a cat get in an epic battle with a blue Beanie penguin wearing a santa hat (the penguin wore the hat). Then later, to get out of my funk, I threw Under the Table and Dreaming into the car CD player and got so lost in the perfect that I drove nearly three miles past my exit before I realised I was going in completely the wrong direction. Came home to find that it is the 20th anniversary of that very album. In honour of spending far too much time with a fool feline, here he is in classic repose. Gosh I need a dog.

Pretty scenery, though. If you squint, you can just see the islands.

Day 7 (294): 28th of September
Got to do the school. The midterm, any rate. Gave myself a few hours for fannying about this morning, but now it's time for Important Things. To do with this. There is currently a ginger feline form lolling about on it, decidedly not helping. Gosh I need a dog.

Crazy. But that's how it goes...

Week Thirty-Nine: Altered Senses

You know that feeling when things go all sideways? And no, that doesn't mean the feeling fueled by controlled or other outside substances. This is about Life. Perspectives are a screwy business. Just when things seem well sorted, Life happens and Perspectives shift. Futures once so clear become the stuff of parallel universes. Recent events and conversations have indicated that one can have one's Heart broken without ever realising one's Heart was in any danger. Most people would avoid such perilous situations, or at least see them for what they were and brace for impact. Others don't see it coming, and find themselves looking at a post mortem in an impressive imitation of the old RCA Victor dog. Heavy stuff for a photography blog. Hmmm. Here are the photos.

Day 1 (267): 1st of September
Quiet roar of cars on a morning street. Not so many that it makes a cacophonous backdrop; streets only slightly damp with the night's precipitation source the sound of the sporadic set of wheels, then echo it against the odd strain of a distant street musician and off myriad storefronts.

Day 2 (268): 2nd of September
Late night music wafting over the air and the sound of rain. The occasional frog squeak and dog bark add to the orchestration, but not even the usual chorus of house alarms and draconic water heaters dares ruin the soundtrack of a peaceful night. 

Day 3 (269): 3rd of September
Acrid smell of wood stain battles with Midnight Dare and the shampoo in my hair. Even the familiar scent of Things Burning and Neighbours Cooking cannot overcome the much closer and more powerful malodourous chemicals now coating my porch roof.

Day 4 (270): 4th of September
Deep molasses of exhaustion turns muscles into sand; even facial muscles become heavy and difficult to control. Insomnia paired with the drone of planners attempting to put together lofty strategies with no regard for established requirements, force even the most dedicated and caffeinated meeting-goer to fight to not tumble face first out of the chair.

Day 5 (271): 5th of September
Fierce flavours of garlic, rosemary, pepper, and strangely enough a tiny bit of dill paint a colourful picture on the tastebuds. When added to mozzarella, tomato, and the juiciest sausage ever to grace the surface of a pizza, the effect is the kind of divine food-vana reminiscent of a religious experience localised in the mouth.

Day 6 (272): 6th of September
Dark clouds race from the north, threatening the busy weekend errand-doers. When the clouds open up, all senses are flooded (if one is brave enough to walk from the safety of the shop through the deluge with one's bags). Rain the perfect temperature, if a bit enthusiastic, smacks the skin and soaks the clothes; the taste of slightly contaminated precipitation slips into the corners of the mouth; the air takes on the distinct scent of dry earth and asphalt suddenly doused; with all other humans hiding under shelter, the only sound is that of thunderclaps and a great downpour on metal, cement, foliage, and flesh; nothing is more beautiful to witness than a massive storm, complete with great flashes of lightning.

Day 7 (273): 7th of September
Joy of lovely morning sun peering in through the gaps in the closed metal shutters hinting at a beautiful morning and fruitful day. Nothing can sully the view for the eyes of those determined to be content. Soft light, soft clouds, and clear air promise better times ahead.

Gratuitous black and white.

Lots to ponder. Apologies for the dramatic twist in tone, but sometimes these things happen when one's mind is occupied with a particular set of thoughts and that same mind is the kind to obsess and stew far beyond the point at which most sane human beings would move on.