Inheriting a mess…

a-1

Posted in Everything Else | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Depth…

a-1

Taking photographs is an art, and like all art, it has hidden depths worth exploring. Just framing a nice shot in the lens of your camera is fun, and you can end up with some great shots, much like doing a paint-by-numbers  project allows you to end up with a painting, or sticking a frozen pizza in the oven allows you to end up with dinner. But exploring the depths is how you discover new things and hidden treasures.

That picture up there is simple enough. White flowers on a tree in bloom, and something looming indistinct in the background.

a-2

There is almost the same shot, but with the focus now set on the tower beyond the tree. I am not claiming to be any great photographer, and I am reasonably sure that there are settings on my camera that would have allowed me to take a third picture in which the flowers and the tower were both in focus. I am just making a point here.

a-3

Changing your perspective… the angle at which you look at anything… makes all the difference. What you focus your attention on at any given time is still part of a bigger picture, a world of depth and distance, light and shadow.

a-4

Life is the same way. You can overlook things by trying to look too closely, or with too much focus. It isn’t easy to see the towers and the flowers at the same time.

a-5

And even when you look more closely at just one thing, you might see something else. I hadn’t even noticed the yellowing leaves mixed in with the white flowers until I was resizing these pictures to put in the blog. There is a difference between ‘looking’ and ‘seeing’.

a-6

Look beyond whatever you are seeing.

Posted in flowers, thinking about stuff | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

Upon reflection… (because ‘wet dreams’ would just be tacky) part 39 …

imageedit_1_2220089014

Yet another piece of classic Grateful Dead art… with a watery twist…

Posted in my weird moving pictures | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What is going on over there???

a-1

You can’t do that in a public park… I don’t care if you are two consenting adult statues! Get a room… in an art museum…

a-2

Nope… doesn’t look any better form this angle…

a-3

And there is Olivia, looking suitably outraged.

a-4

Now I will have to tell her mommy and daddy to have the talk with her… you know…

a-5

… about the birds and the bees… and the cement mixers and the trowels and the bronze casting…

a-6

Hey, don’t look at me like that, I didn’t invent art.

a-7

That’s better.

a-8

Anyway, Olivia and I had a great time at the park, even though the botanical building with the orchids was closed…

a-9

And as I said earlier, I did still get some good pictures of flowers to share.

Posted in Everything Else | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Upon reflection… (because ‘wet dreams’ would just be tacky) part 38 …

imageedit_1_3663312394

Some nontraditional tie dye!

Posted in My art, my weird moving pictures | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

When stupidity leads evil… (Or): They’re racists, not smart bombs, you idiot!

b-5

We are not paying enough attention to the fact that this ignoramus has aligned himself with racist groups. Attacks against minorities are growing in this country. The racists are emboldened. They see the fact that tRump is in the White House, and isn’t constantly disavowing them, as vindication and justification. Remember that this guy once said he would pay the legal fees of his minions that struck someone who disagreed with him.

Can you see how dangerous this can be? Racists aren’t smart bombs or guided missiles. If you send them out after Muslims, what do you think they will do when they can’t find a Muslim, or when they actually run out of Muslims? How long before they start working their way down the list of other races?

Just something to think about.

Posted in My art, my weird moving pictures | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Why is it that white supremacists are always the worst examples of the white race?

b-5

Is it that, on some deep, instinctual level, they understand that they are the shallow end of their own gene pool, and they therefore need to convince themselves that all white people must be better than all other people, because this keeps them from the self-realization that they are literally the dregs of humanity… or is it just one of nature’s funny little ironies???

Posted in Everything Else | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

A fish, some ducks, crazy love pants, and other stuff…

a-1

I am babysitting Olivia again, and I took her to Balboa Park here in San Diego. She liked the fish.

a-2

She also liked the ducks, which, it turns out, have the ability to slide into the water at full speed without so much as a splash.

a-3

Olivia was wearing some crazy love pants.

a-4

I do like the occasional random silly face fountain.

a-5

You might remember Balboa Park from when I was posting about the adventures we had when our English relatives visited last summer.

a-6

Those aren’t actually tikis, but they do remind me of them… which reminds me, I need to finish that tiki I am carving with my own face on it.

a-7

I promised Olivia that we would see some orchids, but the big flower building was closed. Don’t worry, we saw lots of other flowers, and I will post about them soon… this is winter in San Diego, after all.

Posted in dogs and other animals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The leaning tower of pizza…

a-10

Posted in Everything Else | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Upon reflection… (because ‘wet dreams’ would just be tacky) part 37 …

imageedit_1_5130163308

Old school tie dye with a twist…

Posted in my weird moving pictures | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment