Gothic Window

Another Old Main photo from several years ago. I love the Gothic look the building has; the middle classroom on every floor has one of these great arched windows. The day of my photographic expedition there was fantastic light coming in and reflecting off of the desk tables.

Snowy Days Have Come Again

It's been steadily sleeting all day and is expected to turn to snow sometime this evening. Forecasts keep changing, so I'm not really sure exactly how much we're supposed to get but I think it's somewhere in the area of several inches. Luckily not a foot or more like other areas of the country are getting!

This picture is of my cousin, taken several years ago when he was three. His little sister had just been born several weeks before, in early December, so they came for Christmas and we got to see her for the first time. Our old dog Maggie was endlessly patient with my little rapscallion cousin, who wouldn't leave her alone for the entirety of his visit. She was the best dog ever and unfortunately died at the ripe old age of 14 last winter. That was about a month before I moved out of the house, to my current life here in the Burg. Oddly enough, with everything that was going on with my parents, it was Maggie's absence that made my home stop being my home. Without her, it was just the place that my parents live. How odd is that?

Feline Feature

It's that time again---Thursday is Feline Feature Photo day! And with no further ado, I bring you this week's. . .

Feline Feature Photo!



I know I've said this before, and I'm sure I'll say it again, but I love Mouse's big green eyes. She's so adorable :) I really like this shot because of the way her face is barely in the frame with her green eyes being the first thing you see. And they're so intent, so piercing in the way she's staring that it's hard to look away. This photo also captures her curiosity perfectly, the way she's peering around to look at that strange silver thing with the dangly string that I'm holding in front of her face. She's in the process of moving to swipe at it when I caught her.

Lord of All I Survey

Or so he would like to think. This is my mother's dog Teddy. He's a little yappy dog. But cute--most of the time.

This was taken several years ago, in my hometown. One weekend late in our senior year of college several of my friends came home with me for visit. That was a bit of a tradition with me; at least once every term (my college had trimesters) I would go home for a weekend and take several friends with me. It was really nice to get away from campus life for a while and just be in a home, rather than a dorm. We all would have a quiet, relaxing time before heading back to the daily grind of schoolwork, classes, and stress.

On this particular trip we took Teddy for a walk and ended up at the local country club's golf course. It was a beautiful day, late in the afternoon--or early evening, whichever you want to call it--so we just sat and rested for a while, talking and taking in the lovely golden light before heading back.

Black Fence and Shadows

My mom flew in last week and borrowed my car to go visit family in Wisconsin and Iowa, so until Wednesday I'm walking everywhere. This is a fence I walk past every time I go downtown on my way to work, or to the library, or the coffee shop, or pretty much anywhere. I actually took this last fall, not this week, but it looks pretty much the same now. I like the long shadow the black spikes cast over the sidewalk in the late afternoon.

Jolly Old England--Or Maybe Not So Jolly

This is a view of the Tower of London. One of the things I really liked about this part of the Tower, aesthetically speaking at least, is all the bright robin's-egg-blue doors popping out of the dark stone buildings. The doors together with the green green grass of Tower Green really add a lot of color to the scene, and the dull brown, gray, white, and black stone surrounding them make them stand out. The bright blue just seems an odd color choice for such a somber, dismal location. Remember, this place was essentially a prison, except when it was a place of execution. Nearby on that pretty green lawn is a marker commemorating the spot where Anne Boleyn was beheaded.

More Main Street

Just FYI, the street in my hometown where I shot these is not actually called Main Street. It's Commercial Street. Main Street, however, bisects Commercial Street right about there. I'll have to get out now that the weather's warmed up and take some photos of my current Small Midwestern Town, henceforth known as the Burg. Bigger than my hometown (let's call it G-town so I can stop repeating myself) in a different state, yet startlingly similar in many ways--even more than my hometown, the Burg personifies the Current Economic Crisis (sorry, I just couldn't resist recycling that hackneyed phrase) and what Wall Street has done to Main Street (okay, okay, I'll stop). But seriously, the Burg is a perfect example of this recent phenomenon and I'll try to take some photos in the near future to illustrate this.

Main Street, USA

My hometown is pretty much your typical Small Town, USA. Especially a midwestern Small Town. Now, to be honest, I was born and raised in the midwest and while I've visited other parts of the country, I've never been to the East Coast, the Southwest, or the South. Most of my trips have been to big cities, so even the parts of the country I have seen have only been cities, not small towns. So I really can't speak for small towns in other areas of the U.S. But I've been to way more small midwestern towns than I would have liked, so I'm definitely familiar with the layout. My town is pretty typical in some ways, and extremely atypical in a few others. However, when it comes to the downtown area, it's pretty standard. Now, if you've been paying attention, you will recall that my parents moved several months ago, to Georgia. I'd lived in the same bedroom in the same house in the same town in the same state since birth, except for college, until I moved away, to my current small town, last year. So while that event was in itself somewhat of a difficult time, having my parents, who I NEVER EVER EVER thought would leave, move to a completely different part of the country, somewhere I've never even been, was a bit of a shock to me.

Well, the last time I went home while it was still my home, in August, I walked around downtown and took pictures. I knew it wouldn't be the last time I was in that town (as a matter of fact I was just there in December), but it would be the last time I was in that town and it was still my home. That matters. So I took some photos to commemorate the occasion. I was just perusing them and it made me think about how typical the Main Street downtown area is, which led me to all of my above ruminations. And the above photo.

Feline Feature

It's that time of the week again . . . for the

Feline Feature Photo!


This particular photo isn't that great, compositionally and technically speaking, but I love it anyways, because of the close placement of George's head and the side of the window frame. The photo could appropriately be titled "Cats Sleep In the Darnedest Places". Now that doesn't look terribly comfortable to me, but when George sleeps, he sleeps hard. Maybe he doesn't even notice. Who knows. Cats are odd.

The Underground

"The Underground" in London really is underground--waaaay underground. There are all these immensely long escalators that it feels like you're riding for an hour until you fffffffffiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyy reach the bottom. This picture doesn't really show just how immensely long they are, because I didn't quite realize it until we were halfway down, and by the time I fumbled my camera out of my purse, turned it on, aimed, framed, focused, and pushed the button, we were almost at the bottom. Seriously, when I was standing at the top of this escalator and staring down into the bowels of the earth, it felt like I was taking an escalator ride to Hades. It really seemed to be that long, and to go that far down.

Oh, and another thing. Apparently they've never heard of elevators in London. Sorry, apparently they've never heard of "lifts" in London. Because the Tube has none! There are all those escalators and even more staircases, but I never saw a single elevator--sorry, lift--in a Tube station. And there were all these people trying to drag huge, heavy suitcases up and down staircases (including me!), but no elevators. Lifts. The S-Train stations in Copenhagen all had elevators, easily accessible and always available. Thereby proving yet again that Danes are so much smarter and more efficient than the rest of the world :)

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! Since I unfortunately don't have any Irish-themed photos to share with you, I'm afraid I'll have to just go with one that has a lot of green in it.

This, as the more well-traveled of you might already know, is Buckingham Palace in London. Probably #1 on the Good Tourist list of important places to see in London. For some reason, the grass in the UK seemed so much brighter and more green than anywhere else I've ever been. I don't know if that is because it rains so much there or because with all the concrete and steel it pops out so vibrantly. Probably both. Actually, it might just be a comment on how few places I've been. Hmm...

As for me, well, I have no plans for tonight as I have to be at work at 5am tomorrow. So for my St. Paddy's celebration, I'm watching The Boondock Saints and unfortunately not drinking any Guinness.

Don't Blink

Are there any "Doctor Who" fans out there? If there are, you'll understand why statuary creeps me out now.

I do like these two ladies, though. I found them one morning in Vienna and was impressed by their drapery. I took an art history class in college and it made me understand and appreciate art a lot more, especially how difficult drapery was to sculpt. This sculptor, whoever he was, did a pretty decent job.

Quote of the Day

Jungle Jim -- "I think it shows a basic lack of humanity to push a monkey. No wonder somebody killed him."

(speaking about Jungle Jim)
Car Salesman #1 -- "Alex shoved Jungle Jim's monkey. There's your motive. That man has an unnatural attachment to his monkey."
Car Salesman #2 -- "Everyone knows you don't touch the monkey."
Car Salesman #1 -- "Everyone."

--From Thursday night's episode of "Bones"

The world is crazy

I just read this article on CNN. Comments to follow.

Taliban threaten to kill aid workers as spies

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A top Taliban commander has issued a new threat to foreign aid workers, saying that under the insurgent group's new "constitution" they will execute them as spies or hold them in exchange for the release of Taliban fighters.

In an exclusive telephone interview Friday night with CNN, Mohammed Ibrahim Hanafi said the Taliban intelligence wing was actively gathering information on foreign aid workers. "If we get someone, that is how we will deal with it under our new constitution," he said.

He added that he was telling "Afghan brothers not to work with NGOs."

Then the article goes on to talk about how the Taliban is determined to keep girls from going to school, and mentions all the acid attacks and why it is that they don't want women to be educated. It's actually pretty interesting, because with all the sensational press about the oppression of Afghan women, they never actually explain why the Taliban don't want women to gain rights. I guess they just figure that it's wrong, so there's no point trying to justify it. Which is wrong in itself, because you can't just tell someone that their beliefs are wrong without at least acknowledging them. Also, I was an anthropology minor in college, so I don't think you can ever tell anyone that what they believe is wrong, simply because it contrasts with what you believe. But that's just me. Wow, that was a long tangent.

Okay, my main point with this article is that by doing this, the Taliban are only hurting their "Afghan brothers". I have no idea if there's any history of spies using NGO's as a cover and that is the reason for this edict, but NGO's exist to help people. Oh, sure, I've read about NGO's in Kabul helping themselves rather than the Afghan people, which is so monumentally wrong I'm not even going to get into it, because that would be another enormous tangent, but their basic purpose is to help people. If the Taliban start kidnapping/executing foreign aid workers, their agencies are going to stop sending them and leave Afghanistan because it's just too dangerous. Now, as things stand now, it's already extremely dangerous. Foreigners are always targeted, and aid workers are no exception (for example, the highly publicized case of Gayle Williams -- who was shot in broad daylight as she walked down a street in Kabul). Politics and corruption notwithstanding, NGO's in Afghanistan are there to help the Afghan people. And as bad as things might be for them now, without any aid, they will be even worse. Plus, if NGO's are scared away, there is absolutely no chance that in the future they will be able to do more than they currently are. That possibility will be gone. Door closed. So the end result of this Taliban decree is that their so-called "Afghan brothers," the people they claim to represent and want to help, will only be hurt. I know, I know, the Taliban is not exactly a fount of humanitarian generosity, but this just seems rather counterintuitive, even for anti-West extremists. But then again, extremists aren't exactly known for being reasonable.

Diamonds in the Sky

This is looking outside through one of the windows in Old Main, the English and History building at my college. It's really old, mid-nineteenth century I think, and has a lot of character. I love these diamond-shaped windows, they're something you wouldn't see in a newer building. I think this particular window was on the third floor, or maybe it was the second, I don't remember precisely. Anyways, I love this picture.

Feline Feature

I just got my income taxes done! Hooray, that's something I don't have to worry about any more! And now I'm laying here on my bed with a sleepy kitty snuggled up on my lap. What a good day. :)


Feline Feature Photo


Here is Mouse stretched out in my windowsill, relaxing in the sun. I love her eyes, they're such a deep green and have an ancient feel to them. When I look at her I remember that cats were once worshipped, and half believe that Mouse knows it too.

Ozymandias, King of Kings!

Sorry, no photographs today. We're back to poetry again. I don't read poetry enough for as much as I love it, so I've been remedying that by occasionally posting some of my favorites on here as they come to me. Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem Ozymandias is one I just absolutely love, so that is going to be today's selection. And now, with no further ado,


Ozymandias

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Unfortunately I don't have any relevant photos of mine to include here, but really the imagery is so evocative that an illustration isn't necessary. The words illustrate the scene more than competently, and a photo would just distract from their power.

Iceberries

There was a fairly bad ice storm one night during my senior year of college which coated everything in a thick layer of ice. The next day when I was walking to class I was enchanted by the icy wonderland surrounding me, so as soon as my last class finished I ran back to my apartment, exchanged my books for my camera, and walked around taking photos. This particular one is my favorite taken that day, I think it's absolutely beautiful. No false modesty here!

Morning in Vienna

After reading the blog Merisi's Vienna for Beginners (which has the most beautiful photographs, I highly recommend it), I've been somewhat nostalgic about my brief time in Vienna -- which led to again digging into my old Europe pictures and prizing this one out of the mass. I took this on a bright spring morning in Vienna when a friend and I were on our way to the Hofburg Palace to visit the Spanish Riding School. It was an absolutely beautiful morning with the sun shining down from a sky so impossibly blue it looked unreal, like a painted ceiling in an Italian palazzo. All in all that was a wonderful day.

Regrets

I believe I've aged decades in the past year. I'm not entirely sure what brought this about, I'm 24 years old and hardly a child anymore, and haven't been for 5 years or so. Chronologically, at least. Mentally, however, it's a whole different story. I've been slowly realizing this over the last several months, but I've only recently had the epiphany that made me really realize it. Stupidly enough, it was TV that brought it home. Well, TV and movies. I've seen a few things recently that I had last seen only a year or two ago, but I had a much different reaction to them now. This epiphany led me wonder just what it was that brought about such a striking change. I guess you could say my outlook has broadened. I've learned to see things from a different angle, from several different angles. I don't see just black and white anymore, I know that the world mostly exists in shades of gray, and what happens in that gray is rarely pleasant. I've learned far too much about people, about the good and the bad and the often sad. Compared to a lot of people's, my life has been positively Rockwellian. The trouble with my parents last winter really shook me up, but only because there had previously been nothing but tranquility. Well, okay, tranquility is maybe not quite the right word, but there hadn't been anything serious or even all that upsetting prior to The Event. Since that episode forced me kicking and screaming to grow up and join the real world, my eyes have been opened. I've started to delve into the morass of human frailty and limitations, and learned far more than I wanted to about what humanity is capable of.

Now, remember, when I say I've learned, I mean I've read. I'm living in Small Town, USA, where people are still old-fashioned enough to actually be nice to each other and therefore I have still never seen the terrible things with my own eyes that I read about daily (for which I can only be thankful). However, while a picture is worth a thousand words, a few hundred words can be quite effective as well. Words can well portray human suffering and cruelty, and the emotions and reactions associated with them. I was an English Literature major in college, so words are my bread and butter, so to say. I may not as talented at wielding them as other people, but I am a connoisseur of them and very good at critical analysis (thank you, my dear alma mater), so I know that of which I speak. But I digress. To get back to my main point, when I say that I know, I do, but I still don't really know. That's probably a good thing, because I'm sure that there are too many things that once seen can never be taken away. There are too many good people screwed up because they saw or did something that can never be taken back. So to sum up, I guess you could say that I've finally grown up. Peter Pan flies no longer.

All of this soul searching had had another side effect. I've also started to look at my own life with a much more critical eye. Since J moved out I've had too much time alone with just my own brain for company, and I've been reviewing various aspects of my past, things I've done and decisions I've made, and discovered that unfortunately, all too often these have led to regret. Oh, nothing serious, no life or death situations, just small everyday things that could have gone one way but instead went another due to my choice made at the time. I wish that I had done some things differently because I think they would have been better, more enjoyable; or at least I would be able to regret having done something rather than not having done something. Do you know what I mean? It's better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. I ask permission. Or say nothing at all. And miss out on what might have happened. Instead nothing happens. I'm a very safe person. I don't take risks. Ever. I miss out on so much because I'm afraid. Not so much of danger, of actually, physically, being hurt, but mostly of stupid social things, like of failure or being embarrassed or put in an awkward situation or just generally humiliating myself. I think that is my fatal flaw: I care too much about what people (even complete strangers) think of me. I care too much about my image. I need to get over this so I can live. Because right now, what I am doing, I don't think qualifies as living (italics necessary). Life is not a dress rehearsal, and as my sister reminded me just a few weeks ago, we only live once. I need to do things while I'm young and able, and not let my fears stand in the way.

It's a brand new day.

Feline Feature -- Two Days Late

My Feline Feature for this week is two days late, and it's only the second one of the series! Wow, that's just sad. I've really got to do better. The single pathetic excuse I can offer is that I've been really busy this past week. J got off without a hitch, she's all settled in at her internship and completely loving it. I miss having her here, but I'm glad she's happy and I'm really glad that she is able to be out doing something that she loves and feels so strongly about. I haven't been able to find that yet, much less get to do it.

Anyways, like I said, I've been busy working, as well as re-organizing and cleaning my apartment since it's a lot emptier without all of J's stuff. And believe me, it needed a good cleaning! I'm not exactly the best housekeeper. Okay, I'll be honest, I hate cleaning and therefore do it as rarely as possible. Hence the need for a thorough cleaning while I had the chance.

And now, this week's (slightly late) Feline Feature Photo!


This is Malaika, my roommate's (and now my) cat. She's really adorable when she's not racing around the apartment destroying things. I managed to catch her here while she was napping, which by the size of her eyes you would never be able to tell. She just has these huge brown eyes and does quite a bit of staring. I also like the contrast of the blue blanket behind her, it really makes her face, and especially those big brown eyes, pop so that they're the first thing you see.