August 2006

Well, the month of august is gone. It has been a long hard row to hoe. Recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery was more than I imagined it to be. The physicians make it sound so simple.  Going to physical therapy Monday, Wednesday and Friday has surely cut into my social life not to mention really draining. I laugh about the social life part, because up to this point, I was too poop to pop!  I go to therapy with a bunch of weekend and evening athletes.  They talk about how they can no longer mountain bike or play softball due to their injuries.  I haven't been able to go shopping!  Okay, that can be my idea of sport. Not to mention, going out on photo shoots with the St. Louis Photobloggers, is an important thing to me.

My picture a day calendar is more blank then filled in August and my journal has holes a plenty. August is gone and a new season of life is before me. I have big plans for the fall season, September to November. The plans may seen small to some, but to me oh so great. I got plans that I can execute. Hey!...aug 31, 2006.

Aug 28.2006

Happy Birthday!

Continued celebrations...Karolyn's Birthday. Can anyone person have such the exciting summer? Out for a day with family. Off to get our "nails did and our toes did", followed by lunch (free sombrero), a nap, dinner and then out dancing with her "peeps". I would say, a pretty good day!...aug 26,2006

The Visual Dictionary

The Visual Dictionary is a wonderful net photography project, started in February. It's goal is to catalog the dictionary by photography. Check it out and Sign up and contribute. I am! Everybody needs another project! ...

Graduation...

I am the proud parent of a college graduate. My daughter, Karolyn has graduated with honors from UMSL. I am PROUD!...aug 6,2006

 

 

There are no bad shots...

Some say. What to do with pictures from boiler room pipes and the fire emergency alarm? You twist them, turn them, and melt them together to make a collage. It can be a wonderful thing.

 

 

 

Blurb

cof·fee-ta·ble book [ kôf-tbl, kfemacron;- ] n. An oversize book of elaborate design that may be used for display, as on a coffee table

I love coffee table books. You know,the big beautiful books with the major purpose of looking good! Regardless of the topic, they look good. Coffee table books rely on the beauty of pictures. As an artist, I have made many books of various sorts and sizes. My book making skills lack technical prowess, but, I am usually satisfied with their beauty or purpose. To move on the realm of beautiful professionally bound books, well……. Now it is a possibility. I found a website that will make it come true.

Blurb, book publishing allows up to a to 8x10 inch hardcover book (landscape or portrait) with custom dust jacket cover featuring your photos and/or text. The accompanying software makes professionally designed pages with your choice of coordinating colors and styles. Blurb books can be up to 440 pages. Now, I just cannot decide what to put in the book. So many possibilities. Maybe a “Year in Pictures”? Sounds like a Christmas present to me. Ohhhhhhhhh. Aug 1, 2006

Book of Lists

A thing to do… Getting Things Done: by David Allen

There are critical reminder-type lists that we all need to let our brain relax (re: outcomes and actions). There are other lists, though, that can be useful, fun, and interesting, that fit in the area of "reference" or "support." Some advice from Getting Things Done...Here are some from his site.

• Account and $ numbers- credit card #s, PIN #s, etc.
• Affirmations- personal self-talk scripts for positive internal programming
• Basic personal numbers (self and family members)- drivers license, social security, insurance policies, Whatever you may need for yourself and others when filling out forms
• Birthdays- (if you don't put them on your digital calendar system), group by date, as reviewable (those during a month, put in tickler for that month, etc.)
• Checklists- Travel, Take sailing..., Personal New Habits to Create, etc.
• Gifts- organized by people and/or a general list of neat things to buy for others (fresh maple syrup from Vermont, styluses for Palms, etc.... and where to get them.) Great for birthdays, ad-hoc niceness, and Christmastime.
• Ideas I don't know what to do with, now that I've had them...- we all have them, and they don't fit anywhere except in an "they don't fit anywhere" place
• Might wanna buy...- could be one mega-list, or (more commonly) grouped by the type of thing it is: cds, cigars, wines, books, videos
• Might wanna do when...- possibilities when you're in a certain location or doing a certain activity. By city, country, or region (things to do/think about when I'm in Napa Valley, London, Santiago.) Or by activity (Web surfing places to visit.)
• Might wanna do with...- if you're into any animate or inanimate objects: my kids, my spouse, my dogs, my piano, my woodcarving tools, my garden, my computer,
• Previous addresses and employers- keep at least your last three.
• Quotes- "Cool Quotes - where I can jot down quotations I come across that I like."
• Restaurants- for business or pleasure, to review for ideas instead of same-old same-old.
• Style or product numbers I may need when I'm buying things- oil filter, vacuum cleaner bags, labeler cassettes, etc.
• Tips/Shortcuts- speed-key codes, shortcut codes for new systems (voicemail, answering machine, pager, software apps, new Palm III, etc.) Any new skill set you're learning can have a remind-me-about list specific to its features and activities until they are habitual and under your belt.
• Vacation things to do- those things that you might like to do if you are into seriously doing nothing (take pictures, hike, hotels to stay in for a night, spa treatments, places to explore, etc.)

And a really nice one:

• Keep a “next time in…” set of lists. For years I wondered what to do with all those things that showed up when someone said, “hey, the next time you're in (Dallas, Switzerland or…)… you ought to …(look me up, eat at Joes, shop for…)”. Now I have “Next time in…” as a category in my Palm Memos, with each location as a separate memo in that section. It’s a discrete version of Someday/Maybe for that context. You could also keep a file folder or just a paper based list for the city or country. jul 30, 2006

Summertime

snagged this lyric from a totally unrelated site, but so appropriate, "The alternative rock band The Cars had it right when it sang: “Summer turns me upside-down. Summer, summer, summer. It’s like a merry-go-round.”

The summer merry-go-round has been a turning out of control. We have been graced with the presence of  the National Guard in STL to help recover from heat related summer storms.  The storms knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people, including myself. I was without power from Wednesday to Wednesday, almost to the hour. It was a long haul.  Luckily my parents had electricity and I could stay with them.

Summer 2006 is all still more than a notion.  The feelings of No Control are overwhelming. Back in my home now, I still wake up in the middle of the night, just to make sure the electricity is on! I know, I should probably just chill out, be thankful and pray.

There is yet another heat advisory and some storms in the forecast. "Summer turns me upside down"...jul 29,2006

It's Hot Out Here!

Isn't there some song with lyrics that say "It's hot in here..."? Well, it is summer in STL. It is HOT. You know, a little summer is okay.  That is what summer is about. The change in seasons is a wonderful thing, but this is a full on heat wave. It is hot. Despite the heat, I urban safaried yesterday with the STLPhotobloggers. Please accept my apologies to all about my heat gripes. We visited the Benton Park West area of the city. It was a fun outing never the less!

The weather forecast for the next few days is for continued heat. I hope everyone comes through it well. It is a severe weather alert. This too shall pass. jul 15,2006

 

 

Studio Friday

Out of the Ordinary...

I normally do not do political commentary here, but...

The former chairman and CEO of Enron Corp., Kenneth Lay, 64, died of a heart attack early Wednesday in his Aspen, Colo., home.   As reported by the  NYT, two months ago Lay and Enron's former president Jeff Skilling were found guilty of multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the bankruptcy of Enron in 2001. It was one of the biggest corporate scandals in US history. As stated by UroNews.net, 20 billion euros of value was wiped out (equivalent to over 25 billion US dollars) and 5,000 people lost their jobs and pensions.

Lay and Skilling were awaiting sentencing in October. Legal experts believe Lay could have expected to get up to thirty years in prison. Lay was close to President George W Bush and the former Texas governor nicknamed him "Kenny Boy." You can tell a lot by the company one keeps.

From the Missouri perspective, (STL Business Journal) Lay was a  graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia.  He made a $1.1 million donation to his alma mater in 1999 to establish the Kenneth L. Lay Chair in Economics. The Lay Chair has not yet been filled. Offers had been extended by the school to three different scholars between March 2000 and March 2003. All three scholars declined the offer after their institutions made counter-offers, according to a university release.

When all is said and done, what about the 5,000 employees?  Justice not served. Would it make a difference had he lived to serve his sentence? I am sure some feel cheated by his untimely death, but everyone has been cheated.  jul 05,2006

 The Flag

by David Hammonds, African American Artist...jul 4, 2006