Wednesday, April 30, 2008

electricity



In order to get this picture to post on photofriday, I had to burn 1.3 tons of coal. It's a good thing I'm not a perfectionist.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

a day at the races








Here are some pictures of boat races along the Brazos River. It was a great day to get back to nature, if you consider explosive engines, bazaars, four-wheelers, travel-trailers, loud-speakers, and gawkers part of nature. There were a few birds who didn't seem to mind.

One of the most interesting things was the temporary village that sprung up in the park for the event. It made me think that this would be the closest thing to Woodstock that I'd ever experience in Waco this decade. There was probably a lot less hair, slightly less consumption, and much less general psychedelia. If there was free love, I did not personally encounter any. Still, it was quite a scene.














Thursday, April 24, 2008

suddenly, without warning, I'm blogging my dreams

Recently I dreamed I was being tortured by "the Germans." This wasn't a WWII flashback. As far as I could tell, these Germans were acting on behalf of the current American government. The sole purpose of the torture seemed to be, well, torture.

The torture itself was almost exactly like going to the dentist. Friendly people with sterilized appearance led people back to a room where we would wait in private. Then the torturer would come in, lean us back, and start stuffing things into our mouths. They would ask questions in a German accent, but answering was impossible. The level of discomfort was identical to being at the dentist, except it was not actual dentistry. It was torture.

After having gone through it once I became determined to put a stop to it. So the next time I was greeted in the waiting room and called on back, I claimed to be a personal friend of Kofi Annan, and that they'd better watch themselves. This seemed to do the trick. When the torturer came in and leaned me back, she withheld torture in exchange for a dream-like monologue about her childhood.

Below is a non-sequitur photo of some spring wildflowers. I post the picture here to encourage people to work for peace and harmony by lying about being friends with Kofi Annan.


Monday, April 21, 2008

cold


I invited some people to my house the other night. Then the next day I opened my freezer to discover something I've never seen before: a whiskey pop. I have since rescued the bottle from this act of cruelty. It was a cold thing to do.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

fragile


I think this is an ancho pepper plant. It might be a serrano, but I'm pretty sure it's the ancho. I'll know for sure if it survives and produces a pepper in about 100 months. I think I may have gotten the seeds in a little late.

You see I didn't pretty it up any for the picture.

You can find pictures of other fragile things here.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

sisters

While you may look at these lovely ladies and think they're backup singers for Prince, they're actually a group of sisters gathering at a spot along the river they all shared many years ago. My friend was enlisted to take pictures using every camera they brought along, while I snuck a few from the side. When I'm their age(s) I hope: 1. to be alive and 2. to be hanging out with my siblings on a nice Spring day.

Below is another view of their river.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

far from home


This ladybug was roaming along the concrete high on a dam. Of course, I was too, and so were dozens of other ladybugs. I guess the difference between me and the bugs is that they're never far from home (well, that's one difference). They just happen to be wherever they are. Home is where the edible bacteria is.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

today's post . . .

. . . bird pictures. Yeah baby.

Like this deadly heron dive-bombing an innocent duck.

Or one of the rare masked chomping cardinal.

Or the innocent heron evading the deadly duck.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

bc vs ac

That's "before Canon" and "after Canon," as in a new camera. Here's a before, an announcement that Spring is definitely here, using my digital Pentax:

Here's another sign of the season using the new camera:

Obviously, the older camera has a lot of blue, while the new camera is more reddish. Oh well. I guess learning to use them is the part that makes a difference. For the time being, though, I'm telling myself that having a little and a big will come in handy.