July 28, 2014

She would have loved to be honored like this, my Mom who died a couple of days ago.

DU Photo folks have known Mom for years. She came to the USA and we spent time in the Keys each year - as the guests of a friend. He became wealthy enough to buy a condo there - damn fancy, too - and let her use it every year in re-payment for what he perceived saved his future when he was young:
"A preacher’s wife in a tiny German village who understood his professed need to learn things beyond farming. They had books he was to read and discussions to participate in.
He “made it” and farming was left to his siblings….."

That’s the reason the photos I’m lining up all have the flair of the US South. That’s when Mom and I were together the most. I had to go to the old country a few times for funerals, but there were no photos.

So I’m not going to say anything - I’ll just line them up. Many of you will remember her - and you will see from the photographs her love of life and her energy. She had seven children, I was her oldest.

I came here a week plus ago, and I sat at her bed for 7 days and 6 nights until she died in my arms and those of one of my remaining brothers.
I am bereft. And she is relieved after a short month of physical terror.
She was almost 90

Thanks guys for remembering her, and for looking.

The other woman dancing is an adopted sister

July 18, 2014

Seeing the light: Boehner Drops Obama Lawsuit; Says It Would Mean Doing Something - (Borowitz)

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) dropped his plans to sue President Obama on Friday, explaining to reporters, “I realized it would mean doing something.”

In a brief appearance before the press, Speaker Boehner talked about his gradual realization that “filing a lawsuit requires effort and, yes, work.”

“I came to the conclusion that while suing the President would be the best thing for the American people, it would also require that I do something,” he said, struggling to retain his composure. “And that would be a betrayal of everything I stand for.”

Mr. Boehner’s decision drew praise from fellow Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), who called it “courageous.”

“I know this was a very difficult decision for John,” McConnell said. “But at the end of the day you have to be true to your core values.”

July 18, 2014

Until just this minute I did not think to share with you that I was involved in a 48 hour movie

I was talking to someone about it, and then it occurred to me that even though it’s a little movie, I was the one who hand held my Sony Alpha 65 and shot the damn thing so my DU photo friends might get a kick out of it.
This link tells you what the project is

https://www.48hourfilm.com/

We had a crew of 7 dedicated folks to write/ stage/ and produce, and 2 professional actors and some of the crew acted as well.
Then we put out the little movie in 48 hours about a month ago (mistakes were made that could not be fixed in time).

Now it turned out that we were an audience favorite, and tomorrow night we are going to be shown as one of Greensboro’s best, with some win attached that we don’t yet know.
I would wait and tell you about it when it’s done, but I have to leave and be with my Mom who is sick.

More about the Greensboro films, if you care.
http://www.48hourfilm.com/en/greensboro/

So here is a link to the movie, I hope you like it.
The genre is picked out of a hat.
One is given a prop to use, a phrase to incorporate and a character to mention.
After that we write, stage and shoot a movie in 48 hours, and you can’t be late even a minute turning it in!

I am an idiot when it comes to computer finesse, but when I copied this link and pasted it, it played!
Please like it, this was an incredibly hard and exciting first try.
We want to do this again next year.


www.dropbox.com/s/tzjkxo8kvbyfo4u/Mind Games July last.mp4

July 17, 2014

Christie: I Would Bring Traffic Over the Border to a Standstill - (yes he could, says Borowitz)

IOWA CITY (The Borowitz Report)— Testing the political waters in Iowa today, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that if he is elected President, he would bring the flow of illegal immigrants over the U.S.-Mexico border to a virtual standstill.

“There are ways of keeping people from getting to where they want to go,” Christie said, claiming that he was the only Republican hopeful with the hands-on experience necessary to fix the border crisis.

The New Jersey governor was vague about how he would halt traffic over the border, but exuded confidence that he was the right man for the job.

“I’d make a few phone calls,” he said. “It would get done.”

www.borowitzreport.com

July 15, 2014

How to look smarter - Andy Borowitz has the answer (and it’s pretty simple)

NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) – A new study released Tuesday indicates that wearing glasses does not make a person look smarter, but standing next to Texas Governor Rick Perry does.

In the study, when participants were shown photos of a person with and without glasses, they registered little or no change in their view of the person’s intelligence.

However, when the photo of the same person was juxtaposed with a photo of Governor Perry, participants suddenly said that the person looked “much smarter” or “brilliant,” with some participants even using the phrase “like a genius.”

According to Davis Logsdon, who conducted the survey for the University of Minnesota, the results could be a game changer in the strategies people use to look smarter. “For people trying to appear more intelligent, it turns out that the must-have accessory is not glasses; it’s Rick Perry,” he said.



www.borowitzreport.com

July 14, 2014

Maybe I learned to speak "parakeet" LOL ... look at the close up of this guy

He let me come to within 5 inches of his face.
This is a wild parakeet in Costa Rica. I learned these guys fly in packs/swarms.



Adding a photo of a Toucan - he was caged - so this was easy. As I look through my photos more nice stuff surfaces

July 13, 2014

It's fascinating photos all over the map - starts with POTUS - so I figured it's OK to post in GD :)

These 60 Rare Photos Will Destroy Everything You Knew About The Past. Mind = Blown.


These stunning photos reveal relationships and sides of famous people you've never seen before and capture the essence of eras that have come and gone. I'm sure more than a few of these will surprise you...and some might even make you laugh.


http://news.distractify.com/culture/x-history-photos/?v=1

July 9, 2014

Hummingbirds in the Rain Forest - To bring some joy to Solly Mack and others

Since Solly Mack is going through a tough time, and loves birds, I put this together for her and all of you.
It’s July where I am, in Monteverde Costa Rica, and it is cool and rainy - you may want to google it and find out a bit about the incredible variety of flora and fauna here.

A local man showing me a humming bird nest


Hummers at the feeder


A huge one…


A few close-ups






finally he got sick of me! What’ya looking’ at?

Here is a link to a little video I made - hope you like it - my first published video ever

tried the video - and it did not play - maybe not done processing. Don't have enough internet to try again.