The Yearly Cycle

“Oh life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea;
And love is a thing that can never go wrong;
And I am Marie of Romania.”
Dorothy Parker 1893-1967

Everything old is new again. Happy New Year.

Looking Up

“The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes,
and, ironically, the more real.”
Lucian Freud 1922-

Post Christmas Post

“There has been only one Christmas -- the rest are anniversaries.”
W. J. Cameron

Now that the Christmas anniversary is over it’s time for a little peace on earth.
Everybody exhale!

Merry Snowmen

"This is the message of Christmas: We are never alone."
Taylor Caldwell 1900-1985

I hope you have a very merry crowded Christmas.

Lowering Santa's Carbon Footprint

“Let's be naughty and save Santa the trip.”
Gary Allen 1967-

Holy cow, it’s almost Christmas! Have you been naughty or nice?

Let People Think

“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
Mark Twain quotes 1835-1910

Sometimes I just don’t feel like opening up.

How about you?

Along the Border

“The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?”
Pablo Casals 1876-1973

This is a view above the River Wye which forms part of the border between England and Wales.

Fascination

“Getting old is a fascination thing. The older you get, the older you want to get.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I came across this colorful sign combo at the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk.

So what’s your fascination?

Making The Grade

“There are no grades of vanity, there are only grades of ability in concealing it.”
Mark Twain

If you owned a Rolls what would be on your vanity plate?

The Wild Bunch

"Riding a motorcycle on today's highways, you have to ride in a very defensive manner.
You have to be a good rider and you have to have both hands and both feet on the
controls at all times."
Evel Knievel

That didn’t prevent this guy flashing me the peace sign as he zoomed by with his buddies.

Hey, aren’t these guys on the wrong side of the road? Isn’t that dangerous?

Washing Buddha

The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.
Pablo Picasso 1881-1973

These young student monks are cleaning up for a graduation ceremony in Chang Mai Thailand.

Have you washed your Buddha lately?

Meditation

“Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always
arrived at in the immediate moment.”
Alan Watts 1915-1973

Do you meditate? If you do, how has it affected the way you live?

A Lack of Transparency

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won't come in.”
Alan Alda 1936-

This window is not very functional but the colors grabbed me.

What is it that you assume?

The Edge of America

“Power is so characteristically calm, that calmness in itself has the aspect of strength.”
Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton 1803-1873

A windless day on the California coast

Auto Shrine

"The car has become a secular sanctuary for the individual,
his shrine to the self, his mobile Walden Pond."
Edward McDonagh

Welcome to a straight ahead no nonsense grill.

Firefly

"People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes."
Abigail Van Buren 1918-

I came across this burnt out building in Tucson, Arizona. I think the bird was posing.

I Can Show You

"Can you hear me, that when it rains and shines
It's just a state of mind
Can you hear me, can you hear me?"
Rain- Lennon/McCartney 1966


This cloud, floating over the Berkeley hills, lit up for about thirty seconds before returning to a dull dark gray.

Wearing Hats

"A politician should have three hats. One for throwing into the ring, one for talking through, and one for pulling rabbits out of if elected."
Carl Sandberg 1868-1967

And it’s always good to have a spare.
This is my neighbor’s hat rack. This shot took me two days to get. The first day I noticed how the late afternoon sun skimmed across the hats and statue but I didn’t have a camera. The light only lasted for a few minutes so I came back the following day at exactly the same time with my picture machine.

Corny

“A man of knowledge, like a rich soil, feeds/ if not a world of corn, a world of weeds.”
Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790

I just like the pattern of this one. Happy Thanksgiving.

And More

"Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess."
Oscar Wilde 1854-1900

This is an unintentional window display I came across in England. I’m a sucker for wordplay.

Big

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it.”
Danny Kaye 1913-1987


This shot has been hanging on my office wall for a while. There’s nothing like New York.
For another take on the Empire State Building and more wonderful NYC shots, check out The Photodiarist.

Not So Lonely

“I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude."
Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862

This is the Lone Cypress Tree on the Monterey coast. It may stand alone but it is far from lonely. Thousands of people come to see it every year and it is one of the most photographed trees in the world.

Making Art

"How important are the visual arts in our society? I feel strongly that the visual arts are of vast and incalculable importance. Of course I could be prejudiced. I am a visual art."
Kermit the Frog

Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing double.

All Fall Down

“I have always looked upon decay as being just as wonderful and rich an expression of life as growth.”
Henry Miller 1891-1980

Just a reminder- everything is temporary .

Norwegian Wood

"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail."
Ben Franklin1706-1790

Getting ready for a Scandinavian winter.

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Opposites Attract

“In less enlightened times, the best way to impress women was to own a hot car. But women wised up and realized it was better to buy their own hot cars so they wouldn't have to ride around with jerks.”
Scott Adams 1957-

A cool car looks better with a hot tree.

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Everyday Life

“I don't think that sculpture belongs in everyday life like a table does, or like a chair.”
Anthony Caro 1924-

But sometimes you can find sculpture in a table and a chair.

Gentle Sea

“A lot of people attack the sea, I make love to it.”
Jacques Yves Cousteau 1910-1997

A little bit of serenity on Ko Phi Phi Thailand.

Window Seat

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”
Martin Buber 1878-1965


Whenever I look at this photo I feel like going somewhere. Maybe into a big puffy cloud.

Just Looking

“Never do wrong when people are looking.”
Mark Twain 1835-1910

Looking through the window.
Looking in the mirror.
Looking at the tourists who are looking out to sea.

Notice

“Using words to describe magic is like using a screwdriver to cut roast beef”
Tom Robbins 1936-

Have you noticed any magic recently?

Scary Face

Valor grows by daring, fear by holding back.
Publilius Syrus 1st century BC

This is a Yaksha, a spirit statue made to look threatening so he
can guard sacred sites in Thailand. Happy Halloween.

The Sun Has Teeth

Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.
Victor Hugo 1802-1885

This evil looking smiling metal sun is part of someone’s front gate.
Happy Halloween week.

Contrast

“There is no blue without yellow and without orange.”
Vincent van Gogh 1853-1890

This landscape/still life is about color, shapes and contrast.
Orange pumpkins/white pumpkins.
Spread out pumpkins and gathered pumpkins.
Orange against its opposite color blue.
The populated bottom two thirds and the empty sky.
There’s more. Happy Halloween week!

Good Dog

A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.
Buddha

Chanting helps though.

American Ingenuity

"The same fence that shuts others out shuts you in."
Bill Copeland 1929-

There’s more than one way to get yourself a white picket fence.

Wine Country

"Wine is the most civilized thing in the world."
Ernest Hemingway

Here’s a view of the vineyard at Viansa Winery in Northern California.

Perception of a Situation

“Anythin' for a quiet life, as the man said when he took the situation at the lighthouse”
Charles Dickens 1812-1870

Is anyone feeling a little tipsy?

 

Reflection

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection.
From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action."
James Levin

This is a view of one of the 450,000 lakes in Norway.

It makes you just want to stop. And think.

English Road

“Painting picture by picture, I followed the impressions my eye took in at heightened moments. I painted only memories, adding nothing, no details that I did not see. Hence the simplicity of the paintings, their emptiness.”
Edvard Munch 1863-1944

This photo is about color, line and composition. I was drawn in by the yellow lines leading to the yellow window frames. The yellow wall on the left is balanced by the yellow sidewalk on the right.  The vertical black line on the white wall is countered by the two black lines on the yellow wall. There is emptiness in this scene but also a bit of mystery. Don’t you want to know what’s around the corner? I did.

Bicycle Parking

"If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun."
Katharine Hepburn

Looks like there were a lot of disabled bicyclists at the
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival this year.

Above It All

“Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon”
Winnie the Pooh

Dana and I went hot air ballooning over Napa this week. Great fun! It was a birthday present from my family that I finally cashed in. Thank’s guys!
The terrific company we floated with is Balloons Above the Valley. Two thumbs up.

Hope

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast”
Alexander Pope 1688–1744

Sometimes hope gets knocked a little sideways.

In You They Trust

“You must trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible.”
Anton Chekhov 1860-1904

There is a small store on the California coast that is run by folks that have great faith in people. Instead of a clerk they have this.

Just a Thought

“Nodding the head does not row the boat”
Irish Saying

Don’t you want to just hop in the boat, start the engine and go?
I wanted to but I didn’t. Grand larceny.

Good Luck

“May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light. May good luck pursue you each morning and night."
Traditional Irish blessing

But first you must unlock the door.

Abstract Art

"There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterwards you can remove all traces of reality."
Pablo Picasso 1881-1973

Now that's a comfort.

A Short Visit

"Don't hurry. Don't worry. You're only
here for a short visit. So don't forget to stop
and smell the flowers along the way."
Walter Hagen 1892-1969

And take a good long look too.

The Really Useful Shop

“Every man serves a useful purpose. A miser, for example, makes a wonderful ancestor”
Laurence J. Peter 1919-1990

Now this is something I could really use. I find useful stuff very helpful. Too bad this shop in England is closing for “refit”. In the useful biz, if it doesn’t fit you must quit. Really.

Bird On The Wire

“Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.”
Leonard Cohen 1934-

Simple.