The Perfect Picture

This picture is so perfect that I used is as a illustration of David Muench's mantras for creating the perfect picture that I gave to a digital photography class last Thursday:

simplify, simplify, simplify

separation, separation, separation

patterns, patterns, patterns

In the Madison Press today I found an article on page one about that class. On page 3 was a picture of the class with this photo on a screen in the background. It was about the size of a nickel, but because it is perfect, it is very recognizable. I await the perfect storm when my aunt sees this picture in the paper! It is a funny old world. The picture was taken in a studio in about 1935. The photographer is not identified and the studio is long gone.

The Vulture Has Landed

Nader announces his presidential bid... sigh!

Another Visit To The Tile Ponds

I wonder if these ponds will be nearly so interesting after spring thaw.

George Birthington's Wash Day

View of Washington DC's Key bridge and Georgetown taken last Sunday.

Eclipse

Next total lunar eclipse is February 21st, 2010. Mark your calendars.

Bad News, Good News

The bad news is that Washington DC's parks are a disgraceful mess. Potomac Park is unkempt and terribly sad. The new FDR monument sports a bronze statue less than 3 feet tall. This is such a change from when Patricia and I used to visit when we first met.

The good news? At $4 milk is again more expensive than $3 gas. The good times can't be far away.

A Sense of Humor in Madison County

This sits by US Rt 42 near Plain City. A sculptor friend examined it and declared it to be natural and not worked stone. I bow to his knowledge, but I still wonder! And this being Valentines Day, it is appropriate on several levels as this is an inverted heart. I never thought of that before! It all fits!

The Jewel Trader of Pegu - Book Review

Jeffrey Hantover's first novel, The Jewel Trader of Pegu, is a fresh twist on the epistolary novel... one of the voices cannot write. The settings are Venice and Pegu, the capitol of southern Burma, in 1598 and 1599. The historical information alone makes this a worthwhile book and the human stories winding through it are the icing on the cake. This is one book that does not make you pine for "the good old days"! At just over 220 pages, it gave me something to read during the storm that is just ending. Thanks to Carla at the library for suggesting this one.

Slate Colored Junkos Are Back

Emma's Pearly Whites

This is a rare sighting, as the girl does not let ANYONE see those choppers.

Making Sausage

I arrived at the sausage making way too late yesterday... about 6 hours too late. Every winter Cousin Neddie butchers a hog or two to make whole hog sausage. They started with breakfast about 9AM. I was not paying attention (aGAIN!), but heading back to town on my bike I saw about 3 dozen trucks at Neddie's barn about a quarter mile away. I stopped for an hour, had two fresh sausage sandwiches and caught up with the doings of that branch of the family. Next year I need to get there at 9!

Tile Ponds

Thanks to Gene Pass for the photo

Eric's Auspicious Date

Nephew Eric is in a long retreat at a Buddhist monastary in Mirik, India. He started in February of 2005. They have finally settled on the auspicious date to end the retreat: September 9, 2008. The usual length for a long retreat is 3 years, 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days. But those held at monastaries such as the one in Mirik generally run longer. The participants are part of the process to decide the most auspicious day to end the retreat. The picture above is of Eric's retreat group. You can easily identify Eric, who is the only white guy in the picture! Those standing in the back are distinguished visitors. I believe that the Karmapa is standing directly behind Eric. He is the head of Eric's line of Tibetian Buddhism. The Karmapa excaped from Tibet not that many years ago. To learn more about that, read Music In The Sky.

When I heard that Eric would do his long retreat in Mirik where they speak only Tibetian, I thought of the credit card commercial: "3 years, 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days of only speaking Tibetian... PRICELESS!"

129 Miles

That is what I logged on my bike for January... 29 miles over my goal. Friend Gene topped 200... sigh! I guess 200 will be my February goal. The weather should be warmer, or so I can hope.