Pirate with a map for buried treasure, drawing by author
Advertisements
Jan
03
Palm trees growing tall in Las Vegas, NV, photo by author
Growth
Plant growth is a fascinating thing, as seen in these palm trees that seem to be surviving quite well, despite the harsh Southwestern urban environment.
Jan
02
Happy New Year 2018
Homer Simpson toasts with a friend
Ski Country Blues
Where I live in southern Colorado, winter has sort of passed us by and temperatures are above normal. So different from the rest of the country, where many are expecting snow in places, where the white stuff is rare. All the ski resorts out here are skiing on the man-made stuff and hoping Mother Nature will send some real winter weather soon before the winter season is gone. Things are expected to change this weekend, but not dramatically.
On a Personal Note
I just had an image of fine get featured on the online cover for a new literary magazine called Riggwelter, which has something to do with sheep. At least, it has a clip art image of an upside down sheep in the lower left corner. You can check out my picture here. It’s called From the Jupiter Cave.
This pictures marks my online debut into the world of manipulated and manufactured images. Sometime down the line I will be explaining some of these pictures in detail, including why and how I made them. I may do this in conjunction with a Patron site so stay tuned.
P.S. Here’s the official definition of riggwelter that appears on the site of the journal.
riggwelter (verb) – a dialect word from the North of England. a sheep, having fallen onto its back, being unable to right itself is said to be riggweltered (e.g. bloody thing’s riggweltered again).
There you are. Now go out and have a happy and prosperous New Year. That’s an order.
Dec
28
Despite the song, a partridge in a pear tree is not a common sight at Christmas, drawing by author
Merry Christmas
Merry belated Christmas from Ogden, Utah, where I have just wrapped up my duties as a bell ringer for the local Salvation Army here. It snowed here two days before Christmas, giving the place a magical air especially if you walked downtown to where the all the outdoor lights are.
Rediscovering Old Christmas Songs
Recently, while searching the YouTube site, I came across this classic, unheralded Christmas tune by The Band. The song is called Christmas Must Be Tonight and though recorded in 1975, the song did not appear until the album, Islands, was released in 1977. Listen closely to the rich tenor voices of Helm, Manual and Danko. Unfortunately, these three members of the Band have all passed away. Today, only Hudson and Robertson survive.
Dec
20
A Hunk of Gnarled Wood in the Dixie National Forest in Utah
2017 Favorites
This simple snapshot of a gnarled log in southern Utah is definitely one of my favorite pictures of the year. The image was doctored in the Posterize command in Photoshop, which might explain some of the splotches of solid color.
Dec
17
Tools for a quick ascent, photo by author
Ascend
With these easily accessible tools, this entrepreneur is ready for a quick ascent.
Dec
06
This discarded wrapper is about to be swept away, photo by author
Cheeky
This is a very cheeky situation.
Nov
30
A foggy day in Maine can be very serene, photo by author
Serene
Water is a very serene element, as is fog. Combine these two elements into one photograph and you will end up with a picture that is flooded with serenity.
Nov
24
The commercial transformation of the Mona Lisa, photo by author
Transformation
No way around it, the Mona Lisa is an iconic figure in art. Thanks to a few enterprising Germans she is also a commercial asset, as seen here in this photograph.
Nov
15
A View of Boston high rise buildings doctored in photoshop, artwork by author
Experimental
Thanks to an unusual viewpoint ( looking straight up) and a photoshop filter ( Solarization) this urban scene has been transformed into something quite surreal.
Nov
08
Hopefully, this caution tape is only a temporary measure, photo by author
Temporary
Though the warning tape is only present for a short while, it is best to heed the message.
Nov
02
There must be a ghost in this house, drawing by author
Spooky
Just another spooky house in the woods
Nov
01
A Streetcleaner in Ljubljana, Slovenia takes a peek at all the strange figures on the exterior of the Parliament Building.
Peek
What goes on inside? The strangest part of this picture is that the building with all the dark figures is the National Assembly or Parliament Building of the Balkan nation of Slovenia. The sculpture is named Tobias Putrih and he is very much alive and active today.
Peek
Oct
30
Even the witches are callin’ in to see what’s on the Halloween playlist
It’s That Time of Year Again
No Elvis here, just an unlucky 13 songs that are not afraid to jump into a good ghost story, like only Rockabilly can do. There are a few big names here, but not many. So tune in, turn it up and enjoy, for it twis the season for ghosts, goblins, candy skulls and sassy witches.
- Haunted House by Johnny Fuller
- Rockin’ in the Graveyard by Jackie Morningstar
- I’m the Wolfman by Round Robin
- The Cat by Rod Willis
- Vampira by Bobby Bare
- I Put a Spell On You by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
- Graveyard Rock by Taratula Ghoul and her Gravediggers
- Rockin’ Bones by Ronnie Dawson
- She’s My Witch by Kip Tyler
- Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Bauhaus
- Night of the Vampires by Moontrekker
- The Mummy by the Naturals
- Welcome To My Nightmare by Alice Cooper
Every year the pumpkins get bigger and bigger…or so it seems
Oct
26
decorated sugar cubes (and skulls) are popular in Mexico during the Day of the Dead celebration in early November, photo and drawing by author
Sugar
Sugar (cane) is not native to the New World, it was introduced by Columbus way back when. However, the agricultural grew well in the Caribbean and other places and so nowadays the sweet substance is available everywhere in many different forms. In early November, when Day of the Dead rolls around, painted sugar skulls and cubes are made and enjoyed by all, even the dead.
Oct
25
This oil storage tank is very well rounded, photo by author
Rounded
Actually, the storage tank is in the shape of a cylinder. Late afternoon shadows give a strong accent to the large, three-dimensional structure.
Rounded
Oct
18
It’s that time of year again, when the eerie glow of the pumpkins can be seen all across the land, photo by author
Glow
These demented pumpkins glow silently on a chilly autumn’s eve.
Oct
12
An opulent castle in the sky, artwork by author
Opulent
This world famous palace in India, even looks more opulent, when pictured as a palace floating in the air.
Oct
11
A worker cleaning windows appears smaller than he really is, photo by author
Scale
The traffic light makes this worker, who is cleaning windows, appear much smaller than he really is.
Oct
05
Unexpectedly, Jake the skateboarder found himself in a strange new world, drawing and photo by author
Time Traveler
When Jake when to the skateboarding park, just after dusk, and purely by chance discovered a wormhole that lead to a strange new world,
Oct
04
A pedestrian in a non-pedestrian place
Pedestrian
Here we have a pedestrian (walker) taking a morning stroll along Lake Annecy in the Haute-Savoir province in France, where the view is anything, but pedestrian.
Sep
27
This Coffee shop window is located on Central Ave. in Albuquerque, NM
Windows
Windows are everywhere and on rare occasions, they act as portals to other worlds that may be sinister, magical or surreal.
Sep
22
Hillary Clinton making her concession speech
What Happened Today (Sept.12)
Today, the day after the 16th anniversary of 911, was also book release day for Hillary Clinton’s latest memoir, What Happened?. The big event took place in Manhattan’s Barnes and Noble bookstore in Union Square, where hundreds of die-hard fans showed up to purchase their signed copy. A few brave souls even camped out overnight to see their hero. No speeches, no choice words, just a chance to stand in line, buy a book and then get it signed by the former Secretary of State. I don’t why she didn’t give her fans a short speech or just a few words of greeting, they deserved at least that much.
What’s Coming Up
The book tour is next. Today’s signing in NYC was free unless you decided to buy a book, but most stops on the book tour will not be. Fans, who want to get close to the former First Lady, who also made it to the White House as the first woman president, will have to pay some bucks for the opportunity. Her tour begins next week with a stop in our nation’s capitol and continues into December, when Mrs. Clinton visits Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.
A Case of Diminishing Return
Her first book sold well, Living History, but her second, Hard Choices, did not do nearly as well as Living History. Just after one week of sales, Living History outperformed Hard Choices by a margin of 600,000 to 100,000. And after one month the margin was 1 million to 160,000 still about a six to one advantage for Living History. By November 2015, about the time things were just getting to roll, Hard Choices had racked up 340,000, a far cry short of Clinton’s first memoir, which sold well over 1.5 million copies.
What Happened Is Selling (a week later)
Just recently, Hillary released her seventh non-fiction effort with Simon Schuster. Though unlikely to match sales figures for Living History, it may still do well. In fact, What Happened has sold over 160,000 (hardback) in the first week, which is a big improvement from Hard Choices, but will likely not match the impressive sales figures of Living History. Along with the hardback sales, there is also the e-book sales, which have also done quite well, pushing first week sales up to the 300,000 mark. But keep in mind here that the publishing industry tracks book sales of bestsellers through hardback copies, mot e-books.
Can Book Sales Determine Future Presidents
There is some evidence that having a best selling book or memoir is practically a pre-requisite for making it into the White House, especially in the 21st century. To make the point, all you have to do is look at our last three occupants of the White House (including the current one). All three have had popular best sellers that have outsold all competitors. This includes George W. Bush’s, Decisions Points, which sold 1.9 million, Barrack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope (540,000 in the first year) and Donald Trump’s Art of the Deal, which has sold over 1 million going all the way back to its 1987 release date. What is clear, is that for the major candidates, whoever sells the most books, will likely take the White House. With that in mind look for Al Franken to win the Dem nomination in 2020, but he may trouble beating Trump.
My Take
After the disappointing release of Hard Choices, I was surprised to see Hillary’s current release sell as well as it is doing right now. Since part of this blog was written on the day of her new book release, you can see it the writing.
However, the big story here is how important book sales may be in determining, who becomes president of the United States. The direct relationship between the two is very eerie. For Hillary, Living History, should have been good enough to put her back in the white house. But as we all know now, she was eclipsed by an even more popular writer and bookseller, Barrack Obama.
The New Yorker already had their cover ready for a 2016 Hillary Clinton victory
Sep
21
This image of a simple window, illustrates the concept of layered, photo by author taken in Old Town, Albuquerque, NM
Layered
Here, all in one picture, you have an adobe wall, a white wood frame and some glass complete with reflection. All in all, there are many different layers here.
Layered
Sep
19
Jazz originated as a musical expression, but its ideas can be applied to other areas such as writing and visual art. design by author
Jazz
Jazz is a truly American art form that has inspired artists in many different realms besides music.
Sep
14
A recipe for disaster….too many cooks spoil the broth
Recipe
What we have here is four of the more recognizable cooks from around the country all working on the same recipe. To me this spells disaster.
Sep
07
Ralph was proud of his mohawk haircut that he received at the Samurai Barber Shop, drawing by author
Samurai
Despite its unusual technique, the Samurai Barber Shop on Cleveland St. did a thriving business.
Sep
06
Two walkers await the sun to set over the Charles River, MA photo by author
Waiting
These two walkers are braving the below-freezing elements to witness an inspiring event, a wintertime sunset. Perhaps, when they are done, there is some hot chocolate waiting at home or a Hot Toddy in a nearby bar.
Aug
30
Writers and playwrights aren’t the only ones that have to deal with structure, photo by author
Structure
For many creative-type of individuals, structure can be an intimidating thing to deal with.
Aug
23
This street corner in Kanab, Utah is well guarded, photo by author
Corner
The masked stranger makes sure that there is no hanky-panky going on at this street corner.
