Gas Prices

This morning, prompted by increasing concerns about terrorism, oil prices reached a record high as the cost of a barrel of crude is a whopping $44.34. Wow, it seems shocking that a product of finite supply gets more expensive the more we use it. Now the terror alert means higher oil prices, which oddly enough means higher profits for oil companies giving them more money to give to politicians whose policies may favor the oil companies such as raising the terror alert level. As Simba once told us: "It's the circle of life."
~ Jon Stewart

Conspicuous Consumption

I took B and her best friend to look at model homes today and could not believe the deals. Everything was decorated perfectly; from the ceramic tiled floors to the paintings on the wall. And, friends, all of this could be yours. Four thousand square feet in the cultural mecca of the Inland Empire. Huge bedrooms, great rooms, granite counter-tops, his and her walk-in closets. It can't get much better than that, can it? Oh, but wait, there's more. If you look closely in the picture you'll see the real selling point. It's the view. Is it nearby Mt. Baldy? No. Is it the valley? No. Is it rolling green hills? No. It's your next-door neighbor's window! And for the low price of $900,000 it could all be yours. Don't walk, run! Southern California is calling...

If we go on the way we have, the fault is our greed and if we are not willing to change, we will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect.
~ Jacques Cousteau

Elevation

Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things.
~ Denis Diderot

Fabric

Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.
~ Oscar Wilde

The Fan

I really don't like today's photo at all, but I have no other option so I am adding another LA photo to the end. The quote makes no sense unless you look at the title of the play it's from. :-)

My own business always bores me to death; I prefer other people's.
~ Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan

Crescendo

Another assignment from Right Brain/Left Brain Photography is to photograph music. I didn't specifically go out trying to capture music, but this one seemed to fit.

When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest.
~ Henry David Thoreau

The Steel Factory

One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.
~ W. H. Auden

Mosque

This is a brand new mosque being built about two miles from our house. It looks like it's going to be beautiful. When it's done I will have to see if I can get inside for more photos. I doubt they'll let me though! At the very least I can get closer though... these were done from across the street.

Islam teaches tolerance, not hatred; universal brotherhood, not enmity; peace, and not violence.
~ Perez Muhharraf

Dreams

While sitting in a coffee shop today I started reading a book called Right Brain/Left Brain Photography. The author was inspired by the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain so I knew I would like it. One of the assignments was to photograph your dreams. I dreamed last night about water. I don't remember much about it other than there was a lot of water. This is my attempt to photograph it.

Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives.
~ William Dement

Girl's Best Friend

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.
~ Samuel Butler

Cats

Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.
~ Garrison Keillor

Entertainment

I'm stealing this idea from a friend (thanks Sandy!).
Reading: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Listening to: Cake
Watching: Cheers: Season 2

All intellectual improvement arises from leisure
~ Samuel Johnson

Flowers

I think these are my favorite wildflowers - the Mexican Primrose. I don't know where they came from, but they grow in a corner of our front yard every spring.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.
~ Buddha

New Wardrobe

After a uniform of jeans and t-shirts I was forced to go shopping today for dress pants and blouses. Not my favorite thing to do but at least I'm still in the same size and I found some great deals.

Clothes and manners do not make the man; but, when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.
~ Henry Ward Beecher

Work

I started a new part-time job as a tutor today so I had to get this picture. It is so boring though that I also needed to add a photo of my day in L.A. I actually may do that all week...

When you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it.
~ Theodore Roosevelt

Inventing

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.
~ Thomas A. Edison

The French

I made a trip to L.A. today and came across quite a lot of interesting people, one of whom was this Frenchman. The quote fits him to a 'T'. He was quite the gentleman.

Frenchmen have an unlimited capacity for gallantry and indulge it on every occasion.
~ Moliere

I had to add one more. These suits were too classic.

The Finished Product

After starting this about a month ago I finally managed to finish today. I loved the whole process. And in honor of all the Degas I saw yesterday I had to use another of his quotes.

Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.
~ Edgar Degas

The Norton Simon Museum

Nothing in art should seem accidental, not even movement.
~ Edgar Degas

Get-Away

And that's the wonderful thing about family travel: it provides you with experiences that will remain locked forever in the scar tissue of your mind.
~ Dave Barry

Running Trail

Stadiums are for spectators. We runners have nature and that is much better.
~ Juha Väätäinen

Leftovers

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.
~ Charles M. Schultz

Easter

Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.
~ Martin Luther

Purple

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.
~ Alice Walker

Love

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.
It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
~ I Corinthians 13:4-8

Broken

The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.
~ Ernest Hemingway

Vegetables

A vegetable garden in the beginning looks so promising and then after all little by little it grows nothing but vegetables, nothing, nothing but vegetables.
~ Gertrude Stein

The Hikers

E and a few friends went hiking today. It was a gorgeous day for it.

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.
~ John Muir

Popcorn

Of course life is bizarre, the more bizarre it gets, the more interesting it is. The only way to approach it is to make yourself some popcorn and enjoy the show.
~ Anonymous

April Fool's Day

We have a tradition in our house of making a special April Fool's Day dinner. This year was grilled cheese and fried egg sundaes (toasted pound cake with dyed frosting and ice cream with marshmallow creme and pudding).

Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritation and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit takes their place.
~ Mark Twain