For Profit
Does this compute??? Trump has business interests in Turkey and Erdogan asked for and received a favor from trump in exchange for money and profits to trump. Why not? It passed through two US Attorneys General at trump’s direct order. It would be a big news impeachable headline. But, we are so fatigued by the corruption of trump that this is hardly a blip. Hey, it’s only $$$ millions, and, the “pres” is a good business “man” (god) many will admit to admiring.
Hurricane Zeta hit Louisiana, the fifth named storm to hit this season. Who can remember the other four? By now you see corruption, and, shrug?! The bastards!! Follow the money.
Good – Bad
The upper right and left are examples (i.e. poor exposure, composition) of pics placed in a newsletter posted by “cat proud” weavers who can’t take proper pics of their beloved cat. I laughed at Colleen. She contends they are sound (cute) photos. I disagree, of course. There’s no excuse for accepting a bad photo.
iPhone or camera? Jules makes a cogent argument for using her iPhone nearly exclusively. It’s always at hand. She will concede a camera is better. But iPhone is right handy. Me? Obviously, I’m all about the camera. (She shot with my camera.) Ha!
Typical
“On Wednesday, Mr. Trump claimed not to know who Mr. Taylor is, despite the fact that there are numerous pictures of the president with Mr. Taylor in meetings.
“Who is Miles Taylor? Said he was ‘anonymous’, but I don’t know him — never even heard of him,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. “Just another @nytimes SCAM — he worked in conjunction with them. Also worked for Big Tech’s @Google. Now works for Fake News @CNN. They should fire, shame, and punish everybody associated with this FRAUD on the American people!”
The Op-Ed pages of The Times are managed separately from the news department, which was never told of Anonymous’s identity.”
Anonymous – soon you will be too. You were always unfit to be president. And soon you will be forgotten. Your typical playbook of “lie and deny” no longer works, if it ever did. You had a rabid base, rabid indeed. No one need be afraid of you any longer. As for “fraud” – I’m rubber you’re glue, what you say bounces off me and sticks to you. Soon, you will tweet, and, no one will listen.
Party ready
All dressed up with nowhere to go. Ha ha. We are taking a calculated risk during corona. We are safe. And our kids are safe. We have all been isolated safely for quite some time. So! The house is all neat and ready for company. This is a first in months (too many to mention) when we have actually seen the floor and table tops. Since the tables have been otherwise covered, Colleen hasn’t had an opportunity to play games. She loves to beat me. (I always let her win. NOT.) In the midst of everything our 1860’s spinning wheel found a place as treasured photo prop. Don’t laugh. It’s only clean this brief moment until everyone leaves. After – we believe a house is not a home, unless it’s lived in.
They lost it
The Times has lost it too. Guess which ‘fridge is a Biden or trump fridge? Really!? You guys have nothing better, no news, than to waste my time with wondering what republicans keep? And for the record with more than a million guesses, the fake news democrats were only right about 53% of the time. No self respecting republican would ever peek at the NYT. OMG!
Rembrandt light
Rembrandt light. Before I forget, this lighting scheme reminds me of that. I have created a studio set up by chance. We were merely cleaning up and straightening things out. (The spinning wheel has provenance back to the 1860’s.) Colleen thinks I’m a genius. I work along the theory that even a blind squirrel gets a nut once in a while. Whatever! The effect first worked on my cat. And now it’s wildly successful on another precious subject. Gee, sometimes I am very humbled to get worthy shots.
I see
“And you gotta admit, Trump’s comment about Barrett being the perfect replacement for RBG is grade A trolling. He knows what he’s doing because yes, RBG and Barrett are both women, but Barrett is going to dismantle all of RBG’s good work. So this would be like if the Lakers replaced LeBron with Ben Carson. Technically, yes, they’re swapping one Black man for another, but good luck on making the playoffs next season.” — TREVOR NOAH
Punchy – that would be us. I voted for trump. That might be true except she (Colleen, the boss) filled in my ballot – filled in all the circles – and dropped my ballot in the box. I was only allowed to sign. … kind of like when we got married. …. ooops! Less than a week…. he’s gonna win!! That much I can say for sure. Winter is coming. A storm is coming. And the Democrats are coming for you. Rats are seen on the streets of NYC when there are too many and they push the weak ones out on the street. No mercy. Rules.
Exit left… fast
I just missed (the shot). Or, did I? The little kid got a full dose of hose from her mom. Chuckle! Give a girl a hose and … It’s not the first time. She got her brother – innocent, unsuspecting. There’s a bit of the devil in the girl. Watch yourself. Water, you’re never safe around her.
Spiral
This will be a spiraling slippery slide. I don’t know how it will end. But good will triumph. Who’s good? Majority rules. You have shown your color. You have befouled the very democracy you claim to embrace. You deserve nothing less in return. I hope there will be proper retribution. Years ago, it was determined that movie audiences definitely preferred happy endings. Like the Taliban and Al Qaeda, this is one you cannot win. It’s enough to make me start praying.
Angel light
I was once told that the sun rays emanating from the clouds is angel light. That’s good enough for me. We had a good day. Gratitude, I got plenty. A couple days back, a couple posts ago… happy – to be here… and with the one I love.
Blusta and botha
“In July, Ivanka Trump released a photo of herself cradling a can of Goya beans in an effort to support a Trump-friendly company facing a boycott.
The photo raised concerns among ethics watchdogs that Ms. Trump had used her government position to market a consumer product.
Now, Ms. Trump’s act of guerrilla marketing is causing agita of another sort.
On Thursday morning, the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group made up mostly of Republicans, posted that image of Ms. Trump on a billboard in Times Square, with statistics about Covid deaths substituting for the beans.
Ms. Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser, beams from the adjacent billboard alongside body bags and a quote, attributed to him in a Vanity Fair article, stating that New Yorkers will suffer during the pandemic, and “that’s their problem.”
The billboards sparked a prompt reaction from the couple’s lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz, who called them “false, malicious and defamatory” and threatened to sue.”
I gotta say, this is brilliant. Sue?! Sure, by the time you get to court, the election will be long over. And by the way, the truths attributed far outweigh the lies you’ve told.
“Dhvani is protesting the Title X “gag rule” and donating a portion of sales to Planned Parenthood with a series of advertisements that show athletic women silencing President Trump. (N/A/Courtesy of Dhvani)
The billboard, he said, has increased traffic to the company’s website and social media accounts. Sales are also up, though he declined to offer specifics.
“We’ve never taken a political stand before but frankly, we were fed up,” Brown said, adding he was inspired by Nike’s advertising campaign with Colin Kaepernick — the former NFL quarterback who sparked a movement by his refusal to stand during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality. “This is just saying: Let’s put a gag order on him. Enough is enough. We support impeachment.””
Washington Post is no stranger either. Public figure. Public ridicule. Go team!
Green
The first time I visited Jules in California she ordered up a kale smoothie. It was green. I would add colorful adjectives to describe the drink – green, yuck! Suffice to say, I was horrified. My daughter! She wouldn’t eat anything green growing up. Her daughter, my granddaughter, drank from Grandma’s cup. Colleen drinks green juice. It’s good for you. Right!? And she liked it! OMG. Somehow green reminds me of a swamp. You are what you eat??? Not by my hand… Colleen’s not green either.
Regret
I made the ultimate marriage faux pas. I called Colleen, Lisa (former wife) by mistake. There can be no excuse, but, I believe I was overtired. Colleen was gracious enough to wait to scold me. I am mortified. (I think I am still alive to tell the tale?) Susan took this group pic 9 years ago. (Shutterfly sometimes sends past memories that…) Four couples were friends together for more than a quarter century. I don’t quite remember when Bob and Kathy split. They aren’t pictured. And I (unofficially officially) split from the group in 2014. I’m forced to look back on my subconscious mistake that seems only to have been caught by Colleen. She will forgive me. She always does. It’s not enough for me to accept her forgiveness. I have committed myself to following a new path for us. Some things can’t be unsaid. But, I can go forward different than I was yesterday. Regret? Yup, I got a big one.
Colleen says, “Where are four couples?” Ok, my bad? A remote control and one tripod later, voila!
Duh?!
It’s not hard. I simply snatch the headlines as we go along. You can’t make this shit up. By now you know there was a pandemic virus playbook that the Obama administration left trump. He (trump) trashed it. Now the office of vaccine safety? Really!! Since you knew that there would be no pandemic why worry about vaccines? So many people dead, so many sick, and still your ineptitude finds new ways to shine. You just couldn’t be worse. And then you go lower.
Lucky
It’s not easy shooting moving targets. The flower and the butterfly are moving in 3D. This makes focus near impossible. Focus, composition, detail, and so on, all are critical. I was able to come away with two passable shots. It looks easy. It wasn’t. I feel fortunate that I was able to get something good.
Exercise
I have a good example of the zoom capability of the Sony RX100 VI. Three successive photos show the telephoto detail of the hydrangea in the distance. How far? … near ½ mile. You can’t see the petals. But, that dot of color indeed is a large hydrangea bush.
Of, course, if you saunter over, you just might get some nice blossoms.
Pee pee
Ah shucks! I thought they peed on him – asshole. It seems they just peed on the bed Obama slept in. Not terribly sexciting as it turns out. He grabs pussy and gets peed on. That would have been a whole lot more wholesome. Meanwhile, where’s the tape? With all the lies, I have no doubt someone got peed upon?!
Cook
We made a no bake cheesecake from a box. Don’t! Ever!! It was artificial and light as whipped cream. The chemicals were good if you like fake stuff. I looked up a New York cheesecake recipe. I used an almond crust. The recipe used cream cheese – a ton! That darned cake weighed 10 pounds. A water bath??? It keeps the cake from cracking. I guess that’s an issue for purists. The second recipe came from “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” on the food channel. It’s no mystery and it’s well documented on the internet. Darn! (I’d use a stronger expletive!) The result was good. It made me giggle. Not laugh, giggle! Deep fried black eyed peas. It calls for chopped onion to be cooked with the beans before frying. Keep the onion. They crisp up and are delicious in their own right. It’s bad for you. The rule: anything that tastes that good is – bad for you!!
Seriously!?@ Really?@!@$%*
So, you are accused of rape and assault that occurred in the 1990’s and are defended by the US Justice Department now. It was an official act. Yes, rape and assault are legal for the president in an argument on technicality. Really!? Can you say criminal? Bill Cosby shoulda run for president. You know the president is not immune from criminal assault. Most other politicians would already have resigned in disgrace. Not this one. Double down. The last time he grabbed pussy he was elected president. Go figure. Tell me you are proud of this asshole.
Detail
Subtle details are often revealed when I take the time to look closely. That’s when you need that “critical focus.” It also helps to have multiple shots. There’s always a blurred image – (as with any group picture, there’s always someone with their eyes closed). Fine hairs? See the hibiscus. I credit a darn good lens. And water is always tricky. Close-ups don’t give you a lot of depth of field. Sometimes nature conspires. The steady rain wilted my newly bloomed lily. I got some nice water. Colleen says my eye sight is failing. At least the camera lens compensates for other shortcomings.
Denier in chief
I gotta give you credit for shooting yourself. Self-inflicted wound. You got a medical degree like you got your business degree. Science fiction!! You can’t read. Otherwise you are very good at making up shit. Covid got you by the balls? Here’s a fact: 8 million with Covid and 220,00 dead. That would be dead Americans. Deny that.
Painterly
The word “painterly” comes to mind. Of course, it’s not a painting. “Still life, with cat.” Perhaps. Whatever. It evokes a powerful emotion deep within akin to Proust’s La Madeleine. Every day I capture good images of my cats. Technically passable and fun, the images are too many to ever hope to post. And they are my cats. Cat proud? Sure. And, then along comes a shot that evokes some universal connection.
Dad?
Hey! I got experience. I have experience. I had the fortunate experience of diving in the Red Sea. I have hundreds of dives recorded. Lucky!! And I have photos that are one of a kind. I have a hermit crab in the act of laying eggs. How cool is that? One of a kind!! I was there at the right moment. Yes, sometimes I impress myself.
How do you tell one clown fish from one another? They all look the same to me. Male or female?? Ha ha, good luck with that. But here are fish eggs. They are a rare sight to capture underwater. I am indeed fortunate that I was there when it happened. I missed the moment the eggs hatched. That would have been special. I suppose there are always some regrets we have until the next time.
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