Archive for July 2009
Vay-kay-shun
Along with some needed chores around the house, hopefully will get to Savannah – Tybee Island and then Anna Maria Island.
Sand roses
I call these sand roses although I’m sure someone has their official horticulturally correct name. They grow in the beach sand all along the east coast of Florida.
Sand Roses
Various photos – post processing
I’ve been working on post processing techniques. Some work out OK, others don’t. Its getting the right mix of light/shadows/color/hue/saturation. Oh, it help if one is talented – which I’m not. Maybe just lucky sometimes. These are from a recent ride through St. Augustine, FL.
50,000 Hits ! Thank you!!
I started this blog 566 days ago and today it has seen 50,000 hits. I have made many new friends from this blog and I’m thankful for finding and knowing them. Many THANKS to all those readers who flock around my site, some before starting work early in the morning, some later – it has been your support which has brought me here and I appreciate your interest.
In the last few months I added links to some stylish gents that I list as “The Trad Men”. Some great people with varying points of view on anything from what your shoes are made of to how to make the best doggone pancakes in the land. I love reading their blogs and appreciate their comments.
I’ve met so many great photographers – most of them so much better than I am at the craft. I get an immense amount of pleasure from shooting just about anything, and have learned a great deal about the post-process work flow that make a good photo a great photo – I’m still learning! Thanks to all of you photographers out there – professionals and amateurs — you inspire and motivate me to click-click-click.
Many thanks,
=Paul
“A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any other invention in human history, with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila.” – Mitch Ratcliffe
Like being there (sort of …)
My younger sister always gets me Cape Cod Life for my birthday. My second issue came in today’s mail. I love reading through it, perusing the ads, the photos, the art and antiques. It brings me back to much earlier times. The last time I was on Cape Cod was 1984 – we rented a house for a week with the whole family. We knew then that we’d be moving south to Florida at the new year. I’ve been back north many times, but never back to “The Cape”. In high school, we had a house in Wrinkle Point (Bass River). I had a job (one of the worst!) washing dishes at the Riverview Lobster House in Yarmouth – it was close enough that I could walk to it. I made enough money to buy a few things that summer (first madras jacket 🙂 ), but mostly what I wanted to do was just loaf – go to the beach – and just hang out (although I don’t think we said “hang out” back then). Things took a nasty turn economically then (somewhat like these days), and my parents had to sell that house. After I moved to Florida, my sisters continued to go to The Cape summers with their children and families. I know they enjoyed it.
As I turn these pages – it brings me back . . . Thank you M.A.
Cape Cod Life
This is the tenth anniversary of John F Kennedy Jr’s passing. I think of the Kennedys and Cape Cod Massachusetts as one. Once our whole family went to Mass at St. Francis Xavier Church in Hyannis. As we were leaving the Kennedys were coming in. We took a photo – but it never came out. That sure would have been a keeper – but eh – not in the cards.
John F Kennedy Jr
When Richard Blow’s book American Son – A Portrait of John F Kennedy Jr came out in 2002 I snapped it up and read it quickly. I was keenly interested in reading about John Jr. I truly believe that Richard Blow was wrongly criticized for writing the book. On the TV interview show The View – those farting hens (who never read the book) ripped Mr. Blow a “new one” and ever since I bash the show and its sagging troupe whenever the show is mentioned – they are a waste of time and airspace and provide little benefit to the public. I remember writing to Mr. Blow through the publisher – actually thanking him for writing the book. If he made money from it, so what, it really doesn’t matter does it? JFK Jr is history, and history needs to be written. Thank you again Richard! Its a great book!
American Son - Portrait of John F Kennedy Jr
One of my favorite hotels
One of my favorite hotels – The St. Francis, San Francisco, CA
The Grande Dame Of San Francisco Union Square Hotels
At the turn of the century, the guardians of the Charles Crocker family announced plans to buildThe Westin St. Francis. Their vision was to make San Francisco the “Paris of the West,” and their stunning Union Square San Francisco hotel would be their flagship. After studying all of Europe’s grand hotels – from those in Berlin, Vienna, and Monaco to Claridge’s in London and The Ritz in Paris – construction on the original St. Francis began. Two years and $2.5 million later, on March 21, 1904, the doors of The St. Francis opened. By seven o’clock that evening, a line of carriages and automobiles stretching three blocks waited to approach her brightly lit towers. The hotel became so popular that within six months, the owners announced plans to add a third wing, two floors of apartments, and a ballroom. The St. Francis had become the center of the city’s social, literary, and artistic life.
Source: http://www.westinstfrancis.com/our_history/
The St. Francis back when
photo credit: http://www.westinstfrancis.com/our_history/
The St Francis from Union Square
The St Francis at the clock
The St Francis Lounge
Gate
Fleur and shell gate – Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL USA
Gate - Flagler College - St. Augustine, FL
North, South, East, West – Weathervanes
Weathervane
Weathervanes get their name from the Old English fane, which means flag or banner. Weathervanes also go by the name of “wind vanes.” Weathervanes are one of the oldest forms of weather prediction. Weathervanes are mentioned in the ancient writings of Mesopotamia, from over 3500 years ago. The Chinese also talk about strings or flags being used to read wind direction in writings dated to the 2nd Century B.C.
With the discovery of the New World and the colonization of what is now New England, weathervanes were proudly displayed from the high steeples of newly populated towns and cities as our ancestors blended cultures and traditions to become America. This one was found in St. Augustine, FL.
Friendship
Friendship
“I may be wrong, but I have never found deserting friends conciliates enemies.”
Margot Asquith
“Men kick friendship around like a football, but it doesn’t seem to crack. Women treat it like glass and it goes to pieces.”
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
“There are three faithful friends, an old wife , an old dog, and ready money.”
Benjamin Franklin
“Friendship is like money, easier made than kept.”
Samuel Butler
“Money couldn’t buy friends but you got a better class of enemy.”
Spike Milligan
“It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt you to the heart:the one to slander you and the other to get the news to you.”
Mark Twain
“The best time to make friends is before you need them.”
Ethel Barrymore
“A good friend can tell you what is the matter with you in a minute. He may not seem such a good friend after telling.”
Arthur Brisbane
“Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.”
Thomas Jones
“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.”
Bernard Meltzer
“Give me one friend, just one, who meets The needs of all my varying moods.”
Esther M. Clark
(I love this last one)
“A true friend never gets in your way unless you are going down.”
Arnold H. Glasgow
Sorrentolens 