Oh, I Think So

Today is the birthday of my sister, Marion. MARION!  I send you wishes for a wonderful next year of life!  Happy birthday to you!! In honor of her birthday, here is a picture of Calder's Flamingo, taken after dark recently. Happy birthday from Flamingo and me!  Federal Plaza, December, 2015

Good enough to eat, so we did. Yesterday was my birthday; happy birthday to me.  I love my birthday.  No one else has to enjoy it because my affection for my birthday more than makes up for a universal lack of enjoyment/appreciation. Every year, I get my own cake.  "Oh," I've been told, "you shouldn't have to get your own cake."  Au contraire, I say.  If I choose the cake, then I know what's coming.  I am not a huge fan of surprises; I mostly like to know what's coming.  So, I go to a grocery store or to a bakery and I pick a frosting color and advise that I want yellow cake and pick what the decorations there will be.  I pick up and pay for the cake on the appointed day and time and then bring the cake along to dinner. Behold this turquoise wonder!  The edge on the top edge was perfect.  The flowers weren't too many.  They spelled my name right and did just what I asked.  BONUS:  It turned our teeth, tongues, and ...

In these days of global warming and the increasing need for UVA and UVB broad spectrum protection from the sun, we offer this picture of Tiger, a dog who was out yesterday with his owner. I saw Tiger and I asked his owner if I could take Tiger's picture.  The owner was delighted, saying, "Sure!"  Tiger wanted nothing to do with it. His owner -- whose name I foolishly didn't get -- finally had to hold his canine pal on a very short leash with both hands and only then would Tiger show me his beautiful face. His owner was not wearing sunglasses and I doubt that Tiger would have given them up. So take it from Tiger and me, wear sunglasses during daylight hours. Hold that Tiger!  Logan Square, Chicago.

Y'all, it's 3:41pm and I still haven't done my weekly shopping.  I've not yet gotten out of my robe.  I need to get out of this chair and get myself into some clothing, walk to my car, drive my car to the store, and do that.  EXCEPT I feel like I've been beat up. Yo ho ho and a bottle of wah wah wah. Yeah, I'm off to do that.  More thrilling adventures next week. Meanwhile, Michigan State is ranked #4 in the nation in football.  Go green!

The big news in the world of entertainment is that Adele has a new album out called "25," and it's broken records for sales.  If you buy it at Target, you get three bonus songs.  I was at Target last Tuesday night and saw it and thought, "Oh, to heck with it.  I'll just get it at the library."  I was #20 in line for the single library copy which means it could be a year before I had my turn with it.  I can be remarkably patient with library books, CDs, and DVDs and I'd keep the loot. That night I saw a clip of one of the songs from the CD, the second one Adele sang on SNL called "When We Were Young."  Instantly, an Adele emergency was created and I had to have it. There's a Target three blocks from my office that opens at 7 a.m.  I was there as they opened, bustling past the employees who were still securing the doors open, asking for the new Adele.  I scored the CD and a pack of spearmint gum, and I went to work.  Emergency over. Jim...

Yesterday, 21 November 2015, all public transportation in Brussels, the capitol city of Belgium, was closed down.  People were advised to stay away from airports, train stations, and shopping malls.  The national Crisis Center raised its terrorism level for the Brussels area to Level 4, which means a serious and immediate threat.  I know a couple of people who live in the Brussels area.  I sent messages to both -- the good doctor whose photos were shared here in this blog just a few weeks ago; and someone whom I know online. This morning I saw that online friend was around and we chatted briefly as well.  I'd left him a message that I was thinking of him and that I hoped all was well and he said, "Thank you to be worried.  Its really going bad we have to live with it." He added that it was "nothing," which I took to be his way of saying that it is what it is. I no longer work in a train station -- yeah, I changed jobs, jumping from the frying pan into t...

National anthems are, by their nature, rousing and thrilling.  They evoke national pride and stir the hearts of the citizens. In light of the horrific events in Paris on Friday, November 13, I offer to you a scene from Casablanca .  The Nazis are entertaining themselves with a German tune which really bothers the many French people in Rick's.  They're mostly in Casablanca waiting to get papers so they can leave Morocco for somewhere neutral, somewhere free.  It bothers no one more than Victor Laszlo who walks purposefully to the band and insists they play the Marseillaise; Rick nods his approval and the bands plays it.  Every one of the many French people in the bar joins in loudly and with great passion.  I ask that you join in loudly as well.  Vive la France !

Dr. Sanjiva Pather is a radiologist originally from Mauritius, now living and working in Brussels, Belgium.  We met on a tour of Kyoto.  We sat together on the bus and happened to get along.  At Kiyomizudera Shrine, we started talking about photography, he produced a massive lens, I laughed and said inappropriate things.  San showed me pictures as he took them and I was so impressed by the movement he captured with that excellent piece of glass.  Please note: it doesn't matter what the equipment is because a good photographer can get good results with a disposable camera and San is a very good photographer who knows how to put his excellent camera to good use.  San has an enviably good eye and was generous enough to share some of his work with me.  I asked him to answer some questions and tell me about the pictures he sent.  I am so pleased to share his work with you. (Editor's note:  Because of the time difference and busy schedules, I am ...

This week, I had every intention of showcasing the excellent photography of Dr. Sanjiv Pather of Brussels, Belgium.  Alas, I am deficient in a lot of computer stuff.  Because of this, the blog is an apology to Dr. Pather, my readers, and to myself.  I am sorry, San.  I hope to get it in next week.  I am sorry, my readers, but the computer bested me in a game of Brains vs. Me.  I will not beat myself up any more than necessary. NEXT WEEK!  The photography of Dr. Sanjiv Pather of Brussels, Belgium! Come back for it -- it's really worth the effort to see his work.

A week or two ago, I was making a dash out of the Loop Station post office and then across Federal Plaza to get the subway when I saw them .  Were they art students?  Friends?  A couple in love?  She wanted his picture leaning against Flamingo.  She had a nice longish lens on her camera and I thought, "Oh, ah, she will do this right!  She will zoom in!"  As evidenced below, she did not.  But it's Flamingo so it's worth the shot. "SEE??  There he is!  That black dot on the orange thingy!"

Bla, bla, bla Japan. OMG had a great time yikkety yak.  I wanna go again blibbety blab. So I snuck in pictures of people taking pictures.  People were very fast on this trip!  I had to move quickly or the moment was lost.  I lost more than one moment. At the Fifth Station on Mt. Fuji, it's hard to miss people taking pictures of people "I am cute.  I wink at myself in a selfie." The selfie stick but way more elaborate A picture of the casks of sake at Meiji Shrine is de rigueur Those sake casks?  In the background behind them.  What else?  ME! Cask-a-rama Casks a'poppin' This person actually said, "That's Mt. Fuji?  It's so BIG!" Mt. Fuji is in the background for them, too.  They could handle the size. Uno! Dos! Tres!  And he never told me to take a hike. Kiyomizudera Temple -- So many people in traditional garb who weren't part of a wedding. View from Kiyomizudera Tem...