World Wide Photo Walk

This past Saturday, I participated for the 2nd time in the 2nd annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk, "a social photography event where photographers get together, usually in a downtown area or trendy section of town, to walk around, shoot photos, and generally have fun with other photographers." Oh, and there are prizes, too.

According to their site, last year's photowalk, which was held on August 23, 2008, had:

- 8,324 photographers register for local walks
- 47 Countries had participating cities
- 44 States in the US had Photo Walks
- 36 cities worldwide
- More than 1,017,125 photos were taken on walks that day

This year, Saturday, July 18, more then 32,000 photographers went on photowalks across the globe.

You can view the photos as participants load them onto the photowalk flickr page at: www.flickr.com/groups/skphoto/pool/ and watch the main site http://worldwidephotowalk.com/ to see who the winner's are on August 17th.

You can check out the rest of my photowalk photos at my flickr page.

Update: Did I forget to mention my photowalk was in Williamsburg, Virginia? Well, it was.

The Police, The Drummer, and The Little Flag That Could

Anyone who knows me for more than two minutes should know that my favorite band of all time is The Police. Whether they are together or not, they've always been and most likely always will be my favorite.

They were my first concert. They were my Beatles. I think you get the picture.

So, you can probably imagine my delight [read: hysteria] when a little over two years ago this little band got back together to embark on a reunion tour. Thanks to many wonderful friends, I had the opportunity to see them at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Hershey Park in Hershey, PA, Washington, D.C., and the show to [literally] end all shows, Madison Square Gardens in NYC. 

It's been almost 10 months, to the day, since the tour ended. I've wanted to blog about this for just as long. Though, I didn't know how to put it all into words. There was too much to explain with a kind of "you had to be there" feeling. 

Now, thanks to one very special lady who is an organizer extraordinaire and creator of the "little flag that could", I don't have to explain. Better words could not have been written to illustrate the experience of a few 100 or more fans of this band and more specifically, their drummer, Stewart Copeland...

"Our Little Flag Game: A strange tradition of the Police reunion tour"

By Kellie M. Walsh

On Thursday, August 7, 2008, at Madison Square Garden in New York, the Police—singer-bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers, and drummer Stewart Copeland—took the stage one last time to celebrate the finale of their thirtieth anniversary reunion tour [...]
In the middle of the celebration hung a small green flag.
It wasn't much to look at. Its corners were soiled, its face cracked. Its emblem, the silhouette of a horse and rider, held no significance for the Police. To tens of thousands of witnesses that night, it was a mystery.
But to a small group of fans, just a couple of hundred or so scattered around the arena and globe, it was a message [...]
The plan was a simple one: volunteers from the forum at stewartcopeland.net would show their support for the site's namesake by carrying to as many reunion concerts as possible a kelly green flag emblazoned with Copeland’s personal logo of himself on a horse in silhouette.

[click here for full story. It's the feel good story of the season. Heck the decade! And you'll never guess where the flag now resides!]

Not Prideful Nor Prejudice Enough

I watched Pride & Prejudice, the 2005 version, last night. I am sorry, but NO NO NO. This is just not good enough, which is such a shame. I was so excited to see this film. I love Keira Knightley and after seeing (and adoring) Matthew Macfadyen for the first time in the Masterpiece Classic Little Dorrit, I was doubly excited, if only to see him take on one of my favorite characters, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. But, this was not to be.

I should have known it would not compare to the 1995 BBC version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle's amazing portrayals of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. I dare say any other version could! Though, I do have the 1940 version with Laurence Olivier as Mr. Darcy, in my netflix queue. We shall see about that one.

Anyway, back to this mucked up 2005...thing. Why do they have to mess with the dialogue? Jane Austen wrote it all out for us. It's perfect the way it is and well suited for the screen with little to no changes necessary. I even tried to look at this film as it's own entity. As if I hadn't seen another version or read the book. That's really hard to accomplish when you love these characters and this story so much. I just couldn't do it.

Yes, the scenery was amazing, gorgeous, breathtaking, blah, blah, blah. But it's not about that for me and, I'm certain, many other P&P fans. It's about Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy!! It is the repartee between the two. Oh, I could just sit and listen to them verbally jousting forever. Poor Mr. Darcy. It felt as if I'd hardly seen him in this film. He was too soft. Not forceful enough. I don't know if that was Macfadyen's fault or the director's. Oh, I hope it's the latter.

I'm finding it hard to even put into words how I feel about any version of this story. I think Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth were reincarnations of these characters. They just lifted the subtleties of the characters off the page. You can't overact with these parts. Everything was more civilized in the early 1800's. I imagine their words were more carefully chosen and illustrative of the emotions, which were kept hidden just under the surface. The whole movie felt rushed, too. I guess that's the advantage of a two part TV series as apposed to a 2 hour movie.


I will say, though, that I do think Keira Knightley did a respectable job as Elizabeth Bennet, if nothing more than by just being herself, which I get the impression of her as being a feisty, strong willed and opinionated woman. But poor Mr. Darcy, who I felt was in the very capable hands of Matthew Macfadyen, came off as a, well, a wimp.

I think I need to wash this version from my mind. I think I need a little Firth and Ehle therapy.

What about the rest of you? Anyone else feeling my pain?

I'm an Olympic Winner!

Look what I won at Sherry and John's blog, This Young House!

I thought I was only getting a gallon of stain, but when I got to Lowe's, I found a bag full of goodies!

Thanks to Sherry and John, Olympic, and Lowe's!

Looking Out

Back in 1991 my friend was house-sitting here. I tagged along one day to keep her company.

Man, the hardships we endure for our friends.

D.I.M. (Do-It-MYself)

I made this "Cook Wanted" sign from the left over wood of an old attic ladder and it's been hanging over my stove for years. Well, last week it occurred to me that I should make a pot rack out of it. Three nails and some pots [or pans]. What could be easier?

Hoppy Easter

Things Found In The Dirt

Three headed Daffodils found in the parents' yard.

Vintage Pepsi bottles found in the parents' yard.

When the bottles are clean, we'll put some daffodils in them. How fitting.

Last Puzzle Piece

When I received this wedding invitation from friends it inspired me to make them something special for their gift.

Inside: "Please join JR & Kim as they fit the last piece in place..."

That was over two years ago, and I finally got it done, printed, matted, framed and sent to them for Christmas this year. (Don't worry, I did give them another gift back then, too.)

click picture to enlarge

Some of these pictures are significant moments together on their road to matrimony. I think it went over well when JR said Kim just kept staring at it.

Sometimes it's better when I procrastinate.

Update: I failed to take a picture of it all framed up, but I found a tiny pic of the antiqued distressed frame online and so here's a tiny inkling of what it looks like.

See This Film. At Least 'Once'

Netflix. My new BFF.

I never know what is in store for me when that little red envelope arrives in the mail. My queue is so full of movies that I don't bother keeping up with it’s contents anymore. Most of the time it contains something pretty good. Sometimes it’s a real stinker, and "once" in a long, long while it contains a gem that is destined to become part of my permanent collection. Last night, 'once' made it's way into the latter category.

When I first opened my netflix last night, I had no idea how, why or when this movie made it into my queue, but I'm so very glad that it did. Luckily for me, the only thing I knew about it was the little blurb written on the DVD sleeve stating something to the effect of, 'Once' is a "charming musical" about a Dublin busker who meets a girl, and their budding romance is developed through song. I didn't know who Glen Hansard was or the band he was in, The Frames, or that he was in the movie, 'The Commitments. I didn't know anything about Marketa Irglova or the fact that she and Hansard had already won an Oscar last year for their song, "Falling Slowly", from 'Once', or that they have been touring the world together as The Swell Season. I didn’t know anything. But, if I had known, would that have made any difference? Would my expectations be higher or lower for this "little film that could"? Would I have loved it as much as I do? I can’t answer that question. But I can say that this movie will stay with me forever and I feel like a better person for having seen it, experienced it. These artists and the amazingly aching and beautiful music that brought their characters and their stories to life have raised my expectations a little bit higher for all future films I watch. They’ve raised my expectations for myself, too.

Maybe I am a little late to the party in celebration of this movie, it's music and musicians, but at least I finally found it, and in one of my favorite ways...by surprise. Something that doesn't happen very often anymore in this over-saturated media world where we know the beginning, middle and end of a movie before it's even hit theaters.

This is just a simple little story about a guy and a girl, the music between them, and where that music takes them. It illustrates the fact that, for some, it takes that one person in their life to give them the push they need to move forward. I don’t want to give the whole story away, because maybe there is someone else out there who appreciates the wonder of a gently unfolding story. Someone else who will take this movie, it’s music and it’s characters with them, and they, too, will add it to their permanent collection.

Sunday Night Masterpiece

There's no better way to end the weekend than snuggling up on Sunday night with the "new" Masterpiece Classics on PBS. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm a sucker for period dramas. Yes, I even read the books. What can I say? I'm just a girl, after all.

Somehow I missed part two of 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' last Sunday, so I'm going to have to see if they replay it or catch it somewhere [cough] online. I'll definitely have to read the book, too.

UPDATE: Watched the rest of 'Tess'. Good stuff.

'Wuthering Heights' started last night.

I read 'Wuthering Heights' for the first time last year after wondering what all the fuss was about. Though, I did enjoy it, I couldn't help but think that it would be what we now call a "romance" novel. So, does that mean that today's books boasting paintings of a torn-shirted Fabio on the cover will one day be considered classics, too? Naw, I doubt it. I suppose 'Wuthering Heights' was really "out there" for it's contemporary readers but today, books of it's type are a dime a dozen.

I also just wanted to do a girly thing here and point out that Tom Hardy as Heathcliff, is, um, well...yummy.

Okay, I know there are others like me who love these classics. What say you?

And allow me to leave you with this most wonderful homage to the book, the amazing Kate Bush song "Wuthering Heights":

I'll see you next Sunday, Cathy and Heathcliff.

xoxo