Railroad

"Railroad"

This was taken near the Yuton Grain Elevator outside Normal, Illinois. Enjoy! :)

Music game!

"birdies"

OK, since my Mom decided to do this again, I had to too. Here are the first lines of 25 songs from my music player, try to guess the song and the artist (without using Google or a lesser search engine).

1. Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train
2. Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'
3. I see the bad moon arising.
4. When the truth is found to be lies
5. Oh, to be Prince Caspian afloat upon the waves
6. 'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
7. I was cutting the rug down at a place called the jug
8. I'll be the grapes fermented
9. There's something happening here
10. It's close to midnight and something evils lurking in the dark
11. Step out the front door like a ghost into the fog
12. Pushing thru the market square, so many mothers sighing
13. Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
14. I'm not afraid of anything in this world
15. Once I had a love and it was a gas
16. I thought I was smart - I thought I was right
17. Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone
18. Some people say a man is made out of mud
19. When I look into your eyes I can see a love restrained
20. I can't stop this feeling, deep inside of me.
21. No one knows what it's like to be the bad man
22. Now here you go again you say you want your freedom
23. You get a shiver in the dark
24. You thought the leaden winter would bring you down forever
25. I jumped in the river and what did I see?

Ok, so guess away and have fun! (I tried to get a sprinkling of newer songs in there, so my music tastes would seem to reflect my age more...)

bull plop

"bull plop"

So this is just a humorous pic. I just so happened to "capture the moment." It was completely accidental, I really didn't notice, though to look at it, I don't know how. :) But it happens. When I was reviewing my photos, I knew immediately what to title this one.
I think my favorite part is the bull lounging around by the corner, totally unconcerned about what is happening but inches from his head.
So anyways, after much deliberation and by others' suggestion, I decided to publish it. I'll post a more serious photo soon. :)

On another note, we're supposed to get 4-6 inches of snow tonight in Ann Arbor. It rained all day and now this. My photo, I think, will be my answer to the icky weather we have been having. :)

A blue door

"a blue door"

This is my newest image. I don't like the title too much, so if you can think of a better one, that'd be nice. :) This was taken just outside Normal, Illinois.

ArtBistro Art Gallery March

"Duncan Manor"

My husband wanted to watch something yesterday and we often use my computer as a TV or something. The video was lagging and so he closed down a lot of the windows that were open on my computer. Luckily, Blogger saves drafts, or my last post would never have been posted. :) So, pretend that it was posted yesterday.

Anyways, I found out today that the picture above was featured in Art Bistro's March Art Gallery! I guess they take the highest ranked or most popular images posted in a given month, or maybe the "curator" chooses them. I have no idea really. I only joined Art Bistro about a month ago at the request of one of my household sisters. I didn't think that I was going to actually like the site, since I already have Flickr. I guess I was wrong.

So. I've made a little over a week now with this blog! Be prepared for fizzling soon! :)

bull

"bull"

So I got back from my trip home last nigh--no, wait, this morning, just 2 and a half hours before I needed to be at work. I haven't slept yet, for reasons that are eluding me. I just keep on keeping myself awake...maybe not lucid, though. I'm sure that will become more and more evident as I type up this entry.

So the trip home yesterday was a trial. We left later than we had wanted to, mainly due to the fact that someone...probably my darling husband...left a light on in the car that drained the battery. We were at his grandparents at the time and they had us use something called a trickle charger. Well, the name is pretty accurate. It only put out 50 amps and that really wasn't cutting it.

Well, we next tried to use his Grandmother's car to jump start ours. This proved problematic, though, since she had a newer vehicle and for some reason the battery wasn't really accessible. There was a positive node to hook the cable to, but the negative was nowhere to be seen. So, we had to bring another car down to jump start our car.

Well, this one worked, but it was suggested that we turn the engine off and then turn it back on to see if it worked. I don't know how any of us thought that this was a good idea, because it's pretty much common knowledge that you should leave the engine running for a while after a jump to charge up the battery. Well....we did it anyways...twice, in fact. The car started up the first time. The second time I turned the engine off so we could put the battery cover back on. When I tried to start the engine again, it was dead. Sometimes I can be such the idiot.

So we jumped started the car again, and this time we let it run for about ten minutes before doing anything else. Somehow, though, the anti-lock brakes got temporarily messed up, so that anytime the car got below 10 mph they kicked on. It was supremely annoying. We drove home anyways and the problem seemed to correct itself, since it seems to be working fine now.

All of this would have been far less frustrating, though, if earlier I hadn't agreed to switch shifts at work. I was now opening the store, which meant that I had to be at work at 5:00 am.

Most of the actual trip back home was uneventful. There was an unusally large number of unmarked white vans pulled over by cops along the way, which I found a bit interesting. We also passed by a semi that had hit a deer and then fell into a ditch. It was lying on its side, and it wasn't until I ran over the recently dead deer that I realized what had happened.

So, anyways, the picture above is my most recent creation. I took it while I was home on a photography trip with my Dad. This bull was lazing around in a pasture with a bunch of other bulls just outside Bloomington.

So that's enough of that. :)

Stray Dog

"red barn"

So last night I finally got watch a movie I had been wanting to see for about 3 years now. It's called Stray Dog and is directed by Akira Kurosawa. First off, I love his films, they are amazing, and secondly, it starred Toshiro Mifune, (it was the youngest that I had ever seen him in a film), and he was an amazing actor. I love everything that I have seen him in.

So the movie takes place shortly after World War 2 (there are still ration cards) and is about a rookie cop (Mifune) who had his gun stolen from him on a bus. An old timer cop takes him under his wing and together they solve the crimes being committed with his gun. The filmography is phenomenal. There were some shots that took my breath away.

Anyways, the photo above was taken the first day of March, on another photo trip with my Dad. It's located somewhere between Bloomington and Funk's Grove. I love the shape of the barn...the way the roof slants. If you want to, please view this on Flickr.

Tomorrow I am heading back to Normal for Easter and will be back in Ann Arbor by Monday. Since I won't have a computer on me, I will wish you all a Blessed Triduum and Easter now!

New photo

"McLean County winter"

Hello again. This is my newest photo. It was taken during the same trip as my last photo, "All Alone." If you are interested in seeing a larger version, try these links:
Flickr
View on Black

Schmap

"Roman Forum"

I was contacted through my Flickr account by a representative of Schmap saying that this photo was on the "short list" for their map of Italy. I had never heard of Schmap before, but it seems to be a set of interactive maps and tour guides, which is pretty cool. I'll let you know if my photo makes it! :)

Hello!

"All Alone..."

So, this is my first attempt at a blog and we shall see how it goes. I really just wanted to have another forum in which to display my photos, and maybe, now and then, give some insight into my life and thoughts. At the very least, I hope to gain some mild form of entertainment from this exercise, and I hope that you do too.

The photo above was posted yesterday to Flickr and was taken at the end of February. It was the day after a rather disappointingly mild snow storm. :) It was bitterly cold out and pretty windy, too. My Dad and I were out together (most of my photos are taken when he and I go out together) and we took our shots from the car. It was too cold to get out. Just a little back story.

So this a preview of what is to come. I'll post more images as the days go by. Happy Saint Patrick's Day and God bless!