Life at the Edges

Life is lived at the edges:

Between life and death,

Between light and dark,

Between good and evil,

Between today and tomorrow,

Between this world and the next,

Between many others.

Watch over and guard these edges.

Think fast, because edges can shift quickly.

Adapted from the works of Sir Terry Pratchett and this article

Monday, 30 March, 2015

Bottled

Wednesday, 25 March, 2015

Three Treasures

My Wife is my greatest treasure, but as I’ve mentioned before we’re rather particular about sharing personal photographs.

I already shared how coffee is my daily dose of bliss; spoiler alert: it makes another appearance here!

First, there are the family treasures: the kind of thing you’d want to grab in case of fire.

For me, that’s my great-grandfather’s matchsafe. He was a printer on turn-of-the-century banana boats (that’s the 1890s-1900s, by the way) as well as almost serving on the Titanic, but didn’t. This particular matchsafe is from the SS Almirante, a merchant vessel out of Belfast, Ireland that sank off Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1918. I don’t believe Great-Grandpa was on board.

Second, there are the daily treasures: the little things that help make life worth living.

You guessed it, time for more coffee:

Finally, there are the rare treasures: things that are only here for a short time and then gone for good.

Like lebkuchen from Day’s Bakery:

Because even if someone buys the bakery, it just won’t be the same, you know?

Tuesday, 24 March, 2015

The Seven Deadly Sins . . .

The Seven Deadly sins may bring to mind one of two things.

For Catholics (and several other religious denominations), the phrase refers those faults that may or may not send one directly to Hell without passing Purgatory or collecting $200. Although thirty pieces of silver may be an option, I hear the gift shop is terrible.

For the more musically-minded, the phrase might plant an earworm:

Sail away where no ball or chain
Can keep us from the roarin' waves
Together undivided but forever we'll be free
So sail away aboard our rig
The moon is full and so are we
We're seven drunken pirates
We're the seven deadly sins

Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive. Anyway, Heather over at bitsnbooks recently posted her Seven Deadly Sins of Reading; being tagged by proxy, here is my own list:

LUST: a strong sexual desire

What attributes do you find most attractive in male (or female) characters?

Intelligence and strength of will. This means I often find myself sympathizing with the antagonists of a story rather than the intended protagonist.

Dore_Gustave_Francesca_and_Paolo_da_Rimini_Canto_5_73-75 — Gustave Doré *Francesca and Paolo*

GLUTTONY: intense over indulgence

What book have you devoured over and over with no shame?

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

The Discworld novels by Sir Terry Pratchett

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis

640px-Stradano_Inferno_Canto_06 — Third Circle illustrated by Stradanus

GREED: an intense and selfish desire for something

What is your most expensive book?

I’m not sure; there are several contenders:

A large coffee table book on Raphael

A leather and gold edition of 100 Decisive Battles from Ancient Times to Present

Several turn-of-the-last-century encyclopedias and almanacs (valuable for their prints)

Gustave_Doré_-_Dante_Alighieri_-_Inferno_-_Plate_22_(Canto_VII_-_Hoarders_and_Wasters) — Gustave Doré *The Hoarders and Wasters*

SLOTH: a reluctance to work or make an effort

What book have you neglected to read due to laziness?

Until recently that distinction would go to To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It was the only book I’d ever lied about reading, too.

Now, I’m probably neglecting Atonement by Ian McEwan; it’s been on my Currently Reading list since January and I haven’t even cracked the cover.

Gustave Dore The Slothful — Gustave Doré The Slothful

WRATH: extreme anger

What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?

Nicholas Sparks in that I love to hate him. Lacking originality, his books are highly predictable; never mind the fact that he’s literally sold the exact same story many times over.

466px-Stradano_Inferno_Canto_08 — Fifth Circle illustrated by Stradanus

ENVY: a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities or luck

What book would you most like to receive as a gift?

Anything signed by Tolkien, Lewis, Pratchett, or Dante (good luck with that last one!)

Gustave Dore The Envious — Gustave Doré *The Envious*

PRIDE: satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements or from qualities or possessions that are most widely admired

What books do you talk about most in order to sound like an intellectual reader?

Everything I’ve ever read.

Gustave Dore Titans and Giants — Gustave Doré *Titans and Giants*

What about you?

What, if any, are your reading sins?

Do you have any bad reading habits?

Monday, 23 March, 2015

Black and White at Gold

To say I’m behind would be an understatement.

As the Red Queen would say,

My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to 
stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you 
must run twice as fast as that.

The week began innocently enough with a decent Monday, as far as Mondays are concerned, but it had all gone downhill by Tuesday afternoon. I was behind in Photography 101, behind in my online college class, behind in grading and lesson planning, and students’ science and history projects were due.

Today I played catch-up, rising before the sun on a Saturday – my one day to sleep in – to take advantage of the Golden Hour at sunrise. OK, that isn’t entirely honest. The Wife headed out of town to a business conference and needed to meet her carpool. I simply stayed up instead of going back to bed. Hey, whatever works, right?

I wandered downtown for three hours, taking pictures and killing time until the library opened so I could use the free wifi – and make another dent in my TBR.

My online class completed, I tackled the morning’s photographs.

Check them out in the galleries below!