Bright Lights, Big City

Well happy readers, I am interrupting a Sunday of football to tell you all about the secondary theme of my picture games this week. While I did have an interesting time with the shoe theme of the main game, I had so much more fun with the second theme. Our theme this week was cities. I have to give the credit of this idea to my little sister. When I first told her what the game was, she suggested we use the theme of cities. It never came up with the main game so my aunt and I used it this week for ours. It was so much fun. I have not done much traveling in my life so it was awesome to look at pictures of places I would someday like to go. There were a few minor stipulations to this week. The pictures could be of any major city in the United States, but they could not be from any other country. Otherwise, the pictures were entirely subjective. They could be of buildings, parks, skylines, bridges, monuments, landmarks, etc. It happens that although I used multiple cities, many of my pictures were from California and New York. I have always wanted to go to California and there were so many good pictures from there. Plus, they have more than one major city. New York was an obvious choice because I live here, but I also used it a lot because I love it so much.  And now I will show you where I traveled via pictures this week. Also, the new AT&T commercial shows multiple cities in the background.  So check out the video, enjoy my pictures and check back soon for next week’s themes. I can’t wait to tell you all about them!!

 (Detroit)

 (San Francisco) 

(Manhattan) (AT&T commercial)

Let's Get Some Shoes

 

Well happy readers, it is time to once again reveal this week’s theme. Our pictures this week were of shoes. It is a very general theme with no guidelines. Therefore, you can imagine the types of pictures that popped up. To start, there are a bunch of different kinds of shoes. There are sneakers, heels, flats, wedges, dance shoes, skate shoes, kid’s shoes, women’s shoes, men’s shoes, clown shoes, boots, slippers, slip on shoes, open toed, etc. There is also art, pictures in different settings, shoes made of different materials, and so on. The opportunities were endless. As many of our past themes, there isn’t much to be said about shoes. They are something that we wear everyday but don’t think much about. Interestingly enough, people pay a great deal of money for shoes sometimes. I recently looked into the designer Christian Louboutin. His shoes are known for their red soles and are worn by many celebrities. After looking on his website I learned that the shoes average about $1000. Me personally, I pay $20-$30 at Payless or Famous Footwear. Yet being female, I do have a great love of shoes. I skim websites, peer in windows, and wander the aisles of DSW looking at all the pretty shoes. Yet it boggles my mind that people pay so much for something that comes between them and the ground. Of course I understand that shoes accent different outfits and create various styles and looks. Also, high heels are said to accentuate a woman’s legs and butt. These things still don’t seem reason enough to spend so much money on them. And yet, people do it every day. So on that note, I will share with you some of the more interesting or cute pictures that I found of shoes this week. Enjoy, and check back to see what the secondary theme was.

Got Bacon?

                I need to tell you all something that might upset you. Just grab a box of tissues and remember to breathe. In fact, you may want to sit down. It has just come to my attention that experts are predicting a shortage in 2013. A shortage of what, you ask? What could we possibly run out of, that would cause me to prepare you so heavily? Well, get ready. It’s bad. We are going to have a shortage of bacon!!! I know, I know, it is as though the Mayans were right; the world is coming to an end. It seems there have been a significant amount of droughts throughout the world. This has destroyed corn and soybean crops which raised the price of feed. Many farmers can’t afford to keep their herds and are getting rid of a lot of animals. This means that by next year they won’t have enough pigs to send to slaughter and replenish the supply; which translates to a shortage of bacon. There will of course also be a shortage of sausage, pork, and even beef. The biggest tragedy, though, is the bacon. What will we do without bacon? Bacon has seen such a big boom in the recent years. You can now find bacon cupcakes, bacon vodka, and fairs even sell chocolate covered bacon. This country’s economy has affected everybody, why not the farmers. But it seems that nature has joined forces with the economy to deprive us of bacon’s crispy and salty goodness. There are alternatives of course. There is turkey bacon and soy bacon, but we all know these are not even close to the same. So for now, we must eat all the real bacon we can before it’s all gone. The shortage is inevitable.  I’m sorry to have delivered this news, but you all had a right to know. Now you can try to prepare yourself. As well as anybody can be prepared for such terribleness, that is. 

Here are a few articles you can read to find out more: 

- http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/world-bacon-shortage-unavoidable-223157784.html

- http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2012/09/25/14095135-bacon-shortage-worldwide-unavoidable-uk-pig-group-says?lite

- http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-pork-bacon-shortage-20120924,0,5901787.story

My Head's in the Clouds

           Well readers, it is time for me to reveal this week’s secondary theme. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, I know. There is no excuse, it just happened this way. Now for the reason you are all here. This week’s secondary theme is clouds. Did you ever just lie in the grass and look up at the clouds as a kid? It used to be one of my favorite things to do. I remember how fun it was to try to see how many shapes each cloud took. Clouds are something simple that I learned about in a middle school science class; the formation of water crystals in the air and so on. Yet clouds have always been something more. Sure, you can explain them away with science, but that doesn’t change how interesting they are. There are so many sayings containing clouds as well. Clouds are something that are so simple and yet extraordinary in their own way. And before I ramble on aimlessly about clouds, I will stop. This week’s theme is another that is better left for show than tell. So without further ado, I present to you some very cool cloud pictures. Enjoy, and stay tuned for next week’s themes.

So Many Books, So Little Time

   Well happy readers, I feel I must apologize. I have let more time than normal lapse between posts. In my defense I have been sick, and everything I wrote made no sense. I blame the medicine. I am happy to report that, while I am not completely cured, I am feeling better. And so, today I shall reveal the theme to our game. I am actually rather excited to share this theme. This week, our theme was books. As you can probably tell from my username, I am a big reader. Therefore, I was very interested to see what cool pictures we could all come up with. There have been some good ones. Books transformed into different shapes, piles of books arranged in interesting ways, even books that make up a figure. There were also open books with things on the pages. These were fantastical pictures yet I believe they represent the whole point of a book. There are so many kinds of books out there, and just as many reasons to read them. There are text books, classic books, children’s books, romance books, and so much more. The great thing about books is that when you are reading, you can be anywhere. Open The Da Vinci Code and be transported to Europe. Or read Harry Potter and be transported to Hogwarts. Books are a great way to escape into a different life entirely. I love to read. I will usually read anything I can get my hands on. Sometimes I read to learn, sometimes I read for fun. Books are the best things ever. Even today, when everything is automated, there is nothing like a good book. The e-readers in the world are great. I personally love my Kindle. Yet there is no substitute for the feel of a book in your hands, or the smell of a new book. I can spend hours in a bookstore or a library. While I can’t give you the smell or feel on here, I can certainly show you the pictures we came up with. So enjoy the pictures, and go crack open a book.

Life Is De Bubbles

Good Afternoon loyal readers. It is a lovely Sunday afternoon full of relaxation and football. I am not here to tell you all about sports though. I am here to reveal my secondary theme this week. I know it is a bit last minute, and for that I apologize. I will also tell you in advance that this post will be more pictures than words. This week’s theme was bubbles. It was a very fun theme, but how much can one really say about bubbles. I’m sure there are quotes or fun facts that I could find, but I think that would take away from them a bit. I know that it always makes me smile a little when the dish soap spits out bubbles into the air. There are fizzy bubbles in soda, fish tanks, and more. Why, just yesterday there were randomly bubbles floating in the breeze as I walked through Times Square. Sometimes bubbles just make you smile. And so, my goal this week is to make you smile. I will post the best pictures that were used this week and hope that at least one brightens up your day. So here are some bubbles … enjoy and stay tuned for next week’s theme.

The Stairs

Now that we have taken a little break, it is time to jump back in to the game. This week’s theme, which I know you are dying to know about, is stairs. Yes, that’s right, stairs. Of the multiple options, this one actually got my vote. The other ones weren’t bad, and I’m sure will turn up again. It’s just that there are so many pictures of stairs. For the most part, they are just something we take advantage of seeing every day. Thus, they are not automatically special. In most big buildings, there is always the option of stairs. Usually, they are the way out in case of a fire or emergency. Yet in this country, people usually take the elevator instead. I am not putting down elevators or the people that take them. I generally take the elevator myself. In the many articles I have read on tips and tricks to get healthy or lose weight (What woman doesn’t read those?), experts say a simple thing is to take the stairs. It is such a novel concept though. In this country, we have gotten used to the convenience of technology. So why would we walk up ten flights of stairs if we can just glide up effortlessly? Taking the elevator eliminates sweating, it takes less time, and for those who wear heels, it is less painful. After living in New York for two years, I have gotten used to walking everywhere. I even choose the stairs over the elevator more often. Don’t get me wrong; when I have to go to the seventeenth floor of a building I absolutely ride the elevator. But when it comes to a few flights or coming up from the subway, I generally take the stairs. Now the game this week has been interesting thus far. There were so many ways to take it. There are optical illusions, and famous paintings involving stairs. For example, the work of M.C. Escher entitled Relativity or the painting by Thomas Kinkade entitled Stairway to Paradise. Or perhaps each of us could have posted a real staircase that is famous. The Survivor’s Staircase from the World Trade Center comes to mind first. It is the last visible structure above ground level at the site where two planes hit the twin towers on September 11, 2001. Of course, there are dozens of pictures of stairs to choose from. Photographically, spiral staircases make for very interesting subjects. They are really cool to look at. There are also staircases in different places that could be significant. For example, today my aunt posted a photo of her on the steps at Union Square Park. This followed the theme, and meant something to her as well. There are also obvious photographic representations of sayings, songs, or ideas; the stairway to heaven being the most obvious. The song was recorded by Led Zeppelin and considered to be one of the best rock songs of all times. The concept can also be tied with the idea of an actual stairway leading us to heaven. This is what the pictures portray. There are many different ones out there, but they all show a staircase that climbs towards the sky and, the viewer is to assume, to heaven. This week’s theme had many interesting options to choose from. More often than not, I just went with pictures that looked interesting. There may be hidden meaning behind the photos that I chose, but for me the decisions were aesthetically based alone. I will attach some pictures for you to see. I hope you enjoy them, and stay tuned for my secondary theme of the week. Also, in the course of my research for this post, I came across another blog. This one is about stairs, and has an interesting post with fun facts. You should check it out when you leave here. The address is http://staircorner.blogspot.com/2009/10/stair-facts.html .

 

 This is Stairway to Paradise by Thomas Kinkade




I would also like to note that the title of the post is the title of a song by INXS

The Noblest of Fruits

             Good afternoon happy readers! I decided that today we would take a little break from my games and I would write something completely different. Don’t fret though; I will absolutely reveal this week’s themes soon. Today, however, I would like to talk about something different. First, let me say that it is a beautiful day outside. It is almost perfect in fact. Upon waking up this morning, earlier than usual I might add, I ventured out to run some errands. When I walked out my door, a glorious cool breeze hit me and I was in heaven. The weather is just chilly enough for me to wear a sweatshirt. I was so excited! I say that it was almost perfect because once you step into the sun, it gets a little warm. I am all for the warmth of the sun, but with a sweatshirt it was actually a little hot. Thus the weather is not 100% perfect. However, I take today’s weather as a sign that fall is closer. This is a fact that thrills me to no end. I bought myself a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks (a rare treat for me), and enjoyed the cool air. Now normally I prefer Dunkin Donuts to Starbucks and the pumpkin flavored treats are no different. Dunkin Donuts pumpkin coffee is cheaper and tastes better. Yet today Starbucks was on my way, so I decided to change things up. I am so excited for fall and among other things, I’m planning what desserts I am going to make. Yesterday at the produce store, there were a bunch of barrels of apples. Autumn is the start of apple season, so the store stocked up on multiple kinds. It almost made me giddy. I immediately started thinking of apple pies, apple crisp, apple muffins, apple cider, apple donuts, and more. I know that I talk about pumpkin a lot, but don’t let my love of pumpkins fool you. I love apples just as much; the vibrant colors, the crispness, the juiciness, etc. They are delicious fruits that can be eaten year round but are best in the fall. I remember going apple picking as a kid. We used to climb the trees to get the better ones on top. It was so much fun, and a good memory. A fun fact about apples is that they are thought to be the fruit of knowledge. Although it is not specified in the bible, many Christian scholars believe the fruit of the forbidden tree to have been an apple. Thus, a man’s Adam’s apple was named after a notion that the forbidden fruit stuck in Adam’s throat. The Pagans also revere the apple as a fruit of knowledge. It is said to hold a pentacle in its heart. This is something you can actually see for yourself. If you cut an apple in half around the middle, the center does make a star. Because it is in the center of the circular apple, it can be considered a pentacle. These are both interesting little tidbits, and merely add to the appeal of the apple. You can imagine, therefore, why I am so excited about fall. Apples are, of course, just one reason why I love this season. I won’t ramble about my love of autumn in just one post. It is a season that lasts a few months, so I promise I will tell you more about my love of it as it goes along. Especially once October starts since that is my favorite month. So for now, I bid you adieu. Go and enjoy a delicious apple, and think of me. 

        

                
Credit note... The title is from Henry David Thorough's Wild Apples

Summer's Almost Gone

            Well readers, it is officially the beginning of the end; of the week, that is. Wednesdays are considered hump day because it is the hump in the middle of the week. Thursday starts the descent of the week into the end. This means that the theme for my second game is almost over. I try to wait until later in the week to reveal this theme to you in order to collect more pictures to share. I believe this week’s theme is well worth that wait. I am happy to inform you that this week’s theme has been a tribute to summer. Since Monday was Labor Day, it was the unofficial last day of summer. Due to this, we decided to dedicate a week to fun summer pictures. Now, as I have probably mentioned, summer is my least favorite holiday. I cannot stand the heat and humidity. What you may not know is that I was not always this way. As a child, I loved the summers because it meant I could swim. Being in a pool is my favorite place to be. I used to think that I was part fish. Yet as time went on, I moved and the pool was closed. For a few years I lived in the Ocean State and was often found at the beach just so I could swim and be near the water. Now, however, I live in the big city where the only pools are public and I do not completely trust the beaches. That may make me a snob, and I may have been spoiled, but there is nothing like a Rhode Island beach or a private pool. I have not been in a pool in many years. It makes me very sad, to tell you the truth. I should be clear; I have always hated the heat and being hot. It was simply easier to deal with if I was in the water.  Now, while I can’t stand the summer at this stage in my life, the theories and ideas of things associated with it are awesome. Who wouldn’t want to nap in a hammock in the shade of palm trees on a tropical island? Who wouldn’t enjoy watching the sun set in a beach chair with a glass of wine while listening to the ocean waves lap the sand? And who doesn’t love cocktails, books on the beach, sand castles, or the clear blue water of a pool? This week’s pictures made me smile and miss the summers of my youth. I have enjoyed this theme very much and hope that you like the pictures I have selected for you. Perhaps this post will make you smile too, or transport you to your own personal summer paradise for a little while. Enjoy and, as usual, stay tuned for           

                                                          what comes next. 

                         


Just another little note, the title of this post is a song title by The Doors

Pride is the Dandelion of the Soul

Good day happy readers. This post is going up at a very early hour because my day has started a great deal earlier than normal. In fact, it started when it is usually ending. I am here to share this week’s picture theme with you. This week’s theme is dandelions. There was no vote, but it was chosen because it had been skipped too many times. At first, like many of the other themes, I was unsure how much I would like this theme. It is definitely low on my list. Some of the pictures are pretty but it is still just a weed. I suppose I should take the opportunity to find the beauty in the simple things. For example, instead of thinking it is just a weed, I should think about how it looks with sunlight and dew. Or I can remember that it is an edible flower and is often used to make wine or coffee and in many cultures the leaves are consumed. It also has medicinal uses, which is new to me. So instead of disliking this week’s theme as much, I will value the experience of learning something new. Oh who am I kidding? Sure, it is always fun to learn new things, and it is always good to look on the bright side of things. But this theme is definitely not fun. Some of the pictures are ok, but it is absolutely my least favorite theme thus far. The game is still fun and I enjoy looking for new pictures. Hopefully next week’s theme will be better than this one. For now, I will leave you with a few of the better pictures of dandelions I have found.

The Earth Laughs In Flowers

               “I must have flowers, always, and always.” This is a quote by Claude Monet. It is the perfect way for me to introduce this week’s secondary theme. As I said, I have started a second game and therefore have two themes each week. While the lady bugs were interesting, I had fun looking for my secondary pictures. If you haven’t guessed, the theme was flowers. We decided against picking a specific kind of flower in order to make it more interesting. It would have been easy to find all roses, carnations, sunflowers, or lilies. There are zillions of pictures of flowers out there. I think this is, in part, because flowers can be used for so many things. You can find them in bouquets, arches, gardens, fields, and more. You could search for specific colors too. For example, if you search for images of blue flowers you will get hundreds of results. There are naturally blue flowers, painted flowers, dyed flowers, and even genetically altered flowers. Anyway, you get the point. There is a great deal of options with this theme. This was a good thing because there were so many to choose from. However, that was also a bad thing for me. I am horrible at making decisions and had such a hard time narrowing it down to the ones I liked best. I didn’t want to combine them with the app on my phone again because I don’t want to abuse that. Also, with the original game I can often send different pictures to each person and use three a day whereas this one is just me and my aunt and I can only use one each day. So I decided that this dilemma has a very simple solution. I narrowed my selection down to more than I needed, albeit a more manageable number. Then I picked my favorite based on my mood each day. I don’t want to not use the others though, so that is where this blog comes in. I realized that I can still share them by posting the extras on here. And so, I shall now unload my unused flower pictures that I love yet couldn’t share otherwise. Enjoy, and stay tuned yet again for next week’s themes.

 

I would like to note that the title of the post is a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson and to my knowledge the first picture is not a work by Monet and is no way meant to connect to the opening quote by the artist.