April 2009 flowers and trees on PhotoPeach
…and here’s a link to the full show, slide by slide, with captions:
April 2009 flowers and trees on PhotoPeach
http://photopeach.com/album/17ljgrt
Need a few pick-me-ups?
Here are some I’ve received recently — flowers from my husband, video URLs from daughter and friends…
These three video clips might bring a few smiles, might put some bounce in your step, might have you humming merrily away for the next several days!
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z0h1NNk1Ik">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z0h1NNk1Ik
and
href="http://video.yahoo.com/network/100000089?v=4816051&l=100022574">http://video.yahoo.com/network/100000089?v=4816051&l=100022574
and
href="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741">http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741
Enjoy!
reactions? comments? questions? Please post a reply; thanks!
Holly
Winter Wonderland VA March 2009 on PhotoPeach
Comments?
Do you have photos or storm stories to share?
Please post a comment directly on the PhotoPeach or here on my blog — or both!
Hope to hear from you; thanks!
Holly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE
Disturbing.
This YouTube was shared with me by a colleague (Jim Stroud) on EnglishCafe
http://www.englishcafe.com/blog/americans-are-not-stupid-with-subtitles-13273
I laughed, but am horrified. Were any of these ’staged’? Would that many people truly not recognize that some places were mis-labeled on that world map?????
The educator side of me sees wonderful PBL (project-based-learning) possibilities here.
I believe this should be shown to high school classes, to ABE (adult based education) classes, and then projects assigned — for learners to create their own ‘mimic’ videos — drafting new questions and taking them to the streets, then creating (learner-created) teaching videos addressing any of the errors noted.
What’s your reaction?
Please share reactions, comments, questions here in a reply post; thanks!
filtering through prism
sprinkled glass shadows scatter
splashing across floors
[an original haiku by Holly Dilatush; February 27, 2009]
We recently hung a beautiful prism that is diamond-shaped, and actually holds distilled water, on our diningroom window. When the sun hits it, it sends myriad rainbows of varying sizes all over the diningroom and into nearby areas, too. It reminds me of those days when you glimpse the sun pushing through clouds and it just looks so ethereal. It’s magical, enchanting, new each time.
Nature-watching is like that for me, too — scattering, splashing, shadows, sprinkling — awakening the senses…
reactions? questions? comments? Please post a reply; thanks!
[Creative Commons photo from Flickr; Philipp Klinger's photostream: Gotham City http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdead/]
[Creative Commons photo from Flickr; Paulo Brandao's photostream: frozen light in a snow weekend, Manzaneda http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulobrandao/]
One of the students I’ve been tutoring has agreed to let me share one of her essays. Please read and enjoy:
Starry Night… [by U Hyon Son, 2008]
When I plan for city tours, the first thing I squeeze in my schedule is a visit to an observation deck in any of the high-rise buildings in the city. In New York, I go up to the top of Empire State building; in Chicago on top of the Sears Tower. I enjoy the glittering skyscrapers. In the evening, when all of the museums are closed and there is nowhere to go in an unfamiliar place, enjoying a cityscape from the top of a building is to me such a welcoming gift from a city.
When it comes to architecture or city decorations, luminaries become essential for the beauty of the building or the city. Indeed, lights which parade colors surely add magnificence to the architecture. Some city luminaries even become landmarks of the cities; cities spend tons of money to make their illuminations more splendid. I was one of the beneficiaries. I also believed that those artificial lights enhance the beauty of the city; however, a few copies of photos completely changed my attitude.
It is not common for me to grab the National Geographic out of various magazines in a waiting room. I usually get tired even by looking at the title; National Geographic, it sounds so hard and boring. One day, however, I happened to open this magazine waiting at the doctors’ office, and then I fell into these pictures right away…
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/light-pollution/richardson-photography
Look at the sky in the photo of Utah’s Owachomo Bridge: Even though it is taken at night, it is not dark at all. Even the full moon would not be as bright as those billions of stars. The sky over the bridge connects me to space. It gently whispers in my ear that I stand not on the earth but in the universe. The night sky in the Arizona desert also opens my heart. Stars beat down on the cacti, and the shines look even warm. The landscape of the starry night and tall cacti reminds me of the place where the Little Prince and Saint Exupery met. Saint Exupery would probably write the story at night like this. To me, it would not be a surprise even if I met the fox in this Arizona desert.
Here is another beautiful night in West Africa. There are people in this picture. The starry night with those simple people makes the night more beautiful. This is a moment of import when human beings assimilate to the vast nature and universe. They share their lives nearby fire under the tree roof; the night sky above the people seems warmer and cozier. It feels as if this night sky is a privilege allowed only for those people, who are satisfied with and happy for whatever they have now. Even though this picture is blurry in detail, I am surely able to envision smiles on their faces.
Compared to the dim but still intense light from nature, the man powered lights, more precisely, oil powered lights merely shine giddily and dizzily. Looking at the picture of Chicago at night, I feel fear by the night sky engulfed by flames of lights. The photo might well remind you of The Great Chicago Fire, only this time, it seems to be cautioning us of the greediness of human nature.
A nurse’s call brought my attention back to the doctor’s office. I placed the magazine back and followed the nurse. Even though it was a short reading in the waiting room, the night skies I saw in the magazine linger in my mind. I have lived until now not even knowing the existence of the sky. Can anything compensate for the loss of those pristine skies? Is it a real advantage or only our delusion?
Instead of looking down from the rooftop of the Empire State building, I now know to look up. Instead of being proud of insatiable greed looking down on everything, I will look up and see what is above and surrounds me. Pondering this revelation, I wander outside. Now it is even too late to hear crickets chirping. I only hear wind roaring. I look up. Frosty cold moonlight hurts my eyes. Apart from the moon, sparsely twinkling stars look dry and lonely. People who live below this sky might well be dry, too. I close my eyes and imagine the place in the pictures, feeling my heart growing moist.
~ ~ ~
If you’ll reply with comments/reactions/questions, I’ll be sure to share them with U Hyon.
Thank you!
Holly
One of the suggested post-reading activities from a recent assigned reading task included this:
“Develop a list of your personal writing rituals and how they help (or hinder!) your writing.”
I was inspired to draft my own list:
Holly’s Personal Writing Rituals
* Open a window (whenever possible, have fresh air) [alternatively, sit on our screened-in porch]
* If birdsong coming through the window, fine! If desired, turn on soft, soft volume of background music of choice
* Have a few favorite photos nearby (I find myself glancing this way and that way as I’m trying to work, to think, and when my eyes spy favorite photos, it causes me to pause, smile, and usually I’ll return back to focus on my writing in a calm manner)
* Have a plant or flower nearby (I love flowers!)
* If it’s evening, light a candle (soothing)
* Have a full glass of water at the ready, and refills too
* Have a supply of pens and pencils (my favorites!) and scratch paper/pads
* Turn cell phone to silent
* Open relevant related documents I may want to refer to, gather books/reference notes
* Prioritize my writing focus/tasks for that day
* Scan inbox (emails) and U of P discussion posts and Twitter and EnglishCafe Recent Activity and then CLOSE THOSE WINDOWS
* Be sure I have my back support contraption on my chair
* Set the timer for 47 minutes (I give myself stretch breaks every 47 minutes)
* Play one last game of Spider Solitaire — clear it out of my system!
* Quick scan where I left off in last writing effort — review directives/guidelines –
* Write! Write! Write!
* write… write… write…
* Write.
What would you add? What wouldn’t you do?
Reactions? Questions?
Please post a reply/response; thanks!
holly
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