2010-01-06

by Colleen

Decorative lights on North Broadway Ave. Too bad the focus is on the sign, but it was really freakin cold to be standing out there taking a picture, plus people were starting to gather at the stop light and I get self conscious of taking picture after picture of seemingly the same thing, while people pretend not to watch; so this one was a quick shoot and run.

Update on The Last Olympian: The first three-quarters of the book were great, but the ending was a let down. It was fairly anti-climatic - but maybe I just set my Greek mythology novel expectations too high. I just started the Iliad. If the ending to that book is also a let down, then it's probably just me. 

Gymnastics + Ball = Below

by Hubert

I will post more videos of animals doing stupid things, but in the meantime, enjoy the video below:

2010-01-05

by Colleen

I love the cover of this book. It's a very elegant illustration for the series finale and I feel like it hints at hubris (maybe because the cover vaguely brings to mind the stories of Icarus and Phaeton, Apollo's son) which is one of the themes of the book - I think. I'm only about a quarter of the way through, so maybe not.

The Last Olympian is a reference to Hestia, the goddess of the Hearth, who appears to the characters in the form of an 8 year old girl, so that was kind of anti-climactic. However, the title may reference more than one person, so we'll see how it all shakes out. Or rather, I'll see, you won't unless you get your own copy.

2010-01-04

by Colleen

Make-shift hot pot off my kitchen stove!

One thing this photo exercise has taught me already is that I really need to work on things like focus and exposure while taking pictures. This is sad because I'm using a digital camera that auto-focuses for the most part. I think I get too excited when I take the photo and jiggle the camera a bit, creating those blurry edges.

Something to improve over the course of the next three hundred and sixty one photos. Wow, this is gonna be a long year, methinks.

2010-01-03

by Colleen

Maracyn, Jubilee's antibiotic treatment. I hope I didn't compromise the sterility of the medicine by taking this picture, but it probably wasn't that sterile to begin with. After all, it is fish medicine. Jubilee is doing much better, thankfully...and yes, I have been praying for him :) - Philippians 4:6-7.

2010-01-02

by Colleen

Sometimes you see or feel something and you just know you have to capture it on camera. This was one of those times. I had just come up the stairs at the Addison red-line stop and was waiting on the platform for the southbound el. It was clear, sunny, and insanely cold. The kind of cold that makes the air shimmer, gives concrete that ashy white glaze, brings out the color of each color, and makes everything look more real. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you haven't experienced it. Anyway, Chicago's city government has just been through a year and a half's worth of meetings and hearings about our local sales tax, property tax and income taxes. Tax sales at 10.5%. Raise it to 11%! Lower it 0.25% - vetoed! Reconvene, this time with 2/3rds approval. Lowered! Raise income taxes to 4.5%. And up and down and up and down. Behind the initial legislation to increase the sales tax to 11% was Todd Stroger, and throughout the financial crisis, general local government chaos, and his declining approval rating, he has un-apologetically backed this increase. Something about this clear morning, waiting for the el, the bricks and the light, just all came together to set off this election sign in a way that seemed fitting for this to be the 1/2/2010 picture.

2010-01-01

by Colleen

This was not the best start of the new year for Jubilee, my betta fish. I snapped this photo completely sober, around 2 am, after getting home from a party and making the horrifying discovery that my fish's eye had grown to twice its size. Not only that, but the entire right side of his face was swollen, white, and fuzzy. I thought I cared for this fish, but honestly, my first reaction was repulsion and the urge to throw him away. That urge passed fairly quickly and turned to sympathy, but while processing the poor guy's transformation, I pulled out my camera and got this shot. Luckily, not much of what I've described is visible. Although you can see some eye protrusion in his profile, it's actually gotten worse since then. Ugh. This is the first picture I've ever taken of his bowl from a bird's eye view and I was surprisingly pleased with the result. It may have been the best outcome of the whole evening. Hopefully, there will be more pictures of Jubilee yet to take - he's currently on a series of antibiotics for treatment.