Sky

The sky the color of ashes in the east and embers in the west.

~ Stephen King

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If you are lying in your bed and you see sky the color of ashes in the east and embers in the west, one of two things is happening. Either (1) you don't have a roof or (2) your house is on fire. Whichever is the case, you're going to need a new roof.

 

Fear

Fear is the highest fence.

~ Dudley Nichols

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Which kind of fear do you spend the most time on? Is it the fear of being scared so much you scream or catch your breath? Is the fear of the future and slow creep of worry that overwhelms you at times? Is is scyphophobia?

Only you know the answer, scaredy cat.

Religious

Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of [another]... There are just some kind of men who - who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.

~ Harper Lee

- - - - - -

Maybe if we actually took the time to look down the street more often we could help each other out a lot. 

Resting

Rest and be thankful.

~ William Wordsworth

- - - - -

Is your "doing" driven by gratitude or greed? Do you do things to spread love in the world or to spread ugliness? And when you rest, is it a quiet and deep rest or is your rest disrupted or uneasy? What are the things for which you are most thankful? 

I think it's important to thank people who help and are good to you. But first, I'm going to take a little nap.

Dog

A dog can make you feel complete without ever expecting much in return.

~ Susan Orlean

- - - - -

I love dogs. The other day I was on a walk and I saw a dog and I really wanted to pet it. I didn't. It was surrounded by other people petting it and it isn't socially acceptable to push a bunch of strangers to the ground to get to a dog and pet it.

If it was socially acceptable, I'd have done exactly that. 

Don't misunderstand me, I don't believe in full on social conformity, but I do believe that if I broke that norm and pushed people, I might have been charged with assault.

(pause)

Still, I'd have gotten to pet that dog, so maybe it would have been worth it.

 

Interesting

Interesting doesn't always mean good.

~ Christian Barrientos

- - - - -

The doll caught my interest the same way a stranger in my yard in the middle of the night would. I was interested. Not as interested in the same way that I would be interested if there was a congregation of dolls in my yard in the middle of the night. I'd be interested in both, scared of one and terrified by the other.

 

Windows

Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.

~ Edith Wharton

- - - - -

I was looking out a window not long ago and saw a man using a toilet seat to keep a dog away from him. it wasn't really a fight. More just a standoff... with a toilet seat.

You see weird, interesting, and beautiful things if you look at them.

Windows

Just because there's a hurricane going on around you doesn't mean you have to open the window and look at it.

~ Taylor Swift

- - - - -

They say people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. But what if the house is on fire and the only way out is to break a window?

What about that?

I'll ask again: WHAT. ABOUT. THAT?

Music

Music is my religion.

~ Jimi Hendrix

- - - - -

Me: A four letter word... Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee.... Billy ______?

Leslie: Idol!

Me: um...

Leslie: No, Joel!

Me: I think it's hilarious you thought of Billy Idol first.

Leslie: It could have been him.

Me: I suppose. I don't know if Billy Idol still performs. But it's still rock and roll to Billy Joel.

Portraits

You can die, but you can't unlive.

~ Dennis Lehane

- - - - -

I'm glad people can't unlive because they do some ridiculous things and if they could unlive them, I'd have fewer chuckles in my life.

 

Shadow

Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it, But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.

~ George Eastman

- - - - -

If the light in your photo is fire, don't embrace it.
 

Joy

Everything with joy.

~ Proverb

- - - - -

I try, but I fail to drive in city traffic with joy.

(pause)

I'll keep trying, though. I mean... look how awesome joy is.

Towels

Why do we wash bath towels? Aren't they clean when we use them?

~ Steven Wright

- - - - -
 

Using toilet paper to dry our hands is apparently a bigger issue than I imagined.

Toys

I bought my son an indestructible toy. Yesterday he left it in the driveway. It broke my car.

~ Milton Berle

- - - - -

 

Cloudy

A library is a rainbow in the clouds.

~ Maya Angelou

- - - - -

I like this image. A library is also like an oasis in the desert. If it's really hot outside this is especially true since a lot of libraries are air conditioned and have water fountains.

Hodor

"Hodor?"

"Hodor."

~ George R. R. Martin

- - - - - 

People are pretty funny. Or at least funny even if they aren't pretty.

Chicken

If you dream of becoming an eagle, you follow your dreams and not the words of a bunch of chickens.

~ Penny Johnson Jerald

- - - - - 

Dominique Frizzle was never sure when she saw "Chicken House" if it meant a chicken coop where she might rest on her journeys and share stories with other chickens or if it meant a house where they served chicken where she might be murdered alongside the other chickens.

That's why she just booked a room at the Ramada Inn.

Cafe

The cafe was a special benefit to bachelors, unfortunate people, and consumptives.

~ Carson McCullers

- - - - -

If YOU were a special benefit to groups of people, which groups would those be?

I bet not consumptives. I mean, you're kind of worthless to them.

Colors

Color is a power that directly influences the soul.

~ Wassily Kandinsky

- - - - -

There have been years I have failed to get out and see the colors of the leaves. I try not to do that anymore. I love it too much and life is too short to miss magic like that.

However, I have yet to see the colors of the wind. Mainly because I can't see the wind.

Photography

Using risk as a tool in your career is not specific to photography, but it is especially important in this field... The nature of risk taking is that the result could be game changing good or painfully bad.

~ Christopher Scotti

- - - - -

Sometimes you have to put yourself at risk to get just the right shot. And sometimes that means you might get a kid's foot in your gut or a headbutt.

And often that also means it will totally be worth it.

Time

Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, "You owe me." Look what happens with a love like that! It lights up the whole sky.

~ Hafez

- - - -

I remember that one time that I spent a month or so a full day early for everything. I didn't understand what was going on. Then I realized that instead of setting my clocks to Eastern Time, I had them all set to Easter Island Time.

So weird. 

Words

Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.

~ William Butler Yeats

- - - - -

I just realized the other day a new way that the English language is particularly cruel. For example, "neckless" and "necklace" sound the same. That seems mean to me.

Salamander

[Salamanders] prefer other slow-moving prey, such as worms, slugs, and snails.

~ Alina Bradford

- - - - -

Salamanders don't like fast food.

Film

You have to listen to the movie while you're making it. I think that's important.

~ Gary Ross

- - - - -

Part of listening to the movie is listening to the actors. Like if Kate Winsl Et and her sister Cate Blanch Et are both on the film, you should listen to them. Of course they will probably fight a lot. The Et sisters are like that. You don't have to listen to that part.
 

Library

The classroom was a jail of other people's interests. 

The library was open, unending, free.

~ Ta-Nehisi Coates

- - - - -

 Library mouse just wants to give you a hug.

Or typhus.

Webs

It's not the hard way, it's the right way.

~ Chef Dylan Jones

- - - - -

I heard someone say the other day that it is rare when excellent work is easy. I agree. 

(pause)

Also, I really like it those few times when excellent work is easy.

World

Remember, we see the world not as it is but as we are. Most of us see through the eyes of our fears and our limiting beliefs and our false assumptions.

~ Robin S. Sharma

- - - - -

We can choose to see the world through fear but we can also choose to see the world through joy. Or through a bowl of orange gelatin.

Trust

I am very cautious of people whose actions don't match their words.

~ Alex Elle

- - - - -

I agree, Alex Elle. The good news is that they are not hard to spot. The difficult part is that I have an inclination to give them multiple chances. The good news is, once I commit to being cautious, I'm good at establishing distance.

The other good news is that this photo is all about good trust, not betrayal. So there's that, too.

Laughter

My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world.

~ Muhammad Ali

- - - - -

I like to make jokes to make people laugh. I like to make jokes to make people think. Sometimes, if I'm totally honest, I like to make jokes to make people be quiet.

Mostly though, I just make jokes for my own amusement. Let me assure you, I am quite amused.