Industrial Strength Love

This heavy-duty image of kinetic affection is available for purchase, in a variety of sizes and price points, at Art166.com.

Look for it in the “Affairs of the Heart” gallery.

___________

The Backstory -

* 5:44 a.m.

Buc-ees Parking lot in Luling, Texas
On the road to beautiful, downtown Houston *

We, being the intrepid daytrippers we are (hey, Joe!), decide to run an errand, which entails driving about 200 miles to Houston. Well, it's more 1/2 errand, 1/2 excuse to hit the road with the cameras, goof off, and eat road food!

First stop (about an hour into the trip): diesel fuel and hot chocolate (no, not in the same cup - yuck)!

While Joe fed the truck, I snapped pics of the store, the fuel pumps, and the really big, really dark parking lot.

The original photo (above), which was the first shot of the day, is embarrassingly out of focus (let's blame it on the ridiculously early hour, shall we?), and came this close to being deleted.

Instead, in a stroke of fevered inspiration, I pulled it into Photoshop, performed an extreme manipulation treatment and was, eventually, rewarded with "Industrial Strength Love."

Hopefully, on Thursday, I'll post a few more pics from that long, strange trip.

~

Oh, here's today's quiz:

ARE YOU AN IDIOT?:

I am 15% Idiot.

I am not annoying at all. In fact most people come to me for advice. Of course they annoy the hell out of me. But what can I do? I am smarter than most people.

Take the
Idiot Test
@ FualiDotCom

Processing Point 1

Processing Point 2

and

Processing Point 3

These surreal images are available for purchase, in a variety of sizes and price points, at Art166.com.

Look for them in the “Lensitivity” gallery.

____________

I'm listening to:

Robbie Williams - Greatest Hits

This qualifies as both good news and bad news.

The good news:

It's Robbie Williams! And just saying that makes me feel giddy as a schoolgirl!

The bad news:

I'll get nothing done today. A lot of my time will be spent stretched out on the couch, my mind wandering to greener pastures, because . . . well, it's Robbie Williams!

Before the Storm

and

After Midnight

"After Midnight" is available for purchase, in a variety of sizes and price points, at Art166.com.

Look for it in the “Yesterday's Trees” gallery.

___________

The Backstory -

The source photo for these images was taken on the back roads of somewhere, Texas, September 19th of last year -- just a couple of days before Hurricane Rita came to call.

The day was miserably hot, the atmosphere heavy with that oppressive-heat- approaching-disaster prickly sensation. We'd been on the road for a zillion hours and had already invaded, photographed, and abandoned Flatonia, Texas (see Tuesday and Wednesday's posts).

Earlier, we'd stopped at a very nice Dairy Queen, and I was still trying to finish off the biggest, richest, most chocolate-filled, frozen treat I've ever eaten. If I remember correctly, the ingredients were: chocolate ice cream, chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, with crumbled brownies folded in for good measure -- in a cup the size of Utah. I don't often get a chance to stop at Dairy Queen, in fact, I'm sure I don't even average one visit a year. However, if I'm gonna eat something blatantly unhealthy, I think I chose very wisely!

Are you curious about Tom Cruise and Dairy Queen?

But, I digress . . .

So, we were headed merrily down the road, near the end of a very l-o-n-g, very hot day, when suddenly, there it was! The photo op I'd been waiting for! Of course, as I had just consumed 1,000 calories of chocolate, my blood glucose was attempting to erupt through the top of my skull, and my sugar-fogged brain just wanted to slip into a good nap (or maybe, a diabetic coma), what I thought was photographic euphoria might have just been near-fatal choco-indulgence.

Whatever the motivation, I was foolishly happy to leave the comfort of Joe's big Dodge Ram truck and hop directly into scarily tall roadside grass (where, come to think of it, there might have been a seething nest of rattlesnakes just waiting for a quick nip of bare ankle). I proceeded to meander along the roadside, the big truck trailing me like a poor man's entourage, ostensibly looking for the perfect angle, which would result in the perfect photograph. In reality, I just couldn't concentrate on what I was trying to do. 102 degrees shimmering up from the blacktop is just not conducive to coherent thought.

After some almost-lucid consideration, I managed to take about a half dozen shots of the day's last good tree. Furtive rustling in the tall grass convinced me to remove myself from the local flora -- also, I was beginning to wheeze like the hair-trigger asthmatic that I am, so a retreat was definitely in order.

Brutal heat, approaching storm, rampant allergens, wicked chocolate, good company, and the "really big things" in Flatonia.

Will I do it all again?

Oh, yeah!

So, Flatonia . . .

Neesie reminds me that the photo from yesterday's post was taken in Flatonia, Texas.

Thank you kindly, Flatonia!

Complex

and

Complex B&W

Both images are available for purchase, in a variety of sizes and price points, at Art166.com.

Look for them in the “Unexpected Hardware” gallery.

___________

The Backstory -

It was a dark and stormy night . . .

* * * CUT! * * * Let's try that again.

It was a hot and muggy day. My "road posse" and I (Hey, Neesie! Hey, Joe!) were driving through a town that I really can't remember the name of (if you recognize the location, drop me a line) when we spotted these "really big things" towering over the landscape. (Um, if you know what they are, drop me a line.)

As usual, the Canon was already in my hand (good thing I wasn't driving!) and I was able to fire off a few shots. Thank goodness for 12X zoom, as we were blocks away from these "really big things."

To my less-than-conventional mind, they seem a little sinister -- like alien scouts, or some kind of government mind control transmitters. Or, maybe they're bombarding us with high frequency subliminal propaganda.

The reality of their existence is almost certain to be a major disappointment.

Whatever they are, I can't stop producing digital
variations of them! Oh, no! I think my mind is being controlled by Photoshop!!! Yikes!

~

When I update on Thursday, I'll post the photo of "The Tree" that we found on this same road trip.

Last Train

and

Day Train

Both images are available for purchase, in a variety of sizes and price points, at Art166.com.

Look for them in the “Lensitivity” gallery.

___________

It's too cold to write. My immediate plan involves crawling under the covers and only emerging when I can no longer see my own breath.

Goodnight, all.

----------

Here's a quick quiz for today. My results are:

You are Green Lantern

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...

Things to do in Austin when you're dead.

Both of these images are available for purchase, in a variety of sizes and price points, at Art166.com.

Look for them in the “You Are Here” gallery.

___________

The Backstory -

Yes, some people really are willing to drive across Texas to pick up a couple of eBay purchases.

Of course, we took this drive (hey, Neesie!) on the rainiest day of the year and were caught up in a deluge of practically biblical proportions!

Exaggerate? Me?!?!

In Austin, we met some nice eBayers, picked up the vintage-y lamps (which, okay, were worth it!) and then headed for home.

Late afternoon, we were blessed with this inexplicably quiet stretch of expressway and I fired a few shots off (with the camera! This had nothing to do with road rage!) through the rain-washed windshield.

Just a few moments later, of course, we were caught up in a rush hour traffic jam of practically biblical proportions! Seriously!

Sitting there, twiddling my thumbs, gave me a chance to plan a manipulated treatment for these two photos; something surreal and more than a bit outside the envelope.

Just like Austin.

Shielded - Gold

and

Shielded - Silver

Both images are available for purchase, in a variety of sizes and price points, at Art166.com.

Look for them in the “Affairs of the Heart” gallery.

___________

Here's a great quiz to celebrate Valentine's Day! TIP: Don't think too much about your answers. Go with your first instincts.

Relationship Psychology Quiz

Listening to:

Michael Buble

This is me -- swooning . . .

REM Sleep

"If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time.
~ Marcel Proust (1871-1922), French novelist

~

Available for purchase, in a variety of sizes and price points, at Art166.com.

Look for it in the “Abstractions” gallery.

___________

Where do you go when you sleep?

Watching:
The Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.

How can I not?

The Olympics are being held in Torino, Italy.
However, you can see my favorite Torino, here.

Capitol Stars

and

Upward Mobility

Both images are available for purchase, in a variety of sizes and price points, at Art166.com.

Look for "Capitol Stars" in the “Celestial Vision” gallery.

Look for "Upward Mobility" in the “Lensitivity” gallery.

___________

The Backstory -

This powerful lady adorns the very top of the Texas State Capitol Building.

My original plan was to tell you all kinds of fascinating details about the creation and history of this fascinating figure.

So much for my plans . . .

As I began my research, I found that the only thing anyone seems to know for sure about the statue, is that no one seems to know anything for sure about the statue. I'm pretty sure that she's not the original statue, but that's about it!

Seems she's a real mystery woman.

There's no way for me to impart any definitive info, so here are three links to some very good articles on the subject. I dare you to read them and draw your own conclusions!

The Capitol Goddess

Historic Photos Gallery

Historic Artifacts Gallery

Watching:

Due South

Possibly my favorite show of all time, Due South was the brainchild of the brilliant Paul Haggis, before his "Million Dollar Baby" and "Crash" breakthroughs.

Three seasons of absolute perfection. Three seasons of the lovely, talented and likeable (frequently lovable) Paul Gross.

Buy the DVDs.

Watch the DVDs.

Become a fan for life. Really.

The Incompetent Nanny

Available for purchase, in a variety of sizes and price points, at Art166.com.

Look for it in the “Abstractions” gallery.

___________

The Backstory -

Poor Nanny!

The house is a wreck and the kids have all fallen down!

What do do???

~

This fun image was created from an original fractal design. Also, I'd been eager to try something interesting with that "crumpled paper" texture as a background.

After deciding that the main fractal form was a "nanny" (and I have no idea where that thought came from), it seemed only right to plop her into the middle of a huge domestic disaster.

I'm betting some of you can relate!

Listening to:
The sublime "Colin Blunstone"

There isn't enough space on these pages for me to explain how much I love this man's voice and music. I can only say, if you're not listening to him, you're missing something really special.