In our backyard around the pond (in the back actually) there is a torch lilly plant. Last year there were 3 blooms, same the year before I think. But this year, there are 5! Incredible growth which makes me happy. To me this is a very interesting plant. I like how neat they look, but at the same time like many plants, they grow up, bloom, and then the colorful part fades away and the we're left with the greenery around the pond. They look nice here I think and they are only continuing to bloom more! Enjoy!
This past Sunday, kinda in the middle of my sickness (I was sick over the weekend, made for a really crappy 3 day weekend). But despite that, Jenn and I went up for the water cruise I mentioned Monday. I took quite a few pics, one of which is here.
I called this the Maryland boat, because of the yellow and black sail that the little boat is sporting. I really liked how it looked. Enjoy!
We got a dog! This is him last night sitting by our loveseat on one of my old t-shirts. We're still not sure what we're going to name him, but once we decide I'll be sure to post a picture with his name attached.
He is a black lab mix, although the mix portion is fully known, and he looks to be all lab from what we can see. He is 3 1/2 months old and very peaceful. Which is nice. Jenn and I are very excited to have this wonderful addition to our family!
Since I'm not sure what else to post today (I haven't had a chance to go through the pictures I mentioned yesterday yet). So today I'll share this picture. I took this shot a few months ago and the aspect of the picture that I really like has nothing to do with the sunset. I like the sunset as a nice backdrop, but I don't really think it does a whole lot for the image. What I really like is the reflection of the houses in a 'mirror' scene. Enjoy!
Let me first say this, I think I've used this post title before, but honestly it doesn't get old for me. That's how my mom pronounces Memorial Day. It hasn't exactly been the greatest holiday weekend for me because I've been sick, but it is nice to not have to go to work.
I think the subject of this photo is pretty self explanatory, but there is where I'll take another sentence or two. Yesterday Jenn and I went with her parents and many of her father's church peoples on a cruise up the Susquehanna river. We boated up to Port Deposit and then boated back to Havre de Grace. It was a good time, and I took a bunch of pictures, which I'll be sure to share this week. Enjoy!
So I was reading some stuff on Yahoo Sports today and a link to this video came up, and I had to share this. Apparently some people on one of ESPN's morning shows decided it was an important enough conversation to have, that they setup a discussion of man vs. bear.
The premise is if a football player were at 1 end zone, a bear at the 50 yd. line, could the player make it 100 yards without getting eaten/mauled by the bear. So this video has a Ph.D guy talk about bears and to represent the football player side, we have Antwan Randle El from the Redskins. Its was quite funny and I encourage you to watch it if you've got a few minutes. But certainly the highlight for me is in the screen capture below. Note the Home Turf location. Enjoy! You can click on the image to see the video on youTube.
So last night was the American Idol finale. Or should I say the opening televised concert for the 2008 American Idol Season 7 tour. I felt like I was watching some stupid concert that I certainly had no interest in. But since I've watched it along with the rest of the season, I felt obliged to share some opinions.
I am elated that David Cook won. The other kid (I'm to lazy to find out how to type his name) was just so annoying. Every time he fained tearing up I kept thinking that what must be his dad told him to do. It just bothered me because it seemed so fake. I was so bothered on Tuesday night when Simon did everything he could to try and help other David win, however that seems to have backfired. And for those that watched the show, hearing Simon apologize just prior to the final announcement sealed the deal for me. I said to Jenn as he said that "he knows Cook is going to win" and then BAM, David Cook is announced the winner.
Here is where the title comes in. Fair game. I feel that David Cook wining the contest this year helps to validate the validity of the contest. I feel that had other David won it would have made the entire show pointless. I've felt for 3 months that other David would be in the top 2 and was most likely to win. I can't stress enough how happy I am that he didn't win. Its a similar feeling as when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl. Jenn even commented that other David loosing might be the best outcome this year, to which I commented that nothing can top the Patriots loosing the Super Bowl. And that loss might be the best outcome all century, nay, millennium.
What else to say - how about that its hilarious watching all the cast offs throughout the season being asked to come back and sing in groups like they never left. As if there isn't any love lost. You can't tell me that dude that got booted off in week one of the top 12 isn't a little bitter about the whole situation. Another gripe is that they bring these washed up stars on TV to sing some new song no one cares about. Just sing something I know and can appreciate (I'm talking to you Donna Summer, Byran Adams and George Michael).
And then my last gripe, I really wish that the show could set two records at once. First set a record for most people voting. Then set a record for shortest prime time television broadcast. Que up the show at like 9:55 and BAM! results time! Thats what I'm looking for, not a 2 hour spectacle just prior that confuses my DVR and almost forces me to not see the actual vote result, the sole reason I tuned in the first place.
All that said, let me reiterate - Congratulations David Cook!
I think the title for this post sounds like the name of a lifetime movie. But since its not, let me explain. Jenn and I went to visit Angela and Jake recently, to catch up after the birth of their new child. Out in her front yard, Angela has two rose bushes that were in good bloom. So I took a couple of shots, and this is first one I'd like to share. Enjoy!
So last week some may remember that I posted the DVD artwork to a video that Jenn did for her grad school class...everyone remember now? Ok, now that we're all square, below is a screenshot from the end of the video. I asked Jenn if she'd like to post it to youTube and she said if I wanted to I could, so I figured why not?
She spent a ton of time working on this, editing it and getting it to be just what she wanted. I'm very proud of what she did, and I hope that others will enjoy watching it as well. To watch/access the video, just click on the picture below, or click THIS LINK, either one will take you to the youTube page to watch the video. Its about 4 1/2 minutes long (in case you were curious about length. Enjoy!
This picture is from a month ago. Its crazy to me to think that just a month ago everything was blooming out and now everything is fully bloomed, leafy and ready for summer. Some flowers have already bloomed fallen away (such as the daffodils). Commentary aside, what I like about this shot is how the blooms are in perfect focus and then everything behind it out in the field is incredibly blurry. Enjoy!
To continue on yesterday's post of the DVD artwork image, I figured I would complete the post by sharing the image of the DVD label that I created for Jenn as well. I think I covered all the backstory in my post yesterday, but one thing some may be curious about...her grade. Its an A of course! Enjoy!
Yesterday Jenn turned in her final project for her video class she was taking for grad school. She's been working real hard on her video (a collaborative effort with Ben), and its really awesome. To assist her in her awesome creation I offered to create a DVD cover and DVD label for her. Below is the DVD cover that I made for her. For those out there that are familiar with the Nooma videos that we have watching in small group, you will likely see a striking similarity in the artistic design here. She got the idea for the video style and title from the Nooma videos we've been watching and enjoying in small group. So as for the artwork, Enjoy! Hopefully she'll post the video to you tube and if so I'll be sure to post it here.
A few weeks ago Jenn and I had the opportunity to go to a Bowie Baysox baseball game. The reason behind going (other than the pure enjoyment of minor league baseball) was that the kids from her school (Jacobsville Elem.) were going to be singing the National Anthem. Now with all the whys done, here's the what.
We had really good seats, right next to the visitors dugout, second row back, directly behind third base. Which game me the awesome opportunity to try out the 200mm zoom on the new camera. This is one of the shots I got of the starting pitcher from that nights game. By the way, Baysox won! Enjoy!
Again from Teri and Scott's home during out picnic. There were tons of boats out there, docked, just waiting for their summer departures. What I like here is simple, all the boats and very blue water and sky. Enjoy!
I had no idea how to title this one up. Its another picture from River Valley Ranch of a driveway up there. I loved how the trees lined the curved driveway. I figured on a cloudy rainy day, why not have a nice black and white photo to share. Enjoy!
More from the cookout last weekend, this was quite possibly one of the largest and oldest trees that I have ever seen. The canopy on the tree was beautiful, and all the splits in the tree were pretty crazy. By 'normal' tree standards, this one tree was the equivalently of like 5/6 trees. Despite all the splits at the bottom, the top was all cohesive and looked like this. Enjoy!
Lots of people have mentioned to Jenn or asked me about the quilt that we got for our anniversary from Jenn's grandmother. Quite a few people have said "hey take a picture of it and put it on your blog.". So you ask, and I deliver.
This is a picture of the quilt. The yellow portion is the underside of the quilt. The tulips cover the top of the quilt, and the little inset photo that I placed there is the dedication marker that Mildred made and sewed to the back of the quilt. Enjoy!
At the picnic I mentioned yesterday there was tons going on, but not so much that it was 'busy'. It was a wonderful, relaxing Sunday afternoon. And I think that sentiment is well represented by this picture of Jenn resting on the pier. Enjoy!
This past Sunday, Jenn and I participated in a cookout with our church small group. It was a fantastic time, and the weather could not have been better that day. I knew that where we were going had water access, so I figured I would take my camera along in the chance that I could get a few good shots. And of course I was able to take some that I liked.
The beach/waterfront there was really nice. Jenn and I wandered out along the pier to take some pictures and then I turned my back to walk back and Jenn says "don't you want a picture of that", and there was this little sail boat. A very cool opportunity to take a neat picture. I really like this shot, Enjoy!
This weekend I participated in a boys youth retreat associated with my old church (Pasadena Assembly). The retreat was held in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, in Manchester, MD. Was was really cool visually about the place was that it was set up in the rolling hills of Maryland. Very cool to see for someone that lives in the flat baylands of Pasadena. This is a shot of some of the ranch and farmland.
If you're wondering about the black and white, well I took a bunch of shots, none of which I was ecstatic about because of the bad lighting. The sun had gone down and it was a cloudy evening. So I decided to turn the set into a black and white opportunity in post processing. Enjoy!
This weekend Jenn and I went to see Iron Man. Let me say this in short, its Amazing! Go see it. I wrote a longer review here if you're interested.
This picture below is of a LEGO made Iron Man figure. When I was searching the web trying to find the right image to post I stumbled upon this one and knew it was the one I wanted to use. It conveys my purpose, but in a way unique to me. So enjoy the LEGO figure, and check out the movie review.
So on the way down to Ocean City last weekend, Jenn and I played the "Bay Game", which is basically a set of stickers that you need to place on a sheet as you identify different items along your way down Rt. 50. One of the things that we never saw while driving was an angler, something I don't think I've seen much of at O.C. ever.
However, this trip was different. One Saturday morning at the beach, there were quite a few guys out with the their poles hoping to catch something. I took this shot intentionally leaving out the fishermen, with the idea that many times they cast their lines then sit back and relax and wait for the fish to come. Enjoy!
Again with the neon! I know for Jenn and I Dumser's is a staple during out Ocean City visits, much like Old Pro mini-golf. So because of this, I needed to make sure I grabed a shot of their good neon sign. What stinks about this is that the ice cream cone on the right side is burnt out, so it feels slightly incomplete. Enjoy!
Certainly not one to only post a single picture of an event, today I'm gonna share another picture from the Saturday morning sunrise. This picture has such rich and vibrant colors because of the zoom into the water for the reflection. I really like the colors, as well as the waves that you can see breaking as they head toward the shore. Enjoy!
So while at the mini-golf place, when we got around to this water feature I handed the camera to Jenn and told her to take a picture. She immediately and unfortunately knew exactly what kind of picture I wanted her to take. And I must say, she did a wonderful job framing the picture. Enjoy!
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