Around Cleveland
Turns out I’m a bit out of it today for whatever reason, so I’ll write about Shmoocon tomorrow. Fortunately, I ran across this photo post which I somehow never published. I think I just forgot. Didn’t have to go in for jury duty today, which is lucky.
This photo of entering downtown is one of my favorite views. It doesn’t show the whole skyline, but it’s just a cool entry photo.
This photo is taken by the flats. There’s some digital editing going on there. I actually really like the sort of industrial feel of the flats and the warehouse district.
Another photo from the flats. There are a lot of archways and old, pretty buildings mixed in with the factory buildings and abandoned bridges etc.
I don’t remember where exactly this photo is taken from, but I think it’s also near the flats. Also a bit of digital editing here.
A bridge in the flats. So I guess having band-aids holding a bridge together isn’t exactly comforting, but it is pretty.
Another view of the cityscape from the flats.
An abandoned drawbridge in the flats. I love how the ivy is growing up and taking it over.
Another bridge in the flats, by night (duh).
Sky view, down near independence.
A shed dragonfly exoskeleton in the metroparks near independence.
Bridge in the metroparks, viewed from another bridge.
View looking the other way on the bridge.
The bridge where I was standing for the pretty views.
Cool water gate system at the metroparks.
Pretty plants in the metroparks. There are larger versions available for some of them if you click on the image.
I WARNED You
Still bogged down. Since there have been no votes either way, I’ve decided that what everyone REALLY wants is to see pictures of my cats. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Ok, actually mostly these aren’t pictures just of our cats. A couple years ago we had just one cat, Chyna (the orange one) and lived in a neighborhood with hoards of stray cats. One of them, a grey-brown tabby took over the territory behind the apartment and sort of adopted us. We decided to adopt her perminantly at about the same time we realized she was pregnant.
Tricky was such a tiny cat, under a year herself, and malnourished. All the kittens ended up much bigger, and you can see from her big feet that she probably should have been bigger than she is.
I guess it’s obvious that kittens are tiny, but it’s pretty amazing to see first hand. They pretty much looked like lumps when they came out to the point that it was hard to tell at first how many there were. It was actually a couple days before we were able to verify that there were 6, instead of the 5 the vet had guessed.
Two black kittens, two tabbys like Tricky, a grey and white, and a spotted tabby with white markings.
Kittens defy gravity.
Chyna was a little nervous about all the weird smells coming from the kitten room. (Actually, I think she just likes to hide.)
As the kittens got bigger I started to modify their box, giving them things to play with and on and scratch. It wasn’t long before they were all able to climb out of the box.
They may look cute, but trust me, they’re little monsters. Cute monsters.
They did seem to enjoy some of the constructions I made for them. It gave me good ideas for when we have room to make perminant kitty structures.
They pretty much destroyed everything they touched. Including the skin on my back.
Even though they got out of the box within a couple weeks, it wasn’t a total loss since they apprently liked hiding behind it.
The more enthusiastic the kittens got, the more nervous Chyna got.
You can’t really blame her. They’re fearless little furballs.
All the kittens had distinct personalities. The spotted tabby, the only girl of the bunch, was very social and liked sitting on my shoulder. I miss her. Fortunately we were able to place all the kittens. The two black cats went with a friend from school, I think they’re named Fred (or Frank?) and George. One of the tabbys, which had extra toes, was adopted by my friend Amy and named Zoe (it’s a boy though), the other Tabby went to our friend Justin — named Loki (it fits) the grey and white kitten went to our friends John and Holly and is named Baxter, and the spotted tabby, Lucy, went to a waitress/owner of our favorite Lebonese place. Sadly, she’s the one I never see. 
Tricky was pretty exhausted. I think she was a bit worried as the kittens disappeared one by one (Baxter being the last one left, got cleaned six times as much as usual), but once they were all gone she didn’t seem bothered. She’s plump and healthy now, and extremely happy to be an indoor kitty. A couple of the photos have larger versions if you click on them.
Eugene Saturday Market
Day 4 of thesis cramming. Here are some photos from the Eugene Saturday Market, taken on the same trip home as the Bend photos.
The best part of the Saturday Market is the colors. Eugene is largely made up of retired hippies, so the Saturday Market is always a trip. One of the scenes in my book takes place here. I’m glad I got such a good variety of photos.
This photo technically didn’t turn out all that well. Too washed out with light, and it can’t be edited out (at least not by me) without looking very strange. I had to include it though, because I love both the hair and the depth of the composition, with a central figure so close in the foreground.
I was really tempted to buy a hula hoop, mainly because everyone seemed to be having a whole lot of fun with them. There’s an open area where people were sitting, dancing, and, yeah. Hooping.
I like how the spoons provide a screen.
I wish there weren’t crease marks on the blanket, but otherwise I’m pleased with this photo. I love that the woman on the left seems to be an extension of her creations.
Normally I try to blur out the faces of children in my photos, but this photo may be one of my all time favorites, mainly because of the little girl’s face. I feel like this is sort of ok since I actually have no idea who she is, but I realize that doesn’t actually make any kind of sense.
Again, love the hair, but also the hanging cranes just give the whole photo a really cool feel. Also, I’m a fan of the clever method of display.
The market has a main stage, but there were also random musicians roaming all over the place. I think it’s a shame that the guy on the right is wearing a T-shirt, the other guy fits the scene far better.
The tone of this woman’s skin mixes beautifully with her knitted dolls. I also really like the expression on her face and the way she’s looking off to the side.
I like the screen effect here again, but I mostly just think this is a great collection of funky, very Eugene, jewelry.
Such cool ornaments. Like the blue squid on the left especially.
Click on the photos for a larger version. More tomorrow.
Photos from Bend
Still thesis-ing (well it’s a word NOW) so here are more photos. Hope you enjoy.
A couple months before the wedding, I went home for a week to visit my parents in Oregon. Dad and I went on a few hikes, especially in Bend.
I was mainly home to see my parents, but I also wanted to get some good shots of the landscape of Bend since a couple unwritten books in my series will be taking place there. The first book, the one I’m agonizing over right now in fact, takes place in Eugene, so I needed to get some photos of that as well, but since I lived there for the stretch of childhood within the reach of memory, Eugene is less essential.
This photo probably won’t be all that useful for my book, but I think it’s one o the more print ready photos I have. For a while I was toying with the idea of selling photography, but I probably won’t get around to pursuing that particular avenue any time soon.
Another of my favorites. This really ought to be a panoramic shot, but I think it’s lovely as is.
Another cool view.
I like getting trees from strange angles. I especially like in this one how the blue of the sky seems to gather at the edges. It’s almost amoeba-ic (also suddenly a word)
Technically this isn’t in bend, it’s from Sahalie Falls a scenic shot on the way home.
The sky here is so blue that it doesn’t look real, but I didn’t even do any color enhancing. I was afraid to.
Actually, I guess none of the photos from around the falls looked quite real. The mist was part of it, but mainly it was just the scale. Or something. Pretty views anyway.
Click on the photos for a bigger version. More photos tomorrow. Should get back to normal posts by Monday, I hope.
Pretty Pictures
Still have my head stuffed in the middle of a manuscript, plus a few other necessary errands today, so, as I explained yesterday, photos! Since nobody voted in comments I will now bore you with pictures of my cats.
Ok, I’m kidding, here are some Scotland photos from a couple trips I took with Matt. I’m pretty sure they’re all pictures I took, but it’s hard to be sure since they all got kind of muddled and it’s been a while. These pictures are from my older, Sony camera.
This is Edinburgh. Some people have told me that they like Glasgow better because Edinburgh is so touristy, but I don’t agree. I think it’s a beautiful city.
I can’t imagine living in an area where buildings are this dense, but my artistic sense wishes all cities looked like this.
Edinburgh Castle from the bottom of the hill it’s built into.
There’s a graveyard near the bottom of Edinburgh Castle. I just though it was beautiful and serene looking, and exactly what a graveyard ought to look like, so I took a picture. I think I meant this graveyard photo to be for reference, but I think it’s rather nice to look at on its own.
This ought to have been ugly, but there’s something beautiful (I thought) about the mixture of the old building, the vibrant nature, and the grid of reconstruction.
Up top at Edinburgh Castle with a funny angle. These photos make me want to draw funky buildings. Maybe when I have a bit more time.
Cannon view is obviously necessary. I know these aren’t active, but I think it would give me the shivers to know there was a cannon aimed at me anyhow.
A train station somewhere in Scotland, I don’t remember where. I just thought it was a cool industrial image. This is from my first visit to Scotland, I think the previous ones are all from the more recent visit.
Also from the first visit, this is my favorite photo from Scotland. Unfortunately it was pretty low-res because I forgot to reset my camera. We got to go on a balloon ride, and that’s actually the shadow from my balloon.
Click on an image for a larger version. Tomorrow more photos of whatever strikes me as a good idea.
Crunch Time
I have, thanks to my own promises, until the end of the week to finish editing my novel. It’s doable, but I won’t have time for much else. Also, I might go crazy.
Since I don’t want to abandon my blog all week, this week I’ll be bringing you some of my favorite photos. Most of them are from the new digital camera I got this summer. For today, let’s look at some photos I took at a Renn Faire in August, which is where I went for my bachelorette party. Not sure it really counted as a bachelorette party since Matt, and several other guys were there, but whatever, I had fun.
The fun colors in this picture make me happy. Mostly I think that wearing faerie wings is a bit silly (though these faerie wings are pretty awesome), but as decorative items, I’m a big fan. Also impressed by the creative way they’re displayed in a spiderweb-net.
Not sure exactly why I love this one. It might be the sense of motion that I know is there, even if it’s not evident in the photo. This big green sea dragon thing is a kiddie ride at the faire. I’m also pleased at the expression on the man’s face.
Technically I think she’s selling aromatherapy oils, but this booth feels so much like an apothecary that I feel Shakespeare must be hanging out somewhere nearby.
I LOVE this picture. It’s got an exotic market feel, heightened by the fact that the girl is off center and, more importantly, didn’t look at me until after I snapped the photo.
This one, a photo of everyone leaving the park at the end of the day, seems to me to have a surreal feeling to it. I think it’s the combination of color, lighting, and dust.
Lastly, this image technically doesn’t have anything to do with Renaissance, it’s from one of the mini-gardens sprinkled throughout the faire. I like the look of the spiderwebs (even though I hate spiders) and rock, so I included it.
You can click on any of the images for a larger version. There are a ton more Renn Faire photos, but these are my favorites. I’ll have photos of something or other tomorrow. This is better than photos of my cats, right? Because I could just post photos of my cats until the novel is finished. They’re very cute? Leave your vote in comments…Scotland, or photos of my cats.
Me Nude (It’s not what you think)
In celebration of the fact that in less than a week I’ll be traveling to Kentucky for a tournament that I am completely unprepared for, I’d like to take a moment and appreciate the rainbow of bruises I’ve acquired through fencing.
Last night, fencing for the first time in a month or so, I went to take a shower, and thought at first that I had some sort of rash on my chest. It was covered with bright red splotches, which I quickly realized were fencing bruises.
The only strange thing about these bruises is that I’d been away from fencing long enough to not immediately recognize them.
There are three different weapons in fencing: foil, sabre, epee. If you spent a semester fencing in college, chances are you were fencing foil. Foil is generally considered the beginner’s weapon, not because it’s easier, but because it supposedly sets a good basis for the other two weapons without causing bad habits. As someone who fenced three years of foil before changing to epee, I can tell you the part about bad habits isn’t true, but that’s another post entirely.
Foil and epee are both point weapons, meaning the fencer scores by hitting his or her opponent with the point only. Because of this, the bruises you’ll find in foil and epee are similar, generally round splotches about the size of a thumb print. This can cause awkward remarks: I’ve heard stories where the parents of fencers are referred to child services, and I have a teammate who once had a random stranger stop her in the restroom to tell her, “Honey, he’s not worth it.”
In both weapons most bruises are on the upper chest and front arm (your dominant hand, right for most people). Because epees have thicker (and therefor stiffer) blades, and slightly larger tips, epee bruises are usually slightly bigger. Epee does have one kind of distinguishing mark that you don’t find as often in foil or sabre: a red scrape-like bruise, often on the inside of the elbow that sort of resembles a junkie’s track mark. This is because in epee, unlike in foil, the entire body is valid scoring area, and the inside of the elbow is a typical place where the point sticks. Obviously, it’s also an area with fairly sensitive skin, hence, bruising. This kind of mark usually has a central point where the impact was greatest, with a colorful aura around it, and a tail where the point dragged. It looks a bit like a comet.
Most people think of sabre as being more brutal than the other two, but bruises are less frequent. Marks that do occur in sabre tend to be more welts than bruises, as sabre is a blade weapon, where touches are scored by using the edge. Legs are not valid scoring area, but leg welts are common because many sabre fencers practice in shorts.
Welts do occur in foil and epee, just not as often. There is an attack known as a “flick” where the fencer makes a motion similar to casting a fishing line with an abrupt stop, only the line in question is a “36 long piece of metal. In theory, the point continues traveling forward, scoring a touch. If done improperly, the entire blade can connect, which is far less likely to result in a point, but much more likely to seriously piss off your opponent. Some people consider this a bonus.
Flicking is more common in foil, and I’ve seen bruises all down foilists’ backs from lousy flicks. Some people do flick in epee though it takes a great deal more strength, and is that much more painful when done incorrectly. I’ve actually had welts accross the stomach from epee flicks, fun fun. These marks usually have a double line where the skin actually wraps around the blade. In epee there is usually an obvious end point, because the epee tip is relatively heavy, but this is not necessarily the case with foils or sabres.
Fencing bruises really do come in a rainbow of colors, but that doesn’t necessarily make them pretty. The most common colors are red, blue and greenish yellow. Of course you also get some lovely purples. Bruises on the hand are sometimes a sort of sickly grey brown color. The only color I’ve not noticed in fencing bruises is orange, but give it time.
This weekend I’ll be fencing a tournament, with a capital T, that is completely out of my league. It’s a national tournament, you must have achieved a certain ranking (measure of skill) to even enter, which I only have because I was good when I was in college and my ranking hasn’t expired completely yet. I’m not optimistic about my chances, but I’m going to do my best. If I do poorly, I could end up going home after only a few short bouts. If I do well, it is within the realms of possibility that I could fence a first round of short bouts than maybe another two, or even three longer bouts. I’m hoping to get a whole lot of colorful bruises.
More bruises mean I fenced longer.
