Lots Of Photos, and a Few Words

My deepart.io 'paintified' photos from NYC are back. Here is one of the Statue of Liberty.

And this is Freedom Tower.

If you look back at the post from Tuesday, you can see the original image and the artwork from which the style was applied.

I took a 5-shot panorama of Grand Central Station when we were there.

Have you heard that the majority of hotel rooms in NYC are smaller than most cities? Here is our room on the 22nd floor, and it is as tight as it appears. It was a nice room, though.

Here is our 'upgraded' bathroom. Sure, it was small, but we were pleased, especially compared to the room we first were given.

Why does it seem so nice? Well, here is the bathroom in our previous room. Thanks for SS for negotiating the upgrade.

The other day, I came across photos of Japanese decoys from World War II that I thought were interesting. You can see all of them here.

From the famous 'inanimate objects that looks like faces' file:

From the 'iconic movie killer put out to pasture' file:

From the 'photoshop requests' file:

Sometimes, I play some music in my headphones to block out the noises of the office. I usually choose instrumental or classical with no words so that it doesn't distract me with knowing the words and thinking about the song. Anyway, I came across this album. You can see at the bottom that it is a band led by a saxophonist. That was fine. I did wonder, though, why they chose a photo of a dude playing, NOT a sax, but a trumpet.

Have you decided how you will vote in the presidential election in November? I see all the negatives for each presumptive candidate, but see very few positives for either. I don't really want to not vote, or waste a vote on something like a Libertarian. I just don't know.

It's Friday. Yeah, baby. We are heading over to see the GRANDS tonight. Sunday night, I will be at my first Chorale concert in almost two months. I hope I can sing. Next Tuesday night, we are holding a joint practice with the women's choir from California Baptist University, so that should be fun. But that's next week. Anything else for this week? Nope. Just got to make it through a whole work day. Take care and thanks for reading, my friends.

Lotsa Yellow Quotes Today

From Wednesday's 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said calendar:
A person carrying on an employment business shall not request or directly or indirectly receive and fee from a second person for providing services (whether by the provision of information or otherwise) for the purposes of finding or seeking to find a third person, with a view to the second person becoming employed by the first person and acting for and under the control of the third person.
the Employment Relations Act 1999, the Department for Trade and Industry (UK)

I just noticed that yesterday was Administrative Assistant's Day. How do I know? Check out the Bad Jokes calendar entry:
A large corporation hired several cannibals. “You are all part of our team now,” said the Human Resources rep during the welcoming briefing. “You get all the usual benefits and you can go to the cafeteria for something to eat, but please do not eat any of the other employees.” The cannibals promised that they would not.

Four weeks later their boss remarked, “You're all working very hard, and you seem to have assimilated well into our work environment. However, one of our secretaries has recently disappeared. Do any of you know what happened to her?” The cannibals all said that they didn't know anything.

After their boss left, one of the cannibals turned to the others and barked, “Which of you idiots ate the secretary?” A hand rose hesitantly, to which the first cannibal replied, “You fool! Four weeks we've been eating managers and no one noticed anything, and then you had to go and eat someone important!”

Have you seen the original Ghostbusters movie? The first encounter that the team has with a ghost is in the New York Public Library. You remember, with the floating lady that shushes them, and then turns into a demon and flies toward them? Here is a shot of the exterior from our visit last month.

Read any good books lately? According to Mark Twain, this author will never be among the top novelists on people's lists.
Leave me now deceptive demon of deluded mockery; lurk no more around the vale of vanity, like a vindictive viper; strike the lyre of living deception to the strains of full deadness, despair and doubt.
novelist Amanda McKittrick Ros (considered by Mark Twain to be the worst novelist ever) in her book Irene Iddesleigh


Do we really need to know that the physics around an actual lightsaber would mean instant death to both the victor and loser in a duel? No, we do not. And as the article notes, maybe it would work differently in a world where The Force helps control things.

What creature do you think of as a national symbol of the USA? The bald eagle, most likely. And I would agree. However, Congress has passed legislation, the National Bison Legacy Act, which names the hoofed beast as a “historical symbol of the United States” and establishes it as the nation’s landmark mammal. If the Senate and the President agree, the bison will join the bald eagle as an official symbol of the country. One thing not mentioned in the article is the difference between the bison and the buffalo. Do you know what it is?

You might suspect that a Camry tricked out as a funny car might be faster than a stock Camry. That is true, but the video in this article shows just how much faster that is. I think one of those passed me during my commute this morning, but maybe not since I don't think he was doing over 300mph at the time.

Did you notice I did not post yesterday? Sorry about that. I had a dentist appointment first thing in the morning, so by the time I finished that, it was too late to generate a new post. I'm back today, though. Doesn't that count for something? I also did not share a Clarity of Vision comic yesterday, but I found one from June, 2010, that I updated a little.

The family reunion of my parents, aunts and uncles has been moved to May this year, so MBH and I will not be attending. Too bad. We do have a good time seeing family. My folks, siblings and families will be having our own reunion later this year, so that will really be fun.

Until then, though, M-F are workdays, and I am still working for the man. So, I am outta here. Back soon.

Start With the ABCs - Art, Bags, and Cracker Jacks

The other day, I shared a art-ified photo of St. Patrick's Cathedral (from deepart.io). Well, here is the original source photo and the style image I used.

The reason I am reminding you is because I submitted a couple more photos last night with different style images. Here is what I sent in. I will share the results when they come back in a week or so. One will use a Van Gogh style.

And one will use this pointillism painting.

The photos I used were, of course, part of my NYC shots. Speaking of NYC, here's a picture of a subway entrance. Just looking at it now in the photo, it doesn't look all that inviting, does it? It's a cool experience, though. Well, I mean, except for the smell, and the people sleeping in the entrance.

What does look inviting, though, is the Empire State Building. We did not have time to go up in it this trip, so maybe next time.

I liked the cool way the buildings behind me reflected in the windows, but I am not sure it translated into the image I had in my head. It would have helped had I been there in the morning so the reflected buildings were lit from the front instead of from behind.

I am very sure there have been countless things filmed in NYC, but it is possible that some things have been filmed near you. How can you know? Check out this map and the accompanying article.

Did you grow up eating Cracker Jacks? I did. Well, I mean, not everyday or anything, but I always liked them. The prize inside was always a fun bonus (well, for maybe five minutes), and I liked the peanuts as much as the popcorn. And there was a way to open the top of the box by pushing in a tab and pulling across. You could then pour the sweet goodness into your palm in small increments that you could toss directly into your mouth. Mmm. I am salivating right now. I mention all of this because Cracker Jacks has made a change to its prizes and to its packaging. I will tease the surprise by noting it is now digital. Go on and read about both changes here.

Real-life resemblance time:

Today's CoV came to me this morning, pretty much like the comic states. I was thinking about musicals based on historical events, which then led me to think about events or people that would make a less-than-exciting musical. How could I come up with one where no one actually sang? Hmm, how about including a mime. Once I got there, it HAD to be Marcel Marceau.

I just came across this photo. Note to My Better Half (MBH): Do NOT buy this bag.

I think I've kept you busy for long enough. Go ahead and start Tuesday now. The sun is coming in the East-facing window, so that means I need to start my workday. See you soon.

YARD Work is HARD Work, Unless You Have GRANDS Helping

We kept the GRANDS last weekend and had a great time. It gave me some time to play with a programming site with GRAND#1, and she had actually already played it. She has a nice analytical brain, but she did wonder why moving a droid on the screen was programming. I showed her the code being generated by her input, but I am not sure she bought it. We had a good time. We also were treated to the (mostly Hamilton) concerts the girls like to perform on the hearth with the reading lamp pointed on them for a spotlight. All three helped me trying to cut up some roots from recently felled trees. The girls dug around the roots so I could cut, and GRAND#3 played with the pieces of roots I pulled up.

Check this out. I'm just saying they DO look a lot alike, right? 


When we went to Macy's in NYC, I saw a series of ads for the movie Zootopia made up to look like actual consumer products. I thought they were clever and caught shots of them. Are these ads also shown in the movie? I could not say since I haven't seen it.

After Macy's we passed by Bryant Park and took a break for a bit. This is actually quite a nice park. In fact, Matthew Broderick actually filmed some tour videos about this historic park.

Here is KNW watching some ping-pong in the park.

Here is a view of the park from beside the ping-pong tables.

Here's another drone and LED photo. That may be a human holding the light on the right, which would help give some sense of scale.

Want a clever business name? How about this one?

Seattle called. They want their gas station signs to be recognized as a national treasure. OK, that is not true, but this station does have some funny sayings.

Saturday (maybe Friday), we entered into a drawing for some cupcakes from Red Apron Bakeshop, and we won some! I tried one today. It was scrumptious. They are chocolate and Rolo batter, with caramel buttercream frosting, some chocolate ganache (you know I love that, LMW), and topped with a Rolo.

We've talked in this forum before about electric cars. The huge number of pre-orders of the new Tesla Model 3 underscores the public's interest shows it may finally reach mainstream. But wait. I just found out that, at one point, 1/3 of all vehicles on the road were electric. I do not personally remember that, since it was in 1900. By 1935, though, electric vehicles were practically non-existent. How low of a price would it take before you would consider purchasing one? Or is the range and challenge of recharging still too much of a hurdle?

I do not have an hourglass, but if I did, it would be out of sand right now. I need to wrap this up. First, let's get a little CoV fix.

Next, let's just say goodbye with a minimum of histrionics. How do we do that? I'll say 'goodbye' and you respond at the same time, then we just both walk away. OK. Goodbye.

Earth, But No Prince, Day

Today is Earth Day. So, it is really lucky that all of us actually live on Earth, right? If it was Venus Day, we would have much less to celebrate. Still, that calls for a comment from today's 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said calendar:
How old do I think the Earth is? I don’t have any idea. I think it’s pretty old.
Texas governor Rick Perry


By now, everyone has heard that Prince died yesterday. I didn't listen to him much, but I did like a couple of his most commercial songs. I do not have any of his songs in my iTunes library. RIP (Rest in Purple?), Prince.

Have you ever heard of George M. Cohan? Beginning with Little Johnny Jones in 1904, he wrote, composed, produced, and appeared in more than three dozen Broadway musicals. Cohan published more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including the standards "Over There", "Give My Regards to Broadway", "The Yankee Doodle Boy" and "You're a Grand Old Flag". Anyway, they have this statue there in the middle of Times Square. RIP to him, too, even though he died in 1942.

Here, I zoomed in on the billboard in the upper right of that last photo (above Cohan's left shoulder). I liked the clever ad line of 'Don't Miz out!'. We didn't.

While we were there, I had to get a shot of the Times Square Ball, since I will not be back there at New Year's Eve.

You shouldn't do this anywhere, but three men ordered a water in AR and then filled the cups with soda. When confronted, two of them did empty out the soda, but the third has been charged with felony robbery. He also hit the manager with his car in escaping. He is now in custody. Just don't do it.

Working your core can protect you from low back pain — and yes, it’ll tone your abs, too. One of the best core exercises out there is the plank. This means your obliques, or all-around abs (where you’ll find those lovehandles), and transversus abs (the deepest layer) will tighten up. Plus, you'll work your shoulders and your legs at the same time. Yahoo shared an easy-to-follow 30-day plank challenge that will get you results quickly. You’ll start by planking at an incline (try leaning against a wall, chair, or the back of your couch), which is easier for beginners. Then, as you get stronger, you’ll move to the floor and work your way up to holding a plank for three full minutes. Here are the specifics. I think we can do that for 30 days, right?

Apparently, the Sony World Photography Awards are a thing. Not only are they a thing, the winner is such a cool photo that I thought it was digital fakery. Fakery, I say. I guess it is not, though. Take a look at this dust-covered Rhino in Namibia.

Not as amazing to me, but still really cool because it also looks fake (Fake, I say) is this shot of fireflies in Japan.

OK, people are here, and it's Friday so I want to finish early, and the GRANDS are coming over tonight. No time to waste, people. Let's add in today's Clarity of Vision.

And let's get today started so we can get today ended. Have a great weekend.

The Water, The Woods, and The Waterfowl

Errata: In yesterday's blog, I included a photo of a memorial for John Lennon. This morning, I just came across a little bit more info, including the fact that the space is called Strawberry Fields, which I had forgotten. Here's what I learned: On October 9, 1985, on what would have been John Lennon's 45th birthday, New York City dedicated 2.5 acres to his memory and named is Strawberry Fields. Countries from all around the world contributed trees, and Italy donated the iconic Imagine mosaic. It has since become the sight of impromptu memorial gatherings for other notables and, in the days following the September 11, 2001 attacks, candlelight vigils were held there.

Central Park is such a large space (843 acres) that it demands additional photos. So, we are staying in another section of the park today. Here is a view of the Gapstow Bridge over The Pond.

And another view of The Pond as we head out of Central Park.

While we were walking back over to our hotel near Times Square, we passed by a big sculpture near 52rd St that just begged for a picture.

Hey, this photo is not mine, but take a look at it. It is by Donna Kennedy and is entitled Down the Golden Path (I found it on fineartamerica.com). I do like it, but I wonder at her description. She calls it a photograph, and it probably started that way, but doesn't this look manipulated so it looks like an oil painting? Should it still be called a photograph?

As you can tell since I am pulling from an art/photo site, I didn't find much in my usual web spots. So, let's pick a favorite photo from among a few in a screenshot. The shots in the 3rd position on the first row and the 3rd and 4th positions on the second row are all designed to have the foreground lead your eye into the background. In fact, the sunset photo on the top row is my second favorite. From these images, I think my favorite is San Francisco through the Golden Gate Bridge. I actually like the way they desaturated the city to leave the red of the bridge as the defining color. The vignette even adds to it. What about you?

Did you hear that the famous WWE wrestler Chyna died, maybe from an overdose? When SS was young, he and I would watch WWE (at that time, it was WWF) and we got caught up in many of the stories presented. They included Chyna, HHH, Steve Austin, the Undertaker, Vince and Stephanie McMahon. They had some crazy stuff back then. Anyway, she was only 45, which makes it seem even more tragic.

Look-alikes time.

And from the Explain a Plot Badly file:

Time's up, people. Well, it is at least up for me since I need to get to work. This must be Thursday, because I am still savoring the nice blindside vote from last night's Survivor episode. Before we go, though, let's check out today's CoV comic.

OK, NOW we can go. Resolve in your heart that it will be a great day and I know it WILL be. See you soon.