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Showing posts from August, 2015

Photo Reflection of the Day #163: Fireball Flower with a Splash

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What Is It A flower with a yellow and reddish center and then red and yellow pedals. Why It's Today's Pick Out again on another walk, I came across these gorgeous flowers.  They remind me of fire balls with their mixture of yellows and reds.  In the last 6-8 years, I have definitely become one who stops to smell (or at least look at or snap a photo of) the flowers.  But I'm amazed at how much more I'm noticing front yard landscapes and their choices of flowers, plants, herbs, and crops.  I'm also not too surprised how my own neighborhood which I walk/run through quite regularly continues to surprise me with gems like this.  This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .  For 2015's submissions, check out this link to all the posts.  For access to all photos, which open for reuse under a Creative Commons License, check out the  full album on Flickr . By Any Other Nerd Blog  by  Lance Eaton  is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3

Photo Reflection of the Day #162: Any FriendShip in a Storm

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What Is It Derby Wharf with the Friendship Tall Ship as a storm moves onto Salem. Why It's Today's Pick Every since my wife taught me that the grayish hue between clouds and land in the background was in fact rain, I'm now mesmerized by this idea of being able to see a rain storm without being in it.  Thus to be on a boat where it isn't raining and watch the rain to the left and right of the Friendship is pretty cool.  I also like this photo because it gets the full space while also capturing the foreboding clouds.  This seems like a photo that could be enhanced and made more vivid by being turned into a painting. This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .  For 2015's submissions, check out this link to all the posts.  For access to all photos, which open for reuse under a Creative Commons License, check out the  full album on Flickr . By Any Other Nerd Blog  by  Lance Eaton  is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

Photo Reflection of the Day #161: Clouds Closing In on Salem

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What Is It Downtown Salem as a storm makes its way in.   Why It's Today's Pick It's that time of year where thunderstorms become a bit of the norm.  Lots of humidity and heat and thunderstorms arrive almost as quickly as they disappear.  I happen to be parking my car at the downtown parking lot in Salem and went to the top floor, which doesn't have a roof and got to witness the approaching storm.  That wave of clouds seems so oppressive and ready to just take over.  I love the eve of a storm, where one can feel the changing weather.  Often this includes the rustling of wind but also a quieting that takes place and of course, a light drop in temperature--if not extreme then at least because the sun is no longer bearing down.    This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .  For 2015's submissions, check out this link to all the posts.  For access to all photos, which open for reuse under a Creative Commons License, check out the  full album on Flickr . B

My Top 101 Films Part 10 (of 10) (Finally!!!)

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And we finally get to the end!  It only took a year or two.   Here's the running list of previous entries! Films 1-10 Films 11-20 Films 21-30 Films 31-40 Films 41-50 Films 51-60 Films 61-70 Films 71-80 Films 81-90 Stand by Me (1986) The wild and coming-of-age adventures of four boys as they travel to discover a dead body is pure Americana.  It may seem a little morbid by today's standards and yet for many I grew up with this was a powerful and moving story--still is.  The childhood antics (debating who is better, Superman or Mighty Mouse) contrast with the flashbacks of a lost brother and disconnected parents and comes to a head when confronting the dead body and the older gang.  Filled with an impressive cast of people who have gone on to other fascinating projects and a great sound track, it's a great film to watch again and again.       The trailer for this film can be found here . Swing Kids (1993) It's like a quasi-musical.  No really signing

Photo Reflection of the Day #160: I think this is a Caterpillar?

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What Is It A funky little fellow I stumbled upon during a walk this week.   Why It's Today's Pick It's times like these, I appreciate how much I have taken to walking and running around in my neighborhood.  On an early morning while doing my cool down walk from my run, I walked by this guy.  I walked by it and questioned what I just saw and went back.  It is a curious fellow and I've never seen anything like it. I watched it for a few minutes without it moving too much and decided that a photo of this fellow was entirely necessary.  I highly recommend clicking through to Flickr so you can see the photo up close as you can see all sorts of details when you zoom in.  This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .  For 2015's submissions, check out this link to all the posts.  For access to all photos, which open for reuse under a Creative Commons License, check out the  full album on Flickr . By Any Other Nerd Blog  by  Lance Eaton  is licensed under a  Cre

Photo Reflection of the Day #159: So Much Pollen--So Little Time

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What Is It A big sunflower with a bee collecting pollen on it--enough that its legs are yellow.   Why It's Today's Pick I know--I keep doing the bee on flowers thing.  Well, it's summer and it's not like I get to do this for much longer.  BEEsides, it's hard to say no to such photos when walking along BEEcause you're never quite sure what other fabulous moments you might come across in a given day.  I like this photo because i don't have the full sunflower--it works to only show part.  It think the bits of pollen on different parts in the flower's center sticks out fairly clearly, especially since the bee is gathering up a far amount of pollen on his wings.  I have to wonder if I would have noticed the pollen on the legs if it was just flying around--rather than being in the center of the flower and invoking the yellow petals.   This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .  For 2015's submissions, check out this link to all the posts.  For

Photo Reflection of the Day #157: #SelfieSunday #23

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What Is It A selfie from a wedding on the Salem Commons. Why It's Today's Pick I had the pleasure of attending my wife's best-friend's wedding on Salem Common yesterday--which mean, I had to do the whole clean up thing--suit too.  I figured that would be a great opportunity to take a nice selfie (good professional profile pic, right?).  I don't think I'll ever be entirely comfortable in a suit, but at least I can tie a tie (thank YouTube for learning that skill!). This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .  For 2015's submissions, check out this link to all the posts.  For access to all photos, which open for reuse under a Creative Commons License, check out the  full album on Flickr . By Any Other Nerd Blog  by  Lance Eaton  is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License .

Photo Reflection of the Day #158: Because Sometimes, Nostalgia Is Just a Game Controller Away

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What Is It A TV with the "Start Screen" for the SuperNintendo game, Final Fantasy 2 (which is actually Final Fantasy 4). Why It's Today's Pick So the other night, I decided I didn't have too much on my to-do list and thought I might enjoy a relaxing evening playing Final Fantasy IV-- a game that I have mentioned before in this blog and rather enjoy playing time and again .  I know the game backwards and forwards--but like any good RPG (role playing game), it is like a book--it still holds sway over you for decades later and you long to return to the adventure.  To me, there is little difference between revisiting this game (a  game that can take 20 or more hours to beat) and opening up The Lord of the Rings or the DragonLance series--both of which I enjoyed greatly in my youth.  However, this time around, I decided to make it a bit more interactive and began live-tweeting my gameplay along with pics of particular moments in the game.  When asked why I deci

Photo Reflection of the Day #156: Dark Skies Ahead

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What Is It A panoramic view of Salem Willows waterfront with an incoming storm.   Why It's Today's Pick I highly recommend that you click through on this view as the panoramic photo is pretty awesome.   I love contrast between the light and dark skies.  Towards the right, there was occasional lightning and you could see rain coming down.  It was clear that wind was even working its might on the waters. I also love the grounding of the film--it seems almost perfectly mixing foreground with grass, rocks, and sands, water, and sky.   I haven't played much with the panoramic option on my phone, but now seeing the kind of photos it can take, I will probably do more with this feature.   This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .  For 2015's submissions, check out this link to all the posts.  For access to all photos, which open for reuse under a Creative Commons License, check out the  full album on Flickr . By Any Other Nerd Blog  by  Lance Eaton  is licensed

Photo Reflection of the Day #155: Dinner...On the Rocks

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What Is It A seagull in mid-flight dropping a clam upon the rocks. Why It's Today's Pick I know--seagulls, 2 days in a row!  While enjoying the Salem Jazz Festival at Salem Willows this weekend, My wife, a friend, and I wandered over another waterfront that wasn't as active.  We sat, just enjoying the view and chatting, until we notices that the seagulls were trying to make dinner.  This gull as you can see is in mid-flight, dropping off his dinner to fall upon the rocks.  So the initial action shot I was pretty impressed with as I generally don't go for action shots since I'm only using my cellphone and don't really have a sense of how to do action shots.  However, I was equally impressed when I applied a filter and the light schema of the clouds became so much more pronounced.  If you take out the houses and maybe the boats, you have something that could be a film poster for some independent drama film.   This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .

Photo Reflection of the Day #154: 3 Wise Gulls

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What Is It Three seagulls on a brick roof and looking in the same direction. Why It's Today's Pick You sometimes just stumble upon a scene that you feel like you might be interrupting.  I happen to look up and saw these three seagulls standing there and all looking off at something.  I found it curious for them to be standing on the wall with almost equal distance between them and looking in the same direction.  I was also intrigued by three different feathering colors.  The traditional solid white and solid gray stood in the middle.  The one on the left is light gray on dark gray and the one on the right is almost solid grey.  I also realized the security camera on the build was looking in the same direction.  Could these seagulls be non-traditional security, ready to attack an intruder or trespasser?  Now that, I need to capture on camera! This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .  For 2015's submissions, check out this link to all the posts.  For access to

Photo Reflection of the Day #153: Junkyard Sunshine

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What Is It A yellow flower sticking out from the side of a fence along the sidewalk. Why It's Today's Pick So I wouldn't call where I took this a junkyard by any means, but the name just sort of worked.  It was is an area along the street that is largely industrialized and mostly warehouses, so the idea of this vibrant yellow flower emerging from it (among others that were there) makes an interesting visual.  In this photo, I like the strong focus on the blossoming flower and the other buds, while everything else is out of focus.  In a way, it says the background is just noise to its own and prosperity.  The filter also helped to draw out the green and yellow, making it pop to the viewer's eyes.  This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .  For 2015's submissions, check out this link to all the posts.  For access to all photos, which open for reuse under a Creative Commons License, check out the  full album on Flickr . By Any Other Nerd Blog  by  Lance

Photo Reflection of the Day #152: Morning Dawn in the River

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What Is It A calm river at low-tide that is reflecting the clouds. Why It's Today's Pick Another water-reflection shot.  I'm probably overdoing them--but then again, at least they're not repeated pictures of my cats, so there's that  I just tend to like the contrast and the composition.  Even in this one, the image moves from mud and rocks to water and sky.  it's like capturing the all of the earth (water, sky, earth) but only using two surfaces.  The sun-tinged clouds also draw the eyes--though not nearly as well in the photo as they did in the moment.  Then within all of this, you have the boat that could be floating in the sky above the clouds or upon the water.  My minds sees strange things--what can I say. This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .  For 2015's submissions, check out this link to all the posts.  For access to all photos, which open for reuse under a Creative Commons License, check out the  full album on Flickr . By Any Oth

Photo Reflection of the Day #151: #SelfieSunday #22

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What Is It A selfie of my shadow. Why It's Today's Pick I haven't done a selfie since June, despite wanting to do one weekly.  Ooops!  I should get back to that.  This was a fun one to take on my way back from a run.  First, it makes me feel like I'm 100 feet tall and who knew my legs are so long.  With legs like those, you'd think I'd run faster.  This shadow has a fun-house feel to it but that's what comes of taking photos in the early hours of the day.  I wish I was more awake and aware when I took it.  I would have moved over a bit and had the arrow either pointing down at my head or do something else creative using what's on the ground.  Next time, I suppose.   This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .  For 2015's submissions, check out this link to all the posts.  For access to all photos, which open for reuse under a Creative Commons License, check out the  full album on Flickr . By Any Other Nerd Blog  by  Lance Eaton  is lice

Photo Reflection of the Day #150: Balling By The Bleahers

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What Is It A silver baseball on a bleacher near in front of an empty field.   Why It's Today's Pick I found this a curious picture.  I'm not even sure if the ball is a fixture of the park or an actual metal baseball or just spray-painted.  But I couldn't resist snapping the photo.  I purposely included the chain-link fence to look through as I feel it added something more--a distanced feeling about the baseball:  something to be seen but not touched.  The colors within this photo were also impressive in that they are largely dark and dull, except for the ball which seems the only bright spot in the frame.   This submission is  part of the 365 Challenge .  For 2015's submissions, check out this link to all the posts.  For access to all photos, which open for reuse under a Creative Commons License, check out the  full album on Flickr . By Any Other Nerd Blog  by  Lance Eaton  is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License .

My Top 101 Films Part 8 (of 10)

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So I'm finally honing in on the final three entries of this series.  It only took a year, right?  But hey, it's not like I haven't been doing lots of stuff or posting much!   For those just joining in, here's the running list of previous entries! Films 1-10 Films 11-20 Films 21-30 Films 31-40 Films 41-50 Films 51-60 Films 61-70 Pan's Labyrinth (2006) What a visually fascinating film!  To me, it fits into the fantasy dream films like Never-Ending Story,   Labyrinth   and MirrorMask.  Films that bleed the line between the real and the fantastic.  However, unlike Labyrinth and Never-Ending Story (and MirrorMask to a lesser degree), the backdrop of this film is powerful and draws strong parallels to the fantasy world that Ofelia finds herself in and they eventually meet in a way that reminds me of Never-Ending Story.  It's a darker film though as a fairy tale that makes a certain amount of sense.  Writer and director, Guillermo del Toro typically cap