By Any Other Nerd

What Is It The main entrance to Museum Place or the "East India Mall." Why It's Today's Pick I've always had hope for the East India Mall, but it has unfortunately been the same for the twenty years.  A mall that has a variety a few stores that are constant, but not necessarily popular, and a whole slew of businesses that come in and out with regularly frequency because traffic in the mall itself is sporadic.  Still, the exterior of the mall which runs along the walking section of Essex Street is still a fabulous little pedestrian space for people to wander and hang out.  The water fountain has been around for years and I remember years ago when I worked at the YMCA that coming to the fountain was a regular activity to keep the kids occupied.   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 ...

What Is It A fish statue aligned such that it looks like it is about to swallow (or is spitting out) the moon. Why It's Today's Pick As I finished my run today, I usually end up walking by Gillis Park, where this fish stands atop a playground.  I was walking by it and noticing the moon so bright in the morning and realized that this could be a great shot.  It took a little bit ot light it up just right, but I like how it came out.  I also did a shot with the moon between the tail and the back of the fish, but it didn't seem as compelling as this one.   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 .

For the last few weeks, almost on a daily-basis, there have been articles from USA Today to Huffington Post to NBC to ABC   to the Christian Monitor , all taking about the cost of textbooks.  On one hand, I applaud reporters bring this to the attention of the average consumer and the public, but I'm also disappointed that the vast majority of articles fail to acknowledge the Open Educational Resources movement or when they do, it's usually to downplay or discredit it.  Below is an amalgamation of letters to editors that I sent out that never got published but I figured they still needed to be out there for people to read. As we enter into the fall, students everywhere will be going to or going back to college.  Many of these news outlets have been remarking about the skyrocketing costs of textbooks—up over 1000% since the 1970s.  Because of the nature of textbooks and higher education, it has become an increasingly exploitative market with publishers underm...

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  C...

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 At...

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 o...

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...

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...

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 pos...

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 .