I actually LOL'ed when I saw this!! :-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Photo: jbrandick

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."

~Galileo Galilei~

Kind of makes you think, hey?

Photo: jbrandick

Happy National Parfait Day!

And, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone I know south of the border. :-) Even MORE importantly though - it's ONE MONTH TILL CHRISTMAS!!

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

~taken from Laurence Binyon's poem "For the Fallen"~

A thought, so easily applied to many different aspects of life.

Man has always been drawn to the sea, but it is an unnatural setting for us, a place of great danger. Tides, currents, waves, wind - each presenting their own hazards, none of which can be ignored. The slightest lapse of judgement can be a mistake you can never recover from. But a good sailor doesn't fight against these elements, a good sailor works with them, using them to his advantage. While others less fortunate might be forever cast adrift, often in several pieces, he always comes home safely.

~Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan~

Photo: jbrandick

National Candy Day!

Four days too late (personally, I think Halloween would be more appropriate), but a candy day is a candy day!

Happy Halloween!

Today's Stock Market

Helium is up.
Feathers were down.
Paper was stationary.
Fluorescent tubing was dimmed in light trading.
Knives were up sharply.
Cows steered into a bull market.
Pencils lost a few points.
Hiking equipment was trailing.
Elevators rose, while escalators continued their slow decline.
Weights were up in heavy trading.
Light switches were off.
Mining equipment hit rock bottom.
Diapers remained unchanged.
Shipping lines stayed at an even keel.
The market for raisins dried up.
Coca-Cola fizzled.
Caterpillar stock inched up a bit.
Sun peaked at midday.
Balloon prices were inflated.
Scott Tissue touched a new bottom.
And batteries exploded in an attempt to recharge the market.
~Author Unknown~

Ah, Levi's!

Photo: jbrandick

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Coney Island ride sign

This sign is hilarious, I love it!

Photo: jbrandick

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep. People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don't go back to sleep.

~Rumi~

Sept 2, 2010

Hm...today's date.

090210

Looks a lot like 90210! ;)

National Banana Split Day!

The Symphony Sessions

There is absolutely nothing better than rediscovering an amazing album by a fabulous composer. There are few things that come to mind that could match the feeling music gives me. The highs and lows, the adventure and quiet, the stories that one can see evolving through a piece. Beginning to end, there always seems to be a story whether it is from a movie soundtrack or it simply allows you to envision your own.

I bought The Symphony Sessions by David Foster the same year the Olympics came to Calgary. This was a must have cassette tape (hilarious!) because it has the theme from the '88 Winter Games. I was 9 or 10 years old. Who would have thought I'd already be forming a much loved collection at that age? Years later the collection has grown significantly, but for obvious reasons, I no longer had the tape or the ability to play it. I was able to find the album and after waiting months for them to track it down, and then ship to me, I am now the proud owner once again.

It's been a great reunion. I remembering conducting so many of these songs in my bedroom and singing along to the one song that has a short chorus. Water Fountain, Firedance, Time Passing, all of them really...crazy as this may sound, but they are old friends with so many memories.

Celebration of the Bow River

"500 illuminated spheres released by local volunteers along the Bow River, beginning at Edworthy Park downstream to Prince’s Island, emphasizing and celebrating the purity, flow and sanctity of the Bow River.

Traveling downstream to create a large-scale dynamic lighting installation, the spheres will float into the lagoon, joining a week-long spectacular light matrix that responds in color, motion and light to environmental data collected from the Bow River.

Sources and the River of Light is a narrative lighting installation exploring the idiosyncratic nature of the Bow River in response to the subject of water. Vital information about the environment and the Bow’s make-up, flow and usage is communicated through the light patterns of the spheres, while people take a moment to pause and reflect on the Bow and the installation’s beauty created through light.

The artist of this installation is U.K-based Creatmosphere, founded by artist Laurent Louder. They are using geographic, geological and environmental observation, public participation and technology to achieve a spectacular and memorable experience on the Bow River."

Source: City of Calgary

A very unique installation, and a lot of fun to attend with thousands of other onlookers participating.

Photos: jbrandick

Sounds of my neighborhood

I've been sitting on my balcony today enjoying the warm, and very sunny day. While sitting here I've noticed many different sounds in my neighborhood. For a fairly quiet area, there is quite the mix on a Saturday afternoon. :)

• Birds, lots of birds
• A quiet hum of traffic from Macleod
• LRT
• Church bells
• Ice cream truck
• Lawnmower
• Airplanes flying over
• Hammering
• Children laughing and screaming
• People talking
• One dog barking a couple times
• Wind in the trees
• Fire trucks leaving the station
• Vehicles coming and going, up and down my street
• Helicopter flying over

I really do love my neighborhood! :)

Photos: jbrandick

Hee hee!

Evening sky

Photo: jbrandick

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

My balcony is officially summer ready!

My little helper!

Photos: jbrandick

Something I can get on board with this month

National Iced Tea Month!

Brewed, sweetened or Long Island!

A thought for this morning

Even under ideal conditions, people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning a Tail on the Donkey - but I'll bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from three feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

:)

A few photos from San Francisco

Photos: jbrandick

San Francisco here I come!!!!

"Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love."

The heart wants what the heart wants. It does, it certainly does. And mine, well it has chosen someone that is very special to me. Ridiculous? Perhaps. The truth? It hurts like hell sometimes, but I choose to move forward believing that this man is worth it. The question does arise, how does one go about getting an answer? An answer that will make the choice to continue on be based on more than "the heart wants what the heart wants".

What is successful?

What is successful?

This question has been floating around in my head for a few days.

Does it mean you have a high paying job with hundreds of people below you? The fastest and most exotic car? Do you work in a job you love, even though it doesn't award you on a financial level, but rather a personal one?

Do you own a 5000 square foot house? A penthouse in your chosen city? Multiple homes in multiple cities? Or just the perfect home, big or small, that reflects who you really are?

Does it mean that you have an amazing immediate and extended family that you can rely on always? Fabulous friends surrounding you? Do friends and family even come into consideration when thinking of success?

Would you be labeled as successful? Or a failure?

Would I?

Did you know?

Did anyone realize that today is National Shrimp Scampi Day? Huh...who knew?!

Happy Earth Day!

Why didn't someone tell me that being honest with one's feelings could do more harm than good?

Iceland Volcano

Knowing full well that there are stories of frustration and loss, there have been some amazing photos out of this story.

A sure sign that Spring is here!

This, and the smell of BBQ coming in my open patio doors!

This Bitter Earth / On The Nature Of Daylight (Dinah Washington & Max Richter)

A haunting melody, paired with these thoughtful lyrics...it really is a mesmerizing piece for me.

A Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Langston Hughes

Hm.

Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of man.

~Friedrich Nietzsche~

Happy National Cook a Sweet Potato Day and National Margarita Day!!!

Olympic Flame

One thing I love is that the 2010 Olympics has given Calgary a reason to relight the Olympic flame here in Calgary, atop our tower, making it still the World's Largest Olympic Torch. :)