CREATIVE ARTS WEEKEND
PLEASE POST YOUR CREATIVE EFFORTS.
IF YOU HAVE A PAINTING, A DRAWING, A PHOTOGRAPH, OR YOU HAVE WRITTEN A POEM, OR RECORDED AN ORIGINAL PIECE OF MUSIC, POST THEM!
Getting a late start. We will probably keep this article open through Monday afternoon.
RED BOX RULES: AN IMPORTANT REMINDER
From time-to-time, I should remind all members of NT, etc., that when posting photos, artwork, etc., it's important, when posting, that you own, and/or legally represent the licensing, copyright, etc., of what you post, and TO PROTECT YOUR WORK, TO INCLUDE YOUR COPYRIGHT SYMBOL/INFORMATION; and/or, WHEN POSTING COPYRIGHTED PROPERTY BELONGING TO PARTIES OTHER THAN YOURSELF, TO …
• BE SURE YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO POST, TRANSMIT, etc, SUCH PROPERTY, and,
• IF/WHEN SUCH PERMISSION HAS BEEN GRANTED, TO PROPERLY AND CLEARLY ATTRIBUTE THE COPYRIGHTS TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNER(S).
VERY IMPORTANT … IN THE FUTURE, I WILL REMEMBER TO POST THIS CAVEAT REGULARLY.
Thanks, A. MAC
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Joshua Tree National Park (© G.Gam)
R & R "Reading and Relaxing" © CZG
Spectacular!!!
I never thought that there would be
An optometrist ln the sea
Lol
Hey didya hear the one about the optometrist who fell into his lens grinding machine?
He really made a spectacle of himsef!
Some photos from a recent Alaska cruise.
Our cruise ship had a pod feature on a long arm that puts the riders out over the water. This massive ship went down a fairly narrow fjord for some amazing views.
An amazing collection of photos. I have two questions. How did the seals get up there, and where in Canada was that water taxi?
Unfortunately I didn’t get to witness it, but the boat captain said that seals will play king of the mountain and fight off newcomers once the deck is full, but yeah that would be interesting to see how they get up there in the first place. The water taxi is in Victoria, BC.
that pod is interesting. looks like the buoy has reached maximum seal capacity. I had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't a shark fin in the water on the left side. now I have to go try and find some videos of seals jumping up out of the water to land on a buoy.
Looks like a great, fun trip.
Great photos, Hal. I'll bet seeing the whale was exciting.
Fun fact trivia – Who knows why the fully marine mammals (whales, dolphins, etc.) have horizontal tail fins, while those of regular fishes are vertical?
because they're air breathers ...
what do I win?
Nope, not because they're air breathers. Close, though, evolutionarily speaking.
It's because they used to be land mammals, and mammals evolved a unique skeletal feature that made their spines flex in an up and down fashion. Fish spines flex in a side to side fashion, and ever since the first fish made their way onto land about 380 mya (lobe-finned fish specifically, which is why 99% of land animals still share a five-digit blueprint for their hands and feet), many of their descendants have retained that feature (lizards, crocodiles, etc.)
But about 300 mya, a particular branch of synapsids (the one that gave rise to mammals) evolved a spine that allowed for up and down flexing, as well as twisting (handy, if you need to lick the fur on your back). We wouldn't be here without it, and neither would the whales.
Here's an illustration from a Harvard study on the subject...
Whales and other cetaceans descend from semi-aquatic hippo-like creatures, and when they eventually went back to the sea full-time they retained the mammalian spine, so as they swim they flex up and down instead of side to side. Their tail fins are horizontal precisely because of that. Interestingly, they've retained that feature and never re-evolved a side to side flexing spine. Apparently, mammal spines are superior to fish spines, lol.
Cool, right? Biology rocks.
Don't tell the creationists, though. It'll upset them. They hate easy-to-observe evidence for evolution.
That is just amazing.
Sunset in Venice - photo taken by my stepdaughter.
Beautiful. Venice is one of my favorite places I've ever been.
I don't renember if I took this photo at the Ming Tombs or the Summer Palace.
That is at the Summer Palace.
Thanks,GG.
You're welcome.
Nolina parryi in bloom, Joshua Tree National Park (© G.Gam)
Leg warmer. Patent pending.
that's either a demonstration of absolute trust by a feline or fear that she will miss something important that you'll do next ...
Probably the former. Also, as a bonus, it's not a trap, lol. She's one of those cats that doesn't care if you rub her belly.
my cat howard (howie) only let me rub his belly, but everyone else's hand got a bunny hug and the 3 obligatory rabbit kicks. he preferred a hair brush, and would elongate his body to it's maximum length to expose as much surface area as possible. since I acquired him before I had children, I thought it would be in his best interest to child-proof him. I could pick him up by his tail and it didn't phase him. he liked the yardstick applied to where his tail attached to his back and he would stand there with his head mashed into something until you got tired of hitting him in that spot. he would bring me his worn out tooth brush periodically, when he wanted his face brushed, and if I couldn't find him, all I had to do was attach the hose to the vacuum cleaner, turn it on, put my fingers over the nozzle and make some noise, and he'd come running. the vacuum trick came about because I got tired of listening to "your cat sheds too much" from another person obsessed with hearing the vacuum running. howie was first enticed with the upholstery brush, before he worked his way up to combining it with the noise and suction, but the brush and his gluttony soon overruled his fear of the noise as he probably realized that the vacuum was reducing the number of hairballs he was hocking up while ingesting a half pound of meow mix daily.
Man, I wish Gracie could handle the sound of a vacuum, but that's not happening anytime soon, lol.
Other than dead critters on the doorstep, I don't think I've ever had a cat that actively brought stuff to me. That toothbrush thing must have been endearing.
it was a long process to get howie to accept the sound of the vacuum, but he couldn't resist any kind of brush ...
I've seen several cats that would fetch. howie's nickname was shep when he was younger, because he lived with 2 dogs that he abused ...
LOL. A cat in need is a cat indeed.
Or in this case, a cat on your knees, lol.
We live in the tall building in the background. The living room balcony overlooks this open square.
Nice photo. Very modern area. Any remnants of the old city still around?
Yes it is a modern area, called University Town, because within walking distance there are 3 universities - Chongqing University, Chongqing Normal University and Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. OVer the years I've posted on NT lots of images from their campuses. There are lots of condos and apartments so there are bound to be old people. After all, I'm old, aren't I?
Cool photo. There's something to be said about cities, especially when it come to population density and economic efficiency, but personally, I think I would be extremely unhappy living in a densely populated city with residential high rises everywhere. I need space and trees and grass and birds and bugs and critters of all sorts, and coyote yipping parties at night; and most importantly, a serious lack of people.
Do you ever miss your lake house, Buzz?
You bet I do.
What a beautiful place.
Most relaxing place I've ever known.
And it was year-round. In winter we would clear the snow off the ice and flood it to make a smooth skating rink, and we had 2 snowmobiles.
Paradise. The vast majority of people have never owned a lake house, and never will.
Closing up this article. Thanks to everyone who contributed and commented. See you all again soon.