Celebrating 1958: Or, Happy Birthday, Mom!

Yesterday was my mom’s birthday. Though I don’t think she’ll mind too much that I let the entire world know how old she is, I know she would just hate it if I posted a picture of her… So, I’ll be kinda sneaky about it.

Source: MeliSwenk – Feb 2009

That’s one of my favorite shots of her, and I know it’s one of hers (but that’s because you can’t really see her face). Though, if you look at mine, you can get a pretty good idea.

Anyway, yesterday was her birthday, and in her honor I’m going to celebrate it by choosing five of the songs that were on the Billboard Top 100 in the year she was born. The five songs I’ve chosen are some of her favorites to this day, and each one of them has a special meaning for me, as well.

These first two were a couple of the tracks on a cassette my mother would often listen to while we were cleaning the house. It wouldn’t be a rare sight for all three of us (my mom, my sister, and I) to start dancing right there in the middle of the kitchen when either of these two songs came on.

1) Peggy Sue – Buddy Holly & The Crickets (#50 on the Top 100)

(From Buddys Glasses)

2) Chantilly Lace – The Big Bopper (#52 on the Top 100)

(From Concordbeltcreation2)

The next two are featured in one of my mom’s (and consequently, one of my own) favorite movie musicals: Grease (1978). To see that they were on the Top 100 when she was born is pretty cool. We would, again, have no hesitation in singing along to each and every song from this soundtrack. I was always partial to “Sandy/Stranded at the Drive-In.”

3) At the Hop – Danny & The Juniors (#20 on the Top 100)

(From Johnny1948ThreeC)

4) Tears on my Pillow – Little Anthony & The Imperials (#34 on the Top 100)

(From NRRArchives)

This last one reminds me of another movie my mom and I sat down and watched once, the Jerry Lee Lewis biography Great Balls of Fire starring Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder. We were captivated by the compelling (and, then, somewhat strange-seeming) love story and the bold personality Lewis is depicted as having off-stage. It’s still one of my favorite bio-pics.

5) Great Balls of Fire – Jerry Lee Lewis (#36 on the Top 100)

(From Jerry Lee Lewis TV)

I Love Fall

Source: MeliSwenk
October 2008

I really love Fall. I know it shouldn’t be capitalized, but I think of it as a proper noun every time I see the word in my head (I really do for every season; I think they should be capitalized, at least when referring to Spring and Fall as to not be confused with the verb, but I digress…). It has the best weather (at least in the Midwest), my birthday, and my favorite holiday: Halloween. I call it jeans and sweatshirt weather, and that’s because I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. I always have been. Fall is comfortable, and it makes me want chili and cornbread, horror movies, and a fleece throw draped over me while I read a magazine, book, or blog.

Then, of course, there’s the smell of burning everything in the air: leaves, trees, and grass clippings — the last cuts of the season. Ah, the transition to winter can be at times chilling and sizzling. Little blips of summer creep through with bright rays of sunshine and clear, cloudless skies. You start the day in a sweatshirt and jeans, only to end up in a t-shirt and shorts to make a grocery run for dinner. Your hair up in a ponytail or bandanna, constantly, because you don’t like sweaty little hairs glued to the back of your neck; but the stealthy northern breezes send deep chills down your spine.

Orange glowing bonfires peek out between houses from cramped and campy backyard celebrations. Could it really be too cool for hot dogs and burgers? Not if it isn’t too cool for a dish of ice cream after. Shared on the back porch under an ebony velvet sky punched with sterling silver studs, and a serving platter moon bearing the sun’s reflection from the other side of the planet.

Reds, yellows, and oranges meet us from the tops of the trees and dazzle against the bleary gray of the cement beneath our feet. Grasses yellow, fading after the glamour of a Summer emerald. What appears to be shriveling before winter is huddling, preparing for the cold about to be by paring the flesh away and spending the fruits of Spring. It’s metamorphosis; it’s transition; it’s change personified. Nearly tangible. Inhaled like the acrid smoke from that bonfire, warming your hands while a welcoming beverage warms your body. Welcoming laughter warming the season.

Could there be anything better than Fall?

Today in History | Mata Hari Executed

Source: Wikipedia

Today, October 15, in 1917, a famous courtesan was executed for her alleged interactions with various high-ranking military officials during World War I. Because those interactions were of a highly intimate and sensitive nature, the implication was that she’d shared, heard, or otherwise contained strategies and information for German progress through the war.

Mata Hari, born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle in the Netherlands, arrived in Paris around 1905 to make her name. She did so in March of that year performing her first striptease at the Musée Guimet, where she peeled her clothes off until all that remained was a jeweled bra and a body stocking matching her skin tone.

After being charged for her crimes by the French authorities in February of 1917, she was taken before a firing squad and refused the blindfold before being shot to death.

From History.com:

There is some evidence that Mata Hari acted as a German spy, and for a time as a double agent for the French, but the Germans had written her off as an ineffective agent whose pillow talk had produced little intelligence of value. Her military trial was riddled with bias and circumstantial evidence, and it is probable that French authorities trumped her up as “the greatest woman spy of the century” as a distraction for the huge losses the French army was suffering on the western front. Her only real crimes may have been an elaborate stage fallacy and a weakness for men in uniform.

Anniversary Pictures from My Phone

On the 30th of September, my fiancee and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. Since we’re not native Missourians, we like to travel around on our anniversary, and even when it isn’t, to see what the four-state region has to offer. Well, this past weekend we traveled about an hour away into the great state of Oklahoma to visit Grove. Granted, there didn’t seem to be much going on, but since we’d never been there before we didn’t really know what to expect.

Source: MeliSwenk

One of the places we did want to stop was Lendonwood Gardens. It’s open to the public during daylight hours and maintained by generous donations provided by the visitors. Again, with no idea what to expect, we were impressed with almost everything, except how warm it was. But you can see the clear blue sky and very light cloud coverage in the back of this image–very beautiful day!

Source: MeliSwenk

 

 

 

A sense of peace and calm permeated the entire garden, even with other visitors walking around, discussing the plant life, and enjoying the day.

There was plenty to see in this six-acre garden sporting 1200 different varieties of plants, “including the largest collection of rhododendrons in the Southwest, 500 varieties of daylilies, and 25 varieties of dogwoods.”

Among the seven themed gardens in Lendonwood, it was no surprise to be greeted with so much vegetative diversity. The Display Garden greets you just past the gate. The Oriental and Japanese Pavilion Gardens provide shade and beauty, featuring an active koi pond and the majority of the dogwoods, rhododendrons, and azaleas.

Source: MeliSwenk

Source: MeliSwenk

Most of the plants I didn’t recognize on sight, which makes me want to go out and study botany right about now, but that fact didn’t take away from the serenity provided by the bright colors, clean air, and deep connection to the environment that I felt taking it all in.

The English Terrace and American Backyard Gardens felt the most familiar to me. Though I’ve never been to England, I’ve read books and seen movies where the countryside is detailed and it was like walking into a gust of familiar air. Amid the American Backyard Garden stood a beautiful, white iron gazebo.

Source: MeliSwenk

The second I saw it, I imagined the two main characters from my novel-in-progress underneath it, and I just had to have some images of it for descriptive purposes. Though the majority of that story will be taking place in Romania, I thought this white gazebo would be the perfect location for a clandestine romantic rendezvous or the planning of a nefarious coup plot. Either way, in that moment, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Quite beautiful.

The last two gardens, we didn’t really get a good look at. I think somewhere around the Japanese Pavilion Garden we got turned around between the stone paths and the grassy paths (no complaints here!), and we couldn’t find the Angel of Hope Garden. The statue in the picture from the site is gorgeous, though. And the Azalea Garden seemed to be on the other side of a private citizen’s driveway. Hard-pressed to intrude on someone else’s territory, I decided not to pursue the Azalea Garden; even though my fiancee made the point that it might have been the garden manager’s home. Looking back, I kind of wish I’d been more headstrong and just done it. Eh, you live; you learn. 🙂 Either way, it was a great trip and a beautiful way to spend the afternoon.

When we got home from Grove, (the other place we wanted to see didn’t appear to be open, let alone operational) my fiancee and I exchanged gifts. If this girl doesn’t know me, then no one does.

Noir, Merlot, and Blade–
That’s a great afternoon!

 

My First ‘Postcard from Russia’!

In a post just about two weeks ago, I mentioned some photographers on WordPress worth watching. Alex Markovich owner of Markovich Universe was one of them, and for that recognition he provided me with my choice of his photography to be sent as a postcard. As part of this agreement, I was to take a picture of the postcard once I received it and send it to him. Well, I asked if it would be okay to share with my blog readers, and Alex complied. 🙂

For your viewing pleasure, my very first Postcard from Russia. Thank you, Alex, you’re doing really beautiful work!

“Depression” taken in Hotmyzhsk of Belgorod Region November 2010

For a donation (accepted via Paypal), you can have your very own Postcard from Russia! You, too, can choose from the bounty of beautiful images Alex has provided in order to share his mother country with the rest of the world.

Ideas | Framed in My Corner of the Blogosphere

I grew up something of a sheltered kid. My mom didn’t have a car, though she knew how to drive, and I’ve never learned how to drive. (It’s an irrational fear I’m working hard to beat. I have my learning permit, and I count that a small victory.) So, I’ve spent a lot of my time walking around, reading travel guides, and admiring photography that can send me to another land in just a glance. I dabble in a little photography of my own, but like Jeroen Mank, I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a photographer. I’m an aesthete, above all. I want to, try to, and strive to appreciate and enjoy the beauty that exists in the world as it stands.

Jeroen Mank, from The Netherlands (a country I like to call mine, because my maternal grandmother’s ancestors moved to America from there a long time ago), captures everyday beauty and active candid shots of lovely activities like bossaball and local dog shows. He has a strong eye and captures moments beautifully. Here is an example of some of his more prominent work, street photography.
http://jeroenmank.wordpress.com/

Source: Jeroen Mank

From Russia, Markovich Arts longs to promote The Bliss of Reality, which works as the title of Alex’s blog. Combining elements of photography with aspects of poetry produces what Markovich calls “Haiku Photography”–a poetic, still moment in nature that captures a “fleeting mood and feeling the present moment.” Images can be sent to adoring onlookers as postcards, with calendars not too far behind. The dappling of the sunlight behind the curtain’s pattern makes for a great image.
http://markovich.tv/

Source: Alex Markovich

Noisy Pilgrims is a meeting of six different photographers to capture the reality of India’s daily life. Candid images of people in their element, living their lives do more to inform a broader audience than any media outlet could ever capture. Each of these photographers takes a different tack in displaying all the things that make up life in India.
http://noisypilgrims.com/

Source: Ravi Kaushik

Phoning in direct from the birthplace of former President James Madison, the Belle Grove Plantation blog offers timely photography in supplement to updates on the work being done to restore the old Virginia homestead. Their most recent post was about a documentary being filmed at the plantation, but their Fourth of July post offered some great structural photography from their estate. Holding a concert, they raised just over $600 towards repairing the late 18th-century Summer Kitchen, Smokehouse, and Ice House on their property.
http://virginiaplantation.wordpress.com/

Source: Belle Grove Plantation

 Overexposed + Underdeveloped is another group effort, where 8 women come together and share their love of photography. The most recent post there was a collection of 33 different images depicting 7 am around the world. They don’t update regularly, but what they post is worth the wait. Articulate, heartfelt, and warm O+U is a great place to hang out when photography and connection to a smart community is what you’re after. Here is an image from Jill Greenwood’s post about her daughters graduating college.
http://overexposedandunderdeveloped.com/

Source: Jill Greenwood

Photography really is one of my great loves in life. I love candid shots, landscapes, abstract and concept pieces, color, black and white, and modified images. There is so much beauty out there to celebrate, and photography is a great way to capture, share, and remember all that the world and its citizens have to enjoy!

Ideas | Best from My Corner of the Blogosphere

So, in line with the birthday countdown–3 days and counting!–I’ve decided to post whatever I want. 🙂 Which today means the best of the WordPress blogs appearing in my reader. I’ve read and prepared 5 blog posts from writers I read and who have  really hit that proverbial nail head with their topic.

Source: RedLine13.com

First, in honor of those lost 13 years ago today, author Chris Martin details his memories and feelings of that horrific day here: http://chrismartinwrites.com/2014/09/11/never-forget/

Second, traveling around the world allows you to see so much and experience even more. Twisted Sifter has interviewed and curated some works from Andrei Duman, nature photographer. Enjoy the beauty here:
http://twistedsifter.com/2014/09/around-the-world-with-travel-photographer-andrei-dumon/

Third, a funny and honest post about alumni publications from Therapeutic Misadventures had me smiling and nodding along with her. Read more of the moroseness here:
http://marthaschaefer.com/2014/09/11/alumni-envy/

Fourth, from a reader sharing her bookshelf and perspectives on literature, Emily J. tells us a little bit about Psychoanalytic Feminism, just one article from a series detailing different types of feminism. Get schooled here:
http://thebookshelfofemilyj.com/2014/09/11/im-not-a-feminist-but-psychoanalytic-feminism/

Finally, to end on a note of warmth and positivity, a love poem from Harsh Reality in honor of a wife truly loved. Get all the love here:
http://aopinionatedman.com/2014/09/11/love/

Of course, there are hundreds of other bloggers out there who are fighting the good fight and putting words behind cursors every day! I think I’d like to make this kind of a regular thing. I mean, I really don’t spend enough time with my reader the way it is…

In Memoriam | Robin Williams

The world has lost a bit of its glow today, and if the clouds give way to sun–I’ll say he’s smiling from where he is: at peace. Goodbye, Robin, and may you finally find the solace and quiet you never seemed to find on earth. We’ll miss you, but we’d never be so selfish as to ask you back. Pleasant travels and warm sunsets to you, Mr. Williams.

Source: The Guardian

Breaking story from CNN.

Music | Dr. Demento

With “Weird Al” experiencing such great success after the release of Mandatory Fun, I thought it might be fun to go all the way back to the guy who gave young Al Yankovic a chance (and some air-time) on his novelty radio show–Dr. Demento!

Source: Laughing Squid May 2013 Post

I discovered Weird Al because my father owned the Dare to be Stupid cassette tape, and I practically wore it out to nothing. And because of my love for Weird Al, I discovered the good doctor. Late at night, on Sunday nights, an Iowa radio station out of Waterloo, ROCK 108, would air the Dr. Demento Show. I would stay up–long past bed time–to hear it. I found it while I was doing internet searches for the man who discovered one of my musical idols. My music taste has never been the same.

The link above takes you to his official web page, where you can hear current radio broadcasts and read current blog posts. You can find an official playlist archive (including year-end countdowns, local LA shows, and the syndicated shows) that has been compiled by the original radio show’s historian. Themed playlists can be found at Jango.com and last.fm. There was a successful Kickstarter fundraiser for funding a documentary following Dr. Demento’s life from birth in Minnesota to his rise to stardom: Under the Smogberry Trees.

I’m definitely glad to hear Dr. D is alive and rocking to some of the best comedy music out today, and ever.

A Recurring Dream

Source: Sparky Malarky 6 June 2011 Post

So, I’ve been having this dream lately where I am some kind of spy–not some kind of spy (like Duchess over there) where I’m super awesome or taking down major terrorist rings–just a general, typical, collecting info and absconding with it kind of spy. Only, it is nearly impossible for me to ever abscond! Let me explain…

My first memory of these kinds of dreams is whether or not I get out or into the building successfully. These dreams seem to fit into two different kinds of experiences, either I am A) trying to break into the building, collect information, and then leave; or B) I have already broken in, I’m taking the data, and I never make it out of the building. More often than not they fall into the B category, but they are both equally unsettling.

The location always seems to be the same, though. An abandoned-looking warehouse kind of place. Sometimes it’s covered in cement, and I see it from a distance…

Source: Blogger Research Post for Creative Media

It Might Be an Obsession

Source: MeliSwenk

Even though they warned me, I couldn’t stay away: abandoned buildings. This is an image from the Joplin Union Depot, which clearly has been abandoned for many decades. It was originally constructed in 1911, and looks beautiful–even with its contemporary veneer of graffiti and foliage gone wild.

Pictures and a five-part article detailing the history of the Depot can be found at the Historic Joplin website.

But my obsession with the abandoned began long before I moved to Joplin. As a young girl in Ackley, Iowa, I was captivated by the abandoned feed elevator in an alley right behind my apartment building. And an old abbey, across from my elementary school, used to be the canvas for some of my earliest horror stories. My entire life I’ve wanted to just walk around in there and see what got left behind. Old books could often be seen stacked up in the window wells, and the vines crawling up the broad brick exterior always held my gaze.

Source: MeliSwenk

Maybe it’s the sense of stillness and quiet, I often take walks through cemeteries for the same reason–that, and far less foot traffic. It compels me to wonder about all that gets left behind. There must be so much more out there that people have simply forgotten about. The world moved on, but there will always be a special place in my heart for the architecture that got left behind…

Source: MeliSwenk

Not to mention the romantic concept of discovery, happening upon something you weren’t expecting or aware of. The beauty of experiencing something after its heyday. I have a board on Pinterest called “Left for Dead”; with 99 images pinned, it is my biggest board; and abandoned places is the content I follow most often.

There is so much beauty and potential in a site that gets abandoned, and while there are plenty of reasons why a place might get abandoned, there couldn’t be a reason to simply demolish it when it becomes “unsightly.” Why not revamp, and create a new community center? Or, bust out the remainder of the broken windows and make it an open air market? Like a flea market, but better. Or, why not an open air entertainment venue? Where local musicians, artists, and performers can commune with the citizens they seek to engage.

Source: MeliSwenk

Just imagine the possibilities…

218 Reasons To Read Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror|SF Signal

This could be viewed as one or more of several things: check list, to-do list, shopping list, or even a reference list. Whatever your bag, go searching and just try to find one you don’t like. Just try; I dare you.

218 Reasons To Read Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror in October 2013 (Our GINORMOUS Monthly SF/F/F Cover Gallery) – SF Signal.

Honoring the origin of LGBTQ Pride in photo gallery from Advocate.com

In a well-written and educational history of the Stonewall Riots, Advocate.com presents a stunning visual and mental image of what life was like for these brand new advocates, survivors really. In honor of National Pride Month, read up on the birth of the movement here:

PHOTOS: Remembering The Birth of Pride | Advocate.com

There are definitely some stunning images. News headlines. Parades and marches. Happy couples, and maybe some hesitant couples (pair of cops, I’m talking to you!)

Though, I’m being a bit cheeky, this is a very, very serious aspect of our history. Not just LGTBQ citizens, either. American history. We are the legacy we leave behind, and that begins with how we choose to treat others.

Happy Pride Month!

"A New Lens"

I’ve added a new listing to my Lulu storefront: “A New Lens”. A collection of most of my early photography, the shots I found the worthiest for such an occasion. I will definitely be compiling a second volume of newer shots in the future. I really enjoy digital photography and hope you all enjoy this book as much!