Round Robin: Is That Funny?

For the Round Robin Challenge: Funny Stuff, I asked to see "one or more pictures of anything funny, or at least humor-adjacent." I thought about taking pictures of Snoopy and Linus toys, but they didn't seem all that funny without the words of the comic strips. And this was my "hell week," my last week at my third job, working late every night. I haven't been out much, or had time to seek out humorous subjects with a camera. But yes, I did manage to take a few pictures, and curate a few more from my files. Is any of it funny?  You get to decide!

"How to Tell If Your Dog is a Space Alien." -- Weekly World News headline, 1979.

 

 

Karen

Linking List
as of Saturday, May 17, 2014, 1:46 AM

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Freda
Day One
http://fredamans.blogspot.ca

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com

Round Robin: Green and Growing

As usual, when I posted the topic for this week's Round Robin Challenge: Being Green, I had vague but ambitious ideas for what I personally was going to post. No St. Patrick's decor for me, no random green objects. No, I was going to show you that the desert can be green! At least, that's what I think I was thinking!

The desert near Biosphere 2, outside Oracle, Arizona.

But March is not the greenest time of year for Arizona, and my drive with Dad up to Oracle, Arizona last weekend was not the greenest area to drive through. Besides, my iPhone ran out of storage and my Canon was acting up, and the sun was in my eyes. No, really, it was. I got almost no decent shots that day, certainly nothing especially green.

 Gates Pass, March 8th, with an impatient motorcyclist speeding away.

I did a little better the week before that, photographing Gates Pass while driving it - which is not the safest thing in the world to do!

So, anyway, tonight I was looking around for something green indoors, and I happened to notice our little jungle of indoor plants against a midcentury modern pair of matching curtains. That would have to do, I thought. 

But in case that wasn't good enough, I added my dragon bank that I've had since 1970, and a teal clock.

Still, my photo archives can usually be counted on to give me what I want. Here is a shot taken at Saguaro National Park East on June 1, 2013.

And another one taken at the bird feeders in Madera Canyon on June 8, 2013. The big black bird is a wild turkey.

Is that green enough? If not, I'll try to do better after it rains.

Karen

Now let's see all the green things!

Linking List
as of Sunday, March 23rd, 2014

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Freda - Posted!
Day One
http://fredamans.blogspot.ca

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com

Round Robin: Ooh! Spooky!

For Round Robin Challenge: Spooky Effects, I asked for photos that show "something scary, odd or ethereal," using any sort of special effects - special staging, lighting, photo editing or anything else to achieve the spooky. I figured that we'd be less than two weeks out from Halloween by now, and we'd have both the interest and photographic opportunities for this!

Two weeks ago, I took my Dad to Old Tucson Studios, in Avra Valley on the other side of Gates Pass from the city of Tucson itself. Built in 1938 for the movie Arizona starring William Holden and Jean Arthur, it's sort of a combination of shooting location and theme park. Stars from John Wayne to Steve Martin have films movies there. The High Chaparral was principally filmed at Old Tucson, along with lots of other tv episode and even bank commercials. I've visited Old Tucson at least half a dozen times since we got here in 1986, but not often in recent years since an arson fire gutted a large chunk of it. But they've managed to rebuild and keep the place going, and I'm very glad of that!

For the past 23 years, Old Tucson has had a second life after dark at this time of year. Nightfall is promoted as "one real haunted town!" I've never yet made it down there for Nightfall, but even in the daytime there were traces of the spooky effects to come:

The best in the window is one of those "eyes that follow you" FX, like the busts at the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. The skeleton is, well, a skeleton. But having witnessed a shootout at the end of Old Tucson's daytime programming, I couldn't help making a connection between the seated skeleton and the loser of the gunfight, gallantly helped onto a chair. A little photo editing, and presto!

Speaking of Disneyland, though, I actually have more spooky material to work with from my Disneyland trip back in May than from the October Old Tucson visit. After all, the Haunted Mansion is one of my very favorite attractions!

The famous "Hitchhiking Ghosts" are very hard to photograph, but I managed to boost the image a bit for an interesting effect!

At Old Tucson there was a stage show in the Grand Saloon, with a middle-aged chanteuse wrangling three singing and dancing ingenues. There's the chanteuse, but who is that behind her?

Why, it's the Bride from the Haunted Mansion!

 Aww, what the heck. One more. Below is the old courthouse in Tombstone, Arizona, the site of more than one hanging. If any place ought to be haunted, this seems like a good candidate. Or maybe the camera was picking up flares from the sun overhead. Yeah, that's it.

Or maybe there are ghosts there after all!

 Now let's see the other Robins' Spooky Effects!

Linking List
as of Saturday, October 19th, 2013
1:23 AM MST

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/mavarin

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Ellen - Posted!
Ellen's Phlog
http://ellensphlog.blogspot.com/

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com


Karen

Round Robin: On Location in Tucson, AZ!

For the Round Robin Challenge: On Location, Carly asked to see iconic sights in our home city or town that had appeared on tv or in film - or if they hadn't, they ought to. Tucson has a fairly active film and tv industry, centered mostly around Westerns. Naturally, how much Western shooting gets done depends a lot on whether Westerns as a genre are in vogue in any given year. But when there are Westerns made here, or parts of them, a lot of it takes place at Tucson's combined film studio, back lot and tourist attraction: Old Tucson Studios. I didn't have a chance to get out there for this Challenge, but I have quite a bit of archive material on the place. I hope you don't mind!

Films made at Old Tucson rang from the sublime to the ridiculous. I can't remember whether this mission church is the same one used in the Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short film Three Amigos, or whether this one was recreated for the stunt show seen here. For a film of highlights from this stunt show see Old Tucson Stunt Show 2005 on my YouTube channel, here:

 In season (they close for the hot summer), when not filming movies, tv shows or commercials, this place is largely all about the stunt shows. They're not all the same show, either. In this one, the guy on this balcony...

 ...is witness to a hanging!

This old locomotive has appeared in lots of movies and tv shows. Unfortunately it was among the many things damaged in an arson fire a decade ago.

The house behind the marshal here is from the tv series The High Chaparral. I also have a picture of the same guy in front of a building labeled McClintock, named after a John Wayne film. Rio Bravo was also filmed here.

Other iconic film locations in and around Tucson include Sabino Canyon, where other parts of Three Amigos were filmed, and the Boneyard of dead airplanes, where at least one film had its climactic confrontation. Oh, and the old courthouse downtown, which I've also photographed before, was the scene of a Route 66 episode called "How Much a Pound is Albatross?" starring Julie Newmar.

 Karen

Now let's see who else has locations to show us. Looks like it's just me and Carly so far. But it's not too late for YOU to join in!

Linking List
as of Saturday, June 1st, 1 AM MST

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/mavarin
http://www.youtube.com/user/Mavarin
@mavarin

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com

Round Robin: Inside Out

For the Round Robin Challenge: Inside Out, Outside In, I asked to see stuff outside that you would normally find inside, or stuff seen inside that you would expect to see outside. My first post tonight (scroll down) was of outside stuff seen inside recently, namely critters. For this post, I'd like to show you the consequences of leaving inside stuff outside.

It was late September, 2011. John thought the monsoon was over. Tucson's rainy season officially runs from June 15th to September 30th, but is by no means that predictable. But John was anxious to start organizing stuff in the house, and to do that he needed the space. So he took a chance, and took many boxes of stuff in storage - books, magazines, papers, collectible figures, part of John's vintage and not-so-vintage Star Trek collection, our college films, old electronics, etc. - and put them outside temporarily. You can guess what happened next.

It was a major, major storm, with lots of rain and flash flooding. Water on the concrete slab in back was about two inches deep in no time. John was at work, so it was up to me to salvage what I could.

I spent a lot of time that afternoon moving boxes near the wall to help protect them from the elements, and stacking them to keep at least some of them from sitting in the water on the ground. Unfortunately, wet cardboard doesn't stack well.

I also managed to bring in a number of things, but nothing was completely undamaged. I spent several days sorting through the rest, saving what I could. And yes, it rained at least once more as I worked. What a disaster! Seeing so many irreplaceable bits of our past either damaged or ruined was truly heartbreaking. But on the plus side, it did motivate us to sort through our junk and get rid of many boxes of less important items.

That's it for me for this week! Let's check out the other Robins' entries:

Linking List
as of 8/25/2012, 3:05 PM

Karen - posted two entries!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/mavarin
@mavarin

Jeanette - Posted!
Net On The Net
http://netonthenet.blogspot.com

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Sue - Posted!
A picture is worth 1000 words
http://susiesphotospace.blogspot.it/

Sinder Ella **Welcome, new participant!** - Posted!
"A Modern Day Cinderella"
http://sandysinderella.blogspot.com/

Rita - Posted!
Cashjocky and the "Old Salt"
http://cashjocky.blogspot.com/2012/08/inside-out-or-outside-in_25.html

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com


And don't forget: everyone is welcome to join in on the Round Robin meme. Click here for details!

Karen

Round Robin: Where Are My Keys?

Having the topic "Keys" for this week's Round Robin Photo Challenge is a good excuse to share this, just by way of an appetizer, or maybe overture:



I first heard that a few years ago and was just floored by it. Lorraine Feather's album containing "Where Are My Keys" is one of the very few iTunes music purchases I've ever made.

Anyway. Here are my key photos:

Oops! These turned up in my pants pocket Wednesday evening. Why is that a problem? Because that's the key to the bathroom at my second job. It should have been hanging here:

The other key is to...actually, I'm not sure!

Here are my own keys at the moment. My car is in the shop after an accident in the rain two weeks ago, and I've got a rental with a big warning tag on its key ring.

And have you ever had a door in which it's just easier to leave the key all the time?

That's it for me! Let's check out the other Robins' keys:

Linking List
as of Saturday, June 30, 2012
1:30 AM

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/mavarin
@mavarin


Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com


Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com


Sue - Posted!
A picture is worth 1000 words
http://susiesphotospace.blogspot.it/


Karen

Round Robin: The Egg Variations

For this week's Round Robin Challenge: Back to the Egg, I asked to see any kind of eggs, or egg-shaped objects. Yes, we just passed Easter, when kids hunted for Easter eggs and adults bought Cadbury Creme Eggs at their grocery checkouts, but that wasn't what I had in mind for my own post. You see, one aspect of this semi-Paleo low carb diet John and I have been following involves buying natural and organic foods for the most part. So aside from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, John's been going to a farmer's market and also to the University of Arizona's, umm, Meat Sciences Lab. Don't worry: it's not experimental meat!

Anyway, I don't think any of the mostly free-range, cage-free eggs we've bought recently have been white, like the eggs I grew up with. I didn't even know it was possible for a chicken egg to be another color until I was about ten years old, and the semi-retired farmer across the street gave me a brown egg from his favorite chicken, Henrietta. Yes, he really called her that.

  

But the thing that John got really enthusiastic about was when he bought a dozen eggs from a different old farmer. Inside the rather ordinary carton was a surprising variety of eggs, from golden brown to a very pale blue! He has since bought similar eggs from someone else on a day when the old guy wasn't there.

Another package of eggs we had at the same time is much more uniformly brown. But look! They're monogrammed: EB. Emmett Brown?

Maybe those are experimental foods after all!


Linking List
as of 9:27 AM MST
Saturday, April 21, 2012

Karen
Outpost Mâvarin --Posted!
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com/

Carly **Welcome back!** --Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com/

Kara - Posted!
Notes from the tiny napping house
http://notesfromthetinynappinghouse.blogspot.com/

And please check the Round Robin blog Sunday night for a new Challenge and an eggciting announcement about the NEW Round Robin Photo Challenges!

Karen

Round Robin: The Bridges of Pima County

This is one of two posts I'll be doing tonight for Round Robin Challenge: Bridge. Please scroll up to see the other one, entitled "The Snake and the Lizards" (no, really!).

This Round Robin topic was suggested by Steven of the much-missed (sometimes)photoblog at the beginning of 2009. I've been wanted to do it ever since. That was about a year after I did a major photo shoot for a particular bridge at the edge of downtown Tucson. Actually, there were three bridges in and around downtown that I found photogenic. Over the past several years I'd photographed those bridges and at least three others in other parts of Tucson. Here is a sample from my archives. In my other "Bridges" entry, I'll be showing you new pictures of two of the bridges, taken earlier today (Friday).

From My Tucson

From August 2007: Rainbow Over the Veteran's Memorial Bridge.

From My Tucson

From September 2007, newly reedited: my favorite old railroad bridge (the Stone Ave. one) in downtown Tucson, at rush hour.

From Sabino Canyon 2009

Here's one of the bridges of Sabino Canyon, built by FDR's depression-era agencies: the ERA, WPA and CCC, by way of economic stimulus. Photo from January 2009.

From Tucson Rain, Floods and Washes 2009

This blue footbridge over Alamo Wash in my neighborhood needs repainting. May 2009.

From Bat Night 2009

In September 2009, thousands of Tucsonans stood under this bridge where Campbell Avenue crosses the dry Rillito riverbed, waiting for thousands of bats to fly away at dusk. Well, why not?

Now let's go see everyone else's bridges!

Linking List
as of 3:28 PM PDT/MST,
Saturday, October 23, 2010

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Nathalie - Posted!
Memoirs
http://nathalie-memoirs.blogspot.com

Fhaye - Posted!
Your Daily Photo Depot
http://photodito.com

Jeanette - Posted!
Net On The Net
http://netonthenet.blogspot.com

Linda - Posted!
Mommy's Treasures
http://mommystreasures.blogspot.com

Freda - Posted!
Day One
http://fredamans.blogspot.com

Ruth - Posted!
ScrabbleQueen
http://scrabblequeen.wordpress.com

Sandy - Posted!
From the Heart of Texas
http://sandyfromtheheartoftexas.com

Kat - Posted!
In My Dreams I Can Fly...
http://inmydreamssfk.blogspot.com/

Tara
The Lengths
http://mommaneversaid.blogspot.com/

Margaret - Posted!
Margaret's Musings
http://www.amusingmargaret.com

Rita - Posted!
Cashjocky and the Old Salt
http://cashjocky.blogspot.com

Monica - Posted!
Shutterly Happy
http://monica-frameofmind.blogspot.com/

Erin - Posted!
A Hardcore Life
http://erin-hardcorehensel.blogspot.com

Peg - Posted!
Who Can Discover It?
http://whocandiscoverit.blogspot.com/

Manang Kim - Posted!
Photography in Focus
http://mgahulagwayko.blogspot.com

Be sure to check out "The Snake and the Lizards" as well!

Karen

Round Robin: A Tucson Ramble

My local gas station, Hanson's Good To Go, Oct 12th.

This week's Round Robin Photo Challenge: Photograph Your Home Town comes to us from Marie of Photographs and Memories. I've done quite a few photo essays about Tucson over the past four and a half years, covering downtown landmarks, bridges, parks, the desert, sunsets, etc. (I'm not going to bother with most of the links; there are too many of them. But you may want to click on the Tucson tag on the sidebar and scroll back a few screens.) For this one, I decided to go with "ordinary" places in Tucson: businesses I drive past and other street scenes. All of these shots were taken this month, and most of them in the past 24 hours. Here we go! Click on each photo to see larger versions, in some cases much larger.

Hanson's again, Oct 18th, showing Wilmot businesses

Let's start with two views of the gas station nearest my house (more or less). Hanson's isn't a franchise of one of the major oil companies, and its gas is usually almost but not quite the lowest in town. I like the prices, the architecture, the convenience, the service and the individuality of the place and try to give it all my business. Notice that regular unleaded went down from 3.06 to 2.89 in less than a week. That helps!

A Sun Tran bus picks up at Reid Park on Country Club Road.

Part of the side of that same bus.

The local bus service is called Sun Tran. I don't like to ride buses myself (less autonomy, more delays and motion sickness), but several of my friends ride them all the time. Some of the buses, including the one shown above, have colorful and interesting artwork on every side.

I've never been to Home Plate, but I assume it's a sports bar and grill. There is also a bar on Craycroft near the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base entry gate called 3rd Base Bar. I like the clever names, and the fact that these two business names are related. John points out that third base is "the last stop before home."

A unique Tucson business bites the dust.

Late this afternoon I drove downtown for an Obama Bus Tour event. On the way down Speedway, I noticed that Greasy Tony's has closed and the building is for sale. Although I never ate there, that seems a shame to me. It was a non-chain business and a student hangout sort of place, and it was around long before we got here in 1986. But I suppose its time was up.

The Obama bus outside REA Media on 9th St.

The Obama tour bus was at a meet and greet and canvassing event, just across the railroad track from the rail station I photographed for a Round Robin spread earlier this year. Tucson's other congressman beside my own Gabrielle Giffords, Raul Grijalva, was on hand to lead the charge. Grijalva, a well-liked and respected figure in Tucson politics, has spearheaded numerous pro-Obama efforts this year. I'll be writing more about that after I've had some sleep.

The Coronado Hotel at the end of 9th St.

At the end of the block, in fact the end of the street, was this picturesque and historic little hotel. Around the corner from it was the same dead end where I turned the car around on a previous Round Robin photo shoot ramble, and where I later walked around on that January day, trying to find a way back across the railroad tracks. I retraced that same route in the car tonight, trying to get to the Wells Fargo bank across from the Main Library downtown. You see, I needed cash for an Obama T-shirt.

Now let's go see everyone else's impressions of their home towns.

Linking List

Marie - Posted!
Photographs & Memories
http://photographsmemoriestoo.blogspot.com

Gattina - Posted!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com

Monica
Family Affair Photography
http://familyaffairphotography.blogspot.com

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Wammy - Posted!
The Ellis Family Cincinnati
http://theellisfamilycincinnati.blogspot.com

Martha - Posted!
Menagerie
http://meandering-martha.blogspot.com

Jill - Posted!
South Bay Soliloquy
http://southbaysoliloquy.blogspot.com

Cheryl
Life of a College Student
http://erinminusguidedogs.blogspot.com

Jama Hameed - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Connie - Posted!
Far Side Of Fifty
http://farsideoffiftyphotos.blogspot.com

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com

Kat
In My Dreams I Can Fly
http://inmydreamssfk.blogspot.com

Teena - Posted!
It's All About Me!
http://purple4mee.blogspot.com

Ellen B - Posted!
The Happy Wonderer
http://happywonderer.wordpress.com

And of course, you can also, you know, play along! See the Round Robin blog for details.

Karen

Round Robin: A Dog Blogger's Dirty Desk!

For the latest Round Robin Photo Challenge, Martha of Perception has suggested "Blog Spot", as in the location where you blog. Okay, but I think I'd better do a bit of cleaning first!

Empty soda cans, books and the inevitable tangle of cords,

more books I look things up in and don't put away,

and mostly dog-related papers...yeah, it's a mess!

This desk isn't going to be immaculate any time soon, but since the shots above were taken I've recycled my empties, brushed away the crumbs, and organized the books a bit. It does look better!

Paperbacks stacked, check. Snoopy on display, check!

Papers stashed, new Writer's Market ready for markup.

My frequent visitors say hello. (Got any food?)

Now, it should surprise no one that my dogs spend a lot of time in this office, whether I'm blogging, eating, editing or whatever. Cayenne is mostly looking for attention and reassurance, and secondarily(?) food. When she's not in the room, she's usually just outside my office door, watching for flies and other trouble to get into, and making sure she knows where I am at all times.

Pepper in her usual place.

Pepper likes to hang out with me all night, while mostly ignoring me. She's just out of sight to the left of my desk. If I stand up, she gets up and goes into the next room, expecting me to follow.

Cayenne is not overly excited about a semi-clean desk.

It has come to my attention that the cat owners among you frequently have a cat on your desk. I did consider contrasting this with life with a dog, by lifting Cayenne onto the desk for a quick picture; but that way madness lies, not to mention a mess! So aside from Snoopy, and the little plush dog on the Writer's Market, I settled for putting Cayenne on my chair instead.

Cayenne checks out that computer Karen keeps staring at.

She was not terribly pleased, nor terribly desperate to get down again.

But it turns out that by tomorrow night, I could have two dogs on this desk if I care to clear a little space for them. Noodle's ashes have been across the room on my built-in bookcase for years. And tonight I picked up a bunch of messages off of the land line, including one from Tuffy's oncologist's clinic. Tuffy's ashes are waiting for us there, and can be picked up any time.

Tomorrow: a late/early entry for Feline and Furball Friday: "Dogs on the Bed, We Said." (My previous dog-oriented entry is here, in case anyone cares.)

Now let's go see everyone else's Blog Spots!

Karen


Linking List

Martha - Posted!
Perception
http://journals.aol.com/lifes2odd/perception

Steven
(sometimes)photoblog
http://sometimesphotoblog.com

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mavarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Gattina - Posted!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com

T.J. - Posted!
T.J.'s Photo Blog
http://tjphotoexpressions.blogspot.com

Annie
Pictures of Craziness
http://krspkrmmom.blogspot.com

And

Me and by phone - Posted!
http://neemom.blogspot.com

Wammy - Posted!
The Ellis Family Cincinnati
http://theellisfamilycincinnati.blogspot.com

Jama Hameed - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Kiva - Posted!
The Eclectic Granny
http://eclecticgranny.blogspot.com

Maryt/theteach
Work of the Poet
http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com

Teena
It's all about me!
http://purple4mee.blogspot.com

Greg**Welcome New Member** - Posted!
Photo Trek
http://journals.aol.com/radar446/PhotoTrek/

Indigo**Welcome New Member** - Posted!
Raven's Lament
http://journals.aol.com/rdautumnsage/ravens-lament/entries/2008/06/05/a-glimpse-inside-my-home.../1042