EMPS: My Year in Pictures, Sort Of, Part Two

Continuing my 2009 photo gallery for Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #70. See also EMPS: My Year in Pictures, Sort Of, Part One!

In July, I photographed the El Conquistador Water Tower, the sole remaining structure of a legendary Tucson resort:

The top of the tower features a prospector on its weathervane. July 28, 2009

From Two Towers

In September I photographed some human "bats" on Bat Night in the Rillito River. Real bats also put in an appearance.

Bat People. Bat night, September 12, 2009.

From Bat Night 2009

In November, I took my camera on a wander downtown. I never did get around to writing about this shop I came across. The couple that ran the place was very friendly and interested when I told them I intended to post pictures of their store, Desert Bloom:

Desert Bloom, 27 N Stone Ave. November 9, 2009.

From Another Stroll Downtown

In December, I came across a couple of run down but picturesque businesses on my way back from being lost just south of the Diamondback Bridge downtown:

Yoga and Coke. Downtown Tucson (sort of), December 17, 2009.

From Lost in Tucson

And that's kind of it for 2009. I wonder what photographic adventures we'll have in 2010!

Karen

EMPS: My Year in Pictures, Sort Of, Part One

For Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #70: Your 2009 Gallery, Carly wants to see a selection of our best photos from 2009. So I'm about to browse my Picasa web albums from last year. Let's see what we find!

Mountains, but no lions. January 26, 2009.

From my Picasa album Sabino Canyon 2009

Let's start with this one from January, taken on an afternoon tramp through Sabino Canyon. I probably had a number of shots that day that were technically better or had nicer scenery, but this is the one that's most memorable for me. That mountain lion sign amuses me so much that I've made edited versions of this shot for comedic effect. Below is an example I posted on Flickr, featuring the Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who:


The Tenth Doctor in denial. December 2009.

In February I started posting several series of "Reid Park Ramble," my galleries of photos taken while exploring Gene C Reid Park with my dogs. Here's one of the more unusual shots. The bronze statue is one of a number of figures at the Cancer Survivors Plaza. Intrigued that it looks like a person, Pepper gives its hand a sniff!

Pepper checks out a bronze cancer survivor. February 20th, 2009.

From A Reid Park Ramble

In March, I was witness to the single best sunset I've ever seen, at Gates Pass in the Tucson Mountains:

Best. Sunset. Ever. Gates Pass, March 6, 2009.

From West Side Story

In April, I took the dogs up Mount Lemmon. Here's my favorite of those shots:

This was on my desktop at church for several months. Windy Point, April 21, 2009.

From Mount Lemmon Highway

My second favorite is this one:

Cayenne at Geology Vista (I think). April 21, 2009.

From Mount Lemmon Highway

In May, Pepper met a couple of young children in Reid Park:

Pepper likes kids. Cayenne, not so much. Reid Park, May 6, 2009

From Canine Encounters

In June, I found it necessary to photograph some highly unusual clouds:

One of the few times I've had pretty lens flares. June 9, 2009.

From Clouds Over Tucson

We're only up to June, so let's continue this on the next entry.

Karen

Weekend Assignment #300: Best of the Memes

Way back in April, 2004 (I think it was April 15th, but it's hard to tell from the surviving evidence), John Scalzi posted the very first Weekend Assignment writing prompt on his AOL Journal By the Way. Nearly six years later, it's time to post the 300th Weekend Assignment, with particular attention to the memes we've been using ever since to fill up our blogs:

Weekend Assignment #300: In 2004, John Scalzi proposed the first Weekend Assignment, designed "to give AOL Journalers something to post over the weekend." Over the years the blogging community has had a huge proliferation of blogging "memes" - questions to answer, themed photo challenges, lists, writing prompts and quizzes of all sorts. What internet memes, if any, do you participate in these days?

Extra Credit: Is there a particular category of memes you particularly enjoy, as a blogger or as a reader?

The shot above happens to be my only known screen capture of John Scalzi's old blog By the Way, taken one night during a temporary AOL glitch. (Ya think?) When Scalzi started the Weekend Assignment in April, 2004, the AOL blogging platform, AOL Journals, was officially less than a year old. Blogging was a new concept for most of its participants. To help them find things to do with their new electronic soapboxes, Scalzi started posting a Weekend Assignment every Thursday night, and a roundup of participants' results the following Monday or Tuesday.

I learned about By the Way and the Weekend Assignment about six weeks in, posting my first response on May 31st. The first WA I did asked for vacation recommendations for places you've never been. My entry, Temporal Mystery Tour, was for trips that could only be made by traveling in time.

I'm not quite sure whether I participated in every single Weekend Assignment from then on, but I certainly haven't missed any since that spring and summer. The weekend Scalzi won the Campbell Award, he understandably had other things on his mind, and forgot to post a Weekend Assignment. I pinch hit with one of my own, which he graciously picked up in By the Way a day or so later. When AOL Journals shut down at the end of 2007, Scalzi stopped posting Weekend Assignments (except for once) and gave me permission to continue the meme myself. Two years later, here we still are, although I post later in the weekend now. The Weekend Assignment no longer has the dozens of participants (occasionally more) that Scalzi used to garner, but I very much appreciate those of you who do play along, and everyone who turns up to read the entries.

Over the years I've only had a few other memes I participated in regularly. Scalzi's second weekly meme, the Monday Photo Shoot, was one of the first themed photo challenges. I was there from the first week in 2005, and have never missed one, although occasionally I've squeaked in at the last minute. That's another one I took over from Scalzi, only to pass it on to Carly, who does a much better job with it than I did. Her Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot is still posted each Sunday night. The third meme I always, always do is, of course, the Round Robin Photo Challenges, which Carly and I started together in 2005.

Beyond that, I've mostly avoided taking on my memes, largely because I didn't want to feel obligated to put in the time and effort for them, in addition to the three mentioned above. For a while I was answering a Writer's Weekly Question, but I didn't do it every time and the meme eventually folded. I was even more spotty in participating in Feline and Furball Friday, balancing other people's cat photos with my canine ones. I like both the photo shoots and the writing prompts, as long as they offer scope for me to write something with a little depth on a particular subject. I tend to approach both writing and photo memes the same was, with both words and pictures, albeit with more emphasis on photos for the photo memes. I have zero interest in memes that call for a series of one word or one sentence answers.

How about you? Do you play along with some of the photoblogging memes, generate lists of random facts when prompted, or ponder literary writing prompts? Do you do as much meme-blogging as ever, or not so much, or more and more? Please tell us about it in your blog, or in the comments thread below.

While you're thinking about that, let's have a last look at last week's assignment. For Weekend Assignment #299: Time's Up!, I asked whether there was anything you wanted to get done before the "aughties" were over. Because of the holidays, only Julie managed to post a response this time out. Click on her name below to read the full response:

Julie said...

Long ago I learned to resolve not to make any resolutions. Long-term plans, yes. Even those fail, but long-term plans and goals are - for me - more achievable than those spur of the moment "it's a new year and I must do something!" plans.

1. Please post your entry no later than Friday, January 8th at 6 PM. (You can also post your response in the comments thread, but a blog entry is better. )
2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to this entry.
3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments below.
4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!
5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please email me at mavarin2 on gmail.com if there's a Weekend Assignment theme you'd like to see. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor."

I hope to hear from you soon. Happy New Year!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #299 : Time's Up!

Because of the Christmas holiday, I gave you folks an extra day to do last week's Weekend Assignment. Now I'm running out of weekend in which to post the new one. And that's kind of the topic of this week's Assignment:

Weekend Assignment #299: The first decade of the new millennium is winding down. (Yes, I know that technically the decade runs from 2001-2010. But still.)  Is there anything in particular you wanted to accomplish this year or in the "aughties?" How did it go? Is there still something you hope to get done before the year is out?

Extra Credit: Have you a particular goal for the next decade? And what do we call 2010 to 2019, anyway?

This was the scene when I got home one blustery afternoon last week. The trunk of my mom's 1984 Chrysler New Yorker had sprung open in the wind.  The back of the New Yorker is slightly crunched, and consequently the trunk lid doesn't stay closed very well any more. Beside it is our 1984(?) Dodge Ram van, which carried us around the U.S. and eastern Canada for four or five months in 1986. I couldn't remember just now exactly what's wrong with it, but it hasn't been driveable in years and years. John says, "The transmission fell out." Oh.

Obviously, we need to get rid of those two vehicles. Like the Toyota I got rid of a decade ago, they are meant to be given to charity, and a tax break taken. I've provisionally decided to donate them to our local PBS station to be auctioned for parts (or whatever).It's something we've wanted to do for at least five years, probably longer.

One problem: I can't find the title to the New Yorker. Last year I searched many boxes for it, over the course of several days. I will try again this year, but I don't expect a better result. Still, I shouldn't let that stop me. I'll just have to go to the MVD for a replacement title, won't I? The only thing in the way is that I'll be very busy this week at church, finishing up a project that has a hard year-end deadline.

My other long term goals are more important, even if they're not tied to a particular year, decade or tax season. I still haven't taken the CPA exam, much less been certified. I can't really become a CPA without a piece of paper saying I've worked two years under the supervision of an existing CPA, but at least I can resume studying. This I will do in the new year. No, really.

And then there's getting an agent and publisher for the novels, a goal that seems more out of reach with each passing year. Sigh.

How about you? How have you done on accomplishing your ten year plan? Do you even have one? (Not that I'm saying you necessarily should. I'm just asking!)

While you're thinking about that, let's have a look at last week's responses.

For Weekend Assignment #298: Lost, I asked about whether getting lost was a problem or a pleasure for you. Click on the names below to read the full responses:

Julie said...

...I pressed the button to tell the software to provide driving directions and a map and leaned back in the passenger seat. Take the next exit. And turn around. Perhaps the restaurant was just on the other side of the freeway after the next exit. We could do that. We took the exit, turned around, and were then instructed to go a couple of miles back the direction from whence we'd come. Excuse me?

Florinda said... .

I'm pretty good at reading maps, because I need to be. My eyesight is bad enough (even when wearing my contacts) that I have trouble making out small street signs and address numbers. When I'm going someplace new, I'll study the map carefully first, so I know just how many more blocks I need to go after the last major intersection and can count them off as I'm driving.

Mike said...

It is not an adventure for me. Not one bit. Just ask Jenn. I get stressed going into the city and get worse if we have trouble finding where we need to go, or where the ramp to the expressway is to get us back to our safe suburbs. I tend to get snippy and cranky when we get turned around, I don't know why. Like Jenn tells me, it's not like we are going to get stuck there and never find our way home, or anything. But, when I'm in a position like that I don't think rationally. I start picture us living out of the car and drinking anti-freeze to survive. It's not pretty.

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate in the Weekend Assignment:

1. Please post your entry no later than Saturday, January 2nd at 6 PM. (You can also post your response in the comments thread, but a blog entry is better. )
2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to this entry.
3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments below.
4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!
5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please email me at mavarin2 on gmail.com if there's a Weekend Assignment theme you'd like to see. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor."

I hope to hear from you soon. Meanwhile, Happy New Year! And don't forget, the Round Robin Photo Challenge returns on January 2nd! And if you're into photography, be sure to also check out the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot.

Karen

Weekend Assignment #249: Looking Back at 2009

I've been struggling over the last 24 hours to come up with a New Year-themed Weekend Assignment that isn't too lame, and wasn't previously asked by John Scalzi, myself, or the culture at large. I didn't quite manage it, but here's an Assignment that has possibilities for a range of answers from profound to silly:

Weekend Assignment #249: Today is January 2, 2010. Tell us about the most interesting things that happened in 2009, in the world and also in your life in particular

Extra Credit: How did you do on your 2009 resolutions, if any?

Here's mine.

Now that 2009 is over, I'm delighted to say it was a huge improvement over 2008. At the end of that year, George W. Bush was still in office, there was renewed fighting in the Middle East, the future of many businesses was in serious jeopardy, unemployment was rising and I personally had been unemployed for nearly four months. What a difference a year makes!

As knotty a problem as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been, not to mention the intermittent but deadly skirmishes between Israel and its neighbors, I don't think anyone expected much progress toward peace in less than a year. Secretary Clinton's dramatic "3 AM phone call" deal with Israel and Hamass in September changed all that, coupled with President Obama's roundtable discussions with the leaders of Iran and Irag back in April. The strategic redeployment of troops that President Obama promised seems to be working, various Ayatollahs and other leaders have said grudgingly nice things about the new American government, and people across the Middle East are starting to have opportunities to make a living again, resulting in fewer new terrorists. People are still fighting and dying every day, and we still hear of the occasional bombing, but overall things are much better. And we all got a laugh when Hillary threw that guy's shoes back at him.

Lee H. Brown Family Conservation Learning Center at the Reid Park Zoo.
Photo from http://www.tucsonaz.gov/energy/sac.html.

Here in the States, we still have two of the three major car makers, and it looks at though they will continue in business in the long term. I'm looking forward to buying a Ford Cloud someday. Meanwhile, I've passed all four parts of the CPA exam, and my job with Tucson GreenWorks keeps me busy, accounting for all those fixed assets Obama's economic stimulus packages helped to buy, and for the payroll of people now helping to deploy green technology across the country.

On my New Year's resolutions, obviously my biggest ones were to get a job and to pass the CPA exam. Mission accomplished! When it's not too hot, I'm getting a lot of walking in at lunch, and working out evenings, and gradually losing weight. And my new agent has high hopes of placing my novels now that I've actually finished Mages and the book market is picking up.

That was 2009 for me. How did it look to you? Write up your impressions of the year in your blog, with a link back to this entry, and leave a link to your entry in the comments below. I'll be back in a week to post the results. Meanwhile...

For Weekend Assignment #248: What'dja Get?, I asked what you got for Christmas or Hanukkah. Here are excerpts from your responses:

Julie said...

The most interesting was certainly this tablet. I asked for a tablet to use with Photoshop. Paul picked up a really cool one, that does so much more....

Becky said in comments...

While not particularly interesting, these gifts were unexpected. I received two books from my MIL for Christmas. One Patricia Cornwall and one JK Rowling (the Beadle the Bard book). I'm not going to bother to check if I've spelled the authors' names correctly. But could it be possible that after more than 20 years together as a couple, my husband's mother has finally figured out my taste/true wants? THAT is the really unexpected part. ;)

Florinda said...

The most unexpected gift I received this Christmas was one that came in a green envelope that I opened at my mother-in-law's house on Christmas afternoon. My not having a "list" this year affected her too, since she would normally get some of the items on it passed on along to her by Tall Paul, and the two of them must have had some discussions about what she could do about my gift when I had no specific requests to grant.

(Click through to see what this unexpected gift actually was!)

Karen H. (Scobberlotcher) said in comments...

I think my biggest surprise gift was a camera from my hubby. It was one of those items we both said we needed and would get around to getting soon. It was nice that he remembered and took care of it. The best thing about my Christmas was seeing pure, unadulterated joy from my girls (ages 4 and 5) who are at the age where they still see the magic. My four year old kept going back to the hearth to show everyone that the cookies were eaten by Santa, the carrots for the reindeer were also gone and half of the milk in the glass was consumed. I don't think I'll ever forget that.

Mike said...

Well, one that kind of covers both was a game that Jenn gave me. Actually it's three games for the price of one! What a bargain! Yes, I'm doing that on purpose. Why? Well, just look here at the set of games; it kind of makes you talk like that.

(Again, click through to satisfy your curiosity!)

That's it for now! As you start in on those 2009 resolutions, I hope you'll take a little time to look back to the future with me for this Weekend Assignment.A reminder: I'm still running low on ideas here, so I still need your input. What would you like to see as a Weekend Assignment topic? Email me your suggestions (mavarin at aol.com). If I use your topic you'll get full credit and my undying thanks.

Karen