Weekly Photo Challenge: Down
Thankfully, I’m not looking or feeling down!!
I’m feeling the opposite of down largely because I begin my new job on Tuesday!! Yesterday, though, I went to Zoo Miami and captured some photos that I think are sweet “down” photos.
The animals were really lively yesterday – they were surely enjoying the beautiful South Florida weather. Some of the animals, like the Gorillas, were having fun just being sleepy. And the Giraffes, well…. their life involves always looking down – they fit the bill rather well.
So, here are the photos for my interpretation of “Down.” I guess you could say this is my interpretation of an animal’s down-time…. 
Here’s a gorilla that we resemble, don’t you think? He’s either feeling pretty down about something, or his head is itchy! I’d wager his head is itchy!
And here he is just a moment later contemplating the grass:
And here he is…. praying?
And here’s another gorilla snoozing in the grass, under the shade of big rocks:
And here a lovely giraffe is doing what they usually do…. look down onto those of us below:
Weekly Photo Challenge: Hope
This week the theme of the weekly photo challenge is hope…. (which I’m full of).
The first thing I thought of? Being hired at Microsoft! Oh, how I am hoping.
I don’t want just any job, I want the best job. I want a job that feels more like love than work. I want to love having my job and I want my employer to love my passion and creativity and hard work, too.
So far, the Microsoft opportunity feels like the best fit. And so, when the interviews are over, I hope Microsoft hands me something that looks like this:
And, here’s another little reminder of hope.
It was spring and all the birdies were building their nests when I shot this picture, at Butterfly World, in Florida. This little fellow was trying to bring that entire twig up to his nest in a nearby tree.
He tried and tried and tried….hoping to get it to the nest. It was amazing to see.
Ultimately, though, he turned to another twig more his size, leaving that one a much bigger bird.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Simple
This week’s photo challenge is to find a photo that says “simple.”
I know some kid, not too tall though, put this on the tree in his front yard one Halloween and there it stayed for a very long time. Simple. Unadorned. Sweet but kind of spooky in a weird Halloween kind of way.
I took this picture in late December, 2011, in Winterpark, Florida.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Peaceful
The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge asks us to post a photo that speaks “peaceful,” and this one works for me.
This is Pompano Beach, Florida, which is my home. Well, I don’t live on the ocean and this is not my view, unfortunately (or fortunately, during hurricane season!).
Although yesterday was an incredible day, it was hardly peaceful for me!
Yesterday began with a 7:30 am breakfast-tribute to the memory of Martin Luther King, Stand for Something.
The Broward County YMCA puts on this Martin Luther King Inspirational Breakfast program each year. This year J.R. Martinez – Iraq war Veteran, and more recently, winner of the Dancing with the Stars show, was the Keynote Speaker.
And, former Dancing with the Stars contestant and newly retired Miami Dolphins football great, Jason Taylor was honored with the Spirit Award, from the YMCA.
I’ll write about the event tomorrow – it was very special.
Then, I had a phone interview with Microsoft. Yes, THE Microsoft!!
The other day I wrote something about all the applications and jobs that I have on the burner and how I didn’t want to accept anything from Acme Computers if Microsoft called…. And…
Well….,
They called!
Who would have thunk it? They saw my resume online and called ME? OMG!
Well, I don’t have the job – yet. And, although I want to keep really positive about getting it….well, I’m realistic, too.
And I had another great interview with a firm that I like very much…
Then, last night, I saw a wonderful play about, of all things, wrestling! I am hardly anyone who enjoys wrestling – but I have a new-found respect for the show-business side of it now.
If you happen to be in the South Florida area, GO SEE this play. You will love it!
Playing at the Caldwell Theatre, Boca Raton, FL
Weekly Photo Challenge: Self Portrait
This week’s photo challenge is “Self Portrait.” I took this crazy picture of myself recently while I was under an incredibly hot hair dryer.
I’m not as fan of being under that thing, can you tell?!! To me, it’s almost as painful as a root-canal.
Putting people under those things is a miserable practice, it’s torture. The heat made my eyes feel and look swollen! My hair looked very pretty after all that, and I looked nothing like this after all was said and done!
It is probably the most God-awful picture of me on record! My own Mother wouldn’t recognize me in this picture!
I have to say, though, it’s so ugly it’s funny!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Waiting
The weekly photo challenge topic is waiting…. and it is a challenge because there are many ways to interpret what waiting is.
I chose to use one of my photos of butterflies as they slurp up the sweet nectar of a waiting flower.
Here it is - Update: Photo #2 is the original I posted last night.
I realized this morning I’d chosen the wrong photo to publish! I intended to post #1 last night. I like #1 because the wings are quiet and appear darker – in focus. However, in #1 the Butterfly’s face is less focused…. Trade off, I guess!
(Click on either photo to see the detail.)
#1 Flowers waiting for the Butterfly ~ Andrea O'Connell 2011
#2 Flowers waiting for the butterfly ~ Andrea O'Connell, 2011
weekly photo challenge: wonder
I love the idea of finding a photo that says “wonder.” I settled on this photo of my niece, deep in thought, wondering about …. something!
And a swing, of course, is wondrously fun….
Weekly Photo Challenge: Opportunity (staying on the path)
The subject of this WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is Opportunity.
Maybe I am just over-tired and cranky because the first thing I thought about in relation to opportunity was the lack of opportunity for so many people in this country.
To be lacking something in America, the land of opportunity is a constant these days, isn’t it?
And so, I thought about what opportunity means, and I think it’s really a path that you have to get on and stay on.
It’s a path to … ? Well, no where, these days.
Greed has destroyed many dreams, bombed the paths of too many people in this country and around the world.
When greedy Americans – big businesses and banks, destroy paths for the little guy, the nation suffers. When the rich are too rich, the poor is too poor and homeless; jobless and hungry, there is terrible imbalance that will eventually right itself.
If necessary, it will take a revolution.
Our America was once “the land of opportunity,” remember?
“America – The home of the free and the brave” is becoming America the homeless nation.
“So, Waldo, where”s the “American Dream, hiding on your map?” No more dreams, you say? Only nightmares? Nightmares, are dreams too you say?
America, our nightmare – the land of dumb and the dumber. The land of Larry, Larry and Larry. Dumb, Dumb and Dummer. Yeah! Keep ‘em dumb. We don’t need schools. It’s just a place for babysitting kids!
The future of this country belongs to the children who are not being educated. The people and children of this America are being dumbed down by the hideous state of education in this country.
What about the future? Well, George W. Bush wasn’t concerned with that:
“What is going to be your legacy?” asked Suthichai Sae-Yoon, of the Nation Multimedia Group in Thailand.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Bush replied. “‘ll be dead when they finally figure it out.” Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/08/george-bush-leg.html
It’s not my intent to place blame, but “W” as I like to call him, will be proven to be the worst president our nation has ever known.
However, we don’t have the time to place blame, we have to move and find solutions.
The time has come for the uber-rich and the stinking greedy corporations to pay what they owe to a country that allowed them to prosper.
The time has come for Occupy Wallstreet. I am grateful to the men and women involved in Occupy Wall Street; I applaud their efforts and sacrifices for the sake of our liberty – so we, the little guy and gal can get on and stay on the path of opportunity
An excellent set of charts, facts and analysis is given by Henry Blodget, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Business Insider, in an October 15th report. He writes:
FACT: Unemployment is at the highest level since the Great Depression (with the exception of a brief blip in the early 1980s).
FACT: corporate profits are at an all-time high, both in absolute dollars and as a share of the economy.
FACT: Wages as a percent of the economy are at an all-time low. In other words, corporate profits are at an all-time high, in part, because corporations are paying less of their revenue to employees than they ever have. There are lots of reasons for this, many of which are not the fault of the corporations. (It’s a global economy now, and 2-3 billion new low-cost employees in China, India, et al, have recently entered the global workforce. This is putting pressure on wages the world over.)
FACT: Income and wealth inequality in the US economy is near an all-time high: The owners of the country’s assets (capital) are winning, everyone else (labor) is losing. The top earners are capturing a higher share of the national income than they have anytime since the 1920s:
READ Here Are Four Charts That Explain What The Protesters Are Angry About…
There is a definite imbalance of opportunity, there is injustice when children and adults in our country are homeless, foodless, jobless….
A home, a job, some food isn’t too much to ask, is it?
Can you imagine being homeless? Can you imagine being hungry?
Thousands of people aren’t imagining it, they’re living it.
We have to support change.
