Photography highlights

From time to time I'll highlight some of the photography I have for sale.  Click on the images to see larger versions.  I like these antique tractor photos.  They were taken at the barn where my cousin rides.







Here is a striking black and white of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.



Here are a few flower photos.







I'll end with a photo of my beagle.



More photos can be found at jennifer-lyon.artistwebsites.com.

A is for Asimov

Being the geek that I am, being the devourer of books that I am, with decades of reading under my belt, one would assume that I had read the works of the man some consider the greatest science fiction author of all time.  Nope.  How I got to this point in my life without reading anything by Isaac Asimov is a question I can't answer.  I suppose I thought that the ideas contained within the books would be brilliant, but that the writing itself would be stuffy and overly wordy.  I've had the three books of Asimov's Foundation trilogy sitting in my to-read pile for a couple of months now, but I've been hesitant to pick them up.  I bought them because I saw them in a used bookstore and thought, well, I should have read these by now, and for less than ten dollars I can find out if Asimov is all he's cracked up to be.  The Foundation books did win a special Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series," after all.  It was the only time a Hugo was awarded in that category.  The Foundation series beat Tolkien's Lord of the Rings!

The trilogy books, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation, were the first of the Foundation series to be written. Four additional books followed, two of which are prequels.  No, I'm not reading them in "in-universe" order.  I decided to read the original trilogy first.  If I liked that, I could read the following two books and then get to the prequels last.  The first three books were written in the fifties, but the others weren't written until thirty years later, with the prequels the last to be published.  So, I'm reading them in order if you take into consideration publication order.

After I started reading Foundation, I discovered that the trilogy is an interconnected compilation of short stories.  They weren't originally written as novels.  The books span hundreds if not thousands of years (haven't read that far yet).  In each new section, time jumps forward, and the main characters change.  In a way, that is a little frustrating, because you start to like these characters and then their part in the story is over.  However, the books are driven by the plot, not by character development.  That's not to say that Asimov doesn't know people.  The events of the books show a depth of understanding of human nature that other authors would be hard-pressed to equal.

I have not described the plot.  It's hard to say what these books are about, because doing so does not convey how addictive they are.  A description of the plot makes them sound like they could be boring, when that couldn't be further from the truth.  I can't put these books down.  Granted, I'm only on Foundation and Empire right now, but I blew through Foundation, and I don't see how I'm not going to have to go out as soon as possible and get the rest of the series, ignoring the to-read pile of books as it glares at me for buying new books when I have unread books sitting right there.  The premise is this: the Galactic Empire is in decline and has been for some time, although the residents and rulers don't see it.  A man named Hari Seldon not only warns of the fall, but also, using mathematics and science, predicts that there will be 30,000 years of dark ages (chaos, war, loss of technological and scientific knowledge) before a Second Empire will rise and restore peace and civilization to the galaxy.  Unless.  Seldon has a plan.  His predictions also show that there is a way to shorten this interregnum to 1,000 years.  He establishes two Foundations.  They are on the fringe, at opposite edges of the galaxy.  Their mission is to preserve and advance science, art, and technology.  They will bring about a better Second Empire's rise from the ashes of the first.

So far, the books have only dealt with the first Foundation and the crises they face as they wind their way along Seldon's path to the Second Empire.  I probably should have waited until I finished the trilogy to blog about the books, but I am THAT excited by them.  I don't know if I know many people who have read Asimov's books.  Geeks are aware of his laws of robotics and acknowledge his greatness, but how many have read his work?  This needs to change.  These books are brilliant.  Asimov was brilliant.  I wish had known sooner.  The bright side is that now I have his whole body of work ahead of me, and he was a prolific writer.  Both his Robot series and his Empire series he later connected to the Foundation series, bringing the total number of novels taking place in this universe alone to fourteen.  It's time to stop writing now and go see if the Foundation can handle the next crisis...

The Sun Beagle

My dog likes to lounge in the sun.  While he may act like Louis XIV sometimes, the title of this post refers to his love of basking in the warm sunlight, not his penchant for believing he is French royalty.

sleepy beagle

Being the beagle that he is, he is very stubborn.  What that means is that when the sun is out, it is very hard to get him to come inside.

Inside? You must be mad. I won't hear of it.

The beagle suddenly develops hearing problems.  The word "treat" means nothing to him. Neither does "come here."  Or "Kenobi."

If I close my eyes, you cease to exist.

It's funny how that works.  My dog knows what "pumpkin" means but if it's sunny he forgets his own name.  He would sit outside all day if I let him.  He could be panting up a storm.  He doesn't care.  He must be in the sun.  Sometimes I have to go up to him and remind him that he's supposed to listen to me, or at least humor me, and come when I call.

You were talking to me?  Surely there must be another Kenobi around here... 

My dog is aware of the power of his cuteness.  I'm sure of this.  I tell him he has to come inside, and he turns on the charm.

You can't resist when I do this with my ears.

How confident is he in his power?  He looks at me with that sweet beagle face, and then he promptly goes back to ignoring me.

If I look away, maybe she will leave.

Often he can be lured inside with the promise of ice cubes.  When he is done eating them, he wants to go right back outside again.  How do I know if he really has to go or if he is tricking me?

I'm tricking you.

The old man beagle gets very sad if he doesn't get his way.

But he usually does.  That's the power of the Sun Beagle.

Le chien, c'est moi.

The Muppets

I saw the new Muppet movie this week.  (Okay, not new.  It came out in 2011.)  I was both looking forward to it and apprehensive.  The Muppets are my childhood.  So was Star Wars, and I saw what George Lucas did to it with the prequels.  I knew that Jason Segel was doing the movie, and he is around my age and has the same reverence for the Muppets as I do.  All I can say is, it was everything I had hoped it would be.  The greatest compliment I can give the movie is that it was as if Jim Henson himself had made it.  The Muppets have to get back together and save their theater from being demolished by an evil tycoon.  It doesn't matter what the plot is, really.  The Muppets sing and make you laugh and give you hope that things will turn out okay in the end.  There were no dry eyes on the couch when Kermit and the other Muppets were on stage singing "Rainbow Connection" near the end.  It is the quintessential Muppet song.  Kermit first sings it in one of my favorite movies, The Muppet Movie.  

I could fill this blog with videos of the Muppets.  However, I will show some restraint.  But how to choose?  There is Robin singing "Halfway Down the Stairs," Rowlf playing the piano and singing "Cottleston Pie," scenes from Veterinarian's Hospital and Pigs in Space, Gonzo gazing at the stars singing "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday," fantastic guest stars on The Muppet Show like Beverly Sills and John Cleese, Fozzie's jokes, Kermit getting exasperated, and those lovable grumps in the balcony, Statler and Waldorf.  One song I especially like from The Muppet Show is "Turn the World Around," from the Harry Belafonte episode.  

The song is about tolerance and getting along with others and loving each other, even if they are different from you.  This encapsulates what I feel was Jim Henson's gift to the world.  He didn't just give us wonderful characters who made us laugh.  He gave us this beautiful message of love and hope and fellowship.  The Muppets couldn't be more different from one another.  But they are a family, and they love each other and are there for one another.  I am a pessimist.  I generally don't think things will turn out okay.  I don't believe that good will triumph over evil, but I watch the Muppets and then I believe.  The Muppets make me feel better.  That's the essence of Jim Henson coming through.  It can be seen in the little things that make the Muppets come alive.  At the end of "Turn the World Around," some of the Muppets come out to sing with Harry Belafonte.  Kermit and Fozzie turn away from the camera to face him, and Fozzie puts his arm around Kermit's shoulders.  They aren't just puppets- they're friends.  

Jim Henson tragically died when he was only 53 years old.  Too young.  The world is a lesser place for it.  It's hard for me to believe it was over twenty years ago now.  Two memorials were held, one in New York and one in London.  The puppeteers (or muppeteers) and many of the Muppets were present to pay tribute.  Big Bird sang "Bein' Green."  At the end when he looks to the sky and says, "Thank you, Kermit," he is saying it for all of us.  

I'm grateful to have grown up in a world with Jim Henson's creations.  I learned my letters and numbers with Sesame Street.  I sang along to The Muppet Show.  I watched Fraggle Rock and The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth and more.  It was gratifying to see the new Muppet movie carry on his legacy.  

I don't want bookstores to die

I read a lot.  I read far more books than those I blog about.  I'm the kind of person who reads books more than once.  I know that the wish that bookstores wouldn't die is futile, that most bookstores are gone now, but I wish it anyway.  I could spend hours in a good bookstore.  I used to go to bookstores all the time before they started vanishing.  I like to browse.  I like to discover new authors and new books with which I may not be familiar.  I like to walk among the shelves and pick up a book and flip through it to see if it interests me.  Browsing is a lot harder when you are limited to a computer screen.  What about the helpful booksellers?  I used to be one.  It was great!  Now I'm limited to a computer algorithm suggesting titles I might like?  No, computer.  Just because I like Pride and Prejudice doesn't mean I want to read Fifty Shades of Grey.

The bookstore in which I worked part-time closed.  It was the start of the vast closing of bookstores across the country.  I was left with a choice of Borders or Barnes & Noble.  I liked Borders a lot.  I didn't like Barnes & Noble so much.  The selection in Borders was always good, and the booksellers were friendly and helpful.  B&N was pretty much the opposite.  At this point there are so few booksellers in B&N that you'd be hard pressed to find one to be unhelpful to you, but at that time you could spot one on the floor occasionally.  Of course it was Borders that went under.  

What I really want is a good independent bookstore to open near me.  The greatest bookstore that exists is Harvard Book Store.  This isn't the bookstore of the university.  It's a locally owned, independent bookstore in Harvard Square, Cambridge.  It's enormous!  It has those knowledgeable booksellers I like.  It has a used book section in the basement.  It is everything a bookstore should be.

The closure of Borders and the memory of Harvard Book Store caused me to make another effort at finding a decent independent bookstore.  I should have looked sooner, because I had been missing out!  There was a great used bookstore nearby all along.  Cathy's Half Price Books is pretty fantastic.  I haven't shopped in used bookstores too much before now.  I just didn't come across very many.  Cathy's has a great selection for a used bookstore, and most of the books are far less than half of the cover price.  A good many of them don't even look like they've been read, they are in such perfect condition.

So it looks like if I want to shop in person for books, I'm left with a choice of Cathy's Half Price Books or Barnes & Noble.  I do buy books from Amazon now, too, so I've become part of the problem.  It's what happens when choices are limited.  What does the future hold for used bookstores (and bookstores in general) when more and more books are being read electronically?  None of those will be traded in or sold to places like Cathy's, and you don't need a physical store to download a file.  I'm not interested in e-readers.  I like the feel of a book in my hands.  I prefer reading a page to a screen.  I like to look at my bookshelves and think about the books I've read and maybe decide that my next book will be something I've read before.  I don't want to have to worry that the battery is going to die when I'm ten pages from the end and nowhere near a place to charge it.  I'm okay with being in the minority on this.  I'm not okay with bookstores being a thing of the past. 

The Golden Apples of the Sun

The Golden Apples of the Sun is a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury.  My only exposure to Bradbury's writing prior to this was years ago when I read Fahrenheit 451.  I expected all of these stories to be science fiction, but they weren't- only about half of them were. 

I wanted to read The Golden Apples of the Sun for one reason and one reason only:  it contains the story "A Sound of Thunder."  I'm fairly certain that most people are familiar with this story, even if they don't know its name.  It is often referenced when it comes to time travel.  This is the story in which a man goes back in time, steps on a butterfly, and changes the future.  Knowing what happened did not make this story any less outstanding.  This was definitely the best in the book.  Bradbury uses vivid descriptions to paint exact pictures of the characters and their actions in his stories.  Here is the appearance of the object of the time travellers' desire:

"The jungle was wide and full of twitterings, rustlings, murmurs, and sighs.
Suddenly it all ceased, as if someone had shut a door.
Silence.
A sound of thunder.
Out of the mist, one hundred yards away, came Tyrannosaurus rex...
It came on great oiled, resilient, striding legs.  It towered thirty feet above half of the trees, a great evil god, folding its delicate watchmaker's claws close to its oily reptilian chest.  Each lower leg was a piston, a thousand pounds of white bone, sunk in thick ropes of muscle, sheathed over in a gleam of pebbled skin like the mail of a terrible warrior.  Each thigh was a ton of meat, ivory, and steel mesh.  And from the great breathing cage of the upper body those two delicate arms dangled out front, arms with hands which might pick up and examine men like toys...Its mouth gaped, exposing a fence of teeth like daggers.  Its eyes rolled, ostrich eggs, empty of all expression save hunger...its taloned feet clawing damp earth, leaving prints six inches deep wherever it settled its weight.  It ran with a gliding ballet step, far too poised and balanced for its ten tons."

The reader feels as if they are there looking at this dinosaur themselves.  There is a sense of the enormity and power of the animal and of the terror it inspires.  The story also has one of those perfect last sentences that makes one think, wow, this is fantastic. 

The other standout story from the collection was "The Fog Horn."  It was the first story in the book.  Bradbury captures the despair and isolation of a lonely creature drawn to the surface from the depths of the sea by a lighthouse fog horn.  The rest of the stories ranged from good to okay.  I liked the science fiction stories better than the others.